Reed's Commercial

Link to the video of Reed's commercial for Rocky Mountain Power:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLYRxrA-OsQ


One thing that happened this summer that was really fun for our family was Reed being chosen to "star" in a commercial.  We got a random call from one of our friends asking if Reed played the tuba.  I replied that he really played the baritone, but that he could play a little on the tuba. . . and that we just happened to own one.  She told me that she had already shown his photo to the director (thanks to Facebook) and that they wanted to audition him. 

The following day we packed the tuba into the Prius and headed up to the audition site.  They were waiting for us and we passed by all sorts of kids with 8 x 10 glossy headshots.  The actual audition was about a minute and a half long.  Then we were on the road back home.  We just laughed about the audition and thought we would never hear anything. 

The following Monday I got a phone call saying that they wanted him . . . and me!  He was picked to be "Tuba Boy" and they wanted me as an extra.  When they called Reed was on TREK with our ward, so I was imagining him coming home with a horrible sunburn and a zillion bug bites.  Luckily he actually wore sunscreen and there weren't many bugs, so he looked great when he got home Wednesday afternoon.

On Friday morning we headed to Salt Lake to find the house where we were filming.  As soon as we got there they did his make up and chose an outfit from all the items we had brought.  The clothing was a little tricky becuase they didn't want any logo wear. . . and that's about all Reed wears!  We had a little shopping trip to Kohl's.

The filming took about six and a half hours.  Reed did exciting things like turn off a lamp 25 times and flipping a light switch 30 times!  The longest shot was of a fan.  Yup.  A ceiling fan.  They shot it from two different angles and that took about 2 hours.  That included cleaning the fan and after the shot was done, some panic while all the company people feverishly tried to determine if the fan that they had just spent two hours filming was Energy Star approved. I laughed.  Out loud.

 

One funny moment was when they were filming Reed unplugging an iPod.  It was staged in the boy's room.  His name was Nate and on his bulletin board there was a poster that some girl had made for him of doodles of his name.  I was watching the monitor in another room and I said, "Isn't the boy's name Steve in the commercial?"  I got told that it was.  I innocently said, "Wouldn't it be a little creepy for Steve to have a Nate poster on his bulletin board?"  All of a sudden a hand came into the shot and took the Nate Doodles off the buletin board.  Too funny.

Reed's favorite part of the day was the catering table.  There were lots of treats and cookies and drinks.  I think he cleaned out the gummy bear container.

So, now Reed is semi-famous.  At first he was VERY embarrassed when anyone brought it up, but now he loves it.  Especially when the junior high age girls recognize him and squeal.  It has been a fun experience.

Lost

I wrote a couple of months ago about my frustrations with finding a job and trying to trust in God's Plan for my life.  I really was doing pretty well despite the fact that things were getting exponentially worse. . . until the last couple of weeks.  To make a long story short, four jobs in my area have opened and closed.  I got an interview for only one which was a job that I have actually had twice before.  I did not get that job and I am confident that I was the best qualified applicant.  When being told that I was not being hired, it was made clear that the school district could not or would not pay for my experience and education.  That made me really mad.  And I am still mad.

It may not sound like a big deal.  So. . . I didn't get a job that I really don't need anyway.  But here's the problem.  If I am "overqualified" or perhaps "blackballed" and I can't teach music in my local school district, there is no way that my back-up plan of getting certified in English is going to work out.  Now I have lost my first and second job choices.  Unfortunately, I only had two.

Now what?

I have lost my career.  At least in Alpine School District.

I have lost friends because I can't trust people who aren't straight with me.  (There have been some downright nasty comments made by some and total silence from others in my circle of musical colleagues.)

I have lost hope because the doors keep slamming and I can't find a damn window.

But worst of all. . . I feel my faith slipping.

The strangest, most miniscule things sometimes hurt the most.  In this situation it was a Facebook post by the wife of the gentleman who got this last job.  (BTW, he is a very nice man and I wish him no ill will.)  She posted a thanks to people for their prayers that he would get the job.  Most people would not even think about it, but to me it was a stab in the heart.

What about my prayers?  What about the inspirations that I had received?  Why was it more important for him to get a "yes" than me? 

I have always struggled with the notion of my divine nature and individual worth and this has been a set back on that journey.  For the first time ever, I was mad at God.  I think I still am a little.  I can hardly even pray because the silence is deafening. 

I want to be still and know that God has everything in contol, but it sure doesn't feel that way.  I want to make a difference in the world. . . somehow. . . but I am thwarted at every turn.  I want to walk away from this situation and bury it, but that just means that it will happen to someone else and I should probably care about that.   I want to be busy, but nobody needs me to do anything- at least nothing that remotely interests me.  I want to be a great mom, but a depressed mom is not a great mom.

This is not how I envisioned my life.  And not what I want for my future.

So, I know what I don't want, but I have yet to figure out what I do want.  I hope I figure it out soon.

A Distant View

Right now I am cruising at about 35,000 feet in a Delta airplane but I have no idea where we are because the air is so smoky that I can't see the ground. We had a great view of the fires in Pocatello and could see the plume from the Colorado fires. From this height they just look like large puffy clouds, but I know that the experience at ground level is much different.

Just yesterday a fire broke out in the neighboring community of Harriman that quickly destroyed several homes. Although this morning we could see on the news that the fire was still burning, from our vantage point about 20 miles away, the air was clear and it was a beautiful day.

Isn't that like life in general? We can be in a mighty struggle and feel like we are holding on to the last knot in the rope, but to other people, it appears that things are fine and that we have smooth sailing. The distant view tends to soften the hard edges of reality. That's why it is easy to get so wrapped up in our own life struggles that we neglect to notice the challenges that others are facing.

I don't know about you, but I get overwhelmed when I pay too much attention to those world issues that I can only see in the distant view. Poverty. Hunger. War. What can I do about problems that are so huge? I assist when asked, but I will admit that I don't really go out of my way to find ways to be involved.

I am interested in affecting change, but I have to do it on a smaller scale. I can help teenagers learn and grow. I can help neighbors who are facing challenges. I can stand up for community members who need their voices heard. I can donate money and clothes to those who have lost their homes to these crazy fires.

Lehi Cattle Drive

It hasn't happened for 75 years, but it happened this week.  A cattle drive.  Down Lehi's Main Street.

There was quite a bit of concern about safety.  I mean, we have all seen the videos of the running of the bulls in Pamplona, but in the end no one was gored or trampled.  Phew.  I hear that there were some issues. . . some of the longhorns were not interested in the whole idea of a parade and they ended up staying at the rodeo grounds.  Others wanted nothing to do with the railroad tracks and tried to turn back.  And rumor has it that someone let some of the bulls out overnight which made for an interesting morning.


Now you can't celebrate a cattle drive without parade, so we had the Lehi High School Band and the Lehi Silver Band, the City Council, a County Commissioner, and various rodeo queens. It was short, but it was appreciated by the surprisingly ample crowd. A pretty cool event for our fair city.

 Council Member Kaye in her fringed shirt

Cattle turning off Main Street

 A rare sight

Lehi Silver Band

He's Losing It.

I am so proud of my amazing husband.  At the beginning of 2012 he decided that he was going to lose weight and on Saturday he hit the 100 pound mark.  I have been really impressed with his tenacity and positive attitude.  Check out his blog- he just made it public on Saturday.

http://itsminetolose.blogspot.com

He looks so good that maybe I'll even get going again!

Re-Evaluating

The last few weeks have been pretty tough. I have been really busy finishing up my British Lit class, going through the system to get recertified, helping with marching band, and applying for jobs. I wish that I had been busy having interviews, but I've only had two.

It is really frustrating to have such a hard time finding a job. I know that lots of people have been going through the same thing, but I guess it is different when it's you!

This week everything kind of came crashing together. I did not handle it all very well. I just could not stop crying for about 2 hours. I decided to write out my wants, needs, and finally, my goals. How interesting to discover that the things I was really upset about were not only totally out of my control, but also had no bearing on my reaching my life goals. All of a sudden I wasn't so upset.

Now I am back to my mantra. The words "be still and know that I am God" go through my mind on a frighteningly regular basis. I am overall confident in God's plan for my life. I just falter every once in a while. Like this week. But now I am back on track! Que sera sera .

Snap Judgements

This morning I needed to run into my local grocery store to grab a few items.  I had the items, had checked out and was headed out of the store in about 5 minutes flat.  On my way out the door I saw a lady coming in wearing jeans, and black turtleneck, and a sweater comprised of silver sequins.  Completely covered, not just a few sequins.

My first thought was "What the heck?  Why is she wearing that sweater here?"

But just as quickly the next thought came.  It was "Why not?  Life is too short to not wear things that you love!"

I'm disappointed in myself that my first impulse was so negative and judgemental.  All I can do is try to do better next time.  I have a yellow scarf that I haven't worn yet because I know someone will make a snide comment. 

So, wear those crazy shoes, that yellow scarf, the sequins!  Live it up and let your joy show.  I think I'll wear my huge sparkly bracelet to Council tomorrow. . .just for kicks!