A bit of contrast

I woke this morning to my HR guy calling me. Hard to believe anything could be such an emergency on not only my day off but on Christmas Eve. I guess if you bring enough drama into your life then you can make anything seem like a true emergency. The fact that I got this call while I was still in bed just confirmed the fact that I've made the right choice in leaving my current job for a new one.

My second confirmation came when I was reading Fatty's blog this morning. There is a beautiful family suffering from a horrible disease. Fatty's optimism and love for his family is in sharp contrast to the silly drama occuring at my clinic over a small sum of money.

In four weeks I will no longer manage the South Jordan clinic for Intermountain. Instead I will be working in the Office of Research. Through research and clinical trails there will hopefully come a day when cancer can be cured and families like Fatty's will be able to once again take having a healthy mom for granted.

Winter fun

Here's my little angel getting ready for her Christmas performance at the school. She danced so well and as you can see she is beautiful! I have to admit having a teenage daughter is harder than I thought it would be. Over the past few weeks I've realized how nice it was when she was little. I miss the days of knowing she is home safe and sound with me and not out there in the big scary world. Recently she fell in love for the first time. I have had to resist the urge to follow her around 24/7. But I've come to the realization that she is old enough to make her own choices, to a certain extent, and I cannot be there for every decision she'll have to make. However, if I could afford to, I think I'd hire someone to follow her around for me.



Sunday Tara and I went up Millcreek for a nice ski. I love going up there. Sometimes I complain because there are too many people and dogs, but once we get up past the elbow there are fewer people and it is peaceful and beautiful. Besides, I can't complain too much because it is so close! I can get up there, get in a good workout and be done by lunch.



Getting out in the winter is good for me! I get some good cross training in and I appreciate the winter beauty and I appreciate being able to ride my bike when I can. I'm sure that variety really is the spice of life!



Today is Christmas Eve. My house is quiet because the kids are at their dad's. I'm heading off to meet the family for some bowling action and tomorrow I'll get to spend the whole day playing with my kids. Austin gave me my present from him last night. He gave me a set of glasses. He is always teasing me because I have more water bottles than actual drinking glasses. He also made me a book. He took all of my favorite cycling pictures and some of my quotes from my blog, did some photoshop work and had them made into a book that he titled "Tour de Shanna". I love it! I also love the fact that I have such a wonderful, thoughtful kid! I'm so blessed!

Busy, busy, busy

Alisha pointed out I've been a bit MIA. Life has been crazy! That is not a complaint though. It is good. I like busy and when things get slow I manage to fill up any free time I may have. I thought I'd graduate and have lots of free time to become a TV addict. Fortunately it didn't happen. So here's what I've been up to. . .

November 11th I finished my Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration. Since then I've been applying for jobs. Funny thing, once you graduate it is time to start paying on those student loans. Fortunately, I've landed a new job! This news is so new that my employees and physicians don't even know yet. I guess I'll find out Monday if any of them read my blog. Anyway, I start my new job in the Office of Research as a clinical billing analyst at the end of January. I'm excited to learn new things and take on a new role. A bit more money is going to be nice too. I have also seen the end of my "boss" days. I will no longer have employees! Don't get me wrong, I have some great employees. It is just that the few that aren't so great suck up a bunch of time and cause plenty of headaches.

Since October I've also been on a diet. So far I'm down 15 pounds! Yeah! To answer the common question of "how are you doing it?" Well, I am burning more calories than I take in. No, there is no magic pill. I have to say no to some foods that I really want to eat, I have to stop eating when I want more and I work out HARD. Sometimes I'm hungry and sometimes I'm cranky but I'm looking good and loving it!

So with all of that big stuff I still have the usual things going on. I've been teaching my classes, playing with friends, shopping with my sisters, baking goodies with the family, watching my daughter dance and sing and helping my son with his college classes. Overall I'm living a wonderful life full of wonderful people. Right now the bikes are hung up but tomorrow I'll hit Millcreek for a good ski and enjoy the beautiful snow. I'm working on keeping a good winter attitude because sometimes I get SAD because of the dark and the cold but I have to remember cycling season is just around the corner!