In the Midst of Greatness

I am absolutely in the presence of greatness this week in Milwaukee. I have been around so many people who do so much for this company, it's incredible. People walked across the stage this morning at our first general session who have put billions of dollars worth of insurance in force this past year. They are really the backbone of this company and are some of the most successful people I've ever met.

Things should be getting interesting in our office when we get back to Lawrence because one of the people who has worked for Joe for at least the last 5 years gave him his 2 week notice on Friday before we left for Milwaukee and Ashley and I will have to play a whole lot of catch up to be prepared to run the office by ourselves. I am so glad that this situation made itself present right now because we will need all of the ideas and motivation that we can get to reorganize the entire office and make it work a lot more efficiently.

The highlight of my morning was having the privlidge of being in the same room as a former President of the United States. George H. W. Bush was in attendance at our general session this morning as the keynote speaker. He spoke about life, and about the difference that we make in the lives of everyone we touch. One of the most touching stories I heard this morning was the story of one of the kids (and I say that lightly because he is the same age as me) who was injured in the Columbine Massacure.



The boy hanging out of the window in this picture was at the top of his junior class at Columbine High School in April of 1999. He had a 4.0 GPA and was on schedule to become the validictorian the following May. He was having a hard time climbing out the window because he had just been shot in the head twice and once in the foot. He survived but was paralized and would have to learn to walk again. He also had brain damage from the shootings. This young man was a fighter and he took a semeser off of school to go through rehabilitation. He was far enough ahead credit-wise that he was able to do this and still graduate on time with the class of 2000. He was validictorian. This boy went on to attend Colorado State University in Fort Collins Colorado and graduated 4 years later with a bachelor's degree. He decided during his Senior year at CSU that he would need a job after graduation so he became an intern for Northwestern Mutual. He loved the company so much that after graduation, he decided to become a full time rep and this young man was in the audience that I was in today.

That day in April of 1999 touched me. Not only did I have a good friend who attended high school in the Denver area, but I was a high school student at that time. What happened at Columbine could very well have happened at Lawrence High School. In December of that year, there was a threat written on a bathroom wall at our school that promised the same thing. Many of us stayed home from school that day to avoid any possible problem that might happen. April 20, 1999 changed my perspective forever. I want to always expect the good in people but there are some people just don't have any good in them.

Anyway, my experiences here in Milwaukee are really making me reflect on how I want to live and how I want to shape my career. I would really like to keep taking continuing ed classes and see how far I can go in this company. Right now, I don't really have any desire to sell product, but that might change once I feel more comfortable with the sales possibilities. Without Tom, that will be much easier. I'm finally in a place that I can see myself being years from now and it feels really good.

~Amanda

For today: "Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love." ~David McCullough (US biographer & historian)

Yeah. .. semi-vacation

Tomorrow marks my first ever "business trip". I feel like that guy on the commercial (I think for some Toyota) that is using his expense account for the first time except I know better than to go quite that crazy. While all you people here in Lawrence are enjoying triple digits and heat indexes that are likely to bake you alive, I'll be in Milwaukee enjoying the 85 degree weather with rain. . . no complaints. Ashley and I are spending 4 nights at the Hilton at City Center and attending the Northwester Mutual Financial Network Annual Meeting. We get to see the Beach Boys on Tuesday night and fly home around 1:30 on Wednesday afternoon.

It's a small world. I found out about a month ago that one of the women I know from my IORG E-mail list works for Russell and lives in Tacoma, Washington and will also be at the NMFN Annual Meeting so I will get to meet her.

On a completely different note, please pray for the people of London. It just doesn't seem that it's ever going to stop. The police shot and killed someone this morning on the Tube and I cringe everytime that the news comes on with another resport about more bombings. London isn't Baghdad, it's London for goodness sake. . . if it could happen in London, it could happen anywhere. Not that I think anyone would target Kansas City or something, but who knows. Kansas City is in the heartland of the United States and we know how many people hate America. What better place to strike than one that no one in the world is expecting. I admit it scares me but it doesn't stop me from living my life. I admire the people of London who could go to work the day after the bombings even though their tube had been attacked the day before and still be resiliant enough to move on and not be intimidated by these gutless murderers.

These terrorists are not only killing the people that die immediately, but they are also contributing to more and more American service men and service women dying every day. The more terror attacks that happen, the longer our men and women are going to be over their fighting for freedom so that no one else ever has to endure what these victims and their families have been through. Your perspective on the war changes completely when one of your friends gives up his life on that battlefield so that you may maintain the lifestyle that you have become accustomed to. No one can bring Kyle back, but we know that he died for a purpose and he knew that his purpose was an important one. I have many friends right now who are standing by, waiting to be called up and everytime some terrorist blows something else up, they are one step closer to the "sandbox" as they call it.

Some people say, "how can there be a God when there is all this fighting and death in the world?" I say, because God knows that sacrificing one life may save a thousand more. These soldiers are not only fighting for America, but they're fighting for everything that is good and moral in the world. Now, I don't believe in forcing your religious beliefs on others, but I do believe in standing up for what you believe in. I think that no one can truly accept a religion without wanting to accept it. Like, no one is going to stop smoking just because someone else wants them to, they have to want it for themselves. I don't think we should convert the Middle East to Christianity. Let them believe what they want, but let them do it in a morally upstanding way and not by terrorism.

I'll get off my soapbox now. . . I leave KCI at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon and I'll be back Wednesday around 3. I'm taking my laptop so I won't be cut off from the world :-) Later!

~Amanda

Verse for Today: "But you be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work." ~2 Chronicles 15:7

I just don't understand

I heard on the news last night that an 8 month old baby in Tulsa died after she was left in the family car for over 2 hours in 100+ degree weather. The parents claimed that she was left behind accidently. I just don't understand how you can forget that your baby is in the car. You'd think after spending 12 hours in labor and delivery and being kept awake for nights on end by crying that it would really be difficult to forget the reason for all the drama that their lives have gone through in the last 8 months. Honestly, if I had an 8 month old and I didn't hear from her for 2 hours, I would begin to wonder what was going on. Heck, if I didn't hear a peep from her for 30 minutes I would be worried. Seriously, people who can't give the proper amount of attention to their children should never be allowed to have them. I've said it to myself many times before. . . people whould be required to have a license to have children. The world would be a much better place for everyone involved if that were the case. There should be a maturity and responsibility test as well. If they can't take care of themselves, they certianly won't be able to care for an infant.

It just makes me want to scream. I know so many wonderful couples who are unable to have a baby and people with no common sense just keep popping them out. . . Frustrating!

~Amanda

For today: "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things." ~ 1 Corinthians 13:11

Being a Grown Up

I spent today being a grown up. . . Even though my days of living at home (parent's home) are long gone and have been for half a decade now (gosh that makes me feel old), I still miss the weekends where I could afford to just sit and do nothing. I woke up this morning at 8am and couldn't for the life of me get back to sleep. I didn't go to bed last night until 12:30, which is LATE for me and I was mad that I couldn't get myself back to sleep this morning. I really wanted to sleep until at least 10, but oh well. . . such is life.

Anyway, I was productive with my early morning. After breakfast, I started cleaning. I cleaned the entry way, scrubbed the kitchen, scrubbed my bathroom, cleaned the living room, rearranged my bedroom, showered, straightened my hair, put on my make up, got dressed and watched most of "The Princess Diaries 2" while painting my toenails before leaving here at 3 to pick up my grandma to run errands and have dinner with my parents and sister and brother in law for Jeremy's birthday on Tuesday. I'd say I was pretty productive today. We'll see how this bedroom arrangement goes. I get bored with furniture arrangements easily and ideally, I move things about once every 4 months. I don't know how many different combinations I'll be able to manage in this place though. I guess we'll see.

It'll be short today since I need to get myself to bed early. . . g'night all!

~Amanda

For today: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." ~1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Life is Good

I love my job. . . two days and $2027 later, I've paid my mom back the $600 I owed her, I have a new wardrobe of "work" clothes for my business trip a week from today, I'm stocked with bulk items from Sam's Club, I've got grocceries to last a while, and I still have over $1300 in the bank. . . life is good. Two years ago, I was nowhere near this point in my financial status. I had maxed out every credit card I had and was barely making it each month. I was working as a preschool teacher making next to nothing raising other people's out of control children and I honestly wanted to cry every day when I pulled out the checkbook. Now, after much growing up, I can finally say, "I'm making it on my own." No one has to bail me out anymore. No one has to worry that I'm putting things on credit cards that I shouldn't be. And let me tell you, it feels really good to be able to do it all on my own.

I have really been blessed with the best boss in the world. We can wear what we want, take off whenever we want, leave for appointments in the middle of the day, work on other projects at work when we're not busy, and he pays all of my health insurance premium. On top of all of that, he pays out a bonus each quarter to his three employees that amounts to 5% of the commissions that he is paid during that quarter. When you're writing multi-million dollar policies, that amounts to quite a chunk of change even when you split it three ways. This quarter it totaled $1900 before taxes, last quarter it was $933 before taxes. I've promised myself I'm not going to leave this job unless someone drags me kicking and screaming. . . I know a good thing when I see it. :-)

So, I spent today shopping in Topeka with my mom and got a lot of new clothes to take with me next week to Milwaukee and things that I can wear to work and to Rainbow stuff. I spent yesterday evening making brand new Member Handbooks for my Rainbow Girls and I plan to hand them out at our meeting Monday night. That seems like all I do anymore, but it's alright. I enjoy staying involved even after my time as an active member ended three years ago. In a couple of weeks I will load my car with 13 and 14 year old girls and make the trip to Wichita to Grand Assembly. It will be fun and a break in the routine for me for a few days.

Not a whole lot more to talk about tonight. . . Hope everyone has a good weekend!

~Amanda

Thought for Today: "Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one." ~Jane Howard, "Families"

Another Day, Another Dollar

Don't you just love it when something's supposed to be somewhere and it's nowhere to be found? Thank goodness I have my lifeline of support over at our Corporate Woods office in Overland Park or some things would never get completed. It might take 12 of us to locate what we're looking for but somewhere along the line, one of the people I talk to will know where to look. The only thing I can say is that it must have been a really talented person who put together our corporate database because it sucks.

Anyway. . . on to another topic. I got a lot of belated birthday cards and e-mails yesterday. For some reason a whole bunch of people thought yesterday was actually the 12th. The 95 degree weather must be getting to people or something. I don't mind though. I know I'm loved and even if someone forgets, it's alright. Like I said yesterday, as I get older, the birthdays seem to matter less and less. Yeah, it's nice to get recognized but I won't die without it.

Do you ever have those mornings where you just want to keep sleeping long after the alarm rudely awakens you? Today was one of those mornings. . . heck, everyday is one of those mornings. I really am actually a morning person but getting out of bed if the hard part. I actually got in bed at 10 last night and was out cold quickly which hasn't been the norm for a couple of weeks. I've been laying in bed for hours trying to fall asleep, but finally, whatever has been in my head for the past couple of weeks must have escaped yesterday because all was right with the world and I fell right asleep. . . FINALLY! I've been so exhausted because I have been going to bed around 11 and then just laying there. Maybe I need to try harder to get myself in bed by 10 but that's not likely to happen on most nights.

Tomorrow is Friday. . . YEA! Not that Friday brings anything important or anything and it's not like I'll be catching up on missed sleep on Saturday either. I made an appointment to go see Teeny to get my hair cut and the eyebrows waxed. . . they're looking scarier than they have in a while and I'm too impatient to just pluck with they get this unruly. Christine is the only person I'll let touch my hair anymore. She may have graduated from cosmatolagy school more recently than most other hairdressers in town, but I trust her and I know she wouldn't ever give me a chop job. In fact, when she first started school, I asked her to fix a chop job that I had gotten from the mother of one of my preschool students. I would imagine that woman is no longer cutting hair because it was horrible. It was about 20 different lengths and if she was trying to layer it, she failed miserably. After that's all done, I'm planning to go to the mall in Topeka to get some new business clothes for my trip to Milwaukee later this month because Northwestern is having their Annual Meeting and what I am allowed to wear to work here and what is proper meeting attire there are two completely separate things.

Anyway, I'm getting long-winded again. . . so I'm done.

~Amanda

For Today: "Of course there is no formula for success except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings." ~Arthur Rubinstein (1886 - 1982)

I was bored yesterday. . . can you tell. . .


Name: Amanda Nicole Woodward
Birth date: July 12, 1982
Birthplace: Shawnee Mission, Kansas
Eye Color: Hazel
Hair Color: Dark Brown with carmel highlights
Height: 5' 5"
Your heritage: Mostly Irish and Scottish. . . some German and apparently I'm related to the Queen
Shoes you wore today: Black Target flip flops
Your weakness(es): Sometimes I care too much about other people who may not exactly deserve my compassion and it blows up in my face. . . I forgive too easily
Your fears: Fire. . . definitely fire. . . and spiders. . .
Goals you'd like to achieve: Finish my Bachelors Degree, get married and have a family, then eventually I'd like to persue my MBA.
Your thoughts when first waking up: ah crap, not that noise again
Your best physical feature: My eyes
Your bedtime: I try to be in bed by 10:30 but it's usually closer to 11 or 11:30
Your most missed memory: Spending time with my grandpa fishing at Shawnee Lake
Pepsi or Coke: Coke...
Single or group dates: Groups are fun occasionally but single are better long-term
Adidas or Nike: New Balance
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: I don't like Tea
Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate
Cappuccino or coffee: I don't really do coffee products

Do You?
Smoke: Absolutely not
Cuss: Sometimes, but not very often
Sing: Whenever I know the song :-) I find it hard to hold back
Have a crush: There's someone I'm interested in but I don't really consider it a crush (I'm not 12. . . not that being 12 is a bad thing, I'm just a little old for that)
Think you've been in love: I'm not sure that I was in love. . . I think I was in love with being in love
Like(d) school: I didn't dislike it. . . Jr. High was great. . . high school (with the exception of one year) was awesome
Want to get married: Absolutely
Believe in yourself: I certianly do
Get motion sickness: Not unless it's hot
Think you're a health freak: no. . . I'm being healthier but by no means am I tofu and sprouts. . .
Get along with your parents: Yes
Like thunderstorms: I love them. . . it's my favorite part of spring. . . just sitting on the porch watching it rain and smelling the freshness. . .
Play an instrument: Yes, I played clarinet from 5th-9th grade then played in the drum line in 10th grade

In the past month have you...
Drank alcohol: No
Made Out: No
Gone to the movies : No
Gone to the mall: No, plan to do that this weekend
Eaten an entire box of Oreos: No
Eaten sushi: No
Been on stage: No
Been dumped: No, but I dumped someone else
Gone roller skating : No
Gone skinny dipping: No
Dyed your hair: No
Stolen anything: No

Have you ever?
Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Nope
Been caught "doing something": Nope
Been called a blonde: Nope
Gotten beaten up: Nope
Shoplifted: Nope

Getting Older
Age you married or do you hope to be married: Absolutely, some day
Numbers and Names of Children: As many as I am blessed with within reason. . . Samantha Nicole, Jordan Michael, Kevin Daniel. . . I'll think of others if the need arisees some day
Describe your dream wedding: Not too big but not too small either. A nice wedding without all the hooplah and expense. My parents have done enough for me.
How do you want to die: Don't have a particular favorite on that one
What do you want to be when you grow up: I love what I'm doing now
What country would you most like to visit: Ireland again or Scottland

In a Guy
Best eye color: Doesn't matter to me
Best hair color: Doesn't matter to me
Short or long hair: Short hair. . . no surfers for me
Best first date location: First date, bowling or mini golf. . . romantic dates, dinner and a walk at sunset
Number of people I could trust with my life: 6 members of my family and 2 of my friends
Number of CDs that I own: Not very many
Number of tattoos: None
Number of times my name has appeared in the Newspaper: Not too many
Number of scars on my body: 3
Number of things in my past that I regret: I have done some stupid things but I have learned from each
Number one person in your life: There are too many

Unique
Are you double jointed? No
Can you roll your tongue? Yeah
Can you raise one eyebrow at a time? Just my right one
Can you cross your eyes: Yes
Which shoe goes on first: I've never paid attention
Speaking of shoes, have you ever thrown one at anyone? I don't remember doing it, but I might have
On average, how much money do you carry in your wallet? Like cash. . . I don't usually carry cash. . . bless the debit card
What jewelry do you wear 24/7? my earrings
Food
Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? Twirl
Have you ever eaten Spam? Yep
Favorite ice cream flavor? Strawberry and Chocolate mixed together
Favorite Beverage: Coca-cola Zero or Barq's Root Beer
Favorite Restaurant? Royal Peking or Olive Garden. . I like Zio's too
Do you cook? Yep, and I'm pretty good at it

What is your favorite
Animal: Dog
Food: Chicken Alfredo
Month: April
Day: Saturday
Subject in school: Anything business
Color: Royal Purple
Sport: Football and Basketball
TV show: "Desperate Housewives"

In and Around
The CD player: A mixed country CD
Person you talk to most on the phone: Joe
Ever taken a cab? Yep, on more than onc occasion while on vacation. . . sure I'll take another one on the 23rd in Milwaukee
Do you regularly check yourself out in store windows and mirrors? Nope
What color is your bedroom: Kind of a cream color
Do you use an alarm clock? Yes
Window or aisle seat? Aisle. . . I'm claustrophobic
What is your sleeping position? on my stomach
Do you use a blanket in hot weather? I've got a sheet and a down comforter and another comforter on my bed right now. . . my feet are never covered though
Do you snore? Not that I'm aware of. . . I've been known to breathe heavy especially if I'm congested
Do you sleepwalk? Nope
Do you talk in your sleep? Nope again
Do you sleep with stuffed animals? No, they're all on my dresser
How about with the light on? No
Do you fall asleep with the TV or radio on? I used to sleep with the Radio on when I was younger.. . now it has to be a fan. I have a hard time sleeping without white noise


Now that you know absolutely everything that doesn't really matter, have a good day!

~Amanda

Another thought for today: "Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why." ~Eddie CantorUS comedian & singer (1892 - 1964)

I suppose today is as good as any to actually make a committment to do this blogging thing. . . I signed up back in December and I figure that 7 months is long enough to get used to the thought of posting my most personal and innermost thoughts for the world to see. Eh, life goes on so here I go.

Yesterday was my 23rd birthday and you know, the older I get, the less important it seems to be. I started the day like any other day in my world. Got up at 7:30 left for work at 8:20 worked until 4:30. . . the only difference was that when I got to work my sister had left a birthday cake on my desk for the office to enjoy yesterday afternoon. We take care of each other here because we work with a bunch of men who wouldn't remember their own wife's birthday if we didn't program it into their Palm Pilot or Blackberry.

The job with the best birthdays was always the preschool. I spent two years of my life there trying to figure out what exactly I wanted to do with my life. My logical side and my bank account at the time would tell you that it definitely wasn't that. Don't get me wrong, I adore kids and plan to have a bunch of my own some day but taking care of other people's kids can wear on you and I know that if I had spent any more time there, I would have had second thoughts about whether or not I could handle my own. There are times when something tugs on my heartstrings and makes me want to go back, just for a little while to see my "babies" (yeah, they were 3, so not really babies, but they were mine) but the stronger tug comes from my sanity and tells me that all of those afternoons during nap time when I would sit at my desk and cry because I hated having to raise someone else's out of control kid were absolutely not worth the havoc that they wrecked on my emotions and well being. No more preschool for me.

I used to think that when I have kids, I want to be a stay at home mom. For those of you who know me, you might say, "Well, yeah, that makes sense. Your mom was a stay at home mom." But what most of you don't know is that she really wasn't during the early part of my life. When my mom went back to work after she had me, I began spending the days with my grandparents in Topeka. They lived a few blocks from my mom's office at Santa Fe in Oakland (for those of you who know Topeka, yeah, it's kind of the ghetto). Those really were the happiest years of my life. My grandpa was my everything. He never had a lot of money but what he lacked financially, he made up for 100 fold in love for Ashley and I. I spent the first 5 years of my life with them Monday thru Friday and I loved every minute of it.

I think that's the way I want to do it. I want my mom to be the babysitter. I don't want to put my kids in daycare but I don't want to give up my career or the potential to make the life of my family that much better by having a job of my own. My mom doesn't work outside the home anymore. She was laid off from her job at Santa Fe (much to her liking) when I was in 2nd grade and hasn't worked outside the home since. She spends her days cross-stitching, knitting and getting ready to be a grandma. My parents still live here in Lawrence and as often as they talk about moving to Arizona or New Mexico after my dad retires I doubt it will happen, especially with Kim and Ashley and I getting older and at the stage in our lives where we're looking to get married and start families of our own.

My mom's been dreaming since the day she last changed a diaper on Ashley about the day she would become a grandma and Kim is making that come true this November. I honestly don't think once they see that beautiful baby boy that they will have any desire in the world to move that far away or anywhere outside of Lawrence for that matter. I know they'll eventually have to move out of the house that they have lived in for over 10 years because it's becoming harder and harder for my dad to get around because of his hip problems but at least now, maybe they'll stay in Lawrence. It scares me to death to think of them moving somewhere else. I know I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself, but it's nice to be able to go to their place and spend time with them whenever I want to because I know that they won't be around forever, just like grandpa wasn't around forever.

Wow, I went on forever today. . . I'll try to be less long-winded next time. I think this could be a good release for me. Back to work :-)

~Amanda

For Today: "Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." - Matthew 19:19