Smile Always Chuck Spotlight: Willow Trees

Wow! It's been a long time since I've done one of these. Well, technically I could say that my post from April 8th makes me smile always... haha.

Today I want to share my love for Willow Trees.

You may be asking what sparked this so I'll tell you. I was driving in town during my lunch when I saw this willow tree. I remember when I was a little girl (snicker) and I wanted a Willow Tree. In my head, they were SO AWESOME! I'm not sure what show made them awesome to me... hmm. Anyway, I wanted one so bad.

I thought it would be so cool to have a secret reading spot underneath the long branches. I think I imagined some sort of escape from the world. As I write this, I remember The Little Mermaid (one of my favorite movies from when I was little) and that scene where Ariel and Eric are in the row boat and they end up underneath that Willow-like tree. I thought that was so cool. Yes, I'm a dorky child. Another example of a cool Willow Tree Pocahontas and her Grandmother Willow- the talking Willow Tree.

As I've grown up, I realized that most Willow trees aren't as awesome as they are in the cartoons. Unfortunately. But still, there's something so romantic and whimsical about the tree. Something mysterious to by discovered underneath the long-hanging branches.

They make me think of long ago summer  days when it was hot and I would sit in the shade of the trees in my yard on a blanket absorbed in a book. I miss those days. Hmm, that's what Willow trees make me think of... SUMMER!

And Summer makes me smile too! But more on that another time.

Smile Always!

Chuck

Life In The Office: Making Mistakes

Hello there! So it's been a couple of weeks since I've "written" (let's be honest, I didn't write my last post... it's just a bunch of pretty pictures). I always have the intention of writing but then I get home from work and I get caught up in something else (The Lizzie Bennet Diaries).


I should start out with this disclaimer: I HATE making mistakes. It just... oh! I just feel so dumb when I make a mistake. I'm so hard on myself when I make a mistake and I end up obsessing over it and thinking negative things about myself until I finally get sick of myself. I usually have to take a step outside of myself and say "Chuck, it's okay that you made a mistake. Learn from it and stop nitpicking it to death!"

I was thinking this yesterday. I made an account underneath another account because the new company has the EXACT same name as another company in our system. I was just doing my job but then my boss came out and pointed it out to me. I felt so dumb but honestly... they had the same name!! And I'm new. I can't possibly know that the one location is totally unrelated to the other location. I should let you know that my boss didn't yell at me or call me stupid or anything like that. But it did get kind of tense and dramatic for about an hour with her and the new customer who was calling because of the information... blah blah blah...

Afterwards, I sat there just feeling like a fool. I'm still trying to prove myself at the office. Although I'm doing well, I still feel like I'm not quite measuring up... to my incredibly high standards.

I don't like to feel like a failure. I'm already wallowing in mediocrity as it is. Not that that is a bad thing. But I always feel like I'm not living up to my potential. It's my own fault too. I let myself get lost in my introverted ways when I should be pushing myself to be better.

For example, I've been meaning to start an exercise plan since I moved to Provo.  I even have a plan written down and ready to be executed. And how much have I exercised... does walking up the two flights to my apartment count as an exercise plan? So... no. I haven't exercised. And every day I'm gonna do it... and every day I come home and open my computer and get caught up in something totally not worth my time.

I recognized this last weekend. So I've been Facebook/social media free since Friday. The only exception is when I post the link to this post. That's how most people know I've blogged. And part of the reason I write this is for people to read it. Is that narcissistic? Maybe it is. But I'm a writer... I don't write just for me. I like to know that people are finding something in whatever I might write.

...What was I talking about?

Oh, right... making mistakes. So I was sitting at my desk, after the fiasco of companies with the same name, beating myself up for not being better. And then I had that moment of clarity hit me. I needed to stop being so hard on myself and just learn from the experience. I'm not going to be perfect. But I can always strive to be a little bit better. The whole purpose of making mistakes is learning how to overcome them and become something even better, greater, and a little bit more than I was before.

It was a good moment for me. I know I'll still continue to beat myself up when I make mistakes but hopefully not as much as I did last time. And hopefully I'll learn from the mistake so I can become even better at my job. And a better person.

It's a lifelong lesson to learn. Something to think about.

Happy Earth Day yesterday!

Happy Administrative Assistant Day!

Smile Always,

Chuck

Five plus Five equals... Tom Hiddleston?

[WARNING: The following post contains pictures and comments meant to merely entertain. In fact, this post is completely ridiculous and in no way is meant to reflect my true nature. It was just something fun to put together. Enjoy... or not.]

I have a tendency to develop celebrity crushes. They're ridiculous, of course. But even my mom has a celebrity crush... Denzel Washington. (Yeah, I'm still trying to figure that one out myself...) I just wanted an excuse to look at his face... haha. So here you go...

TEN REASON I'D MARRY TOM HIDDLESTON (in no particular order):

1.   Access to the MARVEL world-- Hello, Robert Downey Jr.

AWESOME!! 

2.   His face--

'Nuff said...

3.   His smile--

Just lights up his whole face.

4.   His accent-- He's British. How much cooler can you get? 

5.   The fact that he's like the nicest guy ever--

Lucky girls...

6.   His sense of humor--

Stole these from the prop room then proceeded to take pictures with them all over . He texted the pictures to his co-stars.

7.   He is smart-- Attended Cambridge. Can recite Shakespeare from memory.

8.   His laugh-- Believe me... so cute

Don't you just feel like laughing with him now? Haha. 

9.   He's a gentleman--

10. His face--

Just couldn't resist...

Again...

Of course, I'm not really ever going to marry Tom Hiddleston. But I needed an excuse to put his face all over my blog today.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Remember...

SMILE ALWAYS!

Chuck

On Being an Introvert

It's been awhile. Sorry. I've found that after staring at a computer screen for nearly 9 hours at work every day, I just don't feel much like getting on long enough to blog. Here I am now!

Do you know what day it is?! Well, it's April 2nd. I guess my real question is: do you know what happens in 13 (almost 12) days?! 

The DVD release of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"!!!!

I saw this movie in theaters and I L-O-V-E-D it! I saw the original movie with Danny Kaye a million years ago in school. That version follows the short story, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" much closer but I loved this new version. I felt like it held the essence of the short story but then made it better because it actually has a good ending. (I think so anyway.) 

The short story tells of Walter Mitty who is a verbally abused husband of a wretched woman. His life pretty much stinks majorly. His coping mechanism is to daydream about exciting lifestyles like being a pilot, a firefighter, and some other stuff. In the end, he gets in the car with his wretched wife and drives home still miserable.

In the new movie, there is no wretched wife. However, there is a lonely and cautious man named Walter. And he has intense daydreams. These daydreams are so intense that he actually "zones" out. Thus he becomes the butt of many jokes at work.

Anyway, if you really want to know about the movie with Ben Stiller, it comes out in 13/12 days. Watch it. It'll be worth your time. Also the music is pretty awesome.

As for me, I consider myself quite Walter Mitty-ish. I'm not so bad that I actually zone out. But I live a life of daydreams. And although this isn't a bad thing, it certainly impacts me negatively sometimes. I'm an introvert by nature and there is a part of me that desires to be outgoing, to be social, and to just break free of my shell.

But it's REALLY, REALLY hard. I try. And for awhile, I enjoy it a lot. However, I soon grow weary of trying so hard to be something I'm not. I'm a homebody. I have been my whole life. You can ask my mom. I was so shy when I was younger. My process for making friends was to just find someone from my class and glom onto them. I would follow them to lunch and sit by them. I found out from a friend of mine that she didn't like me in the sixth grade because I would hang out with her. Haha. We were good friends in high school so I must have grown on her. Making friends is hard for me too. I don't want to put anyone out. And it takes a lot of effort to try and start a relationship with someone.

On my mission, it was so easy. With other missionaries, we all had a common purpose so you would bond over that. With members and investigators, you bonded over the gospel. It was easy because I didn't have to try and be something I'm not. I was a missionary. That was my role.

Then came real life. It's so hard. Haha. I think because I spent the first few months basically alone I reverted back to my old ways. Now I'm in a new place and I find it hard to really open up to people. It's been kind of lonely. That's the downside to being a twenty-something year old introvert homebody in a college town. I go to bed at ten when, for my roommates at least, ten is when the party is starting. (They're not partiers just so you know. They just have lives/school.)

So how do I break free from my shell? How do I step outside of my comfort zone socially and just meet people? I've been trying harder. I went to a church activity on Monday. Tuesday, I accompanied a friend to see one of her friends. But I would be sitting there and a part of me, deep inside, just wanted to be home reading "The Hobbit".

Maybe there are things you just can't change. I firmly believe in change. If we couldn't change then the Atonement of Jesus Christ would be null and void. Life is all about changing for the better to reach our ultimate goal. But I'm often told by teachers and in lessons that who we are is unique. We all have something to bring to the show that will help someone else and all of that yadayadayada. How can I help someone by being me?

I don't know. However, I do know that I'm going to keep trying to be a little bit better everyday. And I'm going to try a little harder to be more social. I gotta stop drawing within myself and shutting others out. It's terribly lonely around here. And sometimes I feel like I'm on the outside looking in as others have lives and interact with people. I've had that feeling many times in my life. I'm a Walter Mitty. Always dreaming and never really living.

When am I going to stop dreaming and start living? That is the question...

I'll keep you posted!

Smile Always,

Chuck