And That’s What’s Up

I am sure people think I am a “Stage 5 Clinger”, missing my husband so much.  I will be the first to admit, IT’S TRUE.  Want a little insight into why I am so in love with him?  Here are a few examples from this week alone:

When I arrived home from my first day of work, I found this…

A balloon in the freezer.  That was tied to ice cream.

I’ve worked late every day this week, and have totally left him to fend for himself.  I barely even made it to his championship roller hockey game.  That’s how sucky of a wife I have been.  Luckily, Team Classic was victorious!  Zach got the most goals and most assists in their league.  (Apparently stats are super important in Roller Hockey).  I wasn’t even there to help him “carbo load” before the big event.  He had to make himself a box of that instant macaroni and cheese.

THEN, Thursday morning Zach left for Lake Powell with his family.  I obviously couldn’t go because I didn’t think that my new boss would love me leaving on a vacation only three days into the game.  I cried the whole drive to work.  When I got home, I looked at our chalk board in our kitchen and found this…

And…I cried again.  I have been TOTALLY neglecting my sweet husband, and he didn’t forget about me.  Not even once.  Finally when I was available, he was gone.  So I got to work on a list of things to do, or a list of distractions to keep myself busy until he gets home.  I am really close to finishing my “Modern Family Tree”, all I need is a few more names.  Here comes strike three…notice the only names I don’t know:  Zach’s side of the family.  Crap.  See?  Another ‘horrible wife’ moment.

Even though I have been striking out lately, he continued being amazing.  Calling me every single day he’s been gone.

And the BEST HUSBAND AWARD goes to:

The love of my life.  And that’s what’s up.

There’s a First for Everything

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Monday. I have been nervous about that day ALL weekend. I woke up extra early to drive down to West Jordan to finish some things up at my old job. I had some paperwork to fill out and one last project to turn in for production. My desk was so lonely. I couldn’t even find a pen to write with. When I finished, I walked out the door and felt this really overwhelming, bittersweet feeling. I will miss those people so much.

Then I drove off to my first day of work at the new joint. I was 25 minutes early, the first one in the parking lot. I looked like a total nerd alert, playing on my phone waiting for someone to unlock the door.

I had a few minutes to bring some of my stuff in, plug in my computer…and then it all started. So this is what “baptism by fire” is like. I jumped in head first and realized that it would be easier for everyone if I just learned some new software. Instead of the dreaded 3D Studio Max, I was to learn Rhino (the 3D modeling program) and it’s rendering program, Flamingo and Brazil. Considering the relationship I have with 3DS Max, I was willing to try anything. So the majority of my first full day was spent filling out new employee paperwork, meeting everyone, installing software, and practicing in Rhino.

I have an awesome office. Not a cubicle or a desk, but an honest to goodness office. It has an current PC, with a gigantic monitor. To help with presentations I have a flat screen on the wall that is linked to my computer so I can show my clients (and co-workers) what I am viewing on my machine. I’ve got my own light table, drafting desk, and considering I am the ONLY female in the office (no, there is not even a female receptionist) I have my own bathroom, haha! It definitely needs a feminine touch, however. The entire office is adorned with sports product and prototypes from previous jobs.

Everyone is super friendly and helpful, I know I will feel comfortable there.

Day two was similar to the first. More Rhino, Flamingo, and Brazil – but at least I worked on some physical kiosks and product placement. I am at one with my fellow computer nerds.

I’m so happy. I don’t believe anything happens by chance, everything has a purpose. I don’t know why I was blessed to obtain this job, but I am so very grateful. I am so happy.

Moving On

The last several days have been such a whirlwind. Rewind to last week….

The day before Zach and I left for New York, he came across a job listing and sent the link to me in an email. As soon as I read the job description and skills required, I got excited. I know what you are thinking…I have a job. I do, and it has been a great job for me the past two and a half years. But the last few months things have been changing drastically at that job and I didn’t feel right about some of the adjustments. So I sent in my resume and preview portfolio. I sent the email around 10:00 am and then got a call back at 10:30. They asked if I could come in for an interview. I THEN had to explain to them that I was leaving for New York in 3 hours and that I wouldn’t be able to meet with them until Monday, almost a full week! They told me that I had to come in immediately. I was in the middle of work and had two clients coming in to see me. So I grabbed my portfolio off my desk and rushed off to the interview, frantically calling clients and re-arranging schedules. I didn’t know how long the interview would last, so I had Zach finish packing my bags for the trip and meet me at our house to drive me to my interview. We shoved all our bags in the car and took off.  The interview lasted for an hour and 45 minutes. I started off strong, and then started to panic. I knew we were never going to make it to the airport in time for our flight. Luckily, before it hit TWO WHOLE hours, they told me the interview was over and they would call me later in the week. I ran out to the car (with Zach waiting, playing Angry Birds on his iPad) and we rushed off to the airport. We made it with minutes to spare on the plane. Thank HEAVEN ABOVE for that trip. It kept me distracted enough that I didn’t think about the interview or the wait for their decision. I was in a good place because if I didn’t get the new position I still had my current job. The new company knew I wouldn’t get home until Sunday, so I didn’t expect anything from them until at least Monday.

Friday I got an email. It basically asked if I could come up with a design concept for a fictional client and present it to them. It needed to be a 20×20 exhibit space. That’s all the information they gave me at that time. They also wanted to meet with me again for lunch when I arrived home. I assumed they would give me the details of this concept they wanted me to create while we had our lunch (which was scheduled for Tuesday).

We arrived home from NY really late at night and we went right to bed, we didn’t even unpack our bags.

Monday morning came and they emailed me again, asking where the concept I had designed was….

ARE YOU SERIOUS!? They expected me to do drawings and a three dimensional rendering while I was on vacation?!

That meant that I only had Monday night to come up with a whole design concept and finished rendering. The night was a disaster. They needed something by Tuesday morning and I was frantic. I was so swamped at work from being gone for three days that I didn’t have any time to work on this design concept until after hours. Then my Autocad crashed. It wouldn’t even open. I struggled with it for hours. Then I saw the clock and realized it was 9:00 pm. Finally after some frustrating rants, a few tears, and some prayers later it started up. I built my whole model in 3D and I was happy with it. Then time to render it….

Then the second disaster: My copy of 3D Studio Max was expired, I hadn’t used it in 6 months. More tears later….more prayers later, I downloaded the 30 day trial of the software online and it worked perfectly.

After some photoshop I came up with this:

I sent it off and slept as much as I could.

Tuesday came really fast and I left once again for a lunch interview. Two different people this time. Then of course, “We’ll call you when we have made our decision.”

Two days went by and I hadn’t heard a word. I was crushed. I had my hopes up way too high, and I knew that I had done myself a huge injustice by setting my heart set on it.

Thursday came and I got another phone call. They wanted to meet with me AGAIN. I kept telling myself not to show emotion when they told me I wasn’t “a good fit” or “decided to go with someone else.” The meeting was long, as usual. Then my interviewer got up in the middle of our conversation and left me alone in his office. It was only 10 minutes but it felt like a million years.

He came back in and sat back down in his chair, looked at me plainly in the face and said, “We’d like to offer you the position. Can you start tomorrow?”

I got the job. I’m officially a Senior Designer. I told them I couldn’t start until Monday, because I had so much to finish up at my “old” job. I was SO excited. I played it cool though, and told him I would have to talk it over with my husband. I had already said yes in my heart and mind though.

Monday is coming sooner that I expected. I will have a new desk. New co-workers.  Yesterday was one of the hardest days I have ever had. I had to tell my boss, co-workers, clients, and contractors I work with that it was my last day. I have made some amazing friends, laughed a thousand times, and even shed some tears. All in all, I will miss so much about Peppertree.

I know this new position was meant to be.  I had been complaining to Zach for quite some time about things at my old job, and he was worried about me and my happiness.  My husband is always looking out for my best interests, I am so lucky to have him.  Without Zach, I would have never found this job opportunity, and I owe him everything.  He and my family are my biggest support system.  I have some big shoes to fill at this new job, but I hope and pray I can do my best and succeed.

I am scared out of my mind.

Some Lynch Love

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I got to meet this sweet little guy today!  Maddox Tyler Lynch.  What an angel.

His proud parents could not be more lucky.  He is so small and handsome.  I am envious; just weeks ago he left our Heavenly Father.  I think about that all the time.  What does he still remember that I no longer can?

Whitney sent me this picture a few days ago and it melted my heart!  My subway sign I made her now sleeps with Maddox at night.  I love him already!

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NYC OVERLOAD

New York, New York.  “The city so nice, they named it twice!”

This was my first time flying to NYC on a regular evening flight and NOT on a Red Eye.  We arrived in Manhattan late and went right to our hotel in Times Square.

The next morning the boys went to the jet convention, the girls went to SoHo.  We went to Rice to Riches, tons of retail stores, and before we knew it – it was 3:00 pm.  We ate a really late lunch at The Mercer Kitchen. It was my first time, but I am definitely going again. SO delicious.

We finished up our shopping and then met up with the boys for dinner.  Rachael took us to this place called Eataly on Fifth Ave.  It’s an Italian Market with a restaurant inside.  The food was great and the atmosphere was so fun. The best part was that the pasta was super authentic: cooked el dente, thin layered lasagna, just how I love it!

I am so jealous the people of New York get to have all this amazing food around the corner.  The bread alone would occupy me in the market for hours.  Not to mention all the fresh produce and pasta.  After dinner we hustled on over to our first Broadway show of the trip: Catch Me if you Can.  It was so nice staying in Times Square because we were so close to all the theaters (if you can stand the crowds of people).  The cast and music were awesome, but Zach and I loved the true story the most.  I actually liked the musical even more than the movie.

When we got back to our hotel, we were on a mission. Zach and I always ask for a king bed in our hotel room but NEVER get one. Maybe it’s because we are small…or they imply we are too young to be married and we need double full beds or something?  I can’t quite figure it out.  So we decided to go get our king bed, dang it!  After a long conversation and a bit of razzle dazzle from my charming husband, we got to ride the elevator up to the 42nd floor to our KING size bed and incredible new view.

The third day we spent in Chelsea. We went to lunch at the Standard Grill and then went to Chelsea Market.  They had bookstores, organic food stands, a fresh fish market…we sipped on milkshakes and nibbled on macarons while we explored each shop and bakery.

My favorite treat was People’s Pops.  I don’t know what my obsession is with popsicles lately.  I heard about this little place on the Food Network and wanted to try one!  So as I ask the girl at the cash register which flavor to get, she tells me, “well Rachael Ray was just here and she LOVED the Blueberry.  She even tweeted about it.”  We just missed her.

I decided to go the safe route and Mark and I got strawberry.  It was divine.  Apparently Zach and I didn’t get the memo about wearing plaid shorts and pastel colored t-shirts, because we felt really left out at the market.

Nearby was the Highline and we decided to walk it.  I have wanted to do this for some time, and some friends that live in the city highly recommended it.  It really was amazing.  They took this old train rail way and made it into a New York State Park.

They have water for children to splash in, trees and plants everywhere.  It is really interactive with displays, talking drinking fountains, and even has a glass window you can sit in and watch the cars below you drive by.  Here is a photo of the Highline before the restored it for the park.  It is incredible what they have done.

Do you like how I couldn’t even keep my eyes open for the photo because the light off the metal rails was blinding me?  It was 98 degrees, but with humidity it felt like 110.  Who thought New York summers would be hotter than the SLC?

Nearby was our spot for dinner, Morimoto.  We had eaten there before with our friends Morgan and Britton who live there, and liked it so much we decided to take our crew there.  The food is always fantastic, but the toilets intrigued me the most as usual.  My dad always says a restaurant is designed only as good as their bathrooms.  Mr. Toto toilet (how fitting that Morimoto has a Japanese toilet) had a “front rinse”, “rear rinse”, and an “air dry” setting.  They also have these infinity mirrors behind the toilets in the stalls with flowers suspended in them – maybe because they toilets are so…heavenly?

Speaking of HEAVENLY….after our delish dinner at Morimoto we rushed off to Sister Act at the Broadway Theater.  It was fantastic, by far my favorite musical I’ve seen in New York on Broadway.

It was the same concept as the movie I grew up watching, but different music.  The actress/vocalist who played Delores was BRILLIANT.  I even caught Zach sneaking a few laughs in.  I would recommend it to anyone!  (Definitely a little more family oriented than Catch Me if you Can).  We ended the night the traditional Henderson way – Ice Cream from McDonald’s in Times Square.

The next morning we went to breakfast and then moved on over to Central Park.  Chad and Zach rented roller blades, Rachael and I stuck to bikes.  The park was gorgeous and super busy, especially considering how hot and humid it was outside.  But on the bikes and blades, we caught a nice breeze.  Nothing like a DC in CP.

After we rode around the entire park, we met up with Mark and Jeanene and grabbed a bite at the Shake Shack.  I do NOT like cheeseburgers.  I do tolerate the occasional In N’ Out Burger or Smash Burger…but the Shake Shack has THE best cheeseburger I’ve ever had.  Hands down.  No contest.  I can’t believe I’ve been to NY this many times and never tried it before this trip.  I am never going to eat another cheeseburger again…until I return to the Shake Shack.

Friday night, Mark and Jeanene flew back home and the rest of us went to the Yankees game.  We took the air conditioned ride out to the Bronx on the subway.

This was also a first for me.  I’ve wanted to go to a Yankees game since they built the new stadium, but had never been to the city during baseball season.  The stadium lived up to all my expectations.  I expected no less from the Yankees.

We scalped our tickets and had seats clear up in Neverland.  Luckily, the view was good from anywhere in the stadium.

Not too long after we arrived, it started to rain.  Hundreds of people left, thinking they would call it, but we decided to move under the pavilion and wait it out.  At one point it was POURING.

We didn’t have to wait too long before the rain stopped and we could move down to lower seats.  So many people had cleared out of the stadium at the first drop of rain that we found a great spot!

After the game (and to celebrate the victory) we took Chad and Rachael to the Creperie on Ludlow.  It’s kind of in a sketchy location, and it didn’t help that we went after the game around midnight.  So we are getting off the subway and Zach says to Chad and Rachael, “SO…this is area is kind of hood not even a whole five minutes later we are exiting the subway and we witness a gigantic cat fight.  Four girls (two on two) were battling it out.  One girl even had her whole top ripped off including her bra and was running around topless, away from the other girl.  Some crazy guy tried to break it up, but with to no avail.  We were so in shock, we didn’t start filming until mid-fight.  It all happened on the opposite side of the tracks, going Uptown.  We were exiting Downtown and had to watch from the other side (which was probably a good thing anyway.)  After our delicious crepe, we returned back to the subway stop to get back to our hotel.  There was hair all over the floor and blood on the wall – even a pair of deserted shoes.  We didn’t get the whole episode (the part where the chick’s shirt gets ripped off) but we did get this awesome tidbit…

Our last full day in the city we spent alone together.  Chad and Rachael left Saturday and we decided to go finish our shopping up in Soho again.  Zach read in Entrepreneur Magazine about this clothing company these guys had started out of a truck.  You can check their location on their website, and they were located a street away.  Their whole operation is so genius.  To rent a retail space in New York is a fortune, but to buy a truck and sell your product out of it?  Such a great concept.

Not only do people do this with retail, but there were tons of food trucks with the same game plan.  They had Taco Trucks, Dumpling Trucks, Frozen Yogurt Trucks, but my favorite was the truck with the mini cupcakes.

Our friend Morgan suggested this place for dinner, Cafeteria.  They are famous from the movie Sex and the City, but also famous for their Mac N’ Cheese.  It was to die for, and we both agreed it was one of the best meals we had on the trip.  It was so packed, and it is open 24 hours a day, and stays packed all night long.  Zach was the only straight male in the whole restaurant.  The adorable man couple sitting in close quarters with us told us that there is “no sexier crowd in New York” than at Cafeteria…especially at 2:00 am.  I believed him, but I think he was referring to sexy men…because the place was full of them.

The rain came again and hit us pretty hard on the way back to the hotel.  Zach spotted something that caught his eye and BEGGED me to go with him.  Where was this glorious place, you ask?  Dave & Busters.  Yes, I’m serious.  We spent the remainder of the night gaming our little hearts out.  Neither of us had ever been before, and I must say…it is like Classic on steroids.  Plus alcohol.  You have to show your ID to get in, and people were getting crunked while playing Guitar Hero.  We didn’t stay too long (I assume the games are exiting for a longer period of time when you are drinking) but it was definitely worth while because Zach found a Pac Man machine.

Our last day we spent with my long lost friend since the second grade, Alison!  I hadn’t seen her since she moved to New York over 6 months ago.  We met up with her and her boyfriend Scott for lunch, and Zach picked our activities for the after party.  He wanted to go to Chelsea Piers so badly and go to the multi level driving range.  Unfortunately, the wait was out of this world.  SO, instead we walked down the pier and found a field house with giant foam pits and gymnastics equipment.  Zach convinced us to try out the batting cages.  It was a blast!

After we got our swing on, we took the train to Brooklyn for some thrift store shopping.  I felt like I didn’t get to spend enough time with her, I miss her terribly.  I am so proud of her though, doing what she loves and living the dream.  We said our goodbyes (until July when she comes home) and then had to head back to our hotel to get our luggage.  The cab ride to JFK is always so depressing.  Not only does it mean I am leaving one of my favorite cities, but it means we have to brave a horrendous crowd and a mess on the Tarmac.  But crossing the bridge to Queens, I remembered my “To Do Before I Die” list.  I made it way before I met Zach, but some random number on that list was “See the Manhattan Skyline.”  I almost teared up.  My first time ever in this city was with Zach.  I was so excited to go, but even more excited to be with him.  Then I turned around in the cab, saw the skyline, and remembered how lucky I was to be there with him again.  I don’t care what anyone says, I’ll take the island of Manhattan over any tropical island in the world.

Until next time, stay classy New York!