XC Photo Shoot

There have been several surprises about being a "C-Suite" executive. After 21 months in the position I still feel that I just go to work and do my job and try hard, and nothing truly has changed. Of course, there are harder decisions to make and there are more people to manage, and there are way more meetings, but all in all, I still just go and do my best and that is that. 

Sad to say, I have gotten used to the size of my office and it doesn't feel "huge" like it did when I used to be the tax director and someone else sat in the CFO chair. The novelty has worn off driving to my reserved parking spot in the basement and now it's simply part of my routine. Even saying "I'm the CFO" is a little easier after 21 months. I do still tell non-work people like my hair dresser and neighbors when they ask what I do that I run the finance group for a company in Lehi. Just feels too pretentious to say "Well, I'm the CFO of a multi-million dollar, multi-national company!" (And, there, now I've just said it and it does seem pretentious but it's in my blog, which hardly anybody reads and it's just for my journal some day so who cares right?).

So, the surprises. The first came when they told me that I didn't have any PTO. Well, that's actually backwards, I didn't have to track my PTO because I had unlimited PTO. That said, I think companies do this because they want you to feel special but they know full well that the executives probably take less time off than their staff who actually have PTO hours to track. That has certainly been the case for me this past year and a half.

The most recent surprise that comes with the job was The Executive Headshot! They wanted a new head shot for me. I did my hair and makeup and went to Target and had some studio pictures taken and used it for Linked In and the UACPA websites. Good enough right? Nope, when you get The Executive Headshot they bring in a makeup artist and a hair stylist and plan your wardrobe and accessories!

Yoko, Leslie and I as well as the other members of the Executive Committee (XC) had individual head shots and then we took some group shots ourselves just for fun. I still have yet to see my head shot (hope it doesn't look dorky) but we had some fun pictures that we took ourselves.

I desperately wanted to have something to do that evening since I was all made up but unfortunately, that night we had all the time in the world and no place to go. Since my false eyelashes were still on and my lipstick lovely, and my hair all curled up, Maddy and I took some pictures together.

The three girls on the executive committee, Yoko, Leslie and I, have become known around the office as the Power Puff Girls. We are VP of Marketing, President and General Counsel, and CFO. Nice representation of highly positioned women for a smallish Lehi company. Feminists would be proud! We work well together and have come up with many really creative solutions (Yoko a marketer yes, but a lawyer and an accountant creative? I know. Surprisingly creative) and we truly enjoy each others company. I'm lucky.

One wonderful thing about these ladies is that they have elementary school aged girls. We often find ourselves in the same position when there is a holiday that closes schools and day cares but in which we find ourselves obligated to come to the office. So, Maddy had made friends with their girls and we bring them to the office together and they color and watch movies and play games while we attempt to get work done.

I work with the XC folks day in and day out and am so grateful to them because they help me do my job. They are truly my family and they make my life easier and enjoyable. I did the Spartan with (most of) these friends and when it comes to needing someone to vent to, or to share exciting news with, it's these guys. I know that my situation is not normal and I am extremely lucky to have work friends that are so great. I think it's fairly obvious from the amount of pictures we took that TJ, Patrick, Dave, Leslie, Yoko and I get along well and are a group of people who don't take ourselves too seriously!

And now, a bunch of pictures so skip over them if you are totally not interested!

I'm not sure why all the outtakes include me. Seems I'm the only silly one I guess.

(whew! I know you are bored right? Sorry about that. Nobody wants to see so much of someone's work life.)

a surreal day

February 4th was a surreal day. It wasn't anything super spectacular but there was a moment in the evening when I stepped outside my day and looked back and thought "What is this life that I'm living! Who would have thought?"

 

The Wednesday began as it normally does with me dropping Maddy off at kindergarten and  heading to work. It was a different day, however, because I had a photo shoot today! Each year, the company celebrates the staff with 10 year anniversaries by creating a photo that then lingers the halls for the year. This group included me as I had started with XANGO in 2005. The plan was to create an image similar to the one from the 2005 hit TV show LOST. (and I have to brag on myself because it was my suggestion that ended up being used!).

Our original plan was to capture the whole group but then the creative department decided it would be easier to take each person individually and Photoshop everyone together.



Not me (obviously - it's Brad Belnap) but a shot of the set up

 I came at my scheduled time and walked into the "studio". They had the white backdrop with lights and the computer off to the side showing each shot. There was a craft services table and music playing and a WIND Machine!!! They pinned my shirt back behind me so it was a bit more fitted, they told me to relax and not be nervous. They told me to constantly move and change my poses and look off into the "horizon" - never directly at the camera. They began snap, snap, snapping photos. I felt like a fool. But they kept saying "You're doing great!" "That one was perfect" "You are a natural". I felt dumb.

 

After awhile I decided that I needed to start acting. For the next 30 minutes I did everything I have learned from watching years of "Americas Next Top Model". Since we were supposed to look intense and strong and resolute all those tips from Tyra Banks came to me.

 

. . . Don't forget to SMIZE (smile with your eyes even if not with your mouth)

 

. . . pose while holding an inhale of breath to give you intensity rather than flatness

 

. . . make shapes with your body so there is something interesting to look at

 

. . . leave space between your arms and your body and between your legs to give the impression of movement even though it is a two-dimensional shot

 

I'm not sure if I really did a good job but pretending to be a model certainly helped me to feel a little bit less foolish. 

After the day ended at work, I jumped in the car and headed to the recording studio to record that month's song for Lex de Azevedo's Alleluia album. It was actually there that I thought "what a crazy life - a photo shoot this morning and a recording session this evening."

a picture at Chorale the next night with Katie and Sarah

Since that day, I've thought back a lot on what my life has become and how different it is - how it is nothing like I thought it would be 20 years ago when I was a freshman in college. 20 years ago I thought I was going to graduate with a degree in elementary school education, but I would actually never really teach because I would have 5 kids that I stayed home with.

That vision changed a bit through college and I ended up graduating as an accountant, and while I did get married,  I figured I would do taxes at a public accounting firm for the rest of my working life.

Here I am 12 years into marriage to Scott, 6 years into being a mother of the best daughter ever, and 10 years into a career in industry at a Direct Selling Company, having traveled to Tokyo, Taipei, Europe, Mexico City, Toronto, Maui. I've met people from around the world and learned so much about international taxation. I've been blessed to work with so many different individuals and been able to participate in planning product launches and global events and marketing strategies. I'm heading up the financial department as a CFO which was never in the plans because how many tax people become a CFO?! And, then there are the photo shoots and recording sessions!

I have learned that whatever plans I had for myself and my future will only be bigger and grander than expected because I am willing and excited to put myself out there and to learn and to grow. I love challenges because they become opportunities. I love any experience that can teach me something and who knows where that will end up leading. It's hard, and my life is full, but it's exciting and satisfying and . . . a bit surreal sometimes.

I love the moments when I look back at my life and think "Heavenly Father, why didn't you tell me that this was what you had in store for me?!" Who knows if I would have done anything different but I'm ever so grateful that this is where He has led me. I am blessed and full and happy.



the Dalton gang

What a good looking, well behaved, kind hearted, spiritually minded, fun loving group of people. As far as Dalton Gangs go, this one takes the cake. I love my family!

 

 

Rachel and baby James were flying through Salt Lake City last Thursday. They arrived at 10am and then had to drive to Cedar City for Rachel's sister-in-law's wedding the next morning. One short day . . .

So Mary and baby Ashlyn drove down from Idaho and the Utah sisters congregated at mom and dad's house for a nucleus family day. We tried on clothes. We got our hair done. We had a photo shoot (that sounds so much more glamorous than "we got our pictures taken" am I right?). We ate spaghetti. We sand around the piano. We ate Leatherby's ice cream. We talked and talked and talked. And then we had a sleepover - because that's what girls do!

And it's all because of these two lovely people. What wonderful parents we have. Love you mom and dad.

a photo update





 Maddy has discovered the bicycle is way better than the tricycle. And don't worry, she normally does wear a helmet . . .!



 

Yes, a coat, dress, jean shorts and cowboy boots was her outfit of choice for our outing to Uncle Cody's - on a Sunday afternoon in August! 



 

 We ran into Maddy's long lost best friend Lyla at a birthday party. Lyla's mom isn't working anymore. We miss her at preschool.

Performed a concert "Up Close with Lex de  Azevedo" this past week. What a wonderful experience. 12 year performing with such a talented composer has truly been a blessing.
 



Yup. Countertops. Not a great picture so don't bother enlarging it - I'll have to blog a better photo later 

 

Maddy and the two boys from around the corner decided to have a punch fight. They went through a brand new package or two of Squeeze Its. Maddy must have had the "cool raspberry" or something since the boys were blue.

 



A selfie at the pool. Tyra would be impressed with me for practicing my "inhale"





Maddy's crazy hair from this morning. How in the world does she manage to do that in one night ?!!!?

 

a working farm

 

After working on the yard for most of the morning, Maddy and I spent the evening of Memorial day at Wheeler Farm. I've wanted to take her there for quite some time and Scott was up the street with his buddy talking dirt bikes in anticipation of their planned trip to Moab. So, we headed out.

 

You see, my memories of Wheeler farm come from being a little girl. In fact, I don't think I've been there since I was small. I remember my mom coming up with such great ideas to help us do chores around the house. There were chore charts, allowances, and the thing I remember most - outings!

 

In what seems to be all one summer (though maybe this memory is a culmination of several) we were presented with outings as rewards for doing chores. We were given points or some kind of tally for doing various chores and we could redeem outings. Many of these outings were for all of us girls - trips to the pool, a new game, a visit to Wheeler Farm . . . A few were one-on-ones with mom.

 

I remember catching the bus at the top of the street (or perhaps down the way by the Conoco or the 7-11) and riding it downtown - just me and mommy. We'd get off the bus on Main street just in front of Sam Weller's book store. We go inside and then down to the basement where the used books were kept. It was like a maze with bookshelf after bookshelf filled with musty, yellowed paperback books. You had to wander around teetering piles of books stacked up on the floor and I remember the wonder I felt when mom found a book - like she had just found buried treasure. I don't wonder why I like to read so much too!

 

After looking for treasures in the bookstore, we'd wander to the food court in the ZCMI mall for something to-go, then to meet Aunt Jana where she worked at the LDS genealogy building to the west of temple square. We'd take our lunches to the lunch room and eat together and I felt like one of the girls included in such grown up discussions between my mom and her sister. After lunch we'd ride the bus back home and be dropped just a quick (thrilling) jaywalk across to Quailstone Drive.

 

Tied in with these memories were rainbow bracelets that sat - five of them - stacked on the knife sharpener in the kitchen, only to be worn after the daily chores had been completed.

 

What wonderful memories.

 

I want Maddy to have those memories too. Perhaps I should have saved this outing as a reward for some great accomplishment or for helping around the house - maybe this was actually a reward for me for finally planting the front flower beds. In any case, we set off for the Farm at about 4pm on Memorial Day. I was worried that it would be closed. I was a little worried about the cost.  

 

Well, to my surprise, there is no entrance fee, no entrance gate, you just walk in. I knew that this was a working farm and that you could pet the animals and learn to milk cows, but I didn't realize it was part of the City Parks and Recreation system. People were walking their dogs on the trails, playing baseball and frisbee in the open lawn areas, riding bikes on the dirt trails.

The farm itself was closed for Memorial day so no wagon rides or cow milking or crafts, but Maddy and I had a great time wandering around, petting the animals, naming horses (Patch, Shooting Star, Baby) and looking at all the farm equipment. I tried to get a great photo of Maddy that I could use for the wall as her 4 year old picture, but she kept giving me either goofy faces or little half smiles.

Maddy's favorite animals were the piglets

I asked for a smile and she told me that she was going to be a zombie instead

I showed her the above picture and asked for a real smile, she said "that is a real smile". She is so like her father when it comes to sitting for photography it's ridiculous.

 



The best part (and the part I saved till the end as incentive to keep her moving along and happy) was the big playground we spotted when we drove into the parking lot.

 

 

 

When we go back, we'll go on a day when it's open so we can try some of the farming activities and see the blacksmith. We'll pack a lunch to eat by the lake. And we'll bring a friend so I don't have to chase Maddy up and down and around the playground. Katie - you up for it?