Tracie's World

Had a super fun team-building activity this afternoon with the folks from work. Usually you say the words "team-building event", and right away you think of something where you have to overshare with everyone, or overcome your fear of heights doing something like a ropes course. Thank goodness this was not one of those.  After a terrific group lunch, we met up at a place called "Painting With a Twist". The idea is that they host you, provide paint and canvases, and expert help, and everyone in the group paints a picture. The twist is that you all paint your own versions of the same picture, so you end of getting to see the same painting from several different perspectives. I'm fortunate to work with a group of people who have all been with the company for many years, and we all know each other really well and have a good time together. We painted, we snacked on cookies everyone had brought, and listened to tunes, all while working on our masterpieces. Her...

Last week, my brother's family and I got to go see a special new exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art. The exhibit is titled "Sacred Gifts: The Religious Art of Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hoffman, and Franz Schwartz".  The works in the exhibit come from a series of paintings each artist did on the Life of Christ. They're paintings we're very familiar with as Latter-day Saints, as we use them in manuals, and copies in our buildings. But to be able to see the originals is a very special treat, as they are considered national treasures in heir home countries, and are not generally loaned out. It had been a long time since I'd made a visit to BYU, and even longer since I'd been to the museum. But it was exciting to go. We went on a Saturday, and it was of course, packed. So it wasn't quite as reverent as I'd hoped. But it was so awesome to see these paintings in their original form, and mounted and lit as if they were in their actual home setting. It was all l...

Now that I have a Family History calling, I decided it was time to get back in the game, so I signed up for this year's RootsTech Genealogy Conference. Sponsored by FamilySearch, the Conference was meant to showcase what's new in the world of Family History, the many ways technology is changing how we search for our ancestors and tell our Family stories, and get you fired up in general. And for me, it did all of the above and then some. People come from all over the country and from around the world to attend the 3-day event. There were anywhere between 5-10,000 people in attendance.  Here are a few of my personal highlights: Day 1 Woke up that morning and as I was running around and getting ready, I remembered several times that I wanted to get something I had to give to a sister from my hometown, who I knew would be attending the conference.  Years ago, I had found an old issue of the Improvement Era in an old church library, and in that issue there was a picture of h...