Spiritual Christmas

Christmas Day dawned bright and clear for me this year. No snow (of course) :) Christmas day was more of a focus on Christ than in years past and I loved it so much! I look forward to trying to keep more of Christ in my life than in the past.

Christmas day start out with keep Jasers entertained while Nicole was making breakfast (Kneaders French Toast) Yummm!!! That bread had to travel over 600 miles to make it to my house (from Kneaders in Provo, UT to the airport in SLC, flying to LAX, and then driving home to Ridgecrest). Wow. What a long way for some little loaves of bread to go, haha.

When breakfast was winding down my participated in something that we can make a yearly tradition (if not I'll make it a tradition with my own family when I have one). We went around the table and all shared something that had to do with the spirit of giving or the true spirit or meaning of Christmas. It was one of the most meaningful and spiritual experiences of my life.

I started everything off by talking about my experience with Sub for Santa. To read about it click here.  It really set a good tone for what my sister in law and I were trying to get across with focusing on the true meaning of Christmas. Zach shared a story from when he went caroling with some friends and they were able to make a huge difference in a sick lady's day. Jimmy shared a story about how the military gives so much for us. Donald Eugene shared a story from when he was younger that he helped doorbell ditch some gifts are Christmas for a family that literally had nothing. Ariel talked about how when she was in Young Women's someone she didn't get along with gave her some support when needed. Nicole talked about a tradition that her family does with choosing a poorer family to give gifts to at Christmas and one particualar year they gave up having some gifts of their own to bring Christmas joy to someone else. Mom talked about her earthly angels that have been around for her this year when she needed some huge support to help with Dad's health issues (Donald Eugene and Ariel).

With everything that we were discuss it brought so many tears to my eyes. Not out of sadness but out of joy and all the good that we were able to talk about and the real meaning of Christmas. The cutest thing was that Sammi was sitting on my lap and she asked me "Gramma sad?" Because my mom was crying. I told her that grandma was crying because she was happy and later she asked me the same question about Aunt Ariel. And I told her the same thing and I suggested she go give each of them a hug. She is so adorable!!

The rest of the morning I spent with my family played some games and got ready for church where I was able to play the prelude music. It was so much fun just getting to sit there and play Christmas Hymns. Jimmy also spoke in church (his farewell talk for leaving on his mission). He brought tears to my eyes because he told me that he was grateful for my idea of Christmas sharing because it really got him thinking about the real meaning of Christmas.

After church we were finishing getting Christmas dinner ready. So good. I want more right now :)

That night Jimmy was set up as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Such a neat experience to have that happen on Christmas day. Before he was set apart he met with the stake president and Nicole and I had Zach play the piano while we sang some Christmas hymns. Such a neat experience.

The rest of the night we got to spend together as a family and play some games

What a good Christmas!! So sad that I had come back to Utah the next day. Miss my family so much!

Sub for Santa & Spreading Christmas Joy

Sub for Santa is one of the most amazing programs. Ever. Period. For those of you who don't know what Sub for Santa is let me explain. It's a program where money is raised in order to purchase Christmas gifts for children that live in low income areas where parents usually can't afford to give them even the smallest of Christmas gifts or even some necessities such as school supplies, shoes, clothes, etc. 

I never really felt that strongly about the program until a few weeks ago. The company I work for partners with Sub for Santa every year to bring some Christmas joy to some lower income elementary schools in Salt Lake City and Provo. This year I was able to donate some money to go towards buying gifts. I wasn't able to shop for any gifts because I was working during the time that was allotted for gift shopping but I was able to help pass out gifts to the kids up in Salt Lake City. The. Most. Amazing. Experience. Of. My. Life.

I can't even describe the experience. I have never seen children so happy to get a pair of shoes or some crayons. These kids literally have nothing and they are so sincerely grateful for something. In particular I can think of one specific child that I was able to give a gift to. It was one of the last classes that came in and got their gifts. Everyone around him had already received their gifts and were busy opening them and he just looked so sad because he had nothing. I walked up to him and asked him his name and then I told him that I had a Christmas present for him. His face lit up like nothing I had ever seen. He was so grateful that he was thanking me before he'd ever open the gifts. I helped him open them: soccer ball, cleats, some cars and a few other things. He told me that he liked playing soccer. He thanked me so many times. 

I've never felt like I'd made such a difference in someone's life until that day. I can't even describe the amazing experience that it was for me. My heart felt so full and it made me grateful for how I grew up and everything that my parents were able to give me. The only way that I can think of to describe what I saw and experienced is pure joy. Not happiness but pure joy and gratitude. 

To read more about how Vivint participated in this effort click here

2 Christmases?

This year my family celebrated Christmas twice. 2 days in a row. Cool huh? With Christmas being on Sunday my family wanted to keep Christ in Christmas so on Christmas Eve we had secular Christmas and on actual Christmas day we had a more Spiritual Christmas day. Too much went on to fit it all in one post so I'll split the events up into a few different posts.

Friday was family pictures day...bleh. Not the biggest fan of taking pictures in case you couldn't tell., .  It wasn't that bad but there were some awkward moments... like the last picture we took. She put my entire family into little families. Meaning: my sister and her husband, my brother with his family, my parents together, and then there were my teenager brothers... and me... awkward.... It was like oh look at all the grown ups with their families and then there's me....singles awareness much? 

Saturday morning dawned bright and early. My family never sleeps much on Christmas, especially with little kids in the mix, haha. This year we took turns opening presents rather than everyone going at it at once so that we could all see what each other got. It was so fun to see my niece and nephew opening their presents and the joy on their faces. Let's face it. I have the cutest niece and nephew. Ever. Please see exhibit A :-) The cutest thing is how my nephew says "hi" loved it. And then there's how Sammi calls my Auntie Banana. They are my favorite people ever. 

My gifts included......

A Kindle Touch and Cover:

The most amazing smelling lotion ever. From my brother. Smells so good I want to eat it. Seriously.

As some of your are well aware, I'm slightly obsessed with Harry Potter. My brother also gave me a Golden Snitch necklace. This isn't it exactly but close enough:

2 Pampered Chef bread loaf pans

A toaster: 

I also got a new dress and shirt and 2 new sweaters. I pretty much made out like a bandit, haha. It was fun getting to hang out with the fam and play some games. I also got to see a few good friends that I haven't seen in ages. 

All in all: the Secular part of Christmas was a huge success :)

Birthday

So it's official. I'm 24 now. Weird. My twenties are almost half way over. Not sure how I feel about that. My birthday has come and gone. It wasn't the best birthday I've ever had but it wasn't the worse either, haha. What did I do?? I cleaned my kitchen (didn't want to but it was driving me crazy!), went to Alisha's bridal shower, went to a talent show at work, and went out to dinner with a bunch of friends and got to open the presents my parents sent back here with Jimmy. I got the #1 thing on my list for my birthday:

Harry Potter Boxed Set of ALL the movies:

I also got Tangled. Love that movie!

Mom also made me some awesome Christmas ornaments which are now on my Christmas tree. They are so beautiful. 

I can't wait for Thursday!! I'm flying out of SLC to go to California to spend Christmas with my family. I can't wait to see them. Just need to get through 3 days of work first. Part of the reason I'm so excited to get out of Utah is so that I won't have to be in my apartment and deal with my crazy roommates. At the most I will only have to put up with them until December 30th. They're moving out (thankfully) and I'm either staying in my apartment or moving downstairs. That is still to be decided. Still, can't wait to get out of the freezing cold and be in Sunny California. 

Happy Birthday to Me

In honor of my 24th birthday this weekend I've made a list of 24 things that I have done with my life and 24 things I still want to do with my life:

24 Things I've Done in my Life/Learned:

1) Graduate from college - not once, not twice, but 3 times (2 associate's degrees and a bachelor's degree)
2) Bought a car - 2 different times. Hate care shopping
3) Be the favorite aunt to my niece and nephew - and Yes I am the favorite no what what my sister says :-)
4) I've gotten not one but two promotions at my job this past year
5) Sang karaoke for the first time and loved it!! Thank you, David Saylor :-)
6) I've been to Mexico
7) Driven in a snow storm - scariest thing of my life!!
8) Gone to Yellowstone National Park. Thank you, Nicole Winegardner
9) Learned to do glitter toes - Which I will be doing tonight in red and green to celebrate Christmas :-)
10) Read the entire Harry Potter series 3 times
11) Took some Zumba classes. After the experience I decided that I like straight cardio better
12) Wore braces
13) Wear glasses and contacts but maybe not for much longer...
14) At the age of 24, I still wear princess sheets on my bed, haha
15) I've become much better friends with my little brother since he moved to Utah. Good luck on your mission, Jimmy!! I'm so proud of you
16) I've participated in several charity projects including but not limited to Vivint Gives Back and United Way
17) Thrown Bridal Showers for 2 of my very best friends (Ashley Martin Jones and Mary Linford Griffitts) Love you, guys!!!
18) I found the BEST smoothie ever!! Strawberry Surfrider from Jamba Juice. Yum!!!
19) I've attended several live sessions of General Conference
20) Bought a gym membership and actually use it regularly
21) Learned to cope with large amounts of stress at work
22) Danced in the rain
23) Watched a beautiful sunset on the California beach. Thank you, Alisha Packard
24) Last but certainly not least, I've learned to enjoy the journey and just be happy with me and how my life is going.

24 things I want do:

1) Get Lasik surgery - this will probably be happening sooner than I think :-)
2) Have laser hair removal surgery
3) Continue spoiling my niece and nephew
4) Receive my endowment
5) Get married in the temple
6) Have kids
7) Be kissed on new years eve
8) Live someplace that doesn't require cleaning checks or me putting my bed on cinder blocks so that I have enough room for all of my stuff
9) Eat healthier
10) Run a 10K
11) Take more risks
12) Be more outspoken
13) Cook more food at home instead of buying ready made things
14) Blog more often
15) Visit a European country
16) Take a nice, warm, sunny vacation
17) Continue learning to manage my stress better
18) Continue to enjoy the journey
19) Make more friends
20) Learn to be more confrontational
21) Don't take on more than I can manage/handle
22) Do more crafts
23) Be better at daily scripture study
24) Do more things that I want to do

Lasik??

Today I had my yearly optometry appointment. I'm almost out of contacts so it was that time of year. I had to have my eyes dilated ick. I hate that. Once a year won't kill me but I don't like it. Especially when I went outside to get in my car. I thought the sun was going to kill me. On the bright side: I didn't have to pay for my appointment because the warranty package I got last year at my appointment and I also bought some new sunglasses. So cute. Can't wait to wear them :-) Also, my insurance paid for all but $10 of it. Got love the little blessings of life :-)

Something I talked to my doctor about is Lasik surgery. It's something I've been thinking about more and more over the last year. I'm an excellent candidate for Lasik surgery because my glasses/contacts prescription hasn't changed much in the last few years. My vision is consistent so I'd probably have good luck with the surgery.

 I'm tired of having to either wear my glasses or put contacts in every day. I want to be done with using other things so that I can see. I had a consultation with a Lasik specialist. She had it done herself and loves it. I know a lot of people who've had it done. I'm seriously considering....but I don't know yet. My insurance will get my a slight discount per eye. Thoughts?? Opinions??

PS My birthday is in 1 week. In case anyone was wondering.
PPS Notice the countdown up above :-)

No Motivation ?

I feel like the week goes by so fast and I work so hard that I'm spent by the time Saturday comes. This usually means I feel no motivation to venture outside of my apartment on the weekend unless I have errands to run...

I spend so much time with people during the week that sometimes I just want to be alone on the weekend. Probably not the best outlook for this point in my life. Especially the last for days I just haven't felt like being with people. Even if I had been out doing things with people I don't think I would have been very good company. I'm just having an "off" week.

I need to get my motivation for being social back again. Otherwise I'm afraid I might become one if those crazy cat ladies ... If you know what I mean...

Today in stake conference one of the counselors said "young men, ask the ladies on dates and young women, flirt." This made me feel slightly guilty because I don't remember the last time I made the effort to actively engage a guy in conversation for the purpose of getting a date... I just don't feel that I'm that "type" of girl. It's so hard for me to do that and be the girl that knows how to get the guy every time or ever.

My million dollar question: Is there something wrong with me?

Stewart Falls Hike

So up until today every single time that I have attempted to hike up to Stewart Falls I wasn't able to because of snow.... I guess I just go at the exact wrong time. Today I had the chance to hike up to Stewart Falls with the management team that I work with. It was so beautiful up there and it was a lot of fun. Yes the up hill parts almost killed me but I still enjoyed it. I LOVE being in Utah for fall. The colors are so amazing and vibrant. Love my job and the people that I work with :) I found these pictures online and they don't do the view justice at all but I wanted you all to kinda see what I was able to see today :)

Silver Linings: Weekends and Awesome Friends

So last week wasn't the greatest of weeks if you couldn't tell me from my last post but there are silver linings to all bad situations. My silver linings of this week have been the weekend and some AWESOME AMAZING friends.

Friday night I had a nice little adventure with all of the supervisors at work and our manager. It was a nice little bonding experience :) We went to eat at JCW's in American Fork and then went to the Haunted Forest. For those of you who know me you know that I can get scared pretty easily so this was quite the experience for me. I loved it even though I got freaked out. Several of the guys that I work with were highly entertained by how scared I got (Tyler Anderson and Matson Tanner to name a few).

Group Shot after dinner

Group shot before heading into the forest...

After visiting the Haunted Forest I had my doubts about parking in the underground parking lot at my apartment complex. It probably would have been awful if I had to park down there. Tyler dropped me off at work so that I could pick up my car. I went in and worked for a few hours. After working for a few hours, did I go home? No. I stayed and hung with my favorite grave yarder: David Saylor. I'm learning more and more that working at night as it's perks :) Because I came home later than normal that night there was actually a parking spot open so I didn't have to go park in the normally creepy underground lot. After that haunted forest experience it would have been even creepier.

Saturday I slept most of the day because of my late night but I still had some awesomeness to look forward to. BYU Football and Karaoke. On Wednesday David Saylor told me that I needed to come to Karaoke with him and some other people from work. So I made a compromise I went to half of the BYU game and then went late to karaoke. Loved all of it!!

BYU was playing San Jose State. The final score ended up being 29-16. Holla!! Karaoke was pretty bomb too :-) Again for those of you who know me you know that I can be on the shy side and doing things like singing in front of a crowd of people is not me. Granted more than half of the people in that room were more than a little tipsy but still. I didn't want to do it.

So because I didn't want to do it David picked a song for me. Both him and Dana said I needed to do it. I so did not want to. I got so many butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. David picked out "My Girl" by the Temptations for me. It took about an hour but I finally gave "my" selection to the DJ. I told David that I was only doing it for him and not for me. Best part of it: David, his brother, and his roommate decided they needed to be my backup singers so there were 4 of us that were up there singing that song. I loved it!!1 It was so much fun and I'm glad that I conquered my fear and did it. The last song of the night was Don't Stop Believing by Journey. It was a huge group song and it was awesome. I had so much fun last night and I so want to do it again.

My other silver linings comes from having awesome friends. The day that I said my goodbyes to my family a good friend of mine gave me some good advice. Shawnie told me that it's okay to miss them and that Christmas isn't that far away and to just pray and work. So through the last part of last week I just worked, worked, worked and then I played hard this weekend. Shawnie is always there for me with the words I need to hear or to just give me a hug.

So today I am so, so, so, so greateful for awesome friends who help me through the hard times and awesome weekends plans :-)

Rough Life?

Aren't they cute? Love these two so  much!!

So my life isn't all really that rough but the title seems to fit how I'm feeling this week. My favorite people in the whole entire world are moving this week. For as long as I've lived in Utah my brother, Jacob, and his wife, Nicole. Have always been a stone's throw away from me. I love them both very much and they are both a great source of strength in my life. California is so far away!! 600 miles is long was away :( Now it's time to start my countdown to Christmas (only 71 more days until I can see them again. No biggie right?)

It makes me really sad that this cute kiddos are gone too :( Talk about the cutest kids on the planet!! I love spending time with my niece and nephew. I was so sad to say good bye. Sammie will be 3 in a few weeks and this is her first birthday that I will miss. Jase will be 1 in January and I'll have to miss his birthday too :( I love these kids more than anything!! Let's be real: who's the world's best aunt? Hint: the author of this blog. No joke :) 

Cutest kids ever!!!

Let's just say I can't wait until December. Not because it's my birthday but because my whole entire family will be together for the holidays before my younger brother, Jimmy goes on his mission. I'll probably be needing some extra love come January since I'll be out here without any of my family but that's what awesome friends are for. 

Thinking about this makes me evermore grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and my belief in Eternal Families. I don't know what I would do if I knew I would have to go indefinitely without my family connections. I know my Heavenly Father lives and loves me. I know that he'll help me get through this rough time in my life. I just have to have patience and endure it well. 

P.S. I forgot one more thing that made the last few days weird. I got super creeped. Random number starts texting me weird stuff and then whoever it was discovered they didn't know me. I was so creeped out!!!! Will the creepyness never stop? First the janitor and then this...-sigh-

Or maybe they were just trying to prepare me for the haunted house I'm going to this weekend. Oh dear. Pretty sure those poor co workers of mine will laugh at how easily I scare

New Ward

I finally I am starting to like my ward...haha only took 4 months... when i moved back in April I was one of the only people that moved into my ward so I didn't really get the "welcome to the ward" feeling or anything. It was like I was just there.

Last night one boy made all the difference in my attitude toward my ward and where I live. I know what you're thinking: it always comes back to a boy. But it's true this time. Last night my roommate had 2 guys over to give her a blessing. Instead of being a hermit and staying in my room I came out to the kitchen to put away my dishes. This boy that I had seen at church but never talked to struck up a conversation with me and we just talked for a good hour. About life, dating, other random stuff. It was great. I loved it. He just made me feel welcome even though I've lived here longer than he has. Haha

Funny story: when him and his roommate were leaving I told his roommate he looked really familiar but I didn't know why...he said we'd have to figure that out. Roommate numero uno who I had the good convo with said "that's because you've seen him in your dreams." What a ham! Man, at that point I told him just to go. They were on their way out the door any way. I don't think roommate number 2 heard what was said. Hopefully not..... They both seemed like guys that I could easily be friends with. This just made me really happy since I didn't feel like I would really know anyone this year because of my work schedule. Loved it. It was great.

Best. Job. Ever.

So I really love my job. My company treats it's employees really well for the work that we do. One of the reasons that I truly enjoy my job is the awesome parties that we tend to have every once in a while. Vivint goes big or goes home. This week there was a huge supervisor party. It was a beach party up at Deer Creek Reservoir up Provo Canyon. There were a bunch of boats, sea doos and tons of food. Another perk: I got paid for an entire day of playing at the beach. Best. Job. Ever.

It was kinda nice just to hang out and play with people that I work with. Kinda a new experience for me, haha. I learned to water ski too. That was pretty cool. I actually got up too but only managed to stay up for a second but it was still a pretty cool experience. The food was so yummy too.

We ended up getting rained on. Lame. I was out on the water in a boat and it started pouring!!!!!!!!!!!!! The rain came down pretty hard too. It hurt so bad. In the words of Dana Peterson "I just got punched in the face by a rain drop." Yes it hurt that bad. Luckily I had my towel so I shielded myself with that but then I was freezing and my towel was soaked. My assistant manager's wife told him to give me and Dana (another supervisor) their towels because they were dry and not being used. Such a nice guy. I was so, so, so grateful. Overall, best day of work this week haha. No actual work was done. Although I did do some work in the morning before I left to go up the canyon.

At Vivint you go big or you go home. And we have another huge party coming up too! In a few weeks we're having a giant party to celebrate the company getting a huge number of facebook fans. We don't mess around when it comes to rewarding people and giving incentives for accomplishments. haha, love it

Ch-ch-changes

So big changes this week. It was starting out as a normal week right? It ended anywhere but normal. Near the beginning of this week I got called into my assistant manager's office and he offered me a promotion and a raise. Holla!! So I'm a supervisor now in charge of 16 people. I was super stressed during the last few days because there was so much that I needed to get caught up on but I didn't even know where to begin. Ya know? Trying to meet individually with 16 people over the course of 2 days along with all of the other stuff I had to do was almost impossible. I think I have more of a grip on things now. Still will be lots of work but I need to factor in taking a lunch break....one day last week I worked for nine hours straight. And then another day I took like a 20 minute lunch break. I was planning on taking longer but then I realized I had a meeting that I was late to...oops.....

My shift changed which is a double edged sword I think. I'm enjoying sleeping in later but getting off so late isn't the funnest thing in the world. Instead of work 6 am - 3 pm I'm now working 10 am - 7 pm. Crazy change right? It's hard for me to find the motivation to get up early to go to the gy, but if I don't go work out before work I have no motivation to go after I get off because I'm more tired now then when I used to get off work. I need to find some kind of balance or something...

It's pretty cool that I've come so far in my job in only a year. This promotion shows me that someone has some confidence in me. I just hope that I don't disappoint the people that are depending on me

Cal-i-forn-ia!!!!!!

This past weekend I went home to visit my family. Okay, so it was more than just a weekend. I left Friday and I came back yesterday. It was so much fun. It was nice to see my brothers and spend some time with the fam. Instead of driving I flew home which was a nice treat that I gave myself.

On Friday after I got home I went with my mom to help her sell fireworks. There wasn't much for me to do so I ended up just hanging out with my brother Zach while he tried selling raffle tickets to raise money for the music program at the high school. I was so tired that day. California time I had been up since 4 am and I didn't go to bed until after 11 pm. Such an exhausting day but I was glad to be home to visit with my parents and siblings that are at home.

On Saturday I went to my friend Steven's fiancee's bridal shower. Weird right? I've known Steven since we were 12 and I wrote him pretty much the whole time that he was on his mission. We're pretty close...or we used to be, haha. I found out that he was getting married back in June and was really surprised but I guess every ones does at some point in their life, right? My mom told me that I was invited to this shower. We went and it was a little weird because besides the fiancee I was the only person there not married. Weird. That afternoon we went up to Lake Isabella to see Don and Ariel and Ethan. They went camping and fishing over night. We went swimming and BBQ'd. I had to swim out into the middle of the lake to retrieve my brother' shoe too. That was tiring. Me, the girl, rather than either of my brothers had to go get it. That night they shot off fireworks over the lake it was pretty cool. Something that made me so mad: one of my brothers had the gall to tell me that now that Steven is getting married it's about time I get married too. Talk about rude! I was so mad.....

On Monday, the 4th, I went to a 4th of July program which my brothers were in. Zach played in the band and Ethan led the flag raising ceremony. It was a really good program and I was glad to be able to see my brothers doing what they did. We had a BBQ in the afternoon and we lit off fireworks in the drive way in the evening. I almost got lit on fire too...a firework that was supposed to stay on the ground flew off the ground and right over my head. It came really, really close to hitting me. Scariest moment of my life...

On Tuesday, I took Zach, Ethan, and Ariel to Magic Mountain. It was so hot!!! But it was a ton of fun to spend the day with them and get some sun :-) I got a nice little tan line from my sandals. I think I'm getting to the point were tons of roller coasters don't sit well with my stomach. By the time we left I felt like throwing up....not a nice feeling and I still had to drive all the way home. Lame. I also got a headache from being in the sun all day....but it was tons of fun

On Wednesday morning I had a moment of freak out because my phone completely froze. No matter what I did it was just stuck. I took it to AT&T and they held down the power button and the home button to restart it. I felt so stupid. Ariel told me that I should have just googled it and so did this guy I work with. Oh well, I guess google just does have all the answers. Mom took me to the airport and I was on my way back to Utah and reality. It was a nice trip and I was glad to see the family.

Ramblings of Late

So it's been way too long since I last posted. I need to do better at this blogging thing. Life is just keeping me busy right now. Same story, I know. Not much to report on. But I did have a moment of extreme gratitude today.

I've been keeping pretty busy with work and the fact that I now go to the gym all the time. Love the high I get from working out. Anyhoo, there's this girl (her name is Shawnie) that I work with and I love her to death. She's probably one of the easiest people for me to talk to. She's one of my workout buddies too :) We go to Zumba together and sometimes do other workouts and it's great. I love it. Pretty much the only thing we do together is workout and have lunch together at work. But I love her to death.

Yesterday, Shawnie was having a rough day and we just talked about it and she said that it helped her out. This morning at work she told me that she thinks I'm just amazing because of how consistent I am with my workout routine and what not. Seriously, the nicest. girl. ever. She's the sweetest thing and I love getting to see her and talk to her every day. Seems like when I'm having a downer moment or day or whatever this amazing girl has something positive or inspiring to say about me or something that I have done. She inspires me to do better and be a better person. I really wish she could know how much she truly influences me and has changed my life in the short time that we've been friends. It just goes to show that God works in mysterious ways to give you exactly what you need when you need it.

More Work, Same Pay

So recently at work I have gotten extra busy. I haven't had to spend very much time on the phones but I'm busier than ever. The reason I'm busier is that I've been given some extra responsibilities that normally wouldn't be a part of my job but that keep me super busy.

Right now my direct supervisor is filling in with a different department because they don't have a supervisor so he doesn't have a lot of time to do his normal job. But the things that he needs to do with his team still need to be done. That's where I come in. For right now I'm basically running his team and doing a lot of the things that he would normally do. I'm not doing it alone though. I have some help so there are 2 of us running the team.

It still feels like a lot of work that I'm being asked to do for the same pay. It's kinda nice to be relied on so heavily and it's pretty cool to think that my manager has so much confidence in my ability to take care of the team. It's pretty cool but will keep my extra busy during the next couple of weeks. I was told that this is only a temporary situation and should only be for the next 2ish weeks but we'll see what happens.

Silver Linings

So you know those days that are just plain frustrating? I had one of those days today. I was getting super irritated with the "politics" of my job. I don't know if that's a good word for it but there are tons of people that I have the same position as me that aren't doing what they are supposed to at work and it's so frustrating for me because it makes more work for everyone else and there are never any consequences for it. Grrr.

So it was getting way frustrating and it was super busy with incoming calls today so that's stressful enough as it is. This is where my saving angel comes into play. My friends, there are always silver linings no matter what the situation. Super frustration day right? But there are good things too. So there's this girl that I work with who is simply amazing. She constantly tells me how amazing I am and that I am so good at my job. I love her! Today she was my silver lining. I was talking to her at lunch and just telling her about my frustrations. Needless to say, she just listened to my whine for a bit. Then she told me to look at it this way: you are doing your job and you are working hard. Everyone can see that. At the end of the summer, when people have to be let go because the extra help isn't needed you won't be one of those people because you are doing your job. Some of those other people that aren't might get let go. Silver lining, much?

Later in the afternoon, I sent my saving angel a little email just to say thanks for listening and she told me that it wasn't a big deal because I'm amazing. She told me that even though it's crazy and sometimes we talk to crazy to just remember the people that work our job worth it. Also, she told me to just be cheerful or to fake it till ya make it. Think positively and the positivity will come. One last thing that she told me made me laugh and still makes me smile just thinking about it: I love you to death. Keep smiling. Remember, smiling is the second best thing you can do with your lips, hahahaha.

I love that. I'll probably remember that last part for a pretty long time. Haha, it was great. Still makes me laugh. Thank goodness for silver linings. Especially the ones in the forms of people who really make a difference in your day :-)

Marriage

Today I went to Ashley Martin and Jared Jones's wedding reception. Wow they're married now. Talk about weird. There was a time when I couldn't see Jared getting married for a long time. Funny how that works out. I remember at the end of last summer Jared always complained about how much dating sucked and that it would be years before he got married. Haha, now look at him: less than a year later and he's married. On a side note, I came pretty close to catching that bouquet. Glad that I avoided that one, phew...

Ashley was my roommate for 2 years and I love her to pieces. She's one of the best roommates that I have ever had. We've been through a lot together and it was amazing to see her so happy and in love. I wasn't always the best roommate especially the first year that we lived together but Ashley put up with me anyway and I love her for it.

I met Jared last spring. There were many a time before I got my job when we had some middle of the night chit chats and frosty runs. Or random runs to Macey's for sugary treats that we shouldn't have eaten that late at night. All of this of course happened when he should have been studying. Jared was the fifth roommate of my apartment this last year. He's a great guy and will always have a special place in my heart as one of the best guys that I know.

Jared and Ashley Jones: Congratulations!! You guys are awesome!!

As I was driving home from South Jordan tonight I started thinking about the roommates I've had in the past. Pretty much all of them are married now except for a handful. It would seem that I am an expert at marrying my roommates off. Makes me kinda want to be my own roommate if that makes any sense, haha. Just kidding. I don't know what it is but it would seem that most of my roommates end up getting married shortly after we live together or get engaged while we live together. Interesting...huh?

Time Sure Does Fly

Time sure does fly. You never realize how fast life really does go by. Today I went to Farmington, UT for a mission homecoming talk. My friend, Robby, just got back from his mission to Russia a few days ago. I remember going to his farewell talk 2 years ago. When I found out that he was coming home I couldn't believe it had been 2 years already. Just goes to show that life goes by faster than anyone realizes. It seems like the time just keeps speeding up. Where did it go? I really have no idea. With time going by people change. It was amazing to see how Robby has changed. I remember before his mission that he joked and laughed about everything. No matter what it was. It was really interesting to see how he's changed on his mission and just from hearing him talk I could see that he takes things seriously but he's still the same old Robby that I knew before.

Moving

Moving is the worst. I love it but I hate it. You never remember how exhausting moving is until you do it again. On Friday I moved out of my apartment and yesterday (Monday) I was able to move into my new place. I'm still in Provo just at a different apartment complex. What a pain trying to figure out where to put everything. I like my new place though. I'm still in the process of figuring out where to put everything though. Especially stuff in the kitchen and my food. I still haven't gone grocery shopping yet. I should probably do that soon....eating is usually a good idea. The move would have been a lot harder if I hadn't had some amazing help from some amazing people.

First, thank you to Jacob and Nicole. Who let me stay on their couch before I could move into my new apartment. You guys are amazing and I can't thank you enough for letting me crash at your place and store some stuff there.

Second, thank you Tyler Anderson!! You are my hero!!! Who moved almost all of my stuff in his truck. I'm pretty sure it would have taken me so much longer to move all of my stuff if he hadn't been nice enough to help me move my stuff out of my old apartment, into my brother's apartment, and then a few days later move it all into my new apartment.

Sometimes I'm amazed at how nice people can be. It amazes me how people will help you out with things asking for nothing in return. I really want to repay all the people who helped me out but I really don't know how. Hopefully you all know how grateful I am and how much I appreciate what you have done for me.

iPhone

So the last that I blogged I said I was going to be getting a new phone. It's been a while since then and I did indeed get a new phone. I've joined the age of data plans and internet phones. As my sister has put it: I'm now a member of the iPhone community. I love it!! I love my new phone and I've found that it's really easy to use. I can probably never go back to a regular phone now, haha. But that's okay. It's fun. Every time I see my niece she always wants to play a game on my phone so I had to download some simple games that she can play, haha.

When I got my phone I bought a screen protector and the Apple care program which is basically a warranty from Apple for my phone. The really nice thing is that AT&T was doing a special so I got a third accessory free. So I got the case for my phone for free!! Thank you, AT&T!!!

Spring Time

It's been quite a while since the last blog update. I just don't have the motivation to blog anymore. I feel like I write this for me more than anyone else. But usually everything I write here usually ends up in my journal anyways....

I want spring to come already. I'm tired of it being cold and wintery. I want sunshine and blue skies. I want to lay out in the sun and take a nap in it's warmth. Maybe one day......

I'm getting a new phone this week. Stay tuned for details...should be getting the new phone tomorrow if I'm lucky :) My current phone has been good to me but it's time for an upgrade!

You know how sometimes people ask you a question and you just stare at them for asking it? Like "what were you thinking" type of questions. I got asked one of those the other day. Ask me about it if you want to know what I'm talking about. It just goes to show that sometimes people don't before they speak sometimes or something like that.

I had my first experience going to a married ward today, haha. I went to my nephew's baby blessing today. It was a little interesting. Just a little different than what I'm used to. Jase is a little chunkster. He's a chubby baby but he's still a cutie. Whenever my family comes to visit my niece acts like she doesn't like me and that makes me sad :( That's pretty much how she was all weekend. Not cool.

I'm getting antsy about moving. I just want to have it over and done with. I hate the actual moving part but I'm excited to go somewhere new and meet new people. But I still have another month before any of that can happen.

Ever get in one of those funky moods where you don't feel like doing anything? One of those moods that you just want to be left alone and you want to have a good cry? I'm in one of those moods right now and I don't know why.....I just in one of those moods and I don't like it at all....

Good Week

Sometimes I get to the point where I think nothing good can come my way and then there are those weeks that are super good and it makes me love life all the more. I had one of those weeks this week.

It started out as just a typical week at work. Not good, not bad. Just normal. And then Wednesday rolled around. Wait let me back up to a week and a half ago to begin. So a few weeks ago, my supervisor told me that I was being considered for a promotion at my job. He told me just to keep that in mind during the next few weeks. Fast forward to this past Wednesday. I had a meeting with the quality support group at my work where we listened to one of my calls and talked about it. I got a lot of really positive feedback from her and she told me that I am really good at my job. So I was already on a high from that and I was really pumped by the fact that I was doing such a good job. Less than an hour later, my supervisor came over to my desk and said he needed to talk to me. He and all the other supervisors had just gotten out of a meeting. We walk off the floor and go into the conference room. He told me that "they" wanted to offer me a position as an advocate (which is a supervisor position but it's not the highest position) but he needed to know what my availability is because they need some extra help in the mornings.

I was really shocked and super excited. I told him that my availability is pretty much wide open and I can work my same shift or I can go to mornings. It doesn't matter to me. So it was official. I was becoming an advocate. I was super happy and smiley for the rest of the door. The change wasn't official yet so the only people that knew were the other supervisors and they all kept telling my congratulations. It was awesome.

I didn't think the change was going to be official until Monday but on Saturday when I went to work my supervisor said "why, hello, Miss Advocate." That weirded me out a little until I was able to read my emails. Where there was an email announcing my promotion along with some other peoples. So it was official. I also got a raise and my new role and time will start on Monday. Instead of working 12-9 pm I will be working 6 am - 3 pm. I'm super pumped and super excited.

I was so excited that on Thursday I forgot to email Mitch (supervisor of a different department) and tell him that I needed to turn down the position he had for me. I had an interview with him in January to transfer to customer marketing which basically they call people and try to get them to buy more equipment. I didn't transfer down there after my interview because a freeze was put on my department so no one could transfer out at the time. He emailed me on Friday afternoon to tell me that he got clearance that I could come down now. I felt bad because I had forgotten to email him and tell him that I won't be coming down. On Saturday I emailed him back and told him that I was offered a position as an advocate and so I was going to take that. I apologized for the short notice but there's more a need for me in my new position than going down to work for him. I thought he would understand. I thought wrong. He emailed me back almost immediately and told me that he should have informed him sooner of my decision because he had been holding a spot for me for a month and he could have filled that already. It was super rude and now I'm glad that I won't be working for him. I was really surprised.

To top off my really good week, I got to spend Friday afternoon with my sister in law and I got to play with my little niece and hold my nephew for a little while. It was a good way to spend my day off. I love them and had a good time seeing them.

Even with that negative note on Saturday it still was an awesome week. I'm super excited to start my new position even though not a lot will be different. It's a good feeling to be recognized for the good work that I have been doing and the effort that I have put into my job :)

I Love to See the Temple....

Today I went to the Provo Temple. I realized that I haven't gone to do baptisms since before Christmas. That made me really sad. I went today because I didn't have to work so I could take my time getting ready and doing some other things.

I loved it!!! I love the Provo temple and all of the cute old works. They are so sweet and so kind. I had this amazing feeling while I was there. It was amazing! Sometimes I get in these weird moods where I feel like I'm not doing anything with my life and I just am doing the same old things day after day. Today when I was at the temple I just had this impression that it's okay. I'm good with where I'm at right now and that I need to look at the bigger perspective. It was a really neat experience because I just felt that even though I'm not doing big things with my life that Heavenly Father is pleased with the direction my life is going because I am keeping my covenants and doing what I know Heavenly Father wants me to do at this point in my life.

I love the feelings I have when I'm in the temple and I love the special spirit that is there

Vivint.

The last week and a half as been pretty crazy at work. As of February 1st, the company that work for has changed it's name to Vivint. Which comes from the Latin word vive and the English word intelligent. Essentially, it means to live intelligently. Because of the name change people of have been calling in like crazy asking questions or yelling at me because they think we shouldn't have changed anything at all. It's been pretty crazy and let's just say that I'm glad for my days off.

Other than work I'm not doing much else, haha. Just keeping busy with work. I'm enjoying my institute class. I'm taking a Pearl of Great class at the Orem Institute of Religion. It's really good and I'm learning lots from it. We've just barely started getting into the book of Moses.

I'm getting tired of the cold. I just want it to be Spring!!! I want it to warm up a little but not get hot yet. Hopefully spring will come soon :)I don't really want summer to come because at the end of the summer some of my favorite people are moving away: my brother and his little family. When they leave the area that will be really sad and really hard for me. Nicole is one of my closest friends and it will hard to not have her so close. I'll miss getting to see my brother. And the little kids too. My niece and nephew are some of the greatest joys in my life and it will be difficult to be so far away from them :(

I'm starting to get really excited again about my calling. I'm going in a new direction that will hopefully give my girls some direction and some things to do. We're basically just trying to focus on the sisters in the ward and do more for them than we've done previously. We'll see how it goes though.

Jase Caryl Winegardner

My nephew officially made his debut into the world last Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 @ 10:08 am. His name is Jase Caryl Winegardner. He's 7 lbs 7 oz and 19.5 inches long. He's such a little dear. I love him and I think he's so precious. I got to go to the hospital the night he was born so he was about 6 hours old the first time I got to hold him. I can never quite put into words how I feel the first time I get to hold a niece or nephew. There just aren't words to describe it. Except for as much as I love them I know their parents love them even more. One of the cutest things is seeing his sister with him. Sammie loves her brother and when I first got to the hospital she took my hand and told me that I needed to come look at her baby brother. It was the cutest thing ever. Watching her hold him was really cute too. I love my family and I'm glad that I get to be so near them and watch them grow up :)

One of Those Days

You know those I-Hate-My-Life-Everyone-Leave-Me-Alone-I'm-Going-to-Rip-My-Hair-Out-Days? I had one of those days recently. It wasn't even that something big had happened. I just hated people that day. Saturday I wasn't very happy with life. I didn't want to be at work and I also didn't want to be at home either. I just was fed up with a lot of things. I didn't want to be at work because I didn't want to talk to people on the phone. I didn't want to be in my apartment because I didn't want to put up with a certain male that is always in my apartment. I was just a little fed up with him mostly because the previous night he said something to me that I felt he had no business telling me. I felt like he was rude and didn't take into account that what he said would upset me.

I know I'm being a girl. I don't need you to tell me that. Yes I'm dramatic. Yes I'm sometimes over the top and don't think things through. I was just feeling very emotional and high strung and I didn't want to deal with anything. I had to work though and so I was stuck there. Luckily though I didn't run into the nameless male at all that day. I did have to see him at church on Sunday though. I was still mad and so I didn't want to talk to him at all. Which I tried to avoid doing. He came up to me after Relief Society and tried to give me a hug but I was really unresponsive. Which is probably a very girl thing to do. -Sigh- I'm better now with everything that happened. Still a little miffed but I'll get over it. I always do.

I was just so mad and I really don't know why. I want a change and I'm tired of "me". I'm sure that makes zero sense. I like who I am but I'm tired of the me that people don't want to be around. I'm tired of being the "friend" to everyone. I like having friends but it gets to the point where you want to be the "more than friends" girl and not just the "always the friend" girl. I'm going to be 24 this year for crying out loud. Is it too much to ask for a little change in my life?

Harry Potter :)

Can I say that I LOVE Harry Potter? The movies are okay but I love reading the books. I just finished reading all 7 books for the second time through. And it just rekindled my love of the characters and the story. I can't wait for this summer when the second half of the Deathly Hollows comes out :) There were points in the Deathly Hollows that I cried. I'm such a girl, I know. Even though I know what is going to happen in the end there are parts that still make me cry.

There's this guy at my work that always makes fun of me when he would see me reading Harry Potter because he never really got into them ever and he says that he doesn't even really like the movies. I don't believe it because I think deep down inside everyone there is a Harry Potter fan. No matter who you are or what you do I'm pretty sure that there's a character in the series that everyone can relate to.

I will probably always love Harry Potter and will probably reread it more times in my life. It's one of those books that I can read over and over again and still love it!! One day I will own them all. Until that day comes I just have to rely on nice friends and family members that let me barrow them :)

First Post of 2011

So it's been quite a while since my last post. Sorry about that for those of you who actually read this. I don't think I've been super busy just been lazy, I think haha.

In December, I worked a lot so that I could take time off work and be home at Christmas. However, 2 weeks before Christmas I almost had a heart attack and I was super stressed. The execs at my job made some changes and in order to have any time off I would have had to used PTO or have other people cover my shifts. The problem was that I only had enough PTO for 3 days of work. One day I was out Christmas shopping and I was coming home and I was crying like I haven't cried in a long time. I was so upset because I didn't think I was going to get to go home for Christmas which really made me upset because I volunteered to work on Thanksgiving so that I could go home at Christmas. Over the next few days I calmed down because my supervisor helped me work somethings out. I was using my PTO for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the week of Christmas and I just needed to get people to work for me on Monday and Saturday. I ended up getting all of Monday covered but not Saturday. But my supervisor was nice enough to just make my schedule "go away" for that day. I ended up getting to go home on the 18th and I came back to Provo on the 27th. It was a long time to be gone but I'm glad that I was able to spend some time with my family.

This year for New Years Eve I actually got to spend it with my friends which I was excited for because the last few ones I've been with my family and they have been kinda boring. The week of New Years Eve I worked some overtime to try and make up some of the hours at work that I had missed the previous week. I also finished Baby J's quilt (my unborn nephew). I had to work on New Years Eve but I got holiday pay and I got sent home an hourish early. So that was a nice treat. I went out to eat at Tucanos for the first time on New Years Eve with Logan, Ryley, Austin, Aaron, Zoraya, Jenny, and Elias. So good!!! I loved all the different kinds of meet. And it was nice that I got a 10% discount. Aaron was having a mocktail party at his place so I hung out there and then went to the Provo Towne Centre to watch fireworks go off at midnight. it was so cool! We were close enough that we could actually feel the vibrations of the fireworks. I've never been that close to where fireworks were being shot off before. After the fireworks I played some games with some more people and then had a sleep over at Alisha's apartment. Probably not the smartest idea because I had to work the next day and I was up until 3 am and I woke up the next morning at 7 am. Haha, oh well. That's life. New Years Eve only comes around once a year afterall.

Changes are coming for me. I've decided that come April I'm going to move to a different complex. It's time for a change. Not sure where I'm going yet but somewhere different. Maybe a little nicer, little more pricey. We'll see. Something that is also changing is my work schedule. As of Monday I am no working 12 pm-9 pm rather than 8 am -5 pm. I'm not really excited about it but you do what you gotta do to get paid. Because of my schedule I can't go to stake institute anymore so I registered for an institute at the Orem Institute of Religion. I'm going to be taking Pearl of Great Price and I'm super excited about it. I'm missing the first week of class because of work this week but hopefully it will work out okay.

I've made a few goals for 2011:

1. Read the New Testament since that's what is being studied in Sunday school
2. Regular scripture study and temple attendance
3. Learn not to be jealous
4. Be happy
5. Find joy in the journey