The last few days have just been plain hard. No one ever likes those days but they happen in everyone's life. I've spent a lot of time in tears because things just haven't been going my way. Sometimes you just need a good cry. At one point I thought, "haven't I cried enough? How do I still have more tears?" But I'm doing better now. Thanks to some amazing people I have in my life. I don't think I could have gotten through the last few days without them.

2 people in particular that I am lucky to call my friends have really been there for me and let me cry and there shoulders. What they've really reminded me of is simply this: sometimes crappy things happen to you but it's what you do with it and how you move on that makes the difference in your life.

Today, in Church I really felt like every message and lesson that I heard was specifically planned and given for me. Funny how things usually work out that way,isn't it? Today in Relief Society this is what I heard: You are loved. No matter what is going on your life there is always someone who knows exactly how you feel. Period. End of Story. That is so true. I needed that huge reminder that our savior knows every feeling of hurt and sorrow that we have ever felt and we will never truly be alone.

I have this friend. His name is Troy and I've known him for over a year now. Over the last 4 months he's become one of the best friends that I have ever had. He's the one that I want to talk to about anything and he's always there for me if I need anything. This week he's really been there for me and listened to me cry on the phone and complain about the difficulties that I'm having in my life. He's so great because he just listens to me and is great at giving words of comfort. Yesterday, he was up at my apartment in Draper after we went to a wedding and he gave me a priesthood blessing. I am extremely grateful for the blessings of the priesthood and that I have some amazing friends who are worthy to hold the priesthood. My life in general would be much different without the priesthood in my life and the last few days would have been much different with out the blessings of it.

I am extremely grateful for the many blessings that I have in my life and the many blessings that are sure to come in my future. Just keep smiling (as a wise friend tells me often) and remember that you are loved.

The Finished Product

And I present my wall of color....

Courtesy of paint chips from Home Depot, tape (and lots of it!) and Pinterest.

Hello, Draper!!

Well, this week has been a crazy one for sure. I'm all moved out of the Provo apartment and into my place in Draper. I just have to pick up my vacuum and drop of my keys. Oh, and finish cleaning. Bleh. Oh well. I like it up here pretty good. I finally got my internet all set up yesterday so I spent pretty much ALL DAY waiting around for the guy to show up. Lame. Here are some pictures of the new place. I'm still working on finishing up my decorating project on the one wall but it's cozy and I like it:

My new bed. Sleeping on it is heaven.

My new bedspread/sheets. So pretty. Thank you, Ikea.

Dresser and Coffee Table. I put them together all on my own.

My 3 windows. So much sun comes through. Love!!

Check out the vaulted ceilings. Still working on the wall. I'll post another pic when it's done. 

Kitchen area. 

Sleeping/Living Area

Fan and Vaulted Ceiling. 

Bathroom

Sink

Medicine Cabinet

Shower

Closet

That's about it. It looks nicer in person than in the pics but I like it. I went to my new ward for the first me today. The people are so nice. I really think I'll like it. And it's in an actual meeting house. Not in a classroom on campus. The perks of growing up. Or something. Slightly awkward moment: Someone I fired a few months ago is in my ward. I thought it was going to be totally awkward but he came up to me after church and said hi. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. But still. I thought I was getting out of that trap by leaving Provo. Oh well. Such is life. Enjoy the pics :)

Retreat

2 posts in one day? What is the world coming to? Just kidding :)

I wanted to share a really amazing experience that I had last week. A couple of times a year my managers do a retreat for all of the supervisors in our department. Where we usually have lots of food, spend the entire day out of the office doing something together. Well last week we had one of those days.

We started out the day with breakfast from Einstein Bagels and some awesome words of wisdom from our fearless leaders. We attended a CLAS Ropes Course (click here if you want to know more), had lunch at Joe Vera's, and did an awesome outdoor laser tag

It was an awesome day and great to do something fun with the amazing people that I work with. But along with the fun times that were had by all I also learned a pretty awesome lesson: In life you can't do things alone. You have to rely on others to help you. Those of you that know me pretty well know that I am very independent and that I don't like to ask for help at all. But at the CLAS Ropes Course I had a very unique experience. They split us into 3 groups and my group had about 12 people including one of our managers. Our team building activity was that we had to cross the "Peanut Butter River" without touching the ground. We had raisins (aka stumps of wood) and celery (aka planks to put between the stumps) to help us get across.

We weren't allowed to talk to each other until someone picked up a tennis ball at the half way point. We also weren't allowed to cross the half way point until everyone was off the ground either on a stump or plank. Oh and did I mention that if you fell in the "river" there were consequences? Of course I would be the one that fell. So my consequence was that I had to still make it across but with the added challenge of being blind folded. Yes that's right. It was one of the most difficult things that I've ever done. I couldn't do anything by myself and I had to heavily rely on everyone around me. Let's just say that I got very close to a few guys that I work with. It was an amazing experience for me and I don't think I would have gotten as much out of the whole thing if I hadn't been blind folded. People that I didn't know so well now I do, haha.

I love my job and I love the people that I work with. Go big or go home, work hard & play hard. I also got this sweet t shirt that says "Vivint Customer Care" at the bottom and "Supervisor" on one of the sleeves. Love me some Vivint swag :)

PS: I also just hit my 3 year anniversary at Vivint on Friday. 3 years? Has it really been that long? I guess so. Here's to 3 more awesome years :)

Moving?n Again?

It's been a while since the last post... almost a month.... my bad. Well, I'm moving (big shocker I know). I've had this kind of nomadic lifestyle the last few years and I just seem to move around a lot. I think mostly to get away from bad roommates that I've had. Oh well, hopefully after this move I won't be moving for a while. I'm moving out of Provo. Yep you heard me. I'm moving into a loft/studio apartment that is built over a garage up in Draper. I'm really excited yet scared at the same time. Weird I know. I'm excited to be starting a new phase in life and yet scare because I'm forcing myself out of the little bubble that is Provo. I know where everything is here and I know lots of people down here. My biggest challenge after actually finding the place was to buy  bed. I found one on Saturday and it's being delivered this Friday. My lease at my current place is up on August 13th so sometime between now and then I'll be out of here. I've already moved a ton of my stuff into the new place I just can't start living there until I have something to sleep on. I think it's a good time to make this move though because sleeping on used beds is really starting to bug me. Not the greatest things for your back so I'm excited to have my very own place and my very own bed. Once I'm actually living there I will take pictures an post them.

4th of July

My holiday was a pretty chill one. I didn't have to work this year on the holiday (yay!). So I decided I wanted to do something fun with my time. I hadn't been tubing in FOREVER so I decided that's what I wanted to do. So I did. I went up Provo Canyon and floated the Provo River with my friend Jen. I lost my sunglasses in the process but it was so worth it. The water was kinda cold but it was good because it's been so warm recently.

I had an awkward moment before I went to watch the fireworks though. I swear the most awkward people find me and try to make my life just as awkward and I get all awkwarded out. Could I use the word "awkward" more times in one sentence? Anyway, I was sitting out on my front lawn waiting to hear from someone about watching the fireworks when my neighbor comes out and starts having a chat with me (which is fine). I just felt super weird and awkward because I don't really know him and it was just weird.

I got to watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks show with my good friend Troy. Originally we were going to meet up at Provo High to watch them but then we ended up walking from there over to closer to the stadium. Love hanging out with him and I'm glad that he doesn't find me to be as crazy as I really am haha

Kaiizen

I'm excited to announce that I'll be going to Baja in October for 4 days to help build orphanages with the Kaiizen Foundation. I'm super excited for this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children. This is where I need your help. I need to raise $360 before October so anything that you can donate to the cause will be extremely helpful. Even if all you can donate is a few dollars I would be extremely grateful. Below is the link to my site where you can donate:

http://www.gofundme.com/3e55v0

New York City!!!

New York was so much fun. It was nice to take some time off from work and do something fun for me. Especially after the stressful few weeks I had with stuff at work and moving.

Monday

I got into the city around 6:15 am (I took a red eye flight that left SLC at midnight). Let's just say that I was totally exhausted from lack of sleep and having worked both Saturday and Sunday. Not fun. I got lost getting from the airport to the hotel. I had no idea where I was and had to wait for Jacob and Nicole to come rescue me when they got into town. It was at that moment that I decided that I never want to travel alone again because I was so scared out of mind and I just wanted to break down and cry. 

Because we couldn't check into our hotel until the afternoon we went straight into the city. We had some good ol' PB&J and then went to the American Museum of Natural History. I've always wanted to go there. Mostly because I've read books that take place there or around there (aka Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief). 

We also went to Dylan's Candy Bar (a candy store, yumm!) and Serendipity 3 (resturant). Where we got the most AMAZING frozen hot chocolate. It was expensive but so yummy. I want one right now. 

Is that a chocolate frog you ask? Yes it is. Harry Potter for life!!

Tuesday

This was one of my favorite days. We went to Times Square and took in the sights. We went to Rockefeller Plaza and went to the top of the rock observation deck. So cool to see all of the sight from so high up!! We also went to Grand Central Station (so gorgeous!), the M&M Store and Hershey Store. We had dinner at John's Pizzeria. The pizza was amazing but the service was seriously lacking. Probably because we weren't drinking. 

Wednesday

We went to the 9/11 Memorial site, a few cathedrals and churches, went to China Town, and Madam Tussaud's (wax museum). 

Thursday

Another one of my favorite days, we took a ferry out and so the Statute of Liberty and went under the Brooklyn Bridge. Ellis Island was closed due to flooding from Hurricane Sandy so we weren't able to go there. But it was really cool to hear about some of the history that goes along with that part of the country. I got to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, how cool is that? And again we had some AWESOME pizza. Grimaldi's (right under the Brooklyn Bridge) was much better than John's Pizzeria. Service was about the same though. 

Friday

We spent the day in Central Park. It was gorgeous!! By this time I was so exhausted from how much walking we'd done all week plus I started getting a cold (Lame!) but it was so fun. 

Saturday

Well, all good things must come to an end. I took a bus into the city (by myself!). That was a little scary. Jacob and Nicole started their drive home. I went to the Manhattan Temple (so cool!!) before heading to the airport. The city is so loud and busy but the minute you step inside the temple everything is super quite. It's kinda of amazing. I almost got lost in the subway. But a nice man gave me directions because I looked slightly lost. But I made it to the airport without dying so I'm counting that as a win. 

It was an awesome experience and it's something that I will always have fond memories of. I'm so glad that I was able to take that kind of trip with some of the people that I am closest to and that mean the most to me. It was good to do something for me and get away. Coming back to Utah, I was so stoked to get back to work and normal life. It kinda of was my kick start to my new philosophy: do something for yourself each and every day even if it's something small. 

PS Sorry for the picture overload, haha. Hope everyone enjoys it :-)