Briana Marie

Post Lasik

2012-01-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

So I know you are all "dying" to know how life is post Lasik. My surgery had some rough spots but I'm recovering well enough. Today was the first day that I felt I could see well enough to drive my self to work but it's getting there.

The night I had my surgery the flaps that were made got wrinkled (wrinkled = very, very bad & painful) so the next day my doctor had me go back to my surgeon to get everything fixed. Because of this it set my recovery time back. It's taking longer for my eyes to get to "normal" whatever that is anyway haha. My surgeon was so nice and understanding about the whole thing and did an awesome job at understanding the pain I was in. After fixing the wrinkles he put a bandage contact on each eye so that it wouldn't happen again. Turns out my eye lids stuck to the flaps and caused the wrinkles. No bueno.

I've pretty much been in to see my doctor every day since last Friday (except for Sunday). Yesterday he changed out the bandage contacts and today he removed them all together. I won't be going in to see him again until Thursday but every day gets better and better. I don't have to wear sunglasses in doors any more (because of light sensitivity) and I can drive myself again. For the most part ;-)

I still get super tired really easily. Still a part of the recovery I guess. I was really worried about the whole wrinkle thing because my vision still isn't back to normal yet but my lasik consult told me the same thing happened to her when she had her surgery and now she sees just fine. That was a bit of a relief. So still waiting for the "perfect" vision but every day is better.

Also: staring at spreadsheets for hours on end is not good for your eyes, haha. Most of you could have probably told me that already but I was starting at spreadsheets for a while today at work and it gave me a huge headache and hurt my eyes. Won't be doing anymore of that tonight but probably again tomorrow.

Overall, I'm on the mend and I'm glad that I did it even if there were some bumps to overcome :-)

Thanks to everyone that has been helping with my recovery and driving me places and appointments (Samantha, Alisha, Dylan, Jason) You guys are all AWESOME :-)

PS A random girl in the cafe at work told me "you are so pretty" Made my freaking day!! Love life's silver linings :-)

Midnight Ramblings

2012-01-22T23:34:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've found that I don't sleep a lot . I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. The normal time to be sleeping (a.k.a at night) I find myself doing other things such as reading, watching tv, listening to music, hanging out, having good conversations. I don't know what it is. It makes me sleep so much longer when I don't go to bed until 3 or 4 in the morning which I don't like because then I don't want to get ready for work until the last possible minute and I don't go to the gym. Don't get me wrong I like going to work out but sometimes I just have to force myself to get out of my apartment and drive across town.

But my favorite part of my slightly insomniac tendencies is the good conversations I have. You know those people that you just love talking to you because you feel that you can open about anything and rant and rave to? Those are the kinds of people I generally talk to in the early morning hours. Okay, so it's just one person but still I like it.

Also, you know those people that are just the nicest ever? Who make you laugh and smile when you're having the worst day ever? Those people who put little butterflies in your stomach just by talking to you and making your smile? Those people who have no idea what saying one little thing and inviting you to do one little thing can make you smile and keep smiling for an entire weekend? Yeah, I love those kind of people. They are my favorite :-) I may have rambled on for a little while here... but I was just thinking about some things that I've done this weekend and I just wanted to get it out. Am I still smiling? Yes, yes I am :-)

Also: search "The Piano Guys" on Youtube. You will not be disappointed. I promise. I really good guy that often makes my day introduced me to them. Love it!

Crafty Time? Yes Please!!

2012-01-08T17:38:00.001-07:00

Occasionally, I get in really crafty moods and I have this sudden urge to make something. Today was one of those days. Well, I've been planning on making it for while but I just got the last of my supplies yesterday so yes, today was one of those days.

How do you turn this?

Into this?

Good question! Let me know you :) In case you want to make one or just because I feel like sharing it :)

My inspiration came from a blog I found using Pinterest. Let's just say that I'm slightly addicting to pinterest. Not such a good thing. If you'd like to see the original blog go here.

So first I created my "wreath". Instead of purchasing an actual wreath at a craft store (which can be expensive!) I purchased some foam tubing from a plumbing store (thank you, Pinterest!) for only $0.90!! It was a little trick because I had to stuff the middle (it was hollow) with tissue paper so that it wouldn't bend when a created the wreath. I was worried that it wouldn't work but it worked better than I could have imagined :-)

It took tissue paper, hot glue, & some packing tape but it came together quite nicely :-)

Next, came the task of putting the ornaments on. I didn't have traditional colors but more pastel colors but they've grown on me. It took a while to find my rhythm of how to put everything together but in the end it turned out pretty nice.

I had some larger bulbs, medium bulbs (not many) & lots of small bulbs. As well as a few snowflakes and "Joy"s. Here's with a few bulbs put on already:

I ended up having some extra decorations but that just means I can use them for another project of my tree next year :-) Either way, my wreath turned out so much better than I imagined. My next problem is figuring out where to store it with so little storage space...

Altogether it took foam tubing, different size Christmas ornaments, packing tape, tissue paper, and LOTS of hot glue :-)

One more time here's the end result:

If you enjoyed my craft please, please, please take a look at this blog. She is the queen of crafts! And always creates the cutest things :-) Can't wait till next Christmas season so that I can hang up my wreath :-) Someday I will have a wreath for every season/month. So far I have a fall and Christmas wreath :-)

Spiritual Christmas

2011-12-31T18:00:00.001-07:00

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

2011-12-31T01:35:00.003-07:00

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?

2011-12-30T01:34:00.003-07:00

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

2011-12-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

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

2011-12-04T18:34:00.001-07:00

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??

2011-12-03T14:41:00.001-07:00

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 ?

2011-11-06T11:17:00.001-07:00

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

2011-10-21T19:59:00.003-06:00

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

2011-10-09T15:38:00.002-06:00

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?

2011-10-06T19:19:00.000-06:00

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

2011-09-07T23:15:00.002-06:00

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.

2011-08-05T21:49:00.004-06:00

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

2011-07-30T20:13:00.004-06:00

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!!!!!!

2011-07-07T17:54:00.003-06:00

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

2011-06-28T21:49:00.003-06:00

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

2011-06-02T19:52:00.000-06:00

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

2011-05-24T17:29:00.000-06:00

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

2011-05-20T21:44:00.002-06:00

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

2011-05-08T19:35:00.002-06:00

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

2011-04-26T17:34:00.002-06:00

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

2011-04-26T17:07:00.003-06:00

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

2011-03-27T16:37:00.002-06:00

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

2011-02-27T12:23:00.002-07:00

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....

2011-02-16T20:19:00.003-07:00

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.

2011-02-12T13:29:00.004-07:00

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

2011-01-24T14:09:00.002-07:00

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

2011-01-18T22:05:00.002-07:00

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 :)

2011-01-14T17:43:00.003-07:00

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

2011-01-06T18:28:00.001-07:00

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:

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

Day 12: Something You Never Get Compliments On

2010-11-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what exactly this means. Is it something I think I should get complimented on or what? I don't know what to say here. Everything that I can think of right know that I'd like to be complimented on I do get compliments on. I guess something that I feel I do well that I don't get complimented on is including others in what is going on. I don't know if this fits here but I can't really think of anything else at the moment :)

Day 11: Something That People Seem to Compliment You the Most On

2010-11-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

Something that I get compliments on all the time is my hair. I have so many people tell how beautiful my curls and they wish that they could have hair like mine. This one day at work I was down in the cafe on my lunch break and a girl I work with was like "how do you always look so cute all the time? You're hair always looks so nice." I was a little embarressed. I just feel better about myself if I look put together when I go out so I always make sure my hair looks nice and I that's what I get the most compliments on more than anything else.

Day 10: Someone You Need to Let Go, or Wish You Didn’t Know

2010-11-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

To be honest I can't think of anyone that I wish I had never met because all the people that I have known in my life have taught me a lesson or something about myself. I'm grateful for the experiences that I've had and the people that I have known in my life. I wouldn't trade any of my experiences with the people I've known for anything. So maybe I didn't exactly answer this one but that's how I feel.

Day 9: Someone You Didn’t Want to Let Go, But Just Drifted

2010-11-27T20:25:00.001-07:00

Someone that I'm sad to say that I've drifted away from is one of the best friends I've ever had, Wayne. We used to be really close and talk all the time and now we've pretty much drifted a part. I think it has a lot do with living in different states. But also that our lives are going in different directions. We met when we were both working at Wienerschnitzel and we became really good friends. After I moved to Utah we stayed in touch but over the last year and a half we have kept that much in contact and it makes me pretty sad. He's a great guy and it's too bad that we haven't stayed as close as we once were.

Day 8: Someone Who Treat You Like Crap

2010-11-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

Someone who treated me like crap was this guy, Nathan, that I worked with back home. I did him a favor by testifying for him at a court hearing and after that he acted like I owed him something. After I did a favor for him. It was ridiculous. He kept acting like I owed him something and wasn't very nice to me after that. I felt like he took advantage of me and I didn't appreciate it.

Day 7: Someone Who Has Made Your Life Worth Living

2010-11-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

Someone who has really made my life worth living is my sister in law, Nicole. I have known Nicole for about 3 and a half years now and she's one of my very best friends. I can't imagine my life without her. I can talk to her about anything and she's one of my biggest sounding boards. Nicole, I love you!!! My life would be so different without you. I'm so glad that you're a part of my family forever :)

Day 6: Something You Hope You Never Have to Do

2010-11-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

Something that I hope I never have to do is look back on my life with regret. Over the past few years I've learned that you should live life to the fullest and not sit around waiting for some "thing" to happen. I don't want to look back 30 years from now and regret not doing or doing something.

Day 5: Something You Hope to Do in Your Life

2010-11-20T20:05:00.001-07:00

Something that I hope to do in my life is get married and have a family. I know that may sound like a cliche mormon girl thing to say. But it's something that I've always dream about and that I really want more then anything else.

Day 4: Something to Forgive Someone Else For

2010-11-15T22:40:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what to say here. I'm not trying to say that I'm perfect or anything I'm just having a hard time of thinking of something to forgive someone else for. I think the biggest thing that comes to mind at this point is forgiving all the people in the last year that have hurt me by asking me why I'm not married or why I'm not getting married soon. When people say that to me it's really a little hurtful. It's not like I don't want to be married. It just hasn't happened yet. It was especially weird when my sister got married and a ton of my dad's doctors kept asking me if I was the one getting married. It's like people expect me to be married because I'm almost 23 and have graduated from college. I guess this whole tirade is mostly about forgiving people for judging me when they don't know my situation.

Day 3: Something You to Forgive Yourself For

2010-11-14T11:41:00.000-07:00

This is a hard truth for me to face. I have been thinking all day about something I need to forgive myself for. It's one thing to admit it to myself but it's a whole different ball game to admit it like this.

Last year I wasn't very nice to a friend of mine and didn't treat her very well during one of the happiest an exciting times of her life. You know who you are so I won't mention a name. With time I came to accept that I wasn't being the nicest person but I felt awful for it. I've come to the understanding that I need to forgive myself for the mistake I made in treating my friend horribly. I made some bad choices and I need to just forgive myself for those choice because life moves and you grow from the mistakes you make in the past.

Day 2: Something You Love About Yourself

2010-11-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

Something that I love about myself is that I can do so many different things with my hair and it looks good pretty much however I choose to do it for the day. Something that isn't physical that I love about myself is that I have the ability to be friends with so many different kinds of people. I have so many different friends that I've made in different settings and ways.

Day 1: Something You Hate About Yourself

2010-11-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

Something that I hate about myself is that I often get down on myself because I compare myself to other girls that I know and I feel like I fall short of what I "should be". This might sound a little weird. Sometimes I look at myself and what I am doing and I feel like I don't compare very well with some of the girls that I know.

30 Days of Truth

2010-11-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

i decided to take a leaf out of Nicole's book. She's doing what's called 30 days of honesty. Basically there are 30 things you have to honestly tell about yourself. Honesty is really the best policy and I really believe that you can learn about yourself by being honest not only about yourself but others as well. Wish me luck :)

Day 1: Something you hate about yourself

Day 2: Something you love about yourself.
Day 3: Something you have to forgive yourself for.
Day 4: Something you have to forgive someone for.
Day 5: Something you hope to do in your life.
Day 6: Something you hope you never have to do.
Day 7: Someone who has made your life worth living for.
Day 8: Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like crap.
Day 9: Someone you didn’t want to let go, but just drifted.
Day 10: Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn’t know.
Day 11: Something people seem to compliment you the most on.
Day 12: Something you never get compliments on.
Day 13: A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough days. (write a letter.)
Day 14: A hero that has let you down. (letter)
Day 15: Something or someone you couldn’t live without, because you’ve tried living without it.
Day 16: Someone or something you definitely could live without.
Day 17: A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.
Day 18: Your views on gay marriage.
Day 19: What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?
Day 20: Your views on drugs and alcohol.
Day 21: (scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before. What do you do?
Day 22: Something you wish you hadn’t done in your life.
Day 23: Something you wish you had done in your life.
Day 24: Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs. (Just post the titles and artists and letter)
Day 25: The reason you believe you’re still alive today.
Day 26: Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?
Day 27: What’s the best thing going for you right now?
Day 28: What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?
Day 29: Something you hope to change about yourself. And why.
Day 30: A letter to yourself: tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself.

November is Here

2010-11-01T22:01:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's already November. It seems like that just yesterday it was May and the summer was beginning. Now fall is practically on us and winter is coming fast on it's heels. It makes me sad and happy at the same time. I've missed the snow a little but I love the fall weather.

I haven't been up to much of anything too exciting. Mostly just working and living life. Halloween is done and over with. I'm not the biggest fan of the holiday so I wasn't that excited for it. Because the holiday fell on Sunday it was celebrated mostly on Friday. I went to Oktoberfest at my complex and a party my stake had. Today, my ward had a Halloween party a day late. It was a costume party and chili cook off with a trunk or treat. It was pretty fun. I dressed up as maid Marian and my friend, Ryley, was Robin Hood. It was pretty awesome.

I went on a date this last weekend for the first time in a while. It was a kinda short date but it was really fun and I had a really good time. We went to Wal Mart and bought stuff to make S'mores. He bought me a reeses while we were standing in line and it was really cute. We went back to his apartment and colored in coloring books and ate s'mores and then he walked me home. It was short but sweet and I had a lot of fun. :)

It's crazy to think that the holidays are just around the corner. Which means my birthday is just around the corner too!! Haha, not that I'm counting days or anything. Just saying that the year is fast coming to a close. Crazy times. It seems like as a get older that time goes by faster and faster.

Being Crafty

2010-10-10T12:32:00.000-06:00

Every once in a while I get this urge to do something crafty. I want to make something and have it be cute. Last week I had one of these urges. So on my day off I decided I would make something. I went to Michaels with Ryley and collected some supplies. I took these...

and this...

and these...

and here they are all together...

and I turned it into this:

A beautiful fall wreath. Isn't it cute? The picture isn't that great so to do it justice you should stop by and see it at my apartment. I got the inspiration for it from Ryley's mom. Ryley's mom is the craftiest person ever. She has a craft blog that I read and a few posts back she made this cute wreath that I LOVE so I decided to satisfy my craft urge I would make a wreath. Mine is a little different then hers but I still love it and I think it gives a nice fall touch to my front door.

What you do you think of it?

Fall is Coming

2010-09-30T12:23:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday when I was at work I received quite a surprise. I was taking my first call of the day at a bright an early of 8:00 am and I received an email from the manager of the department asking me to come to his office. My first thought was "oh no. What did I do?" There's no way I could possibly be in trouble because I knew for a fact that I had been doing my job the right way and doing good at my job. So after my phone call I went into coaching and went to his office. Larry looked at me and another girl that got the same email I had gotten and told us "you're not in trouble just go into the conference and wait with the others."

It turns out there were a few (10ish) chosen to be a part of a special team to help retention with their que. Retention tends to get really busy and so it takes a long time for them to answer phone calls which is not good. The reason those of us that were chosen were volunteered for this project was because we're really good at taking phone calls and were volunteered by our supervisors. So in essence I would be learning how to take retention calls but still take customer support calls. After training we would be working down stairs on the first floor. Let's just say that I was not excited about this at all. Yes there are bonuses for saving accounts but I really just didn't want to do it.

The rest of Saturday I did training and listened to some phone calls. I wasn't excited to go to work on Monday in the least. Which usually isn't the case. I go into work on Monday and I'm banished downstairs with everyone else that's doing this assignment with me. During my break I went upstairs to talk to Matson (my supervisor) because I hadn't talked to him all morning which usually doesn't happen. I sarcastically thanked him for hanging me out to dry. He told me that he had no idea that I was being taken off his team and doing this retention project until that morning. I told him that I really didn't want to do it but I'd stick it out and see how things are at the end of the week. He said if I wanted to he'd get things changed and bring me back upstairs. After my lunch break I came back inside and another of the supervisors was down there and she told me to read the post it that she'd brought me from Matson. It said:

Dear Briana,

Your awesome team lead is bringing you back upstairs. You have been given permission to rejoin the "fold"

Matson

Or something to that effect. Basically he didn't want me downstairs doing the retention thing because I'm good at what I was doing before. He talked to Larry and had me switched out for someone else. I was so excited. You have no idea. I was talking to one of the other supervisors (Tyler Anderson) after I came back up stairs and he said there's no way the team could lose me because I'm a really good rep :) I was so happy and relieved to not have to do that retention thing. I keep seeing people that knew I was down there and they ask me why I'm back upstairs. I just tell them that Matson wanted me up here and that's the end of that.

The only down side of this whole the is that it had already been changed so that I get mostly retention calls. So basically all week I haven't been getting as many calls as normal. Yesterday, during my coaching meeting I told Matson that it still wasn't fixed which is a problem because I was going 20-30 minutes with no calls which isn't normal during the week. He tried to fix it but couldn't and neither could any of the other supervisors. So I have to wait for Larry to change it. Near the end of my shift yesterday I went an hour and ten minutes without getting a call. I was so bored out of my mind. I had the chance to talk to Tyler for a few minutes because I wasn't taking any calls. He told me doodle to pass the time. Which I did for a little while. I finished reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In the last hour and half that I was at work I took 1 phone call. So lame. Hopefully it will be changed today since I'm not working and tomorrow when I go to work everything will be normal again.

On the bright side, I found out yesterday that on my scorecard last week I got a B which is really good and my team of 10ish people was rated the second best team of people taking phone calls in the whole company :) That's a great feeling.

So most of this post has nothing to do with fall coming but mostly about what's going on at my work. Such is life, haha. I'm excited for the weather to start cooling down a little bit and for what comes with fall: fall colors, leaves changing, fall holidays, and sweaters!!! I love sweaters and I love getting to pull them on after a long time of not getting to wear them :) Another fun thing about fall is General Conference!!! I always get super excited for conference every fall and spring. The sad thing this time is that I have to work on Saturday so I can't watch any of the sessions on Saturday. I'll just have to get my fill on Sunday morning and afternoon.

Wow, this has been get a long one. I hope you're not too bored reading about the inner workings about what I've been doing lately. Have a great weekend!!!

Reflection

2010-09-16T22:41:00.001-06:00

Two posts in one week? This must be a record for me or something, haha :)

I was just thinking about the difference between where I am now in life and, where I was a year ago. It's like night and day, black and white. The differences couldn't be any more further apart. Last year at this time I was just starting my last year of my undergraduate work. Now I'm working and not going to school. At this point I'm not really sure what direction my life is taking.

There are still some similarities between then and now. I still have great roommates (they're different then last year but still great), I still have lots of friends, & my boy situation is pretty much the same as it's been for a while (not dating anyone but want to). Here's the difference that I've found between last year and this year: I have found an inner happiness and from what people tell me it shows and radiates in my personality.

Recently, I've just been so happy with my life. I like where I'm at because I feel like I could go in a million different directions but I just have to choose which direction that is. I'm liking just working and not having to worry about a million other little things. I like being able to be a friend to people. A good friend of mine told me a month ago that he's seen me grow and change a lot over the summer. I think I've gone through some things that I have helped me learn to be happy with the circumstances that I find myself in.

Last week I was reading in 2 Nephi chapter 5 and I found a scripture that I have decided needs to be my motto in life. It's verse 27: "And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness." Live after the manner of happiness!! That's the key.

I went through some hard things during the last year but I've finally learned that's okay. Sometimes that's what happens and you have to just get over it. Some circumstances require a good cry every now and then but for the most part life can be happy for the most part.

I'm just happy and I like it. I can think of a few things that would make me even happier but for now I'm content with my life being what it is. For right now I'm okay with just working and hanging out, and seeing that cute boy with the beautiful smile at work. That's enough for me. I will continue to be a happy person because Heavenly Father wants nothing more than for me to be happy and find joy in life.

Great Day, Self, Great Day

2010-09-14T22:43:00.000-06:00

Today was just a good day. You know those days that are just pretty good? I had one of those today. There wasn't anything special that happened or anything particularly exciting. It was just a good day.

Today at work I had a pretty good day. There weren't any super angry people that I talked to. I sat next to a cute boy and got to talk to him throughout the day which was nice :) At my work my department is split up into teams and each team has a supervisor that's called a team lead. Last week I found out that my team lead is moving to a different department so all this week I haven't had a team lead. Today I found out that I was assigned to a new team and the cute boy I sat next to today is on my team. Oh, happy day. Haha, I'm really goofy sometimes but I like it.

Tonight I went to a bridal shower for my friend Brittany out in Pleasant Grove. The shower was kinda boring but the best part was the drive to and back. Weird, huh? I went with my friends Alisha, Naomi, Brigette, & Gretchin. Love those girls!! We got super lost on the way their and ended up being 45 minutes late. We ate food, talked to Brittany, & watched her open presents and then left. On the drive back we sang lots of songs at the top of our lungs and it was awesome! We also drove by the Mt Timp temple. It was so beautiful!

It was a great day and I love my life right now! I hope tomorrow will be just as great if not better :)

Lately

2010-08-25T19:37:00.000-06:00

So when I was at home in California a certain somebody told me that I needed to update my blog. So here I am.

My job is going pretty good. I like having money coming in to the bank and getting to pay tithing again. I missed getting to do that and I am so very grateful for the many blessings that I have received because of it.

A few weeks ago I finally bought a car! After 5 months having being without one after my accident I have one. It's a silver 2000 Honda Accord and I love it. The mileage on it is pretty good considering it's ten years old. When I went to get my insurance reinstated, I found out my rates are cheaper with this car then with my Hyundai. I was so excited. That right there my friends is what I call a tithing blessing. My car cost me less then my other one and my insurance is cheaper.

This last week I was in California. My little sister got married and I was a bridesmaid at her wedding. The whole family was at home for it. That's a big deal because my whole family isn't in the same place at the same time very often.

Monday night I got back in to Provo. I came back with my mom and Jimmy (little brother). Jimmy's starting BYU next week and he just moved into the dorms. I'm so excited that he's here in Provo. He's really excited to live on his own and start college.

I'm pretty sure next week will be really weird for me. BYU starts next week and it's the first time in a long time that I won't be trudging up the hill to start new classes. I used to get really excited when a new semester of classes was starting but that's not my lot in life right now. But I have work to keep me busy so hopefully I won't be too sad about not being in school.

Yesterday when I was at work I talked to this lady who was so sweet and she loved me. She said that they can never fire me because I am so sweet and helpful. It's customer like her that make it worth it to have to put up with the angry people that like to yell at me. All in all, I like my job okay and it pays the bills :)

This might be a little sad to say but I missed Provo. A lot. I was so happy to see all of my friends when i got back. Especially Ashley Martin!!! She was moved back in to my apartment when I got home. I love that girl and I hadn't seen her since the end of April. I am so very blessed to live with such an amazing girl. I learned so much from her last year and hope to continue to learn things from her this year.

Today was a good day. I bought a new dress and a new shirt for a total of $5!!! The dress was originally $60 and was on clearance for $11.80. The shirt was originally $40 and was on clearance for $4. How does that add up to $5, you might ask?? My mom gave me some Kohl's dollars (ten) and she had a 15% off coupon which brought me total down to $5.27. Love, love, love it!!!

Sorry this is kinda random and jumbled but those are my thoughts right now. I'm super excited for the coming weeks because people will have finished moving in and I can start making new friends. I love making new friends and having old friends that I haven't seen in a while come back.

There's not much else to report. I'm gonna try and be more consistent on this blog thing. But we'll see what happens :) I love my life right now and I wouldn't trade where I've been and how far I've come for anything. It's good to learn lessons and move forward in life.

Remember who you are, where you come from, and where you are going. Be good and be true.

First Week

2010-08-03T18:38:00.000-06:00

My first week working for APX Alarm went pretty smoothly. Nothing too exciting. Just training. I'm still in training for the next week. My favorite parts of the day is the hour when I get to Y-jack with someone and listen to the phone calls they are getting and ask questions about them if I have any. These are the best because I can see the real thing in action. Hopefully, by the end of the week I will have taken my first phone calls. The thought is a little scary but my trainer says the best thing to do is just get it over with because the sooner it's done the sooner you can improve.

I'm excited for tomorrow because in my training class we get to meet our team leads (supervisors) and find out what our schedules will be. It'll be nice to kind of know the hours that I'll be working instead of just wondering about it. I've been working the same hours all last week and this week but that's just training hours.

In other news, there are only a few weeks left until fall semester starts for those in school. It's so surreal to not be getting ready for school to start and finalizing a school schedule, buying books and supplies and all those beginning of semester things. So weird. Two things I'm looking forward to as fall gets closer: Ashley comes back from Jerusalem & Jimmy is moving to Provo!!!

I'm going home in two weeks for Ariel's wedding and I'm excited to go home and visit people I haven't seen in a while. I haven't been home since Christmas. It'll be nice to have the whole family together again so soon. As we all are getting older and going in different directions it doesn't happen very often that we are all in the same place at the same time.

Something that I'm really glad I got to do this summer was visit a lot of the temples in the surrounding areas. While the Provo Temple was closed for cleaning I had the opportunity to do baptisms in the Mt. Timp Temple, Oquirrih Mountain Temple, Jordan River Temple & Salt Lake City Temple. It was fantastic and I loved it!!!

job!!!!

2010-07-22T13:44:00.000-06:00

After months of searching and tons of interviews and applications I found a job. This morning I had an interview with APX Alarm. I thought it went okay but nothing special. About an hour after my interview they called me to offer me the position. I start training on Monday. I'm excited to finally be working again. It's not my dream job but it's something for me to be doing while I figure out if I still want to go to grad school and while I try to find a job in my field. It will be great to not have to worry about money for a while. I'm so excited because I thought I was going to have to move home if I couldn't find a job before the summer was over. Now I don't have to and I can stay right here in Provo where I have lots of friends and people who I have become really close to. Thank you so much to all of you who have prayed for me and hoped for me in my job search. You have no idea how much I appreciate you.

Visitors

2010-07-15T11:14:00.000-06:00

Having old friends that you don't see very often come visit you can be the greatest thing ever. Last night, my dear friend Morgan Anderson came by to visit me. And she brought me a can of soup!! Haha, that made me laugh on the inside. One, because it's thoughtful. And two, soup used to be an inside joke between me and my roommate, Anna Cluff Dixon. Oh those were the good days, haha.

Sometimes just having someone stop by your apartment unexpectedly can be exactly the thing that you need in your life. It's fun to go visit others but it can be really nice that for a change someone stops by to see you. I love old and new friends. It's great to catch up and remember by why you were friends in the first place.

Also, on a random note. I love Psych. I watched it last night with some good friends of mine and it was so much fun. I kept looking for the pineapple but I couldn't find it and that made me a little sad. Maybe next time...

The other day I helped a friend of mine (Jenny) decorate an apartment with glow sticks. At our ward talent show Jenny and some others in the ward did this fantastic glow stick dance and there where lots of glowsticks afterwards. So we tapped them up on 2 boys doors spelling out nice messages. On apt 106 we wrote "You Rock" and on apt 112 we wrote "I love you." Next, we went back to apt 106 because we wanted them to come out and look at it. We knocked really loudly and Eric finally came out and looked at it. He thought it was really cool. So we went into his apartment and decorated the inside walls to spell out each of their names as well as "We love 106". It was pretty much of the funnest things I've done all week. And it looked so cool!!!

I guess this post is a little weird and a little random with me jumping all over the place with different topics but that happens sometimes.

Frustration Building

2010-07-13T16:25:00.000-06:00

I find that I am getting increasingly frustrated with the direction my life is going. In the fact that my life really isn't going much of anywhere and I don't know what to do. Every time I get close to thinking I'm getting a job it just doesn't work out for me and the disappointment is hard to face. A company that I really wanted to work for looked really promising. I had 3 different interviews with them but a few weeks ago they called me and told they decided to hire someone else. A program that I applied to work for at the library didn't even select me for an interview.

Sometimes I just want to scream. The disappointments just keep on coming in and I'm finding it hard to stay positive. I've liked actually loved my college experience. But what now? What does one do after college and they don't know what to do or where to go in life?

Sometimes I wish I could rewind the clock to a simpler time. To a time when all I had to worry about was what I got on my math test and getting my chores done so I could go outside and play. I guess it doesn't do any good to look back at the past because life will never be that simple every again. Things just continue to get more complicated, complex, and difficult as you get older.

More and more, I keep thinking I want to get out of here. I like living in Utah. I'm not saying that I don't but I keep feeling that it's time to move on to somewhere new. Maybe another town, I don't know. But I don't know if that's gonna happen anytime soon because I made the mistake of signing a contract for the next fall and winter for where I live now. I did that when I thought I was going to grad school and I had a 2 year plan on the horizon. I want to go somewhere knew so that maybe I have the chance of not being constantly overlooked. I don't know if that's the truth but lately that's how it feels to me.

I'm really sorry if this is a downer to read. I'm not looking for pity at all. I just needed to express what I have been feeling recently and this is how I found that I could express everything I was feeling without being interrupted. I know that I am loved by all and that my life is nearly as dramatic and horrible as I make it out to be but sometimes it helps to vent a little and let it all out.

2010-05-19T10:04:00.000-06:00

Life has a funny of working sometimes. Things that you never thought would happen usually end up happening. For example, I really never thought I would graduate from college because I thought I'd get married younger than I am and have to drop out. But look at me now. I did graduate from college and am still not married. Also, by this time in my life (I'm 22) I really thought I would have dated someone. But that still hasn't happened and it kinda makes me sad and think there's something wrong with me.

Now I know that all probably sounds like a pity party but I don't want you to feel sorry for me. Those are just where my thoughts are right now. What makes those things close to the front of my mind is that I know sooooo many people who are either getting married this summer or who got married in the last year and it makes me a little sad because I feel like I'm missing out on some part of life because I'm not doing the same kind of things that all those people are doing.

If once in a while, lately more than before, I get into these funks where I don't like my life and I can't see any silver linings and I don't see how life can be good because all the bad things keep on piling up and I can't see the good parts of my life.

I feel like a failure in some ways. Yes, I graduated from college and that's a big accomplishment. But what's next? I'm not getting a master's degree, I don't have a job, and I feel like once again I'm the one being left in the dust. After being so busy all the time I hate, hate, hate sitting at home all day every day by myself. It sucks and it's not me. I need to be busy. I need to be doing something.

It also hurts when you realize that you've started liking someone that you've known for a while only to realize they like a friend of yours. So once again it looks like I just have to move on.

This line of thinking makes me think of President Uchtdorf's talk from last general conference on patience. Here's a quote that really helped the first time that I read it and hopefully will give me some strength right now: "Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience. Often we can't see the Lord's hand in our lives until long after trials have passed. Often the most difficult times of our lives are essential building blocks that form the foundation of our characters and pave the wya to future opportunity, understanding, and happiness."

I just wish I understood why I had to go through these experiences now. These lessons that I am being forced to learn are so hard and I just wish I could understand or at least catch some kind of break. I feel like I'm at the point where I don't think I can handle many more bad things happening to me. I'm reaching the breaking point and I don't know what to do about it. I know Heavenly Father only gives you trials that you can withstand and will make you stronger but right now I'm thinking he thinks I can handle more than I'm capable of.

Sorry if this is kinda gloomy. I just needed to vent my feelings and get what I was thinking out my head. Thanks for reading. I know all of you who read this care about me and love me so thanks for your support. I'll try to make my next blog post cheerier. But this is just what I was thinking about this morning.

Graduation Pictures

2010-05-04T21:42:00.000-06:00

Me and Ariel

Me and Nicole. Look how proud she is of me :)

Yay!! I made it (with a fake diploma haha)

Me and Candace. I love that girl

The fam. Waiting for things to start.

Me, right after commencement

Brandon!!! I was so excited that he came back to Provo for graduation. He graduated in December and I didn't think I was going to get to see him again :)

Me and Nancy. She is such an inspiration coming back to school after all these years.

A bunch from MFHD: Sarah, Me, Collette, Kaylee, Jeff

Good ol' Brigham

Me and Kaylee. We made it!!

Jacob and his little cutie after graduation :)

After Graduation

2010-04-28T11:59:00.000-06:00

Last week I walked in my graduation from BYU. So now it's done. I don't have my diploma yet because my grades for my last classes aren't in yet. But I'm basically done with everything and that's a little weird.

I don't know what I'm going to do now and that's strange for me because I've always, always had a plan for what is happening in my life and so I've had a guide for my life. Well, right now I don't have a plan except for trying to find a job so that I don't go broke or have to move home...

I submitted another job application yesterday at Discovery Ranch. Hopefully that will result in something. I found that job listing from someone in my ward who works there. Keep your fingers crossed for me that something works out.

Yesterday was kind of a lazy day for me. I wasn't working so I didn't really have any place to be. Early in the morning I went with some friends to take Ashely to the airport. It's a little sad but she'll have a good summer over in the Holy Land. When I got back I went for a run and then rode my bike down to the library and got some books. For a while I laid out in the sun by the pool and just read. I haven't done that in a long time. Also, my good friend Jenny came out and talked to me for a while and I really liked that. I love you, Jenny and I'm so glad that we're friends.

I'd give you some pictures from graduation day but my computer is out of comission for a little bit longer. My power cord died and I'm waiting for my new one to arrive. It should be here sometime today, hopefully. Also, if anyone wants to do me a huge favor: I wanted to take some pictures by the BYU signs at the entrance to campus but there wasn't time on graduation day with my family in town so if anyone wants to help me out and come take some pictures with my camera just let me know. As soon as I can get pictures on my computer I'll put them up :)

I coming to accept that not being so busy is a good thing. A good friend of mine has the nice habit of calling me a workoholic so maybe it will be good for me to take it easy for a little bit before I start the next big thing in my life. I'm still looking out for what is next but I'm not going to worry about it too much right now.

Tagged by Mary

2010-04-28T11:26:00.000-06:00

Four shows I like to watch...
1. Gilmore Girls
2. Glee...I know you all thought I would never admit it...
3. Heroes
4. Prison Break

Four things I'm passionate about...
1. Life
2. Christ
3. Improving myself
4. Learning

Four phrases I say a lot...
1. Oh my awkward
2. Heck no
3. "PDBio, this is Briana" -- work
4. Don't judge me. You don't know my life.

Four things I have learned from the past...
1. Life is full of surprises
2. Keep moving through life even if it's painful
3. Hard times happen for a reason even if you can't see it now
4. Trust in Heavenly Father

Four places I want to go...
1. Niagra Falls
2. Australia
3. England
4. Africa

Four things I did yesterday...
1. Rode my bike to the Provo City Library to get a couple books
2. Went on a run
3. Took a nap
4. Read by the pool :)

Four things I'm looking forward to...
1. Getting a new car
2. Exercising more frequently
3. Sunshine and warm nights
4. Meeting new friends

Four things I love about spring
1. Warm weather
2. Leaving the heater off and not having to turn on the a/c
3. Laying in the grass outside my apartment
4. Spending time with friends without worrying about school

Four things on my wish list...
1. Job in my field
2. Not worrying about the future
3. Soup
4. Being more compassionate

Four people to tag...
1. Nicole Winegardner
2. Kellie Frederick
3. Amy Knowlton
4. Morgan Anderson

Cap & Gown

2010-04-21T09:24:00.000-06:00

Yesterday afternoon before i went to take my final I picked up my gap and gown from the alumni building. It's crazy that it's that time already. It was pretty exciting to show different people that I have my tassel. I just need to get through one more final and then I'm home free :)

I'm super excited to see my family. I haven't seen my parents and younger brothers and sister since Christmas and I'm so grateful that they can all make it out to see my graduate. I don't know what I'll be doing this summer but I can figure that out along the way. The next time I post I'll probably be a college graduate :)

Looking Forward

2010-04-12T09:49:00.001-06:00

Things I am looking forward to after graduation

time to read things that I actually want to read
time to attend the temple more
taking time to serve more
discovering what to do with the rest of my life
being a better friend
sunshine and blue skies of summer
being able to say I graduated from BYU :)
family picture
no more homework
not buying textbooks
less stress

Things I'll miss after graduating

pdbio, 'nuff said - I love my job & will miss it dearly
running into random people on campus that i haven't seen in a while
good friends i made at school that are now going in a million different directions
dressing up everyday for work - silly i know, but a girl enjoys being dressed up sometimes
sflsa - i learned so much from this wonderful group of people & I will miss the club tons
teachers & advisers that have impacted my life so much
free t-shirts for doing silly things
the police beat
being a college student
doing homework in the grass & warm sunshine
and many more that i can't think of right now

A friend recently recommended I read President Uchtdorf's talk from priesthood session of conference. I read it yesterday and it is amazing! I know it was given specifically for the brethren of the priesthood but I felt like it applied to my life so much.

Here is my favorite quote from it that helped me get some perspective on the trials I've been facing lately: "We must learn that the Lord's plan, our understanding comes "line up on line, precept up on precept." In short, knowledge and understanding come at the price of patience.

Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience. Often we can't see the Lord's hand in our lives until long after trials have passed. Often the most difficult times of our lives are essential building blocks that form the foundation of our character and pave the way to future opportunity, understanding, and happiness."

Finishing Up

2010-04-12T09:44:00.001-06:00

We're down to the last weekish of my undergraduate career. Here's what I have left to do:

-attend 4 classes
-finish up 2 papers that are almost done
-one page assignment
-3 final exams

And then....

-GRADUATION!!!!!

It's crazy how this year has flown by so fast. I wanted it to go by slowly because I didn't feel ready to graduate. But it went by even faster than I expected. I am excited and scared to graduate all at the same time. I don't know what lies ahead for me in life. I've always had a plan or direction in my life and right now I don't have much of a plan and I'm still trying to figure it out. Wish me luck on the things that I need to do in the next week and a half :) I'm looking forward to this summer because I'll be living around and with some great friends. I don't have another semester to buy books for and stress over so hopefully this summer will be chill and relaxed.

Chiropractor

2010-03-26T11:52:00.000-06:00

Can I say that chiropractors are amazing? I've never been to one before before yesterday. I went and saw one just to make sure my back isn't messed up from my accident. I've been sorry and it's been hurting so on Wednesday I had a message and they wanted me to come back and see the doctor. He adjusted my back and took some x-rays and wants to see me again next week. I'm getting another message next week too. The best part is that all the billing goes through my insurance company so I don't have to worry about paying for anything for my treatment. And I said "Self, great day." A great day indeed. I totally endorse getting your back adjusted if you need it. So worth it.

Crunch, Crunch, Crunch

2010-03-23T12:39:00.001-06:00

For those of you haven't heard, last Tuesday I was in a car accident. I was on my way to drop off an application and well let's just say that didn't happen. Don't worry I didn't get hurt beyond some bumps and bruises. My car isn't in very good shape though. Oh well. I'm grateful to have me still intact. It was really scary. I have never been so scared in my whole life. I am extremely grateful that I have family in the area that were able to come to my rescue. I was pretty shook up for the rest of the day so I didn't go to any of my classes. Oh, well. Life happens sometimes.

The good news is that I'm getting enough money from my insurance company to get a new car. Happy Day! I have been so blessed lately. I didn't get hurt and I can replace what was lost.

In other exciting news, yesterday I didn't have to work my whole shift because the building that I work in had a gas leak and so everyone was evacuated from the building. Sad that I didn't do my whole shift but happy because I got to spend some time in the sun and I got my homework done before FHE instead of after. Life has just been too exciting for me lately. What happened to the good old days of being boring? I just don't know.

What my experiences lately have taught me is that Heavenly Father loves me and is watching out for me. I am being truly blessed for the many good things that I have done in my life. My accident has brought perspective into my life that was missing before. The little things that bother me in life really aren't that important. What is important is that I know that Heavenly Father lives and loves his children. I know that Jesus is my savior and that he suffered so much pain so that I don't have to. Hope is an amazing concept that I have come to look to recently. Right now I have so much hope for the future and for the new experiences that will be coming to me. I think sometimes I just need to take a step back and keep an eternal perspective on the different trials and things that are happening in my life.

What to Do with My Life?

2010-03-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

The last week has been interesting. If you haven't heard, on Saturday I got a letter from BYU grad studies. I didn't get into the graduate program that I applied to. Saturday was very emotional and I was really upset about it. I really thought I would continue going to school for the next 2 years and be getting a Master's degree. That's not in the cards for me right now though.

After talking to a lot of people and doing some soul searching I have accepted that Heavenly Father has a different plan for me at this time in my life. I know that I am supposed to still be in Utah right now but I don't know what I am supposed to be doing. I have found peace with what has happened but I'm still a little scared because as of right now after I graduate I don't have a job to go to.

I have a few leads on a couple of jobs and a couple of places to send my resume to. Hopefully something will pan out and be something that I can work full time at in the coming year. Sometimes I still find myself asking myself, what do I do now? It's a little scary and difficult at times but I know that I am where Heavenly Father wants me to be.

A lot of people have helped me find peace of this and I just want to thank those friends for being there for me to talk to: Mary, Ashley, Shauna, Brigette, JD, Eric, Kaylee, Jenny. I love you all and you are all great. Thanks for being there to listen to me and help me through the had things.

I'll keep you all posted on anything that develops for me in the job search. All I ask is that if you can say a little prayer for me that I will continue to have direction in my life and know what I am supposed to do in the near future :)

New Post...New Layout

2010-02-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a month since the last time I've posted. January and the first part of February were very busy for me. But hopefully the next few weeks will be a little less busy. To celebrate a new month and a new attitude I've updated the layout of my blog. I think it's pretty and I hope everyone likes it.

Last week was super busy. I had two midterms, some papers, a class presentation, and lots of reading on top of all of that. I thought I was gonna go crazy because I really thought that I was going to fail my Sociology 310 midterm. Which would not have been good because I really need to do well in that class. I was super stressed about it because I hadn't been doing well on my quizzes and a lot of the time in class I have no idea what he's talking about and the reading is sometimes confusing. So let's just so I was starting to panic a little bit. Not good. So I ended up going to 2 study groups, a TA review session, and studying for 5+ hours on my own. After the TA review session and 1 study group I was starting to feel better about it. By Saturday afternoon when I went to take it I felt pretty good about it. I'm pretty sure I rocked that thing. Now I just have to wait for it to be graded and I'll see. Oh, and I got full points on my class presentation :) Happy Day!!

Something that I have been thinking about lately is optimism. Over the past for weeks I haven't been very optomistic about life. So a little bit ago I decided that I should stop being such a pessimist and just be a happier with life. Being optomistic is just better :) So I am trying really, really hard to make the difficult things into opportunities and not the other way around :)

Last year a good friend told me that one of the things that she liked about me was that I was always optomistic. It got me thinking about why I haven't been like that lately. The truth is simple: the adversary likes to get you were it hurts the most. For me right now that happens to be my attitude and thinking about my future. A wise person once told me that the times when we are having the most difficulties in life and feeling down and sad are usually times right before something good is going to happen to you or you are going to do something good. After hearing that I decided to just change my attitude and so far life has been better because of it. I love it when I'm a happy girl and life is just so much more beautiful :)

Along with my optomistic attitude I'm going to attempt something that is really hard that I have never done before. I'm going to run a 5k on March 13th!! I've never attempted anything like that at all. I am by no stretch of the imagination a runner. I've been going running on the track here at BYU the last month or so but I can hardly do a mile without getting tired. I can't even run a mile without stopping to walk. So that's a new goal. On March 14th you'll have to ask me how it went. Wish me luck!!

Well, those are all my thoughts and goals for right now. Life is going pretty well and I can't complain. I just have to remember to keep persepctive about life and know that things happen for the right reason and in the right time.

President Hinckley said: "We have every reason to be optimistic in this world. Tragedy is around, yes. Problems everywhere, yes. … You can’t, you don’t, build out of pessimism or cynicism. You look with optimism, work with faith, and things happen."

"Let us go forward in this glorious work. How exciting and wonderful it is. I do not know how anybody can feel gloomy for very long who is a member of this Church. Do you feel gloomy? Lift your eyes. Stand on your feet. Say a few words of appreciation and love to the Lord. Be positive. Think of what great things are occurring as the Lord brings to pass His eternal purposes. This is a day of prophecy fulfilled, … this great day in the history of this Church. This is the day which has been spoken of by those who have gone before us. Let us live worthy of our birthright. Keep the faith. Nurture your testimonies. Walk in righteousness, and the Lord will bless you and prosper you, and you will be a happy and wonderful people" (New Era, July 2001).

Christmas and a New Year

2010-01-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I last posted! A lot has happened since then. I had my birthday so I am no officially 22. On my birthday my dad called me to tell that I'm old now. While I never thought 22 was old now I know that it is. It was almost like a normal day other then lots of people told me happy birthday. I went to see the lights on temple square with my ward. That was lots of fun but it was freezing! The day after my birthday my roommates threw me a birthday party. It was lots of fun and lots of friends came to spend some time with me. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate my birthday. I love you all and I love that you think I'm cool enough to be your friend :)

Finals came and went. Ick. Most dreaded time ever. They didn't go as well as I thought they would have but I passed all of my classes. And now I'm in my last semester of college. Scary!

For Christmas I spent it in sunny Ridgecrest, California with my family. I didn't do much of anything exciting. Just hung out with the family a lot and played games. It was nice to get away from the snow but after two weeks I was ready to come back to my friends and good ol' Provo.

A new year brings new challenges and new goals. I didn't do much for New Years Eve but I did make some resolutions that I am going to try very, very hard to stick to.

Attend the temple at least once a month
Read my scriptures more regularly
Eat healthier
Exercise at least two times a week

Those are my goals and I have been pretty good so far but it's only two weeks into January. You should ask me about it in a couple of months and we'll see where I'm at. A new year also brings new classes. I'm taking 5 classes this semester for a total of 15 credit hours. I wish I had less for my last semester but the only way to do that would be if I dropped my minor which I'm not going to do. I love my major classes that I'm taking. My minor ones are okay nothing too exciting. I'm taking SFL 334, 480, 490, Soc 310, & Soc 345. Which translates to: Adult Development and Aging, Foundations of Morals in Family Life, Advanced Human Development, Social Inquiry, & World Populations. I am learn so much in my Adult Development class and my human development class. They are so much fun and I love my teachers a lot.

My application to the Social Work program at BYU is officially finished. Now I just have to wait to see if they want me in their program. I'm pretty sure that I'll hear back from them by March. Until then I am just going to keep up on my school work and go to work. And spend time with friends and family.

I just wanted to give a little shout out to my big brother. He's probably one of the best big brothers a girl could ask for. His birthday is on Monday so I just wanted to say happy birthday. Happy Birthday, Jacob. I hope this year it's great for you :) Try not to work too hard :)

I don't have the pics from Christmas on my computer yet otherwise I'd put some here for you to see. You'll just have to enjoy the words without the pics. Have an amazing holiday weekend everyone :)

P.S. I recently got my hair cut and I love it!! It was time to chop it all off. Life is just so much better when your hair is shorter. At least in my world it is :)

...

2010-01-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

I should make a new entry since I haven't posted in a while put I'm doing this instead...

1. Do you like blue cheese? Not really
2. Have you ever smoked? nope!
3. Do you own a gun? Nope
4. What flavor of Kool-Aid was your favorite? I love strawberry
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointment? Pretty much yeah
6. What do you think of hot dogs? Okay every once in a while
7. Favorite Holiday Movie? A Boyfriend for Christmas :)
8. Favorite thing to drink in the morning? Water
9. Can you do push ups? Not really
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? I'm never without a watch but I also always love to wear earrings :)
11. What's your favorite hobby? Babysitting Samantha
12. Do you have A.D.D? No
13. What trait do you hate about yourself? Sometimes I make goals and don't keep them
14. Middle Name? Marie
15. Name 3 thoughts this exact moment: Tired, hungry, bored
16. What do you read in the bathroom? Nothing.
17. Current Worry? If I can make it through this semester...
18. Current hate right now? The anxious feeling of the first week of school
19. Favorite place to be? Under a blanket with a good book
20. How did you bring in the New Year? Playing games with the family
21. Where would you like to go? Someplace warm but not hot
22 . Name three people who will complete this? Nicole already did but probably no one else, maybe Kellie...
23. Do you own slippers? No
24. What shirt are you wearing? I'm actually wearing a dress today
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No thank you
26. Can you whistle? Sadly no
27. Favorite color? Purple!!!
28. Would you be a pirate? No. I would probably get sea sick :P
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? None
30. What is your favorite girl name? Natalie
31. Favorite boy's name? James
32. What's in your pocket right now? No pockets to speak of
33. Last thing that made you laugh? The plastic thing to cover a bulletin board almost fell on me. That was kinda funny
34. What vehicle do you drive? Hyundai Sonata
35. Worst injury you've ever had? I've never really had any injuries
36. How many TVs are in your house? Zero
37. What is the best memory as a child? Family Activities and Vacations
38. Do you have any pets?Nope
39. Does someone have a crush on you? Probably not
40.Your favorite books? The Host was way good. Right now I'm reading the Hunger Games and I really like it. Alot!
42. Do you collect anything? Charms for my bracelet
43. Favorite sports team? BYU cougs!
44. What song do you want played at your funeral? I haven't really thought about it
45. Who do you tag? I tag...Kellie, Amy KNOWLTON, & Aimee Garrett

Insert Title Here

2009-11-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

For lack of thinking of a more creative title you can make one up on your own if you are so inclined.

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. It's amazing how fast the year goes by when you keep busy doing things. With school, work, family, and friends time sure does fly. This year for Thanksgiving I spent the holiday with Jacob and Nicole at Nicole's aunt's house. So kind of my relatives but not really. There was good food and they were nice. We played some games and I learned that I am NOT smarter than a 5th grader. Sad day. Hopefully BYU doesn't find out otherwise they might kick me out :)

Thanksgiving night I stayed the night with Jacob and Nicole at their apartment so I wouldn't have to be alone at mine again. It was fun because Nicole and I spent a few hours going over black Friday ads. We got up early on Friday morning and did some Christmas shopping. I am proud to say it's almost December 1st and I am almost done with my Christmas shopping. Hooray! Now that Thanksgiving is over I decided it's time for a Christmas-themed background. :)

BYU had their final game of the season. Against Utah of course. We ended up winning 26-23 in over time. It was probably the most intense sporting event I've ever watched. Ever. It was a pretty exciting game and I'm glad I stuck around here to see it. The funny thing is normally I like the color red. I look good in the color red but there's just something about game day that makes red the most repulsive color. That just goes to show that I'm truly a cougar at heart. Go Cougars!

I'm really glad that I got to have a break from school. It was nice but I really don't want to go to class tomorrow. :/ Gotta do it though. Only a few more weeks until I can have a bigger break from school. And then on to final semester as an undergrad. Scary...

On a happier note...last Thursday marked two weeks until it's my birthday. Yay! I just need to get through the last of my assignments and then I can enjoy my birthday and then get ready for the dreaded finals.

President Thomas S. Monson said: I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now. (Ensign November 2008)

Good luck to everyone these last few weeks of classes and getting ready for Christmas. But always remember to "Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family."

Questions

2009-11-19T21:38:00.000-07:00

Becky put this up earlier today. So I thought I'd repost it too.

1. Were you named after anyone? I have my mom's middle name but that's about it

2. When was the last time you cried? I was going to say last week but I just started to for almost no reason at all...I hate being a girl sometimes

3. Do you like your handwriting? Most of the time.

4. What is your favorite lunch meat? Turkey, hands down

5. Do you have kids? No

6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? Of course

7. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Haha, funny question.

8. Do you still have your tonsils? Most definitely.

9. Would you bungee jump? Heck no!

10. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Bunches of Oats

11. Do you untie your shoes? Rarely.

12. Do you think your strong? No, not really

13. What is your favorite ice cream? Cookies 'n cream.

14. First thing you notice about people? Usually their smile or eyes

15. Red or Pink? Pink

16. Least favorite thing about yourself? I'm way too emotional.

17. Who do you miss the most? I miss Kellie a lot as of recently. I miss the talk we used to have.

18. What color shoes are you wearing? None. Just socks.

19. What was the last thing you ate? A strawberry

20. What are you listening to right now? Forever and Always by Taylor Swift

21. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Purple! Duh!!

22. Favorite smells? Freshly baked bread, clean clothes, my niece.

23. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? Nicole

24. Favorite sports to watch? Probably BYU football

25. Hair Color and Eye Color? Brown and Hazel.

26. Favorite Food? Enchiladas.

27. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings

28. What color of shirt are you wearing? Salmon

29. Last movie you watched? A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

30. Hugs or kisses? Hugs!! I could use one right now too

31. What book are you reading right now? Just books for school

32. What'd you watch on TV last night? Nothing. No TV in my apartment

33. Farthest you've been from home? Mexico

34. Are you bored at work? Depends. Sometimes

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

I am so ready for Thanksgiving to come around the corner. It's only a week and a day away. Actually, I'm more excited for my Thanksgiving break from school than the actual holiday. I'm not going home again this year so I won't be with a lot of family for the holiday plus all of my roommates are going to be gone and I will miss them so much. On the bright side, after Thanksgiving there's only a few weeks or so until my birthday, I get to go home, and Christmas!!! I'm so excited for Christmas this year because my whole family will be together including Jacob, Nicole, and Samantha.

One of the reasons I'm excited for Thanksgiving is that I get to sleep past 7:00 am. I never get to do that during the week. It will be a nice treat for me. I'm still not sure what I'll be doing on the actual day of Thanksgiving but I'm sure I'll figure it out this weekend. Hopefully. I just have to make it through a few classes next Monday and Tuesday (which has been magically transformed into Friday by the power of BYU). It shouldn't be too bad though.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. Try to be thinking about the things you are grateful for in the coming days as the holiday approaches. I love you all and enjoy your holiday wherever you may be :)

Halloween

2009-11-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

This year for Halloween I dressed up with my roommates. We were the peanuts characters: Ashley was Charlie Brown, Mary was Snoopy, Shauna
was the Little Red-Headed Girl, and I was Lucy van Pelt. It was so much fun. We had a ward party the day before Halloween and then on Halloween we went to a stake activity and watched a movie with our neighbors.

Me as Sally :)

We ran into our good friend, Jane, at the stake activity. I love you, Jane!

This picture is a little dark. Sorry! But it's a group shot

The 3 of us at the ward party

Doughnuts on a string. Go, Ashley!

I love my roommates so much and I'm glad that we could dress up together and have such a good time this year. Last year I didn't do much for Halloween so I'm glad that we had a fun time this year. :)

Come What May and Love It

2009-10-23T09:56:00.000-06:00

Those are some inspired words from the late Elder Jospeh B. Wirthlin. His mother told him those words: come what may and love it. He also said "every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."

I took two midterms yestday and I really had no idea how they went. The screens in the testing center weren't working so I didn't know how I did. This morning I went online and checked my scores and it didn't look so good. Oh, well. I'm not going to let that get me down: come what may and love it.

On Thursday morning I woke up with a sore throat. This is not a good time for me to be getting sick. I had my two midterms and I have two more next week. Ick. Being sick is not conducive to my schedule. I really, really, really just wanted to sleep in my class this morning. After class I just wanted to go home and sleep instead of going to work: come what may and love it.

Elder Wirthlin gave some lessons and learning to love it that I'd like to share with all of you out there who take the time to read about my life. I'm sure you have all heard them before but sometimes it's good to have a reminder of what the apostles have said.

First, learn to laugh. Life can be frustrating and hard at times but sometimes you just need to laugh. Laughter will be much more joy into your life.

Second, seek for the eternal. A lot of life's little problems are very temporal. We just need to remember to keep an eternal perspective.

Third, understand the principle of compensation. Which means that Heavenly Father compensates the faithful for every loss that they will endure. The faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundred fold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude.

Forth and finally, trust in our Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is our partner, helper, and advocate. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to be successful. If we do our part, He will step in. Heavenly Father knows what is best for us and will always look out for us.

Come what may and love it. Endure the trials and life will move on. Life is so much more enjoyable if you love life and live it up to the fullest.

Life is Good

2009-09-29T10:10:00.000-06:00

Part of last week was really frustrating for me. I had so much to do and very little time to do it in. Plus I had a lot of other things on my mind.

Starting on Thursday my week just got so much better. I did pretty well on a test, I followed some amazing advice from a friend, I got my paper written, and I attended the Relief Society broadcast. These all happened over the course of a few days. I love this church and I'm glad that I have never had any reason to doubt my beliefs.

The last few days I can't but being happy and smiling all the time. Life is still tough and I still have a lot to do but there is so much to live for in life that I want to be happy about life.

I'm so excited for General Conference that is coming this weekend. My parents got me tickets to attend a session of conference on Saturday. I am so excited to go! I love hearing the prophets speak. It is so wonderful and I am so grateful to be living so close to Salt Lake when conference comes around.

Life is Good. Period. I'm still not getting as much sleep as I'd like but I've made it my goal to go to bed earlier this week. Wish me luck and we'll see how it goes. I heard this once: Never stop smiling because you have no idea who is falling in love with your smile. I think that is just one good reason to smile so keep on smiling.

I don't have much else to say except that I have been happy lately and I like it. Being happy is so much better then being frustrated with life so I'm gonna continue to try and be happy. Life will sometimes be hard and I realize that but I'm going to try and see the bright side of things.

Sleep

2009-09-24T09:54:00.001-06:00

Rewind to last school year: I was getting a very adequate amount of sleep. I was very good at going to bed by 10:30 and then getting up around 6:30 or 7:00 the next morning. I went to bed early last year and my classes started a little bit later. I didn't feel tired or stressed all the time.

Fast forward to the present. On average I go to bed after midnight most of the time. I'm super stressed out about all the papers and assignments that I have to do. Plus I have an exam today that I don't know how I'll do on. I'm so tired!!! It's hard to concentrate when you're exhausted. Yesterday was a long day and today will be another long day.

I'm just a little frustrated with life today. I have a lot to do and very little time to do it in. This morning in my half awake state as I dragged myself out of bed I decided there are some questions that I have been afraid to ask but I am going to go ahead and ask them and see what happens. Sometimes it takes a lot of courage to just ask a question or have a conversation.

Playing games can be fun for a time but after a while it gets old. I'm sick and tired of playing games. So I pose a question: why do people play games if no body likes them? I've always wondered why and I really want an answer. Why play games if no body likes them? Maybe I'll never know the answer but we'll see.

I know this sounds very pessimistic and I apologize. I'm not looking for anyone's pity or anything like that. I just needed to put my thoughts out there. From now on I'm going to try and have a more positive outlook on life. Yesterday I read a talk given by Elder Richard G. Scott given in 1996. There were a couple of things that stuck out to me that gave me some comfort. I'll share a quote from him that I really liked.

"I often interview strong priesthood leaders. When these men speak of their wives, it is with deep tenderness and obvious appreciation. Often, tears flow. Their comments include “She is more spiritual, purer, and more committed than I,” “She motivates me to be a better person,” “She is the strength of my life,” and “I couldn’t do it without her.” As a woman, please don’t judge how worthwhile, needed, and loved you are by our inept ability to express our true feelings. Your divinely conferred trait of giving of self without counting the cost leads you to underestimate your own worth."

"Generally you have no idea of how truly wonderful and capable you are, how very much appreciated and loved, or how desperately needed, for most men don’t tell you as completely and as often as needed." (Elder Richard G. Scott, Ensign November 1996, The Joy of Living the Great Plan of Happiness)

I'm sad to say that there are many times when I think I'm not good enough or wonderful enough or awesome enough for the people around me. I have roommates that tell me that's not true and I know I'm wrong when I think that way. Elder Scott gave me a very firm reminder that I am good enough. Just because people don't tell me that I'm worth it doesn't mean I'm not. I'm know I'm worth it and I know somebody else will realize it too when the time is right. I think right now I just need a few extra prayers for everything that I have on my plate. If nothing else, each of you can pray for me to get through everything I need to do.

I love you all and I just want to let each and everyone one of you that you are appreciated, loved, and very much needed.

Crazy Days

2009-09-11T08:40:00.000-06:00

I want to start with an apology to anyone who has been around me lately. I have been acting extremely crazy. I'm sorry!! But I think everyone needs to act crazy sometimes. But I think it's ok to be crazy if there are others that are crazy with you.

The last week or so has been pretty good. I'm finally getting back into the swing of school, I think. I'm still trying to find time for everything but I'll get there one day :) On Sunday I made some taco soup and it was yummy. I've been having soup all week and it's been good. I really like soup :)

I'm also glad it's the weekend. I like going to school but it is also nice to have a break from going to class and work.

I think part of the reason I'm being so crazy is that I'm not getting enough sleep every night. It's kinda funny. I know I should go to sleep earlier but by the time I;m done with my homework I want to be social and then sleep is what gives. Oh, well. That's just college life. Maybe one day I'll learn.

All in all, I'm a happy girl. And I've been having a few good days recently. Life is good. Always try to be grateful for what you have. I know I am. If I'm acting too crazy just let me know and maybe I can tone it down a little. I'm not making any promises but maybe...:)

And so it begins...

2009-09-04T10:09:00.000-06:00

I think it was last weekend that some people were bugging me that I never keep my blog updated so here it is. It's been a crazy busy couple of weeks and I'm pretty sure it will only get busier and busier as the weeks progress.

I successfully made it through the first week of my last fall semester as an undergrad at BYU. Yay!! It will be hard though so we'll see what happens in the coming weeks. A lot of people have told me I'm crazy for what I have going on but such is life. Right now I'm taking 16 credit hours of classes, working part time, and soon I will be starting to help with a research project one of my professors is conducting so I'll be staying pretty busy.

Oh classes. Right now I'm taking Cross Cultural Human & Family Development, Infant Development in the Family, Marriage Prep, LDS Temples, Intro to Social Work, and Intro to Sociology. It's all a little bit crazy and sometimes I don't know what is going on.

Hopefully I can just buckle down and get to work and still have time for fun because that is important as well. I'm just not feeling in the mood to be in school. I don't know if it's senioritis or what but I'm just not ready to be back at it.

I also got my calling changed in my ward a little bit. Instead of being in charge of FHE AND activities now I just get to do FHE. Problem: I don't have a co-chair to help me out yet though. Maybe on Sunday...we'll see.

I hope everyone is enjoying life and being back at school or whatever they are doing.

Ponderings

2009-08-14T16:00:00.000-06:00

My last post was kind of a vent post. I'm doing fine and I have had several conversations with several people that have made me realize my life isn't as bad as I sometimes think it is. I have so many blessings and so many things to be grateful for.

First of all, I am so grateful for having family close by that can help me out if they are able. Second, I am so glad that I have been doing well enough in school to get a scholarship. A few months back I was worried about being able to pay for school this year and then I found out that I was awarded a scholarship so I don't have to worry about that one.

I can't even begin to list the numerous things that have gone my way lately. There have been hard things too but I realized that is how the Lord tries us: by giving us hard things and seeing how we respond to them. Timing is the key to everything. A lot of the time we want everything to work out in our time, according to our plans. But that is not how our Heavenly Father works. He will send us different things in our lives when he knows it is best for us. We have to trust in his time and know that everything will work out for the best. Life would be so much easier if we were just given a schedule or calendar of when every thing was going to happen in our lives wouldn't it? But I guess that's why there's that trial of faith that is talked about in Ether 12:6.

Anyways, I just wanted to say that life is pretty good right now. This summer went by so fast for me. I've just finished up my internship and about 3 weeks ago I started training for my job that I'm going to have in the fall. So I've been pretty busy. I'm excited for my little vacation that I'm taking to California to visit my family. I am way excited but will miss all my friends in Provo. You guys rock!!

Friendships & Frustrations

2009-07-16T22:29:00.000-06:00

It's been a long while since I've posted a blog. I apologize to my dear, dear, dear reads. Life has been super busy and other things have taken priority. Tonight I was just feeling a little down and I needed a way to vent my frustrations so here it is. I'm sorry if this sounds like a pity party but this is just how I am feeling so if you don't want to read about it please don't continue.

Sometimes it's easier for me to just type my frustrations here where I don't have to listen to others input at the time I am feeling it. I'm sorry if you feel I'm unloading on you but I guess everybody needs to do that sometimes. Oh well.

For a while now I feel like I'm kind of stuck in a rut. I go to work and I come home. Yeah I do lots of different things on the weekends and I stay busy but I just don't feel like I'm developing relationships that will last me through the rest of my life. I guess what it gets down to is boys. Stupid boys. -sigh- I just feel like whenever I start getting to know somebody knew they always play the "we're friends only" card. And I'm okay with that most of the time. But there just comes a point when it's too hard to handle anymore.

When I was a little bit younger, I thought I'd be married by the time I was 21. But I'm not and there aren't any prospects of it happening anytime soon. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with being single but I'd like to at least be thought of like girl and not just "my friend" by the guys that I know.

Lately, I've been trying to be a better person because I tend to be a little mean and sarcastic where boys are concerned. I even had a friend ask my roommate if I even liked him as a person at all. When I found that out I was a little crushed. I think I'm little bit too much like my dad. I need to learn to keep my mouth shut sometimes or most times as the case maybe. I also tend to be a little sensitive when people say things to me sometimes and I'm trying so hard to work on that. But it's a work in progress.

I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me I just needed to vent for a minute. Sometimes a girl just feels like crying and that's how I'm feeling right now. But I don't want to. I don't like crying in front of people because they ask what's wrong and I don't want to explain that nothing is really wrong. Just that I'm feeling down.

Thanks for reading. I'm sorry if this was a downer on your day. I really do apologize. I just needed to get these thoughts out of my head. Much love to all my faithful readers and friends. Love ya!

Happiness in a Classy Black Number

2009-06-11T22:50:00.000-06:00

Ladies and gents I am not talking about some nice black article of clothing but about my new (well new to me) car! She is so pretty and very classy looking. I recently purchased (by purchased I mean my parents purchased) a 2004 black Hyundai Sonata. The inside is so pretty! It's tan leather interior . It has a sun roof and a CD player. Everything is automatic: transmission, windows, mirrors, doors, seats, everything! It is so awesome and I am so excited for the freedom that my own car will provide. It's a little scary because the car is actually mine. It's in my name and everything. Every time I drive it I'm afraid something bad is going to happen and I will total my car and then I will have flushed lots of money down the drain. Hopefully I will get over this fear soon. Utah drivers just make me extremely nervous...

On a lighter note I just want to mention my new favorite song by Taylor Swift. It's called White Horse. I've included it here for your convenience so you should check it out. It's kind of a sad song but I love it a lot. One reason I love it so much is that I danced last night to this song with one amazing guy who we will call Beautiful so as not to mention any names. He's probably the coolest guy I've ever met. It made me so happy to dance with him. Ok now I'm done with my girly moment but just thought I'd let you know what's up.

P.S. Pictures of my car will be coming shortly. I just haven't had time to take any/post them. Much love!

Excitement!!

2009-05-19T08:58:00.000-06:00

This weekend I was talking to my dad and we were just joking around because that's how my dad is and then he said "I'm going to be serious now so you need to listen to what I'm going to say." I thought he was joking but he had something serious to tell me. My dad informed me that he and my mom are going to buy me a car!! I am so excited but a little worried at the same time. I'm excited because this is gonna be awesome! I've never had a car at school before. I'm scared because I have to find it and do everything to get it but I don't know the first thing about buying a car. I need to find someone who can help me decide and go with me to look at cars and check out the engine and everything. It's so hard and frustrating and difficult I just don't know where to begin searching. If anyone has an advice, I will willingly listen to what ever you have to say. This probably doesn't convey how excited I am but I am totally stoked!

I'm Lovin' It!

2009-05-12T10:01:00.000-06:00

This is probably going to a repeat to some people that I have talked to but I absolutely positively love my job! I haven't been able to say that in a long time. But it's the best job ever. I get to learn new skills that will help me in my academic career and I get to work as an actual researcher. It is so awesome and I love meeting all the interesting individuals that I am interviewing.

Yesterday before my staff meeting I ran into Alex Jensen who just graduated from my major in April and he used to be the president of the SFLSA and he asked me how interviewing was going and I told him it was awesome and I love my job. He thinks I should be a spokesperson for Flourishing Families Project to get people to do interviewing because I love it so much and I am always excited for it. I totally would too. This is one of the best learning experiences I have ever had and I am so grateful that I was accepted into the position. I am learning so many things that I can use just as well outside of my job. I love it!

First Interview

2009-05-02T20:52:00.001-06:00

So today I gave my first interview for my internship as a researcher for the Flourishing Families Project at BYU. Last night I was really worried about it because it came up last minute and I didn't have a lot of time to prepare for it But when I woke up this morning I wasn't nervous or anxious about it at all. It was so good and the family was so nice and I had such a good time and I don't think I forgot anything too major. I think I'm going to have a great time doing this this summer. Yay me!

Settling in

2009-04-28T20:10:00.000-06:00

The last 5 or so days have been quite hectic. This last weekend I moved from apartment 25 to apartment 26 so my new room looked like a bomb went off but now everything is in it's proper place. I'm excited to be in my new place. It's not that far from the old one but it will be lots of fun this summer. For some reason it's a lot easier for me to ask my new roomies to take me places then the old ones. Weird...

Today was the official start of my internship. I just helped semi-organize the office and we had a little orientation. I think tomorrow I will start trying to contact families and make appointments for interviews. It will be exciting but scary when I acutally do an interview. I'll let you know how it goes when it comes around.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) I'm going to start training for my second job doing data entry for one of my professors. Hopefully I'll be able to keep that job into the fall...we'll have to see what Dr. Walker says. Keep your fingers crossed for me though :)

I really like my life right now. Sure work is a little hard and stressful. But I like it and I really heart my roommates and I'm excited for this summer and all the things I'm going to learn. I think I'm going to experiment with some new recipes and bake some new things. I already tried something new on Sunday and it was really yummy. It was called Edith's Viva Chicken. It came out of the recipe book my mom got me from my home ward. It was so yummy! And the leftovers were/are great as well. If anyone wants to try it just let me know

Done and Done

2009-04-20T12:50:00.000-06:00

That's how my life looks: done and done. I finished all my finals on Friday so right now I'm at a loss of what to do with my time. Starting to pack today to move into my new apartment would be kind of useless because I'm not really packing anything just piling things up to carry next door. I'll probably start making my piles in the living room on Wednesday and Thursday but until then I don't know what to do. My roommates all had their cleaning/move out checks today. 2 of them are staying in the same apartment and one is going home either tonight or tomorrow morning. It's sad to see people leave and move on but life is full of changes and that will never change.

So I'll probably fill my time with watching movies or something. I know. Not very productive or social but everyone around is busy taking finals. But by the end of the week things should be looking up. I get to move in with my new roommates on Friday and Saturday. They are some awesome girls and heart them so much. The only sad thing about that situation is that Jackie is leaving to never return to the land of Provo. Which is very sad. I'll miss her. Maybe one of these days I will have to take a road trip to visit her.

I've been missing my niece and Nicole since they went to California last week. I think this is the longest that I've gonna with out seeing them since Christmas. The two of us can hardly stand being apart for a week: what's gonna happen when we have to be real adults and don't live so close to each other? Maybe I'll just follow them around the country until I get married. That's kind of a creeper thought....

Well, anyways. I'm having a lazy time this week until my internship starts on the 28th. I'm excited for it. I can't wait. And I got my shirts that I'll wear for it. They are green and awesome. I also got a jacket. It's black with green lettering. If you want to see them you'll just have to ask because I don't feel like taking a picture of my clothes and uploading it here.

I love you all and I think you are awesome. Have an awesome summer if I don't see ya!

No Words

2009-04-08T21:59:00.000-06:00

Someone once told me "Life sucks and then you die." Lately that is how I have been feeling. There have been a lot of things just piling up lately that are stressing me out and make me want to cry. I'm almost to the point where I just want to give up. To name a few: I have to completely rework my fall schedule because the time of one ity bity class got changed, the stress of last minute projects and looming finals are eating away at me, I don't get enough sleep, it's cold, and some other things I won't go into. It's just crazy. I don't want to sound like I'm whining but I just needed to get that out.

I was doing a reading assignment today for my Forming Marital Relationships class and I ran across something that I found interesting. "As a bride, woman is more beautiful than as a maiden; as a mother she is more beautiful than as a bride; as a wife and mother she is a good word in season, and with the years she becomes more beautiful." I think it's interesting that the world is always telling people that aging is bad and have all the surgeries and use the creams to keep yourself looking younger. That quote from Soren Kierkegaard shows that women are more beautiful with age and I really like that. Funny story: today I was sitting in the JSB before my class started and I heard this girl talking on the phone and she said "I need to hurry up and get married before I'm a junior otherwise people will think I'm wierd." I seriously wanted to smack some sense into her. There is NOTHING wrong, I repeat for emphasis, NOTHING wrong with graduating college being single. I will probably do that. Some girls are just rediculous. I'm taking Kierkegaard's view: as I age I can only become more beautiful. That goes for all the rest of you out there. You girls are amazing and you will only become more amazing and beautiful as you get older.

One last thought from my reading: "Poor man, who must go out in the world to seek a daisy such as that and yet does not find it; poor man, who at most has a notion that his neighbor grows it; happy the married man who really knows how to rejoice in his thousandfold joy. If he finds this flower somewhere else than in his own yard, this flower that--just as that century plant is remarkable for blossoming only once every 100 years--has even more seldom rarity that it blossoms every day, and does not close at night--then he has the joy of telling at home what he hasw seen out in the world..."

Take it or leave it. Those are my musing of the day. Each of you is just as rare and beautiful as that flower. You blossom every day and don't close at night and that is why we are amazing.

Beginnings of April

2009-04-05T19:01:00.000-06:00

This week has been super crazy busy for me so let me start at the beginning of the week. On April 1st (Wednesday) I presented some research that I have been working on all semester in a research conference at BYU. It was called the Student Mentored Research Conference that was funded by the Mary Lou Fulton Chair in the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences. It was way exciting! I worked on my research with another girl in my class, Allison, and our faculty mentor was Dr. Randal Day, PhD. Who works in the SFL department at BYU. Our project was on Sibling relationships, family connectedness, and prosocial behaviors. We hypothesized that family connectedness and prosocial would positively influence sibling relationships. We found that to be correct. But we also found that family connectedness influenced sibling relationships more then prosocial behaviors. That's a synopsis of our project. The conference lasted from 9-3 but we had a break from 12-1:30 for lunch. It was way nice and catered.

This weekend was General Conference as you probably know. A friend of mine found out last weekend that I'd never been to the Conference Center for conference so I went up to Salt Lake today (Sunday). I got to sit on the ground floor for this mornings session and it was so awesome!! It was so amazing to sit in the same room with Heavenly Father's prophets. Some people say they have a hard time paying attention even in the conference center but I was riveted the whole time. It was pretty much one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I totally want to go to Salt Lake in October but we'll see.

Colors Make the World a Better Place

2009-03-29T12:16:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I had the best time of my life. I went to the Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork, Utah. It was amazing. I hung out with many different groups of my friends that were there. We threw chalk, danced, and chanted. And of course we took tons of pictures an d it was awesome. The world would be a much better place if everybody just walked around colorful all the time. I can't wait for next year because I am so gonna go again. This year I barley got there in time for the chalk throwing so next year I'll have to make sure and get there extra early. It was an amazing cultural experience that I think all should take the chance to experience. My hair felt so gross afterward but that's what showers are made for, right? I think it was one of those things that I will not soon forget. I'm so glad that I can live someplace that I can experience these amazing things

So Cold.....

2009-03-26T20:15:00.000-06:00

So I think I pretty much jinxed the spring weather we were having in Provo by blogging about it and changing my layout to something springy. Woe is me. The last couple of days have been miserably cold. It wouldn't be so bad if I could spend all my time in doors but I am not so lucky. Just walking to campus so I can go to class or work on some projects is almost unbearable. It is so cold!! I don't think it would be so bad if the wind would stop blowing but oh man. No cigar on that one for sure. Another thing that makes this winter weather unbearable is the fact that for the last 2 days (today and Wednesday) I got to sit outside in the freezing coldness for 2 hours. Brrrr!!! That isn't fun in case you were wondering. If you're wondering why I would torture myself that way, I was working a Choose 2 Give booth and if you want to know what that is leave me a comment and I'll get back to you. Needless to say it was not fun. Today, it seriously took me almost an hour to defrost after I did my shift at the both and let me tell you that is so not cool on any level.

So the semester is coming to a close so fast. That is both good and bad. Good because I'm ready to be done with homework, tests, and crazyness in general. Bad because I don't want to take my exams. Good because I am excited to move into my new apartment with the coolest girls ever! Bad because I don't feel any where near ready for my internship. Good because maybe with summer it will get warm, maybe. Bad because I'm losing a cool roommate who is going home for the summer.

I recently made a really major decision that I would like to inform you all about. I decided that I am going to apply to grad school so I'm going to keep going to school after I graduate with my bachelors degree next April. If I can get into the program that I want. I'm apply to get a masters in Social Work. I might by applying at 2 different universities. I was just going to apply at BYU but a good friend of mine told me how compeptive the program is: they only admit 40 students a year out of the 150-200 that apply :( Scary. So I'm thinking about applying at a CSU (California State University). Since I'm from California I wouldn't have to pay out of state tuition. That makes me sad a little. If did go back to California, I would be leaving all my awesome friends behind and I would miss my family that is here. I would miss my little niece so much!! I would miss my brother and you too, Nicole. But I don't know if that is going to happen. It's just something that is up in the air right now.

If you have any advice go ahead and leave me a comment. Life is crazy yet awesome at the same time. Until next time, have an awesome day and I hope I can make you smile.

Spring is Here

2009-03-20T15:18:00.000-06:00

The last couple of days in Provo have been absolutely gorgeous! I love it! It has started getting warm and people are laying out on the grass. I even wore shorts to school one day this week. I've worn flip flops a lot this week to and it's amazing. I hope the nice spring weather is here to stay and it stays this nice out. I'm tired of being cold so I like the sun. In my apartment we even turn our heater off for the last 4 days. It is wonderful! I can't wait for summer. I just have to make it through last projects. papers, and the dreaded F-word...dun dun dun!! Finals. Yep they are coming up and hopefully I will be able to survive them.

Bucket List

2009-03-12T13:47:00.000-06:00

My friend Aimee inspired me to think about all of the things I want to do in this world before I die. She's compiling a list of 100 things she wants to do before she dies and so am I. It's not complete but it's a start. They are in no particular order. They are just things that I would like to do in my life time if given the chance.

1.) Get married in the temple
2) Get my endowment
3.) Visit Europe
4.) Graduate from college
5.) Have a real job that actually pays good
6.) Own a car
7.) Visit Yellowstone (Nicole you should make this happen :))
8.) Have a baby
9.) Have a first kiss
10.) Kiss in the rain or snow or both :)
11.) Go to graduate school
12.) Have a valentine on Valentine's Day
13.) Do a regular exercise program
14.) Hike the Y
15.) Dance with someone I actually like
16.) Learn to drive a stick
17.) Spoil my niece
18.) Have a better relationship with my little sister
19.) Own my own home
20.) Have laser surgery so that I don't need contacts or glasses
21.) Catch a t-shirt at a BYU sporting event
22.) Watch the long version of Pride and Prejudice
23.) Fall in love
24.) Go on a road trip across the country
25.) Grow a garden
26.) Make my parents proud
27.) Do something memorable with my life
28.) Make a difference in someone else's life
29.) Make people smile
30.) Be more out spoken
31.) Be more out going
32.) Be accepted into a Master's program
33.) Graduate with my master's degree

This list isn't complete yet but I will keep working on it and update it when i think of new things. You should all keep checking back to see what I add to my list. I have a bucket list. Do you??

I am so Excited!!!!

2009-02-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

Today I went to an internship fair that was on campus with a friend in my major. I didn't really need to talk to anyone about getting an internship because I already have one that I am doing this summer. But I figured might as well look around and see what else is out there.

I walked by this booth for New Haven: A Therapeutic Haven and School for Girls. The human resource director was there talking to students about the school and what it does. I just heard a few things in passing but it sounded like something that I would want to do for a job. For real...as in after I graduate from college. I was so excited so I talked to her for a few minutes about job opportunities after I graduate. She had some really nice things to tell me and I think I might contact them next year when it gets closer to graduation time. Maybe next fall. I think I would really enjoy working with these at risk youth. Oh!! I'm so excited to have some direction in my life. It's a great feeling and hopefully everything will work out for the best.

Reflections

2009-02-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

I am totally finished with my first round of midterms as of today. They were hard and one of them I wasn't totally prepared for but hopefully everything will turn out ok in the end. I am so happy to have them finished before the weekend. I hate leaving exams over weekends if I can avoid it. Who wants to stress over a test on Sunday when you should be enjoying your day of rest?

This weekend should be interesting. It's a long weekend so no school on Monday. Yay!!! But this time around that means Tuesday is magically transformed into Monday. That is the magic that can only happen at BYU. So I get two long days of school right in a row. (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are my long days). I will be in the apartment all bymyself for a couple of days, how sad is that? Megan is going home to Vernal for the weekend. Brittany is flying to Oregon to see her family for the weekend. They ar both leaving on Friday sometimes. Anna is going up to Logan and she is leaving sometime on Saturday. Oh dear, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep in this apartment all by my lonselome. Whatever shall I do??

Well, I really should be doing my homework instead of blogging but that is what college is all about right? Putting off what you can do later to do what you would rather do now? I think I will go do some reading now. I hope you all have enjoyed reading about my life. Love ya all!

P.S. I have decided that Utah has the nicest people on the planet. Well at least Provo does. I was totally walking to work and it takes me 30 minutes to get there so I always leave around 5:30 to get there on time. It's snowing like crazy and miserable to walk in. Anyways, I'm walking along 880 N and this girl rolls down her window and is like "do you want a ride?" So she gave me a ride all the way to work right on the doorstep of the Taylor Building. How nice of her. I hope she is so blessed for her service to me. So I'm way early for work so I decided to add this little tid bit to my blog. Enjoy and stay warm!

Pondering

2009-02-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

Today I was kind of feeling down and out of place a little. Sometimes that happens in life when you know you're supposed to be where you are but you just somehow feel like you are in the wrong place. Anyway, now that I'm done rambling that's how I was feeling today. And then I did some things that helped me out so much. #1: I talked to my bishop and he said something that really helped me out. #2: I was reading my scriptures and I read in Alma 38:5 and it said to trust in the Lord and he will deliver you from your trails. #3: I went singing at a nursing home with my roommates and some guys from ward. It was nice to do some service and it felt good. They really seemed to like it.

Also I've changed my background on my blog to something springing in hopes of spring coming early this year. I'm tired of it being cold and I want to wear my capris and flip flops and not wear a coat up to campus. This is my wishful thinking so help me wish and maybe spring will come early to Provo this year. I love you all and have a good week!

Back Pain

2009-01-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

So today while I was walking home from work in the freezing cold that is Provo I decided that I am going to die young and have back pain. I am going to die young because of all the junk I eat because I cannot afford to buy all the healthy things that I should be eating and on Monday at a Ward fireside I had a bunch of strawberries piled high with whipped cream. I think that pretty much cancels out any nutritional value the fruit once had.

As for the back pain, my backpack is too heavy. But I have no way of lightening my load. I only take the books I'm planning on reading with me to campus but somehow they are very heavy. And I take my laptop everyday up that stupid hill. I can't just leave my computer at home because it makes it easy to find things and I take notes on it in all my classes.

So I've come to the sole conclusion that I am going to die a young woman with back pain. The end.

Back in School

2009-01-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been back in school for about a week and a half and still don't want to go to school. I just have to get used to it again. I was only off for about 2 and a half weeks and yet I don't want to go to school. I'm doing my homework like a good girl but I'm just not in the mood for it.

I started the semester registered for 18 credits. By the middle of my first week I realized that was basically impossible on top of that I'm working 9 hours a week. I dropped one of my easier classes so that I can focus on my harder ones this semester and then I'll pick up that easier one next year (hopefully my last year year!).

This semester I'm taking Family Adaptation and Resiliency, Sociology of the LDS people, Forming Marital Relationships, a class for my internship, and Socialization Across Childhood. There is going to be alot of writing in my classes this year but I guess that's what I get for being in the social sciences. Hopefully everything will go alright and I'll make it through these hard classes and then next year maybe my classes will be a little bit easier.

I love seeing my neice and now she is smiling lots. She is so cute and I love her!

Christmas and then Some

2008-12-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I last posted anything with finals and the holidays things have been really busy the last few weeks. But here it is and I hope you all enjoy reading 'bout my Christmas at home with my family.

During finals week my family drove to Provo because Sammy was getting her name and blessing on December 21st. She was so cute and sweet in her blessing dress. Actually, it was my dressing that my mom (Sammy's grandma) made for me when I was a baby. It was a really special time. Jacob got to bless his little girl in his apartment. It was really cramped in their little living room but it was such a special occasion. During that weekend I also went sledding with Jacob and two of my younger brothers and it was super fun.

The day after Sammy's blessing I drove home to Ridgecrest with the rest of my family except for Jacob and Nicole because they were going to Idaho for Christmas. It was a long drive but the roads were pretty clear. Which was really good because it didn't add any extra time to the trip.

Christmas day was pretty fun. My brothers woke me up too early of course. Maybe one day the will learn that sleeping in is a good thing. We spent the day playing games and just being together. And I ate way too much but I guess that's what happens on holidays.

I've been mostly playing games and lounging around the house doing not much of anything. I also had to do driving school because of the ticket I got back in August. It took forever!!! I did it online which was faster and cheaper then doing it at an actual school. I'm glad it's over though.

Today at church was pretty interesting. I got to see one of my good friends from when I was younger. Steven got back from his mission while I was at school this semester. It was so nice to see him and catch up a little. I can't believe it has been 2 years already!! Talk about crazy. Now I feel old......

Not much else has happened on my break but I might go out of town to do some shopping with the money I got for Christmas so we shall see if anything interesting happens. New Years Eve might be fun too. But we will see. Stay tuned for updates......

Birthday/End of Semester

2008-12-17T22:29:00.000-07:00

The one on the top is from last night when we went out to dinner to celebrate the end of the semester. Yay! We had such a good time.The one on the bottom is from my birthday. My roommates and I went to a basket ball game for my birthday (BYU v BSU).

This one is right after me and Megan at a couple of red chili peppers. They were alot hotter then I thought they were going to be. My mouth still burned after a while.

My roommies were so cool for my birthday. They made me breakfast and decorated the apartment with streamers and a sign that said "Happy Birthday Briana". It was a pretty good birthday overall. Fall semester is over now. It was a long hard semester so I'm glad it's over. It went by pretty fast. I think I'll get pretty good grades so everything will work out in the end. My family is coming tomorrow and I am so excited to see them and go home for Christmas. We don't have snow but it's still home.

Birthday Post

2008-12-11T11:59:00.001-07:00

In honor of my birthday which was yesterday I think I shall post 21 things that are uniquely me. They say that when you have your birthday you are a little bit older and a little bit wiser. Older yes, wiser I'm not so sure about.

21 Things that Are Unique to Briana
~I have an eye that twitches when I chew and swallow
~I have never had a boyfriend or been kissed by a boy
~I have the best roommates in the whole world!
~I have the cutest niece ever!
~I act pretty much crazy all the time
~I love snow even though I am from sunny southern California
~I love Cougar sports - I'm a Cougar for life
~I like serving others
~I can manage stress somewhat well
~By January, I will have watched the Joseph Smith movie 3 times all within a months time
~I share my birthday with my mom
~I love to wear scarfs when it is cold outside
~I like to clean - the apartment just feels so much better after it has been cleaned
~I enjoy reading in my spare time (usually when on breaks from school)
~I heart people watching but not in a stalkerish way
~I love yogurt and granola any time of the day or night
~I love walking around in the snow when it is lightly falling - not to hard and not to light. In the middle
~I like making new friends and catching up with old ones
~I love snuggling up in a blanket when it is cold out
~I love to bake when I have the time
~I also love to stay up late and talk with my roommates because the crazyest things get said in the middle of the night

Well there you go. 21 things about me. Once I take my birthday pictures of my camera I'll fill you in on what I did for my birthday.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T10:33:00.001-07:00

This year my thanksgiving was interesting. It was the first year that I haven't spent it with my family. But I got to spend it with another family. I went with Jacob and Nicole to have thanksgiving with her family in Logan, Ut and Preston, Id. It was lots of fun and it was nice not to have to travel so far for the holiday.

It was so cute seeing Sammy with her cousin Landon--he's 3 months old.

It was really nice of Nicole's family to take me in for Thanksgiving since technically I'm not a part of their family. I am really grateful for them.

I finally got to see Twilight! I pretty much loved it. We had a girl's night out after thanksgiving dinner. I went with Nicole, Angela (Nicole's sister), Nicole's mom, and Nicole's grandma. It was super fun and I am totally buying that movie when it comes out on DVD.

On Friday I got to go to temple square and see all the lights and watch the Joseph Smith movie and it was pretty much amazing. I had a pretty full weekend overall. Oh! And I also got to help Jacob and Nicole set up their Christmas tree. It was so much fun. It was cute when Sammy was playing with the Christmas lights.