I guess that I am extremely witty...

Sunday Post II of Grattitude.

Sunday: I went to my new ward again and was practically bombarded by friendly people. I also received a new calling to be part of the Spiritual and Temporal Welfare committee; I am grateful to be called to a position that provides a lot more opportunities to serve and get to know people. I am excited!
Monday: Sally's "Maint Required" light went on while I was driving to the gym...and then when I got back in my car after it had shut off and has not come back on since, phew!
Tuesday: I had 3 job interviews and they went really well! I have had call backs for second or third interviews from all of the places...so hopefully I will be employed again soon. But I was grateful just to be contacted so quickly! Also went and saw The Proposal with Hillary on 1/2 night at the dollar theater (somehow it was still a $1...) and we loved it! Cute, funny, ridiculous, embarrassing, sad... many emotions. I love being able to spend time with her! It was ALSO the first day of Fall and so I spent a few hours on a scenic drive with my pseudo family, it was wonderful!
Wednesday: Had a second interview with a law firm and it too went well. I am grateful that my dad is an attorney, I felt very comfortable there amongst all the lingo, books and chaos! I also went to a new institute class which I really enjoyed, BYU institute is so much different! But I met some nice people and I am glad that I had the opportunity to go and learn more.
Thursday: I was in bed by 9 and it felt amazing...
Friday: I went to an ACLU sponsored lecture/panel discussing LGBT rights. It was very informative and well done. I have since been in contact with a couple of the attorneys from the panel and have been learning so much and I feel much more confident in my decisions and feelings. I am grateful to people that can peacefully discuss their differences in hopes of finding a way to satisfy everyone.
Saturday: Last night I went with my old Single's Ward relief society to a stake dinner and the broadcast. It was so inspiring! I am grateful that I can see the changes that are being made in my life. Before I always looked down somewhat on feminitiy and being a mother/homemaker. But now, as my desires are becoming more centered around the Savior and doing what is right, I am seeing the need and not only that, I like it!

Kids Are So Silly!

I'm sorry, I had to.

Dear Fall,

You have just begun! In celebration of your arrival I prepared quite the little adventure. I even convinced some friends to partake in the festivities. We went for a 2 hour drive up the canyon, saw many of nature's wondrous blessings- some of which only you have the power to make happen (pretty leaves!), ate warm comfort food and breathed deeply of your smokey air.

In the past I have written many reasons for my love of your equinox. So I will not be repetitive. I will simply say, "welcome and I love you!" I feel many blissful moments are on their way.

xoxo
me

In Reference to Emily's blog.

So I made a gallant attempt at making the Pizza Pinwheels that my sister Emily blogged about the other week. To many people's surprise, I wouldn't say that mine were a complete tragedy. They were a bit dry... so note to self- use more sauce next time. But I did top mine with a little extra mozz and a blend of Italian spices and they were pretty good. So even with my novice cooking skills, I was able to do alright! Thank Em for the recipe and idea!

PS: I very rarely use disposable paper/plastic/Styrofoam products (cups, plates, bowls, etc...). They are bad for the environment, I'm sorry!!

Tidbits.

Just a little note... last Sunday was Allie's FIRST day in Nursery at church. She was so excited. Brandon and Lisa reported that she did very well, stole the show amongst her classmates and that no one had more attachment anxiety than them. It is amazing how quickly she is growing. I have always referred to her as Baby, but she isn't much of a baby anymore. I want time to slow down just a little! Oh how I love her.

Useless Knowledge... sad but oddly cute...

Coyotes are extremely loyal to their mates. If one is caught in a trap, the other will bring small game for it to eat; it will soak itself in a river to allow its thirsty mate to chew on its damp fur for water. It has been documented that the free coyote will stay with its captive partner until death.

*I was trying to explain this to my roommates and their men... they were stuck under a shadow of disbelief. But it is true!!!

ABC's on my mind.

• A is for Adrenaline: The movie 12 Rounds was playing at the gym while I was running...I ran 2 extra miles and much faster than I usually do and didn't feel a thing!
• B is for Borders: The Best hot cocoa ever, of which The Couples and I will be partaking of in about 3 hours...
• C is for the The Couples: Both of my roommates are engaged to wonderful young men. It is like a constant Zoobie date at our house. I am a professional 5th wheel.
• D is for Debt: Avoid it at all costs!
• E is for Egg Whites: Egg whites only have 17 calories in them! Versus the full egg which has 95 calories.
• F is for Frank: Still reading The Sportswriter and still unsure of my feelings for the main character.
• G is for Glutes: They are a real pain to get in shape...but when they are in shape...bow chicka bow wow...
• H is for Hair: Mine is all gone and I am still getting used to it.
• I is for Indecision: Sometimes we have to just Decide to Decide!
• J is for Jordan: My friend is taking the LSAT on Saturday...ew...good luck!
• K is for is for Kimono: Thinking of going as a Geisha for Halloween...or Cleopatra, not sure yet.
• L is for Love: I have so much love for the family, friends and things in my life that I could burst!
• M is for Mama: We all love Nancy. Don't know where we'd be without her.
• N is for Note Pads: I love sticky notes and note pads. I single handedly keep Post It in business.
• O is for Obnoxious: When it is really late at night, I saw really obnoxious things..
• P is for Pancakes: I really really want some. James... make some pancakes for me please.
• Q is for Quarterback: Football season has begun!
• R is for Robbie: Oh we have such good times! I really really want a puppy now and I blame him.
• S is for Solar System: I did not know that Pluto is not really a planet anymore, I thought that was a rumor. This makes me a little bit sad. All those Solar System projects for nothing.
• T is for Temple Recommend: Mine expired and I was so sad... time to renew! Oh and Tithing,- must pay this, always.
• U is for Underwire: I do not like to wear bras and rarely do I. However I decided to be an adult yesterday and wear one and boy was it uncomfortable.
• V is for Vitamins: I am taking prenatals again to make my hair grow faster. But don't take them on an empty tummy or it hurts :(
• W is for Water: I watched a show on the Animal Planet all about underwater monsters, it was AWESOME.
• X is for p90X: I want to do this...
• Y is for Yulia: our tiny little Russian friend has returned to her motherland. But she was adorable and such a pleasure to get acquainted with.
• Z is for Zack: Zack is a member of The Couples and one of the best boyfriends I have ever seen. He is so good to Angela, he's a keeper!

The New Sunday Post.

While working at 6 AM with my friend Sarah, (or the lack of working I should say) the topic of blogging emerged and it has sprung forth a totally brilliant idea.

What I have decided to do is each Sunday I will blog about my past week. Due to the fact that I do nothing all that interesting and have nothing of lofty importance to share, I have decided that I will write about something that I was grateful for on each day. With the upcoming task in the back of my mind all week long, I like to think that it will propel me to be more positive, observant and grateful for the little things in life. SO here we go!

Sunday: I went to my new BYU ward for the first time. While I was not completely comfortable with meeting in classrooms and participating in the renewing of covenants in the middle of the Tanner building... I realized that it could be worse. The testing center? Total anxiety. Or like the Jews during WWII...meeting in hiding, or Alma fleeing to the woods to escape death for his testimony and worship. So while it was new to me and I was a bit out of my element, I was grateful to have someplace to meet with students my age striving for the same goals in life and with their hearts centered on the Lord.

Monday: They made these new Nature Valley granola bars. They are dark chocolate, fruit and nut. I always buy the Fruit and Nut. I was leery of going astray from the familiar. But the dark chocolate ones looked so good too...well to my left I saw a wonderful box that said "New!" It was a package of 3 Chocolate Granola Bars and 3 Fruit and Nut Bars. Way to go Nature Valley.

Tuesday: Angela and I went to visit Mary. She is immobile, elderly, and blind, along with suffering from a plethora of other ailments. I am grateful to medicine today, the knowledge that we have to keep ourselves healthy and that I have been blessed with a body that doesn't make it too hard to do.

Wednesday: I chopped off 10 inches of hair. This was very traumatizing for me. Until I saw a girl that was balding. I am grateful that I have hair to cut off and friends nice enough to lie to me and tell me I'm cute.

Thursday: AHHHHH the day off. Enough said. oh wait... They have recently resurfaced the track at the high school, it was so nice and plushy! I am not much of a runner but due to my love of food, I make a valiant attempt. The fresh squishy track made this all the more bearable!

Friday: Puppies!!! Robbie and I went dog walking and it was a beautiful day out! I was in such a raunchy mood and going and playing with the dogs and chatting with him made my day!

Saturday: Hillwawee Woo. This move has been difficult for her, acclimating has proven to be a bully and very emotional. But she has helped me so much and we had the best chicken tacos... after a 3 hour coma/nap on my little twin bed.

LOVE THIS!!! Hahaha Will is so silly.

I love my daddy.

I do not like Taylor Swift. However, I do love love love John Schmidt's piano talent. When I heard this compilation I was in awe as to how much I really liked it. Then I listened to what John said about his inspiration for this song. And when he said that it was all for his daughter, that in itself was touching. But he said that her favorite part was right at that key change and he so he wanted to prolong that moment for her, to draw out that twinkling, happy feeling for her. And I thought, "wow, what a great dad..." and then I started to think about my own papa and what a wonderful dad he is to me. You can see from prior posts, there has been a bit of boobing going on from yours truly. But it really has been an emotional and stressful time for me and on several occasions the only thing that I could think to do was to call dad. He has been supportive, non judgemental, helpful emotionally, financially and spiritually. I know that my parents love and pray for me every night and I am so grateful for them. And in the broader spectrum of things, I am also grateful to my Heavenly Father. I know that He is always there for me and that He guides my parents to help and love me more and more everyday, despite my aberrations, stubbornness, temper and past.
xoxo

Whirlwind of a Week.

Here are the things that have happened this week.

Sunday: Found out that I was getting a new roommate. HIS name was Chris.
Monday: Got to work an hour late on the first day of the off season. Found out that I was still in contract with a different apt and needed to pay first/last month's rent and a deposit.
Tuesday: Moved. Paid lots of money (made possible by the Bank of Strawderman) Slight emotional breakdown. Played it out with Matthew and James Face.
Wednesday: Worked my regular APX job, got a new job as a full time Nanny.
Thursday: Have had no sleep whatsoever, sinuses are on fire, still manage to go on a great date.
Friday: Worked, moved more things, literally ripped off half of my thumb fingernail, canceled camping due to inclement weather, slept like a baby.
Saturday: Breakfast with Hillary, errands, US vs. El Salvador soccer game, dinner and play time with Hillary.

And true to my posting nature, here come the wordy explanations.
My landlord did not realize that one of the roommates would be leaving and that someone else would need to take her place. As a last minute resort she found Chris. Chris is great. I found out on Monday that he was for sure moving in and about 20 minutes later found out that I would be responsible for two housing contracts with the inability to sell one. In a matter of hours everything that I owned (which is A LOT) was being packed up. Of course this happened on the first day of school, so most friends could not help me, or were still out of state for summer sales, one broke his arm, one had a broken car...I was friendless. Along came Jordan (aka Knight in Shining Gym Shorts) to help me move all of my things. This is what he walked in to (this is only the stuff in my room...).

I am really not one to ever ask for help, especially for things that are physically demanding. I generally do them on my own, no matter the price. However, with the financial stress, the moral tug of war about living with a boy, and many other things, this situation required reinforcements. After I spent about 45 minutes curled up in a ball, crying in my closet, slapping myself across the face to snap out of it, and his arrival, we made a lot of progress. Well I suppose it was more like me losing my keys for an hour, Kk stopping by, loading up the Hondas, getting lost going to the new casa, Jordan carrying pretty much everything up 3 flights of stairs while I walk around my new apartment whining, and then pretending to be happy about it... I guess he made a lot of progress for me. Thanks pup.
The next day was thankfully my day off and it was primarily spent moving. Later that night I went to see the Belmont Boys. Oh how it's been a while. That was followed by a mini road trip in a mini semi truck with my James Face.
The next day I did travel up to Cedar Hills where I met my new boss Jared. I will be a full time nanny to his adorable 14 month old son, Ren. I will miss my APX friends- it has been nice to be friends with girls! But we will still find time to play, especially because the hours with this new gig are phenomenal. I am still working at APX for a couple more weeks but I am really looking forward to this new job! Can you picture me driving an Escalade? Me either...please bless that he has elite auto insurance...
Anyway, the rest is all just as stated above. But basically this has been quite the week! I am glad that all the boys are getting back in town, that I am living with wonderful ladies, and that I have my friends and my family to push me through.
Oh and the US won the soccer game, one step closer to World Cup! :)

Being married is so risky these days.

This breaks my heart. When I first heard this song, I liked it. But then I listened to the words and it made me ill. People often ask why I am afraid to get married...well this is one of the biggest reasons. People listen to the lyrics of this song and feel bad for the girl...the girl that is having an affair with a married man. In almost every novel, every TV show, every movie... at one point there is infidelity. And the media makes this acceptable. I have seen the destruction and pain that adultery causes and it is truly frightening. And I used to just think that I had to worry about men cheating... lately I have come to realize that it isn't just the men that I need to be concerned about. Women are home wrecking left and right too. This is not good...

I suppose that I will just keep waiting around for this man. Oh Jake Ryan, you'd never let me down.