In A Good Place

Okay...this is gonna be shortish, but I just wanted to give a quick update. I got a call from BYU finally today (a little later than they had said, but better late than never, for sure). Anyway, they said they actually worked everything out so I'll be starting up at PBSI again on Monday. It's only part-time, but definitely a great thing for me. I have already applied to around 6 or 7 places so if I get calls from any of them, I'll go ahead and interview, and if not, then I'll keep going with my job hunting after I get back from Ireland. I really wasn't sure how well that woulda worked with finding a new job right now. So, I'm definitely very blessed! :) I'm glad it all worked out this way. I can have some kind of income while still searching for a job and it'll make my leaving a lot easier on me and the rest of the office at PBSI. I pretty much ran that place and not training anyone in the stuff I do was gonna make it pretty hard, so I hear. Anyway...I'm definitely excited to have something to do now. I also am going to start volunteering at the crisis center hot-lines and battered women's shelter in Provo with my spare time since I'll only be doing the part time thing for at least another 2 months or so and I"m pretty excited about that. I realized while I was at home that I would LOVE to work in some kind of crisis center or battered women's shelter. So, I figure volunteering there would be a good place to start. Anyway, I hope everyone has had a great week and I'll catch y'all lata! XOXO

A Good Start

So, I'm back in Provo now and trying to get back on my feet. I've applied to a few places for jobs so I'm just waiting to see if I'll get any interviews in the near future. I'm actually really excited about things now and actually kind of glad that things happened this way. In all reality, I would've been much happier if I had maybe 2 weeks at PBSI still where I could pass off my knowledge to the other girls to make sure everything gets taken care of n such. It would've made leaving a little easier on everyone else, but we do what we have to right?

My first night back was HILARIOUS. I was completely out of it...I'm blaming it on the flight. For starters, the flight seemed so much longer than normal. I don't know if it was because I didn't really sleep like I usually do on flights or what, but it took forever and I think it threw off my...everything. :) Once I got home, I went over to Joyce's to say hello and she came back with me to chat it up while I unpacked. While we were over there, Ashley came over to give me something and we all stood around talking for a bit. During the said talking, my neck had this random spaz attack and it made me bang my head against the wall. haha. It hurt. They both kinda looked at me like, why the heck are you banging your head against the wall? hahah it was so funny. Later, I decided that I wanted to make some muffins cuz I was hungry and as I'm trying to put them into the oven, I just randomly dropped the pan. There was batter EVERYWHERE. All I could do was sit there and stare in amazement at what I'd done. haha. Take a gander at this would ya? Yeah, awesome, right? :)
But it doesn't stop there. Oh no...Joyce had Emily's fish over the holidays, so I went over to retrieve him, right? Her and Irene were like seriously...we know what kind of night you've had. Do you want us to take the fish and walk back with you? We don't want you to drop him. lol (ew...can you imagine? That would suck). I continually assured them that I would be fine and didn't need their assistance. About two steps later, they hear me start laughing and come out to find out what happened. For some reason, I was walking funny and it made the water splash everywhere. And this wasn't just any water...it was Denzel's poop infested water...all down my front. It was really nice. Quite funny for sure, but still kinda sick. haha. So, naturally, we laughed for a good 10 minutes and it was at that point that I decided putting sheets on my bed was not a good idea and I would wait for tomorrow. Making your bed on the top bunk is hard enough on a good day...I didn't know what kind of tragedy would happen if I tried. Good times for sure though. It was definitely good to see everyone again. I've had so much fun the last couple of days, getting to hang with my FHE brothers and my other Provo friends! I got to see Isaac yesterday too before he heads back to VA to go to school, so that was fun. Although, the snow here is crazy...brrrrr!!!! I miss the 80 degree weather that I left in Texas. *sighs*


I picked up Emily from the airport last night! I'm so glad she's back. I missed her so bad over the break. Its been like we never left though! So wonderful! Well my friends...I'm really tired for some reason so I'm not feeling very bloggy at the moment :) I'll catch y'all lata! XOXO

2009 Will Be Sublime!

Hey hey!  So, sorry about being sucha bum on that last post.  I'm glad I've pushed past the sulky phase, as I'm sure everyone else in my family is too. haha.  I've decided that instead of making New Years resolutions like I usually do (and then never follow through with them), I will just make a list of stuff that I am either excited for or hope to accomplish.  I've already started out the New Year unemployed and sicky so I'm hoping to get the worst out of the way from the very beginning! hahaha.  

Looking forward to:

1.  IRELAND...its so close! :)

2.  Living with Jen and Emily during Summer time and beyond.

3.  Really letting it sink in that I'm graduated...no more studying and lots of time for reading!

4.  Finding new hobbies and learning to do stuff that I've wanted to learn...like crocheting and uhhhh glass blowing? hahaha

5.  All the new experiences and lessons that will come my way!

What I'm hoping for:

1.  Finding a good job...hopefully one with benefits. :)

2.  Making tons of fun new friends and still lovin the old ones

3.  Uhhh...since I ate the traditional black eyed pea soup yesterday, I guess I should say that I hope for luck?  Oh, and the Corn beef and Cabbage we had is supposed to bring prosperity, so I hope for that too. And while I'm at it...I'm gonna be kissing the Blarney stone in about a month and a half, so I'll hope for charisma as well.  :)  It just seems fitting, don't you think? ...Maybe they'll actually work...  Can you imagine me being lucky, prosperous AND charismatic at the same time?  WOOO  That might be a fearsome thing to behold! hahaha  I'll take it! :)

4.  To find an awesome apartment (for me, Em and Jen) that we all love.

5.  That I'll actually USE my pass to the gym more than twice a month. haha.  Thats kind of a resolution, but not really...I did so good for a while and then, out of no where, I stopped. haha. I blame the cold weather and laziness. :)

So, there you have it...my top 5's.  I hope everyone has a GREAT year this year!  I know 2008 was awesome and I cant wait to see what 2009 brings! Heartcha! XOXO

A Bad Case of the Blues

Yesterday came with quite a frustrating surprise...I remembered that I hadn't heard back from one of the other girls who splits my shift with me at work, and I'm thinkin okay...I have to go into work on Monday.  It would be nice to know when I was supposed to go in, right?  So, I call up there and my boss said those tragic words..."here's the situation..." I could tell from her voice that it wasn't a "good" situation.  So, for safety reasons, I buckled up and prepared for the worst.  She then told me that they just found out from the Dean that it was looking like they couldn't keep me next semester like we'd been planning on since, when was it?  Summer time?  Yup...so around August.  Anyway, she explained to me that they have put new freezes on the hiring system that said if their part or full time employees weren't hired by December 15th, they couldn't be hired for this semester.  Because I'm still 'considered' a student until December 31st, they couldn't hire me as a BYU Faculty member, so I have recently found myself jobless.  Deano called me a bunch yesterday and said that he's going to try to fight it because they don't want to lose me, but for me to not get my hopes up because it doesn't look good.  I spent most of yesterday grouching around and severely freaking out.  Okay, maybe not severely, but still quite worried and not entertaining the best of moods.  

So, I did a little job searching yesterday and submitted my resume to two places, but from Fort Worth, there is only so much I can do until I get back.  I'm not so much worried about making rent or eating for a bit...I have been saving money since I got my first job when I was like 14 or something, and money hasn't really ever been an 'issue'...I've always been a stickler for how much I have in savings...not that it's a substantial amount, but I was kinda hoping that I wouldn't have to dip into it for a while...especially right as I've been released from financial help from the parental unit and no longer have insurance and stuff like that.  I know they'll help me out still if I need it, but I hate depending on them for that sort of thing.  I may just need to suck up my pride though even though I don't want to.  I know this happened for a reason and I'm really trying to find the silver lining...I've found a few but I'm having a hard time being convinced by them at this point.  For example...this way, I can look for a full time job that pays more and I'll be better off and can start out fresh now instead of later...there's somewhere else that I'm supposed to be and new experiences to experience and lessons to learn...I was just hoping to do this whole job searching thing a couple months later than right now.  Like, maybe, when I had a plan of where I was going to move to and not having to worry about finding a job that will give me two weeks off right at the start so I can go to Ireland.  Unless I find something really soon, y'all cant expect cool souvenirs anymore :)...you might just get one of those pencils that says, "My friend went to Ireland and all I got was this stupid pencil" hahahaha.  Suckers. lol jk.  If you can't tell, I don't handle change very well :)  Anyway, I'm done whining...but I still think it completely stinks. haha. A small part of me is excited though...who knows what this will bring?  And the Lord will take care of me...I just hope it doesn't take very long for me to find a job.  Anyway, I hope everyone has a sweet New Year.  We're all going to Babes tonight for dinner and I couldn't be more excited than I am right now!  A perfect pick me up! :)  I heart y'all bad and sorry to be sucha downer today~ xoxo

Home, Home on the Range!

Oh, how I love being home! I know I said that last time, but its still true :) Good thing huh? My mom and I finished my skirt last night. It took a long longer than we thought because, genius me, picked an extremely complicating pattern, apparently. Way to go, right? haha...its okay though...my mom is like a sewing fiend, so with the two of us workin together, we finished it in time for church today. YAHOO. It was kinda fun to get compliments on it since I actually halfway made it! :) I was quite proud with how it turned out.

Yesterday we went to Casa Manana to see the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer production they put on. For those who don't know what Casa is, its a children's theater where kids come to learn theater, dancing, singing...yada yada. Mostly just theater tho and then they cast the kids in their productions. There are quite a few adults too tho so its still fun and cute for kids to go see. It was fun to go back. I hadn't been there since I was around 10 years old when I used to go with McKenzie and her mom...McKenzie and I would be volunteer ushers to get free tickets. It was great. We had front row tickets this time so it was fun to see how excited Malla and Syd got when they were so close to the actors. I really think Malla enjoyed it more than Syd! haha. I know Puden and I enjoyed it thoroughly...mostly because we took turns scratching each others back the whole two hours! haha. Love that!

Afterwards, we went to Mercado Juarez...one of the BEST Mexican restaurants around here. We used to go once a year for drill team and that was the last time I'd been. I'd forgot how much better Mexican food is here than it is in Utah. *sighs* The tortillas....they melt my butter. My brother, sister and I have this weird tradition with tortillas at Mexican restaurants. I'm not sure how it started, but we all start with one, and we rip pieces off and hand them to one another. If the pieces are big, we rip parts off of those and trade with each other. It sounds dumb, but its a fun little weird tradition that usually confuses everyone else that is there with us. I just love it.

We also decorated Grammy's traditional Christmas sugar cookies last night (or cuger shookies,r right Em?). Its one of my favorite parts about Christmas. It's usually just me, Meredith, Syd and Grammy...and we bust out the frosting and go at it...plus we get to eat a few during the whole process which is an added bonus. We usually sneak in a good 4 or 5 "Mavs" themed cookies too. Anything from green and blue candy canes, to stockings with Dirk's name painted with frosting on the top. :) Three years ago, my parents bought Grammy this HUGE barrel (seriously...like 50 Christmas cookie cutters) and we were going thru them and there was this one that we couldn't quite figure out what it was. It looked like an eyeball. Not even joking. So, we decided to make a few and ask around. No one could tell, so I decorated it as an eye...we then realized that it was an ornament. haha. But, now its happened, and each year, Grammy makes two and I decorate them as eyeballs even though we know the truth. I love random Christmas traditions and inside jokes. :)

Today was Sunday, obviously, and it was fun to be back in a family ward. Definitely strange for sure, but still fun. It made me appreciate the 3 minute drive to campus for church. During our 30 minute trek, my sister, Syd, Malla and I jammed out to Primary Songs and laughed that Meredith and I seriously dont know the same parts to the same songs. It was pretty classic. We'd be singing and then we'd suddenly both get really quiet cuz we didn't know the words. Did you know that they added another value to the Young Women's theme? What the heck? As if adding "strengthening home and family" to the end wasn't bad enough...now there are 8 values...VIRTUE is now lucky number 8. My ring of all the value colors is now out of date. It makes me feel old. haha but not too old, so its okay. And really...its kinda cool. :) After church we decorated/made our traditional gingerbread house, complete with ghetto windows and roof. Last year was the ghetto snowman and the year before that was the ghetto lump of car we made. This year's definitely turned out special for sure. :) I think I'm gonna take Syd cardboarding one of these days. We cant go sledding here cuz there's no snow, so we always used to get cardboard boxes and slide down the dead grass. Good times...someone has to introduce her to that, you know? anyway, this is a HUGE post, so I apologize...but I hope everyone has a great Christmas week! XOXO

Hello Texas, Goodbye Static Cling!

Howdy y'all! :) It's soooo great to be home. And what's even better is that this time, I know that when I go back to Provo, I'll just be working and not doing all that homework n junk. Not that I really did it at all during this last semester that much, but at least this time I wont feel slightly guilty about not doing anything. haha. I haven't even been home for 24 hours and yet, I already have tons of stories to tell. Little bits of Texas heaven, if you will. So, the standing joke in my family is that every time I come home, the weather gets really cold and rainy in Texas. No joke...it never fails to happen. I still got here okay, despite the almost 2 hour delay in my flight. It's better late than never you know? I was sitting next to this guy on the plane and he's telling me about his friend's rock band that is playing in Dallas after Christmas and boy did he have a little mouth on him. It was kind of funny because I was completely shocked the first time a little somethin' somethin' slipped out of his mouth and when I saw girls in spaghetti strap and low cut shirts...I was like wow...Provo really IS a bubble and I had completely forgotten about that small detail. Good times for sure. Despite it being really cold here though, the static problem that always persists in Utah is GONE. I can rub my head all over the couch and not shock anything when I stand up...especially the fridget...that thing HURTS :) Not that I every really rub my head all over the couch, but its nice to know I have the option.

Once we got to my sister's house, Syd came running to the door, jumped and grabbed on around my neck and stayed there until I switched her for Malla eventually. I just love my girls. Malla has the CUTEST smile ever...you just cant help but smile when she shows off her toothless grin and dimples. Love, love, love it! We went into Syd's room to play dress up, among other things and then we had to go home. I stayed up all night doing laundry, reorganizing my room (duh...haha so sad) and watching Oklahoma whilst wrapping Christmas presents and chatting to my friends online. So, yes...I was being very productive :)

Today I went in for my dentist appointment and I was talking to the guy that was in the waiting room with me and after we'd been talking for a while, he stops and goes...where are you from? You have a Texan accent, but its weird. hahaha. So apparently, its now a mix between Utah and Texas. I'm sitting there thinking, you're one to talk...(his was VERY thick and twangy...love that by the way). And you'll all be proud to know: NO CAVITIES! *teethy grin* I'm squeaky clean. Although she did a number on my gums. It did not feel good. :) I had an eye doctor appointment today too and during one of the eye tests, the nurse threw her clicker at my head. Not on purpose, but it was still funny. She wasn't getting the picture she wanted and she was trying to reposition me and it just flew from her hand to my head. It was classic. Probably a lot more funny if you were actually there. We were seriously cracking up and she kept "threatening" me that if I didn't get it right, she would throw it harder next time. :) I love the people here...they're seriously so great!

I also decided to try my luck at sewing a skirt. I've wanted to make "holiday" skirts since October but not havin a sewing machine puts a damper on the situation. So, I went and bought a pattern today. I really have no idea what I'm doing but I'm darn excited about it. We'll just see if it actually turns out how I'm envisioning it. I want it to be a green one actually so I can wear it for Christmas and St. Patty's day...I'm all about cheating like that :) The problem is, is that I always envision what kind of patterns of fabric I'm looking for and no one ever makes them, so it's never what I specifically want...but I'm sure I'll find something good when I go pick stuff out on Friday (gotta love 50% off coupons). WOO HOO.

Grammy comes tomorrow and I can't wait. And Meredith and the girls are comin over for a breakfast dinner in about an hour or so, so until then, I'm gonna wrap more presents and finish watching the Sound of Music. Can you tell I LOVE musicals? hahaha...who knew? Anyway, I hope everyone is having a GREAT Christmas vacation...when it starts :) Heart y'all! xoxo

Baby, its Christmas time!

Alright, so I have no idea how it slipped my mind to get rid of the fall background and put a Christmas one up...Not sure what my deal is. That's so unlike me. hahah. Anyway, they always say, "better late than never" right? You know...who is "they" and why do they have so much power to make up sayings that we use as excuses for our behavior? Lame. One day, I want to be a "they." That's my new goal in life. Well, maybe not, but still...it would be cool.

I have less than a week before I'm done with college forever! WOO HOO. I have two more days of classes (including today) and then lots of studying (and playing of course) then one day jam-packed with finals. I'm so excited to be done. I leave to go back to Texas on Tuesday morning...its gonna be great. Syd called me the other day and was like, "ummm auntie...I know what I want to get mamma for Christmas. When you come home, can you take me shopping?" TEE HEE. I'm so excited. She told me what it was she wanted to get for her and I gotta say, I'm excited to do the shopping. Mostly for the fun me n sydney bonding time, but you know me and shopping...I just love it. Maybe I'll swipe Malla away for a bit too and give Ben and Meredith some chill out time. Who knows. We'll see. Good times with the nieces. I can't wait.

So, I'm kind of freaking out-ish about next semester. My boss told me a couple of weeks ago that they are only going to work me 20 hours per week instead of 40 like we initially talked about and they've gone through so much trouble to keep me here and have expressed how badly they don't want to lose me yet, so I would feel really bad quitting to find a full time job. So, why don't I just suck it up you ask? Well, here's what I'm thinking...I'll only be in Provo until June at the latest...so 6 months. I'm not sure of any company that would want to hire someone for only 6 months. Not to mention that I'll be leaving for Ireland for 2 weeks in the middle of February, so asking for time off right when I get hired would not be something that I'm excited about doing. haha. We'll see though...I'm going to put in my application at Kelly Services to see if I can get other random jobs and Emily suggested that I apply to substitute teach in schools around Provo. Erin said her roommate works at this diamond cutting place that's always looking for more people, so maybe I'll look into that too for a part time gig...I know everything will be alright, it just goes to show that any and all plans that I make always seem to get shot down! The good thing about that though is that I'm finally learning my lesson, so I've stopped making plans that I'm really excited about. hahaha. jk, jk...but for real, I'm learning to not get disappointed when plans that I wanted to have, fell through drastically. One thing I'm sure of: The Lord will guide me wherever I'm supposed to go! Too bad i dont know where that is just yet...but someday I will! :) Anyway, I gotta go observe at Westside so I'll catch y'all later. I hope everyone has a great LAST WEEK OF CLASSES! :) XOXO