Friday, December 26, 2008
Going to the temple and we're gonna get married...
Update on my wedding.... the date is officially now March 14, 2009, pi day :) So we'll be celebrating in style... probably won't include pie, but who knows! We will be getting married in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple at 11:00 AM and the reception will be held that night. Updates will be posted as they come! :)
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
It's a Love Story, Baby just say YES
Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a RING... wait, that can be checked off now! Because on Tuesday December 23, 2008, I, Brianne Elizabeth Jack did officially become engaged to the one and only most amazing and spectacular Dustin Michael Creer.
So I’m thinking that most of you will want to know the engagement story and since I really don’t have enough time to personally call all my friends and acquaintances, here it is for your viewing pleasure provided in both a short and long version for your convenience. :)
The Short Story:
What are 5 of my most favorite things in the whole wide world? Cheesecake Factory, Pink Roses, Stars, Sparkly things, and DUSTIN. Add those together, and you get one amazing proposal. :)
The Long Story:
Dustin’s family has a condo deal up by Park City in East Canyon Resort, right? Right. So we all went up on Saturday December 20th until Tuesday December 23rd. On our way home we passed by the Cheesecake Factory and I said to Dustin, “I LOVE the Cheesecake Factory, let’s go sometime!” (Which he knows, we’ve been plenty times, but still...) And he said, “okay” so I said, “What about tonight?” and he said, “Okay, that would be great!” So... we drove home, I went to my house, and he said he had some things he needed to get ready.... So I was supposed to go to Walmart to pick up a gift and I was going to go before going to Dustin’s but ran out of time... so on my way over, I called Dustin and said I was on my way and coming a little early so we could stop at Walmart on the way to the Cheesecake Factory. So basically he had 15 minutes... and in those 15 mins, he called my mom to coordinate with her, and then called my dad to ask permission to “take care of his daughter,” which I think is the best way any man could ever ask a father permission to steal his little girl away. :) So I get to Dustin’s house and I let him drive my new baby (my car I just got in case any of you might not have known that I recently was fought over between 2 dealerships to buy a 2008 Impala that is beautiful) and we headed up to Cheesecake Factory. We got there and had about an hour wait so we wondered the mall and had a jolly good time. We finally got to eat and had some amazing food. Now my mom keeps texting me the whole time telling me how lucky I am to go the Cheesecake Factory and all when really she’s just jealous of what’s being set up at my house. Just before we leave the Cheesecake Factory, Dustin sneaks my phone and when he gives it back (cuz I’m looking for it), he said that he saw I had a text from Nicole so he was just looking at it... Which reads, “Brianne!!!! Tell Dustin that I beat the fish in davy jones locker finally!! Yes!! Ha ha!!” Which is really code words for, “We’re done setting everything up.” :) We leave the Cheesecake Factory and I ask Dustin what we’re going to do after and he said we should watch Elf at my house cuz we hadn’t seen the must see Christmas movie yet this season. So I’m telling my mom that we’re heading back down (cuz she’s still texting me) and asking if we have Elf, but problem, Nathan still has it borrowed. So we decide on While You Were Sleeping cuz it seemed like a fantastic Christmas movie to watch. We stop at Dustin’s house so he can pick up his truck and I can pick up my luggage which was in his mom’s car... but she’s not back yet... so while Dustin is calling his mom (and mine) to ask when she’ll be home, I’m chatting with Kendra who is telling me how she’s never been to my house and la la, la, all a lie. Ha ha ha. So we decide that I’ll just come back to get my luggage and we can just go down to Salem together... though I’m asking Dustin why we don’t just watch a movie at his house since we’re there and all that... but... apparently he thought I would have enough of his family from a weekend with them and we haven’t watched a movie at my house for a really long time so off we went. Now the roads in Salem were TERRIBLE. So I’m driving home and getting so mad that they didn’t plow, it’s awful, I hate snow. We go inside and start the movie when my mom calls Dustin out of the room to look at some pictures. I say, “oooh, can I look at pictures?” and the answer is “no!” So they leave for a couple minutes and come back with a picture of me and Dustin and my mom says, “this is the one he picked.” And I said, “well why couldn’t I come look at them too!” It’s just lame, right? So we start the movie again and 2 seconds later my sister walks in and asks, “Brianne, can I borrow your boots?” and I say, “yes, of course. Wait, are you going to wear them outside?” and she said, “yes.” and I said, “then no cuz if so, you’ll slide everywhere.” And she said, “well can I just borrow them and I said, yeah, sure, they’re down in my room, you can go get them.” So Ginelle says, “Will you just come down with me?” So now I’m just annoyed at everything that’s going on... snow... pictures... boots... and I’m tired and full and really want to watch this movie, ha ha ha. So I walk downstairs with Ginelle and flip the light switch... but it doesn’t turn on. So my dad calls downstairs, “The lights are out downstairs.” And I’m just like, WHAT THE HECK. So go to my room, open my door... and am showered with Rose petals. I throw some that land on me and Ginelle and see Dustin walking to me. And then... I see my mom VIDEO TAPING. And I yell, “NO MOM, you are NOT videotaping this!!!” So I close the door to my room and now it’s just me and Dustin in there. There are pink candles lit around my room with more rose petals, another dozen pink roses on my nightstand, and stars on my ceiling... because I LOVE star gazing and we would do that all the time. The only problem is, since my family cut the lights off, the stars weren’t charged so much anymore.... :) So Dustin tells me we need to go star gazing and it’s too cold outside so he moved it inside and we need to look for the brightest stars. So we’re looking up at the ceiling and I notice a string hanging over a candle with a ring on the end... but I didn’t see a star over it or anything, so we’re just checking them out and whatever... but then the stars just really aren’t glowing so... he just had my hand reach out and grab the ring. :) He said, “would you like to put it on?” and I said, “would you like to ask me?” and he said, “that wasn’t the question,” so I said, “Okay, yes.” :) So he got the ring off of the string and got down on one knee and asked me if I would marry him!! I said, “Yes... wait, I have to think about it.... Okay, yes.”And he put the ring on my finger and it is BEAUTIFUL!!! It really is perfect! And I even got to wake up the next morning with my room still smelling like roses. It was absolutely amazing and wonderful and I love Dustin and we’re so excited!
So I’m thinking that most of you will want to know the engagement story and since I really don’t have enough time to personally call all my friends and acquaintances, here it is for your viewing pleasure provided in both a short and long version for your convenience. :)
The Short Story:
What are 5 of my most favorite things in the whole wide world? Cheesecake Factory, Pink Roses, Stars, Sparkly things, and DUSTIN. Add those together, and you get one amazing proposal. :)
The Long Story:
Dustin’s family has a condo deal up by Park City in East Canyon Resort, right? Right. So we all went up on Saturday December 20th until Tuesday December 23rd. On our way home we passed by the Cheesecake Factory and I said to Dustin, “I LOVE the Cheesecake Factory, let’s go sometime!” (Which he knows, we’ve been plenty times, but still...) And he said, “okay” so I said, “What about tonight?” and he said, “Okay, that would be great!” So... we drove home, I went to my house, and he said he had some things he needed to get ready.... So I was supposed to go to Walmart to pick up a gift and I was going to go before going to Dustin’s but ran out of time... so on my way over, I called Dustin and said I was on my way and coming a little early so we could stop at Walmart on the way to the Cheesecake Factory. So basically he had 15 minutes... and in those 15 mins, he called my mom to coordinate with her, and then called my dad to ask permission to “take care of his daughter,” which I think is the best way any man could ever ask a father permission to steal his little girl away. :) So I get to Dustin’s house and I let him drive my new baby (my car I just got in case any of you might not have known that I recently was fought over between 2 dealerships to buy a 2008 Impala that is beautiful) and we headed up to Cheesecake Factory. We got there and had about an hour wait so we wondered the mall and had a jolly good time. We finally got to eat and had some amazing food. Now my mom keeps texting me the whole time telling me how lucky I am to go the Cheesecake Factory and all when really she’s just jealous of what’s being set up at my house. Just before we leave the Cheesecake Factory, Dustin sneaks my phone and when he gives it back (cuz I’m looking for it), he said that he saw I had a text from Nicole so he was just looking at it... Which reads, “Brianne!!!! Tell Dustin that I beat the fish in davy jones locker finally!! Yes!! Ha ha!!” Which is really code words for, “We’re done setting everything up.” :) We leave the Cheesecake Factory and I ask Dustin what we’re going to do after and he said we should watch Elf at my house cuz we hadn’t seen the must see Christmas movie yet this season. So I’m telling my mom that we’re heading back down (cuz she’s still texting me) and asking if we have Elf, but problem, Nathan still has it borrowed. So we decide on While You Were Sleeping cuz it seemed like a fantastic Christmas movie to watch. We stop at Dustin’s house so he can pick up his truck and I can pick up my luggage which was in his mom’s car... but she’s not back yet... so while Dustin is calling his mom (and mine) to ask when she’ll be home, I’m chatting with Kendra who is telling me how she’s never been to my house and la la, la, all a lie. Ha ha ha. So we decide that I’ll just come back to get my luggage and we can just go down to Salem together... though I’m asking Dustin why we don’t just watch a movie at his house since we’re there and all that... but... apparently he thought I would have enough of his family from a weekend with them and we haven’t watched a movie at my house for a really long time so off we went. Now the roads in Salem were TERRIBLE. So I’m driving home and getting so mad that they didn’t plow, it’s awful, I hate snow. We go inside and start the movie when my mom calls Dustin out of the room to look at some pictures. I say, “oooh, can I look at pictures?” and the answer is “no!” So they leave for a couple minutes and come back with a picture of me and Dustin and my mom says, “this is the one he picked.” And I said, “well why couldn’t I come look at them too!” It’s just lame, right? So we start the movie again and 2 seconds later my sister walks in and asks, “Brianne, can I borrow your boots?” and I say, “yes, of course. Wait, are you going to wear them outside?” and she said, “yes.” and I said, “then no cuz if so, you’ll slide everywhere.” And she said, “well can I just borrow them and I said, yeah, sure, they’re down in my room, you can go get them.” So Ginelle says, “Will you just come down with me?” So now I’m just annoyed at everything that’s going on... snow... pictures... boots... and I’m tired and full and really want to watch this movie, ha ha ha. So I walk downstairs with Ginelle and flip the light switch... but it doesn’t turn on. So my dad calls downstairs, “The lights are out downstairs.” And I’m just like, WHAT THE HECK. So go to my room, open my door... and am showered with Rose petals. I throw some that land on me and Ginelle and see Dustin walking to me. And then... I see my mom VIDEO TAPING. And I yell, “NO MOM, you are NOT videotaping this!!!” So I close the door to my room and now it’s just me and Dustin in there. There are pink candles lit around my room with more rose petals, another dozen pink roses on my nightstand, and stars on my ceiling... because I LOVE star gazing and we would do that all the time. The only problem is, since my family cut the lights off, the stars weren’t charged so much anymore.... :) So Dustin tells me we need to go star gazing and it’s too cold outside so he moved it inside and we need to look for the brightest stars. So we’re looking up at the ceiling and I notice a string hanging over a candle with a ring on the end... but I didn’t see a star over it or anything, so we’re just checking them out and whatever... but then the stars just really aren’t glowing so... he just had my hand reach out and grab the ring. :) He said, “would you like to put it on?” and I said, “would you like to ask me?” and he said, “that wasn’t the question,” so I said, “Okay, yes.” :) So he got the ring off of the string and got down on one knee and asked me if I would marry him!! I said, “Yes... wait, I have to think about it.... Okay, yes.”And he put the ring on my finger and it is BEAUTIFUL!!! It really is perfect! And I even got to wake up the next morning with my room still smelling like roses. It was absolutely amazing and wonderful and I love Dustin and we’re so excited!
Here are some pictures of it all... including my bling :)
The Rose Petal shower....
My pretty pink rose scented candles.....
My dozen pink roses and more candles and petals.....
More of the rose petals and candles....
The bling on my hand.....
My wedding set with the beautiful band!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
When upon snow billows you are blizzard tossed....
So, we had the first real snowfall of the season, right? It kinda really bummed me out when I woke up to a blizzard going on outside my window. My first thought was that everything should be cancelled... snow day! But because I live in Utah and snowdays don't exist, but yet I still hate snow, I decided I'd spend the day coming up with things that I am grateful for instead of hating the snow and therefore hating life...so here's my list of things I thought of:
*I am grateful I have a garage to park my car in. I love my townhouse. I super duper love it. My roommates I hate, but the house I love. So no matter how many rude things i have to put up with from the girls that share my residence, i know that when i wake up in the morning, my car is in a garage, safe from the blizzard and will require no scraping of the windows. life is good.
*I am grateful I don't drive a bus. Seriously. Traffic was slow enough getting to work this morning, but I noticed a bus driving in the snow and i was so glad that i don't have to drive a bus! I like my Mazda, though it can give me grief, but it's not a bus. My job isn't always the best, but yet, i dont' drive a bus for a living. life is good.
*I am grateful for oatmeal. It's not usually my favorite, but the blueberry oatmeal i had for breakfast at work tasted very good this morning. VERY good. I was surprised and happy about it. life is good.
*I am grateful for christmas music and Pandora. Because if it's going to snow, Christmas music is legit to listen to cuz it should only snow on Christmas or the eve of christmas. It makes me really happy and makes the day go by much faster. life is good.
*I am grateful to live in the USA... even if we did just vote in Obama for president. We had to do data from New Zealand today... and it was not very fun. Kinda drove us all crazy. Their cell phone numbers have one more number than their home phone numbers, they have no states but they have cities and... smaller cities so you have to figure out which is the city and which is the smaller city... then people from New Zealand have terrible handwriting so you can't tell whether the smaller city says "Manukau" or "Manurewa" or maybe even "Manureva" and then postal codes are only 4 digits long but sometimes they only write three of them cuz the first digit is "0." But then you get a random Australia resident and you get excited. And then even better, you get to go back to doing Michigan data and life is once restored to normal because the USA is just beautiful like that and things make sense. life is good.
*I am grateful for Dr. Pepper and chocolate. I don't need to say more. life is good.
*I am grateful for sunshine. Because it comes out in the middle of the day and it might still be FREEZING, but at least it has melted the snow and prevented the snow form sticking to your car while you are at work and away from your garage. life is good.
*I am grateful for my piano students and they're awesome parents. I wasn't really looking forward to doing some parent calling, but it turned out to be awesome cuz they just kept telling me how wonderful i am and how much their kid loves my class and loves me. life is good.
*I am grateful for an awesome boss! And for business meetings at Paradise Bakery because since they're "business meetings," they are paid for by the business. Amazing. My boss is amazing. And Paradise Bakery is amazing. And i had lots of questions to ask my boss but she is just incredible and it is so fun talking to her about work or not work. life is good.
*I am grateful for Dustin. It was FREEZING when i got into my car from my "business meeting," and i could call him and talk to him on my drive home, even though he was getting ready for basketball and would be talking to me in a couple hours AFTER basketball, he didn't even mind. He was happy to talk to me. He's always so nice and we chat all the time and i love that we're such good friends. He is incredible. life is good.
And that now brings me to this present moment when I thought I would record my gratefulness of the day! So even though there was snow, LIFE IS GOOD.
*I am grateful I have a garage to park my car in. I love my townhouse. I super duper love it. My roommates I hate, but the house I love. So no matter how many rude things i have to put up with from the girls that share my residence, i know that when i wake up in the morning, my car is in a garage, safe from the blizzard and will require no scraping of the windows. life is good.
*I am grateful I don't drive a bus. Seriously. Traffic was slow enough getting to work this morning, but I noticed a bus driving in the snow and i was so glad that i don't have to drive a bus! I like my Mazda, though it can give me grief, but it's not a bus. My job isn't always the best, but yet, i dont' drive a bus for a living. life is good.
*I am grateful for oatmeal. It's not usually my favorite, but the blueberry oatmeal i had for breakfast at work tasted very good this morning. VERY good. I was surprised and happy about it. life is good.
*I am grateful for christmas music and Pandora. Because if it's going to snow, Christmas music is legit to listen to cuz it should only snow on Christmas or the eve of christmas. It makes me really happy and makes the day go by much faster. life is good.
*I am grateful to live in the USA... even if we did just vote in Obama for president. We had to do data from New Zealand today... and it was not very fun. Kinda drove us all crazy. Their cell phone numbers have one more number than their home phone numbers, they have no states but they have cities and... smaller cities so you have to figure out which is the city and which is the smaller city... then people from New Zealand have terrible handwriting so you can't tell whether the smaller city says "Manukau" or "Manurewa" or maybe even "Manureva" and then postal codes are only 4 digits long but sometimes they only write three of them cuz the first digit is "0." But then you get a random Australia resident and you get excited. And then even better, you get to go back to doing Michigan data and life is once restored to normal because the USA is just beautiful like that and things make sense. life is good.
*I am grateful for Dr. Pepper and chocolate. I don't need to say more. life is good.
*I am grateful for sunshine. Because it comes out in the middle of the day and it might still be FREEZING, but at least it has melted the snow and prevented the snow form sticking to your car while you are at work and away from your garage. life is good.
*I am grateful for my piano students and they're awesome parents. I wasn't really looking forward to doing some parent calling, but it turned out to be awesome cuz they just kept telling me how wonderful i am and how much their kid loves my class and loves me. life is good.
*I am grateful for an awesome boss! And for business meetings at Paradise Bakery because since they're "business meetings," they are paid for by the business. Amazing. My boss is amazing. And Paradise Bakery is amazing. And i had lots of questions to ask my boss but she is just incredible and it is so fun talking to her about work or not work. life is good.
*I am grateful for Dustin. It was FREEZING when i got into my car from my "business meeting," and i could call him and talk to him on my drive home, even though he was getting ready for basketball and would be talking to me in a couple hours AFTER basketball, he didn't even mind. He was happy to talk to me. He's always so nice and we chat all the time and i love that we're such good friends. He is incredible. life is good.
And that now brings me to this present moment when I thought I would record my gratefulness of the day! So even though there was snow, LIFE IS GOOD.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Just another manic Monday...
... or Tuesday, or Wednesday, or ANY day of the week for the past 2 weeks! My parents went on a little two week trip to Hawaii, leaving me as the mother of 4 children, working a full time 40 hour a week job, a part time job, finding somewhere to live,and cleaning my grandparents house.... and do it all sanely. Ha ha ha... well, they're back now and I survived so I can finally write about it. Basically, it was a crazy, overwhelming, exhausting two weeks. Some highlights included the Christmas chain I posted earlier, going to the So You Think You Can Dance concert with Lauren on the 23rd, finding a place to live, and being promoted from temp work to a real full time employee starting next Monday!
I don't think I wrote about it before, but my first day at the bakery, I got a call from a job I had just applied to and had been told that they offered the position to someone else, and they had another position! It was a much better paying job with great benefits and flexibility, so I had to take it! So long Macey's bakery and hello to StoresOnline, the place where I now work. The only catch was that it was basically a temp job with a 2 month guarentee with a good chance to be hired on afterwards. I started 3 weeks ago and this week I was told that starting next Monday, I'll be hired on as a real full time employee! So I'm really excited cuz I like it here at StoresOnline and there are many perks. My job teaching group piano lessons for Art City Music Academy in their new Draper location started last week as well. The first week went okay and I know I will get better and better as I keep teaching! My Thursday classes have tons of students while my Wednesday classes have just 1 or 2... so Thursdays are a lot crazier, but they're fun and I just laugh at myself a lot every time I mess up. Oh the joy of small children.
Like I mentioned, I found somewhere to live! It's a cute little townhouse in PG at Rockwell Townhomes... there are 4 girls total, I share the master bedroom with one girl, and I think it's a super cute little place. I have a large soaking tub and a walk in closet that I'm pretty excited about. The community there also has a pool, fitness center, clubhouse with movie theater room, parks, walking trails, etc. It will be fun. I get to move in October 1st and I'm definitely looking forward to it! It will also be much closer to both jobs and that will be nice to not have to commute so far!
I got to go to the SYTYCD concert with Lauren on the 23rd and it was super fun! I am now officially in love with Gev. He was awesome! It was lots of fun.
Anyway, I guess the database is working at work once again so I'll end here... but at least I was able to update a little. :)
I don't think I wrote about it before, but my first day at the bakery, I got a call from a job I had just applied to and had been told that they offered the position to someone else, and they had another position! It was a much better paying job with great benefits and flexibility, so I had to take it! So long Macey's bakery and hello to StoresOnline, the place where I now work. The only catch was that it was basically a temp job with a 2 month guarentee with a good chance to be hired on afterwards. I started 3 weeks ago and this week I was told that starting next Monday, I'll be hired on as a real full time employee! So I'm really excited cuz I like it here at StoresOnline and there are many perks. My job teaching group piano lessons for Art City Music Academy in their new Draper location started last week as well. The first week went okay and I know I will get better and better as I keep teaching! My Thursday classes have tons of students while my Wednesday classes have just 1 or 2... so Thursdays are a lot crazier, but they're fun and I just laugh at myself a lot every time I mess up. Oh the joy of small children.
Like I mentioned, I found somewhere to live! It's a cute little townhouse in PG at Rockwell Townhomes... there are 4 girls total, I share the master bedroom with one girl, and I think it's a super cute little place. I have a large soaking tub and a walk in closet that I'm pretty excited about. The community there also has a pool, fitness center, clubhouse with movie theater room, parks, walking trails, etc. It will be fun. I get to move in October 1st and I'm definitely looking forward to it! It will also be much closer to both jobs and that will be nice to not have to commute so far!
I got to go to the SYTYCD concert with Lauren on the 23rd and it was super fun! I am now officially in love with Gev. He was awesome! It was lots of fun.
Anyway, I guess the database is working at work once again so I'll end here... but at least I was able to update a little. :)
Sunday, September 14, 2008
santa claus is coming to town....
In 102 days he is... my brothers decided it would be a good Sunday activity to make a Christmas countdown chain today... and so they did... all 102 days of countdown! It was actually kinda fun. We listened to Christmas music and had a great time. I do have to admit that I AM very excited for Christmas and have been for the past couple of months now...Anyway, Merry Christmas!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man
YAY! So, I finally have a job. Actually, I have two jobs now. I will be working full time for Provo Macey's Bakery. I've been trying to look for a bakery job to gain experience in preparation to possibly someday open my very own bakery... but the problem with that, or every job for that matter, is that everyone wants you to have experience. But how do you gain real work time experience if no one will hire you because you dont' have experience?! I mean, seriously, that is so annoying. So a job FINALLY worked out after this month of unemployment. After being unemployed for so long, one starts to wonder if maybe they made the wrong choice of quitting their old job. But then I think back to those days of Santa Barbara and I remember that yes, yes I was supposed to get out of that place. So now I'm happy that I will be working once again. Now the bakery job isn't EXACTLY what I was looking for, but it's fulltime with benefits, and I will have a chance to grow and advance and someday get to the job that I want, after I get a little experience and whatev to get to the top. That should be fantastic.
I also have a job with Art City Music Academy teaching group piano lessons in their new Draper location that they will be opening up in just a couple weeks. I am so excited for this job, though I know I need to keep working on memorizing those lesson plans and getting ready! It will be fun though and I think I'll be a good teacher. :) So that should be a fun little side job twice a week for now.
The only lame thing about working in a bakery is that you don't often have Saturdays off... so now I don't exactly know what to do about my BYU football tickets that I spent so much money on for the season! I'd really like to go to them, so I'm hoping I'll have work off, but I might have to end up selling them to some lucky soul. Maybe Maceys can take pity on me and let me off by noon those days so I can go. Let's hope so.
I also have a job with Art City Music Academy teaching group piano lessons in their new Draper location that they will be opening up in just a couple weeks. I am so excited for this job, though I know I need to keep working on memorizing those lesson plans and getting ready! It will be fun though and I think I'll be a good teacher. :) So that should be a fun little side job twice a week for now.
The only lame thing about working in a bakery is that you don't often have Saturdays off... so now I don't exactly know what to do about my BYU football tickets that I spent so much money on for the season! I'd really like to go to them, so I'm hoping I'll have work off, but I might have to end up selling them to some lucky soul. Maybe Maceys can take pity on me and let me off by noon those days so I can go. Let's hope so.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Female, 22, looking for a job...
I have a problem.... you see, when I quit my job in SB, I was anticipating 3 more weeks of work, while in that time, I could search for a new job. Well, I was given 3 days and so now it's a month later and I still have no full time job. I have my fantastic job at the Art City Music Academy, but I NEED a fulltime job... and nothing ever seems to work out. They keep giving my position away to another person! It is so frustrating and now I am in a rut. I don't even know where to apply anymore! So if anyone has any suggestions for where I can apply for fulltime employment, with benefits, that has decent pay, PLEASE let me know... cuz I'm dying here! And any serious suggestions would be much appreciated now! Thanks!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end
HEY! And so as easily as it begins, it ends... that's right, my California adventure of life is ending... my adventures are not ending, just this one in California. You see, I am a college graduate. And I studied home and family living. I came to California expecting a nanny job, and it has really been a personal assistant job, and that's really NOT what I want to be doing with my college education... at all... and I haven't been happy here so I made the decision to come home and try again. It was a pretty hard decision to make, but I was reminded of why I did it all the time in these last few days of finishing up. I was actually shocked at how quickly it ended-- I was expecting three more weeks or so... and it ended up being only 3 days that I was "needed" because they'll just be vacationing for the rest of the summer. I am happy to be going home. Even though I have no room in my house, I'm very happy! and I'll find a job that I enjoy doing! I am really excited for that! And to be with everyone I love! Yay for new beginnings.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello
So! I got to go home for the 4th of July! Which was probably about the best thing in the world for me to do! Pretty sure that the beginning of this week was a NIGHTMARE. My boss was just NOT happy (to say the least), which made it a really hard time for me. The family took a trip to Park City for the 4th of July though, which meant that I got to come home!
We flew in Wednesday and I got to spend some time with my old roommates that I love and miss and with Dustin! It was really nice to be HOME.
Thursday I got to go to the temple! Man have I missed it! The things you really miss when you leave Provo... It was so fantastic. Then I got to hang with my Lindsey, then take my daddy home from work, and then pick up Benjamin from BYU basketball camp and run him up to Park City with his family. Dustin came with me and we got to check out the sweet cabin that they have up there! Pretty sure it's like... 4 stories. And amazing. And they have massage chairs so Dustin and I got a little 15 minute massage of heaven. I liked it. Dustin and I left and went to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (a Park City tradition for me!) and get some carmel apples. Then we got some dinner and came home!
Friday was the 4th of July! I went with my family to see Wall-E which I really liked. Afterwards we went to Maceys (another Utah thing I miss) and I got some apple beer (ANOTHER Utah thing I miss) to import back to California. We got the food ready for the BBQ and then everyone came over. I got to see my NEPHEW Dorian Russell Jack! He was born on Sunday June 29th and he is SO CUTE! I am a first time aunt and so excited about it! He kinda looks like a turtle with monkey like feet, but I love him. He's the cutest little baby. After BBQ we relaxed at my house (the boys played Nintendo) and then Dustin and I went over to his house. We played a couple games and then drove into Provo, got some BrickOven, and then watched the Stadium of Fire fireworks! Yay for fireworks! I love the sparkly ones!
Today I got to sleep in..... and... basically just chill. It was beautiful. Dustin and I went to Walmart and then IHOP.... and I packed up... and came back to California! So here I am now. BUT, this trip back home made it SO HARD to come back to California! I love being with my family, I love being with my friends, I love being with Dustin. I HATE saying goodbye. I just want to stay. I love my home in Utah! I cried when I drove back to the airport with my mom. I didn't want to come back to California. The only thing that really made me get on that private jet was knowing that I'll be back on Wednesday. Yes, only in 3 short days (or probably long), I'll be back home and my twin will be stepping off the plane from Japan as well. I'm so excited! I can last that long. But all the same... I HATE goodbyes. HATE goodnights... HATE that feeling.
This is my adorable nephew! I love him!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Just another day in paradise
Um, so I LOVE summer so far! Pretty sure, it's my favorite.
Today I got to go to work at 8:15, fix some breakfast, get the house all spruced up pretty, work on a couple projects, and make sure the girls were doing their work as well. They boys are at their high adventure camp so it's just me, Juliette, and Annabelle. It was fantastic! The girls were able to get their work done right after lunch which meant play time, which meant ... we got to go to the BEACH! The sun was out and the water temp was even nice for us. (sometimes it can be really cold...) It was a blast. Then we got to come home and take a dip in the pool before showering off. We fixed a nice little dinner and then did some dinner clean up, and then I got to get ready for Institute, which was awesome! We're studying the Pearl of Great Price and the creation was today. I love the earth. And the ocean. And the sky. And everything. It's all so beautiful! I had such a fun time with everyone there. I was invited to a So You Think You Can Dance party tomorrow night and I was asked out by two different boys for this weekend... :) One of the first weeks I was here, Shannon told me that none of her other nannies ever dated this much. It's great fun. After Institute I got to go eat at Freebirds with my friend Jon. They have MASSIVE burritos and quesadillas! We split a chicken quesadilla and it was super good but it was just so HUGE. Like, WAY HUGE.
So yeah, life in California can be beautiful. Yes, at times it can be stressful, but things really are going well. Now I just have to figure out if I should give myself bangs and more layers and dye my hair a dark auburn. I kinda like what the sun's doing to my hair out here though... the natural sun highlights are kinda cool.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
That's What I'm Doing These Days
I wake up and dream drops, they fall down like rain.... JUST KIDDING. Just thought I'd stick with the song.
So... here's a little synopsis of today...
Got to work at 7:15 AM. Got breakfast, lunches made, the girls off to school... then we started going through some boxes in the garage... and by "the garage," I mean the second 3 car garage that is holding all their random possessions while they're rebuilding their house, not the 3 car garage that actually has half their cars in it. We had to make a space for the appliances (which are coming Friday) to fit it. Pretty sure there are a BILLION spiders in California! Pretty sure I saw two black widows today and was scared. Gross. After that, I was finally able to get ready for the day by putting on my makeup and eating some breakfast (an English muffin... not much of a breakfast if you ask me). I helped the boys (Peter- age 14 and Benjamin- age 13) go through some boxes. Then I went to pick up Juliette (age 6) from school (kindergarten). We (I) got to make some sandwiches to bring up to Shannon and her contractor and who ever else works with her all day for lunch. I left the kids there to play while I ran to Home Depot and Costco... and VONS. It was crazy. It was like 2 and I hadn't really had food all day so I was grateful to be at Costco to take advantage of their crazy cheap food prices. Yay for Costco. I went home and started making some stew for Steve (the father) and the boys to take for their little ranch trip they were leaving on. (They have a ranch in Bryce Utah). Then I went back to the elementary school to pick up Annabelle (age 10). Worked on the stew some more and got the girls off to swim team practice. Then I got to come home and FINISHED the stew and helped get the boys packed and ready to go. Then it was time to go get the girls from swim team, did a favor for Shannon and got her a drink, came home, finished packing the boys, sent them off... THEN I had to get some dinner for the girls! Shannon went back up to their other house (the one they're rebuilding) and so I ate dinner with the girls (grilled cheese sandwiches and leftover homemade tomato soup), cleaned up the kitchen, took the girls to Shannon at the other house, ran to Fresco's Cafe to pick up dinner for Shannon, dropped it off, and then I was off at 7:15 PM!
It was a busy day... but not too bad. I was happy enough. Only 3 more weeks and I'll be home for a whole week with NO work! Yay! Oh, I'm excited! And just about 2 weeks until I'll be able to see everyone for like a day for the 4th of July. Life is good. And So You Think You Can Dance is on in like 2 seconds and I actually get to watch it so I'm happy!
So... here's a little synopsis of today...
Got to work at 7:15 AM. Got breakfast, lunches made, the girls off to school... then we started going through some boxes in the garage... and by "the garage," I mean the second 3 car garage that is holding all their random possessions while they're rebuilding their house, not the 3 car garage that actually has half their cars in it. We had to make a space for the appliances (which are coming Friday) to fit it. Pretty sure there are a BILLION spiders in California! Pretty sure I saw two black widows today and was scared. Gross. After that, I was finally able to get ready for the day by putting on my makeup and eating some breakfast (an English muffin... not much of a breakfast if you ask me). I helped the boys (Peter- age 14 and Benjamin- age 13) go through some boxes. Then I went to pick up Juliette (age 6) from school (kindergarten). We (I) got to make some sandwiches to bring up to Shannon and her contractor and who ever else works with her all day for lunch. I left the kids there to play while I ran to Home Depot and Costco... and VONS. It was crazy. It was like 2 and I hadn't really had food all day so I was grateful to be at Costco to take advantage of their crazy cheap food prices. Yay for Costco. I went home and started making some stew for Steve (the father) and the boys to take for their little ranch trip they were leaving on. (They have a ranch in Bryce Utah). Then I went back to the elementary school to pick up Annabelle (age 10). Worked on the stew some more and got the girls off to swim team practice. Then I got to come home and FINISHED the stew and helped get the boys packed and ready to go. Then it was time to go get the girls from swim team, did a favor for Shannon and got her a drink, came home, finished packing the boys, sent them off... THEN I had to get some dinner for the girls! Shannon went back up to their other house (the one they're rebuilding) and so I ate dinner with the girls (grilled cheese sandwiches and leftover homemade tomato soup), cleaned up the kitchen, took the girls to Shannon at the other house, ran to Fresco's Cafe to pick up dinner for Shannon, dropped it off, and then I was off at 7:15 PM!
It was a busy day... but not too bad. I was happy enough. Only 3 more weeks and I'll be home for a whole week with NO work! Yay! Oh, I'm excited! And just about 2 weeks until I'll be able to see everyone for like a day for the 4th of July. Life is good. And So You Think You Can Dance is on in like 2 seconds and I actually get to watch it so I'm happy!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Happiness is finding a pencil
So... last weekend was really rough. I worked for basically 72 hours straight... and it was difficult. I started to feel sorry for myself and just miserable about everything. I was ready to quit, just come home and be with my friends and family where I could have a life again... and then talking with a friend made me frustrated as well. I couldn't take it anymore and so I had a good long conversation with my Heavenly Father where I (literally) cried out my heart to Him. The next morning was Sunday and it was.... BEAUTIFUL. Every lesson or talk in church was exactly what I needed to hear. Why was I so unhappy over the weekend? It was because I was only thinking of myself-- my poor sorry state-- the same thing I was getting frustrated about with the kids. It was a really humbling experience. I was able to be reminded about why I am in California in the first place and that I need to forget myself and go to work to really be happy. Yes, this job is demanding, but there can be happiness in it if I can remember to serve with an attitude of gratitude and love. This is where I can find my happiness and contentment. The days will still be long and hard, the kids might still pick on me, my boss still might lecture me, but I can be happy and put forth an extra effort to be even better! It made me really happy to realize these things once again. My happiness is not when I'm concerned about myself, but it's when I'm helping others and loving them! :)
Friday, June 6, 2008
Realizations
Sometimes I'll be driving down the road and I look at the palm trees and think to myself... "holy cow! you're in California! You really do live here!" and it just blows my mind! I still don't think I'm used to that fact and I don't know if I ever really will be. I've been here for a whole month now, even recieved two whole paychecks, and it's still crazy to me. The job has gotten easier as I've gone along... still a lot left to learn but I'm getting better and I think they're getting more used to me. I miss my home, family, and friends like crazy sometimes, but I just think about how I'll get to come home in just over a month and be there for a whole week. So while I'm here, I can work a lot and earn more money and SAVE my brains out.
Another realization I have is that the longer I'm away from home, the more I grow to love it. I appreciate the comforts that come and how fortunate I was to be able to live so close to home while I was at college! The more I'm away from everyone, the more I love them too. I thought that moving out here would make me forget about everyone as I made new friends and had new experiences, but I really just have grown fonder of everyone! It's crazy how that works but I'm still really glad about it.
Another realization I have is that the longer I'm away from home, the more I grow to love it. I appreciate the comforts that come and how fortunate I was to be able to live so close to home while I was at college! The more I'm away from everyone, the more I love them too. I thought that moving out here would make me forget about everyone as I made new friends and had new experiences, but I really just have grown fonder of everyone! It's crazy how that works but I'm still really glad about it.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
California Dreaming
So... I graduated from BYU in Home and Family Living, right? And then the whole "get a job" part of life was there... and I had one... in California. So here I am now in Santa Barbara California working for the Sorensen family as their nanny. Most nanny jobs just play with kids, right? Mine is kinda different... my boss's name is Shannon. I'm her personal assistant and do her every bidding. It seems like I spend more time working with her errands than with the kids, but I guess it's okay. It's been hard, I can't lie. This is probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do! Sometimes I get super homesick and miss my friends, family, mountains, and my Dustin. I've never cried this much in my whole entire life, but then again, I never used to cry.
The first two weeks were incredibly rough. Shannon is gone all day working on their house that they're rebuilding so I didn't have anyone to really train me.... and her way of "training" is lecturing when you do something wrong... which happened a lot. When you're thrown into a completely new family and expected to do everything the way they do, it doesn't really work. I'd much rather be told what to do beforehand than being lectured on what I did wrong afterwards. Since then, it's gotten much better!
I'm adjusting well now and even being complemented when I do things well. Some days are better than others. It will still take more time to get into the swing of things and really understand how the family works, but I think I'm getting the hang of things.
Last weekend for Memorial Day weekend we got to go up to their Ranch in Bryce Utah and Dustin got to come down and spend the weekend with me. It was SO good to see him again and that as made this week a lot easier for me as well.
I know this is all pretty vague right now and I can tell you all more about the family and my job later but I have to run now. I actually have this afternoon off and I'm going to utilize it to check out the beach and do some downtown shopping! :) (I don't have much time off from work) But I will get back soon!
The first two weeks were incredibly rough. Shannon is gone all day working on their house that they're rebuilding so I didn't have anyone to really train me.... and her way of "training" is lecturing when you do something wrong... which happened a lot. When you're thrown into a completely new family and expected to do everything the way they do, it doesn't really work. I'd much rather be told what to do beforehand than being lectured on what I did wrong afterwards. Since then, it's gotten much better!
I'm adjusting well now and even being complemented when I do things well. Some days are better than others. It will still take more time to get into the swing of things and really understand how the family works, but I think I'm getting the hang of things.
Last weekend for Memorial Day weekend we got to go up to their Ranch in Bryce Utah and Dustin got to come down and spend the weekend with me. It was SO good to see him again and that as made this week a lot easier for me as well.
I know this is all pretty vague right now and I can tell you all more about the family and my job later but I have to run now. I actually have this afternoon off and I'm going to utilize it to check out the beach and do some downtown shopping! :) (I don't have much time off from work) But I will get back soon!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
And so it begins
Okay friends! So I'm going to try this blog thing out and we'll see if I can keep up with it! So if you ever want to know my happenings, especially while I'm here in California, then this is the place to come and see! There shall be more to come!
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