Life is good

Oh hello there.  I'm back.  It's been a while.  We're still alive.  Life is good.  Really good.

A few months ago I saw a job posting on Facebook for an Accounts Payable job in Midway.  The job description sounded exactly like what I was doing in Portland with much better pay than my current job.  I wasn't looking for a new job, but it seemed like this job was perfect for me.  So I applied.  And I got the job!
I am now working for Millstream Group in Midway and I LOVE my job!!!  I love what I do, the people I work with are great, and the environment is so relaxed.  I've never had a job with such low stress before and it's so so nice.  I'm really really happy with it.  Another upside to the new job is that the company gives employees money in a Health Reimbursement account that I will be able to use for fertility treatments.
Speaking of fertility treatments...
After my surgery in April I did a monitored cycle in May.  I kinda talked about that in my last post.  My mid cycle ultrasound showed one big beautiful egg that was ready to go. Which is great because I had just done one shot of Bravelle instead of two!  We did the HCG trigger shot and then went through the 2 week wait.  Which thankfully went by quickly.  I could tell before we even went in for the blood test that I wasn't pregnant.  Which was a bummer.  But even with with the best of situations, a normal couple only has a 20% chance of conception each cycle.  So we just need to try again.  And again. And again.  Until it works.  Or at least a couple months to really give it a chance.
With the new job, I haven't been back for a fertility cycle since the one in May.  I'm hoping that next month we can get back at it.  Especially since we have a little extra money from my HRA.  I want to try doing treatments and Whole30 at the same time.  I know they are both stressful and I can't usually handle doing two stressful things like that at the same time, but with my job being so awesome and low stress, I think I can do both at the same time and I KNOW it will help with our chances. 
So September 1 I'm hoping to start another round of Whole30 with treatments to follow soon after!

That's the latest for us! 

Welcome home Sister Jack!

Dustin and I spent a whirlwind weekend in July with our families.  We originally planned for just me to fly in for Ginelle's homecoming, but then decided a few weeks before that Dustin should come too.  And I'm so glad that he did! I'm also super glad that we booked our tickets on Southwest so we could sit together! Southwest for the win.
Dustin and I flew in to Salt Lake City on Friday July 11th just 20 minutes before Sister Ginelle Jack's flight was scheduled to land.

We got off our flight, checked an board for arrivals and saw that her plan had landed!  We rushed over to the Delta section of SLC and called my mom to make sure it was ok that we see Ginelle first, right as she got off her flight. My mom said she would be jealous but that she knew Ginelle would love to see us there.
We waited patiently as everyone got off the flight and there was no Ginelle yet. I was getting worried that I had looked at the wrong flight so I asked a passenger who had just gotten off and she said it was correct. Finally, Sister Jack walked out of the jetway and I ran up to her and gave her a hug. She was so surprised and so happy to see us! It was awesome to be able to spend a few minutes with her before everyone else.

We planned how she would make her entrance- Dustin and I would be standing in front hiding her, we'd count to three and then lean to the side so she could pop out the middle! Our family saw Dustin and I coming down the escalators and looked so disappointed. Then she popped out and they all cheered (scaring poor baby Audrey). But because it was a surprise, no one really caught it on camera.  Haha.

 

 We left the airport and gathered at The Cheesecake Factory for Ginelle's welcome home meal.  We loved having Elliott sit next to us.  Look at the adorable bread and banana plate they give kids!

 

 

Unfortunately, Elliott was not entertained for long.

 

 It was so fun being there with so much family and sharing meals, sharing cheesecakes, and being loud and crazy together.  I miss being with family so so much!

Friday night Ginelle was released as a missionary and we spent the evening catching her up on all the YouTube videos she missed while she was away.
Saturday morning I worked on finishing the Dino quilt for Dallin and Becky's baby.  I hadn't done binding in a while and I am not used to my mom's machine so it was harder than it should have been.  But I finished it and I think it turned out adorable!

 We missed the Blendfresh launch party at Thanksgiving Point that morning (and our chance to win a Blendtec), but it was good to be able to finish the quilt and help prep for the couples baby shower that afternoon. We had fun games and prizes and enjoyed getting ready for baby Rex (not his real name, just what I called him).

I like how my dino themed presents for baby turned out and I think they really liked them!

 

 Saturday night we spent with the Creers enjoying Texas Roadhouse and hanging out together. It's always a good time at the Creers!
Sunday was Ginelle's mission homecoming talk and we enjoyed visiting Salem 4th ward.  That afternoon I started to feel sick so I took a long long nap.  Like 3 hours I think.  When I woke up it was time for Frozen with the family followed by old family movies.  Nathan, Dustin, and I stayed up way to late trying to find an old home movie we made but we found it!  It was fun to see the endless dance parties we had growing up and how Evan was completely adored as a baby.

 

 Monday morning I woke up still feeling sick, but worse because I was nauseous.  We had an early morning temple trip scheduled for Spencer to receive his endowment because he has his mission call and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it.  I got ready and asked Nathan and Dustin for a blessing.  We were a little late to the temple but made it in time for the session and I am so glad I was there! I love being in the Celestial Room with my family.  And Spencer was so happy.

 

 

 I was feeling a little better so we all went to IHOP for breakfast, but then I started feeling sick again so we rushed home.
Monday afternoon Dustin had an appointment to shadow a chiropractor up in West Jordan who is hiring.  We packed up our stuff and headed up with my mom, Ginelle, Becky, and Reimi. Dustin was dropped off at the office and then the girls had a lovely afternoon of shopping and Cold Stone.  We picked up Dustin a few hours later and headed to the airport for our flight home. I was afraid that I'd have another barfing on the plane experience like when we came home for Dallin's wedding, but I was feeling much better and there was no barfing.  :)
Right after we checked our bags in for our flight, we got the text that our flight was delayed by an hour.  It would have been nice if they could have sent that 20 mins earlier! We hung out at the airport and talked about how Dustin's shadowing went.  The doctor is definitely hiring (which is a definite plus!) but his philosophy of practice is a lot different than Dustin's, which means he wouldn't be a good fit for us and we won't be a good fit for him.  So we're still looking.
One thing we learned from this trip is that Utah is DEFINITELY where we want to be and feel like we should be.  We are still unclear on the details, but we are excited to be going back home.
It was a fast and furious weekend but I'm so glad we went! Even if it meant coming back to mounds of work.

Opportunity Cost

Oh man. How did life all of a sudden get so BUSY? Oh wait, I can tell you how...

I became a working girl again.

And while having income from a job is fantastic, there are also opportunity costs. What's that? I remember something from freshman year's American Heritage class?! You bet I do! (Granted, this is about the only thing I remember from that class.... that and the trip to Vegas to work campaigning....)

Here are the opportunity costs of my job (in no particular order):

• Blogging
• Clean house
  
• Healthy home cooked dinner
  
• Free time
• Organization
• Scripture reading
• RS Lesson planning
• Lunch with Dustin
• Fridays with Dustin
  

I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones that weigh the heaviest on my mind right now. My blog hasn't been posted in for over a month, and there are lots of fun things we've been doing that I'd love to record in this journal of mine/share with family and friends. My home has become somewhat of a disaster with piles of clothes that need sorted in my bedroom and crafting supplies scattered all over the floor in the spare bedroom. And when Saturdays roll around, I'd rather spend time relaxing than cleaning. Though I attempt meal planning, even work on getting chicken out to thaw, by the time it's time to cook dinner, I just don't want to or nothing sounds good. So Subway has become a frequent eatery for us. I am teaching Relief Society tomorrow and have I even STARTED my lesson yet? Um, not really. Read through it, got the online version so I can rearrange it and print it out, but haven't started actually forming it yet. I used to do that a WEEK in advance. Dustin has 2 hour breaks on Tuesdays so he would come home and have lunch with me; also is done with classes at 10:30 AM on Fridays. Now I see him for a few hours each night before we try to get to bed early to wake up on time (which doesn't always work).

These are all things I give up to have a job, the opportunity costs.

Of course, there are many perks to having a job:

• Money - no need to take out grad plus loans next year!
• Fun date nights
• DVR service
• Paying off the car in April!!! Only student loans left to pay off :(
• Savings account more realistic
• Something to do all day (hahahaha)
  
• Trips to plan (Chicago next spring break? Alaskan cruise at graduation? Utah for a weekend here and there? the coast?)
• 2 year gym memberships to 24 Hour Fitness bought (via Costco!)
  

Again, more things could be put on this list, but those are probably the biggest. Do the pros weigh out the cons? Some days yes and some days no. I do miss having more time to myself and enjoying time at home, having no excuse to not read scriptures or clean the house and make healthy dinners. But the pros are pretty fun too. We have some fun little weekend trips planned in the next few weeks with Dustin's 2 week break and I love that we can actually DO something for date night instead of McDonalds and Netflix every week. I am SUPER pumped to pay off my car 2 and a half years early! And the thought that we can potentially graduate with more in our savings account than when we started is a nice thought, and that's without taking out grad plus loans for the rest of school! (if I work til he graduates). We got 2 year gym memberships to 24 Hour Fitness so we can get back in shape (Ha, like I've ever been in shape...) and are excited to workout together!

I just have to keep looking at the pros to remind me that I'm doing what's best for our family right now when I look around at the messy house and another Subway dinner because I'm too tired/have no desire to do anything once I get home. It's all about balance and I'm still working out that work/home balance to see that everything is taken care of. It will come with effort and practice, but until then, if the blogging is feast and famine.... you've been warned.

Working girl

I know many people have been wanting to know about my new job and how it's going. Well... it's awesome!

The company I work for is called the House of Antique Hardware. They are an online store that sells, well, antique hardware. You can find their website here. I think my official title is Bookkeeper, but I work in the Accounts Receivable side of Accounting, which basically means that I get to take people's money. :)

I start my day with a sales audit report, which means I get to reconcile all the payments from each payment method (Visa/MC/Discover/Amazon/PayPal) for the previous day and make sure that what our payment processor said we made matches up with what our database says we made. After everything matches up, I make the deposits for each payment method into the proper account.

Then I work on billing... charging payments for each order that is ready to leave the warehouse for delivery to the customer. And billing takes up most of my day. Once billing is done, I work on doing refunds and other various things as needed. I'm still being trained on the other various things as I get faster at doing the billing portion :)

Something that is really nice about working with this company is that very rarely do we have a payment not go through. That was something that was so frustrating at StoresOnline--we had some really crappy customers! But at the House of Antique Hardware, our customers are contractors or designers, people with clients and business, and their payments actually go through. It makes my job SOOO much easier.

The people that I work with are very nice. My boss even bought me a little gift for my birthday- a mug and two boxes of hot chocolate with a little happy birthday balloon and card. She must have picked up on the fact that I don't drink coffee, which is a dominant smell in the office. Hahaha. It's definitely different working in a company where I am the only LDS person.

I got my first paycheck last Friday and even though it was only for a partial week (from the week I started), it was so awesome to know we're going to be getting money on a regular basis! That was the first real paycheck we've had in 4 months! Also, I love that Oregon pays SO much better than Utah. Seriously awesome.

I do miss the little daily things I was able to do when I was home all day, like reading my scriptures and keeping the house clean. Of course those are still things I need to do, but it's been a lot harder to keep up on everything because I am always so TIRED when I get home. I'm so glad I have a husband that is so good at picking up my slack around the home, even if he's been at class all day.

I am so grateful that I have a job with this growing company and it will be great working there!

Timing is Everything

Remember how just a few months ago I just didn't want to work? You can read that blog post here. I would look for jobs or even go to an interview and I just really really really felt like I shouldn't get a job. So I didn't. We booked our 3 week trip home to Utah and I figured I would just start looking again when we got back from our trip.

We were originally planning a trip home to Utah in March during Dustin's 2 week break because Dallin was going to be home from his mission then.... so we felt bad that we wouldn't be home for Dallin, but just felt like it was the right time to go home. Well, the week before we left for Utah in December, I got a call from Robert Half Accounting saying that there was as full time permanent billing clerk position that they thought I would be a good match for. I agreed and they set up a phone interview.

I interviewed the week before we left and thought it went okay, but really wasn't sure because I couldn't tell their reactions to my answers over the phone. They asked what my schedule was like the following week because they would be setting up in person interviews for those they liked from the phone interview. I told them I would actually be out of town for a few weeks and they said that was fine, they were willing to wait for the right candidate.

That week we also got a call from my dad saying that Dallin was coming home from his mission on the 21st due to some health issues they wanted taken care of in the USA. He wasn't given a "medical" release, he was given a full time, honorable release from his mission and we were all excited that he would be home for Christmas and able to start getting better. This completely solved our worries about not being there in March to see him when he got home.

During our Christmas break, I felt ready to go back to work. We could always use the money as living off of student loans is not completely ideal, but I finally just felt ready for work and wanted to find a job. The job I interviewed for on the phone sounded like a good position for me, similar to what I was doing at StoresOnline, so I was hopeful that they would really wait for me to come back and interview again. I knew that if they liked the candidates they interviewed while I was away, they would most likely pick one because there's no sense in waiting for someone if you already like who you have and they are right there ready to work.

Well, I got a call after Christmas asking if i could come in the following week to interview, to which I had to explain that I wouldn't be back until the 6th, which they were fine with. The first week of January I got a call asking if I could come in ON the 6th, to which I had to explain that my flight wouldn't get in until 8 PM. They were also fine with this and we set up an interview for Monday the 9th.

I went to my interview with fingers crossed (and lots of praying), and I thought it went well. The company seems like a really good company to work for with lots of potential to earn bonuses. That night I got an email saying that I needed to fill out their application (cuz all this job finding and interviewing was set up through Robert Half Accounting) and a form for a background check. I figured this could only be a good sign... and it was!

I got the call Tuesday morning that they wanted to offer me the job and that I would start possibly Friday! Well, today is Friday and no, I am not blogging while at work, the manager is out of the office until Tuesday so I start Tuesday the 17th. The company I will be working for as a billing clerk is called The House of Antique Hardware, a company that sells hardware online. So before, I worked for a company that sold online stores to people, now I actually work for an online store! The location is NOT downtown Portland, which I am super happy about, but it's close to it, pretty close to the Lloyd Center, and literally 1 minute away from Voodoo Doughnuts.

I can't believe how perfectly the timing worked out for everything. Back in October, I had no idea why I just completely felt like I shouldn't get a job. The spirit was helping me on my path to find a job that I will like, at the same time getting us home for Christmas to spend time with our families and to be with Dallin at his return from his mission. I am so grateful for the blessings of the spirit and how our loving Heavenly Father sends us inspiration to guide us down the path that is best for us.

Timing really is everything! I got the job, now we just need to get the baby! Next step for us? Hopefully. :)

Working for the money

Dustin started his classes today and so far they have been great! Just a review for now, but with all the horror stories we've been hearing from other students, he's just getting started. :) With starting classes today, that also means that we got our student loan money check with the remaining balance after tuition/fees. It was more than we thought it would be and are very excited about that! But that also leads me to more internal conflict...

You see... if I was totally honest (and this is my blog so I get to be totally honest about how I feel), I just don't want to work. I. just. don't. want. to. And now that we have more money to live off of than we thought we would, technically, I don't HAVE to work. Because we don't NEED the money, we're actually sitting pretty comfortably. BUT if I did work, that means that we wouldn't have to take out as much student loan, therefore having less to pay off post graduation, therefore having a lot better financial situation once we're done. Which is really brilliant, a much better situation for us in the long run. Also, we'd have more money during school to finish paying off the car loan, my remaining student loans, and start paying off Dustin's undergraduate student loans. Which then again equals MORE MONEY. Duh, of course this all makes sense because working will mean more money.

But working... sigh... why can't there be this amazing job that I would just love love love?! I thought I had found it in a data entry job I tried applying for, but that is since gone as the whole 'moving here' thing got in the way so that I couldn't get all applied for it on time. I keep browsing CareerBuilder and Craigslist for the perfect job, but I can't seem to find it. All the Accounting jobs I could potentially be interested in are all temp positions, which is not my ideal kind of job.

I met with Express Pros Staffing, another company like Robert Half or Accountemps, but it's the same kind of situation--temp jobs. If I get a job, I don't want to keep doing temp jobs, hoping that another position will open up when the one I'm temping for is up. So where oh where is this perfect job that will pay me awesome amounts of money so that we don't take out as much student loans?! I just don't know.

So for now, I guess I'll keep looking. Even though I'd rather just... enjoy my time. Work on projects. Exercise. Blog, blog, blog. Read. Cook healthy meals. Spend time with husband during his school breaks. Etc.

Doesn't that sound like such a better life?! Much more enjoyable? I think so. What do you think?

Almost there!

We're almost there! I know you're all excited because then I can start blogging about COOL stuff instead of just about moving. 3 days. That's all the time left. Then cool stuff begins... like job hunting.

That's right, for the first time in over 3 years now, I am officially unemployed. My last day at StoresOnline was a good one and I will miss the people I worked with and became good friends with, but I am kinda happy that it's done.

This week I also applied for what I think would be a fantastic job--- it's a data entry position in Boring, OR. I seriously think it would be one of the coolest things ever to say I worked in a town called Boring. Doing data entry. But the position sounded like something I would actually really enjoy and the salary is right, benefits are right, and schedule is right, so *fingers crossed* that they contact me for an interview soon! Costco application is in too, and WinCo already rejected me for the cashier/checker position. Probably cuz I said I wouldn't work on Sundays. But I didn't really want that job anyway. Oh well.

Most everyone we talk to asks if we're all packed up. Well, we're getting there.... I swear it's a process that never really ends. Except that it has to end on Wednesday cuz ready or not, we're driving that Penske away. Our house has turned into a disaster zone as we've been trying to find an appropriate box for all of our crap...er...stuff. But tomorrow will be dedicated to getting everything fixed so Tuesday we can run errands, Wednesday I can card club and clean, and then move!!

So much left to do, so little time!

The Final Countdown

22 Hours left at StoresOnline

8 Days left in Utah

2 1/2 Days left working at the Funny Farm

3 Going Away parties left to attend

3 Dozen cinnamon rolls left to make for the last day at work

3 Applications submitted today, 10+ left to discover open job postings

2 weeks left til school starts back up

and....

100 boxes left to pack and load!!! And then unload!!! And unpack!! (Does the packing/unpacking ever end?!)

My competition....

So today as I was browsing among the deals on Groupon, I came across this little gem....

MY COMPETITION!!! Crave Bake Shop in Lake Oswego, OR had a "deal" for cake balls. That's right, for only $9 (originally $18), you could get a dozen cake balls! I'm sorry, but I don't care that they are gluten free, dipped in Belgian chocolate, and made by a Le Cordon Bleu trained chef that was on Cupcake Wars. That is still WAY over priced in my book. And guess what?! By lunch time, the deal had SOLD OUT. Crazy.

So folks, that means that MY Cake balls (Breezy's bites) are a SMASHING deal. And that I should charge more. My non-gluten free, Nestle chocolate dipped, BYU trained chef cake balls are selling for $5 a dozen. But maybe I should go up to $10 for Portland seeing as a normal dozen can go for $18. That means $10 is still a DEAL. If you'd like to order, please send me an email with your flavor choices and quantity, and I will make sure to deliver some quality cake balls made with love. I am also now selling cookie dough truffles and Oreo truffles. Please inquire for pricing if interested. Cash preferred.

Now to get a Breezy's Bites web site up and running..... :)

101 Cake Balls

My newest cookbook. I have not experimented with it yet, but plan on doing so this week!

All I've been posting about lately is the move, so I interrupt the countless moving posts that you are all sick of reading about to blog about CAKE BALLS.

You know what would be my dream job? Baking and decorating in the kitchen all day long. But not in a professional bakery because instead of "lalalala, make some frosting; lalala, decorate a cake; lalalala, let's try out a new recipe", it would be, "THERE ARE 15 CUSTOMERS STILL WAITING FOR THEIR CUPCAKES AND YOU RUINED THIS BATCH OF FROSTING AND SPEED THINGS UP WOMAN!!" and basically, that would not be my dream job anymore.

I still have dreams of someday setting up my own bakery and selling all things wonderful. With a specialty in cake balls. You know, those wonderful little bite size pieces of cake and frosting harmoniously combined and dipped in chocolate?!?! Freaking awesome.

Sweet Tooth Fairy sells these little treats for A BUCK A PIECE! Which is way overpriced. They are not that good. Not compared to my cake balls. Mine are bigger, better, and half the price. The only problem? I don't really sell them. But I'd like to. "Breezy's Bites" sold at "Sweet Escape". Don't steal those names, I'll kill you.

So here's the goal: Move to Portland where cake balls aren't as well known (I feel like they are a big Utah thing?). Bring a batch of cake balls to a ward or school function. Everyone devours said cake balls and HAS to know who brought them. At which point, I chime in and say, "oh yeah, that was me. I make them. I can sell them to you for a steal of a deal for you next __________ (fill in the blank. Possible options: Birthday party, bridal shower, baby shower, women's luncheon, etc.) And BAM. I'm in business. And selling cake balls like hot cakes. And making money. And living out my dream job. Until I'm shut down for not having a business license or food handler's permit, or permission to sell baked products from my home. BLARG. But it's a start, right? We'll see how that dream plays out. Until then, there's always plasma to earn money. :)

Wrenches and Goodbyes

This week has been crazy with different wrenches thrown in my plans. Why is it that as soon as I plan out my life, some wrench needs to get thrown in to shake things up? I guess I'm just being kept on my toes.

Remember how much we love that apartment complex in Vancouver named Cascade Park? The one with the waterfall and the fireplace? Well, I called them to get applied for the apartment. And they told me that the one we wanted wasn't available because the tenants (who were supposed to be kicked out) were not leaving until October. Which doesn't work for us. So then they told me that there was only a downstairs unit available with the floorplan we liked, but that was not so great for us because the downstairs units are $50 more a month. No bueno when you're going to be tight on money as is. The apartment was supposed to be by the waterfall, we said great. Then when we called back about it, they said that the only one that was available is actually a DIFFERENT one that is down by the highway, but still a bottom unit. I was starting to feel like we were getting the run around.

I was able to download the applications and email them in and our email conversations continued... our credit was great (no surprise there), but they just needed to verify income. Which is great for what we're making now, but remember how we won't be making ANYTHING when we move? But they didn't say they wanted to see any financial aid rewards or anything.... And they wanted the security deposit NOW. Which I wasn't happy about because why would i send that much money if we weren't going to get approved? WRENCH.

Now I've seen enough Judge Judy to know that you should have EVERYTHING in documentation, so I continued with the email plan explaining that I wasn't going to send money without a contract. Which they disputed with "we only sign contracts in the office." To which I said, "well, if I can't sign a contract, I can't start paying rent September 1st cuz we won't be there til the week of the 20th." To which they said, "okay, fine, we'll see what we can do."

Tuesday they sent a contract over and said we could sign it and fax it in (why was that so hard for them? I have no idea). As I looked at the contract, I noticed that they also require you to have a landline number for the security gate so guests can call you on their keypad and you can let them in. This is not an expense we were even THINKING about getting as we don't nearly come close to using half of our minutes with our cell phones. Plus, with Dustin at school all day, and me at work all day to pay for this bottom unit, why would we want a home landline?!? So extra money for the apartment that we don't even want, and now extra money for a utility we don't even want? WRENCH.

At this point, I was seriously starting to question whether we wanted to live here and rent from this management as the whole process had seemed like a hassle and was hard to communicate with. So then we remembered our second choice in apartments: Star Crest Manor in Portland. Over $150 a month cheaper than Cascade Park with all the new expenses. And way closer to Dustin's school. Close enough that we wouldn't need 2 cars. Cut that expense out. And the landline. Add satellite/DVR service, and it's STILL cheaper than Cascade Park. No bridge traffic. An apartment with TWO bathrooms. 5 minutes away from the plasma center. This was looking like a MUCH better option for us and we set our minds that Star Crest was the right decision for us.

Then my Aunt Sheri went to Cascade Park to check out the apartment for us in person. And talking with the management, they told her that if she gave them the security deposit right then, we could actually have the original apartment we wanted because the tenants are moving out in three days. SAY WHAT?!? I guess that there are other people in the complex that want that apartment but haven't put money down on it yet, so if we showed the dough, it was ours. WRENCH. This gave us a lot to think about. We told them we'd take a day and let them know.

On the way home from work (mind you, this is all still TUESDAY), I get a message from Robert Half Accounting saying they have a potential position for me. I called him back and found out more about the job, that it would need to start beginning of September, that they were looking for someone that I met the qualifications for perfectly. This meant that I would have a job! That we could afford Cascade Park! WRENCH.

Seriously, by this point I was freaking out so we stopped at Arctic Circle and got a Butterfinger shake to clear our heads :) It worked.

We made a pros and cons list, listed out all expenses associated with both apartments, and decided to sleep on it.

Final decision made yesterday morning: Star Crest Manor in Portland. We think it will be a great home for us and if we end up hating it and having the money to afford Cascade Park, we can always move. I mean, we're going to be there for YEARS so if we're at a cheaper place now, we won't be out anything really. And we'll be able to save that extra money from cheaper rent and transportation costs to maybe come home once or twice in the next 3-4 years. Or buy food. :)

We've applied for Star Crest and are waiting to hear back on whether we are accepted or not. Of course, they are hung up on "income verification" because they want 3 x rent NET income (what would we ever do with all that money?!?!) We gave them the info for the financial contact at UWS and hopefully she can send them what they need and explain to them that we will definitely have the funds to pay for rent. I'll let you know how that works out. If we're not accepted, I have no idea who will accept us cuz that rent is pretty cheap. Hahahaha.

As far as hearing back about the potential job, after 2 full days, no one has called me about an interview or a job, so I'm guessing that they, like everyone else, do not want to hire me because I don't live there. And the apartment people don't want us cuz we dont' have a job? It's a catch-22.

Oh man. Life is crazy. We are packing up all we can now and there is still TONS left to pack. It's only a month away!

Nathan, Adrienne, and Elliott moved to Chicago on Sunday and it was very sad to see them go!! I definitely loved having them here for the summer and spending time together playing games, watching the Bachelorette, SYTYCD, and Parks and Rec. And of course, snuggling and kissing little Elliott!! We miss you guys and hope you are having a great time on your adventure in Chicago!

Ready, Set, GO!

Tomorrow we will be boarding that Delta airplane and flying to Rose City, renting a car (how cool *and old!* are we to be able to rent a car?!), and exploring the area! I can't believe this is really happening. We will leave as tenants in my parents basement and hope to come back as renters once again! We have a couple places scheduled and hope that something will work out, but it's so hard to know where we should live or how much we should spend because so much of it depends on where my job is and how much I will be getting paid!

Which, by the way, I have applied to THREE jobs in the Portland area now that my resume looks fantastic, thanks to my beautiful SIL Adrienne. Thanks girl! I am nervous to be applying for new jobs and scared to get them and scared to NOT get them. What if they hate me and never contact me about the job? What if they love me but I totally screw up the interview? What if they love me and my interview is amazing and they want to hire me?! I seriously hate interviews and feel like I'm horrible at them so I've been telling myself that I am AWESOME at interviews and will totally rock them. I'm hoping that if I tell myself that enough, I'll finally believe it and have the confidence needed. Because really, isn't confidence like 75% of the interview?

We got the information about student loans a month or so ago and I started having a panic attack. This is serious stuff. Serious debt. And the worst part? We won't even be getting enough student loan to really cover our costs of living. I think that this school thinks that their students live in a mud puddle and eat dirt because the extra amount of student loan that won't be going towards tuition, books, and fees, will really only cover housing with utilities for the 2 of us. So of course, I am FREAKING OUT. Dustin called the school's financial aid office and they basically said, "your wife just needs to get a job." End of story. My May miscarriage is starting to seem like a blessing in disguise because if I were to be having a baby and NOT working when we move, we wouldn't be able to feed and clothe ourselves, let alone a baby!

Now I know people do this whole "grad school" thing all the time, but I'd really like to know your secrets. PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO SURVIVE. I know we'll be poor, I know they will be "the best years of our lives", and I know that it takes a lot of faith and courage. It's just hard to figure out how it will all logistically work out.

Hopefully one of these jobs I have applied for will work out, but I'm still going to keep looking until I have an offer. I am awesome. I rock interviews. I am an intelligent, well-rounded professional that is going to get a killer job. (self, is this working yet?)

Keeps getting crazier

Things at work have gotten even crazier since Tuesday! On Wednesday we found out that our group was not staying all together as we thought. Two of my girls are moving over to link building and one is staying with me to finish up all the preview paperwork... all the reg cards, scanning, prepping, and reports! We have a lot to do in the next 3 months that I will be there so I am feeling QUITE overwhelmed, but I have a job! And it will definitely keep me busy! Now I just need to add a lot of tv shows to my instant queue on Netflix to keep me entertained :)

Resume writing is coming along quite well and I only have a few finishing touches before it's ready to send off to perspective employers! I still don't know how to write a cover letter though... and what's up with the "objective" section of a resume?! I feel like that's new in the past 3 years. Good thing I have an amazing husband who learned all this stuff in school recently and has been helping me!

July continues to be a crazy busy month with Portland next week, 24th/Fiesta Days festivities, and finishing off at East Canyon with the Creers! I feel like time keeps flying by and we are trying to enjoy the rest of our Utah summer as much as possible!

Last week we spent in St. George enjoying the Jack family with hiking, games, and of course, lots of food. It's nice to have our family all together at this time because soon we will be far away and too poor to be able to visit! For now we're soaking it all up! It's been a party having Nathan, Adrienne, and baby Elliott at the Jack home this summer! We love hanging out with them and will miss them when they head off to Chicago.

To finish off my random post of crazy things, I just finished watching the So You Think You Can Dance results show for the week and I am crazy happy that Ashley is going home (she hasn't been my fav for a long time), but I am a little sad that Chris is going home this week because I thought his solos were always the best. I guess he really wouldn't have won anyway, and his choreographed pieces weren't the greatest, but I liked him.

Anyway, that's all for tonight!

Still employed

I work at a company called StoresOnline. Sometimes I hate my job. Sometimes I love my job. Right now, I am just very happy to still have a job! Press release came out today. You can check it out here. Essentially 30% of the employees were laid off today. Crexendo (StoresOnline) has decided to restructure it's current sales strategy. Which means no more seminars. Which means the marketing, booking, call center, and all seminar sales teams are no longer needed. Guess what. I process all the sales seminars orders in Accounting. So is my job needed? Not really. But I thankfully still have a job. They have work for us to do as they restructure everything, and we still need to finish all our reports and have scanning in documents from LAST year still to do (we're a little behind). So we'll be kept busy for a little while and start cross training in other areas, maybe build a website, learn to link build, etc.

I was really really concerned for my job when the information was released today. I haven't kept it a secret that I'm moving in just a few months. They know I'm outta here come the fall. So i was worried they would just give me the boot now. Our corporate controller talked to me today as I was voicing some of my concerns and he told me that they took into consideration that I was moving and wanted to keep me. I have a great attitude and am a pretty freaking amazing worker and they want me to stay. It was SO reassuring to hear that!

We have a trip out to Portland next week (holy cow, is this move really happening? Is it really getting close to game time?!) and that means I need to get my resume ready and start applying for jobs! Maybe even score some interviews while we're there next week....I completely love working in accounting and working in an office jobs. Sometimes it's crappy work, but there are definite perks that you don't get in other jobs.... Monday-Friday 8-5 schedule, paid holidays, paid vacation days, health insurance, matching 401k... It's fantastic. I'd really like to find a similar type of job (something in Accounting) when we move, but the market looks a little hard. Most jobs are temp for short term projects and occasionally temp to hire, which I'm fine with, but concerned that it will stay temp FOREVER and the full time perks won't be included.

Another job that I'm kinda excited to apply for is Costco. Call me crazy, but every single person I've talked to about working at Costco LOVES working there. Apparently they have AMAZING benefits. You do have to work on Sunday, but they pay time and a half on Sundays so people are sometimes willing to take your shift for the extra money. So in addition to my accounting jobs I'll be applying for, Costco is up there on the list.

Wish me luck in finding the perfect job. I need at least $10 an hour for us to survive out there, but that's for another post. :)

My life is good. I'm still employed. And I thank my lucky stars for that!

A night at the symphony

Tonight we got free tickets from our friend Laurette Martin to the Utah Valley Symphony concert. It was so great! I've forgotten how much I love music! It was so refreshing to hear some good classical music. Our favorite piece was The Sorcerer's Apprentice. It was awesome. Made me miss playing piano. I should probably play our piano more than I do, but I've gotten lazy. What's that? I haven't mentioned that we bought a piano? Well, we did. Back in the beginning of November. And it's beautiful. A Yamaha digital. Fully weighted keys, full size Clavinova. Great addition to the family, but needs to be used more! I'm sure it will in due time.

Dustin was in a racquetball tournament at BYU last week and did okay. His singles matches weren't his best, but he made it to the semi finals in doubles! Nationals are coming quickly so he's trying to get in as much practice as he can!

Dustin has ordered his cap and gown so we are also nearing graduation! Don't you find it funny that you have to pay and fee and apply to get into school and then pay and fee and apply to get out of school? April 29th is the big day!

Our 2nd anniversary is on Monday!! Can't believe how fast it's gone by. I think that occasion is honorary of a post about our love story. i know that some people asked for it ages ago (meaning you Brittany Hoffman), so look for it soon! :) To celebrate our anniversary, we're going to Vegas and staying in the fabulous 5 star Trump Towers and seeing Phantom! So excited! The weather should be wonderful and it will be a great getaway! Only one week away! UVU, I love you for having a Spring Break!

Remember my recent posts about my love/hate relationship with my job? Well, I got the Accounting Employee of the month! Woot Woot! Maybe my hard work is paying off after all and getting some recognition! :)

the power of blowing bubbles

I know I just posted yesterday, but I posted about work and how I'm grateful to have a job... but now I need to post the other half because today was a very frustrating day, and it's not been the first frustrating day at work lately....

There have been many times where I've wanted to just walk out of work and quit on the spot. Today was one of those times. We have been SWAMPED with work lately and are not staffed well enough to do our workload in the best time (and most accurately) as possible. I am overjoyed that we have lots of orders to be processing because obviously, that is what is good for the company. I just wish that they would let me hire someone else so that we can get our work done and stay caught up with everything. I hate the feeling of drowning and asking my team to work overtime if possible because I know that I don't want to be working overtime either.

As we've been rolling out new products and testing new things, it has made my job very frustrating because sometimes things aren't quite ready and I get to deal with the aftermath. Sometimes changes happen in our database that make my job more complicated or cause more work so I'm not able to spend the time with my team doing our extra work because I have extra work of my own to do.

I get so frustrated when we set policies and they aren't followed, and then we take no action to correct the problems. One of my many frustrations today, in short, is concerning a new policy that was set for the preview sales managers. Some didn't follow it. So they were fined. But then one guy, who isn't even their manager, after one sales guy complained to him about the fine, AGREED with him that the fine should be reversed. If we don't fine these guys, they'll never learn and they'll keep doing whatever the heck they wanna do, regardless of any kind of policies they are given. There have never been so many swear words floating around my mind as there were this afternoon. It frustrates me SO BADLY that people are given mercy for their laziness and inability to do their job correctly. So with one guy off the hook from his fine, that means that we have to let ALL the others off the hook because that's not fair to them. WHAT THE FREAK. I am sick of babysitting grown men to have them do their job correctly and then when it is clear to them how they should do their job, there is no consequence for doing things wrong. They are kindergarten teenagers who think they know how to do everything (that's the teenager part), but then bawl like a baby when there is a consequence for their bad behavior (that's the kindergarten side). It is frustrating to work with those kinds of people. Oh. so. frustrating.

Here's how I remedied the situation.... First, I had a good little chat with one of the sales managers giving me the most grief right now and we came to a good resolution, and he has promised me that he will communicate with me more so that I can help him do his job correctly. But he is clear on our policies now and will do it right, or he will be punished and he knows that.

Then I went into our AP group's office and they gave me chocolate to eat and bubbles to blow. It was amazing. I never knew that blowing bubbles could calm anyone down so well. I mean, I guess it makes sense because you are blowing out evil, angry air, but it was magic. I felt better after blowing bubbles. I think I need to get a large amount of bubbles at my desk while we fix the issues that are going on. I get angry a lot often. I'm sure a large part of it has to do with my personal life and the emotional/hormonal roller coaster I've been on lately, but it's just so frustrating to do my job sometimes.

I have set a goal to have a positive attitude and I am trying to work on it. I know that I won't always be perfect and that there will be bad days (like today) and good days (hopefully much more to come!). I want to be happy at work and I know that I can be because I have been. The frustrations won't always last. The issues will get resolved through (lots and lots of) communication. It's just frustrating sometimes and some days I just need to vent. Because my job isn't perfect and some days are just bad days.

And while days are bad days, I will blow bubbles. Lots and lots of bubbles.

Life and Taxes

I haven't posted in a little while and just like my journal, I promise myself I will write in more, but then never do. It has been amazing not teaching piano anymore.... I never knew how great it would be to have my Weds, Thurs, and Saturdays back. I have felt so wonderful being able to make dinner and clean the house more. Now dishes only for a day or so instead of a week. Hahaha. I'm more relaxed, way less stressed, and therefore happier. Who would have thought?!

My little brother Dallin has now been in the Provo MTC for a week!! He is serving a mission in
Tokyo, Japan and will be awesome. It's actually the same exact mission that Nathan served in so we're excited about it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that his girlfriend Lexi waits for him too... she's super cute :)

Doing our taxes this year was the greatest thing ever!!! It went much better than expected. We decided it would be best to save half and then we could spend the other half on something good... The decision came down to an all-inclusive Mexico vacation for a couple days or a new family room... and the new family room won! We bought a new recliner leather sofa and loveseat set, a new entertainment center (which perfectly fits our CREER letters) and a coffee table. (Pictures below) It is so great! Best decision ever! It was really nice buying our own brand new furniture.
Now I have just been house hungry wanting to put it in a real house! Hahahaha. The house idea and dream is going to have to go on the back burner for a little while though. We need to get Dustin through school so we can settle down and then we will buy a house. We are going to Portland for a weekend in April for a perspective student forum at the Western States University. They are a school for chiropractics but also offer Masters or Doctorates degrees. Dustin would like to go there for chiropractics and to get a Masters in Sports and Exercise Science so he can be a chiropractor and also work as an athletic trainer. It should be a fun trip and I am looking forward to going up to Portland for a weekend. I love that area and I hope we end up there. Dustin won't be applying until this summer, then he'll have one year left of undergrad, graduation in April 2o11 and then hopefully we'll be off to our next big adventure!

The conflict I'm having right now is... what do I do with my life??!?!?! Hahaha. I thought I had this figured out, but it's been bugging me the past little while... Dustin has school to work on now and then grad school and career goals, but I have no goals for my life. I mean, of course, I have a goal of having a family, but I have no idea when that will come along. I need a direction, a goal I can work on and head towards. I think that's what started my obsession with wanting a house. It's a goal for me, something to work towards and look forward to. So what else can I do to work towards... maybe a new hobby or skill? A new career ambition? Should I go for a Master's degree? Maybe I should just work on blogging more? hahaha. If you have any suggestions, please let me know what I should do with my life in the next year or so.

Relax

Dustin and I spent this last weekend just RELAXING and it was SO GREAT!!!

Friday night we hung out with Tyler and Sara and went to Los Hermanos, then watched the movie 21 at our home. It was great to be able to go out and chill with friends!

Saturday morning I started teaching my Springville ACMA classes again for the semester and the classes went really well! Those kids and parents are just awesome! Then Saturday afternoon Dustin and I just RELAXED at home. I made some carmel zucchini bars, did lots of dishes, cleaned and organized a little, did some laundry, worked on some scan prep... okay, maybe this doesn't sound very relaxing, but it really was! Just to be home with Dustin and veg in front of the tv while doing some work was so wonderful! We also got to see part of the infomercial about the new Magic Bullet Express, 8 minute family meal maker! It was incredible! ha ha ha. Dustin felt a little sick at night so we stayed home and watched the Wizards of Waverly Place Disney Channel orinigal movie and had a good laugh. We ran to the grocery store quickly to get some stuff for dinners this week (so i'll actually cook and can't say that we have nothing to make!) and then just went to bed.

Sunday we went to church and I got to go to Sunday School and most of Relief Society because the sharing time was combined for senior and junior Primaries so I only needed to be there at the beginning and then the last half hour or so. I made crepe batter for some lunch but it needed to refrigerate for an hour so we decided to take a nap... and woke up 3 hours later, just in time to get ready to leave for my grandparent's house for a family dinner! Ha! oops! We didn't even think we were that tired.... I guess we were! We had a great time talking with my family and my Uncle and Aunt and their boys that came down from Washington. Also my cousin Amber and her fiance Joe! It was nice.

So yeah, just a chill weekend after a busy week of StoresOnline work and starting up the new semester of Art City Music Academy classes! Dustin started his classes at UVU and he's taking 17 credits, plus another 5 of Portugese that he will just test out of at the end of the semester! He has a way busy class schedule and will only be working like 12 hours, but I'll be busy working too! So we really just hope we'll have some time to see each other! And remember to RELAX! :)

It's been a long time coming...

It's been a while since I've written and there is a lot to update on!
A couple weeks ago I was told to make a list of everything I did at work... I was a little nervous, but my boss said not to be worried. The next week an email from our controller went out saying that they had the Preview Express Accounts Receivable Manager position available as Kareena, the previous manager, was recruited to work with another StoresOnline, Imergent company.
Have you ever had those realizations hit you in the face that you were meant to do something? I had that feeling with the Santa Barbara job and I had that feeling with this one as well. I knew they had intended for me to take it, hence the listing what I currently did so they could dish it out to everyone else in my little group. Well, after some coaxing from a few select individuals, I applied for the position, knowing that I would most likely get it. You see, I started in the Preview Express department, I know what I'm doing, and I'm a born leader. Those all equal Manager. I talked with Yvonne, my boss at Art City Music Academy and let her know what this might mean... not as flexible of a schedule for teaching.
The interview was the next day. And within a half hour of my interview, I was told that I got the position... which meant a salary raise, deduction of health benefit costs, and a new job. I was really excited, a little nervous, but it felt good!
The next week I started training and then this week I am been in command. It's been a crazy busy week, but time goes by fast when you're busy! We've had some previews up in Canada which has created a little mess in our end with making sure everything is right as we process the orders. Oh what an adventure! But I have a feeling I will survive!
As far as piano teaching goes, StoresOnline can be somewhat flexible with my schedule for now, but this might be my last semester teaching if we can find a teacher to take my place.
Life is moving onward and upward and continues to be super busy for me and Dustin. We've now been married for 5 months and yes, we're still working on Thank You cards... so don't feel bad if you haven't gotten one yet!
Dustin has completed a great summer semester at UVU and fall classes will start next Wednesday. He will have an over-full schedule and he's looking forward to being on the racquetball team! We're so excited for our cruise in less than two months! Life for the Creers is going well. :)

You're never fully dressed without a SMILE

At StoresOnline we have a new dress code that is going to start being enforced in the next couple of weeks... Mon-Thurs is business casual dress and Fridays are casual, but no shorts or flip flops. I have one pair of dress pants and a bunch of skirts, but seeing as how I keep getting fatter ever since I got married, I don't know if they fit so well.... Which means really I should go shopping! I wish it was like "What Not to Wear" though and they gave us money to go buy a new wardrobe. I mean, I don't need $5,000 like what they give out on that show, but a couple hundred would be nice. The cause for this change in standards is that our company is growing and we have people coming in to look at our business and whatever, but we need to look professional. I'm okay with business casual, I really think it's super cute, but this whole company image transformation also means that we can't decorate outside of our cubicles.... no holiday decorations, no cute name signs, nothing, which is pretty much a bummer. We have lots of fun decorating for the holidays but we can't go all out anymore. And my cubicle is very open to the public eye so I don't think I can be too crazy in here either, ha ha ha.
So where can I get some cute, not very expensive, business casual clothes, especially pants?