2009

This year was not all peaks and no valleys. It was mixed with new adventures and trying challenges. I spent the first month of 2009 in Mexico with my friend Megan visiting my friend Daniel Alcala. I loved it. The end of January I found myself buying a 2008 Chevy Impala (Thanks to HUGE help from my mom and dad) and then moving down to Boise, Idaho to live with my cousin Sara. It was a fun experience and I'm glad I was able to be there, though I won't lie. It was hard and I found myself fighting depression. It's not easy getting turned down for jobs everyday and there comes a point where you don't want to tell anyone that you applied for more, since that only admits failure when you don't get it. At least that's what I felt like. One bright point in those two months was that I was able to fly out to Disney World and spend time with Travis at the end of February/beginning of March. He has been a support and main source of encouragement for me since I have known him. General Conference weekend found me packed up and driving back home since I was given my old summer job back again. It was a blessing to be able to save money and be with family. Travis flew out to visit me in May and we did our road trip that I already blogged about. When Travis' birthday came around in June, it was also a meaningful day for me because I officially graduated college with a BS in Psychology :) Then I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Florida again in July for a week to visit him. Things have really come together for us and I see the hand of the Lord in our lives. Being able to move to Florida (Thank you Dad) and find great housing just a few minutes away from Travis, then find a full time position that while it isn't my favorite job ever, teaches me patience as well as pays the bills. Getting me in better shape and losing weight doesn't hurt either :) All in all it has been a great year. I've grown and felt the love of my family and friends. This past week my parents were here and it made me wish they were closer, along with the rest of them, but that time might come. Right now is my time of stretching, growth and finding out what the Lord has in store for me here. I've been blessed to nurture a strong relationship with Travis and enjoy my family's support and presence.

Christmas 2009

I was a little curious as to how I would enjoy Christmas away from my family, but I survived. Thanks to my parents sending Christmas to me and Travis being so sweet and taking me to Georgia. You wouldn't think there were many families like mine out there, but I now know otherwise. People who can enjoy an island covered with main dishes, then surrounding counters holding dozens of dessert dishes are people I can feel at home with. Travis calls his family loud. I like it. If someone isn't teasing someone else, a kid isn't pinching, biting or crying (guess that goes for the adults too...) then it isn't a family get together. We spent Tuesday night, Wednesday and then Thursday in Tifton, GA. It's fun to see and spend time where Trav spent the majority of his growing up years and get to know his extended family. Before we left we were able to have family dinner with them and hear his Granddad read out of Luke 2. That was the big thing I was going to miss other than just being with my family. I love to hear my dad read the story of Christ's birth. It's what makes it Christmas for me. We left Georgia and after the 4 hour ride back home to Florida I opened the presents my parents sent out. I really am spoiled with a wonderful family and am excited to see my parents on Sunday :)

Princess Tiana and due out dirties.

I met princess Tiana! It's been awhile, but I feel it noteworthy. Travis, Sarah and I went to the Magic Kingdom to see the new boat parade and ended up waiting in line to get out picture taken with the newest Disney Princess and her Prince. The show was impressive and it was adorable to see the few random people (old couples mostly) they let on the boat to wave hankies.

I'm starting to get the hang of things at work. In the morning I meet with my manager and she gives me my board- the paper that tells me what I need to do in each of the 16 rooms in my section. It was learned quickly that I do not want to see many blue "due out dirty," otherwise known as a checkout :), columns on my board. The other thing I don't like to see is pink "linen change" columns. I would take 16 white "occupied dirty" columns though! :) All I have to do is clean the bathroom, vanity area, make the beds, replace the towels, take out the trash, clean out the coffee maker and give more coffee, cups and glasses, dust, and vacuum. I have all the radios in my rooms set to my station and all so I can clean to music :) It is hard work, but I'm learning how to do it more efficiently, which is always a plus. Another plus is the tips I get. I made 48 dollars in tips the other day. That is almost as much as I made on my paycheck for the day. I have a greater appreciation for people who leave a dollar or two on their pillows. Or people that don't scatter their trash all over the room. I don't need a tip. It's not a tip position, but if you are going to trash the room everyday and leave poop in the shower, that's going to make your housekeeper fall behind in her schedule and she isn't going to have time to make you a towel animal. They are pretty cool.

New Friends

I love it here in Florida. There are many fun things to do and see. The problem is that I need to find new friends to do things with and that is difficult when I can't go to church on Sunday because I have to work. I don't speak creole, so I can't communicate with over half of the people I work with, and most of them are older with families to keep them busy. I'm thinking of taking some kind of class or volunteering somewhere to help me with a social life. I don't know. I've started volunteering with the name indexing, but since that is on my own computer at home, it doesn't get me new friends, though it helps a lot with feeling productive. While Travis is wonderful and spends a lot of time with me, I can't expect him to spend every minute he has off work entertaining me. It's healthy to have a balanced life.... any ideas?

My Marine

The classic pose :)


Travis invited me to a ball in Georgia, but I had to work the day of it. It was quite sad, but being the great man he is, he let us still get all dressed up last night. We went for a walk around the Boardwalk and found a classy joint to eat at (Taco Bell). I felt beautiful and special being able to be with my Marine dressed up in his dress blues. There were many things that really impressed me last night, but one was the strangers thanking him and shaking his hand. Another was the fact that Travis felt uncomfortable with the recognition. It made me adore him all the more for his humility, because in my opinion, he deserves it.
It was really late when we went out last night, so this morning we got dressed up again, and went to Sarah's house. She was great and took pictures of us, so this girl could FINALLY have a picture with her boyfriend in his uniform. It was a great 24 hours :)

Work is work

One thing I've learned the last seven days as a mousekeeper at Disney World: It is some freaking hard work! It is doable though..... as long as my managers only give me the amount of rooms they are supposed to and not a bunch more like they tried to. Around 2 in the afternoon my feet start throbbing and I start moving slower than in the morning. One sad fact is that the first day my feet hurt the whole time, even after I went home. I woke up in the middle of the night and my first thought was that my feet didn't hurt anymore. It was exciting :) I'm gradually catching on to it and everything will work out.

In happier news I went to Mickey's Christmas party last night. I was exhausted, but couldn't help getting excited for the fun. We went on rides, our picture from Splash Mountain was awesome, and we watched a show and a parade. Not to forget some delicious food! It was a great night and I completely crashed. Now why am I up at 7:10 in the morning on my day off???

Hmm... I've seen better.

The colors don't show up too well in these pictures. The skirt is blue and the top is green checkered. Not the most flattering costume, but when I'm gross and sweaty from work, who will care?? :)

Thank you Grandma Helen!

Today was the housekeeping core class. Meaning that I sat through eLearning and classes all day and then got to make beds and clean bathrooms for the last two hours... yeah. I made ONE bed and cleaned ONE bathroom all in an hour. It was pathetic, but the other newbies were right there with me. Who knew there was more to making a bed than throwing a fitted sheet on a mattress, followed by the flat sheet and a comforter?? Making beds is a science, especially when you don't use a fitted sheet! Talk about some mad hospital corners. I was thanking Grandma the whole time I was doing the bed. I remember being in the front room of their house and she showed me how to fold one side in and then lift up and tuck, fold, etc. I may have been slow at a lot of things today, but I sure have those corners down! Thank you Grandma Helen.

It's Official!!

Yep. I know you all have been wondering when it would finally happen, and today was the day.....

I got my ID card for Disney! Wahoo!

Mickey himself came and gave us our name tags, part of the class was spent in the Magic Kingdom, and Cinderella's Prince Charming was in my class (I say Cinderella's Prince Charming because my Prince Charming was working hard over at the Boardwalk).

I have a few days of more classes and then start housekeeping at the resort on Wednesday. I'm excited for the first two weeks to be over with. I'm not a fan of new jobs, but this one sure has its perks!! :)

Killing Time

I have found the hiring process to take a while. That is fine, but I need cheap things to occupy my time until I start working. So I have taken to scrapbooking with the pictures, paper and materials I have accumulated. It helps me feel productive while not spending money.

Another thing I have done is hang out at Disney World thanks to my boyfriend getting me in free (I will be able to get in free on my own in a few days!!). Here are some pictures of our fun at the Magic Kingdom :)

I GOT A JOB!!

I finally found a full time job with benefits. It isn't what I want to do the rest of my life, but it is a start with Disney, in housekeeping at Port Orleans. The resort has two sections: Riverside (as shown above) and French Quarter (below).
I'm just hoping the bright pink outfit with the scrunchy is more like my costume than the drab looking dress to the right ;) I miss the 80's sometimes...


This is the entrance to the French Quarter Lobby. It looks pretty fun! I'm excited to start working and get past the first two weeks of a new job where I don't have a clue what's going on.

Travis and I walked around the Riverside general store and lobby last night and it was NICE. I'm impressed. I just hope I'm not the one to keep the ceilings clean....

Hancocks, Georgia and Disney

It has been a busy week! Sherry, Larry, Ash and TJ got here last Saturday and they invited us over to dinner on Sunday night. They made yummy barbecued chicken with cheesy potatoes and strawberry shortcake. It was delicious! Travis and I enjoyed the food and the company.

Monday morning Travis' coworker got me into Disney World for free and I met up with the Hancocks at the Animal Kingdom. We went on rides and fought the crowds in the heat. The Lion King show is amazing! It was awesome. Maybe one of my favorite things at Disney...

That night I left to Georgia with Travis after he got off of work. We were able to spend some time with his Mom and family, and I got some girl bonding time with his mom in too :) Nothing quite like bra shopping and manicures with your boyfriend's mom and grandma to liven things up!!


It was a fun, relaxing and productive trip. Travis' uncle Jim gave me a mini fridge that I convinced my landlords to let me use up in my room. It has helped out a lot already.

We got back Wednesday night and I went shopping with Sherry and Ash at the outlet mall yesterday afternoon until we went to eat at Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney. It was a fun night and interesting to see all of the memorabilia they had displayed.

The Hancocks are flying out tomorrow, so I spent the morning with them playing cards and watching tv. It has been so nice to have family here. I love my family. And not just because they give me all of their left over food when they leave to go back home :)

I'm happy.

My mom texted me this morning and asked me if I am happy. I realized I didn't have to think about it and the answer came immediately. YES! I am happy. Occasionally I will think about how it is harvest time at home and how the leaves will be changing soon. The four seasons are wonderful and fall might be my favorite. I spent some time smelling candles today to catch the scent of apples and cinnamon. I think of what my family members are doing and how much fun it would be to spend time with them. And I miss it. But it is okay to miss home. It would be a sad thing if I didn't.

The fact that I am where I know I should be makes everything ok. The realization of how happy I am here stuck with me throughout the day. I have been very blessed with an amazing boyfriend, an interview with Disney (it's something!!) and housing that I am more grateful for everyday.

Today my landmother (as Travis refers to her, don't worry Mom, she is not going to replace you) asked me to watch Twilight with her. I can tell that she needs a friend and is lonely a lot. She spends a lot of time in bed because of fibromyalsia, but she can tell stories and talk. It was nice for me too.

Tonight Travis and I went to dinner and had a laid back evening. I like those. When we would be able to see each other before we would always try to pack in as much as we could to our week and not have much down time. Those weeks were really fun and I wouldn't have changed them, but the day to day stuff is more real. I enjoy his sweet strength, how he can talk about anything for hours but also let there be moments of silence and reflection. He makes me laugh.

I'm not sure how things are going to pan out financially still, but I'm working on figuring that part out.

I've made a good choice to come down here to Florida. I'm very happy Mom :)

Lizards

Since I arrived here, lizards have been my constant companion outside. They are every where!! I walk into the house and I have to watch to make sure I don't step on three or four that cross in front of me. I really don't mind the little critters though. I'm very glad they aren't spiders...

The house I live in is very secure. The doors and windows are always locked, and there is an alarm system. I should know because I set it off the first night...

Side note: every night when I get home I have a routine to avoid setting off the alarm. Before I unlock the door, I take my shoes off and put them in my purse, put my phone in my pocket and after unlocking the door I run to the kitchen where the alarm pad is to enter the code. Lady like? Definitely not. Does it work? No alarms have been going off since Saturday :)

So in all of that security, I realized it would be a little difficult for a burgler to make his way inside. What I didn't think about was how it would be for a lizard to make its way in. Getting home from running errands today and walking through the kitchen I saw him. And I came to a realization that it wouldn't be the last time there was a lizard in the house.

Florida Life

I've had many questions about how I am doing now and what I am up to here in Florida. I'll start with when my dad and I got here. It was Saturday at 8 am that we pulled up to the house. It is a nice house in a very nice neighborhood where the streets are TINY!! I look out my window and I see trees and a lot more trees. If I can't have mountains, these trees are my perfect view :) Five minutes away from Disney World and I have trees outside of my window. Amazing.

My dad and I took a few minutes to look around at my room and then took naps until early afternoon. I am renting part of an upstairs from a married LDS couple whose kids are grown up and moved out of the house. My part is separated by a temporary wall, which turned out to be one of those orange dividers from church kinda things, and a door. And my part contains a bathroom and closet. I was hoping to put a mini fridge in to store some beverages or something, but that idea got shot down by the landlords, so I have a drawer in their fridge to keep things cool. Yes, I'm still a little bitter about that, but oh well. It isn't the best place I've ever lived, but it sure isn't the worst either. It has a lot of perks to it. Like a community pool :)

Dad, Travis and I went to dinner Saturday night at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. We got a table right on the water and I'm afraid Dad wanted to sleep instead ha ha. I really enjoyed it and I was glad Travis was able to meet Dad and vice versa. After that Trav took us to the Boardwalk where he works and let us see the Presidential Suite. It was awesome and very expensive to stay there.... so I never will.

Taking Dad to the airport was not so much fun. One, because it was at 430 in the morning, and two because my comfort zone was leaving me. Thanks to the long drive and an extreme lack of sleep, I slept through all three of my alarms for church so spent the day unpacking. I met up with Travis later and he showed me around some other areas and how to get to the temple. The Orlando Temple is gorgeous! It is a smaller temple, but looks like one of the bigger ones.

I decided I needed a couple "adjusting" days so I wouldn't get home sick and spent them with Travis, since they also turned out to be his days off :) We went to a beach on the East coast with his sister Sarah and a couple of their friends from out of town and then ate at a place called Breakers where you are still on the beach. I love that I am close enough to both coasts to enjoy them :)

Now that I know I love Florida and spending time with Travis on a day to day basis, I am searching more to find a job. I went to the Casting building for Disney today to check on my application. It is an Argyle building. Yes. Argyle. I should have taken a picture!

Life is good. I am happy and having faith that I will find a job if I work hard at applying myself to doing that. Time to go hem my interview pants...

Iowa

I'm waiting for my dad to bring my car back from the shop. The brakes were making grinding sounds when we went down steep hills, so we wanted to get it looked at. They were supposed to be finished by eight this morning, it is now past eleven. Go figure.
The trip is going well. I've had fun with Rock, DeAndra and Aaron although it would have been nicer to have more sleep and energy so I could have played more. My batteries died too early in Rock's opinion :) Driving through the night will do that to you.
Tonight we were planning on going through Georgia and hopefully push past Atlanta. I'm not sure how or if we will actually do that now that our travel time has been delayed, but I do know this: I NEED SLEEP!! ha ha ha I am exhausted and can't sleep in the car. Which means I have to try a lot harder to be cheerful and happy... My poor dad.
Rock has been quite the entertainment. He knows he is cute and funny and loves to turn the tv off so he can once again become the center of attention. He loves giving kisses and for a second he even brushed my hair this morning :) I'll miss him and his parents.
When we were driving through the longest state ever, yes that would be Montana, we saw a plethora of deer. It was crazy how many were eating on the side of the road and didn't care that we were driving past. There were some bucks with HUGE racks right outside my door. I learned I never wanted my car to break down in Eastern Montana. I think those things would eat me!
Another thing I learned was that you shouldn't hit a skunk "dead center" as my dad would say, with the driver side wheels. You also should not hit another skunk fifteen minutes later with the passenger side wheels. Every time you slow down, you will smell skunk and the guys that work on your car the next morning won't be very happy with you :) Maybe that's what is taking so long. They had to wash it first.

Packing

I'm sitting here at almost midnight, six days to go before take off, and there are clothes, boxes and giant plastic tubs, all creating a waist high maze in my room. My goal is to whittle it all down to six (or seven) apple boxes, one plastic tub, sewing machine, blanket and pillow, and my purse. I think I'm being overly optimistic. I've sorted through all of my clothes once to take out the ones to give away, but that leaves me with roughly 14 boxes worth of clothes.... Way too many for a cross country trek! So I get to sort and prioritize my clothes once again and say goodbye to some. That's always the hardest part, because invariably a time will come when I will NEED an article of clothing that I am giving away now. So I need them all right??? :) I am sure that I will be all packed in a few days, or at least five minutes after we are planning on leaving :)

Thanks to the constantly cutting hours where I work, I haven't been able to save money like I was wanting. Fearing a rerun of "The Boise Experience," it has me more than a little worried. Then I remind myself that I'm not spending money unwisely...yes, my not stopping at a stop sign and getting a 124 dollar ticket was very unwise, but other than that, I'm doing well budgeting my money. As I pay my tithing and make smart decisions, I'm sure my needs will be taken care of somehow. I need to relax and exercise my faith in that promise.

Despite the getting rid of clothes (I needed to do it anyway) and extra stress of finding a job, I'm excited for this next step. It has tested my patience, trust and courage, but I think that is good for me. It has made me grow and step outside of my comfort zone (by 3,004 miles to be exact) which is precisely what I need to challenge me. I'm excited to get going and test out my wings! (Jonathan Livingston Seagull.... I'll have to blog about him next)

The power of chocolate...

Some have underestimated the power of chocolate and its ability to improve a person's mood. I am a firm believer in the benefits of this delicious food. I trust my mom, therefore I trust this website:

http://www.momscape.com/articles/chocolate.htm

Sure I could have found a more reliable source....but why doubt the mama's of the world?? They know their stuff when it comes to chocolate :)

Lazy days

Today has been a lazy yet productive day. I spent time talking with Whit and Nick, just lounging around the living room. It is always fun to talk about random things with them. I forget about how insightful my family can be sometimes. We joke around and laugh, but there is more to us thankfully. I trust their opinions and always miss them when we aren't together. Even though we can have some interesting disagreements when we are :) We watched Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets together, well, we all started watching it and Nick left to Seattle and Whit fell asleep. So I finished watching it by myself. You miss so much when you watch the movies without reading the books, it all makes a lot more sense now! The nice thing about laundry is that I can do something else while cleaning :) I would occasionally pause the movie to change the clothes, and have half of my room clean already lol. Then I ran some errands and went to Willow Point to enjoy the sunshine for an hour. Driving this time unfortunately, not running like Saturday. I want to make it a habit to come home from work and jog to Willow, jump in the lake and them walk home. I think it would be good for me and get me jogging more than I am. I only have 2 1/2 weeks left of enjoying the lake everyday, pues lo voy a aprovechar! :)

My 25 Things

A friend recently had her 40th birthday and celebrated by making a list of 40 things that make her happy. It's always nice to think about those things, so I am doing a list of 25 things. It will not include everything, but just a handful that are on my mind now :)

1) Long car rides with great company
2) Watching a show with my sisters and mom
3) The first hugs from Travis after I haven't seen him for months
4) Painting my toenails and fingernails
5) The smell of pot roast, carrots and potatoes in the crock pot
6) Driving down Totem Pole at night with the windows down to smell the sweet apple blossoms with Aaron, coming back from Idaho after being away for a long time.
7) Laughing until I cry with my family in the kitchen
8) Late night swims in the Lake
9) Being close to Rock and having him reach for me.
10) Rock's laugh
11) Seeing my parents hold hands
12) Me holding hands with my sweetheart
13) Hymns in Spanish
14) Fresh apple cider
15) Sleeping in a cool room with heavy blankets on me and a cool pillow
16) Texts and phone calls
17) New adventures and Florida
18) Orange Chicken and Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes
19) Going to the beach and swimming with Travis
20) Second chances
21) Grandpas and Grandmas, and Grandpa's milkshakes
22) Taking new pictures
23) Temples and forever families
24) The taco wagon quesadillas
25) Traditions

Here's my first Happy List. I know I cheated, but I had to have it all on there :)

Top Five

I'm excited to move to Florida...Here are my top 5 reasons why :)

#1 Being with Travis and riding on his motorcycle. Yes I'm very excited to ride his motorcycle with him :) I still have my reservations about it, but am trusting that he won't be like the last guy I rode with that decided to flip us over by driving into a ravine. Not to mention the fact that I ended up with the four wheeler on top of me. But yes, I am looking forward to going cruising down the road with Travis. Hopefully I can sweet talk him into taking us to the ocean on it :)

#2 Panda Express. Orange Chicken. Enough said.

#3 No snow this winter!!!!

#4 Disney will be super close. I'll need to buy a pass if I can't find a job there.

#5 Challenge, travel and adventure :) I can't just drive home, so it will force me to step out on my own. I'm glad I will have Travis there with me!

Won-Won

There aren't many times that I laugh out loud while reading a book, but today was one of those rare events. Sitting in my guard shack, reading Harry Potter all by myself, I started laughing hysterically. Thankfully no one was walking or driving by, because they would have believed me to be crazy. It was just one of those moments when the humor hit me right. As it is, I have read the first 6 Harry Potter books in the last 2 weeks. It makes me wonder why I have put them off for so long. Actually, I know why, but it seems like a stupid reason now. I've started the 7th and last book tonight and have a feeling that I'll be a little sad when I finish it. But then I can start another series. I'm trying to convince Travis to read a biography with me, and he said he would, but we will see. He was going to read this series over again with me, but I think he has only made it through 1 1/2 books so far lol. In his defense he has a lot of things going on with his new job and motorcycle, not to mention spending time talking to me every night :) And really, if I had to choose, I would pick talking together over reading together right now :)

Benedryl.... oh sweet benedryl

I'm trying to decide if I like benedryl. I don't like the doped up feeling, but being able to sleep through the itchiness of the rash I have is wonderful. The other night as I laid down my throat started hurting. And not the burning or itchy feeling that comes with a cold. It was like my throat was being torn out of my body. The next morning I went to work, but the feeling still lingered, though not as strong. That night after work I noticed huge red welts all over my chest, arms and feet and my throat was starting to close up. Trying not to panic, I went to Walmart to buy some benedryl praying that it would work so I wouldn't have to go to the hospital. It kept the swelling and rash from continuing but I was still covered in it. I had to call in sick yesterday at work, and I have never done that before. Not even when I got surgery the day before. I still have no clue what caused the reaction, and even started breaking out again last night. I asked my brother Nick for a blessing and he came right over. I know I will get better, but it is not fun dealing with it now, especially since I don't have the luxury of sleeping tonight because I work the night shift. Oh well :) Life goes on. Enough of my complaining. So that is where I'm at. I think I like benedryl.

Housing

Honestly, I didn't expect my housing in Florida to fall into my lap quite like it did. I'm grateful for answered prayers and that this family is willing to work with me and not charge me a fortune for being able to be so close to Disney and Travis :)

It is a nice house in Windermere and I will be renting out part of the upstairs and a bathroom and kitchen when it is completed.

It is hard for me to fathom how things will be changing this fall, but I know that changes need to happen in order for me to grow and be challenged. Moving to Florida is exciting on many levels, personal being high up there. It is also not something that I am doing on impulse. I have thought about the choices I have, as well as prayed after I made my decision. I feel good about it, so I know as I do my part in finding a job and housing, that things will work out the way they should. The morning after I poured out my concerns in prayer, I was told of this family in Windermere, and by the next day, had this agreement lined up. Now I'm having the same faith that I will be able to find a job that will provide for my needs. This blessing probably won't be as immediate, but I trust that it will happen as it should. My perspective is not as broad and clear as the Lord's and I will just trust Him and do my best.

It sure is an exciting adventure :)

Part 3

A couple hours really meant a couple days :) Once Travis and I got to the beach, we scoped out a good place to leave our stuff and after taking a few pictures, went out into the water. Anyone who knows me, is aware that I am not fond of swimming in deep ocean water. I leave that area to the sharks. They need their space to be happy. But Travis decided that he could play the macho man role, and carried me out (in the very buoyant salt water) to the buoys that you weren't supposed to swim past. Quite the man I'm dating. We enjoyed the waves out there for about 40 minutes and it was nice not having to do any work besides hug Travis. Did I mention that we were on a sand bar so he wasn't doing TOO much work either? ;) We watched the sunset in the water and after trying to get dry went to Panda on the way home. See a pattern here? I enjoyed our talk on the way back to the hotel as well as the yummy orange chicken. The next morning Sarah got me in on a tour that she was doing on the Segways. Super fun! After some training we went around Epcot and toured the different countries while learning about them. I recommend it to anyone who has the money to do it :) Then came the moment I was waiting for.... Seeing the room at the Boardwalk. Travis wanted to take me, so on his lunch break we met, went to the concierge area for some food, then went to the Garden Suite. Or something like that lol. It was gorgeous! It had a little garden and a white picket fence and a main room with couches, kitchenette, bathroom and tv, with a big loft with a bed and huge bathroom. The bathroom had one of the biggest bathtubs I have ever seen and a shower. It was by far the nicest room I have ever stayed in! After Travis got off work on Wednesday we got ready to go out to dinner at the Artist's Point in the Wilderness Lodge. It was fantastic! I loved the food and being able to look at my sweetheart all dressed up with the beautiful scenery behind him was pretty amazing too :) I had the buffalo with goat cheese polenta and Trav had the cedar plank king salmon. My dinner was delicious, but I wasn't so fond of his. He seemed to enjoy it though ;) Dessert was double chocolate cheesecake (divine!) and berry cobbler. I ate way too much of both of these desserts. Travis would agree with me, since I ate his dessert as well lol. Not very ladylike, but definitely a feminine thing to do since it was chocolate :) After dinner we walked and took a boat ride to the Contemporary. It was at sunset again and was a time I really enjoyed even though the boat was filled with many people. We walked to the Polynesian and sat on the boat dock to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks. It was sweet and romantic and I completely enjoyed it. Back at the hotel we went swimming again, with Travis pulling me around. I sure like swimming with him too! It was an amazing evening and I'm glad I was able to spend it with him. He spoils me, and yes it is ok to spoil me :) I needed that time with him and am thankful for it. The next morning we went to.... yep, Panda. And then headed over to Characters in Flight at Downtown Disney. It is a big balloon that you go up in and look over Disney. It was another fun time with Travis. Afterwards we walked around and checked out the Harley Davidson store, found us some nice things we didn't buy, and the Ghiradelli's Chocolate store. Love that store. I got some hot chocolate that I have already enjoyed back at home. Going to the airport wasn't very much fun for me. It never is fun to leave or let him leave me. I get so used to being around him and having him there, that it feels like there is something missing when he isn't. It was the trip I needed to have, changes in plans included. I know I am blessed to have him and am grateful for the way he treats me. I am even more grateful for the fact that this next time I go out to Florida, it will be in my own car, to stay. None of this saying goodbye for months at a time stuff. Finally :)

Part 2

After arriving in one piece at Sarah's house Sunday night, we found out that her landlords were still there in the room I had been signed up for since the beginning of June. It was frustrating and I needed to find another place to stay late at night. The next morning Travis had to work and so I went out to lunch (Panda Express) with Sarah and then took her to work after a little lecture from the landlady. I had a couple hours to kill before Trav got off of work, so I went to UP. Such a sweet movie! I won't pretend to be tough. I cried.

I then went to check in at the All-Stars Resort to check in and met Travis there in Sports. It must have been my movie day because we then went to watch the new Harry Potter movie. Watching movies with Travis is always fun and enjoyable :) I have a feeling that I will be able to catch up on a lot of movies living closer to him...

After the movie we went to dinner, yes, Panda again. lol. That orange chicken is so addictive and delicious!

My sweetheart had to work again the next day, so I hung out with Sarah again and we went shopping at Target. Bless her heart she was a trooper. I know she had other things she needed and wanted to do. After dropping her off at work, I went to Casting. Being told I need to apply online, I headed back to the hotel to wait for Travis so we could go to the beach :) I was so excited to go with him to the Gulf!

I'm going jet skiing. This will be finished in a couple hours :)

Part 1

I have a lot to catch up on...

First of all, Rock is back in Iowa and his little brother/sister will be here in the beginning of March. Another niece or nephew to love!

The other news is that I got back from Florida this last Friday morning at 3 something from seeing Travis. It is bittersweet. Still being on my high from being able to be with him for a whole week, I was very happy, but the thought of not being able to see him for another month left me aching. I'm not a fan of this long distance stuff, but all things happen for a reason, and I feel like I am learning and growing from it. But back to the trip!


I worked a ten hour shift Thursday night until 2 a.m. and then went home, showered and finished packing. My dad took me to the airport in Wenatchee at 4 a.m. What a sweet dad :)

I then went from Seattle to New Orleans with a stop in Denver. That was where Travis called and told me that he had to work our last full day together. That was not what I wanted to hear at all, since that was the day we were going to spend at the beach, but it makes no sense complaining of something you have no control over. I spent the trip to Florida convincing myself that it was all going to work out well, and I need not have worried.

Seeing Travis finally had more of an effect than I was expecting. He makes me nervous- the good kind- and comfortable at the same time, and a net full of butterflies were flying around. I missed that man.

We left straight to Georgia from the airport and got to his mom's house around 2 in the morning. The next day was spent meeting Travis' cousins, grandparents, and an aunt and uncle or two. I am happy to report only a couple awkward moments when his grandma asked me if Travis had popped the question yet and then proceeded to tell him he should get on a knee right there. It was entertaining at least lol. Trav also got his motorcycle. Yes, that makes me nervous, but I know he can take care of himself and be smart. I'm excited for when I get to ride around on it with him...in the parking lot :)

After making it to the last few minutes of church the next day, we spent more time with his grandparents and then headed out of town. His grandpa reminded me so much of my own grandpa Leo and when he gave me a hug, it was just what I needed. I didn't realize how much I miss my grandpa. I'm very glad we were able to make that trip and that I was able to meet his mom that I have heard so much about.

Travis rode his motorcycle all the way back to Orlando while I was in the car with Sarah. It was stressful for me to see him in the mirror and then see all of the other big cars around him, but we all made it!!

I love this boy.

I love this boy! He is sweet, fun, and has quite the entertaining personality. I wish I could see him more, but I will enjoy him while I have him :)

Running once a week is not going to help me much in finishing the marathon I have coming up in January lol. I'm hoping that my walking at work will help, but I need to be better.

Today I was thinking a lot about my health. I don't like the fact that I have 30 extra pounds sitting around my midsection. It isn't pretty lol. It is math and science right? a+b=c? eat healthy + exercise = be healthier?? I sure hope so because now that I am working during the day again, which means I am walking an average of about 8-9 miles, it should be easier to achieve that combination.

I ran 4 miles today. I jogged the first three on the treadmill at 6, then ran the last at 7. Things are progressing since I am thankfully back at my pre-road trip with Travis weight lol. That trip wreaked havoc with my exercise routine, but it was well worth it!

As a side note, I lost 25 pounds this last year so decided to go shopping today to celebrate. I found way too many things that I absolutely had to have, and unfortunately only had money for 1/4 of those things. I came out with 4 shirts, 2 shorts, 1 skirt, 1 pair of earrings, and a purse. A good haul I think :)

6 miles

Having mentioned that I wanted to run 6 miles today, I didn't want to go back on that, even after having a long day at work. I came home, changed and went out the door before I had a chance to change my mind. It felt great to run and let all of the stress go that I have been feeling this past week. I'm always reminded of how running is one of my favorite stress relievers. Now that my bachelor's is behind me and I am full time at work, I shouldn't be getting as stressed. It feels amazing to be done! I have been blessed with 40 hours at work and day jobs keep coming up. Like today one of the owners called me up and wants me to wash two of her cars (she pays me 30 for each) and then I am going to help her clean out her storage unit on Thursday. I love it! I will make about 200 dollars on Thursday, since I work a 10 hour shift at work right after helping Bonnie.... Life is good!

Ether 12:27 One of my favorite scriptures

This is more of a diary kind of post than anything else. Consider yourself forewarned.

I hate not being able to convey what I am really feeling. I lack the words to express my thoughts and in so doing, annoy or frustrate those people close to me. Which frustrates me because they aren't understanding my feelings and I hate, hate, hate when people are mad or annoyed with me. Shouldn't people just GET what I am saying and why I feel that way? I feel like I'm failing when they don't, which only fuels my frustration. It turns normal conversations into arguments.

My feelings are honest. I am not making them up. So why is it so hard to communicate that without having the other people lose their patience with me? I am trying very hard to share my feelings and communicate with my family and close friends. That isn't something that I am great at. I can listen well and can give some great advice to others, but putting that into practice in my own life has proved difficult.

I get hurt easily. I wish I had a thick skin, but I don't. Especially when it comes to those I really care about. Pretending I am not hurt comes more easily than not being hurt, so the majority of the time I pretend to shrug it off while inside I am wanting to hide myself in a bathroom to cry. Reminds me of Elder Bednar's talk about taking offense. We have that choice, and we shouldn't take offense (this is where Chrys says, "because it isn't your fence to take.") But how do we change the feelings that naturally come to us?

Ether 12:27
And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

I'm not perfect and my emotions are not either. I have a long way to go on them. I need people to have patience with me. But as I am constantly reminded, how far am I going to test that patience? Everyone has a limit. I know that Heavenly Father places certain people in our lives and that we are blessed with our family for a reason. We can help each other grow. I need to have patience with myself and not expect a change overnight. I need to be more humble. I need to have more faith.

You can't say I didn't warn you.

I got gorgeous flowers from Travis the other day :) They were unexpected and a very welcome addition to my day. It made me wonder during the day why he would ask me questions about when I went on rounds, how far my work was from town, etc, but I sure wasn't thinking that he was going to send flowers. And when the delivery lady showed up and gave them to me half hour before clocking out, I first thought they were for someone staying at the Shores and that I had to deliver them. Thankfully, I was the one receiving this beautiful bouquet! The lady asked me if it was my birthday or some other special day, and after I told her no, she said, well it is a special day now! She was very right :) Thank you!

Saul Memorial Run

The first pictures are of planting a tree at Saul's Memorial with Chayo and the boys. It was fun to see Poli willing to get dirty and work for once.

The last picture is of Bailey. It lookes like it has been photo shopped, but it was because I turned around really quick to take it and moved the camera while taking it. Surprise lol.

I was planning on running the 10K during for the run, but since I had to work and have only gone running a few times all month, decided the 5K was smarter for me. Talking with Chayo, Saul's wife, I found out that she wanted to run it, but was scared to participate by herself. She asked if I would run the 5K with her and I agreed. Funny how she didn't mention that she runs 6 miles everyday until 10 minutes before the race!!! I had already promised to run with her, but knew I was going to get my butt kicked. After a mile of sprinting, I told her she could keep going and that I had to slow down. Seriously, that lady can run. It was right after I told Chayo to keep going, that I saw my cousin Bailey with his hand on his chest and breathing really hard. His mom was taking pictures for the run, so he was by himself. I was fully aware that my time was not going to break any world records, so stopped and walked with him. I had him set goals for us. Jog to the third power pole, jog to the stop sign, etc. But jog to this kid meant sprint as fast as you can until you are gasping for air. By the end of the race I had him convinced that if you pace yourself, you will be able to run for longer distances. We finished in 37 minutes. He was fun and yes, crossed the finish line before me ;)

Housesitting...

I have found out that I don't like to housesit all by myself, up in the mountains. It has become my excuse not to go running, because who wants to go running in the mountains all alone?? Really, it is only 50% being up here, and 50% being stressed out with statistics. Thankfully, I will be done with all of my midterms tomorrow at 4:30!!

I have the 5K Saul Memorial Run on Saturday morning and I really need to get back in shape for it. I don't have high hopes for myself, but it would be great to beat my last 5K time. Saul's sister Teresa told me she would only run it if I ran it with her, so my time might not be completely depending on me. I want her to be able to participate in the run that is in her brother's honor, and I'm really excited for getting to help with registration, starting at 6:30 in the morning... Not.

Back into shape

Today I set up some goals for getting me back into shape in time to run the 10K. Now to just follow through with that plan! I ran a little over 3 miles today and it was ok. Definitely not my best time ever though. But ok.

I feel productive

These are some pictures of my lonely but interesting drive. The first one was with the bugs on the windshield so you could get a feeling for how I actually saw the scenery, and another out the window to enjoy that beauty of the dirt roads and red rock :)


I took two tests today in my stats class and it felt wonderful to finally have them out of the way. I feel like I am actually progressing now. What is even better is that I feel like I did well on them. Then when I got home I went running. It is a lot more enjoyable when there is someone on the phone with me :) Thankfully Travis was cool enough to go running "with" me and kept me company. It sure made the 4 miles of running and 1 mile of walking go by a lot faster. Next time we will have to test ourselves and start at the same time to see who finishes first ;)

A day for messed up plans and miscommunications

The title says it all. Anyone close to me knows that I am not the best communicator. That in itself can be a reason for messed up plans, but today, I am pretty sure I can claim innocence!

My plans today:

1000 study statistics
1200 run
1400 study statistics
1800 dinner
2000 study statistics
2100 relax :)

This is how my day actually went....

1000 start studying statistics
1100 get a text message asking me to go babysitting in an hour
1200 get another text message saying they didn't need me until 1315
1315 take the kids to the lake
1430 the little girl gets attacked by a duck. Yes. Attacked.
1700 go home and think about going for a run
1730 be Whit's pick-up truck driver for a half hour
1800 go to a banquet for Whit that is only supposed to last an hour
1900 I'm still at the banquet
2000 bored out of my mind at the banquet
2045 FINALLY leave the banquet!
2100 eat dinner
2200 relax, but that even got interrupted because of a surprise. That one I will take some blame for though.

I almost miss the days of not working where I could completely schedule out my whole day and know exactly what I was going to do. Almost.

The day of dead frogs

I went running this morning! It was kind of depressing because I realized how out of shape I got in 2 weeks of not running. During 3 miles of running I had to stop a couple times to walk because my lungs were closing up on me. Damn asthma. It sure felt good to run though. I found a few dead and bloated frogs on the route, and ended up finding another one in the lake when I went swimming. I'm glad Lake Chelan is so pure and clean that I could see it before I stepped on it. Gross.

Tomorrow :)

Many people tell me that I shouldn't say, "tomorrow I will ....." And I can see where to a point that is excellent advice. It isn't healthy to procrastinate. Yet today I am excited to say that tomorrow I start up my running again!!

We had a talk on dreams and goals in church today. He emphasized the need to align our will to God's and follow those worthy desires and plan for tomorrow. Of course, my favorite quote of his today was when he was talking about a new gene therapy (it tied into his talk...kind of) and then he said, "Now I don't know nothing about genes, except for the fact that they look good on a lot of women." Totally something I didn't expect this old man to say over the pulpit! It was awesome.

Now back to my thought...

I have a lot of dreams. I have also been blessed with the opportunity to follow many of them. There are still some that are unfulfilled, but I feel like I am doing what I need to be doing to achieve those goals as well. Only Heavenly Father knows the end result, and in the meantime that might scare me a little, but I am excited for the future. I know I have a great one, full of adventures, trials, accomplishments, learning periods, progress, love, waiting for me. Tomorrow.

I have the overwhelming urge to go watch Annie now.

Eh. Running.

The past week I have really not been in the mood to run. Or I have been craving a good run, but at an inconvenient time and it is driving me crazy! Usually I just put on my shoes and go, knowing that I will be grateful in 3 minutes. That isn't happening this week. I started work. That is my lame excuse. Running around at work in the 90 degree weather all day sucks the energy right out of me. I am trying to think of a plan or schedule that will work for me this summer so that I can meet my goals and feel better about myself. Right now I think the one plan that will work is running on my days off, which are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Hopefully I will be back in the swing of things enough to be able to fit in another short run during the end of the week. Some days I wish I was a morning person and could consistently wake up at 7 am to go running, but no matter what time I go to bed, that is NEVER going to happen. Oh well. I will be happy with my 3 days a week running schedule for now. I knew lulls in my running were going to happen, so this isn't much of a surprise. I just have to get back up to speed this week.

My road trip week with Travis

I am hoping that blogging about my trip last week will be a way that I can live it again. Ha ha pretty sad, I know. It started out with me picking up Travis at the Spokane airport Monday night around 5:30 and then we drove to Pullman. Not even 20 minutes into the drive Travis got pulled over... in his defense, neither of us knew what the speed limit was and we were keeping pace with the old pick up in front of us. But either way, I thought it was hilarious :)

We visited with his friend Yelonda for a while and ended up leaving around 1 am to make the drive to Missoula. At about 6 or 7 am we pulled into the Motel 6 that I made our reservations at. They let us know that they canceled our reservations and sent us back up the road to another hotel. Thankfully we were able to get a few hours of sleep and rest before we headed back on the road for Yellowstone. Travis was awesome and drove all day. We stopped to take pictures at several signs, a patch of snow, and of some "moose" on the side of the road. Sadly, we got to Yellowstone right before dark and wouldn't have made it to Old Faithful by nightfall, so decided to continue on to Rexburg instead.

Travis had a few places he wanted to see in Rexburg, starting with the Wal-Mart, Taco Bell, and the BYU-Idaho campus. We took our pictures with the BYU-I sign and then swung by my old apartment to show off "Tuskanky."

This was the long road trip day, because we drove on down to Logan to visit his friend Kim. We stayed there for a couple days while Travis was sweet and patient and set up her computer. The second night there we all went out mini golfing and that was an adventure with spilling milkshakes and slow walkers. It was fun though :)

The next stop was to see Harmony in Lehi, Ut. She had to go to work so Travis and I had a few hours of time to enjoy together not traveling. It was spent at the MTC, Provo Temple and Provo Canyon. It was quite possibly, my favorite part of the trip.

We played some Mariokart and I was entertained with them playing Guitar Hero later that night.

Friday morning we went down to see Travis' cousin Cory and his son. It was nice and relaxing and I got to play with 15 month old Derek. He is Rock's age, so it was extra fun for me. Not to mention the fact that he preferred me over Travis ;)

We left Salem and headed to Maggie Moo's for ice cream with some of my family. It is my new favorite ice cream place. Grandpa, Grandma, Beckie, Doug and Kelse showed up and we had a good time. Everyone was very impressed with Travis, which didn't surprise me at all.

After ice cream we met up with Rachel and went to Temple Square. I enjoyed walking around the grounds and taking pictures. Then we went to Star Trek and I managed not to cry during the first 5 minutes. A HUGE accomplishment!!

Saturday morning came way too soon and I was not full of sunshine and rainbows as I sat in the passenger's seat to drop him off at the airport. I am very grateful for this past week and the time I had to spend with Travis and get to know him better, but I will be even more thankful when we don't have the airport goodbyes.

Now I'm looking forward to the next trip!! :)

That Yo Dog???

Kellie and I went walking tonight to Banjo Creek Farms and back, which is 3 miles round trip. To preface this, I will say that my community is about 50 latin/50 white, so we don't get a fun variety of accents or languages. As we were walking by the lake we saw an SUV off the road with some kids hanging on it. One of the kids started getting worried as we got closer and was eying Sabri. He yelled out, "That yo dog?!" I told him it was and that she was very sweet. He looked very relieved. On our way back we noticed that they had their canoe, lawn chairs and cooler out in the middle of the road. This might be the country, but they sure aren't the only people trying to use this road! A car came and they refused to move. It was hilarious because they were all yelling at each other and since they were neither white nor latin, we know they do not live within 2 hours of here. We got home and my dad asked us who was outside. The funny part of that question is that the family was about a mile away, but my dad could hear them clearly, and could tell that they weren't from around here. The joys of a small town that gets invaded by tourists that leave their brain at home during the summer.

Most painful day yet

I did not run yesterday. I didn't do any strength training either. Instead, I woke up with intense pain and spent 30 minutes trying to drag myself upstairs to get help. As soon as I made it to the top of the stairs crawling, I was thankful to see Marissa in the kitchen. I had been screaming her name for the past half hour, trying to get her attention. But I was sure what felt like yelling for help, was only a groan barely making it past my lips. After attempting another to get Marissa to see me, she came running over. I think she was afraid to touch me because she ran outside to get my dad. My dad came in, and rolled me on my back so he could make sure it wasn't appendicitis. He called the doctor's office to see who was on call and then asked me if I wanted to change before going in. As if I cared what I looked like! I would have been fine going in naked if that meant I was relieved of the pain. But I did come up with two things I needed; a bra and deodorant. I guess those two things are important to me, even when I am not coherent enough to care about anything else. Rissa went to my room to get them and then my dad asked if I wanted a blessing. I am grateful that he was thinking about that and was able to help me out in that way. It was a great comfort to me. It was about then that I remembered that I didn't have insurance and that the pain I was feeling was probably due to a cyst rupturing. I have had one do that before and there isn't anything that the doctors could do for me besides drugging me up, so I opted to stay home and see what happened after taking some "Tylenol." Thankfully, the pill my dad gave me was a whole lot stronger than Tylenol and also knocked me out for a few hours. The soreness is still there, but it is mostly just an achey feeling now. Two days of pure laziness is what has happened. I guess that is what I needed. I will have to go running 5 miles before I leave to pick up Travis from the airport just so I don't feel so fat and lazy :)

Treadmill Day

Today I was wanting to watch a tv show and since it was windy, I decided to go on the treadmill with weights. It felt incredibly cleansing to sweat that much. Yeah, I know that is disgusting, but it's true :)

I'm learning

My day was kind of shot, so I didn't get my running in today. But one thing I learned from my last jog, was that I can't eat before i run. It makes me nauseous. Is that how you spell it? It looks funny...oh well. I tried eating a small breakfast of yogurt a couple hours before I ran, but it still made my stomach ache to run after eating. I'm still trying to find something that doesn't effect me like that. And I have been remembering to take Jocie's advice and drinking my whey protein shake after I run. I add fresh fruit and a splash of orange juice, and it isn't too bad :P

Working in the Shoes

I am still trying to work in my shoes. It has been a year since I have had to do this, so I forgot how much I hate this process. My feet burn and ache, no matter what shoe I get. I remembered today why I used to go to a podiatrist :) Today I ran and walked around Dry Lake again but it burned! I'm hoping it doesn't take much longer to work them in.

My First Official 5K

After falling asleep around 2 this morning, and then waking up every 30 minutes afraid that I slept in, I woke up for the last time at 7. Got dressed and was leaving when I realized I couldn't find my iPod. Still can't actually. Kellie and I went down to register and I was starting to wonder about what I have signed up for. I was the only person there that had an ounce of extra fat and didn't have those cute running shorts. I missed the message about how any overweight people had to work the water station or route lol. Kellie and I kept joking around about coming in last, but at least we would finish, when a group of about 40 girls came. They had to have been around 8-12 years old. My prayers were answered! I eyed up my competition and realized these girls would probably kick my trash too ha ha. They were part of a group called, "Girls on the Run." I had a couple cousins in the mix, so we joked and talked with them until we started the Jig.

I was planning on running with Kellie, until she wanted to walk after going .2 miles. I asked her if it was okay if I kept going and she agreed. So I kept pace with a few of the little girls until they stopped. Then I was on my own for about a mile until a few ladies caught up to me. That only lasted until I sped up to another couple of little girls. We ran together until the end. I thought the end 1/2 mile would have been the most exhausting part, but with the sides of the road lined with people cheering you on, it was so easy to keep going and even push harder. It felt wonderful to run through the gates and know that I successfully finished my first official race :)

Three lessons learned from this race:

1) Don't wait until the morning of the race to find your iPod and get your playlist on there early!
2) FIND OUT YOUR OFFICIAL TIME!!
3) Take pictures during the race, so you have a better way to document the experience.

Hopefully I can fix my wrongs for the 10K next month :)

Playlist

I can't sleep and am thinking of all the songs I would put on my iPod if I could find the cord to download music to it. Most of the songs I keep thinking of are super corny and very random, but something about each one makes me want to move. :) Here's my playlist for future reference...

1) Metro Station; True to Me
2) Eric Church; Love Your Love the Most
3) Marvin Gaye; Let's Get it On
4) Zack Brown Band; Chicken Fried
5) Ne-Yo; Miss Independent
6) Boys Like Girls; Thunder
7) Nickelback; Gotta Be Somebody
8) Darius Rucker; Alright
9) Zack Brown Band; Whatever It Is
10) Enrique Iglesias; Escape

Oh, how I wish I could find my cord! This would be awesome for tomorrow!! Now I need to try to sleep again...

I have heard that you are supposed to rest the day before a race.... I'm not sure how much of a rest I need before a 3.5 mile race, but I am more than willing to give it a try :) Here is to pre-race day rest!