BBQs, Backflips & Bucketlists

Today was my last day of work!!! ahhhhh!!!!!! time is flying by so. fast. I leave in 2 days.  CRAZY.   

So I got home from work, after missing conference 

which i am pretty bummed about but i'll watch it later online or something, my family was having a BBQ with some family friends we knew in Tucson.

  Their Australian cousin Brenden, who i dont even really know threw me in the pool with all my work clothes on! --by the way, so awesome that its so hot here we are swimming in April.  

I absolutely love the weather here.

  

At some point in the evening Kayle, Trevor, Bryson, and I found ourselves on t he trampoline doing tricks.and me and Kayle were trying to get up the courage to do a backflip.

  I have seriously been wanting to be able to do one my whole life

 and what do you know..I DID IT!!!! all by myself!!!!! and you cant stop me now! im on a roll!

No one has been able to help me do it all the way until today, so thanks Brenden for the continuous spotting and patience.  So I can check that off the bucketlist! 

Soon, everybody was on the trampoline learning backflips and practicing them. 

 It was a really fun time.

We had some really delicious food too!

  Dad made cheeseburgers, chicken, ribs; mom made potato salad and m&m cookies, 

and Jackie made her famous Chinese chicken salad. Yummo. 

I even made myself sick from too many cookies! 

Since mom and I have been doing these fitness challenges we have really been getting in better shape are feeling great! but we have a couple days a week when we can cheat.

  today was one of those days, and from doing no sugar all week, and splurging today with like...5 cookies...and bouncing around on the trampoline all night...I had a very upset tummy. not smart.

Im so glad that I got to spend the evening with close friends and family.  We've had so many super fun times together Im bummed Im not going to be seeing them for a while. 

  

A Bad Day, but Not a Bad Life.

I am the type of person who really doesnt seem to care or even notice when I have a bad day. Little things happen and I let them go and forget about it.  

I usually just don't have bad days.  

That being said, today was a terrible day when I think about it!  It felt like everything went wrong. 

 I went to the dentist where I had a brand spankin' new hygienist who had no idea how to work the xray machines so she redid my xrays with those super painful batwing inserts like 10 times on each side and scraped my teeth like theyve never been scraped before. 

 Then I found out I have a cavity. 

 I havent had a cavity since I was like....7!  What the dump!? 

then because the hygienist was taking so long, I was 40 minutes late to Subway, where my boss was a little annoyed 

and customers where getting angry at me for NOT putting mayonnaise on their sandwiches when they didnt even ask for it, like 'duh mayonnaise should always be on a sandwich' or something.  How should I know? I hate mayonnaise.  

After Subway, I went to Liberty and found out they were cutting hours.  Larry cut my hours from 18 a week to 4.  perfect.  I always wanted to make $30 a WEEK.   After I got off at an early 7 o clock I went back to Subway to look at the new schedule and they decided to do some hour cuts too...I went from like 33 to 23.

  fan-freakin'-tastic. 

  One thing that I am really glad I have though is the ability to laugh about all of this.  There was a moment or two where I was so frustrated I wanted to scream, but at the end of the day, I just laughed. really hard.  

 I guess maybe I was due for a bad day 'cuz I never have them, and I am okay with that. 

 I think I handled it pretty well :)  And I really do have a lot to be thankful for.  I am very thankful that I do still have both jobs, even if I do have less hours.  

Things could have been much worse. 

At least I am healthy (aside from the cavity).  

At least I didn't get in a car crash.

At least I have a roof over my head and clothes to wear and a family who loves me.

At least I didn't have to walk to work.

At least I didn't step in dog poop.

At least I didn't get struck by lightning.

(I think you get the idea)    

So it was just a bad day, but it is NOT a bad life.   

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! 

I hope you all enjoyed being in the company of those you love and care about.  

My mom and dad are so sweet! My daddy got the girls in the family a bouquet of flowers that smell so good! I love getting flowers!
 And my parents--I mean Cupid--leaves a valentines treat wrapped all cute in our rooms.

And every Valentine's Day my mom makes a special breakfast.  This year she made stuffed french toast roll-ups.  Basically french toast lathered in peanut butter or nutella and then fried.  We also had strawberries, because it is tradition that something be red or pink.
Then while all of the kiddos went to school and had big Valentines day school parties, I went to work. 

Funny story actually.
 I heard my boss at subway ask a customer if he had any fun plans for Valentine's day and he told her about this restaurant he was taking his wife to.  And I thought to myself.
That is an interesting question.  I really wanna know what awesome plans guys have up their sleeves for the day.  So I thought I would ask that question to make some conversation and to see what creative ideas there
were.  The very first guy I ask responds,
 "YOU know what "fun" plans my wife and I have..." with a smirk on his face.
YIKES! note to self: never ask that question ever ever ever again.  Mind you, this gentleman was...lets just say...he has seen sprier years.
gross. 

Anyways!!!!

Then I went to my second job and watched Horton Hears a Who, ripped seams I messed up on a DIY sweatshirt, and started reading Anne of Green Gables, all while no clients came in for tax returns because they were off spending time with loved ones.
 Duh.

Luckily, I ended the night with a skype date with Matthew.  I miss this kid!  Valentine's is definitely different this year, but I am making the most of it :) 

Hi Welcome to Subway!

"Hi Welcome to Subway!" a phrase I now say about a million times a day.  Every single flippin' time the door opens.  Sometimes I just wanna go lock it so nobody can come in and I can get a chance to catch my breath OR we should just have a recorded button that sounds all personal and stuff. haha just kidding. That's terrible.
 Anyways, it has almost been a week at Subway and at first, I was pretty panicky.  My first day was a slow day so my boss, Yvette, basically trained me on EVERYTHING, which was WAY too much to take in in a day so even now I still have questions, but she is really really nice and answers all of them.
 I'd say the hardest part of the sandwich making process, physically, is closing the sucker.  The customer is staring and sometimes I close it pretty messy so that's uncomfortable.
 And mentally, the hardest part is remembering the different types of sandwiches and "formulas" and figuring out what buttons to press on the cash register.
SO. MANY. BUTTONS.
I think I am finally getting into the swing of things now.  It is almost routine, not quite, but almost. Oh! and a word to the wise...please don't ever walk into Subway on your cellphone.  It is one of the most annoying things ever.
OH OH OH!!! also, super random but today I met my Uncle VV's mission companion that served with him in South Africa! He is my coworker's dad....small world.
Hmmm...what else? Yesterday I went to my friend Morgan's mission farewell. I am so happy for all of these new missionaries that are getting called and leaving!
Fairly recent calls/farewells:
Kenzie (Rochester, New York)
 Jessica (Jacksonville, Florida)
Morgan (Portland, Oregon)
Jayson (Long Beach, California)
Michael (Atlanta, Georgia)
Erin (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
Briana (Belem, Brazil)
Nick (Manchester, England)
Kelsey (Brisbane, Australia)
(I'm really sorry if I forgot anybody! This was just off the top of my head)
I am so excited for all of these brothers and sisters who have decided to serve missions.  They are going to have a wonderful time and will be blessed for their service and sacrifice.
Anywho, it is the start of a new week, and I really hope it goes by faster than last week.  Take care all :)     

And That's Office Biz

Yesterday was my first day of work at Liberty Tax and I was so terrified, when in reality, I really shouldnt have been.  But, I was. I get terrified for every single new little change that goes on in my life.  I'm trying to work on that.  

I pulled into the parking lot and wanted to barf and go home, and I hadn't even gotten out of the car yet.  Needless to say all of the panic was completely unnecessary. 

It was actually fun! All day we only had 1 person come in for tax related purposes. 1 more, but he was the paper delivery guy.

 Basically my job is to look cute in professional clothes (its like playing dressup!) and run the front desk area. I answer phones, make copies and Tax Return Packets, and "check people in" kind of like in a doctor's office.  I hand them a clipboard with paperwork to fill out, and when they are ready they bring it up to me and I take them over to  MY DESK (It's like I'm important or something) and I transfer all of the personal information from the clipboard paperwork to a computer program.  And then I ask them a few questions from the program, and then I refer them to one of the tax preparers that sit 

at desks behind me. 

 And the cycle continues...well...it would if there was more than one person. Already Larry is the best boss I have EVER had.  Okay besides the Lamoreauxs.  I really think I am going to love it there.  We will see about Subway tomorrow!

P.S.  I started my mission papers today!!!

The Power of Fasting and Prayer

First of all, I would like to apologize for always redesigning my blog. haha I don't know why I get so bored with the designs so fast...but it do.
These last couple of days have been so crazy! I was getting pretty discouraged about the whole job thing so on Sunday I fasted about it and prayed so much to find one that I could understand if I became slightly annoying. haha 

Then... Tuesday I got a call from Subway for an interview and as I was waiting for it, a  gentleman approached me and said he overheard that I am looking for work and he basically gave me job on the spot.  My interview at Subway was a success but I went into Liberty Tax to speak with the man, Larry, anyways. He said that he was looking for a personal assistant type of thing; someone to answer calls, fill out paperwork, and input information into the computers. So I filled out an application and waited for the official phone call...which came yesterday! 

So I went down to Liberty Tax, filled out all of the paperwork, and told him I would get back to him later that day about my Subway Schedule.  Turns out, my manager at Subway, Yvette, needs me almost every day til 4pm and all day Saturdays.  Larry needed me almost every day at 2pm and all day Saturdays, but he seemed more lenient so I took Subways schedule.  I was so nervous to tell Larry my schedule.  I told him that I completely understood if this wasn't  going to work out anymore and he said, "Emily, do you want this to work out?" and I was like, YES! and he said I could have the job anyways--5pm-8pm with no Saturdays.  He was so sweet!  

So...I have two jobs! I am so happy!  I don't start 'til Monday, but this is going to be so great! I won't be so bored anymore.  I am a little worried that I will get a little more stressed with both of the jobs, but I think I can handle it. 

 I truly believe that Heavenly Father had a huge hand in this and for that I am so grateful.  He knows our needs and the desires of our hearts and when we turn to him with faith in fasting and prayer we will be blessed.

On the Prowl

This week has just been way too annoying for me.  I have been job hunting all week.  I really don't like to job hunt because it is frustrating.  

All I can think about is finding a job, filling out applications, interview gone wrong, etc. On my first day on the prowl, I got an interview scheduled at White House Black Market and I was so confident.  Probably way too confident because I went in the next day and it didn't so well. Apparently, retail managers prefer people with retail experience, not food experience, which is all I have.  Who'da thunk, right? Understandable, but everyone has to start somewhere.  I just hope I find something good quick! Heaven forbid I have to result to Mcy D's or Wally World.  So the job hunt continues!

Also, I decided a few weeks ago that Nursing is not for me.  

I am not interested in it anymore and I know that it isn't going to make me happy.  So...when I go back up to school, I am changing my major to Art Education! I am already so excited to finish up my generals and start on my major next semester :)    

Home for Christmas

Merry (late) Christmas Everyone!

It has been so great to be home but definitely not what I thought it was going to be like.  I imagined the bliss of relaxation, sleeping in every day, wandering around the house with nothing to do but watch movies, draw, blog, chill with the siblings, exercise, and even finish the Book of Mormon! However, I have hardly had time for any of that. 

 I got home Thursday, the 13th, and went over to Honey Baked Ham where my dad had gotten me a seasonal job to fill out all of the paperwork.  And I started working Tuesday. 

I honestly don't even remember what I said about working at Pikes Peak, but whatever bad things I said, they are nothing compared to how terrible Honey Baked Ham was.  Luckily, I am done working there because it was only seasonal!!! (But I have to find another job after I get back from Colorado)  I only worked Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, but it was absolutely exhausting!!!! I worked at least like...48 hours total i think.  The most awkward part of it all was that my managers never told me anything about my job.  I didn't know...

1. my pay, pay period, or anything about a pay card.

2. my hours: I had to ask every night when I was supposed to come the next day and then they never told me when to leave, so i just ended up staying til closing everyday.

3. any rules and procedures for breaks and lunches, so I think all week i only took two.

4. anything about how the store was run, what my job was, what I was supposed to do...NOTHING.  I wasn't told a thing.  and I wasn't trained.  I just observed and jumped in.It was so awkward!

Also!! My boss was a jerk.  She was grumpy and rude to me, and the customers.  One time a lady came to the counter during a really busy time and I was helping her and smiling and I really was happy.  I was in a good mood.  And my boss was standing near me.  The lady thanked us all for being so happy and I said, "Of course! Thank you for being so patient with us.  I apologize that we are running a little behind today." and my boss goes, "Yeah well I'M just pretending to be happy," and stomped off. RUDE!!! The assistant manager however, was nicer.  He was still rude and sarcastic sometimes, and when I'd ask questions he wold treat me like I was stupid.  But he was nicer and more friendly than the boss.  

What I ended up doing the most of was showing hams.  I stood behind the counter with about 3 others and when people would come up to the counter we would help them pick out a Ham by showing them the different sizes and opening up the wrapping so they could see the fat and the bone or what not. So that was my job.  One of the guys I worked with swore every 2 seconds even if he was helping someone, and he would talk bad about customers in front of other customers.  Most of the seasonal employees were nice and helpful but the teen boys in the production room (where they fire glaze the hams) where rude, and on some sort of drugs. Their eyes were always red and they'd try and flirt with the girls. They all reeked of smoke and weed and they'd talk about selling it in the halls and outside.  The only people that took their job seriously were the seasonal employees.  Christmas Eve was our busiest day and the store was PACKED with a line of customers trailing outside and we were extremely short on hams (which the guys in the back were supposed to be making).  I went to the production room to tell them what I needed for a customer I was helping and there was no one in there.  They ALL took a smoke break in the middle of a crazy busy time ALL at the same time. and my even my boss was out there!  No one cared that all of the employees behind the counter were being cussed out by angry customers who wanted their Christmas Hams!!!  I was livid! 

SO! that took up a TON of my time.  But I am glad for the experience because it taught me that the business was not run right at all and now I know that if I ever want to have my own business, which I am considering right now, I will be extremely selective in my hiring and I will do everything right, politely, I will have fun with my employees, and I will make sure that we provide excellent service! :)

Okay onto other things, a couple of weeks ago there was s shooting in Connecticut at an elementary school.  The gunman killed 27ish people mostly children ages 6-7 and a few teachers and staff, along with himself.  It was a hard thing to grasp.  Many mothers and fathers lost their children, and siblings lost each other.  But it is important that we all remember that these teachers and children are with Jesus Christ and and Heavenly Father now. This painting was on facebook a few days later.  Beautiful.

 There was one teacher who hid all of her students in the cabinets. When the gunman came in and asked where her students were, she told him they were in the gym.  Before heading to the gym, he killed her.  Teachers really loved their students.  She was a hero.

After work was over I actually got to start having fun haha. Me and my siblings have been catching up and watching movies.  I'm pretty sure I am now addicted to Reba.  I love it!  Christmas Eve we went to a dinner at a family's house in our ward and played some really fun games! We played one where we had to get on our knees and unwrap and eat a candy bar with a spoon, while wearing a Santa hat, socks on your hands, AND a scarf.  Oh and the candy bar is wrapped in many MANY layers of wrapping paper.  You roll a dice and you get to work on unwrapping the candy when you roll a 6.  First person to finish eating the candy bar at the very end wins.  It was a BLAST! Holy cow! I haven't laughed so hard in a very long time!  When we got home it finally hit me that it was CHRISTMAS! It never really felt like it.  My family and I were sitting and talking in the family room when Santa called (my papa calls as Santa every year) its cute. and so after Caleb talked to him he hung up and said, "I think we better go to bed now." It was so cute! And it was the perfect reminder to me of the Christmas Spirit and how even I need to believe in Santa!! :) My mom has always said "Those who don't believe don't receive."  And I like that! I'm going to say that to my kids when they get older too.  

I am so glad to be able to spend time with my family now.  It is much needed and I'm actually kinda glad I have this huge off-track period til April.  

     

Paying, Playing, and Pondering

The first few weeks of a new job are always overwhelming.  Let me tell you somethin'. Holy COW.  It has stressed me out so much and has kept me so so busy that I am losing a bunch of weight and sleep over it. I need to fatten up :)   So, I am no longer making donuts. (I think that they realized that I sucked at it). So...I am back on register which I don't mind so much. At first it was totally stressing me out because I was really slow and for few days we got this massive group of Indian people who were super super impatient and would either shove money in my face or expect me to help them in like 5 seconds, or they would use credit cards, and the majority of credit cards come from Indian people; I have no idea why.  I hate it when people do that,  because then at the end of the day I have to add up all of the card receipts and for some reason that is a LOT harder for me to do than just counting all of the money in my drawer.  Anyways, I am getting used to the register and just have to keep telling myself to take it slow and be patient and to not care if they are in a hurry, because it is more important for me to do a good job and make them happy with the right change, than to please them with speed, but do the job wrong.

 
I also cleaned my first public restroom the other day. DROSS!! We were about to head down the mounatin and Scott, one of the managers said we couldn't go down until the women's room was cleaned and everyone just stared and him like,"Heck no techno I am NOT cleaning that." So I spoke up and volunteered.  Everyone learned a lesson that day because guess what? Scott entered me into an employee drawing for $100 for volenteering. Score!

On Wedensday I think it was, I met a 90 year old woman who came up to the peak.  She was so cute! She was fiddling through her little coin purse and trying to find exact amounts and her hands were shaking so badly and she just couldnt do it alone, so I offerred to help her and she was just so sweet.  She said, "I am so so sorry I am just moving so slow. I am 90 years old!" It just made me think about how long she has lived and how much life I still have to live.  I wonder how much she's learned and what she has been through.  And it made me think about how someday I will be that old and I won't be able to do everything on my own anymore and I will have to depend on other people regularly, even strangers in a store that I would hope are honest people, to help me through my day. But at the same time I will have a "life time o' knowledge!" It's a bitter sweet thought. 

Play! Play! Play!! I went on a date to go see the Avengers on tuesday!! It was so so so good! I loved it even though I hadn't seen the super hero movies really before.  I had a wonderful time at the movies and then LuLu's. I LOVE LuLu's. On friday night I went on another super fun date.  We went to Ikea and pretend shopped and played around in different rooms. Then we went to Barns and Nobles which was cool. Holy Cow they have a lot of books!! I have never really gone to one before. Not that I can remember anyways.  We went to the mall and ate some super yummy icecream and sat on a park bench and talked for like, two hours! It was a ton of fun and I am so glad I had a day to play.   And then another day to play!! Stacey and I went to Wallyworld last night and just had our own little adventures getting groceries and playing around with kid toys and super hero masks.  Super fun :)     

I said goodbye to Megan and it was so sad.  We hadn't seen eachother for about a week and she threw a goodbye party at the park so I stopped by after work. Once we saw eachother, we ran to eachother and gave each other huge hugs.  We were both on the verge of tears! It has never really been like that between us, but I have missed her a lot and I regret all of the stupid times we fought over little nothings. We even text now and talk about our days and stuff which I like a lot:) I am glad that we are better friends, but I am sad that it took separation to realize how serioulsy close we can be, and I hope that we will become even closer because I love her so much.  I also miss Bryson a TON and Camilla and Caleb and my MOMMY!!!! And Daddy :) I basically miss my family a LOT.    

I am learning to pay now so that I can play sometimes later, and I am finding myself pondering the little things all the time!

       

A New Chapter

We had a lesson in Young Womens last Sunday about keeping journals, and I have been slacking on that recently.  Sister Burgess talked about how there are different forms of keeping personal records like photo albums, scrap books, quilts, and blogs!! Which I didn't really realize. SO I decided that I am going to try it! And I am excited:)

This is a brand new chapter in my life, and I'm really excited about where it is going to take me.  Graduation was about two weeks ago and it hit me! I am done with high school! Done with the classes that you have to go to but some of them are so stupid that you feel like you are either teaching yourself, or being babysat.  Done with the petty drama. Done with AP Art. Done with Senior English that felt like fifth grade English. Done with the constant swearing and inappropriate crap. ANYWAYS!!! You get the picture. I am very excited to be out. ;)

After graduation one of my best friends, Krista, moved in with her sister in Utah to have an adventure of her own.  I miss her so much!! But, I know that she is having fun and I will see her later in the summer.

 

Also, my family moved to Arizona last week and I stayed here in Colorado to work.  Thank you to the Allreds who are letting me live with them for the summer. I miss my  family already and I love them so much!! It was Caleb's 6th Birthday yesterday and I called him and I realized that I had never talked to him on the phone before but he was sooooo cute!!! And sounded so grown up.  Which is funny I guess because we've only been away from each other for like 5 days.  I can't wait to see them in July for our family reunion. 

 I got a job working at the top of Pikes Peak making donuts at 14,110 feet.  People always ask me if we hike up everyday and I say, NO way!! I can hardly MOP at 14,110 feet.  I cannot even imagine hiking it even once! I'm getting acclimated slowly.  Yesterday was the first day I didn't feel sick, which is great!  It's an alright job, I just hate being so secluded from the world, and being stuck at the top of a freaking mountain ALL day. 

Something I thought about today was that life goes on, and the best can be made of anywhere you live, and whatever situation you are put into.  I said it out loud and someone told me I should write that down. So there it is.  I am totally excited for what Heavenly Father has in store for me and can't wait to find out where He will take me.