SUMMER 2012 BUCKET LIST.

Maybe you noticed on the right side bar that I posted my summer bucket list.. maybe you didn't. But I got this idea from Kari, and I thought it would be fun to make my own as well so I could get the most out of my summer experience. 
Actions completed:
-Go to a concert (check) 
-Pool party (check) 


--My sister, her friends, and I went to the Daughtry concert on Monday. Leah asked me 3 months ago if I would want to go to this concert with her, and I did! He's reallly good live and puts on a really fun show. I had a blast! Thanks for the "monthly bonus" sis!! Ha ha. (just kidding) 
-- On Tuesday for FHE we had a pool party. Which is pretty common here in AZ when everyone has a pool and it's a million degrees outside. I knew this would be an easy one to cross off of the list. So much fun though! I can't think of anything better than swimming, grilled hot dogs, volleyball, hot tubs, and shirtless men. Hello summer! 

All of the girls at Daughtry. 

There he is!

FHE is so fuuuun. Making a farmhouse out of boxes.. ha ha

We definitely had the best act of the night. It's hard being the "hands" .. you can't see a thing!

Brody and I would bond while the other kids were at school.

Playing with sick baby. Pretty sure everyone has had the flu/cold this whole week, and I have yet to get sick. Knock on wood.

ahhhaha. I can't get enough of this picture. Don't you just want to pinch his cheeks?! 

remember?

hi. 
remember when i blogged yesterday? well, i'm blogging again today. i know, right?!
remember when i said i love laying out by the pool? well, today i got my first sunburn of the season. feels pretty good. not great, just good.
remember how i love country music? well, i was listening to some billy currington today and i'm pretty sure i'm in love. with his voice, not him. if i could marry it, i probably would.
remember how i'm a nanny? its the best. especially when brody tells me i look pretty when i didn't do anything with my hair and i practically rolled out of bed. what a cutie.
remember when i said i love my singles ward? well, the talent show is tomorrow and my friend volunteered me to be in it. what am i doing, you ask? just a midget dance. no biggie.
remember how it was mother's day last week? well, i have the best mom ever. she's my rock.
remember how i always use capital letters? well, today i didn't. and it feels weird.
remember how it's the weekend?! well, i'm about to have me some fuuuUuuun.
bye.

just found this on google images and thought i'd share. you're welcome.

brother, she's country.

I have lived in Arizona for a total of 25 days and I can't believe how much has changed, how much I have changed! ..and for the better, in case you were wondering. If I would have known 6 months ago that my life would turn out the way it has, I probably would have been able to endure my trials a little bit better. (Does that make sense?) Back to the point, I love it here. I love everything about this place. I feel so content with living here, and that's a first. I've literally been every where since I've graduated, and never felt like where I was was where I needed to be. Obviously I've learned along the way, and have met amazing people every where I've been, but living here feels so so so right. My sister was talking to me the other day about my mission, and asked how I was doing. It's been a little over a year since I have been home, and it's still stings to talk about it. Mostly because I would be coming home in 3 short months had I been able to stay. She said, "Do you have any idea why you needed to be home?" And I didn't. Sometimes you just have to go with it. If you know you're prompted to do something, you do it, even if you're not sure why. She then said, "This might sound stupid, but maybe you had to come home to help me, because I don't know what I would have done without you." Something like that, at least. So, I feel good. I probably won't ever know, but at least I know that I was able to help my sister out these last few summers while her husband is gone. Because I don't know how ANYONE can take care of 4 kids without a husband for half of the year. So moving here has been a good thing for the both of us, to say the least.
Quick recap of the past 25 days:

• I've gone all country. It flows through my veins and consumes every part of my body. I used to hate country music, dancing, and everything else.. but Queen Creek has changed me. I don't even mind going 5mph driving behind tractors anymore. And all I want to do is go country dancing and marry a cowboy. 
• My ward is the bomb, no exaggeration.
• My skin is getting color again! I love laying out by the pool everyday.
• I'm getting used to the 100-105 degree weather. Which is good, because the 120 degree weather is coming up shortly. More pool days to come! 
• I've become the soccer mom.. hahaha. Love driving the mini-van dropping the kids off to dance and baseball. I look pretty awesome too, obviously. 
• I've lost 8 pounds since I've been here! Also, starting these workout videos to build some major muscle so I can beat Larissa in an arm wrestle when I get home. 
• and I've been the happiest I've ever been. EVER. :) 

Until next time... Keep it real, live the dream. 

I'm going to go listen to some Tim McGraw now. 

I'm gonna to smile cause I deserve to.

You know that moment when you listen to a song and a lyric just hits you.. Like you were meant to hear that? That happened to me yesterday when I was driving home from my LAST day at work. "I'm gonna smile because I deserve to." and I do! Holy crap, let's just talk about this last year for a second.. It's been awful! It sucks when you think you're doing all the right things, but nothing ever works out. But it finally clicked a few weeks ago when I was having a really rough time with everything; being in Utah, working at a crappy job, etc. I just wasn't ever happy. So there I was, stopped at a stop light, driving around on my lunch break, and I just broke down. I pleaded with my Heavenly Father that I would find happiness in what ever I did, and that I would know what to do and where to go. It was a short, but heart-felt prayer that ended quite abruptly as the car behind me honked to get a move on it. And literally the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the Arizona licence plate on the car in front of me. ARIZONA! How did that not click before? I went there right after I came home from my mission and loved it. I was stupid not to stay, but little ole' me decided that if I moved to Provo, I'd be with the man of my dreams and we'd get married and live happily ever after. Turns out he definitely wasn't the man of my dreams, he was actually a manipulative jerk. So living here has just reminded me of everything that never worked out, and that's hard to accept. Thank goodness I was living with my sister and brother-in-law who kept me sane throughout this whole year. I don't know what I would have done without them.

Back to Arizona.. After I got back to work, I put in my two weeks notice. I was planning on living with my sister that lives in Arizona for the summer anyway to help her with the kids, but had NO idea what to do after that. So now I know I'm staying there for the long run. I met a lot of people last year when I went, I love the singles ward, love everything! I'm moving in with one of my good friends from there after the summer and couldn't be more excited. Things are looking up for this girl, and I'm smiling.

free entertainment.

Work is taking over my life, literally. Most days are pretty boring and pretty repetitive, but as of lately it's been pretty great. My co-workers and I just realized that we have the capability to record telephone calls and voicemails when we're on the phone, and it's the best discovery we've ever made. Here are some examples of the voicemails and conversations that we've recorded to share with each other:

(an actual conversation) "Listen here, CrystAL.. I don't have no money, so you give me the name and the number of the doctor that's gunna see me fo free!" (Spoken with a southern accent, obviously)

(this is someone's actual answering machine.. my co-worker, Molly, had to leave a message and I'm honestly not sure how she kept her cool through it to even leave a voicemail. It sounds like a Southern Baptist lady singing the song, "Mary Did You Know.") Here it goes.. "Mary did YOU KNOWW, that YOURRRR baaaaaaBY boy, would someDAY walk on wateeeerrrrr. Mary did YOU KNOW, that your baaaaBYYY boy would save OUR SON's and DAUUUUUUUGHTERRRRRSSSSS! I know you was givin your praise to the Lord, I know you'z ready to praise the Lord! Please leave your name and number and I'll get back to you at my earliest convenience, have a blessed day! HalleLUUUUJAAAAAYH!" (wow.. it's really hard to explain through typing. I love those Southern Baptists though, my favorite clients.)

(And then there's an answering machine that I came across.. creepy as H.) "Hey, this is Mike*, leave me a message and I'll get back to you. ..... ..... ..... ..... ... And if you're calling about money.. All guys, I charge a 50% interest rate, and all females, I ... ... it's a 'no honey, no money' deal... and that goes for every one." WHAT THE?! Sounds like prostitution! We're required to leave a message, and I was legitimately scared to. Tempted to leave another person's extension. Sorry Mike, no honey from me, ya creep!

So, you know, sometimes my job sucks but it's fun when all day my co-workers and I are transferring phone conversations/voicemails to each other to listen to. Keeps us entertained.

*His name wasn't actually Mike.

truths.

the truth is..

I suck at blogging. Didn't once post for the month of December, and it was the best month I've ever had.

I'm so glad my brother is home from his mission. Even though he misses the mish like crazy, it's so good to have my best friend back again.

I have a hard time finding motivation at work. I do the same thing all day, every day. I need a change.

I wish I were still in Idaho right now.

I want every weekend to be like last weekend.

I kind of/sort of, already miss him.

I should be cleaning right now.

I don't know what I'm doing with my life, where I'm going, or what I want to do.

I don't need to figure it out right now. It will all work out how it's supposed to, when it's supposed to.

the truth is.. I think this will be my best year, yet.

three quick thoughts

I had a really rough weekend, to say the least. But it's funny, as soon as you start thinking about all you're thankful for, you stop focusing on the negative. [imagine that.]

So since my last post, I have really thought about how blessed I truly am, and to sum it up with three things:

1. I am SO thankful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. How I could ever get through my trials without knowing that I have a loving Heavenly Father, knowing that everything would work out in the end, is beyond me. The gospel provides me with a sense of hope, that I know everything will work out in the end, and if it's not working out, then it's not the end.

2.It seems funny to say that I'm thankful for my trials; but really, how would I learn and grow if my faith wasn't tried? I'm grateful for where I'm at and the trials that have brought me here. And for the weight that the Lord has carried for me when He knew I couldn't handle it any more.

3. I'm thankful for a bright future. That I can wake up to a new day, every day- and make the best out of it. "the future is only as bright as your faith."

So even though things are crazy and confusing right now, I know I can look forward to a bright future. Keep your chin up, soldier.

catching up..

this is me catching up on 11 days of not posting. (i've been busy, okay?)

• thankful for little kids. they say the cutest things and know how to brighten my day. like this one time when my sister took her little boy to the doctors office to get his shots, the doctor leaves the room and he says, "that guy is really gettin on my nerves!" in his sweet raspy voice. i wasn't even there and just hearing that made my day. love little kids.
• thankful for airplanes. how awesome is it that i can get to phoenix in 1.5 hours flying time instead of 11 driving? love it.
• thankful for clothes that are a little snug.. means i have enough food to eat. (looking on the positive side.)
• thankful for answered prayers and the feeling you get when you know you've received your answer.
• thankful for a job. making pretty good money and it feels nice to have money in my savings account... for once.
• for my little brother who i've been venting to all week. who knew a 15 year old could have so much wisdom! such a cutie.
• thankful for the rough times and for the humbling experiences that come with it.
• thankful for kneaders raspberry chicken walnut salad. hits the spot, every time!
• thankful for my big comfy bed. if there's anything i love more than my sleep, it's a comfortable bed to go with it!
• thankful for my sister and brother-in-law that allow me to live with them. it's seriously the best!
• aaaaaaaaaaaand i'm thankful for the weekends. because sometimes i just need a break.

Seven

This is short and sweet, but today I am thankful for snail mail. It's the best feeling opening your mailbox to find letters from a friend/missionary that you've been dying to hear from. Why did that ever go out of style, anyway? Snail mail is the only way to go.

Pen pals anyone?

four.five.six

On Friday (day 4)- I realized that I am thankful the talents that God has blessed me with. Not because I'm an incredible dancer, a master at the piano, or an amazing gymnast.. But because I can laugh at myself when I attempt either one of those things.

Day 5- I was thankful for the holidays. There's not a better time during the year. It's really the only time my family is all gathered together, and I love it. Speaking of which, my brother (who is currently serving in Romania) will probably be home to spend Christmas with us! Best news ever.

Day 6- Today I am thankful for a "Mr. Fix-it" dad. (For lack of better words.) He's an electrician, he's a mechanic, he's a carpenter, he's everything! I don't know how he knows it all, but he does. I was able to go home this weekend and before I left he was checking out my car to see if everything was working right. He checked under the hood, below the car, the tires, just everything! Thankful that he's always willing to help his daughters out!