PERKS!

Alright, I completely forgot about the discounts offered to Nu Skin employees until a few days ago and I'm super excited about one in particular! We get a discount with the Provo City Recreation Center (next to Provo High) and I am planning on getting that and then going swimming at lease once a week (lap swimming, not just using the diving board!) and then hopefully using their cardio equipment as well as attending their zumba class when I have a better work schedule. I'm not making any promises or advertising any goals just yet, but it's extra motivation when it will be cheaper for us! Cody is pretty excited as well. He's been wanting to go the gym recently, but it's so darn expensive! I've always been a gym-snob because I've never wanted to pay money for something I can do outside on my own for free. But I definitely see the benefits of going to the gym as opposed to just hoping the weather is nice enough for a run (definitely a gamble here in Utah!). I'm still working two jobs (1-5pm at NuSkin's employee store and 5:30-9:30pm at AMP security doing data entry) and I actually like both jobs. I wasn't expecting AMP to be much fun, but it's turned out to be quite laid-back with awesome co-workers. I definitely dislike the late work schedule, but I'm lucky to have found both of the jobs in the first place, so I'm grateful. I feel a little bad for my first entry about being annoyed, but at least I was wrong, right?! (lol)

Also, Cody and I are starting to feel more optimistic about maybe starting our family in the next year or two. We're just feeling better about our finances and it's been a great realization to come to. This isn't an announcement of any kind, so don't rush to conclusions! What you could do is tell me about any work-from-home opportunities that are legit, mmkay? That would be SUPER helpful! I'm pretty happy where things are though. Even though I don't really like my daily schedule, I'm getting into some good routines and I feel a lot more comfortable. I hope everyone is doing well, thanks for stopping by!

Toodles :)

P.S. I'm thinking my blog needs a remodel, so hopefully I can do that soon!

Lovely Post of Nothingness!

So I got it in my head that it would be fun to get those Jovy Fruit Rolls, (from the produce section of my friendly neighborhood Macey's), and put them in my drawer at work to eat occasionally. Nice idea, right? Then I proceeded to eat them all while I was on my shift today. I'm talking like, four Jovy's, can you believe it?!

I've been trying to think of good things to blog about lately while I'm here, and I've just run blank! My life is just not exciting right now, mmkay? I'm not too broken up about this, mind you, seeing as how whenever I feel bored, something NOT so fun happens (i.e. lay-offs, etc.) Do you see my point?

I saw my cutie-pie neice Penny today and it was glorious. I enjoyed talking to Heidi and laughing at the faces Penelope was making at me. I didn't hold her, but she is mobile enough that as long as she is watching me or smiling at me, I'm content. Who am I to confine her curiousity? Plus, she no longer cries when she sees me. Improvement, no? I say so!

Oh! Hot topic for me recently is the fact that my baby brother will be leaving to the MTC on the 25th! I can't believe it, really. I'm fairly certain I will shrivel a little from withdrawals when he's gone. He and I haven't always been so buddy-buddy, but REALLY! He is just the coolest ever and my music knowledge will suffer without his expertise. Interested in reading his letters while he's gone? Well, hop on over to the Boren Missionary page! To join the ranks with Jeremy, will be my cute cousin Ashton Roney in July, to Anchorage, Alaska! I mean, my heart is close to bursting with pride that my little brother is going out, but do you understand my lonesome sigh? Alas, those two years will probably fly by, am I right?

Welp, I'm headed off to my other job, more alarm systems! I'm almost done with my training (about time!!) so the next few weeks should be fun!

Here we go again...

***DISCLAIMER*** I am super grateful for everything I have. For a husband who works so hard to provide for us. For supportive family and friends. For jobs that are available in this crappy economy. For ice cream. So I hope I don't offend anyone with this post. I am aware and grateful for the many many blessings in my life, I just need to vent. kthnxbai *****




Yep, I got laid-off on the 7th and it was great.. Sarcastic? Yes. BUT at least this time it wasn't my fault. The company had to let more than a few people go, so I didn't feel as bad. At the same time, while I look for permanent employment, I realize how much I miss my job. It was hard work, but it was easy. And I really liked my co-workers. And I made a good wage! I've had lots of interviews, but for now I've settled on working part-time for Nu Skin in their employee store (YAY!) and part-time for a security-alarm company doing data-entry. I'm super excited to have my foot in the door at Nu Skin! My Dad has been working for them for quite some time and so I've always wanted to work for them. What a great company! The alarm gig shouldn't be too bad since most of the phone talk will be with the salesmen and technicians. Not too excited about sitting at a computer, but it's better than being unemployed.

One frustration though, in the interview with the security company, they never said anything about having to get a license and that they would pay for it. They also failed to mention that in the event that I quit (before the "seasonal employment" time is up.. also didn't say it was seasonal) I have to cough up the $120 for the license. I guess this is my bad for not knowing I would need that since security companies are popping up all over the valley. But at the same time, I wouldn't have pursued the job if I had known that. A little snobby? Maybe. And I'm sure Cody wouldn't have appreciated me turning down work. But now that I'm into the training and doing the job, I know that as soon as I can get Nu Skin to take me on full-time or if I can find something better to replace it, I will want to quit this security company. I understand why they make you pay for the license if you leave.. That would be really expensive for the company to pay for everyone until they find something better. But I would've liked to have been told that in the interview.


Is that unreasonable? So, now I'm learning all of this stuff that will be worthless to me if I find something better (I have an interview tomorrow morning that I will take if they'll take me; it's for a shipping assistant!!!) and I'm just feeling pretty annoyed. Did I mention that if I keep up with this work schedule, I will work from 1pm-5pm for Nu Skin and then 5:30pm-10pm at the security job... Oh and no one gets Saturdays off. Moral? I'm mad that I lost my job. I'm mad!

Update-ish?

Oh so much has happened since I last updated, it would be impossible to write about everything.. I'll just skim, eh?! For starters, I read all of Harry Potter this year and it was AMAZING! I can't even tell you how excited I am for the first part of Deathly Hallows to come out this month.. If I didn't have to work at 7am, I'd totally go to the midnight showing! I just love reading so much and these books completely renewed my love for literature. *sigh*

Also, our fifth anniversary is coming up and we got some photos taken! I'm thinking about including one of them in our Christmas cards this year, but that's still debatable. Here is one of them:

American Crafts is great. It's a job and it's hard work and I hate getting up so friggin' early.. But it's such a good job for me. I just love it! I've gotten so much paper and scrapbooking supplies, I just need to make the time to do it now. I'm planning on making all of our Christmas cards this year, so I better get going! It's going to be some hard work for sure!

The house is great! We got our front yard's landscaping done.. What a relief! Our friends and family were so kind and helped us with the sod and it looks great! Now that it's getting cold, I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I would've liked, but I'm so glad it's done.

I hiked Timp with Jeremy! Well, at least we got to the basin.. But it was gorgeous! I'm hoping to try again next year with Kris and Jake for sure.

The fall colors were amazing!

Merry Christmas to me..

As I was getting ready for another day at work, my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, so I was just going to let it go to voicemail like I normally do. But, I answered it anyway. It was the manager of the American Crafts warehouse, offering me a job!!! So, I'm taking it. I'm going to be doing order-picking for their scrapbook supply customers from 7-3:30 Monday through Friday and it's going to be great.

I gave my two weeks to my boss today too. Did I mention that he is one of my good friends from high school? He and Cody have been best friends since Jr. High. He's great and has been freaking awesome while I've been working there. The truth is, I hated the type of work I was doing, not my job technically. The atmosphere was really chill, my coworkers were hilarious, and it was a steady paycheck. It's the customers I hated. And the other FedEx employees. So, I hope in my leaving, that Jason understands how much I appreciate what he's done for me.

In response to me telling my parents this great news via email, my Dad said it was like an early Christmas present. EXACTLY! Me getting this job, during this economy, is a miracle. It's not a complicated job, they pay for all the benefits (premiums and all), Istart at $10/hr, and I don't have to effing deal with customers anymore. I can't believe I'm the only qualified person around here. I'm so overwhelmed with gratitude, it's incredible.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!!!

Not fun..

So, I was laid-off on Tuesday.. It was great, really *insert sarcastic tone here*

I don't think I've ever cried as hard as I did that night. Cody had a meeting with one of the mayorial candidates here in town, and as soon as he drove away, I lost it. And I've never prayed so hard either. I walked all over my town checking every business to see if they were hiring. I filled out roughly 30 applications, most of which were not even hiring. Tuesday and Wednesday were two of the most stressful days of my life!

Then a little ray of sunshine came today, along with a job offer! I am now doing customer service for Fedex Office for $8/hr. Not my ideal job, but it's a job! I plan on keeping my eyes open for better opportunities, but I'm safe for now. I am also looking into getting a part time job for nights and weekends to make up for the lost income.

Moral of the story .. I'M NOT UNEMPLOYED ANYMORE!! YAY ME!

wake me up when September ends..

...or whenever our new house is built. That's right, Cody and I have signed the papers to build with Salisbury Homes in Spanish Fork. For the time being, we are living with Cody's very gracious parents here in town. Honestly, things could be more roomy down in their basement. But since we're living here for free, I'm not complaining! They have been so accommodating (even doing my laundry this weekend because I was busy babysitting!) for us, I just feel so blessed to have them in our lives.

We had some changes at work, so that means I will be picking up the slack in the customer service department. I am grateful that I still have my job, but I am definitely not liking my job anymore. Thanks to being lined up with Salisbury, even if I could find another job, it would have to be in the same line of work (shipping/production). If any of my coworkers are reading this, don't panic. I'm too scared to do anything.

More about Salisbury, you say? Well, we're getting a two-story (w/unfinished basement), 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home in SE Spanish Fork (w/a decent sized lot). The build time once the city has given the ok is about 5 weeks, but the city approval usually takes about a month. That's not surprising when you consider how many homes are being built in Spanish Fork with Fieldstone, Ivory Homes, etc. It looks like the builders work 7 days a week, so I'm sure that helps in getting the homes up faster. As far as we're concerned, they could take 5 months building and we'd be fine. That would give us more time to save the 3.5% we will need for the down payment. We technically didn't owe at the closing table of our sale, but our profit went towards the darned closing costs. That's another reason we're grateful we can stay with his parents while we save.

When it comes down to it, I just want the summer to be over. I want my company's profit level to get better so I can go back to my normal job. I want to have the down payment saved up for our new home. I want the home to be done so we can move in. I can't tell you how excited I am to decorate that house and to be proud of our home. But where would we be if we had everything we wanted at the drop of a hat? I know I need to just trust in the Lord and do my best and He'll pick up the slack. Satan is doing his darndest to keep me discouraged, but I don't have to fall for it. It's up to me and I have the knowledge I need to fix this. Wish me luck..

Update?

It appears that everyone is holding off on updating their blogs in an attempt to get me to update mine.. ALRIGHT ALREADY!! Not much has been going on at this end of happy valley. Our house is under contract (THAT'S NEW!) and apparently the buyers are really motivated to buy! I guess they looked at like 35 houses before coming to ours, and they loved it! I'm thinking their price range is low.. because our house isn't that amazing for Utah Valley. Oh well, I'm not going to try to change their minds! So, we've been getting ready to move out and fixing the random things from FHA. If everything goes according to plan, we will probably be moving out around the 18th of this month.

When we move out, we're moving into my parents lovely basement for a few months while we save for a down payment. It's a little annoying, but that will help our payments go down to a more reasonable number and we'll be able to afford something nicer! (always a good thing!) Moving with the fam damily isn't going to be easy for that long, but it will definitely be good for us financially. We're hoping to keep our lives separate even though we are going to be sharing meals and a lot of our living space with my awesome family. To get this done, we're going to watch tv in our room as much as possible and play with friends whenever we can. Another great thing about moving in with the folks is our church attendance. We don't have any excuse besides not feeling comfortable enough in our wards. But even that's not an excuse, we just need to do it! But living at home will add more pressure for going. It will be good!

What else.. Still busy at work, but it's definitely more manageable. I'm getting into better routines and I work more efficiently now. I'm still hoping for a raise in the near future, but that will be determined later, I'm sure. I had a great birthday! It wasn't too exciting, but it was good. Cody bought me a very nice bouquet of lilies, roses, and daisies. It was wonderful!

We're heading to Moab tomorrow after work for a family shindig. I'm pretty excited! We won't be down there very long, but it will be good to see the family and catch up! In other news, I've been writing more and more.. So, ya'll should skip on over to my writing blog and check out my short story attempt.. I'm loving it, so I hope it doesn't sound too bad. Well, that's it for now, kids. I hope everyone is well!