A Little ♥ and Soul

So...hey. I haven't been here in a while. Actually, I come to my blog every day; I either have a lot on my mind and have no way to make sense of it enough so it doesn't look like I just came to dump my ideas/nonsense/actual thoughts; or I really haven't been doing much. Most of the time it's the latter. Anyhow, 2014 has ended. It ended two weeks ago. Duh. Here's a quick recap of my 2014: January Got a hair cut. Ankle strengthening exercises. Work. Hospital bills. February Work. Paid off some hospital bills with tax refund. Bought expensive running shoes...and clothes with tax refund. More ankle strengthening exercises. Costco card! March Orthopedic surgeon bill. More ankle strengthening exercises. April My birthday. Walking around like a champ by now. May Beginning of my summer of 2 jobs. End of any limited free time. June Hardly any time off. Slowly paying off the ER bill that I forgot to pay off in February. Hear about supervisor po...

I was reading this article in the NY Times while procrastinating finishing the schedule for my employees (whoa...that makes me feel old...I have employees ...weird), and it really hit home. The article dives into the weird stage in your 30s where it's hard to make actual friends rather than situational friends. You know, the let's-grab-dinner, our-kids-are-the-same-age-so-lets-go-to-the-park-so-I-have-a-reason-to-not-slide-the-slide-for-the-millionth-time, game-night, Netflix-marathon-ing kind of friends. The people where we could call  maybe once a month to do whatever activity it is that you share interest in and do it together so you don't feel lonely. I mean, yeah, you have your people (like Meredith Grey and Cristina Yang's relationship) who would do anything for you, but you know, people get married, they move away and it's hard to actually get together because life is pulling you in a million different ways. You finally find yourself in your, "omg...w...

I've noticed the past few pictures that I've posted on my Instagram have been of the mountains surrounding the home I've made here in Utah. Every time I walk to work or am just taking a walk on river trail near my house, I can't help but be in awe of the beauty that surrounds me. It amazes me how big the sky is in the summer, how orange or pink the clouds are in the setting sun or how the sun rises over the mountains in the east. When I have time to think of the beauty that surrounds me, I can't help but think that this where I'm supposed to be. I never really put a lot of thought into whether or not where I've lived at the time; if it was where I was supposed to be. It was always just an adventure in being somewhere new. Lately though, I can't help but feel that Utah is where I need to be. I don't necessarily feel that I'll live here for the rest of my life, but for right now, it feels right. I'm the kind of person that is always looking i...

So, in the last 15 minutes of my shift here at my second job...oh wait. You didn't know I have a second job? Yeah. New development. I guess that's what I get when I don't update at least once a month. Anyway, in no apparent order, here is a short list of things that have been happening lately: I got a second job last week. Obviously, if we're FB friends, you'd have known about that already. But whatevs. I ran out of money on my UTA (Utah Transit Authority) card, so I had to hoof it or bike to my new job all this past week. It's two miles in one direction. With this upswing in physical exercise, I've come to know that biking two miles isn't easy when you're going at a constant uphill incline. And one would assume it'd be easier going back the other way. But it isn't. The streets here in Provo going towards Y mountain have weird inclines and declines and well, if you're going towards Utah Lake, you should have a slight decline in the wa...

I have this song going through my head right now. It kind of makes me sad when I think of the lyrics as it applies to the girls I work with. "Every magazine she reads tells her she's not good enough" and "She would change everything for happy ever after." That's the part that gets me every time. These girls are so unhappy and at some point in their recovery, they hate the choices that got them to the point where they were sent away because the adults in their lives couldn't handle them. It makes me even more sad when I read their files and hear when their parents aren't really supporting them in their recovery. I wish I could give specifics but privacy is valuable over here in these parts. Suffice it to say, the relationship daughters have with their parents should be one of the most important relationships a parent has. Their mistakes make me feel so grateful for the parents that I have. Not that their parents didn't love them enough...

Oh life. I've been trying to get on a schedule, of sorts, this week. So far, it's going pretty well. I just need to figure out a few kinks here and there. And I need to stop snacking so much! Ugh...now that I'm home, I'm eating more than I should. It was so much easier to stick to a diet when I was at my brother's. Anyhow, life has been good. Can't really complain. I'm walking around and I'm venturing into going up and down the stairs without my walking boot on. Work has been good. Walking up the icy driveway AND stairs is a little treacherous in the walking boot, but I'm going to have to conquer it when the snow and ice melt a little bit in a regular shoe. I think that's what I'm most nervous about: walking in a regular shoe without the extra support of the walking boot...OUTSIDE. Anyway, I was thinking about what I need to do this next year of my life. A while back, I came up with a theme for the year. One year was The Year of The Learner...

Life is good right now. Things have been coming together pretty well with the transition in going home from being at my brother's for the past 2 months. I am really, REALLY ready to go home. Not that I don't appreciate my brother and his family and having people to lean on while I've recuperated from fracturing my ankle, I'm just ready to go home and live my life again. Finances will be tight for a while, but I really don't mind eating beans and rice for dinner. Plus, I have a Cafe Rio free meal punch card that I've been hanging on to for the past couple months. I could always use that when I'm feeling bored with being poor. Free food always tastes better anyway. I had a nice chat with my Bishop yesterday after church. I sneaked in between tithing settlement interviews to have my own - since finding a ride from American Fork to Provo is a big pain - and it was a really good chat. There were things that I needed to talk to him about. Let's just say that...