I've been reflecting on 2012 a lot with the New Year and what I'm going to do to make 2013 better - 2012 just wasn't my best year. Good, but not the best. Here's a little bit of what happened in 2012 (kind of long so don't read if you don't want)
JANUARY
-finally moved from the front desk and into an office at work and got a sweet scanner (January was really exciting)
-watched a lot of Utah Jazz games!
FEBRUARY
-thought I might go back to school and get an MBA and started thinking about studying for the GMAT
-Annie and Kellen got engaged
-started dating a kid. It was fun, but we probably jumped into things too fast in retrospect
-celebrated my mom's birthday
MARCH
-turned 25 and was relatively okay with it; celebrated with a ski weekend
-skied my first black diamond (just not telling you which resort or how long it took)
APRIL
-decided to not go back to school this year. laughed out loud in the testing center when I got my sad GMAT score
-Annie graduated from UVU with her BFA
-boy and I broke up, it was mutual.
MAY
-sat 7th row at a Jazz game thanks to a random stranger
-played my only day of sand volleyball all summer
-got the stomach flu and then couldn't get better. took more sick/vacation days than I worked
-made it through one blood test without passing out (the other 2 or 3 in a 6 week period didn't go so well)
JUNE
-finally got some sort of answer of why I was sick along with a "there's not much we can do for you"...ovarian cysts aren't life threatening but man, can they hurt
-Annie got married and her wedding went off without a hitch with so much love and help from family and friends
-went to the Strawberry Days Rodeo
JULY
- Celebrated the 4th of July as only our neighborhood can do despite a monsoon in the middle of our party. You can't go wrong with homemade ice cream, star sugar cookies and four huge packs of Costco fireworks.
-Went to a Tom Petty cover concert with some of the hippest names in Provo. It was actually really good and we have some great talent in our little town.
-saw the "foot lady" (zonologist) and she got me feeling much better than any doctor I had seen. It's amazing what she can determine through the feet and what can be healed/improved with essential oils - I'm a believer!
-celebrated Annie's birthday
AUGUST
-celebrated my dad's birthday with the day off doing whatever he wanted
-booked a trip to NYC because Southwest had half-off tickets
-went to the USANA Fest and saw lots of crazies, but had fun with friends
-had another ultrasound with the not-so-promising answer, "There's not much we can do for you, sorry you don't feel good!" (I have felt better since then, but still frustrated with doctors.)
SEPTEMBER
-traveled to NYC and Boston
-went ice-blocking
-got a new cell phone - Samsung Galaxy S3 - it's smarter than me!
-finally rode to the top of South Fork and back (not too far, but a huge accomplishment considering my health over the summer)
OCTOBER
-resigned from my job (retired as my friends like to say). I got stuck in a routine and quitting was part of my plan to make some needed changes to bring back the excitement in my life
-had a crazy month trying to get things closed out at work along with training two new girls
-finally spent a solid day shopping at City Creek!
NOVEMBER
-worked my last day at Canyon Park .
-went to the new Traverse Mountain outlets 3 times opening week
-got to watch the cutest girls around - my cousin Alissa's daughters Ella and Anna - a couple times a week for a few weeks
-celebrated Thanksgiving with family
DECEMBER
-started seasonal work at Color Me Mine
-visited the lights at Temple Square with friends
-went to the First Presidency Devotional at the Conference Center with friends
-best friend since childhood, Nina, got married to a great guy and they had a beautiful reception at Sundance
-caught up with Freshman and Sophomore friends Amanda and Melissa
-had a low-key but wonderful Christmas at home with our family and Grandma Lota
2012 was also full of lots of shopping, sushi nights, some dates (good and bad), evening bike rides, friends having sweet little babies and sadly friends moving away as they start their careers and families. Like I said, it wasn't a terrible year, but not my best. Here's to hoping that 2013 brings new excitement, better health and adventures in career and living situation!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
New York and Boston
I feel so behind, but at the same time not a whole lot has happened since my last post, but I'll add to my travel log here.
In September, I went to New York City with some friends, Kainoa, Craig,
and Dan. We had mentioned it a few times, but then finally just did it
since Southwest was having a great deal on tickets. Dan's sister was
nice enough to let us stay with her family in New Canaan, CT which is a
cute, quaint little town and we got to have extra money for shopping! We
did everything we possibly could fit into the 5 days we were there and
got home exhausted each night. We saw the Statue of Liberty (from afar),
the World Trade Center memorial, walked the Brooklyn Bridge to have
pizza at Grimaldi's, hung in Time's Square, saw Newsies and Wicked, went
to the observatory deck at the Rockefeller Center, walked through
Central Park, went to the MET & Natural History museums, shopped (a
lot), ate our hearts out, got lost (a lot) walking, subway-ing, and
driving, and marveled at all the buildings and people everywhere. I
think there's more, but my memory evades me. There were two restaurants I
wish Utah was cool enough to have - Shake Shack and Westville - they
were so good! (Blame Blogger for the odd picture layout, I can't fix it!)
We also spent a day in Boston. We drove up the coast, hung in Boston all day, and then drove back. It was a long day, but I loved it! We shopped, ate, walked part of the Freedom Trail along with our Trolley tour, made sure to get a cannoli at Mike's Pastry (the amaretto cannoli was amazing!), walked around Fenway as we got there too late for a tour, and then spent the evening getting burgers and touring Harvard campus with Craig's friend, Carly. I loved all the history mixed into the city; there was history around every corner.
In September, I went to New York City with some friends, Kainoa, Craig,
and Dan. We had mentioned it a few times, but then finally just did it
since Southwest was having a great deal on tickets. Dan's sister was
nice enough to let us stay with her family in New Canaan, CT which is a
cute, quaint little town and we got to have extra money for shopping! We
did everything we possibly could fit into the 5 days we were there and
got home exhausted each night. We saw the Statue of Liberty (from afar),
the World Trade Center memorial, walked the Brooklyn Bridge to have
pizza at Grimaldi's, hung in Time's Square, saw Newsies and Wicked, went
to the observatory deck at the Rockefeller Center, walked through
Central Park, went to the MET & Natural History museums, shopped (a
lot), ate our hearts out, got lost (a lot) walking, subway-ing, and
driving, and marveled at all the buildings and people everywhere. I
think there's more, but my memory evades me. There were two restaurants I
wish Utah was cool enough to have - Shake Shack and Westville - they
were so good! (Blame Blogger for the odd picture layout, I can't fix it!) |
| Plenty of teasing happened the entire trip |
 |
| From the Brooklyn Bridge |
 |
| So happy to have finally made it |
 |
| At the Museum of Natural History |
 |
| After going to Church |
 |
| Top of the Rock |
 |
| View from the top |
 |
| View from the top |
 | ||||
| Times Square |
 |
| Fenway |
We also spent a day in Boston. We drove up the coast, hung in Boston all day, and then drove back. It was a long day, but I loved it! We shopped, ate, walked part of the Freedom Trail along with our Trolley tour, made sure to get a cannoli at Mike's Pastry (the amaretto cannoli was amazing!), walked around Fenway as we got there too late for a tour, and then spent the evening getting burgers and touring Harvard campus with Craig's friend, Carly. I loved all the history mixed into the city; there was history around every corner.
 |
| Trolley tour and uncontrollable hair |
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| Harvard Stadium |
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| USS Constitution |
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| Amazing Amaretto Cannoli |
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Usana (Crazy) Fest
This past week my mom had a connection for some free tickets to Usana Fest at the Usana Ampitheatre so I invited a group of friends and up we went. Friends being Breck, Brook, Craig, Dan and Kainoa.
After getting very lost, no thanks to Google maps (it landed us in a neighborhood 3 miles away) we made it right in time to hear the Usana CEO singing terrible karaoke and wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. Not to mention all the crazy people they were bringing in by the bus-load surrounding us (like Orem Summerfest crazies). It was all making out for a very interesting night as you can see by the unsure/excited faces below
We heard from Eddie Money, Belinda Carlisle, Collin Raye, Tommy Shaw and Kenny Loggins, and with each performer the talent got better. Once everyone started recognizing songs the evening became more and more fun. We sang and danced the night away and Kainoa made lots of friends
The night ended with some great fireworks and encore performances from everyone. In the end, we had a blast, lots of laughs, and memories we may or may not want to keep of all the crazies.
Group shot showing a small taste of some of our company
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
random thoughts of the day
- maybe it's not such a bad day if the only bad thing that happened was the Magic Bullet lost its magic or the gluten free wrap I tried eating was just nasty
- gluten free is not that fun, except maybe the bod is looking slightly more svelte with the decrease in carbs
-sometimes people do things even when they say they won't and instead of being upset or trying to read into things, you realize you've said the same thing and you just silently laugh and go with it
- maybe Justin Bieber isn't so bad, and maybe I actually like some of his songs
- I hate swallowing pills and am convinced my throat is going to close and I'm going to get one stuck one of these days
- sometimes the thing you least expect is the best thing for you
- when did I develop such expensive taste in everything?
- gluten free is not that fun, except maybe the bod is looking slightly more svelte with the decrease in carbs
-sometimes people do things even when they say they won't and instead of being upset or trying to read into things, you realize you've said the same thing and you just silently laugh and go with it
- maybe Justin Bieber isn't so bad, and maybe I actually like some of his songs
- I hate swallowing pills and am convinced my throat is going to close and I'm going to get one stuck one of these days
- sometimes the thing you least expect is the best thing for you
- when did I develop such expensive taste in everything?
happenings of late
how is it the end of July and I still feel like summer hasn't quite started? I'll tell you why, I haven't made it to a pool or the lake yet, I've only ridden my (road) bike once, I've only played sand volleyball once; pool, bike, and volleyball have been my summer staples for the past several years. oh, and I haven't planned any summer adventures which means I've been stuck in the office a lot.
it's not my fault, I like to think. I haven't been any busier, I still have great friends that like to do fun things, it's just that I haven't been feeling well since the middle of May. It all started because I got the stomach flu and then dehydration and just couldn't get back to normal. after lots of blood work (followed by passing out), doctors visits, and various scans in May and June the general consensus was, "Everything looks normal, you're okay." Then why oh why did I still feel sick? Like sick enough to miss about 8 days of work and only want to lie in my bed all day everyday.
after being fed up with doctors and blood work I decided to visit with a zonologist my aunt Wendy knows (who has cured her of so many things) because what could it hurt? we drove to Logan to see Sharla and after the most painful foot massage ever (you feel serious pain when she rubs your foot in areas that correspond to trouble areas in your body) she gave me some answers that just made sense. the things she pointed out were things I've been concerned about, however, none of them have shown up in any doctor's visits. she gave me a few things to try with eating habits, supplements and essential oils and even though it's been slow-going, I feel like progress is being made (finally!). I get super tired most days, but the pain is almost gone and I can make it through and I can even have some fun. I'm finally making some summer plans (small plans) because I feel like I can actually stay feeling good for enough hours at a time to be active or have some fun.
so thanks to my health (or lack there of) summer has had a slow start. not all has been lost though, these are the summer activities that still happened even if I wasn't feeling awesome:
- laying out in my backyard with my cute little puppy
- evening walks or cruiser bike rides (Utah summer nights are the best)
- Strawberry Days Rodeo with the friendsies
- outdoor concert on a Provo rooftop
- annual neighborhood on fire celebration complete with homemade ice cream and star sugar cookies
- watching fireworks whenever I can
- smores over fire pits with friends
- and maybe the biggest event of all (which I hope doesn't become an annual summer activity) the wedding of my beautiful little sister. I can't believe she's married, I still see her as a 16 year-old girl but she was a beautiful bride whose crazy (good crazy) style made for one awesome reception (see pictures here by the cute Tracy Hill)
it's not my fault, I like to think. I haven't been any busier, I still have great friends that like to do fun things, it's just that I haven't been feeling well since the middle of May. It all started because I got the stomach flu and then dehydration and just couldn't get back to normal. after lots of blood work (followed by passing out), doctors visits, and various scans in May and June the general consensus was, "Everything looks normal, you're okay." Then why oh why did I still feel sick? Like sick enough to miss about 8 days of work and only want to lie in my bed all day everyday.
after being fed up with doctors and blood work I decided to visit with a zonologist my aunt Wendy knows (who has cured her of so many things) because what could it hurt? we drove to Logan to see Sharla and after the most painful foot massage ever (you feel serious pain when she rubs your foot in areas that correspond to trouble areas in your body) she gave me some answers that just made sense. the things she pointed out were things I've been concerned about, however, none of them have shown up in any doctor's visits. she gave me a few things to try with eating habits, supplements and essential oils and even though it's been slow-going, I feel like progress is being made (finally!). I get super tired most days, but the pain is almost gone and I can make it through and I can even have some fun. I'm finally making some summer plans (small plans) because I feel like I can actually stay feeling good for enough hours at a time to be active or have some fun.
so thanks to my health (or lack there of) summer has had a slow start. not all has been lost though, these are the summer activities that still happened even if I wasn't feeling awesome:
- laying out in my backyard with my cute little puppy
- evening walks or cruiser bike rides (Utah summer nights are the best)
- Strawberry Days Rodeo with the friendsies
- outdoor concert on a Provo rooftop
- annual neighborhood on fire celebration complete with homemade ice cream and star sugar cookies
- watching fireworks whenever I can
- smores over fire pits with friends
- and maybe the biggest event of all (which I hope doesn't become an annual summer activity) the wedding of my beautiful little sister. I can't believe she's married, I still see her as a 16 year-old girl but she was a beautiful bride whose crazy (good crazy) style made for one awesome reception (see pictures here by the cute Tracy Hill)
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Provo Parking
if you've lived in Provo, you've complained about it - the parking is terrible.
we've all played the games such as moving your car in and out of visitor parking every 30 minutes while visiting someone at Belmont, moving your car out of King Henry parking at 11:00 pm while University Parking does their scan for cars without permits and then moving it back when they've left, or parking on a random street you hope they don't check - all to avoid a $25 ticket because who wants to park on 3rd north and walk forever to go visit your Arlington friends (obviously, I've spent my fair share of time in the Belmont/Arlington area).
I have found myself pretty lucky to have never received a parking ticket (or speeding ticket) and know that it makes others pretty envious. It seems everyone has been ticketed, booted, or towed, except me...until now.
Here's how it happened. Breck was having a small crisis and since I made it worse after a short phone call I went to visit my favorite Arlington boys. Breck told me about the perfect parking spot - close to Arlington and they didn't ticket/tow until 12:30 AM and no one ever parked there - a dream come true.
I arrived and sure enough the sign said no parking between 12:30 - 5:30 am - how had no one ever thought of this before? I parked, we watched some basketball, solved the problems of the world and then Breck and Alex were kind enough to walk me back to my car.
The whole way to my car we talked about this amazing parking spot and Alex was ready to start using it himself. Around the corner we went, and there it was - the dreaded yellow envelope. We were all completely confused and the only explanation was that I was too far away from the curb (I admit, I'm not always the best when it comes to parking).
We got to the car, I read the ticket and it was for parking in a permit-only zone. I was ticked. I had until 12:30, and it was only midnight. Just as I'm ready to choose my witnesses to call to the stand, we read the sign again. "Parking by Permit Only. No Parking 12:30 AM - 5:30 AM". Oh...Apparently, we only read what we wanted to see and didn't bother with the first and most important line.
so much for an awesome parking spot - you'll just have to keep walking.
we've all played the games such as moving your car in and out of visitor parking every 30 minutes while visiting someone at Belmont, moving your car out of King Henry parking at 11:00 pm while University Parking does their scan for cars without permits and then moving it back when they've left, or parking on a random street you hope they don't check - all to avoid a $25 ticket because who wants to park on 3rd north and walk forever to go visit your Arlington friends (obviously, I've spent my fair share of time in the Belmont/Arlington area).
I have found myself pretty lucky to have never received a parking ticket (or speeding ticket) and know that it makes others pretty envious. It seems everyone has been ticketed, booted, or towed, except me...until now.
Here's how it happened. Breck was having a small crisis and since I made it worse after a short phone call I went to visit my favorite Arlington boys. Breck told me about the perfect parking spot - close to Arlington and they didn't ticket/tow until 12:30 AM and no one ever parked there - a dream come true.
I arrived and sure enough the sign said no parking between 12:30 - 5:30 am - how had no one ever thought of this before? I parked, we watched some basketball, solved the problems of the world and then Breck and Alex were kind enough to walk me back to my car.
The whole way to my car we talked about this amazing parking spot and Alex was ready to start using it himself. Around the corner we went, and there it was - the dreaded yellow envelope. We were all completely confused and the only explanation was that I was too far away from the curb (I admit, I'm not always the best when it comes to parking).
We got to the car, I read the ticket and it was for parking in a permit-only zone. I was ticked. I had until 12:30, and it was only midnight. Just as I'm ready to choose my witnesses to call to the stand, we read the sign again. "Parking by Permit Only. No Parking 12:30 AM - 5:30 AM". Oh...Apparently, we only read what we wanted to see and didn't bother with the first and most important line.
so much for an awesome parking spot - you'll just have to keep walking.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The last word
I've come to the realization that I always want to have the last word. Even when I know I should just stop, I keep going until the last word is mine. Why do I do this? I don't know, it's like some nervous tick, like I don't feel at ease until I've said my peace and I make sure I'm the last one to say it. Ok, really I don't know, but I noticed it after a few conversations I had today and needed a place to record that little thought. Anyone else have to have the last word?
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Merry Christmas!
So once upon a time I was going to be an awesome blogger, but let's face it, that's not happening. I'll try to update soon; I'm not so sure all of Europe is going to make it. I'll post a few more pictures though.
For now Merry Christmas and Happy New Years! I hope the holiday season treats you well.
For now Merry Christmas and Happy New Years! I hope the holiday season treats you well.
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