HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I want to take this opportunity and tell you all what I am thankful for:

1. My family. I adore each and every one of you. Thank you for the impact you have made in my life. My parents are the best - I couldn't ask for anything better! My sister, brother, and sister-in-law ... what can I say! We know how to cheer each other up, we know how to laugh with (and at) each other, and we always have each others' backs! And finally Bode, my sweet nephew. He is truly the light of my life and has brought me so much joy!
2. The gospel. I don't know where my life would be if I didn't have the gospel in my life; and I'd rather not find out! I love reading the scriptures. I know with all my heart the Book of Mormon is true. I'm grateful for the Plan of Salvation. I'm grateful for eternal families. I'm grateful for all the blessings I have been given and the love I feel everyday from my Heavenly Father.
3. My friends. Grateful for the friends I have and the great times we have together! Thank you for always being there for me.
4. My work. I do love my job. At times, it can be challenging and tiresome. But I'm grateful to work for a company that values its employees and has helped me grow both professionally and personally.
5. My education. I am grateful for the opportunity to gain an education. I have been going at it for many, many years, but knowledge is so important. It's the one thing no one can take away from you. (Graduation day: November 22, 2010!!!)

Wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!! :)

Hello, hello!!!

Ok, so I have been the WORST blogger in the world. I have not posted anything in ....... well, I'm sure you know.

Life has been crazy busy for me! I bought my first home on July 21st (day after my birthday - most expensive birthday gift I'll ever buy myself - haha). The day I got the call, I was at Home Depot with family shopping for ceiling fans. haha Guess I just couldn't wait! My family was so great with their encouraging words and being patient with me as I was stressing through the whole crazy process. My home is in Queen Creek about 10 minutes away from my Momma and sister. Love Queen Creek and love staying close to my family. :)

I enjoyed my first Halloween at my home with all the adorable trick-or-treaters. My favorite was the oh so cute 3yr old Snow White. She was all dressed up with her hair done and make-up. She broke my heart when she said "twick or tweat" with a huge grin. I almost gave her the rest of the candy! lol

I started school at University of Phoenix online ... sometime ago. I think this is my 4th class there. I do enjoy it (at times) because it allows me to be flexible. Which can be a bad thing too. But, I've improved not being a procrastinator ... a little. The only thing I don't like about the school is all the group work. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy working with people. But, some people need to be micro-managed and I don't work well with that. I thought we were all adults and responsible?? Guess not! I'm glad I started at University of Phoenix and can't wait for November 22, 2010 - graduation day!! :)

Keep checking back and I'll work harder to post more often. :)

Updates....

Ok, so I'm probably one of the worst in keeping up with posting new blogs. With work, school, and trying to buy a house there just wasn't really anything to write about. Work (knock on wood) is going really well. I'm staying busy which is GREAT, but nothing very exciting going on there. School is OVER for the semester. I start up again in 2 weeks at the University of Phoenix and (hopefully!!!) will be done in December 2010. The house hunt .... at a bit of a stand still. I have made a couple of offers on homes and at this point I'm waiting to hear back from the lender to see if they approve my offer. I am a pretty patient person, but it's been almost 2 months now and I'm starting to lose my patience! :) I moved out of my apartment the end of April and currently staying with my Mom. It's been great living at my Mom's and she's been so generous helping me out till I get my new home.

My nephew Bode is a little over 14 months and is just the cutest! I can't get enough of him. Travis, Alison, and Bode visited AZ a couple weeks ago and it's always great spending time with them. Alison has been teaching sign language to Bode and he can say water, eat, more, hat, milk, and a few other words. Such a smart little kid! He has been getting his own personality and he's just so funny! I just love him to pieces!!

Well it's Memorial Day Weekend and hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

I Don't Want To .....

I still have about 1 1/2 to 2 years left of school and already have "senioritis." I don't want to do anymore homework. I don't want to read another chapter. I don't want to write another paper. I don't want to study for another test. I don't want to do another project. I'm done!!!! Feels like graduation day will never come!

Yes ... I am typing this up to avoid reading a chapter for my Business Law class and taking 2 tests. That's right ... 2 tests for each chapter. How ridiculous!!

Ok, I'm done venting.... for now. :)

Photographs by Jessica

A few weeks ago, I asked Jessica to take some pictures of me. She did such an awesome job! We laughed and had a great time together. Mom was Jessica's assistant and made sure my hair and clothes looked good. Thanks Mom!

Thank you Jessica for doing these pictures. I love them and I love you!!

Never Ending Headache ...

I'm not going to say my age, but I have been in college for .... well a long time. I should have several bachelor degrees with all the college credits I have and at least one masters degree. I have been so indecisive on what to get my degree with. I have decided on a degree in Business Management. I have never wanted to attend ASU mainly because ... it freakin scares me! But, also because of my work schedule, I will be unable to attend ASU unless I dropped my hours at work to about 30 hours a week. Well, that is just not going to work for me. I have been interested in attending University of Phoenix for a long time. Starting the first week of June, I will be transferring all my credits to University of Phoenix and will (hopefully!!!) have my degree in 18 months. Oh that will be a happy day for me! It will be very difficult at times because there are NO breaks. "What!!!??!!" you say? Yes, there are no breaks. You take one class at a time for 5 weeks and the following week jump into the next class. I could take a little break, but the max is 29 days. Which means .... I'll be behind one class and will take just a bit longer to finish.

I seem to finally have a solid path in my college education. I'm excited to start at University of Phoenix and looking forward to finishing! Just hope my friends and family will continue being patient with me. It will be tough and stressful. Maybe I should change from chocolate and Dr. Pepper as my "studying food" to water and crackers. Nah ...... :)

Bode is 1 Years Old!

Last weekend Mom, Jessica, and I went up to Provo to visit Travis and Alison to celebrate Bode's first birthday. Can't believe he's one! Bode is walking all over the place and is just as cute as ever!


I arrived in Provo Thursday morning and well, let's just say I was a bit under dressed for Utah. I wore shorts, a short sleeve shirt, and flip flops. It was about 40 degrees when I arrived. What the heck!?!?!! It's freakin' March! I left about 90 degree weather in lovely AZ and the temperature dropped 50 degrees! Normally I look up the weather before traveling anywhere. But, because I was going to be gone the rest of the week, I needed to make sure I was caught up with my homework, so I didn't get to bed until around midnight waking up at 4 am. Well, when Travis and Alison picked me up at the airport I thought they were going to roll up onto the sidewalk. They took one look at me and was dying laughing!! I don't blame them. I looked like a retard in shorts! Such the tourist. :)

While up in Provo, we had so much fun hanging out, laughing, going shooting, going shopping, and just playing with Bode. My cousin Jeri was also visiting that weekend to attend the wedding of Nicholas Friddle (son of my Dad's good friend, Tory Friddle). Jeri brought her new baby, Luke. I wish I had a picture! He is so adorable and was so much fun making him laugh.

It was fun getting out of town for a while, but I was great to be back home! Although, I ended up having a cold because of my inappropriate AZ attire in stinkin cold UT. :) Warning: ALWAYS no matter what time you go to bed, double check the weather before going anywhere! lol