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Good morning!

So I've been sitting here for a hot minute. . . reading my friends blogs, and trying to figure out what to talk about.  The funny thing is that when I was blogging almost every day or every other day it was so easy to just put what I was feeling.   Now that I'm lacking internet at my home and have to use it where I can get it, I find it a little more difficult to pick out key events that have happened over the past few weeks.  I have a real issue with getting too personal on these things.  I love sharing my thoughts and feelings, but I'm always a little wary of actually talking about too many actual events or people that are in my life.

If I've learned anything in my (almost) 25 years it is that life can change in an instant, and not everything is what you think it is.  Not that I think that both of those ideas are always negative things. Far from it. I'm a firm believer of living in the moment.  I will not live in the past.  Yesterday put me on my path for today, but it does not define my tomorrow.   I have a rough plan for the future.

I totally believe in having an idea for the future.  A five and ten year goal even.  In five years I will start a DMA (a musical arts performance version of a PHD for all you none musicians).  In ten years I hope to be teaching at the university level.  Do I think about the future on a daily basis? Of course I do.  Do I over analyze every single event that happens? Come on, we've been over that before.   Will I change my mind on a daily basis? Maybe, maybe not.  I'm making my own path.

The reason I say "rough plan"for my future is because it really is just that.  Do I have the slightest idea where I want to go to school for that DMA? Nope. I haven't even picked a key area of study.  The teaching at the university level idea could change too.  I might change my mind tomorrow and completely drop music.  Do I think that will happen?  I'm 95% sure I will be teaching music in some form for the rest of my life.  But I might decide I want to teach elementary music one day and just do it.  I might decide I really do want to open that restaurant and put all my efforts into that.  Will I be disappointed in myself in that happens? Of course not.  I will always do what is right for me and what I want to do.  Regardless of what anyone thinks.  I believe in myself enough to know that I will make the best decision I can (and no, I'm not one of those people who doesn't ask a million peoples advice first). 

One of the best assignments I've ever been given is writing my philosophy of teaching.  I wrote it for my final education class at the University of Alabama.  I wrote it in November 2009.  Sure, some of the details I wrote about have changed, but my key idea of that paper still reigns true in my life today.  I want to be someone who makes people believe that they can do things they never thought possible.  Someone who encourages.  I completely believe that you can do whatever you want as long as you never give up.   Whether its through teaching music in some way, camping with my girlfriends, volunteering at my church, waiting tables, etc.,  if I can share that idea with the people in my world, then my life will have been a success.

I do my best to make the right decisions and enjoy the skin that I'm in. Sometimes I make the wrong decision.  I fail on a daily basis. I have so much to learn in my life, and so very far to go.  I'm on this great adventure, and I intend to enjoy every moment of it.  I won't worry about tomorrow, and I certainly will not regret my past (that made me who I am today).  God is good, and I am blessed to always have what I need.

Playing under the table and dreaming.

I'll make dinner for you if you get the song reference from the title. 

One day I will learn patience.  Today is not that day.  

I'm feeling extra ornery tonight.  Pretty much just restless.  

But time makes bolder. . .

Just because there are gray skies doesn't mean that the sun isn't still shining on the other side.  What an amazing summer this is turning out to be.  I really do know some absolutely amazing people.  Okay before this gets all sappy blah, blah, blah. = )   

Here are some fun quotes as of late:

"I mean Moses."  

"The graham crackers are gone. FML!"

"You girls are so vulger."

"Ya want a marshmallow?"

"Its a marshmallow torch."

"What are you putting it in?"

Oh bless. That's all I can think of at the moment. There are more. I'm sure of it.  I just can't remember. Its late. I'm still at the music building. Man, I really need to get internet at my apt. I just haven't had the opportunity to do it yet. Plus it is free on campus.  The problem turns into when I just sit up here late at night cause I have pictures to upload and blogs to post. haha!

I went camping this past weekend with Brandy (and her dog Opie), Natalie (and her dog Stella), and Melissa. 

Can we say fun? Holler! Oh man was the camp ground beautiful.  I might be officially in love with camping.  I really do love being here in Utah.  What a beautiful state.  Absolutely breath-taking. 

The above picture is one of our camp grounds at Escalante state part.  I swam in that lake. = ) And yes, the water was so cold. It was amazing.  Just a little taste of Heaven.  We four girls had so much fun.  I will remember that trip forever. 

We hiked Calf Creek Falls on Sunday.  It was hot.  The poor pups had a hard time getting across the hot 105 degree sand.  But MAN was it worth it!  That picture does not even do it justice.

On  Monday (the 4th) we stopped at Dance Hall Rock and did some climbing and took some pictures.  We really did have the time of our lives. "What happens in Escalante, stays in Escalante." hahaha   


I am way stoked for Saturday!  I can't wait to see what is at the Farmer's Market! Can't believe its been 3 weeks since I've been here on a Saturday. I'm excited to see what new produce is growing.  I am so looking forward to when the Utah raspberries, peaches, and apples start coming in.  I can hear the glass jars calling my name!  I'm gonna have fun making preserves this year.  I am totally itchin to use that nice new kitchen of mine!  = )  Can you say dinner party?

Alright. I really should go home now.

Love.

Stevie Nicks is amazing.

 

After a hurricane comes a rainbow.

Well it sure has been a while, hasn't it? Where to start? So much as happened since the last time I posted on here. No, really. SO MUCH. Warning*** This might turn into one of my long rants and be a drawn out posts. Maybe not. Maybe I'll get bored half way through and just quit. But that's not really me, now is it? And clearly if you're taking the time to read this it is probably because you know me pretty well. Or not. = )

Let's just start at the very beginning. After all it is a very good place to start. (And yes, I do hope you have the Sound of Music ringing in your ears.) Sunday, June 5, I woke up like any other day. Well if you've read my earlier posts you know all about my little bug problem. The answer to your question, is yes. The bugs were back. Not even four weeks later, and the bugs were back. Let's just say I didn't wake up on the right side of the bed that morning. I had pretty much had it. Went to church (so glad I had to be there to teach Sunday School cause otherwise I wouldn't have gone and that would have been the opposite of good). As soon as I got back from church I got online and went apartment hunting. Even drove around town to check out a few places from the outside. I made my plan immediately. As soon as I woke up Monday morning I was calling the exterminators to come back, and then going apartment hunting. Made an appointment for the bug killers to come on Wednesday and then went on my search.

Long story short I (by chance) drove by this one building and thought, hmmmm I should go see if they have any open units. Talked to Janet, the manager, and viewed their open one bedroom. 650 Square Feet and ready to move in immediately. As soon as I walked in something just clicked. I don't know how to explain it other than it just felt right. I guess my intuition kicked in. Told Janet I wanted it and then put down a $100 holding deposit.

Can I just say, that I have some FANTASTIC friends here in Salt Lake City. My friend Aubrey found out the bugs were back and offered to let me stay with her family at their house until I got everything worked out. Stayed there from Sunday night until Thursday morning when I was able to move in to the new place. Aubrey also helped me wash ALL of my clothes. She got her parents truck and helped me load up all my clothes and take them to the laundry mat. Washing your entire wardrobe is kind of a daunting task if you have to do it alone. On Thursday she helped me pack up my stuff and then took my mattress and futon cushion to the dump (no way I was gonna keep that stuff after a second infestation!). So much help. My friend George helped me load everything up in the old house and take it the new apartment building. No way I would have gotten the big stuff moved so fast without him. My friend Brandy helped me out a huge amount by letting me borrow her Nissan X-terra for the day. Let me tell you, that car holds a lot! It was way fun to be high up off the ground for once too. = ) I got ALL of my stuff in 3 loads. No WAY that would have happened in the bug. Also a big thanks to my parents for listening to me rant every day and helping me get stuff done.

Haha anyone else find it ironic that I'm having so many bug problems and I drive a VW bug?

The disappointing thing about all of this is that on June 6 (Monday) I was supposed to get in my car and drive to Redlands, CA for the Pokorny Seminar. A week of geeking out with some of the best low brass professionals around. I lost my $650 tuition because I had to cancel last minute. Let me tell you, that hurt. But, in the end I did the right thing. There is no way I could have left for a week with those stupid bugs crawling all over my things. And I guess if you look at it over a span of a few years, $650 isn't THAT much money. The good thing is I told my manager at Buca di Beppo what happened and she really helped me out by letting me go ahead and bump up from host to server! Used that entire week (that I was supposed to be gone) to get my training done.

So now I have a new apartment, with a fantastic kitchen, and plenty of space. Lots of natural light! I'm loving it. The funny thing though, is that I have ZERO furniture. Haha! I've got my futon frame, but no cushion. I've been sleeping on my good and faithful airbed and will be for quite a while. Gotta save up so I can buy some furniture. Big Lots here I come! Also I'm waiting a while to get internet and cable too. It's not like I'm there a lot any way right now. Those things can wait a bit.

I kind of don't mind not having furniture yet though. I'm not gonna lie. I am real freaked out that I brought some of the bugs with me from the other place. You would laugh at me if you opened my freezer cause I've got all these random things in bags just sitting in there. (Freezing your stuff for two weeks is another way to kill the buggies). I'm still finding dead ones in some of my stuff as I go through the boxes, which also doesn't help with the fear. At least if they somehow did follow me there I won't have to worry about them being in any of my stuff, cause I don't have a lot of stuff! Haha! Only time will tell. Until then I'll just keep vacuuming every day or other day. This whole experience has definitely turned me into a clean freak. Not that I wasn't clean before, but I may have gotten a little extreme.

In other news life these days is pretty fantastic. I'm loving serving at Buca. I really am just a huge people person. I love meeting new people and hearing their stories. Even had an Italian table come in the other day and I got to use the little bit of Italian that I know. Va benne! I went and saw X-men First Class the other day. I thought it was so good! Absolutely loved it. Went to a Bees game Thursday night. So so so much fun. I really am starting to meet some amazing people here in the SLC. It is a lot of fun. Every day it feels more and more like home.

Right now I am on my way to Nashville, TN to work at ITF. I'll be gone for a week. The funny thing is that I am a traveler. I stay on the road. A lot. But for some reason, being gone from the SLC for a week seems like forever. I'm sure this week will fly by and in a week I'll have some silly post about how fun the trip was and I can't believe how fast it went by, ya da ya da ya da.

I suppose I should call it quits here. I doubt you made it to the end anyway. ; )

Love.

Thank God you blew it. Thank God I dodged the bullet.

There was a time
I thought, that you did everything right
No lies, no wrong
Boy I, must’ve been outta my mind
So when I think of the time that I almost loved you
You showed you ass and I saw the real you

Thank God you blew it
Thank God I dodged the bullet
I’m so over you
So baby good lookin’ out

I wanted you bad
I’m so through with it
Cuz honestly you turned out to be the best thing I never had
You turned out to be the best thing I never had
And I’m gon’ always be the best thing you never had
I bet it sucks to be you right now

So sad, you’re hurt
Boo hoo, oh, did you expect me to care?
You don’t deserve my tears
I guess that’s why they ain’t there
When I think that there was a time that I almost loved you
You showed you ass and I saw the real you

Thank God you blew it
Thank God I dodged the bullet
I’m so over you
So baby good lookin’ out

I wanted you bad
I’m so through with it
Cuz honestly you turned out to be the best thing I never had
I said, you turned out to be the best thing I never had
And I’ll never be the best thing you never had
Oh baby I bet sucks to be you right now

I know you want me back
It’s time to face the facts
That I’m the one that’s got away
Lord knows that it would take another place, another time, another world, another life
Thank God I found the good in goodbye

I used to want you so bad
I’m so through it that
Cuz honestly you turned out to be the best thing I never had
You turned out to be the best thing I never had
And I will always be the, best thing you never had.
Best thing you never had!

I used to want you so bad
I’m so through it that
Cause honestly you turned out to be the best thing I never had
Oh you turned out to be the best thing I never had
Oh I will never be the best thing you never had
Oh baby, I bet it sucks to be you right now

WOWZA!

I'm starting to feel like myself again.  All I needed was a little sunshine! = )

I really am blessed with some FANTASTIC friends. The funny thing is, I've made a ton of girl friends in the past few months.  Which is weird, cause I usually hate hanging out with girls.  So many amazing things to look forward to. Already have camping plans for the Fourth of July weekend and at least one trip to Vegas late July.

Today I went hiking at Big Cottonwood Canyon with my friend Aubrey and her two boys.  We had so much fun!   Aubrey is one amazing beautiful woman.

I have this new obsession with getting on top of rocks. haha

So last night I was walking home from the music building and saw a "now hiring servers" sign in the window of one of the restaurants near my house. Of course, I went in and asked for an application.  The server introduced me to the manager and I basically got hired on the spot. Neat! haha So now I'll have two restaurant jobs. I dig it. Well maybe . . . .

I also applied for a job working the front desk at the main lodge at Snowbird last night.  Today I got an email asking me to call and schedule an appointment. So I called and I have an appointment tomorrow at 2:30!  Cross your fingers for me! I would LOVE to work there, and the job would be a good one to snag. = )  I'll just use my southern belle charm on them. Oh course, they'll have to love me. ; )

I'm actually super excited about the interview! Ahhhhhhh!