Summer Vacays

It's been an incredible summer. I went to Canada twice and spent a weekend in Vegas all within 6 weeks. Now that I've been home for a few weeks, I feel like I'm finally starting to get caught up on life. It's so nice to sleep in my own bed again and to not be living out of a suitcase.

I'm loving my new office. We had the grand opening for our new facility the day I left for my second trip to Canada. It was a huge success and almost filled to capacity. We had the city mayor speak as well as some executives from the company. The ribbon cutting went off without a hitch and tours of the building followed. It was a crazy day and our new building is amazing. There really is no comparison.

Canada trip #1 was busy. We were staying at a friend's house during a wedding so I tried as much as possible to not be in the way. We were able to celebrate Canada Day there and do a little sigh-seeing at Fort Edmonton Park.

Canada trip #2 was a little more relaxing. I got to spend time with a lot of family that I hadn't seen for a few years. We went kayaking, toured Waterton, took a day trip to Calgary to see Wicked, visited Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (fun fact: back in the day Indians used to hunt buffalo by herding them off the edge of a cliff!), watched movies, celebrated my birthday! I've lost count of how many birthdays I have spent in Canada over the years.

Although all my summer vacations are over, my life hasn't really slowed down. Just busy with different things. But that's life and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Ah, summer.

Summertime is literally my favorite.

There's just something about the sunshine and being outside that makes my heart happy. The days feel so much longer because it is light in the evenings.

I went hiking last weekend. After being sick for a week it felt great to eg outside and do something active.

The tiniest waterfall ever.

And my first summer vacation is this weekend. Hello, Vegas. So stoked to for that. Girls weekend with my mom and sister.

Work is just as busy as ever. I'm just wrapping up a huge video project. I've spent the last month or so filming and editing a series of mini videos to use at the grand opening of our new facility. That's but fun and stressful at the same time.

I've been helping this chica plan her wedding. It's going to be so much fun when she finally gets married and moves to Utah. Long distance friendships are hard.

I promise I'm still alive

I totally suck at blogging lately. But here I am. I'm still alive. It's a crazy phenomenon how you can get so wrapped up in the day-to-day things of life and before you know it, it's months before you get around to doing that thing you'd been meaning to do.

Life has been busy. My job has been incredible. I am so blessed to be able to do something I love and and grateful for all that I've learned already.

One of my closest friend got engaged and as her maid of honor, I have been trying my best to help her plan the wedding with her being in another country. Thank goodness for technology. We have been sending pictures and pins back and forth sharing wedding ideas and talking about what it will be like to live so close.

I was called to be a FHE group leader in my singles ward. I'm not going to lie; this one stresses me out at times.

I've begun to toy with the idea of going back to school. I miss it. My work will even pay for most of it so that's a huge bonus. I'm thinking maybe next spring I'll start a master's program? We'll see.

I don't think I can fully express how thrilled I am that spring has finally arrived! I've missed being outside and I've missed the sunshine. The sun and warm weather are my favorite and I've also found that overall I'm happier during the spring and summer. Life just gets a little bit better. I've also really been excited to get out and play tennis again. Is there anyone in the Salt Lake area who will volunteer to be my tennis buddy??

Well there it is. A quick snapshot of what my life is like right now.

Life is good.

The unpublished

Do you believe in coincidences? I like to believe that everything happens for a reason but sometimes that reason isn't something we know or understand. When hard times come, it's reassuring to have that comfort that there is a reason for everything. Maybe it will help you grow, learn something or even just make you see the world in a different way. Whatever the reason is, I think life is more than chance encounters or random coincidences.

This morning I logged into my blog and was scrolling through my list of posts and I noticed one that I had written last March. It was unpublished and untitled. I opened it and couldn't believe what I was reading. I don't remember writing it but it is exactly what I need right now in my life. It's the words I needed to hear. It gave me reassurance and comfort that things will work out. I wrote about a different way of looking at a challenge that I still struggle with today. Something I had forgotten. How was I so insightful almost a year ago to be able to write something that would help me later? There's no way it was just a coincidence.

I've moved!

I am so excited to be writing this from my new home! And from my new mattress which is on the floor surrounded by lots of boxes. The move went about as well as could be expected. Expect for the delivery people not bringing my bed frame with my mattress. And I'll be getting my dresser and nightstand tomorrow so I can finally start unpacking. This whole living out of boxes thing is getting old really fast. But I am so happy to be here!

Even though I was so excited to move, for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to pack up my stuff. I seriously procrastinated it and when I finally started packing the night before the move, I only had half a box packed. I didn't sleep much that night.

My roommates are pretty cool and they are way nice. Last night we all just sat around and talked and ate brownies from the pan. Maybe this is the start of some new friendships?

My bedroom is pretty big but I am a little worried about my dresser fitting. I got one of those long ones with the mirror on top and I'm worried there won't be enough space for it. I guess we will find out tomorrow. I am lucky enough to have the master bedroom and it is so nice to have my own bathroom again.

I went to my new ward on Sunday and they seemed nice enough. But my church is at 9 am! Not too thrilled about that. When sacrament meeting started there were only about 20 people there... YSA wards should not start that early. My opinion.

You know how when you move to a new place and there's all kinds of sounds and noises? Yeah, I'm still trying to figure those out.