Here is a REAL post!

Pictures from my trip back in September

I love Cameron's little tush!

My adorable nephew! If I end up having a baby boy first, I will be thrilled if he is like Cameron! He is so cute!!!

I love this picture of Lindsay and Cameron!

I am finally posting a real post, so hopefully this means I will get comments from my long lost blogging friends that are missing because of my slothfulness!

Not that I am going to paint myself badly because let’s face it. I have moved across the country, been sick with Tonsillitis (I did not have to get my tonsils removed, just 10 days of antibiotics and a lingering couch that won't go away!)

I have been adjusting to my new job, new ward, new city and stores and I had to do it for the first month without Jeff and it was really hard. I noticed my happiness level increased from 85 percent to 11o percent once Jeff got here.

There is nothing quite like being apart that makes you realize just how in love you are and I am in LOVE!

I am so excited my wedding is now less than three months away! And with that I am realizing just how much work I have to get done.

We have also been house hunting from the day that I got here and I will tell you all more about that in a week or two when I might have something to tell.

So anyways, hopefully you will all forgive me for my slacker ways. My new year’s resolution is to blog at least once a week, but I am excused from it in March (wedding and honeymoon).

But, hopefully I will be so on top of it that I can blog things well beforehand.

Also you can thank Jeff for getting a real update on this blog; the minute he got here he used his mad skills on the computer and fixed John’s wireless Internet so I could use my laptop again to post pictures! So thank him if you are happy I blogged.

Okay, now for more fun! We have been busy since the move in October. Jeff drove me out here around November 13, and we arrived around the 18^th and Jeff flew home the next day to get back to work. We had an eventful trip.

The first thing that happened is I was talking to Robert, my brother on the phone and had gotten some crumbs on my pillow so I thought that by rolling down the window I could not get it in Jeff’s car. Well, I lost more than the crumbs out the window. My pillow died an early death when two semi-trucks ran over it.

My second story is what happens to me when I have extreme exhaustion, hours on the road and non-interval eating patterns (will explain in a moment).

We are blessed to live near April and David (five hours) and I was really excited to meet them on the way to Jacksonville and stay a night with them.

Seriously, I cannot even began to tell you how blessed I am to be gaining such great extended family. April and I just connected and had fun talking and Amber my soon to be niece showed me around the house and we had a great dinner and just talked till about 1 am.

I was in bed by 1:30 am and we had to leave early in the morning by 6:30 am.

The minute I woke up I felt incredibly nauseous and this is actually a little normal because

I have mild hypoglycemia, which makes me feel like I am going to vomit if I don’t eat something and then once I eat then I am normally fine and the nauseous goes away.

Well, not so lucky this time. Jeff has been excited for months to take me to waffle house. I was thrilled to finally be there with him and I could not even enjoy it as much.

I am not a soda drinker at all and I managed to drink two glasses of Sprite the only thing that made me feel a little better. Eggs and toast went down fine, but I still felt terrible and I was really tired.

We hit the road anyway and I finally get to a point where if I don’t move I think I will be okay when Jeff asked me to get him a water bottle.

I find him one and then asked Jeff if we had a Ziploc bag just in case.

It was at this moment, I realized I was actually going to throw up; I managed to say pull over before vile filled my mouth and I projected it onto the side of Jeff’s car.

He managed to roll down the window in time for me to get little amounts in the car.

Throwing up makes me cry, which made me laugh and I still felt terrible and I could not sleep because Jeff said it would make it worse. I knew Jeff was right so I stayed awake.

He was a sweetheart, he comforted me once we pulled over, wiped it out of my hair and kissed my forehead and I again felt blessed to have him as my man.

That whole ordeal of the last five hours was a nightmare, because it was the worse nauseous that I have ever had even when I had the flu in the past. It lasted for two straight days and that was my welcome to Florida story.

On the Brightside, I got to see my new niece that day and we found a house we both thought had potential.

Stay tuned for more back pedaling :)

A fun questionare!

Have you ever thought about getting your lip pierced? No way!

Does a kiss make you feel better?I love kissing, but only when Jeff’s face is shaved clean! My skin is sensitive.

Have you ever passed out on the bathroom floor?No, thank goodness!

Do you start the water before you get in the shower or when you get in?Yes! Got to test the water

What did you do today?I managed to get out of bed and get to work early.

Have you ever brushed your teeth while in the shower? Yes and I am not a real big fan of it.

Have you had more than 3 boyfriends/girlfriends at the same time? I don’t play that way.


Have you ever thought about your death?Yes, I would want to die sleeping when I am old. When I was seven and I heard you could die in your sleep, I remember being afraid to sleep for a few nights. Then my Mom, cleared up my worries and I could sleep easier again.


What is your favorite sport? To play, I like playing basketball and back in High School I loved touch football. I love watching ice skating, volleyball, gymnastics.

What color is your shower curtain?Green right now. Normally it is Yellow.

Have you ever had stitches?No

Did you believe that boys/girls had cooties?Not really, I was always crushing on a boy. I was pretty loyal too, I had a crush on Josh, Jeff, a little redheaded boy when I was in sunbeams, my best friend Michael from the third grade, and so on. I was a shy kid and not one to let them know about my crush! Michael and Jeff were the only ones I actually hung out with as a kid. Jeff was our neighbor in Provo and we hung out for the period of time we spent in Utah, but that was not a constant crush, because Josh came into the picture and I only had eyes for him from the 5th to 6th grade years.

Do you know how to use chop sticks?I have used them, but I am too impatient to use them because it takes me so long!

Lyrics stuck in your head?“Evacuate the dance floor”

Do you like the Red Sox or Yankees?I would say Red Sox to support my friend Ashley Perez, she is a big fan and I really don’t care either way about both teams.

What are you doing tomorrow? Work and resting

Who was the last person you couldn't take your eyes off of?Jeff (well he is not in Florida right now, but his picture this morning or Cameron my nephew last night!

Have you ever given money to a homeless person?Yes

Have you ever run over an animal?Yes, only a dead one and on accident

What is your favorite cereal? I like Shredded Wheat squares and without anything added in, just plain shredded wheat.

Have you ever had an Oreo with peanut butter?Yes, it is Heavenly and Jeff taught me that M&M’s and Peanut butter are a heavenly dessert when mixed together.

What are you doing right at this moment? I wonder...

Where's your favorite place to be? With family and friends in the temple!

What's your favorite song? I can’t choose, sorry!

Are you more of a coffee or alcohol drinker?Neither.

Have you ever thrown shoes on a telephone wire?No


Have you ever been skinny dipping?No


Have you ever been arrested? No, thank goodness


Do you dream in black and white? Color

Do you talk in your sleep? Yes and it makes me nervous

Do you snore? no, well if I am sick I am more prone to it.

Are you a redneck?no, but I can talk like one.

Funniest thing you heard all day?

I have not heard anything funny today, but it is 10:35 AM so there is still time. I did read something funny though! My soon to be cousin Kortney wrote about her daughter Kennady that made me laugh: “Kennady was getting into the trash can repeatedly because I'd thrown an empty bag of Goldfish away. I'd started by counting to 3, but she started touching it for 2 seconds and then running off screaming right before 3. So then I said, "Kennady, if you touch the trash can one more time you are going to get in trouble. I am not going to count to three." She looked up at me with that mischievous look she does so well, and then she licked the trash can!!! As I stood there in shock and disgust, she started laughing and walked off and didn't touch the trash can the rest of the day.” http://bennkortney.blogspot.com/2009/12/just-another-manic-monday.html

Have you ever gotten a mosquito bite on your face? Yes, At girls camp one year, I got over 100 mosquito and chigger bites on a hike. I was miserable! They love me and I hate them!

What are you afraid of? No need to dwell on things I am afraid of, that is too scary!

Wedding Invitations

Hi Everyone,

So this is a request that if you have not yet sent me your address to get a wedding invitation then here is another reminder! Please send it to this new email address:
jeffandemilyh@gmail.com ( Created on October 27th for the sole purpose of wedding invitation addresses and will later become our married email address, so if you posted elsewhere besides Facebook, I might have lost it!).

I really want an idea of who wants an invitation and who is planning on coming if at all possible. So if you could include that, it would be wonderful.

CA Reception is March 13th at the Newport Beach Stake Center in the afternoon and the time will be listed on the invitation. (It finally got booked!)

We also might do a wedding open house in Texas (we are thinking a possible date of March 20 (Saturday), so if that is something you would for sure attend then let me know as well so we can decide if we should do an actual open house or a family get together.

We will be having a small open house in Tennessee and that will be May 29th, let me know if you can attend that day as well (This is a holiday weekend, so I want you to know in advance so you can plan to come to the wedding open house).

So now that you know all of this, its time for some action! Email me your address at:

jeffandemilyh@gmail.com

And tell me which event you are coming too or if you just want an invitation.

I want to get everything done with invitations by end of December and so I need to start working on everything now. We are only 3 1/2 months away from getting married. Yeah!

I sincerely apologize if you already sent it to my other email address along time ago, I am thinking of you Laurie! Can you resend it to the new email.

Thanks to everyone who has already sent it in. It made me so happy.

Thank you and I hope to see you in March or May, if not sooner!

Love, Em

P.S. Our engagement pictures turned out so beautifully, thanks to Ashley Perez, her photography blog is: http://www.ashley-photographer.com

Big move is tomorrow!

Things I am excited about…

• Spending time with my brothers, Sister-in-laws and of course the babies, Alyssa is going to be born any day now and Cameron is here ready to play when I get there
  
• My parents being only 8 hours away and Dave and April (Jeff’s brother and sister-in-law) living 5 hours from us!


• I love all of Lindsay’s extended family, they are amazing and so beautiful inside and out!


• Getting into a steady, daily routine involving sleep, exercise and devotional time


• The best part of having a commute is I can listen to scriptures or conference talks and get 40 minutes in that way (total commute time)


• I am excited to buy a home!


• I am thrilled to live in a neighborhood and have a backyard and I am at some point going to attempt a garden


• I envision a trampoline, a porch swing and Jeff and I watching our children jumping on the trampoline one day!


• I am excited to work for Dezi and join North Florida campus.


• I am excited for my new position and getting to mentor students


• I love that there are many things to do there


• I am excited to be in a family ward and have a normal pace of living


• I love that Jeff and I will be able to do couple things with siblings and explore Florida with them


• We will have more seasons there than here


• Traffic will hopefully be better


• Anywhere I am with Jeff will make me a happy woman!

I could write about everything and everybody that I am going to miss, but I want to remember all the things I have to look forward to at this point.

I will say that when I said goodbye to Hazel is when it hit me last Sunday that I am moving and I just had to cry, over all the people I am going to miss, espcially Hazel. I think because she needed me as much as I needed her these past three and a half years we have known each other.

She needs vistors and so I am going to ask if anyone would be willing to adopt Hazel like I did as their grandmother and visit her frequently (hopefully once a week or at least once every two weeks? I will give you her information if you tell me you are willing to go visit her. I really would love the piece of mind to know she will be taken care of while I am gone. All she needs is companionship, friendship and to feel your love by visiting. She loves the children that come and visit her too and she always has a bowl of candy for them!

26th Recap of Life (just a few weeks late)

I forgot to do my yearly tradition of recaping my 26th year of life! What a Roller Coaster this past year has been, here’s what I have accomplished or experienced:

Personal
-Got back together with Jeff and got engaged! (So my birthday wish last year came true, I got Jeff in my 25th year and marriage in my 27th year, so that is pretty cool!)
-Became an Aunt!
-Moved into my new apartment in January
-Worked on losing weight, still working on it, though I am stepping up my game in it since it has been rocky since April.
-Fell in Love with High School Musical and love how clean it is and enlightening! I know I am a bit Cheesy!
-Worked on fixing my neck with chiropractic care for a year now with weekly visits, I am a believer!!!

Educational and Experiences
-I got three out of the six classes done on my human resource management certificate
-Signed up for Pilates, though had to drop it since we are moving!

Work Related
-Accepted a job offer with University of Phoenix in Florida to be a student specialist (I get to mentor students all day, basically I get the fun side of academic counseling, teaching them their student websites, offering motivational support, with no worries about scheduling or dealing with their finances!)

Trips
-Jacksonville, FL (went to St. Augustine, it was beautiful! I need to post pictures)
-Salt Lake City, Utah: Went to my first professional basketball game, Tubing with Tara and we went and got massages! Such a fun trip!
-Went to Vegas for Auntie and Uncle Chucks Anniversary party
-Went on a Mother and Daughter trip to Gatlinburg that was a blast, we went to Dollywood and I asked Santa for husband! He delivered with an engagement! LOL

Spiritual
-Was actually on top of Visiting Teaching this year and LOVED it, I benefited greatly from it; all my really close friends at church have come from this inspired program.
-Completed my transformation 40 day fast project, it was tough!!!

Fun things I have seen or done
-Saw the San Francisco Ballet
-Went to Legally Blonde with Emily
-Disneyland with Tara
-Saw the play, “The Importance of Being Earnest”
-Celine Dion Concert with Tara
-Caralee’s Opera Recital: Was Amazing!
-Saw Marie Osmond with my Aunt Kath at Tai Pan
-LDS Academy Awards
-Discovery Center with Crystal and her visit
-Disney on Ice with Aunt Kath, Katie and Katilyn
-Horse Stallions Show with Aunt Kath in the luxury work suite at Citizens Bank Arena
-Tea Party Protest!

What is up for 2010?
- Marriage in March, so planning my wedding
-Purchasing a house and all that is included in this…
-Establishing a stable routine that is balanced and not over planned
-Starting and Finishing the Doctrine and Covenants
-Losing weight and getting back on track with exercising and limiting sugar intake
-Start sewing and take on some projects
-Finish the HR certificate program once and for all
-Embrace my role as a mentor for my students and offer exceptional service to each of them!

A big change....

I Love this face Cameron is pulling, it cracks me up, his eyes are so amazing and when he looks at you, all you feel is love.

Celebrating John's 30th Birthday Party!!!

John and Cameron!

It amazes me how life changes so quickly and a huge decision is made that to the outsider would seem crazy, but to those living it seems right.

When I was in Florida, my brothers John and Robert have been trying to get me to move to Florida for years and I was always loving the idea about being near them, but Florida did not speak to my heart, like Tennessee did. Well, John and I took a road trip down to St. Augustine and I fell in love with Florida in that instance and when John told me Jeff and I could get an older home for about $60,000 and we could renovate it and move down here. I thought what a lovely idea, but not something that is doable right? How can we pack up and leave?

So after Amanda's baby shower, John and I were hanging out in his office and he showed me listings and we found this house that had so much potential. We went and looked at it, I was hooked.

I called Jeff and we discussed the possibility, decided to pursue it and I checked out my credit, found out it was incredibly high making me a good potential buyer, got a realtor and put a bid on the house. In the meantime, I knew Jeff and I needed jobs and so we both looked at the job board at our work.

Three Enrollment counseling positions were available and so Jeff applied for those and I applied for the student specialist position that was available. I called, Dezi the AC manager called me back and I liked her immediately and she felt the same way. Told me to send her my resume and she would look it over. She received it and asked me to come in and meet her the next day (Which is the day I left). We talked in person and there was a great vibe between us and so I was really happy and felt good about everything.

Got back to CA, the whole thing felt surreal. Had a formal interview with Dezi on the phone and then with her Director. They made me an offer on Saturday, Oct. 16th and gave me the weekend to think about it. Jeff and I prayed about it all weekend, made pros and cons list, Jeff, being the genius that he is figured out we would be breaking even by moving (seriously, he amazes me, he created a mathmatical formula and plugged in all the taxes, etc.. to figure it out using our paystubs), even with a huge decrease in pay since the pay structure is different there. They are offering me as high as they can, which made me feel good. Tara was with us through all this week as everything played out. We did not get the house, but John is looking for other houses for us and my family also had confirmations of the spirit that we needed to move down there.

We feel so good about this move and I am so excited for the blessings of getting to be a close by Aunt to Cameron and Alyssa. I get to be with my family and experience new adventures. I really feel like the Lord has inspired us in so many ways and prepared us for this adventure.

Here are some simple answers to questions you might be thinking:

• Jeff will rent a room from one of my brother's rental properties, till we get married
• I will live in the house we buy till we get married
• We are STILL getting married in CA and the official dates are March 12 Temple and March 13th Reception.
• If we have a TN open house it will be in May and if we do a get together in Jacksonville to celebrate we will do it in April and it will be really simple and at our new home we hope to have.
• We do not have a house yet, so I will stay with John and Lindsay for about a month or two, depending on renovations.
• My official start date is November 18th
• Dezi is doing everything she can to help Jeff get a job there, the only thing we are worried about is the six month mark they require to transfer. Jeff will hit six months in December, so we are hoping its close enough they will let him. Our current manager Jason, is helping us anyway he can so we can be together and both have employment.
• If I have not told you in person, I am sorry, Life has turned upside down with more than I thought possible. please forgive me!

I want you all to come to my wedding that can, even though we might not all see each other for 5 months, still come, cause I would be really sad if everyone forgot about us in that short amount of time!

Any other questions that I have forgotten?

I will say, I am happy about this move (see the pictures above of such cuteness), but I am sad to be leaving my CA family and all my amazing friends out here. Thank goodness for long distance phone calls, Facebook and Blogs!!!

Wish us luck, and pray Jeff gets the enrollment position, he will be so good at it!!!

Happy Birthday To Me! 27 years old!! Crazy....

Cake from Florida with the fam

Driving to work!

The bed Jeff and I want to copy to a degree, one day....

Out hiking!

So exciting, using my new pack. Brother Ward would be proud!

The cool recipe book Wendy, Bryan and the girls gave me

Isn't she the cutest!

The cake, Katie made, it was yummy!

My handsome stud and my Uncle Jim!

My Aunt Kath made me my favorite meal!

I am back! Well rested, happy, content and glad to not be in school right now! Well Except for my Pilate's class. My abs hurt when I woke up this morning. I will be catching up on my blog, so I can share my Florida trip with everyone. It was perfect! I got time with my sister-in-law Lindsay and had a fun time with her. I got uninterrupted time with Cameron and got to contemplate how much the Lord loves his little ones. Cameron is perfection, I love him with my whole heart, I still can't stop thinking about him. His cuteness will be described soon and with video! I LOVE being an AUNT!!!

I want to talk about my pending birthday, October 12th (today, if you are reading this on Monday!). I have been spoiled! Monday, Oct. 5th is when the celebrated started, I got an email from Jeff telling me about a week long scavenger hunt! On Monday, I got this clue:

"So are you ready for your first clue? Once you solve this 90's memory, John will give you the next clue. Solve this clue and your brother will cater,The exzackt gift before it getslater.Barely on time these friends take the top,Answer this clue or Screech to a stop."

So the clue is, Saved By The Bell! He got me the two seasons of "Saved By The Bell."

Isn't that cool! Then that night Robert and Amanda came over and we celebrated our birthdays together! Cake and ice cream that is good and then my Mom and Dad gave me a sweet gift in addition to my vase on my registry. Apple decorated towels for my kitchen. John and Linds treated me to a trip to Saint Augustine in Florida and paid for everything! Robert and Amanda gave me a laptop for my birthday and Christmas this past year. And Cameron gave me sweet smiles! We had a fun time that night before I left.

Then on Tuesday, my friend Em and Erin came to the airport to pick me up, which was so sweet and we talked for awhile. Jeff was in Phoenix for work. He called and had me watch a film he created, telling me about my next clue. I had to turn on the TV and DVD player and he got me Confessions of a Shopaholic, I have wanted this for the past 3 months!!!! Then the next day, I got back to work and my desk was decked out in party mode. Jeff put streamers in our wedding colors and a princess themed happy birthday sign and a coloring puzzle at my cubicle. Then the clue led to a cake in a beautiful cake stand! He made me a cake to share with my co-workers. They sang to me and it was really fun!

Then on Thursday, was another movie called, FlyWheel from the makers of Fireproof! I am excited to watch this one with Katie, who also wants to see it. The clue was look for the book I made him read when we first started dating. Yes, I made him watch Twilight!!!! LOL

Then on Friday, Jeff came home and he was my gift! He also treated me to our Friday night semi ritual of Chinese food from Jade's Palace, so yummy! Then Saturday, after my class, Jeff came over and we gave me my big gift a hiking backpack! It is really cool!!! I love this gift so much, we made good use of it by going backpacking that day. About 2.5 miles, when I took off the pack, I felt so skinny and liberated! Hehe, Jeff is so happy to have a backpacking gal as a future wifey. We then walked two more hours looking through 3 million dollar homes in Huntington Beach and dreamed of our future house one day (elements of it, we don't have plans of owning a 3 million dollar home, even if we ever had that kind of money, well..... except in heaven).

Today was a great day. I got to go to church and feel the spirit and then we headed to my Aunt Kath and Uncle Jim's for a fun party! She made my favorite meal, chicken pastries, salad and rice. Katie brought her famous chocolate cake for my birthday, it was so yummy!!! I think Katie needs to open her own bakery she is so good at making cakes. I am her biggest fan. Wendy and Bryan also came with their girls and it was an amazing night. I had a wonderful time talking to everyone and especially Wendy.

Jeff and I talked with Wendy for a good hour and it was a lot of fun. She is so funny, a great conversationalist and friend. I really love every member of my family and extended family. Wendy and Bry and her girls got me the coolest recipe book, where you can write the recipes into it. So I am calling all recipes!!! Send me your favorite to emdaisy@gmail.com (Kendra, I would love the meatloaf recipe and I would agree to never share it or make it while living in CA, think it over!) My Aunt, in addition to the party, gave me this really cute apple pie pan, that is cermanic and can be used for decoration in my kitchen! She is so thoughtful.

The little girls, decided to throw me a party upstairs and made invitations and invited Jeff, Wendy and I upstairs for the party. Katie and Aunt Kath and Bryan, Dale, Uncle Jim were already upstairs.

Ella did the cutest thing, when Aunt Kath asked who wanted ice cream with their cake, Ella shot up her arm (she is just one years old and knows her ice cream!!) We got a great laugh out of that. She is adorable in everyway.

I have had a perfect birthday week and I love so many of you and am grateful to be alive to experience all of your friendships on a daily basis, even if I don't always get to talk to you. Thanks for everything, for loving me and accepting me.

A really long update...

A really long update. I promised my cousin Kendra I would blog soon and I delivered... maybe a little too much! LOL, I am sure she just wanted to see some pictures!

Warning

For your sake and mine, it is divided by categories. You can just read what interests you. I am writing this more for me so I can remember everything. This is my attempt at sharing everything from the great, the confusing and the sad things in my life right now.

Socially

I am happy because I have been able to focus on my friends this last week. I finally got to talk to my cousin Katie it had felt like to long. My brothers and my parents more than I normally get too, so that has been wonderful. Then one of my dearest friends Faith called me, who I have been meaning to call (she lives in Tennessee) and so it was a wonderful surprise to get caught up and really share what is in our hearts. Then I got to talk to my Aunt Kath, another one of my dearest friends.

Jeff is so incredibly supportive of me and making sure I get to spend time with the ladies I am friends with. I got together on Sat. last week with Ericka and Emily to sew and we made matching headbands. Ericka is teaching Emily and me how to sew and I love it. Then we decided we would get together this week (tonight) on Thursday and learn how to cook something new. Emily taught us how to make homemade chili and it was really good. I loved getting to spend time with them.

Then on Saturday, Emily and I are going to see a Broadway musical Legally Blondie. I have wanted to see it ever since I found out about it over a year ago. We got a great deal on tickets. Jeff has no desire to see this musical so I am thrilled Emily wants to see it with me. I am looking forward to spending time with Caralee on Friday night and see her new place and catch up and relax together. I am just sad I could not fit Jen in as well on Saturday. I wanted to go to the temple with her, but we have stake conference sat night, class in the morning and the musical in the afternoon.

School

I finish my compensation class Tuesday night, I am thrilled because I feel completely burned out right now. I have three more classes to go to get my human resource management certificate and I need this break. I am sad though to take a break, because I am doing excellent on all the homework and I have not missed any nights of class. I take on the most challenging parts of the team assignments since I am dividing it all out and would feel guilty for taking an easier part.

Everything else in life is overwhelming and is making school overwhelming for me to fit in.

So I find myself up at 2 am trying to complete everything and exhausted from the lack of sleep. I am still going to do my Mat Pilate's class on Saturday mornings at 8 AM though.

I have so much weighing on my mind with work and planning this wedding and wanting to spend time with Jeff, improve my physical heath (wanting to be healthy but struggling with the time to make the food and exercise), increasing my spirituality and maintaining strong friendships.

I want so badly to know how to perfectly balance everything in life and I get discouraged when I am trying to do it all and I realize I can’t because I am not super woman as I had previously thought. Laundry, cleaning and callings all have to fit in to my life as well and staying connected to family and friends who are not nearby. I am trying to do combination of things to balance it better.

For example, Emily was kind enough to let me do a load of whites at her house while we made the chili. That was a load of my mind! And before I go to Caralee’s house on Friday, I am going to do my colors at Jeff’s house so we get time together and I can get it done.

Wedding Updates

Wedding planning is a challenge on so many levels; Jeff and I are so ready to get married. We thought we had a date set, we have been thinking April 10th for the last couple of months and we only put it out that far because my brother John and Lindsay had their baby Cameron recently and Robert and Amanda are having Alyssa in the next three months and it’s a high risk pregnancy. My family is concerned about balancing the births and health of Alyssa when she is born and the wedding and my Mom wants to be able to help Robert and Amanda out.

I want my family at my wedding and we need time to save up for the wedding so we can afford it and so it pushed the date out. Then I called the schedulers for the stake center and asked if I could schedule April 10 and they told me No, because they are having stake baptisms that weekend and will need the cultural hall.

Then I tried for March 27 and of course, it won't work out either because of the Young Women's Broadcast. Then I thought maybe end of April, even though I don't want to push it out any longer, but my maid of honor Tara is in law school and I checked out her calendar and she is in finals at the end of April. They don't have a stake calendar published until December.

I have tried other venues and they are not in my price range. So I feel kind of hopeless right now about picking a date, but don’t despair with me, have hope that a date can be set soon. I was so set on April that I am really annoyed I don’t get it. I am addicted to wedding blogs right now, I love reading them and look at all the pictures and sometimes I admit I get bride envy.

I am trying to focus on what I do have and I know I am blessed. I am marrying my best friend and I am in love with him and he feels the same way about me. I also am really creative and so I know my wedding will be special and beautiful and everything will work out because I put a lot of faith in my Heavenly Father, his timing, his love and his resourcefulness!

Blessings

My Aunt also has blessed my life in many ways, but I want to share one in particular cause it makes me happy thinking about it. Jeff and I recently registered at Macy’s and have fallen in love with this store. We found the perfect China set and were telling my Aunt Kath about it and she said she would give it to us for our wedding. Can you believe that!

She bought it that day for us and I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for her kindness in getting us our china. Jeff and I are going to use it every Sunday to make Sundays stand out even more as a special day for us and eventually our children. I could not have found a more perfect partner for me than Jeff. We are very in sync with what we want and how we want to live our life.

My Mom has also blessed me richly, by sending me an early Birthday gift. She sent me money to buy my favorite crystal vase on our wedding registry at Macy's that is on sale. I am hoping to go get it this weekend. She has also been such a comforter in the stresses of planning a wedding.

The Confusing...

I have felt really sad about a situation with someone that I find myself in. I found out I have offended this person through little things I have done or said for the past four years. All things I had no idea about until recently. And I have genuinely thought this person loved me all this time and I have always loved them. So to find out they don't seem to like me has been emotionally kind of draining and difficult to swallow and hear because of the relationship I thought I had with them. I think about it everyday and it saddens me. I can't tell you how often lately it has brought me to tears, especially at night when I dwell on it. I can't do anything about it. I have tried!

I know I have never meant to hurt this person and if I did feel I had done something wrong, I am thinking of one case, I was quick to apologize and try to make amends.

My intent in sharing this is just to get it out my system, because keeping it in my heart is hurting me and since I can't talk to the person about it I am letting this be my outlet.For the past couple of months, I have felt afraid to say the wrong thing to people in general for fear of offending them and it is making me feel like retreating into myself or people I feel safe around.

I still and will always continue to love this person even if they don't feel the same way about me.

Work

Work has been a roller coaster of emotion for the last seven months. I took on that new challenge and after three months of working overtime everyday just to keep up with two jobs they gave it to another guy to handle. Not because they did not think I could do it, this other director wanted to be in charge of those students and since the job is difficult, my director gladly handed it over to the other directors team member. After a month, it was too much for the other guy to handle and so the other director gave him someone to help him and he still says it is a nightmare and he even got an expert to help him with this!

That kind of made my day that I am not alone in feeling it was a nightmare of a position and stressful. So since they have given it to him, I got put on a project over the summer to work on getting students back into class, I did well at that and then right when Jeff and I announce we are doing that whole competition thing, we go to work the next day and some of our coworkers, 159 of them to be exact got emails to go to the Hilton for a meeting on Tuesday. So, Tuesday comes and they let go of 159 coworkers and told them they can reapply for 130 open positions.

We had felt restructuring in the air over the summer, but never dreamed of all the changes that would be happening. It actually could be great, I am keeping a very open mind regarding everything happening with work. In the meantime all of us, who did not get the email, were asked to work overtime, adopt new schedules, and new responsibilities till they got it all sorted out.

In management’s defense, they handled the letting go and re-hiring in a fast manner, which was very nice. Now they just need to sort out everything else. They got rid of the call center and the team I previously worked with in the past got to take that on and then they asked me to help them with it. I have been doing this for the past three weeks and it is mentally exhausting and completely boring.

I am tired of not having an actual title, job responsibilities and a team of co-workers that I am a part of. I am not complaining at all, just explaining all the stress associated with work right now and the feeling of the unknown that haunts me while I am there and has all summer due to not having a clear picture of what I will be doing.

I do feel incredibly blessed, because I know they like me and I recently got an exceptional raise of 13.8% percent. This is amazing to me and I received an often exceeds expectations on my review. I also am happy to have a job and that Jeff and I work for the same company and we both are going through this change at work together and understand each other. I am blessed because I sit next to three women at work that I love being near and feel close to them. I also know the Lord always has a way of making things better for all of us if we put our trust in him. So I am trying to do this.

Vacation

I am really looking forward to going on vacation, I need it so badly, I want perspective and to come back refreshed for new work challenges and I want to adopt a more balanced lifestyle.

I want time with my family, and lots of peace and to hold my nephew as much as humanly possible while I am there. I am so excited I get to take care of him and bond with him.

Goals

I don’t care about doing it all as much anymore as I care about prioritizing well and focusing on what is important. I really want to be in bed by 10:30 pm and up by 6:30 AM. I have made a deal with myself that if I don’t work out five days a week then I will have to finish the HR certificate before the wedding. If I focus on my goals then I can wait and finish it after we are married. I love that Jeff is so supportive and he is willing to have the same schedule and wants to eat healthy. We planned a shopping list and what we wanted to eat. We got the food and actually followed through today and I loved that we did not get fast food for any meals. I love eating healthy food and it was yummy!

Closing remarks...
In general, I wish this world was not so sarcastic, critical and mean. I wish as a human race we could all forgive more easily; love more deeply and try to be like Christ more often. I am not saying I am perfect at all these things, but that is the world I wish I lived in and I am striving to be that kind of person. I am grateful to know so many people who are trying to do the same. All right that is the longest update in the world and if you read all of it, thanks for loving me that much and bearing with me. Love, Emily

Some Funny Thoughts From Random People!

Here are some funny thoughts from random people, sent by my friend vanessa and made me laugh!!

Random thoughts from random people.
- I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

- Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

- What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

- I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

- Bad decisions make good stories

-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

- Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

- You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

- Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

- There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

- I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever

- I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring, but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

- I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

-As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

- It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

- I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

- Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

- Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my butt everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

- I wonder if cops ever get annoyed at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

- I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

Which one do you think is funny and do you relate to any of them! I bolded ones I can relate too!

Happy Thursday!

Introducing my wedding colors....

I am lucky enough to have gotten this color palette created by Zenadia Design. Heidi put it together for me so I can visualize my color scheme for my wedding and I LOVE it!!! I love the vibrancy of Hot Pink, White, Navy Blue and Yellow! Her website is a mecca for brides or those who love looking at pretty things! Check out the link if you want to see this on there or her other equally cool things. My friend Kate was featured on her blog, which made me check it out and I loved her posts. So check her out!

http://zenadiadesign.blogspot.com/2009/08/color-palette-navy-yellow-hot-pink-and.html

Challenge Time...

All the clothes, I want to fit into again! But, I win if I fit into the black skirt :)

(This picture was taken on our way to work, last week)
The dynamic challengers.... On your mark, get set, go.............................

The male contestant!! (He is thinking he is going to win, you can see it on his face, but we really know its me!)

The Female Contestant, (Thinking: You can win this em!!!!)

Ready for the challenge!!!

So Jeff and I are challenging each other. He thinks he can get a six pack before Thanksgiving. I think I can fit into my black and white skirt by then (go down two dress sizes). The winner will get bragging rights and will have to take the other out to a nice date!

Who is on my team for this challenge? Who is on Jeff's team? Any fun tips? (We are supportive of each other in this, but the reward is being called the winner of this challenge) We are going to set aside 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM to workout everyday and then 8 AM meet up before work to read our scriptures for an hour before work.

So we are trying to focus on our health and the Lord everyday first thing. I am so excited and I know Jeff is too, I love having him as my partner, because we both have the desire to work on our goals and it will be fun to compete with each other to motivate ourselves! I love a good challenge. :)

We are also going to go to bed early every night so we can meet our goals, so we can get up that early to exercise, but that starts Tuesday (10:30 the night we have class). We are also only going to have dessert on my birthday only! That is going to be crazy hard when I go on my vacation, but I am determined to win! I'll need your encouragement!

What motivates you?

Update on my interview...

Okay, so my interview went WAY better than I thought it did, I think my perfectionist side was propelling me to look at the situation wrongly and to underestimate how well I really did! I put a lot of prepping into that interview and spent hours on my PowerPoint and proposal pitch letter as well as a small portfolio I gave him and really thought outside the box with my ideas so I guess it did show! Not to mention the great suit I now have that was bought for this interview. :)

I just got a call from the campus director who I interviewed with and he told me that he enjoyed the interview he had with me and though he decided to go with someone who had more traditional project management experience, he wants me to apply in the future for other project management positions!

He told me to get with my manager and director to ask for projects that I can take on to gain the experience and then let him know about the projects I have worked on or are involved with.

So, I have to say, what excites me about his call, is that I got his attention, he liked me and thought well of my interview. He is in charge of all our So Cal campus and Hawaii and called me personally to tell me he liked my interview and how to improve my project management experience so I can get it next time.

Normally he would have his Administrative Assistant handle these types of calls. This is super encouraging! I already wrote an email to my manager and director to see what projects I can help with. I also said I would be thinking up ideas for projects for the campus where I can gain more experience.

So I might not have the position, but at least I am pointed in the right direction on how to get what I need to succeed and do what excites me in the future and I am now noticed by someone in a position to help me down the road!

I am so glad I took a chance and applied and went through an intimidating interview. And even though the crying that was done last week was for nothing, a woman needs a good cry once in awhile right?

Work Questionnaire...

I love this color combination!!

My Cute Nephew! So adorable in every way :)

Work Questionnaire I recently filled out :)

1. What are your favorite colors?
Yellow, Navy Blue, Hot Pink and White J I know, it’s a lot!

2. What are your favorite snack foods (non-sweet)?
Goldfish, cheese and crackers, all fruit, carrots, fruit rolls, celery, cucumbers, baked chips, protein bars or shakes, Yogurt and fruit

3. What are your favorite sweets (candy, cake, cookie, etc.)?
Brownies, ice cream: Cookies and cream, Mint Chocolate Chip or Cookie dough Almond with toffee Symphony bar, Homemade chocolate chip cookies, Banana crème pie, Chocolate pie, strawberry pie, Pinkberry, Frozen yogurt, Jamba Juice, Snickers candy bar, Reese’s peanut butter cups, chocolate pudding, fruit snacks

4. What is your favorite soda or water drink?
Water with lemon! If I do ever have soda, I like IBC root beer and I also like cream soda

5.What are some of your current interests outside of work? ( kids, drums, watch a specific TV Show, exercise, movies, etc.).
Shows: Project Runway, but I don’t have TV to watch it! LOL, I also love Gilmore Girls, I Love Lucy, Father Knows Best
Movies: Romantic comedy, Jane Austen type films, a variety, but mainly I just love watching family friendly movies, I also really like hallmark movies, especially their Christmas movies. Other activities:I love dancing, I used to love exercising, I know I can love it again, I just need to get back into it!, I love music, art, going to plays, musicals, performances. Reading, going to school is fun for me, I love learning new things. I love being creative and crafty, decorating is my passion. I love spending time with my family and friends and children. I love party planning. Event planning is fun too! Photography is another love, reading blogs is a favorite and blogging in general.

6. What are your favorite restaurants?
Mimi’s Café, I-Hop, El Torrito grill, Panda Inn, Café Rio, Soup Plantation, Cheesecake factory

7.What are your favorite stores?
Target, Macy’s, Jamba Juice, JC Penny’s

8.What makes you unique?
I am generally an optimist and pretty trusting of others, so it shocks me when I see or hear of what people have said/done to others. I sometimes can’t believe people can be so hurtful to others. I am really forgiving and I strive to not be harmful to people, but when I am I try to apologize and make amends.

I have a variety of styles and tastes that I like in music and decorating and can appreciate the beauty that is in different styles. I am super sensitive to smell, it’s a blessing and a curse! I am also really sensitive to textures and somewhat of a texture snob, I hate the feel of some blankets and sheets and am really picky with what I purchase. I love my skin and put lotion on several times a day since I live in CA where it is dry. I think I belong to a different era sometimes, I like the 1950’s shows and movies so much more, I like the outfits and the focus on family. But there are plenty of things to love about this time period, so I count my blessings that I live here now.

Now it is your turn to answer these questions, only if you want too though!

What a Day!

Here is a picture of us that I keep at my desk, I love seeing his picture it comforts me!

So I had a job interview, within my company today. I bombed it! I wanted this job more then anything and I did so much preparation for it. I had to present a PowerPoint to the Campus Director for a position as a Project Manager. This job suited me so well and I wanted it so bad! I wish I could talk about my current job more, but I know that would be a huge mistake. I am so ready for a new position that I can excel in. I wanted this job because I would have gotten to do internal projects that revolve around supporting the campus and be apart of the Director team, where all the strategy happens. I feel like I am never going to get to do what I love. Have you noticed that after you have spent years studying and applying yourself and maintaining a strong GPA that it really counts for nothing if you don't know how to get into your field that you would excel in? Or that the people hiring, won't give you a shot because of lack of experience in that position? How are you to get the experience if you never are given a chance?

And when you do get your one shot at an opportunity to interview for a position you would love, you blow it! Now everyone is probably asking, "Em, how did you mess it up?" Well... lets see, I had class last night until 10 pm and then stayed up till 1 AM working on my PowerPoint and other materials for the presentation putting the finishing touches on everything. So I was exhausted and slept longer than I wanted, so I did not review my presentation like I had wanted too before the 10 AM interview.

My PowerPoint looked great, the ideas were unique, but it ultimately was not what he wanted. He wanted to know how to communicate the large donation my company made to a noteworthy organization now that it has past and what audience should we communicate it too. Or should we communicate it at all because it would take away from what we did? I however presented new ideas on how we could continue to help this organization by having a volunteer week with students where we can highlight our donation as one part of it. He started listing off ideas of how we could communicate it and asked for my opinion and I being put on the spot said well it would be a good idea to do a feature story. I am starting to find some humor in this even though I really just want to cry about it!

That is not what he wanted, though he did say there were some great ideas in my presentation. Then I was so nervous, I said the wrong things a couple of times. I made the assumption my company was cheap on accident by the amount I put that we could donate during my proposed volunteer week. He asked me if I knew how much we had donated and I said the President of the organization did not tell me because she was unsure if she could disclose the amount. So then he asked me why I came up with that amount and I being an idiot said I know how we are careful with our spending and revenue so since I do not have access to our budget I did not want to overestimate how much we could give. Lets just say I was under by $87,000 dollars! Lets see what else went wrong. I wore too high of a heel that caused my injured leg from last year to go into spasms after I left the room. I could hardly walk. My contact was messed up on my left eye so when I was in the other part of the interview I could hardly focus my eyesight on him and his assistant. There's more, but I will spare you more of the details. I am now starting to laugh at this.

At least I looked fabulous in my new business suit, I invested in for this interview and my new briefcase looked dashing as well. Maybe I will get the position based on my looks, then again maybe they will go with the Blond like barbie I saw on my way out! :)

Thanks for reading this! So in the meantime, I continue pursing the business world and hopefully one day will hold the title to a job I am excited to wake up for in the morning!

The job I have now is not terrible by any means, I have just done it for so long, I was looking forward to change and doing something I have been trained educationally for.

One day, this post will comfort my child when they mess up during their all important interview

And remember having an education will get you no where without experience!

I have to include a quote my soon to be Grandpa Honeycutt posted on Facebook: "Take away my ability to fail and I would not know the meaning of success. Let me be immune to rejection and heartbreak and I would not know the glory of living. - Ross W. Marrs"

Lets just say I am waiting for the success part of all of this. Who knows maybe my perfectionist self really did well, time will only tell. Wish me luck!