Spring Break!

So this past week was my Spring Break, and boy did I need it.  A whole week off from my little dirt devils.  So on Saturday, early if not so bright since it was 5:30, Uncle Mike and Aunt Kelly drove me to the airport so I could fly back home.  My wonderful father spent Saturday driving between GSP and CLT to drop mom off, and pick me up.  After picking me up from the mess that is Charlotte-Douglas airport, we headed back to Rock Hill where we stopped for burgers at Five Guys.

Sunday morning was church, and it was nice to be back in a ward where people actually know who I am.  :)  After church, dad and I went home to make lunch.  We had ham, potato salad, and cream style corn.  And we had a lot of it.  Afterward we took naps and watched Frozen, since we could turn the sound up as loud as we liked without anyone telling us to turn it down.

Monday I got up and did some shopping.  I've lost enough weight that none of my summer clothes fit very well, so I definitely needed some new capris.  So i headed to Kohls.   I ended up with two pairs; a blue jean pair and a grey pair.  Then I headed to Belk.  They don't have Belk out west, and I haven't been impressed with the dress selection of the stores they do have.  I also came to the conclusion that I don't particularly like dress shopping by myself.  It's not nearly as much fun.  I did find a dress, however, so the trip was successful.  For dinner, Dad and I hit one the places that was on my eat-out list: McCalister's.  

Tuesday was a lazy day, mostly because the forecast was for cool and rainy.  My kind of day!  I stayed home, caught up on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, and Person of Interest, and just kinda of vegged.  I did do my fingernails, using the Jamberry nails I bought before spring break.  They didn't turn out perfectly, but I really like them anyway.  When Dad got home, we walked the dogs, and then went and got frozen yogurt.  The place we go to now has pistachio, and it is really good.

Wednesday I took my time getting up and heading out of town for Athens.  I hadn't seen mom's side of the family in a long while, so I took advantage of being on the East coast to make the trip.  It was just overnight, but I got to see Grambudder, Pawpaw, Kakcy & Rog, and Aaron.  Thursday morning before I headed home Grambudder and Pawpaw fed me bacon, eggs, and biscuits for breakfast.  I drove home about noon (remembering why I hate I-85), and got home a little before Dad.  We walked the dogs, and then headed for Fatz.  In honor of Grandpa Ed I got a bowl of baked potato soup to go with my calabash chicken wrap.

Friday was another lazy day.  I really wasn't ready to think about heading back to Vegas, but I had to get ready.  I washed clothes and watched the episodes of Elementary I had missed.  When dad got home we, again, walked the dogs, and good thing too, because it started to rain.  We made a short trip out to Walmart, and then ate at Zaxby's, the last place on my restaurant list.  Dad took around to let me get a couple pics for my blog, and then we headed home.  I finished packing, and we watched a little bit of the 25th anniversary special of Les Mis.

Saturday morning I woke up to rain and temperatures in the 40's.  Unfortunately, it was also time for me to head back to Vegas.  I hated to leave, but I've only got 8 weeks left, and then I'm done!

 

 My Jamberry nails

Spring, Southern style

Now, I didn't eat out all the time.  I did do a little cooking while I was home.  I tried making french toast in a mug.

And since there were some super ripe bananas at the house, I made banana nut bread/muffins.

Me and my girl.

Happy New Year!

So it has been a crazy six months since I moved to Las Vegas.  I have to admit, I really needed Christmas break, although it involved a lot of emotional up and downs for me.  I loved spending time with Matt, Vanessa, the boys, and Mom and Dad in Houston, and going back to SC was wonderful.  I have really missed my fuzzy kids, even when they drive me crazy.  Second Christmas with Jessi and Peter was lots of fun too.  I really enjoyed going to the St. George temple as a family.  And then we got back to Vegas.  Mom and Dad already know how hard that was on me.  I was dreadfully homesick before they even left.  Fortunately for me, if not for Mom and Dad, the Lord was taking care of me and let me have them both here a few extra days.  It sure helped me, though I know Mom wasn't thrilled having to take the extra, unplanned, time off of work.  All in all, it was an interesting, and emotional, Christmas break.

The Houston Christmas Spread.  

 

Matt and the boys in their matching Lobster pj's.

 

Joshua and Nathan going to see the Christmas lights at the Houston zoo.

J-man being himself.

 

Nathan talking to PopPop

 

Most of the family at the Texas.  Mom is taking the picture.

 

 

 

 

A New Update!!

So, since I'm staying at Uncle Mike and Aunt Kelly's house, I can't get my laptop to talk to the internet.  My Ipad works fine, but it's rather difficult to post from it.  So what has happened since July?  Well, first, Grandpa and I made the drive all the way from SC to NV, with a layover in San Antonio to see Matt and Vanessa.  Immediately upon arriving in Vegas I started a brand new job.  I have been nothing but stressed since.  I work in a 4 year old Pre-K class with 17 boys and 4 girls.  Take a moment and try to imagine that.  Once your brain reboots we can continue.

The one saving grace has been having Jessi and Peter only 3 hours away in Cedar City.  I head their way about once a month; more often if I can.  It's nice having immediate family so close by.  On one of my recent trips that way, we also made a trip up to Salt Lake City.  I have decided that I will most likely be moving there next year since the social life for mid-singles in Vegas is pretty much non existent.  I've included some pictures I took at Temple Square during that trip. 

Jessi took this picture for me.

I'm actually very proud of this picture because it is a composite made of two different pictures.  Hooray for my mad Adobe Photoshop skills!

Just to prove Jessi and Peter actually came with me.

 

I know this isn't the most exciting post, but I wanted to get something up to let everyone know I'm still alive.  Hopefully I will be able do this more often, even if it means more trips to Cedar City :).

Caught My Imagination

Lake Las Vegas, 7-16-13

So, I have always had my heart set on doing wedding/engagement pictures back home in SC, probably over at Glencairn Gardens, or out at our photographer’s place.  I wasn't thrilled with the idea that, in moving out here, I probably wouldn't get that.  However, Aunt Kelly and Uncle Mike took me someplace tonight that really caught my imagination.  It’s a high end resort/hotel/living area called Lake Las Vegas.  It’s styled after an Italian or Mediterranean villa built around this man-made lake out in the middle of nowhere.  We went out early this evening, and I loved it.  It would be perfect, especially in early spring or fall when the temperatures are a bit more moderate.  In fact, there was a wedding party there taking pictures when we arrived.  I may not have the greenery of  my southern homeland, but I could be quite happy making this substitute. As you can see from the photos below, this place is AMAZING.

Trying Again

Church, Take 2

So, after last week’s disaster at church with all the pod people, I was a bit…hesitant about trying yet another mid-singles group.  I mean, I changed all my plans about where I was willing to live and work on the hope that Vegas would be a better choice.  Still, I knew I had to take the chance.  First, all I had was the name of the ward where the mid-singles meet.  No time, just a location.  It took some digging, but I finally found a time.  To my delight, and surprise, the ward met at 9:00 am.  For those of you familiar with YSA, and even MSA, groups, they NEVER meet that early.  Never.  However, I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially since I was fasting.  So, I bravely got up, got dressed, and headed out.

Finding the ward building wasn't difficult, even with my GPS giving me contradictory directions, and I made relatively good time.  However, as I pull into the parking spot at the church, I notice there sure are a lot of families with little kids going into the building.  I was pretty much of the opinion that, oh, well, I was here so this was where I was attending church.  The building was packed!  Of course I would be there on a Sunday when not only are two babies being blessed, but there was also a missionary farewell.  They the first and second overflow sections open, and everything was pretty much full.  And I still had no idea how this could related to the mid-singles.  I finally learned, thanks to an email from mom, that they hosted a mid-singles’ Sunday school class.  It took a little work, but I finally located it the madness that took place after Sacrament Meeting.

All together, there were maybe 8 of us (3 girls, 5 guys), but it was a much better experience that the ward in St. George.  After class, we three girls actually spent the last hour visiting instead of going to Relief Society.  We were all close in age (29, 31, 32), and we are all teachers.  It was great to be with other girls who understood the frustration of being an older single in a YSA ward.  By the time we left, I had a name and number for one of the girls so I will have a contact point once I get out here for good.  I guess this really is where the Lord intends for me to be.  Now all I have to do is get through my interview on Wednesday!

Second Job Interview

So after completing my last job interview, I became quite concerned because the position was only part time (15hrs/week).  I knew that wasn't enough for me to live on, and I was going to have to start out commuting from Cedar City, an hour away.  That's a lot of time and gas, even in my little car.  On top of that, I was definitely going to have to get a second part time job to help meet expenses.  Having done the dual job thing this past semester, I wasn't looking forward to it.  Then, thanks to my dismal experience this past Sunday at church in St. George, when Mom suggested looking at jobs in Las Vegas, I was a little more willing to consider the idea.  Mom emailed three job postings, and Monday I sat down and sent in my applications.  The job I was most interested in was working for the Challenger school in Vegas.

For the past couple of days I have been a mess of stress as I've been going back and forth about whether or not I should go ahead and take the job in St. George.  I'd prayed about it accepting it, and had gotten the impression that it would be okay if I did.  However, my mind was never really at peace about that decision.  Then yesterday I got a call from the Challenger school.  As part of the application process I had been required to write a short essay about my view of America.  The gentleman I spoke to had found it interesting that someone with my experience in Early Childhood and in Education had expressed those views.  So, I was invited to come interview next Wednesday.

After talking to Mom about it, she told me she had prayed that morning that if I was supposed to move to Vegas I would get a call back from one of those jobs.  Well, what do you know... I'm a little nervous and little excited.  If I get this job it will basically be a promotion from what I've been doing since I graduated from college.  I'll definitely have new challenges and will have to stretch in ways I haven't had to before.  What is certain, if I get this job, it's because the Lord knows I can do it, so I will just have to depend on Him to meet the potential He sees in me.

First Week

So, here's my very first entry on this blog.  I figured since I was moving away from half my family I ought to have a way for people to keep up with what's going on in my life.  So, back on July 1 I flew from Charlotte, NC to Las Vegas, NV.  That was interesting flight as I went from Charlotte to Baltimore to Atlanta to Vegas.  Yep, 7 hours into my trip I was only 4 hours from home.  Fun times!

I stayed overnight in Vegas my aunt and uncle before heading to beautiful Cedar City, UT.  I'd have spent more time with my family in Vegas, but I had a job interview for an ESL assistant position in St. George, UT Wednesday morning.  Not exactly the most relaxing way to begin this little adventure, let me tell you.  However, the interview went well, and I really liked the people I met there at the school.

Since then, I've been able to relax a little more.  I decided to go see The Tempest at the Utah Shakespeare Festival here in Cedar.  Other than changing theaters, twice, during the performance, it was amazing.  If it weren't so darn expensive I'd go see it again.  My first Sunday I attended a Mid-singles ward in St. George.  It was the most awkward ward I've ever seen.  Everyone acted a bunch of strangers; even with each other.  I'll definitely have to keep that in mind when looking for a ward to attend in St. George.

After doing some exploration of Cedar yesterday, I decided to head up into the mountains today.  Of course, the fact that it was supposed to in the upper 90's here made that a fairly easy decision.  I made my way to Cedar Breaks and enjoyed the amazing views and cooler air.  Before coming home I headed over to Navajo Lake, just to see it.  And now you are all caught up on my life for that past week.

Cedar Breaks

What's in your backyard?

Heading up the first trail at CB

Looking down over the side of the trail

 This guy was not scared of me at all.  At this point he is within about of foot of my feet.

 Self-portrait before starting my first hike.

 What was your temperature at 11:30?

 Alpine Lake and wildflowers

 Navajo Lake Panoramic view

 Artsy-fartsy pic of Navajo Lake and wildflowers