Progress!!!

Last time my post had a hint of discouragement hidden between the lines. I had been looking at schools all over the place and putting in job applications halfheartedly. The day after the last post, however, I got a call for an interview for a job up in Salt Lake City that I had been exstatic about. 4 business days later - I got an offer!!! I started working as an employment specialist on Monday, February 1 but mostly just took care of paperwork that day. Today I actually sat in on an appointment and did some training. I will be attending another meeting tonight with my supervisor and the rest of our team then will be shadowing on Friday and Monday. Wednesday I start full force on my very own caseload!

Just as a recap, I went to school at BYU and got a Bachelor's in social work with the intention of working with people with disabilities. Covenant Employment Services is a state agency that assists people with disabilities find and maintain jobs. My specific responsibilities include resume and cover letter assistance, mock interviews with my clients, finding possible jobs, applying for jobs, job training assistance, and job maintenance. It allows me to be very independent and self-reliant, which I love. I am so excited. Wish me luck!

A Turning Point

Being in college you hear people talk about turning points quite often. Normally during this string of thought they talk about choosing who you'll marry, your profession, where you'll live, if you'll have kids, where you'll get your education, etc. I like these kinds of subjects because it helps me to realize that things really are in my court and that we have the ability to steer a great portion of our lives. However, that can also be a little bit nerve racking! I feel like things have gone great so far. I chose the perfect guy for me to marry, he's willing to whisk me out of the cold to California as soon as we're done with school, we are excited to eventually have a family but am very happy with our decision to wait a while, and have graduated with a bachelor's degree in social work from a great university! The wonderful thing about having goals is that eventually you accomplish them... The interesting thing about having goals is that eventually they're gone and you have to make new ones.

Where I am currently facing some frustration is the big decision of 'What comes next'? In the movie Marley and Me, Jennifer Aniston had this wonderful list of things that she wanted to do and in what order. It went like this: Graduate from college, get married, get jobs, buy a house, then have kids. I love lists and the fact that Jennifer Aniston is just so adorable makes this schema almost irresistable. I think that the area where Jennifer and I differ, however, is somewhere between marriage and job (aka now). There are not many jobs for a young woman in Provo with a bachelor's degree that is only planning on sticking around for another year so... What to do? Options:

a. continue working at Heritage Makers (which fulfills the bills but not the soul) to put my hubbie through college

b. go full force into the job market and try to find something that really fits, even if the mula isn't as good

c. go back to school so that I will leave Provo with a master's degree and a cut above my competition wherever we go



My belief is that when making a big decision, your first question should always be: Well, what do you WANT to do? Want? c. More school. Lets set money aside and assume that the decision of school has been made. Next decision: area of study. Options:



a. MSW (masters in social work) - though I could complete this degree in one calendar year because of my bachelor's being in the same field, it is just doesn't feel right

b. MBA/MPA - I love business, finance, and the lifestyle that come with it. Already I have interviewed at some pretty amazing places that could not hire me because they needed more business experience. There could be some great opportunities out there to combine social work and business. Drawback... it's expensive.

c. Certificate (6 mo's) or Associates (4 semesters) in interior design. This is a really quick program that would give me a nice background/skill set in something that I love and could definitely utilize in my own home and probably part time when I do have a family.



So what do I WANT to do? That's the question. Or are there more options out there? Working on figuring this one out now. I'm open to suggestions.

A Second Branch

I work at Heritage Makers where I answer phones as a customer service agent. A challenge the company issued this new year was to create a blog on which you would post a picture for each of the 365 days of the year. I didn't necessarily want to have my personal blog linked to the company's site so I started a new one that I will post to once a week with pictures and updates on my new year's resolutions. The site is: yearofthepearl.blogspot.com. Feel free to visit to see pictures of my brother that just got home from his mission and my sweet new puppy! Happy New Year!!!

Happy Birthday!!

I had this really great detailed post about how wonderful my birthday was all written out... and my computer just erased it... so here are the bullet points:

-Mom made me breakfast in bed: chocolate Minnie Mouse pancakes to die for
-Really nice, thoughtful gifts: Parents got me really cute clothes, Joyce (my godmom) got me an awesome vegetarian cookbook and homemade garlic bread, Michael got me Julie and Julia (newest favorite movie) and a gorgeous ivory sweater (his first clothing purchase ever for someone else - did a GREAT job)
-We went to Blue Man Group: Dad got us THIRD ROW seats!! We met the guys afterward, everyone LOVED it
-Ate chocolate all day until I could hardly move (I only eat chocolate on my birthday)
-Still can't wait for Nick (my baby brother) to get home in 6 days!!!!!

Twelve Drummers Drumming/Three Drummers Drumming + Nine

Merry Christmas!! Today was such a sweet day. The whole family fell asleep last night watching a Christmas movie then dispersed one by one to really odd places to sleep. Michael and I, in our delirium, went into his Mom's craft room and slept together on her twin trundle bed that I am pretty sure is now just for looks... but it was comfortable! When we woke up we jumped on the other kids and everyone lined up in the bathroom youngest to oldest, waiting for the parents to usher us into the living room to see what Santa had brought. The gifts were all so lovely and considerate. Part of Michael's gift to me was Day 12 - a picture frame containing 6x8 black and white pictures of the following: My dad at age 28(ish) playing the drums with his band The Fray; Nicholas playing my dad's same old drum set in his basement bedroom in Vegas; Michael playing for a music video with his band Chatham's Dormat; and one of me sitting on Michael's lap behind his drumset when Chatham's Dormat played outside on their front patio last spring. It was the sweetest, most thoughtful gift I could have possibly have asked for. Those three men mean everything to me and I am so grateful that Michael would have done that for me. His 'plus nine promise' was that if we end up having nine boys (WHICH WE WON'T) that he would teach them all to play the drums and include their pictures in the frame. Merry twelve days of Christmas everyone! This is definitely a Christmas I will never forget.

Ten Lords A-Leaping and Eleven Pipers Piping

Ten Lords A-Leaping/Ten Notes A-Leaping

Today was one of my very favorite days. Instead of ten Lords A-leaping, Michael brought me into my parent's game room and had set up 10 love notes that he had folded as little jumping frogs so that they "leaped." It was seriously so sweet to read kind words from my husband that I know he had worked so hard to make meaningful.

Eleven Pipers Piping/Eleven Family Members Singing:

We were in Porterville, CA for Christmas Eve visiting Michael's family. In the evening he started acting a little bit funny and borrowing everyone's cell phones. He took them into his little sister's room, looking very naughty as he went. When he came back out, somehow his whole family (5 of them) was queued up and ready to sing... Along with the 5 other family members that he had on speaker phone on different cell phones. Together my ten family members (plus myself was 11) sang, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" to welcome in Christmas day. It was SO cute!!

Eight Maids A-Milking and Nine Ladies Dancing

So we got a little bit backed up with Christmas travel and festivities but here are days eight and nine!

Eight Maids A-Milking/Eight ounces of Steamed Milk:

After work today we were busy getting things together for our Christmas travels. We are driving to Vegas tonight after work tonight (December 22), spending the 23rd with my family, then heading off to spend Christmas Eve through the 27th with Michael's mom and family in Porterville, CA. After that we'll be in Irvine with his Dad and Step-mom (Rachel) until the 30th when we'll be headed back to Vegas for New Years. Anyway, things were getting a little bit crazy with the preparations when Michael tossed me in the car and drove me to my favorite 7-11 (they always have the most little flavored creamers) for my 8 ounces of steamed milk. It was soothing, tasty, and oh so sweet.

Nine Ladies Dancing...

Well there are gifts for Christmas and gifts that just keep on giving; day nine proved to be the the latter. Instead of nine ladies dancing, Michael gave me a little pink striped bag with a beautiful pink (and very little) outfit that he promised I could dance in at least nine times... He is just so thoughtful, haha.