that time i actually won

one morning i didn't have to work until later in the afternoon

so i thought i would sleep in.

then i got a call from an unknown number at 6am alaska time.

now usually i do not answer phone calls from unknown numbers,

but something told me to pick it up...

so i did.

on the other end of the phone was a nice woman from the kaplan group,

and she was calling to let me know that my essay had been selected

as the winner in their annual business scholarship.

repeat: i had actually won a scholarship essay contest.

i was so groggy i could hardly comprehend what was being said

but at the same time, i was so excited.

i seriously think i cried after i hung up the phone.

they sent me an email confirming my acceptance of the scholarship,

i received my scholarship monies a few weeks later,

and then they published this article on their blog.

just thought i would leave it here for future posterity.

having sight, but no vision

passion and drive tend to loan people a spark of ingenuity or confidence to do something incredible in a moment of indecision or self-doubt. how many times has love drawn a shy man out of his shell to fumble across a room, only to fumble across his words as he speaks to a woman he finds spectacular? entrepreneurs, engineers, and scientists use drive to create new things, design new parts and change the way the world works. and all because they have a vision of what could be.

having sight but visionless connotates a man who has lost his passion or drive for his work. an entrepreneur who slugs through his day, with no movement forward. an engineer or scientist whose shoulders slump forward and whose head hangs down in defeat. they all signal a lost and directionless man. they have gotten so caught up in the details of their work that they have forgotten the bigger picture. they have forgotten how the tiniest protein in the chain of polypeptides can determine how the body reacts and breaks down it down. innovation and creativity come from men and women who realize that even the smallest parts are important in life.

it is my opinion that we all have passion and a drive to do things in our lives. being able to see the world around us is an added bonus, as long as we have a vision that will carry us at least into the next five years of our lives. some scientists work for fifteen years in a field before they publish something notable. entrepreneurs may try hundreds of models before they successful sell something. but they keep on going after all of these failures because they have a vision for what it could become. 

marveloptics.com

my number is twenty-three

a couple of years ago,

i fell for a friend's post online

and had to write 23 things about myself.

some things haven't changed, yet other's have.

1. i still love country music. the only reason i ever listen to pop radio

is because the country stations are playing commercials.

2. i still love western swing dancing.

it's been a little rough getting back into the saddle post mission, but it's still a thing.

3. i have been to a concert. i saw scotty mccreery live for $5 as part of his "see you tonight" tour.

waiting outside the doors wasn't too bad when you have good company.
rhett, me, andrew

third row my friends. for $5.
thank you utah state.

4. i have shot a gun. lots of times. and most times i have a pretty good shot too,

wyoming mountains make the best backdrop for pictures

5. i am still better at fixing other people's problems.

my dad calls it perspective; i call it free therapy.

6. i must have skipped this one.

so, i'll make one up.

i know spanish.

y si, puedo entenderte cuando hablas de mi.

7. i work at a grocery store again. 

and some days are better than others.

like wednesdays. i like wednesdays.

fridays and mondays not so much.

8. i still automatically respond to people's comments.

thank you customer service jobs.

9. the number is a lot bigger than three now.

10. i am getting better at recognizing faces.

it's still hard, but i can thank the mission for that.

if you can remember a unique quality about them,

it helps a lot.

11. to  16. 

nothing has changed.

but allow me to digest something:

i am an accounting major.

and yes, i like it.

there are a lot of numbers,

but even more principles and concepts to remember.

#appreciate_your_accountant

17. i found out that i won't have to take a calculus class

or any more math-intensive classes to graduate

and i cried a little tear of gratitude.

18. i now live with only three other girls.

and we are each other's sounding boards.

no hard feelings here!

19. my love life is still interesting like string theory,

but at least it's engaging now.

(no, that was not an announcement)

20. more than words can recount.

21. i have fixed myself of this habit.

(thank you mission)

but sometimes, it would be nice

to knock some sense into people.

22. that one has changed.

to quote keith urban,

"to, to kiss and tell, it's just not my style."

23. beards are still one of the most attractive things ever.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

these kinds of posts are kind of fun to write,

because i get to see my personal growth.

somethings haven't changed,

and i guess that just makes me, me.

progress is made

and i am thankful for the memories

that mark those changes.

thank you.

another few steps closer.

i wish to share with you my crazy weeks, but first

i share with you, my friend's because she does it

so much more eloquently than i. 

{ laughing aloud }

i don't know if you have been keeping tabs,

but i am 24 days out from the mtc, and

i don't feel like i am prepared at all.

this week though, i was doing good to get a lot of things done:

1. a letter from the police, saying that "no, i am not a criminal." -- check

2. my passport back -- check

3. my birth certificate back -- check

can i just say that it is very nerve racking to hand over

your birth certificate to someone you just met ten minutes ago

and trust them that they will, in fact, get it to the right people?

4. the paperwork filled out so i can get an apostille -- check

5. a package sent for Christmas -- check

6. the typhoid immunization, in form of a pill -- check

{the grossest thing ever...}

7. work, all on time and we got the trucks done! -- check

8. and most importantly, i got to go through the Atlanta Temple Friday.

what an amazing experience, and i am so grateful for those who took the time

to come and support me. sister pesci, vaughn, the stewarts, and the fackrells.

for the aunts and uncles, and my wonderful sister who were in the temple with me

across the country because they couldn't be here physically, thank you. 

this week was a crazy one, but somehow i got a lot done, and am just a little bit closer to being ready.

ready or not, here i come.

forty-seven days and counting

as peach, from finding nemo, would say,

“today’s the day, the sun is shining, the tank is clean!”

today was the fateful day, when it all changed!

i woke up expecting a normal day with mom before having to go to work this evening. i was folding laundry when one of us said that we need to talk with all my aunts and uncles to see what the best way was to include everyone in the “big reveal,” when i got my mission call.

little did i know that that plan was pointless.

i was out running some errands when i got a phone call from my mother. nothing out of the ordinary, just thought that she needed me to pick something up from kroger. she said two words before i started to scream: “it’s here.”

i was so excited, and bug was just sitting there looking at me like i had a third eye and telling me that people in the surrounding cars where giving me weird looks. i didn't even care at that point. all i wanted was to get everyone home from school, daddy home from work, rae on the phone, and to rip open the packet and see where i was going. i knew that i had to wait at least until at least three to open the packet because the three youngest siblings were all on the bus. and it was KILLING me.

according to the text messages, and the voicemails i had left that morning, if i got it this weekend, i would be opening it on sunday evening. we would broadcast it to the two grandparents’ houses, and then try and be on at least speakerphone with the rest of the aunts and uncles.

thirty minutes later, we had called both sets of grandparents, rae was on skype with us, and i was opening the most amazing white envelope ever.

(my hands are shaking just thinking about it now.)

i carefully ripped open the envelope and almost collapsed when i skipped to the good part and saw where i was going.

the video that bug put on instagram makes me sound like i am three years old, but i don’t care. i was just so excited and i just couldn't wait to read the rest of it, but my family was DYING of anticipation.

so I carefully read the words:

“dear sister janelle sara graves, you are hereby called to serve as a missionary for
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. you are assigned to labor in the nicaragua managua south mission. it is anticipated that you will serve for a period of eighteen months.

you should report to the provo missionary training center on wednesday, january 7th, 2015. you will prepare to preach the gospel in the spanish language. your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president.”

i was so excited, i was crying

{i’m not a huge crier, so this was big.}

my siblings by this point had been reduced to tears, hugs, and cries of “yeah!!”

my parents were a mess, and my grandparents were just plain excited for me.

rae did okay with the news, but it hit her really hard that she was eighteen hundred miles away and unable to be there, so we resorted to hugging our respective electronic devices. it was comforting, but i wish she could have been there.

the scary part of it all:

i have to be ready to report in forty-seven days.

and i still have to make it through holiday with my two jobs.

 i can do this. luckily, one of my bosses is also a member of the Church, 

and so when i gave him a call today, 

he was totally understanding and willing to work with me about 

when my last day was going to be with them. 

now, just to figure out how to break it to my retail job…

forty-seven days.

it just hit me.

i’m going on a mission.

this is for-realz happening.

i am going to serve the people of NICARAGUA.

breathe.

momma mia

this week.

for realz. 

it's been so long. 

i literally feel as if it's been monday all week long. 

let me explain: 

between my two jobs this week, i worked an excess of 60 hours. 

that's right. SIXTY! 

and gurl, you better believed i worked for it.

i worked two-fourteen hour work days.

#showmethemula

but that wasn't even the longest day this week. 

wednesday i was at one job from 5am-2pm 

and then had to be at my other job at 3:30pm to 9:30pm.

needless to say, i'm exhausted and was in desperate need of a sunday.

during the forty-five minute break i got in between my two jobs on thursday,

i stumbled across this article on facebook and had to share.

because this really was me at one point.

i took the "be prepared" motto for the boy scouts to heart during high school.

plus, i just love the bridesmaids reference.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. baby steps. and i am getting better.

this week was rough for me physically though.

2. getting a dental x-ray to "dot an i" tomorrow to be safe,

but they should be submitted tomorrow night!

3. it will be completed this week.

my mom is holding me accountable.

4. check for today! went and got to see some of the people

that they are investigating and it's really exciting to see the

countenance change when they open up to the idea of being comforted by the gospel.

add to goals: pray that sabrina may be able to find a job and be able to better her life

for her kids.

sabrina is an investigators that the sisters are working with right now.

we challenged her tonight to join us at church on sunday, and the sisters

have another meeting with her on tuesday. she is trying to figure out her life

and is trying to get a stable job so that she can move on to better things. she is a 

single mother and wants her kids to have a better life than what she is currently living.

she is trying to go to school and get a nursing degree so that she can provide for her kids.

the epitome of a strong woman, trying to do better, all for the sake of her children.

5. funny story: actually got asked today *twice i might add* at church to play.

i was able to play prelude music to sacrament meeting (the semi-equivalent to mass

at a catholic church) and then was asked again to play in relief society, but was not

comfortable playing the songs that had been picked to go along with the lesson.

mommy to the rescue!

i have some spare time this week (actually a lot of spare time, compared to last week)

and will be working a lot of my goals.

NEW!

6. exercise more frequently and eat better.

take something substantial to eat at work while on break,

and don't eat snack foods as a meal.

spend part of my "break" walking on the treadmill for a little bit.

great hugs

the beginning of november is always a time for reflection for me. 

the year is almost over and i seriously sit and reflect at all of the annual goals i didn't ever get to.

i also try and make a mental note of my "grateful fors" and make a list. 

sunday in relief society, the teacher handed around ten slips of paper. 

each had a question on it asking us something we were grateful for in different situations. 

i got the question: what experience are you thankful for this week and why? 

saturday i worked my first birthday party at the trampoline park 

{one of my two brand new jobs} 

and i had no idea what i was doing even though it had been explained to me a couple of times.

i didn't let it on that i was new and had never done this before 

until the birthday party was almost over. 

the party mom looked at me and said, "you're doing great. I had no idea." 

my coworkers had been assuring me all day that i was doing great,

but to hear it from a perfect stranger was the comfort i needed. 

with all this new stuff, i am really missing the old stuff. 

i'm really, really missing my bar t-5 friends 

and the people that i interacted with while in jackson.

 the job was comfortable and the people are and were amazing. 

i see all of my friends going about school and work, 

and i wish i was there to see them in person more often.

on halloween, we all went back to the summer and went cowboy.

i feel like almost all of us posted a picture of ourselves,

dressed up in perfect cowboy outfits. 

i miss it so much, but i know that with all good things, 

they come to an end. 

i miss the stable hours and the fact that i knew 

how much was going to be on the next paycheck.

{salary has its perks and downsides}

 i could hang out with people my age 

simply by walking out of the bedroom door

 and it was always an environment i felt safe interacting in. 

never any raunchy situations. 

i miss cuddling on the couch watching a movie and
just sitting next to a great friend with his arm around me.
i also miss seth's hugs.
he always knew exactly when you needed a great hug.

but then again, i know that jackson is now a part of me 

and i will be back again. soon.

the friends i made this summer are forever. 

even if some of us are thousands of miles apart from each other. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

goal update:

1. focusing on setting aside time to do it, 

in the evenings before i sit down to watch tv. 

2. one more interview tomorrow and then my papers will be submitted!

3. tomorrow i don't work in the afternoon, so i can get the help i need 

from mom to get the back pieced together. 

and then off to the quilter it can go!

4. i will have my shifts for next week by wednesday for my retail job 

and then i can set a time for next week! 

5. i am going through the hymns and playing the ones i have heard before 

to try and get a feel for how they are played. 

i have an easier time playing something i have heard before,

 so i am going through and playing the right hand 

and then adding the left hand in. i'm getting better! 

this week.

is off to a rough start. like seriously.

monday was a long day. we didn't have a show that day, so the boss-men took the majority of the crew and went and played lumberjack on the mountain. 100 trees, cut for posts and rails, and 12 soaked and sore crew members later, they were really ready to come home. celeste, baby tiff, pat, and i were asked to stay down here and cover the office and prepare for the week. i helped pat in the office until lunch, and then celeste and baby tiff gave me a baptism by fire into the life of a cook. i helped make ranch, bagged brownies, sorted raw chicken, and pretty much just tried to keep up with these lovely ladies. we stopped a little early and had dinner ready for the crew when they got back. and we cleaned the house. but guess how long a clean house lasted. if you guessed less than 12 hours, you were right.

tuesday. can we just take a moment of silence that this day is over? like really. let me preface: two weeks ago, we got a phone call asking if a group of 200 people could come to the show. we can only take 170 people on ten wagons. 200 people would require bringing over two wagons that are used on the mountain and praying that they didn't bring any more people. we let the lady know we could work it out and the stressing began. the coordinator for the group decided that it would be too much of a distraction to have alcohol at the event (which is usually not allowed, but with private events, we give them the option, but they have to work it out and we just lay it out.) she sent us payment for the tickets, as well as the gratuity for the evening, a couple of days in advance, but then we got an email a couple of days ago, asking how many ABOVE 200 people they could go. we cried a little inside and said, we could do about 205 before we had to started strapping people to the top of the wagons. (sarcasm, of course.) we had a lot of people booked on the other show, so we had a double last night. which is UNHEARD of this late in the season [our last day is friday]. david, our foreman, pulled all sorts of strings and brought oodles of help in to drive teams and help the cooks feed 200 people before midnight. i don't know if i should be grateful or cry because i missed the opportunity to see a 12-wagon show, but the group didn't bring 30 people (something they can't even explain), but it relieved a huge burden for the cooks. feeding 200 people is a lot of chicken, beef, beans, corn, the works. and we don't have hours to get them from the chow-line. plus, it's a tad bit stressful to keep 200 people warm while it's 40 degrees outside and you only have enough lap blankets for about 170 of them. needless to say, david and chris were stressed. which in turn had pat stressed. who in turn had me stressed. it was a relief to have that crazy day OVER with.

and the week is about to get crazier. we will have 11 wagons on our last night and the next couple of nights are over 100 people. those are good sized shows for the end of the season. i'm excited for the next couple of days because anything will be easier than the last couple of days. let's just pray that no one else calls and asks to bring 200 people tomorrow.

coming to a close.

i have recently realized that this idealistic vacation summer is coming to a close. jackson's weather has begun to become erratic and extremely temperamental. last week, we had two days where i was freezing while wearing my long underwear and a long sleeve tshirt under my jeans, long socks, and long sleeved button up for work. and then the next day-- sunshine and rainbows, literally. the calendar marks are slowly getting too close to our last show and the memories are starting to flood. i made an album on facebook of most of the pictures that i have taken this summer. heaven knows that there are way more adventures than have been captured on film.




i also realized that i have been slacking severely on my study of the Book of Mormon and Preach My Gospel. i really need to work on that, so that i can be prepared to put my mission papers in! i have been waiting for this day for a while, and the day is coming more quickly than i had imagined. in just over a month, i will hopefully sitting in my bishop's office, starting the process!

two of the girls and three of the girls that i graduated with are in the mission field (which reminds me that it's time to start writing for the month...) and i can't wait to join them. one of my friends is serving in the mission that includes utah state, which is especially funny because she went to byu before her mission. just makes life that much more fun. i love her though, and i am so excited for her.

also, check out a blog for me. byuadventurous.blogspot.com  this is another one of the girls that i graduated with and she's pretty much the cutest.

time.

what a weird four letter word. it holds so much power with it, too. 

it's bizarre to think that two years ago today, i was frantically finishing a presentation for the parents of governor's school participants. a year ago today, i was hanging out around the house, worrying about chores and packing for a road trip two weeks out. today, i'm worrying about getting the smoke out of the blankets i took camping last night and about getting a cowboy to pay enough attention to me to take me out. 

time. what a silly thing. my friends have their mission calls and are preparing for the fateful day when they will enter the MTC. other friends are fretting over the details of another fateful day: their wedding day. and yet others are worrying about getting all their summer vacation tucked into the next few weeks. then there's me, just worrying about my job, my crippled love life, and remembering people's names. 

time. it slips away from you. i can't believe that i haven't seen my sister in six weeks, my family in six months, some of my friends in over a year. it's just wrong. it makes me ache for the "good times" back. those careless summer nights when we played hide-and-go-seek in the backyard of nice neighbors. those crazy fall nights when i spent all night in a ridiculous costume, freezing my butt off, cheering for the football team. those awful spring nights where i was up until midnight or one am writing a paper. i'm gonna say it: i miss high school. don't get me wrong, there are something things i DON'T miss. but the simplicity of life sure was nice. i miss my laurel friends. the semi-adult life stinks, man.

i want the simplicity of life back. 

Summer Job 2k14

The most wonderful place ever. 

I'm working here for the summer and I love it. The atmosphere is fantastic and the people here love their jobs too. And I found a cute guy who seems to have the similar feelings for me. He's a good cuddle buddy and he found that secret ticklish spot and he likes to abuse its powers. But that's okay. I can get him to crumble because I know his ticklish spot. Muh-hahahahaha.

The summer has been great so far. I'm working for one of the beautiful local companies and I love it. The whole crew stays in the same house and it's a party always. If you want to do something, you've got three volunteers to go with you. I'm working at the office, but I still get to spend the time I want to around HORSES! I got to ride one early last week and it was amazing. I haven't ridden in a saddle, by myself in over 12 years. I rode a saddle-broke draft horse bareback a few years back, but that's a little bit different...
The horses that we work with are either 2000 lb behemoth draft horses or cute, "little" 1000 lb paint horses. I love it. My allergies don't, but ehh. A little Alavert and a nice bath afterwards and I'm totally fine!

One day after lunch, the majority of the crew decided that a back massage sounded amazing. I opted out on the account that I tended to make less than appropriate noises when I get a back massage unless I really think hard about not.

It started as a harmless pillow fight. Then, it escalated to a wrestling match wherein she ended up in the dirty, living room rug. Water got involved. And then the joke about "Round 3: Mud" was made and they took it seriously. He ended with a horse patty to the mouth/face and she ended up slam dunked into the dirt. They called it a draw.

I finally found some polish and took a few minutes (more like 30) to make them look beautiful. Yeah, then I got asked to poop scoop the next night and it's been downhill from there.

We had a crew game night at one of the boss's homes on Sunday and a few people ended up playing Twister. Then they moved to Swedish Twister (which doesn't require much, just some major flexibility). Then we played The Bucket Game. So. Much. Fun.
{The fun guy with the mustache is our resident Buckskin.
The one picking his noise is the cousin of Great Cuddler.
The dark-haired beauty is one of the cutest wranglers on staff.
The pretty blonde is my roommate and our wonderful housekeeper. }

There is a large group of crew members who will go out in the mornings before work and exercise.
Mentally insane, all of them.
But, one day this smaller subgroup decided to do some yoga and it was too much of an opportunity to pass up.

This is possibly the most popular view of the house: eyes shut. Even though my bedroom is right off the living room, I find it very difficult to make it to bed some nights. There are just a few couches that are too comfortable to move from. And then, add a good cuddler to the mix. Yeah, bad idea.
{This fellar is one of the main men on campus. He's kind of in charge of horses. Great guy. Not Great Cuddler.}

This cowgirl got a hat. This is one of the better outfits I have worn for show.

spring break

was interesting. Work was having a HUGE sale, so it was hopeless to even think about asking for it off. So, I took other people's shifts so that they could go and do spring break things.

my roommates ditched me on Sunday. thankfully, Aunt Colee that asked if I would like to come to dinner, so after church I ditched town as fast as possible.

monday: lonely cleaning, some Big Bang Theory, donating plasma (made $35, too!) then work. I had plans to go up to Rigby that night at stay with my aunt and her chillens, but I was late leaving Logan because I locked me keys in my car. First time for everything, right? Thankfully I have some good friends who were able to take me back to my apartment and then back to work to pick up my car, so the whole ordeal only cost me $3 (for the manager to open my apartment) rather than the ticket for a locksmith. With that in mind, I made it to Rigby around 11 pm on Monday... longest drive of my life. Two and half hours by yourself is not fun. Especially when it decides to snow.

tuesday: a lot more fun. i got to hang out with my cousins and help me aunt out a tiny little ounce. i learned that just because your picture is on the fridge, doesn't mean that your youngest cousin will recognize you, or even cuddle with you when he is sick. Urn was nice enough to zone my feet that night while we watched Season 2 of Downtown Abbey and o my gosh! it was wonderful. if you have never had it done, it's like the best worst foot massage ever.

wednesday: i stayed up in Rigby until noon-ish because i had to work (i mentioned that i hate work, right?). that night i came home to the guys who live next door in the apartment across the hall (*disclaimer* one of the boys has a sister that lives in that apartment) even though none of the girls were home. come to find out that they just wanted some putty to fix a whole in the wall. i hung out with them for a few hours, but still ended up going to bed around eleven because we ran out of things to do/talk about.

thursday: i invited some friends over for breakfast and it was a lot of fun. pancakes, fruit, friends. such great things! work wasn't too bad that night because i got off a few minutes early. hallelujah! thursday was also the day that i found out that Mormon boys do sit around in just their underwear when they are alone. just trust me.

friday: no work to pass the time, so i finished a season of Big Bang Theory and then I took my healthy self and went and donated plasma and made FIFTY BUCKS! (go and donate plasma, put my name down as a reference. #shamelessplug) Then I called up Aunt Fluffy and asked if I could come and borrow her laundry equipment for a few hours. She of course had no problem with it, so I went and helped out her and did my five loads of laundry at her house. yeah, Rae and I do five loads of laundry every two weeks. I would have stayed the night with Fluffy, but I had to work Saturday morning, so I decided I should probably get a good night's rest.

saturday: a 10:30 to 7 shift. a heavenly shift as a cashier. call me crazy, but I seriously love that shift! i got to sleep in, go to work, and still had enough of an evening to go and hang out with my single uncle, Juan, and his friends that night without being super exhausted! some of my friends had returned by the time I got done with work, so I hung out for a little while with them and caught up on their adventures of Spring Break.

sunday: ward council at 10:30 was slim, but spiritual as ever. Bambi came home about a half an hour before church started, so I got to have at least one friend at church with me. :) i ended up being the chorister in sacrament meeting because the chorister was still out with her family, and the organist (who was one of my close friends!) let me fall asleep on the stand!!! thankfully, i was pretty well hidden behind the organ, so only one or two people could see me, but I apparently missed a really awesome talk. i was super bummed... after church i had to kind of twiddle my thumbs and find things to do before my roommates started coming home (Bambi left with her family after church, so she wasn't home until later). I did a little happy dance when Rae and Panic finally made it home. Never Nude and Provolone made it home a little bit before they, but they were busy putting together a new bookshelf for Provolone.

nevertheless, it was okay. lonely and long, but okay.

a semester update

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my mind at the moment.

i am supposed to be doing homework, but you see how well that is working out...

so far the semester is going well. i have three classes in the business building (which is all the way on the other side of campus for me... :S), one in the huge concert hall on campus, and my favorite class of all is my Western Swing class. i got into the advanced class, and i couldn't be more excited. the one problem about that class is that he is in that class. i try and be his friend, but it really is proving to be hard. he will ask me to dance every once in a while, and he will talk with me, but he really doesn't try too hard to seek me out. he probably figures that i will seek him out and it's honestly the truth, but i'm still sad.

the mission thoughts aren't helping confuse matters much either. i'm NOT going to declare dating abstinence before i go on a mission, but seriously. the fish ain't biting.

we met some new guys two weeks ago and one of them is now rae's boyfriend (although they haven't called it that yet, they have spent time with each other EVERY day since they have met) and the other one is super into one of my new roommates, Bambi. Bambi is super cute and has captured  every guy's heart within a mile radius. she's a return missionary, three months off the boat from Lima, Peru. she's so adorable and i love her enthusiasm for the gospel and her easy love for others. {Never Nude is our other new roommate and she is super hilarious. she's really outgoing and is always ready to party. lol, seriously.}

work is going well. i haven't worked too many hours the last few weeks, but i'm hoping as we get closer to one of our HUGE case lot sales, that i will get more hours. i am still doing a lot of bagging, but i help quite frequently with cashiering. i get paid the same rate, regardless of what kind of shift i am working. lovely minimum wage.... :S

so a future missionary, lots of reading, awesome new roommates, no interested boys. pretty much sums it up.

reminiscent day on the job

so yesterday i went to work at a neighborhood in the community. and i love that job; its so much fun! i get to interact with the kids that i lifeguard and its a lot more personable than my other job (that i don't love so much). but i was looking at the schedule that is in the office and it looked like it was going to be my last day working ever that summer. (but i got that fixed and i am working another shift later on in the month). and i thought to myself: what have i learned from this job and what memories will i take from it? and this is kind of the list that came to my head.

1. britt. one of the lifeguards that i probably spent the most time with working-wise. me and him it seems always worked together (either him or greg). and we had a lot of really fun and interesting conversations and experiences while we were working together. one of them being a really bad storm that quite literally ran right through our clean deck. we had completely closed for the night (in fact i got off the stand five minutes early because i could see the clouds rolling in) and britt had just finished washing the deck. all we had to do was close the shack and lock the front gate and we could leave. then the storm ripped through while we were locking up the shack. britt shut the door at the right time and saved us from the winds and rain that came raging through. the storms knocked down a tree, pushed our lost and found bucket into the pool as well as a few chairs and almost two 2-3 ton benches. later we found out that a deck of cards was put into the lost and found and had made it into the pool. all 52 cards split into 2 and greg got to peel the mushy parts out of the drains and off the bottom of the pool. thankfully the power surge that happened right before the storm clicked the pump off or we could have been in serious trouble. another time was when it had rained the night before and it was a little cloudy and not pleasant out still. me and britt were working together again, so we got into the pool and we had a good 30 minute conversation about what he was going to be studying that year in college and world war II and families, etc. we pretty much talked about a bunch of random things that all interconnected through one little tangent. all in all we had a lot of awesome conversations that i will forever remember. he just has a way of making the conversation hilarious even if we are talking about something as boring as like the weather haha britt always jokes around with me too. he jokes that after the evening shifts on fridays and saturdays that i go and take out my fake and go partying and live that party life of the scandalist teenager. haha its always a ball when hes around because he knows how to joke with you without making it inappropriate or going too far.

2. greg. he was the other guy i worked with like all the time (seriously i think i worked with someone else like 3 times). greg is this super carefree guy who loves to have a good time and a laugh. he probably weighs like 375 and is like 6 3 maybe. but i tell you, that is the burliest yet cuddliest dude you will ever encounter. he is scary when he wants you to listen but the next sentence will be full of laughs and jokes. he and his brothers are like a machine for inside jokes and funny punch lines from movies you have never even heard of. i had this kid come up to me one time and ask me "why does greg always say 'hey buddy' before he yells at me?" haha i just kind of stared at him and said, "i dont know, that is just gregs way of getting your attention if he doesn't know your name." the kid just looked at me and said, "but its sooo annoying! i hate those words now!" haha i just had to laugh at him and tell him to go ask greg if he was so concerned about it, but it made me realize that greg doesn't like to yell at people, he is more of the kid of person to laugh and have a good time even when he is having a bad day or when you are breaking a rule. he makes it fun and he was definitely the life of the party.

3. mrs. b is possibly the nicest manager anyone could ever have. she is like the best definition of a southern belle sometimes. she has few habits that i don't enjoy but she is one of those people that you just dont know unless you have seen it for yourselves. she is always so full of "hey sweetie"s and "how are you pumpkin"s that you never leave a conversation with her feeling like put down.

4. molly is a lot of fun. she is always so ready to laugh and have a fun time. she is super competitive so watch out! she had a really busy schedule with swim team so she couldnt always work, but she was so enthusiastic about it that you never would have known.

5. the kids! o my goodness!! one of my favorite parts was coming to the pool to work and having all of the kids come up to you and say "hi janelle! you havent worked in a while, are you working today?" they want you to get involved in the games that they play and they are really good about listening (most of the time) and doing what they have been asked to do. they are so sweet and just flock to you when you arent on the stand. i know a lot of the kids by name or can at least place them in families. one of the little kids, ethan, is my favorite though. he is a high functioning autistic boy but he sure loves to play in the pool. there isnt much you can do about telling him that he is breaking a rule because he doesnt listen to you. you kind of have to go up to him and talk to him face to face in a calm voice, or he doesn't understand what you are saying. but he sure in a cute kid. his sister, brother, mom and dad are such angels because they kind of hang over him just to make sure that he follows the rules and doesnt harm himself or other kids. he has gotten so much better over the summer its amazing. i guess its just from hanging out around the pool for the better part of the summer. and its really weird though, you watch the little kids grow up before your eyes. its reminiscent really.

but i love all of my coworkers and the staff party that we had a couple of weeks ago was soo much fun. we played volleyball with us and our siblings and then we played sharks and minos, then star (both games we are allowed to play while we are on duty :( ). i found out that during the volleyball game, that a lot of my coworkers are very competitive and have a lot of fun egging each other on.

i love my work and the people that i work with. its saddening to think that me and one other girl are the only ones that are in high school still, so most of the staff are all going away to college with a matter of a month or so. :(

do I stay or do I go?

so we had our mock meet today for swim team. and it was a lot of fun, minus having to swim my two least favorite strokes in a “race”. it was awful but whatever. I got a pretty satisfying freestyle time (like 38) and then had to swim the other three strokes (YUK!).  but I failed to set aside some water for myself. so after my backstroke I was starting to feel shaky because my sugars were starting to drop. (lovely) I definitely needed that water. then I remembered that I had a couple of dollars in my wallet and there was a drink machine right over there. hahaha problem solved lol

but once I got home I had a massive headache and my stomach hurt. so I thought maybe its just hunger. so I took some ibuprofen and then popped some popcorn. after I laid on the floor for a while, I went upstairs where I made it to the toilet before I got totally sick. I took a bath and a huge nap and I feel much better.

but the problem now is I am supposed to report to work at 3:30.

 

do I stay or do I go?

rookie mistakes

so yesterday I worked my first evening shift at work. and we did everything we were supposed to do, except for one thing.

so we are supposed to take all the umbrellas down, take all the trash out, clean the deck and check the bathrooms. well one of the “unlisted” job duties is taking the lock out of the shack and putting the right keys behind the right locks and then locking the gate when you get done. well I kind of forgot to take out the key to the bathrooms and the lock that goes on the gate before I locked the shack. so we had to call mrs. b to ask her to come and unlock the bathrooms so we could get to the key to the shack so we could get the key to the gate, etc. out of the shack. (yeah we have a pretty high security pool, its legit). but ya after that I find of felt stupid hahaha because I am usually so good about not locking myself out or locking something behind a lock that I don’t know the code to, but it had been a LONG day lol

I guess now I know what NOT to forget

and then the other day I got a paycheck (MY FIRST ONE EVER!) yipeeee!!!! I am a rich woman. and now I have a savings and a checking account at a local bank hahahahahaha I am soooo pumped!! hahaha I would post a picture but I don’t have the check anymore in physical form (I already deposited it. hehehe, that makes me feel old to say). and then my debit card is coming in the mail too!!! now I feel super old and sophisticated hahaha

home remedies

did you know that rubbing alcohol takes away the sting of a sunburn? dad thinks the scientific reason is that it cools it, but I just am glad that it takes away the burn enough for me to be able to move my shoulders more than six inches.

I got my one really bad sunburn yesterday working. smart me forgot to reapply sunscreen. lol but I got what I deserve and I covered up for sure. but another one of the lifeguards where I work, got sun posioning. YIKES! (if you don’t know what sun poisioning is, its when you have an allergic reaction to the suns rays. apparently aspirin or something like clariten, will help…)

 

WHO KNEW!!!

summer jobs

so this summer is going to be it. I am finally going to get a job. and a neighborhood in my community said YES! we want you!! I am soo excited. my first job ever and its one of the easy, entry level jobs: lifeguard. of course I got told by another neighborhood that I could be an alternate, but that makes no promises. I have to turn in my papers for my neighborhood soon, but I got the job in the neighborhood that I actually know a couple of people in. I am sooo excited!!!!

legally licensed 2

so now I can say that I am legally licensed to save your life.

 

quite literally.

 

 

for the past four days, I have been taking this American Red Cross class to become a legally licensed lifeguard. tough work. and its pretty exhausting too. three and a half hours Thursday, four hours Friday, six and a half hours Saturday and then four hours Sunday. total that’s 18 hours. the course was supposed to be 31, but we only had 5 people in our class, so everything went by soo much quicker. thank goodness. but it was still brutal. :-\

needless to say i did little at my house besides sleep the past couple of days, but I learned how to do cpr, use an aed, and remove people from the water safely. regardless of whether or not they have a spinal injury or not. it was quite an interesting experience and I am thankful that I wont have to go through that for a little while, three years to be exact.

my class was soo much fun. we had a senior (she was just recertifying), a friend from church, a freshman (who didn’t want t0 the course in the first place), and then ONE boy. the freshman was the source of entertainment definitely. the boy was actually really cute and he is going to make a VERY good lifeguard. hahahaha *blush*

lifeguarding

so this summer im going to be a lifeguard. at least that’s the hopes.

first I had to pass a pretest. a simple 300, and then a timed simulation. sprint to the end of the pool, surface dive and retrieve a 3-lb weight. then swim on your back with both hands on the weight. as fast as possible. and for someone who hasn’t swam in about 6 months, that’s about 3-4 minutes. the 300 took like a half hour because it was a 150 freestyle and a 150 breast (my slowest stroke).

the next step is to go to a class this weekend (a total of 31 HOURS) and learn about how to save peoples lives. seeing how ive got my cpr certification most of the “saving” part should be a relative review. that’s the hopes anyways. me and a friend are doing it together so we can be alone together, so its going to be a blast. I really enjoy talking and doing things with her.