Bringin in the New Year with class

Well, I can't say I've always had the best New Year's Eves. The topper was the millennium New Year's ('99-2000) when my cousin paid me $75 big ones to watch his two girls instead of going to the bash of the century with my entire 9th grade world. The night ended with one girl having pink eye, the other having a fever, and me running around the front yard at midnight banging a pot and a lid by myself while the wee ones stood on the porch looking at me groggily and confused with a pot in each hand. Not my finest hour.

This year, however, turned that frown right upside down. There were no fancy parties, dress-up clothes, or Martinelli's.

But there was a fort.

And there were hobbits.

Not only did Robbie and I build our own shelter in my family room, we stocked it with pillows and blankets galore, a never-ending supply of orange juice, and snuggled up for a full-blown Lord of the Rings Marathon!! Can you imagine a better way to spend New Year's? I dare you to try.

Building the fort. Tricksy business but well worth it in the end.

If you think the outside looks awesome, just you wait.

There it is! Sooooooooooooooo excited!

Can you see the anticipation in his eyes?

We didn't make it through all three. In fact, we really only made it through about one and a half, but we gave it a noble effort.

And to top it all off, this guy gave me the best present ever:

My very first New Year's kiss.

An Experiment in Domesticity

"Walk feminine, talk feminine, da-da-da-da-da-da-DA feminine..." or so Disney says. One of those unfortunate but required feminine qualities is that of cooking. I, as many know, have no moves in the kitchen. My diet consists of frozen burritos, Pizza pockets, Mac & Cheese, and anything that can be eaten straight out of the fridge. However, as part of a self-improvement phase I've been trying out recently, I decided to tempt fate and voluntarily hosted a dinner party/girls' night at my new digs (aka parents' basement) in Murray last night with some old roommates. And this was the result:




I didn't poison anyone! In fact, it actually tasted halfway decent! This is a very big moment in my "growing up" process. It turns out, I CAN follow a recipe and not make a disaster of everything.

Win.

simple bliss

After work today, Robbie came up to Murray and I took him to O Falafel to give him a little taste of Jerusalem because I still miss it so much sometimes it hurts. He loved it (or so he tells me). Win.

We then headed over to Sugarhouse park and laid in the grass during the golden hour listening to a gospel choir perform, talking, laughing, lovin, and havin our "souls marinate in spirituality." Heaven. Mondays in the Park are my new favorite thing.

We finished out the night with Arctic Circle shakes and the Adjustment Bureau. Before watching I warned him he better not fall asleep because we have been waiting a long time to see this movie! Well shortly after my warning that an unspeakable evil will be unleashed if he were to doze, I fell asleep, of course. Story of my life. And he didn't even rub it in my face. What a gem. What a day.

So simple, but SO good. I love my life.

Yessssssssssssssss

Just got paid.

Jobs are awesome.

Leaving Neverland

Well peeps, it's real.

I am officially a down-town-walkin', lunch-break-takin', computer-systems-learnin', water-cooler-chattin', cubicle-sittin', health-benefits-gettin', commutin', post-graduate workin' woman! (If you followed that, WOW, I am impressed)

I am very happy to have some direction in my life and am SOOOOO grateful to have a job. But for the sake of being honest, I will tell you I have some mixed emotions about this whole "working" business. I mean, giving up the days of gettin' my swim on at the pool whenever I want was a big blow. Bigger than I was prepared for. For some self-expression, I'm gonna take you through the annals of my mind and tell you why I'm SO excited to have this job as well as tell you what I miss about the pre-job simple life.

Why my job is awesome:

• I am still working with kids the age I love, in the field of education, without having to prepare lessons for HOURS every night. (I really do want to teach later on, but that whole lesson-planning thing flat-out bites).
  


• I'm doing something worthwhile. The kids I get to work with are all in need of some intervention. They have all dropped out of high school for various reasons and the program I work for gives them the chance to get their diploma and get their lives back on track. I have already been SO inspired by some of their stories.
  


• The people in my office are awesome. awesome and quirky. Just the way I like 'em.
  


• We had an office birthday party today in the breakroom. with cake. by the water cooler. I felt like I was watching it happen on TV.
  


• I work down-town and it makes me feel real classy. I can take my sack lunch and go eat in Gallivan center plaza, walking amongst the business men in their collared shirts and ties, and I think to myself..."Whoa...I am one of you."
  


• I have two, count them TWO, screens for my computer. Sometimes I just sit for a second and watch the mouse move back and forth between the two screens because it blows my mind.
  


• I get a salary. Weird. I can FINALLY start paying back those student loans and maaaaaybe even eventuallyyyyyy get a new car. WHAT?! No! Never! Gladice I would never!
  


• Later on, I am told I will have a lot of flexibility with the job. I will probably even be able to work from home two days a week. Yessss
  


• Everyone that works for this awesome company is there because they genuinely want the kids to succeed. That is their top priority. It's really refreshing to see humanity at work.
  

Things I miss about the simple life:

• As previously stated, going to the pool whenever I want.
  


• My morning routine of sleeping in, reading, working out, and thinking, "So...what do I want to do with myself today?!"
  


• The choice to go on a morning hike (although this summer I never, not once, took advantage of this blessing despite my many failed attempts). But still, having the choice was nice.
  


• Not having a bed time. When you have the morning routine stated above, why do you need to be well-rested? I'll tell you. You don't. It's awesome.
  


• Not only do I work 8 hours each day, but I drive anywhere from 2-3 because I am currently living in Provo, working in downtown Salt Lake. The commute sometimes is only an hour but SOMETIMES it's not, which makes me want to roll all my windows up so no one can hear me and scream at the top of my lungs. But I don't do that, because it's too hot to roll the windows up and Gladice doesn't have air conditioning.
  


• I can't just go on vacation whenever I want anymore. I have a specified number of "Personal Time Off" days (foreign concept) and have to request them well in advance. Sadly, when you first start a job, you have even less freedom, which means that of all the following activities happening within the next two months (a friend's wedding, my graduation, Havasupai with friends, camping trip also with friends, Lake Powell with the fam, California with my girls, Lagoon with my big family, Seven Peaks with my sisters, and so on and so on) I can't do them all. In fact, I can't do most of them. Whaaaaaaaaa.....?

Looking at this list now that I've compiled it, I realize that I sound more like a child than a 26-year old. But alas, I am young at heart and will always pine for the freedom I once had. Is that selfish?

BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT with that said, I have to say the pro's outweigh the con's. As much as I hate to admit it, it's time to be an adult. And it actually feels kind of good. Being productive, earning a living, it really feels...refreshing. All this time, my dad was right. Who woulda thought?

So now that you have seen into the deep caverns of my mind, I will tell you how grateful I am to have this job. I will love what I will be doing each day. There are some sacrifices but when you put it into perspective, what meaningful, enriched life was spent by the side of a pool?

So American.

The other day my mom and I were out shopping when my dad called saying he wanted us to stop for some Taco Bell tacos on the way home. We went through the drive-thru and my mom saw this deal: 12 tacos for only $10. Mind you, I wasn't hungry, nor was she. But still, this deal screamed out to her. Our dialogue went something like this:

"Look babe, maybe we should get this deal. 12 tacos for only 10 bucks."

"Mom, I don't think Dad needs 12 tacos."

"Well, yeah but he'll probably want like three, plus maybe one for me and one for you."

"We're not really hungry."

"Yeah, but we might want just one. So if we get those five it's gonna be around 5 bucks anyway. We might as well get the deal."

I paused for a second, thought through that, and replied,
"Yep. Let's pay twice as much to get WAY more than we need. We are so American."

Love is...

...when you find someone that makes you feel like driving around lost for three hours due to making 16 wrong turns was the time of your life.