It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

......and it's only September 30th.
WHERE DID FALL GO!?
Is it truely Winter already?! If so, this is really going to be a long Winter!

Alex and Karin told me last night that it was expected to snow today. I laughed, and said they were pulling my leg, that the weather man claimed it would be in the low 50s. I could live with that.

Wrong. About an hour after arriving to work, through a downpour and freeway lanes shut down due to all kinds of wrecks, the snow decides to fall! I sat there for a minute, not believing my eyes. Snow? Really? Yep. Sure was. It didn't stick, just fell to the ground and melted. Thankfully. The Mountain tops are beautifully covered with fresh powder. They should stay that way, and the snow should stay up there, and not come down here ever again.

I do enjoy these lazy dark and cold afternoons. Makes me want to bundle up and play some games and sip some hot coco.

Mmmmmm I smell Christmas quickly approaching!

Random thoughts

I've realized a few things today, well I probably have always known them, but finally admitted to them tonight.

- I have become the Laundry Queen, after enjoying making great fun of my Dad for being a laundry maniac over the years. (Doing laundry daily) Ok, I'm not THAT bad, but I do my laundry every other day...Thanks Dad for instilling this in me!

- I need nights to just come home and get things done around the house. I actually enjoy being alone, so not like me.

- I am a clean freak, kind of. I clean my room at least twice a week, but it's usually not even that bad. I mop the floors, dust here and there, and clean whatever needs to be cleaned. Shocking, I know.

- I'm becoming very good at not spending money. Some days I don't even use my debit card. It's awesome.

- I'm enjoying getting my homework done, for once. There's a great sense of accomplishment felt when I click the "finish" button every Sunday night on my 35 point test. Especially when I can "review my score" and see I got a 30/35...I'm not complaining.

- I LOATHE text messaging, at the moment. My phone can be found in the off position or stashed away in my purse, or on the charger next to my bed. I am not a texter anymore, and get quite annoyed when my phone goes off. When I'm home; it's me time.

- I dearly missed playing volleyball all these years. I'm excited to be playing again. Except, for some stupid reason I decided to leave my knee pads behind in California...guess I was over it.

- If I wake up early on Saturdays and out of bed, I get a lot done. If I stay in bed all morning, I get nothing done. Who would have thought? No, but really I should start getting out of bed early on Saturdays more often so I can be productive with my free time! (like this past Saturday I had played volleyball, washed my car, and gone through my clothes to sell, all before 10:30am!!)

- I probably won't last in Utah this winter. We are starting to get cold weather and this is the "winter" I'm used to. Well, Utah winter is NOTHING compared to California. So yes, I am already freezing my booty off, and it's not even October. Any winter clothes sent my way would be greatly appreciated!!!

- I miss my friends from back from, a lot. I'm so glad this past week I got to reconnect with a lot of them, but it made being away from them ten times harder.

- I LOVE Halloween/ this time of the year. The smells, how it gets dark earlier, the lights, and the festivities are all so much fun! I'm really looking forward to the next few months, despite the snow and cold! What to be for Halloween? Any CHEAP and COOL ideas are, too, greatly appreciated!!

- Men are grown short and cute out in Utah. Where are all the TALL and cute and single boys!?

- I adore my Nanny Fam. They are super cute, super fun, and super nice to work for! Infact, I really can't even consider it work because I get to play all day with their adorable children! I am so lucky! I spent this afternoon with them at the Utes Women's Soccer Game and then a very nice dinner at the Red Iguana. Thank You, Lockovitch Family, for including me!!

- I am going to decorate my bathroom in Palm tree atire. It matches the green walls, and I got a really cute Palm tree bath curtain for cheap *ON SALE*. So there you go, now you all know my theme for my bathroom, like you wanted to know, right?!

- I love getting mail. Send away, pleaseeee!

- I just created a pathetic list of randomness. If you made it this far, props to you and I'm sorry for wasting a few minutes of your life that you'll never get back.
;)

Home in 60 days!

It's officially been a month since my last visit home.
I think it get easier every day being so far from home and I'm not complaining.
It's been a great adventure.
I've met so many wonderful people, done things that I've never done before, and learned more about myself.
I feel more successful now that I'm on my own and I have definitely grown for the better.
62 days until Thanksgiving, 60 days till Home.
Can't Wait.
<3>

Winter is quickly approaching...

It's been COLD here. By Cold I mean WARM to all Utah folks.
This feels like winter to me, too bad it hasn't even hit yet!

On my way to work this morning it was 48 Degrees!
Your typical chilly winter morning in the bay area.
Nope, not here!
Everyone laughs at me when I say I'm cold!
"You ain't seen nothing yet"!
Snap....
I've got to learn to embrace the cold...and wear warm clothes!
Guess It's time to start changing my wardrobe to a winter one!

This is going to be one LONGGGGGG winter!

Disfunctional weekend

Ever have those days where you just hear all sorts of news that's a bit overwhelming?
Or run into situations that you're not sure how to handle?
Or have moments where you feel guilty?
Or simply want to check out for a few days to escape the madness?

This weekend was pretty much one of those weekends.

Friday I went to the Fair with Melissa. It was so much fun to hang out with a friend from back home. We had an enjoyable girls night, which included watching a hypnotis. If you have never seen one, I highly recommend you put it on your "bucket list". ;)

I stayed in bed pretty much all day Saturday, until it was time to go to the Brad Paisley concert. (Which, by the way, was amazing and made me smile).
Anyways, I felt so guilty for not getting out of bed and doing something with my day and free time. But I just couldn't drag myself to want to go out and do something. I felt like it was such a wasted day, yet I was so relaxed.


I get to the concert and run into an awkward situation, which I won't discuss here. But it made things for the rest of the night just awkward and not so enjoyable. What made the night even more worse, though, was I got a call from a dear friend back home saying that my Grandmother was back in the hospital. Greattttt....just the way I wanted to find out, in a stinking voice message, without any details. So, of course, throughout the whole concert I am worried sick about my Grandmother and feeling really guilty I never returned her call last week. BUT, on a positive note I wrote her a letter and sent it out Tuesday, with pictures included. So, I didn't feel like such a failure on that end. I do regret not calling her back, she's the one who is sick and calling ME. It's just made me realize I shouldn't take the people in my life for granted, and I shouldn't put things off. Ugh. What a sour note to end the night. OH! AND my sunglesses were stepped on at the concert by yours truly. Ugh. AND...a storm came passing through and dumped on us at the concert. Silly bipolar Utah Weather!

In times like these I kind of just wish I was at home, where there is a sense of security.

I had my "escape" moment today when I went with my Nanny Fam to Octoberfest up in Snowbird Canyon. It was so beautiful! It was a fun afternoon. I'm so greatful for them opening up their lives(and Family) to me and making me feel included. Just being surrounded by them makes me a feel a bit more at home. Thanks Karin and Alex! ;)


To finish the weekend off, I took a test for my online course. Sike! I FAILED the test because my computer decided to shut off in the middle of the test. Yea, what a bummer. And it continues to shut off randomly...the joys of technology!

I was so frustrated I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Really. It's been one of those weekends that everything just doesn't seem to be going right. Hopefully tomorrow marks a new beginning to a really fun week...but at this rate, who knows!

The Happenings...

I made Peach Pie!
And It turned out ok.
Actually, I made TWO, and one turned out better than the other. Go figure.

I'm starting to really enjoying cooking and baking.
If Only I had taken up an interest when I was around my Mom's awesome cooking to learn from her.
Oh well. I'm all on my own!

Fall is starting to roll in. It's really pretty! We've had two impressive afternoons of thunderstorms this week. The rain reminded me how much I love cold dark afternoons spent inside! I guess I'll have many of those, now that I'm living in SNOW territory!
This weekend the house I'm living in decided to stop working. The Washing Machine started acting up. The Toilet over flowed, twice. And, the AC was still giving us trouble.
It was annoying, frustrating, and just plain inconvenient.

I called up and gave everyone heck on Monday morning. Within two hours we have a plumber and a heating/AC guy at our house.
Turns out we needed a new Water Heater, as well as some other nifty things.
Our toilet parts had to be replaced, as it was never installed properly.
Hopefully the heat won't ever go out in the winter...then I'll be really grumpy!

Summer Time Is Over...where did it go!?

It's been TOO long since I've posted, sorry!
I've officially been in Utah two months! WHAT!
Time is flying by. I look by now and it feels like just yesterday I was loading up my car and heading east! Crazy!
It's definitely been a journey in and of itself. There have been moments of pure contentment, homesickness, frustration, anxiety, and happiness! Some days are better than others!

It's funny to think out of 60 days, I was home with my family for four. I never would have though I'd make it this long being so far from them! I'm really thankful I'm not homesick much anymore!
Since I've last posted many exciting things have happened! My dear friends Kaitie and Chelsea came for a visit (at different times), I went home and suprised my Dad for his birthday! I turned 20! I started school! Went four wheeling for the first time! Got sick and ended up in the good ol' ER. I wish I could remember all the fun things I've done-I really should post more often!

While four-wheeling this past weekend, I realized just how much I LOVE being outside and soaking up the beauty of Utah!

It was so awesome to be on top of the mountain, literally, and see pretty much the whole valley on either side! Thanks Derek and Russ for showing Chelsea and I a great time!

I'm taking online classes which currently continue to kick my trash. It's hard doing everything electronically, I'm not a fan but I gotta do what I gotta do!

I'm really not looking forward to the snow season. I hear it comes around Halloween? If that's the case I really better start preparing, as time is flying by! How is it already almost mid September?!
We are getting new roommates in our 5 bedroom house. Two are leaving come October 1st because they're getting married! I think we've found some really fun girls to fill the spots, thank goodness! We are all talking about having to move out if we couldn't find people by Friday! That was some stressful news! But, alas, I'll be living in this house until at least August, when our lease is up!
I LOVE the family I work for. I shouldn't even call it work- it's more like play time for me! Hah!
Eliza, the 3 year old, calls me Emiyi- simply adorable. She is the sweetest, most caring little girl. She knows how to cheer me up when I'm missing home! Little Yukas, as Eliza says, is smiley and a joy to watch! He's growing so quickly, it kind of makes me sad! The Parents, Alex and Karin, have been overly sweet and welcoming. I pretty much feel like part of their family, which is why going to work at 7am is so enjoyable!
I'm finding myself having more "me" time than ever. Some nights after work I just want to come home and chill. It's been great, having some quiet time to think and reflect. I really should seek more "me" time more often!
I pretty much know my way around Utah, not just to and from Walmart. I still don't understand the grid system, but I may never so that's ok. I know how to give directions to my house from the North AND the South. Awesome.

I LOVE the Salt Lake City Farmer's Market that they have Saturday mornings. I got some really yummy peaches, now if I only knew how to make peach pie! Mom!? Recipe, please! Too bad they stop having them at the end of September. Stupid Winter.

I've gone to Park City twice since I've lived here. I sure do know how to Shop! They have awesome outlets up there, where SALES are always happening. Also in PC they have a cute little street with lots of yummy restaraunts and gift shops. It's really pretty up there! If you ever make it to Utah, you have to Check out the Alpine Slides in Park City! Tons of fun and a rush of excitment all in one!


I wish this post was more exciting, but I'm a bit boring these days. I'll post after my next big adventure!