Summer Uncertainties

This summer is already driving me crazy.  I have a few options in place, and I need to decide what would be best for me.  Of course I am praying for what Heavenly Father has planned for me, but I feel that I do need to put forth my own effort, and he can't tell me exactly what to do if I don't do my own research . . . does that make sense?

Home and Work Options

1.  Work for Honda World - live in Heber with parents.  Positives:  This job is way fun - I love the people there!  I have family and great friends working there, I know the system well, and I get paid pretty well.  Living at home I wouldn't have to pay for rent or food.  I'd be closer to a few old friends.  I'd have a few days off to enjoy summer!  Negatives:  It's a Saturday-only job.  I wouldn't be making much money in comparison to working somewhere else full time.  Some days are very slow and the work can be repetitive and mundane.  I don't get to walk around the building much - I'm pretty much trapped behind my desk while everyone else gets to go where they please.  I'm not a big fan of Heber/Midway Singles Wards.

2.  Work and live at Aspen Grove.  Positives:  I've heard great feedback from two great friends who have worked and loved it there.  Most positions spend most of their time outdoors.  It pays pretty well, plus free room and board with the other college-aged students who work there.  You work with new people almost every week!  I'd stay in the same ward boundaries that I'm in now - which I love.  Negatives:  Only one day off each week.  What if I run into drama with another worker? -  There's no escape!  (I had to search to find these negatives, I don't know much about working there at all.)

3.  Work somewhere in Provo/Orem area, Live at Raintree.  Positives:  Same ward - which I love!  Have a job lined up if I need to continue to work through school.  Remaining independent as far as living goes!  Negatives:  Finding a job in this economy is so difficult.  Pay for groceries and rent (even though it's a reduced price, it's still rent!) - expensive!

4.  College Program in Disneyland (Anaheim, CA).  This might not be a real option, I don't know when their next program begins - it may not start until August!  Honestly I really want to go back to work at Disneyland again someday, but I really want to do the program again next January - the same time frame as the last one.  But for now - Positives:  I love Disneyland - I could live there AGAIN everyday this summer!  I know the basic ins and outs of working there.  Great pay!  Great atmosphere, weather, etc.  There are so many good qualities about this choice, I can't list them all.  Negatives:  I'd miss another semester at school (Fall).  I'd be there during the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc).  It's far from family and friends.  I'd be working on Sundays (though I'd be working around my Church schedule). 

So I've got a few options; now it's just down to weighing out the positives vs. negatives and learning through prayer.  When did life get so difficult?  Why did I have to grow up and become responsible?  Where was Peter Pan when I was 9 and carefree?  Why couldn't I have been whisked off to Neverland to stop growing up?  I do love my life, and I do love becoming an adult, I just don't love making these choices.

Spring Cleaning: Inside and Out

Alright folks, it's time again that I try a new approach (or rather, one that I've tried and failed at) to losing weight.  Yes.  It's time for me to become more healthy!  Because I know you probably don't want posts about this all the time I'm going to set up a separate blog.  (Name to come soon) And I'll just post a link to it... in case for some reason you DO want to follow!  (And if you want to join in, we can give feedback to one another on what works and what does not.)

But what I've said only applies to spring cleaning of inside.  I really want to do some spring cleaning in the apartment as well.  Today my plans are to clean out the hall closet.  There is a ton of junk in there, and I have no idea if it belongs to ANYONE, so we're going to organize and de-junk that today.  Next up will be the kitchen pantry.  I know that there is stuff in there that doesn't belong to anyone, it's just a matter of finding out what it is and finally getting rid of it.

I am so excited for spring!  I can't even wait!  (Groundhog day is in 3 days!)

Exhausted

Today has been one heck of a long day... and it's not over yet.  I was going to be so productive, but I didn't get anything done.  I went to class and after it was done I thought to myself "oh good, I don't have work today, I'll get my homework done for the week.  Nope.  I didn't do a darn thing.

There's still time, and I still could get it done.  Maybe I'll go buy some milk and possibly visit cupcake cafe to get a hot chocolate or something to warm me up and get me in a better mood to do something productive.  We'll see.

By the way:  4 weeks 6 days until I'm on the road to California!  WARMTH!

Long, but Splendid Day

This morning when I woke up, I didn't realize how late I would be staying awake, how much traveling I would do, or how much fun I would have.  I didn't plan on arguing with my cousin about my working at Jamba Juice, I didn't think I'd be yelling during a dice game, I didn't expect to eat ice cream twice with different groups of people in an hour, and I didn't realize how much I would learn and be inspired while writing my Relief Society lesson.

I woke up this morning and went through my normal daily routine of getting ready to conquer the world (shower, brushing teeth, putting on make up... you know, things you really should get done before you take over the world on any given day).  As I finished up I thought, hey.  I need to talk to my cousin, Crystal, I should just drive to South Jordan to actually talk to her and not just text her or chat on Facebook.  And I am so glad that I did drive down.  I love my cousin, and I love getting to spend any time with her, even if we are both working. =)  We talk about this and that, old and new, boys and toys.  Then Steve came to interrupt.  He called me out for being too busy to hang out with his brother-in-law who he is trying to set me up on a date with.  He wants me to skip classes and work on Monday to go meet this guy who "could be [my] soulmate."  I told him I'm not the type of person to flake on my previous commitments, including school and work.  He didn't want to take no for an answer... but I promised him that I would get out to St. George to meet this guy.  I promised him I wasn't trying to get out of this blind date, it was just bad timing.  He accepted my valid excuse, and I will meet him another day.

After spending some more time with Crystal I had to go back to Provo to get ready for some other stuff.  I cleaned my car so it wouldn't be a complete disaster area for my date.  I trimmed my nails and attempted to get all cute.  Then came time for the date.  I was expecting it to be fun since the guy I asked to go with my to the Bishop's Date Night was a guy I knew pretty well and who I get along with in FHE.  And it didn't disappoint.  Usually I am not very social and wasn't sure if we would even have much to talk about, but obviously Robert isn't a shy guy and we got along really well.  He's not going to be a romantic interest, but we will still be great friends - which in reality is all I really want from him.  At the date night we enjoyed Hawaiian haystacks, ice cream, and a game of Farkle - an interesting game of dice.  If you don't know it, look it up!  We sat around and chatted... overall, a great group date.
After that I pretty much skipped any akward doorstep scene there may have been... I told Robert that I really needed to get to work on my Relief Society lesson and sort of dashed into the apartment.  (Looking back, it may have been a little rude of me.  Oops!  That will teach me to stop putting of my lessons until the last minute!)  So I grab my copy of the General Conference issue of the Ensign and start reading the topic of my lesson... when roommate Arielle and her friend Amanda invite me to get ice cream.  I can never say no to ice cream. =)  So I put the lesson off a little longer.

When I finally did get around to writing the lesson, I learned a lot from it.  It's about making choices, and you might think that it's a simple topic (which it is) and is easy to read (which it was) but I still feel like it just touched my heart.  I thought about maybe skipping school and work to go meet this guy my cousin keeps talking about.  I realized, that's really not the right choice to make.  I do need to meet him, but I can't drop my life because meeting him right now would be convenient.  In fact, I feel like I should make more of an effort to meet him.  Go when I have scheduled separate time for it.  Like in the next couple of weeks I will get a break where I can get out there.  Don't sacrifice one good thing that is certain (school) to attempt to find another good thing that may not even come through (a boy.  He's probably nice, and we might get along great, but it's still not a sure thing.)

Overall, it was just a splendid day.  Time to finally wrap it up at 1:18 am.

What's in store for 2011?

As the year is just beginning, reading for classes is being pushed aside, New Years Resolutions are being broken, and exercise is not happening much.  But you want to know something?  I don't care!  Life is made to live as carefree as we choose. (Okay, maybe that's not necessarily true, there are some rules and guidelines we need to follow, but I feel like the choices I'm making are still good.)

I've decided that yearly goals, no matter how simple they are, are unrealistic.  I've decided to switch to keeping just daily goals.  I just need to keep moving forward one day at a time.  Such as today.  Today my goal is to get some class reading out of the way and to save some PowerPoint slides from a class to a thumb drive.  That is all.  Maybe that doesn't sound to you like I'm really accomplishing much, but I've just got to start small.  Eventually my goals will be more like "exercise for an hour" or "finish my 12-page paper" or whatever needs to be done.

I do have a couple of things I really want to accomplish this year though.  One is to become a healthier person.  Not thinner, not more muscular, not more active.  Just healthier.  I am attempting to make small steps to that goal as well.  I'm trying to get more vegetable incorporated into my meals.  I'm trying to eat more variety.  And I'm parking farther away from store buildings and stuff so I have to walk just a little farther each day.  There's a lot to do, but step by step, it can be done!

Alright, now the big thing I want to change this year... you can probably guess what it is already.  I need to be more social.  (Okay, maybe not exactly what you were guessing.)  I'm not going to say "I want a boy" this year... I just want to become more social - talk to more people (guys and girls), and get OUT of my apartment more.  I need friends.  And I just want to let guys know that I am available and interested.  I'm not saying I need a boyfriend, but I do want to get out on dates.

Speaking of which... :)  This Saturday I have to go to a Bishop's Date Night thing.  (You may have already read about that).  Anyway, I'm going with this guy named Robert who is in my FHE group.  He's a pretty nice guy and always makes dumb puns about my name . . . which are usually funnier than what I typically hear.  Usually it's stuff like "Hey Charity, where are Faith and Hope? haha"  or "Charity never faileth!"  But his are pretty funny. 

I've got another couple of dates lined up as well.  My cousin is trying to set me up on a blind date, but apparently everyone (including my sister) already knew about it before I was told.  Ha.  Who knows how that will work out... hopefully it will be fun!  I don't really know anything about the guy, except for the fact that he is an RM, and that he's my cousin's brother-in-law.  And, that's about it.

Then there's the Girls' Choice Dinner for the ward.  And they're trying to get all the guys to it, so pretty much all of the girls have to ask a guy.  So I have to go through that whole Date Night deciding again.  Who to take to this one?  Probably another guy from my old FHE group...

And one more guy to mention today:  a guy I worked with at Disneyland.  We'll call him Tim.  When I was out there I had a bit of a crush on him.  He's not at all the typical guy I go for, but he always made me laugh and was pretty nice to me.  But he had his flaws - pretty major flaws that I won't discuss right now, it's not my place.  Anyway, when I was out there he would invite me to parties and other hang outs, but I never went.  I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty scared of the California scene.  When I lived out there I lived in my own Disney bubble.  Disney is still all I know out there.  Anyway, when I got back to Utah he and I had been texting when we each found out the crush was mutual.  He had liked me too!  So I had been kicking myself for not saying anything back then, but I realized it wouldn't have been a good thing for us.  For either of us.  But now we've been talking, and he wants to go on a "casual date" whenever I get the chance to make it out to Disneyland for vacation.  Is that a bad thing?  I think it would be so fun!  And it would give us both a chance to see how compatible we really are out of work.  We'll see how that goes.

So other than guys, this should be a great year for me.  I have other plans that I want to come through.  I want to work this summer all day everyday!  (With my favorite cousin and wolverette, Crystal!)  I really want to just work and save all my money so I don't have to get a job while I'm in school.  I'll be able to focus on studies and a social life.  That sounds great to me!
I also want to go back out to Disneyland for the College Program again.  (This has nothing to do with Tim, I just LOVE Disney!)  I think it would be so good for me.  I want to get involved in other aspects of the Disney team.  I want to work in other areas - attractions, photopass, or something else that is more Disney-oriented than foods.  And the next time I head out there I want to get more involved.  I want to experience everything that there is to offer.  I want to visit other parks (Six Flags, SeaWorld, etc).  I want to do some more backstage exploring.  I want to get to know the "friends" of the characters and see what people love about being part of the entertainment area. 

There is so much I want to get done in 2011!  And I have the means of accomplishing it all.  It's all in my own hands, it's just the matter of self-control and self-motivation.  Can I get this to happen??  YES!

The Blah Post

Right now I'm in a weird place.  I don't really know what I want to write at the moment, but I have so many thoughts going on in my mind right now that if I don't say something I could explode at any given moment.  So here it goes...

About an hour ago I was presented with the opportunity to attend Bishop's Date Night.  At first I thought, sure, this could be fun!  After thinking for a whole minute about it I realized what that meant.  I am supposed to ask a guy on a date.  I hate asking guys out.  There isn't much in the world that I like less than being as forward as asking a guy on a date.  I like being the one asked out... After all, I am the girl in the relationship.

Since then I have had to think about who I would invite.  There are a lot of great guys in the ward that I would like to go with, but I don't know who I would be comfortable asking. 
There's this one guy, we'll call him George, who I have had a crush on since I first met him.  I keep telling myself and telling my roommates that I'm over him, but let's face it - I'm not.  I still like him.  That's why I still can't talk to him.  I get shy.  So I know I won't be asking him.
Another guy, let's call Keith, would be a fun date.  He was probably the first friend I had in the ward, which would make it feel awkward to ask.  I don't know why, but it would.
Third, we'll call Sean.  I don't know how great of a date it would be.  I kind of like him, which tends to make things awkward because I can never really communicate with the guys I have feelings for (hence my situation with George).  So Sean is out now too.
I could ask a guy I'll call Bryan.  He's really nice, and I know I can talk to him... But that could be weird for a roommate.  Guess not him.
Next is a guy I'll call Rick.  This guy would be a great date!  He's hilarious.  Always makes me laugh every time I see him, and I think we would get along really well. 
Finally there's the guy we'll call Travis.  He is also really really funny, and I feel like there's no risk of worrying about scaring him off... he's pretty forward himself. 

So I think it will be between Rick and Travis.  Two great friends who make me laugh who there's no awkward feelings getting in the way of.  Now to pick one... or the other... bah.


Alright, now other stuff I need to get out of my head:
I just realized I didn't go to the gym today.  NOOoo!!!! 
I'm dropping Biology from this semester because I've decided I really really don't want my brain to completely fry... so I'll take that at another time.
I don't really have someone I can tell everything to.  I have a few friends I share pieces of my life with... but I wish someone was close enough that I could just tell everything to.

Well... that's enough.  I can't say much more tonight.

Don't know why you say "goodbye", I say "hello"

Goodbye 2010!  It's hard to let you go because you were filled with so many wonderful memories; so many of my favorite things:  A year filled with Disney - backstage magic, parades, Fantasmic!, character visits, studios, etc.  A year filled with family and friends.  A year full of new exploits - the beach, California temples, the aquarium, making new friends, etc.  My new friends.  Some I know I'll forget in seasons to come... some friendships that will last forever. 

So hello to 2011!  What will you bring?  Will you bring joy?  Accomplishment?  Lasting relationships?  Yes.  No questions asked, this is my year.  I will no longer waste hours on Facebook and YouTube.  I will be up and doing.  I will set and accomplish goals.  These will be realistic goals, those within my reach.

Goals:
Be active. - At least 30 minutes spent doing something active 3 days a week.  At least.
Eat right. - Apply those ideas I've learned in Nutrition.  Should be easy to do!
Make friends! - Talk to someone new every week.  I need to stop being so shy.
Do well in classes. - Do homework/study each week.
SAVE MONEY! - Stop random spending, particularly on fast food. 

Okay, it might take a few trial and error periods, but I really want to become accomplished this year.  I CAN do this! :D