So Close I Can Taste It

Only .5 weeks, 2.5 days, 16 hours and 960 minutes left of school. Not that I'm looking forward to it or anything.

Today I Will Be Grateful

I'm taking a break from catch-up week (weeks) to share some of the things I'm grateful for today...

1. A new phone (finally) that doesn't echo everything I say and has fun new gadgets.
2. A fun visit with the C's this weekend-Con (grandpa), Christine (mom), Chelsey, Chris, and Cambria.
3. The fact that there are only 4 days left of school until summer break.
4. A good face and hair day...everything just looks right today.
5. Speaking of my good face day-a new face wash regimen that seems to be working and clearing my skin.
6. A new dress found for only $6 at Target which my momma bought for me.
7. $1 flip flops found at Old Navy.
8. My plans for tonight which include a nap and then watching the season finale of Lost that I recorded from last night.

It's all good.

via

Cruisin' to Cabo

Well, I was planning on all week being catch up week. But then I didn't blog on Monday just because. And then I didn't blog yesterday because I was busy at the dentist and eye doctor.

(No cavities but I need glasses. They will be coming next week and I'll take pics to show you the new me...at least until I can get used to seeing the way that apparently I should be seeing and then I'll move on to contacts)

But now I'm back for my Friday post. Which involves me finally posting some pictures of my amazing cruise. Enjoy.

Catch up #3

Remember how I took a week off of work to go on a cruise to Cabo with a bunch of my friends? I had a blast and here are the pictures to prove it...





Don't worry...I only have pictures of these three lovely people because they were stolen from my roommate Angie's camera. There were other people. And a cute seal that swam next to our boat. Those pictures belong to someone else so you will just have to imagine them.

Who doesn't appreciate a good award?

Work news is really only interesting to those involved. Or at least that is how I feel. Actually, sometimes even when I'm involved, work news isn't interesting to me.

It's just not fun to sit there and listen while someone else tells you about what they did during the day and what is happening at work. Unless maybe they work for the CIA or are a race car driver or something like that.

So even though it might only be interesting/exciting to me...I'm going to share my exciting work news with you.

Catch up #2
When I was hired to be a counselor, it was understood that I would be paid through a grant provided by the safe and drug free schools. And part of the understanding is that I agreed to do certain things during my time at Mexican Hat. One of those things was to apply for RAMP...which stands for Recognized ASCA Model Program. And for those of you that are really interested, ASCA stands for American School Counselor Association.

Basically when you receive the RAMP award, it is saying that you are running a counseling program that meets all of the federal guidelines. It requires an incredibly time consuming report and it is difficult to receive. I won't bore you with all of the details since I've probably already bored you with the ones I've shared thus far.

The point is-guess who received the RAMP award?

That's right people...yours truly.

And guess who will be going to Boston on the 4th of July to receive my award (on the grants dime...not on mine)?

Right again.

It's good positive reinforcement. Sometimes you wonder if you are really doing anything good or right-and now I'll have a little plaque that says one time I was on the right track!

A promise unfulfilled and a story about an interview

This week is officially catch up week. Except that I already missed Monday of my catch up week. Boo. Anyway, as I mentioned last time I wrote, sometimes I make promises. And then fail to keep them. And reading back through old posts...I realized that I have brought my shortcomings in this area into my blogging life as well.

So in order to turn over a new leaf, I have decided to fulfill those as yet unfulfilled promises.

Catch up #1

I may have mentioned a few weeks ago (okay fine, a few months ago) that I went on a job interview. Or that I was going on a job interview. But since that was a few months ago, I have now been on said job interview. It was for a school district up north that had some openings. The interview went fairly well although it could have gone better. I felt as though they were moderately impressed and that if I expressed some interest, I might be able to get a job. Only the problem was that I wasn't feeling the job.

It might seem crazy to a lot of people that I'm working out in the middle of nowhere and that I've decided to stay another year. Heck, most of the time it sounds pretty crazy to me as well.

But my decision to come out here was the first decision in my life that I was 100% sure was the right decision.

I just knew.

And the first time I pulled in here? I felt like I was coming home.



Sure there are still times I hate being here. There are times when I would rather be any where else in the world. Most of the time I wished that I lived closer to my family and my friends that live too far away.

But lots of times I love being here. I love the slow peaceful lifestyle. The fact that there isn't any traffic and there are no stoplights to slow me down. The new friends that I've made who have started to become my "family".

It's home for right now.



I was grateful that I went to that interview, even if it was just because it helped me to remember all the good things about being down here. So I'll stay.

I make promises a lot. Promises that I fully intend to keep but somehow end up overlooking eventually. Next week the whole week will be dedicated to fulfilling all of the blog promises that I make and never follow through on. Be prepared.

Another thing I never follow through on? My goals. Remember about a year and a half ago when I made a list of 101 things I was going to do? Okay so you probably don't remember since that was a YEAR AND A HALF AGO. (if somehow you are actually interested in that list, read it here) Guess how many goals on the list I have actually completed? 23.

You might be thinking that that isn't so bad (I thought that for a second too). Until I realized that I would only have like a year and 2 months to finish and I'd already done all of the easy things. There is no way I'm actually going to finish.

So you know what I do when I realize that I am going to fail at completing something? I revise my original list.

In honor of my recently passed 28th birthday (can you believe that I'm 28?? Pretty sure I can't!), here are 28 things that I really am going to do in the next year...I'm keeping it easy to make sure that I will succeed).

1. Read 1 new book every month.
2. Go to the temple at least once a month.
3. Call a different friend every week to chat.
4. Do something I'm scared of.
5. Hold hands with a boy I actually like.
6. Drink more water.
7. Go on a road trip to somewhere I've never been.
8. Read the entire Book of Mormon.
9. Buy a plant.
10. Visit a psychic.
11. Take a train instead of a plane.
12. Spend time with all of my nieces and nephews.
13. Watch every movie that I own.
14. Organize/clean out my entire room.
15. Figure out a miracle way to get rid of acne.
16. Write an actual letter to someone.
17. Learn to cook dinners.
18. Make my own pickles.
19. Visit Roswell, NM.
20. Learn to play the guitar.
21. Do something that I've never done before.
22. Learn to play at least one song on the piano.
23. Create a 72 hour kit.
24. Do better about keeping in touch with my extended family.
25. Pay off a credit card.
26. Shoot a gun (at a target that is).
27. Pay my tithing faithfully every month.
28. Love myself.