In the Christmas Spirit!

The Christmas season is such a good reminder to love without limits, forgive yourself and forgive others, and to be kind to everyone because you could make their day better without even knowing it.

I know I have made alot of mistakes in life, but I learn from every single one. No one is perfect. The one thing I have learned is to forgive myself and forgive others. We all try our best everyday and some days our best may not be your best the next day.

Christmas is the perfect time to move forward and start fresh. I am going to make it a point everyday to make someone smile and to make someones day better. Sharing love is the greatest gift you can give yourself and others. Days go by so fast and its easy to forget to take the time to do the little things.

"The best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear!" Elf.

Running Update

So far the training is going well! I have had a cold for what seems forever, and I have been trying to run when I can! Today I did 3 miles in 30 min, so I am right on my pace. My goal is to stick to as close to a 10 min mile as I can and I did the 3 miles really easily today and that was while I could barely breathe through my nose. This weekend is a 12 mile run, and I am a little intimitated by it. I am going to update my play list this week with really upbeat songs. My playlist is about 5 years old, so I think some fresh new tunes will help my brain forget that I am running 12 miles.

Trip to Utah

In mid-October, I went to Utah! Chris was not able to come because of work, and he was very missed! My cousin Taylor got married October 20th, and I was her Maid of Honor! I got there the morning of the 19th and finished the final touches of the ladies brunch that My Aunt Julie and I threw for her the morning of her wedding day. The brunch was really fun! It was a small group of the ladies in her family. Her mom, aunts from both sides, both grandmas, and girl cousins. I decided to keep it simple since it was on her wedding day and didnt want it to be full of chaos. I made an egg caserole, and served it with fruit and coffee cake. My Aunt Julie gave a really nice toast to Taylor and then we ate. After eating brunch, we gave Taylor a book of loving thoughts that each of us contributed too. Everyone wrote down advice, quotes or scriptures on a blank page, and I compiled it into a book. It turned out really cute and its something that she can have and keep forever. I also had a charm cake made. The charm cake is a cute tradition where charms are either baked into the cake or placed under the cake with ribbon attached and each person at the shower pulls out a charm. Each charm has a different meaning or fortune and you keep the charm and it binds the group together as sort of a "sisterhood" thing. It was crazy how each charm was spot on with the person who pulled it out of the cake!! The wedding was later on that evening. My cousin Emily was also a bridesmaid, the picture is of us two before the wedding! It was so beautiful, and Taylor looked stunning! Bryan is a good guy, and I am really happy for them!


I stayed through the next week to work from the office, and I was able to spend some time with my family. That weekend My dad, brother, and I went on a walk/hike through the mountains by my parents house. It was so much fun and the scenery was beautiful! There is nothing like fall in Utah, with the leaves changing colors and the feeling of the air... Its amazing!! It was nice to just spend that time with my dad and bro. Growing up we were always active in sports so it was nice to be able to go on a hike together. It felt like old times! My mom tore her MCL while her and my dad were on their Ireland "walk about" They walked through the back country in Ireland and would stay at a different bed and breakfast each night. That part sounds amazing, but hurting her knee does not. She ended up having surgery while I was there, so I was able to take care of her which was important to me. I am glad I was able to be there for her. also that weekend, we had a halloween movie marathon and watched Hocus Pocus, and BeetleJuice. Ally was with us for most of the weekend as well. I just love that girl! She and my brother are perfect for each other. She just graduated from massage therapy school, got a job in Park City, and a new apartment up there! My brother will live there with her when he is in Utah. Paul had to leave on that Monday to get back to Vegas where is band is currently recording their debut album. He has met alot of important and awesome people in the music business including Carlos Santana and Eddie Kramer!! I cant wait for their album to be done. Its going to be great!


I spent a total of 8 days in Utah, and it felt so good to be home. Chris picked me up from the airport really late on a Thursday night. I walked into a clean home, and the dining room table was full of my favorite things and treats. Chris is really good to me and always lets me know how much he cares. No matter what, he always takes that time to do the little things. The little things are what matter the most especially after being together for a while. I cant wait until Christmas when we both get to go home to Utah and be together with my family again!

Marathon... Here I come!

I started training to run a marathon. So far its going great! It is something that is on my bucket list, and now is a better time then ever to accomplish it and check it off! The race is March 4th in New Orleans.. I have never been to that city, and I feel that running through it is a perfect way to get to know it. I am doing a beginers training schedule, even though I have done 3 half marathons. It breaks it down to where the goal of 26.2 miles seems approachable and managable. During the week you have a few rest days and shorter runs or cross training. Every Sunday you do a longer run, and this Sunday is an 8 miler.

A dear friend, Steph, gave me a book to read during my training called, "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. She said that it helped her mentally while she was training for her marathon. I am only a chapter in but I can see how this book will keep me going. The book starts off with a quote...

"The best runner leaves no tracks" - Tao Te Ching

Very intriguing and exciting!

My Little Buddy David

I have the cutest little friend. His name is David. I am so glad to have met this awesome kid as he really brightens my day when I get to see him. Chris met David's Dad (also named David) by doing business with him. Dad David got Chris' number from another customer who got business cards printed and designed by Chris. Chris did a few different printings for Dad David and they became chatty and were friendly over the phone and talked about their personal lives and what they did for a living, ect. Chris found out that David's wife was killed in a car accident while he was serving in the military, and had to leave with an honorable discharge to take care of their son David, who has Downs Syndrome. When David opened up to Chris like that, Chris felt that he had found a real friend in him and he would invite him and Little David over to our place to go swimming or to BBQ, or we would go out to Denny's for breakfast on certain Saturday mornings. Little David and I became close buddies and he calls me his girl friend. Its really cute and I love hanging out with him. His favorite show is Sponge Bob, which, at 25 is still a show I watch (Cause I am awesome ;)) The other day Chris asked if I would hang out with Little David while him and Dad David went out and had a guys night. Big David doesnt get out much (ever) and Chris could sense that he needed a break. Chris knows that Big David doesnt really have alot of friends because he is extremely busy working and taking care of his son, and doesnt have time to "go out" . I love hanging out with this little guy when we can. He is so smart and has such a big heart. He is my little buddy and I cherish the times that we do get to hang out with him. The picture is from our recent "date night" watching Sponge Bob while Chris and Big David spent some time hanging out.

"Spring Cleaning" in September

So I may just be a tad busy and just a wee bit behind on normal human activites. Normally at this time of the year people have had their spring cleaning done for a few months now and are able well on their way to thinking about the fall season and getting their homes prepped that way. My inspiration to get organzied and declutter came on Monday when I revamped my office from the ceiling to the floor. Wednesday I took on the task of organzing our closet. There are actually clothes folded on the shelfs, clothes are hung in the order for the seasons, and the shoes are right next to their other fellow shoe. Belts now have a home hanging from the wall, and my purses are hung up as well. Today it was the kitchens turn. I literally took everything out, and scrubbed my little heart out to make it completely spotless, reorganzined and redecorated. It looks so good and feels so "new". Im really good at keeping the bathroom and our bedroom organized so our little home just feels so warm! I did put up the fall wreath that says "Autumn Welcome" and put up my fall decorations in the apartment. I feel that by putting these things up will act of a calling card of sorts to the Heavens and will bring Houston some fall COOLER weather ASAP so we can enjoy my favorite time of the year!

Loving My Job!

I love working at Western Governors University. I love being a part of something that is so innovative and new. I am the Team Lead over Admissions and I love it! I am involved in making our team better in everything that we do, and I manage the new student start process which is something that happens monthly, as we enroll monthly. I work very closely with my boss, who I adore! I also was able to keep my job and work from home when I made the move to Houston to be with my honey!! Its so neat that I can be at home, and talk with people all over the country by phone and web conferencing. As a University we are growing extremely fast we currently have 29,357 enrolled at WGU. The University of Utah, has 30,084 enrolled as of the Spring 2011 term... pretty cool!! When I started at the University 5 years ago, we were so small and it just blows my mind to see how far we have come. If anyone is interested in reading about WGU and what the press and people are saying about it just visit www.wgu.edu :) I know that I will be with WGU forever, because I love it so much! I am also getting my MBA through WGU, so I pretty much have WGU on my brain 24/7. At our annual all staff event in Salt Lake City this July, I was recongnized by Bob Mendenhall, the University President with the award, Excellence in University Service which is a HUGE honor and I feel so blessed!!! It was so cool that I was recognized for what I do, because I feel like I truely give my all. It came with a really heavy glass trophy and an iPad 2!!! I also was recognized by the enrollment department with the award, Excellence in Admissions, which also was so awesome! It definately motivates me to work that much harder every day.

Its always funny when I tell people what I do and that I work from home because there reactions are mostly hillarious, because they think its easy or that I have "less" of a job, which is certainly not the case. It's a carreer that I am lucky to have and honestly its really difficult to leave work to go "home" because your office is right there and you always want to be checking email and getting things resolved right away.

If you are interested in reading more about WGU here are some links below!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/25/education/25future.html?ref=education