The Only Constant is Change

The last year of my life has been one big change broken up into lots of smaller changes. At the beginning of 2007 I moved to Ogden to be closer to school and to get out on my own. I lived in a great place and had great roommates.

In May I graduated, and one month later started a job at a software company in south Salt Lake. Living in Ogden, you can imagine the long commute I was faced with every day. I put up with traffic and high gas bills for 3 months before finally giving in and moving to Salt Lake. Not that I didn't want to live in Salt Lake; after living in NYC for a year and a half I wanted to live in the city again....but by then Ogden felt like home and I didn't know a soul in SLC, so I was a little apprehensive.

Supposedly I was going to live with a girl my age who served her mission in Temple Square, but served in my mission for 3 months as well. She moved some of her stuff into the apartment, I moved all my stuff into the apartment, and for the next 4 months I lived alone. She never completely moved in, my landlords weren't happy with her, and I was frustrated with the whole thing.

Also while this was going on, I was trying to find a ward to go to at the U, but never really felt quite right about anything. I felt really flaky, doing the whole ward-hopping thing and never committing to anything. At the end of December I decided to move home (to Layton) for a little while, and at about the same time, my former Ogden roommate said she wanted to move out with me again (to Ogden again). I admit I was kind of homesick for good ol' O-Town, and agreed to look at some places with her. Not long after, we found a great place at Christopher Village in South Ogden, right off Harrison Blvd. We both felt good about it and moved in a week ago, roommates for the second time around. We just couldn't live apart! :) The apartment is quite big, about 1050 sq. ft. with 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms, a den, living room, and dining area/kitchen. We found awesome deals on furniture (like a LoveSac for $50!) and have had fun decorating and making the place our own. I feel good about where I live now, even though I'm back to commuting every day.

Lask week I went to the ward I am supposed to go to, and was surprised to already know quite a few people. I felt good there, and when I went again today, I felt like it was home. So hopefully that means I have made a good decision and I won't be moving again anytime soon. So now, after moving 3 times, attending 4 different wards, and wondering what the heck I'm supposed to do with my life, I finally feel comfortable with where I'm at, near people I know.

I'll try to take pictures of my new apartment and post them soon.

Bryan Magana's Concert

Last Saturday, Jan. 12 I went to a concert/worship service put on my Bryan Magana, one of my friends from high school. He sings Christian music and recently recorded a cd of songs based off Song of Solomon. I know that's probably the most risque part of the Bible, but the songs are really good :) If anyone would like to listen to some of his songs, he has a few on his myspace page: myspace.com/bryanmaganamusic

After the concert a bunch of us went to Famous Dave's. It was way fun!

Chance, Danica, Jason, Nichol, and me

Bryan (the man with the voice), me, and Natalie

Hi my name is Elinor!

So apparently I'm most like Elinor Dashwood, who I believe is from Sense and Sensibility correct? I do remember her character, and I'd have to agree that we're probably pretty similar.

Jon Schmidt!!!

Last Wednesday, January 9 my company held their annual banquet/awards night at the U of U Rice Eccles Stadium. The food was YUMMY, but surprisingly that wasn't the best part. Near the end of dinner, our CEO announced that Jon Schmidt would be providing the entertainment for the evening! I just about flipped from excitement. I guess he played for them last year too, but I didn't know that. The best part was that my table just happened to be right next to the piano - talk about your private concert. Here are a couple of shots of him playing:

Here is the famous upside-down song.

His fingers were flying!

He only played 5 or 6 songs, but it was still awesome! He even played my favorite, Pachelbel Meets U2. While he was playing I kept thinking it would be way cool to get my picture taken with him, but I didn't know if it would work out. As soon as he was done, he walked away and I was quite disappointed but I said, Oh well. Then after I got up and was walking past the tables, all of a sudden he was in front of my face. Without thinking I blurted out, "Can I take a picture with you?" He looked a little surprised, but he said "Of course." So here we are:

My dream come true!

Shopping Day

On Saturday my friends Mary and Sarah and I went shopping at The Gateway. Even though it was freezing outside, we had tons of fun! Our first stop was Old Navy so Mary could look for a scarf for her friend serving a mission in Switzerland. She didn't find one, but I found one for me! The next stop was a kiosk to look at the sunglasses. Here we are showing off our movie star look:

We all ended up buying a pair, so we got 3 for $20! What a deal! Next up was Aeropostale and Hot Topic (not a store I usually go to, but I had to get a Christmas present). With our arms full we hiked over to California Pizza, where we had a nice, expensive lunch. I got the California Club (below):

I thought it would be weird to have lettuce on pizza, but it actually tasted a lot like a regular club sandwich. Dang, it was good. Sarah got the same one, and Mary got Chipotle Chicken, which was also very tasty.

It was fun to have some girl time and do some shopping, even though I probably spent more than I should have. :)

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Yay, I'm all decorated for Christmas! Mom and Bethany came down on Monday and for our little fhe we decorated my apartment. I got this tree (pre-lit, 6 1/2 ft.) at Walgreens for $20. Not a bad deal.

I also set up the Nativity set that Mom sent me on my mission. We still have it, although the angel must have broken when I mailed it home.

Work and Halloween

I've been working at MasterControl as the Marketing Admin Assistant for 5 months now, and am really enjoying it. The people I work with are all so different, and a lot of fun. As the admin, I'm involved in just about everything that goes on in marketing, so I have learned a lot. This is me at my cubicle (right after I decorated for Halloween).

For Halloween this year I got an idea from my friend Brittany to be a missing person. This is what I came up with. I made it late at night, so it's not as cute as I would have liked, but oh well.

New Home, New Life

So ever since I moved to Salt Lake, I've been postponing the inevitable change of wards because....well, because I don't like change I guess. I was really comfortable in my Ogden ward and knew pretty much everybody. I also haven't been doing much to get to know new people closer to where I live. But this last weekend things started to change a little bit. On Saturday night Brittany Adams invited me to come to a party with her that was for a bunch of people in the ward she recently started attending (down at the U). I went and it was pretty much a huge step for both of us because neither of us knew anybody. But it was actually a lot of fun and we met a lot of people. So on Sunday I went with her to that ward, and discovered I knew even more people because a few members of my old ward had started going there (the members are mostly from Ogden to Centerville). Then I decided to just go ahead and take the full plunge and I went to their FHE on Monday night all by myself (Brittany had to work). It turned out ok, and now I think I have finally found the ward to transfer my records to. Good thing because my tithing checks are building up in my checkbook :)

All decked out

This is Maggie ready for Halloween and Christmas! On her head is her lobster costume from Halloween last year, and on her body is her Santa outfit from last Christmas. We've had her for a whole year already, I can't believe it!

Mission Reunion

Last Friday, October 5th (which just happened to be my year and a half mark home from the mish) I had a mission reunion. It was so much fun! It's so crazy to see missionaries as "real people" and there were a lot there that I worked with. President and Sister Morrow were there and they spoke to us in the chapel; Sister Morrow did her usual Top 10; this time it was the top 10 things we miss about New York. President Morrow talked to us about covenants (some things never change) and a newly sealed convert couple from Flushing, Queens bore their testimonies. It was very sweet; they had just been sealed in the Salt Lake Temple that afternoon. Then we went into the cultural hall and ate chili and socialized. Here are a few pictures:

Left: Me and Sister Collier, my favorite comp in Richmond Hill, Queens.
Right: Me and Sister Ivanova, my "eternal" mission companion. We lived together/were in the same zone/were companions for our whole mission except the first 3 months.

Left: Sisters Kim, Zambrin, Zufelt, me, and Miles

Right: Part of the MTC district - me, O'Donahue, Lee, and Marsh

Part of my last district in Rego Park, Queens: Cordova, me, and Knapp