i loved my job

one of the many things i loved about working at Stampin' Up! was birthdays. look how cute they made my desk on my birthday:

some of the many other reasons I loved working there was the awesome people I got to talk to and laugh with every day, the fact that I got to do what I LOVE every day and get paid for it, the employee store and discounts, the beautiful building we worked in, the amazing demonstrators, and SO much more.

we had been forewarned about a month before the day of infamy arrived. but, no matter how much time we were given, nothing could have prepared us for the heartache and emotions we felt that day and every day since then. it's been tough. I loved my job!!! I wasn't planning on ever leaving. I wanted to retire from there. I loved it so much that I can't seem to find the motivation to look for a new job.

I'm taking it one step at a time. some days are long and lonely, but other days are full of fun stuff I never found the time for before. but, the best days are the ones where I get to see all my fellow laid-offers. we went to lunch the very next day after our unemployment meeting. aren't we all so cute?! a bunch of us went to lunch again today. it was great! nothing else has proven to cheer me up more than being with all my SU! peeps.

the day before the layoffs happened I took pictures of my latest projects. these items are being shown on stage at the Australia/New Zealand Convention this week.






so, with any luck, I will be able to find a new great job. I better kick it into high gear! or maybe I will just hang out and live on severance for a while. :)

one year older and wiser too

apparently I've been very noticeably absent this month. there is SO much to write about! let's start with my 28th birthday. on April 11, I turned 28. I chose to go back to my hometown for that birthday/easter weekend and my bff's granted me the wish and came along.

I hadn't been to Hanksville for 3 years! it was so weird to go back. it's still the same place, but pretty different. I guess that is what time does... a part of me felt like I had never been there before, and that thinking this place was a part of me was wishful thinking. I wondered where that young Hanksville Girl went. don't you worry! my family helped me find her.

we rolled Easter eggs down the red hills. watching them hop around and bust into pieces was always exciting as a kid.

climbing up Indian Island has always scared the crap out of me. at 28, it was harder and scarier!
the last part to squeeze through before you get to the top.
the view from the top is amazing! I'm always amazed at how beautiful it is there.

you can't go to Indian Island without leaving your initials carved in the sandstone. and that we did.

I wished for a hot man, of course!

yes. we are 7 again. who knew heavy heavy hangover could still be so fun?

Happy Easter! I couldn't let Jaime, Amber and Gregg go without Easter baskets so this is what they woke up to.

our last stop was Goblin Valley. I LOVE it here. it's beautiful.

I couldn't have asked for a better 28th birthday! here's to many more.

I don't wanna grow up!

I’m turning 28 this weekend. WOW! I can’t believe my 10 year HS reunion is this summer and I graduated from college 6 years ago! Time sure flies when you're having fun.

My mom came over for Sunday dinner last night and we were comparing our lives. When she was my age she had already given birth to all of her children. She had a husband and 5 kids to care for, a house, a job, was primary president in our ward - she was the perfect grown-up mom... My life is very different, to say the least. Last week Jaime and I color coordinated every day, you can see evidence in her post titled “yes, we're 12”. Saturday night we rented Bedtime Stories, and last year we went to Princesses on Ice with a bunch of girlfriends. Friday night I went to a 3-D movie with James at Clark Planetarium. Look how cute we are in our glasses!

We also skipped along the sidewalk at The Gateway and had a little water fight with our straws at Z'Tejas. In December we went to the Polar Express in Heber City.

At first I thought to myself, “wow, I haven’t grown up yet,” but then I realized that I just paid off my car, I pay rent, utility bills, credit cards, I have a career and an IRA. So, yes, I guess I am a grown-up. There is nothing wrong with occasionally participating in childish activities. They are a great way to alleviate the stress in my grown-up life. Oh, and I think it also compensates for the lack of little children running around my apartment. All in all, I'm loving life at 28.

project round-up

I haven't posted much of anything lately, and to be honest it has mostly been because of laziness. :) so, here is my first attempt at catching up. here are some of the projects I have made the past few months (the ones I can share anyway).




I made these pages for training videos at work. the top one (with the beautiful pics of the crawford family) was for a stencil video, and the next one (with the adorable picture of my niece Nynaeve) was for a bow-tying video.






These are all samples I made for our Leadership conference back in January. those were challenging stamp sets.


This is a gift basket I made for a friend who had been really sick for a while. It's filled with all of his favorite things. yeah, it was pretty sweet of me if I do say so myself.
and this is the card I made last night for my awesome sister, Amber. today is her 26th birthday! she liked it, I think.

so, yes, I LOVE my job! let's all pray for me. come on! I know you want to. for those of you that don't know, my company is going through major lay-offs over the next couple weeks. there is a pretty high chance that I could lose my job. this has caused more stress in my life than I think I've ever felt. I have been getting headaches and really tight and sore muscles in my neck and back. I have been clenching my jaw so hard at night that it has caused pain up my jaw and into my ear. my dentist gave me a night guard to wear, so hopefully that will help. but, seriously - your prayers are needed too. my plan has been to retire from this company, so losing it already would be awful!
Thanks y'all!