Portland - Week 3

There is beauty in the moisture, and the clouds here in Portland.

1. I've already commented on the wonderful colors, but one night this week, I noticed glowing trees! Maybe its a Halloween mystery, but I seriously had to drive by a couple of times to figure out if my eyes were playing tricks on me. I couldn't really capture it with my camera, but here are the best shots of the glowing trees.


Such bright colors glowing in the dark!



2. There is moss everywhere. I recognize that this could create some issues, but it is also beautiful and bright green!





3. HUGE LEAVES! I saw this leaf on the side of the road on my walk. I decided it was worth carrying the rest of the way.



You can't even see my head behind it!



5. I went for a walk/run yesterday and was amazed by all of the leaves on the ground with perfect droplets of water just sitting there. It was around 1 in the afternoon and the water was just sitting there! I was walking by bushes that looked like they had little diamonds inside because of all of the water droplets on them. It was so beautiful as the light would catch those drops.





Now that my nature appreciation has been taken care of...

Church was inspiring today. There are so many beliefs that were strengthened by confirmation of the Spirit, but I also realized that I need to do better at so many things. My actions are not speaking very loudly lately. I feel I've been self absorbed in a lot of aspects. Yes, I know, a lot has been going on...but that is always the case. And aren't we taught that true service and love is when we reach out to others no matter the circumstances, and even more when it is not at all convenient? I just kept thinking over and over today that I need to stop having a timetable, stop having an agenda. I know that it is important to plan and have structure, but sometimes I think I let that get in the way of following the promptings that guide me to help those around me, or lead me to experiences that will strengthen me and help me to become my best.

In our joint meeting, our bishop asked how we show love to those around us. There were several comments, but I thought of families. In a family you love each other for who they are, for their individual characteristics, their quarks and even their crazies :) But I think that love also grows as we know who they are and what we all have the capacity to be. We begin to see those we love as the people they can become, the best part of them. There is encouragement as we see each other through trials, joys, sadness, falling down and getting back up. No matter who the person is, you love them, you care, you don't let them go it alone.

But how do we show this for those outside of our families? How do we extend our circle? Especially when our associations change so often. This is where I feel I am struggling right now. I don't know many people and they don't know me. How do you share the love of the Savior, the pure love that overcomes everything with those you hardly know? I think that I am pretty open to loving others, but I think it takes a bit of warming up to "let it all out there."

For the millionth time in my life, I have been reminded that I need to not shy away from opening myself up to those around me. I need to sincerely reach out, even if its uncomfortable, even if I feel awkward, or feel like others will think I'm weird. Sharing that love is worth it. I am worth it and so is the other person. We don't have to go it alone, no matter our circumstances. Love is what it is all about!

"All of us, single or married, are eternally part of some family—someway, somewhere, somehow—and much of our joy in life comes as we correctly recognize and properly develop those family relationships. We come to this earth charged with a mission: to learn to love and serve one another. To best help us accomplish this, God has placed us in families, for he knows that is where we can best learn to overcome selfishness and pride and to sacrifice for others and to make happiness and helpfulness and humility and love the very essence of our character." -John H. Groberg

Portland - Week 2


Things that I've realized in week 2:
1. My life is still the same as it was before. I work, I go to church, I go to FHE (although now its called HEG), I go to ward activities. But its nice to be in a new atmosphere with new faces.
2. Although I like my new place, I miss my family and friends.
3. I'm still me.


So the highlights this week are a trip to the temple for a session, beautiful fall leaves, and the Tualatin Fall Festival.


I love going to the temple. That has not changed. It is definitely smaller, smallest session I've ever been in, but still the same. Thankfully :) There is so much peace and joy felt there.





I love the bright red/pink color of these leaves! Its one of my favorite fall colors. It looked so great next to the bright green grass. Thank you moisture!








As you will see in the pictures below, we watched people race around the lake in PUMPKINS! Not kidding. Huge pumpkins were carved out and they got inside and raced around the lake like they were in a kayak...a VERY large, VERY heavy, ORANGE kayak. It was AMAZING! So fun to watch. It was perfect weather (no rain) and I had a lot of fun.



Not my favorite picture of me, but check out that pumpkin! Seriously huge!



This was the cutest thing ever. This boy was so excited to meet Superman "for real." He was just awe struck. I think I caught the perfect moment :)




This was the 2nd heat. The Tualatin Fire and Rescue vs. The Army Corp. It was a relay and yes they are really inside a pumpkin!



The Army Corp won for the third year in a row. But it was amazing that any of them were able to do that. One man did go overboard, but swam pushing his pumpkin the whole way. Now that is determination and endurance.

Living in Portland!

Wow has it been a while. I can't even remember all of the things that have happened since the Symphony last summer. Life has been a whirlwind, but isn't is always?

So...I live in Portland now. As of a week ago. I know, crazy right? I'm sure like everyone, you are probably wondering WHY PORTLAND?!?! Well, here's the scoop. After having to move out of my grandparents house in Lehi, I needed a change. Somewhere out of Utah. So, I made a list of places I thought it would be fun to live, and Portland won first. Seriously. I love Utah and never thought the day would come, but it was time to move on to hopefully even better things.

It was a super long road to get here, which felt like forever, but it actually was only a couple of months. There was a lot to work out and I'm finding there is still more to figure out. There is always something new to learn.


Things I've learn about Portland so far:
1. Rain does not always equal the Midwest thunderstorms I imagined. I miss those, but when you get rain everyday, its nice that most of the time its just a drizzle.
2. Its super dark at night. There just don't seem to be enough street lights to light up the roads.
3. The people are very friendly. Different, but friendly. It definitely is different hearing "its a great hangover breakfast" at a restaurant, or having a nice woman strongly recommend getting the rain boots at Costco just because she overheard me debating with my sister. All those I've met so far have been great!
4. OSU Beavers are orange and black and (school name??) Ducks are yellow and green. Your new, super loyal, Beaver fan roommate will notice if you buy rain boots with yellow and wear a dress with yellow. Definitely not in a crazy way...just in a huh? never knew people cared that much when a game wasn't actually being played kind of way.
5. Oregonians (yes that is what they are called) like their windows open and don't use umbrellas in the rain. I enjoy the window factor. The fresh air is so refreshing!
6. Not having to pump your own gas is GREAT! Especially with the rain/drizzle all of the time.
7. NO SALES TAX! When you see the price of something, that is the price you pay at the register. Its so fabulous!
8. Beautiful. Even when its raining and foggy. Its so beautiful.
9. My family is still here, even if they aren't here. They call and email and genuinely care about me and everything that is going on, even if they can't see me everyday. I'm not at all surprised, but its definitely note worthy to mention how WONDERFUL they are.
10. I can do this.


I know I've left out a lot of details on the path that got me here. I know that how you got there is just as important as where you are, but sometimes those details are not to be broadcast and frankly, there just is too much to write and catch up on.

So now I'm here, I might as well tell you what my life has been for a week. Camille drove up with me last Friday (THANK YOU Spencer for making that possible). The drive actually went pretty fast and it was really fun. We talked and sang and thought and beheld the beauty around us. We pulled into Portland around 6 pm or so. As we drove into the neighborhood with my new apt, I was getting nervous and excited. The houses are just so cute! With the help of google, I had already seen my new place from the outside and I was shocked that it was in this neighborhood. Such a cute neighborhood and my place is well, small and old. My new roommate gave me a tour of the new place. I tried to keep my cool and not stress out. It is so TINY! I've started to say that I live in a closet with a shelf for my closet. Its pretty much true. I've started to be creative. I stored my flip flops under my nightstand (which doesn't actually fit by my bed) and I've doubled my clothes on my hangers, all 18 of them. Not kidding, that is all that fits. Oh, and yes, as you'll see in my pictures, my closet also stores the water heater. Even though I feel like I'm back in college in a dorm or something, There are some good things about my apartment. List to follow.

1. Cheaper than I ever paid in Provo
2. My roommates are nice
3. Close to Costco, Winnco, Joann's and Jack in the Box
4. Five minutes from church and THE TEMPLE! (so lucky)
5. Got me to Portland


My new "office" I sometimes rotate between folding chair and exercise ball as my chair. Figured I'd follow Ann's footsteps and work my abs at work.



My "closet" with water heater and 18 hangers with 2 pieces of clothing each



My flip flop storage


But even with the tiredness and stress of the place, I still felt so peaceful to begin the next chapter of my life. It felt right even though my housing wasn't the best situation. That peace is such a great feeling.

Camille stayed to help me get situated. We spent Saturday running errands and then my new roommates took us down town. We walked around the city and had dinner. We stopped by Powell's Bookstore (an ENTIRE BLOCK of books!) I specifically told Camille to restrain me. There are so many rooms of books they are color coded. We also stopped by and got a Voo Doo donut. It was yummy! Crazy long line, all for a donut, but it was all for the experience. I didn't get the one with bacon on top, but if I go again, I'm going to. I hear it tastes like breakfast all in one bite. Pancake, Syrup and Bacon. When you think of it that way, it doesn't sound so weird.


Camille and I waiting in line


Me and my pretty donut


Me and my new roommates...I don't think we were all ready for this picture :)

My first week of working from home was good. Oh yeah, Justin and DGI decided they would rather keep me, even though not in the office, than train someone else :) I'm excited to stay with DGI and change my surrounds. It was such a blessing. Anyway, I was so productive because no one was around to ask me to do random things. I always like being the helper though, so that will be different. I'm sure it will get hard to not see my work friends everyday and have the camaraderie, but I'm glad I can still work with all of them and keep that bridge standing. Oh and I love the commute from my bed to my desk and the new uniform :)


View from my "office"


I'm working on finding the balance of friends and self. I also am finding the balance within myself of wanting it all now and realizing it takes time. I went to a few things this week for the ysa ward. There is something every night. Which is great because its good to have options and enough things for people to get involved and find something that works for them. I want to go, but I also enjoy time to myself. But I really want to start building friendships here and feel that I've a place. Its hard to not want it all to be just as I want it to be right this second. I know things take time and effort. So I'll just keep plugging away.

I think that is all I have to say so far. I have so many other highlights to share, so see below if you want a sort of recap of the past few months. Also, stay tuned for my post of adventures with visiting my family this year.

Timeline working backwards:
(family trips covered in separate blog post to come)

October: Moved to Oregon
September: Saw Courtney in Hawaii!
August: Decided to move
July: Was hit from behind on University Ave
June: Moved out of Lehi and in with Spencer and Camille and family
May: Moved into grandparents home in Lehi

HAWAII

I can't believe that I was able to go to Hawaii again. I'm so lucky! This time I went with my cousin Stephanie (Gigs). We decided to make a full vacation out of it and rent a condo in Turtle Bay so we could also have a pool and so Courtney could get a vacation from her apt. It was so fun, and was even better when we got UPGRADED. Instead of a studio apt, we got a 1 bedroom with a loft. We each had at least a full bed and there were three bathrooms :) Thank you soldier that extended your stay!

We had so much fun and saw so many things. We went to the beach of course, the temple, the market in Honolulu, the Dole plantation, the PCC, Kualoa Ranch, snorkeled at Sharks Cove and Turtle Bay, had acai bowls (mmmmm.......) and ate a Kahuku Grill TWICE! We bought so many cute things at the market, and it was so cheap! We walked forever and it was tiring, but I love everything that I got. Kualoa ranch was fun and was something that we didn't do while I was there for Christmas. We went on a movie tour and then on a catamaran, which was AWESOME! Oh, and night swimming at the pool was so peaceful and felt so good after a long day in the sun. We also played games and laughed and talked a lot! The PERFECT break from the craziness of my life. So great to be there, but hard to leave Courtney when it was over.



Day 1 at Sunset Beach






Isn't Courtney GORGEOUS!! On our tour at Kualoa Ranch



Courtney and I on the catamaran


View from the catamaran



Gigs and I getting ready to snorkel for the first time! So cute, I know



After going to the temple! What a blessing to go and be together!


To Move or Not to Move

This was a hard decision for me, but I do believe that the events leading up to it really helped me to be ready to make it. I loved living in Utah. I loved being close to family and being with my friends. I loved the area and I loved what was familiar. I don't think it was time any sooner, but now was the right time. I kind of thought about it privately for a while and didn't really tell anyone. Once I decided to move, I kept it quiet where I was feeling I would go. I just wanted it to be my decision. I love advice, but I needed it to be just about what I thought this time. I needed to be 100% behind it before telling people. For a while, I felt that I was convincing people, so it was good that I knew it was right.


Just Pile on the STRESS

It the end of July I was rear ended while turning and it was stressful. I was glad that I was ok and the other girl was ok. It definitely could have been worse, but it was pretty hard. It was during training week, so stress was already high and I was struggling with changing my whole world. The girl was nice and felt so bad. My car looked so sad. It really was fine, it just was one more thing to add to the pile of things I had to figure out. I got over my fear of the chiropractor though. It kind of became a necessity for a while.



Can you believe it?! $4,500 worth of damage. But it looks all pretty again :)

My rental car was one of those Kia Souls. You know the hamster commercials with the thugged up hamsters? If not, find it online. One of my favorite commercials, but I always thought the cars looked pretty funny. After a couple of weeks of driving it though, it grew on me. No trunk space what-so-ever, but it was cute and you felt up, without being an SUV.



So red, so short, but kind of cute after a while



Moving To/From Lehi

When I was trying to figure out where to move after the red house in Provo, I decided I would step outside of Provo for a bit. My grandmother had passed away in January and my grandfather years before her. Their house in Lehi was empty for the time being. I decided I would ask about living there. I moved in and LOVE IT! It was kind of weird being there alone, but also felt at peace because it was comfortable. I always loved being there growing up, so it was familiar to me. I started working really hard to learn about the yard and garden and tried my hardest to keep up with Crystal. She is the wonderful woman that lives next door. We became a lot closer and talked every day. She taught me how to do things that I never learned because we didn't have the same type of garden growing up. She always worked so hard and always helped others around her. It was really nice to live next to her and be there for each other. I really enjoyed the ward and realized that I could live outside of Provo...important realization that came in handy in future months. I honestly loved living there and felt so great! I don't think I realized how good I felt there until I was told that I needed to move.

Unfortunately only 6 weeks after moving in, my cousin and her husband called saying they found a job in SLC and were planning to live in the house. They were moving in in 2 weeks! I tried to be happy about it and appreciate the time I had there, but as those two weeks went on, I had a really hard time with it. Those both happened to be training weeks, so it was VERY busy and I didn't really have time to process where to go, what I wanted, etc. Because of a lack of options, I decided to move in with my brother and his family in Spanish Fork. Moving in with family is not really my first option, but it is so nice to have them to support you! It worked out nicely, but I was sad to leave Lehi. I had really felt secure there, felt like I belonged...Maybe it was just preparation and strength building for what I would do a few months later. What a blessing to live in the house my dad grew up in and I have so many fond memories of.


So there is the brief (I know it doesn't seem brief, but how do you sum up a year in just a few words) highlighted version of what's been going on with me lately. I'm excited for this new adventure and my new saying is "it will all work out." I just realize that it might take several tries!