A Year in Review; Lessons Learned

Almost exactly a year ago, I made the decision to move here to Utah.  I did not  want to leave my family.  I did not  want to leave the friends I'd made over the three and a half years I'd lived in Austin.  I cried all the way home from my last day of work there... but now looking back (even though I still miss all those Texans sooo much), I would do the whole dang thing over again.

'Cause I've learned some pretty impactful lessons in the last year;

1. An upheaval of your entire life can actually be the best decision you ever make.  Sometimes following impressions to make even what seems like the least logical decision (like moving to Provo, Utah as an unemployed, single, 25 year old...) can be the greatest thing you've ever done.

2. The best way to take a road trip (for example, one from Texas to Utah), is to listen to the Harry Potter books on CD.  I was so engrossed in them, that even after my 20 hour road trip, I was not ready to stop driving; I wanted to keep listening so bad!

3. People in Utah are pretty darn awesome.  Well, shoot. #mythBUSTED

4. Dating in Utah is practically an Olympic sport.

5. I absolutely love  to love people.  There is no better feeling.  Human beings are decidedly fantastic, and it is glorious to acknowledge their substance, magnificence, and brilliance.

6. Kids are the most superior version of people.  I've met a whole bunch of kids this last year, and they're just the best.  No matter what physical, mental, emotional, or circumstantial obstacles are put in their way, they refuse to let it get the best of them.

7. I have embarrassingly wimpy upper body strength.  I did like 7 assisted pull ups at the gym once, and honestly could not straighten my arms for the rest of the week.  I've gone back to my yoga poses on strength training days for the time being...

8. The best type of patience is a proactive one.  It's surprising how having to wait for something, starts a fire under your butt to be exceptionally enthusiastic about what you are currently involved in.

10. I hate the snow, but spring and summer up north are breathtaking and inspiring!

11. No matter how old I get, or how old they get, or if we live thousands of miles apart, I will always take the role of "oldest sister" very seriously with my siblings.  Sorry cute brothers and sisters; I will keep telling you how cute you are and giving you embarrassing hugs and smooches... or  telling you when you're being dumb when you need to hear it... probably for the rest of my life.  Love ya!

13. Watching "What's Up Doc?" can turn my worst days right around.  Also, I'm not sure I'll ever lose my aspirations to be Barbara Streisand.

14. I am addicted to sticky notes, note cards, and my planner.

15. Giving in to joining Pinterest was simultaneously one of the best, and worst decisions I've ever made.



Grateful for:  Decisions to make!

Jason's Deli

I started regularly eating at Jason's Deli

probably about 2 years ago.

 I discovered they had gluten free bread,

so therefore I could pick any of the regular sandwiches,

just switch out the bread,

and Voila!

My tummy and my mouth could be happy at the same time.

In other words, I could eat real food items off the menu,

and not rabbit-food salds all the time.

Miraculous.

Then, I discovered that the kids that I nannied

loved Jason's Deli just as much as me (and maybe even a little bit more),

so for a while we went about once a week.

And even, sometimes I'd take the kids for Friday dinner,

and then when I got off on Saturday or Monday night, I'd go again!

I went so often in fact,

I was always greeted personally by a member of the staff.

His name was Daniel, and he always knew 

exactly what I was going to order

before I even asked.

I think I kept going back not only because 

I appreciated their gluten free menu options,

but the people there were so courteous, 

(and knew me so well)

I kind of felt like we were my friends!

hahaha

Then,

this sweet, puppy-dog-kinda cute,

like 19/20 year old started working there...

and always seemed to be working at the register when I went in.

He did suuuch a great job at being friendly...

he even snuck me free fruit cups a few times.

So accommodating.

And even one when time I was running some errands after work,

totally overwhelmed and preoccupied after a really long day;

and had to stop at a completely different Jason's Deli,

the guy working there not only asked how my day went,

but took a few minutes to talk when I replied that it had been a long one.

Plus, he gave me free cookies on my way out the door!

"To help you have a good night",

he said.

And this free food always seemed to be accompanied by a smile.

Gracious.

No wonder I have continued to go back.

Well today I kept my tradition going.

It was one of those days that only a panini-style

 Jason's Deli turkey sandwich could fix.

And my new Utah Jason's Deli friend - Joshua - made sure to learn my name,

since he said he'd seen me there a few times before

(uh yes, that might be true...)

and said he should learn my name so he could greet me personally next time.

Joshua, I don't know if I can explain what a difference

your small, friendly gesture made.

Thanks new friend.

So whoever decided to ensure that the Jason's Deli staff

are exceptionally friendly,

thank you!

You've seriously made a ton of my nights.

I've recently taken a hiatus from this blogging thing...

due to some time-consuming activities;

all that moving to Utah,

searching for the perfect job,

re-constructing my life plans,

you know,

the usual.

And in the midst of all that,

there was a minute there

where I actually contemplated ridding myself

of any and all superfluousness,

(I know, big word... look it up)

including this blog.

I simply get overwhelmed sometimes

by blogs, and facebook, 

and instagram and pinterest...

and think

I don't really care what you ate for lunch,

or every thought that runs through your head,

so why am I spending so much of my time

looking at your pictures and posts?

And even more puzzlingly,

why do I feel the need to post 

the random thoughts in my head??

Holy overload of 

not-really-important information Batman!!

Before I hit that delete button though,

I remembered that my soul is undeniably artistic.

And all of the most unhappy intervals of my life

are marked by my decisions to stifle some outlet of creativity.

So, Imma keep bloggin'.

Deal with it.

Sorry to add to the inundation 

of information being thrown in your face from the internet.

But hey, if you clicked on this link,

you brought it upon yourself!

Bless you for stopping by!

What a glorious summer!

 It's been an epic summer.

I know that word is severely overused right now

(I mean, literally, it's used all the time... haha)

but seriously, it's been impressively great,

which is the definition of epic.

I mean, come on, I moved to Utah.

But first,

I just visited  Utah.

And went to this beautiful wedding.

Seriously, so gorgeous.

Then, only like 3 days later, I went to this wedding.

It was exceptionally wonderful, and I cried like a baby!

Plus, it was in the Manti temple where my parents were married.

So it was seriously the coolest thing to go to a sealing there.

(I love this photo of this wonderful Robinson family!)

Then, to top off my little trip,

after that Robinson family wedding,

I got to hang out with my Forster grandparents

and Aunt, Uncle and cousins.

Having time to see so much family is why I love summer.

Then I went back to Texas for some final partyin'

before packing my car to move.

Partyin' in Texas = lots of good food,

but also, we visited some Texas treasures--

like the Grist Mill in Gruene Texas.

AND, during a backyard BBQ,

my dad found, and killed, a Coral snake,

and made it into a hat accessory...

I sure love my dad.

And Texas.

Then my brothers went to EFY

(Logan was a counselor);

good gracious this is the cutest.

And Emma started her career as a fashion designer

by making Dylan and his buddy Sam

matching ties.

These cuties of Grandparents celebrated their 

60th wedding anniversary!!

My parents traveled to Rome,

and wore color coordinated outfits.

Stop it right now.

And my absolutely most wonderful friend Melissa,

while being an impressive law student studying abroad in England,

sent me this picture.

It completes my life.

THEN, I moved to Utah!!!

And ironically, the first people I got to see

were the people I'd grown up with in Houston.

It was the BEST.

And like a month later, my mom and brother Max

came up to drop of my little

(or gigantically tall, actually)

brother, Jesse Austin, to start school at BYU.

Whew! Seriously,

it was a life changing summer.

Grateful for:

family,

friends,

summer BBQ's,

durable toyota corollas,

and the many, many  temples 

in Utah

Sara Jane.

My family's sweet little yorkie-poo Sara Jane passed away today.

She was pretty old and sick,

so we were grateful she lived as long as she did,

but so sad to see her go.

She put up with a lot from our big, obnoxious family.

She survived through little Emma's years of 

slightly smothering adoration,

 And being the "sheep" in our Christmas play

Every. Single. Christmas.

And Sophie dressing her up in a SNUGGIE...

...and whatever this bedazzled thing is.

I'll admit I was the last one to warm up to her

(thanks to a fear-turned-dislike of dogs, that stemmed from

an encounter with a dog that pushed me to the ground when I was little)

But she always came and laid on the floor
next to the piano when I'd play.
And then one Christmas morning,
she just came and sat on my lap like we'd always been besties...

So eventually I just couldn't help myself.

She was the sweetest (littlest) poochie,

and we loved her so!

When you feel old...

When you start to feel real old,

and/or real under-accomplished;

like you should have a baby or two (or three or four) by now,

or a better career/more money in the bank;

etc...

Like you've bumbled around and failed

and come up short 

too many times to count,

and for so many different reasons,

just think about this list;

Steven Spielberg

got rejected three times from film school,

and ended up attending just a regular university.

Then, he dropped out 

to work a seven-day-a-week, 

unpaid internship in a film studio.

That's how the director of "E.T.", and

"Schindler's List" got his start working in movies.

He's said "Failure is inevitable.

Success is elusive."

Babe Ruth

struck out 1,330 times.

JK Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone"

took her seven years to write,

and was rejected by 12 publishers.

Plus, even when it was initially published,

she was given the advice to keep her day job--

as she didn't likely have a future in children's books.

Abraham Lincoln

(are you ready for this?)

lost his job as a clerk in the village store,

was defeated for state legislature,

failed in business--more than once,

was defeated for speaker,

was defeated for nomination for Congress,

when finally elected to Congress, lost the renomination,

rejected for land officer,

defeated for U.S. Senate,

defeated for nomination for Vice President,

defeated again for U.S. Senate.

Whew.

But he's like everyone's favorite US President.

Even the Kid President's.

Julia Child was 37 when she

attended Le Cordon Bleu cooking school.

She was 49 when "Mastering the Art of French Cooking:

Volume One" was published.

Colonel Sanders was 65

when he opened Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Grandma Moses didn't pick up a paintbrush

until she was in her 70's.

When she died at the age of 101,

President John F. Kennedy paid her a special tribute.

And lastly,

Princess Kate did not get married until she was 29.

And she had her first baby at 31.

We single twenty-somethings

will be forever grateful to you, Duchess.

(you know I had to sneak that one in there!)

Also, as a means of promoting optimism 

and encouragement in my own life,

I started a new blog to document the things

that randomly spring up and inspire me

(just so I don't have a chance to forget them).

Feel free to take a gander:

Fortuitous Enchantment

Daydreaming.

I've always been prone to daydreaming.

I doodled my daydreams in school

and covered my notes with drawings.

I made up stories to entertain myself

on the monotonous and Texas-hot bus rides home.

And I distinctly remember lying wide awake in my bed at night

imagining what it would be like when I got married...

in a castle...

to a prince...

in a HUGE fluffy white dress...

I also built teeny tiny worlds in the dirt in my backyard

for fairies that I hoped lived there during the night.

Later, I matured a bit,

and imagined things like my future home;

a yellow kitchen,

an over all pottery-barn-esque vibe,

all in a little white cottage

with a blue door.

In college my thoughts would wander

amidst lectures on adolescent development and such,

to traveling the world.

I'd plan in my head 

what I'd wear

and eat

and see

and do, 

everywhere from Greece

to Brazil

to Japan

to Alaska.

But always,

alongside all of that,

I've daydreamed about raising kids.

It used to be that I'd get lost in the thought of

building the most rad tree house with them

and playing imaginary games in the backyard,

but now,

seriously,

this is what my daydreams consist of:

NYC

I saw this today on my favorite blog

and thought,

"That's it!

That's the happy place I go to in my head

when work and life gets crazy;

marchin' around NYC with little babies!"

Hahaha!

I'm so weird, I know.

That would be so crazy and hard.

Little kids are hard to tote about

and NYC is crazy to get around.

Wanting to combine them is nuts.

But that's my daydream.

That's my wish.

Future husband please take note.

Thankful for:

Massage chairs at the dentist,

and getting my little brothers and sister

as hooked on "Once Upon a Time"

as I am.

Also, stellar, uplifting, love-filled

conversations.