The Life of Winzum

Once upon a time. . I was never good at blogging

2011-07-09T15:09:00.001-07:00

Looks as though I don't have the talent of blogging. I've been inspired many times to blog when I stalk my friends blogs (in the best possible way. .)

Tons of things have happened to me since my new blog post. Here are just a few:

1. I got a new job in November 2010 at Newmark Knight Frank, a commercial real estate firm in downtown DC. What an experience! I've learned how to deal with rich high maintenance men.

(This picture is missing a lot of the people in the office)

2. A group of friends and I went to NYC for Thanksgiving in 2010 and decided pull an all nighter on the streets so that we could go a good spot to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I must say it wasn't worth it ha ha. Maybe it's because I'm not a lover of parades. But I was able to check it off of my bucket list :)

3. I went home for Christmas and saw the family which of course is great!

4. February I took a day girls trip up to Philadelphia which is about 2 hours north of DC. We hit up Valley Forge but didn't last long there. It was very windy and FREEZING cold. So we ended up going into the city for the rest of the day. Walked around the city, saw the liberty bell, hit up some philly cheese steaks. . I must admit, it wasn't my favorite city. I was more scared walking around Philly then NYC.

5. At the end of February I took a trip to Cleveland, Ohio to visit a friend and had a surprise visit to see my brother Merrick and his family in Wisconsin on my layout (my second leg in my flight was cancelled because of weather).

6. I've had some fun times babysitting an amazing family. . The Ellis'. Abram and Kristin have become friends of mine and have made me a part of their family, they even invited me over for Easter dinner. I love their kids so much! Max is 5, Aviva is 3 and cute little Leo is 1.

7. One thing I must add it is something I have really come to dislike. . COMMUTING TO WORK. I have to take a bus to the metro station, which only comes every 30 mins so I have to time my commute just right, and then I have to take the metro into the city. All in all it takes about an hour from my doorstep to my desk. I leave to make the 7:30am bus and then get to work between 8:15-8:30.

8. In May, there was a church building put together for the singles in the Virginia area. It was an office building that the church gutted and changed into a three story church building. We ended up putting an open house together for the neighborhood and I was put in charge of a table that was about Family Home Evening (I'm FHE Co-chair in my ward).

9. My friend Brendan came and visited me in May. We went and visited NYC and I got to have an extra day off of work which was really nice.

10. During this spring and summer I have been able to help my friend Julie Jackson with doing hair at weddings out here. It has been tons of fun and it's be a good way to make some extra money on the side. My talent is slowly getting better and I have loved helping out brides and bridesmaids.

11. I got to go to DUCK BEACH again this Memorial Day. So much fun as usual. It was an amazing experience. A lot different than my first year. I got to meet so many more people this year from DC, NYC, Boston, Philly, Florida, San Francisco, Utah and Idaho.

12. A few weeks after Duck I went and visited a guy I met at Duck (well a week before Duck but got to know him at Duck) in Florida. We went to Orlando and spent a day at Universal Studios and got to see the new Harry Potter land. SOOO COOL!!

13. For the weekend of the 4th of July, my roommate Marjorie and I with a group of friends went down to a lake right outside of Fredericksburg, Virginia called Lake Anna. My boss Larry let me take his waverunner, which is awesome, but it gave me some problems. The good thing, is that since I grew up with waverunners and since I loved watching/helping my dad with the trailer and fixing them, I was able to figure out the problems with it :) After some oil and a new battery later, we enjoyed the rest of the day. . well besides the fact that the boat we rented was crap and died on us. . . I must admit though, I felt pretty. . handy during that trip. . I definitely was the one getting my hands dirty :)

14. On the 4th of July I went tubing down a river in Fredericksburg, Virginia with another group of friends. I saved a friends life (in her dramatized words) . . .we were in a mass tube called the "Relaxation Station" it fits at least 4 adults on it. . kind of fun . . at least until we got sucked up in a rapid and the middle of the tube ripped out and my friend Angela got sucked under... that's when I "saved her life". . it wasn't as bad as it sounds, but hey I can't complain... if I'm a hero, I'm a hero :)

15. On the night of the fourth of July, I lost the energy to go to downtown DC this year since it is sooo hard to leave the city after the fireworks. So I ended up hanging out with 2 of my friends in Arlington instead. We grilled some steaks, made some homemade brownies and relaxed. Then we made a quick trip to the Air Force Memorial and we watched the fireworks in between the memorial and the Pentagon. Much more relaxing then the last two years.

16. REDFISH!!! I got to go home and see the family and I must say it was the first time I was really excited to go back to Utah in quite a while. I'm realizing how much I've missed my family. Redfish was such a great getaway. My heaven on earth. . Redfish has been my heaven on earth.

17. 25th Birthday-Yup I'm a quarter century old. Kinda weird. . . I'm getting old ha ha. I don't regret my life. . so happy for all the blessings the Lord has given me. My wonderful friend Nathan threw a surprise party for me. . love him for that. . and I had tons of great friends there to support me.

18. My sister came to see me this weekend. She needed a getaway and I loved seeing her. My cousin Caitlin came as well. We got to hang out and "prep" for Hurricane Irene. I must admit, I am really starting to realize that the second coming is getting closer ha ha. . We had an earthquake on Tuesday and then on Saturday we were suppose to get hit by a major hurricane. Two things that don't happen in DC.

So that's the update of my life. Very long post, as usual. . . hopefully it entertains someone.

Hopefully I will post before then :)

Until next time!!

Daily Boost of Encouragement

2010-10-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

Life has thrown many unexpected trials my way lately. I guess my life hasn't been giving me the outcome I was hoping for. In some ways this is a good thing and in other ways it's a bit discouraging.

Life I was HOPING for at the age of 24:

Have a job that I love, that pays me decent/well with benefits. . like health insurance . . :)
Be married to a handsome man who loves me and loves God
Have time and money to take fun vacations with that gorgeous husband of mine.
Start having kids

Life as I know it at the age of 24:

Barely staying afloat with a handful of different nanny/mother's helper jobs
No Health Insurance
Consistently getting sick: All in the past week dealing with overcoming a cold, getting an eye infection, and Strep throat and dealing with the doctors bills
Overcoming the frustrations of dating and realizing how different men and women are and seeing that it truly is a miracle when people actually get married.
Yearning to travel the world and get jealous of all my friends that get to go travel the world.
Job hunting constantly and only getting emails telling me I wasn't qualified enough for positions.

So I guess life hasn't exactly come out the way I expected. It is a bit discouraging sometimes. But then when I step back from the nitty gritty of life and look at the bigger picture I see that the Lord does love me. This life is to prepare to meet God, it is to test and try us. We won't become all that we can be without going through these trials. There are days when I want to give up and say, "Lord, can I please have a break?" and then there are days where I see miracles happen. Like this past week, although in a few days I went from overcoming a cold, to getting and eye infection, to getting strep throat. . I saw a few miracles. My eye infection on Wednesday, lasted one night and then next morning after a long humbling prayer and good night sleep, the Lord healed my eye. Then I got strep throat on Friday. Saturday I went to the doctor, got antibiotics and Sunday my fever and sore throat were gone. I would say that is a miracle.

So life is hard. It pushes us to be better, to try our patience and humble our souls.

There are moments where I fall and it's really difficult for me to get up or want to get back up. But I have found someone who has given me strength. Someone that doesn't even know me, she doesn't know the strength she gives me each day and the hope that life will be better and that life is also better than I make it out to be.

This wonderful woman is Stephanie Nielsen. For those of you who don't know who this wonderful women is check out this video below of her story.

Stephanie has a blog that I follow almost daily. I read about her daily experiences: trials, uplifting moments, her love for her family and the love of her husband.

Nie Nie (Stephanie) has become one of my heros these past few months. She gives me strength each day to push myself to be better, to be more and to complain less.

For those of you that do follow my blog, check out hers.

nieniedialogues.blogspot.com

She truly is an inspiration and has become my daily boost of encouragement.

Haiti-"I am only one, but I am still one"

2010-08-29T09:30:00.001-07:00

Time for a new update! Man I feel like so much has happened since I last updated around the fourth of July.

I have to say my perspective on life has completely changed since my last post. As I posted a little while back, I went on a humanitarian trip to Port Au Prince, Haiti. I was really really nervous because one of my good friends was suppose to go down there with me and he had to cancel last minute on me. I felt like everything was not turning out the way I wanted. I was scared, nervous and very stressed. I did even question not going. But then deep down inside I knew I had to go. I'm so glad I listened to that feeling. I think Satan was really trying to freak me out because he was worried that if I did go to Haiti, my heart would be opened to loving God's children even more and he knew that I would be working through and for our Savior. He did have a reason to worry. I felt closer to God when I was in Haiti than almost any other time in my life.

When I got down there I was overwelmed by what I saw. I didn't just fall in love with the Haitian people, but I fell in love with all of the volunteers that also went down there to serve. We all came from different backgrounds and religions, but we all were one in the Lord and all had the same purpose, to be the hands of the Lord and to love his people. Christ took time to hold and love each child and individual when he was on this earth, and he still does today (spiritually). I had the opportunity to do that, be Christ-like, love and hold the children of God.

When I went down there I expected to love, hold and care for these children and people. But I was very surprised at how much I needed the love and needed to be held by these children. I feel as though I need their love more than they needed mine. I think we forget sometimes how precious a tender touch or a loving hug is to an individual.

I thought I'd share some things from my journal while I was in Haiti. . It was really hard to express the feelings I had but I tried to explain the best I could.

July 30, 2010

"I am sitting in my room with four other girls in the humid heat of Haiti with a fan blowing on my face. It's so crazy to think that I'm in Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world."

"Walking out of the gates of the airport was like walking into a whole new world. My eyes were opened to the incredible blessings the Lord has bestowed on me and my country (USA). Grown men were fighting to help us with our luggage just to earn a few dollars. Children were on the other side of a chain-link fence begging for money. The dust surrounded me as old trucks painted in bright colors drove by. These old trucks are called 'Tap Tap's'- the local taxi/bus system. People literally pile into the back of them."

"On our way to the guest house we had little boys coming up to our truck saying "sista, sista, can I please have one dollar?" They also spoke in Haitian Creole, so I couldn't understand most of what they were saying. One of the volunteers gave a boy a snack and some money and because of that other street kids started overtaking the truck asking for money and food. I wanted to cry. To see these children risking their lives by running in the streets sand hanging on the back of the truck for some money so that they could eat, it broke my heart."

"The whole city is in pieces. Condemned buildings, families living in huts, tents, under tarps.. the city was filled with tents EVERYWHERE. Families, children, pregnant women wandering the streets, sorting through garbage. . it was an unbelievable sight."

"I was told today that if you meet a Haitian and exchange names, your automatically friends. They treat you like a best friend. I can't tell you how quickly these guys have opened up to us and have mad us feel welcome."

"Our First Service Trip (The day we arrived)-Rebecca (Foundation Founder) had no time to lose. we had our first service trip today to the "Mother Theresa Nutrition Center". Center is an over statement for what this place was. It was a compound with tents that were filled with cribs. Probably 4 tents with 20+ cribs in each. Not all cribs were full but there were probably at least 40 kids there. So Rebecca told us to go in and pick up any child and just hold them and love them (basically show love to them as Jesus would_. These children aren't orphans. There families just couldn't feed them enough so they're there to get nutrition & grown strong. Most if not all were malnourished with bulging bellies and skinny frail limbs-literally skin a bones.

Una, a volunteer was holding a little girl named Jauline who saw me and put out her frail hand towards me. I ended up switching children with Una. Jauline and I bonded. She's 21 months old but she looks 4-6 months old due to malnourishment. I got her laughing which can be pretty difficult with these kids. I danced around in between tents with her, humming "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream". . she loved that. She kept putting her hand in mine and wanting me to kiss it. Interaction like that is big. Most of the children would just cling to you and just let you hold them."

August 1, 2010

I'm still in awe at the feelings I have for the Haitians. Each day my eyes are opened to their humble joyous hearts. I can't express my joy. . I wish everyone that reads this could feel the feelings I have.

We went to a handicap orphanage today. The kids were hanging out on blankets in the back of the house under a canopy. What I love about all these orphanages is that everyone is so trusting. Rebecca told us that as soon as we got there to just grab a child and hold them and play with them. So I did! These children were so happy! We would tickle them and hld them and they would just laugh and laugh! One boy would just blow kisses at you and when you would turn your back he would hit you to get your attention again and then he would laugh and laugh!

The first day at Mother Theresa's Nutrition Center I was scared of kissing the children because I was scared of getting sick. but now, I will hold and love a child as long as I can. Through all these physical problems and living situations, these people seem to still LOVE God and love you. It's sad to see how much the USA has strayed from God and how prideful and selfish we are.

Today we went to Lesly's orphanage. This is the orphanage that we go to the most. They had a huge graduation ceremony for 4 kids that were graduating Kindergarden and 2 that were going to high school. Justin (this little boy I have fallen in love with and would adopt if I was married and had the money), sat on my lap through the graduation. He was on my lap holding my hands and was very calm. He then looked at the palms of my hands and with one finger he pushed down on my palm and watched the redness of the blood in my white hand disappear. He then curiously ran his finger up my arm, pointing out the freckles and moles. This made me a bit emotional and made me really think that I'm different to him, my skin color was odd to him and intriguing. After this, I grabbed him and held him tightly and gave him a big kiss and a big smile streamed across his face. Justin is my favorite boy at Lesly's. I will never forget his quiet demeanor, smily eyes and beautiful smile.

(Justin and me during the graduation)

Rebecca and some of the kids from Lesly's Orphanage

August 4, 2010

Last night our devotional was amazing. We were taught by Colleen about Christ and how he left the 99 for the 1 stray sheep. This made me think of leaving worldly things and thoughts behind and serve those in need. Ann had us share moments that were special to us from the week. I was overwhelmed with the spirit & memoried. . I cried. . the Lord has been/was truly with us. I will never forget going to Mother Theresa's Home for the Sick & Dying where we massaged & lotioned adults who were very sick and literally dying. Rebecca told us before we got there that it was going to be awkward. We were so use to helping children, so it was weird to help adults, but she reminded us that Christ washed the feet of his apostles. . the streets of jerusalem were a lot like the streets in Haiti. Dusty, dirty streets full of garbage and sandals were worn. So when we got there Rebecca asked me to help the men. . eve more awkward! I started rubbing arms and backs but then they wanted their chest massaged and then their legs. . but then it really got hard for me when they wanted their feet rubbed. I was really hesitant. . but then I started thinking of Christ. Although these feet had sores, were callused and dry, these feet were feet of children of God. "What would Jesus Do?" I thought and I also thought, "Would Jesus be proud of me and what I'm doing?" So I started massaging this man's feet. I almost started crying because I felt as though Christ was working through me, that my hands were his hands. I truly felt like I was doing something that would please my Savior, especially since I was sacrificing my will for His will. No matter your age, all of us need love & need physical touch."

"I am only one, but I am still one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do." -Edward Everett Hale

These are only a few things that I experienced. I feel like I have left my family in Haiti. I plan to return again, hopefully around Christmas time. If any of you would be interesting in coming down with me or donating money or supplies please let me know.

4th of July

2010-07-23T14:56:00.001-07:00

So updating again and a lot sooner than later, I must add.

So the fourth of July was amazing as usual, one of my favorite holidays! It's been a little hard not celebrating it with my family though. It's one of those holidays that revolved around family. Grandma Dinsdale would french braid my hair and make wonderful orange rolls. . .Provo parade, the porch swing, the family bbq with grandpa's homemade ice cream. . yumm.. I do miss that a lot.

But I guess I can complain celebrating the 4th of July in the Nation's Capital.

The weekend started with one of America's greatest past times-Baseball. Scott and I went to a National's Game, which of course was a blast.

I went to church, taught Sunday School (yes I was very nervous, it was my first time), then a bbq at my friends Rachel Johnson, Shandi Hill, Danielle Mathis and Ashley Swoop's house. Then we metro'd downtown and watched the fireworks right next to the Washington Monument.

Below: Ashley Swoop, Melissa Plowman, Rachel Johnson, Scott Havertz, Me, Grace Coates

Below: Melissa and Rachel posing while we waiting in line to get through security.

Below: The group we went with. Shandi's family was there as well as a think a family that was friends with her family or something.

Below: Me and Scott right next to the Washington Monument. It was a perfect spot to sit and we didn't have to wait very long before the fireworks started.

So I know Scott would kill me for posting this video online, but it definitely gives you more of an idea of what we got to experience.

So I think the worst part of the day was after the fireworks. As you can image there were thousands of people there and probably 80% of them metro'd in to downtown DC. We were a part of that 80%. So for about an hour we hung around playing games and taking pics before heading to the metro.

Below: So the ladies had a fun time taking fun posing pictures, but then it just got ugly when the guys tried to join in. . .

Me, Shandi, Melissa, Rachel & Grace

Below: Scott, Me, Tyler, Shandi, Melissa, Rachel, Grace and one of Rachel's friends (forgot his name. . oops!)

Here is a video that I took of one of the metro cars that past us. Completely filled with people. I don't know if I mentioned that the group of people I went downtown with included a few families aka some children. A member of our group kept them quite entertained with songs and dances which you will see a peak of that at the end of the movie.

But we finally made it home safe and sound and of course EXHAUSTED.

Summer Full of Adventures and More to Come!

2010-06-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

So I have come to the conclusion that I am not one of those "Blogging Talented Individuals". I don't know if it's a gift that is bestowed on wives or mothers and if it is, I'm excited to get it when I become a wife or a mother, but for the time-being I guess you all are going to have to put up with my laziness and procrastination when it comes to updating my blog.

So much has happened since I last posted even though it has only been a few months. This summer has been CRAZY! So much has happened. I have been enjoying the sun A LOT!. . . I moved to DC to get away from the snow of Utah and Idaho and well I think it followed me this past winter and decided take all the snow in my college years and put it all in a few very LARGE snowstorms and dump it on me. So the sun is a HUGE blessing. . the humidity though. . not so much.

I've been enjoying bike rides into downtown DC and Arlington Cemetery, parties including my roommate Christina's birthday, The Summer Soiree Party (everyone wore Khaki and white and it was outdoors with a southern feeling which was soo great!); my sister's wedding back in Utah in May, National's baseball games, a very wet Brad Paisley Concert, Duck Beach down in the Outer Banks, North Carolina (details to come. . ), A White Trash Maryland Demolition Derby, a few trips to Annapolis Maryland (Navy men in uniform. . can I say. . HOT?! and of course crab eating!), and of course the classic river tubing in Fredricksburg Virginia.

So yes I have kept myself busy and just for your enjoyment below are pictures to support my fun summer (don't worry I'll show you proof!)

Biking to Arlington Cemetery with Adam Nilsen.

After our bike ride it was SOO HOT and so we found a fountain on our way home and stuck our feet in :)

So there seems to be a tradition in our home that we throw huge parties. I guess we have a pretty great party house or something. . But my roommate threw a Cinco De Mayo Party that ended up being pretty great!

Christina's Birthday Party. My great roommates and me. Yes we're pretty excited!

Left to right: Becca Haynie, Shannon Ference, Christina Bishop and me

Gabriella Christino (My friend from Sao Paulo Brazil), Shannon my roommate and me at Christina's birthday party.

Back on May 15th my little sister Taryn got married to Casen Eldredge. Steller guy that one. So I flew out for a little less than a week and wow what an experience. I was reminded how single I was ha ha. Don't get me wrong I was SO happy that my sister was getting married and she couldn't have married anyone more perfect for her, but as the older sister it was a bit hard to think about not being married, especially when you got the question, "so why aren't you married yet" asked a lot through out the trip.

My conclusion: I plan and dream to be married one day, but the Lord has blessed me more than I ever good have imagined with the opportunity to move out to the east coast and find myself. I'm guessing I had to find myself before I could find my other half and I'm completely okay with that.

Another conclusion: That Utah trip made me realize how much I miss my family and how blessed I am to have the family that I do have. That is the #1 bummer about living across the country.

I had no idea how stressful being the Maid of Honor is. I took care of all the bridesmaids updo's, I did my mother's make up. . . I had to make signs, take care of dresses, made the bride's jewelry. . oh and we can't forget the toast! The Best Man, Casen's brother Colton wanted to sing a duet as our toasts to the bride and groom.. oh oh and we put it together the day of the wedding. . but honestly it was ALL worth it. Heck Taryn is my only sister.

Pictures were taking at the ring ceremony at The Eldredge Manor in Bountiful.

(Pictures taken by Jill Farnsworth my cousin)

Trip to Liberty Park in Salt Lake with the family.

A few days after I got back from Utah a big group of friends got together and went to the National's game. Fireworks after the game.

Adam Nilsen, Me & Shannon

Brad Paisley anyone? One of my favorite entertainers. I have been to his concert twice now. So it rained majorly before the show started so by the time it did start we were all soaking wet, but hey "It's all about the experience" right? So this guy in our group showed up (I hadn't met him yet but he was good friends with my roommate) Colton showed up and I thought he was Brad Paisley. As you see below there is a huge resemblance! There were girls coming up asking for pictures with him. . pretty great! ha ha

Shandi Hill, Colton, Me

Shandi Hill, Me (and my messed up hat) & Rachel Johnson

When we arrived, before we got soaking wet!

Kyle Hines, Shandi Hill, Rachel Johnson & me

Before and After: A bit wet. . This was most of the group that was with us.

So Duck Beach was the next event. I don't know how many of you have heard the rumors and secrets of Duck Beach. But it's been going on for years now. Memorial Day Weekend Young Single Adults from New York, DC, Boston, Philly, Florida, Virgina, Vegas, Utah, California and more. . get together and rent out HUGE Beach houses and party all weekend long. It is a HUGE deal out here. I went and stayed in a house with a lot of my close friends and what a blast! There were parties, great dinners and can't forget the BEACH! Saturday we hung on the beach all day and also had a Sand Volleyball Tournament which of course I participated in. Pictures don't even give it justice, but I will still share :)

Ha ha first night: I was pretty excited, I mean who wouldn't be! I was surrounded by some of my closest friends and of course um.. all guys!

Saturday trip to the beach: Carl Dempsey, Me, Dre Bennin, Rich Baer,

Eric Hayes

Darren Haycock, Casey Van Camp, Zack Winters, Jeff Muniz & Me

Volleyball Tournament and my awkward Serving Face :)

Carl Dempsey, Me & Will Perry

The day I had to leave. . sad day. . but I got to hang out for a bit at the pool before heading out.

Jen Brooks, Me, Matt LeFrance, Erik Hayes

This was our beach house. . . I can't complain ha ha we had 20+ people staying here or was it 30?
Um can anyone say party? Ha ha the story behind this is pretty great! Everyone was bored Sat. night and another party was cancelled. So our house agreed that people could come over, so we text a few individuals and within about... 30 mins it looked like this. It quickly became a HUGE dance party.
My Vball team!!! Jonathan, me, Jennie & J Dee

Demolition Derby- Can I say white trash? But boy did I love it!

Trip to Annapolis Maryland with Travis, Rich, Melissa, Will & Heather. One of the classics of Maryland is eating crab here. So we had a triple date out to Annapolis and ate crab!

Wow I think that was the longest post I have ever done and the funny thing. . I don't even know if anyone is going to read it ha ha!

So this is just the beginning of an incredible summer! A few more things that are happening with me:

Since February I have been working at a Wyndham Timeshare Resort in the National Harbor. I put my 2 weeks notice in a week ago and will be taking a huge step of faith! My friend Matt Fischer has a start up advertising agency and hired me as his Executive Project Manager. I will be starting July 1st with him. This is my dream job. Funny thing is that I wasn't expecting it for a few years and was hoping for a bit more experience under my belt; however, I think this is where my dreams will start coming true. . with a lot of work, faith and prayers.

I also have 2 more trips planned for the summer:

1. A trip to Ohio with a group of friends to go to a Cleveland's baseball game and go to Cedar Point-one of the top amusement parks in the world.

2. I get the wonderful opportunity to go to Haiti the first week of August! I don't know if any of you know about this trip. I'm going with a group called, "Foundation for Children in Need". My friend Carl Dempsey introduced me to the group. He has gone down with them a few times especially after the earthquake. They go to orphanages and help the children. This is one of my biggest dreams! I've been slowly trying to get donations to help me get out there. If any of you want to help me out you can go to the following website:

http://www.ffcin.org/blog/donate/

There is a drop down menu with volunteer names. Click on mine and you can donate through paypal. Since I am leaving my "steady" job and going to be working with a start up, money has been pretty tight but I believe all will work out!

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring!!

2010-04-03T21:23:00.001-07:00

So Spring has officially shown its face in DC. One of the biggest times of the year in DC is the Cherry Blossom Season. This past week was the Cherry Blossom Festival and holy cow there are a lot of people here!

A quick FYI- I apologize for not posting anything since.. November? Lots has changed. I am got a new job with Wyndham. It's the largest timeshare company in the world, I believe. I work at the brand new resort at the National Harbor right across the Woodrow Wilson bridge in Maryland. It's crazy how close all the states are around here. I live in Virginia, and go to work in Maryland and can jump on the metro to go to DC. I'm an in-house marketer/work with Member Services. The thing that I love about my job is that I get paid to serve people. It's pretty great because I love serving and meeting people. I must say this job has given me the opportunity to meet so many different types of people. It has made me come to love and appreciate people that are different than me; which was one of my reasons for moving out to DC in the first place. I give people some fun direction on different types of things to do while visiting us. Let's just say, you can never do everything here!

So anyway . . . after having awful snow storms hit us we are FINALLY getting some good sun and beautiful cherry blossoms. Yesterday was my first Friday off since I started working with Wyndham (downfall: I have to work every Friday & Saturday and sometimes Sundays). I went downtown DC to check out the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin. I met up with my friend Kraig Cooper. We also went to the Library of Congress and walked around the mall. Below are some pix from my experience. It was a great day off!!! I wish I had more of these :)

Modeling Experience

2009-11-11T07:55:00.001-08:00

So some of you know about my "modeling" experience. To keep everyone up to date I'll tell it again.

I have an amazing friend, Julie Jackson, who's a hairstylist. She works with a very well known make up artist, Gustavo Mottolo. Both of them needed models for an upcoming website and for a new fall make up line. Julie asked me to model and I was sooooo excited!! We all got dressed up and went to Old Town Alexandria and shot some pictures in an alley way and in a cute cafe. So we FINALLY got some of the pictures back, so I thought I'd share.

Credit goes to Anne Robert Photography

Halloween Party

2009-11-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

I love technology! I'm currently on a bus heading up to New York City to hang out with friends and to see my amazing sister play in a soccer tournament in Newark New Jersey which is just outside the city. The now have buses that have power outlets and internet. So now I can catch up on my blog and watch movies from netflix online. Man life is beautiful!

So a little update. . . . My roommates and I threw this HUGE zombie party for Halloween and it was incredible! My roommate Christina and our friend Marcia went crazy with decorations. Our house was turned into a zombie haunted house basically. Here are some pics from the party.

Shannon-Zombie, Christina,-Zombified Jane Austen Character, Becca-Zombified Prom Queen, Me-Zombie Bride
Decor

Jelly Hand-Edible can you believe it!? It also had crunchy stuff inside for the bones. People seemed to love this.

Little Dogs as fingers..

Califlower with red food coloring and radish- Kinda cool huh! We were hoping they looked like brains...

This was the best picture of me that night... I couldn't smile in pics because I just looked retarded so I pulled the whole, "I want to kill you" look. I think I did a pretty good job at it.

Me, Shannon, Katie (FYI she made her Alice in Wonderland Costume.. kind of amazing) and some random guy that just met us like a second before the picture and he's already putting the hand on Katie's leg. . hmmm...
Christina wanted a picture of me trying to roll my eyes back in the back of my head...

This is what happens at 2:oo in the morning . . .

I had to put a picture of warren up. I loved his costume! Zombified Ronald McDonald.

Girls are Ridiculous, Boys are Dumb

2009-10-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

So it's 1:13 am and I'm stuck online... so pathetic of me! I hate the fact that I'm a huge night owl and stay up at late hours into the night and then expect to get up at 7:00am. My dream is to have this switch one day where I become a morning person and can enjoy the calmness of morning and of a sunrise. Too bad that day isn't today. So as I was/still am sprawled out on my bedroom floor, I ran across a college friends blog who I'm guessing has gotten into writing. I read one of her poems and couldn't help but let a huge smile engulf my face and have a few laughs snicker out of my lips. Below is the poem, I hope you enjoy. The funny thing is that many would like to take it as a joke but truth seems to be written all over it.

Girls are Ridiculous, Boys are Dumb

Please allow me to state

the fact that's widely known:

Girls are all ridiculous,

and all boys are just plain dumb.

He says he'll call tomorrow,

but he forgets and texts the next week.

She sits by the phone in sorrow,

only his texts to delete.

Girls always do just what they feel,

though they say the opposite of that.

All girls make things complicated,

and that is a proven fact.

Boys often flirt to no end,

and then just never make a move.

Boys often tend to lead girls on,

without any follow through.

Girls are all ridiculous,

and boys are just plain dumb--

often their two roles reverse,

adding greatly to the fun.

Girls, in nature, talk too much,

while boys will speak so rarely;

in conversation, little's said--

time wasted despairingly.

Girls send subtle signs and hints

that boys are too dense to catch--

thinking they can somehow help,

friends try to set up the match.

It is quite a wonder

how anything gets done,

as girls are just ridiculous,

and boys are just plain dumb.

Month Review in Pictures

2009-09-07T08:34:00.000-07:00

So it's very obvious that I love summer but after dealing with the horrible humid heat of the east coast, I'm ready for FALL!!!! So I changed up the blog for fall.

I'm also excited because I get to go to New York City on Friday. I met some people that live up there too so I get free housing! :) We'll see how cheap I can make the trip but the good thing is that I won't have to worry about seeing everything since I'm only 4 1/2 hours away I can go back up whenever. This weekend is also September 11th so there will be some cool stuff going on. I'm planning on having a pretty laid back trip. Ground zero stuff, renting a bike and riding around Central Park and across the Brooklyn Bridge and if it's still going on, go to the US Open. I'll keep you updated on what I end up doing.

Here is a summary of the last month in pictures.

My birthday was on the 12th of August and I had a big party at my place. I probably had 20+ people show up, which was pretty great since I had only been in the area for a month and a half. I have to admit the only thing I really wanted for my birthday was to be around friends. Moving to a new place can be scary but I have to admit I have made so many great and incredible friends! The only thing that could have made my birthday better would have been having my family here. But a woman can't get everything she wants now can she!

We had a pretty good display of food which I have to thank Jocelyn. I went and bought it but she displayed it very well :) I was worried we wouldn't have enough but we were okay in the end.

Ha ha this was the best! My friend John gave me a gorilla for my birthday! Definitely one of those presents I won't forget.

So this was a very awkward moment. I had people surrounding me and of course all the attention was on me and the singing and staring was making me nervous!

This is my roommate Jocelyn. Love her to death. She made me a homemade cheesecake for my birthday.

Eli, Adam and Jamie drove 1 hour and 20 minutes to come to my party! So I thought they deserved to be on my blog. Props to them! Thanks for the support!

The weekend after my birthday a group of friends and I went to Ocean City Maryland. It's this stretch of an island with a bunch of hotels and a beach with a boardwalk and pier with carnival games and such on it. It was so much fun!

Dani my roommate and me right when we showed up at the beach.

This is Jeff and me on the beach.

Roger, me, Lucy and Jeff

Whole Group: Roger, Lucy, Me, Jeff, Dani and Erik
Lucy and me

Dani and me after dinner. Let's just say she can pull off the ocean water hair better than I can.

Here's the whole group: Me, Erik, Dani, Jeff, Roger and Lucy
Walking on the boardwalk. I felt like I was in a movie! Seriously it was so pretty with the sun setting.

So when we got to the pier everyone wanted to go on the ferris wheel. For those of you who don't know, I'm afraid of heights and for some reason my fear keeps getting worse. I was a little nervous about going but I didn't think it was too tall so I took the chance. Ummm yeah big mistake.

So this was right BEFORE we started moving. I wish I looked this calm the whole time... uh yeah

AFTER.... Yeah so I huddled up in fetal position and of course Jeff had to freak me out even more. How pathetic am I!

So I think it was the next weekend I went kayaking in Georgetown by the Key Bridge on the Potomac. That was fun and relaxing but it made me realize how out of shape I am.

Lucy and me

The Kennedy Center
Georgetown

Jeff and Lucy

Key Bridge that leads into Georgetown from Rossyln Virgina

Okay the last event! I went downtown with my friend Eli last week and took night pictures of some of the monuments. Funny story.... I went to shoot a pictures from the top of the Jefferson stairs out to the washington monument and the white house and the security guard came up and told me I couldn't take pictures with a tripod. I was like uhh.. its night I have to have a tripod, and he ended up explaining that there are snipers on the top of the white house and if they see a tripod they might shoot me. ha ha I was like ummm okay I don't want to die today.

So for some reason I didn't think to bring my "nice" camera with me. So my crappy point and shoot took these pics. Some of them are pretty nice but they still don't have great quality.

Downtown Sunday Bike Ride

2009-08-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

Last night I took the coolest tour of DC. My friend John Water has lived here for about 2 years and so he took me on a bike ride around the city and it was beautiful! We were there during sunset so I got some pretty cool pictures. Although it was on my point and shoot camera (which doesn't have the best quality) I was able to get some cool shots just for all of you!

Enjoy!

The Spite House

2009-08-10T08:17:00.001-07:00

Saturday my roommates Christina and Joceyln and I went to Old Town Alexandria. We ran into the cutest lady that works and is a member of Christ's Church which is where Robert E Lee and Washington use to go to church, I believe Churchill also went there when he came to visit... It was one of the only churches that was kept intact during the Civil War. Anyway this lady went off for I swear 20 plus minutes about the town and the church and history stuff. It was really interesting hearing about some cool things about Virginia.

This is a block that is made out of pebbles. Really annoying to drive on but it definetly makes you feel like you're living back in the olden days.

So anyway she told us about these houses that were built back in the day called "The Spite Houses". Basically people would pull their wagons inbetween the houses and would make indents in the bricks. So the owner of one of the houses decided to spite everyone and build a house 7 feet wide ha ha! So we had to go check it out.

NEW BLOG!!!

2009-06-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

Hey Readers! Hope all is well! So I decided to create a blog FINALLY for my photography and designs. I also will be putting some other stuff up from other designers and photographers. So please visit it and comment! There is a link on the right side of this blog and below is a link as well.

http://winsomefotodesign.blogspot.com/

Letter Press

2009-06-15T15:52:00.001-07:00

My new interest! Okay so I'm kind of going blog crazy but I totally fell in love with these letter pressed items. I would love to have letter pressed business cards someday even though they would cost a hand and a leg but they are incredible. The pictures below are of wedding table seating cards.

This company also does wedding announcements and every day cards and even baby announcements. Below are some baby announcements that I really liked.

David Perry

2009-06-14T21:13:00.001-07:00

So I'm sitting here after midnight surfing the net and I come across Linnea's Fun Blog List on her blog and everything went down hill from there. ha ha! I basically have copied all her links because they're AWESOME! I also randomly ran across this videographer's blog that was incredible. This guy so far is the best I've seen. I love the colors and angles he uses and he looks so professional. So I want you to check him out!

http://davidperryfilms.squarespace.com/

Update from the East Coast

2009-06-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

So it's official. I can say that I live in the DC area. Currently I am living not even 5 minutes away from the Pentagon in a very nice neighborhood in a house. But at the beginning of July I will be moving. . . AGAIN. . .to the south side of Alexandria which is just about 10 minutes away from where I am right now.

What an adventure this has been! It's had it's ups and downs but I'm glad I moved out here.

So this weekend was amazing! One of my friends from the ward invited my roommates and I to his Cattle Ranch out in the Shenandoah Mountains. It was so beautiful! 14 people ended up going.

The place we stayed at for the night was the guest house. It was incredible! Part of it dates back to the 1800's. There is a family cemetery on the land.
So we went exploring and checked out the cemetery. Rumor has it that the family was buried on the inside and the slaves were buried around the rock wall as seen in the pictures below. We had to climb through this little hole to get inside to see the graves. There were only three of them that could be seen.

The next morning we all went hiking. The group I went with hiked to these beautiful falls and I couldn't help but stop on the way and take some pics.

Across the country in days

2009-05-26T21:33:00.000-07:00

First off I keep looking at those wedding pictures and hate them. I re-edited them a few days after I posted them because they just looked so dull. I will try and put a few pictures up on this post so you can see the difference. I have also realized that when I post pics on blogger that the saturation/color fades majorly, again very frustrating.

So many people don't know this but I'm moving to DC. I officially left Monday morning with my mom. We drove through Wyoming and most of Nebraska Monday. We then took the trek through Iowa and Wisconsin (detouring a bit) to go see my brother Merrick and his wife Vanessa and two kids in Sussex, Wisconsin. They live just outside Milwaukee.

I have forgotten how great my two nieces are! Avery is almost three and Camryn just turned one. They are crazy cute! Camryn is always happy and just so full of love and joy! She gives me hugs and just openly runs to me with a huge smile on her face. Avery is a genius! She sings Disney songs under her breath too. "I wanna be, where the people are....I wanna see, wanna see em dancin!" Oh and did I mention she loves princesses?

(Avery all dressed up as a princess cuddling with grandma!)

So today we went to a place called Holy Hill. It's a catholic church on the highest hill in eastern Wisconsin surrounded by trees. It was way cool. It's nice to see that there are people not of my faith that still have a strong testimony of Christ and love him dearly.

(Avery & Me in front of the Catholic Church on Holy Hill)

(Camryn & Me on top of Holy Hill)

Today we also went down to Lake Michigan and hung out on the beach for a little bit then went to a brewery. ha ha I know kind of weird to go to a brewery when you don't drink beer, but it was fun. They also make root beer and other sodas. We were able to test them... lots of fun..

(Avery & Me at Lake Michigan making funny faces!)
(Avery looking at Seashells)

(Chugging down on the good beer at the brewery. We like to call it Root Beer!)

So Thursday we will be leaving to head over to DC. I'm nervous yet excited. I have a few friends in the area which makes me feel a little bit better, but this is going to be a huge yet great adventure.

Kenzi's Wedding

2009-05-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

So I survived the wedding. It was a bit stressful and it started raining but I was able to pull through. I was bugged with how some of the pictures turned out. I have learned to be more patient and to be able to pay more attention to the focus. Hope you enjoy!

More Photos

2009-04-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd put a few more pics up for the fun of it.

Update on life

2009-04-01T09:46:00.001-07:00

So maybe I'm not one of those people that update their blogs very often. Due to the fact that my life, really isn't that exciting. I hear great stories from my married old roommates and think wow they have more interesting things to say than I do probably because they can talk about their other half which I don't really have one so I guess I have to just deal with the fact that this blog is all about me! I should be okay with that right?

So a little update. I'm still in Bountiful Utah with a job I really don't enjoy and still dreaming of moving to the east coast. I actually have a job interview in DC area next week so I'm going to take a little trip out there Monday through Wednesday. I'm searching for more companies to interview me to in the area while I'm there. I also found a girl that told me I could go to institute with her out there which should be another adventure within its self. I'm a bit scared because I have three days to myself in a huge city, but again it should be an adventure.

Along with my job hunting, I went to Hawaii a little less than a month ago which was AMAZING! It was spur of the moment. I went to Maui with my mom, 2 aunts and grandma. It was really relaxing and just beautiful. We stayed in a Marriott right on the ocean. Each morning i got up and went walking on the beach. I also met up with a guy I work with and some of his friends for a few days and went snorkeling and just played around. So it was perfect! The only I wish I had was a husband to go with me!

One of my high school best friends is getting married in April. Actually she's my x-fiance's cousin as well. She asked me to do her photography. I kind of had a nervous breakdown when I said yes. I'm doing her slide show, engagement pics and wedding pics. It's stressing me out more than it should. It doesn't help that they got engaged at the beginning of March and are getting married April 25 too. Way short engagement.

So I took their engagements this past week and I'm going to post some of the pics up. Let me know what you think!

2009-01-11T23:32:00.000-08:00

Okay so back in September I went to Oregon with my mom, brother and aunt to go to my cousin's wedding. We were able to go back in time and go to Sherwood. Now Vanessa if you check this ask Merrick about the mailboxes. There are two different sets. One picture is of our old mailboxes but there are other ones, ask Merrick about what happened to those poor mailboxes.

Start voting! Which ones do you like the best?

2008-11-15T19:37:00.000-08:00

Graduation

2008-11-15T15:00:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys! So graduation is in less than a month and I'm freaking out! I'm not ready to be a responsible adult yet! ahh!! My roommate took some pictures of me for some of my announcements and thought I'd share a few of them!

The Test

2008-10-06T23:58:00.000-07:00

Don't well all wish that life was easy? It's hard to imagine sometimes that trials in our lives are the things that make us grown and strengthen us. This song was passed by to me and has great meaning to it.

Lyrics to the song "The Test" by Janice Kapp Perry

~Tell me friend, I see your trials,Why doesn't He who worked the miracles send solace to his child?
Tell me friend, if you understand,Why doesn't He with pow'r to raise the dead just make you whole again?
It would be so easy for Him. I watch you and in sorrow question why?
Then you, my friend, in perfect faith reply:
(Chorus)
Didn't He say He sent us to be tested? Didn't He say the way would not be sure? But didn't He say we could live with Him forevermore, well and whole if we but patiently endure?
After the trial we will be blessed, but this life is the test.

My New Little Family

2008-09-30T00:53:00.000-07:00

So I have seen another blessing that the Lord has given me. . . . an Amazing FHE Group!! I haven't been so lucky when it has come to getting a good FHE group that I have fun with and enjoy being with.

Thus far in the semester we have played Clue charades in which one of the bishopric's wives had to act like a break dancer and he have had "family pictures". Tonight we got together and had FHE family pictures. We all dressed in the same colors and everything! Here are some pictures.

Mesa Falls

2008-09-28T22:13:00.000-07:00

Okay so I have some more fun! Today I went to Mesa Falls with my friends Tyler, Jake, Troy, Kyle, Juan and Liza. It was great! All the fall colors are starting to fill in and it was beautiful!

In this picture: Juan in front Back left to right: Troy, Kyle and Jake and of course me. This is the upper mesa falls.

Left to Right: Jake, Tyler, Liza, Juan, Me and Kyle. We're at the scenic view of the lower falls right before half the guys decided to climb down the cliff. . yeah I decided to be smarter than that and go the long way around.

Fall Semester Fun!

2008-09-28T21:32:00.001-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted! I'm back at school and loving it! Also freaking out with the fact that I'm graduating after this semester and realizing that I have to grow up! DANG IT!! Oh well, think of the positive side of it, I can start making money!!!

So yeah anyway, school has been a lot of fun though. I've realized that I need to take advantage of every second I have up here. Each day has felt more like a blessing to me this semester. So this weekend my great friend Dan Bennett came up and we went to the sand dunes and St. Anthony with my roommates. Here are some pictures from it.
This is Dan, Me and my roommate Kaylie before we went out to the Sand Dunes Saturday Night.

This is us at the Sand Dunes bored and feeling a bit awkward.

So we also had fun at the downtown part in St. Anthony.

This weekend really made me look at all the amazing blessings God has given me, especially friends. I was able to be with a friend that I have known for over 5 years and also be with friends I have known for only a few weeks or a few months.

Katy's Wedding

2008-09-03T16:12:00.001-07:00

Hey Guys! So I had an amazing Labor Day weekend! I was able to go up to Oregon for my cousin Katy's wedding. Attached are some pictures I took and "prettied up". I'll put more up when I have some more time.

Kickers

2008-08-21T15:42:00.000-07:00

It's official! My job is so cute! Kate Wood 2 months old. Her and I have become bestest of friends, since we do hang out all day Monday through Thursday. We have a connection. We have had many deep conversations that have to do with "goo's" and "ahh oooo's" and of course the smiling and kicking. I've nicknamed her "kickers".

Kate is such a great baby! At the moment she is actually just hanging out kicking and staring at the light. Hopefully that won't give her any negative affects when it comes to vision later on. ha ha. Like staring at the sun. I knew I shouldn't have done that when I was a kid, I run into things all the time.

Tonight I plan on taking some more official pictures well nicer ones when I babysit her and her older brother who I nannied two years ago. I'll try and put them up tomorrow.

Bee's Game

2008-08-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

So last night I didn't do the usual... sitting around watching the Olympics with my family or reading my book (Breaking Dawn the last Twilight book or last weeks book Harry Potter 5), I went to the BEE'S GAME! The Bee's are Salt Lake's minor league baseball team. My friend Brendan Hamill had tickets and so a big group of people went. I met Brendan's old FHE sister from BYUI and let's just say we hit it off! I found a new friend! She is awesome. It was great to be able to get out with other people my age and do something fun. I'm use to just hanging out with a 2 month old little girl all day, reading my book and watching tv at home after work. Here are some pictures from last night. Oh and by the way the Bee's did win by one run in the end of the ninth inning.

And yes, I know I am a huge cheese ball in these pictures.

Another Day in the Office

2008-08-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

As I was sitting here in the quiet, only hearing the gentle hum of the air conditioner I thought, "what can I do so I feel like I'm not completely wasting my time?" Then it popped into my head! Why don't I make a blog so that everyone I know can know how boring and uneventful my life is! So that's what I did!

In the beginning I thought that blogging was kind of lame. Something new wives and mothers do because "it was the thing to do". But it's been nice for me as a spectator of this new hobby, to be able to actually keep up with the lives of those I don't always keep in contact with. So I thought might as well try it out.