Success!

So Ben and I would be very ungrateful if we didn't post about our blessings of success that we have achieved in the past few days. Ben and I have been wondering what to do with our lives, like where to settle for now and where to go to school and such. We both really like it here, but Ben wants to get his MBA and we were trying to pick the best route. We've been praying about it for a while and the other day it seemed we had our answer. We really thought at first that BYU was the right choice (and who knows-it could be still) but the more we prayed we realized that we had a lot of reasons to stay here in California! The first example being that I was awarded a REALLY nice raise at my job. 10% this month, and another 10% next month! I will be making as much as Ben made before he got his 20% raise which goes into effect in two weeks! So we are making more money than we ever dreamed we would make here in OC. We are paying off all our debts and getting financially fit for our future! It is SUCH a blessing to both love our jobs! I added the first pictures because they sorta remind me of what life between married people is like. Your are mostly on your own when it comes to making choices, but it's WONDERFUL to have each other and to do things as a team. I will ALWAYS feel safe in Ben's care because of the man he is and the friend he has always been for me.

I really feel like in the picture below we look like two people who trust each other COMPLETELY and will be able to conquer the world as long as we are together...

These are two of my three bosses. I took their picture cuz they looked so slick before a big meeting in LA

This is me excited about my big raise! We celebrated at Red Robin!

I had a little victory rasberry limeade! MMMM

Then there's Ben's awesome job that gets us into a lot of REALLY cool events. For example, tonight we spent about 6 hours at "Opera Under the Stars" in Laguna Beach. We got to mix and mingle with some SUPER wealthy people. I really loved people watching at this event because people REALLY do get treated WAY differently when they are rich. But at the end of the day they are JUST people. Even the ones who own a house so big it covers two zip codes, and 2 747 airplanes the use for their "personal jets" and the biggest yacht in Newport Beach. Whatever...haha But really I was SO proud of Ben tonight. He was the official "bouncer" for the VIP party. He looks so cute when he's working. I was so impressed with him all night...

Ben working the entrance

Ben has worked SO hard to get to where he is. He has a boss, Dawn, who really appreciates his hard work and looks for his potential. She has helped him to really grow in his job and gave him a GREAT promotion in February. He spends extra time at the office just to get ahead and I know he is turning heads based on what I heard tonight at the event. He's SO talented!

Like I said...this man is talented. Ben designed this cake top. He did the whole thing in photoshop and I heard SO many compliments on his work! I was like a proud parent tonight with everyone ogling his fancy cake! It was Puccini's 150th birthday so in honor of him the entire second act of the show was devoted to his works such as "La Boheme" and "Madame Butterfly".

Ben with his fabulous cake!

As well as designing the cake, Ben also designed all the posters found around the venue. I heard his bosses praising him to several people, and was so excited to see how many people addressed Ben by name and talked to him like an old friend. He's SO good at his job!!! Also, I had my first jealous moment tonight! One of the singers in the show was wearing a VERY busty dress that made her boobs the automatic center of attention in the room! I was commenting on her earlier, and about 10 minutes later saw that someone was hugging Ben. I thought "Oh that's nice!" then she pulled away and I saw the BOOBS! How dare that boobalicious woman hug MY husband! I'm the only big breasted woman who gets to do that!!!! hahaha. I was totally jealous and very flustered after the moment passed. It felt good though...to feel so protective of my husband. We don't get out a lot and Ben's usually so shy that I don't get the opportunity to be jealous :-) It was good jealousy..not the type that made me mad...just...protective. haha. Needless to say there were no more hugs that night!

I'm grateful for my job and the opportunity I have had to learn SO much. The first weeks were VERY overwhelming...but I have really come to appreciate the whole business and feel appreciated for the hard work I do. Anyone who has experienced this knows what a good feeling it is to be praised and rewarded! For anyone who doesn't know I work for Great Pacific Securities as an Operations Manager. We are a brokerage firm dealing mostly with the bond market, and a little with the stock market. I do EVERYTHING from making sure trades clear, to setting up a new email network for the office. I'm IT, Admin, Accounts recievable and payable...and the all around support of the whole firm! It's been AWESOME and I look forward to every day!

Ben and I are TRULY blessed and we thank Heavenly Father for all that he has blessed us with. We are SO happy and can't wait to spend at least another 4 years here in Orange County! :)