Last night on our horrible drive back to California from our visit to St. George I found myself reminiscing on the
past. We were listening to Michael Buble, his latest album and it was bringing back SO many memories. I felt like blogging right there and then so I'd get all my memories down, but alas, I was in a car. So I'm going to try at it this morning.
Last May I was living a very VERY different life from the one I lead now. Not better or worse, just different! It all started when I got sick of working for the bank, so I thought I'd just get a paper route instead of the bank and work one hour a day as opposed to 6-8! Unfortunately no routes were available so I looked elswhere. I found a fun serving job at Red Lobster, and started right before spring semester at Dixie ended. I was anxious to finish my associates degree, so I decided tofinish out during summer semester and took on (foolishly) 16 credits! For those of you who aren't aware, 16 summer credits is like 32 regular credits. You are doing 16 weeks worth of work in 8 weeks. It was a little scary at times! And as if that load weren't enough...(by the way I STILL worked at the bank AND Red Lobster) I found a paper route! So my days were like this: Wake up at 4 to do my paper route, done by 5:30. Went back to sleep for an hour, woke up and went to my morning math class (can't remember what time), went to work at the bank until 1 or 3, got off work and went to the college to work on my online classes, ate dinner and went to Red Lobster from 5 or 6 to 10 or 11 at night...went to bed and started all over again! The crazy part was that I took on this schedule so I wouldn't focus so much on my social life... I needed a break from boys! But I still somehow managed to date a lot during that phase...and I was NEVER tired! It amazes me now that I only work 8 hours a day and I'm EXHAUSTED. I was working 16 hour days and had SO much energy!
I wish my mom had taken a picture of me in my red lobster uniform, with my Zions Bank name tag, a bag of newspapers and my backpack, cuz I have NEVER been that busy! It was SO fun.
Aside from the huge workload, I also had the most incredible YEAR when I lived in the main street house. I made the BEST friends and made memories that will last me a lifetime! We'd have dance parties with our strobe light and techno music that would last for hours.
We'd dress up in 80's attire and walk through Harmon's to buy junk food. We'd stop at Sconecutter to get something in the middle of the night and get out of the car in the drive thru and have a mini dance party. We'd have karaoke parties and sing our GUTS out
We'd go to the lake and lay on the beach and just talk about life...and wonder what'd happen to us all.
Life was SO simple. It was FUN. It was EASY! I had three of the BEST room mates anyone could ask for. Lauren and I had already become really good friends, and through the bank I connected with Tara and Jessica who were looking for two room mates for a house they were moving into. It just worked out so easily and we were all roommates for about a year! Lauren and I got the small bedrooms upstairs that were more like haunted lofts...but we made it work, and Tara and Jessica had the bottom bedrooms. Our house was old, but SO much fun. We had a LOT of space, and some retro appliances that were pretty sweet. The summer I was working really hard I splurged and bought a trampoline which was really fun for us all to hang out on, to sleep out and lay out on.
I look back on those days and just ache for them sometimes! Our kiss boards in the dining room, our room mate dinners, our dinners at Iggy's, all the boys that came and went, the girls finding a lizard in the Christmas tree when they were taking it down and screaming bloody murder, the boys that lived in our basement and made us feel safe, the Halloween party with all of our friends when we played Sardines and somehow a ton of people hid between my bed and the wall,
all the Christmas decor my roommates had to endure for my sake, the bats Wes gave us to protect intruders, WES in general...my best friend for 10 years who was there for me when I needed him most,
the fact that he was always the only guy hanging around all hours of the night, driving around in Lauren's car, all the memories at the cabin in Pine Valley,
being there for Chanelle and Elliots engagement, planning and enjoying Chanelle's, Lauren's and my weddings,
lunches with Chanelle and Lauren before Chanelle met Elliot, and even after, how GROSS our house was when we first moved in, and how much of a HOME it felt like after a few short weeks, the girls spying on me when I had gentlemen callers, mag light flash lights, Wes's first kiss night, the fact that all the weird things happened to Jess and I when Lauren and Tara were out of town,
Lauren meeting Jake, New Years with the greatest friends ever, my friends coming to see me in shows at St. George Musical Theater, my birthdays with my friends,
and of course the infamous "crotch video" where I ripped a hole in my shorts and didn't realize it till the end of the song...and ALL the other moments that made that phase of my life UNFORGETTABLE!
Next, is the PRESENT.
Ben and I bought a NEW CAR! Ok not NEW, an 07 Prius. We have officially gone green, and in turn have put more green in our pockets! We just drove to St. George and spent a mere 45 dollars round trip for gas! 45 MPG baby! Here is a stock photo of our car...I haven't taken pics of it yet:
We love LOVE that we have 4 doors now! It was such a pleasant drive to SG and back even though we had our laundry and brought back some Christmas decor! We have a family car now woo hoo! :) And the BEST part is that we got out of Ben's lease on his Solara! LEASES SUCK!!!
Ben and I carved pumpkins Tuesday night...of course his turned out great and mine looked special....
AND NOW FOR THE FUTURE...Ben's company is CLOSING. By Friday the company will no longer exist. Ben's last day will be Wednesday...and he only gets two weeks pay as severance. It's weird the feeling I had when it actually HAPPENED, and became more than a speculation. I'm a little scared but overall through this whole thing I have felt peace, knowing it will all work itself out! I still have a great job that will carry us through most of our bills thank heavens! :)
But we have plans. I love California, I love my Disneyland pass, I love the ocean. Lots of people would kill to live here at least once in their lives...but Ben and I felt really strongly this weekend while we were in St. George that we need to find a way to make that home. I found a few promising jobs today on craigslist for St. George, and Ben applied for two of them. We feel like if we have faith and just make the move then the Lord will work it all out for us. We are hoping to have a family soon and don't want to raise our family here in OC...it's far too pricey and we just don't feel settled. Ever since we got married and started our lives here we've felt un settled, like something wasnt quite right. I've of course been homesick, and have missed my family and friends A LOT. But I feel like we'd be moving for the right reasons, instead of just for reasons of just missing my fam. Ben and I spent most of the drive in silence, thinking about our future...and this morning we realized we had both been feeling the same urgency to move to St. George. So pray for us as we make our final decisions and try to live off of a small income. This economy is scary...and we are firsthand witnesses of the effects it is having.
So there you have it....PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE! Thanks for reading....
Ben and sweet Mary, the secretary
And for those who may have missed this picture...Ben and I assisting the costume department to rent out some costumes. Don't we look awesome?
