Patiently Waiting

Painful doesn't begin to describe August. Imagine trying to do a job and create and implement long-term plans all the while you know you are leaving. Well, you think you are. The company keeps reassuring you they want to hire you and once September hits they can. The limbo of emotions drove me crazy. So, I did what any sane person would do, I went to DisneyWorld to celebrate my sister's birthday.

That week ended up being crazy! I confirmed weeks in advance that I could be on vacation that week in August, and right before I went, marketing and sales decided to implement a new sales paradigm that required me to help with the new integration. Not happy. I ended up working before and after our Orlando adventures. Did I say I wasn't happy? That didn't help with the see-saw emotions. Another sister sent her two sons to join us which made for a great time.

Sea World

Sea World

NASA

NASA

Atlantis Space Shuttle - NASA

NASA

Downtown Disney - Sleeping Beauty all done in Legos

Epcot - Happy Birthday Kath!

Epcot

This may have been breakfast and dinner

Epcot

Animal Kingdom

I also had the chance to attend BYU MBA's marketing adventure in Moab. It reminded me of being a first year student and I had a great time networking with fellow alumni and old friends. 

Corona Arch

Delicate Arch

When the scriptures talk about enduring to the end, I think August sums up that scripture perfectly.

These are the kinds of texts I get from my brother. Love him!

Nephew's blessing day

Many faces of Max

Helping him rock climb

New Tradition

November was such a fun month. I went to the Bay Area twice that month with only paying for one ticket. How does that work? I had to be in Orlando for work the first week and had a brilliant idea before I bought my ticket. What was the cost difference for flying from SLC > Bay Area > Orlando and back home again. Answer: $5. So off I went. I flew to Oakland and spent the weekend playing with friends, headed to Orlando for work, and then went home again for the total cost of $5 and a weekend rental car. Not too shabby. Oh, and I colored my hair a shade darker than my natural color. Much better. More like me.

All I could hear when I saw this sign was don't go to Oakland

Hotel in Orlando

Once home, I spent some time enjoying the snow, playing with work friends, and listening to Jeff Bezos and my CEO Josh James speaking at the UTC Hall of Fame dinner.

No longer a blonde. My "true" color.

With my parents being gone, I needed to figure out what to do for Thanksgiving and decided to head to California again. I met up with friends the Saturday before the holidays to watch BYU play San Jose State. Awful game. Yes, a year later I still remember that we played horribly. On the bright side, I joined up with my sister and her family in Monterey for a few days before heading to the Sacramento area for Thanksgiving. I had a great time playing cards, being with family, and participating in the family Turkey Trot. My aunt Ann also joined us and I'm glad we got to spend some time with her. I think I need to continue swapping time with siblings for the holidays.

BYU vs. San Jose State

17-mile Drive

17-mile Drive

18th hole at Pebble Beach

Roasting marshmellows at Carmel

Carmel

Took some time but I finally won her over (with my electronics)

Family 5K Turkey Trot

I've Always Loved the Idea of Summer

July 2012 stands out in my mind as the month I decided to start looking for a new job. I dusted off the resume (i.e. found the folder where I'd saved it), updated it with the latest and greatest, and started sending it out to random companies with random openings. Not very strategic. I know. It was my lame attempt at saying I was looking for a new job while still not sure exactly what I wanted. The rest of the month was spent traveling.

• 4th of July feels incomplete without a trip down to G-town and watching the hometown parade in the same place we've watched it the last 30+ years.
  
  
  
  
• Traveled to Minneapolis and Milwaukee for work. We made it out of Wisconsin right before this fierce storm overtook our plane.
  
• Sometimes you get stuck in a construction zone on an early Sunday morning in the middle of nowhere Utah.
  
• Spent the end of July with my brother and his family in Newport Beach. The beach feels like my second home. So many great memories with family there and more made this week. My only regret is I didn't take the entire week off and join his family at Disneyland. Lesson learned = family is more important than work.

Great way to start the morning

Searching for tide pools

Walks along the beach

Not a bad way to spend the day

My happy place