all play. no work.

Oh wait, wasn't it always the opposite, all work, no play? I must just be enjoying life too much right now. Or I'm finally figuring out that I don't have to be a total workaholic 36 hours a day.....haha.

Let me explain.....
2 weekends ago - girls camps with the single's ward ladies!

Last week - spent the whole week partying at Lake Powell

This coming weekend - boating at Big Bear

Um, should I stop partying so much? No. I will continue to have lots of fun. And I still work...on occasion. Just kidding. I'm trying to be an adult, and I do work, most days of the week. Maybe I'm just learning how to have fun and more balance. That's good I think.

That's all.

confusion

Today has definitely felt like a Monday. I woke up wishing I was still in Lake Powell. Oh the end of blissfully peaceful vacations are sad. Needless to say, POWELL WAS AMAZING! I can't believe I've been missing out on that my whole life. WOWZERS!

I've been experiencing some confusion lately. Growing up and trying to figure out how to be an adult is just confusing. There are so many options - which I do recognize as a great blessing. Most people in the world don't have the vast and various opportunities that I have. But sometimes, it makes me want to crawl into my cave and shy away from having to make hard choices. That sounds so lame. And weak. But that's just how I feel sometimes.

More details to follow. Hopefully some of my confusion will clear up by the end of this week or early next week when I have made some more decisions about life.

The other tricky part, is when certain things depend on other people's choices....and you can't make your choices until they've made theirs. It's frustrating.

off the grid completely

1. I won't find out about the job until the end of the week...well not til Saturday night at least. But thank you so much everyone for all of your support. It means the world to me.

2. I'm going to Lake Powell tomorrow for the first time in my life. I'm so stoked I could literally pee my pants out of pure joy. A group of people from my singles ward are going, and they invited me. That rocks on a lot of levels. 

3. The above means I will be completely away from any connection, for 5 days straight. I actually really love disconnecting occasionally. It's healthy for you.

4. I'm hard core crushing on this boy in my ward. His smile utterly melts my insides. He is a huge flirt, with all the girls. Ugh. And no, he's not one of the party-ers going to Lake Powell. *slight sigh of sadness* 

5. Self photo shoots are fun. 

6. It's starting to feel like home finally. 

7. The end. 

woohoo!

I had a great job interview this morning. I really hope it plays out. It'd be FULL TIME. With B.E.N.E.F.I.T.S. At a rockin' company. In San Clemente. 5 minutes from my house.

Please pray for me that I get this job. It'd be absolutely incredible.

On another good note. I'm going to Girls Camp. Yes, Girls Camp. With the San Clemente 5th YSA Ward. Sweet huh. Camping today. I'm stoked.

That's all.

Pray for me to get this job. Please.  ;)

Lethargic.....

Hey friends, I don't know what my deal is lately, but I have been constantly exhausted this summer. Maybe it's long term recuperation from several years of maniacal busyness and over-achievement syndrome. Now that I'm done with college, done with serving a full-time mission, and living on the beach - I feel like my body is catching up with me. I think the craziness of this summer could also add to it. And now that I'm back permanently and trying to settle into my new life here in California, my body is screaming SLOW DOWN!!!!!!!!! I'm not one to move very slow, I'm constantly trying to do toooo many things at once. But I don't know what else to do other than do a lot. I feel a lot of pressure to figure out how to really stand on my own two feet, and that is definitely a driving force to my madness. Living in California is not cheap. Being an adult is not cheap. But I don't feel like financial stress should guide such a big part of my life. I'm really trying to figure out how to be more well-balanced in life. It's hard to find said balance. 

*Insert sigh here*

That being said, back to work I go. I took the long weekend off with my girlfriend who came into town from Arizona. Now I'm scrambling to catch up with work today. But I've had a hard time today doing that. Yesterday we went and played at the tide pools at Dana Point. I hit a big slippery, slimy rock and fell super hard backwards. It appeared that I just got a big fatty bruise on my bum, but I woke up this morning with the worst back pain of my life. Yes, you guessed it - that pain is shooting straight from my bum all the way up my back. It's bizarre. And I'm a clutz. 

I need to find a heating pad still and lay on it all night, along with downing a bottle of ibuprofen. Sorry, I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining. Just stating my current condition. I was all revved up yesterday to go to the gym this morning, set my alarm for 7:30am, got up, tried to stand up without much success, rather with lots of pain, and decided to lay back down and go back to sleep. So much for all that motivation. Say hello to fake Monday mornings. :)

That's it. I'm just tired and achy today. I feel older than I am. It'll wear off. And hopefully my vitamin B12 pills help out too.

In a Nutshell

sorry I've been MIA lately...the past few weeks have been more than slightly insane. here's a recap of the past month or so:

July 31-August 6 - Helloooooo Chicago! YPO (Young President's Organization) Preparing for Professional Life Conference, @ Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

August 7: Bekah's Bridal Shower at my parent's house in the morning, then Megan & Todd's picture perfect wedding! Marriage ceremony took place at the Jordan River Temple, then the fantastic dinner reception at the Cactus & Tropicals Greenhouse.

Bekah's Bridal Shower Spread of DELICIOUS food! Thanks Diane!

The perfect couple. Everything was perfect!

August 13: Fly to Spokane for my little brother's wedding at the Columbia River Temple, in the 

Tri-Cities Area.  I don't have any pictures of the wedding on my camera...you'll have to wait for another post for those details.

August 15: Fly back to Utah.

August 16-27: Work like a maniac, writing copy for websites (one of my many endeavors), clean out and rebuild my Daddy's office. See below. Sorry there are no before pictures, but believe you me, it looks much better now. 

I spent about a lot of hours/days assembling $1500 worth of IKEA furniture. 1 very sharp utility knife, 2 different hammers, 3 screwdrivers, 4 days, about 100 screws, 1,000 weird little alan-wrench thing-a-muh-bobs, several pinched fingers, almost a few broken nails, a lot of sweat, sawdust, and plenty of good tunes later.......it turned out pretty good compared to what it used to look like. You can only see half of it here...

August 25-28: 3 days of pure bliss, endless sneezing, lots of snipping, cutting, tying, and lots of fun. I was the florist for my brother's wedding, and I spent 3 wonderful days arranging flowers. I'm not gonna lie, they looked pretty stinkin' amazing! Sadly, I don't have any pictures. I was so busy doing them, that I didn't stop to take any pics. But, I'll get them up soon. My bro-in-law took a bunch, and so did the hired photographer. So when I get them back, I'll post. You might be sort of surprised and impressed. I love arranging flowers - almost more than anything else.

August 30: red-eye Jet Blue flight back to California. WOOHOO!

August 31 - September 3 : work a whole bunch, solve a bunch of issues, try and get my feet back under me....no, not so much. Got hired by CORT Furniture as an independent contractor until the end of the year to sell a bunch of random Census office furniture. Got an interview with Skull Candy. That would rock. I'll update you on that more next week.

Sept. 3 - 6 : played on the beach with my best girl Miriam. She's living in Yuma, AZ right now teaching 10th & 11th grade English classes. We had a blast at the beach, went to the swapmeet (amazing), at cinnamon-ly delicious churros the size of a small child, ate the best breakfast burritos known to mankind at Surfin' Donuts, relaxed, talked for hours on end, made an incredibly un-nutritious chocolately heavenly bundt cake, slept - a lot, and played at the tide pools at Dana Point. It was the best weekend ever. Thank you Labor Day!

And that's Beth's Month in a Minute! Thanks for stopping in. Love  you!

True Greatness

"There are some among us who are unhappy with their lives because they have wanted to achieve a measure of greatness in this life but now feel they have failed in some fundamental way..."[Joseph F. Smith wrote:] 'Those things which we call extraordinary, remarkable, or unusual may make history, but they do not make real life... 'After all, to do well those things which God ordained to be the common lot of all mankind, is the truest greatness. To be a successful father or a successful mother is greater than to be a successful general or a successful statesman.' (Juvenile Instructor, 15 Dec. 1905, p. 752.)..."True greatness is never a result of a chance occurrence or a one-time effort or achievement. It requires the development of character. It requires a multitude of correct decisions for the everyday choices between good and evil."

(Howard W. Hunter, "True Greatness," Ensign, May 1982, 19-20)