Last Post on This Blog

Happy New Year 2013!  I think I have decided to end this blog.  I haven't kept up very well with it and probably not very many people read it anyway.  The next 2 years will be spent with me working fulltime and working on cleaning and organizing our whole house and Jeff working part-time and going to school fulltime.  He'll be done with school December 2014 (so less than 2 more years!).  Maybe when we start having kids (whether it be our own or through adoption), I'll start a new blog.  I still enjoy looking at other blogs every now and then, though!  I hope everyone's new year treats everyone well!

Stepping Down

I think not many people update their blogs anymore (including me).  It's probably good to update it at least every few months anyway.  :)  The latest about me is that I have decided to step down from being a Project Manager.  After 6 months, it just wasn't getting any easier and I don't think I have the personality or mindset for it.  I'm grateful for the things I was able to learn and for the opportunity to grow in the position (yes, stress helps me to grow and helps me realize I can do anything... almost).  The past 1 1/2 weeks, I've been helping my replacement off and on and also helping with team samples to be caught up.  Starting Monday (maybe before), I will be a Team Leader again (much less stress than a Project Manager!).  Having that stress just wasn't worth the money.  I am hoping Jeff and I will still be able to save money with him doing full time school and part time work.  We'll sure try!  It's only for 2 more years (starting in January) and then he'll graduate!  I'm so happy we have a definite countdown now instead of wondering how much longer it will be.  :)

I Hate Naps!

I really hate naps. Especially long ones. I was tired after work, so I went to lay down, thinking I'd just rest my body and eyes for a bit, then next thing I knew, Jeff came home from work, but I went right back to sleep and woke up a while later, giving myself maybe almost 2 hours of sleep. Now it's late and past my bed time and I'm not tired. That's why I hate naps. At least tomorrow is Friday.

I've been in my Project Manager position for 2 months now. It is stressful at times, but very rewarding, not only with higher pay than my previous position of team leader, but also the experience I'm getting. I produced a sales sample for a library a couple weeks ago and found out yesterday that the library will be signing soon, so that was exciting to find out. :) Still a LOT to learn about this position, though!

Hopefully I'll be able to fall asleep soon ....

2 weeks as Project Manager

It's been two weeks since I started my new position as a project manager at my work. It's been a little overwhelming as I don't know what I'm doing most of the time, but other project managers and the product manager over the project managers have been a big help. It will be a while till I'm comfortable with everything, but I'm learning more and more every day.

I was ecstatic to get this position. I've been with the company over 9 years. Six of those years was as a data technician in which I received an award as one of the top data technicians every one of those years. Almost 3 years I've been a team leader. That position definitely helped me to grow. I know this project manager position will help me grow even more. I'm a fan of Chalene Johnson (who does those Turbo Jam videos I like to exercise to sometimes) on Facebook and this past Monday she posted a sound clip of a "Motivational Monday" short message she gave. Click here, then press the play button. Her message is exactly what I needed to hear. So I am trying my best at learning all I can in this new position!

This position also came at a good time because come next January, Jeff is planning on doing fulltime school and part-time work, so the raise that came with this new position is greatly needed! I am hoping and praying that the sales department will get more work in for the department I'm part of. Right now, there are 2 project managers in the retrospective conversion department (I'm one of them) and 2 project managers in the cataloging department. If they don't get more work later this summer, my position will no longer be needed until they do get more work that one project manager can't handle... then if they need a 2nd project manager again, I will definitely apply again. I was assured in my interview that I would go back to being team leader if my position wasn't needed. But for now, the raise is definitely welcome and I am trying my very best at learning all I can!

2011 - the past half a year

Here is a very watered-down version of the past 6-7 months ....

May
Sold my 1995 Toyota Camry to Jeff's sister, Katie, and bought a 2005 Toyota Camry.

June
Drove all of my siblings, plus Melissa's husband John, to a family reunion in Idaho. It was good to see those who were there.

Ran my first 5k ever with my sister Rebecca. Ran with her and finished in 41:33.

Jeff's car was having problems so we bought another vehicle... a 2001 Lexus SUV. Good thing we had savings to put some money down on these 2 vehicles so monthly payments wouldn't be as much.

July
Ran my 2nd 5k with Rebecca and for the 2nd time, I wanted to see how fast I could finish a 5k. I finished in 38:22 (Rebecca finished in 40:20).

Camping trip in the Uintahs, which a lot of Jeff's extended family does every year.

August
My birthday! I had a really fun birthday, complete with dinner at Ruby River, followed by a Josh Groban concert that I LOVED!

The end of the month was a new semester, which was very difficult at times!

September-December
Almost nothing but school and work

November
Jeff's sister, Katie, got married! (on 11-11-11) :)

December
After hard work, Jeff and I finally finished the semester with A's in each of our 2 classes. :)

Had a fun Christmas! Jeff and I opened presents to each other, he cooked me a nice breakfast, we went over to his parents' house for a while, then went to their church meeting at 1:00, which was a little over an hour, then we went to Jeff's grandpa's for a little bit, then we spent the rest of the evening/night with my family.


I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but there's a summary of the past 6 months! It's been a hard year, but we've also been blessed so many ways! I'm looking forward to 2012! My sister Rebecca and I were chosen to go on a scanning business trip to Massachusetts and we'll go in February, I think. I also have a eating better/getting more sleep/exercising New Year's resolution for 2012. This will be THE year I will finally lose the weight I want (I'm a little sick of losing weight, then gaining some back... I want to lose it and keep it off!). I am also going to be more prepared for any 5k's I do this year.

Hope everyone has a safe and fun New Year's!

... Or not

Okay, maybe I won't update my blog. I've sort of lost interest in blogging... not sure why. Now that another semester of school has started, I'm even busier.

SO Behind!

So I am a bit behind on my blog. I've been really busy or tired or just plain lazy to update it, but I will soon... I promise!

Adoption Blog

I made a new blog about our adoption journey, so if you would like to follow it, click here.

Adoption

Last week while Jeff and I were both at our jobs, Jeff and I were talking online and the subject of adoption was brought up. I have some infertility problems where we're not sure if we'll be able to have our own or not (though if we could have 1 or 2 of our own, that would be good, but we'll see). So we are starting the adoption process and we have an appointment set up tomorrow to attend a 1-hour orientation at LDS Family Services. If we need to get our names on some waiting list, it's probably best to start now in case the wait is a long time. If it is a long time, we'll still both be going to school to get the classes we need out of the way. It'll be exciting when we can finally become parents! I have a couple cousins who have adopted and one of Jeff's cousins (and her husband) are starting their process of adoption. It'll be so neat to experience what my cousins are experiencing with their adopted kids. I'll keep updating on this blog about that whenever anything changes... but we're just starting the process, so it may be a while before anything new happens. So like I always say, "We'll see what happens ..."

Uncle David

Last Sunday, on Easter Sunday, my dear Uncle David passed away, surrounded by his wife, Louise, and all of their nine children. It has been a hard week for me, the hardest being yesterday, which was the day of the funeral. My heart was heavy. Last November, Jeff's grandma died and it was harder than I thought it would be, especially since I didn't get as much sleep as I wanted the night before. I cried a little at that funeral. I did get more sleep the night before yesterday, but yesterday was still no different. We got to the church where the viewing and the funeral were being held. I was able to see and briefly visit with many, many cousins, a lot who I haven't seen in a while. I loved briefly visiting the two of the nine children closest to me in age, Julie and Linda. Julie and I shared a couple hugs and an emotional conversation. I was surprised how emotionally strong Linda was (I know I couldn't be that strong). We had a good short conversation and hugs as well. I will never forget those moments. The funeral service was so special and so spiritual. All nine of the children spoke and shared wonderful stories and memories of their dad. They also sang "Come, Come Ye Saints" (with their spouses). At the end, they played a 1976 recording of Uncle David singing a song he wrote called "Through the Eyes of a Child". After the service, we went to the grave site where he was going to be buried... on a hill close to the mountains in north Provo. It was a beautiful place. There, we sang a few more hymns and children's songs. I haven't been in Primary since I was a Primary teacher for 2 years before my mission, so I forgot some of the words to a couple primary songs. I either hummed or listened, and I felt the spirit so strong. My uncle has been a great influence to me and many others, and his death and funeral has made me want to be a better person.

I do have one memory I would like to share about Uncle David. About 8 1/2 years ago, I was looking for a car to buy since the car my parents gave me when I moved to Utah had problems that would be more expensive to fix than the car was worth. I found these two Toyota Camrys that this older guy was selling. He also had a couple Hondas he was selling... he repossessed these cars from banks and was selling them. I was interested in the two Camrys. They were both 1995... one was beige/tan and had 92,000 miles and the other was black and had over 130,000 miles. The black one was around my price range and the beige/tan one was a little over my price range. Since my parents were still in Missouri, my dad suggested I call Uncle David to take a look at the two cars and test drive them. I called Uncle David to set a time to meet at the house where the cars were (which was on Canyon Rd. in Provo, not too far from where Uncle David was buried). Uncle David test drove both cars. We both could tell the black one was more used and the beige/tan one was taken very well care of and was in nicer condition. Even though the beige/tan one was a little over my price range, he suggested I get that one. With the help of my parents loaning me the money (which I was able to pay back very quickly), I was able to get the beige/tan car that is 16 years old now and that I still have. Uncle David had many, many great talents and his knowledge of cars was one of them and I will never forget the help he gave me with that.

Below is a picture of my Uncle David that was used on the cover of the funeral program. Below that is his obituary. I love and miss him a lot!


David Lee Higginson

1943 ~ 2011

Our Father in Heaven chose Easter Sunday to call our dear husband, father, and grandfather home. He passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family from the effects of cancer.

David was born October 3, 1943 in Nampa, Idaho to John Detton and Merle Harris Higginson.

He was a valiant member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and served a mission to New Zealand from 1962-64. He had a deep faith in his Savior, Jesus Christ and shared his love for Christ with his family and countless others.

While attending BYU, he met and married his sweetheart, Louise Lewis. They were sealed for time and all eternity on June 2, 1967 in the Salt Lake Temple.

Music was the essence of his life. He was an amazing choir and orchestra teacher in Utah and Idaho, a musician, songwriter, and arranger. His children's treasured memory is singing around the piano on Sunday evenings. He was the creator of The Professional Chord System and touched the lives of so many people as he traveled around the country to share his gift.

He is survived by his wife, Louise and 9 children, David (Heidi), Michael (Marci), Amy (Brenden) Clements, Rebekah (Jim) Edwards, Brian (Lisa), Julie, Linda (Danny) Strauss, Robert, and Jared.