Oh bother...

Today is one of those days. One of those days where someone has made a comment that really put me in a sour mood. An I can't stop thinking about said comment bad humor. I keep asking myself why I let it bother me. Still haven't found the answer to that one. Hopefully I can use those talks we had on forgiveness today and apply them to this situation. I am most definitely not a fan of the feeling I have when my blood is boiling...

Oh moving...

I've done it! Now that I have my big girl job, with my big girl income, I decided I needed a change of scenery. This move was a lot more organized than my last. Well, probably not just my last. I'd say all of them since I moved to college freshman year. That one was only organized because Gma pretty much packed for me. I think she was excited to see me go.

Any of my close friends know that I am not a packer. For trips, I'm lucky if I start packing an hour before I leave for the airport or jump in the car for a road trip. For moves, I just dump things in the car and make a million trips. That means I never have time to go through all my junk and get rid of things I don't need anymore. I decided this move should be different. I planned ahead. Packed boxes. My rule was that if I hadn't used something in the two years I'd been in this apartment, it needed to go. Needless to say, I took a couple loads of things to Goodwill. I shredded lots of documents, and threw lots of other papers into my recycle box. It was hard for me, but at the same time, it was refreshing. Even with all the sorting, it took longer to get moved than I thought it would. Seriously, how does one gal have so much stuff?

I'm finally getting settled in, though. Today I finally hung things up on the walls in my bedroom. I think that's the saddest part about moving- having bare walls. This apartment has way more wall space than the old place did, so I need to buy more picture frames and hang more pictures!

Bed, Bath & Beyond has become my latest obsession. Seriously, I need to take a break from that relationship. It's not healthy for my pocketbook. I love all the things I've gotten there, though! I also them because they accept expired coupons. I mean, really, how cool is that?!

My friend asked me the other day what my fav part of the new place is. I didn't think about it that hard, but the first thing that came to mind is that it gets sunshine! It's not a little cave like my old place. I called my dad and was telling him that I have sun again, and he said, "Oh, does that mean I need to bring you a plant?" Yes, please!

I am in no way regretting this move. There are a few things that are a little inconvenient, but on the whole, I love it! Yay for sun. Yay for being closer to work. Yay for having a spare room. Yay for my own washer and dryer. Yay for a kitchen that I can actually cook in. Yay for a balcony. Yay for a dining room. Yay for colored walls. I guess changes aren't always such a bad thing...

Oh tragedies...

Well, today was certainly an eye opener. It really prompted me to start evaluating things in my life more closely. It made me think more deeply about my testimony, about the things in my life that I am grateful for, and helped remind me not to take so many things for granted.

Today I found out that a dear, sweet family I grew up with in my home ward had lost their 13 year-old daughter/sister. And I cried. For quite some time. Obviously the news was shocking. I know I tend to be emotional, but I couldn't figure out why this had me bawling so. I mean, I've been in Albuquerque for 6 years, and the family moved to AZ several years ago. It's not like we kept in touch. Sister H was one of the sweetest ladies I'd ever met, though. And I'm Facebook friends with several of the kids, and it's obvious how close they all are. Like best friends close. I cannot even begin to imagine what they're going through.

My heart hurts that this is one of the trials they have to endure in this life. I'm sad that these sweet parents have to bury their little girl, instead of the other way around. I'm heartbroken that these siblings will have a void in their lives that one of their best friends used to fill. After talking with Sis B, she helped me realize that I was keeping one of my baptismal covenants in mourning with those that mourn. Rarely have I felt such intense sorrow in my life, and tonight I definitely gained a greater appreciation for the Atonement. I hope that I can find a way to bring some degree of comfort to them, as they certainly stand in need of comfort.

I'm glad, though, that they can find some sense of comfort in the knowledge of the gospel. They are sealed as an eternal family, and will be together again. I'm glad her grandparents were there to greet her when she left this life. And I know she will be an angel to those she left behind.

My prayers tonight will certainly be longer, and definitely more heartfelt...

Oh grrrr!

So, I guess I wasn't part of the cool kids club that got the memo. It's really too bad. Maybe I could have had so much more free stuff by now. Did you know that when someone accidentally leaves their window down a little bit, that's an invitation to reach in, unlock the doors, go through everything, and take what you like? Yeah, I didn't either. I do now. I mean really, what was I thinking leaving my window down? Could it have been fatigue from working a full day at the job that I have? The job that I got so I could be a contributing member of society and buy my own stuff with the money I made from WORKING! Instead of being a freeloader.

What a way to start a day, right? I walked out to my car, and it took me a long while to process. When I first opened the door, it looked like a tornado had blown through the car, and I was just confused. Then my heart started racing, and I was looking for the glass from the broken window. This was feeling all too familiar. I then noticed there was no glass. After which, I noticed the passenger door was unlocked. Then my eyes shifted upward, and I realized the window was down a bit. I'm not sure if anything was stolen. I think not. Luckily I had taken my iPod in a day or two before, because I wanted to update it with some sweet new jams. However, every compartment in my car had been opened, and the things inside ransacked. CDs all over the floor, sunglasses on the seat, insurance and all other papers strewn across the passenger seat, the pockets in the backs of the seats emptied.

Not that I'm complaining, but they weren't even good thieves! They made a mess of my car. They gave me tachycardia. They seemed to be pretty thorough in tossing things around. They missed the iPod sitting in the pocket of my white coat in the back seat, though! Idiots. Seriously. Although I appreciate that they didn't bust my window, I would have appreciated even more if they wouldn't have touched my car.

There are happy things in my life, too, though. I got to see one of my dearest friends Kate while she was in town. Things are always better when Kate and Pam are around, just ask Kevin. I safely made the drive to LC so I could come to my Little Man's birthday party tomorrow. 8 years old. Goodness. It seems like just yesterday... haha just kidding! But seriously... AND, I got to go with my sister for her ultrasound today! The conditions of me going were that I could not use the words fetus, freak, alien, embryo, or disgusting at all while I was there. Besides alien, I think I had used all those words the previous night, as well as calling it a parasite. Aaaanyways, guess who's going to welcome a baby nephew to the world in February? This girl! We (Krissy, Little Man, and I) are all stoked it's a boy! I'm sure we would have loved it if it was a girl. I'm just glad we don't need to test that theory. Oh, and tonight Little Man said an adorable prayer. I'm glad I have so many wonderful things to outweigh the frustrations...

Oh men...

Apparently camping trips are only successful when men plan them. When we went camping a few weeks ago, it was hilarious and all, but a bit of a disaster. From the whole driving until 4 in the morning bit, to the burnt hot dogs, to the two blankets for 6 people, to praying for daylight so we could pack up and go, to waking up to a couple Rangers, to a lake full of fishers, nothing went very smoothly. We were told it was because a man didn't plan the trip. Really? I thought it was because none of us are planners, so we didn't plan. Guess I was wrong. We decided to try it again, this time letting the "men" plan it. Which really meant letting the man-child plan it.

All the planning was up to him. From what weekend, to which people to invite, to what we needed to bring. First we were tentatively leaving after church. Then it was Saturday night. Then it was after church again. Then it was that night, so we wouldn't have to hang out in the hot desert. Six o'clock rolled around, and still no word on what the plan was. Typical. We ended up leaving around 8. We drove down to camp in the San Lorenzo canyon. We stopped in Lemitar for some snacks, and found out we had hopefully picked a good weekend. Word on the street is next week there is going to be a rager in the canyon, if anyone is interested... Instead of just going north on the frontage road (which seemed super logical to me), we went north on the highway, then south on the frontage road, and had to find the bridge (which was a little tricky).

All in all, it was a success. We got to the canyon, Joe made a sweet fire for us, and we set up our sleeping bags and blankets. Shout out to Ro for being awesome and sharing with me! There were a couple scary moments between the sneakered person/lemurish creature and the bats. There were a couple weirdo dreams due to one mosquito and a tender jaw. We brought lots of wood to make sure we had fun, but used hardly any of it. The night was beautiful, though. I got to mark one of the things off my summer to-do list (sadly, I didn't get much accomplished from said list). Where we were laying (lying? Idk. This is one of my super weak grammatical areas that I generally try to avoid) the rocks formed a window to see the stars through. I wish I could have captured it in a picture. I only got cold a couple times, and Ro was there to keep me warm.

I don't feel like a whole lot more planning went into this trip versus the other. I'm okay with letting the men plan things from now on, though...

Oh Amber...

Why, oh why is orientation so darn boring? Always. I've never known anyone that has experienced the exception to that statement. At least I got one of the comfy chairs, and not one of the hard metal ones. Still, it was hard sitting there for 5.5 hours. I mean, do we really need to spend over an hour talking about the ExtraCare Card? Granted, it is pretty awesome. But an hour and a half's worth of awesome? No.

When I woke up that morning, I knew I was meeting an Ed. I knew what store I was going to. I knew I had to be there at 9. That ended up being wrong. Luckily I got a text saying it was at 10. Other than that, I had no expectations for the day. When I got to the store, I saw a guy dressed up professionally, so I assumed that was Ed. I introduced myself. He asked where my packet was. Packet? Real cool. I definitely didn't have one of those. We did introductions with the whole group. I caught a few people's names, which I thought was a pretty huge accomplishment considering I am generally terrible with names. He prefaced statements with "Pam" a couple times when he was wanting to relay something about the pharmacy, because the rest of the people would be working in the front of the store.

"Amber, are you going to be working at the pharmacy down the street?" I guess I had been wrong about being the only pharmacist. I looked around to try to remember who Amber was. Then I realized he was talking to me. How did I become Amber? He probably thought I had totally zoned out of his boring presentation. To be fair, he had tried to be as entertaining as possible. In reality, I had been paying attention, and my name is not Amber. So much time had passed since he had asked me the question, though, that I just answered, rather than correcting him. So I was Amber for the rest of the day. He is one of those people that uses your name in almost every sentence. Like my dad. I wanted the day to be over so bad, just so he would quit calling me Amber. I'm not really sure why it was bothering me so much. I don't recall ever knowing an Amber that I disliked. I don't recall knowing an Amber at all. I got called the wrong name on a regular basis at work, especially when answering the phone. Slightly annoying, but I never got as heated as I was about being called Amber. Whatever.

Things are looking up. This month is going to be pretty legit, I think. I have a sneaking suspicion it is going to be filled with lots of memories, but that it's going to fly by. It will be full of training, nerves, my first 14 hour shift, Little Man's birthday, the State Fair, weekend road trip to Utah, moving, and getting my first pharmacist paycheck, just to name a few. Not in that order (especially the check part- I really need money!). I don't think there is much that could spoil my mood this month. Unless you call me Amber...

Oh concerts...

I love country music. I love concerts. I love Sugarland. For the past several months, I've been on a Sugarland kick. I am in love with their Incredible Machine album. Put the first three things together, and it's sure to be a great time. Subtract the sister and boyfriend who I got tickets with (actually, I only got tickets with the sister- and the boyfriend is the part of the equation I could do without), and add 7 friends. Basically, this is the perfect equation for a blast! Highlights from the night- For some strange reason, I love seeing fights. Lucky for me, two fights broke out pretty near where we were sitting! There was also this really tall guy with this really short lady. I'm pretty sure they were pretty intoxicated. He had some weird moves, though it was entertaining watching GV and Rosey copy him. It was also entertaining when some random girl asked to take a picture with Blake, because she was from out of town and needed a picture to help her remember Albuqueruqe. Or something like that. And shout out to my girl Christan Hatch, for the funny rap between acts. Thanks for being such a gentleman, Seth Webb, and sitting on the floor...both ways. Singing "Stay" with Caryn might have been the ultimate highlight of the night, though. Ugly faces and all.

As great as it was, there were several bittersweet moments. Last year when I went to Sugarland, it was for Kate's birthday. It was amazing. Probably the best show I saw last summer. Perhaps because it actually was the best show, or perhaps it was the company. Regardless, still the best. I miss her. Not only did the Sugarland concert make me think of her, but also the fact that Sara Bareilles opened for them. Kate loves that girl. With good reason. She is amazing, and super talented. She did her set acoustically, and she rocked it!

Both this year and last year, the tour was called The Incredible Machine. I was surprised that between acts, I didn't see the same set as last year going up (because it was super legit, and Rachel, I wish you had been there, because I think you would have especially loved it!). Actually, I didn't see a set going up at all. Then it clicked. Last Saturday in Indiana, just prior to Sugarland performing, the stage collapsed, killing 5 people and injuring others. Hence why Sara did her act acoustically. And the lack of Sugarland's set. I was super impressed with them, though. That they didn't cancel this show. That they had us all take a moment of silence. That they donated the proceeds from this concert to the family of one of the stage hands who was killed. That even without all the fancy lights and such, they still put on a great show. I heard the reason Sugarland wasn't on stage at the time of the collapse is because one of the members had suggested they pray first...