Well, that sucks.

Oh, how quickly things can change.

 If you had asked me  two weeks ago what I would be doing late on this Tuesday afternoon, the last thing that I would have told you would be searching for a new job. I was "let go" from BambooHR a little less than a week ago.

While there were a lot of little things with perfect (or not so perfect) timing that played into this event, the ultimate problem was that I had an extremely bad bout of depression blindside me. My performance at work dropped in just a of couple weeks to less than half of what it had been previously. I could hardly get myself out of bed in the morning, let alone give 100% at work. Unfortunately, at this time, I got a new manager who had only seen poor performance from me.

I am trying not to dwell on the "what ifs" of this situation and I am definitely working on understanding my previous employer's decisions. This has been a very difficult trial; I loved my job and I saw myself working at BambooHR for years. It feels as though a lot of the plans that Preston and I had made relied on my employment at such a great company. We've looked into a few other employment options and I believe we have made a decision, but we are disappointed to say the least.

We have found much to be grateful for, though. The old saying "at least you have your health" is applicable here. We are both healthy! At least this trial is one that we can somewhat easily overcome. We are blessed to have just the two of us in our family and we are blessed that Preston is out of school so that we can both work.

I have been so thankful for all of my fantastic friends and family who have reached out to us this past week. We have felt very loved and taken care of. There are too many people to count who have helped me feel comforted and like I am not a complete loser.

In short, we are still kind of reeling from this change in our lives. We're very happy to have each other. I'm so thankful for Preston and his support. He has been my crutch the last few weeks and has loved me regardless of what demons I may be facing. I could not face each day without him by my side.

When it rains, it pours.

Every once in a while, it seems like a good idea to brush of the old blog and write a new post. While only posting every six months doesn't lead to a lot of dedicated readers, it makes each post  seem that much sweeter. Or it just means I am lazy.

We are winding down the school year as gracefully as possible, which means we are in a state of loosely controlled chaos with Preston studying for finals and writing what seems like a dozen ten page papers and me deciding that NOW would be a good time to get back into theater leading me to stay at the school until after 10:00 every night for the next two weeks. It is only fitting that not one, but both of our cars should break down -- on the same day -- during this time, leaving us in a metaphorical fetal position as we attempt to get from point A to point B.

Not only did I decide that I wanted to honor my theater major title for the first time in nearly two years, but I also decided that it was a good time to take on a few home improvement projects which  are now laying scattered across our postage stamp sized house. The dishes are stacked precariously in the sink, on the counter and creeping slowly onto the stove top. Dinner plates from three days ago still laze about on the kitchen table which is besmirched with who even knows what. I think it is tomato based, though. Pictures frames  haphazardly dot  the floor, hang without pictures on the walls and even occupy a place on our love seat. They are the unfortunate aftermath of me trying to decorate. Our valiant effort of Spring cleaning stopped at the "it gets worse before it gets better" stage creating the necessity to tiptoe through the piles of old yearbooks that are hidden by the sacks of old clothing that are dwarfed by the towers of laundry that have yet to be folded and in some cases washed.

I look around the destruction that threatens to crush me and wonder how to even be an adult anymore. Like, should we just cut our losses and go back to kindergarten? Is there any hope for our poor apartment, the main causality of our recent life events?

Like I told myself when I looked at the crusty rice pot sitting to the right of my kitchen sink last night, I think we will have to let that one soak.

Besides the slow deterioration of my sanity, we have been doing really quite well. Don't let the last five paragraphs fool you. As I mentioned, I am working a show for the first time in a long time. In fact, I am typing this up while listening to headset chatter. I'm the props master for UVU's "You Can't Take It With You" and I am really enjoying it. There are quite a few cast members who I started school with and they have been so welcoming and warm towards  me which has been very much appreciated. I look forward to doing this more often. I have had to familiarize myself with the theater again and I am certain some people are wondering what the heck I am doing wandering around opening random doors, but it is good to be back.

Preston's school year has been less than enjoyable, but he has powered through it admirably. He has done especially well this semester and is looking to graduate at the end of 2016. We are both excited to have an end in sight. He was inducted into BYU's Portuguese Honor Society in March. He was also called as our ward's Elder's Quorum President and has been busy with the responsibilities that come with that. He will be working through the summer, hopefully down near campus.

The last bit of news I have to share is that we are officially going to Brazil! We have been talking about going since we started dating seriously and thanks to BambooHR, we are able to go this summer over my birthday. We will be traveling through Preston's mission, staying with the members and eating lots of ice cream. Preston says that they have fantastic ice cream down there which is a huge plus for me. I am trying to learn Portuguese, but I can't roll my "r"s so we will see how that turns out.

Anyway. That's the latest from the Smiths. Even in this time of go, go, go, we are thankful to have each other and we are able to find blessings even in our small trials. For example, our second car broke down AT the repair shop just after we had dropped our first car off. We saved on towing costs! :) It's all about the silver lining.

4 Reasons Why Life is Great

Life is great.

Here are four reasons:

1. Rockin' job. I have one.
2. Yoga class twice a week plus the gym in the morning with the hubs=happy body.
3. Miracles are real. Preston got accepted into school last minute and is signing up for classes as we speak.
4. Theater is finally making its way back into my life. I auditioned for like four plays last week.


Everything is awesome in our little life. We feel very blessed with all the opportunities that are ahead of us.

Pushed Over the Brink

So, it's been a while. Sorry, folks. I know you have all been waiting with bated breath to know what's been going on with the Smiths.

Here's the problem: Nothing much has been going on.

That is, not until recently. Preston and I have both been feeling like our lives were on the brink of change for a few months now and we have finally been pushed over the edge into a whirlpool of life changes. Things are finally happening!

I'm not sure if it was ever mentioned on this blog, but I was being considered for a management position at T-Mobile, where I have worked for about two years. There's a catch though. I didn't get it. After waiting to hear from the upper management about their decision for over three months, they hired outside of the company and promised to make me assistant manager. How thoughtful.

Well, that truthfully wasn't going to work out for our family. I needed a full time position to bring in the bank and I didn't want to work in retail any longer. So I submitted my resume to BambooHR, a company I have been eye-balling for a while. The hiring process for BambooHR is a long one, so I knew I would be sticking around T-Mobile for at least a few more weeks.

During that time, my old manager left and my new manager came in for one day before getting into a motorcycle accident that would put him out of work for at least two weeks. Guess who got to handle the store during that whole train wreck? This girl. Without management pay. Whatever.

Without getting into any more boring and probably bitter details, I can just let you know that I was dying to find new employment. After three phone interviews, a skills test, and another in person interview, BambooHR made me an offer which I accepted immediately. I officially begin work on Monday, the 18th. Today was my last day at T-Mobile.

So there is change #1

Change #2 is in regards to Preston and school. He has put in his two weeks notice at Myler and will be beginning full time school this upcoming semester. Truth be told, this is the first time Preston and I will be experiencing school as a couple. We're extremely excited but also a little nervous. We've enjoyed the time we have been able to spend together without the extra stress of school, though. It's time we move forward and get higher education out of the way. Oh, I will also be starting school part time. Probably just getting some generals out of the way.

Change #3. I don't have Lyme disease. I was misdiagnosed and treating with malaria strength anti-biotics for three months. I had a full blood panel conducted, an MRI and some weird slightly hokey seeming nerve tests only to find that everything in my body was normal. Good. But not. The doctors have determined that I have fibromyalgia. We chose to try and manage it without medication, so I have started to exercise more frequently and eat healthier in hopes of reducing the pains that I have. I've been feeling pretty good lately so we are crossing our fingers that the good streak continues.

I think those are the biggest changes in our life at the moment. I'm excited that everything is starting to move forward in our life. While I am honestly quite terrified to move up my work schedule from part time to full time, I think this job is a great place for me to be and a great place for me to feel accomplished. I am ready to get back into school and more importantly, back into theater. I have been withering away because of my lack of theater and I can't wait to throw myself into it again!

101 Things

I realized with a start today that Preston and I have been married for 101 days. Okay, it will be 102 when this actually gets posted, but who cares? In honor of that, we've come up with 101 things that we've done together since we met. Let's see how it goes. They aren't in any particular order.

1. Taken three major road trips since August, totaling in over 3,250 miles.
2. Everybody Loves Raymond. 4 seasons.
3. Visited the Newport Temple.
4. Slept though cleaning the church two cleaning rotations in a row (oops!).
5. Spent well over $1,000 in car repairs in one month.
6. Repaired Preston's car on our own after we couldn't handle another mechanic bill. (I just watched...)
7. Tried to put out the oven fire that I started three weeks into our marriage.
8. Couldn't put out the over fire that I started because we couldn't remember if it was baking powder or baking soda you put on a grease based fire.
9. Watched as the oven put the fire out itself.
10. Braved the Festival of Colors twice.
11. Wrote on a "chalk bus".
12. Received two callings each.
13. Gone swimming in Lake Tahoe.
14. Drove along side Lake Tahoe for nearly three hours trying to find parking for one of the popular beaches. 
15. Gave up and went back to our humble, not so popular beach near the campsite.
16. Spent over an hour building a sand castle that was under constant threat of destruction because of the dogs running wild around it. Leashes, people.
17. Watched a meteor shower on the beach.
18. Seen three shooting stars fly across the sky at once.
19. Ordered room service.
20. Performed in in a play together.
21. Built a HUGE window seat.
22. Bought brown paint for said window seat only to find out it was purple.
23. Used it anyway.
24. Got engaged over hot chocolate.
25. McGuyvered my temporary engagement ring to make it fit with hot glue and masking tape.
26. Partied at THE most excellent Halloween party of the year with friends.
27. Kissed while holding pythons.
28. Apartment hunted for two days straight in the depths of Provo. With no luck whatsoever.
29. Came across an apartment complex literally crawling with box elder bugs. We didn't even go inside.
30. Toured a great little apartment only to realize we had locked the keys in the car and couldn't leave.
31. We were too embarrassed to talk to the landlord, so we just walked to Preston's parent's house, two miles away.
32. Got pulled over on Christmas Eve because Preston was street racing my mom.
33. Drove the whole way from California to Pleasant Grove without getting pulled over. Two blocks away from my parent's house, a cop stopped us because of a broken tail light.
34. Worsened the deep fear I have of police men.
35. Eaten through a disgusting number of ice cream cartons.
36. Gone jogging once.
37. To get ice cream.
38. Got a gym membership.
39. Went to Ripples, a small burger joint in Provo for four date nights in a row. We only successfully got food once because the restaurant closes earlier than posted online.
40. Learned to make bread (Thanks, Auntie Paige!)
41. Developed a love for pepperjack cheese.
42. Got Costco memberships.
43. Played in the ocean. 
44. Saw a pod of dolphins leaping in and out of the water on the pier at Newport beach.
45. Made our own kites (Brazilian style).
46. Broke our kites. ... I broke the kites. On accident.
47. Purchased our kitchen table, four chairs, bench, two couches, five shelves and an end table for under $300. 
48. Rode a tandem bicycle.
49. Ate a chocolate covered twinkie. 
50. Rode a ferris wheel in the Spectrum mall.

51. 

    
    

    Had chocolate covered strawberries and a cheese plate delivered to us for free simply because we were on our honeymoon. Muah!
52. Had a campout with my siblings in the backyard.
53. Sprinted across Salt Lake in hopes that we wouldn't miss our train. We barely made it.
54. Then Preston watched as I had an asthma attack.
55. Ate dinner at The Bluebird Cafe in Logan and fell in love with their sodas.
56. Visited Salt Lake five times in one week for various reasons and spent way too much money on gas.
57. Went on a picnic to Liberty Park complete with mini champagne glasses and sparkling cider.
58. Told each other we loved each other while star gazing in my backyard.
59. Shared a milkshake at Denny's two Christmases in a row.
60. Spent two New Year's Eves together.
61. Downed more Martinelli's than should be allowed. I have a problem.
62. Found out our fire alarm goes off if the shower is on and the bathroom door is not closed.
63. Listened to two Harry Potter books on tape.

64. 

    
    

    Attended three of my closest friend's weddings before our own. We talked about getting married at each one.
65. Stayed up all night making lingerie-inspired cookies for a friend's bridal shower. Preston is pretty good making icing lace on sugar cookies.
66. Broke up.
67. Got back together.
68. Pulled two all-nighters so we could watch the sunrise.
69. Practiced archery and tomahawk throwing in my neighbor's backyard.
70. Went swimming with my siblings and Preston found out I am a much better swimmer than him.
71. Drove all around Orem and Lindon trying to find a Wendy's that would serve us frosties at 1:00am. We didn't find one.
72. Used to take drives frequently. Then we went on our road trips and we never want to drive again.
73. Got married in the Draper Temple.
74. Forgot our wedding rings at home before our wedding reception.
75. Forgot our apartment key as we were leaving our wedding reception.
76. Spent the majority of our honeymoon looking for sea shells.
77. Purchased a $7 hair clipper set at Harbor Freight.
78. Used clippers for Preston's hair twice before it gave up on us.
79. Attended the temple almost weekly since our marriage.
80. Had the missionaries over for dinner.
81. Enjoyed a ridiculous Terraria addiction that will soon be revived with an upcoming updated.
82. Drove through Reno and stopped for a fancy dinner.
83. Got caught in a massive rain storm as we were trying to leave Reno.
84. Realized that when I sleep my body turns into a furnace, so we have to sleep with the window open every night to keep from bursting into flames.
85. Have seen only a few movies together in the movie theater. We'd rather save the money, I guess.
86. Challenged each other to see who could shower the fastest and Preston was infuriated when I won.
87. Organized and attended two mission reunions for Preston's mission buds.
88. Altered the game "Ghost in the Graveyard" to be playable in my parent's basement and it is absolutely terrifying. 
89. Visited five different doctors.
90. Started a savings jar for our upcoming trip to Brazil. 
91. Watched classic horror films every nigh of the week leading up to Halloween. IT and Aliens are our two favorites.
92. Ventured to Petco, determined to purchase a turtle, but realized that A) they are expensive and B) I was afraid of the responsibility.
93. Eaten the same meal for lunch every Sunday. I go for ramen with an egg in it and he opts for a hot pocket. Nutritious, yeah?
94. Searched Provo and Orem for a mercado  (market, in Portuguese) in hopes of finding some Brazilian goodies. We were successful and picked up biscoitos and bolacha (cookies and crackers). My love had a field day.
95. Slow danced in the kitchen for no good reason.
96. Didn't pick out our wedding song until about two hours before the reception.
97. Woken up to each other over 100 times.
98. Suffered through hanging shelves on our walls.
99. Talked until three or four in the morning nearly every night during the summer.
100. Bought our wedding bands two weeks before our wedding. We thought we would have to get Preston a wedding band from Wal-Mart to stand in place of his actual wedding band in case it didn't get shipped back to us in time. 
101. Spent two hours making a 101 things list. And neary died of exhaustion. The end.

Cliche First Newlywed Blog Post

Well, here it is. I have started our family blog where anyone who is interested can follow our little life. I can't promise that there will be anything super exciting or interesting, but only time will tell :). I'll give you folks a little background on how our family came to be, as is standard with all newlywed blogs.

Preston and I met in December of 2012 through one of my coworkers at T-Mobile. The coworker had served his mission in the same area (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil) as Preston. I was in the middle of a particularly messy breakup and told my coworker to set me up with one of his friends as a distraction date. Not even an hour went by before Preston came into my life. He had noticed a post I had made on my coworker's Facebook wall and commented that I was pretty. I pounced. I straight up said, "Preston. Date me." I sent Preston my phone number through a Facebook message and soon after we started texting. My extremely forward and embarassingly desperate behavior paid off. We met up a week later, Christmas Day. We drove around the city, looking for something to do when we passed by Denny's. Preston said that he had never been and I nearly crashed the car because I pulled into the parking lot so suddenly. A chocolate milkshake and a few days later, we began dating.

After a couple weeks, I remember telling my mom that it "just wasn't working out" and we broke up shortly after that. Both Preston and I thought we would never cross paths again. At least I did. I went to UVU, he went to BYU, he was super old and I was really young, plus he lived in Orem and I lived in Provo. No way we'd run into each other. 

Over the weeks following our breakup, we spoke very little. I was ready to stop speaking to him altogether, but Preston was persistent. By March we had become friends. We went on walks together, talked about our absolutely abysmal love lives and even went to the Festival of Colors together. We understood each other very well and often joked that "we were the exact same person".

I knew I was starting to fall in love with Preston even in March, but it wasn't until a very distinct day in May as I was driving to his house to pick him up to go see 'The Great Gatsby', rocking out to Michael Jackson that I realized it was the real deal and it made me giddy. Only a few weeks later we began dating "officially" again. 



By July we were picking out wedding colors. In August I booked our wedding venue. In September I scheduled our sealing time and date. In October we were engaged and on December 27th, a year and two days after our first Denny's Date we were married in the Draper temple! 

We honeymooned in California for a week (which was seriously the most perfect vacation I have ever been on) and then came back and started to organize our little home in Orem.


We are both working as of right now and taking a break from school. Preston works at Myler Disability as a case manager and I'm working at T-Mobile (going on two years now!). I will also be starting another part time job at the Space Center in Pleasant Grove as a "Flight Director" which I am absolutely thrilled about. 

We are getting involved more and more every week in our ward, which we LOVE. Preston is the Elder's Quorum Secretary as well and the Primary Pianist and I was just recently called to serve on the Relief Society Activity Board and teach Primary. I will be teaching a class of 9 year olds and they are just the most adorable things. It's going to be such a great adventure! 

So. That's how we got together and where our life is as of right now. I'll try to update every week or every couple weeks, just so that people know that we haven't fallen off the map. :)