My Secrets

I am a big fan of Post Secret. Here are some of mine. Mostly, they're random thoughts I have that I feel like are too short to warrant an entire blog post on.

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Happiness..

Moses and Masey

Well, Talia and family were at our house for the past couple days, and I absolutely loved every minute of it. It's been so nice to have them around. Masey absolutely loved having Moses around. Jenna Lee has slowly gotten more used to us all, and even (gasp!) let me hold her. Having my Moses around has reminded me how much I adore that kid.

On Tuesday, Talia, Pene, Darl, and I went (with the kids) to Seven Peaks. We stayed for almost 8 hours, and by the end of the day were all sunburned. I got sunburned on the top of my knees, but there was literally a splash mark of white on my left knee where I apparently got some sunscreen on. It's not something I could duplicate, and I wish I had taken a picture of it, it was pretty funky. Everything else got a shade or two darker, and my hair got lighter.

I say that it was all worth it, and Bless the dear summertime!

I am not too happy about the sunburn, but I have to admit that I absolutely adore summer. It's by far my favorite season. I love the sunshine, I love the warmth. I love walking from an air-conditioned building/car, and just feeling so warm from the sun. I love the perfect nights. I love the breezes. I love the festivals, carnivals, and fairs. I love camping, I love dusk. I love looking up at the stars. I love seeing storm clouds roll in. I love the flowers, the smells, and I even love the dry, crispy grass.

I just LOVE summertime!

Fiddle

Well, a few weeks ago, I was talking with my mom and sister about how much I wish I had a cello, and want to save up some money to buy one and play again. Well, Cellos (at least the sort I want) are quite expensive, so it's a faraway dream for me. Violins on the other hand (especially because I don't need a professional one) are much more affordable. So, a few weeks ago, I bought a violin on Ebay, and now, I'm in the process of teaching myself to play. I'm still awful at it, but I dream of one day being able to fiddle with the best!

It's time.

Well, I've been in a sort of funk ever since Grandma died. I generally avoided family functions because it caused me way too much anxiety to be around my family without Grandma. I've been perfectly content to just work my life away.

That is, until Memorial Day.

It was incredibly quiet at work that morning, so around noon, I called my mom to just check in and see how things were going. I literally felt my heart drop to the bottom of my chest while my mom told me about who all was there, what they were doing, etc.

I miss my family. I miss hearing the screen door slam and kids footsteps running through the house. I miss the sound of babies crying. I miss the quick trips down to Thomas Market. I miss the Malad Drive-In; I miss the craziness of a house full of people. I miss the sound of cars pulling up over the gravel. I miss my Grandma's wind chimes, and the constant background noise they are in Malad. I miss my cousins. I miss my Aunts and Uncles. I miss my Grandpa. I just miss my family.

This might seem like a pretty sad post, but it's so incredibly refreshing to realize this. I knew the time would come when I'd want to be near my family again--when I would be able to appreciate the impact and example my Grandma had on me, and at the same time let myself stop mourning her death. It's taken a while, but I finally feel like it's time.

Always playing catch-up

Well, it's been FOREVER since I have posted anything, so here is my catch-up post. =)


The brown baby (Masey) has learned the art of speaking, and--lucky for me--one of his favorite words is "Tu!" It was adorable that he knew my name (for all of about two minutes). After that, it's kind of gotten annoying to constantly hear him calling me. I sometimes wish I could fast-forward time, because I know that when he grows up and moves past me, I am going to miss these times (and wish I had appreciated them more) But I guess the first step to appreciating it is to deal with the annoyance now =)


I realized how much I absolutely love and cannot live without mountains while in Nauvoo. The first morning in the midwest, I kept seeing shadows through the window of the bus, and I subconsciously assumed they were mountains off in the distance. It was seriously such a let-down to realize, "no, those are not mountains, and you will not see real mountains for quite a while"


As you probably assumed from the above paragraph, I went to Nauvoo (as well as all churchy-type destinations between here and there) I saw the city Beautiful, the valley of Adam-Ondi-Ahman, touched the majestic Mississippi River, stood where the Prophet Joseph was martyred. Overall, it was an absolutely amazing trip, but horrible because it's made me want to go back (and if you could see all the stuff I bought while there, you would know why that's a bad idea. Mormons will buy anything.)


Well, that's just a highlight of the past month for me. Not too much special going on. Mostly just working away!

Nightwatch

Well, here I am, at work. It's 5:00 am, and I've got two more hours left of nightwatch before I can go home. I'm perched on the floor, 7/8 of the way down the hall, at the only spot where there is an internet connection, typing away.

I figure now is as good a time as any to blog, especially because my mom updated her blog. I would seriously feel like a loser if I didn't update mine also!

Not much is going on in the life of Latu right now. I got my first pay check (or will get it tomorrow) with my new supervisor's raise, and I can tell you it sure makes it easier for me to come to work, knowing I am making what I used to make at time-and-a-half =) I've worked about 14 of 16 hours so far today, and I am so ready to go home and sleep. Even the empty beds are looking appealing at this point.

I'm going to Nauvoo--the city of Joseph--with Vili and his ward at the beginning of May. I cannot even tell you how excited I am, and how much I am looking forward to that great experience! I am excited to see the sights, go to the Nauvoo temple, see Adam-ondi-Ahman, I am even excited to be bitten by Mississippi River mosquitoes!

Probably the only other interesting bit of info is that I sprained my knee pretty badly a week ago, and it's just within the last day that I've been able to bend it enough to sit on the floor, bend down, jog, get out of chairs, etc. The gist of the story is that I, along with about 10 other staff, pretty much got told by a girl we had for a few days, who ended up being HUMONGOUS and assaultive. My ankle constantly cracks now, and I've been trying to hide my limp for days, but for the most part, my knee's a lot better; I've got nothing to complain about! (except for maybe my lack of sleep, but complaining is not going to fix that problem!)

I took the plunge....and came up breathing

Well. I did it. I applied for a promotion at my work. I was really on the fence about it, doubting myself, etc. Until I sat down and realized (or was told by my boss' sister) that if my own boss is telling me to apply, I probably should apply. So, I took the plunge, applied, and interviewed. I found out this week that I got the job! I am way way excited, but almost overwhelmed when I sit and think about the amount of responsibility I will have (on weekends, I'll be in charge of our entire treatment center, all the staff, and the 100+ girls there) But I am also so humbled and grateful that I've been so blessed. At barely 22, I am the youngest employee at my work, I've only worked here 6 months, and yet I've been given this amazing blessing and opportunity. I know it will be stressful, draining, and a LOT of responsibility, but I am way excited for the challenge!