sets of five...an update.

how about a catch-up post?

five things i'm missing right now:
girls night with my mom, Jordan, totino's pizza, and movies.
cafe rio salads with shah'ada. or indian food with hollie. either.
working with my bff james at cold stone. and ashlee rose adkins who is in PA.
baby animals, blooming flowers, and the way spring looks in the CV.
my dad's dutch oven potatoes...

five things i'm looking forward to:
jason mraz and christina perri in concert at red rocks this september.
handy manny coming back from Louisiana.
spending this weekend cleaning my place, baking, and some DIY projects.
being completely caught up on my bills. come on June!!!!
starting work at Comcast. May 14.

side note: they have a gym and showers IN THE BUILDING. it's 3 miles from my house, and next to a bike trail, so i can always ride my bike to work. that'll save money on gas and give me a mini-workout. plus,  i'll be making more money, and i already know how to do the job...i can't wait! :)

five things i've been up to:
i started working out pretty hard core. i'm determined to get healthy.
i started watching game of thrones online. it's pretty awesome. i'm hooked.
on that same note, New Girl is fabulous. like, LOL hilarious.
i found an indian place a few blocks away. it's expensive, but amazing. obviously it's called India's Restaurant.
i'm really boring...i've been people watching at ikea a lot. it takes a really special kind of loser to think it's a good time...i know, i know.

five things i want to try:
marshmallow caramel popcorn. next time i go home to utah, we're doing it...
aerial yoga.
definitely wanna try zumba. i know, i'm late hopping on that train. but i still wanna do it.
visit a water park. AND an aquarium. that would be awesome...
try squab. it's still on the list. but this year is the year! i can feel it.

and five more for what the heck...
my main food group is cereal. rice chex and special k red berries. i don't like cooking for just me.
the milk from my cereal obsession is making my allergies go INSANE. soo...maybe i'll try soy milk instead.
the pans my mom got my for christmas are AMAZING. not only are their purple, they're non-stick. not even rice stuck to them...i'm in love.
wallice is missing his hot girlfriend Jordan.
and i'm not brushing my teeth before bed. just this once. because i just don't feel like it.

bedtime. because i'm turning into a grandma? yes!

an alone day...

I have had the entire weekend to myself.
i cleaned my place. i went grocery shopping.
i napped.

i rented the descendants. it wasn't that good, but i kind of loved it anyways?

and then i went to ikea. i am OBSESSED with ikea. i love to go and wander and plan for when i have a house or something.
speaking of which, i have my own place that's badly in need of some jaycie love. i'll be honest. i'm a little stumped about what to do with my space. it's soooo awkward. i just have no idea how to decorate. perhaps tomorrow i'll post some pictures and you guys can all pitch in some ideas.

my house isn't cute yet though. i'm not sure where/how to hang things. i desperately need to figure it out. i'm happier when my space is cute. i'm kinda thinking i want a different bed frame. something closer to the ground. and maybe a loveseat and chair that are cute.

i'm a baller on a budget though, so maybe i'm just speaking in wishes.

today was kind of a hard day. i had a lunch date with a new guy i met online. he was great. the date was fine. but my heart was missing. apparently i've given it away to Handy Manny, and i had no idea. i'm coming to peace with that. at first, all i could think about was how completely terrifying. to give your heart to someone is kind of hard.
but i trust him with it. he told me today he can't guarantee he won't break my heart, but he promised he'd be gentle.
and if for whatever reason, we end up going our separate ways in a few months or a few years, i am sure that i'll look back and smile at the great times we've had and that we will have.
ultimately, i want him to be happy. and if that means he finds someone else who can bring him more joy than i can, i will be so happy.

i've watched quite a few love stories unfold over the past 21 years. some couples get closer and fall more in love over time. some fall apart.

i've thought about that a lot over the past few days. i think the main reason relationships fail is selfishness. the people who seem the most happy to me are the ones who give and give and give and never ask for anything in return. when they're in love with someone who gives as much as they do, and no one's attitude ever turns into, "what can you do for me?" then it gets better over time.

i imagine a lot of people would argue that and tell me it's not that simple, but i don't buy that.
it's only as complicated as you make it.

i had a wake-up call last week. Handy Manny told me i sure complain a lot. and he was right. i WAS complaining a lot. after that, i made an effort to look for beautiful things, to remind myself often how beautiful this life is and how blessed i am.
i haven't asked him if he's noticed a change, but i have. i'm not dwelling on the things going wrong, and i'm seeing beauty around me more and more all the time.

i'm going to be okay. there's a quote by Charles Chaplain that i love. "Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles." I love that. I'm reminding myself often that change is not only inevitable, but that it can be good.

i've changed a lot over the past few years, and i'm sure that i'll continue to change in a lot of ways. it's not something to fear. after all, there's no guarantee. in a second, this could all be gone. and change happens whether you want it to or not.

i just hope at the end, i'm happy with who i am and what i've made my life into.
i don't have any regrets. i'm happy with where i am, and i'm excited to see where else i go.
i'm living every moment. i'm feeling all the emotions, and reminding myself to breath.
i'm living passionately every single day.
i'm happy.

i get to cuddle my love a lot of times every week. i get to smooch him. and he has this way of making me smile when i'm sad. and calm down when i'm having a freak out. he's my best friend. and he's an expert at cooking popcorn.
i don't think it gets much better than that.

Denver; an intro.

okay, i've been putting this post off for WAY too long.
i just know already it's going to take forever, but it's important. so here goes!

clear back in July, i met Handy Manny. prior to that, I never considered moving to Denver in my wildest dreams. I just wasn't interested. I knew it was a silly little square of a state and figured it must be just like Utah since they're neighbors...
uh, no.
not even close. for one, Denver doesn't have mountains at all. the only mountains are too the west and they're so far away, you can't even see them unless you're standing on a three story building.
but, i flew out here a bunch and decided i loved it.

lucky for me, i was getting kind of antsy for a change, and i figured, why not?
so, literally three weeks later, I was on my way to Denver.
my brother Nick and I packed up all my furniture and big stuff and made our way out here.
only, we broke down in Cisco, Utah. about 45 minutes from Moab.

we caught a tow truck back to Moab and spent the night. while his truck was getting fixed, we had a little Moab journey, which was incredible. we took a tour and spent some time with an amazing guy. he started the search and rescue program 22 years ago in Moab, after being a deputy for the police department. he had SOOO many cool stories.

 this is a dinosaur footprint. there were EVERYWHERE. baby ones, big ones. it was incredible. just stuck forever in Moab...and so easy to see if you know what you're looking for.

 that's Nick and our cowboy guide and the little vehicle we cruised around in all day. it was INSANE how it could just climb everything like it wasn't even hard.

it was gorgeous. i'll definitely be back there. Nick and I had a blast. we didn't plan it, for sure. but it was still pretty amazing!

then, we continued on. Denver came quickly and we met up with Handy Manny for the night.

we moved into my place, then the guys went to a hockey game.

we booked it back to Utah and I tied up a few things before I took the final trek out here with the rest of my stuff.

 this is the sunset from our trip back to utah. it's from the exact place we broke down. it was gorgeous.

 i slept on the floor for a few days since my bed was in denver. it got messy trying to pack around my little make-shift bed. also, i'm way too old to be sleeping on the floor. my back and hips and ribs were like, "Excuse you??? princesses do not sleep on floors!"

 when i got to Denver, i found that my parking space is on a speed bump. it's way harder to park here than you'd think, but two weeks later, i've soooo got it!

 on my way to work on my second day, i hit this curb and got a flat tire. it was not repairable, so i had to replace it. not fun for my bank account, but i'm going to be fine. i colored while i waited.

they only had markers though, so that was kinda weird. i'm definitely a crayon kind of girl.

 who even makes curbs like this??? seriously? they're supposed to be round...

 and i was especially cute that day and Handy Manny wanted a pic, so I got resourceful and took that pic! yes, i'm standing on a toilet. they don't have any good mirrors at work. it's hard to be so beautiful and vain and not be able to look at myself always... ;)

 There are ALWAYS bunnies and squirrels running around my apartment. it always makes me giggle like a seven-year-old because they're sooo cute! they freeze, like they think if they don't move i can't see them. and it's soooo cute when they hop away. i kind of love them.

that's good for now. things are crazy, and i'm having tons of adventures. we'll talk that through later. it's time for this working woman to head out! :) 

Denver; an intro.

okay, i've been putting this post off for WAY too long.
i just know already it's going to take forever, but it's important. so here goes!

clear back in July, i met Handy Manny. prior to that, I never considered moving to Denver in my wildest dreams. I just wasn't interested. I knew it was a silly little square of a state and figured it must be just like Utah since they're neighbors...
uh, no.
not even close. for one, Denver doesn't have mountains at all. the only mountains are too the west and they're so far away, you can't even see them unless you're standing on a three story building.
but, i flew out here a bunch and decided i loved it.

lucky for me, i was getting kind of antsy for a change, and i figured, why not?
so, literally three weeks later, I was on my way to Denver.
my brother Nick and I packed up all my furniture and big stuff and made our way out here.
only, we broke down in Cisco, Utah. about 45 minutes from Moab.

we caught a tow truck back to Moab and spent the night. while his truck was getting fixed, we had a little Moab journey, which was incredible. we took a tour and spent some time with an amazing guy. he started the search and rescue program 22 years ago in Moab, after being a deputy for the police department. he had SOOO many cool stories.

 this is a dinosaur footprint. there were EVERYWHERE. baby ones, big ones. it was incredible. just stuck forever in Moab...and so easy to see if you know what you're looking for.

 that's Nick and our cowboy guide and the little vehicle we cruised around in all day. it was INSANE how it could just climb everything like it wasn't even hard.

it was gorgeous. i'll definitely be back there. Nick and I had a blast. we didn't plan it, for sure. but it was still pretty amazing!

then, we continued on. Denver came quickly and we met up with Handy Manny for the night.

we moved into my place, then the guys went to a hockey game.

we booked it back to Utah and I tied up a few things before I took the final trek out here with the rest of my stuff.

 this is the sunset from our trip back to utah. it's from the exact place we broke down. it was gorgeous.

 i slept on the floor for a few days since my bed was in denver. it got messy trying to pack around my little make-shift bed. also, i'm way too old to be sleeping on the floor. my back and hips and ribs were like, "Excuse you??? princesses do not sleep on floors!"

 when i got to Denver, i found that my parking space is on a speed bump. it's way harder to park here than you'd think, but two weeks later, i've soooo got it!

 on my way to work on my second day, i hit this curb and got a flat tire. it was not repairable, so i had to replace it. not fun for my bank account, but i'm going to be fine. i colored while i waited.

they only had markers though, so that was kinda weird. i'm definitely a crayon kind of girl.

 who even makes curbs like this??? seriously? they're supposed to be round...

 and i was especially cute that day and Handy Manny wanted a pic, so I got resourceful and took that pic! yes, i'm standing on a toilet. they don't have any good mirrors at work. it's hard to be so beautiful and vain and not be able to look at myself always... ;)

 There are ALWAYS bunnies and squirrels running around my apartment. it always makes me giggle like a seven-year-old because they're sooo cute! they freeze, like they think if they don't move i can't see them. and it's soooo cute when they hop away. i kind of love them.

that's good for now. things are crazy, and i'm having tons of adventures. we'll talk that through later. it's time for this working woman to head out! :) 

I'm back, suckas! :)

First of all, let me give you all an apology for being the worst blogger ever the past couple months.
Moving to another state has been quite the ordeal, but I made it!

More on that crazy adventure soon, just wanted to let you all know I'm back and will be in action shortly!

A few teasers of things to come:
My trip out here included an unexpected detour through Moab, Utah.
The guy who installed my internet told me I have the cutest little sneeze.
There's a security guard at work who creeps on me when I'm coming and going.
My place has no lights.

Have a good day! :)