Fun Crafts! :)

Okay, so I won't claim to be all fancy and crafty myself.  But I wanted to give a shout out to some crafts my sister-in-law, Allison, has been working on.  I love how cute and creative she is!  :)  Check it out...

Custom-made Sock Puppet Family Members

She made everyone in my family a sock puppet last Christmas and I LOVE mine!  It's totally me. :)

Fabric Checkerboard Game

Fabric Play Money  

Enjoy!  Especially those of you who have little kidlets!

Playing the Drums

Here's some random added *FUN* to my life.  I'm playing the drums for a song in the middle school choir concert. Bahaha.  "Eye of the Tiger"... classic.  The choir is singing their own a capella version and one of the teens came to Club all frantically asking if I could be their drummer. Uhhh... sure?  I guess they just needed someone and this teen kind of volunteered me in class.

I don't know what kind of a drummer I am.  I mean, when I was in 8th grade it seemed like I stood out because I was a girl drummer, but I knew I wasn't super skilled or fantastic.  And I really hated drum solos and always got sooo nervous.  But now that I'm a "grown-up" just playing for fun... what a blast!  I sent the choir teacher this video just to let him know my skill level and to see if that would cut it for him:

I went to the school 2 or 3 days during the choir class period and I loved seeing a lot of the Club teens in the hallways.  "Bree!  What are you doing here?!"  "Playing the drums of course!"  And then they just get this confused look on their face--- huh?  It's super fun to walk through the halls and give shout-outs and high 5's and shoulder nudges to a bunch of kids.  I like having that kind of reputation... and it makes me look forward to being a school counselor, mingling with a variety of students all at once.

It's been fun to be so involved with the school and I've enjoyed playing the drums for this song in the concert.  Thursday was the "in school assembly" for the choir and I got to be a part of that.  It was funny to be up there and hear some of the teens screaming out my name from the crowd.  I loved playing and adding my own style, little drum fills, and eating up the opportunity to rock out.  :)

The real concert is Tuesday night (May 29th) and I'm really looking forward to it.

p.s.  The other day after the school concert, I had scheduled to interview one of the school counselors for my graduate class.  It was an awesome experience and made me all the more eager and excited to have that career one day.  I have a great relationship with that counselor and he said I'm perfect for this kind of thing.  He said, "Bree, you already have it" as far as what it takes to be a counselor.  He said I have that advantage, especially since I'm willing to go out there, get involved, and support the students in their interest.  It was a great experience and I love that aspect of my life.  My job and future career!

Here's a big cheer to playing the drums and livin' it up. :)

Sock Wars With My Dog

Consider this a tribute to my little dog, Sadie Skippee-doo, who is 3 years old today.  That's 21 in dog years but I think she's certainly still in her sassy teenage dog years.  She has a little mind of her own and definitely "speaks her mind" when something is not going her way.  

One of her favorite things to do is steal socks.

Every day.

Whether it's my room or Cassity's room... she'll grab a hold of a stray sock somewhere and dart out of the room and race around the apartment trying to show off her great prize.  She can dodge humans like no other so it's usually impossible to try to pin her down.

Sometimes she'll just lay there and entertain herself by tossing it in the air, catching it, pouncing it, shaking it, chewing it-- but not necessarily tearing holes-- just chewing and holding it in her mouth.

Sometimes she's a champion and steals more than one sock at a time.

This is her "Just try to catch me" stance and I pretend like I really want to get it from her and lunge towards her... but I just enjoy seeing her quick reflexes as she jumps back or to the side and takes off past me.

The all-seeing dog eyes guarding the hostage sock.

Finally she'll just relax and lay there closely next to the socks.  Sometimes, if I haven't immediately chased after her, she'll lay there and rest her chin on the sock, like, "C'mon... aren't you even going to TRY to get it from me?"  It's pretty darn cute.  Pretty much an every day routine.

Happy Birthday Sadie! :)

The Great Job Hunt!

Holy Cow.  I never thought going on a 2 hour job search with teens could be so entertaining.  I'd been planning to do this field trip for a few weeks-- ever since one of the teens expressed her eagerness to find a job but not having any luck.  It was like a little light bulb went on in my head and I thought, *ding*... I'll take them out and help them learn the routine of applying for jobs!

A few days ago I drove a big square route near many of the teens' neighborhoods in West Jordan.  Ideally I'd want to help them find a job where they don't need to ask their parents to give them a ride.  As I drove I took note of any place that seemed "teen friendly" as far as applying for jobs go. I jotted down about 20 places and typed them up in an organized fashion, according to location.  Before we left today I had each teen mark their top 3 places they'd want to apply, and then I compiled all their responses, made a "master list," and we were on our way!

The best part about these field trips is how cool I feel when I drive the bus.  HAHA.

I glory in opportunities to embarrass the teens or honk at them enthusiastically or be sure to "reverse" at just the right time when lots of people are around and the very noticeable *beep beep beep* is sounding as we back up.  They just roll with it and it's all part of being a member at the Boys & Girls Club.

I had 6 teens-- 5 girls and 1 boy.  Most were over age 16, some were not, and I had no idea what kind of success they were going to have.  I thought I would have to go in each place with them and show them how to do it.  But upon arriving to our first location (Leatherby's ice cream parlor), the one girl jumped out of her seat and said, "Okay, I'm going in!"  I asked if she needed me to come with her and she said, "Nope!"  Awesome.  This was even better than I thought it would be!  And that's basically how the next 2 hours went down.  They filed out of the bus in little groups and went in the stores that they found an interest in.  Sometimes as we were driving along, we would notice more places or a whole bunch in one little cluster so they'd all branch out and go in to different places at once.  

We were SUPER excited when one girl FINALLY came out carrying an application in hand. YEAH!!  Success!!  Granted, an application really doesn't mean much, considering the chances of actually getting a job there... but it's SOOO much better than coming back empty-handed!  There were actually quite a few places that gave them applications, and many places that either rejected them or told them to apply online.  I hate the whole online application process.  Who even looks at that stuff?  No one.  They'll never call you back.  But such is life... finding a job is hard!

Here are some of the businesses we visited today:

      

         

     

                          

                                              

                                  


                    

     

So here's the thing.  I knew many of these places probably wouldn't hire a 16 yr old kid.  But they were on fire and didn't even need me to talk them into going in-- they wanted to!  It reminded me of going tracting as a missionary and how it felt so scary and difficult those first few minutes.  After a few fun and positive conversations with people at the door-step it got easier and more enjoyable, and soon it was just a good experience overall!  I think that's how our job hunt was for a lot of these kids today.  The more places they went in, the higher the likelihood that someone would give them an application.

We laughed lots.  The kind where tears were rolling down my cheeks.

I told stories of some of my first jobs and the dumb things I said in my very first job interview:

"What is one of your weaknesses?" --> My response:  "Oh, I'm late all the time!"  The manager's response: "Oh, but you won't be late for this job now, will you."  My response:  "Oh of course not!"  Yeah, I didn't get that job.  Duh.  (Olive Garden, haha).

I hope they went home and told their parents of our productive and entertaining adventure.  Their parents need to know that I actually do helpful and responsible things for their kids some times, rather than just play and hang out all day.  I'm going to type up a little "report" of our findings from the job search and include tables and graphs based on what the teens found out.  It was a great experience and I hope the teens enjoyed it as much as I did. :)

Quirks & Favorites

You know what I love?

I love in movies when it shows up close someone writing.  Usually it's some artistic angle of the pen or pencil scribbling out words on a piece of paper, and you can hear the scratchy or smooth movements of the hand-writing.  I love that.

I love when someone is typing in a movie (like "You've Got Mail") and it shows up close every little letter they're typing on the screen, as they usually read their thoughts aloud.  I also super love the sound of the keyboard tipper tapper typing away.

I love the smell of books.  I smell the inside of a book any time I open it to read.  I smell books in the store.  So what.  I don't have to be sneaky about it.  I just do it.

I love the sound of clicky shoes.  Not necessarily high heels (barf) but more like in movies when the cops or FBI guys are chasing down someone in the halls of a hospital.  Those kinds of clicky shoes.  My mom said when I was little I loved the sound of shoes and often judged whether or not I liked someone based on the sound of their shoes.  I think I've grown out of that phase.... maybe.

I love the sound of my little "text" chime.  Who doesn't?!  I often have "false alarms" in my head where I'm certain I just got a text but lo and behold, there is nothing there.  But I still love the chime.

I love the sound of a tennis match.  Especially the real ones on TV (which I don't really watch all that often) but I love the silence, except for the "pop" sound back and forth of the little tennis ball.  I love that.

What are some of YOUR favorites?  :)

Proud Parent

Well... I'm not really a parent yet, but remember how I feel like a mom to the teens at the Boys & Girls Club sometimes?  That means I get to be a proud parent sometimes. :)  My favorite teen girl recently got accepted to attend the "SOAR" program for a week at BYU this summer.  She applied for it all by herself and even got the scholarship she'd been hoping for.  I didn't really do much to help, other than check up on her in the computer lab and ask if she needed anything.  So when she showed me her "congratulations" e-mail today, I was soooo happy!  And excited.  And proud.  And even a little emotional inside.  This is my girl.  This is my challenge-- to get her out there and doing awesome things.  Her goal is to go to BYU and be a Cougarette.  I believe in her. :)    She is amazing and is far beyond where I ever was when I was her age.  Shoot, I don't know how I even managed to make it into BYU.  But I did, and that's all that matters.

I love feeling like a proud parent.

I love that she was super excited to show me the e-mail.

I love my job.

I love making a difference every single day.

I love my new ORANGE office!

Pictures to come soon...

p.s.  Does anyone else love "Parenthood"?  I'm only in the 2nd season as I watch the episodes on DVD.  Anyway... I love watching the relationship between Amber and her mom, Sarah develop and blossom.  Amber started out as such a hard-headed moody teen but she has her moments of softness and sensitivity.  I love those moments.  I love when teens like her let down their walls and allow me to be there with them for a minute.  Sometimes the walls go back up... some times they stay down.  Either way, I love the challenge.  And more importantly, I love the success!

Fresh Start!

I'm painting my office at work.

Guess what color I chose?

ORANGE!

Yes, I might be crazy.

And I am fully prepared to hate it once it's all finished.

But we have a huge group of volunteers coming to the Club this week and they are painting whatever we want them to  paint-- FOR FREE.  They provide everything.  All I had to do was pick out the color.

And that was hard.

I'm a huge orange expert.

Some shades of orange are just plain ugly.

Some are absolutely beautiful.

There is a "perfect" orange... but I'm not sure if I picked out that perfect shade.

It's so hard to tell just from looking at little color squares online.

So here's to crossing my fingers for the perfect orange-colored office!

All 4 walls of it.  :)

Here's the thing about my office at work:  I've never really made it "mine."

Maybe this is because my office is also the teen backpack drop-off point.

Or it is the teen "hide-out" when they want an excuse not to go to an activity.

Or it is used as an activity room when they need to use my computer.

My office is definitely not just "my office" where I can keep it neat and tidy and have all my special trinkets displayed.  No way.  I've had plenty of things disappear off my desk.  :)

For this reason, I've never tried to decorate or make it look like MY office.

It's just a space.

But this year it grew some personality.

I collected quite a few random Justin Bieber items that took up a good corner of the office.

I had fun posters or stickers or random hair balls or food wrappers or drawings or post-it notes or whatever kind of sentimental piece of anything I was given... it's on my wall.  

I have to take everything off my wall this week in preparation of the new paint job.

I'm terrible at throwing stuff away.  I kept a lot of it... but I threw away a lot too.

And now I have the big task of deciding what to do with my walls when it's time to re-decorate!

I want to make it more of MY office... and with that orange, there's no question it's MY space.

I will for sure have a Justin Bieber corner.  It's mostly for the teens.  :)

Maybe I'll add a few other celebrity heroes or "idols" so Justin doesn't rule the house.

I'd love to put up a little of my own personality of some of my interests:

Guitar

Running

My dog

Well... I sat here trying to think of more and I feel pretty lame now.  I can't think of anything. :)

Maybe I'll throw up some family pictures or cool accomplishments.

I do have cool award plaques and framed things that I've acquired over the years.

At least I have those up in my office. :)

I'm all about bright colors so I just want it to be bright and happy.

I'm acquiring a huge liking for lime green these days.

I don't think it could ever replace my passion for orange... but I'm liking it a lot.

I'll for sure post pictures of my new office once it's all put together within the next week or so.

I never realized how much I dis-liked those light dingy blue-gray walls.

Here's to a fresh start and a happy new office! :)

Bounce Back

I love Sundays because they bring out a lot of emotion.  Sometimes it is emotion connected to feeling the Spirit.  Sometimes it is emotion from exhaling after a long and stressful week.  Sometimes it is emotion reflecting on my life and all the unknowns.  Sometimes it is emotion for love towards others, especially my family.  Sometimes it is emotion simply because I am a girl.

Today was filled with plenty of emotions, and it felt good.  I sat through a Young Women lesson on how the girls can prepare to be mothers and my eyes were filled with tears the entire time.  I was embarrassed because I didn't want the teacher to think I was offended or emotionally unstable because I am "32 and single and not a mother."  No, I don't give myself that pity party.  But nevertheless, I was all sorts of teary-eyed!  I thought of how far I am from being a mother... I need to get the whole dating game down first and sometimes I'd rather just be a mom.  But I thought of all the kids at work who have made a little snide comment like, "Bree, you're just like my mom!"  And I decided today... I'm totally okay with that.  I love that I can be a mom to someone!  So next time one of the teens tell me I'm like their mom, I will sincerely thank them.  Then tell them to go home and clean their room.  :)

A friend of mine sent me a nice message this week, commenting on how much she admires my positive attitude.  I really appreciate her sharing that with me, because believe you me, it isn't easy.  However, I've never been one to fall into deep depression or really let myself wallow in sorrow and pity.  I distinctly remember a time back in 2005 when a summer fling with a boy ended in a slap in the face heartbreak, and before I had any time to manage my emotions, my brother-in-law said the following:

"Bree... don't write a song about this one.  Just keep going.  Don't let yourself get depressed."  

Maybe it wasn't that, word for word, but I do remember him specifically telling me not to write a song about it.  Haha.  Often-times music is my "go to" for dealing with my emotions, and I can fall into a zone of whatever-ness and not really snap out of it for a while.  I've written plenty of "crap, it didn't work out" love songs and they helped me get past the situation.  I'm glad my brother-in-law told me to just move on from that one, and I did.  Maybe I cried a little and felt really sad, but I was able to bounce back and keep going.  

I guess that's how I deal with most things in my life now.  I make myself bounce back because I refuse to miss out on what could be an awesome day or a new friendship... because I was stuck in a state of sadness or frustration.  Right now I am totally distracted by my job and I love it.  The relationships I have with so many of those kids are priceless and I wouldn't trade them for anything.  They give me purpose and meaning and sincerely make me happy.  I'm grateful for close friends and my family for just keeping it real and supporting me in the various adventures of my life.  I'm grateful for people at church who acknowledge my "example" or my "optimism" or whatever it is they have observed.  And I'm grateful for my cuddly dog. :)

This morning I spent some time reading an Ensign article that we had been encouraged to read at a stake meeting this week.  It is by Elder David A. Bednar entitled The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality.  It was just what I needed to read and I really liked everything Elder Bednar shared.  A quote I really liked said the following:

"As you and I come to understand and employ the enabling power of the Atonement in our personal lives, we will pray and seek for strength to change our circumstances rather than praying for our circumstances to be changed."

And I think that pretty much sums up my perspective on bouncing back.  Don't let your life be determined by someone else or something else... but keep on pressing forward and take control of what is in your power to control.  The Lord is there to help us and lift us however we need, but we need to be willing to take our own steps toward wherever it is we want to be.  

I have no idea where I want to be. :)

But I at least know the direction to be heading... so I'll just keep going!

Saved by Music

Over the past few weeks I've developed a playlist on my iPod that I absolutely love.  Most of the songs I've been introduced to by the teens I work with, or these songs are always playing when I'm driving the van for a field trip or something.  In any case, they give me immediate happiness.

I used to love to talk on the phone during my 30 min. commute home.  Now when I get in my car I crave my play list and as soon as I set it on shuffle, I'm in a complete happy zone for the next 30 minutes.  I love it.    I need that 30 minutes to exhale at the end of each day.  

I really have been saved by music!  In every way.  Look up these songs if you haven't heard them, or let me know if you already love one of them!  I crave them all the time.  :)

"Good Feeling"-- Flo Rida

"We Are Young"-- Fun.

"Brokenhearted"-- Karmin

"The Sound of Sunshine"-- Michael Franti & Spearhead

"Drive By"-- Train

"Brighter than Sunshine"-- Colbie Caillat

"Firework"-- Katy Perry

"Tonight Tonight"-- Hot Chelle Rae

"Just the Way You Are"-- Bruno Mars

"Somebody that I Used to Know"-- Gotye

"Never Say Never"-- Justin Bieber

"Call Me Maybe"-- Carly Rae Jepsen

"Stronger"-- Kelly Clarkson

"Boyfriend"-- Justin Bieber

"Part of Me"-- Katy Perry

"Put Your Hearts Up"-- Ariana Grande

"Love You Like a  Love Song"-- Selena Gomez

"Glad You Came"-- The Wanted

"Favorite Song"-- Colbie Caillat

So there ya have it.  A complete list of random songs that make me smile at funny memories with the teens or give me happy, upbeat feelings.  Sure do love the power of music!

eHarmony Conclusion

I joined eHarmony.com the day after Christmas-- December 26, 2011.  I wanted to blog about my experience and am naturally an open person about my life.  I didn't know what would happen or if anything would come from eHarmony.  5 days later I received a match from Bellevue, Washington-- David-- who I decided to call "Washington Warrior" or "WaWo" for short. We sped through the eHarmony process and exchanged some really fun e-mails.  Within a few weeks we jumped to phone texts and phone calls, with an occasional Skype session here and there.

I met David in person for the first time on February 18th.  It was a fun weekend.  He came out to Utah again the weekend of March 17th.  I flew out to Washington the weekend of April 14th.  Most of you are aware of my roller coaster of emotions and my indecisive ability to just go with the flow and let life happen.  I think I think too much.  Or worry too much.  Or hope for too much.  Or idealize too much.  Or stress too much.  I am a girl.  Sometimes it's just hard being a girl.  And dating is hard.  And being single is hard.  So I don't have a good solution for that dilemma.

Well the eHarmony dating experience has come to an end.  David and I decided that it just isn't going to work out.  Long distance and communication barriers make relationships hard.  And that is the short and simple version.  I won't be going to WA this weekend but we will still be friends.  I think for now I need to not dwell on it and allow myself to think about other things.  But of course it is a mix of emotions and I'm taking it one day at a time.

So now it's back to Square 1.  eHarmony matches still come every now and then but none of them have appealed to me the way David did.  Most matches take me about 10 seconds to glance at a picture and read through their profile to know that it's not going to be anything to pursue.  I have wanted to quit eHarmony but I keep forgetting, and then I get charged for another month.  Dang it.  So maybe I'll let May roll out as it is... but I'm really not looking to jump into any dating right now. I'm really not good at it.

I have learned a lot.

There are many things I will do differently next time.

I can't change the past but I can plan to be awesome in the future.

And as for now... I'll hope that life will be good.