Christmas time!!!!

Well hello there. You (all three of you) probably assumed I abandoned my post here in blogspot land. Well, you are right. I did abandon it. But now I'm back!!! The last post was all about how busy we were with school and work and I said I would not be back for a while. Trust me. It was OUT OF CONTROL busy. My eating and exercise routine/habits went in the garbage. Taking 20 credit hours and working 40-50 hours/week is not conducive to a healthy life. Needless to say, I won't be doing it on purpose again. So here is an update of the last semester:

I got a new job!! Yay!! Finally! I was so sick of working for Hotel Park City I wanted to burn it to the ground and then have the ashes thrown into a deep, deep lake full of hideous fish. Instead of committing arsen, I just got a new job. My old spa director, Kristi from the Golden Door in Telluride got a position as assistant director for the spa at the hotel, "Montage" up in Deer Valley. I had sent in my resume and the second she got it she called me. We chatted and I got invited for an interview with the director, Loren. Within 20 minutes I had been offered a well-paying position as a massage therapist. At first, I didn't know how to feel about it. I was so jaded from working for a crappy ski resort spa. But after some prayers and fasting I had an answer. Heavenly Father wanted me to go for it. It was one of the those experiences where you have to step off the cliff and have faith that the Lord will help you fly. I knew that working for them meant missing an entire month of school. Yes... O Chem, Honors Exercise Physiology, Honors Global Health, etc. I would be missing all of them. I was terrified that my grades would slip and being a perfectionist, I didn't want to get less than A's. But off I went. Training was incredible!! I learned so many new things from a wonderful professional, Anne Brahman who was been teaching to practicing for over 20 years. I learned three new modalities: Connective Tissue, Aroma Reflex and the true practice of Reflexology. It was amazing. During and after training I had so many incredible experiences working with others and even experienced miracles.

After training was over, I went to my final week of school. The week after I took my finals. My grades? Awesome! So far I have four A's and waiting on my O Chem grades (which managed to get an A on the final). Yes, Heavenly Father does answer prayers. And yes, he is able to see the road ahead. We just need to trust him to lead us there even when we can't see through the darkness.

Justin did not get a new job. Instead, he kept his awesome one we both adore and just relocated his work computer to our home office! So now he works from home. We both love it. I love it because he is able to help out with chores while I'm gone. He loves it because on his break he exercises and is able to work out. He also loves it when I bring him meals while he works. (I do too actually because everytime I see his face it makes me smile.) Justin also did very well in his classes! This semester he was a TA for Temme's Biology class. We both like Temme. I took Biology and Physiology from him. Justin took Biology twice from him (it's a long story as to why he took the class twice since he got an A both times). He really enjoyed teaching students and tutoring people that struggled with the concepts. Some nights after Physics labs I would drop over to the library and study in the next table over while he taught. He was especially good with students that were not Biology whizzes... they seemed to gravitate towards Justin because he treated them with so much respect.

Other than that, it was a busy semester. We also opened another savings account and are saving up for a grand graduation trip. Thinking maybe Cancun? Anything that involves sand, sun and being alone together AWAY from campus.

Christmas came and went. It was very busy. We went to four different family's houses in two days. But we loved seeing everyone and had fun. My big presents were a video camera, pressure cooker, juicer and gift card to my favorite store, Ann Tayler Loft. Justin got some five finger Vibram shoes, a bike car rack (another one) and new mountain bike pedals. But the best present was taking my Granddad to church. Although my Granddad was never a religious guy and now he is affected with Alzheimer's, I feel like he just enjoyed the Christmas music and being around others.

A few days after Christmas Justin took me skiing! I have never really tried it so we took off to Alta one afternoon and took a few runs on the bunny hill. I have to admit that I actually really enjoyed it! Justin is a great teacher though.

Earlier in the week we went night boarding/skiing with my bestie, Evelyn and her fiance, Richard. It was a blast. They said something that both Justin and I have found to be true. Evelyn said, "When you get married, you never stop dating. The only difference is that you date different couples." Then she said, "We like you guys, so we will date you guys." That made me happy, of course, because I love my bestie! Heck, I pushed my wedding forward by a month because of her! But it is true. You date other couples.

Other than that... I can't think of anything else to say. But I will be in touch soon!!