Debt Free

As of today, I am officially student loan debt free. I had loans from my M.Ed at ASU and my MBA at BYU. Out of state tuition at ASU was killer but I determined to keep paying off the interest while in MBA school to keep the loan from getting out of control. Last March, I decided to put all extra money towards both students loans and to have them paid off in one year. Okay, actually the goal was January 1st, but Paris and a few other trips had me alter the goal to one year. I made that goal. And it feels really good!

Graduation Day

I graduated from MBA school last week. Lots of pictures were taken. Speakers were great! The Deseret News randomly chose me to interview and I ended up being the lead in the story. Here are some pictures commemorating the event:

Not an April's Fools Joke

My classmates and I convinced one of my teachers to change the final from an individual case write-up to a one page bullet point paper and class discussion. Only one final! Happy day!

March Madness

March really has been a crazy month. Even though I am only taking 12.5 credits, I have been incredibly busy. Now that it is the end of March I realize that classes end in two weeks. I have two Heaton cases, one paper to write, one book to read, four readings, and two finals left until graduation. I turned down a job today because I didn't feel it was the right position for me. I have no other concrete leads but many hoped for opportunities which would allow me to experience another adventure in another state. To be honest, I would be okay not working until August. I'm not that lazy but have too many fun vacations in the works: Sacramento, Yosemite, DC, Civil War sites, Huntington Beach, hikes in Utah, Lake Powell, visits to friends, and more. Right now my life is full of uncertainties. I have no idea what is around the corner, but that is what makes it so exciting. Bring on Summer!

Tender Mercies

We all have times in our life when we hit a wall and just don't know how to keep going. That is me right now. I'm exhausted with all that has happened the past two years of MBA school. Everything from accounting and finance classes to dating to internships to being engaged to breaking off the engagement to finding a job to getting sick week after week to planning my life. I'm worn out. The past few days I had given up. I skipped a group meeting and watched basketball with a friend and took a nap instead. I let important things slip like reading my scriptures. (This one really is brilliant. I bought a nice set of leather scriptures since my cheap set was quite worn and even had a bout with a paper shredder. My problem was (yes I know this is lame) I wanted to mark my new set but with the "right" colors and pencils and pens with the "right" topics. I hadn't found exactly what I wanted so I put it off day after day.) My actions definitely were not consistent with my values and beliefs.

Today a rebuke came in the form of tender mercies. I woke up not wanting to go to my ward. It wasn't church I was avoiding. Just my ward. I decided to go to stake conference in Gunnison. I walked in and saw my dad who lit up at the sight of me. I needed to see that love. The talks that were given all hit questions that were in my mind. One particular point was the powerful affect of women in the lives of others. Each speaker seemed to say something about the importance of women. I felt very distinctly the need to make a few course corrections to make sure I am a woman of influence, a woman of virtue, a woman of faith. I need to make sure I am lifting and building others and to make sure that the light of Christ is reflected in my countenance. Another point was the power of forgiveness in all its forms. I have made some choices in my life that many attribute as irrational. They don't understand why I have made these choices. The Lord knows and I felt overwhelming peace when reflecting on those decisions. One final tender mercy was the visiting authority. At the last moment the schedule changed and Elder Spencer J. Condie of the Seventy came instead of another member of the Seventy. I connected with a talk he gave years ago. Seeing and hearing him speak today reminded me that God knows me and God does remember his promises. I spoke with Elder Condie after the conference and once again, I felt an overwhelming feeling of peace from the Spirit of the Lord.

This morning I awoke with a weight on my heart and dread in my soul. This evening I feel hope in the future. Hope in the power of repentance. Hope in the miracle of forgiveness and the atonement. Hope in the knowledge that the Lord knows and remembers me. The Lord knew I needed to be in Gunnison today and when I wake up tomorrow, my resolve is to punch through that wall or climb over it or blast it to pieces or something. I won't let the uncertainties of life defeat me. I won't let the easiness of the way slow my pace. I won't let the stumbling blocks trip me. I will persevere because I have the help of the Lord.

PS - I pulled out the old, beat-up Book of Mormon a few days ago. I testify that reading the Book of Mormon daily gives us power to do all things.

AOG - Day 30

1- I am grateful for my dad. Today is his birthday and I wanted to how I feel about him. He is kind, loving, fun, witty, spiritual strong, an amazing example, smart, and charitable. I think my dad is amazing!

2- I am grateful for hard working teams. I get frustrated working with different people and different groups for each class but when it comes to crunch time, they pull through and get things done. Having a good team makes school so much easier.

3- I am grateful I made it through November. It has been a crazy, busy month!

AOG - Day 29

1- I am grateful for hot tubs. I love sitting and relaxing in hot tubs. This weekend I was at the Waldorf-Astoria resort at The Canyons. Being in a ritzy hotel, in the mountains, with a hot tub? Priceless.

2- I am grateful for peanut butter cookies. I got the recipe from a girl who collected different PB cookie recipes and she gave me her favorite.

3- I am grateful that the semester ends in 2 1/2 weeks. It is going to be a crazy busy time but I am excited for the Christmas break.

AOG - Day 24

1- I am grateful that my classes were cut short today!

2- I am grateful that between classes I was able to hang out with a good friend of mine.

3- I am grateful for the Thanksgiving dinner that I was invited to tonight. Yummy!

AOG - Day 23

1- I am grateful when a class is canceled that I didn't want to go to that day. Makes for a happy day when I am experiencing burnout.

2- I am grateful for people who make me laugh! The world is more fun when we make others laugh.

3- I am grateful for the ability to learn, grow, and change. The eternal mercy and grace that comes from the atonement humbles me and teaches me how to be a better person. It also teaches me the power of forgiveness...forgiving myself and forgiving others. What a powerful gift in my life!

AOG - Day 18

1- I am grateful my presentation went well.

2- I am grateful for my sisters who help me out in life. The listen to me, invite me on vacation with them, and one let me borrow all her kids pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals to help me with my presentation.

3- I am grateful for moments when I can forget about school and just relax.

AOG - Day 10

1- I am grateful for nine hours of sleep! Getting enough sleep sure makes it easier to handle the craziness that comes with being in MBA school.

2- I am grateful for the people in my teams at school. I have learned so much from those in the program especially those who I work with in teams.

3- I am grateful for my brother and sister-in-law. They invited me over for hot chocolate after my brother's intramural football game. It was fun to talk and laugh over hot chocolate. My new sister-in-law is a sweetheart and I am glad she is part of our family.

AOG - Day 6

1- I am grateful for forgiveness. That even when I mess up and make mistakes, people overlook my weaknesses. Hopefully with forgiveness comes second chances.

2- I am grateful that my presentation went well today.

3- I am grateful for friends who listen to me vent. Sometimes I don't make sense and I feel like a psycho crazy girl but they listen and love me anyway.

AOG - Day 5

1- I am grateful for my time at ASU and all I learned there. Right now I am using the material learned in classes for a project in MBA school.

2- I am grateful for the impression to stop at that green light because I didn't hear the sirens or see the fire truck that would have destroyed my car and me.

3- I am grateful for hugs. I like hugs. They make everything seem better.

AOG - Day 3

1- I am grateful for the Biggest Loser. I love that show! I find that the quality of television has decreased over the years and this is one show I actually look forward to watching.

2- I am grateful for dessert night. Every other Tuesday I get together with my sister, her husband, my brother, his wife, my cousin, and my brother-in-law's brother for dessert. Usually we sit around talking while eating good food but I enjoy catching up with them.

3- I am grateful for block classes. I only have one class on Tuesdays and Thursdays because I dropped two and only added one. Such a blessed day!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

I have officially registered for my last semester of MBA school. My friend Chloe held a pre-registration gathering at her place a few hours before registration opened. Somehow through the chatter and laughter, we girls ended up with side ponytails. Sometimes you just have to be silly.

A Recap on Life

I realized I haven't been blogging much. Easy explanation for that: school has started. Here is a quick recap of life.
Disneyland
Huntington Beach
Moab with MBA Marketers

First Year Done!

Almost done

I have one more final due today at 4:00 and then my first year of MBA school will be completed! I finished the multiple choice on Monday but haven't had any motivation to do the case write-up. I can't put it off any longer. Time to get to work.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Life swooped in and took control of my plans. Spring is right around the corner and I was all geared up to welcome her. But now, the Tanner Building is calling me. Tests need to be taken. Papers need to be written. An internship needs to be found. And all I want to do is enjoy the day with Andrew. Alas, life snatched him too. So our lives have become reading homework, searching for internships, and trying to make it through March with our sanity intact. Pray that we make it.

What Am I Going To Do?

My last final ended last night at 8:30PM. I had been there for almost three hours and had typed over five pages of material. When I left, 2/3 of the class were still there. In a 58 hour period, I was in finals almost 12 hours, had a little over 12 hours of sleep, and studied almost the rest of the time. I did take a study break and Andrew helped give me some semblance of sanity. Finals are now over! I survived my first semester of MBA school and am amazed at the changes and growth that have occurred in me. As a side note, I love self-reflection. It brings such peace realizing how the Lord has helped me accomplish difficult tasks that I didn't think I had the capacity to complete. Such a humbling thought.

Now on to the real reason for the post. I was laying in bed this morning, enjoying not waking up to an alarm or having somewhere I had to be, and created a list of all the things I needed/wanted to do now that I didn't have to study for classes. Here is my list:
1. clean my room
2. clean the house
3. organize and file my notes and assignments
4. balance my checkbook (I have been keeping track of my finances but haven't taken the time to balance my checkbook since October.)
5. write my Christmas card
6. decide what to buy people for Christmas and actually go buy it
7. go food shopping (In July and August I built up a food storage because I had the impression that I was going to need it. I thought it was because finances would become tight. No, no. I didn't have time to run to the grocery store. I think I went twice after school started. Now, I went to Costco every few weeks to get milk and a few other essentials, but never made it to the grocery store.)
8. drop off items at the DI that have been sitting in my closet
9. organize the piles that have built up (this is not part of cleaning room because the piles need to be filed in the folders in the basement)
10. start creating the family calendar
11. organize emails (I take emails I write to people and put them in my journal)
12. write on the backs or pictures and put them in an album (In September I went through my 2006 pictures and had Costco print them. Well, they have been sitting in a box on my floor since then.)
13. search companies that do not recruit at BYU and look for a summer internship
14. read a book Andrew lent me about Hugh Nibley and the 101st airborne
15. read other books that I am not assigned to read
16. actually talk to Suzy on the phone (She has called me a few times the past week and I just couldn't talk when she called.)
17. clean out my car (However, it is snowing outside and this one may have to wait)
18. take a nap (I think I deserve this one)
19. venture out into the real world and meet people outside of the Tanner building
20. go to the temple

And that is the list I came up with this morning. I don't expect to do this all today. Just my list of things I can concentrate on now that final are over. Happy day!