Well its been quite a while since I have posted anything. It was so busy for a while that I just didn't have time, and then after a while I got out of the habit of thinking about writing on my blog, and then I just got lazy. I guess it happens to the best of us.

There isn't necessarily anything special that I want to post about today, just a little bit about what's going on these days. Things have finally slowed down to a nice, busy enough pace. Now that the holidays are over I usually only work one or two shifts a week at New York & Co which is just enough on top of my other job. I still really like both my jobs, they are fun and challenging and I learn new things all the time.  And, when I get a little sick of working, I just try to remember how badly I wanted a job when we first moved here. That usually humbles me enough to make me get out of bed and get moving.

Just a couple weeks ago Phil and I made a trip up to Salt Lake to visit family and friends. Because of the holiday hours I had to work we weren't able to go anywhere for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Luckily, my parents and little brother came here for Thanksgiving and we had a really fun time.  Then, for Christmas we went out to Mesa to have dinner with my aunt and uncle and cousins. Two of my cousins are getting ready to leave on missions (one has been called to Panamá and the other is waiting for her call) so it was good to be able to spend time with them before they both leave. I'm really glad we have family close by here in Arizona, its hard to be away from family for the holidays.

So, once the holidays were actually over, we made our trip to Utah. We found cheap flights and were able to stay for a whole week. We stayed at my grandparents in Bountiful and ate yummy food and played cards and just had the best time. It was so good to be able to see our friends again too. We have made some good friends here, but I especially have really missed our old ward. I always felt really needed and appreciated in that ward. I felt like I knew everybody and everyone was important to me and I was important to them. Its hard to go to a new ward. I know people always say that the church is the same everywhere, but that's only kind of true. The gospel is the same everywhere, but church is not.     So, even if it was just for one Sunday, it felt really good to be back in the 11th Ward.

We also got hit by a huge snowstorm. It snowed 16 inches in one night. It was fun to see the snow, but even better to come back to AZ and enjoy the 70 degree weather we have been having this week. We had a lot of fun with my grandparents; we always do. When I was little, my family would almost always drive up to Utah every summer and visit my grandparents. When I was old enough my parents let me stay an extra week or two after they left and then I would fly home later. My grandma and I would always go shopping for school clothes and grandpa and I would fight over the remote control. Those are some of my favorite memories. Once Phil and I got married we would go out to Bountiful almost every weekend and work in the yard if it was warm or stay inside if it was cold. We would have dinner and always play cards. Its something we have really missed since we have been in Arizona, so it was really nice to stay with them the whole week and catch up on some much needed card playing.

Hopefully we will be able to make a trip out to New Mexico next. Its been over a year since we have visited and I miss it. Something about New Mexico is just so charming, and also very full of happy memories. I'm grateful to have such a good family, and grateful that even though they are far away we are able to visit. All in all, life is pretty good right now.  There are challenges as always, but the good definitely outweighs the bad.  I think I'm a pretty lucky girl.

I wanted to do a quick update of everything that has been going on lately because it has been so busy, and with the holidays coming up I don't know when I'll get a chance to post again.

First of all, I got a new job! Thanks so much to a friend from work who helped me to get in touch with a company she worked for in the past. Its a medical billing company called ASC billing and they have been growing a lot and were able and willing to hire me pretty much on the spot. I started this past Monday and am working in the posting department.  Honestly, I know nothing about medical billing, so its all new to me, but they have been great about teaching me everything and I really like it so far. I like the idea that I am in a way helping doctors to focus on just being doctors and to not have to worry about billing their patients and working with insurance companies, because even after just a week, I can say that its A LOT of work! The company is not much farther away than my retail jobs, plus its a Monday-Friday, 8-5 schedule, and I love that.

I left my job at TJ Maxx but decided to go ahead and stay with NY & Co.  I like working there and we can always use the extra money, especially around the holidays. That being said, I'm working a ton, this past week was very busy, and I'm not sure how long I will be able to keep it up. I don't think I have ever mentioned before, but I also volunteer at the Library one night a week and take an Institute class one night. Between all that Sunday is really my only free day, and I am so grateful that my managers at NY & Co have always allowed me to have Sundays off. They have really been great about working with my schedule.

I have also been busy with two callings at church. When we first moved into the ward here I was called to be a Visiting Teaching Coordinator, which basically consists with helping to make visiting teaching assignments and reporting statistics at the end of each month. I think visiting teaching is so important, it really helps women to build friendships and serve one another, so I am always willing to help where I can in that capacity. Then, just a few weeks ago I accepted a second calling as the Mia Maid advisor in the ward. The Mia Maids are the young women age 14-15 and the advisor usually teaches a lesson on three of the four Sundays out of each month. I loved the Young Women program growing up, and had some great advisors, especially Jenn who is still a good friend today, so I of course was delighted to be called to work with the young women in this ward.

My last post was about me signing up for NaNoWriMo and how excited I was to start writing a novel. I wrote and wrote ever day, until this past Monday when I started my new job. With all the things listed above I have barely had time to write much more than a few paragraphs this whole week. Its a little frustrating because I was so excited and kind of on a roll, and now that rolling has almost come to a stop. I am not giving up on this dream. I still have a story idea and am still working on it, but I feel a little sad when I look at my stagnant word count on the NaNoWriMo website. I am at 12,158 words, which is more than I have ever written in this short a time before, but the goal is 50,000. I am going to keep trying though and one way or another, even if no one ever reads it, I am going to finish this novel.

OK. Update complete. Have a happy Sunday!

NaNoWriMo

So, I've decided to write a novel. 

Seriously.

My cousin Catie gave me the idea because apparently November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo.  Anyway, she posted on facebook that she had signed up to do it and had the workings of a story. I had no clue what NaNoWriMo even was (good thing we have google) but once I found out I totally loved the idea. 

The gist of it is that you try to write every day in the month of November. You just write and write and write and by the end of the month you should have a novel. The website has tips and forums and a word-count-o-meter (something like that) and basically just motivates you to get from start to finish in 30 days. 

I had absolutely no idea what I would write about, but I really wanted to do it (I've always wanted to write a novel) so I created a profile and started up my count-o-meter.  I started writing about nothing really, and then it kind of turned into something, and then something else, and now I actually have a real idea and am writing a real story. Its a like a miracle.

The thing is, I really have always wanted to write a novel. But I am such a perfectionist that I never get very far because I over edit and I tend to judge myself.  I want my work to be perfect from the start and that keeps me from ever getting to the finish.  I want whatever I write to mean something because the books I read mean so much to me. I don't want to just author cheap story lines that sell thousands of copies and are made into movies, but then don't really mean anything to anybody because they don't actually have much substance (cough, cough, Nicholas Sparks, cough).  

But, having said that, you can see that that is part of my problem. Maybe I need to just sit down and spit out a story, whether it means something or not so that I can just say that I have written a novel. You have to start somewhere, right? It doesn't have to be a masterpiece. 

And, lets face it, I'm not Charlotte Bronte, nor will I ever be. But I want to do this. And I'm going to do it. So, I am posting this on my blog, against my better judging type A personality, because I want to hold myself accountable. 

The goal is 50,000 words and a completed novel by November 30. I'm at 3,923. Only 46,077 more to go!