Color Your Future

So I finally got my Bachelor's Degree. I first started college in 1986 and finally finished in 2015. Yay!!! I was asked to be the student speaker at commencement exercises, which was a huge honor. I had a lot of support at the ceremony and it was a great evening. 

My Work Buddies

Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE

the people I work with??

We go to lunch together a couple times a week and it's a pretty intimidating

entourage walking out the doors together...

DeeDee, me, Jodi, Marie, Sharon and

...Daniel...

the lone man in the Garden of Eden.

He's a trooper to hang out with all of us old ladies:)

DeeDee prefers Chinese food

But we hit the Hogi Yogi too

When the bigwigs go home at 4:00, I get to work with a whole new group

of friends unloading trucks. They crack me up. I'm usually the token girl in

the group and they didn't quite understand the trauma when I broke a nail

last night unloading a HUGE Coleman cooler. Whoever buys that massive

beer transport device better appreciate it!

Last night, the unloaders all thought it would be pretty funny to introduce

themselves to me as "Mike". Every single one of them said his name was Mike.

They're a blast. Cute kids.

LOVE MY JOB:)

My To-Do List

I had a list of stuff to do today.

Go to work.

I got certified in the operation of the Walkie Stacker today. SO FUN! I LOVE my job:)

Next on the "To Do" list. Laundry. Ugh. Got it done though:)

Went to the library. Carin was there. She recommended some books by Debbie Macomber.

Debbie recommended some books by Josi Kilpack. We'll see if I like them:) Always looking for new authors.

Had to go talk to my insurance agent. He's a good man. A good friend. But I still hate paying insurance premiums.

Ugh. The last thing on my list today wasn't a whole lot of fun. Had to sign some papers. But my fun friend Lisa was in the building and she made me smile.

And my awesome niece Brooklyn just happened to text me as I pulled into the parking lot

"Hey I was wondering.. how are you doing?"

She'd have no way of knowing where I was at that very moment, but she trusted the instinct that I could use a text from someone I love RIGHT then!! Grateful to my Heavenly Father for whispering in her ear, and grateful that she's the kind of person who is worthy to hear and respond to the promptings. This was not an easy day but I am SO BLESSED to be surrounded by amazing family and friends.

People~

So many good people in this world. And most of them end up in a Wal-Mart checkout line at one time or another.

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The Dad with lots of children. Black children. White children. All ages. All calling him "Dad" even though he's old enough to be called "Grandpa".

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The marathon runner and his Eagle Scout son. Already felt a connection to his wife the first time I met her last week. Don't know their names. Love them anyway.

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The girls who snuck up behind me. Just to say hi and see how I'm doing.

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The returned missionary whose claim to fame is attending an Amish buffet in Intercourse, Pennsylvania. (Intercourse is adjacent to Paradise, btw)

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Tyler's friends. Love them. All so different from each other. Good kids.

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The Dad who dug four dollars' worth of quarters out of his pocket to buy a package of socks for his little girl. When he left the house, she was in her bedroom crying and trying to sew up a hole in her socks so she'd have some to wear to school.

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The woman who walked over and swiped her own credit card when her neighbor's card was declined.

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The guy from Switzerland.

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The girl from Paris.

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I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to meet amazing people every single day. They all make me want to be a better person.

Day 13~ This Week

What a busy week I've had! I'm working at Wal-Mart in the Garden Center/Seasonal Department, so we're VERY busy this time of year! When I get to work, I basically just start getting freight from the back room and find spots to fit it all onto the sales floor while still making it look pretty.

I'm getting pretty good with the pallet jack, too:) Which is quite an accomplishment for me, since I'm not the greatest driver to begin with!

I did apply for a job out at Dugway Proving Grounds this past week. Since I'm getting so proficient on the pallet jack, I figured I'd try to jump to the forklift next! Plus it pays twice what I make at Wal-Mart and I'd have Fridays-Sundays off:) Haven't heard yet who they selected for the position.

This week I also put the Christmas tree up and got the "24 days" tree done. It's the way we countdown to Christmas, with 24 packages of cellophane wrapped rolos and M&M's on a tree that my BIL Dave made for me. We usually have different amounts of cash wrapped in each package, but cash is not readily available this year, so I bought some little $1 stocking stuffer type things and with each day, there is a number taped to the bottom of the cellophane, corresponding to a wrapped gift. So far, Tyler has received mechanical pencils, a light-up yo-yo, some cookies, and some twisty Christmas straws. Kind of fun. I'm starting a lot of new traditions this year and I think Christmas will be fun even without a lot of money and with all of the changes going on in our lives and in our world now.