Live Strong

I am creating this post at the behest of my persistent brother, Bryan. For the next 30 days I am going to track everything I eat. The idea is to count calories and keep an eye on what I eat, but the main goal is to track it. Once I get past 30 days of tracking, I'll move on to a bigger and better goal!

Snowboarding

Now that we're back in Idaho, Morg has decided to take on the task of teaching me to snowboard. Scary! We've gone twice now, and it's sooo much fun!

First Snow

Well, just as quick as I was enjoying autumn (my favorite season), winter came. Fancy that. I'm not really a big fan of the cold, but I think this was just sort of a preview. This coming week is supposed to be pretty nice. It does bring back memories, though, and makes me want to cook up a big bowl of chili like Mom used to.

The View

My work building is up on a big hill overlooking our side of town. It's nice to go out and see the view of all of the trees and this area of our city. Now that autumn is upon us it's beautiful to see all of the trees changing color while you're outside with the crunching leaves underfoot and the brisk wind trying to blow you away.

Lava Hot Springs

Today we went to Lava Hot Springs with some friends, Dave and Dean. Dave wanted to show us this little Thai restaurant that he loves, so we ate dinner there before heading to the pools. I was a little skeptical because if there are vegetables involved, I probably won't like it. Also, there aren't any 'staple' foods in this sort of restaurant to order. I ended up ordering a meal that came with meat, carrots, cabbage and broccoli. They were all separated on the plate and they came with a sauce. Since I was feeling a little adventurous I decided to try some of the vegetables. They were so good! Some of the cabbage with the steak and some of the sauce was such a pleasant surprise. Very healthy and very tasty. After dinner we spent some time soaking in the world famous hot springs and it felt so great. Up until recently I wasn't aware of how sought after Lava Hot Springs is, but people actually move to that city to be near the springs for the minerals in the water and the air. Very relaxing.

I'm Not A Lazy Bum Anymore Either!

I got a job! Yeeessssss! I can't believe this worked out so well. On my very first day my co-workers (the people that interviewed me and that I will be working with daily) had put flowers on my desk to welcome me. They're such sweet people. I had interviewed at several other places and none of them called to offer me a job (or not) until after I had accepted this job. I'm so glad! This is exactly the kind of job I love, there are such great benefits because it is a state job and both Morgan and I can go to school for $5 per credit at our local University. Also, the job I originally interviewed for at this place was slightly lower paid, and the people that interviewed me felt I was qualified for another position they were trying to fill, which is higher paid. They offered me the higher paid position, where all the other places I interviewed for would have been the lower paying position. I feel so lucky that none of the other places offered me a job until after this place did. I also got a job at the mall part-time, just before I got this job offer, so a day or two per week I hang out at the mall and sell lotion. I love the discount!

On another note, I have to mention my poor flowers. When I saw those flowers on my desk and found out they were for me, I had a silent funeral in my head. The poor things, they had no way of knowing they would be doomed to be given into my care. It's a shame... I kept them in the office at first to enjoy their sunny, colorful beauty in my office, but after a few weeks of my bumbling efforts at caring for them I had to sneak them home so my thoughtful co-workers wouldn't see what a state they were in and think that I wasn't caring for their gift. I took a picture of them after I brought them home. I haven't given up on them just yet, but I think they've given up on me.

Happy Birthday Val!

Today we got together at Mom & Dad's for Val's B-day. We got to hang out with her new man and get to know him a little bit. We probably scared him off... sorry Val. But happy birthday anyway!