The Not-So-Awesome Happenings Part 2

Alright, so a few weeks go by, and I'm slowly coming to accept the fact that our tight-knit branch was about to be shaken up. Fast forward to a Wednesday. We typically have morning meetings on Wednesday, so I show up all ready to go, and there is no one there. This isn't the first time this has happened, so needless to say I was pretty upset. (Come to find out later that an email had been sent out that I responded to a different part of it, but missed the part about no meeting). Anyway, so I go home, and then come back when it's my regular schedule. I was still a bit upset, but slowly throughout the morning got over it.

Caleb came in around noon and we were talking and he asked if we had morning meeting. I gave him my usual, "Don't start with me look" and he said, "No, I'm being serious." I said that we didn't have it, and that was why I was so pleasant. He says, "I guess now isn't a good time to tell you my news."

I just looked at him and said, "Are you leaving?" He nodded and said, "Maybe. I have an interview for the Murray job tomorrow." Not gonna lie, I started bawling like a baby again. Holy emotions. It was not a good time for that.

Caleb has become one of my good friends at work, and he has brought a much needed balance. He is funny, can take a joke, and is really great at his job. I really don't want him to leave. Luckily he will still be with the credit union, just down in Murray. Anyway, it was so crappy to hear that, that I ended up going home as soon as Cole got in. I just slept and that was that.

I still am having a hard time with it. I try just to not think about things, because I'm really quite happy for him, but I just don't want any more shake up in our branch.

Again, little did I know that that wouldn't be the last of the not-so awesome happenings...

Part 1 is Here

The Not-So-Awesome Happenings Part 1

Truth be told, I can be a LITTLE dramatic sometimes. I blame it on my childhood and upbringing, because I don't want to take responsibility for myself. One of the negatives to being on a "mood regulator" is that I either feel super AWESOME, super CRAPPY, or super nothing at all. Major moodswings for sure.

Well, sometime the beginning of February, my co-worker Donna was in my manager's office. She was in there for quite a while, and it looked like some tears were being shed. I tried asking Steve what was going on, but he just kept saying, "You'll find out next" or "I don't know anything." I knew he was lying, because he's a big fat liar! (JK, but I can tell when something is up with him that he's not telling me.) Usually I can get it out of him, but he stood his ground, even though I should have been better at the hints he accidentally left.

I thought for sure that Donna was announcing that she was leaving, whether for another job here in the valley, or a bit more far-fetched, taking a job within the CU down in Salt Lake Area. It had me worried because I love Donna. Of all my teller co-workers, she has been the most amazing one to work with, and talk to. I'd go crazy if she left. When she came out, you could see that she had been crying, but then she signaled me that it was my turn to go talk to Danny.

I head in there and shut the door, anxiously awaiting the "bad news". I did not expect to hear what he told me next. He would be leaving the credit union to move to, Cheyenne, Wyoming (I know, right?!) as he had accepted a job at another CU there. Talk about a major shock. In the nearly five years that I've been with the CU, I thought for sure that I would be the one to leave, and that Danny and Steve would be there forever.

It really affected me in a way that I can't explain. I think you would have to know my relationship with Danny. (I have to be careful with my words here, in case he is reading this.... ;) Let's just say that I was probably his least favorite employee to get into "discussions" with. I pushed his buttons, and he pushed mine, however, we got over the anger/frustration and it didn't get too awkward.

But, he had been there for me a lot over the last five years. He was there when I got sick, and helped me adjust my schedule to be the best for me. He listened to me complain about my frustrations at work, and encourage me every step of the way. It was hard to hear that he was leaving. I shed some tears, quite a few actually.

I had a lot of thoughts and fears, which I won't get into, but I was really concerned how it would affect the dynamics of the branch. Not even kidding that we are the best group of employees. We all get along. We are all so different, but our personalities mesh so well, and we are all hard workers, making work both fun and effective. So, for this little shake up, who knew what was going to happen.

Who knew indeed! To be continued....

(See, dramatic!)

Since the Last Post

It's almost the end of June now. Somehow the days just seem to be flying by. We don't really do a whole lot, but somehow I've got quite a few pictures here. So here goes.

We broke in my new walking shoes by taking a walk around the caboose. The weather has been getting warmer lately, but we took advantage of the not so super hot weather and took a little walk in the sunshine.

And then we got home, and I wanted to sit on the porch, so Greg told me I only could if I lifted weights and drank water. It's a tough life!

Trying to eat new things. I actually somewhat enjoyed this, even though there are onions and peppers in it. This was shortly before my food made a reappearance.

For our June Relief Society Activity, we decided to hold a "Lunch in the Park." It was super hot, but it was good to see the few sisters that did show up. It's hard to get sisters to show up. But I'm grateful for the ones that did come.

The 14th was our company summer party down in Salt Lake. I have never been in the 4 years of working for the company, but this year the whole group of us decided to go together. We had a great time chatting on the way down, then chatting with each other at the party and trying to guess who was who and avoid having to talk to any of them. (Kidding, but we weren't really that chatty with anyone but each other.)

They held a special drawing for any of the employees who came from the St. George and Logan branches, and guess who won this bad boy....Me. Greg and I have dance parties every night. I also won a gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings. Too bad I didn't take home the Disneyland Trip. It was actually a lot of fun, and it was good to see the few people that I do know that aren't in the Logan branch.

Father's Day came and went. I had a harder time with Father's Day than I had with Mother's day for some reason, but I won't get into that since I kind of went off on Mother's day already. But I want to wish my Dad a Happy Father's Day. Thanks for being there for me, and for your example. Thank you for loving me and being the greatest dad ever.

Sometimes life gets boring, so we go to the Willow Park Zoo and watch the crazy animals. Here are the turtles at feeding time.

Hastings was having a sale on their used books, so I picked up a few of these Nancy Drew books to add to our massive book collection. I can't wait to get a bigger house so we can put these in our library.

Lilli was getting baptized in Cokeville on Sunday, so Greg took me to meet my parents so they could take me the rest of the way to Cokeville.

We had loads of fun. The weather was gorgeous, and I had a great time watching the kids. They are so goofy sometimes. Lilli got a bow and arrow for her birthday, so the kids went outside for a little fun. For the record, though, it was Kandyce who told Lilli to "shoot an apple off Alex's head."

It was beautiful there in Wyoming.

I gave Lilli my old camera for her birthday. It was fun watching her take pictures of EVERYTHING. Hopefully she continues to take lots of pictures.

Here's Liam ready for church. Clay couldn't find the car keys, so Liam and I played with the adorable kitten, and he showed off his stylin' church clothes.

Then we went for a walk to go see the cows.

The only time he will hold my hand is when mom & dad aren't around and he wants to go see the cows.

Church was good. The Teicherts spoke about family, and they all did a fabulous job. They are one of the families I always admired growing up, and loved spending time with them on our family vacations. They are wonderful people, and I love them so much. Also, Livi, I loved your talk so much, I think I'm going to use it for my next lesson. Seriouisly, it rocked!

Lilli's baptism was that evening. She is such a smart cookie. My mom gave a talk on baptism, and she asked Lilli if she thought Jesus had to be baptized. Lilli's response, "(Pause)...Well, no but Heavenly Father commanded him to be baptized, so he was." It was the cutest. She looked so beautiful when she came out in her white dress. She was literally glowing. I know some people outside our religion feel that 8 years olds are too young, or they are forced to be baptized, but I truly believe that they know more than we give them credit for. Lilli's mom and dad didn't force her to be baptized, they let her make that decision. She will be so blessed because of it.

After, we went back to mom & dad's for brownies and ice cream. There was lots of family there, and it was so good to see everyone. I even got to hear a story about Grandpa Stan, and that's always fun. (I retold that story HERE, because I want to remember).

It's been a good month, despite the stomach issues and tiredness, and everything else life throws at me.

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

It's been quite the month here at the Aullman household. We go years without changes, then all of a sudden, quite a few all at once.

We had Greg get a 'real' job (which doesn't change much except now we'll earn a second income. YAY!) I do have to say that we've been very blessed to be able to go a year on a small single income. (I only averaged about 30-35 hours a week) but we had many blessings in disguise that helped us make it through. So what if we had to go without a few luxuries for a year. Guess what? We survived!

Second change - Last Saturday we decided to upgrade our phones and join the world of Smartphones. Now, we did this for a couple of reasons. One, we were both due for an upgrade (Greg still had a flip phone...that's how behind in the times HE was). Second, we needed to upgrade our plan anyway. The plan we were on had me a 500 non-Verizon texts, and Greg at 50. He kept going over, and since the only plans you can get now days are data plans, we decided to just go for it. We spent about 2 hours deciding what to do, and ended up going to Best Buy where the phones were cheaper, and the insurance plans were better. I got the Samsung Galaxy S3, and Greg got the S4. It's taken some time to get used to, but we both really love them. I'm excited about it...and luckily I can pick up some Wi-fi at work if I really feel the need to get on the internet.

Third change - I've been in the Young Womens presidency for nearly 5 years now. 2.5 under Melanie as president, and the last 2.5 under Farina. It has been a great experience for me, and I've really enjoyed it. A couple of Tuesdays ago, Greg got a call from the ward executive secretary asking Greg and I to meet with Bishop that evening. We tried to guess what it might be. We knew Greg wasn't being released, so we narrowed it down to it being about me. I joked saying maybe I was going to be called to be the Relief Society president. Well, imagine my actual shock and surprise when I was called to be the Second Counselor in the Relief Society presidency. My jaw literally dropped. Apparently everyone else was a little shocked as well. But I have to say I'm quite excited about it. Extremely nervous as well. It's only been about five years since I was last in relief society. But it will be good to get to know the other women in our ward. I feel like I only know a select few (ie, the ones that have served in YW). So it will be a good change. I guess this is what I get for not doing my visiting teaching or going to any enrichment activities. I guess that better change. <--yet another="" change="" p="">
I think that's about all for now. Luckily these have been good changes...

Goodness

Here's the happs since I last blogged.

I actually had the 25th of May off, so since it was a 3-day weekend, we decided to head up to Star Valley. We took off after work on the 24th to make the trip. Greg's aunt who lives in Georgia (who I also have never met) came up for the weekend as well and stayed at my in-laws house. We all went to breakfast the next morning (Greg, me, Mother-in-law, two aunts and an uncle, plus Annie, and Shaina & Jesse came up that morning). Then we went to a cousin's wedding, took some pictures, got some chocolates, saw some baby kitties and went on a 4-wheeler ride. Then we relaxed the rest of the weekend. We came home on Sunday so we could spend Monday just chillin' at home.

The 27th was our 8th anniversary...crazy, right? We ate Chili's, which was super delicious, and just hung out at home. Pretty low key, but I'm okay with that.

Greg has applied to about 20 different school counseling jobs, and we haven't had much luck hearing back. He's been interning at Logan High School for the past year, and has made some good friends. We learned that one of the Middle School Counselors was retiring, and that there would be an opening there this coming school year. He applied, but we didn't hear anything for a while. After not hearing from any of the other schools, we felt this was a great opportunity. He had quite a few of the HS staff call and talk to the principal, but we knew that nothings was for sure. He got a call to interview on the 31, and needless to say I was a nervous wreck.

We learned there were six candidates that they were interviewing, two were inexperienced (Greg being one) and one was a counselor from Cache School District. The day of the interview I was pretty wound up. We had heard a lot of different things, like, they usually let the one they want to hire know that same day, then the others later the next week, so of course when we didn't hear back, we weren't sure what to think. I had a few meltdowns that Friday, and a couple on Saturday, but then I felt fine. I was just calm. I didn't get a feeling that he necessarily got the job, but it was just a feeling of everything was going to work out...one way or another.

Monday and Tuesday came and went. One of the counselors kept trying to get some info from one of the interviewers, but couldn't get much. Apparently there are some rules that you can't say anything until it's 'official'. Psh....Anyway. I just kept thinking that they would have let the person they wanted know by then, so the longer it took, the less our chances were.

Wednesday came, and we still hadn't heard anything. We just went about our normal activities, and around 4:50 Greg noticed he had missed a call from the Principal at 4:00. We don't know how he missed it...maybe it was just to add to the drama of it all. The principal asked him to call back (which I took as a good sign...because honestly, if I were calling back candidates about jobs, if they WEREN'T going to get the job...I'd prefer to just leave a, "Hey you didn't get the job" message! lol) Anyway, Greg called him back, but had to leave a message. Of course we were too wound up at this point, so we decided to try to take a nap. We hadn't laid down for 5 minutes when the phone rang. Greg left the room to answer it, and so I tried to use my Vulcan hearing to listen in. It honestly didn't sound too promising, but when they were on the phone for a while I decided to get out of bed. I heard him say, "I can go into the district office tomorrow" so I gave him a thumbs up sign. He gave one back, and long story not as long as it could be....he got the job. It's such a relief, and we're pretty excited about it.

Greg is happy to be in the same district as the counselor's he's been working with for the past year. He does already know the Middle School Counselors as he did his practicum there last year. It'll be a good experience for him, and I'm happy for him to have it. At the end of his interview, the principle told him that it was very advantageous that he had so many good friends in the district, and we truly believe that. We are so appreciative of all the counselors he has worked with in the HS, and for his references that talked him up too. And thanks to everyone else for your prayers. We really appreciate it.

And that is the goodness of the past few weeks. Here's to some more goodness to come!

Oh yeah, and I got bangs. In case you didn't notice.

My Life in One Word

Choose a word that best describes your life at this moment. Why?

STRESSED! Trying to get Greg's job situation figured out...praying that schools will call back...praying that we'll get a job...plus add my health on top of it, and work on top of that...it can get a bit stressful. But I just take each day one at a time. There's not a whole lot I can do about work. I have to go each day. I can't stay home because my body aches and hurts. I just have to keep going. There's also not much I can do about a job for Greg. Just keep praying. I'm sure it'll all work out. One way or another, we'll be a-okay!

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Speaking of work...I pulled an all day-er at work. It's been a while since I've done that, and let's just say by the end of the work day...I was exhausted. I think 3:00 is about the time my body really shuts down! But hey, it was an extra 3 hours of pay.

The Last 7 Days

List seven things about the last seven days.

1 -- Celebrated Thursday night with Coldstone (which was much needed because Thursdays are my worst days ever!)
2 -- Came to the conclusion that I need to find a new job...ASAP
3 -- Watched The Lucky One and some clay-mation Pirate cartoon
4 -- Got Juniper Takeout. Their deep-fried mushrooms are to die for...but that's about it. The rest of the food...bleh...
5 -- Found some bad news about one of members who was killed in a car accident over the weekend. I've never had someone really close to me killed like that (knock on wood!), so it was kind of a shock. I just helped him on Friday. He was the sweetest old guy who always had a joke for us. He'll be missed.
6 -- Realized that the world isn't going to stop and wait for me....everyone will keep going, changing, whether I like it or not. (This is why I obsess over 1D. If I don't, I think about other depressing things)
7 -- Learned that you can learn a lot about people you know by stalking people you don't know. Your secrets aren't safe people! (muah hahaha...evil laugh!)

Some catch-up posts

I should probably do it the other way...catch up the most recent and work backwards...but at least I'm catching up. Here are two I did today.

Bear Lake w/ the Kiddos
5K to the Temple

Dear God,

If you could ask God a question, what would it be?

At this point in my life, I would like to ask Him what our future held (ie, jobs, home, school, babies, etc.) I'm not a fan of this waiting and see what happens. I hate not knowing what to tell my boss when he asks what our plans our. I just want to know now! Now, I love a good surprise, but I don't want this to be a surprise. I just want to know. I NEED to know, or else I'm going to go crazy. I don't know what to plan for. I just really want to know. So please, God, I think an answer in the form of a very clearly written letter would be the best plan. I don't do so well waiting for prayers to be answered! ;)

I guess that's what faith is for, right? Faith that my Heavenly Father knows what He's doing, and while He probably isn't going to give me the answer to that question right now, or all at once, but that it's all going to work out, and that whatever happens, happens for a reason. It'll all be okay.

Can't Believe...

What is one thing you can't believe is happening in your life right now... Hmmm...good question. My answer is I cant believe we are where we are right now...I kinda thought we'd be elsewhere. (And that's all I'm saying.)

This is what...

...I've been up to lately. (I feel like I just did a post about this...)

Working...takes up six hours of my day, and all of my energy. This day was particularly rough. I was accused of accusing some people of elderly financial abuse, in which I have NO idea how they even came up with that. We have limits at the drive-thru, and so when the people wanted more than I could give, I let them know why, and gave them options to get the money. They seemed okay when they drove off, so imagine my surprise when I got a call asking about this situation. It was strange. Then shortly after that I had a long-time member who we are ALWAYS good to call and rip into me about some fees that she had received on her account. I just wish people would address the situation differently. Instead of screaming at the person, I suggest asking what the fees are for (CALMLY), what you can do to avoid them in the future, and THEN ask if it's possible to have any reversed. Seriously people. This is something I have a very difficult time with. Then just the typical everyday issues that I deal with. Hence...the zero energy once 3:00 rolls around.

If I'm not working, I'm busy trying to get caught up on my scrapbooking and relaxing with the hubs.

Thursdays I get to play volleyball with some friends for the Smithfield City Rec League. We have a lot of fun, despite me not being able to serve overhand, or move. Luckily my friends are awesome and patient with me, and still let me play. One of these days I'll have my health back and will be able to kick butt again.

Other than that...I'm not sure what I've been up to. Pretty basic, boring, busy life!

--day 11--

Because I'm super!

Today I am Feeling...

Pretty good, actually. Despite having to work for 3 hours, I was able to sleep in (8:15), and get some things done on my computer. We didn't do a whole lot today, and maybe it was helpful to not have to walk around a lot or be on my feet too much. But overall my body feels a little better (lower back is sore for some reason), and my mind too. Not having to stress about people at work, or anything else is pretty great. I kinda like that feeling!

~Day 6~

Sometimes I Get Motivated

Sometimes I get really motivated and think, "Hey this would be cool to do." Well, now is one of those times.

Here's my daily blogging prompt...

List your morning rituals.

As of lately it's been such:
Wake up at 7:05...hit snooze...
Wake up at 7:10...roll out of bed
Put on some clothes (sweat pants and hoodie)
Go to the bathroom
Crawl back under the covers while Greg finishes getting dressed
Drive Greg to his 'job'
Get home, shower, eat breakfast, play on my kindle

Do my hair, put on makeup, and rush out the door.

Morning after morning. (Though I'd rather be getting up early than have to go to work at 11-6...)

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In other news...
I'm not sure if I ever blogged about the time I had a rough day at work and came home and went to turn on the lights and they shorted out. Yeah, that was fun. This was only a few months after we were able to get it fixed. Well, it's been quite a while since that happened, and yesterday we learned that it was just some bad wires in the plug in our side room. Now we can turn on the kitchen light, the living room light AND the side room light. It's amazing. (though it also means that I don't have an excuse to NOT put up our Halloween lights...)

Last night we made some no-bake cookies. Yummy, right? They turned out amazing...until we actually ate them. They were not good. We couldn't figure out whether it was the peanut butter or the oats, until tonight when Greg opened the peanut butter. Yeah, it was bad. Smelled horrible. It only expired in 2009. Needless to say...we threw the cookies away.

And I also made a few old posts. I put them in order of when they happened just in case I ever print this blog into a book.
Trev & Ceara's Wedding
25th B-day & More
End of Summer 2011
And more to come!

Still Alive

...and mostly in one piece! Life has just been a bit busy around here. I'm still working, and Greg has started his internship. I'm still doing a lot of scrapbooking, Greg is still playing a lot of baseball (on his computer). We haven't had too much exciting going on recently, but it was a pretty eventful summer. One of these days I promise I'll post about them. I think about all the things I could/should post about, then never get around to it. But seriously. One of these days you'll here all about what's going on with us. Until then...we're still alive, and I guess that's a blessing!

05 Feb - Today I Love

February 5, 2012

{Today I Love}

Today I love that I am in Young Women's and not in primary teaching 10-11 year olds (who are super mean to each other and out of control.) I also love that I got to spend the rest of the day relaxing with my hubby, watching football, eating delicious food, and napping. (I love days we don't have to work!)

04 Feb - Today I Love

February 4, 2012

{Today I Love}

Today I love that I didn't have to work today, my one Saturday off this month! (Okay, really I have 2 this month, but that's so not the point!) I also love Burger King, Arby's, and spending the day with my husband...since he didn't have to work either.

02 Feb - Today I Love

February 2, 2012

{Today I Love}

that only part of the power went off in my house...not all of it. I love that our full electricity lasted us at least a year, with really...no problems...until now.

Also, I love that the 3 cats that hang outside our door and meow like crazy haven't died under my house.

(don't ask...i'm super ornery today, and this is all I could think of!)

01 Feb - Today I Love

With it being the month of love...why not blog about it. I've been having a tough time finding joy in life lately, so I decided to think of something that I love from each day this month...And I have to admit, it's already been tough to come up with something after a long LONG day! But without further ado...

February 1, 2012

{Today I Love}

that I totally rocked my first time play Just Dance on the Wii. (We had a Just Dance party for mutual). Sure I sucked the other 2 times, but I beat the other girls who HAVE played it before.

(also I love that my teammates got super excited with me when I did win!)

Wanna know something lame?

It's December 1, and our Christmas tree still isn't up yet.

Wanna know something even more lame??
I almost kinda don't want to even put it up.

I know...

I'm lame...

it's been one of those weeks...