Wheels

Two posts in one day? What is going on?

Well I'll tell you. I'm BORED. Work has been slow with a capital S-L-O-W.

I love my car :). She's a dream. Here's a picture:
















We needed to ditch the truck since Adam wasn't going to be driving it the 140 miles to and from work each day and I have NO desire to drive a single cab long bed truck on the streets of downtown Salt Lake, or anywhere for that matter.

So our first impulse was to sell the truck and get an economical car for him to drive. Smart? Yes!

Then we remembered we live in a place that snows for 4-5 months of the year and where Adam will be travelling will get much more snow than the valley...

Enter predicament.

After many days of back and forth, ups and downs, pros and cons we decided we would sacrifice amazing gas mileage for something with 4WD or AWD.

On Monday we sold the truck and purchased this lovely and large Sequoia :

Yours truly, in all my 60 inches of glory, will be driving this bebeh around! What?!!! Haha. I am a liiiitttle nervous about parking. Those that drive huge vehicles ensure me it comes with time :).

Adam will drive it on snowy days so hopefully he will make it to and fro in safety.

Is this the most boring blog post ever? Definitely.
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Also, will the three or five of you that ever frequent this blog please cross your fingers|eyes|legs|fingers|toes|heart that once Adam finishes training at his new job he will get the day shift (6 am - 6 pm). Thank you in advance!!!!!!!! Kisses.

Stay tuned for more boring posts to come.

C is for CooKie

How many cookies have you had today?

Oh you mean little ol' me? Try five and I may or may not want one, two, or three more.

Hey, it's Wednesday what more can I say?!

Change It Up

Adam got a job! Well, he has a job, but he is changing jobs and will be working full time! Woot Woot! His new job is with a company called Excel and they loved him so much they have decided to override their requirement for applicants to have a Bachelor's Degree. Adam is very excited, I have a bit of anxiety over the new schedule. It's a strange swing shift where he will work for three days then be off for three days, then he works for two days and is off for two days (repeat). He will either work 6 am - 6 pm. or 6 pm - 6 am; they have not told us his schedule yet. I am hoping for the 6 am - 6 pm option.

The other down side is that his new job is over an hour commute. He will work in Bear River/Brigham City area. Which will most likely mean that in the next year when we sell the home we are in right now, we will most likely move closer to his job. Sniffle sniffle.

This new job will also require a new car. The truck is a wildly impractical vehicle to drive such distances. We need something more efficient so we are also shopping for a car which is causing this gal much stress.

Why am I such a worrier? I blame my mother.
Why do I have such a difficult time with change? I blame my father.

Does anyone have a remedy for stress and anxiety? If so, I am all ears!

Sidelines

I avoid confrontation as if it were the plague. If I disagree with you 99.999% of the time I will hold my tongue and nod quietly as I listen as you argue your points. When I read a particularly heated discussion on Facebook or read an article online arguing for or against a candidate or issue I feel my blood pressure rise and my heart starts to race. It's comical in a way. But for this reason I loathe election years. Each day, nay each hour, there is a new indiscretion revealed, a scandal uncovered, a ridiculous quote displayed, and so forth. My head feels like it is in a spin of contradicting information. This makes it difficult when politically I'm on the fence, or maybe I'm in the middle? Each time I hear a politician speak I find things I agree and do not agree with. I have taken those online 'Who is my candidate' quizzes and EVERYTIME I am in the 50-52% range which means I only agree with 1/2 of what each opponent says. So how do I choose which half? It baffles my mind how people can be so certain that one candidate is the one for them. Each time I think I have decided something else surfaces that makes me question if the person is right for the magnanimous job of leading our nation. Can I say neither? Neither Romney nor Obama? If I only agree with 1/2 of what either of them stand for?!!! Le sigh.

Quali-T!

Quality matters folks and aparently many of the things I care about start with the letter T. Who knew?!
Towels in general. You use them on your whole body daily... isn't that worth a splurge?
Toilet paper. No explaination needed. Am I right ;)?
Tide. Nothing has come close to replacing my Tide laundry detergent.
Triamine complex (aka. the lucious blend of ingredients in my Joico shampoo & conditioner).

What are your pricey/splurgy must haves?

Happy Father's Day!

There is just something so amusing about this site! Anytime I'm feeling 'down' I simply take a gander at awkwardfamilyphotos.com and instantaneously my mood is lifted! Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day!

In honor of all those mothers in my life that hold such special places in my heart I have posted the video link above featuring the beatiful Ruby Jane, daughter of my dear friend Ani. Her story has touched and shaped my life.  She has given me the desire to live life to the fullest and full of love.

I hope that one day I will be able live up to the amazing example the mothers in my life have given me.

Loves to you all and happy Mother's Day!

For more on Ruby's story visit: http://www.aniandmatttaylor.blogspot.com/

Haters Gon' Hate.

I made Adam go with me a few weeks ago to walk around the new Harmon's at City Creek (City Creek wasn't open yet) and we were both AMAZED! Not only was it beautiful it had so many more options than your typical chain stores. There were specialty sauces and products galore! If  you want a little excitement in the drab grocery shopping routine I highly recommend the Harmon's at City Creek. If that is what City Creek can do with a grocery store I am thrilled to go and partake of the shopping splendor at the City Creek Center!


Now now now.... I know hater's gon' hate... but I don't care if you thought that City Creek did not use the allotted space in the most efficient manor. I don't care if the stores are out of yours, and let's be honest 90% of our price ranges, and please do not gripe about the crowds. Have you never been to a bigger city? How about the shops in Las Vegas? Have you never once perused the shops in Caesar's Palace just to see the glittery and pricey splendor?!!! I'm excited about the Creek so please, keep your nay sayin' comments to your grumpy selves. Respectfully yours, Cheri


P.S. I saw the Hunger Games with my sister and our Mr.'s (Ha!) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Changes

I don't know why, but I can blog so much easier if I have a list; otherwise I feel like I am rambling. I can't sleep. I'm a late owl by nature, and if I don't go to sleep immediately when I feel the 'sleepy lag' come over me, then I get my second wind and can't sleep till 2+.  And I digress.... So back to my lists.... some changes are on the horizon, but they are not so much changes happening, but the promise of change (does that make sense).

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Change 1: Adam was sick for his birthday :(poor thing. It was possibly his worst birthday ever. No party and he didn't have an appetite to indulge in birthday delicacies such as pie and ribs. I had already arranged to take a half day in order to celebrate with him, however as he was sick I went to lunch with my mama and let him rest. It was at lunch where we discussed the pending sale of "our" home in the coming year. It is time, but it has made me sad. I want to soak up every moment in this old house. Selling this home will be like selling a member of our family.

No we do not have Christmas lights still up :)

Change 2: The pending sale of "our" home in the coming year means other things will need to change including Adam and I finding our own little piece of heaven on earth (aka. our own home). This both terrifies and excites me. However, change 2 cannot take place until after change 1 and change 3.

Change 3: Adam's employment. We have been thinking a lot about where we go from here. Growing up I always assumed and even dreamed I'd move away and longed to experience a new place! As I get older however, the change seems to come at a much higher cost. When we have a little family of our own I would hate to live so far from family/cousins and of course my dear friends. Adam will be graduating by March 2013 and the question is what to do next. There are so many more opportunities readily available outside of Utah with UPS. If possible, he'd like to stay and, dare I say it, retire from UPS. To stay in Utah however, promotions come few and far between and in order to stay he would either need a 2nd job and/or to change companies entirely.

Change 4: The in-law's. Adam's dad's health has improved some, but unfortunately his bone marrow transplant has not been a success and the cancer cells have returned. They are currently only at 8%, but slowly and steadily increasing. His aunt and uncle have been so kind to let my father and mother-in-law live with them these past 7 months and it would be a huge burden to place on them alone if we were to move out of state. Adam's little brother, who lived with us for 6 months is engaged and planning to move to AZ in July.  I know that it has been a source of comfort for his father to have us close and would feel bad to abandon him and his wife at this frightening time.
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So now we wait and weigh our options. Adam has applied for a few positions, my favorite of which is in Portland. He does not have his degree yet so it is more of an option next year, but still I do not like the unknown.

Will someone please find me a crystal ball? Stat!

Lessons Learned

The past few days the following quotes have been going through my mind:

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." - Abraham Lincoln

"If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all." - Thumper from Bambi

"Therefore all things ^awhatsoever ye would that ^bmen should ^cdo to you, ^ddo ye even so to them..." - Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:12).

Noticing a theme?

Here are some of the lessons I learned this weekend:

Lesson 1: Relationships are fragile. "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." - President Thomas S. Monson

Lesson 2: Once something is said it cannot be unsaid. Much to my dismay.

Lesson 3: Honesty is not always the best policy.

Lesson 4: Just because I (you/we/they) may think or feel something, it does NOT therefore make it true.

Lesson 5: Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you... I've heard this all my life and when not followed the consequences, I can once again attest, are painful.

Lesson 6: Kindness. There is not enough "right" in the world to compensate for not treating others with kindness and love.

What powerful, painful, inspiring, and motivating lessons were learned this weekend.

I hate confrontation. What I hate most is even if I feel/think I am in the right, being 'right' does not feel as good as being kind does. The unkindness that took place, took all the joy out of being 'right'. I can feel/think/BE right all I want but others should not be hurt as a result.

I've repented. I've gone to the source and taken responsibility for my actions and apologized. I felt better initially; but I am on my 3rd night of not being able to sleep. Though I did not directly cause the event which prompted all of these lessons, I added logs and fuel to the fire. A fire which was used to 'torch' someone publicly and cruelly. Someone I didn't think I thought highly of, and intern think much less of myself.

Adam thinks I'm crazy. Maybe it's a guy thing? They don't internalize/analyze/dwell on their actions as much as girls? Sigh. Maybe it's more than guys? Maybe I'm a freak people pleaser that can't stomach the idea of hurting others?

As Mr. Knightly would say: "Badly done Cher, badly done."

Dwarfs and dragons, and fairies. Oh my!

In elementary school, when I'd enter the library, the librarian would smile largely and say "Here comes my fairytale girl!" I must have checked out every Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, and Cinderella variation available, twice. As far back as I can remember these stories have enchanted me. And let's be honest, what isn't enchanting about fairies, princesses, the forest, castles, houses made of candy, a cottage in the woods, an evil witch, mermaids, dwarfs, dragons, glass slippers, magic beans, and dancing shoes?!  I loved the smell of the aged pages, the detailed pictures... and the words which would fill my head with the most fantastic images!

I miss it. I miss that intoxicated feeling I'd get as I read about swan shaped boats, secret passageways, beautiful gowns, and of course the  promised  Happily Ever After. Perhaps I will stop by Barnes & Noble after work and purchase The Twelve Dancing Princesses. I'm giddy at the thought :).