This is the Place, come see it.

Summer season starts at the park today....YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There aren't words for how excited I am. I love love love love my job, and now everyone will be back, because it's summer. Everything will be open. People will come.

I work with the best people on the planet, so everyone coming back is pretty much the greatest thing ever.

Plus I actually slept last night, which always puts me in a better mood.

But seriously, You should come to the park if you get a chance, you WILL NOT regret it.

There is so much to do and see. If you are bored, your own fault.

Today marks the return of Dr. Lorenzo Quackenbush.

The vignette team will be walking around singing all day.

Within the next few weeks, Nellie Star is likely to come back around, it's been rumored she has been seen around here lately. Summer months is when our train transport gold.

We have pony rides, and a petting zoo to go with it.

You can order custom made items, that will be incredible, from the Saddlery (the leather shop), the blacksmith, and I believe the tinsmith and cabinet shop as well.

I'm getting a leather bag soon...:)

In July, come to a pioneer ball!

Seriously, this is such a gem to Utah, you should come see it.

Because everyone loves their job, and you can tell.

And it makes it that much more fun to be there.

Unconditional love

So after a really hard week, I was able to go spend the night with my friend Kelsie, her husband and there little one year old daughter. (Who is adorable and freaking smart, just so you know)

I loved being with their family.

I loved waking up and hearing Alex with little baby Saryn while she was waking up.

I loved being around a family again.

As I was lying there, feeling like a creeper because I was just enjoying listening to them wake up, I was trying to figure out why I felt so peaceful.

It's because I was with a family.

Something that I really want in my life.

I loved that feeling of love. That unconditional love.

I know that it exists in other places and in other ways.

I love my friends without condition. Even when they make me so angry I want to punch them in the face. It never alters the fact that I love them.

Even if they turn into a jerk and seem to not care about me anymore, I still care about them.

I'm weird like that.

And if they ever need me I'll be there.

But I miss being around families. There is such a special love that exists between a parent and a child.

The child tends to not realize or appreciate it until they get older.

But from the second you exist to your parents. (be that the first time they hold you, the first time they realize they are pregnant, when all the adoption papers go through, etc.) You are theirs. And they love you.

No matter the choices you make.

No matter the profession you choose.

No matter how much furniture you break.

They love you.

I'm even convinced that the ones who will cut off their children still love them. They just don't know how.

It's a complicated thing to explain, especially since I've never been a parent.

Just a friend.

Not even an Aunt. Not technically.

I miss being around that.

Being a single college student, with no siblings having had any kids yet or be anywhere close to it, I don't get to be around it a lot.

My parents live to far away for me to be home with them very often.

I cannot wait for the day I am blessed to have a family.

To have a husband who will love me unconditionally, love me warts and all.

And for me to love him, without condition, warts and all.

And then for us to decide we are crazy enough to want children, and raise them, and love them, warts and all.

Because love is what I thrive on.

It is something I have learned about myself.

My favorite places to be are when I am surrounded by love.

Surrounded by people who genuinely care about each other, even if they don't agree with every choice the other person has made. All of us have made choices that someone else who loves us didn't agree with.

I hope I am lucky enough to be blessed with a family in this life.

And if I'm stuck waiting until the next, I'm sure that he, whoever I end up with, will be worth the wait.

Communications

So I have a dear friend, who happens to be gay, and recently his sister found out.

I'm sure she meant it with all the love in her heart, but she decided to text him about her opinions on the matter.

Thankfully, she did still say that she loved him and he would always be her brother. But she also said some things that were not as nice. She doesn't approve of him acting on his feelings.

The part that was not okay?

She did this in a text.

This post is not meant to open a discussion on homosexuality or anything like that.

It's about communication.

And how everyone now a days seems to suck at it worse than ever before.

When you have something important to discuss with someone, the only reason a text should even be involved is to see if they are available to talk. NOTHING MORE!

If you actually care about someone, you should be able to talk to them about the important things IN PERSON! If in person is simply not an option (i.e. they live in another state or a great distance. Or something like unto that.) then you should CALL THEM!!!

One, so much can be lost in a text message. What you hear in your head as you type is going to be much different than what they read. And it's no ones fault, it's just how it works.

Two, why can't you talk to them? Do you really need to hide behind a text?

Three, if you love them, why wouldn't you want to talk to them? Especially if it is something that worries you about a choice they are making?

(and before you get mad at me and yell homosexuality is not a choice, because I know someone is going to draw that connection. I know the feelings are not a choice. But what we do with those feelings, homosexual OR heterosexual, that is where the choice lies.)

There is this growing problem where people won't talk to each other. It's easier to never say the words or wait until you can hide behind text.

I am constantly amazed at people who want something created where you can talk into the phone, it will send your message, and the other person can hear it, like a vocal text message. Guess what? IT ALREADY EXISTS!! It's called a telephone call.

You put in the persons number, they answer and you have a conversation.

It makes me sad that conversations are a dying art.

Maybe this is why I want to get into communications.

Moral of the story, stop hiding behind a text. If you have something important to say, just say it.

Settling in for the summer

Well, I'm settled. I guess. I can't wait until I start full time at the park.

It's hard trying to fill your days.

I watch way to much tv.

I've also now discovered criminal minds, a show that both fascinates and disturbs me.

And I've discovered that Boy Meets World is on ABCFAM at 8 in the morning.

Yes, I am awake for this.

I don't sleep well anyway.

Actually, I keep having bad dreams.

I mean, at least they have calmed down...i think. They started back in March. And I don't typically remember them. I just wake up scared.

Now, I sleep through them, and I remember having a bad dream, although still not entirely sure what they are about. But at least I'm not scared through them anymore.

and in a week and a half I'll be working full time, which will be awesome!

I'm pretty stoked.

The best way to cook meat.

Seriously, I think I have figured it out, the best way to cook meat is in some kind of fruit juice.

It will make your meat tender. so amazing!

I cook pork chops in peach juice, from my grandmas bottled peaches. My pork chops come out with a nice sweet flavor and it is SO TENDER!!!

I just made some citrus cilantro chicken tender loins to put on top of salads. Like unto when me and some friends made some a few months ago, but this time with orange, lime AND lemon.

HOLY COW!!! SO TENDER!!!!! and because it was citrus it wasn't overwhelming sweet and it was more a hint of sweet and cilantro and it was so hard to cut it up and store it for future salad use, and not just eat right there.

Just so you know, sweet and savory can have so many benefits.

There is your tip for the day.

Wreck this Journal

Yes, I bought a book at Barnes and Nobel called "Wreck this Journal"

The idea of this book is basically to destroy it. Scribble on pages. Spill things. Wipe your feet on it. Tear out random pages. Use one of the pages to wrap a gift.

Why on earth would anyone but a book that you are meant to destroy and mistreat?

Why not?

Maybe it will help me learn how to let go.

To accept things getting hurt or ruined.

That things really are just material things and if something gets destroyed it is not the end of the world.

Not to say that you should take care of things.

But it's okay to let things go as well.

Last night I poked holes in one of the pages.

It really is an interesting book.

One of the pages tells you to take the book into the shower.

I cracked the binding already.

One page is meant for me to wipe my feet on.

One page is to scribble on with borrowed pens or pencils.

I'm really excited for this book.

Moved and starting the summer

I am in my apartment, I have now worked a day and I have spent today filling out on line job applications.

I hate on-line applications.

Looking for a second night time job to make sure that I can make ends meet everywhere.

And now I have watched an episode of "What not to wear."

There are small parts of me that would love a little make over. But I have no money to spend on it. and not a strong enough desire to save money to spend on it.

Don't tell some of my friends, pretty sure some of them would love to take me on a shopping spree/ make-over day.

Now I need to go run errands today and check out some leads on some more jobs.

And I don't really want to.

On the plus side, my roommate is really nice. We'll get a long just fine I think.

Anyway, to distracted to write a lot, but I'm not dead.

Packed and ready to go.

So, here is hoping I have a kind cop.

See, being the genius I am, I decided to wait until my car was completely full to go take care of my fix it ticket.

I lost the ticket, so I'll have to have an officer come out and look at my car to make sure I really did fix the headlight.

I can't see out my back windows....at all.

I couldn't get more into this car if I tried.

But At least I got stuff in, some stuff is with friends and family.

The new car has less space then Shakespeare did...which is dumb.

Anyway, guess I'm on my way.

I hate moving.

I don't know if there are words for how much I despise moving.

Truly, they don't exist.

I hate the leaving of friends.

I hate finding a new place to live.

but more than just about anything else...

I HATE PACKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UGH! I despise it. It drives me nuts. But it has to be done. Plain and simple.

But I own WAY to much CRAP!

It's just so incredibly annoying to face it. Which is why it took me three days to pack my room instead of one.

Packing up the bathroom isn't bad. I did that in less than 20 minutes. I just don't keep a lot in the bathroom.

I'm still not ready to face to kitchen, which I have to do before I go to bed tonight, so I can clean in the morning. (in addition to taking care of my fix-it ticket, and getting my oil topped off *cough* again.)

I also hate how scattered things get when I pack. I think I accidentally packed my fix-it ticket and so I am hoping they can pull it up at the court house.

I mean, I have learned a few useful skills, in the humblest way possible, I am FREAKING good at packing a car with a LOT of stuff. Really the only two people I know who might be better than me are my mother and sister, but I'm catching up.

And it's not like I hate new beginnings or ALL of the change with moving.

I like meeting new people.

If I could just do it without having to pack and clean everything.

Mostly the packing.