A Walk Through Little Havanna

I have been wanting to learn more about editing pictures so I found this cool app called Camera+. It's only 99 cents but it allows you to take pictures in the app with a better exposure and zoom and then edit the pictures in the app as well. It's nothing too fancy but I decided to give it a try. I read a little bit about how to take the best pictures and they said the key is good light. So Friday afternoon I took a stroll through the neighborhood by us called Little Havana. I love the architecture of the buildings and I love how there is a really interesting blend of cultures in the neighborhood. Below are some the pictures I took, all edited with Camera+. It was great exercise and a fun way to spend my afternoon off! Who wants to come visit now? 

Bucket List: 30 by 30

I have been thinking about a lot of things that I want to do with my time. Some weeks go by and I feel like I don't accomplish all that much in the time that I have been given. I saw a story on Facebook that talked about how time is like a bank. Every day our bank is restocked with time, and often we just spend the time, not noticing where our time is spent. I totally feel like that! Since I am a manic list maker, I decided to make a list of all of the things I want to do with my time. I have had this list slowly building on my desktop at work and then today I figured out what to do with it! I was on my friend Caitlin's blog, stalking her cute kids and saw a link to her 30 before 30 post. She made a list of 30 things to do before she turned 30 and I was inspired. I added 6 or 7 more things to my list to complete it and boom, here we are. My own list of 30 things to do before I turn 30. Some are rather bold, but at least I have some fun things to look forward to! Maybe if I don't accomplish all of them they can be added to my 40 things to do before 40 list ;)

Here it is:

1. Run a 10K
2. Go to England and see all the places I have read about
3. Read the Book of Mormon and New Testament as a family
4. Go on a vacation every year with Derek
5. Make a quilt
6. Re-learn how to knit and make a scarf
7. Make a scrapbook of the first few years of our marriage
8. Learn to play my favorite hymn on the piano (Abide With Me 'Tis Eventide)
9. Have a 3 month supply of food storage
10. Participate in the dedication and ceremony for the Ft. Lauderdale temple (Coming 2014)
11. Go to Pennsylvania again
12. Visit Mike while he lives in Chicago
13. Learn how to use my camera and take pictures
14. Get to know the city of Miami
15. Rescue a dog
16. Throw a New Year’s Eve Party
17. Grow an urban garden
18. Enjoy the ocean at least 1 time a month while in Miami
19. Learn to give myself a professional mani/pedi
20. Read a book about a prophet (recommendations welcome)
21. See John Mayer in concert
22. Finish decorating my master bedroom
23. Write more
24. Learn how to make homemade tortillas
25. Help Derek graduate from medical school
26. Be a better sister/sister-in-law
27. Go to the Keys
28. Receive my Young Women Recognition again
29. Volunteer with a political campaign I care about
30. Read Pride and Prejudice every year

 

 

College Acceptance

I realize now that I took so many things for granted when I was growing up. I grew up with awesome parents and siblings, I never wanted for anything and I had the world at my fingertips. Since we moved down here to Miami, I now see that not everyone has what I had. Working with the Young Women at church has been especially humbling. These girls fight for a lot of the things they have in life, and they are far happier then I ever was in my teenage years. Last fall I had the chance to help one of the girls apply for BYU/BYU-I. She has amazing parents who helped her get everything in and I got to help her edit her essays. It made me nostalgic for the days when I applied for BYU and dreamed of leaving home and growing up.

Last night, I was with my counselors and another girl from our ward watching Vampire Diaries and talking. I got a call around 10 and it was this same young women I had helped with her applications. She said, "Emily, I checked my application status and for BYU-I it says admitted." So of course I start yelling "You got in!!" All she could say was "I am going to college!" We were all clapping and yelling. Pretty much a magical moment. I told her to hang up and go tell her parents and since then I haven't stopped smiling. She is the first to go to college in her family and has so much ability. It is so awesome to see the opportunity and promise that education grants us. I will admit I struggled to get through college (took me 6 years), but I am so glad Derek and I made the sacrifices we did to help me graduate.

I am so grateful the church has colleges that provide opportunities for us to learn and grow. I am also grateful I had the chance to see a friend have the opportunity to go to college. Definitely a moment I won't forget.

Goals and Resolutions

So I don't know about all of you, but the new year always inspires me to be better. I want to get organized and meet all these goals for myself. But pretty much every year the goals seem too lofty and impossible to reach. By February the gleam of the new year is gone and I have royally failed at my goals so I give up.

Inherently I have a short attention span. I think that is why I love selling so much. I can work with a customer and just when I got bored a new customer comes along with a new challenge and my attention is grabbed again. So, instead of fighting my nature, (I am leaving that for another year) I decided to embrace my ADD nature and set smaller, monthly goals. I found a calendar template on Publisher and set some goals.

There are some secrets on here so I don't want to spoil them for anyone reading.

Plus its fun to blur out some things... it creates a sense of mystery :)

I have stapled my budget goals to the calendar and I placed them in a sheet protector. Now I can carry my goals with me wherever I go and they seem a lot more attainable. It helps me with planning our week and not forgetting little things along the way. I don't know how well this will work but I am optimistic. Don't judge my feeble attempts to be a good housewife (aka cooking and budgeting). Derek and I have a busy year with lots of goals that will take some hard work and dedication to accomplish. I am ready to kick some butt and have a great 2013! What are you doing this year to be better? Do you set yearly/weekly/monthly goals?

And We're Back

So I have been debating blogging again since we left Utah. It's hard because I feel like our life is pretty boring in comparison to so many other people I know. We work, go to school, go to church and crash when we have a break. But I also feel like I want to remember these crazy times. So many people we talk to tell us to remember these fun times and the spontaneity that we get to enjoy. So I am going to start blogging to remember these fun times. Sorry if we seem boring! I'll give you a quick recap of what we have been up to!

Since we came to Florida I have started a new job. I am a training designer and scriptwriter. Basically that means I get to listen to sales calls, figure out what we can do better, write a script for the sales people to use, and then train it. It's turned out to be a really cool job! I get to write... a lot, and I love it! I have never been a super creative person (I could never write a novel) but I really enjoy technical writing. My boss is great! She has tons of experience in sales and she has taught me so much in just the first few weeks. The company I work for actually sells Vivint so I get to help with the training on that, so I am not lost all the time. It has been a crazy road to this point, but for the first time I like my job and I am not stressed out of my mind at the same time. My mom even mentioned it the other night. She said, "you never really say much about your job... which I guess is good because that means your not complaining about it!" That pretty much sums up how I feel about it! The only down side is that I have to drive about 40 miles up 95 to Deerfield Beach for work. I hope the Focus can keep up with me!

Derek is doing great with school! He has made some good friends already and seems to really be in the groove of school. He is starting to work with a local physician who teaches him how to take patient histories and general doctoring skills. Miami has been great at giving him hands on experience. He has his third health fair of the year this weekend. The health fairs are cool because they go into under-served areas of Miami (and there are a lot) and they do basic exams for the patients. For a lot of people that is their only doctors visit of the year. He has used his Spanish a ton already and I am sure it will continue to be a blessing for him throughout school.

Lastly, we have the opportunity to be in a small ward in Little Havanna. It is a really interesting experience. Our ward is about 90% Spanish speaking but the ward and stake are bilingual. So some of the meeting is in English, some in Spanish. The people are so friendly and welcoming. We have made some great friends and we are always greeted with hugs and kisses. Derek has had the opportunity to translate, which has kept him on his toes every Sunday! I think I am the hardest person to translate for because I talk so fast lol. I am working with the Young Women and it is incredibly rewarding. I love the girls and I am so grateful I can learn from them and their solid testimonies of the gospel.

Well I think that is a pretty good start to my return to blogging! I'll leave you with a picture from our balcony of a beautiful Miami sunset