Have I ever mentioned how much I love my job?  I work with mentally disabled adults.  I'm an Assistant Program Coordinator at Turn Community Services.  It's tough.  But for all of the times I can't sleep well because I'm worrying about them, or nearly come to tears thinking about the hard things they've been through, cleaned disgusting apartments, or helped people shower.  The times I've dealt with difficult behaviors in public with someone who gets into others' personal space or with difficult behaviors at home when someone tries to hit you.  For the times I've seen a small child put away something at a store or buckle their own seatbelt who has more abilities than them.  For all the stress and difficulties and heartache.  It's worth it.

It's worth it.  When you run into someone and they say, "Alicia."  "What?"  "Hi."  "Alicia."  "What?"  "I just wanted to say hi to you."  Or, "Guess what Alicia?  Me and so-and-so are boyfriend and girlfriend!"  Or "I miss you.  When are you coming to visit us?"  Or "You are beautiful.  I love you so much."  Or, "When am I going to see you again?  I'm so glad you're my coordinator."  When someone talks about you everyday.  Or tells you the story of the three little pigs.  Or when you can truly see the positive impact you have had on someone's life.  It's worth it.  : )

The desire to create...

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul." - President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Here's what I've been up to the past few weeks.  Hopefully my mom doesn't read this (I don't think she does) because her birthday present just might be up here.

lots of baking!

 blanket for Alie, who's having a baby boy in a couple weeks!

 New camera!  Attempting to get better at taking pictures.

 earring holder, idea from about him + her

headbands!  love this one.

Rubber stamp cards.

Good Things

All the little things have been working themselves out in the past few days.  I have every reason to be grateful.  Examples:

I won two free tickets to the Hale Center Theater!
I found a lot of nice people who have been able to take all of my shifts at work while I am gone.
I was able to find a place to store my stuff while I'm gone and moved most of it in today.
I am going out to lunch with some family friends on Friday.
My iPod got wet and they were able to fix it for free!

Friday is the Talent Show and moving out of Cinnamon Tree for good.  And Saturday is off to Colorado.  Then California.  Then Carriage Cove.  Then Craig going to Jerusalem.  Bring it on, August!

Roadtrip!

Charla and I went on a roadtrip this past weekend! She wanted to visit a friend at BYU-Idaho and also go down to Southern California to go to her niece's baby blessing. As Charla is one of my best road trip pals and she is moving to Houston in a month, I couldn't pass up the opportunity. We spent a night in Idaho doing all of the best BYU-I has to offer: Craigo's Pizza, a tour of campus, Snoasis shaved ice, and hiking R Mountain.

On Saturday we made the 14 hour drive to Simi Valley, California. Somehow I didn't manage to snap any photos while were there! : ( We went to a baby blessing, had a barbeque, watched fireworks from the roof, swam in the pool, and got to hold baby Willow.

The drive home was eventful. The car had been overheating on the way down, but we had gotten it to cool down by turning on the heater and taking a break. A few hours in, the car started overheating. We let it rest for 2 hours while we took a nap in the car in a gas station parking lot, but it overheated again. We called a tow truck and got towed to Fillmore, Utah. At this point it was 6 in the morning. Charla and I were so tired, the wait for the tow truck seemed to take forever!Charla ended up staying the night in Fillmore, and I was lucky to find a ride back with Charla's roommate who was in the area.

Although Fillmore seems like a small town in the middle of nowhere, it is the very same place I met Kirby Heyborne my freshman year!

small talk

Bank teller: So what are you studying?
Me: I graduated.
Bank teller: What did you graduate in?
Me: Marriage, Family, and Human Development.
Bank teller: Oh, cool. I'm taking one of those classes next semester.
Me: Which one?
Bank teller: Oh, just the general how to be married and not suck at it.

Saturday
+ sunny weather =
bridal shower
+ ward slip n slide kickball
+ delicious free sandwiches from Chick-fil-A
+ surprise birthday party
+ bonfire
+ card games
+ porch sitting =
four different outfits
+ sunburn =
one tired but happy Alicia

Library

I love books.... I love to read. I went to the Provo Library yesterday to pick up a couple books. I hadn't been there for awhile, and I missed it.



Isn't it beautiful?

It was kind of funny, I was going through my list of books to read, and it is now dominated with nonfiction. I never really liked nonfiction before. All through high school, my favorite kind of book (I can't believe I'm actually admitting this) was cheesy LDS romance novels. The likes of Jack Weyland and Rachel Ann Nunes. It's still a guilty pleasure- those books are fast, easy reads, and I can relate to the main characters. And what girl doesn't like hearing about love?

Right now I'm finishing up To Have or to Hold by Josi S. Kilpack, and next up are Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood by Michael Lewis and The Observations by Jane Harris.