SINGLE DIGITS!!

HOORAY!!! Tim now has 9 months left! I am so excited! Time is a fickle thing. I look back at the last 15 months and I feel like it was just yesterday that Tim was giving his farewell talk. But during the time it was forever!! I can't tell you how many time I would think that time had come to a stop just to see if I could handle the wait. Even now I think about how extremely slowly just the last 3 months have gone by. I then compare the time I have waited for Tim to other parts of my life, like work or school, and I find that time has flown by and I feel like I have accomplished so little and there isn't enough time. Although the rate of time is constant, my perception has obviously been altered! I had high hopes that the second year would fly by. (I've been told by many that it would.) So far.... It's slower than the first.... Life is still going and AMAZING!! No worries :)

Why I date...

Since being home from college, I have gone on a few dates here and there. Its nothing serious and it always reminds me how much I love and miss Tim. In the last 15 months, Tim has gotten more compliments and praises from my dad than the two years before his mission all combined!! I don't understand my dad sometimes. :) I know that he is so protective because he loves and cares about me but it is hard to explain dating to him. He gets very protective of Tim when he hears about me going on another date with a new guy. I have to explain to my wonderful dad that I am dating because Tim and I agreed that I should. Also, dating other guys helps to make me 100% positive that Tim is the one for me! One day my dad will understand and not worry so much. Well, I hope he will understand. I am so happy that my dad is realizing what an amazing guy Tim is. I just wish he would have seen it earlier.

Lately, have been thinking a lot about how life might play out next February and the months following. I can honestly say that I can see myself with Tim, planning/talking about being sealed for time and all eternity. I hope I am good enough for him!!! I love him very much!!

My Amazing Mom!!!

As you all know, today is Mother's Day! Today I have been thinking not only about my mom but all the other women in my life. Wow, it is such a blessing to know that I have women that I can look to for an example! I will talk about my wonderful mom in a little bit but I want to start with the other women I was thinking of. One that is almost equal to my own mother is Tim's mom. She understands the relationship that Tim and I have a bit better than my parents seem to. She is always there to listen and help out! She has put so much time into getting to know me better! I am so glad that we get along! She just called me today and we were able to talk about Tim. He called today and unfortunately I couldn't be there. She knows and understands how much I miss him. She told me that he is so so happy! Tim also doesn't know English anymore! Ha ha, he had such a hard time translating from Portuguese to English. I can't wait to hear him after 10 more months! I hope he will be able to understand me and vice versa! :)

Some of the other women I have been thinking about are both of my grandmothers, Grandma and Abuela. They are both wonderufl in very different ways! My Grandma is very dependable and excepts a lot from you! I know she has high expectations for me and believes I can be the best me ever! She is always there for me and I absolutely love her! Thanks Grandma! My Abuela is so adorable! She only speaks Spanish and so sometimes she talks so fast I don't know what is going on. She lives in the mother-in-law apartment my family has in our basement. Living at home has given me the wonderful opportunity to get to know her better! What a wonderful sense of humor! She makes me laugh all of the time. She has strong views on the type of guys that will marry into my family. She once told me that Tim was great because he wasn't black! I laughed pretty hard because its not like my dad is that light! I love her very much and look forward to getting to know her better!


Now my mother! What an absolutely amazing women! I couldn't ask for a better women to raise me! She has so much patience, kindness, love, understanding, compassion, etc. I don't

know how I would have survived these 20 years of my life without her. I can talk to her about anything! She tries hard to understand how much I miss Tim and helps me so much. She is always there to help me handle things with my dad. Most recently, Mom has had to help me explain to my dad the concept of dating others while Tim is gone. He doesn't quite understand the whole thing. I was getting frustrated but my wonderful mom helped out. She also has had to put up with a lot from me. Although I am much more independent than the rest of my sisters I still don't do anything major without running it by my mom first. I value her advice and opinion more than anything! I always want to talk to her. Sometimes I feel guilty because I'll call home and my dad will answer the phone. My usually response after saying hi is "Where's Mom?" I can't help it. Things just go a lot smoother when I talk with her. Thanks for always being there for me Mom and being the perfect mom for me and my life! I LOVE YOU TONS AND BUNCHES!!!

Working Girl

Well I have now been a full time worker for about a month. I absolutely love working at Zion's Bank. I have learned a lot and fast. There is usually a two week training period when you learn from your mentor. I never really had that. My first week there I was put to learn off the computer training program. I was so bored. It was scheduled to stretch for a week and a half. Thankfully, I was able to finish in about 4 days. When I wasn't on the computer, my "mentor" had me with the other tellers and running a few deposits or withdrawls. From what my one and only co-teller, Lacie, tells me, no one is usually allowed to touch any transactions until their training is complete. I was a little surprised with that. I guess I am a fast learner! According to the one and only guy that works there I am way smarter than he was expecting me to be. I was glad about that. How horrible it would have been if I was dumber than he thought...

Here are a few pictures of where I work now. This is what you will see me sitting/standing behind if you ever happen to come visit. I would love for anyone that will be hanging around Salt Lake to come visit!! My branch is in Salt Lake City. We are the first bank ever built in Utah and it is a cute little building!






This is me behind the counter. There are only two tellers that work at my branch and these are our computers. It is pretty funny at times, but other times it gets boring. We are probably the slowest branch in the Zions company. I really don't mind though. It has allowed me to learn at a wonderful pace! If it was any busier I would most likely make too many mistakes and not be able to find the time when I need it!











Here is the lovely Lacie. She will be a married woman this weekend!! It has been really fun getting to know her! She is one of those girls that are funny without trying to be. She is very much a sheltered girl. She doesn't think about the world outside of her hometown. She is also the kind of girl that gives blondes their reputation!! It is extremely funny being able to tak to her!! I wish her the best on her new life!!












Carla is my boss! She is very sweet and a great boss! She is very understanding and really knows the ways of the bank. She has helped me so much! I have also enjoyed getting to know her!

The only one I am missing a picture of is Kalani. Kalani is the only guy at work. He was afraid of my camera, you see, and wouldn't let me take a picture but I'll get one soon!! It is fun having him around! I'm sure he would much rather have another guy but oh well!












I think that this is just a cool picture. This is one of the vaults where I work. It is one of the oldest ones in Utah! The door is huge and HEAVY!!