A break from real life

I'm so excited right now because tomorrow instead of waking up and driving into downtown LA for another long day at the office I get to pack up and take off for a long day of driving.

I haven't been to St. George since the very beginning of July and while for most people that may not be a very long time since they've been home for me it feels like forever. During school I would go home maybe every month or two and after nieces and nephews came along even more often. I'm really looking forward to going home for a few days. Isn't it weird how there's something about just being at home that kind of rejuvenates you? All I know is that after the last 5 crazy, hectic, fun, challenging, and over worked months nothing sounds better than just being back at home. Maybe it's because I wish I could go back to being a kid again. Don't get me wrong, I feel lucky to have my job and the life I have, and to be living out here in LA. I enjoy the freedom to do what I want when I want, when I'm not working of course. But man, sometimes I wish I could go back to the carefree days of childhood where all I wanted to do was jump on the trampoline with the sprinkler on, or dig a hole in the gully, or walk to the park with my mom and Coco. It's weird because I'm still young but I feel like so much has happened in my life already. Not as much as other people of course, but looking back it's been an amazing 23 years so far. I guess I'm pretty tired right now and I just read Chelsi's blog which always makes me more thoughtful and emotional, but it's crazy how fast time flies. That's what hits me most about the last 5 months of my life since moving out here. All of the sudden you start your career and before you know it 5 months, a year, 5 years have come and gone. I guess my advice to anyone reading this and I guess to myself too is to enjoy your life. Time comes and goes so quickly so make the most of it while you can. Make great memories to look back on.

Well that is not the post I expected to write when I opened my blog, I was going for something upbeat and exciting about how I can't wait to see my parents, and sister, and nieces and nephews, and all the red rocks tomorrow, but all that other stuff came out instead. Anyways, I'm off to bed so I can wake up and get on the road at a decent time tomorrow. See, even that was such an adult consideration...

Goodnight blog world.

Don't Worry.... I'm still alive

For all those who actually read my blog, so really just my parents every now and then and those people who blogstalk when they're bored, I'm still here. And since I haven't written in over a month and a half I'm just going to give a brief overview of the past 6 weeks and hopefully be better at writing going forward.

I survived my first busy season as a public accounting work at PwC. Work is good, it kinda takes over my life which I hate, but I don't know what else I'd be doing right now otherwise, so I guess it's ok. With busy season I worked SO much it was ridiculous. I pulled a couple of 4am mornings after working all day and even one where I worked from midnight till 8am to meet a deadline. Anyways those days are over, at least for now I hope.

Oh I almost forgot..... Happy Halloween! I usually say I hate Halloween, but that's just because I think this holiday is more fun spent with little kids who dress up and go trick-or-treating. I'm not so into dressing up or going to big Halloween parties, BUT I did realize there are a few things I really LOVE about Halloween. First off, I love SCARY MOVIES. This is hampered a little by the fact I don't watch R-rated movies, but there are still a lot of good and scary pg-13 movies out there and I love watching them! Also, I love HAUNTED ANYTHING! Yesterday me, B-ray, and Emma went to a haunted hayride at Griffith park. IT WAS SO FUN! Emma & B were freaked out and either curled up in a ball (B) or laying flat out on a strangers lap (E). I still can't get over how scary and awesome it was. The clowns were the best! I can't wait till next year to go again!! Another thing I really enjoy about Halloween is pumpkin carving. I carved two this year and loved them both. I also kinda started a tradition of carving or putting a G somewhere on my pumpkin. I didn't really intend on having this be a tradition but I'm kind of obsessed with the letter G, go figure, and realized I've put one on all my pumpkins for the past couple of years. So... go G! I also really like haunted houses and haunted cornmazes, I didn't do either of those this year, but that is the part of Halloween I really like.

Tuesday is election day and can I just say I can't wait for it to be over! The campaigns are so awful and definitely not inspiring at all. Who wants to vote for someone who is so negative and flagrant with the truth. There are a few adds I really can't stand. One is where the candidate says she oppose her party if she needs to - way to instill hope from the party you're supposed to be representing. I also hate when they have adds that are super degrading of the other candidates and then at the end come onscreen all happy saying they support that message. I want a politician who doesn't spend the whole campaign time tearing their opponents down, but rather building themselves up and stating their opinions on the real issues.

I'm still loving LA. I miss my friends and family LIKE CRAZY though. I'm so looking forward to Thanksgiving to be able to go home and see my family and just chill for a few days. But, you know what I really love about LA.... yesterday, 2 days before November, I was able to lay out by the pool for a couple of hours and it was totally hot! Then I went to run some errands in shorts and a short-sleeve t-shirt and flip-flops and was hot so I had to blast the A/C in my car. Ahhhh just another great day in LA.

Anyways, it's sad to report, but I think that just about catches anyone reading this up on the past month and a half of my life. More updates to come...

Happy September 15!!

That's right, it's September 15 and I'm still alive! Can you believe it?! Yeah, me either, but somehow I've survived my first busy season as a real working accountant.

It's weird now looking back at the past month or so because it seems like it actuallly went by really quickly, but that's because literally all I've done for the past month or so was work. And as crazy as my schedule seemed there were so many people who worked so many more hours than I did. I really don't know how they did it. I would go into the office between 8 and 8:30 every day and then leave at like 10 or 10:30. I pulled two all-nighters. The first was after working like 12 or 13 hours at the office I went home and worked from 11:30 pm to 5 am. That was a looooooong day. Lucky my DP got me through it. The next one was during my weekend in Utah (which I went out there to help with recruiting at BYU). I had worked for a few hours in the morning before I had to check out of my hotel, and then I hung out with friends the rest of the day. After that I still had a bunch of work to do so when I got back to Rachelle's apartment I worked from midnight to 8 am.

It was rough working so much, but I'm not as burnt out as I thought. Which is good since I'm still gonna be busy through October 15. Most people don't know why we are busy this time of year, but it's because seriously everyone is on extension. So corporations and trusts on extension were due by today and then individuals and state returns are due by October 15. But for now I'm enjoying a nice little break and am loving leaving the office while it's still light outside. I was even able to make it to FHE this week - miracle of miracles.

Anyways, now that work is starting to mellow I'm switching my focus to be all about the CPA exam. I really need to get 2 done by the end of the year because they are changing parts of the test and these ones will be harder/more involved starting January 1st. So I'm just going through all the paperwork stuff now and after taking a few days to unwind from busy season I'm going to start cramming for the exams. Wish me luck!

Have I mentioned I LOVE LA lately? Cuz I do.

A Quick Update

So I keep thinking I need to update this with my new life here in LA, but I just can't bring myself to spend the time doing it right now. But I'll briefly mention the big stuff.

• The job's great. Really nice people and the work is good. Working full-time at a legit job is super tiring though! And it takes so much of my day just getting ready, driving to work, working, then driving home.
• The ward is cool. I just hate being the new girl. But I just need to meet more people and I'm sure I like that too.
• I LOVE my apartment. The area's great! Haven't been to the beach yet which kinda sucks, but I've made it to the pool the last 2 Saturdays.
• I've started reading Hunger Games - SO GOOD!
• I saw Inception last weekend - ALSO SO GOOD!
• George is still going strong.
• I made my study schedule for the CPA exam. I take the first exam the beginning of October and the final one the end of February. I can manage that right?!
• I keep having fairly inappropriately timed laugh attacks. I always love them, but just wished they were better timed.
  
• Also my oldest niece Bella called me today. So cute! Love that girl!
  

A Shakey Start

Literally.

Today was not only my first day of work at PWC, but it was also my first earthquake since moving out here. Both experiences were not as bad as I may have anticipated.

Work this morning was pretty fun for a first day. It was great to see so many of my internship friends and the OC office met in LA today so Emma and I had a sleepover and drove to work together. And the commute was not as bad as I was expecting, it only took like 35 minutes to get to work and maybe like 20 or so to get home. Not bad at all.

Then after work, Emma and I came back to my apartment and were just hanging out in my room for a bit, which is even bigger than I had anticipated and I love it! I was playing on my computer which had just arrived at my apartment after being in the shop for the second time when all the sudden I realized my bed was shaking. I couldn't figure out if it was some construction outside or a moving floor or something so after shaking for a bit I finally mentioned to Emma that I thought my bed was shaking and she said that her chair had been shaking and she was wondering what was causing that too. Then like 2 seconds later we started seeing a bunch of peoples facebook status talking about the earthquake that hit down south. Crazy huh?!

Anyways, I really do love it out here all ready. It is weird thinking I'm not going back to Provo and that when everyone starts classes again in the fall I'll just still be going to work. But I think I'm really going to love it out here. I'm looking forward to getting in a routine and learning the area better and going to the beach.

Oh, and most importantly, George is doing great. I think he really likes it out here and is happy to get back in my room and not banished to the kitchen table.

Well I guess that's enough of the adventures of G & G (Genna & George) in LA for now.

Well Utah, It's been great but I'll be seeing ya

That's right, the time has finally come and I leave tomorrow morning for Los Angeles. Now that it's here I'm really excited and just ready to be there and get all unpacked and situated in my new apartment. Then work starts on Wednesday and as un-fun as work can be I am kinda excited to get started and see where things go.

It's the beginning of a whole new chapter of my life. The last chapter, my "college days" chapter, was amazing and I have so many amazing memories and friends that I'm going to cherish as I move on. I'm looking forward to new friends, new opportunities, and new possibilities.

For tomorrow I'm hoping for a nice, smooth, and safe trip to Santa Monica and that George and I will get there in good time. Fingers crossed!

Bye Bye Blonde

What a shocker right? Ok, so not so much. But yes, I am going back to dark hair. It's just going to be easier to keep up since I won't be going home as much now that I'm becoming a real adult. And for the sake of my hair I will be staying dark for the next while. Once I get it dark and pretty the goal will be to get it healthy and long again. So pretty much my hair will be the bain of my existence for the next few years I'm guessing.

In other news,

I saw Eclipse today - and it was sooooooo good!! So I'm totally team Edward, which may come as a surprise since I'm in love with brown/black boys, but I just can't help myself, R-Pats does it for me. TMI probably, but it's true. So everyone should go see Eclipse cuz not only is it WAY better than the first 2 movies, it's just so good in general. My only complaint was that Emmet, who I normally think is so hot, looked kinda stupid/weird in this movie, but other than that I'm a big fan.

Lastly, 3 days from now I'll be going to bed in my new apartment in LA. SO WEIRD!!

Phase 1 of the Move - Complete

So about 4 hours later than I initially said I was leaving, I finally managed to drive away from Provo. Let's be real though, we all know that when I say I'm leaving at noon really that means I'm leaving around 3 or 4, which is what I did. So yeah, typical.

I'm extremely happy to report that George (my fish) has made it through the first part of the big move to LA. He got a little stressed out on the drive to St. George which of course stressed me out, but I think we'll both be fine.

More updates to come.

"I know that love isn't enough. That you have to cherish the people you love, that saying I love you isn't ever enough, that you have to show that love each and every day, even when life threatens to get in the way."

-From the book The Other Woman by Jane Green

Blank Walls

I spent another couple of hours last night packing. I now have all under my bed cleared out, everything out of my closet except my clothes and shoes, my movies packed, the desk drawers cleared out, and all the decorations from the walls & shelves have been taken down. I've decided I really like packing, not moving, just packing. I like going through my stuff and seeing what I have then boxing it up. The idea of having to load up my dad's truck and my car don't sound like fun but I like the part I'm doing now. It still kind of looks like I have a lot of stuff in my room, but most of it is stuff I can't pack till like the last day. Anyways, the time is winding down very quickly!

In other news, TODAY IS MY LAST DAY OF WORK IN PROVO! Crazy huh. I was supposed to be working tomorrow and Saturday, but I really didn't want to (dumb excuse I know). So now I'll have a few somewhat chill days to spend doing all those little last minute things... like get new tires. Oh you wanna hear that story, ok I'll tell you.

So yesterday I went to get my car serviced. Although I still had a few days and like 200 miles before is was scheduled to have the service I just had the time then and my tires were looking really low so I just went yesterday to get it done. Good thing I did cuz guess what, yeah I have a tire that's super bald. If anyone remembers my horrific car accident I had coming back to Utah after my summer in LA last year, where I flew off the freeway 30 feet into the desert, you know I'm really leery of flat/shredding tires. Needless to say I'll be getting a new tire like tomorrow. Don't worry, the story doesn't end there. So after the car flying incident last year I replaced 3 of my tires in August. Well apparently those tires are starting to look kinda bad as well. Not something you want to be told when having a repeat of last year is one of your biggest worries and you are a week out from making the same trip. Luckily I bought a warranty on the tires last year and I'm pretty sure tires are supposed to last a little longer than 10 months or 8,000 miles so I might be getting a couple of those tires replaced as well. We'll see.

Ok, this was supposed to be a little post just saying that today was my last day of work at my job here in Provo, clearly I've gone overboard.

The beginning of the end

I started packing last night!

So far I've only packed my blankets, hoodies, scarfs, textbooks, side table stuff, and some decorations, but hey it's a start.

Packing is getting me really excited to move because it's like the time is finally here! The crazy thing is the rest of my time in Provo is pretty booked, which is going to make the next 5 days go by even faster.

The Last Week

The time has finally arrived, and this is my last week in Provo. Doesn't it feel like I've been talking about moving forever?!

Everyone keeps asking if I'm so excited to be moving and of course I am. How could I not be. But I'm feeling like every other possible emotion as well. I'm nervous, apprehensive, worried, happy, sad, optimistic, relieved, etc.

Housing worked out perfectly (at least the LA part. I still haven't been able to sell my contract here in Provo, so I'll be paying rent in Provo & LA for July & August which totally sucks!) and I'll be moving straight to Santa Monica to live with my friend and roommate from last summer, Heather Hinton. I love that girl. She's such a great roommate and I'm really excited to live with her again. Also, my room in LA is HUGE!! And my other roommate from last summer whose spot I'm going to be taking over is going to leave all her furniture in the room for me to use. Her furniture is really cute and looks great in the room and works out perfectly since I don't have any furniture like at all. Let me explain why the room is so great and then I'll put up some of the pictures she sent me. First off, let me just say again that the room is huge. Anyone who has seen the size of my room in Canterwood knows that most rooms are bigger than my current one, but this one really is big. Then I not only have a nice, big walk-in closet but I also have a coat closet, in my room, that's all mine! Then there's the cute vanity/sink area, linen closet, and bathroom. Then on the patio of the apartment we have a hammock, how cute/fun/great is that?!! Still adding to the greatness is that the apartment complex has a gym, pool, and hot tub. Oh, and did I mention it's like maybe 10 miles from the beach. Yeah, I'm lucky and happy about where I'm moving to.

So the plan is to spend this week packing up my apartment, and boy do I have a lot of stuff to move! It's also my last week of work here and then trying to get together with friends before I go. Some of my friends are throwing me a Going Away party on Thursday night which will be really fun to get to see everyone again. I've made such good friendships the last 5 years and there are some people I will miss like crazy!

Then on Monday I'll move down to St. George. Originally I was just going to be there for like 2 days then go to LA on the 1st, but now I've decided to stay in St. George for the week and spend the 4th with my family. I love the 4th of July in St. George. We always have a BBQ then go watch the in town fireworks at the same spot of the part in the middle of town and then we go home and do our own fireworks. I love it. Then I'll just move down to Santa Monica on the 5th, get all unpacked and then have a day to relax before starting work on the 7th. And that is the play by play of my next two weeks.

Now for the pictures.....

These first ones are of my room. And I love the tree outside my window.

(Warning you will see 2 bras in these pictures. It's a girls room, what do you expect.)

Such a big bed!

Sadly the TV won't be staying

View from my bed of the other part of my room

The walk-in closet!

The coat closet

The hallway in my bedroom, yeah I have my own little hallway

First thing you see when you walk in my room

Hammock! How great is this?!

Let's talk

about speed limits.

Most of the time I'm not a huge fan and think they should be higher, but today was more frustrating than normal. I've noticed recently that people in Provo have decided to ignore speed limit signs and pick their own speeds. Normally I would be a big proponent of this type of behavior except that the new speeds being chosen are around 15 mile below the actual speed limit. So annoying!! Today was especially madening because on the other side of the road there were a bunch of people running a race or something. So of course people decided to not only stare at the runners going by but they also thought it was a good idea to go between 15-20 miles under the speed limit. I understand wanting to be cautious but we were on the other side of the road from them and there was another lane or two of traffic between my lane and the runners.

Moral of the story, drive the speed limit or faster or please just let me get around you. Thank you.

Memory Lane

Since I have so much free time at work I decided to go back and read some of my earliest posts on here. It's so weird reading about all the things I've forgotten. And I found it interesting to see how I've changed and also all the ways I haven't changed at all since I started blogging. It's also kind of embarrassing to see all the spelling and grammar mistakes. Oh well, right?

All in all I quite enjoyed my little stroll down memory lane today. The end.

The Color Quiz

Genna took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! "Seeks success and independence. Is willing to ove..." Click here to read the rest of the results.

It's safe to click on the link. It just shows you the real results, nothing sketchy.

I can't wait to see these movies!

I seriously think this is the funniest thing ever!

Picture Update

It's been so long and some pretty big things have happened since my last post so I thought this would be a more entertaining way to update things. Here we go.

I awkwardly walked across a stage

And waved at my family.

I took a picture with some fellow Master friends.

I tried to convince my professor to come to my birthday party next year.

I signed my name on a basketball floor - clearly having issues with my last name

Then took a picture of my head and the signature.

I rang a Bell for Victory.

These guys were there to cheer me on

So were these ones.

Made these people proud, like always.

Let Joey be taller than me for a change (you're welcome brother)

I posed with my 2nd home

And took the classic BYU graduation photo.

Then I felt it was time to show some leg

And get Mom in on the action.

I saw my favorite animals at the zoo

And snuck into a picture of Landri.

I loved this Chubby.

I rode a Rhino

And almost fell off.

Bonded with family

And took a puppy for a walk.

We took a picture of the single girls

But then I found love.

Then rounded out the day with a ride on a tiger.

I played Legos

With this crazy girl.

Then we had a mini photo shoot.

We made this face

Then this one

And even this

Then we held hands.

This girl was baptized

So we took a picture with some strange brown man.

I went on a road trip with this weirdo

And some sleeping crazies.

See I was there too, awkward as always.


I buried this one in the sand


Then celebrated with Chubby.


I spent my days with these people.


Someone stole my sunglasses...

More hands were held.

Someone bought the same sunglasses as me.

One face was painted

And then another.

I took another picture with my sis.


Boys snuggled

Then showed some leg

And siblings cuddled.

THE END.