A New Favorite City

In June, I got to experience another first – a trip to the one and only Boston, MA. Brady and I spent one week there and I felt like I only got a taste of what this city has to offer. Not only does everyone speak in those cool accents (I felt like I was in a Mark Wahlburg movie the whole time), but there is so much history and beauty there! Here are a few of the memories we made:

Red Sox Pride –

I mean, we couldn’t go to Boston and NOT go to a Red Sox game, right?! And can I just say that it was just as cool as you probably imagine. It was the epitome of a good old-fashioned American ball game. We enjoyed a Fenway Park hotdog, belted “Sweet Caroline” with a packed crowd, and celebrated when the Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins. One of my favorite things about Fenway was the atmosphere right outside the park. The streets are filled with die-hard Red Sox fans, hot dog stands, and lots of fun restaurants and bars.

Loved this whole experience! 

A City Full of History –

We could have spent our whole vacation learning about the history that is in this town. Unfortunately, we only had one day to dive into it. We spent it walking The Freedom Trail, visiting Paul Revere’s house, sitting in the old Statehouses where citizens met during the Revolution, and touring “Old Ironsides” - the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat.

It was a crazy feeling walking along these streets where so much has taken place.

The site of the Boston Massacre. 

This balcony was where the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time to citizens. 

Steering "Old Ironsides"

Unexpected Beauty –

Really, how beautiful are these?

Boston Pops Symphony –

This was my first time attending a symphony and it was amazing. Brady's company set up a private dinner and concert and I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a little spoiled (definitely not complaining ha ha). The orchestra played classical, swing, and oldie favorites. Can you guess what this one is? (sorry for the bad picture)

The Rainy City

Brady and I got the chance to spend a few days in Seattle this month, a first time for both of us. And let me tell you, talk about a cool city! Despite the overload of beggars downtown and the struggles finding a restaurant that served chicken fingers (holler at my fellow picky eaters), the scenery was worth the trip!

Here are some of the highlights.

The Seattle Aquarium 

The fact that it's located right off the pier and the rain was sprinkling, this whole experience was pretty sweet. The fish were cool (as expected) but my favorite part was watching Brady get so excited. :) 

The Great Wheel

Yes, the great ferris wheel right by the waterfront is as cool as it sounds. The view from the top was AMAZING. 

The Space Needle

Of course, it wouldn't be a trip to Seattle without a visit to the Space Needle. I'll be honest, I thought that the Space Needle was going to be overrated but once we reached the top, I understood why it's such a big deal. Overlooking the entire city, the view was incredible. And who better to share it with than this handsome man?

Life Lessons of 2013

Well, it has been six months since my last post. I guess you can say that I can add being a more loyal blogger to my list of New Year’s Resolutions. But I figured with the year coming to an end I would fill everyone in on the past year. To say that 2013 was a big year for me would be an understatement. I made one of the biggest decisions of my life when moved to Roosevelt. There have been good times, bad times, and a lot of first times. I have learned a lot about life and a lot about myself. I could probably go on all day but I don’t think anyone would stay interested so here are the top few things I’ve learned in 2013.

Family is everything.

It seems like the older I get the more I realize that the most important people in my life are the people I call family. I don’t think I was prepared to leave my family behind when I made the big move to the Basin. Sure, I’ve been away from home for the past 4 years when I was in college but I always knew I would eventually graduate and come home. This time was different because we all knew there was a pretty good chance I would be here the rest of my life. Every weekend I spend visiting them makes me realize even more how much they all mean to me. The “real world” has made me recognize that my family has always been there for me and has taught me to value my time with them.

Graduating college is not the end of the world.

If I were writing this post a year ago, I would have a completely different attitude about this. Graduating college has been one of the biggest transitions of my life. It was definitely hard going from having a party to go to every weekend and no worries to not knowing what I was doing with my life and feeling like a loser staying home on a Saturday night. The past year has taught me to enjoy every phase of my life. College was a fun part of my life but now I have bigger things to accomplish and different kind of memories to make.

It’s all about perspective.

Moving out here, I have realized that I truly am a city girl and probably always will be. There are plenty of things I miss about living in Salt Lake County (like Chick-Fil-A and shopping) but if everyone else who lives here can learn to adjust then so can I. It’s all about the way you view things. From my 10 months of living out here I have learned to love some things about this small town – like the fact that it takes five minutes to get anywhere in town, or being a part of a community that is extremely generous, or the professional opportunities I have been given that wouldn’t have happened in a big city.

Trust me, I am still getting familiar with Roosevelt and I’ll probably never feel completely adjusted. But the people who are from here seem to be perfectly happy. It all starts with your outlook.

No job is exactly what you imagine.

I don’t claim to be an expert in this subject by any means but the past year and a half has taught me a lot about what to expect in careers.  When I graduated college in 2012 I had no plan. I had a few ideas about what I’d like to do and honestly I didn’t think it would be that hard to find my “dream job.” Well, what I have found is that even dream jobs are not as amazing as they may seem. I have friends who have accepted positions doing amazing things and most of them have ended up hating their jobs. Earlier this year Brady had the opportunity to work with the Atlanta Falcons as an NFL Scout. In his words, this would be his “dream job.” He turned it down. As much as he would’ve enjoyed it, he knows that it was not the life he wanted.    

In 2013, I have had two jobs that could have led to promising careers. And both have thrown a few surprises at me – both good and bad. It’s exciting (and also scary) knowing that you never know what to expect.

I sort of feel like an old woman writing this post, talking about careers and life lessons and all. But it’s just where I am at in my life, I guess. We will see what 2014 has in store.

Happy New Year!

Never let the fear of striking out....blah blah blah

So a little background on Brady… He is good at everything. And by everything, I mean EVERYTHING. Especially sports. He played 3 sports in high school, then went on to play college football at SUU, and now he coaches 2 sports at Union High School. I, on the other hand, grew up singing and dancing and have never played a competitive sport in my life. Until now.

Every summer Brady plays on a co-ed community softball league. I guess he must have forgotten that his girlfriend has no athletic ability whatsoever when he signed the BOTH of us up this year. “It will be fun,” he said. Yeah yeah yeah. I’m sure it is a blast when you are actually good at the game!! But I tried to stay positive and prepare myself before the league started.

“Brady, can we go to the batting cages?”

“Sure thing.”

…we never went…

Before I knew it, it’s the opening game. I get there and see who else is on our team. Of course every single girl on our team played high school softball and some even played college ball. I was sure to impress them. First batter gets up, hits a double; second batter, hits a triple; third batter, home run. You get the idea. So I think to myself, “Maybe it’s not that hard.”

I step up to the plate.

Strike One.

Strike Two.

You’re Out. (Apparently you only get 2 strikes in slow-pitch softball).

I justify in my head that I only struck out because it was my first time. I come back to the dugout and my entire team cheers me on. “Don’t worry, you’ll just get better and better the more you do it.”

Shake it off. Next inning, I’m up again.

Strike One.

Strike Two.

You’re Out.

Long story short, I struck out every single time. You were right, Brady. This is REALLY FUN.

As the season goes on, not much changes. I still strike out 9 times out of 10 but occasionally I will get a base hit or if I’m lucky I get to walk. HOWEVER, last week we had our last softball game and I must say I was pretty proud of myself. I never once struck out! And I had my best play yet…

I play catcher. The position doesn’t get much action in slow-pitch which has been more than okay with me. But during the last inning a lady from our opposing team steps up to bat and hits a foul ball 3 feet to the left of home plate. Picture the scene from Sandlot where Smalls holds his mitt up in the air and shuts his eyes and hopes for the best. I swear it comes down in slow motion and….and….I caught it!! My first out!! I was ecstatic and couldn’t even try to hide it! At the end of the game my entire team gives me a high 5 and congratulates me like I’m a 5-year-old, but I’ll take it. And for that moment, I understood what Brady meant. Okay, so it CAN be fun…

Before leaving, another one of our teammates says to me, “You’re on our team for life now.”

Oh boy…

Movin' on Up!

Well folks, the blog gods must have read my last post about the lack of restaurants here. This week, they opened up a Gandolfo’s on Main Street. !!! Gandolfo’s is far from my favorite place to eat but, needless to say, I was still pretty freakin’ excited… so excited that I went there a day early, walked in, and embarrassed myself when they told me to leave.

Round two: success. Ordered myself a turkey sandwich… and it only took 30 minutes to get it. Hey, baby steps, right?

Next step. Chick-Fil-A.

A girl can dream can’t she?

Food, Music, & Movies

Well I have been out here in the country for a little over a month now. When people ask me how I like it so far I find myself not quite knowing what to say. So for all of you reading this wondering if I am liking it, I’ll just say to you... I am still adjusting. :)

I want to tell you all about a few things that I can already tell will take some serious time to get used to: Food. Music. Movies. Three things that everybody enjoys! And you know what I’ve realized makes them even more enjoyable? VARIETY.

First, I want to talk about food options, or lack thereof, here in Roosevelt. Where I come from there is just about any restaurant you could think of within a 20 mile radius. Here, I can count on one hand the number of dine-in restaurants that people would consider worth going to. All I’m saying is I could use a few more options. Is an Applebee’s too much to ask for? As for fast food, we have McDonalds, Arby’s, & Subway, along with a couple local places. During my lunch break I like to be able to pick up something quick and cheap, and I usually resort to McDonalds. I must not be the only one thinking that because it seems like just about everyone and their grandmother goes to McDonalds when lunch rolls around. I thought Salt Lake fast food was a long wait, but I have learned to count on at least a 20 minute wait every time. Not cool, Roosevelt. Not cool. To sum it up, I get hungry…for more restaurants.

Moving on to my opinion about music here in R-Town. Now, being the country music fan that I am, I am usually completely happy listening to the local country station. However, there are those days where I like to mix it up and get my thug on… And there lies the problem. I could really use a radio station that plays some Hip-Hop and some current Pop hits. I log on to ITunes and feel completely out of the loop that I don’t know any of the top 10 downloads because they just aren’t played out here. It blows my mind. Pandora, don’t you let me down.

Lastly, I want all of you out there in the city to appreciate your movie theaters, because I know I will from now on. At any given time there are 3 movies showing here in town. So unless you like 1 of the 3 playing, you won’t be going to one. I’ve noticed that most people will drive to Vernal, a town 30 minutes from here, to catch a movie. There are always more options there but I miss the convenience of just going down the street to catch a late-night movie. It has certainly made me appreciate the movie theaters back home more!

These things are certainly not the most important things in the world but they do create a big change for me! All in all, Roosevelt seems like an alright place, but if I was running it I would bring in some more restaurants, a new radio station, and build a Megaplex.

That’s all for now. Stay tuned! :)

city-raised, country-coached.

The story of a city girl and a country boy begins in 2010.

We met in Dr. Jackson's morning graphics class. One year passes and we were finally able to call each other “ours.” In May, we both graduated college. With nowhere else to go, we both returned to our hometowns - mine, a suburb of Salt Lake City. Population: 51,377. Closest shopping mall: 3.9 miles.

For him, home is a place he refers to as “God’s Country” but is more commonly known as Roosevelt, Utah. Population: 6,106. Closest shopping mall: 124.8 miles.

Despite coming from two completely different backgrounds, we got along perfectly. Travelling 2.5 hours every other weekend to spend time together was our only option, and we did it for nine long and lonely months.

The plan was always to end up in the same place, it was just a matter of WHERE. After a very confusing inner battle with myself, I decided that I didn’t care where I lived; I just knew I wanted to be with him…which leads me to the reason for this blog…

One week ago, I accepted a job offer in this so-called “God’s Country,” and will be moving in exactly 26 days. To date, this is both the scariest and most exciting thing I have ever done. I am full of mixed emotions and can say that I am completely uncertain of what to expect. Well, that’s not completely true. I expect to spend weekends hunting or fishing instead of shopping or eating out. I expect to see more camo gear than department store clothing on a daily basis. I expect to regularly drive passed someone I know on the way home from work instead of getting stuck in rush hour traffic.

Knowing that my life is about to DRASTICALLY change, the next few months are sure to be a learning experience.

I wanted to share the journey of my new life: city-raised, country-coached.