taking the city by storm...

well, i have been in the big city for approximately 8 weeks now. to be honest with you, i wasn't sure if salt lake was going to know what hit when i rolled into town. the irony of it all....

let's just start by talking about the things i love about salt lake:
1) my lovely roomies, stacie stevens and enz crane - they are just a delight
2) being able to attend the salt lake temple and feeling such a special spirit there
3) emigration canyon - smooth pavement, huge shoulder for biking, and the leaves look amazing
4) our big screen tv...if you don't believe me, come and check it out
5) fro yo runs to maverick and the shop n' stop on 17th and 17th
6) living on redondo avenue by a freeway entrance and really close to sugarhouse park - such a
prime location!
7) being closer to ryan, rachel, spencer, and baby jack*
8) my institute class - we are studying the doctrine & covenants and my teacher, sister pam
parkin has an infectious testimony and brings such a beautiful spirit to our class
9) living so close to my katies (gildea and white) - i LOVE how much i get to spend time with
these lovely ladies
10)family dinner with taylor perkins, ryan campbell, and the roomies
11) saturday adventures with stacie**
12) having a bike to help me through a few crisis moments
13) the mountains
14) the fact that i work from home and don't have to deal with a commute and traffic everyday
15) my new church calling - ward missonary it is
16) shorter commute to the airport
17) sunday evening calls from mom and dad
18) sunday visits to mark and candy crane's and gary and maggie stevens' - they always make
me feel so welcome, just like part of the fam
19)riding dry creek and the bobsled with ryan campbell and running into, possibly the largest arachnid i have ever seen - it felt like we were on the discovery channel

things i don't love about salt lake:
1) living further away from my absolutely amazing mom, next-to-perfect dad, and cute, little
lancie poo
2) the fact that i had to get my emissions test done to register my car and found out i had
$2,646.98 in repairs. can you say catalytic converter, fuel sensor, fuel pump, and lower ball
joint, and probably a few more things?
3) traffic...ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4) the tight feeling i get in my chest from the smog when i run or bike in the city
5) living further away from my wonderful co-worker kelly rees and cute little ava jane -it
makes it a little more difficult for me to stop by kelly's house for a work meeting and a
chance to watch muzzy with ava, have her show me her princess room, and tell me how
much she likes my boots
6) the fact that everything in "the city" seems to take longer and cost more
7) 3 parking tickets in 4 days - it seems i have a knack for that kind of thing


as you can see, the good outweighs the bad. there have been a few rough spots, and i haven't necessarily taken the city by storm, but all in all, i feel so blessed to be here in the city we call salt lake. through all of the small challenges i am facing, i really feel like Heavenly Father is breaking me down to build me back up. in the past couple of months i have found myself having minor breakdowns and shedding a few tears, realizing what an amazing support system i have, and recognizing and remembering that i have a Heavenly Father who is watching out for and taking care on so many different levels.