Bucket List continued... or maybe not

I (Keri) wanted to hike Mt. Timpanogos one more time before we move and had arranged a hiking date with two of my former AHA coworkers. But unfortunately we had to postpone our hike due to the amount of snow STILL along the trail making it completely impassable. And the worst part is... it probably will take at least a month for all of the snow to melt.

I hiked Timpanogos once back in 2005 before I moved to San Diego but it was with a guy I did not know very well and I wanted to do it once more. Mt. Timpanogos is the second highest mountain in Utah's wasatch range and is a 14 mile round-trip hike.

We rescheduled to hike in August but now it's looking like KerMatt will be moving earlier than that.

Instead of hiking Timp, me and the girls decided to do a much shorter hike to Ensign Peak.

Keri, Red Rachel, Rachel Seangsuwan

You may need to work this weekend...

I had an interesting experience at the hospital this last weekend that bothered me. 


On Friday evening, the hospital received a call from a man saying he was a manager for Toby Keith and that they were coming the direction of the hospital to bring a very large check (over $3 million to beat the Telethon, he said) and that Toby was bringing out country singers with him (Clint Black, Carrie Underwood, Allan Jackson, and a secret surprise (Keith Urban). They were doing all of this because they were disenchanted with the fact that Primary Children’s was excluded from a NASCAR race where some children’s hospitals were named beneficiaries of a large competition. 

This guy came to the hospital (which 99% of these crazies don't ever do). 

He presented a check for $3.3 million, then he turned around with a cell phone to his ear and said, "I need to take that back. Toby wants to bring up a cashier’s check." 

The guy never showed up on Sunday of course. 

I kept getting calls from my boss saying to standby in case we had to go in on Sunday to make this happen and if I were her, I would have been very upset about losing my weekend to this crazy. She spent almost 5 hours with him on Saturday, then an hour on Sunday to meet him and his "crew".

To be honest, I think she was way nicer than I ever would have been. I mean what is wrong with people?! What would possess someone to do something like this? I am amazed at the lengths this man went to pull off his stunt, which we have all decided was some kind of prank. He wasted his own weekend on this and my bosses and for what? Not to mention the fact this is a children's hospital and we are trying to save lives!!!

One of my co-workers and I have decided the best solution to this problem is to find where this guy lives and do an old-school egging. ;-)

The Real Source Of Your Self-Esteem

I (Keri) also had the opportunity to hear Matt Townsend speak a month ago to a large group of women in my stake and region. I was again so touched by the wonderful perspective he shared with us. His words were just so simple and made sense with all that I believe. I remember thinking "how could I ever feel sad or mad again... especially at Matt who I get mad at the most". And of course, I fought with Matt for the next four days. What can I say, I'm human :) I do find that my days are a little easier, and my emotions a little easier to handle when I think about what is most important. 

I wanted to pass on my notes from that meeting to all of you since I found them so moving:

The most important thing you need to remember is that you are daughters of a Heavenly Father. ( Now remember, he was speaking to a group of women. But this easily apply to men as well).

As women, we are so hard on ourselves and we try to do too much. But the list of things we feel like we are supposed to do are extracurricular. And many times they leave us feeling stressed, overwhelmed, angry, inadequate, guilt, depressed, discouraged and tired. 

The things we stress about: money, in-laws, children, work, mess, men, school, callings, our bodies or our health are just extracurricular.

Daughters of God just need to stay close to Heavenly Father. He will prompt you when you should focus on one of those things. How can you feel angry...or sad... if you are a daughter of God?

And as a daughter of God, you are wired to be amazing!

Your spirit is your essence. It is what you are when you are close to your Heavenly Father. And it is what you should focus on.

Sin is anything that keeps us from God. It can even be good things, not necessarily bad. 

 He had us list perceptions that women hang on ourselves that make us feel not so amazing:

• your kids
• other women
• looks
• weight
• defects
• body shape
• wealth
• work
• your husband/boyfriend
• your upbringing
• marital status
• personality traits
• "your identity"

Your essence is what God gave you. And when you are in your essence, you can only feel love, compassion, prayer and peace. 

All these perceptions above are just what the world gave you - these are your ego. These are Satan's game. It is your belief that you are something other than from God.

Our everyday battle is between our ego and our essence.

We need to notice the holy spirit in us and yield to it. What if we focused our time on our essence?  He used the example of Alma the younger. "Can you feel the Spirit in you now?" 

When you feel the Spirit, you know who you are. You are focused on the present.

Too often we focus too much on the future or the past. For example, "I'll be happy when we move...or when I'm married"

You never create the future in the future. You create it day by day in the present. You don't forgive in the past either. You forgive for the past in the present. Humor is in the present.  Choose to live your life in your essence. The Lord most cares that you are in your essence - that you are close to Him.

He made a wonderful reminder that other people's mistakes are not your identity.

The key to all of this is to notice when you are in your ego. That will put you into your essence. 

If you want to be in your essence, imagine your mother, son, friend, husband being called up to the Lord and being told how amazing he/she is.

Think about finding a lost child in the woods who is scared and cold. Think of how you would feel, what you would say to make that child feel better. You could only feel love for that child and peace that he/she was found. And one of the first things you would do is pray. 

When you are in your essence, you naturally feel love, compassion, prayer and peace. 

You are gold! He wants you home. He needs you to know how wonderful you are. And he needs you to tell people around you how wonderful they are.

My Designs

Check out some of the materials I have designed for work:

Radiothon Flier (front)

Radiothon Flier (back)

 

 

Telethon Poster

Festival of Trees Celebration Dinner Invite (70s theme - front)

Festival of Trees Celebration Dinner Invite (back)

Festival of Trees Celebration Dinner Reply Card (with board members faces)

Chillin' with the girls in the bucket seat

The house that built me...

Recently I've heard the new song "The House That Built Me" by Miranda Lambert (country singer). At first I hated the song because of the incessant twang but then one day I listened the words. And I loved them! I felt like the words were honest and real - and very relatable.

The song is about a woman going back to the house she grew up in and asking the people who now live there if she can walk through to feel her old memories.  

"I know they say you can’t go home again

I just had to come back one last time
Ma’am I know you don’t know me from Adam
But these handprints on the front steps are mine"

As she reminisces, she is hoping that these old memories will take away some of her current  sadness.

"You leave home and you move on and you do the best you can

I got lost in this old world and forgot who I am

I thought if I could touch this place or feeling
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it’s like I’m someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself"

Now not having actually grown up in one house in my own life, I am still touched by this song and can relate to wanting to go back to my care-free childhood instead of having the stress and responsibility I have to experience now. 

And when I think about all of the homes I grew up in, I think about how much of "me" I took away from each of these places.

For example:

Marigold House

• I learned to tie my shoe.
• I still remember the day that I figured this out with the "bunny ear" technique and experienced my own self-sufficiency. 
• I got trapped under the garage door (TWICE!).
• I learned that sometimes when your parents caution you, they actually know their stuff, such as staying out of the way when the door is closing.
• Dad did work on the new Jelly Belly factory and brought home endless goodies 
• I learned to appreciate the sweet things in life :)

Elmhurst House 

• My brother, Bo, spent one of my birthday parties running around outside and tripping over the garden hose to entertain my friends. 
• I learned that boys do stupid things to "impress" girls and brothers will try to steal your thunder :)
• Our house burnt down in 1988 while my family and I were across the street at church 
• I learned that if you are in the right place at the right time, you will be blessed - even through trials.
• I experienced the spirit of giving as I was overwhelmed with all of the kindness and unselfishness people offered us. Every day more and more boxes of clothing, dishes, blankets, etc would be given us. The children in my primary even did a penny drive and raised enough money in weeks to buy new scriptures for all 6 of my brothers and sister.
• We lost pretty much everything in that fire yet we were able to bounce back. I learned that material possessions are temporary and replaceable and it was the love of my family - and extended family who took all of us in - that carried us through this hard time. But they made it so fun for me that I can't remember this being a hard time - it just felt like an extended vacation at Grandma's house. I'm sure my parents would feel otherwise but I was 7 years old.

Lily House

• It snowed in Fairfield in December 1988 for the first time in like 8 years. 
• I learned that nothing is impossible - and brothers are mean and silly as Rocky picked me up out of bed, threw me in the snow and locked me outside in my nightgown. And then Bo and Josh were trying to ride their bikes down the snowy hill for the thrill of sliding all over.
• I learned that sometimes the best things in life are free - as we "somehow" had free cable in that house. 

Evergreen House

• Since I spent my formative pre-teen and teenage years here until I moved away to college, this is the house that 
• I learned to play the flute, the bells, sporadically practiced the piano and spent countless hours singing around the piano as my Mom played - deepening my love for music.
• I got to redecorate my room during high school for the first time and my mom let me pick everything, building my creativity.
• I experienced the joy of prank calls & TP'ing houses for the first time - then I worked on perfecting these skills.
• I learned to drive - and learned my mom was a much more patient teacher than my dad.
• I attempted to learn to drive with a stick shift but failed miserably until I was left without a car and with determination tried to rock the "Gator Man" truck. Some things are best just left alone though.
• I learned about dealing with crazy people such as neighbors.
• I started going to church dances and then dating - and oh the hours I spent getting ready with my friends for church dances.  
• I probably should have never discovered the joys of skipping class and finding creative ways to cover it up.
• I moved away and then experienced what it was like to come home from college and appreciate your home's sameness again.

"If I could walk around in I swear I’ll leave

Won’t take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me"

The simplicity of these memories seems so surreal now as I juggle my career, being a wife and a support to my husband, being a good friend and a good person overall and also keeping myself healthy and fit while developing my own individuality and creativity. So I hope to continue to appreciate the simple things in my life as it grows even more complex.

I realize also that it is not the homes that build you, but really the people that truly build you in those homes -whether it is yourself, your family or your friends.

Little Red Riding Hood

On June 5th, I rode in the "Little Red Riding Hood" along with 2 of my co-workers. Rachel did the 58-miler with me and for this being her first time she sure had no problem keeping up. And then Jen (also a new rider) did the 33 miler with her mother-in-law. 

It was a blast and probably the best organized bike ride I've ever done. We started in Lewiston, UT, which is just a couple miles outside of Logan and we rode throughout the farm country that is Northern Utah. It felt good to be back on my bike doing a long ride again, especially at the turn off for the 80-milers and 100-milers knowing that wasn't me. Although I felt like weak sauce for not being them since I know that I can do those but all in all I was less sore, I saved a couple hours of riding and for Rachel's first experience this was probably way more enjoyable than a full century.


I  have never seen so much food at a ride as this one. Not only did they have every snack you could think of about every 15 miles and then Subway sandwiches for lunch but at the finish line they had all of this plus more! When we rode through the finish, we were handed a little cheap tiara (obviously this was a women only ride) and a strawberry daiquiri. Then you walk further and they had a whole trough of Creamies (best popsicles ever!). They had a whole chocolate fountain tent complete with tables full of things to dip. There was another large tent with an extensive  nacho/salsa bar and a candy table with little containers to put your candy in.


It was hard not to eat back all of those calories that I had just rode off! Seriously, I have no self control for this stuff, especially when Creamies are involved.


The best part was when Rachel and I stopped at the Finish and asked some ladies to take our picture with our bikes. I was a little tired obviously and I leaned towards Rachel for the pic, forgetting that I was still clipped into my bike. And down I went, still attached to my bike :) Oh the sillyhead.

2009 In Review - Keri

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write about your 2009. At the end, choose people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes... Read More” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 2009 in Review (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? Got married and all that that entails for a 28-year-old Mormon girl. Also painting the walls in my apartment and sewing curtains.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Yes all except for taking swim lessons and having a solid food storage. And worrying less of course - no way to do that when planning a wedding and being a recent newlywed to a husband who is so casual about making set plans.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth or get pregnant? My friends/co-workers Sarah & Alison, my old roomies Jodi and Anna, and my sister-in-law Bekah had adorable babies this year. It seems like everyone I know is now pregnant, especially as of this last month most of which I will not name as I'm never sure who's ready to tell yet :)

4. Did anyone close to you get married? I did!!! And so did my sis Tori a month after me and my SD roomie Terrie, my co-worker Amanda, and my SD friend Maren.

5. Did anyone close to you die? No, not exactly but does Michael Jackson count? I feel my dance skills have waned with his passing.

6. Travel? All over the Western US but not nearly enough. Cali - San Diego, Fairfield, San Jose, Vegas, Florida - Orlando and Tampa Bay, Washington - Seattle, Redmond, Snoqualmie, Spokane

7. Did you move anywhere? Yes - after 2 months of marriage, Matt & I upgraded to a 2-bedroom apartment in Draper, UT. And it was a fabulous decision as we both love our home and location now!

8. What was the best month? April and May with all of the wedding festivities and all of my family and friends I got to see. But February was pretty awesome as well because I felt like I was glowing after our engagement on Valentine's day.

9. What would you like to have in 2010 that you have lacked in 2009? A new truck for Matt since I knew he misses his (though he is rocking his station wagon without complaint), a flu shot - I slacked on getting it this year and spent a portion of my Christmas vacation not feeling well, a new home and new job in California, a visit to the East Coast to visit my good friend, Dawn. And how about a financially successful Heart Walk finally!

Rock Band would be nice...

Also a trip to Spokane for Hoopfest 2010 (had to miss in '09 due to my rescheduled honeymoon)...

Oh and my initial honeymoon in Cancun that Matt and I had to cancel because of the swine flu.

10. What date(s) from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Feb 14 - our engagement, Apr 25 - my first temple day, May 1 - my wedding, May 2 - my reception

11. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Well the obvious with getting married in the temple probably but also actually remembering my friend Sharee's birthday. I am horrible at remembering birthdays and really tried to focus on remembering hers since I have been such a slacker the past couple years. If only everyone would just get on Facebook which has helped me greatly!

12. What was your biggest failure? Not breaking Matt of his pizza love and fast food habits. Also forgetting everyone else's birthdays while trying to focus on remembering Sharee's :)

13. Did you suffer illness or injury? Yes - sick all the time...lame question

14. What was the best thing you bought? My HP laptop that I finished paying off this year...

15. Whose behavior merited celebration? Matt for surviving the Junior Core of his ISYS program and being elected co-president of his ASM Club. My friends, Mary and Aaron, for getting engaged (not to each other though, wouldn't want to start any rumors). My mom for her new job and all of her hard work - probably my dad too for continuing his hard work even though his body is falling apart. Paige on her educational achievements and overcoming her Desperate Housewifeness :) Love ya girl! Sharee for finishing her many years of school and becoming a Nurse Practitioner. Laura for embracing her many talents and delving into the photography world. Briauna and Grant for not shaking their baby.

16. Whose behavior made you appalled and/or depressed? Kanye West - what a jerk!

17. Where did most of your money go? Rent, food, tithing, credit cards and student loans

18. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Getting married of course (aren't you sick of the wedding talk by now), waking up next to Matt every morning, the release of New Moon, my 2 week Christmas vacation in San Diego.

19. What song will always remind you of 2009? The firefly song by Owl City and the Africa remix by Karl Wolf

20. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
ii. richer or poorer?

i. I am definitely happier - last year I really struggled with leaving San Diego and moving back to Utah. I had a hard time readjusting to the Utah winters,and I worried about EVERYTHING - to being out here without being engaged, my new office, missing my San Diego roomies and my old Utah friends that I couldn't quite see enough, etc...

I have learned to focus on the MANY, MANY blessings in my life. I am richer in my life with my wonderful marriage and my best friend always right beside me. And after seeing the love of my family and friends this year with all that a wedding entails, I can not doubt that I do not have many people that love me.

ii. Matt (and mint.com) have also helped me come to term with finances so I also feel richer even though I am definitely by most terms, poorer.

21. What do you wish you'd done more of? Hiking, biking and laying out by the pool. I felt like summer flew by me and Utah really has so much to offer during this time of year. Spending time with my friends of course, especially my friends, Nicole, Dawn and Laura.

22. What do you wish you'd done less of? Eat, worry and complain

23. How will you be spending New Year's Eve/Day? I spent it in San Diego with Matt and our SD friends, and his family. At midnight on New Year's Eve we were roasting smores on the beach with my old roomie Terrie and it was the best New Year's Eve I have ever had.

24. What was an unexpected surprise? My pregnancy... haha PSYCH! J/k My sister getting married out of nowhere to a guy she had dated for like 2 months

25. Did you fall in love in 2009? Yes of course - I fall in love with Matt all over again usually every week, except during football season and when he watches Nitro Circus.

26. What was the best concert you've been to this year? Definitely not Britney Spears for the content but since many of my friends were with me and I had free tickets, I'd have to say it wins over Incubus or Pinback.

27. What was your favorite TV program? House! I freaking love that show but I still always have to give a shout out to American Idol.

28. Do you dislike anyone now that you didn't dislike this time last year? Probably movie Edward if you ladies know what I'm saying :) and definitely Lady Gaga

29. What was the best book you read? a biography on Audrey Hepburn

30. What was your greatest musical discovery? Pandora application on my phone and Pandora Quick Mix

31. What did you want and get? My dream wedding and husband, amazing in-laws, a memory foam mattress pad (suckas!) and black leather gloves to protect my hands as I scrape ice off my windows every morning for 10 minutes

32. What did you want and not get? All of my family at my wedding - not to make anyone feel guilty...Oh and the thing that heats your car for you in the morning so it is warm when I get in it

33. What was your favorite film of this year? AVATAR! And I was a skeptic before I saw it but I am definitely sold. I would say Blindside is a pretty close runner up though.

34. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 28 this year and I spent a night with Matt drinking Martinelli's (yep, we really did that), eating a Swedish dinner made from Ikea food (holla Lisa!), and just cuddling...you know what I'm sayin

35. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Reaching my Heart Walk goal or at least covering my costs for my Utah County Heart Walk - and maybe a visit to the east coast to visit Dawn and Bri and to Sweden

36. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? A reinvention of myself - less edgy with trying to dress more mature at work and having a conservative husband. But finding a balance between these things and my own quirky personality. I have also tried to invent my casual dress style since I never really have done casual - harder than you think people! I either end up looking like a teenager or a Mormon mom

37. What kept you sane? Regular exercise, sweets only on the weekends (holla Anna!), Matt's patience and my co-worker, Rachel

38. What political issue stirred you the most? Let's be honest, I pay more attention to pop-culture than politics sadly. I really do try to be more aware but most politics just confuse me. I guess I have had to delve more into the healthcare issue with my line of work though.

39. Who did you miss? My college friends - I just feel like our lives have gone in so many different directions and places and I just sometime miss the old,awkward days.

40. Random Memories from 2009? Being tricked by Matt on Valentine's Day when he proposed and his friends surprising us by running out of the bushes, pole dancing with my girls in Pacific Beach for my Bachelorette Party, crying over witnessing a dead duck while riding my bike, dressing like Britneys with Nicole and going to a horrible Britney concert, playing Frisbee golf and eating the best chocolate chip cookies with Brad & Sharee, dress shopping with a traumatized Mary and Charlotte, playing Rock Band with Chris & Pikey while Chris pretends to not know the words to the songs though he is singing the words at the top of his lungs, having a very pregnant (and grumpy) Jodi at my bridal shower though it was a huge sacrifice for her, almost dying while biking down a canyon with Rachel, Paige advising Matt and I that it's okay to medicate the night of our wedding, dragging a very upset Swede away from Terrie's wedding, Laura saying she feels like a jerk when she eats too much...

I beat Matt :)

Oh and I beat Matt last week in our Fantasy Football league. A huge win thanks to the help of my oldest bro, Ryan. In fact - my only win this season.

Matt took it like a champ but tries to say he let me win. Geesh! Men!

Buttermints Dawg

Laura and I

After my third year at BYU, one of my roommates, Laura, and I decided to move to Las Vegas for a couple semesters and get jobs in the big hotels.

Having decided on a whim, we were not fully prepared. We moved down there with no furniture, enough money for just two months rent, and nothing but a confidence that we could get jobs right away.

Well it actually took us two months to get jobs. We had completely miscalculated our money situation. The summer heat came and we didn’t have enough money to pay for air conditioning. We didn't know anything about working with utility companies so we had no hot water for the first two weeks. To get a warm shower, we showered at the hot tub shower in our complex. At first we were embarrassed to do because most people don't go in the hot tub at 10 am and most don't lathering up with shampoo and conditioner and shave their your legs in a shower that is just meant for rinsing. Ironically after we got our utilities turned on, we discovered there was another shower inside the clubhouse in the women's bathroom that we could have used!

Our parents had discouraged our move, so we felt that we couldn’t ask them for assistance. We ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for every meal because Laura’s mom ended up bringing us a few groceries. I couldn’t even afford medicine for tonsillitis I got my first week there. And Laura lost almost all of her shoes on the move to Vegas when the bag that her dad had tied on top of her car flew off and scattered her shoes all over the freeway.

Our lowest point came when we had to dig through the seats of our cars to find enough money to split a Del Taco burrito. 

Our first Sunday attending our new ward, we walked into the church building and saw the most glorious site: a huge bowl of buttermints which Laura and I loved! I cannot tell you how my heart leapt and my stomach yearned for such a treat. We looked at each other and yelled "buttermints dawg!" and opened our purses to start filling them with mints for later.

During our raid, I turned around to discover the doors to Sacrament meeting wide open and many people were looking at us. Apparently our excitement had interrupted the opening prayer. Unfortunately Laura caught on a bit later and when she saw me stop, she said "What are you doing? Keep going!"

Imagine my embarrassment, with my hand in the bowl shoveling mints into my purse. From then on, we were known as the “buttermint twins” by many. Not exactly the greatest first impression.

I'd like to say the silly stories end there but since it took us awhile to get hired, and then to actually receive paychecks, we had to get creative. We relied heavily on meeting people at our new singles ward for a lot in the beginning. 

If there was a fireside we were there - refreshments. If someone was having a potluck at their house, we were there. If one of us got asked on a date, we refused to go unless they found someone else for the other so we wouldn't be left alone or left without dinner. 

One guy heard this and asked us both on a date with him, which he later admitted was perfect because then he could figure out which one he was interested in. Seriously we went out to dinner several times, just Nate and Laura and I. 

Our favorite restaurant was Cheesecake Factory and when we got asked out by two roommates who said they wanted to take us somewhere we had never been, Laura lied and said "we've never been to Cheesecake Factory and we heard it was really good." We could have pulled it off except Laura made two crucial errors. 

While waiting to be seated, Laura announced that she needed to use the restroom and when her date stood up to walk her to the restroom, she waved him off and said "Oh I know where it is." At this point, my date whispered to me "I thought she had never been here." I confessed to him but asked him not to tell her date who was so excited to introduce her to restaurant. 

Then we got seated and Laura put her menu down and said "Oh I know what I want," which is when her date figured it out. After realizing we were bust, we explained how poor we were and how much we had been dying to eat here since we moved to Vegas.

We acquired a mattress set for free from a group of guys we met who had inherited the mattress when they moved into their house. We didn't even care who had slept on it before, that's how desperate we were. For months it was the only furniture we had in our apartment except for a small table and chair set that Laura's grandpa had given us.

One guy came over to our house to help us improve our resumes and saw that we had very little food in our cupboards. He ended up coming back the next day with groceries in hand. 

He also found out that my 21st birthday was coming up and he said he wanted to take Laura and I out to dinner and would invite a bunch of other guys too so we could get to know other people. We didn't eat all day we were so excited.

At dinner, the guy announced that he was paying for dinner for everyone and that we were welcome to order whatever we want, except for me. He said he was going to be responsible for me that night. My heart sank! I don't like being told what to do and the way that he announced it made me suspicious that this was not going to be the dinner I had expected.

True to my suspicions, he not only ordered my food but also served it to me on a small salad plate as if that is all that a lady needs to eat. I looked over longingly at Laura's giant salad and I thought I was going to cry! Laura saw what was happening, and knew how we hadn't eaten all day, immediately grabbed her salad plate and started dishing up some of her salad for me. Such a good friend! Saved my life! Okay not really, but it felt like it at the time.

After our meal, this guy announced again that everyone else could order dessert, but he had already ordered mine and once again I was given a tiny serving. Oh how much I love the male expectations of how much women should eat! I know I should have been more grateful but I felt like I was being treated like a five year old. Not exactly the most flattering feeling especially for a 21st birthday. 

After dinner we left the restaurant and were all waiting at the parking elevator, and this guy insisted that he and I would take the stairs and meet everyone at the cars. I didn't want to go, but I didn't know how to say no. While we walked, he got a very serious tone and said "Keri, I want to show you something that is very special to me - probably the most important thing in my life." Several things went through my head of what this was going to be - something perverted, his muscles, a picture of his mom. But his temple recommend had never crossed my mind. His little plastic sleeve with his temple recommend and he held it out proudly for what felt like several minutes. I mean I love the temple and all but COME ON! So ridiculously cheesy!

Before this night, I hadn't gotten the hint that he was interested in me, but by now I had figured it out. And well let's just say, I wasn't impressed. Laura DIED when I told her. And things just got more and more strange with this guy. I ended up saying something that offended him later so he turned his attentions to Laura but after finding her too outspoken, he accused us of being gay. He requested a private lunch with Laura and during lunch he said, "I know Laura. I know about you and Keri. I don't know any girls like the two of you. You do everything together. You sleep in the same bed. You guys are not living the right way and you need to repent."

Again Laura and I could not stop laughing - and still can't to this day. Apparently if we weren't interested in him, we must have been gay! To make it worse, he got up in church the next Sunday during fast and testimony meeting and said "there are some people in this room who are not living right and need to repent..." 

We had told a couple other people about what had been going on, and one of the guys nudged us while trying to stifle laughter, saying "he's talking about you two!" We had already figured that out and were already trying to contain our laughter.

We cut all ties from there and moved on to getting to know other people. I ended up entering a karaoke competition at a dive bar called "Spankys" to try to earn some money for us. Unfortunately the power went out during the competition so they closed down the bar and postponed the competition another week. So back to PBJs we went for another week. The next week, I ended up getting third in the competition and got $25, but a friend of ours, from BYU whom we had invited, took second because he was smart enough to know his crowd and sing songs that weren't from Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston like me. He won $50 and took us out to eat with his winnings so we were happy.

We both took a telemarketing job temporarily while still interviewing at the hotels, but it was a horrible job. Laura didn't go back after the first day. I only lasted two days because you had to work two days to get paid for the first. The product we were supposed to be selling was a scam,and our boss was a little person who kept hitting on us. During our first day, Laura whispered to me "if he hits on me or tries to touch me one more time, I'm going to pick him up and throw him."

A month later, we both jobs working as front desk agents - me at the Venetian, Laura at the Bellagio. And we made more money than we had ever done before which is what makes all of this more funny. But I wouldn't trade that time for anything because I learned a lot about myself and what it feels to have almost nothing, even if it was temporary. 

I also felt like the friendships we made were kind of strengthened pretty quickly by our humility in admitting that we had nothing. And I had so much fun learning with Laura to think creatively for solutions because in life, there are always "buttermints dawg."