Success!!

I am so excited! One of my three bridesmaids, Nicole, has ordered her dress! I get excited because that means the wedding is getting closer and because it is one less thing I have to worry about. Her dress is Jade (turquoise) of course, short, spaghetti strapped and pleated at the bottom. One more thing we can cross of the the list of things to do!

Utah Drivers!!

I drive everyday from Salt Lake to Provo and back for work.. approximately 90 miles round trip and I some of the things drivers do make me crazy!! So I am compiling a list of the biggest offenses (to me anyways) Utah Drivers make.. and yes I am a Utah Driver and I have probably done all of these things at one time in my life but I like to think I am not a serial offender.
1. If a cop already has someone pulled over on the side of the road you don't need to slow down to 45 MPH!!! The cop is obviously preoccupied with another driver and unless you are going 120+ the chances of said cop leaving the driver he already has pulled over to pull you over is slim. I understand people see a cop they instantly slow down, but to 45! I mean come on people at least let's still go the speed limit. Because slamming on your breaks causes accidents.
2. If there is an accident or some other unknown reason for traffic being backed up, there is no need to change 15 times! This again only causes more accidents. If all of the traffic is slowly down it does no good for a person to dart from one lane to another, especially when the slowdown is just occurring. Most of the time it seems like the lane you are in is barely moving compared to the others but trust me it usually evens out in the end, when in fact changing lanes a million times only adds to the congestion!
3. Signaling does not give you the right to cut me off! Signaling is a courtesy and one that I think should be mandatory on the freeway. But just because you signal doesn't mean you can swerve in front of me when my bumper is two feet away from yours. I am sorry you waited too long to get over in the first place but that is not my problem and if you cut me off regardless of whether you signaled or not I will honk and flip you off and probably yell profanities. Signaling is like knocking on someone's door.. just because you knock doesn't mean they have to let you in.
4. If you are in one of the middle lanes and cars are passing you on both sides it is probably a good idea to get over (to the right I might add) because you are slowing the flow of traffic! Enough said.
5. If I come up behind you in the fast lane MOVE OVER!!! This is my biggest pet peeve. You can see me coming and can tell I am going faster than you, so save me the trouble of calling you bad names and just get over. I recently learned this is actually the law!! And that cops will tell you it is not your job to control how fast people are going.. so even if you are going 85 and I want to go faster than you move over.
6. I lied my biggest pet peeve is when I pass people who won't move over in the fast lane and they are on their cell phones. If you can't drive like a normal person while on your phone then HANG UP and DRIVE!! I am not saying people shouldn't talk on their cell phones while they drive (texting is an entirely different matter though) I talk on the phone while I drive all the time, but I am also still able to get over if someone comes up behind me and drive at least the speed limit but if you conversation inhibits you from doing these things do everyone on the road a favor and hang up.
7. Last but certainly not least a tiny dusting of snow does not require going 30 miles an hour. I don't get how the majority of the people on the roads deal with winter in Utah year after year and still can't drive in the snow. If it is a blizzard, slushy or really icy by all means PLEASE slow down but less than 1/2 inch of snow blowing across the road doesn't warrant slowing down to 30.
So in conclusion just don't drive like idiots and everyone will be happy!
Whew.. glad to get that off my chest. I promise there will be no more posts about drivers.

Wedding Dress

I picked up my wedding dress Monday, it is strange to have a big white dress just chilling in my spare bedroom!!
I have obviously known for several months now I am getting married but having the dress in my possession really makes it so much more real! I really just want to put it on a dance around my apartment. If I wasn't afraid Willy would try to bite the bottom or John would walk in I probably would. I get excited just thinking about it!
Since I missed out on the opportunity to blog about my dress when I purchased it I shall tell the story now.
I went dress shopping 3 times. Once in April with my maid of honor, Emily, once the day after Thanksgiving with my mom and grandma and once a week later with my three good friends Nicole, Stacee, Tonya and my little sister Morgan.
The first time I went was very overwhelming! I was barely engaged and so it was strange. The second time I had narrowed it down to two dresses when my sister suggested I try on the one I ended up buying. I hadn't really liked it in the picture so I reluctantly agreed. I loved it! It wasn't one of those love at first sight, cry when you put it on experiences, but I did like it. I went back and forth between it and another dress about 5 times before I decided to leave and come back later. When I put the dress on the third appointment I knew it was the one and I got the "Oh, Wow" reaction from my friends. As you can see from the photo it is a halter top with fun beading!! I am still debating about whether or not to wear a veil but there is time for that! Now I just need to get my arms toned and buy a strapless bra and get the dress altered slightly.
This just goes to show never judge a book by it cover, because I never would've have picked this dress just by looking at it but now I can't wait to wear it in June. In case you were wondering the other dress I was considering has lace sleeves and a keyhole back opening, it wasn't nearly as flattering though!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

People are always asking little kids what do you want to be when you grow up? I don't know how anyone logically expects a child to have an answer! I am 24 and I still don't have an answer. I just don't know how to pick one thing I want to do with my life! There are so many things I want to do. I want to work for ESPN and Cosmopolitan, two drastically different career paths in case you didn't know. I want to open my own cafe named Scrumptious. I want to be a sex therapist, a novelist, a journalist, a Pulitzer prize winner and a world traveler!! How am I supposed to make all of these things happen in just one lifetime?!
I love love love my job right now, reporter, journalist, whatever you want to call me I love it and I could do it until I am old enough to retire or until I die (whichever comes first) but what about all the other things? How do you pick just one thing?!
In case you wondered when I was little I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up, now I cringe when I have to look at gross medical pictures!

Blessed

I always feel so thankful and blessed during the holiday season but this year the feeling has been greater than ever before. Maybe it is because I have been writing a lot of stories about less fortunate families for work but I realize now more than ever that I am so so blessed.
This list is by no means all inclusive of things I am grateful for because that post would take hours and hours to write but these are few of the things I am most grateful for.
1. My family and friends.. I have the most amazing family ever!! I could write a whole post just about why my family and friends are incredible but I won't for now. I have parents that taught me the importance of hard work, integrity and that the things you want most in life will never come easy. I have sisters that make me laugh when all I want to do is cry. I have grandparents that love me no matter what I do wrong (and trust me sometimes that is a lot of things!!) I have amazing friends that I can call anytime day or night when I just need someone to talk to. I have an incredible fiance who loves me even when I cry for no reason at all and yell about trivial things. I have the cutest dog in the world (at least I think so) who can put a smile on my face regardless of how bad my day has been, I don't know what I would do without all these people!!
2. I have a job that I love. In this economy I am so lucky that I have a job that pays the bills and still leaves me a little extra for fun things, but I am so so so so grateful that I have a job I love coming to everyday, a job that no only pays the bills but challenges me and makes me happy. I am so blessed to have food in the fridge, gas in my car, warm clothes to wear and a small pile of christmas presents to put away when I get home today.
3. I am grateful for my health. I complain about having to take medicine everyday to keep my kidneys healthy and that my knee hurts when I run, but some of the stories I have written in the past few weeks has made me realize those things are so trivial! I am not battling breast cancer or recovering from heart surgery or any number of other things. Yes I may be over weight, have asthma and poop kidneys, but I can still get up everyday and do pretty much anything I want to because I am healthy.
The list could go on and on but this will do for now.. Life is good.

McKenna

For those of you who don't know McKenna is my super adorable 2-year-old niece. I got to spend the whole day with her today. She is absolutely hysterical. She hugs me and loves me and is just so cute. A few of the funny things she says, "Those are my presents!!" If you ask her what happens when she is naughty she says "Uh-Oh all the presents go away" but then she get all mad and makes a little fist and says the first thing. She also says no thank you. Anytime you ask her to do something she doesn't want to do like get dressed she just says "No Thank You Paige." Even if she is yelling no thank you at least she is polite. She pretty much repeats anything you say which is fun. She runs around and laughs and plays with Willy, well rather chases Willy but it is pretty cute.
I don't know what will happen when there is another grand baby in the family and she doesn't get all the attention but I think it might be a disaster for her! I love her and her little personality so much, I just had to dedicate a little blog to her.

Lucky Me

Today I actually have adventures to write about (well sort of)!! I arrived at work did a phone interview and went off to my first interview of the day. The woman I was supposed to be interviewing at the hospital was not there. So I went to BYU for my second interview but since I was about 20 minutes early I sat in my car doing a few other things first. Bad bad idea. Whenever I sit in my car and do other things before getting out I always manage to forget to take the keys out of the ignition. Well this is what happened I left my keys in the car and I get out to go do my interview. Just as I shut the door I realized the Keys!!! I was so mad! I have a history of locking my keys in my car. So much so that my house keys and car keys aren't on the same key chain because when I was in college I would routinely lock my keys in my car and then have to return to my apartment to get my spare set, but it has been almost 3 years since I last locked my keys in my car, which is a very very long time given my history.
John also has an extra key to my car but I am pretty sure he would not appreciate having to drive to Provo just to let me in my car. I am considering having a third key made and leaving it in the side pocket of my purse but then I would probably leave my purse in the car too.
Lucky for me when I shut the door after locking the keys in my car, I didn't shut the door all the way. So I called the campus police and they so kindly agreed to come and help me. After standing in the cold for 10 minutes and signing a release saying if they break the window they are not reliable the police officer pried the door open and popped the lock! Two things: luckily I hadn't shut the door all the way otherwise a locksmith probably would have had to be called and that costs a lot of money! And second thing lucky for me I was on BYU campus not at some other random place where the police came within 10 minutes and helped me! After all that I was only 5 minutes late to my interview.

Why I Love My Job

There are many reasons I love being a journalist, writer, reporter or whatever else you may want to call me.
1. I LOVE writing. I am pretty sure I have dedicated more than one post to this but just to reiterate I love writing. I love taking the facts and putting them down on paper and coming up with a finished product that hopefully not only tells the tale but also interests readers and makes the story come to life.
2. I Love knowing things other people do not. This may sound silly but I like being the one that gets all the inside information that the general public doesn't have access too. It is fun when I am walking away from a crime scene (or event or interview) and someone stops and asks me what is going on and I can tell because I know.
3. I love interviewing people. It is fascinating to sit down and interview people (or do it over the phone), to hear about their life stories or the cause they are promoting. People are extremely passionate about their stories and it is fun to get to share a little bit in their passion.
4. I love the rush of writing on a deadline. I don't get this as much anymore since I don't write sports and don't have 20 minutes after a game to get quotes and write a story, but it is still a thrill when you know you are working against the clock.
5. I love being able to tell people what I do and have them say that is so cool; Shallow and silly but true. It is fun to not have a run of the mill job. Along with that it is fun to see my name in the paper. I have been writing for some sort of newspaper or another for close 5 years now but it is still fun to open the paper and see my name on the page.
I could go on and on about why I love my job but these are just a few of the reasons! I was reminded of a few of these last night when just as I was getting ready to go home a story happened and I had to go out and cover it. A man had barricaded himself in his home and was threatening to blow things up. Not the most exciting story but I had fun going out to cover it!!

I'll Do Better, I Promise!!

I know, I know I suck at blogging. It has been almost 9 months since my last blog, which makes me kind of sad because a lot of amazing things have happened in that time and I missed the chance to write about them!! Which only makes me more determined to do better in the future.
Of the important things that have happened getting a new job is probably the most exciting! I am now working as a full-time reporter at the Daily Herald in Provo and I love it!! I am writing for a living, it is so amazing and I am so lucky! The only down fall is the commute but I will deal with it if it means I can do what I love every single day.
John also has a new job he is working as a mechanic now and also loves it. Which brings me to other important things like Wedding Planning!! The wedding is finally close enough that I can start doing things and it is so fun. I am a planner by nature. I make lists, I make charts, I plan things out it is what I do and there is no better place to put my planning skills to good use then a wedding!
We decided on June 21, 2012 at Millennial Falls for the date and location and it is beautiful! I am so excited. Oh and I found a wedding dress (would've been such a good blog if I wasn't a slacker) it is beautiful of course.
Another exciting thing is I am training for the Wasatch Back Ragnar.. 12 people, 36 hours, 197 miles from Logan to Park City.. Yikes. If I survive I will be walking down the aisle 5 days later, so here is hoping I don't break my leg!!! I am excited though my mom, Morgan and Whitney are all doing it too and I think it will be a great time together!
So that is all of the updates I have in life for now. I will do better with the "daily" adventures of Paige, promise.