Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

Quick sidebar: If you've been directed here from Facebook, see previous post. :)

I have always LOVED St. Patrick's Day! But I never really new why. It's not that exciting to wear green all day for fear of being pinched or be treated with normal, run-of-the-mill food that has received a treatment of green dye. But for me, it is! Growing up, I never really had a reason to love March 17. I simply did. And I still do. But, the difference between now and then, is that I now have excellent reasons to love and celebrate Irish culture and tradition.

I know many have not had the opportunity to experience the magic of Ireland first hand (a blessing I would wish upon any living being on this beautiful earth!), but trust me when I say that going there first hand really gives you a boost of enthusiasm for this magical, underrated holiday.

It could have something to do with...

...experiencing the colorful landscapes and the smell of salty Irish air...

...walking on sacred Irish burial grounds...

...feeling the Irish grass between my toes (which for some also meant hosting those hearty and tenacious Irish ticks...)

...seeing actual Irish Leprechauns of the streets of Dublin...

...enjoying a hearty bowl of Irish stew in an actual Irish pub...

...visiting the stunning cathedral built in honor of Saint Patrick himself...

...bicycling through Irish sea towns...

...or sailing over the Irish sea...

...this place gets in your bones! This beautiful nation is beautiful enough to make even the staunchest neigh-sayers of St. Patty's day feel a little Irish pride.

Not only that, but my momma and I recently discovered that I actually have Irish in my blood! I am descended from James O'Carroll (through my great-grandma Urna Barbara Carroll) of the clan O'Carroll of the village of Providence of Sisters in the County of Armagh in the country of Ireland. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it...

Kiss Me, I'm Irish!!!

The Disney Princess Half

Let's face it: I'm not even close to being a very fit person. It's been that way for most of my life. Well, recently in my life I decided that I'm finally going to take matters into my own hands and change that. That's why, on February 24, 2013, my sister, Taralyn, and I (and anyone who wants to join us *hint hint*) are running the Disney Princess Half Marathon. If you don't understand this already, you need to take a minute and absorb what a massively huge deal this is for me. I was always one of the last kids to finish the mile during those good ole Presidential Fitness days. If I'm going to work out, I would rather do anything but run--I have always hated it. 

I've known about runDisney events for a long time now, ever since my first week working at Disney World just barely three years ago. It never tempted me. I didn't even give it a second thought after that day when I helped cheer on the runners going through Epcot on one of my first days at work. A few weeks ago, I was having dinner with Taralyn and my cousin, Melissa, and they started discussing their desires to run a marathon. It reminded me of runDisney, and that night I started doing some research for them.

Then came the big shocker. I started getting really excited and happy while reading the info about the Disney Princess Half. But, the surprise came when I realized that I wasn't feeling excitement and happiness on their behalf. I was feeling it for myself! I received a very strong prompting that night that over the next year, I need to be training, with the end goal of running the Princess Half in February. No one is more surprised than me. What makes it even more so is the fact that it was my idea to begin with.

This is going to be an incredibly long and difficult journey for me. I already know that there will be times when I want to give up. I will probably even try to from time to time. That's why I want people to know. The more people there are rooting for me and counting on me to do this for myself, the more motivation I will have to actually do it. I need help from people who love me, care for me, or even just know about me. 

I can't give up, and I need people to help me remember that. This journey that I will be embarking on over the next 10 1/2 months is going to change my life. I know that if I can just pull it off, my life will never be the same again. I know I will have love and encouragement from my family and from my Heavenly Father, but now I need it from everyone else!

Why I love my job...

Snow-topped pine trees...

The occasional  opportunity to  play with my nieces...

Sweeping views of majestic mountains...

My amazingly close proximity to  EIGHT different temples...

(I've only had a chance to visit SLC, Provo, and Mt. Timpanogos so far, but before we leave we're hoping to also hit Draper, Jordan River, Oqquirh Mountain, Manti, and maybe? Bountiful.)

The amazing ladies who make my job and my life in Utah not only bearable, but fun...

...and finally, perfect opportunities to play with my new camera and pretend I'm somewhat decent... :)

My New Blog!!!

www.ourhappilyeverafters.blogspot.com

I have a new blog! It's still a work in progress... I just made it a couple of days ago. But basically, I want to write more. I really like doing it (when it's not required), and I really need a creative outlet right now. Basically, the premise of the blog is that I'm going to share my own stories, and stories of others--whether they be friends, family, or complete strangers--mostly with the help of Cherish|Bound Story Starters. There's a better explanation of why I'm doing it and how on the blog itself. Check it out!

Want to See Where I Live?

I'm warning you now...there are a lot of pictures in this post. But I want you all to get the full idea of how amazing my life is right now. :) Yes, there's a great deal of work to be done, and it's not exactly the most fun work in the world. And it is easy to get a little stir crazy being stuck up here all the time. And sometimes living with the people you work with can be a little grating. But, guess what?! I'm still in heaven! I could not have chosen a better place to live for my off-track. I live in a canyon, in the midst of huge mountains and sweeping forests, all of which is currently topped with white, perfect powder. 

Emerald Dining Hall--where I spend my weekends. Sometimes I work dining hall (which is basically like my old catering job), but most of the time I'm in the kitchen with a fantastic chef, Brian, my wonderful supervisor, Auralee, and a sweet commuter named Catherine. It's tons of fun, and I am learning a lot about what is entailed in working in a commercial kitchen. The shifts go by really quickly and they are always a lot of fun. It is such a privilege to work with Brian. He is a great teacher and a very talented chef. We basically have Pine Basin-quality food to work with, but he makes it taste incredible at every meal. He once made the best guacamole I have ever had with pre-packaged, pureed avocados. He also makes delicious salsa out of canned chili sauce. He's a miracle worker. :)

The Aspen Lodge: home of the office, several conference rooms, the ski shop, and some guest rooms. Basically Aspen Grove headquarters. I love working in this building. The cleaning is pretty much the same as anywhere else, but here I get to set up conference rooms and hook up A/V equipment, which I actually have found to be extremely fun. My coworker/friend Cindy and I also happen to be really good at it. :)

Check out those sweet icicles. I've heard that eventually they'll go all the way down to the ground. Icicles are by far my favorite thing about winter.

This is one of four family lodges. These buildings are beautiful inside. They are one of my favorite places to clean just because I love being in them. 

The Huish: apart from our lodge this is where we spend most of our free time. We get to use it whenever the guests aren't. There's a huge TV, three pool tables, two foosball tables, two ping pong tables, and air hockey. It's a pretty good place to hang out. This is also kind of the custodial headquarters. All the linens and a lot of cleaning supplies are stored here.

Finally: home sweet home. Snowshoe lodge is an interesting place to live. There are nine of us living here total: six girls and three guys. Yes, I have male roommates. And let me tell you, if you thought living with girls alone could create drama, you should try throwing boys into the mix. It's been interesting, that's for sure. But I can also definitively say that I am learning a lot. Just when I thought I had the roommate thing/keeping-drama-under-control thing down, Heavenly Father found a way to help me learn even more.

Something else I love about Aspen Grove is the amazing play areas they have. I would LOVE to bring my children here (*ahem* steveandrachel). We have this sweet old fire truck that kids can climb on (one of the managers, Scott, is the Fire Chief of the North Fork Fire Department)...

...fun, classic playgrounds...

...this super cute playhouse...

...a pirate ship...

...and, by far, my favorite place in camp: the cowboy village. I would have died for this place when I was little.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. We also have basketball and racquetball courts, virtual golf, disc golf, a pool complete with slides, tennis courts, a volleyball pit, a huge ball field, gorgeous hiking trails, etc, etc. Basically this place is bomb. I can't wait to come back as a guest in May for mini-camp. Even in the winter I can usually find something great to do. I am so grateful for this job, its perks, and its lessons. Being here has already helped me grow in so many ways that I couldn't have even imagined, and I'm only a little over a month in. It can be hard work, and somedays the work is long and difficult, but those things are easy to overlook when I think of all the blessings I have already received this semester. Besides, how can I complain about my job when I have views like this to enjoy every day?