Imminent Arrival

It seems like the time for Baby to join us is very close. We're now into August, the month of his birth! I finished up my last (official) week of work. I'll still be doing some coordinating and scheduling for them, but via phone and email, not going on site. I hit up some consignment and garage sales this week, so I'm feeling pretty prepared as far as material things go. A few contractions here and there, but nothing painful or really all that noticeable. Just warming things up, I guess.

Yet despite all the feelings of "soon," I also know that these last two or more weeks are going to take forever to pass by. Definitely getting to the point of uncomfortable sleeping (what's the point of telling an extremely pregnant woman to sleep while she can before the baby comes? I don't know about others, but I'm not sleeping all that well these days. Bathroom trips, trying to find a comfortable position, taking huge amounts of effort to change sleeping positions, having the baby kick around while you're trying to fall asleep...it's not so easy to get beauty rest).

I'm also making lots of plans of things to get done before the baby comes, and knowing I'll either get it done in the first three days and go crazy with waiting, or that I won't get hardly anything on my list done because I'm too busy enjoying not going to work every day. Washing the baby clothes and blankets, making freezer meals, getting the house cleaned and the nursery put together. I might even break out the sewing machine! Hair appointment and shopping and visiting friends while it's still relatively easy. Lots to do. I hope.

Anyhoo, here's a picture of me at my last day of work. I'm sure glad I'm done with that - even my large shirts aren't fitting very well now!

And Kathy and Keith Roos (aka Mama and Papa) took us to dinner the other night to celebrate Chase's graduation and our soon-to-be newest family member. I love those two!

Employed Once Again

It's nice to be an active member of the work force again, even if my body is quite accustomed to this whole going to be and waking up on time thing yet. I now work for Fockele Garden Company (pronounced  folk-lee). It's a high-end landscape company that does design-build-maintain for residential and commercial clients. I'll be working with their maintenance division out of Atlanta. We're working on building up the Atlanta division, and hopefully I'll soon be taking on a leadership role. It's all very exciting. I've been doing office training these last two weeks and I can't wait to go and work in the field this week. I'll definitely write more about the job soon, but I thought I'd just throw this out here so ya'll would know what's up in my life.
Click here for Fockele Garden website!

Wedding plans are getting on pretty well, too. It's great to finally be "officially" engaged!

Tidbits

I haven't blogged in quite some time, not because my life is boring, but because there's too much going on and I don't feel like I have the time to share even the big, important events. So now I'll just share little tidbits about a smattering of topics (kind of inspired by Lisa and Lindsay's recent blogs).

Work has been difficult lately - lots of co-worker tension and even a reprimand/warning from my boss. I've been considering finding a different job, but don't really know what else I would like to do. Or how to go about getting one. Luckily, it's smoothed out a little lately. My goal is to make it past Jan 15, my one-year mark at Bartlett.

Sugar maple leaf

I love fall, fall in Georgia, and Georgia. I can and I have written long lists of things I love about the fall season (leaves change colors, cooler weather, soups, apples, pumpkin pie, sweaters, etc). I did get the opportunity to be in Utah for fall colors there, which was fantastic and beautiful. But I love fall in Georgia. It gets nice and cool at night and usually is warm and sunny during the day.  Working outside is downright pleasant! There are more species of trees to turn colors. I went to an apple festival with Kara and Christina.

Fall in Provo Canyon

I feel like I've really been in the South now - I've had a deep-fried oreo at a fair. It was incredibly delicious and so not good for me.

Kara and I love making dinner together. We're always looking for new interesting recipes to try out. We recently tried pumpkin corn chowder, sweet potato enchiladas, and quinoa-stuffed poblanos. It's the majority of the time we spend together in the last four months, and always very fun. I feel like I'm a pretty good cook now, except when it comes to meat because Kara's vegetarian so we never cook any. 

I now have a boyfriend - Chase Smith. We've been dating for almost two months now; that's an impressive feat for me. He's a mechanical engineering student, we met at the YSA ward, and Kara approves of him.

Me and Chase at Blaine and Christina's wedding

My good friends from the ward, Christina and Blaine, got married this past weekend. I was a bridesmaid, which was stressful. Blaine and Chase are brothers, which added a fun twist. I loved my bridesmaid dress, which was a first ever. I have two more friends who just got engaged last month - Diana and Omar. I'll also be a bridesmaid for them in January. I feel like the movie 27 Dresses.


 That pretty well describes the major points of my life lately.

July

July has been a busy month for me, but not so much in the social/fun categories. I've been working 50+ hour weeks all month. Crazy, but the pay check makes it hurt less. :)
Some of the fun things that've happened this month:

• Peachtree Roadrace and 4th of July at John and Kirsten's (Kara's friends)
• Antique Market with Kara, Artie, and John. (I got some awesome table candelabras for $5!)
• Mindy and Jeran came to visit. We went to the aquarium, where they were able to say "Ooh we saw some of those!", and Stone Mtn to hike up and also watch the laser show. We got very wet, sitting on the grass. We also had some great meals, including grilled pizza and quiche. 

• Atlanta Botanical Garden - Kara and I finally made it to the garden. We've been meaning to go for several months now, and it just barely happened.

• Olympic Opening Ceremonies party at Diana's house. Literally the only thing I've done with my church friends all month. Besides church. I love olympics. 
• Last Call Blues dancing. I really love this monthly fix of blues dancing. 

 Other than those things, my life has pretty much only been work, come home to make and eat dinner, and go to bed. It's very straightforward, which is nice. I would like to have a social life again, though. It adds spice to life.

Here's some more pictures from the Botanical Garden: 

A Simple Existence

This past week my life settled into a very simple little routine. Which left room for very little else.
5:30 (ish)AM Wake up and get dressed. Eat breakfast and pack lunch.
6:45 AM Work.
5:00 PM Home. Collapse onto my bed for a few minutes before getting up to shower. Check email, etc.
7:00 PM Dinner.
8:30 PM Get ready for and go to bed.

Eat, work, shower, eat, sleep. Simplistic, right? It's been kind of nice, not to have other things to worry about, and to be going to bed so early. Who needs a social life, anyway? I do have some time on the weekends to do other things. Friday night I went to a church dance (not so fun, actually. But I was being social!).

On Saturday morning, Kara and I ran in a 5K road race, which was pretty fun. I haven't run a 5K since high school, I'm pretty sure. I've only done longer distances, which makes the 3.1 miles seem almost laughably short. However, I haven't been training very well (a big surprise to all of those who know my training habits...) and really had no idea how to pace a 5K. It turned out ok. My mile splits were: mile 1 - 9:00, mile 2 - 8:27, mile 3 - (about) 8:00, last .1 mile - about 0:44. For a total time of 26:11. Not a PR, but it is up there with my better times from high school. Cool, eh?

Other things that spice up this life are the weather - it's hit 80 degrees, but now we're back down to a high of 45. I've been informed that this has been a remarkably mild winter. Lots of rain, a little bit of sunshine. Friday night brought a huge storm including several lightning/thunder combinations that woke me up in the middle of the night. Spring is definitely here, whether it's supposed to be or not. We've had daffodils and magnolia blossoms out for several weeks now, as well as more subtle signs like silver maple blossoming, leaf buds swelling and even breaking, especially on sweetgum. More recently it's been obvious, including redbud trees blossoming, cherry trees, red maples flowering, crocus, hyacinth, and tulips, and the viney yellow jasmine. I love spring and all the spring flowers!

I'm sure I'll have more spring flower pictures to post soon!

A different sort of work week

    Work this week was very different from what i'm used to.  Instead of having my name up on the board to work with various crews throughout the week, I was up there exactly twice, and neither of those were normal circumstances.
    On Monday, Kalie and I both worked with Dave and we went to the Arlington National Cemetery for PLANET's National Day of Service: Renewal and Remembrance. (PLANET = Professional Landcare Network).  We participated by installing lightning protection into a giant white oak in one of the older sections of the cemetery.  It was pretty fun to try something new, be working with Kalie and Dave, and to participate in this big event.  Also, it provided an opportunity for some pretty good pictures.

  Facebook has all the pics:  http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=187614&id=651171510&ref=mf

     On Tuesday I wasn't scheduled, so Jeremy sent me with Jeff Walton, one of the sales arborists, on a couple of appointments.  I honestly don't remember anything else i did that day.
    Wednesday, my name was up for Plant Health Care (PHC), so I went with Rebecca, our PHC coordinator, and  did that.  It's fun and I get to learn a lot, but it's not any hard physical labor, which is just fine considering the heat of this week.  When we got back to the office, my name still wasn't up for the next day, so I just wrote "Jess - PHC" on the schedule.  With Rebecca's permission, of course. I wasn't sure that was going to fly with my foreman and my boss, but when Thursday morning rolled around, nobody argued it, so I worked with Rebecca again.  And again, no sweating.
    Friday was even more weird, because not only was my name not on the board, they really hadn't planned anything for me to do, so I ended up doing odd jobs around the office for a while before going with Bonnie, another sales arborist, on an appointment.  I felt like the red-headed step-child of the office, except without the red hair.
    So it was a strange week because it felt like they were starting to phase me and Kalie off the work crews, which doesn't make sense because we still have four weeks here.  It'll be interesting to see what happens this week.  The other weird thing about last week, I only worked hard enough to sweat on one work day of five.  Weird.

This is Work

I often feel like I don't have much to write about this summer, because really the only thing that happens is work. Let me describe a typical day in my life, and you will understand.

4:00 am - Wake up, dress, eat, scriptures, pack lunch, etc

5:00 am - Leave for work, Kalie drives

6:00 am - Dispatch meeting at work

6:15 am - 2:00 pm Work. or so. It could last until 3 or 4 on a long day.

4:00 pm - Home, maybe swim in the little pool or read a book, shower, nap, etc

6:00 pm - Dinner w/family

8:00 pm - Start getting ready for bed

9:00 pm - Bed time (ish)

Days are fairly short with this schedule. Doesn't really leave much time or energy for outside activities. Sometimes we go to Walmart or something afterwards, and on Thursday evenings we go to Institute and play ultimate frisbee afterwards (that's our late nights of the week). Sometimes we do something fun on Saturdays, like yesterday when we hiked Old Rag, other times we work at Kalie's house and hang out. Sundays we go to the stake singles ward, which is fun. Yep, that's my life in a nutshell. What a way to spend a summer, eh?

And Summer Begins...!

Now I feel as if I have finally begun my summer. One week ago Dad and I set out on our cross-country journey, from Providence, UT to Broad Run, VA via Mammoth Cave, KY. Abotu 2,220 miles (very roughly). It took us three days, so we arrived the evening of Tuesday the 4th. I don't have too much to say about that - it was a road trip with a LOT of driving involved.
Thursday I went to work at 6am with kalie, did paper work and had some basic training, then went home early. Friday was my first real day of work, and I worked with Jose and Matt Barker. It was quite fun, actually. I'm looking forward to this summer. I'm already being teased for falling asleep at the send out meeting (what can I say, it's at 6 am!), and in the truck as we drive to our next job. I'm hoping that early bed times and being adjusted to Eastern Time Zone will fix that problem. Knowing me, it probably won't. Oh dear. I'm sure I'll learn a lot this summer and have a lot of fun. But right now it's 8:30 and I should get ready for bed. :)

Landscape Major

I know you all think I'm slightly ridiculous, with all of my trees and plant classes and such, but I just have to say that I love my major, my job, all my friends from work and school, and I love life. I'm getting ready for my big competition in Atlanta in April - the PLANet Student Career Days, where I will be competing in Woody plant ID and Arboriculture Technical skills. Before you start making skeptical faces at the screen, let me explain that the most important part of this trip is not the competitions, it's the networking with major green industry companies from all over the country, which will help me get internships and jobs in the future. And one of the best ways for me to make a good impression on these potential employers is to do really well in my competitions, so I'm putting forth a lot of effort to do well. Actually, I also just want to place 1st. :-)

Also I've been spending more time with people in my major, and it's been great. I love being friends with these people! We have such common interests and understanding and future, but still so diverse in our options, that it's so much fun to talk to everyone! I look forward to being good friends with them all.

So really, Landscape Mgmt major describes about 2/3 of my life - school and work. Dance and econ and hanging out with apt. 212 is the other 1/3. I'm really enjoying life right now.

As summer ends...

I start school next week, so now is the time to contemplate on what an amazing summer this has been. It's had its lows and its highs, busy times and boring times, extreme heat and relative coldness, but taken all together, it's been one of the best summers I can remember.

In May I went to Seattle for Camp Jitterbug, where my car was broken into. That was definitely a first. Luckily, thanks to great friends who take care of me, it turned out not to be too much of a traumatic issue, just a learning experience.

June was spent in Europe with Tina, the family, and the Smiths.

Third time in Europe, still love it. I'd have to say that the Alps were my favorite, particularly Switzerland. I loved being able to spend time with my family (including Tina!) and the Smiths.

July I mostly remember for Alyna moving home, getting to hang out with Mom, and for the 24th of July camp out experience. Such a party will not soon be forgotten!

August was our Las Vegas adventure, mostly appreciated for the road trip part, and hanging out in South Jordan.

Also, I had a Relief Society camp out and a Ward camp out, both very fun and chilly. It's been years since i went boating, but it was very fun. Mailee's wedding and hanging out with Aunt Kara, Aunt Leanne, and Shelli were exciting highlights.

Whenever I was not traveling, I was in Provo working 8 hours a day. I still love my job on BYU Grounds, tree crew. I got to be good friends with a lot of my fellow crew members.

On Thursdays, some Fridays, and Saturdays I went swing dancing, either in Provo or Salt Lake. After work, I'd hang out with Melinda, or read a book, take a nap, or watch a movie. Generally just hang out.

As fun as this summer has been, I think I'm ready to move on and get into fall semester. I'm excited to meet new people and learn new things. Well, most new things. Not quite excited for Business Finance 300. or Organizational Effectiveness. but the rest of it, yeah! I have lots of goals for this school year, and one of them is to update my blog at least once a week, so stay posted!!!

Tree Climbing Pictures

The other day I had Michelle (the other girl on the crew) take pictures of me climbing the practice tree.  So now i'll post some. :)

Climbing!

This is probably the most exciting part of my life right now.  I've started climbing trees for work!  I first climbed (with gear and all that) last Friday, but quite frankly, I was terrible.  On Tuesday I just watched some of the guys climb while I was cleaning up.  I learned at lot by watching them, so by Thursday I was ready to try again.  I did much better.  Here's a picture of the sycamore I did all by myself.

I was up at the very top, at the crown.  It was Sweet!  Plus, I'm really a fan of the hand-saw leg sheath.  I think it's awesome looking.  And then today, I also climbed a sycamore.  I was up in the crown again, and I looked over at the nearest building and saw that I was higher up than the roof of the three story building.  Is that awesome or what!?!  Of course, they made me get out of the tree before I was done, because it was raining.  Apparently sycamores get really slippery and there are other safety hazards or whatnot.  Still, it was awesome. I was tree-climbing for over 5 hours this week!

Day of Happiness

Today I've been very happy at many little things.  It rained this morning! I got to use my cute plaid umbrella for the first time.  My French test was easy.  In French class, we watched part of the movie that my entire UofU 1010/1020 course was based on.  It brought back some fun memories.  It was such nice weather at work!  I was working in my t-shirt, and normal leather gloves instead of my insulated ones.  I actually got to work on some trees today, which was exciting, since I really didn't know what I was doing, and no one else was there for the first half hour.  I texted Lindsay all during work, which made things so much better.  I walked home barefoot!  This was amazingly happy.  It was such beautiful 45 or higher degree weather, with sun and everything.  And it's Friday!  I get to watch movies tonight with Jerin (she got her wisdom teeth out today).  Over all, just a great, happy day!

And this is me at work.  I wear my sunglasses the whole time - eye protection, you know. 

Ok, I need some feedback.  Do you guys like my short posts, or should I save it for when I actually have something to write?

Moving on!

I just had to post a short blog about the new happiness in my life.  We, the Tree Crew of BYU, have finished taking down Christmas lights!!!!  That's all I've done since I transferred crews, so I'm pretty excited to be moving on.  We even did a couple of hours of pruning today.  I'm just so excited to be trained for tree climbing and bucket riding and chain sawing.  Real tree stuff.  I also just had to love the Danger! sign on our trailer.  I love the weird, random signs like this.

En Francaise!

Today was pretty happy.  I went to the French speaking lab, which is pretty much just practicing speaking one on one with a native French speaker.  The happy part is that I actually felt pretty good about it - I could explain things like my parents and little sister living in Holland, both my brother and my sister are getting married, and I'm studying landscaping.  Sometimes I couldn't exactly tell what she said, but I understood the gist of the questions, which was a good thing.  I'm improving!

   Work today was pretty good.  It wasn't too cold, maybe in the forties when you were in the sun (Which I made sure I was, all the time!).  We got a lot of trees done, with all the lights off them.  It helps when we actually have the truck with the hydraulic lift bucket.  So maybe on Tuesday we'll be doing something else!  I was up in a ladder unwrapping lights off branches for most of the four hours, which is a big improvement than standing in the snow and wrapping the lights up, like I mostly have been.  It's interesting at work, because there's a broad spectrum of work ethics in this crew.  There's some people that work hard and don't goof off, look for stuff to do, etc.  And then there're some people who do a lot of standing around or driving the van around.  Of course, when they do work, they get a lot done, but that's kinda beside the point.  I'm definitely trying hard to be one of the hard working ones, mostly because then it's not so boring or cold.  We didn't have that much of a range in my last crew.  So, yeah, work's going pretty well so far.   

      And now it's the weekend!!!

Short and sweet!

   I think, from now on, I'm going to write little shorter blogs more often.  That way I can write when i don't have something monumental to say.   

    Last Saturday I went to a Wyview "Dance through the Decades" Dance.  It was kinda fun, but mostly I really liked my outfit.  It was that dress I found at the DI when I went with Mindy Hall after Christmas.  I don't know what decade I was dressed as though.

    For work this past week, I've been working with my new crew.  It's an interesting collection of individuals.  I think pretty much everyone on the crew is a Landscape Management major, and most of them are emphasizing on Arboriculture.   I was a little scared of some of the crew members at first, but I think it will be a fun crew to be on.  I even got to be up in a tree the other day.  We're taking down Christmas lights right now, which is a pain, because 1) it's really cold, and 2) the lights are done Temple Square style, which means there's about thirty strands to a medium sized tree (medium is about a foot diameter trunk).   It'll take forever!