Time to think....

Today has been my first day off with nothing going on for a long time! Not to mention, we actually have internet at home and if all goes according to plan, I get my new laptop today! AWHOOHOO! Anyways....a lot has been going on lately and I don't even know if I can keep track of it all.
The new job is going swellingly. I enjoy it but after 20 hours in 2 days....my body hurts. As in really truly painfully hurts. My poor feet and ankles feel like they've ran a marathon or something...although honestly I've never ran a marathon so I'm only guessing...but I think my guessing skills are in tact. I'm sure that eventually my job will become "just another job" but there's a part of me that really hopes it doesn't. I am making pretty good money thus far and I'll only get better with time so my tips will continue to increase. I've been averaging right around 20% on my tips, which considering I just started AND I've haven't waited tables in a long time, I think that's darn good. The people that work there are pretty cool for the most part. I have no complaints yet. I'll continue to update you. I'm hoping to start culinary school in the next few months and am really excited about that!
On a sadder note, as you read in my previous blog, our dear beloved prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away on Sunday night. How fitting that he would pass on the Sabbath Day. For those of you reading this who might not know who he is, I know that he was a Prophet made for our modern day. He was an example to all on kindness, love, and generosity. He was funny, witty, and adorable. All who knew him loved and cherished him. Even us who never met him face to face. I had a most interesting dream last night....and I met him in my dream...and I right after I met him, he died. It was a very strange dream. I will miss him but I am ever more grateful for the knowledge we have that families are eternal. Now, again, he is with his dear, sweet wife and is among the greatest men that ever lived. He will be missed, but only until we meet again (or for the first time!!).
Yet another sad note is learning that my good friend Chad's father passed away last friday. This news was a little more shocking considering it was a sudden, unexpected passing. I am all too familiar with the scenario of losing a parent, as most of you know that I lost my mother in 1997 to cancer. Chad's father had just visited our branch a few weeks before while Chad was giving a talk. Ironcially enough, I don't know what to say to someone when they lose a parent. I know that no matter what I say or do, the greiving process and time are the only two things that truly make one better. There are no words or actions that relieve the stinging pain of loss or the unbelief that they are truly gone. What some don't think about when you lose someone is the next few days or weeks after that when all of their belongings are still in your house and you have to go through all of them....each one a reminder of the person you loved so much. You don't want to get rid of anything because their possessions now become your most prized possessions. Their hands touched it and in a way it's like you touching them again. That is the part that is so hard to let go. Then come the weeks of perhaps fear, or intense sadness. You move on and get better in the slightest bit each day....you just have to keep going and allow time and the Lord to heal your troubled heart, mind and soul. You just keep going. And going. Until one day you wake up and it doesn't hurt as bad. There will always be days in your life where you will think about them more than others. For me, it's been over 10 years and I still struggle with issues in my life pertaining to a tragic loss. I only pray and hope for Chad that he will be able to just keep going each day, doing all he can, and constantly asking for strenght from the Lord, because that is the only place he can recieve miraculous strength. This is know.

I've been missing my best friend, Kiera. I just thought I'd throw that in there. We haven't really spoken in a few weeks and I don't like it one bit. She's been struggling with some things, and I don't really know what they are or how to help. So if you're reading this Kik, just know that you are in my prayers always. I am always here.

My dear beloved friend, Quinn is having a baby boy!!!!!!!! I'm going to be an Aunt (well a fake aunt, but i'll love that little kid as if he was my really nephew)!!! I can't wait to see how adorable this baby is going to be. They are due June 21st. How hilarious is that? Wait, I should probably inform you that Quinn is slightly obsessed with the number 21. It was his basketball number in high school and it's pretty much his all around favorite number. When I went to visit him we did 21 pushups every night before bed. Yeah....I know what you're thinking. His blog is browntown21.blogspot.com if you want to see the baby sonograms. SO CUTE! I am so excited for him! I only hope to find a husband who is half as cool, half as handsome and half as awesome as he is. Lexi is a lucky girl!

So today I'm just relaxing....slept in WAY to long this morning (or should I say this afternoon...yikes!) and need to desperately clean our apt. With three people living here, it's pretty much something of a disaster area. I won't even get started on Alise and Amy's room. It's like a clothes bomb went off in there. No seriously....I'm not even joking. Clothes. Everywhere. Tonight we have institute and I am going to dinner with some friends before.

That's your update for now. Until we meet again.

-Courtney