April 2016

I guess I’m going to backtrack a few weeks to catch up on daily life.. The weekend after general conference was stake conference. We were blessed to have Steven O. Laing of the Seventy speak to us Saturday, and again Sunday with his wife. Sunday morning session was held at the tabernacle beside the Ogden Temple and we walked around looking at all the beautiful spring flowers and enjoying a warm day. After that, we packed up a salad and dessert and made a trek down to Provo to have dinner with Christy, Matt, Maddie, and Lucy. We had a lovely dinner and went for a long walk afterwards. It was a very relaxing and uplifting weekend!

That week was a long one and nothing too exciting happened, aside from more chiropractic care from Brian’s uncle, Monte. I’m not sure I mentioned anything about this before… Apparently my scoliosis has decided to show it’s ugly face and my back has been causing me a lot of pain recently. My hips like to twist and get stuck, as well as two sets of vertebrae that keep twisting. It’s amazing how Monte can just pop two things into place and it’s all better (for a week… I have to keep going back until they decide to stop doing this). He owns Elite Chiropractic in Murray, UT and I highly recommend him for any friends in need around here! 

On the 16th, our super awesome realtor, Ruth Ann Combe Beardsley, gave us 4 tickets to see the newly released movie, The Jungle Book. Brian and I took his niece and nephew, Jaxton & Khloe, and we had a blast. We all loved the movie! That evening we had a wedding reception for a friend in Farmington and we got to see Kimberly & Austin and their families. 

The next morning at church, Brian and I both spoke in sacrament meeting and Kirk and Lindy came to listen and stayed for Brian’s lesson in gospel principles. My talk was on the power of the Book of Mormon in personal conversion, and Brian’s was on the power in daily living. Maybe I’ll contemplate posting my talk on here… 

The following week was eventful, and surprisingly fun. Wednesday night we had a stake young women’s recognition dinner and it was fun to see so many of our girls recognized for their accomplishments. 

The next day at work, we introduced a new wellness plan! I say “we” because I am a member of the newly formed “Wellness Committee.” Our company dished out a certain amount of money per employee for us all to order Fitbits! We’re setting daily step goals and earning rewards for the days we hit our goals, such as paid time off, Visa gift cards, casual dress days, etc. They’re also going in to pay 50% of any of our race costs if we choose to enter a 5k, 10k, half or full marathon. We got our Fitbits 2 days later and we’re all already obsessed! The best part about Fitbit is that it’s a very comprehensive health plan. It tracks your steps, calories burned, floors climbed, and sleep. You can log your food and drink intake and better keep track of your weight loss/gain. It’s slightly addictive and I advise it for everyone!

Thursday night, Brian and I finally got a date night in and we went hiking in the canyon and got some wings at B-Dubbs. I’m so glad it’s starting to get warm out. I was beginning to get the winter blues from all the cold weather and rain! It came back again the next week so we’re definitely looking forward to May around here, for many reasons!!

Saturday the 24th, I renewed my adult and child CPR/First Aid/AED with the American Red Cross. Everyone kept asking me why I needed that as a marketing director for a law firm and they didn’t believe me when I said I just wanted to keep it active! A refresher course is always a good thing, and I don’t see how it could ever be a bad thing to be ready to potentially save a life! :)

That evening, the most exciting thing happened! So Brian and I have always joked that we wouldn’t get a pet until after we have kids and they’re old enough to take care of it themselves because we love being able to just leave whenever we want to without having any responsibilities at home or having to have his parents watch an animal that requires a lot of care… Well, we sort of broke the one part of it. WE GOT A GUINEA PIG! Ever since I was little, I have always wanted one, but I couldn’t ever have one because we had dogs and a cat. I’ve been joking with Brian for weeks that I wanted a baby bunny or a small animal. So Saturday after a busy day of CPR, grocery shopping, church cleaning, and house cleaning, we decided to go look at the pet store for fun (one of our favorite things to do). We knew we were probably leaving with an animal, most specifically a guinea pig because Brian didn’t want a hamster. 

We began looking around at all the small pets in Petsmart and although they were cute, nothing stuck out and we decided to go to PetCo, just to check it out. We walked in and saw a white and tan guinea pig (male), in the cage with 3 others. Unlike the other three, this little guy was running all around, squeaking, and climbing on top of his dome. I wanted to hold him, and as soon as he was in my arms, he snuggled into my sweatshirt and that was it. I looked at Brian and he knew this was the one haha!

We named him Winston, from one of our favorite shows, New Girl. In the show, Winston Bishop calls himself “Winnie the Bish,” so Brian and I named our guinea, Winston, aka Winnie the Pig or Winnie the Guinea. He’s an active little guy and he loves eating his Timothy Hay and running all over us while we watch TV. We’re already considering getting a second one to keep him company while we’re at work, and the babysitting ship has sailed. Brian’s mom said she wouldn’t mind watching him when we go on trips and Jaxton and Khloe love him, so we know he’ll get plenty of attention while we’re gone! 

The last Tuesday of the month for mutual, we had a birthday party for our newest Beehive! We played games and had cupcakes and the girls and I had a blast! Thursday, we went to dinner at ABC Mandarin with Kirk and Lindy to celebrate the end of Brian’s spring semester. Only one more year!! I cannot wait, I might be as excited as him.

This pas Friday night we had what turned into a huge cookout with 20 of our closest friends (lol), with a fire and games and good times with friends. Saturday, we got up early and headed to Rexburg, Idaho, with a pit stop in Idaho Falls, to go through the temple with Brian’s cousin, Katherine. The temple was beautiful and it was so nice to see family. We all went out to dinner, then on our way home… disaster struck. Not really, I’m being dramatic, but Lindy’s SUV has been having problems with the fuel pump, so we sat at a gas station in Idaho Falls for 2 hours while it wouldn't start before making our way back home and getting home at 1:30 AM. A minor setback, but at least we had Sunday to recover! (Shoutout to Jared for getting it working for us!!)

It’s so fun that ever since we decided to go somewhere or do something new every month, we’ve been able to do so! Luckily we fit this trip in on the last day of April, and now I can say I’ve seen a lot more of Idaho and have actually spend a decent amount of time in the state. That’s checked off my bucket list, because honestly, Idaho doesn’t have much going on! I’m counting down the days until we head home for vacation! I’m so excited to see where we can venture while we’re there :)

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Wedding Video! 11.13.15

Due to the size of the video, I have uploaded it to my Google+ account and the video can be found here: https://plus.google.com/107876195085412068943/posts/Mty7pLpZs2P.

Big thank you again to Austin Berenyi Photography for capturing our happiness on this special day!!

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Playing Catch-Up

So much has been happening and I’m not quite sure where to even begin.

I’ve been waiting to post pictures of house updates, but as they’re taking much longer than anticipated, I don’t feel like waiting because I’ll ultimately forget about everything if I don’t post this soon. My last real post was September 28, so it’s almost been a month and with everything that’s going to be happening in the next 3 weeks, I better play catch up now!

So first of all, On September 30, Brian and I went cake tasting! Our florist, Raelyn Boman of Floral Innovations, gave us a recommendation of a woman that I’ve seen rave reviews about. Her name is Maureen Steel and she is the owner and baker for My Sweet Cakes. Luckily she lives 10 minutes away from us, so we went for our tasting after selecting 4 different cake flavors from a wide variety! First let me say, I was highly impressed. In each of the four cake flavors we had chosen, she had a mini cake (with fondant) and two cupcakes (with whipped icing and buttercream frosting) so that we could fully try every combination. Also, all the cakes and cupcakes were filled with their respective fillings. Brian and I left in a food coma, very happy with our cake choices!

The next day, October 1, I went and picked up my wedding dress! After minimal alterations, I tried it on and was pleased to find it fit absolutely perfectly!!! What a relief :)

The next day, October 2 was the Friday before General Conference, so what does that mean? MISSION REUNIONS! Brian and I drove to Orem to his mission president’s house for cake and mingling. I love meeting all his old mission companions and this time, I finally got to meet his famous trainer, and his beautiful wife. My favorite person there though had to be their 2 month old baby girl, Hunter, who is just the cutest thing ever!! Afterwards we went to Slab Pizza (a Provo favorite) and gorged out on delicious pizza. Saturday and Sunday was GC, so it was nice to have some free time to relax…. Just kidding, we don’t know how to relax, we like to fix the house.

The next Thursday, October 8, Sabra and I went to Bountiful in search of a temple dress because the following Thursday I went through the temple!! But I’m skipping ahead...

Saturday, October 10, my friend from work, Aneisa (our second photographer for the wedding, Calder Photography) did my bridals!! She and I and my friend Jessica (Fox, I don’t have multiple personalities) went up to Tony’s Grove in Logan Canyon for them and they look so good!! I’ve already gotten them back and I actually have a bunch of photos that I love! Which is really saying a lot since I hate most pictures of myself. I can't wait until after the wedding so I can post them all!!

While we were off having a girl’s day and taking my pictures, Brian and his dad and some friends were working hard at our house ripping out all the main floor carpet and laminate tile from the living room and kitchen and laying hardwood floors! I’ll include before and after pictures. I AM IN LOVE WITH HOW THEY LOOK NOW. Brian gets a gold star and lots of kisses for his hard work :)

Tuesday, October 13 we had our final planning meeting at the Grand View Reception & Event Center and locked in our reception food…. Just wait, you’re all going to LOVE IT. 

Now to the good part. Thursday, October 15, I went to the temple with Brian, his parents, and JOE & JULIE. I’m the luckiest girl ever because they found a way to make it to Utah to go through the temple with me, which was a good thing because I think I would have had a nervous breakdown if Julie hadn’t been there with me through the whole thing. But in the end, it was the fear of the unknown and ultimately it wasn’t as weird as everyone said. It was really cool to learn more about the Creation and how we can return to our Father in Heaven. The blessings promised were beyond what I could have imagined and I feel so privileged to have had such a wonderful experience surrounded by all my incredible friends and family. I am so grateful to everyone who came with me that day.

Since then, life has just been a blur of last minute wedding planning and painting the house. At this point, all the painting is done and we’re almost ready for our new carpet that we purchased yesterday! They should be installing it at the beginning of November, or hopefully sooner! I will post pictures of the newly painted spare bedrooms and carpet after the carpet is installed! :) THREE WEEKS FROM TODAY I WILL BE MRS. BALDWIN!!! It’s almost here :)

When you look at this photo, you can see why all our floors needed to be replaced. Thanks for nothing, previous owners.

Sneak peak of my awesome new hardwood. Thank you, Brian :)

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If This Isn't Sleep-Deprived, I Don't Want Kids.

I thought I knew what the word busy meant when I was going to college full-time, working, and accomplishing a 450 hour internship, but I was wrong. Busy means your full-time job is as a marketing director for 10 attorneys while planning a wedding in 3 months and buying a house that you also want to decorate before your lease expires 20 days after your closing date. And did I mention I commute 45 miles each way every morning and evening? And that I’m barely sleeping? That’s where I’m at.

It feels like I’m not getting anything done, but slowly my ratio of items on my “still to do” list to my “accomplished” list is growing.. Or shrinking… I don’t know, the second list is getting longer.

Once I turned over the task of finding acceptable bridesmaid dresses over to my maid-of-honor, she (of course) came through and found them. But of course, I ordered them so they came in all the wrong sizes. The term “fits true to size” is a straight up lie… We have the reception venue booked and the catering decided on. Flowers, engagement photos, and the luncheon location are done. When I say it this way, it feels like nothing is done, but it really is. The important thing is we have the wedding night hotel & our week long honeymoon to Jamaica booked! Vacation can’t get here soon enough..

Good news: we got the house appraisal back and because there were already two offers on the table, our offer was a good bit higher than the house appraised for. Our awesome realtor totally looked out for us and negotiated our way down a few thousand dollars! I’m a happy camper. 

I think my body finally caught up to the level of stress my mind is at because Friday night I came down with a fever and I’m fairly certain my stomach hurts constantly. Luckily, Saturday I decided I wasn’t going to let it get to me and Brian and I hiked to Donut Falls again. We said before we would go there when the river was down before the end of summer so we could go into the cave and we actually succeeded! The water was freezing and Brian insisted on standing in the waterfall, so he was sufficiently soaked after. It’s a really pretty, light hike (very family friendly). Definitely one of our favorites!

Saturday night, we decided to act like locals and we went to the Ogden Raptors baseball game (The LA Dodgers minor league team) with Randy, Sabra, Zac, and Kate. Afterward we had game night at Brian’s house and it was such a stress relief to hang with friends and laugh. Brian was finally released from being his YSA ward’s Elder’s Quorum President so he’s actually able to go to church with me now which is super nice. Only 9 days until the keys to our new home are in our hands! If you can’t tell, I’m totally counting them down. 

We've squeezed in a lot of temple grounds walking lately.. Great stress reliever.

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My Career at 23.

As mentioned when I first started this blog, I have a bad habit of only posting when extraordinarily exciting things are happening. While my life has been exciting the last couple weeks, I haven’t taken any photos of it, something my family has reminded me of. So here’s what’s been going on…

4th of July weekend. Friday night we went to the drive-in movies with Randy, Sabra, Megan, Ryan, and some of Randy and Sabra’s friends from church. We saw Jurassic World for the second time and part of San Andreas (I wasn’t impressed..)

Saturday, we had a big BBQ/pool party at Brian’s house and watched fireworks in Clearfield, which was one of the most amazing shows I’ve seen yet.

But the most exciting part of my life currently is my new job. For those of you that don’t know, I accepted a new position as the marketing director at Smith Knowles Attorneys in Ogden, UT. Funny story how that worked out actually…

For the last couple months, Brian and I have talked about how when my apartment lease is up in September, I should move to Ogden. Not only is it an opportunity to live closer to him, but Ogden has a charm to it that Salt Lake City does not. Ogden is more rural and not as cramped. It has an old time feel to it and I think it’s cute.

After applying and interviewing with a company that I thought would be a good fit for me, I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t financially what I was looking for and after not getting a response from them, I was annoyed enough to begin looking for another  position earlier than I had intended. 

Side note: I decided I did NOT enjoy B2B sales, and Ricoh, as the big company that it is, was going through some organizational change that made every single day of my job a headache and a half. I decided I would rather commute 45 mins each way to Ogden each day than stay at Ricoh any longer. 

I was searching on KSL.com for jobs sporadically when I came across a listing for a receptionist position at Smith Knowles. While there wasn’t any indication of what the position paid, I decided to apply anyway. I immediately got an email from Ben, the manager, asking if I was aware that the office was located in Ogden, as he saw my address on my resume was SLC. I explained I would be moving to Ogden soon, and he had someone call and set up an interview for me.

On the day of, I wasn’t nervous at all, almost assuming the position would pay too low for me to even consider, and I was proven right when halfway through the interview Ben stopped me and said “I have to say this now, you’re overqualified for this job and I don’t think you’ll be making the kind of money you’re hoping for.” My heart dropped a little when he said it. I was already making mental plans to live in the apartments beside the temple (literally across from the office) and dreams of walking to work seemed crushed. But then, he followed it up with this:

“However, we have a job I think you might be interested in. We haven’t been advertising for it in hopes that the perfect person would fall into our laps. We need a marketing director, and based on your sales experience and marketing work in Los Angeles, I think you’d be a great fit. If you’re interested, I’ll grab the president of the company and he can explain more about it to you.”

Obviously I said yes. And freaked out while he was out of the room. When the president came back in, he was holding my resume and the first thing he said was, “So Jessica, you’re from West Virginia.” I wasn’t sure whether to be offended that this was what stuck out to him the most, or scared that WV jokes were coming. It turns out, he served his LDS mission in WV and one of his best friends that he taught out there grew up in my hometown. SMALL WORLD. And on top of that, totally unheard of since no one out here knows where the heck Berkeley Springs, WV is. 

Giving me more information turned into me walking out of the office half an hour later with a formal offer letter in my hand. 

The first thing I did was freak out with excitement. The second thing I did was take the letter to Brian at work so we could both freak out with excitement. After a lot of speculation and prayer, it seemed like the offer was too good to be true. However, after two weeks I can happily say it is as good as I had hoped.

I market for 10 attorneys who are all LDS and incredibly nice. Everyone at work is helpful, uplifting, supportive, and extremely kind. My days fly by, my salary and commission are both significantly higher, and I have a renewed sense of happiness and accomplishment in work. 

I’m currently typing this from my brand new MacBook Pro the company provided me with. I have the freedom (both managerially and monetarily) to extend my creativity into any marketing idea I can think of. Best of all, I’m happily in a successful career at 23. 

Lessons learned here:

1. You’ve got to pay your dues. If I hadn’t struggled unhappily through 10 months at Ricoh, I wouldn’t have this job now.
2. God’s timing is spot on.
3. Prayer solves all problems, or at least changes your outlook on them so they can be seen as a blessing and not a problem.

I will try to remember to update on exciting events and marketing ideas I create at work. It shouldn’t be hard since I actually enjoy my occupation now.. Every aspect of my life makes me extremely happy. I truly have an absolutely incredible life with amazing people in it.

The only photos I've taken recently...

This was actually a snapchat but I found it amusing so here it is. Pre 4th of July party.

 New place of employment.

My pretty new MacBook Pro & Kate Spade case (:

 My cousin, Joe, his wife Julie, and their boys came to visit. These munchkins hold a very special place in my heart. & Here is a photo of 5 of my very favorite boys all together.

 I think I'll keep him.

XOXO.

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