Brrrr...

There was a blizzard today. And it just wouldn't stop. I had to take one of the kids I was babysitting to a doctor's appointment and then pick the other kids up from school. A distance of 20 blocks. A drive back and forth would take about 20-30 minutes. I did it twice. Should've taken only about 45 minutes. Hah!!! It took..................TWO WHOLE STINKIN' HOURS!!! Where is the justice in this world? Two hours in a messy, sticky minivan!!! I almost cried. Not to mention....they made me listen to Radio Disney the whole time. Which happens to be an AM radio station. It. Was. Torture.

Buying jeans is torture too. It's a battle that just cannot be won by me. A size 6 in the regular length will fit me perfectly, but a size 6 in the short length won't. I don't know what to do. I just want a pair of jeans that fits. It would be a dream come true. I would believe in Santa, the Toothfairy, Peter Pan, and even the Boogeyman if somehow I could find a pair that fit my waist, my butt, and my short little legs. Yup, it would definitely be a miracle!

Complaining aside, there's lots to be grateful for. A nice, warm minivan with a working radio. Working windshield wipers. A defroster. Nice roads even though they were caked with snow. Warm coats and gloves and socks and shoes and sweaters. Hot chocolate. Blankets.

There's a quote above the door at my boss's house:

"Having somewhere to go is home. Having someone to love is family. Having both is a blessing."

Well, I've got them both. So I've got blessings. Can't really complain now, can I? I've been able to go to many places for various reasons and needs. I've got my apartment with my beloved roommates in Logan. That's home. I've got my house in Orem. That's home too. Sometimes, I need to get away from those, so sometimes school is home. This is so nerdy, but the Orem Public Library is home sometimes too. One time it was too noisy at my apartment to do homework so I found silent refuge at the Brick House #1. That was home for the evening. One time I was really upset and needed to run away, and Brooklane #8 took me in. That was home for a few hours.

And I have so many people I love. SO many. I love my family, as difficult as it may be sometimes. I love my extended family, as weird as they may be sometimes. I love my roommates and their families. I love my ward. I love the bishopric of my ward. I love every single individual person in my FHE family (even the ones who refuse to come). I love my home ward. I love my neighbors. I love the important teachers that I've had. I love the strangers I see who are good to each other. I love the cute older brothers I see taking care of their younger siblings. I love the sweet older sisters who do the same. I love the people who shovel the snow on each other's sidewalks. I love the kids that I mentor at the middle school. I love the other mentors I work with. Even though it's hard, I even love those kids who stole my Barbies when I was eight and living in Venezuela. I've finally forgiven them. Haha. I love my friends, the ones that have been with me since I was little, and the ones that I've made up here at college. I love the Prophet. I love the Apostles. I love Jesus. I love God. My gosh, I've got a great family!!

So who cares if it took what felt like half my life to go twenty blocks? I had a lot of time to think about everything that I love. That can't be a a waste of time at all! :)

Sunny California

Me and Molly (we have matching hair!)

Coming to y'all from a random beach house in the Pajaro Dunes somewhere in California. I forget. It's so beautiful! And warm! And sunny! And full of little sand crabs that like to bite your feet. And really weird seaweed. Really ugly too. Basically, this is my life: wake up early, go on a walk with whomever is awake, collect seashells and sand dollars, come home, cook breakfast, go play on the beach, make lunch, play on the beach, make dinner... play... build amazing sand castles...eat some more.... play. Go to sleep. I'm so brown already. I'll look like an old log by the time I get back.

I went to church here. It's a lot different than going to someone else's ward in Utah. The people were incredibly warm and friendly. There was this guy that sat with me in Sunday School. He told me to ignore the fact that he forgot a belt and socks. He was on vacation too. It was pretty funny. 

So it turns out that the family I'm working for also has a wedding to go to, so I'll probably be hanging out with them an extra week and going to Disneyland. Poor me. I have such a hard, difficult life. Hahahaha! I'm excited.

Bleargh...

Just so all of you know, I am fully prepared to save your life should you become unconscious and your heart stops. Also, if you happen to slice yourself open. I have two little paper cards that say so. That should be good enough for the likes of you. I spent my entire day learning. My boss paid for me to take the CPR / First Aid / AED certification course down at the Red Cross today. She doesn't want her kids dying in the pool on my watch. I don't blame her. I don't want them dying on my watch either. That would not look good and it would haunt me for the rest of my life.

I was about to lose consciousness too. It was ten of the most boring hours of my life. Believe me when I say I have had plenty of those. The instructor was insanely boring, scatterbrained, and inefficient. We could have easily finished everything in six or seven hours. And there was this one 40-year-old man who WOULD NOT SHUT UP!! You know the type that thinks he knows everything, comments on everything, and thinks all of his jokes are just hilarious? So, he's all of the above, and just won't stop? Yeah, that was him. Pretty much, I was ready to commit murder. I was ready and willing to take him down. All six feet and 300 pounds of him. I could've done it! I could!

And if that wasn't long enough, right afterwards was my second cousin's wedding reception. She's just a year older than I am, so I sort of felt obligated to go. I was chowing down on the butter mints, fruity slush (yummy), and chocolate-covered strawberries (delectable!), when one of my dad's cousin's came over to say hi. She threw her arm around my shoulder, squeezed me, and cried out, "This can't be Chessie!" I looked at her skeptically and said I sure could be. Then she said, "It can't be! What are you, 20?" Um, yeah. "Well, you look 14! That'll be a good thing when you're ten years older." Great. Just great. I look like an adolescent. And I was hoping people would take me seriously by now.

Well, I'm old enough to save your life. Apparently not old enough to drive. Crap.

Miss Jack-of-all-Trades

I found a job...sort of. I guess my mom found it for me. I am working for her friend, Adriana. I'm tutoring her 13 year old son, Sam (he is obsessed with paintball), and doing housework. Once the kids are out of school for the summer, I'll be helping homeschool and nanny. I'll be doing crafts, reading, supervising them while they swim. I think it'll be fun.

So basically I am a nanny / teacher / laundress / tutor / cook / housekeeper / lifeguard. Cool beans. Call me SuperAsian! I think I need a cape or something equally authoritative. Maybe I can just tie my bathrobe with all the Chinese characters on it around my neck and run around the house. I'll fit right in. The three younger children are adopted from China. Very cute. Adriana and her husband are going to China this summer to adopt their fourth. This will make their ninth child. You MVHS choir buddies: remember Danny Cassani? Yeah, these are his siblings. Thank goodness the two oldest are married and gone, and the oldest two at home don't need supervision. I don't think I could stand it.

But I am excited. It will be a fun excitement-filled summer. I may be going with them to their beachhouse for a week in June. Don't get me started on how psyched I am for that. I'll get to play on the beach and get paid at the same time! What could be better than that? Pretty much nothing. She did offer to fly me to China so I could help out there, but I need money for school...not a paid trip. Oh, how I wished I could have taken her up on the offer! I hate being poor. This cursed universe has still not gotten the hint that they need to dump a pot of gold in my lap. Here's to hoping! :)