I Laugh In The Face Of Thirty...Ha Ha Ha!

As my 30th birthday is quickly approaching, I have been reflecting on how to make this birthday a happy event as opposed to a scary event, as some of us may react when hitting a landmark birthday. For me turning 30 is just another day and I don't really feel as though I will act different or feel any older. I'm honestly hoping my 30's will be MUCH better then my 20's. My 20's were filled with sickness and frustration along with unanswered prayers and questions, or at least it felt that way most of the time. I mean my 20's were also wonderful. I lived in Italy for a month, my first nephew was born, I studied abroad to Norway and saw Midnight Sun, and I graduated from my Undergrad as well as Graduate School. During my 20's I moved from Utah to Minnesota, to Boston Massachusetts, back to Minnesota and then to Utah. I traveled further away from my life then IO had ever traveled before to a country that was completely unknown to me and traveled in that country by myself (i.e. Japan). I got my first grown up job and later bought a lawn mower (very grown up if you ask me!). So my 20's had some ups and downs and now comes my 30's. Here's what I'm hoping for: Better Health! Much more travel to places I have never been and further from my comfort zone then I have ever gone before, perhaps I can finally master a language (hint, Italian!)and I'd like to spend more time in Italy tracking down family history. I'm also hoping to continue in my spiritual goals I have made over the last couple years. So I've got some big plans for my 30's. It's May 4th and today I started my 30 day count down to my birthday (really it's 32 days but whateve's). To begin my 30's in style I have decided to start a little early in my goal of better health. So here's what's up: I am doing 30 miles in 30 days leading up to my 30th birthday. Today I ran a mile, tomorrow I will walk a mile. I'd like to have 30 miles under my belt by my birthday. I'm going to switch between biking, running, and walking. So I'll probably post every now and then during the next 32 days of my progress. Shoot me an email or text to encourage me, if you feel like it. I will need all the encouragement I can get! I also have some fun ideas for my birthday, so take that 30! I'm not scared of you! I shall be thirty and sexy, just you wait and see! Here's my fun list to do on my Birfday! Peace Out!

So, I'm feeling blah today and thought I would post about being a year older. Now I know people are sensitive about their age. But not me. I'm 29 and strong. I'm actually looking forward to my thirties. My twenties had some good moments but I had a lot of low and sick moments. I'm hoping for my thirties to filled with good memories and better health. As my birthday has come and gone, I have been reminded about all the wonderful things I have in my life (even with all the poopy ones) 1. My Dog-I'm not gonna lie. She's kinda top on my list. She pretty swell and keeps me going some days. She also one of the silliest dogs and let me sing her Dorris Day's "Bushel and a Peck" which just makes me have a fit of giggles afterwards. She's a pretty great cuddle bug and man her looks and super hair styles make me smile. So, she's pretty great! 2. My health- even though I still have the fatigue and I get to take birth control for the rest of my life to keep the endometriosis under control, I actually do okay. I haven't gotten super sick this year (just minor allergy attacks...my sinuses don't like Utah) and for the most part I feel healthy. I still am pretty tired and I live off of caffeine to work a full day at my job, but I feel pretty lucky that all I need is a Dr. pepper at 2 to help me get through the last few hours of my day. 3. There are Gluten-free bakeries everywhere!- I got a delicious carrot cake that was gluten free for my birthday and it was wonderful. And some super yummy cupcakes. And they make the best bread! I'm not gonna lie, being gluten free is so much easier now then it was six years ago when all of my health stuff first started. 4. I have plans for travels- I can travel to see my friends and family that I miss and love. It's pretty awesome to have the means to be able to do that. 5. My job- We have a love-hate relationship. I love my job, I really do. But it is so hard some times! I have to work with jerk face people who work for government agencies and don't care about the clients I care about. I'm working in a broken system that worries about a bottom-line instead of the need of a client. My clients probably are the most humble and nice people you will over meet. Sometimes they look scary on the outside or they don't look like you and me but man, their lives have been tough and they deserve all the help they can get. I can't talk about my clients but I wish I could tell everyone their stories because I think it would change people's perception of the homeless. I was actually driving out to Draper a few weeks ago and I got off the freeway ad there was a homeless man out on the ramp with a sign. I try to carry food in my car so when I encounter homeless people I can give them something (because I work for the homeless shelter I am not allowed to give money to ay homeless person in any state in the US). So I looked in my car and I didn't have the breakfast bars I will sometimes carry but I had an apple. So, I rolled down my window and I offered this man my apple. I told him I was sorry I couldn't give him any money. All I had was this apple. He smiled and said don't be sorry, you just fed a man. He made a joke and then thanked me and waved to me as I drove off. I never knew I would enjoy doing therapy ad working with adults. In school I was so focused on kids and families. I didn't know if I had it in me to work with those that have substance abuse problems and severe mental illness. I'm really glad I took this job. It allows me to work outside of the box and I really have enjoyed the population I am working with. I feel like I have so much to work on and become better at. But I'm really grateful for a birthday that has allowed me to reflect on the positive things in my life and the many blessing I have.

New Job

Some may know I got a new jobs...so no more senior centers. That honestly made me sad at first cause I sure loved those seniors. But my new job is very interesting. I am working on a grant through The Road Home (the local homeless shelter) to work with the homeless population in Salt Lake. Although technically I am hired through Valley Mental Health. My job is to do clinical social work stuff with specific clients and also help link clients to resources (like Medicaid, Social Security, and housing). I didn't know how I would feel about it, but I really really enjoy it. The people I get to advocate for and work for are interesting, often times complicated, and really quite nice. And the Team I work with rocks. It's nice because you have to have a sense of humor when you do what we do and see what we see and oh my how we all have senses of humors and enjoy each person's individuality and what they offer to the team. We have had some really funny conversations with clients and laugh about some of the things they say to us and get frustrated with them when things don't go well and our hearts break for them when they tell us parts of their lives or what is going on inside of them mentally or physically that is heartbreaking. I have an incredible respect for the people I work for, they are very resilient people and I thoroughly enjoy being able to advocate in their behalf when I can. I wish I could write their stories down and help people find respect for these interesting individuals, but I can't talk about it. But next time you walk by someone who is homeless on the streets think about them as a brother or a sister, as a parent or grandparent. Their stories are not all that different from ours. I'm so glad I get a new perspective on a group of people I have never worked with and I hope that I can help them get into housing and hopefully get services that they need. So, that's kind of it from me for now.

Italy

Ciao!!
We made it to Italy! It has been a whirl wind of events thus far.
We got in and spent the evening retracing our old stomping ground in Firenze. We grabbed food and then went to sleep early. The next day we took the train to Venezia and walked all through the city to the center. It is really pretty in all of these Italian cities. They each have a nativity in the center of their city. Very different ones. We stayed in the center of the city and waited for the music to start. It was okay. The first singer had a terrible voice. It was bad. Char and I made fun of it all night. But we right there up close and were on the screen when the camera came by, which was very Cool. The second singer was better and more fun cause she sang American songs and we recognized those. We left around 11:30 to beat the traffic back. The next day Char and I went to church, which was cool. Italians in A church setting crack me up. then we went into the city. We saw a few things Char wanted to see. Then headed back to the hotel after dinner. The next day char and I split up. She went back into Venice and I went to Vittorio Veneto which is a city my family is from.t hat was beautiful and I have some cool pics to come from that. Char and I got back and got our bags from the hotel and headed to the train station. We made it there eventually and got on the train and then shortly after we got on the train we found out the person who issued our tickets put the wrong day on it and we git kicked off! Yup kicked off! I breathed some Italian fire I never knew existed inside me and she let us stay on Until Bolognia so it would be easier go get our ticket fixed and to get to our final destination. Now we are finally back in Florence! We spent a nice relaxing day walking around Florence and haggling with the street market people...my favorite when I know I got a better deal :) Hehe! Tomorrow we go to a cooking class. So Ciao Ciao for now!

T-21 Days

T-21 days to ITALY!!! Wohooo!! So excited!!