Tid Bits...

1. The little things...

After an amazing little walk downtown Cary, I happened upon a tiny little flower shop. I have no idea why flowers bring such joy to my life, but they do. So as I stepped out of the shop that day...it is no wonder my heart was beaming. The owner had presented me with a beautiful Rose. "Wouldn't it feel great to walk down the street with a beautiful flower?" He replied. Oh the little things that make me smile.

2. Simple Smiles

I had the chance to spend the weekend with three cuties in Charlotte, NC. I was definitely in need of some kid time...and let me just say. I got me some good kid time. The Johnson's were amazing and I can't wait to go back and visit soon!

3. NC State Fair

Let me just say... the FAIR was amazing. Our philosophy was to taste the fair. So we literally asked each person their desired fair treat and navigated through the masses of people to find that treat. 1. Ashley - Funnel Cake. 2. Meredith - Deep friend Oreo's and salt water toffee 3. Judy - Chocolate Covered Bacon 4. Shy - Kettle Corn 5. Krystal - Corn and Deep fried Cheese

We laughed...smiled...and took in the variety of people that made their yearly appearance to the state fair. And some how steered clear of the deep friend butter!

4. A trip to see the changing leaves

I became as the locals like to call them a "Leaf Follower." My friend Krystal and I took a trip up to Boone and Blowing Rock. While we soon found that a snow storm had pretty much wiped the leaves out, we still enjoyed the Blue Ridge parkway and the change of scenery. Take note...if you are going to drive 3 hours up to the Mountains to see leaves changing...make sure you didn't miss them.

Our Hike:)

Not in Cali anymore:)

So there are some tid-bits from my life recently. It is AMAZING not having to work on the weekends anymore! And I am looking forward to the coming weeks as they will be packed:) Grandparents visit...Birthday in SD...Thanksgiving in Central Cal...Holiday Parties...lots of fun stuff! Stay Posted!

Life is so fragile....

These past weeks have been so eye-opening! Working in HR has been such an amazingly stressful job yet at the core of it...it awakens my eye's to how fragile life really is. It is now my job to understand, care for, and support a staff of 90 people. It is my job to get offices set up, plan events, do paperwork, and make people feel welcome. While my to-do list continues to stretch by the second...and days like yesterday make me wonder why I chose to embark on this type of career, there are little moments that remind me that life is so fragile...and that I am blessed to be in the position that I am.

It is the moment that an employee comes to me to share that a family member is dying and they just needed to tell someone. Or the employee whose smile is beaming as he celebrates his recent wedding with me. It is the employee whose wife is ready to bring a new little one into the world. It is the fragile moments when people allow me into their very private world and for just one second I am reminded that there is a world outside of work. That people are struggling, loving, learning, yearning, and just need a little support. That is why I love my job.

Life is fragile. At any given moment something might happen that was unexpected. Life can shift, turn, and change in an instant. And I want to make it my job to love the people I work with. Learn to keep myself from taking it on...but simply offer a hug, ear, or little image of God's love.

Dang...life is fantastic.

Oh Fall is in the Air...

Sorry... I know it has been a few weeks since my last update, but i have been super busy!

So I thought I would update you all (did you notice that I didn't say ya'll...keeping this Cali accent is getting harder by the day!).

So, the last time I wrote I had just been promoted to HR assistant. As of this week my job is crazier than ever, but the learning is still really awesome. I am learning the balance between life and worklife. Sometimes walking away at the end of the day is hard...but as the weeks turn over, it is getting easier.

I AM DONE with CRACKER BARREL finally! 3 months of it was enough for me and this last Friday night was my last 14 hour day. Thank goodness:) Here was the amazing uniform that defined my weekends for the past couple of months!

Now that I am done with Cracker Barrel, I am free! The upcoming weekends are going to be incredible. A few things on the Agenda...The State Fair, BlueRidge Parkway, J.Crew Outlet with Lailani, and other fun things with the Small Group.

I went running this morning in Umstead State Park and noticed that finally a few leaves are changing. The air was crisp and i am so jazzed about the coming weeks transforming the rest of the trees! Here is a sneek peek of what is to come in NC.

So life is pretty great. While at times the learning curve for a 22 year old single recent grad is a wee bit much ie. (New Job, New state, Insurance, Budget, New Drivers License, kinda being lonely at times, car making funny noises, still needing a hubcap...and on and on...), I am still loving it.

And in less than 6 weeks, I will be in CA to run the 1/2 marathon! So good:)

So as I leave, I thought I would just leave a little snap shot of where I spend my lunches...yep that is a lake folks. A crystal blue lake! So nice. Lake Johnson about 1 mile from where I work.