whalehookloans.com

It's official. I am a published author. Okay, it's really not that exciting at all. My boss at Prosper, Inc. has a little side business website and he has hired me (along with a few other people) to write financial articles for his websites. Last week was my first week and I must say that it was more stressful than I thought. For starters, I know little to nothing when it comes to finances (just ask my older brother Alan!) And these articles are far from being creative, exciting or masterpieces of literature. They are pretty boring and plain. But they serve their purpose and I get a nice little extra paycheck every Monday so I have no complaints! If any of you want to check out some of the articles I wrote last week, click here and read the first, third and fourth articles on the page. But don't judge me on the writing!! Most of them were done at 2 am! And remember, if you have any questions regarding your own finances, direct them to my brother, not me!

Dog Sitting 101

This last week while my boss and her husband went to sunny Orlando, FL, I got the opportunity to dog sit for them. My boss has no children and so as you can then assume, her two dogs, Dasher and Rudy are like her children. They are SPOILED! They treat them like children so you can imagine how I had to treat them also. These dogs have certain routines they are used to and one of them is sleeping in the same bed as my boss and her hubby. So, I slept with them. If you can call it that. It was more like me laying in bed, yelling at the dogs to stop fighting, stop barking, stop walking all over me, etc. all night long.
We were all getting pretty sick of each other by the end of the week. I know they were missing mom and dad and I just wasn't giving them the TLC they were used to. Finally on Friday morning, I had just about had enough. I was running late for class and was trying to get the dogs to come into the kitchen so I could close the gate and leave them there while I was at class and work. Dasher was not wanting to be left alone all day long and he was not listening to me. He sat on the couch in the living room and glared at me. As I approached him to grab and and drag him into the kitchen, he dashed off and ran up the stairs and all over. I told him I didn't have time for games and he just ran faster. So, I finally called out to him that we could go outside and he got excited. But, it was a LIE! I lied to him. He ran down the stairs and as he was wagging his little tail, waiting to go outside I grabbed him and carried him into the kitchen. I know. I would go as low as lying to a dog to get what I want. Unfortunately, I don't think that Dasher has much confidence in me anymore.

Tagging?

I guess if I am a TRUE blogger I must participate in the tagging ceremony, right? Hopefully I don't bore you all!

Interesting Fact #1- I love the font Arial. I HATE reading things that are in Times New Roman or other fonts with serif. It's really weird, I know, but ever since I took Caryn Esplin's Visual Media class, I do NOT like serif fonts.

Interesting Fact #2- My favorite vacation so far has been my trip to Palmyra, New York City and DC with Tim, Alan, Amber and Jackson. We had such a great time and I fell in LOVE with NYC. It was really cool to spend adult time with my siblings and see some awesome sights.

Interesting Fact #3- I brush with Arm and Hammer Baking Soda and Peroxide. Nothing leaves my teeth cleaner!!

Interesting Fact #4- I really like argyle. It's my favorite thing to wear. I even have checks with argyle on it. It's true. I love it!

Interesting Fact #5- I just want to be a Mom. That's all. My nephews are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I love them all so much. It's so amazing the love that you can feel for these little people in your life. I can't wait to feel that love for my own children some day.

Interesting Fact #6- I will be graduating with my Bachelor's degree when I am 25. Yup. Possibly the oldest person to do it. If I break some kind of a record, do I get a cut in my student loans?!

Interesting Fact #7- I have had over 50 roommates and that is not including the 20 girls I lived with in Ecuador or my 12 mission companions. Now if I could just settle down and have ONE roommate...

I wish that I could tag seven people but I am pretty sure that 7 people don't read my blog and those that do, have already been tagged before. So, consider yourselves lucky!

Rexburg, Idaho...America's Family Community

This morning I attended Stake Conference--surprisingly I have spent 3 of my 5 years in Rexburg in the same stake. I love being here and yet at the same time, I am very ready to be done with this little town. One of my companions told me that just as you start to get comfortable in life, things change. Today I felt comfortable. Very comfortable. With the same stake presidency, the red hard chairs in the Hart, and seeing plenty of familiar faces--I was feeling ready for a change. Hopefully it comes sooner rather than later.

Susie Homemaker

Last winter one of my roommates took a Home Decor sewing class and after seeing all her fun projects, I thought I would give it a shot too! This is my second project, a decorative pillow for the couch I will someday own. It was actually a bit more complicated than it looks (it has an invisible zipper!) and I think it will look better on a black couch than my bed, but for the photo shoot, I just had to make do! So far it has been a fun class and a good learning experience but we will see if I still say that after I get my quilt done!