nature v. nurture

so when i started here at WGU {in august} i bought a little green plant to brighten up my dull cube, to keep me company and well, let's be honest, to see if i could keep something alive...

every newlywed couple thinks about this. the day after you get married people start asking you "so..when are you planning to 'start' a family?" whenever i'm talking to my sister and there happens to be a short pause in the conversation she asks "are you PREGNANT?!" no, people. this is not an annoucement. what i'm trying to say is after you get married the next "big thing" you start to think about is....can i really keep something alive...like something as important as a baby?! well, of course the initial thought is "whoa! let's not get ahead of ourselves..i mean, that's a big responsibility.." then... "hmmm, how about a dog? could i take care of a dog? no, no, those have to be trained..let's start smaller..how about a plant?! yeah, i could do that. i could take care of a plant. just needs water and sunlight, right? easy."

so that's what i did. i got a plant. and here we are 5 months later and its still alive! barely.

{this is very sad because my mom, with her green thumb, happened to have the most coveted garden and flower beds in the neighborhood. i thought after all that childhood slave labor, pulling weeds, i would have inherited some of her abilities... but alas..}

now compare that to some of my co-workers plants... {oh, and apple bear..he is matthew's pet apple.}

heck, if the plant could just tell me what it wants! less water? more sun? a cuter pot? what?!

needless to say, sorry little crew, it might be awhile before you have another cousin...

{sigh}

i apologize for my lack of postage...

with the holidays, a week of sickness and a death in the family {my dear aunt melodee}

my mind has been racing when it should be resting, which makes me super tired and also uninspired. thus, no blogging.

like, a newborn, i need at least 1o hours of sleep a night.

but... i have noticed that as my sleep levels decline, my annoyance levels go up.

which means...i have complied a list of complaints for your reading pleasure.

To Whom it May Concern,

I realize right now times are tough, economically speaking, but as an employee of your company I do expect a certain amount of consistency, respect and etitquette.

For example, do not give your employees a paid holiday year after year then, one week before said holiday, tell them they will no longer receive that day off. And just so you know, telling them "we will close at 3:00pm instead of 5:00pm that day" does not soften the blow.

Another bit of advice, don't threaten your entire team with being fired on a weekly basis and tell them "there are plenty of people lined up for your jobs." That does not necessarily make me want to work harder. I'm just saying.

Finally, I know that "the company" can't really control this last complaint, but maybe there is something that could be done. I have a hard time working with someone that I just saw zipping and buttoning up his pants, while walking out of the restroom into the main hallway.

And just one more thing, as a side note, if someone could invent some sort of teleportation device, that would make my life a lot easier.

Sincerely,

All Employees Everywhere

halloween {observed}

i lovelovelove halloween at work. it reminds me of elementary school.

also. am loving this webcam.

so much.

happy halloween weekend!

a work story

about 4 little evaluators.

who sometimes get bored between the hours of 8 and 5.

they start out the day happy because they are excited to work very hard. then the phones begin to ring and emails fill their inboxes. and that makes them sad...

and they want to run away.
usually at some point in the day approximately 1-4 evaluators sneeze.

but only rarely all at the same time.

and sometimes they get caught playing with the webcam.

then they quickly get back to work.

the end.

look what i found

i discovered that i have a webcam on my laptop at work!!!!!!!!! i cannot tell you how excited i am about this. i feel like a whole new world of opportunities has been opened up to me.

i am making a commitment, here and now, to be a better blogger and this new discovery (in honor of columbus day) will help make my posts sooo much more interesting and frequent.

this is me in my cubical. i work very hard. every day.

also, my hair is brown now. as you may or may not be able to tell in the above photos. i can't decide if i like it yet or not.
only time will tell.

peace out homies,
see ya on monday. :)

the time is 5:25

A.M.

this is when my alarm first goes off. (only monday - friday, thankfully).
then snooze. 10 minutes. snooze again. and sometimes...i snooze until 6:00 AM. okay, let me re-phrase that, usually i snooze until 6:00 AM.

but, on the off-chance that i actually pull myself out of bed after the first snooze i then stumble into the bathroom, brush my teeth and head downstairs for my 20-minute Shred .

after that its a mad dash to shower, get my face on, blow-dry the hair, pick any outfit (which tends to be the most time consuming for some reason), make my lunch and be out door by 7 am.

then i hop in our darling silver corolla and drive to SLC. woot woot. all the while listening to npr . which i never thought i would love so much. the listening to npr part, not the driving part.

next i work for approximately 8-9 hours. during this time i review college transcripts, catch up on blogs, review transcripts, listen to pandora, review transcripts, watch/listen to the "michael jackson moment" video (sent to be by andrea)...and that's pretty much it.

after the work day is done i drive home. listening to "all things considered" and/or talking on the phone. it usually takes me approximately 45-75 minutes to get home, depending on traffico.

when i finally get home i am greeted warmly by my honey/baby/lover/sweetie with a big hug and a tender kiss. {i am so grateful and especially blessed for this part of my day.}

we make dinner together, watch a show or something...who knows where the "after-work" time goes. then we pray, read and go to bed. usually by 10.

i have to say i do love the feeling of accomplishing so much in a day. i really feel like i'm finally contributing to society and to my little two-member family. i love the feeling of just falling into bed at night and having a rill good dose of REM sleep cause i'm just so exhausted. i love getting a paycheck! i love learning about new processes, like the inter-workings of the college transfer system. i love being awake early when the rest of the city is still asleep. (though the actual waking up part, i hate). and i love the people i work with...

but...remember when i use to not have a job. i see the awesomeness in that now too. :)

after 11 months...

i have a JOB!

hurrah! we thought the day would never come.

this is the place:

Western Governor's University

my official title is Transcript Evaluator

this was my first week and so far, so good.

the one downer is:

it's in Salt Lake.

which is kind of a drive for me. boo.

i miss the pool...

{sigh}

i have no job.

the noni-ettes

here are some pictures of the performance...

and guess what?! we won! by 400 votes. boo-yeah!

i appreciate all of your love and support while i achieve my dreams.

{a special thanks to cassie who rigged the competition by checking our name on an entire stack of ballots. that's what friends are for.}

presenting...

a week and a half ago i, liz, gave my first corporate presentation. luckily 'twas on the Tahitian Noni Gift Collection, which just happens to be my area of expertise so ya know, i ROCKED it!

sweet Jennifer, being the fab friend that she is, let me practice on her many a time and helped me refine and perfect everything. and she even came down to take some picsies, marking the special occasion. what a lamb.

now today i am meeting with the president of TNI to update him on all things gifting!

seems like lately i've really been climbing that corporate ladder and making a name for myself here at TNI, which is AWESOME. but that doesn't mean i'm not shakin in my boots. cause heck! i am.

wish me luck.

little glimpse

bizness trip

see all the beautiful gifts...with the colorful packaging...yeah...that's what i do.

this year tni held regional leadership conference in orlando, florida.

during the days we worked like dogs, then at night, we played. disney-style. wahoo!

farewell friend

since i started here at tni 6 months ago i have worked and become dear friends with the girls on my team. i couldn't have asked for a better group. i love coming to work and wondering what excitement the day will hold. these ladies are talented, smart, and FUN!

i laugh everyday.

sadly, today was rachel's last day here at tni. i will miss her pretty face peeking out from our shared half-cubical wall. hearing her random bursts of laughter. her witty remarks. and her thoughtful heart.

love you. miss you. scrapbook you.

costco party

TNI is the best company in the world! Our christmas party was held on saturday morning at costco. yes, costco. they opened their doors 2 hours early for us TNI employees. after we walked inside the founders of TNI handed each of us a $200 costco gift card and a $25 cinemark movies gift card.

there was a catered breakfast including crepes, eggs, bacon, biscuts, fresh fruit, hash browns...you name it. not only that, there were games on every aisle. hula hoop contests, b.ball shooting, hole in one golf, football toss, and a cake walk. you win the game, you get a $5 costco gift card. AND you could play the games as many times as you wanted.

at the end of the day i walked away with $215 {in costco cash}, the $25 movie card and 3 loaves of specialty bread from the bakery.

jennifer walked away with all that plus a christmas ham...valued at $22!

thanks tni. we heart you.

my cube

this is me in my cubical.

really you can only see a bit of my space since i took the picture myself {in a sneaky-like manner because i felt dumb that someone might see}

AND...my superior, jessica, had her little baby girl on monday...so looks-a-like this is my time to shine!

good thing jennifer is still just one floor up, to coach me in all things corporate.

wish me luck.

the jorb

remember this post?

yeah...well...times have changed. honestly, i LOVE my job.
i never thought i would ever ever ever say that, not in a million years. but it's true.

i love...

that my hours are flexible

• 8 to 5 / 8:30 to 5:30 with a lunch
• 8 to 4 / 8:30 to 4: 30 lunch at my desk
• leave early one day, stay late the next...the point is it's up to me. love that.

my co-workers

• everyone is so laid back and fun. we play pranks and send endless emails that have me rolling all day long. "the girls" {the 4 of us that have our cubicals all together} give me dating advice, fashions ideas and reading updates on "eclipse"
• and hello, i work with jennifer. bff. europe tour 2007.

my boss

• jessica - she is the greatest supervisor EVER. smart, beautiful, fun, and oh so sweet. she is also one of "the girls" ...so yeah the dating advice etc. etc. she's the bomb.com

that i get to be creative

• basically jessica and i decide what gift sets we want to create. then we go shopping, fo real...and get "ideas" that we take to our vendor. then we tell them our ideas and they bring us back a "sample" of our idea in tangible form. we make changes, add details and go through the process again and again until we get what we want. then it goes out into the world...sounds like a movie, huh? but no, it's real. that's what i do. a dream really.

the pay

• let's just say making more $$ and saving on gas = makes liz a happy girl!

the perks

• Tahitian Noni Products
• benefits
• company parties and department lunches

turns out working a full-time job doesn't have to be such a drag. who knew?

something good.

a new chapter, starting with a new job.

pros:
higher salary
better benefits
closer to home
creative outlet

fun people

more challenging

free stuff and other perks
less drama...hopefully

cons:
unknown

yay for me!

check this out

here's yet another great business idea where i say "now-why-didn't-I-think-of-that?"
click here to see the goods.

someday i am going to come up with something brilliant! just you wait Henry Higgins! just you wait!

9 to 5

yay today is friday. halle-stinkin-lu-yah! i have discovered recently that i am simply not programed to work a full time job. i hated working summers at my dad's music store, vacuuming out instrument cases for $3.50 an hour. i felt like it was a rip off then and now i'm pretty sure it would be considered slave labor. working at curves was socially exhausting {talking to women all day long}, and i get restless sitting at desk jobs. basically the only job that i have actually enjoyed was life guarding. but then again that was part-time and seasonal. plus i got payed to eat free food, get a tan, read lots of books, and talk with emily c. pretty sweet.

now that i have a full-fledged real job {real meaning salaried} i feel like running away. especially around summer time {when all my teacher friends are off}. its not really the work part. its more the having to work part. don't get me wrong i do love that sense of accomplishment, when you get alot done "all in a days work" it does feel good. but i just wish i didn't have to go monday - friday week after week. i feel like life is passing me by while i sit here typing, answering phones, filing, scheduling. etc etc etc.

someday i will have my own business. with more freedom and variety. i know that it's no piece of cake to have your own business but i think i am up for the challenge. now i just need to discover a marketable skill or product. in the meantime here's to all you hard working 9-5ers."its no way to make a livin" but somebody's got to do it.