Update! Woot Woot

So as many of you know from my Facebook up dates...I just finished reading "The Hunger Games" and "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins. If you have not read them I suggest that you call me and get my copy of them, or go to the library or really just go buy them, because honestly you are going to need them after you read them....I had a friend at work lend me "The Hunger Games" and I read it all that night and then the next day after work I went and bought it and the 2nd book. I would feel incomplete without them. I also got Bee hooked on them, and now I am not suffering alone, having to wait till Aug. 8th for the 3rd and final book to come out.


Holy Cow, so good read them read them read them! And then tell me what you think! :)

Also....I got a new job! Oh so very happy!
It is a job that I really want and have wanted for a long time....I am now the personal assistant to Kathy Headlee, the founder and CEO of Mothers Without Borders. Yeppie! I started today. I work from 9am to 1pm and then I book it to my other job, and work there until 7pm (we will see how long that lasts)......

Goals

So I know it is way past the time to make new years resolutions, but I never keep those anyway....so I thought I would make some goals that I want to actually try to keep. And If I am going to keep them I have to make myself accountable to someone other than just myself....So here it goes.

Spiritual

• Be worthy of and hold a temple recommend at all times.
• Attend the temple at least once a month, if not more.
• Be active in my ward and full fill all of my callings, including visiting teaching.
• Study, really study not just read, my scriptures morning and night.
• Bear testimony daily.

Physical

• Eat 3 healthy meals a day, plus 2 healthy snacks, lost of fruits and veggies.
• Get a smokin hot bod! ;) Go to yoga twice a week and running twice a week.
• Early to bed, early to rise....wake up before 7 every morning. And be in bed before 11 every night.

Emotional

• Be happy, have charity. Moroni 7:45
• Listen to up lifting music when driving.
• Give service, Become selfless and less selfish

Mental

• Attend institute
• Take classes on things that I am interested,
• Learn something new everyday
• Read a new book a month
• Keep up on current events.

Social

• Go on Dates
• Get to know new people, Don't be Shy.
• Be sincere
• Be thoughtful
• Try new things, be fearless
• Don't give up.

Financial

• Pay tithing first, always.
• Pay off any debt, and stay out of debt.
• Save, Save, Save....
• Don't waste money on things I don't need.

Ok it is not much, but they are changes that need to be made and Things I need to work on.

So who even knows about this blog

So I was talking to my sister the other day...and she didn't even know that had this new blog. We were talking about her blog...well about her birthday and how she doesn't have any pictures of her last birthday....and she posted that on her blog and I read it...and she was amazed.
"You read my Blog",
"why yes I do, if you go to my blog there is actually a link to your blog"
" Oh really?! I didn't know that, I haven't been to your blog since you go back from Africa"
"Well I started a new blog"
"Really? I didn't even know you had a new blog"
"Sigh, I do. You should read it sometime."
So hopefully she will come read this a feel bad! Ha ha ha.
Anyway I was going to say something profound in this blog post, but I forgot what it was....
Hmmm, I will think about it.



Ha ha! I remember...well kinda, I have something else to say.

I got a new calling....I am now the co-chair for the FHE council.
I have mixed feelings about this. I never have really gone to FHE, because I am not the biggest fan...I live with my family, so family night is spent, well with my family. But I know the Lord is testing me, hee hee....So pray for me, (whoever reads this).


So this is going to be a random blog post....
But I have also decided that I love, love, love Hockey! I got hooked on it about 2ish years ago when Dani was dating Clayton, they are now married, but Clayton played on a team and I would go with Dani to watch...Then I became friends with Paul another guy on the team, he was also in the singles ward...He is now my one link to hockey...so I am not just a creeper who goes to random games...but I love it. Who watched the US, Canada game yesterday!? Oh I did! Amazing, too bad the US lost, but what a come back, eh, 25 seconds left in the game and they tied it up. Sweet! I love the Olympics...sad that they are over.

Also Tom and Brody have found my celebrity look alike...Well really Nicole found it first....we watched the movie "The Baxter" like 4 months ago and Brody, Tom's best friend went and saw "Shutter Island"...and apparently I look just like Michelle Williams.

She was engaged to Heath Ledger, they have a daughter together.

So you make the call.....
Does it look like me?

I know random Post but just my random thoughts from today....
Oh and some of you who read this, might be thinking who is Tom and Brody?


Tom is a dude that I am causally dating...I think...I don't know. He is a really awesome dude, that I really like. And Brody is his best friend.

So there you go. A glimpse into the mind of Leah Jones.

Job :)

So today was my first day of my new job :) Sweet stuff, I had a nice week and a bit vacation. It was nice. But it was just the perfect amount of time off, I was going a bit crazy...so I am glad I was able to find a job so quickly. So amazingly quick! Wow I am blessed.

It is a good job, I am working in customer service for My E-biz. I am pretty excited! I know a few people who work there. Dani, my best friend. And 2 girls from my home ward. So it is really nice that I know people there. They are really nice people there and I am exited to really start working.

So update for the millions of people who read this ;)....I have been doing good and my dating resolution, yeppie!

I have gone on a few dates with this awesome guy. (thanks Nicole) So I hope it all goes well because I am thinking I like him.

Jobless...

So as you may know, I no longer have the comfort of a job. Mozy is no more. But hey! It could very well be a blessing is disguise. As you know I did not particually like my job. Customers yelling at me all of the time, working way to hard for what I was being paid for...I loved the people I worked with. The Reps and Kayleigh. But now that is over and I don't have to come home tired and worn out from work.
My poppy asked me this morning, "Leah what is it that you really want."
I replied, "I want to be married"
"I know, and it was just not going to happen there. And you really hated that job. So I think this is the Lord saying you can find something better."
So I am going to do that, find something better. Something I love to do. Something that I will enjoy. And something where I am helping people.
Pray for me so I can find that! :)

Dating, for serious?

So this post has been a long time coming....but I have finally got the time to do it. Sorry it is going to be kind of a venting blog post.
Dating. What is up with that?
Why am I a dating handicap? For serious.
Let's go over my brief dating history.....and remember these are just dates, I have only really "dated" one person...and that did not go well, not at all.

First date ever...(I will change the name to protect the identities of this poor boy)
Samuel, nice, a bit creepy. I am 16 he is 18. Senior Sweethearts dance. Here is the gist of it. He asked me 2 days before the dance, in a manner which I could not say no...he did not tell me when we were meeting for the day date, so 11:00 I am still sleeping and our whole group is waiting for us...He had to work the night of the dance...and he could not drive, no drivers license. So we got to the dance with 1/2 of the dance left. All in all memorable, but not so great.

Through the high school years I went on few dates and they were all to school dances. Prom Jr and senior year. Both fine. The drives home were fun :) Dan, ha ha ha, the best! And Deen really made that really funny the next day at church.

So then after high school I went to the singles ward where I met so really great guys. Never was asked on a date...although I tried to flirt as best I could (which is not good, I tell you not good) But I also worked during the week so I was never able to really go the activities where the real flirting could happen, because I am very much against flirting in church. There was this one dude, that I really, really, really, so many reallys, liked. In fact still do. But he went on his mission and I went to Africa, and he never came back to AF. We are facebook friends, ha ha. So nothing will happen with that. Which makes me sad because he was real live perfect. Anyway, I am rambling.

While I was going to the singles ward I dated a dude from high school. That was all bad, frankly put, he was a lair, in every form.

So I went on a few dates, like 3, with other guys. First dates only....I think that is all I am good for.

There is one stick out date, we had so much fun and didn't want the date to end. But it did have to end, and I went back to Massachusetts and he is now on his mission. He is a really great dude and I really like him. But on a mission...so that is a bummer.

I have been set up on a few blind dates....those did not turn out well. A really sweet woman in my home ward set me up with this guy that she works with. The first date went well. The second, not so much. Cage fighting in a bar. Yep. So, not so good.

Now I am going to the singles ward again, the same one as last time. And I have not gotten a date directly from that. I went on a few dates with an awesome hockey player, who was in the ward, but is not anymore. He is nice, but I am sure he just wants to be friends. Which I am fine with.

So sadly that is pretty much the extent of my dating. Never really to a 3rd date. Everyone tells me that it is the guys. But I am not convinced. There has to be something I am doing wrong! There is something wrong with me. Dating Handicap, that is me. Socially awkward, yep me too. Advice welcome :)

So I am venting my frustration with the whole dating scheme. And announcing my resolve to go on a date...lets start with one a month. Ok maybe every other week. One date every 2 weeks, lets see if I can do that.

Year in Review

So a new year huh? What did I do in 2009....hmmmm....
Well I was still in Zambia,
In January Michi was with me and she had decided to go home and I had decided to stay...but we wanted to go to Victoria Falls together before we left...so we kinda snuck out and went. And I am glad I did! It was fun to go with some one and see it, because the next time I went I traveled by my self the entire 10 hour bus ride. Then the next week Michi left and I was alone...all alone, for a few months anyway. But January, February, March and April where when I really got to work! I went out and taught and it was amazing...I miss it! At the time I really just wanted to come home more than anything, I had a homemade calendar counting down the days. But I really miss it and I want to go back. I taught at 11 schools. And I loved my students! They were so much fun. Some were better than others, Showgrounds was my favorite. It was the poorest school I taught at but it had the best students! There were 4 girls and 1 boy that were always asking questions. Always wanting to know more. The last time I went there one of the girls got up the courage to ask to feel my hair....so I have 30 dirty hands running their fingers through my hair. They gabbered away in Tonga, in excited and awed voices. I miss them.
January, February and March where also the time when I put on the most weight while I was there...I was only cooking for myself and I felt like I could not waste any food I made. Also it was really hard being by myself...so food was my friend, and what did I do when I got bored? I ate food and read books....I read A LOT of books. I brought....6 books and I read those all in the first month...so I downloaded books off of the internet. 10 books from the internet....and then when Hye-Jin came in March she brought 6 more books.
I also had a lot of visitors from other "projects" in those months...which was so nice. A girl from Austria came and stayed a week. A boy from China also stayed a week. Yuskuke, that I trained with, came and stayed a week. It was so fun to meet new people. And have them go with me to my classes.
Then a few weeks before I left I went to Livingstone to see Victoria Falls again. It was amazing both times! But this time even more so. It was after the rainy season and there was so much water! So so so so so much! The first time I went I didn't wear a poncho, but this time I did, but it soaked right through and I was dripping, dripping wet when I took it off! I really want to go back there and bungie jump off of the bridge just below the falls...life goal.
The last couple of days I was there I finally got the package my mother had sent 3 months before. It was full of children books, which I had asked for so I could take them to my schools and to the hospital. So I went to the hospital with Hye-Jin and read to the children in the children's ward. I think that is one of my favorite memories.
The last day I was there was unbelievably stressful. I didn't know how I was getting to Lusaka, or if I was going to be given money to travel....I think I cried harder that day then I ever have before...and ask anyone who was there with me...I cried a ton while I was there.
But finally I got home. After delay, upon delay, lost baggage and almost missing my connecting flight. But I was back on American soil!
I then drove home with my wonderful friend Elyse. And then flew back to Utah. And welcomed home by my wonderful family and amazing best friend.
Being home.....what to do what to do.
Well one thing was certain, I needed to lose my almost 30 lbs that I had gained. I needed a job and I needed something to keep me busy.
I searched and searched for a job, sent out a million resumes, and went to LDS "how to get a job" workshop. I finally got one at Mozy and I started working there Aug. 2nd. I have lost 25 of the 30 lbs that I gained. And over the summer I was in Children of Eden that American Fork/Highland arts council up on. Which was so fun to be in! I love love love theater and am resolved to do more of it. Being in it kept me busy and I was able to make wonderful friendships and renew some so they are even better and I don't know what I would do without them.
So all in all a good year...there is only one thing that is lacking...and that is a boyfriend. I have concluded that I am dating handicap. I have been on some dates, few good, more not so good. But I will just have to keep on trying. I just wish it wasn't so hard. I just want to date a good guy that likes me...someone to cuddle with. Is that too much to ask :)