thankful.

today was a great day.

i was able to spend it with people that I love more than anything and be home in Georgia. couldn't have wanted a better day. 

I reflected today on my life and realized how lucky and blessed I am. 

I am so grateful for so many things I have in my life....

My Family. including my awesome extended family. 

My incredible Friends.

My puppy, Becker. 

Georgia.

A Job I absolutely LOVE.

Belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 

Having a Heavenly Father who knows and loves me. 

My Health.

BYU. 

My new life and adventure in Arizona. 

The Atlanta Braves. 

EFY.

All the experiences, the ups and downs, that I've had to go through to get where I am today.

the list could seriously go on forever; I have so many things I am thankful for. and it was a great day to reflect on those things. I'm on blessed and happy girl. 

Hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving :)

jobs.

hunting for jobs is the WORST. 

it was just as bad as I remember it from searching last year in Provo. 

After 4 weeks of living here and not getting a single interview, I was definitely feeling discouraged. if i felt SO good about making the decision to move here, why weren't things falling into place yet? i was thankful i didn't pay rent yet as my money was slowly disappearing with other finances. 

After a very humbling experience, i finally had 2 job interviews!  the first one didn't go well at all and the second one was more what i wanted, a dental assisting position! Not only was it an interview, but it was going to be a working interview. i was slightly nervous, but ready for the challenge. I didn't know a single thing when it came to dentistry besides what anyone else would know going into a dental office.  And let me tell you, it was HARD. I had a lot to learn. i felt like I was back in school again, the dental field has this whole other language. so i was definitely learning a lot and working as hard as I could. to make a long story short, i wasn't getting enough hours and wasn't getting paid enough to really enjoy what I was doing. Not only that, but the office wasn't even that busy. Once the doctor told me she took another job that would be Monday-Thursday and I'd only work Friday and Saturday, I knew that was the final straw. So i started looking for another job. 

After a week, I hadn't applied for any jobs yet because I was so frustrated. I was back to square 1 again. job hunting. and i hated it just as much. but I decided one morning to apply for a few jobs before I headed out for the day. and to my surprise, I got a call a few hours later to come into a dental office for an interview! I was so excited! The office is in Phoenix, which is about 30 min from home, but they would be opening a new office in Mesa not even 10 min from my house! This dental office had such a great vibe. It was a Dad and 2 Son's who would work there, and a staff of about 10 other girls! It was a much busier, friendlier, and BETTER office than the current one I was at. Not only that, but the dentists are Mormon! Not that I need to always work with members, but it was so nice to know that these men shared my beliefs. And I felt so comfortable around them! I prayed so hard that I would get this job. It was better pay, better hours, better people, and a better atmosphere. And I'm happy to report, they offered me the job! In about a month the Mesa office will open and I will be the Office Manager there. I'm pretty excited to start up this office and help it succeed. I know it'll be challenging, but I'm really excited for it! So for the time being, I'm working in the Phoenix office (which can be killer when I have to be there at 6:45 am) and learning as much as I can before I head to the new office. I only had to go to my old office one day before I was completely done there. Although it wasn't what I wanted, I was grateful I had the opportunity and time to work at that office. I learned and grew a lot. I was grateful I was given the opportunity to train and learn about something I was interested in! 

 But it was such a relief to get out of that place. It wasn't making me happy. 

But this new job is. And I count my blessings every day for it. I feel like I won't be in that job hunting process for quite awhile now, and for that.. I am extremely grateful.

baby girl is turning 14!

Seriously, what?! I honestly can't believe my baby girl is turning 14 today! 

i just wish time would stop so she doesn't grow up anymore! we watched some of the most hilarious home videos a few months ago when she was just a little girl and have never laughed so hard! she is so entertaining and was the cutest thing ever! and she still is! it's fun to watch her grow up into this lady she is becoming!

Happy birthday to this darling, funny, energetic, selfless, dedicated, caring, beautiful, adventurous, considerate, stlyish, and loving little sister! And just a reminder, take a look here to read some other great things about this baby girl. 

Thanks for being such a loving and fun little sister and one of my best friends!! I remember the day you were born and was so excited to have another sister! I have watched you grow into this beautiful young woman and I am SO proud of you and all you have accomplished to become the person you are today! I wish I was in Georgia to celebrate with you today, but know that I am thinking of you! Thanks for being an amazing person in my life! I am so blessed to call you my sister and best friend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL! 

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

it's the golden birthday!

Happy, Happy 23rd Birthday to this 

Gorgeous

Caring

Talented

Amazing

Sweet

Loving

Spunky

Athletic

Funny

Outgoing

Sister of mine! 

She really is such a fantastic person for SO many reasons, just look it up here.

I'm so lucky to have a sister to call my best friend and grow up with!

 

 Happy birthday to my partner in crime! I hope it's a great day for you Cal! I would so rather be spending the day planning up a party and baking a cake just for your special day instead of working. 

Love you Sister!!!!! 

Baby Cenica Debut!

One reason I was SO excited I was moving to Arizona by my family was that my Aunt was due with a baby girl a month after I got here! I moved out just a week before the baby arrived, but I stayed over the night before the cute baby girl came so I could help get Cal off to school and watch Crewe before his nurse came over. 

Austin came up as well and the night before we all went to dinner and got to spend time with this family their last time as a family of 4! We were all so excited for this little girl to arrive!

While Cal was at school, Austin and I enjoyed a relaxing day watching movies, lounging by the pool (included making Austin get a dead mouse out of it), and winning a free lunch of In N Out due to the Falcons defeat over the Broncos :)  

We were all so excited and anxious to get to the hospital the moment Cal came home! We packed the kids in the car and headed to the hospital! 

Crewe was absolutely smitten with her! He willingly got on the bed, wanted to touch her, talk to her, and asked lots of cute questions like "Why are her fingers so tiny?", and "Why is she crying?" It was too cute. And she is too cute. I haven't held a baby this new since Lexie! 

 Welcome to the world Baby Cenica! You are so precious! 

I'm so excited to live close by so I can be around to watch this little girl grow and give her some trademark white bows like I used to wear when I was a little girl! She is so darling and I'm so excited to have another girl cousin! 

home sweet home!

it's been a little over a month since i moved into this cute little home in East Mesa! I remember how overwhelmed I felt as I was making the final drive from my Aunt and Uncle's place to here. The day was rainy so that set the mood a little bit, I had no idea how to get anywhere, East Mesa is pretty much the outskirts of everything so I have to drive a lot, , and I didn't know many people (I didn't even know the girl who owned the house). So yes, I was a little scared.

But now, I love coming home. I know the surrounding streets, my 2 roommates are fantastic, I'm still working on getting into the social scene, which I know takes time,

....and I think my house is pretty dang cute. 

The Kitchen

It is still in a construction zone cause my roommate is in the process of painting the cabinets on and off, but it'll look cuter soon! Slash I'm obsessed with that mint color these days. But our kitchen is nice and spacious, with all working appliances- like a disposal and dishwasher, yes those are 2 things I haven't had in my past 2 houses so it's a pretty big deal. 

 The Living Room

I'm slightly obsessed with it. I'm working on my piano skills again, hoping to get better if I practice more.

 And this is just the comfiest sight I've ever seen. 2 Love Sacs and 2 comfy couches. It's heaven. 

 The Bedroom

Yep, that's it folks. I can fit my bed (which is still an air mattress, nbd) and my dresser. Once I have a little more money in the bank, I should be able to make it a little more homey. But for now, here's the box I live in. And I honestly can't complain! I like it!

 And my friend, Mandy, and I share this bathroom. Perfect size for 2 people slash I love the long mirror! 

So that's pretty much it! Small and simple, yet perfect! 

Not pictured:

Laundry Room- just a washer and dryer, nothing exciting.

 Our 'Arizona room" aka Like a Sun Room aka a Sauna! It's next to the living room and we store our desks in there. It's not too exciting. 

And our little backyard. Nat is trying to grow grass back there so it's not exactly at it's best moment. 

Southern Comfort.

After my first few weeks in Arizona and getting no job interviews, finding a cheap deal to fly back home, we booked my ticket and was gone in less than a week to visit my home for almost 10 days! I was so grateful I could go home and see my family, watch the kids in their activities, AND get to see that BFF new Georgia Peach, Nicole and hubby Shaun! It was a fun, but quick week!

My first night, Nicole and Daddy-o picked me up and we went straight to the feeder football game to watch Lexie cheer! It was so fun to be with those two kiddies again as well as being reunited with Becker and Nicole! Never thought I'd see the day where Nicole would be in my home and now she LIVES in that beautiful Southern State. So jealous. 

I was home for Labor Day weekend too, which made it better cause the kids were out of school! So after doing a few things in the morning, we met up with Nicole and Shaun at Zaxby's (of course) 

played some card games during the day, and then ended our day with Moe's. (yes, I hit up my two favorite spots my first full day there and loved it.)

A few nights later I FINALLY got to go to a Braves game and witness Nicole's first game with her! Tay also flew in that day so it was fun to have him home that night too! We got great seats for such a cheap price, I couldn't believe it! 

 

Any trip to Turner Field is always a good time and I think Nicole and Shaun loved their first game, even if it wasn't too exciting. 

Oh ya, and I chopped my hair. It needed to be done, but I am missing those long hair days. Please grow back quickly. 

We went back to my old stomping grounds to watch our studly brother play football! 

It was exciting that Callie flew in that day! It was great to be back together again when it was so last minute and totally unexpected! (Brandon was flying in later that night too!) None of us have seen Cody play in high school football so it was fun that we could be there to watch him and cheer him on! 

 We spent most of our weekend watching the baby sister play volleyball. I'm so proud of her and her effort to do her best! It was fun getting to watch her play in a game. The downfall of not living near home is that I miss the kids growing up and watching them in their different sports and activities. I was super grateful I could come home and watch them! 

 Another highlight is that Georgia now has Rita's! I went to Rita's a few years ago when I visited Kaycie in Hilton Head, and now they have one near my home! I was dying to go all week so I'm glad the family agreed to go there one night. They were not disappointed either! 

 The fun filled, yet busy and crazy week was over. The weekend with all the family was coming to a close and it was a sad time. Lives are changing, jobs are happening where there aren't holiday breaks, and it's unknown when we will all be together again. I'm SO grateful I got to spend some time with my family for a few days. We enjoyed watching old home videos and laughing so hard at seeing our young selves, enjoyed watching the kids in their activities, and ate some delicious food! 

 And thanks to the baby girl, we had a sib photo shoot, which turned out to be really cute and fun! 

We first took a picture all together right after church on that infamous porch of ours. 

 And one of those sassy Sant ladies had to happen as well. 

 And then baby girl put her brain to work and the photo shoot began! Isn't she such a babe?! I don't know how she has grown up so fast! 

 And we loved the pictures we took together! (I'll spare you and not post all of them.) I look back on these pictures and realize how blessed and lucky I am to have such incredible siblings. It's nice to know that no matter what I will have 5 other people who will be there for me through anything. They are my backbone and my support through everything. They are so fun to be around. I lucked out BIG time. My sibs are so rad.

 And this has been our home since I was in 3rd grade! That is 16 years people. It's amazing. I sometimes go home and feel like I'm still in a fairly new home. But it's always been a comfort to drive down Morning Mountain Way and see that home. I miss it.

 And you should know me by now and my love for that Becker Boy. I always beg my parents to let me take him back home with me, but to my dismay, they never allow it. He's such a cute pup. 

 And my parents rock. I don't even know where I'd be without them as a part of my life! They have helped me through so many life challenges that I don't know how I'd get through unless I had them to rely on for advice and support. It was fun spending a week with them as well! 

I was sad saying bye to that beautiful home and the beautiful green. I hope I will reunite with that sweet southern home soon!