Monday, March 4, 2013

Changes :)

What's new in the life of Adrianna?
1) I turned 23
2) I've been working full-time at the Senior Care center
3) I'm now quitting the Senior Center
4) I have been hired as a customer service representative at Lashbrook Designs which is a jewelry manufacturing company. They specialize in men's wedding bands. Check them out, they are really cool! lashbrookdesigns.com
5) I live in a new apartment which is nice and I have good roommates :)
6) I am an aunt!!! Little Sariah was born in February! I got to visit last weekend. She's sooo cute!
7) Not new, but you all want to know... I'm still dating Sean :) Things are going well and we are very happy.

That seems to sum up the last 3 months of my life. I hope this settles your curiosity and I hope you are all doing well :)

Friday, December 7, 2012

It's already December!?

Well, not too much has changed since October. I am still working 2 jobs, and with it being December my job at the Joseph Smith Building is very busy. I am working 42 hours this week and probably a few more next week. It's good to be busy. I am finishing up my only class on the 13th and I am so excited to be done. I have decided to go to Massage Therapy School next year sometime. So, until I begin I will be working and saving up money for that schooling.

I guess since my last post I started dating a guy named Sean. It's been fun and interesting and I found out that now that I've been on my mission, dating is completely different. So in between work and school I manage to find time to spend with him.

I am sooo happy that the weather has been nice. I really cannot complain. It makes walking to work so much easier!

My apartment is nice and I love going for walks around the state capitol, which is conveniently close. Unfortunately, our lease ends at the end of January and they are raising the price of rent. So, here I go, moving again. Maybe someday I will be able to stay in one place for at LEAST a year? Maybe?

Well, that's the update. And, I am currently procrastinating my homework. So...I should probably do that before I have to go to work! Later!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

City Livin'

Who would have ever guessed that this small town girl would ever live in downtown Salt Lake City, UT? My hometown could practically fit in a 3 block radius! (Ok, that might be a little dramatic...) I have officially moved downtown. I live a 15 minute walk from school, 10 minute bike-ride from job #1 and a 10 minute walk from job #2. It's nice to not have to deal with a 45 minute commute. Yay!!

Job #1 (The Senior Center) is going well! I love the residents, but it is so hard to see them start to fade away. To listen to them have the same conversation they had 5 minutes before, or to be asked over and over again the same questions. One lady has asked me a few different times how we know her name. Awww. One of my first weeks there I was asked what day it was. I said, "It's Tuesday." The woman looked at the woman next to her and said loudly, "Today is Tuesday!" Her friend responded just as loudly, "All day!?" They are so cute. I definitely have favorites and I miss them when they don't come for meals. I am grateful to have a job that I enjoy :)

Job #2 (Joseph Smith Building as a Banquet Server) is going well too. I don't get too many hours in. But, I really enjoy working with people my age. It's kind of intimidating to try to remember all the etiquette rules of serving and setting and clearing. It's so much to remember. Then, to add to that, let's put an apostle in the room at the table right next to yours. DON'T MESS UP! I enjoy it and I enjoy the free food that comes along with it. :)

Today was the first snowfall of the season. I have to admit that I am disappointed. I was hoping for it to hold off until at least mid-November. But, like my mom said to me, "ready or not, here it comes!" Why, oh why oh why do I keep moving to places with cold winters? I know that I don't like it! Why can't I move back to Arizona!? Ok, I'm just being ridiculous now. I just need to invest in a good pair of boots so I don't freeze on my walks to work--that 10 minute bike ride is gonna turn into a 25 minute walk. Bummer! Well, I survived 1.5 winters in Minnesota as a missionary, I am sure I can handle this too.

Next weekend my former roommate and current friend, Tandy is coming to visit! I cannot wait to see her! She is funny and I am glad she was my roommate way back in 2008-2009. =D It's gonna be a blast! Well, now I am about to start rambling about randomness...so, I will end this little update! I hope you are all doing well!

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Gettin' Busy

Well, since my last post I think that my life has changed some! I began a new job. I work at a place called Emeritus Senior Living as a Waitress. Many years ago, during my 1st job, the only experience I had with elderly people was being yelled at for messing up. Here I have learned that I actually enjoy working with the elderly people. They are sweet and rather funny. I love feeling like I am helping someone have a better day! I have truly been blessed in receiving this job. I was reaching the end of my available funds, so I said a prayer. I told Heavenly Father that I knew He had asked me to come to Salt Lake and that He would provide a way for things to work out, but that I really needed a job by the end of the next week. At this point most places had already called and told me that they had hired someone else. I was feeling quite discouraged. Then, one day the phone rang. It was Emeritus. They had already called and told me they had hired someone else, but some positions opened up and they offered me a job! I started that weekend. It truly has been a blessing and I enjoy having something productive to do.

I also have officially started a 2nd job. I am a waitress at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Today was my first day. It was good and I am grateful that things are starting to work out! :)

My algebra class is going well. It can be frustrating and I get mad at the problems and realize that the only problem was me! Once I figure it out it's easy! Anyway, things are coming back to me and I'm feeling more comfortable with where life is at!

Next step...make time for a social life. =D

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Back to Life!

Well, it has officially been one month since I was released from 18 months of service devoted to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I wish I could say that coming home has been the best thing ever, but I cannot quite say that. It's been nice to reconnect with friends and family and even to start school again but I greatly miss having days full of serving others. So, I am going to make a list of things I miss and things that I am looking forward to!

What I miss most about Minnesota:         Why I am happy to be home:
My companions                                                                       Friends and Family
The people I taught                                                                 More relaxed schedule
3 hours of gospel study                                                         Ability to do what I want, when I want,
Feeling the Holy Spirit strongly each day                           I get to go to the temple whenever I want!! 
Not worrying about money, school, work etc.                    Being alone!!!!
Knowing for a fact that I was doing the right thing          Socializing...maybe, eventually even dating?
8 hours of sleep each night (or close to)                              Naps :D
                                                                                          
Anyway, the socializing thing is still coming. I seem to be quite awkward still. What do normal people talk about? I have found that I am more quiet than I have been in a long long time (unpleasant flashbacks of 7th grade... yikes). If you have any suggestions on how to become unawkward on a social basis and how to meet people, feel free to comment!

Monday, April 9, 2012

April 9, 2012

Well, it's the end of the transfer already. Those first two weeks were SLOOOOW. But, now it's the end. Sister Meraz is being transferred to the Nepali area and I am getting that sister, who also came out with Sister Meraz. So, one more transfer of training for me. Then, maybe I can move to a new area? This will make 9 months here. I guess I'm being taught to be ok with consistency. I like change too much maybe? We shall see.
 
Thanks for the package! I have enjoyed the candy...it's like you know what my favorite candy is, or something? It's great! Also, thanks for the pictures. I was unable to view the videos, there isn't a program on the computer for me to see it! I'm glad they had fun searching for eggs, even though they felt too old for it. You need grandkids soon so that you can keep this going! :D
 
Sorry work has been hard. Hopefully it picks back up! That's rough. Congrats to Austin on his tennis matches! That's awesome! I'm proud of him! I hope Shae has fun in the musical. And best of luck to Miranda at BYU-I and with her dating life. Remember...no marriage before I get home (It's not unreasonable to ask that anymore...) And, mom is still busy with all sorts of activities! I swear you never sleep! ;) Thanks for the Mary Kay stuff mom!
 
Well, friends, it's been a crazy week. One day this week we stopped by the apartment to grab something and it smelt like gas! So, we made some phone calls. It ended up being the pilot light on our stove. But, Elder Randall had us go spend the night with the Spanish Sisters. That was fun, and I enjoyed it. Hermana Blood goes home this Wednesday, so I'm glad I got to spend a little time with her! She's fun.
 
President met with our Muslim investigator. We can continue to meet with her. She came to a baptism on Saturday and then had a concern with women not holding the Priesthood. We tried to explain it to her. She was supposed to come to church yesterday, but she didn't show up and hasn't responded to us. We will have to work with her a little more. Teaching different cultures is hard. You really have to understand their background!
 
Our Chinese investigator is doing great! WZ is so cute. We showed her the Restoration in Chinese and she loved it. She got a huge smile on her face during the 1st Vision and she gasped a little. It was cute. Our joint teacher (also chinese) went and hung out with her Friday night and it turns out she might be married...? that or engaged. But the boy is going to school somewhere else. Hopefully she's not married...
 
AB is doing great. We have met with her 3 times in 8 days and will be meeting with her tonight again. So 4 times in 11 days. She's great. We love her.
 
No stories about people running away from us this week. There was a U of M football player who passed away this week. They don't really know what happened. It was in the building right across from the Institute. They don't think it was foul play, something about his heart just stopping. One of our investigators played for the team, and one of the less actives the elders are teach did as well. It was so sad. It's sad when someone so young with so much potential pass on. He was going to be the first member of his family to graduate college. At least we know he is in a better place.
 
Well, things are great. I loved the tender mercy journal! I plan to use it every night (at least I'll try to....). I hope you are all doing well. I love you and miss you and look forward to mothers day! :D It's gonna be great! I hope you all have a great week!
 
I love you!!!
Love, Sister Randall

April 2, 2012

It's great to hear from you! It sounds like you enjoyed conference! I found it quite edifying as well! That's good that Miranda is headed back off to school next week. Dad would offer to mow her lawn so that he could use the mower! I laughed at that :) Shaelyn seems involved and busy, that's good. I am grateful for the events I was involved in in school. I think it helped me a lot. I don't remember Elder Hulme, but maybe someday I'll end up meeting him again. Austin is also involved, that makes me happy. Charleston seems to have been good to him? Keep me updated on his games! Yes, I still want to do a triathlon. Someday. :D We biked from the St Paul campus back to our apartment the other night. We had used the campus connector (bus) to transport us and our bikes to St Paul, but when we came to go back, each bus that came had bikes already on the rack. So, to make it home in time, we biked back. It was fun. It was misting, and it was a work out, but it was fun. :D

It's so weird to hear of missionaries coming home. I can't believe how fast 2 years goes by..let alone 18months. It's just insane! Anyway, thanks for sending me Mary Kay stuff. I appreciate it. As for anything else that I need, my night solution is running low (I can survive without it) and I could use some eyeliner--either black or dark brown.

So, what happened this week? We had 4 investigator lessons! That was really good! They are some of the sweetest people. We are starting to see our contacting efforts reflect in our teaching, which is super nice! AJ, One of our investigators wants to bring his "mentor" to the next lesson. His mentor is an on-campus minister. But, I guess he doesn't tell him what to believe, but sends him to the Bible to search for answers. So, that could be interesting.

P.M. has to meet with President before we continue to teach her. AB is so sweet, we have taught her once. She is so innocent and when we invited her to be baptized she got such a horrified look on her face. We assured her we weren't pushing her into anything and that we just want her to know where this will lead to when she finds it to be true. AK was interested in learning more. He is from Kenya. He said he would read and pray about the Book of Mormon and if it's true, he'll be baptized. I love Africans, so much!

We had a humorous event happen last night on campus. We had been out contacting and then needed to go back to the Institute to send some emails before we headed home. Well, to get to the institute we had to pass the Elders who were talking to a kid. In between us and them was a guy 1/2 running and looking back over his shoulder. When he got to us he stopped and urgently said "Watch out, there are two Mormons over there! I literally just ran away from them!" Sister Meraz and I were confused and just started laughing, thinking he was kidding. Well, when we realized he was serious we pointed to our name tags. He saw them, looked terrified and took of running! All we could do was laugh. I have never seen anyone so terrified of me before! Haha.

Well, we have a good week planned and will hopefully continue to add to our teaching pool. It's been a great week and we really enjoyed General Conference. It gives me so much to think about and work on! I just love conference! Maybe next time I can go to the conference center! That would be fun. Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Easter. I am grateful for the Savior and His sacrifice. I know He lives and He loves each and everyone of us. He is our Redeemer. I know that He can help us through anything. His sacrifice is not just for that of repenting, but forgiving and finding strength to continue. The power of the Atonement is real. I am grateful for the Plan of Salvation and the reality of our ability to live with God again. I love you and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,
Sister Randall