Sabbatical: Florida

I knew that when I was able to get two months off to move from Virginia to Utah that I would be spending a good chunk of time in Florida. Partly because I'm over the Cold but most especially to spend time with my people. If you're reading this, then you are my people and you know how important friendships and relationships are to me. 

It was funny actually, as everyone would ask me what I was going to do with all of this time off, if I was going to do a big trip overseas. I knew from the get go that I needed this time to decompress, to spend time with the people that matter in my life and to just be on the open road. As someone who has spent many hours in planes, there is just so much freedom and relaxation that comes from being able to get in the car and go wherever you want. 

Halfway through the Sabbatical, I have no regrets. 

Here's who I was able to see as I trekked down I-95 and crisscrossed my way  through Florida. 

Met Merrilyn off of I-95 somewhere in North Carolina as we ate and laughed and shopped. 

It was heaven!

After about 9 hours on the road, I made it to Jacksonville to hang with Missy and Joe Novak at their adorable beach place. I definitely took advantage of the proximity to the beach.  

 Adorable.

 This is the way to start a day. I love the beach. It makes my heart hurt to think I'll be so far from it while living in Salt Lake City. 

 Missy and I kicking it on some mansion's deck where apparently no one ever is (so says Missy- but how about later that day when I went back there was totally someone cleaning the chairs! Haha!).

 My adorable Beach Cruiser in its natural habitat. 

 Living the life on the beach. 

 Was able to stop in Orlando and do a session at the Temple. I really do love this Temple. Such a comforting and peaceful place. 

 Got to spend an afternoon and evening catching up with Kristen. 

She is such a support to me and is the 2nd sister I always wanted. 

 The perk of spending lots of time in my hometown of Valrico is the chance to just spend a lot of downtime with old friends. Sarah and I spent nearly all day together (along with her adorable daughter and parents!) reminiscing about our high school days and  simply enjoying our time together. Running errands with her made me really want to live nearby so we could laugh and grow old together. 

There really is nothing quite like old friends. 

 A great dinner out with more high school friends. Cortney, Shelley and Ashley. Every time I come in town they make time for me and it just melts my heart. I love that we've known each other for over 15 years and that there is still such a bond between us. Love these girls. 

Was able to go down to Indian Shores and spend a little more time on a beach as well as taking a stroll with Shelley. 

 I really do adore this girl.

 She is such a spiritual strength to me and I love our heart to hearts. 

 Mr. E.T. Hague was in Orlando for work so we spent a couple of days together. 

Shopping, eating and cruising the city in a convertible. 

Just how we roll. What a blast!

 Took a stroll through my old neighborhood. 

So many memories!

 4015 Lithia Ridge Blvd. 

My Florida Home! 

I really did love this house. 

 Finally got a little pool time in once the weather got above 70. 

Life is good. 

Final DC Days

Part of me doesn't feel like I could do justice to DC in a single post. So rather I will focus on my departure from DC so I can begin blogging about my Sabbatical. 

Packing up my office was actually pretty rough. Even though I will be working for the same company, it was hard to know that I will never work in this space again. 

It's an ending and those are always a little bit sad for me. 

The hardest part about leaving DC is of course leaving behind the incredible friends that I've made. They hosted a Going Away Party for me, which I didn't snap a single picture from, but I enjoyed laughing and chatting with some of my favorite DC folk. 

The following evening, a few of my closest friends got together at MJ's house where we sat around and laughed and talked and reminisced about our time together in DC. 

It was one of those nights that made my heart ache with love. 

Here I am with Rachel. The infamous Rachel who planted the Utah seed in my heart. 

She is a ray of sunshine. 

MJ, Laney and I stealing a picture between our discussions about men and life. These are two of my oldest friends in DC and without whom my life would be far less happy. 

Saying goodbye to them may have just about broken my heart. 

 My empty bedroom. It's really happening. 

 The scripture verse that has hung on my door since my last adventure. Quitting teacher and entering unemployment only to land at the job of my dreams. 5 years later this verse has just as much power. 

 Sneaking in a final lunch with Amber. Good Stuff Eatery was in fact Good Stuff- though saying goodbye to this bundle of joy was not easy. 

Friends that feel the need to come and send me off, even though I was leaving on a Saturday morning in the rain are the kind of friends a girl hates to leave. 

Savanna is the little sister I never had and the ying to my yang. 

 Oh Josh. We've been friends since I lived in Arizona back in 2005 and he's been in DC now for a bit over 6 months but he has been such a blessing to me in this transition. 

He may drive me crazy at times, but our friendship has been such a gift and for that I am so grateful. 

 My beautiful 2004 Honda Civic with over 140,000 miles is ready to make another trek across country.

 I may not be as ready as I thought, but she'll at least get the job done. 

Here's to the open road!

Salt Lake City

It was September 5th and I was sitting on my friend Rachel's back deck discussing life and choices and a million other things. She was talking and I was listening when she said "Well if it doesn't work out

  I'll just move to Utah!"

It hit me so hard, as if she had physically hit me over the head. She continued to speak and I looked at her and said "I need a minute."

It seems silly that such an idea would seem so foreign to me. Especially since I had watched many people from DC (and many friends of mine) move to Utah or at least talk about moving to Utah. Yet, on that September afternoon, it was as if the heavens had parted and this was a brand new idea. 

Fortunately for me, I was on the road for work that next week and in Kentucky of all places. I don't know anyone in Kentucky so I had plenty of time to myself and plenty of time to mull over this ever growing thought of Utah. 

I made lists.

 Pros and Cons of Salt Lake City (its the only place in Utah I would really want to live at this moment) and Virginia.

 I called best friends. 

I tossed it over and over in my mind and at the end of the day I knew what had to be done.

I was moving to Salt Lake City. 

In the end, this is what I asked myself:

 What do I care about? 

I care about my family and friends. This is what matters in this life. I want a family and I want to be with my family and friends and guess where a good chunk of them live? 

Utah. 

In recent months I've also come to the realization that my work/life balance in Virginia is pretty horrible.

 I am a workaholic. 

I need a slower pace. I need to regroup. I need to make my desires for a family a priority. 

It really all came together and I knew. 

I KNEW I wanted to live in Salt Lake City. 

I was giddy. 

I fasted about it on Sunday, September 15th to ensure my decision was correct. 

The entire day I had the thought in the back of my mind

 "You already know the answer."

And I did. 

It was right. 

The next day (I don't really waste much time in my decision making) I decided to speak with my boss. A man I love and respect. I knew I wanted to leave in January- It just made sense to start 2014 with a new adventure. I sat down with him at the end of the day to begin what I knew, would be one of the most challenging conversations. 

Time and other concerns do not permit me to detail all that transpired that day or after but  I can say that on March 3, 2014

 I will be the Regional Manager for our Salt Lake City satellite office. 

I was able to leave our Virginia office on January 3, 2014 to begin what I am affectionately calling my "Sabbatical."

It is incredibly humbling how the Lord is able to work his power in our lives. 

I am blessed. 

I am very, very blessed. 

2013 in Review

 2013 in Review.

Now this is just embarrassing! I am again summarizing an entire year with a single post. Let's hope 2014 holds way more time for blogging.

Let's begin.

In January I visited NYC (I really do love that city) to hang with my dear friend E.T. and my lovely big brother. E.T. and I saw this wonderful play called "Duchess"and I was able to meet this Golden Globe Winner. 

Total gem.

  Oh and *Matthew was there. How I adore him. How I miss him. How I will never watch Downton Abbey again. (I mean they kill more people than Game of Thrones...ridiculous)

  Such a great weekend with E.T. I do love this kid.

  Is it wrong to love an object? 

Well then I don't want to be right. Meet Kate. 

She is one of my absolute favorite things.

After freezing in NYC and DC, I had a work trip to Arizona in February. 

We stayed at the Princess Resort and it was incredible. 

  As always I ate a ton of food and laughed my butt of with Krista and Ashley (who somehow managed not to get a picture with me...). 

 I really do love Arizona.

Birthday trip to Savannah.

 I have never been so sick in my entire life. I was wiped out on the drive down and barely left the hotel. 

Here is a brief adventure out of the hotel to eat at Paula Deen's place.

 A shot of my food at Paula's. To be honest, it is very overrated.

The day we left Savannah, I felt a little bit better and was able to journey out to this famous fountain. 

Forsyth Park.

Once I recovered from that horrible ailment, March came around and I headed to Tampa for work. I was able to spend almost a week with my Mom, Sister and Nephews. It was such a great time! 

We played and played for hours. 

 We got to devour some delicious strawberries. Oh how I miss Florida!

 We went to Busch Gardens and these two were so stinking cute. I love how they take care of each other.

 I was able to sneak in a dinner with my high school girlfriends. We have such a good time together. Hours of talking and laughing. I am so blessed with such great friends.

 Another shot of us at Busch Gardens. The boys loved it!

 Easter in Richmond with two of my favorite men. I've never had such a small holiday before, especially with family, but we really had a good time. My Mom was down with Melissa in Florida so Nathan and I came down to hang with Dad.

Finally went Skydiving. It was AMAZING. Seriously, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Loved it. 

Cross that off the bucket list.

Memorial Day weekend at Lake Gaston.

 It's tradition now and it's always a great time. Who knew I could love lakes so much?

 Wouldn't be summer in DC without some baseball.

Part of my job is teaching at Workshops all over the country. The material can be dry. 

This was one of the reviews I got after I taught a session.

 #makingcrapfun

Meradyth and I had this great idea to do the 4th of July in Boston. 

Our married friends Laney and Jerry were there for the summer and we thought it would be perfect to ride the train up there. 

10 hours later... we were rethinking our decision.

 Making some new friends in Boston as we scoped out a good spot to watch Fireworks. We found the goldmine with these guys. They hooked us up with shade, shelter, water and straight up good times.

 It was epic!

 Loved this church in Boston. The juxtaposition of it with this modern building was perfect.

 Love this lady.

 Kicking it with the Stenquists. Waiting for the magic to happen.

 Oh and there it is. 

Magic.

Seriously.
 I've lived in DC for 5 years and I have loved the 4th of July there, but you haven't seen anything until you've been to Boston.

 It was beautiful!

 Love me some Laney. Oh and DDP ain't bad either. 

Both favorites.

Wandering through Boston with these two was such a blast.

 I've got the greatest friends.

 The memorial in Boston to the 54th Massachusetts Infantry.

 What the movie "Glory" was inspired by. 

We loved that movie growing up.

 I was able to fly to Utah for about 48 hours and surprise my cousin McKenna for her mission farewell. She is serving an 18 month mission for our Church in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

 So proud of this girl.

 Melissa and the boys came up to Virginia for a quick visit and so did our parents. It was a great time. We were able to get away one night and go to the FUN. concert. They were really great live, but it was raining and it was a mess! We made the most of it though.

 Tell me these two are not the cutest kids ever?!

 Another one bites the dust. 

My roommate Berlin got married in July in Logan, Utah and I was able to be there.
I LOVE this girl. One of the smartest, most spiritual, most service minded women I know.

 I am so happy for her and Josh.

 Oh and she gave me her bouquet. 

Yes, GAVE it to me. I didn't have to fight anyone for it. 

She simply walked over to me and hugged me and whispered that there was no one else who deserved it more than I did and that she wishes nothing but happiness for me. 

It melted my heart and I burst into tears. 

How she could be so considerate of someone else on HER wedding day is just evidence of the type of person Berlin is.

 Made my year.

 I wanted to go to the beach.

 It was August, time was running out.

 I made Meradyth go with me. 

Well, 11 hours later, my car was in the shop, I was driving my parents CRV and we arrive at the beach (it should've taken 3 hours). It's overcast and within 15 minutes they EVACUATE the beach due to an impending electrical storm. No freaking joke. 

It is proof that we love each other because all we did was snap this picture, laugh our heads off all day (to keep from crying) and slowly make our way back home. 

#epicfail

 Well now I may have a little Kate addiction.

 But let's be for real, this is basically my mantra so I HAD to have the bag.

 Oh did I mention that I got promoted in April? 

Yep. No more "Associate" Manager. It's only up from here!

 Thanks to work I got to hang with this wonderful lady and her adorable family in Kansas City.

 Wouldn't be a trip to Kansas City if I didn't eat at Oklahoma Joe's. Delish.

 Summertime in NYC was calling my name so I made a trip to visit my brother and friends. Nathan and I hit up the Spiderman Musical. I was there for Bono's music.

 Just a glimpse of the array of food we devoured all weekend. I do love eating my way through New York.

 We rode the Citi Bikes the whole time and I was in LOVE. It was so awesome to see the city this way. Cannot recommend them enough. NYC on bike is the way to go.

 Chicken and Waffles at Pies-n-Thighs. A new MUST in NYC. It was so divine.

 Got to have dinner with this guy.

 One more bike ride! Seriously so much fun.

 Virginia Beach Take 2. 

This time everything was perfect. 

Weather. Company. Travel. It was the most beautifully relaxing day. 

Oh how the beach soothes my soul.

 Beach trip was topped off with Merrilyn joining us from North Carolina. 

We ate lunch at this adorable little cafe and had the best time.

During a work trip to St. Louis I decided to share the news that I was "peacing out" of DC and headed West. 

That experience and decision may need to be its own blog post. 

All in all, I'm moving to Salt Lake City and couldn't be happier. 

 I was called to be on the Mid Singles Conference Committee in my Ward. It was an intense calling that required hours of preparation months in advance and then required 100% of my time for an entire weekend in October. It really turned out beautifully, but we were basically on Plan Z by the time the Conference started. Between the government being shut down and the torrential downpour and our keynote speakers cancelling- it was quite a miracle we were able to pull it off. We held church on Sunday at T.C. Williams High School (home of the Titans!) and this was the photo I was able to snatch before we fed 400+ people. So glad it's all over but so grateful for the friends I made. 

 One final trip to NYC before I headed West. It was a quick visit with my roommates Savanna and Jenny. I made them eat at Pies-n-Thighs with me. I'm telling you- those chicken & waffles are delish.

 All the girls wanted to do in NYC was to see "Cinderella." 

I'll be honest, I never would have seen it on my own but I am so glad we went. 

It was so much fun! 

Loved it. 

 In case you haven't heard. I'm addicted to the show Veronica Mars. 

Yes it's been cancelled for years and yes I supported the fundraiser to make the movie. 

It's coming out in March 2014 and here's the T-Shirt I got for being a backer. 

I'm a nerd but I LOVE it.

 Some shenanigans with Savanna and Josh. 

These last few months having my friend Josh (from Arizona) live in DC has been so much fun.

 Forgot what a blast we had together. 

 Made it down to Richmond to support MJ for her marathon.

 I adore this girl and couldn't be more proud.

 Thanksgiving in Richmond wouldn't be complete without a little family bonding time at the shooting range. Got to shoot this massive weapon and it about threw me backwards so this is the awesome face I made to my brothers after I shot it the first time. 

Hilarious.

 Family photo from Thanksgiving. 

I really do have the best family. 

 Us Shurtleff women having a little photo shoot during Thanksgiving. 

Who knew the three of us looked so much alike?!

 Attending a Caps game was on my bucket list for DC.

 Josh made it happen for my Christmas gift. 

It was awesome.

 Christmas in Parowan. 

It was an incredible Christmas as my family was together for the first time in 16 years. 

My brother Nephi left my family back in 1997 and has not been in contact with us most of that time. It has been a very difficult time for my family and has caused us all a lot of heartbreak. This year, Nephi decided to come home and though there is still much to be done, it was truly a miracle and a blessing to stand in my Grandmother's home with all of siblings.  

 2013 has been quite a ride. 

Here's to another great year.