Goodbyes

Before we left Idaho, we had to say lots of goodbyes. It wasn't as hard as anticipated considering that we will be coming back to Idaho often because of family and who knows - we may end up getting a job there! (Not ruling out any possibilities!) Just a few things we had to say goodbye to:

Bye, bye playing with all my Guymon cousins...

Bye, bye Guymon family gatherings... (annual summer campout @ Heise) 

Bye, bye dessert gatherings with family...

Bye, bye to my best friends who I am probably going to miss the most. Good friends are hard to come by. 

Got our family pictures done to cap off our time and memories in Idaho Falls. 

Marlo had the BEST teachers at daycare. They put my heart at ease daily and I am so grateful for them. It was hard for them to say goodbye to Marlo.

Nephi's grandparents will be sorely missed! No one in the Guymon family makes me feel more loved than Grandma Guymon. She is the perfect grandma! 

Got to take a final little vacay with Nephi's family to Lagoon. All the siblings finally living in the same state and then we get up and move! Just our luck. 

THIS. This will be missed more than I should admit. Snakebite...

Had to say goodbye to downtown Idaho Falls. 

Had to say goodbye to this place. We signed a 1 year lease thinking it was no big deal and that we would be gone before long and 3 years later...We loved that place and that ward.

2014 in Review

Since we haven't posted in a year and a half...we thought we would break down what happened each month of 2014 and create a clean slate for 2015 blogging!

PS - All the links are the vlogs that Nephi has made about those particular events. We stopped bloggin', but kept vloggin'!

JANUARY - Found out we were pregnant! See me take the pregnancy test! (Well, not actually "take" the test, but wait outside the bathroom with Nephi and see my face white with shock.) We went to AZ to tell my parents and get out of the winter for a few days.

FEBRUARY - Revealed that we were having a baby! Shocked an awed almost everyone, especially our families. I traveled my last week of my first trimester for work to Denver and then onto Orlando. What a trip!

MARCH - Went to a Utah Jazz game with some coworkers. This was the second time we have been able to go and get the CEO's floor seats! It's an incredible opportunity.

APRIL - Celebrated our 3rd Anniversary! Also, Mom visited for Easter and was here when we found out that we were having a GIRL! Oh, and we went to see Ellie Goulding in concert with Tim and Kira. It was around the time that Marlo starting getting super active kicks and she jammed out with me and I was on my feet for 2 hours and didn't die.

MAY - Smith Family Reunion in Oceanside, CA. Nothing better than being on the beach with your whole family! Spent a few days in AZ where Emily, my Mom, and Jean Coates put together a gourmet baby shower - seriously gourmet.

JUNE - I went to Philadelphia for work and fell in LOVE! Also, being 6 months pregnant and travelling has it's perks. I got to skip a huge line in the bathroom at the airport. It was awesome.

JULY - Nephi and I both got new jobs! Major blessings. Also, my awesome sister-in-laws hosted a darling baby shower for me.

AUGUST - SOLD my car and BOUGHT a new car! Just in time for a new baby.

SEPTEMBER - Had our annual Eastern Idaho State Fair trip at almost 9 months pregnant AND Marlo Ingrid Guymon made her appearance 4 days late - September 7, 2014 (6 lbs. 9 oz.). Meet Marlo! My parents came and of course we had Nephi's family in town to welcome this cute little babe.

OCTOBER - I enjoyed maternity leave with Marlo and she celebrated her first Halloween as our little ducky.

NOVEMBER - Traveled to Spokane to spend Thanksgiving with Neal, Angie & Grayson! Had a blast and Marlo was a super traveler.

DECEMBER - Went home and had a sunny Christmas in AZ and a beautiful wedding for my baby sis, Caitlin.

Being pregnant almost all year will always make 2014 a special year for me and Nephi. Not only did we welcome a healthy baby girl, but we grew as a couple and literally as a family. Here is to another great year!

He's a Vloggin' Machine!

As you all know, Nephi is terribly talented. Like, I really hope our kids get all his talent and my eye-sight. I would be happy with that.

He's decided to record our life via video while I record via blog. He tries to keep them between 2-4 minutes  because let's be honest...no one watches those long videos anymore.

To see our recent videos, check out his channel! Subscribe and share :).

Here are a few of my favorites lately!

October Update

October came and went faster than I expected. We had a great month and I am going to spare you a lengthy blog post and share with you a few snippets with the photos we took! (Grateful for my iPhone.)

 Nephi gave me my flu shot! I haven't had one in years but decided to take the plunge and haven't had any bad side effects. 

 Of course we had General Conference. This was my favorite spin-off out of all of them. Classic. (Our thoughts on missionary work.)

 Nephi's Grandpa passed away on October 9th. The funeral was that next weekend and Nephi gave a great talk at the funeral. I also got to meet the Richin's side and that was so great. This was the first death that Nephi and I have gone through as a married couple and it was a good experience for us to learn from each other. Nephi was very close to his Grandpa. In fact, the day before he followed a prompting to go visit him--so grateful for the Gospel! It's been a while since I have attended a funeral and it was a beautiful funeral and the family paid a great tribute to him .

 Of course we had to carve pumpkins! We went on a big group date to the pumpkin patch with some friends and picked up pumpkins to carve.

Here are the pumpkins! I carved the "G" and Nephi carved the Gangnam Style guy to your right of the "G". It won for the "Stupidest" and I won "The Most Creative". HA! Pretty sure those awards should have be reversed.

 My family came in town for a few days! My Aunt Jeni was visiting the states from South Africa and I haven't seen her in years! She also hasn't met Nephi yet so they took a few days to come visit us. We went to Yellowstone, Snake Bite (of course), and visited campus. It was so great to have her here as well as my Mom, Dad, and Jack (our family dog)! It is always hard to see them go, especially since we are not coming home for the holidays this year. I am so grateful for them!

 And...they brought this! We have been saving up all year to buy a new car and we finally did! We set a goal to buy it in September but ended up purchasing in October. AZ had way more choices so we bought it there and then my Dad drove it up. He also did all the negotiating and research on the car which was a huge burden lifted off of us--thanks, Dad! It's a 2006 Mazda 3 with only 75k miles on it. It will be Nephi's car that he uses to commute back and forth to Rexburg. Yes, I am a little jealous. Don't worry--Nephi detailed my car so I would feel like I got a new car too :) Anyway-feels good to have our first "big" purchase under our belts and done! We bought it in cash and now we are looking to replenish the savings account...anyone wanna buy Nephi's Jeep?! It's going on Craigslist this week!

 Home decor--per usual. My dad built me this valance! I've been wanting one for a long time and I love it. I covered it with fabric, which was a lot harder than I expected. (Don't judge my imperfections.) But I really like it and it completed that room. I still have to fix up a few things throughout the house before we do a "house tour", but it's happening. Soon.

 Date nights! We've still manage to fit in our date nights every week. We are officially over the year and 1/2 mark but feel like we've been married forever! (In a good way.) We love our little adventures and definitely don't have enough time together but we make it work.

 Halloween is a HUGE deal where I work. Each department had a theme and decorated and we had kids walking through all day trick-or-treating. Our area was a forest so we had a "Girls Camp". It was a fun day!

We've been seeing some movies with friends lately, of course. We went and saw Pitch Perfect with the Cook's and LOVED IT! I even bought one of the sound tracks on our way home. Ha! It's a great song to work out to.

 I'm currently living "carb-free" and trying to find ways to enjoy food without getting bored! Hence, I use spaghetti squash for just about everything. This meal with chicken sausage, spinach, onions, peppers, and marinara sauce was divine! I highly recommend it.

 We went to the YURT! Yes, that is what it is called. Had a nice night stay at this yurt in Harriman Park with our good friends, the Hendersons. We had a blast! The next day we hiked around and visited Mesa Falls and a few other places along the way. We will definitely be returning! Who wants to come?

 This is the inside. It stayed toasty :)

 Our candlelit dinner..very primitive...not. I am working my way up to actual camping.

 I won $20 for the weight loss challenge at work! Woo!

Had a "Smith Family" early Thanksgiving. Sheridan won't be in town for Thanksgiving so we had it early. We won't be making it home to AZ for Thanksgiving (or Christmas) this year. Work for me is too demanding to leave for an extended amount of time but I am going to really embrace the holidays this year and Nephi and I are excited to start our own family traditions! I am so glad that Sheridan and Caitlin live here. We've got half the kids in Idaho now! Now we just need to get the other 3 here! :) 

And of course--our church calling. We missed two Sunday's in a row and realized how much we LOVE our kiddos! Today we taught them about Christ and spent some time explaining the resurrection. We told them to draw a picture of it and this is what one girl drew--me! See the resemblance?

The nice thing is that they love us, too! Their parents have been telling us that they talk about us all the time and hated the sub they had (we secretly loved to hear that). We look forward to seeing them every week. Stay tuned for our new blog series "From the Mouth of Babes".

Sorry this did turn into a long post...oh well!

Boot Camp

When I started in my new department at work, the girls on my team (actually, we are all girls--it's crazy) had just signed up for Boot Camp. We have a gym at work that I joined and if you go twice a week, it's free! Anyway, Boot Camp costs a little extra but it's only a month and it was twice a week. The first week we went, they had us measured, weighed, and had us run a timed mile. I did okay on my mile but definitely wanted to improve but my measurements. Oh man. What a wake up call!

A little background...

Over the past year and a half I have gained a lot of weight...this is hard to admit. But, my last 2 semesters of school being newly married, working 30 hrs. and taking 17-19 credits kicked my butt. We didn't go to the gym often and went out to ice cream waaaaay too much. And, I am not one of those girls that can just eat whatever and burn it naturally --no way. I look at food and gain weight. This is no excuse, it was all my fault, but the reality was that it wasn't a priority. {There is my confession}

So I set New Year resolutions and have failed so far, but I still like that I set them. My activity and diet has increased immensely and I haven't gained, but just maintained. I recently lost 10 lbs (since June) but I couldn't really tell. Things fit fine, but I didn't go down a size, and I just continued diet and exercise. I have set a lot of goals and I'm going down in weight gradually but it's very, very slow and very, very frustrating.

Back to my story....

I was excited for boot camp because I knew it would be a physical challenge. It wasn't suppose to be competitive and we were suppose to do it as a group but in the end, all the girls bailed except for me and another girl. We challenged each other and on our off days would work out together and it was great! I learned a lot of new exercises and dusted the dust off my inner athlete and have LOVED working out!

In a months time, I saw GREAT results...

• Original Mile: 10:10 New Mile: 9:25
• Lost an additional 7lbs
• Lost 3 inches in my waist
• Lost 1/2 inch in my arms
• Lost 1% body fat
• Lost NOTHING in my legs (This was no surprised. Those are a project.)

Pretty great, huh? I wish my weight loss was more but I was very happy with the results. AND, in addition to the boot camp, the President of the company issued a challenge of no sugar, soda or meals over 600 calories and 5 days of exercise. You can have 1 free day but I don't really do the free day so that has helped a lot. 

I have cut my carbs, majorly, and I don't have desserts (well, sugar-free fudgesicle's) and then I eat the majority of my carbs and heavy foods early in the day and have a really lite dinner. It's been hard, but I have been consistent and I am starting to feel a change and it is awesome! 

I am still planning on continuing 3 days of heavy circuit training and then cardio on the other days (5-6 days/week). I hate at home work outs so I just go to the company gym or I have a membership at another gym. I get a lot of my workouts from my Pinterest. Yes, I am one of those people! I pin the workouts and I ACTUALLY do them. I plan out my workouts before I go to the gym and they are really, really great. Check out my fitness board if you are interested. 

Well, it just feels good to get it out there and to be even more accountable. The end.

Oh, and a little humor for those of you who are really skinny and don't have to work out and don't understand this post at all...

Source: 24.media.tumblr.com via Mallory on Pinterest

Source: i9.photobucket.com via Mallory on Pinterest

Source: someecards.com via Mallory on Pinterest

New, NEW, Job and Internship

Before you read this post, you must read this post.

In July I started working for Melaleuca. I was in their Management in Training program (M.I.T). It's an exclusive program for candidates that apply for positions at Melaleuca and they don't have a position open and they want to use them for an upcoming position. This is how they prepare for growth in the company and prepare for bringing in leaders. This program usually only has a handful of candidates and is open only to outside individuals.

During my interview process they considered me for marketing, writing, and M.I.T. I actually applied for a writing position for them in January but decided to go with the marketing position  instead with the other company because I don't want to write. (I have not regretted that decision ever.) So I interviewed with like 7 different people and found out 2 weeks later that they wanted me for the M.I.T program. The position they wanted me for was a marketing analyst which would be opening soon so I gladly accepted and went to work!

For the first 3 weeks I was part of training for their business development team. I had to learn a whole new compensation plan and policies like crazy and it was a lot of work and studying but I loved it! After training, as part of the program, I would be on the phones for 3 months taking calls and coaching their people on building their business and helping them with their problems. After 3 months, I would start cross-training with other departments and I would then be eligible to be interview for placement.

Being on the phones was soooo daunting! There was so much to remember but I ended up loving it! Being able to talk to so many people and coach and encourage them and celebrate success was awesome. I never dreaded going to work and was so impressed with their people and the people who work in the call center. I have made some great friends too and have felt blessed to be part of the company.

During my 3rd week of training I met with marketing to interview for the marketing analyst position. I became one of the final candidates and was sooooo excited to hear the results. During my 2nd week on the phones, I got a call that the Director of Global Events wanted to meet with me. Whaaaa? Don't get me wrong, I LOVE event planning, but she is literally the busiest person in the world and I didn't think they had any openings.

We met, she was great, and just chatted. She didn't even have my resume, so I gave it to her, and we casually talked and she educated me about their events and the process they go through. She said if they had any openings in the future that she would love me to apply and we left it at that. I walked away thinking that I was more interested in events than I thought I was. I LOVE event planning, but marketing is just more realistic to me and more versatile so I just ruled events out especially after I saw the instability in my previous company.

Well, I was very surprised the next day when I got a call that the president of Melaleuca wanted to meet with me. Wait, what!? I was shaking! I met with him, he is wonderful, and had another casual chat. He asked if I was interested in events and I said yes, and he was like, "Great, I know they are interested so I will give them the go ahead." Uhhh, really? What does that even mean!? (Turns out he hand picks people for the events team so he needed to meet with me first before they could hire me.) I worked with the recruiter, who is wonderful as well, and found out they were interested in me and at the next week I received the offer! So, that is where I have been for the past month. :)

It's been long hours, lots of work, and high paced. It's different than I thought it would be, in a good way, and I LOVE our team! There are only 4 event planners and about 10 events throughout the year that they cater to up to 8,000 people. Needless to say, we are busy and these women are the hardest working women I have ever known!

We just had kickoff in September and then have another event in October, in Hawaii. Unfortunately, since I came in too late I am not going. The girl I am replacing is the lead on the event so they are having her go to finish off her last assignment. I am really, really bummed about it but you never know, they may need me last minute and I may be packing my bags!! (Not likely, but a girl can dream.)

It's been an adjustment. I'm usually never home before 6 and taking a lunch is basically out of the question but really this is probably the last time in our lives that I will be able to work a job like this so we are going to enjoy the journey while we can! Nephi is the best support and will be rubbing my feet more than ever but he's happy to do it. :)

Nephi's schedule has also been crazy. He just started his internship shadowing a PA at a local clinic, volunteers with his aunt a few times a week taking blood practicing for his phlebotomy certificate, AND work. He is my hero. He is like a machine and I LOVE IT! We value our nights we have together, which are few, but we still have fun when we can. He is the best.

He loves his internship and I love hearing the stories. He is going to make a great PA one day. I am so excited for that next step in our life! It's gonna be a while till we even get into school, but with all that he is doing know I feel so confident that we will get in and get going when the time comes. PA school is extremely competitive but Nephi is taking the necessary steps to get there and he is going to be great. No doubt.

At the East Idaho State Fair! See, we have a little fun in between :) 

That's us! Workin' for the weekend.

Why I haven't Been Blogging

It's been 3 weeks. Not since I last blogged, but since I was laid off from my job...

Three weeks ago I was laid off from my job at JD Premium. Life since then has been full of up's and down's for Nephi and I. Mostly I haven't blogged because it's hard to know where to start. But today, after starting my new job, I felt it was time to share with our friends and family.

It was a normal Tuesday morning. I was catching up on emails and following up on a great project we just started working on. The few weeks prior to this I had been having a hard time with the company. The management above me were not communicating well and I felt worthless. But, I talked with my superior and had a great break through. Little did we both know that our break through would now become worthless.

The owner of the company pulled the CEO, VP of Marketing, Operations Manager, and Myself all into his office separately and told us the news. His involvement in the company until this point was limited so I was surprised when he wanted to meet with me privately.

When he told me I was actually not shocked. He told me that the family had met and that they no longer felt that they could pour in thousands of dollars into the company each month and that they were letting all 4 of us go (CEO, VP of Marketing, and Operations Manager). I put on a strong face and said that I understood. At the time, I felt like he handled the situation well but it got progressively worse.

Before I go on, it's important to note my feelings towards that company as a whole. I hope the best for JD Premium and believe they have great products. They are now left with less than 10 people in the office and they need all the luck they can get. 

After I left the office, I grabbed my phone and went to my car. My first call was to Nephi, of course. I stayed calmed and he was shocked. He hadn't left for school yet and said he would drive instead of carpool so he could come home right after class.

My next call was to my good friend. The Friday before this happened I had interviewed with the company she works for, for my dream job. I am grateful that the Lord prepared me for this hardship by helping me feel that there was immediate hope for my career. I lost it on the phone with her and I am surprise she heard a word I said. She has been an incredible support throughout this whole process. *I will explain what happened to that job later.*

I finally gathered myself enough to go back into the office. My head was spinning. What do I do? Do I stay? Do I go home? Who do I tell? Do I tell anyone? Why is this happening to me?

I walked down the hall and I could barely feel my legs. The CEO came out of his office and smiled at me. I asked him if he had a moment and he invited me into his office and as soon as I sat in the chair, I started bawling. He listened as I expressed my biggest fears. His words and tone was the ultimate comfort for me at that point. He was an incredible boss and I will miss working with him.

I went back to my office and called my mom and then the embarrassment began. As I told my mom she was also shocked. This response began to make me realize that people do not know how to react to this news. I can't blame them. What do you say to a person that was just laid off?

"I'm sorry..."

"You deserve better!"

"You will find another job."

"That sucks."

Oh gosh. None of those responses made me feel better and I quickly grew irrational. At this point I decided to not tell anyone. While I know there are many people out there that love and support me, this circumstance threw me into a state of mind that was more sensitive than expected. My pride in my works and accomplishments was slashed and I honestly felt that no one could understand the way I was feeling.

Nephi and I made the decision as a family that I would work and be the primary income builder while he finished school. Nephi is more than willing to work more but I wanted more than anything for him to finish school without having to work 20 hours a week (which is a luxury I would have killed for). I know there are many people who are anti women putting their work before starting a family. For us, we felt like this is a path is what is best for us. My decision to work is a personal one as well. While some people get "high" off of running marathons, making cookies, having babies, buying cars, blogging--mine is working. And especially working in marketing.

The company asked that I worked until the end of the month to wrap up projects and turn things over. At the time, this request seemed valid. They said they would pay me and at this point I couldn't turn down a pay check--no matter how hard it would be to return to work. Little did I know the terrible weeks that would approached me.

Like I said, this all happened on a Tuesday. Blah. That meant that I had to go in the rest of the week. You better believe that I ate way too much junk food, stayed up late, slept in, went to work late and left early. I didn't have much to work on and I could barely stomach being in the office. Most days I left sick enough to have to leave anyway.

I cried every night, spent a lot of time searching for jobs, and had several leads and contacts. That weekend I found out that I didn't get that dream job with my friends company. Two days before that I was in the temple and had a distinct feeling that I wouldn't get that job. This made me scared. This would be my first job EVER that I applied for and didn't get. Now, I am not bragging. I just choose jobs that I know I am qualified for. That Saturday I found out I didn't get the job. I wasn't crushed because I truly felt that they Lord had prepared me to receive that answer. God is good. I have learned that.

At this point I started to panic. I always slept well, but it was waking up that was hard. Reality lately was weighing me down and my pillow was suddenly more comfy. Nephi and I had many talks and played out many scenarios. He checked up on me constantly and I can proudly say that this situation brought Nephi and I closer than ever. We have always prided ourselves on being a great team and this situation made us strong. I can never thank the Lord enough for bringing us closer rather than farther away.

Now, let me just mention the insensitivity. If I didn't tell you what happened, it was for your protection and for mine. There were too many circumstances that happened in such a short period of time where people were insensitive so I am grateful we kept that number as limited as possible. It even got to the point where the office had a "party" for us and signed a goodbye card. One woman wrote in the card, and I quote, "I am glad I at least got to know you a little bit." Man. Keep in mind this lady was very bitter when I started at the company because I took over a lot of her responsibilities. She never expressed one ounce of remorse for us being laid off and I honestly never saw her so happy. Just the thought of her makes me sick. I am working on that personal resolution now.

So I mentioned they had a party, right? Yeah. It was awkward. I sat next to the man who laid me off and I almost threw up in his lap like ten times. I think we were in the conference room for 10 minutes but it felt like days. It was nice of them to do that but I couldn't handle the awkwardness. I have never been good at that...But, I do need to mention there were 2 people in the office who were very kind. The others I won't go into details about my feelings about them. I am getting over it one day at a time.

Naturally, the company handled things poorly. They are a small company and things were very scattered and people were confused. They told the people in the company that we chose to go a different direction but it was economical. I felt completely confident in my work in the company. The owner assured me that it wasn't a performance thing and although that was reassuring, I didn't need him to tell me that. I am very proud of my work at JD Premium and like I said, they have great products and I wish them the best.

On Tuesday last week I received a job offer. The position was great, less pay, but still great. I didn't feel the best about it so I decided to call the other company I was waiting on an answer from to let them know I received an offer. The recruiter gave me confidence and told me to wait till Thursday and that they would call me back. At this point, I had been very hard on myself. After being rejected from that other company, I felt that I wasn't good enough. I felt like a failure and that my college education and experience was worth nothing. After I got off the phone with him, Nephi was in the room and I immediately started bawling. I fell to my knees and I don't know if I have ever been that grateful. The Lord's hand was in the whole thing and we are so blessed.

So, today I started my first day of my new job. It was great. I now work for a much larger, stable, and more successful company. My salary is more, the benefits are 110% better AND I got a sign on bonus. At this time, I am not going to reveal where I am working for certain purposes. Friends and family can call/text/email to ask and we will let you know.

There were a handful of people that were very supportive throughout this whole process, including my family. My Mom, Sister, Aunt and Cousin came and spent the week with me last week and it was EXACTLY what I needed.

We have felt so blessed during this whole situation. For me to only be jobless for only 1 week (technically) was remarkable. Nephi is a trooper. Seriously the best. We celebrated this weekend by eating out and shopping. It was great.

Now starts kind of a new chapter in our lives. My advice to all those going through this situation of those who know someone going through this situation is to be kind, aware, and prayerful. I know the prayers of others is why we are here today. I will never take for granted waking up early and coming home late from a job that puts food on the table and I hope you won't too.

Bullies

Bullying has become such an epidemic. Nephi had a school counselor come to his class the other day and talk about it and told a stories about kids who suffer and want to as bad as drop out of school because things get so bad for me.

This makes me sick. How do we prepare our kids to go through something like this? It seems so minor because of the misconception of "I don't care what people think of me" attitudes. You do care. Trust me.

Bullying comes in different forms. When I was little it was in the form of cliques, name calling, physical hitting (via sibling rivalries), gossiping, demeaning others, spreading rumors or lying,...wait, wait...this all still happens to adults. We are not exempt from bullying.

This has been on my mind because I have noticed some bullying in my personal life. It still comes in those forms, but it just isn't as obvious. You think that we would all be adults and grow up but apparently that isn't the case.

This quote came to mind as I was trying to get myself out of this funk I have been in all week:

Why do we become bullies?

Sources: Anger, insecurities, physical pain, emotional weaknesses, impulsiveness, validation, attention, self-righteous, etc.

Distribution Channels: Texting, Facebook, Blogging, Gossiping, Face-to-Face, etc.

Now, I am not an expert, but I know I have been a bully at times and I have definitely been bullied myself. I am committing to myself to never be a bully again and to always believe in myself, not what others say about me.

                              Source: ginger-ella.tumblr.com via Mallory on Pinterest