My sister is getting married.

In case you didn't know, my sister Courtney is planning on getting married in July. My. Sister. Is. Getting. Married.

I am very happy that she has decided to take the temple route. It's been wonderful watching her become active in the Church again, and wonderful that this guy won't settle for something that isn't a temple marriage.

I have to say, though, as her sister, it is so strange watching her get married. She knows nothing about married life, being nineteen and still connected to my mother's account, still living under our mother's roof, never went grocery shopping by herself, never lived on her own, thinks she can plan a wedding on eight hundred dollars and have everything she wants included in it....I worry. ha. She hasn't talked about financial things with her fiance, they don't have a place to live, she hasn't finished high school....nor has she actually dated him in person, only over the phone. Yikes... my inner Marriage and Family Scholar is screaming.

All I can say is that I pray every day that things will work out for the best for her. She has so much love in her heart, so much compassion, SO much FUN, and if I were a guy I would want to marry her. :) I have no doubt that the Lord is aware of everything.

Well, at least the temple is free :) And that is the most important part of the day. Oh boy here we go...next four months are going to be fun ;)

The Coming of Spring!

I feel like every year when the sun finally comes out again and the world de-layers a little bit and thaws during a perfect Sunday nap under the window of a beautiful day, that I can finally breathe again. I breathe, I play, I sing, and then I get so full of excitement that I can hardly contain myself! Does anyone else have that problem? So much laughing...it's like my happy emotions that have been pent up all winter just spill all over the place! ha.....its a problem really.....

Then I turned 26 and realized I should probably start acting like a grown up...especially when my roommate says, "I can't believe you are 26. You don't look 26...and you don't act like it either."

HAHA! So heretofore is my goal to act like a grown up... :) lets see how long that actually lasts. Maybe I'll get a real job for once. ;)

(then again, I was always one of those kids who took life way too seriously and didn't know how to play..maybe I'm just catching up...maybe when I'm 90 I will have regressed enough to be back in diapers and drooling on myself....)

Oh I love the Spring! :)

So, Are You Going Out to Eat?

Did you know that even though the economy is down, people still go out to eat? (which is totally cool...yet understandably expensive) I highly recommend doing this, as it is like a breath of fresh air.

Did you know that when you go out to eat, your server is busting his or her rear end to get everything out to you in a timely fashion, oftentimes having to prepare certain specialty items such as desserts, drinks, etc, not to mention dishing out whatever the complementary appetizer is, along with taking care of several other tables and keeping each order straight, each individual customer's drink topped off, and keeping all the chips neatly swept off the floor in their section as well as keeping cups, napkins, pitchers, soda, straws etc etc etc well stocked in the back of the bar between talking to customers and running to the kitchen?

Did you know how often servers have leg cramps, back aches, cracking/bleeding hands from scrubbing tables with bleach water, nasty crap spilled all over them, not to mention getting yelled at by managers and treated bad by customers and sacrificing each weekend night (as well as several weekday nights) and lots of clothing because everything they wear ends up stinking like the restaurant? Then there are those nightly reoccurring dreams of the cramped and crazy restaurant, where no order comes out on time, where customers are yelling and where you are getting triple sat...and for some reason you just can't get to the tables because there is so much going wrong in the background....and then you wake up in a cold sweat and realize it is that same old dream coming back again.....

Did you know that your server here in Utah only makes $2.13 an hour? Yes, my friends, it is very true. Less than half....heck, less than a third, of minimum wage. And the manager never pays you extra if you don't make minimum wage with your tips, which happens more than you realize. The restaurant business is definitely slowing down, which limits the amount of money a server makes, as they work 4-5 hour shifts and oftentimes only make maybe $15-30 in that amount of time in tips during the weekdays, and maybe $40 on weekends.

I love serving, it is really honestly fun. I am not complaining in the least. However, there is a looot of junk we have to put up with as servers. So I am going to take a moment to encourage you kind yet incredibly frugal LDS and non-LDS alike persons to tip your server at LEAST %15.

I realize that Elder Hales taught us at Conference the importance of living within our means. However, part of going out to eat is giving a tip to your server. If you cannot afford at least a %15 tip, then just don't go out to eat! Its really part of the expense. I'm sorry this sounds so harsh, but really, those people depend on you for their pay. It's sad to say, and unfair to the customer to have such a burden placed on them (and if I were a legislator in Utah, I would make it illegal to pay a server less than minimum wage as base pay) I like to think of it as this: You are literally paying that person to be your servant for the time you are at that restaurant.

Here is a good rule of thumb: A $5 tip for two people is a good amount, if you can't figure out the fifteen percent. Or if the two of you order a lot of food or specialty items such as drinks, by all means, tip $7-10. You will totally make someone's day, and who knows, maybe help them to get their rent payment in on time. :) And if you bring all your kids in and they make a big mess, it doesn't matter if you are all sharing plates of food to keep down the cost, please tip at least $10-15. Oftentimes a server may only get about 4 tables during their shift (especially at lunch), which for a 4 hour shift, and at an average of $5 a table (which is honestly rare, its usually about 2.50), do the math.

Enjoy your next trip to the restaurant, and please, remember, you are literally paying that person for their job! :)

So. Freakin'. Funny.

Yeah, so you have to watch this.....this has become the running joke of me and my sister for like....a month. And I don't think it will ever go away.