I Hang Out With Cool People

Great way to entertain kids AND get a great leg workout:

1. Lay a blanket/towel down underneath your trampoline.

2. Crawl under and lay on the blanket/towel on your back.

3. Put your feet perpendicular to the ground so they touch the trampoline like so:

4. Make sure children's faces are not looking down at you. Have them sit in an upright position.

5. Bounce them up off the trampoline EVERY time they say, "Again! Again! Your legs aren't tired anymore! Again! You already rested! Again! Are you sleeping? Bounce me! Bounce me high!" etc.

My legs were sore for 2 days. Also, I guess I was laying on a rock or large pebble because I had a bruise on my spine from it. So, maybe go with the blanket instead of towel...

Nike Scottsdale Store Challenge

The weeks before the Nike store opened, all the new employees had to go to a week long "Rookie Camp". I explained it more in a previous post, but one guy flew out from Oregon where HQ is, and he was I think the Nike+ technology guy. Engineer or programmer or something. Anyway, he did his shpeal with a powerpoint cramming all kinds of information into our heads about Nike+ and how it works, and then he gave us a test. After we were done, he said, Who got 20 out of 20 right? One person raises their hand. He gives them one of these:

Anyway, he kept going down until he only had one band left. He said the number and 3 of us raised our hands. We played Rock Paper Scissors. I won. :) Then he told us all about the Employee Store Challenge that would be going on. You would have to have a sensor of some kind to upload your runs onto the website, and whoever ran the most miles in one month would win an iPad. Second place would get an iTouch. Third Place would get the new Nano Touch. And the results were!!!:

Yeah. It wasn't really an iPad competition after the guy got 40 miles the first week and I got 10, and then the second place guy kept uploading random runs out of nowhere. He told me the other day that he turned his sensor on while he was working so he got extra miles just from walking around the store. I called him a cheater. But! I don't care! I get this:

For running 50 miles. :) I even had a couple of 5k's that I did! Never thought that would happen!

Yes, I'm proud.

The Best Is Yet To Come

Lately, I've been in a reflecting mood. As in, I've been wondering what the heck I'm doing right now in my life and all that jazz. So, here is all the analyzing that went on in my brain:

I'm not going to school. This summer when I found out that I lost my scholarship, I was terrified on so many levels. First of all, that was a lot of free money. I lived off of it for 2 years. It paid for my rent, insurance, food, gas, and I still had enough to play all the time. It was a really good hook up. Now, I would have to get a job and earn all of that good stuff. And work A LOT. Like, more than 20 hours a week!! (Imagine I said that like a dumb blonde haha) Second of all, I was scared of what other people would think. I was friends with and related to so many people that got scholarships as well, and I felt like an idiot because I couldn't keep mine. Really, how hard is it to keep your GPA higher than 3.25? It wasn't hard at all. But, tell you the truth, I didn't take it serious enough. I didn't know what major I wanted or what job I was working towards,.........

I've been meeting some fantastic people. When I got back from Delaware this summer, I would hang out with my usual friends that I knew before. Well, they met more people and so our "group" got larger. One girl named Ali started hanging out with us, and we became good friends. I envy her outgoing/semi-loud personality, but we are both equally as chill, I guess you could say. Anyway, we get along good. She is a very fun girl. So, I got back from the East Coast, and we start hanging out. After a month of no job luck, she says to me, Hey! There is a new Nike store opening up in Scottsdale! You just have to apply online. We should work together! and so, we do. We both work at Nike which is fantastic. We both got the call that we were hired within 2 days, and so we celebrated. We got to go through the whole "Rookie Camp" of learning about the history of Nike, we had to memorize all the shoes, and the technology in the shoes (Max Air, Zoom Air, what kind of foam is in the midsole.....), and we did all kinds of role playing. And they gave us free stuff. :) There were people that flew in from Oregon (where HQ is) and New York (where the largest NikeTown is). But anyway. I get along great with all of my managers and co-workers. I have nicknames from a lot of them as well. I take that as a good sign.

I live with my brother. I'm not going to lie, sometimes it is frustrating, but mostly, it is just fun. It really is great that we get along so good, otherwise, we would hate each other. How profound, right? Haha. We hang out with the same group of friends and we gossip about the same things, and we make fun of each other, and it is just a blast. I tell him stories about what happened at work and he tells me about all the new words he learned in his Chinese class that day... shoot me brains out (Irish accent). Yay for different languages... Anyway, our apartment situation is good.

I miss my family. I'm jealous of all the people who just have to drive 3 hours to give their Mom or Dad a hug. I miss staying up late with Sarah, Jesse, Dallin, and the parents playing dice and card games where we laugh a LOT! But I don't just miss my Delaware family. I miss Arizona family as well. Now that I work all the time, I don't get to see my favorite Stoddard's. I used to babysit over there all the time and they are some of my most favorite people. They pretty much helped me survive the first month when I didn't have a job. I'm so excited for baby #3! November 7th was my Grandma Udall's birthday, so she and Grandpa have been on my mind. I got an email from my cousin today, who is transcribing their life stories that were recorded, and my Grandpa said:

"I still am always excited every morning that the sun came up again, that it didn't go somewhere else in the night. (laughing) And I have great pleasure come to me when I see my little grandchildren doing well. I love to watch Emily play basketball... or volleyball. She's not a spectacular player but she's very steady and very dependable. It's so interesting. And so on with the others. ..."

They were both very big supporters of me in my high school sports, especially when we played against Thatcher. :) I'm selfishly sad that I won't have them in my "Family Temple Picture", among other things.

So, after adding all these together and multiplying them by terror and dividing by praying, I decided that I'm in the right place right now. Right place in my life. I think that me losing my scholarship was Heavenly Father's way of saying, Whoa. Let's try this some other time. or, Ok, you totally missed my queue for the major you need to declare. Either one. Or both. :) The people I associate with help me see what kind of person I want to be, what kind of person I don't want to be, and its always a plus when they have the same standards as you. I'm glad I have a reliable roommate and I love my family.

I am happy with my life right now.

Gonzo, Shmonzo...

I helped Luis Gonzalez pick out some sweat pants yesterday at the store. He came in with his brother and because everyone recognized him except me, I was the only one NOT freaking out. Winning hit and the World Series? Ok. Cool. You want a jacket to match?

Now, if Misty Mae or Kerri Walsh were to stroll in, then someone would have to administer CPR. I dare them to come visit Scottsdale. I dare them...

Red Shoes

Another story from today. I think I've gotten to see all the different faces of Scottsdale, Arizona in just one week of working over there. I've gotten the spoiled brats that buy everything with Daddy's credit card, the stuck up people that won't accept your help unless absolutely necessary, the sweet old couples that love chatting, and we even had a homecoming/Frolic/Prom group come in... I don't know why. Anyway. I got a mix today. A sweet older couple came in and the lady says to me with her Spanish sounding accent, "You have all red shoes? I need all red shoes. But no holes on top." I say, "All red? You mean with no mesh on top?" I show her all kinds of examples of semi-red shoes, and she says, "I need all red shoes to hide the blood."

(Screeching Brakes!!!)

What!?!?!? I'm pretty sure I made a really weird face because she and her husband both said at the same time, "Oh, she is a surgeon! So sorry! Is ok! We're not scary!" Freaked me RIGHT OUT!!!

1) Ew! Blood all over your shoes??? What kind of surgery does she do???

2) I thought for 2 seconds she was a sweet little foreign serial killer who would do away with me if I didn't get her RED SHOES, and

3) It is now extremely funny to me. I guess I've watched one too many episodes of Criminal Minds lately to think someone like her would really be capable of hacking people up.

All Red Shoes! Hahaha!!!

Filthy Rich

I now understand what that means. Filthy Rich. Let me enlighten you with a story:

When we first opened our Nike store up in Scottsdale, I felt kind of bad because our managers told us that our main job is to talk customers up to buying more, More, MORE! In my mind, it sort of felt dishonest for some reason. But that quickly changed. Today, a young girl came in with her fit-your-closet-in-it Prada bag. She looked READY to shop. She said she was looking for a jacket because it was raining outside and she was getting her hair done in 2 hours. So, I show her the most pricey jackets we have. One was $160, one was $360, and the last one was $420. Guess which one she chose? $420 in 3 minutes. But just wait. I say to her, "Oh, I love that jacket. And the best thing is, we have so many shirts that would go great with it!" As I'm catching all the shirts she picks up to try on, I say, "This shirt has leggings that are meant to go with it. Would you like to try those on as well?" Get the picture? I don't think she said no to me once. I got clear down to 2 pairs of running shoes. And everything in between. I take her mountain of stuff to the cashier, and he rings her up. Her total? Almost $800. !!!! And do you know what she says!? And I quote:

"Wow, thats it? Maybe I should get more stuff.... I already spent double that over at TJMax..."

Oh, my gosh! Isn't that just... disgusting??? So there you go.

Disgusting, filthy rich.

Lucky. haha

Nike

My first couple of days on the job! I'm having SO much fun! All of the people I work with are so fun and happy and talkative and goofy. It makes long hours of redundant tasks go by a lot faster.

Day 1: I got to be part of the "Stocking Team". Meaning, I saw a bazillion pairs of orange Nike Boxes with very expensive shoes in them. I was the person on the ladder teetering on my toes to get the last box on the very top of the piles.

Day 2: We broke out all the T-shirts. Two bazillion of those. Times 2 story building. Lots of hanging and sizing and re-hanging because there are certain hangers, styles, colors, blah blah blah. Pcheeewww! (fingers shaped like gun against my temple)

Day 3 (today): I have to say today was the funnest so far. Me and my friend Brett got to be the "Visual Floor Assistants". Which means, we got to do all the display shoes. :) We went to the back, got every size 9 left shoe of every style, put display stickers on the boxes, re-laced them, put the shoe shaper things in them, and we got to arrange them on the walls to make them look legit. Just so you know, 15 golf shoes falling off the wall on top of you does not feel good. The Tiger Woods shoes came after me like I was his mistress or something...

P.S. One of my cool Visual Coaches told us that for our staff dress, we get to go around the day before opening and choose which clothes. Because staff dress has to be something they are selling in the store. :) Also, the shoes I have to choose from (not those colors):

Women's Air Max 2010

Nike Shox NZ

I have a legit job. And I'm happy with everything right now. :)

Superheroes

Today, I got to hang out with Co-Aqua-boy,

Iron Man,

and Spiderman who doesn't really look like Spiderman. But it doesn't matter, because that face is just adorable. :)

Switzerland day

Yesterday, Wednesday September 8th, 2010, a day which will live in my mind as the worst day ever. It started out good though!

I was excited and nervous to go to my first Nike training day! I was excited that I get to work with one of my friends! I was excited that I actually had a schedule! However...

My car randomly died on my way to meet my friend Ali so we could carpool. Just driving along and it suddenly just shut off. I coasted onto some random street by McDowell and 44th. And there it sat until after our training. Luckily, that stupid car decided to die only a couple streets away from her house so it wasn't a big deal for her to come pick me up. Anyways...

We get to the training and it is actually at the Mariott on Scottsdale Rd. and the 101. We did all the paperwork, got introduced to our Managers, who are awesome people, and some of the people we get to work with. Funny thing, we are sales associates, but our job title is Nike Athlete. :) I'm pretty sure I'm going to see all kinds of Phoenix Suns and Cardinals while I'm working. :D But!... we can't ask for anyone's autograph or picture or we could get fired. :S We also got to order our uniforms, which consist of: brand new shoes (that are HOT pink and white ....), yoga pants and 2 pairs of running shorts, 2 black shirts, and a jacket. ALL FREE!!! I'm pretty sure they are spending about $400 on each employee... It's so LEGIT!!! I'm so excited! Back to reality...

At 4, when we were done with training, Ali took me back to my car. We were silly girls trying to jump start my car. We thought we were doing something wrong because my flipping car wouldn't start, but that's just my car. So my Dad says to take the battery to the Checker Auto close by and see if it's charged. My battery was brand new, but I was hoping my Pops was right. So we have to call Larry to come help because he has tools and Checker won't loan them out... Fast Foreward to 8:00 pm and Jeanie and Larry are still with me towing my car to the mechanic's house so he can replace the fuel pump and filter. Which he says will take about 3 hours. I say we will come back tomorrow (today) around 5:15. So...

To thank my friends, I tell Larry to take us to a really good REAL Mexican food place. He was practically a Mexican for his job this summer, so he knows real Mexican food... The place we went had DELICIOUS watermelon drinks, strawberry drinks, and mango drinks. The food was really good as well. Torta's and quesadillas and chicharones... it was heaven for my Mexican food loving taste buds!

So, lets tally. Positive has 3, negative has 3 ( I consider not being able to get autographs or pictures a BIG negative). So it all cancels each other out... which leaves me to wonder, what kind of day did I have? Neutral day? Cancelled-out day? I like Switzerland day. Only the name. I hope I don't have one ever again.

Once upon a time, I had these friends named Larry and Chad. They were kind of upset one day because they came home to discover goldfish in their sinks and the contents of their closets switched to opposite rooms. Enlisting the help of me and some of our other friends, they plotted and schemed to carry out what we like to call, Operation: Fish Food.

The Break-in

The Switch

The Hack (Changing passwords)

The Dye in the Kitchen sink and Shower heads

The Jello :)

And Ultimately....

We ate their Otter Pops.

I believe that a couple of days later, the victims called and asked for a truce. Apparently, they didn't think they would ever be able to top that. And they knew that if they did, the return would be 10 times worse. Just like this time.

Skimboarding

These pictures are kind of old. They were taken in like, April, but we do this stuff all the time. My friend Matt (green shorts) is all about "doing" something fun. No "hanging out". So what does he do? He makes a skim boarding lane. Out of PVC pipe and a tarp. Just fill it up with water, and there you go! We started that afternoon in his front yard....

But then we migrated to the Tri Stake Center around the corner where they were irrigating the grass.

Below is Dallin if you can't tell. His hair is different. :)

And there is Matt. The brains and pro.

It was a fun day.

Nike

This past month has been not fun. Looking for jobs is not fun. Waiting to hear about hiring place is not fun. However! I have a friend who told me a week ago about a new Nike store that opened in North Scottsdale, and that they were hiring all kinds of people on account of, its brand new, 2 story Nike-land. I applied online and got a call a couple days later. We had to be at the Mariott hotel on Scottsdale road and the 101. Waaaay up there... So, I ask my good friend Larry to drive me in his very nice truck that has very nice Air Conditioning, because apparently, people have that in their cars. I promised him Yogurtland after. He said ok in 2 seconds. :) So, I get to the hotel, and there are two guys waiting there already. I'm thinking, "Shoot. I'm going to be here for a while. Sorry Larry". But no. One guy comes out and says "All of you can follow me". We ALL go into a conference room with the long tables and comfy seats and we sit on one side across from the 3 interviewers. They ask us all questions and we answer them in order. It was a first time experience I have to say. I just remember that one of the interviewers was a black man named Dulyle (Doo-lyle) like Kyle but with an L. Anyway. I felt good about the interview. It went smooth and I threw a couple of jokes in as well. I guess I am good at talking when I'm under pressure...? Haha! Two days later (today), I get a call that says "Hi, we would like to hire you to come work at the Nike store!" And I said, "OK!" and hung up. Just kidding! It was longer than that but it all comes down to I got hired to work at Nike! :) Also, if you have never been to Yogurtland, I strongly recommend it. It is a very yummy place... haha

Swoosh!

Cohen and Jace

I'm so glad I get to see these kids so much! They are so fun and so dang cute!

Safford Trip

I think the week after I got back, I took a trip down to Safford. I got to see Janiel and her cute family. Baby Jesse is such a smiley chunk!

I also got to visit the Herringtons and play with all those families. It was a blast! I ended up getting a ride back to the valley with Leslie and Brian and Bella and Sammie. :)

I guess there has to be a first for everything...

We took family pictures. All wearing white shirts. And dark jeans. Barefoot. At the beach. Could you just die!? I think it's hillarious/ridiculous.

Dallin and I took a separate car to meet the rest of our family who had to pick up my Dad and Sis. Hoffman (photographer). It was very funny trying to pose on the beach in our silly matching outfits in front of people in bathing suits and fishermen. When we were driving home, me in the driver seat, Dallin being the passenger, we came upon a small intersection. I didn't have a stop sign, but the guy in the SUV did. I kept driving. I saw him stop, but then he pulled out into the middle of the road right in front of me. 3 seconds before I slammed on the brakes, held my breath, then closed my eyes, I saw him look up over his left arm that was holding his cell phone to his ear. I don't remember any loud crashing sounds, and I don't remember him wobbling his car off the side of the road, but I do remember all the smoke coming in through the AC. And the airbags in my face. And the shattered windshield. And my door not being able to open. And the rear-view mirror hanging down off the ceiling. Luckily, there were people sitting on their porch in the house by the intersection, and there was a very nice lady driving behind the guy who pulled out. The hick porch people called the police and the driver lady stayed to talk to the police officer. I think the hick woman made it sound like there were multiple casualties to the dispatcher, because fire marshals came, a firetruck with like 10 firemen came out, an ambulance came that had to call in and cancel the SECOND ambulance that was coming. But only one police officer came. Lucky for us, the guy told the truth and took all the blame. He admitted to pulling out in front and all that jazz. No injuries on anyone, either! I have a little rash on my collar bone from the seatbelt, but I'm not complaining!

My first car accident EVER and it happened on some small road in the middle of Georgetown, Delaware. What the heck?!

P.S. Every time I look at our new family photos, I get to be reminded of this. Awesome.