Olympus High School Class of 2000 Alumni Website

I’m not what you would call a “yes” person. I really like being at home and doing my thing, so I lean towards saying “no” to going out and getting involved in extra stuff and doing things that I probably ought to be doing. I’m kind of adventurous, but really I just like to stick to the stuff I know. And, unlike many of my friends, I have no problem using the phrases “Sorry, but I’m swamped and can’t help” or “Not this time, but try me again later.”

But I’m definitely having a “yes” kind of month.

It all started with my new year’s resolutions and wanting to change up my life a bit. Although I’m a pretty happy camper in my little situation, I felt like I was starting to mentally (and physically) atrophy a bit from just sitting around the house doing my thing. So, I decided 2010 was a good year to take on some new challenges. I decided to run a half-marathon, get more involved in the community, and pick up some extra freelance work instead of spending so much time searching for a 9-5 job. It was time to break out of my rut and push myself into new situtations

Fast forward five weeks:

My quest for new situations has been successful…maybe even a little too successful. I went to that blogging conference and joined the ranks of people who treat blogging like a job and, as a result, the Disney Wedding Blog has exploded. I have seven times the traffic that I did a month ago and therefore I have seven times the emails to answer, spotlights to run, and posts to plan out. I’m also getting contacted right and left by vendors who want to talk to me about giveaways and additional programs, which is great for the site but a little overwhelming for the Carly. I even have a couple of different multimedia projects going on that will make the blog even bigger. It’s great, but it’s all happened really fast and I haven’t quite caught my balance yet…

I also opened the door to some freelance work and got hit with so much stuff all at once that it looks like I’ll be making more in the next six months than I made last year working my 9-5. This is completely amazing, but I haven’t quite gotten used to the idea of being my own boss and setting schedules and doing all the things I’m going to have to do to make this work. I think I’ve got it under control, but my desk just looks like a giant haystack of post-it notes right now…

Finally, a big “yes” went from “yes, I’ll fly out to help you with some costumes” to “yes, now that I’m here I can do these as well” to “yes, I can act as a consultant for the whole show” to “yes, I’ll fly back out, handle the costumes for a cast of 94, and stay until opening night.” So, even though I got back to Utah yesterday, I’m headed back to California in the next couple of days and I’ll be elbows deep in Beauty and the Beast until the end of the month. It completely sucks that I’ll be away from Kyle for so long, but I think I’ll have a pretty good time while I’m out there and I’ll be able to see my family more than I usually do.

All of these “yes” moments have led to good things, but now I’m in a place where I wake up and spend my day trying to wrap my brain around a million radically different projects. I’m out of my comfort zone (to say the least!) and I haven’t been bored in a really, really long time. I just hope I’m not taking on too many things at once…

Oh, and check back tomorrow for a “yes” that you don’t want to miss!

Read more here:
Just Say Yes

I’m not a huge fan of Vegas.

Vegas takes a lot of energy and a lot of money. It also has the uncanny ability to make you feel like everyone else in the city has more energy, more money, more youth, and less body fat than you ever will. Vegas is what I imagine Disneyland would be like if I had a really bad hangover.

That being said, I was looking forward to this trip to Vegas. Chris and Kristen were getting married at Caesar’s Palace and they are two of my absolute favorite people. Plus, Kyle had never been to Vegas, so I figured we could take in the sights together and that would quell some of my anti-Vegas vibes.

Unfortunately, Kyle had to go to Ohio, as you all know, and this threw a bit of a monkey wrench into our plans. We had been planning to drive down, but I didn’t want to make the five hour drive through the desert by myself, so at the last minute I booked a plane ticket. I figured I’d pop in on Saturday morning, go to the wedding, and then pop back out on Sunday afternoon. I even convinced Jed to make the three hour drive from his new home in Irvine, CA, so we could pop in and out together.

On Saturday morning I caught an hour long flight and got into Vegas early in the morning. I had booked a room at the Marriott by the convention center to avoid all the traffic on the strip, so I was able to settle down in my quiet hotel room as soon as I got in. Jed was still on his way and it was too hot to do anything so I snuggled up in the king size bed and watched hotel room television.

Jed got to town in the afternoon and we dressed up in our finest and headed to the strip. We had some time to kill, so we went to the forum shops at Caesar’s Palace and shopped for a bit before grabbing some pre-wedding snacks. Finally, at six, we headed out to the gardens for the big event.

But…

When we got outside, there was a wedding going on and it was NOT Kristen and Chris’s wedding. Nobody around looked familiar and there was a general sense of things not being as they should. Jed jokingly asked if I had the right day and all of a sudden it all sunk in…Kristen and Chris had made a big thing about getting married on 9-6-09. They even filled their invitation with confetti nines and sixes. And we were there on the 5th.

I have no excuse, other than that the events of this summer had scrambled my brain. I, the wedding queen, totally showed up a day early for the wedding. For no damn reason at all.

There was a lot of panic and shock and cursing and general chaos on the way back to the hotel, but after a hot shower I was able to get things under control. I had to change my flight and book another night in the hotel, but it all worked out and Jed was such a trooper that he actually stayed an extra day with me so he could be my date for the wedding. We ended up hitting the town that night, taking in the strip, and grabbing a really terrible steak and egg dinner at 2AM, just because we could. Hey, when in Vegas…

Read more here:
What Happened in Vegas (Part One)