Happy Cookies

We have been so blessed with really amazing people in our ward. They are so nice and so inspiring. I have been so grateful to rub shoulders with them and learn from them each week. While I was working on Sundays, I would get so upset about missing church because the Spirit is so incredibly strong and I missed that.

I've been so grateful for the Spirit we've felt and how welcoming several members of our ward have been, I wanted to write them a quick note to let them know how amazing I think they are. So there I was, writing away and Jake asked how I was going to deliver them.... Hadn't crossed my mind... I thought about mailing them, but then he suggested to make them cookies! Brilliant idea!

Last night we went out to deliver the goods. It was so fun to surprise people. Not to mention it just confirmed how nice I thought everyone was. My heart just swelled with gratitude. I feel so blessed to be in this ward and can't wait to get to know everyone even better!

New Job!

Finding good work opportunities since we've been married has been REALLY HARD. Honestly probably the hardest part of being married for me,  honestly... I realize now how good I had it as a Professional Parent Coordinator. I wish I wouldn't have complained as much as I did. I really want to work on that about myself in general moving forward...

I was initially offered a position at a treatment center as a direct care staff right before we got married. Literally got the offer the day before we got married. I also received an offer from RISE in Logan, which is where I had been working in Salt Lake for the year and a half before. We were thinking we would be moving to Denver relatively quickly after getting married, so I decided sticking with RISE would be a better move for my career long-term. 

About a month in, I felt like it wasn't working out. They had planned on me working with a client that was so violent they were having to confine her to her bedroom for large parts of the day... I DEFINITELY wasn't comfortable with that. If you know me, violence or aggression of any kind generally makes me sink into my shell and freeze in fear. So I told them I couldn't do it. They were understanding about it, but that meant I had about 12 hours of work a week if I was lucky... 

So I ended up calling the treatment center back on the off-chance they were hiring again. To my pleasant surprise, they were! I got an offer not too long after and started working on October 4th, 2013. It was pretty great in the beginning. I enjoyed the girls I worked with and really loved learning about eating disorders. I had no idea they were so complex! 

Unfortunately right after the beginning of the year, they had to start cutting shifts for various reasons. I was down to working about 8-16 hours a week on average. You'd think one would enjoy all this free time. It got SO hard. I did enjoy having time to advance my talents like crafting, sewing and cooking. But it became SO hard. There's only so much time I could spend watching t.v., movies and trying to find things to do without spending money. 

About a month ago, a friend randomly told me that the company she works for was hiring for full-time positions, Monday through Friday. I was intrigued simply by that kind of schedule! I took my resume and cover-letter in on Monday, did some assessments for them on Tuesday, had an interview on Thursday and a job offer on Friday! :) 

I just started this past Tuesday. They have a relatively vigorous two-week training process for my position, and assuming all goes well with training, I will be hired into the position. Word on the street is that the training isn't something to worry too much about, that 99% of people make it through. So far I've felt pretty challenged and unsure of myself, but it gradually got better through the week. I'm hoping I can say the same thing this time next week! Going into this job, I knew it was going to be something really different from anything I've ever done, so it would be a "good challenge." For a moment, I was kind of resenting how difficult it was, but then I realized this is what I was looking for. I want to be pushed. I want to learn. I'm so grateful for this opportunity and look forward to what it holds!

                                                             New outfit for the first day! :)

Pentatonix Concert

For Christmas, I bought Jake tickets to see these incredible performers, Pentatonix! Not many people know who they are... shame on them! Pentatonix is an acapella group that competed on the show "The Sing-Off" (Similar to American Idol, but with groups) a couple years ago and they won!  They originated as a trio, three friends from Texas. They eventually found a guy who beatboxes and plays the cello at the same time on Youtube and hooked him into the milieu. Not long after, they recruited their 5th and final member, who can sing two tones at once! It's insane! Check out some of their stuff on Youtube. Seriously amazing. My favorites are "Radioactive" and "Video Killed the Radio Star." Yes, they are mostly a cover band, but they have some original stuff that's pretty good too!

So Monday we made the journey from Logan to Salt Lake, stopping at one of my favorite restaurants for dinner. Olive Garden!!! I was brave and tried a new dish, but admittedly, it wasn't as good as my usual (Chicken Scampi...yum!) If you know me, leftovers are a challenge. I'm like a child. The texture is usually different and that changes the taste into duller flavors for me... It's weird, I can't explain it. But Chicken Scampi is usually perfectly the same! So chowing down on my leftovers at lunch was pretty disappointing today, not getting to experience the usual greatness... That's what I get for trying something new. Ha!

After dinner, we rushed out of the parking garage and down the street like 2.5 blocks (ugh... could have saved on parking)... We got to the venue just in time for the parking lot across the street to fill up... Blast! So we had to circle back and park up the street in the Gateway. Walking another 2.5 blocks, we found the line... LITERALLY wrapped itself 3/4 of the way around the block... So naturally, I'm STRESSING. I was under the impression that gates opened at 6:30 (we were 15 minutes late, as usual), and the concert started at 7... How in the world were we going to make it inside for the first number?!

Somehow, I kept my cool. Phew! The little family in front of us probably helped. The Mom mentioned to us that they were bringing their 9 and 6 year old little girls, who would "die every day" for Pentatonix, but the girls didn't know what was going on. Ador-bes.

The bouncer at the front told us the show didn't start til 7:30, so we still had a good 10 minutes. I was relieved! But, of course, they ran about a half hour late... So naturally, photo op! 
 
Finally the concert was underway! The music was pumpin and people were jumpin! We had such a fun time! They played all but one song we were hoping for ("Radioactive"), it was awesome! They played a brand new cover of "Say Something" and two originals. Kevin played the cello for an original he wrote and beatboxed by himself. Avi demonstrated his two-tone skills and they finished with a bang!
                                 

This was the best pic we got of the night, the finale! Right when Mitch went up into a high vebrato, confetti and streamers exploded! It was a pretty cool effect.

All in all, a really fun date night! So glad we had the opportunity to see them in concert. They're legit and amazing! Seriously, PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND CHECK THEM OUT if you don't know who they are! Your life will be changed. Here's a link to their site! ptxofficial.com

And Thus It Begins!

Welcome!

If you know anything about The Burzlaff's, we are playful people. We LOVE to laugh. We sit around making weird noises, faces and torturing each other just to get a reaction. Pretty sure when we took the title picture I might or might not have told Jake I farted... So you get his facial expression.

I'm honestly not entirely sure the direction this blog will take. I suppose that's why I'm calling it "The Burzlaff Adventures." We never really know what will happen next. We're probably really annoying to try and plan anything with because we mostly fly by the seat of our pants. Although, marriage has settled us down some. We even have couples over for dinner from time to time, planned like a week in advance... Whaaat???? 

Since getting married, I've started to dabble in cooking and sewing and have pretty much become a master at the former. Jake even commented one night, "Man, you've become... such a cook!" If you knew me in the single days, you know how miraculous that is... Pretty sure I cooked a package of Rice-a-Roni that ended up being so disgusting I had to eat it on bread. Bread makes everything better. So yeah, the fact that I make things like Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos and Spinach Stromboli is quite the accomplishment. You may get to see some of my creations from time to time, who knows?!

I hope you enjoy reading along with us as we experience life together. If not, well, hopefully you'll at least get a good laugh at our expense. Laugh on, peeps.