Six Months

I'm happy to say that Phil and I have been married for over six months now. We've already been through so much together and I am so grateful for him. He is my best friend and greatest confidant. I can't imagine how I got so lucky.

To celebrate, we decided to do something special. Phil and I split the anniversaries for the year. He'll take our one year anniversary and I planned our six month bash. However, he didn't pass on giving me a lovely surprise.

He Knows I Love White Roses

He also wrote me the most beautiful letter about the last six months and included some entries from his journal. I cried, obviously.

After careful planning and consideration, I decided to take my uncle up on his offer to go stay at his hotel in Salt Lake for the weekend. We left on Friday after work. It was so nice to just be together. We headed to Market Street for dinner. If you haven't been, you must go. I love seafood so it was an easy choice. Phil got steak and clam chowder. I got salmon. Delish. 

He's Adorable

Still Craving It...

After dinner, we hung out in our hotel for the evening. It would've been nice to walk around downtown, but it was raining that night so we just snuggled.

Saturday morning we woke up and walked to the farmers' market in Pioneer Park. I have fallen in love with farmers' markets. They're such a great people-watching location and you can get the most amazing food and produce. The advantage of going to the one in Salt Lake is this: 

Pao de Queijo

I know it doesn't look like much but this is Brasilian cheese bread. If you haven't tasted it, please tell me and you and I can go get some together. We also got some peaches that were to-die-for yummy.

The crowning jewel of the weekend was our trip to see Wicked in Capitol Theatre. Both Phil and I had seen it before but I loved it just as much as the first time. So incredible. 

Dress-up Day

The Set Was Fantastic

And The Theatre Was Gorgeous

Overall, we had a fantastic weekend. I love spending time with Phil. It's nice to not have to worry about work or med school applications or anything else. I've learned to treasure our one-on-one time.

As a side note, this lady got home last week! 

We Missed You Josie!

So grateful for my amazing life.

Testimony

President Boyd K. Packer said, "A testimony is to be found in the bearing of it." I, like so many, have moments of doubt and discouragement. But today I had a marvelous experience in sacrament meeting. I have been worried about my testimony and if my doubts are overtaking my faith. Then I remembered this quote.

I felt impressed to stand and share the things I know to be true. I was overcome with emotion as the Spirit testified to me that the things I was saying were indeed true. I know that God lives, that He has faith in us and trusts us. He loves us and because of this love, He has offered us tools to help us return to His presence. I know that The Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that my Savior lives and loves me. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living church upon the earth.

After bearing my testimony, we sang the closing hymn and I was overcome with the Spirit. The hymn was "Come unto Him" (#114 in the LDS English hymnal). The words spoke to my soul. I found verse two especially poignant:

When I am filled with strong desire
And ask a boon of him, I see
No miracle of living fire,
But what I ask flows into me.
And when the tempest rages high
I feel no arm around me thrust,
But ev'ry storm goes rolling by
When I repose in him my trust.

We don't need signs or burning bushes to feel God's presence in our lives. The Spirit is always there to remind us just how close Heavenly Father truly is. For this knowledge I am eternally grateful.

GPS, ACAWC and MOSWC

When I first started working at Certiport, I was overwhelmed by the number of acronyms that people used on a daily basis. QBCU, MTA, ACA, QBR, etc. But there were three that were especially important: GPS (Global Partner Summit), ACAWC (Adobe Certified Associate World Championship), and MOSWC (Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship).

These three acronyms are three events that occur simultaneously each year. It's a competition for students all around the world who have earned Microsoft or Adobe certifications. They come with our partners (distribution channel members) from Singapore, Indonesia, Ecuador, Brasil, Czech Republic, Holland, New Zealand. The list goes on and on.

This event showed me what an amazing impact our work has on students' lives. Here's a little peak into the week I spent in Disneyland.

I arrived on Saturday with some other team members. We landed in Orange County in the late afternoon. After picking up our rental car (upgraded to a Mercedes), we headed over to Disney's Grand California Hotel. The place was gorgeous.

Front Entrance Stained Glass

Lobby

Everything was perfectly Disney, even the room key holders. 

Adorable!

We paused for a few minutes and got to work. We had the convention center to ourselves so we started setting up signage and getting all our materials organized for the next day. This was one of my favorite parts. 

GPS/ACAWC/MOSWC Welcome Structure

We had a reservation at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen for dinner, which I would highly recommend if anyone is going to Disneyland soon. The food was delicious, Creole style eats. I'm a huge fan.

The Team

Our View from the Balcony

My Delightful Coworkers

We had delicious food and stayed late enough to see the fireworks inside Disneyland.

Perfect View

We worked really late Saturday night and I came back to my room to find this.

Cookies and Milk Turndown Service

Sunday was busy. All the partners arrived with their students and it was great to see all their excitement. I got to meet the Brasilian competitor and it felt great to use my Portuguese again. I have to say though, the students from Macau were my favorite. They were freaking out over everything Disney.

All the students settled in early Sunday night because Monday was testing day. The students looked so nervous. My coworker and I were laughing because we realized that our job was to host the largest nerd convention in the world. That being said though, they are still normal teenagers. We set up a student lounge with an X-Box, an air hockey table, games and tons of treats to keep them entertained while they waited for their testing time. My favorite part were the caricature artists. The staff even got in on some of the fun. 

Does She Look Like Me? 

Some of the Certiport Team

Mickey even decided to stop by. 

Lucky Ladies and Mickey

After the students finished their exams, we gave them all their competition t-shirts and tickets to Disneyland for the next day. Aren't they cute?!

Microsoft Competitors

Adobe Competitors

While the students were at the park on Tuesday, I spent the day with the partners in breakout sessions and prepping for the annual partner dinner. Hours of prep work turned out to be worth it. Our theme was "Road to Success", and I think we captured it quite well. 

Fancy Right? 

The food was delicious too.

Chocolate Mousse

Steak and Lobster

After the dinner ended, we got special seating at the World of Color show in California Adventure. It's a light and water show they put on right in front of the ferris wheel.

Beautiful

Even though I loved all of it, the awards ceremony was the best part. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures. I got emotional watching these students who worked so hard win scholarships and opportunities for a better future. I feel so blessed to be a part of a company that helps change the lives of people around the world. I am so grateful for my job and the amazing people with whom I am privileged to work.