my new friend, michael.

this post is dedicated to a wonderful young man, michael don glauser.

it's probably weird to hear me call my brother my "friend," but quite frankly, that's the best way i can describe it. this christmas break has been about shifting my relationship from "older sister" to overall friend, and it has been more than wonderful.

even though michael is one of the closest to my age in the family, we have, unfortunately, been the most distant. growing up, he's mainly just been the annoying younger brother that would rap and make up gibberish words. just recently, however, ever since he's experienced his first semester in college, things have changed between us--he has grown up, and so have i.

apart from myself, he is the only other glauser that has ventured out of Utah to continue and further his education (college wise). he is currently going to school in Irvine, CA and golfing in division 2 of the NCAA.... the first of us glausers to be playing sports on a collegiate level! pretty amazing!

anyway, ever since he has been home for christmas break, him and i immediately sparked a new bond with one another. whether it was because we're both going to school away from home, or we just needed to grow up a bit, it doesn't really matter. all i care about, and that i am grateful for, is that i have a new friendship and deeper love and appreciation for my little brother, mike :)

love ya, bro ;)

this is a picture and him and i venturing together to an open agency call, ProScout. isn't he just cute?!

STG winter wonderland

i thought i could get away from the snow on my christmas break.... i guess not....

oh well! c'est la vie!

ebel skeibers

yes, that's the actual name of this Welsh breakfast food...

making some "vision boards" tonight too :)

i share my world this way, with a picture each day: 2011

for some reason i am just giddy about 2011! when i think about all the potential it holds, i just get excited! i haven't felt like this about a new year in a really long time, so that makes it even more thrilling!

my new project: "i share my world this way, with a picture each day" is my way of documenting each day of my life this year and taking a picture of something that stands out everyday! this will also help keep me updated with my blog and keeping friends and family informed. it's not so overwhelming :)

Jan 1st:

it was "night in with the family" including... yoga, enchiladas, games, and writing down our intentions/goals for 2011. so fun and motivating!

i just love my family. :)

happiness

for some reason, yesterday i was just happy—everything was joyful. i feel like i usually am a happy person most of the time, but this time there was something a little different. i can’t quite put it into words, but it was just joy, pure joy… inside and out.

the little things that usually annoyed me at work or just frustrated me (people not tipping, or unpleasant people that were just mean for no reason), they weren’t getting to me. very easily, i was able to brush these off, put on a smile and move on to the next table. it was so nice and it worked out because i had many other tables that were very pleasant, so the silly stupid ones were drowned out.

after work, i came home dancing. i was singing and excited to watch the finale of The Bachelor. i made some homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and gleefully shared them with my friends. though i was disappointed with the outcome of The Bachelor, i quickly accepted his choice, moved on, and went to bed reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

i think the difference between this happiness was that it was coming from me—no other outside sources (friends, family, school, work, boyfriend), from me. my soul. the inner workings of the joyous spirit inside me.

it’s beautiful and wonderful to feel JOY.

i want to feel like this everyday… so i’m going to! i choose to be happy, joyful, loving, and spirited!

:-)

belle

dear universe,

i will play Belle one day…. just wanted you to know.

thanks for setting that up for me.

much love,

cami

the universe works in mysterious ways...

as a waitress i make a lot of observations… mostly about the people that i serve. some are nice and some are mean. some want everything in certain way and some are easy going. some are loud and some are quiet. some are great tippers and some leave without paying a dime. some won’t let the other person talk and has to order for them and some can make decisions for themselves. some like to talk a lot and some like to be left alone. some like to complain and some are content… it’s really interesting and it’s actually one of my favorite parts of my job—to observe all the different kinds of people in this world. it’s almost like i’m getting a tiny glimpse into the everyday lives of all the guests that sit in my section. i really enjoy it.

well, this last saturday i came into work with my usual monotonous way of thinking—“another day at work. get in and hopefully leave with some good money.” during the middle of my shift, i had a family of 4 sit in my section—a mother, a father, and their 2 kids. making my usual observations to my tables, i noticed they seemed very nice and were probably not going to cause me any more stress than i had already been dealing with that day. as soon as i delivered their food, and placed it on their table accordingly, they stopped me and said, “cami?”

replying with my immediate response to my guests, i said, “yes, is there anything else i can get for you?”

they sweetly replied, “well actually we were about to say a prayer on our meal today and we were wondering if there was anything you would like us to pray for you about? relationships..? school..?”

i immediately stopped in my tracks and a flood of emotion caught up with me. “you know what, yes. if you wouldn’t mind including me in your prayers… there is something…” i then proceeded to tell them about how i had been patiently waiting (and slightly stressing) to hear back from my college to see if i could be awarded more scholarship money so i could return this fall. they asked me a few questions about school and why i moved here, and we began to share a small part of our lives with one another. it was really nice to talk with them and see that some strangers wanted to pray for me and my scholarship money. it truly touched my heart and sort of put my mind to ease about school stresses.

i returned to their table after they had finished their meal, with tears in my eyes and told them they were suppose to come into my life that day and i thanked them for sharing their sweet spirits with mine.

the universe is so powerful and it really does work in mysterious ways—bringing certain people/experiences into our lives every moment of everyday.

everything happens for a reason.

thank you, Father/Higher Power/Universe/all things. you are sincerely amazing.