Wedding Planning

The date of the wedding has been set for July 9th, 2010. The planning is going pretty well.

Things we have already planned or paid for are the following:

-Personalized Bobble-head Cake-toppers
-Decorations. Lavender is the color with an ocean/seashell theme.
-Lavender Chinese spherical paper lanterns.
-Lavender ribbon
-Table centerpieces of glass vases filled with beach sand and seashells.
-My aunt and uncle Martha and Dan have said we could use their altar backdrop.
-We are on the cusp of securing the location for the wedding and reception.
-Mar picked her dress and veil out today. She is pretty excited about it.
-The honeymoon is paid for and planned for(San Diego staying at the Estancia La Jolla Resort at Torrey Pines pics included
-My sister, Julie, has taken up photography so she is going to be taking our engagement and Mar's bridal pictures. We have one option of someone who will take pictures the day of the wedding for $200 but we are still kind of looking around.
-A friend from work is lending us the stands for the cake and we already know where we are getting the cake from.
-We have a pretty good idea what we are going to be doing for the rehearsal dinner.

Things are coming along. We are super excited. We both just wish we were already married though. It will be exciting to have our families together in one place.

We are in the process of, with the help of my sister Julie, creating a Wedding Website blog where people can read our story, see more pictures of us, get a link to our registries, and maybe see some videos of us. I'll get the link up to that as soon as it is available.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace out.

I am a Phoenix.

Well, I'm going back to school.

I'm actually in class right now. I'm sitting in the first night of Principles of Economics class. This is the second class I've taken at the University of Phoenix, the first class being a class devoted to being a successful student. The first class taught everyone how to write papers, set goals, problem solve, and work in a group. I was pretty impressed with the quality of the class and the strictness of the grading of papers. The classroom lectures were filled with valuable information. Regardless, I didn't learn a bunch of new things I didn't know. I did learn how to write my papers by the APA guidelines required by the school and I learned some interesting things about myself through writing 4 papers in 5 weeks.

I'm sure you are wondering to yourself how, exactly, the University of Phoenix works. Let me explain. You take one class at a time. Each class is four hours, one night a week, for five weeks. Each class is 3 credits. Each class begins the week after your previous class ends. There is an assignment(usually a paper) due on the day of the first class. I actually do go to a classroom with other people. It is a little bit more expensive than the SLCC or the U but each student is assigned a financial aid counselor who assists in helping students apply for various forms of financial aid.

For me, it fits my schedule. I have always had the goal to finish my bachelor's degree but other things have gotten in the way. I do not regret those other things. If I decide to I may try to get my master's degree after this but right now there isn't really a need for it. The degree I am getting from the University of Phoenix is the bachelor's in International Business Management.

Anyway, I'm liking it and it seems to be a good fit for me.

The Luckiest

It's not often we can look back at disappointments or let-downs in life and figure out why things happened the way they did. This past week I am fortunate to be able to look back at this past year and understand more fully why certain events needed to take place.

Back in January I was about to receive a promotion to be a service manager at the bank. The promotion was blocked by my manager's manager because he wanted to keep me in his area. I have been considered and nearly awarded the same promotion four times since January. This week I was finally awarded the promotion I have been working hard to achieve since I was a teller at the bank.

Next Monday I move to my new branch to start my new position as the service manager. My new position will entail managing the tellers at my branch, making sure the branch passes its annual audit, and working with the branch manager to ensure the branch minimizes losses and maximizes profits. It is going to be a fun new challenge for me but I have been preparing for this for quite some time.

Believe it or not, this promotion is not even close to most the most exciting thing that has happened to me in the last little bit. For the past four months I have been dating Maria... You can call her Mar as long as you don't say it like a gringo ;) It has been going great and I am quite happy to say the least. I met her at work and never would have met her had I received this promotion any sooner than I did. Mar was born in Spain and raised in El Salvador. She moved back to Spain for Middle School. She lived in Long Beach California for her high school years and two years of college at Cal State University Long Beach. She has lived in Utah for the past year with her family. She makes me happy and I am more optimistic about where things are headed than I ever have been before.

Sometimes I feel like I am blessed with a lot more than what I deserve in life. This is one of those moments.

Hello everybody...a lot has happened in the nearly 4 months in which I have failed to blog.

Most notably...my Grandfather Clinton Russell Sagers passed away on July 5th. He was a great man and his legacy to me will always be one of hard work, light-heartedness, heroism and love for his wife and family. His passing was not a time of sorrow for me. It was a time of reflection and celebration of the life he had led and the fact that he was reunited with my grandmother who had passed 3 years earlier. He was honored with newspaper articles(Salt Lake Tribune/USA Today), TV newscasts, blogs, and facebook statuses/posts/fanpages. Amidst the flurry of praise and honor of a life well-lived I could not help but wonder how I would honor my grandfather. I decided that my grandfather(and my grandmother), although appreciative of words of praise, would be much more pleased if I honored them by the quality of life I choose to lead. I do not mean that my life would have to be one of fame and fortune. Not even close. I'm talking about a life which would bring continued honor and respect to the name Sagers. That if someone knew my grandparents, then met me, they could say they could see the resemblance in my work ethic, or affability. I guess, more than anything, I would want them to be proud of me. Whether that is vain or not, I don't know, but I think it is a good goal to shoot for.

Let's see...other news: life is good. Still at the ol' Wells Fargo. Still got the ol' house with 4 roommates. I have had two roommates move out because they got married and another one will be doing so in November for the same reason. So if you're looking to get hitched just come and live at my house for a bit. Luckily, everyone is looking to rent so I haven't even had to look for renters. They just come to me. It's kinda cool. I gotta guy putting stucco on the outside of the unfinished garage addition. He knocked on my door and gave me a quote I liked and the rest has been history. He should be finishing up here pretty soon. It's lucky he came by too because, although I know it needed to be finished before winter, I was having an incredibly hard time wanting to put siding on myself. Let's see...I have a girlfriend now and that is going along quite smoothly...to say the least. I am optimistic.

Sorry there are no pictures or videos...I needed to get a blog out there...and didn't care if this was fancy or not.

Ok, so my birfday is coming up... I read something in a book months ago which gave the characteristics of people born on specific days. Mine was pretty spot on. This is something I just found on the internet. Though not entirely accurate it is pretty close. I don't get too into horoscopes and all this stuff, nor do I have the slightest idea of how it all works, but I found this interesting. You should check yours out and see how accurate it is.

_________________

Geminis born June 12 are big thinkers who possess the enthusiasm to go for all the marbles. These incredible optimists believe that everything that happens is for the best. When they must face a setback, they're never depressed. They are great self-starters who always seem to have a plan.

Gemini Information for June 12 You should embrace: Advice, work ethic, sense of destiny You should avoid: Confrontation, poor choices, materialism

Friends and Lovers

June 12 people have a genuine love of people and value diversity in their circle of pals. They enjoy all aspects of friendship. In romance, they are idealists who often marry early. They are serious about romantic commitments and seldom break them.

Children and Family

Family life is complicated for June 12 people. Though they try their best, they may not be able to meet the high standards of a parent or parent figure. They are much more liberal with their own children. They enjoy a large family and give equal amount of love to each child.

Health

These high-strung individuals enjoy good health, though they tend to worry more than necessary. They are always juggling a variety of tasks. Getting plenty of sleep and taking vitamins on a daily basis should be enough to give them the stamina and endurance they need.

Career and Finances

June 12 natives have the vision and determination to get what they want in life. They do exceptionally well in careers such as teaching and counseling. There are many projects they wish to accomplish in life, and most of these ideas require considerable capital.

Dreams and Goals

June 12 people have many goals, but sometimes details can derail their plans. Once they grow to understand the importance of managing those details, nothing can stop them from making their dreams come true.

___________________



Anyway, I'm currently trying to figure some things out career-wise. I'm almost 100% positive I don't want to have a job where I have a boss telling me what to do. I want to do my own thing and make good money doing it. I have a few ideas but finding the time to research everything it would take to get them off the ground is difficult(derailing details? haha). Sometimes I feel like leaving my job would force me to take action...but I think I need to be a bit more patient with this one and do as much as I can on the side while I have a steady paycheck coming in. This new determination, along with some other work-related factors, have slightly decreased my motivation at work. I have to try extra hard to stay focused, though, because ol' Wellsy has been good to me and I believe in an honest-day's work for an honest-day's pay.

I feel like there is a big change on the horizon but I'm not sure what it is or what it is regarding. That's all for tonight friendlies.

Feel Good Inc.

BEFORE(Garage room 1st level)





AFTER(It feels great to have it finished)

The Good Life

I am falling in love. I am falling in love with life. It seems like my whole life I grew up thinking certain things were beyond my reach, that certain things could only be accomplished by those with more favorable circumstances than myself. I am now creating my own circumstances. It is hard to help others understand how I feel because they have grown up just as I have. I feel like I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. The most precious commodity in my life right now is time. There is so much I want to accomplish and there are so few hours in each day. I turn on the tv and feel like I have to watch something educational or it's not worth my time(excluding jazz games of course--hey, I have to relax sometimes). I now look at video and computer games as seriously addicting vices. My mind is more active now than at any other time in my life. I haven't "worked" for almost two years because I make my job enjoyable. At the moment I am not dating anyone...but I feel as if that will change shortly. I no longer let myself get upset or discouraged. I know things will work out. The glass is half full and there is a full pitcher right next my glass. I have much for which to be thankful. I wish everyone could feel this way.