D is for Difficult Decisions

It has been too long since I have posted anything, and with good reason: nothing has changed in my life. Until now, that is. It seems that my blog has become an outlet for me to share my ever-changing job situations. Well, here comes another one.

Just for a little information on my current job, I work for Bare Escentuals inside of Nordstrom. I do make-up on women, but I also have sales goals to meet. I am paid by BE, NOT Nordstrom. Therefore, I don't make commission like every other Nordstrom employee, and I also receive no discount on anything but Bare Escentuals product. The commission situation really didn't bother me when I was hired, but that slowly started to change. Nordstrom is constantly understaffed in the cosmetics department, and so everyone has to work outside of their own make-up lines to help customers. Other employees, however, have a some incentive since they will still receive a commission for anything they sell. My team? Not so lucky. We are the only counter other than MAC that is ALWAYS staffed, open to close, and thus we end up doing a lot of work for other lines...with no reward. This has really frustrated me lately, as I feel a bit like free labor for Nordstrom.

Well, I heard about a full-time opening at the MAC counter. I was intrigued because I know how respected those employees are and that they make more hourly PLUS commission. I decided that I would talk to the manager of MAC and of Nordstrom cosmetics to let them know I was interested. Both were eager to have me apply, and that was really encouraging!

On the flip-side, I was terrified to tell MY manager that I was even CONSIDERING to leave BE. I felt that she should know, however, so that it wouldn't seem like I was sneaking around behind her back interviewing other places. Telling her was extremely difficult, and she didn't take it very well.

The past couple of days, I have been so conflicted, trying to decide what to do. I even made a list of pros and cons. In the end, I know what I should be doing right now. And even though everything else I have said might make you think otherwise, I have decided to stay with Bare Escentuals. I feel like the frustrations I have now would be nothing compared to the others that would come from working for MAC. I respect them a lot, but it is just not for me right now. So, for once, one of my "Job Blogs" doesn't involve change!

S is for Sunday. Whew!

The Gospel is true....and very exhausting. Yesterday I had one of those nonstop, meeting after meeting, no time to eat Sundays. As the daughter of a bishop/Stake Presidency kind of dad, I have always known that many people in the church have VERY long days. So, Dad and everyone else that has spent hours and hours with church activities... I know how you feel.

11:30- Relief Society Presidency meeting (Thank goodness I started this late...we all know I am not a morning person...)

12:15-3:15- Sacrament, Sunday School, Relief Society (Nothing out of the ordinary here!)

3:15-3:45- socializing with some new sisters in my Relief Society (While this may sound like a break, taking mental notes on names, hometowns, majors, etc can be exhausting!)

4-5- My home teachers came and taught us/talked with us. (These two guys are so great, we could have talked for so much longer)

5-6:30- I went and did MY visiting teaching, to two girls (Last Sunday of the month! Whoo hoo!)

6:30-6:45- Super fast meal (only real one of the day!)

6:45-7- walking in the slush/rain/snow/cold in high heels to a Stake Leadership Training Meeting (While this was not an activity or anything, I just want you to pity me :).)

7-8:30-Stake Leadership Training Meeting (First everyone together, and then Relief Society Presidencies on their own)

8:30-8:45- Stinking weather

8:45-9- Interviewing two people to spotlight at ward prayer (This time I had paper and a pen to help me remember names, dates, majors, interests, etc.)

9-9:30- Ward Prayer (So fun...so cold)

9:30-10:30- Linger Longer, sweets and socializing (While this is not a REQUIRED activity...it is if one wants friends in the ward)

10:30-12- Nice long conversation with a friend. (SOMETIMES I am a good listener)


I came home at midnight, read my scriptures(That was for the parents...just so they know! haha), washed my face, brushed my teeth, and that was it. The end.

Even though I make it sound so tiring and arduous, it was a great day! I was spiritually fed,taught by many,able to teach myself, talked with awesome people, and felt like I did not waste a day!

A is for "And the Oscar goes to..."

Every year in my ward, the FHE groups get together and make 10 minute long videos about anything they choose, and then the whole ward gets together and watches them. It is a really fun tradition, and the "Oscars" have become a pretty big deal. Well, this year, my group made a funny 1950s educational video about how to survive a zombie uprising. It was really funny, thanks to some pretty tech/movie/editing savvy guys in the group. I even helped out with the zombie make-up, which was kind of refreshing after all the "natural" looks I do everyday! This past Thursday, our whole ward went to the SWKT(Kimball Tower) and watched the movies is a huge theater. It was so fun, plus, formal wear was encouraged, so it felt like prom again! My roommates and I had fun getting ready together (I even did about 5 girls' eye make-up in about an hour, PLUS myself! Whew!), and we looked great! Here are some pictures from the after-party. If you have a facebook account, my groups video is on my profile, so check it out!






Oh, and our group won! The bishopric gave an award to each group, and then the ward voted on the best overall! So, we got the People's Choice Oscar, which is really the best!

M is for Me, Yo, Je, Moi, I

After seeing the Waldron family become
dancing elves, I thought I would give it a try
too. Thing is...I don't have a husband...or three kids.
But I sure did want to fill those five spaces!
So enjoy the many faces of Jenbug!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

P is for Pictures

Since most of you don't get on facebook often, I thought you might want to see some pictures of me! (WARNING: Most of these photos contain awkward/unflattering facial expressions, odd hair and skin color, and strange clothing.)


Me making a strange face with a cool faux hawk!

My roommate Nicole, me, roommate Courtney and friend Alisa going out to prank some guys!
Claire wanted me to show her the pictures of when I was "blue" all the time, so here they are!

C is for Camilla and Carmindy

So I think I could give Carmindy a run for her money. To anyone who doesn't know who Carmindy is, just tune in to TLC's "What Not To Wear" (or ask my dad). Most of my family really enjoys this show, where participants hand over their wardrobe to Stacy and Clinton, who then show them what they SHOULD wear, along with $5000 to get a new wardrobe. After the shopping, the participants then get their hair cut/styled/colored by Nick Arrojo, and then their make-up done by Carmindy. I always love seeing the transformations! The women look better, but more importantly, they feel better and have more confidence.

That is the part of my job that I love: telling women they are beautiful and meaning it, and helping them gain self-confidence. It is my goal to simply enhance the beauty they have and make them feel better, without changing them completely.

Well, today I had a woman come in who wanted to try out Bare Escentuals. She sat down and we started to talk as I did her make-up. I felt like I knew her from somewhere, but could never figure out from where while we talked. She loved everything and bought some things, and went on her way. Well, about an hour later, it hit me! She was on "What Not to Wear"!!! It all came back to me: the girl from Salt Lake with really long hair, torn-up clothes, and absolutely no idea how beautiful she was! I remember being so annoyed with her, because she was so stunning, and yet she did not consider herself beautiful. She still seemed a little self-conscious today. She seems to be keeping up well with dressing well, but when I was doing her make-up and told her how great her skin was, she kind of looked to the side and made some comment about that being untrue. I said "No, really! You have fantastic skin!", and she just truly didn't believe it. But when I was done with her, she looked in the mirror and said she thought she actually looked great! Take THAT Carmindy!

R is for Resume

I had a pretty good day today. All in all, I can't complain. Part of the reason this day was good was because I started to see how AWESOME I am. :) (The smiley face represents the fact that I am totally kidding!) Then I started to wonder how someone like me can be oh-so-single. So instead of dwelling on that thought (which would surely lead to self-criticism and some mild form of depression), I thought I would create a resume of sorts, for any future male companions. (Feel free to add to my list...it can only make me feel better!! Hahaha!)

-Minimal amounts of drama/typical "girl" behavior (Really, this should be enough)
-Common sense
-Humble (I mean...other than this)
-Enjoy the arts: concerts, plays, musicals, museums, etc
-Enjoy sports: Hockey, baseball, basketball, etc (Again, this should do it)
-Wicked awesome dancer (I won't lie: I'm amazing)
-Independent (Read: NOT NEEDY)
-not-too-shabby in the looks department
-Sense of reality (see "not-too-shabby" above)
-Good taste in music,movies,books (ie NOT Pussycat Dolls, She's the Man, or Twilight)
-Spiritual (Hello! Relief Society Presidency!) ;)
-Learning to be uninhibited, but haven't gone crazy(aka Balanced)

Well, that'll do it. I feel much better now.