Here's to 2012!

Here's to a year full of possibility.  Here's to a year full of surprises (I've always loved a good intrigue).  And most importantly, here's to a year filled with love.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Drop the 'Mas'

Every Christmas season, I am again reminded of my Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ.  As I have pondered on my Savior's life and mission, I am filled with awe and wonder.  I feel as I can only imagine the shepherds felt that silent night, with beating heart, a witness to the angel singing glad tidings of great joy.  Gordon B. Hinkley said, "He was and is the great central figure of human history, the zenith of the times and seasons of all men."

The spirit of Christmas can be much better described in dropping the last syllable...the spirit of Christ.  We can feel the spirit of Christ as we offer Him our gift of a broken heart and a contrite spirit and do as He would do.  His spirit has the power to change hearts and forever fill our hearts with love.  As it says in one of my favorite Christmas carols, Joy to the World, "Let every heart, prepare Him room."

Merry Christmas!

You want the moon?

George  Bailey:  "What is it you want, Mary?  What do you want?  You want the moon?  Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down.  Hey, that's a pretty good idea.  I'll give you the moon, Mary."

Mary: "I'll take it.  Then what?"

George Bailey:  "Well, then you can swallow it, and it'll all dissolve, see...and the moonbeams would shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair...am I talking too much?"

Serindiptatiousness

True Story:  So last night, my family decided to pay Grandma Dorothy a visit.  As I walked down the stairs to the living room where she resides, I noticed something very magical.  We were wearing the exact same sweater!  Yep!  It's true. First of all, I didn't even know she had said sweater, as I had bought mine at the grocery store a week prior to our little visit.  And we had picked out the same sweater from the many multitudes of Christmas frocks to choose from.  And we had decided to wear it on the same random evening.  Hilarious.  Well...great minds think alike.  Here's to Christmas sweaters and accidentally wearing the same one as your grandma.

Winter

I like these cold, gray Winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood. - Bill Watterson

O' Tannenbaum

After work today, I decided to stop and pay a visit to my beautiful friend Julie.  She's been braving the 18 degree weather to help provide families with their very own green piece of Christmas.  That's right...Ault's Tree Lot, located in American Fork, is a real bona fide memory maker.  If you're behind on your festive decorating agenda and haven't picked one up yet, don't you fret; there's plenty of lonely trees looking for a warm and loving home to spend it's December.  I like the "Charlie Brown" ones myself.

 

Going to Jackson...

Can I just say, that sometimes in life you luck out. 

You luck out with a great score on your exam (even though you maybe didn't study as much as you should have).  

You luck out on hitting all the green lights on your way to work.  

You even luck out on not running out of underwear before you have your next date with the laundry mat.  

For me I think I've lucked out in a lot of things.
Mostly I've lucked out on having a family that loves me for me and on getting to make a trip with them to beautiful Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Just sayin'.
(...and sorry mom, for always being stuck behind the camera. love you)

Forever West.  Forever Love.

What's it all about, Alfie?

Is it just for the moment we live?

What's it all about when you sort it out, Alfie?

Are we meant to take more than we give

or are we meant to be kind?

And if only fools are kind, Alfie, 

then I guess it is wise to be cruel.

For if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie,

what will you lend on an old golden rule?

As sure as I believe, there's a heaven above, Alfie,

I know there's something much more,

something even non-believers can believe in.

I believe in love, Alfie.

Without true love, we just exist, Alfie.

Until you find the love you've missed you're nothing, Alfie.

When you walk, let your heart lead the way

and you'll find love any day, Alfie, Alfie.

 - Burt Bacharach

A Day, or two, of Turkey and Thanks

Having just spent the past five days doing nothing but eating, I can say with a full stomach and heart that this Thanksgiving holiday was a resounding success.  Days spent in gratitude with lots of family, friends, and food, can only result in my smile, a happy souvenir.  I hope your day of turkey and thanks was everything it was suppose to be; and that you can barely walk, per heavy food consumption.  Godspeed.

Pancakes the German Way

Every so often, after a long night's rest, you wake up and are informed that Debbie Dopp is coming over to make her Famous German Pancakes.  It is in that moment when you realize the reason you're alive.  And that reason lies in the fluffy, buttermilk syrup smothered German Pancake. Best Breakfast Ever.

Period.

The Push & Tush

So I have a new set of wheels. Be jealous. They're a little more grown up from the roller backpack with light up wheels that I sported post appendicitis surgery in High School. Yeah, these are legit.

Why the sexy new ride you ask?

It may or may not have something to do with working at a certain zipline...on all hallows eve...in the dark...with customers who don't like to break (or stay conscience while ziping for that matter). The damage? Two severed hamstrings and some crushed rib cartilage comin' right up...delicious. Just cross your fingers and toes and eyes that it'll be a quick recovery. I have a year of physical therapy ahead of me to get back to where I was. No worries. I'm looking forward to sucker punching that little monster of worry that says I won't dance again. Who knows....I'll probably end up stronger than I even was to begin with. 

Cheers.

E.T.

Sometimes, your shoes fall off of your chair on a ski lift during a freezing moonlit midnight lift ride.  So you improvise.  The result?........E.T.

Uniqueness...it's a good thing

Thought...

nuff said.

It's Friday...

You know what friends?  Staying in on a Friday night, might just be all that it's cracked up to be.  

Warm sweater? check.  Good book? check.  Smooth tunes? check.

Now all I need is some cookie dough.  

Happy Friday Everyone

Warm Fuzzies...

Hearing the words of the prophets feels like home to me.  In a way, the words all sound familiar, at least, the source sounds familiar.  It's being touched by the Spirit which lends a certain peace and feeling of warmth, 

like coming home.  

Sometimes...you just need to zipline. The End.

Coward

So I joined this emailing list that gives you a "word of the day," every day. The task is to write something, and by something I mean anything, using that word.  It's a great little writing exercise.  I like it because every day, I put something down on paper that was once in my head.  There's something very satisfying about that.  Anyways, on Monday, the word of the day was "coward."  Here's what I came up with:

What the heck am I so afraid of?  These raw emotions collect like a wad, like an unwelcome crowd of Orcs coming for tea.  With a caw and a crow they get stuck in my craw, declaring war on my peace of mind.  I'm stuck in a boat with a single oar.  I paddle and row only to go in circles, creating an arc of disappointment.  How do you draw them out?  How do you ward them off?  Perhaps with a cord wrapped around the neck of Fear, attached to a speeding car rambling down the road of unfulfilled dreams.  Holy cow!  That would teach it a lesson.  Or not.  Ugh...it's such a cad, or better yet, a cod.  That's right, a cod.  Good thing I brought my rod of truth today so I can beat the living daylights out of it.  That would be a sight to see.  Totally rad.  Oh I have much ado.  It's time to OD on optimism, positive thinking and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  Maybe I'll send that little monster a greeting card with one word: Coward.  That's what it is and what I will not be.  And now for the coda: Well there isn't one, at least not yet.  I guess fear doesn't always go away, but it's what you do in the face of it (and with a rod of truth).

"It is vain for the coward to flee; death follows close behind; it is only by defying it that the brave escape."  Voltaire

*Bold lettered words are all the words within the word COWARD

Falling

Ok...so it's finally September 1st. Funny how time flies. It seems like just yesterday I was supporting the local kiddie business with their lemonade stand and scarfing down snow cones (always Tiger's Blood with Vanilla ice cream on the bottom). This morning I enthusiastically donned my sweater and boots, only to realize later today that 24 hours doesn't magically turn the air from 80 to 55 degrees. My mistake. I just love the Fall so much. really. It's my favorite, as a matter of fact. For example, I've been done with school for two years now, but whenever I see those fresh shipments of school supplies, I still get happy little heart palpitations. And even though we have a good 23 days until it's official, I'm ready to dive head first into a pile of leaves.

Bring on the oranges, reds and yellows. Bring on the pumpkins and harvests and hay bails. Bring on the turkeys, full moons, and a fresh box of crayons. I'm so ready.

"Delicious Autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive Autumns." ~ George Elliot

Day Dreams

I could use a little bit of this in my life...like, right now. Closing eyes...

Let's play "Guess what my new job is?"

This last week has really been a good one. I just got a new job and I practically can't stop smiling. But before I give it away, try and guess for yourself from the following possible occupations:

1. Back-Country Snowshoe-er...

2. Model...

3. Farmer...

4. Museum Curator...

5. Russian Spy...

6. Professional Sidewalk Chalk Artist

7. Avatar...

8. Lunch Lady...

So what's your guess?

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

Answer:

None of them!

And it's a miracle too. I'm going to be working full time up at,

........drum role please........

My reservations position starts Saturday...

...and I couldn't be more excited.

Pretty in Pink

Pink Refrigerators

I know what your thinking; you wouldn't be caught dead with a pink refrigerator in your kitchen. But after seeing it, I think I would. They're just so darn cute and retro that they might even inspire some circle skirts and cookie baking. Bring on the cuteness and calories...

Country Roads...take me home

Since we moved to Highland, UT last Summer, I have been wanting to drive the scenic Apline loop. It's a winding 20-mile drive through the rugged Alpine Canyons, from Provo Canyon to American Fork Canyon. I had heard that it was a beautiful drive, but I just never found the time to do it. Finally, I was in the area, coming home from an interview up at Sundance, and decided to take the scenic byway. It was breathtaking, to say the least. Midway through, I totally took a wrong turn and ended up taking my '96 Toyota Avalon up a mountain side rock/dirt road. Leave it to me to get completely lost.

Hilarious. Forty five minutes later....

But, the adventure was well worth it and something I would love to do again.
(Maybe with a map next time...)