Hi,
So, I haven't written in a while. Life has been quite busy with lots of things. I got into grad school and have been preparing for that. Yay! And Kaylee's wedding is coming up soon. I am so excited for her! There are lots of preparations to make though. I also recently got back from a quick trip to Texas. It was highly beautiful and wonderful. I would love to devote a post specifically to the trip. I loved it so much there, and I am missing the friends I spent time with there. Work has also been pretty busy.
I just have been really happy recently. I don't know if it's the change in weather or if my vacation refreshed me or something else, but I am just very happy to be me and have my life. I am excited for General Conference this weekend, and I'm just excited about life!
I really want to be a better me, and I am working on serving more and overcoming the things I struggle with. Life is lovely and I am so blessed!
And that is all for now.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Vegas Adventures
A little less than two weeks ago, my mom, dad, and I headed out to Las Vegas for a fun weekend. The primary purpose of the trip was to see Tim McGraw and Faith Hill perform at the Venetian, and I will tell you, I was really excited!
The car trip was pretty enjoyable, and it passed by pretty quickly. Maybe working 8 hour days has made 6 hours feel not very long. When we got to Vegas, one of the first things I noticed was the sunshine and warmth. We had been living in the 20s, and I'm pretty sure when I got out of the car that it was in the 50s or 60s. It felt so good! We checked into our hotel and then decided to go get some food since we were pretty hungry. We went to an Italian place called Maggiano's. Oh man, it was good. We all shared our food with each other. Our plates were being passed all around. My dad kept saying, "ooh! This is my favorite." And he settled on the decision that whatever was in front of him was his favorite. All of the food was just that good.
So, after we had filled ourselves full of amazing Italian goodness, we decided to go into the adjoining mall. This mall was HUGE! I bought my mom a bracelet for her birthday from Brighton. And then we went to Dillards. We shopped for a while and somehow managed to find my dad. He told us that the mall had just had a fashion show and that it was cool, and we decided to try to come back and see it the next day. We got lost trying to get out of the mall because it was so big, but we finally made it back outside and over to our hotel. We stood outside and watched our hotel's show. I will tell you that the show at Treasure Island is kind of weird. It's kind of inappropriate, which I suppose is somewhat expected for Vegas, but it was just weird. There were some cool things, like standing outside without a jacket, haha. And I always love fireworks! The pirate ship in the show was pretty cool too. So, we watched the show and then decided to go relax before the concert.
At seven, my mom and I headed across the street to the Venetian (my dad doesn't love country like my mom and I, so he didn't want to go to the concert and didn't have a ticket). The show started at 8, and we were so excited! The Venetian is a very pretty hotel. I enjoyed walking through it to get over to the theater. We had to wait a little while to go into the beautiful theater, but then it was time to go in! We realized as we found our seats that we were in the very back. Really. We were the second to last row. However, we didn't care. It was still going to be great, and we knew it! The show started, and I loved it so much! My mom and I sat by people who were not very enthusiastic, which was sad, but we loved it, and I was so happy! My new camera from Christmas allowed me to zoom in really close and see Tim and Faith. Faith wore some beautiful clothes. They both performed really well and they have amazing voices. I love Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Both of them were artists who I really loved when I was younger, and I still love them. They are cute and married, and they just seem so great! I would love to meet them one day. My one complaint about the show was that it was too short. An hour and a half did not even cover half of Tim and Faith's songs, and they also sat on stage and talked for a while, and I would have loved more of that too. It was a very lovely concert though, and I'm so glad I went, and that I went with my mom!
So, we had arranged to meet up with my dad and go over to Serendipity 3 and get a frozen hot chocolate after the concert. My mom had heard they were good. We called my dad and he told us to hurry over to the Bellagio to see the water show. We were walking so fast down to the Bellagio--all of the people trying to hand out things totally ignored us because they could tell we were in a hurry and determined, so that was good. Also, who knew that people dressed up as crazy characters at night in Vegas?! I saw Minnie and Batman and some Sesame Street characters. It was funny! We only caught the end of the show my dad wanted us to catch, but then he said they go every 15 minutes, so we just waited for the next show. The water show was really pretty, and I loved the jazzy music. :) We headed over to get our delicious, but rather expensive, frozen hot chocolate, and we sat and talked and just enjoyed each other's company and the people watching. I relished the warm weather. It really made me so happy.
We headed back over to the hotel and wound down and went to bed. I loved being able to get so much reading in.
The next morning, after we had gotten ready, we headed out to breakfast. We ended up just going to McDonald's, but since I hardly ever go there, I thought it was delicious. I'd definitely recommend their oatmeal. It's good. We walked around Vegas for a while after breakfast. My mom and I got some really good gelato, and we went back over to the mall from the previous night. We hardly shopped, but we did catch the fashion show, and it was funny to me and also fun. The clothes were from Banana Republic, and they were really cute, but I just thought that some of the models made some funny faces. We were pretty tired at this point, and we decided it was time to head out. We got to the car and made our way to Henderson to pick up a cake for my cousin. We ended up stopping at The Container Store and Whole Foods. The shopping center we were at was cool.
We drove up to St. George and enjoyed the rest of our evening there. Then we drove back home the next morning.
Our trip wasn't long, but it was a lot of fun. The sunshine and warm weather and fun really refreshed me. I feel much more prepared to handle more winter (and don't get me wrong, I love winter--it's just, long sometimes). I loved spending time with my mom and my dad, and I think they are so fun and generous. I love that they are able to have and enjoy adventures with me!
Life is great!
The car trip was pretty enjoyable, and it passed by pretty quickly. Maybe working 8 hour days has made 6 hours feel not very long. When we got to Vegas, one of the first things I noticed was the sunshine and warmth. We had been living in the 20s, and I'm pretty sure when I got out of the car that it was in the 50s or 60s. It felt so good! We checked into our hotel and then decided to go get some food since we were pretty hungry. We went to an Italian place called Maggiano's. Oh man, it was good. We all shared our food with each other. Our plates were being passed all around. My dad kept saying, "ooh! This is my favorite." And he settled on the decision that whatever was in front of him was his favorite. All of the food was just that good.
So, after we had filled ourselves full of amazing Italian goodness, we decided to go into the adjoining mall. This mall was HUGE! I bought my mom a bracelet for her birthday from Brighton. And then we went to Dillards. We shopped for a while and somehow managed to find my dad. He told us that the mall had just had a fashion show and that it was cool, and we decided to try to come back and see it the next day. We got lost trying to get out of the mall because it was so big, but we finally made it back outside and over to our hotel. We stood outside and watched our hotel's show. I will tell you that the show at Treasure Island is kind of weird. It's kind of inappropriate, which I suppose is somewhat expected for Vegas, but it was just weird. There were some cool things, like standing outside without a jacket, haha. And I always love fireworks! The pirate ship in the show was pretty cool too. So, we watched the show and then decided to go relax before the concert.
At seven, my mom and I headed across the street to the Venetian (my dad doesn't love country like my mom and I, so he didn't want to go to the concert and didn't have a ticket). The show started at 8, and we were so excited! The Venetian is a very pretty hotel. I enjoyed walking through it to get over to the theater. We had to wait a little while to go into the beautiful theater, but then it was time to go in! We realized as we found our seats that we were in the very back. Really. We were the second to last row. However, we didn't care. It was still going to be great, and we knew it! The show started, and I loved it so much! My mom and I sat by people who were not very enthusiastic, which was sad, but we loved it, and I was so happy! My new camera from Christmas allowed me to zoom in really close and see Tim and Faith. Faith wore some beautiful clothes. They both performed really well and they have amazing voices. I love Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Both of them were artists who I really loved when I was younger, and I still love them. They are cute and married, and they just seem so great! I would love to meet them one day. My one complaint about the show was that it was too short. An hour and a half did not even cover half of Tim and Faith's songs, and they also sat on stage and talked for a while, and I would have loved more of that too. It was a very lovely concert though, and I'm so glad I went, and that I went with my mom!
So, we had arranged to meet up with my dad and go over to Serendipity 3 and get a frozen hot chocolate after the concert. My mom had heard they were good. We called my dad and he told us to hurry over to the Bellagio to see the water show. We were walking so fast down to the Bellagio--all of the people trying to hand out things totally ignored us because they could tell we were in a hurry and determined, so that was good. Also, who knew that people dressed up as crazy characters at night in Vegas?! I saw Minnie and Batman and some Sesame Street characters. It was funny! We only caught the end of the show my dad wanted us to catch, but then he said they go every 15 minutes, so we just waited for the next show. The water show was really pretty, and I loved the jazzy music. :) We headed over to get our delicious, but rather expensive, frozen hot chocolate, and we sat and talked and just enjoyed each other's company and the people watching. I relished the warm weather. It really made me so happy.
We headed back over to the hotel and wound down and went to bed. I loved being able to get so much reading in.
The next morning, after we had gotten ready, we headed out to breakfast. We ended up just going to McDonald's, but since I hardly ever go there, I thought it was delicious. I'd definitely recommend their oatmeal. It's good. We walked around Vegas for a while after breakfast. My mom and I got some really good gelato, and we went back over to the mall from the previous night. We hardly shopped, but we did catch the fashion show, and it was funny to me and also fun. The clothes were from Banana Republic, and they were really cute, but I just thought that some of the models made some funny faces. We were pretty tired at this point, and we decided it was time to head out. We got to the car and made our way to Henderson to pick up a cake for my cousin. We ended up stopping at The Container Store and Whole Foods. The shopping center we were at was cool.
We drove up to St. George and enjoyed the rest of our evening there. Then we drove back home the next morning.
Our trip wasn't long, but it was a lot of fun. The sunshine and warm weather and fun really refreshed me. I feel much more prepared to handle more winter (and don't get me wrong, I love winter--it's just, long sometimes). I loved spending time with my mom and my dad, and I think they are so fun and generous. I love that they are able to have and enjoy adventures with me!
Life is great!
Friday, January 18, 2013
Flowers!
I'm pretty sure that most people know that I really love flowers. I took floral design during my last year of school, and it was one of my favorite classes from my undergraduate education, and that's saying a lot since I really loved school and my major.
Last Friday was not my best day ever. In fact, I was calling it an awful day. I wasn't feeling very good, and I wanted to be having fun with my friends, and I kind of felt forgotten (I was also being dramatic; oh well). However, at about 8 or 9, one of my best friends brought me some potted orchids.
Kind of like these, but mine are prettier
This was one of those little miracles in life and answers to a prayer. Not only did these flowers and the fact that my friend had thought of me when she bought them make me happy for the rest of the evening, but it has made me happy all week! I have placed the orchids on the desk in my room, and they just make me so happy. They are so beautiful!
My friend also told me that the way the orchids looked reminded her of me. How cool is that to be compared to a beautiful flower!?
I think that flowers make the world a better place with their beauty. They bring joy and can be a comfort to people. For that reason, they are wonderful.
Last Friday was not my best day ever. In fact, I was calling it an awful day. I wasn't feeling very good, and I wanted to be having fun with my friends, and I kind of felt forgotten (I was also being dramatic; oh well). However, at about 8 or 9, one of my best friends brought me some potted orchids.
Kind of like these, but mine are prettier
This was one of those little miracles in life and answers to a prayer. Not only did these flowers and the fact that my friend had thought of me when she bought them make me happy for the rest of the evening, but it has made me happy all week! I have placed the orchids on the desk in my room, and they just make me so happy. They are so beautiful!
My friend also told me that the way the orchids looked reminded her of me. How cool is that to be compared to a beautiful flower!?
I think that flowers make the world a better place with their beauty. They bring joy and can be a comfort to people. For that reason, they are wonderful.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Bittersweet
There are two parts to the word bittersweet: bitter and sweet.
Therefore, if you are going to use the word bittersweet, please make sure that there is something bitter and something sweet. The definition in Merriam-Webster includes this in the definition, "pleasure alloyed with pain." I like that.
Ok, I just wanted to clear this up since I've seen this word used incorrectly a few times recently. I don't have a lot of language pet peeves, especially considering that I'm an editor, but this is one that I just noticed and felt very upset by. A little ridiculous, but I am a word nerd. :-)
Therefore, if you are going to use the word bittersweet, please make sure that there is something bitter and something sweet. The definition in Merriam-Webster includes this in the definition, "pleasure alloyed with pain." I like that.
Ok, I just wanted to clear this up since I've seen this word used incorrectly a few times recently. I don't have a lot of language pet peeves, especially considering that I'm an editor, but this is one that I just noticed and felt very upset by. A little ridiculous, but I am a word nerd. :-)
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Reflections
So, I'm feeling pretty behind. I'm still in Christmas mode, but I suppose it is the new year, and I did want to review last year's goals. I'm sure I'll make some resolutions, but I'm not quite there yet, and I'm really ok with that.
But here were my goals from 2012 with how I did on them:
But here were my goals from 2012 with how I did on them:
- Go to the temple more- I think I did do this, but I still didn't go as often as I would like to
- Visit nature more- I did not do this one, and that's pretty sad. I love nature. It brings me a lot of joy. The great thing about life though, is that I can still keep trying!
- Serve- I did serve, and it was lovely! I am excited to serve more.
- Eat well and work out- I think I have worked out more this year than in other years, so, yay, success! I also have eaten fairly well, maybe not as well as I could have, but I did pretty well.
- Smell good- I hope I was successful. I just don't want to smell bad, ever.
- Be kind- I was pretty kind! There were times this year where it was less natural for me than in the past, but I was still pretty kind, so I think that's good!
- Do monthly goals- hmm, I did this for a few months
- January's goal did not happen. I tried to do a book drive for a hospital.
- February's goal totally happened, and there were two! I took a cake decorating class, and I organized photos for my mom
- March's goal was back to my basics and buy a gym membership and save money and take care of my car. I think I did fulfill back to my basics, which meant that I wanted to do things that I genuinely loved. I wanted to spend time with people I loved and do what I felt was right. I believe that I succeeded in doing this in March! I also did get a gym membership, but I don't remember if I did the other two
- April- support my friends, especially with graduation! I feel like this is a weird goal, but I would say I succeeded. I didn't want to be so upset about people complaining about school. Just because I love and miss school doesn't mean tests and projects and finals aren't a pain. Also, my friends graduated, and it was so exciting!
- May- read scriptures every day for 30 minutes. I don't think I quite met this goal, but if I'm remembering correctly, I did do a very good job. It was good!
- months after May- I didn't make any specific goals really for these months, at least, not that I wrote down. I did accomplish a lot and continue pursuing things.
- Share hope, peace, and love with others- hmm, I tried on this one, but I don't know if I did the best I could have done
- Listen- I think I listened well, but I can still improve
- Learn to cook more things- I actually didn't cook a whole lot this year. It was weird. I did learn a few new recipes, and I took a cake decorating class.
- Write thank you notes- I actually didn't really start doing this until later in the year, but it has brought me so much joy! Expressing gratitude is a wonderful thing!
- Be in a musical- This did not happen, but it is still a life dream of mine!
There are a few others, but they are a little silly. I think I had a successful year! I would also like to write a list of highlights from 2012 like I did for 2011, but I will not do that right now.
Happy New Year!
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