So much to be grateful for

So, I haven't written in a little while, but I definitely want to write about my fun Valentine's Day sometime. I'll try to make sure that happens. But today, I just want to list some things I'm grateful for! The past couple of days I've felt so full of peace and gratitude! It's been awesome!

• Peanut butter: I don't know. Lately I just love this stuff!
• Justin's dark chocolate peanut butter cups: I ate some this morning! So good!
• Jordan, my roommate: She gave me the peanut butter cups! I love having her as my friend and roommate.
• My wonderful work friends: Last week I got to see some of my work friends, and it was so much fun. 
• My boss and coworkers: I work with some pretty cool people
• Friends: Ok, here's the thing, I don't really feel like I have a lot of friends these days, and this makes me kind of sad. However, I feel so gigantically grateful for the people who take the time to be my friend! I just love them!
• Books: I love books
• Memories: Today my boss had us sign in to our weekly editor meeting as our favorite fairy tale. This brought back bunches of memories of childhood me and my love of stories. I remembered one of my favorite books, The Farthest Away Mountain. 
• My parents: I had such a great childhood thanks to such great parents!
• My siblings: I love my siblings. I also love my sibling by marriage. We all have so much fun together! 
• Snow: It snowed a bit today. I love snow. 
• The gospel: The gospel brings me joy and peace. 
• So many things! 

Favorite media of 2014

I enjoy a good story. Whether it's in a movie, a TV show, a book, or a song, stories are pretty cool.

There are certainly a lot of movies and books and all of the above that I missed out on this last year, but I just wanted to remember some favorites.

Movies

My very favorite movie this year was The Hundred-Foot Journey. It's beautiful and involves cool people and good food. I just love it so much.

My second favorite movie this year was Big Hero 6. How can you not love a puffy, friendly robot!? I just thought the movie was so sweet and funny, and I love both of those things.

The movie I saw and was probably most surprised to like was Edge of Tomorrow. It's probably only like my 6th or 7th favorite movie of the year, but I wasn't really expecting to like it at all, and I'm pretty sure I just went for social reasons.

Here are some others I loved (but I may be missing some):
Captain America
X-men
The Fault in Our Stars
Guardians of the Galaxy
Mockingjay pt. 1
Hobbit


Books

I don't know that I read any books that came out this very year, but my favorite book that I read this year was The Nazi Officer's Wife. It's a true story, and it made me really think about how I would act in that time and place. It made me really think about kindness. And what an insightful and interesting woman!

I think I read more this past year than the year previously, and I think I loved pretty much all of the books I read, but The Nazi Officer's Wife definitely stands out as the best to me. I love reading!

Songs

I'm going to be just like half the world and say that I really loved "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space" by Taylor Swift. They're such fun songs! I also loved hearing "Somewhere in My Car" by Keith Urban.

Also, I have a favorite song that didn't actually come out this year, but I listened to it a lot, and I love it. It is "Compass" by Lady Antebellum. I LOVE that song. It comes on, and I just smile. It's so great!

Another song that I really loved this year and played a part in my life was "Follow Your Arrow" by Kacey Musgraves. That song reminds me of my friends Jordan and Taylor, as both of them love that song, and we'd sing it sometimes.

This isn't a song, but after seeing Brett Eldredge when I went to see Keith Urban back in September (I think?), I decided I love him. What a great voice! And his songs are good, and he doesn't just sing about drinking and things like that.

I could go on and on about songs and artists. Lady Antebellum's new album came out this fall, and I love it. They're my very favorite.

TV

I don't watch much TV these days. I feel like the only shows I really watched much this year were Psych and Avatar the Last Airbender. Those are probably my two favorite TV shows. Also, if I had the ability to watch TV right now, I would so have watched Master Chef Junior. I saw one episode and thought it was the greatest thing ever!

Favorite things to cure the grumps

So, maybe this isn't true for everyone, but I feel like it can be rather easy to be grumpy, but it doesn't always feel easy to cure the grumpy. Same with sad. And I feel like it can be really easy for me to mope. But this is silly. I've been realizing that it can actually be easier than I sometimes feel it to be to cure the grumpiness. Some of these things I've done for years, but others I more recently discovered.

So, say I have plenty of time, like a few hours, here is what I'd do:

• Go on a hike
• Bake and share the baked goods, or go on secret missions (if you know me, you probably know what these entail, usually just doing the sharing but in secret)
• Adventure with friends

What about if I only have one or two hours?

• Work out
• Watch Annie or a favorite movie or just any musical
• Read (doesn't actually have to take one to two hours, but it's preferable for sure)
• Cook

What if I only have 15 or 20 minutes?

• I LOVE clips of soldiers coming home. They are the best! 
• I enjoy clips from Ellen, but I don't as much love the celebrity ones. I love the ones where she gives gifts to funny kids or people who are kind and awesome.
• Listen to scriptures
• Play the piano
• Listen to my favorite songs

     One bad thing about these ones are that it's really easy for the 15-20 minutes to turn into an hour. Really easy.

But what about when I only have one minute or so?

• Googling pictures of seals. They are so cute! 
• Exhibit A:
    
• Not my own picture, from here: http://www.saawinternational.org/HarpSeal09.jpg?0.3153017738370411

Art

I always love the arts, but I don't always shout that love from the rooftops or anything. But lately my love of artistic things has me wanting to write poetry and music rather than prose. (Although literature is artistic too, so really I don't know why this is the case.)

I love the beauty that can be felt in hearing a heartfelt song. I love the beauty that can be felt at the closure of a well-performed play. I love the feeling at museums. I love art. I get such a thrill in experiencing art, and I usually leave with joy.

I love how observing art is a process. It's not a one moment thing. For example, when I go to BYU's Museum of Art, I often first look at the art. I take it in for one moment, but in the next moment I observe the details, then the whole again. However, after I continue throughout an exhibit, I often go back to the earlier pieces of art and look at them again. I think about the art as I go home and again and again after that.

I've heard Handel's Messiah many, many times in my life, but each time brings new thoughts and experiences. I love it.

Art is something that moves both my heart and my thoughts. Art is something I love.

What I want to do this month

I'm pretty sure December is my favorite month. Christmas is my favorite thing ever for basically three hundred reasons. There are so many things I want to do this month. 

For example, I'd love to 

• Listen to LOTS of Christmas music (already succeeding here!)
• Watch my favorite Christmas movies (It's a Wonderful Life, Elf, The Santa Clause, Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, etc.)
• Give gifts to those I love
• Give gifts to people I don't even know
• Volunteer
• Get my room organized (not related to Christmas, but it's something I want to do)
• Go sledding (come on snow!)
• Help people know that they are loved
• See some lovely lights
• Do more decorating
• Enjoy the decorations
• Bake cookies and share them
• Spend time with people I love
• Sing Christmas songs

I fully intend to do as many of those things as possible. I think I'll do a lot of them, and they'll make this month even more wonderful! 

However, the thing I love most about Christmas is thinking about Christ. I love Christ. I truly believe that his birth is something to be celebrated and to be happy about. Because he was born, I am who I am today. He is the gift. I hope this month to remember Christ better and be more like him. And really, not just this month but always.