Thursday, June 16, 2011

Something to look forward to.

Change
That six letter word can bring with it
happiness,
sadness,
excitement,
anxiety,
smiles,
tears,
laughter,
hugs,
sorrow,
joy,
and so many other things . . .

But without it nothing would happen
and we wouldn't be who we are.

Odd paradox sometime right?
It scares me nonetheless and so I am working on that.

My aunt posted this to think on a while ago

What would you say to the person you were five years ago? What will you say to the person you’ll be in five years?*

I wrote bunch of things out in letter form to myself,
and then decided it was too long to share,
and that no one would really care that much anyway,
but man how I wish I could tell my 2006 self about all the good things to come,
and prepare her for the bad
(but I kind of liked that I had to get through them without knowing the endings).
I try to live without regrets and trying to write a letter back to myself, I see a few . . .
let's hope I can figure that all out for 2016 me. :)
 I want to live.
I want to say yes to things.
I wan to experience things.
So take me with you?

Also my friend Cyri gave me this quote yesterday:
"Keep on beginning and failing.
Each time you fail, start over again, 
and you will grow stronger
until you have accomplished a purpose...
not the one you began with perhaps, 
But one you'll be glad to remember."
- Anne Sullivan Macy
And my cousin Pamela shared this video:

Oh how I love relishing life. :)

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Paris Holds the Key to Your Heart! Oh Happy Day!

Wow.
This lady is AWESOME.
Over at Oh Happy Days she has decided to giveaway
a trip for two to her newly beloved hometown -
PARIS.

Yes you read that right. 
A giveaway to PARIS, FRANCE.
All you have to do is go here and enter.
 
I am so excited for whoever wins!
(I hope it's me, but if you win I will be happy too)!

Good luck and enjoy daydreaming . . .
I am going to go back to doing so now!
 p.s. Whitney I wish I could see your face.

A Feast of Music

I really like music and just felt like linking it up. . .
but I didn't know which songs to share,
So I did the itunes shuffle thing . . .  
three times using a grooveshark playlist
and then I picked out certain songs to share  
and still felt unsatisfied.
So now basically you are just getting a list of songs. . .

Dream a Little Dream - Mama Cass
Forevermore- Katie Herzig

Also THIS is Outstanding. Brilliant. Amazing. Beyond Words.

You can watch the 2.0 one here.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

SYTYCD

So You Think You can Dance is BACK.
Therefore, you get to hear about it again, 
because I have honestly become a fan.
The choreographed movement of the human body ENCHANTS me.
Here are videos to prove it (yes I am aware I've posted some of these before):
Fix You (I love the choreography at 0:40)
Sundrenched World
Wow. I wish I could dance like them.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Two of My Loves from Sunday

There were many more than two but here are some small joys I found.


Number One:
"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, 
wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, 
my hair expertly coiffed, 
and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.


I want to drive up in a station wagon 
that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.
I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter 
on my shirt from making sandwiches for 
a sick neighbors children.
I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails 
from helping to weed someone's garden.
I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks 
and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.


I want the Lord to know I was really here 
and that I really lived."
- Marjorie Pay Hinckley


Number Two:
Apple Rhubarb Pie. . . 
Delicious and a half.
Once I spent over an hour chopping delicious the large bag of rhubarb my dear friend the newly Mrs. Quebbeman provided for me I realized just how much that bag contained. 
We made pie, "jam," and syrup, yet still have a TON of rhubarb.
We discovered that it's fine raw, without sugar, if you keep eating it.
Back to the pie though - I loved it so I am sharing it!

Apple Rhubarb Pie
1 1/2 c. rhubarb, diced
1 1/2 c. apples, sliced
1 3oz box of raspberry gelatin
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. melted butter
Extra-sugared Pie Crust (enough for top and bottom)
1 egg
2 TBS sugar
Arrange rhubarb and apples in pie shell, sprinkle with dry gelatin
(we didn't use the whole box but we maybe used 1/3 of it).
Combine remaining ingredients. Sprinkle on top of pie.
Cover with top crust and cover pie with tin foil
and bake for 55 minutes at 350 degrees.
With ~15 minutes left whip egg and remove tin foil 
brush egg over the top and sprinkle sugar.
Let cool and enjoy.
I highly recommend tracking down some rhubarb 
and making friends with your taste buddies!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

In the Words of James Brown

"I'm back!"
(beware this is an extremely long post)

Wow. The past few weeks have been insane.
Finals was . . . insane in a bad way 
BUT I am glad to say that I have officially graduated from college. . . 
Now what?
I guess anything is possible.
Find a dream and follow it!?!

Literally Right after my last final I ran out and hopped in a truck 
which whisked me away from the troubles and worries that finals left me with.
I was tired and the week of craziness taught me a lot about myself.

I hopped on an airplane or two and jumped aboard a cruise ship which took me to foreign lands and I learned the following:
1. I love the sun more than I thought.
Except when this happens BUT this rag thing really worked so all was well. :)
2. This book is unbelievably amazing.

3. Inadvertently playing a continuous game of  MadGab makes for a lot of inside jokes and even more laughs.

4. So does the fishbowl effect on some cameras.
 

That's priceless stuff right there.
 5. And pouring vinegar from the buffet line on your sunburns to take the heat out.
6. The water is beautiful in Cozumel, Mexico.
 7. Celebrity look-a-likes hang in the same places I went.
We found Waldo!
A little Dr. Phil?
Johnny Depp anyone?
8. Ziplining is fun (especially through the rain forest).

9. Coasta Rica bus drivers are fearless but sometimes their roads help them get stuck after rain.
Went right off the road and couldn't get out. Oops.
10. Ports can be somewhat boring places when you have a lot of time to kill - so you just take pictures.
 
 
 
 
 
 11. People might just pretend their cars are taxis to make money and the nearest beach may be 10 minutes away by car but you can sit by the ocean by walking three.
12. Bus drivers in Panama are insane (as the traffic is too). You know you're lucky when they say, "Don't worry. We have the best driver in the tour, his average is one accident a month and his last one was three weeks ago so we are safe."

13. That same bus driver sees a sloth HIGH in the trees and backs the bus up while on the road so those on the bus (who are late back to the port) can see it.
14. Cashew nuts come from a fruit. 

15. The Panama Canal is C-O-O-L. Cool. Period. The end.
They let us touch the walls.
The gates closing behind us. :)
16. Seeing dolphins out your dining room window is a great gift to someone for Mother's Day.

17. Friends can be made in days and just through interacting around food. Also when you say thank you, hearing my pleasure in return is happy.
Our waiters and waitress.
Love them!
18. Grandpa's can be hilarious, birthday songs can be more fun than you think they can, and watching Grandma and Grandpa together is sweet.
19. I can say I have experienced a canceled, missed, and delayed flight within 24 hours. Airports aren't that fun of places after so long.

20. There's no place like home . . . too bad I didn't have one set up when I left.

*sigh*

I loved spending time with Shayna, BreAnna, Grandma, and Grandpa. 
That's where the treasure truly lies; the inside jokes we have, the memories we have together, and the songs we can't get out of our heads.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa ever so much!
p.s. as I found these pictures there are MORE so you will be hearing about this for a while or so. :) Happy Summer.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Made it and Outta Here

Whew.
I have survived the roughest finals week of my life!

(literally, it was tough . . . especially with all the papers, moving, and cleaning)

I also learned (remembered) a lot about myself like how incredibly cranky I get when I am stressed (oops, sorry callers of USU),

and that when I have to stop in the middle of the test to calculate whether or not I could pass the class if I literally bomb it, I probably should have studied more,

and how much I love and really appreciate friends who reach out when I "don't have time,"

and who provide things for me even I don't know I need,

and the beauty of spring really can make everything right for a bit,

and how incredibly, stinkin' blessed I am,

And now, I am (as far as I know) a college graduate!

YES!
(if anyone wants to hire me let me know . . . ;) just sayin')

Right now I am headed out to have an amazing adventure!
Pictures will follow soon!
:D
p.s. I am LOVING life right now!