my year in review

This year was good but tough. I can't really pin point one thing that made it so rough, but when I look back it's hard for me to just think yeah that's the good stuff. And really it wasn't bad, I have so few things in my life to complain about. There was no one big thing that made this year feel tricky, but it just kind of was.
One of the really interesting things about having a blog, is that it is really easy to go back and see what I was thinking of a year ago. Most people write down their New Year's resolutions and have no idea what they were by March (and that's being a little generous). All I have to do is scroll back for a while to know what mine were, so I thought I would look them up and see how I did....

1. Cut back on social media (I have a problem).

Nope.  No. Not really at all. AHH! I started being better about this by the end of the year, and I think that I have really stopped caring less. I think I may modify this for the next year to be use social media more effectively. 

2. Stop waiting till the last second to get everything done.

Hahahaha. Yeah I think I'm over trying to fix that problem. 

3. Remember to write all my wonderful friends serving missions.

I've been pretty ok about this!! I write my dear friend Kari who is serving an LDS mission in Costa Rica every week, and I try to send out a grouping of letters every couple months. 

4. Go on more adventures.

I try to see my whole life as an adventure and that satisfies me to my very core.

5. Let no one I know or no one I meet not realize how much truly I love them.
I'm glad I made this goal, and I really have worked hard on this. I have tried to become more and more comfortable with telling people I love them, and I pretty much never go to bed with out telling my roommates I love them; it makes our apartment feel much more homey. It means a lot to me that people know that I love them and I feel like that has strengthened a lot of my relationships this year.

6. Be my best. always. 

How can one really measure this. This is a life goal for my entire life really. 

So, that's how I did. Hopefully you did a little better. Haha. I will make you wait to see what my goals are for the year ahead (because I know you are just dying with anticipation to find out what they are!!). I need just a tad bit of time to really think about what I have ahead of me. 

I hope your Christmas was just as beautiful and warm as mine (internally warm, not externally...it's kinda cold here, but I like cold weather so don't worry too much about me). Also, I got a new camera for Christmas so if you don't see me taking and posting stunning pictures this year please pinch me when you see me (but like give me some times and be nice ok?). 

Happy New Year friends, family, and blog readers. I sure do love ya.

peace. love. and 2013.

p.s. I crossed four things off my Life List this year so that feels pretty successful to me!

my home for the holidays

To start off with MERRY CHRISTMAS YOU FILTHY ANIMALS!!!

I love love love this holiday and I am so so happy to be home celebrating, but it was quite the trek to make it back here thanks to a snow storm that came into Utah the day that everyone was trying to fly home for the holidays.

Luckily my friend driving me to the airport was clever enough to check the weather and see that it was going to be a little rough getting there. So my day started with getting up at 6:30 (actually the earliest I had woken up all semester...) and heading out at 7:00. Everything seemed like it was going great since I made it to the airport and made it on the plane and the plane was even almost empty so I had a whole row to myself! 

And then they kicked us off the plane and said the airport was shutting down....so I had to go sit around and wait for a couple hours. But, I mostly just hung out and watched Netflix so I mean I guess I survived. Eventually they let me back on the plane. YAY! and I still had a whole row to myself. more YAY! And then they told me that it was going to be another few hours before we actually took off. No more yay.

I had to take selfies of my disappointment to pass the time...

because my window looked like this and I couldn't even see outside.

But, eventually it cleared off and they started de-icing the plane. I really thought that this was going to be a quick process and I was kind of excited to see how it worked, and then I realized that this was going to take two hours and I decided to just sleep. Thank goodness I am a champ at sleeping on airplanes. I should probably put it under skills on my resume. 

And even though I got home six hours after I was supposed to and least I made it home. And since we got so delayed I got to land at night, which is one of my absolute favorite things. I'm obsessed with the lyrics in Lorde's song Tennis Court "Pretty soon I'll be getting on my first plane/ I'll see the veins of my city like they do in space." Because seriously this view mesmerizes me. 

But really it's all worth it now because I have spent the last several days just hanging out with the family, decorating the tree, and eating sweets more than I have been eating real food (woops). 

Plus now I get to hang out with this cute face all day.

I'm bummed that my sister Rochelle won't be here for the holidays as she and her hub and kiddo just moved to Germany, but I'm glad that I am home and happy and ready to celebrate with my fam. Christmas is so great. 

Merry Christmas darlings!!

peace. love. and home for the holidays

my snow days

I am so so stressed out about all of the papers that I have due, but at least one thing in my world is going absolutely right even if everything else is confusing and stressful, and that is that I have caught the Christmas bug. I started listening to Christmas music this week (mostly the She & Him Christmas album on repeat), and I hung up Christmas lights in my room, and it is snowy and beautiful outside, and I just couldn't be feeling the Christmas spirit anymore than I already am (ok maybe I actually could if it weren't for finals). The world just seems to become a slightly more cozy place to live in around Christmas time though, doesn't it?

We've had a lot of snow in Utah this week, and I have heard a lot of people say that they hate the snow. I have to admit, that sentiment has escaped me at times too, but honestly how could I not relish in anything so beautiful. I have been obsessing over the giant icicles hanging outside my window, and I cannot ever get over how gorgeous and peaceful falling snow looks. I may seem a little grumbly when I am walking to school and it is dumping snow on me, but that is only because my face is numb from the cold, and ones ability to have a positive attitude virtually disappears when faced with a numb face.

This is what my walk to school looks like now. I pretty much just slide my way to campus and try not to look like a waddling penguin, but hey I have still yet to completely eat it (knock on wood), so I guess that's an accomplishment. 

Like I said, you cannot deny that snow is absolutely stunning no matter how many times you slip. 

Can't wait to get to the actual Christmas celebrating, but I must make my way through all these papers first. So, here's to just a little bit longer of too much work, feeling overwhelmed, and being utterly confused (no actually I don't think that one is going to end with the semester....I think that's just a young adult thing....or a life thing).

peace. love. and white Christmases. 

my Christmas at home

Spending Christmas at home and currently cozyed up next to the Christmas tree. Bliss. eh?
Christmas is of course one of my favorite times of year (how could it not be?)

Last night we took in some Christmas cheer by going to see a light display at one of my favorite places The Atlanta Botanical Gardens. I love the contrast of these beautiful gardens with the city in the background, and the lights only make it better.

This place was even included in a Forbes "10
Dazzling Holiday Light Displays from Around the World" article. http://www.forbes.com/pictures/emej45lhhg/atlanta-botanical-garden/

 


It's been fun to be spending some time with the family and enjoying traditions like lights, trees, decorating, and baking, but what is most important this season is Christ. This is one of my favorite Christmas stories that I feel captures the spirit of the season...

No Room at the Inn

The story, now a legend, is told how Wallace Purling added a new touch to the Christmas play in a small town in the Midwest. Wallace was a little slow in the learning department. He was nine at the time and should have been in the fourth grade but was still in the second. In spite of his mental slowness, he was liked by the other kids in his class even though he was quite a bit taller and bigger than they.

According to the legend, Wallace fancied being a shepherd with a flute in the Christmas pageant that year, but the director, Miss Lumbard, thought he might better fit the role of the innkeeper. After all, he wouldn't have too many lines to remember and, because of his size, he would be able to present a more forceful refusal to the much smaller Joseph.

So the big night came. Behind stage, Wallace was so totally engrossed in the play that Miss Lombard had to make sure he didn't wander onstage before his cue.

Then came Wallace's part.

Looking exhausted from the long journey, Joseph and Mary slowly approached the entrance to the inn. Joseph knocked. The door opened immediately, and with Wallace putting on his gruffest voice declared, "What do you want?"

"We seek lodging," Joseph replied.

"Seek it elsewhere," Wallace barked. "This inn is filled."

"Sir, we have asked everywhere in vain. We have traveled far and are very weary."

"There's no room in this inn for you," Wallace stated strongly.

"Please, good innkeeper, this is my wife, Mary. She is heavy with child and needs a place to rest. Surely you must have some small corner for her. She is so tired," Joseph pleaded.

For the first time, the innkeeper began to let down his guard and relax a little. There was a long pause ... and silence. Now the audience was beginning to feel tense.

"No! Begone!" whispered the prompter from the wings.

"No!" Wallace repeated automatically. "Begone!"

Joseph looked at Mary, put his arm around her, and with heads bowed in sadness, they slowly walked away.

But the innkeeper didn't close the door and go inside. He stood there with mouth open watching the forlorn couple leaving his inn. He was genuinely upset. His eyes unmistakably filled with tears.

Then totally unexpected, Wallace departed from his memorized script Don't go, Joseph," Wallace called out. "Bring Mary back."

And then with a broad grin lighting up his whole face he spoke out loudly and clearly, "You can have my room."

Some in the audience felt Wallace had ruined the pageant. Others, however, felt it was the best Christmas pageant they had ever seen.

 What a perfect time to be spending with the people that I love and like the most...

Merry Christmas ya'll. Hope your holiday has been as lovely as mine.

peace. love. and Christmas.

my stress

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. 

Yep. The end of the semester. This means that I have finals coming up, but also that I finally get a break. Yeah, Thanksgiving is a break too, but not in the same gloriously stress free way as Christmas break. When you are done with everything, and get a fresh start next semester. Not to mention that my fresh start next semester will be occurring in the city of lights, Paris. 

But lets get real here, as far as I am concerned Christmas break feels like a hundred years away...maybe I should just focus on my last few days of classes and my 17 credits worth of finals coming up.

peace. love. and stress relieving activities.