Snow shoeing and New Years

This is a late catch-up blog from Christmas and New Years! Scott and I were able to go home for a good week and a half over Christmas and New Years. We had some lovely snow storms! Perfect snow for snowshoeing, which is exactly what we did.

You feel like you're in another world when you're up in the mountains, trees heavy with snow surrounding you on all sides.

Some of the trees were getting pulled down with the weight of the snow.

Oh hey there hottie.

And I couldn't resist a picture of the mountains that are right in our Utah backyard. I miss that view.

Christmas Eve was spent with the Greenhalgh clan for their traditional Christmas Eve dinner and family time. Maybe I'll post about the amazing family crest that Michelle painted for Scott and I later. We definitely had fun putting together a New Orleans package as our gift.
Christmas morning we hid from Santa with the Croslands. My niece Evelyn, who is almost 3 now, was just dying as she watched Santa deliver the gifts. She really wanted to get out from under her hiding spot and say "hi" to Santa.
I honestly love that tradition from my moms side. Whoever started it is a genius.

This new year we spent with the Crosland side of the family. We have a tradition of playing games, eating wings, chips and dip, pineapple slush, playing Just Dance on the Wii and then lighting Chinese lanterns as the New Year rings in.

Well, resolutions have been made and some have already been left on the wayside. I tend to get a little carried away with list making. But I think I've figured out which ones are the actual important ones to me verses the excessive, "these sound like a good idea" ones.

Cheers to improvement!

Chalked that Block

Do you remember when I decided to give myself a little push? Earlier this summer after being a volunteer for the chalk art festival up in Salt Lake I decided I wanted to add "participate in a chalk art festival as an artist" to my bucket list. But I was planning on that festival which wouldn't happen until next year. I would have a nice lovely year to practice and slowly talk myself into participating. And then a wonderful friend sent a message to me about Chalk the Block happening at Riverwoods in a month. She told me I had to sign up. 

My stomach seriously dropped and the nervousness set in. 

See, I love doing my chalk art every summer on the sidewalk that lays to the side of my house. It's secluded, and no one can really see me chalking, and if my drawing completely sucks then that's fine because no one can see it anyways. 

But participating in a festival where you expand the size of your drawing, where people are constantly walking by and watching you. Where everyone can see your work... and if you end up making a disaster  good luck hiding it. 

But at the same time, I really wanted this experience. So I hurried and paid the entrance fee before I could turn back. 

And I'm so glad I did. 

Seven hours later and I'm done!

It really was such a fun and different experience. Thankfully I was tucked away in a corner and all the artists around me weren't there on Friday so I felt mostly alone. There weren't a lot of spectators either so I was able to get lost in my chalk. 

It was hard chalking in the parking lot. The surface was bumpy (as can see in image above.... it gave my picture weird texture) and it took a lot of chalk layers and rubbing in to cover the surface. 

A sweet little side bonus was that I got my picture in the Daily Herald! (well, I don't know about the actual printed paper but it was online!) 

I also got incredibly dirty. Black feet, black all up the outside of my legs from sitting on that parking lot. I took a lunch break and walked over to Subway and this cute lady behind me asked if I was one of the artists, to which I replied, yes. She then told me she could tell because I had chalk all up my leg...

I really was such a mess. 

But it was one of those things that you're almost proud to show off because it meant you just accomplished something worthy of that black tar. 

The chalk art festival went on into Saturday as well. I chalked all day Friday and finished so that I could go back Saturday and just meander around and enjoy the other artwork.  

Side note: My thighs have never ever been as sore as they were the following few days after chalking. I seriously could not walk normal and don't even ask me about stairs. It was awful. 

But it was completely worth it! And I'm so glad I was able to have the opportunity. I don't want it to be a once in a lifetime thing though, I want to continue to push myself and participate in more festivals down the road. I want to increase this talent. And my thigh strength. 

It's Happening

Be there.

Book List Extended

I know I already have a nice long lists of books to read but I can't help myself when I find an idea for a new reading list. I found this list online today... Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge. There's no way that I can't not work on this now. I'm in the process of reading the Count of Monte Cristo right now so there's one for her list. I think next I'll delve into Alice in Wonderland. I got that book for Natalie for her birthday and I've been dying to read it. Don't you love birthday gifts that you can use too. So great.
Happy Reading!

Pushing Myself

Okay, I did it. I signed up and payed the money so I have to go through with this! No backing out now. Time for some sketching and chalking.
www.chalktheblock.net

Talents

I learned something this past Sunday.
Singing has always been so much a part of my life, it's almost like my staple. Kind of. I figured everyone knew I sang. Obviously.
And then I sang a solo in church at my singles ward and had more then one person telling me that they had absolutely no idea that I could sing.
What, really?
And then I thought some more about it. I have been in that ward for over a year now and I have never once gone to a choir practice.

Matthew 25:25 "And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine."

Fail.

I am now resolved to use my talent more and at least start singing in my ward choir.

Now... if only I could get over this nasty cough I have...

A New New Years Resolution

Already one of my new years resolutions has gone to pot. That goal fell apart maybe two months into the new year. Sad. It had such great potential.
It was a goal to read the scriptures for a half hour every day. It went really well for the first while. I read the Book of Mormon much faster then I normally do. But then life happened, and scripture reading kept getting pushed aside until right before bedtime. It takes me long enough to get ready for bed as it is, and then to try and add a half hour reading time on top of that... so you see my problem? Time management. Especially during the day.
So I've reconfigured the goal to be slightly more practical in my life but still have it require at least some effort and planning. I changed the goal to reading my scriptures during the day or evening, it just can't be right before I fall asleep. It doesn't matter how long I read or how much. Just as long as it gets in during the hours of alertness. :)

Wish me luck.

***

Some Happenings

Here's a song for you.

On some other notes:
I'm reading The Princess Bride.
I'm stuck between two music genres of soundtrack goodness (aka Finding Neverland and The Kings Speech), and classic music from the 40's. (aka The Andrew's Sisters, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra... the works.)
I've decided to listen to a conference talk while getting ready in the morning first before I turn on my music.
I have one test left before the end of the semester.
I received a scholarship for about half of my tuition for summer semester!! (Major major blessing)
I'm still waiting to get my LPT license but things have been made more clear about the working at the hospital and the guaranteed 8 hours a week I thought I would have, is no longer guaranteed. Which means the mall job will be held onto a little longer then planned.
I saw someone die for the first time over general conference weekend while working at the hospital. It was incredibly sad and definitely shook me up. It was one of those moments that brings  to a greater light what is truly important in life. Again, what would I do without the knowledge that I have of the gospel?

New Year

I remember last year, looking around trying to find my new years resolutions from the year before to see how I had done and was unable to find them anywhere. I resolved to be more aware of my goals and I've improved immensely. A couple of my goals were completely out there, never even got close to accomplishing them. Wishful thinking on my part. But there were others that I was aware of every week of the year. Some of my old goals I'll continue into 2012 either because I still need help in that area, or because it was just a great goal to keep. But I'm excited for the new one's I've made. It's going to be good.

Last year I lived in the basement of a house, 8 girls total. I didn't know anyone. They are some of the best girls I have ever lived with and that semester was definitely my favorite. It was one of my best decisions to stay that winter semester and finish my degree early. I got my associates and graduated from BYU-Idaho. I got accepted into my radiology technician program through Weber. I went to Disneyland. I got a job that lasted a month. I found out that I was going to be an aunt. I had a second cousin ask for my number at a dance. I learned a lot more as always from dating someone. I posed for a portrait painting art class. I got a 3.95 GPA on my first semester in my program. I started an x-ray collection. I started learning how to decorate cakes. I started training to run a 5K. I got a new job.

Life is good. I am incredibly blessed. I'm a lucky girl. Happy New Year.

Singles Ward

So I'm officially graduated from BYU-Idaho. Not anything grand, associates in generals, I know how extremely exciting... But! Hey now all my credits will transfer nicely. My radiology program starts in the fall and it's a 2 year program. Most of my time will be at the American Fork hospital, which means I'm going to save money and live at home.
Brief update, I have not lived in one place for more than 4 months for the past 2 years of my life. I've moved into a new apartment every semester, new ward, new roommates.
And now I'm here, for 2 years, attending the same singles ward for this period of time. Weird for me.
But I've decided to change some things. Like my attitude.
Before my attitude was along the lines of, what can this ward do for me and where are the cute guys?
My mom would always lecture me about instead seeing what I can do for the ward. But did I listen? Of course not. That speech went right over my head and I kept my attitude.
But like I said, change is happening.
I'm trying to become involved in this ward.
FHE, ward prayer, institute, ward temple night.
I don't really have any friend friends in the ward, I sat by myself again in sunday school today. But guess what? I don't care. I was taught some great things, and had some of my own great insights. Isn't that what church should firstly be about? Church? Taking the sacrament? Learning the gospel?
I shouldn't just hang up a ward after a quick glance through the menu.
That's just being selfish.
I'm trying.
It's hard to completely involve yourself sometimes.

New Year

So I feel like I remember writing down new years resolutions but they are no where to be found. Nothing on my blog or journal for both 2009 and 2010. I have apparently been slacking on the point of making resolutions, which is to know what they are and see how you've done throughout the year. So a resolution for this new year, is to keep track of the actual resolutions I make, take notice of them throughout the year, and see how I've done when the year is up.

It's strange that 2010 is gone and done with. So many things happened and I changed so much. It's even interesting to note that the beginning and the end of the year I dated the same person. Both times I learned something new. It's funny how people affect your life. There's so much you can learn from people if you let yourself. Why does it take big, hard events in order for us to learn something and grow? I want to work on always learning from people, always growing and improving myself from the daily little things. I want to be someone that people can look at, and then want to improve some aspect of themselves. I hope I can always take notice of the little things and appreciate them. I hope to always be able to take a step back and see the grand design, the overall picture. I hope I can always be a loving person. I hope I can always be grateful.

2011

New Ambition

Thanks to Heather and Jake, my new lifetime goal/ambition is to be able to do this: 

Here's another video for you if you enjoyed this as much as I did.