Project: Gratitude, Day 4

Yesterday I was grateful for my boys, but today I feel especially grateful for the girls I have been privileged to be friends with in my life.

The daughters Barfuss (Emily and Whitney in the first picture and Rachel in the next). I would just like to say that I am really grateful that we are still friends after more than a decade.
I think that's a sign for something :)

SHS (From the left: Sara/Ally/Jill/Jessica/Beth/me).
Coolest high school clique. Ever. Not to mention incredible friends.

My Dormies (From the left: Crystal/Loraina/me/Lauren/Hannah/Meagan).
I don't think anything can compare with the fun we had together. Love love love.

And today...
(Top row from the left: Audrey/Lene/me/Sarie;
Bottom row from the left: Sara/Lynne/Rachel/Rachelle).
I love all of you. Way too much.

Thank you all for being such amazing friends. I am grateful for each one of you!

Project: Gratitude, Day 3

Today, I am grateful for the weekend. Specifically, I am excited about this combination of men in my life (in order of appearance) all within the same four-hour period of time:

Yep, I am grateful for the ability to take a break from life and have fun. Especially when the last boy is involved. And the first... Because my heart belonged to him first so I think it's only fair to be able to appreciate them both together.

Ps: I saw this video last Thanksgiving season and loved it. Mr. Red-Striped-T-Shirt is my favorite, fyi. So here you go, blogosphere, enjoy!

Project: Gratitude, Day 2

After taking a 2-hour lunch today with this kid...

figuring out what I am grateful for is easy.

I am grateful for this eternal bff...

This lovable goofball who chose to give two years of his life to preach the gospel in California...

This punk who thinks he's too cool for school (but loves us all deep down somewhere):

This little sharer of interest in brightly-colored toenails, who is so easy to love...

And these two who put up with way too much grief from me in high school, who I will never be able to adequately thank for all that they've given me...

To all six of you (yes, even you, Colten): I love you and am so grateful for you!

Project: Gratitude, Day 1

Though already ten days into November, I have decided to spite the University and never-ending slew of homework and celebrate the holidays!

I'm just going to pretend that I didn't forget a whole 10 days worth of gratitude and plunge headfirst (because let's face it, that's how I approach most ideas that pop into my mind anyway) into the first day of Project: Gratitude.

Of all of the incredible blessings in my life, which am I most grateful for today?

There are many, many answers that pop into my mind, but of them all, the blessing I am most grateful for is the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Story Time:
A few weeks ago I was having a hard time. I was frustrated with myself (as is a common human experience, I believe) for not doing as well as I thought I should have been in several different areas of my life. After dwelling on this for awhile, the thought came into my mind that Heavenly Father doesn't see me in terms of my failures and struggles. When I look at myself, sometimes this is all I can see, but when Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ look at me, they see who I will become. I am not measured by them in terms of what I can (or can't) do, but by how hard I am trying to become that person They already see in me.

Isn't that amazing?

More than anything else, that is what I am so overwhelmingly grateful for each day of my life.

Because of Him, I can change.

the most wonderful time of the year

omg.
i love halloween more than any other day of the year.

and for the life of me, I can't figure out a good costume. i really loved loved loved my zombie costume from last year and can't think of anything that comes close to it. here is my genius brainchild from halloween '09 (i know i look a little moody, but i was going for terrifying...):

it needs to be scary, that is my only requirement. Here are some of my ideas in no particular order:

zombie pt. 2
mummy
skeleton
ghost

what should i do!? help help help!

time traveling

Today in my English 374 class, my professor told us about an exchange that he had with one of his students from a lower-level class who told him that she was thinking about changing her major from English because she doesn't like that we read about amazing things, experiences and ideas every day, but never get to experience them ourselves. As a result, my professor shared this experience, handed "To Autumn" by John Keats to each of us, and after a little biographical background about this poet, sent us out to "the most beautiful place [we could] find on campus" with instructions to think about what the poem is saying and how it affects our lives.

Turns out that this little assignment had a pretty big impact on me. Maybe it's because I am a bit in love with John Keats, beyond the grave as he might be. Maybe it's because "To Autumn" is simply that great of a poem. Or maybe it's because I obsess a bit over the Romantic period in general. Either way (and I promise I will get to the point of this blog in a second), I really think I was born on the wrong continent during the wrong century. I would have been there every step of the way with my boys Blake, Wordsworth & Coleridge, Shelley & Byron (their poetry, at least...), and Keats (my favorite of all). There was so much emotion during this period that was associated with all of the right things: political and social reform (French and American Revolutions, anyone?), all things Gothic (all you Halloween-lovers out there know what I'm talking about), and the almost existential love of nature. And the fabulous dresses. Let's not forget about those. It's true that there were some rough things going on, but I still connect with all of the emotion flying around at this time. It was the style for people to go around feeling and experiencing and savoring and appreciating and living every aspect of their lives with pure passion for each part, knowing that the ideal is a reality.

Unfortunately, that time period along with its values are gone. Today we insist on productivity, streamlining and outcomes over beauty, experience and creation. Do we appreciate all that is beautiful in the world? I guess the question that needs to be asked is, do I appreciate all that is beautiful in my world? The conclusion that I reached today while reading "To Autumn" in the MOA garden is no. And I want that to change. Because very very soon, this period of my life is going to be over. And I want to look back on it, having felt every moment of it. I want to have chewed up every bit of my life and found all that there was to learn from it.

Emo? Maybe. But I had the revelation that all of my favorite guys from this period were really really (probably annoyingly) emo. So I guess I'm just gonna have to embrace it. I will not under any circumstance listen to Secondhand Serenade, Green Day, or My Chemical Romance though. That is where I draw black kohled line.

current craving

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