Christmas

I am not a huge fan of the holidays. In my mind they are chaotic, too commercial, and too rushed but I always try to do some holiday activites to capture what I can of the season. Here is a look at the festivites of 2010.

 First, we went and saw the lights at Temple Square.

Next, dinner with friends.

Then, Christmas Eve dinner with Steve's family.

And giving the perfect gift to two Star Trek nerds.

Rivalry for Charity

My work held a food drive this year in hopes of rasing over 500 food items. To make the food drive more competitive, four teams were created; U of U, BYU, USU, and "other" schools.

The two week competition got REALLY competitive and donation boxes were even "vandalized." The "other" schools were in the lead for the entire two weeks but come the final day, U of U was only 10 points behind. I and a fellow coworker decided to round up some money from our fellow U of U team members and make a run to Walmart. We entered the store with $134 in cash and left with 233 food items! In the end, U of U was the champion of the "Rivarly for Chartiy" and we beat the "others" by 150 points.

Final point totals were:

UofU: 943
USU: 508
BYU: 152
Others: 765

All together, my office donated 2,368 food items and cash (which is pretty cool for an office of 30 people).

Wednesday's Thought of the Day

A random thought crossed my mind today that forced me to think about being five years old but the thought was all very relevent to the present.

A box of crayons; colorful, fun, and intimidating. Everytime I look at a box of crayons, all I want to do is open it and begin coloring, create a wax work of art, but I can never manage to open the box. It never occured to me that the reason for my hesistation has everything to do with creative opportunity that resides within a crayon box.

It has come to my attention that a box of crayons is not only a child's art tool but a box of crayons is a creative outlet. There is so much opportunity for expression in one little box that I become overwhelmed with the prospects of failing to create. I am usually not someone who finds creativity difficult but a crayon seems too powerful for my mind to handle. Crayons are the medium of innocent minds who are free to think boldly and dream big. Upon looking at a box of crayons, I don't feel qualified enough to grasp the powerful medium in my hand. I am afraid I won't do the crayon justice. 

Well, my new years resolution will be to open my box of crayons and explore all of the creative opportunity and dreams that have been residing in my 5 year old self.

Happy coloring!

December Fog

The week after Thanksgiving, there was a beautiful day filled with fog and mist. Unfortunately I was ill prepared for the rare weather and I did not have my camera on me . . . but I did manage to get a few cemetery shots on my phone.

Next time there is a fog filled day, I vow to be prepared and hope to produce some photos with better "mood." A photo shoot has formed in my head already: a trip to the city cemetery with my camera and a model dressed in Victorian era clothing.

Film Noir Halloween

We didn't really know what to be for Halloween and threw together a costume at the last minute, which turned out to be a fun costume. At first we were going to be "classic Hollywood" actors but as the costuming progressed it was clear to us that we had a Film Noir theme going on. I am the feme fetale and he is the suave leading man, he is a detective and I am a reoccuring distraction from the crime investigation.

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkins!

The weather had taken a turn for the worst this past week . . . so we spent the night inside and carved pumpkins! Here is a look at our cute pumpkin family .

First Snow Fall

A panoramic photo from the 5th floor of my work. The first snow fall of the year from the Wasatch Mountains to the Oquirrhs. Fall leaves and snow=a beautiful site (but I am usually no fan of the cold).

Late Harvest

I had a wonderful opportunity to take some photos in Davis County. Here is a sample of what I saw . . . it was a great way to enjoy the last bit of beautiful weather before the cold comes this weekend.

Fall Photos

Steve is not a big fan of getting his picture taken, but these make me so happy! I finally have some nice photos of us and I even got the fall colors with them.

On Edge and Uptight

Lately I have been uptight! Everything seems to rub me the wrong way and I can't help but tell people how I feel. I am usually a quiet individual who keeps my thoughts and opinions to myself but the past two weeks have revealed a "tell it how it is" Jen who just can't keep her emotions at bay. I feel like I am constantly think "duh, how dumb can some people get!" And if I don't like somthing, I am going to let you know that it bothers me.

So please, if you are a victim of my recent uptight nature, I apologize. I don't dislike anyone, in fact I love everyone in my life right now, I am just having one of those weeks. I am sure that it will soon subside but if you have any suggestions on how to manage my need to tell people what I think, let me know, I am definitely ready to let bygons be bygons and mind my own business.

Have A Happy Monday!

Work Field Trip

This is me on the job! A few weeks ago, all of the ladies in the office decided to take a little field trip to our project sites to get a better sense of the current project (and to help us newbies learn the ropes).

Part of my new uniform when I am out at construction site, a hard hat and an orange vest!

Autumn

A perfect day.

My Love

My most favorite thing in the world right now!

Larkrise to Candleford

I discovered this gem of a show in the spring and I can't get enough of it. It is a beautiful show to watch and a lovely story to experience.

I even had the chance to drive through the town of Larkrise in Great Britain! If I ever need to de-stress of relax, I turn to Larkrise! And the best part, I don't have to wait for the episodes to play on PBS BBC programing, some wonderful person in Britain has taken it upon herself to put every episode on YouTube :)