My List of Love

1. Life-all of the ups, downs, and unexpected turns. Isn't it fabulous that we can experience so much in one lifetime!

2. Spring-when the air begins to smell sweeter and there is a hint of warmth in the breeze.

3. Summer-short shorts, sandles, and sun burns. And most of all, the wonderful memories that summer always seems to be puctuated with.

4. Fall-colors, colors, colors! There is nothing better than living in a kaleidescope of color!

5. My boyfriend-he is super great. I can never wait to see what adventures we can add to our memory book.

6. Forever best friends-Kayla, you are the best friend I could ever have and I am lucky that our friendship just keeps going.

7. The golden hour-that time of day when the setting sunlight peers through the blinds and fills the room with most amazing warmth and glow! If I am lucky enough to see that time of day, my window and curtain will be wide open to let in the sun for those precious moments.

8. Family-I have a pretty great one, wouldn't trade them for the world.

9. Heartbreak-it's a hard thing to love but I appreciate every heartbreak that I've endured. The lessons learned have been invaluable.

10. Puppies-wouldn't this world be a terrible place if there were no puppies in it?

Just a fun look back one year ago, this is a photo I took on an afternoon walk on February 14, 2010.

A Quick Getaway

This year for Christmas, Steve surprised me with an overnight stay in Park City along with a nice dinner. Although the weekend threw us some curve balls, we still managed to find the time to enjoy ourselves in the snow covered mountains.

Steve and I stayed in the Yarrow Hotel just outside of downtown Park City. The room had a kitchenette, king sized bed, and a fireplace.

After finding a place to park, we walked a little bit of main street to our restaurant, Café Terigo. We definitely looked a little out of place at the restaurant in our dressy clothes but we thought an expensive restaurant meant you were supposed to dress nice. Everyone around us was wearing casual clothes and looked like they just came off of the mountain. I guess one major difference between Salt Lake and Park City is that a pricey restaurant in the valley means you a dress up and a pricey restaurant in Park City isn’t expensive at all.

The next day, before heading home, Steve and I stopped at the outlet stores and did a little after Christmas shopping. We didn’t buy much but it was nice to be away from the inversion and outside in the clean, fresh air.

The quick getaway was fabulous and exactly what I needed although a longer weekend would have been better. There is another hotel we want to try in Park City so our plan is to visit Park City in the summer and enjoy its cooler temperatures.

New Year, New Decade . . .

New Year, new decade, new goals. New Year’s Eve rolled around and the questions about new year’s resolutions popped-up but I had no answer to give. 2010 was a BIG year for me, I checked off many of my bucket list items and I achieved all the goals I had set out for myself. So when 2011 came swooping in, it caught me by surprise that my list was essentially complete, all of my boxes had been checked; I graduated from college, traveled out of country, landed a job, and saved some money. 

It is a little daunting to look at a blank slate, especially a slate that was once a list that took 22 to years to complete. What other worthy goals could grace my life check list? Well that’s maybe where I need some help. I need some help redefining my goals, discovering my new found potential. 

General ideas are floating around in my head but nothing solid. The thought of one day going to Graduate school is somewhat appealing to me. Traveling some more sounds like a great goal but it is so hard to decide where to go. 

I do know that I want to put some effort toward strengthening my friendships and relationships. Now that school can’t get in the way of my free time, I feel I owe it to reconnect with those who have been great friends over the years.  

I also want to expand my photography portfolio. I feel like I have plateaued and my photography has become stagnant. I want my photos to stop people in their tracks and evoke strong emotions. I want to be more consistent with my photographic work and I want to become more adept when it comes to posing and directing people.

As for long term goals in the next Decade and beyond, I feel I have the common goals; get my own place, maybe get married, climb the career ladder. But as for now I am completely undecided, nothing has been set in stone. 

Hopefully as the year progresses, resolutions and goals will formulate . . . but for the time being I will just exist.

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.