happy february!

Here's to love!

Absolutely admire these great quotes:

      "Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are.

       Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."   -Louis De Bernieres

"Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offense and is not resentful."  -from the movie 'A Walk to Remember'

"There are several kinds of love.  One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance.  This is the ugly and crippling kind.  The other is an outpouring of everything good in you -- of kindness and consideration and respect -- not only the social respect of manners but the greater respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable."  -John Steinbeck

updates, lots of updates

Wow I can't believe it has been since LAST JULY that I blogged. No one probably reads my blog besides my parents but I'll keep at it since it's a good way to document my life/thoughts/things I've learned and am learning. It is crazy how fast life can change. From feeling like you are on top of the world and that life is so good to experiencing your worst fear and the unimaginable heartbreak that follows. I never imagined that I'd go through the things I've gone through recently. But I have to quickly remind myself of how much worse it could be and that I have so much to be grateful for.  It amazes me when I think about the great power of choice--choosing to be happy, to be grateful, to be positive, to serve others, even in the midst of our trials.  It is extremely hard to do especially when you are in the thick of whatever trial you are experiencing but I am learning how healing comes when I have applied this to my life. None of us are immune to the trials of life, the heartbreaks, the disappointments, etc but how great it is that we have the choice to react to them in a certain way. And how incredibly refining it is when we literally turn our broken hearts to the Savior.  I came across this blog recently that has really helped remind me of these important truths.

I have been blessed with incredible family and friends who have supported me so much these last couple months and am just so very grateful for each of them. Thank you. Seriously thank you. Even though it is not fun going through hard things, it always amazes me the love and support people give when others are suffering. I don't know if I can say trials are a beautiful thing but what results from them through the love of others and God and how we choose to view them really is a wonderful thing.
My heart is still healing but I have hope that the things I desire most will work out somehow :)

So let the picture updates begin...

July 2011:
     4th of July spent with the whole fam--parade, games at the park, bbq, fireworks.

  Seattle trip with bff Lindsey to visit our friends Ilene & Eric.

August 2011:
      California trip with Lindsey to visit Steph and her new baby and also spent some time with my bro and other friend Shayla.

Fall 2011:
      Many beautiful warm nights with incredible sunsets, trip to Angel's landing, hiking/biking with my Mom, Rascal Flatts concert, San Francisco trip and a lot of other 'things' which won't be posted :)

Winter 2011:
         Spent Thanksgiving & Christmas with the fam & friends that came into town, moved in temporarily with my brother Phil and his family in Lehi, lots of time spent with the niece and nephews, and bff Lindsey got married!

2011 was quite up and down but there were lots of great memories and fun times I will always remember! Definitely looking forward to this new year...here's to 2012!

i have the travel bug.

I want to go everywhere. I've always loved traveling and for some reason this past year I've been itching to get out more and take advantage of this time in my life. I have the perfect job to do it and keep thinking my money isn't meant to just sit in my bank account. I need to enjoy it a little right? Of course I'm not going to blow my savings but I'm definitely believing in the philosophy of "work hard, play hard". Life is to be enjoyed, not endured as one wise man said :)

Some highlights from the past couple months:

In April took a lovely trip to DC with a couple of my bff's L & B. We're dorks and loved every minute of our educational trip back east.

 

About a week later took off to Cancun with the fam. Is it pathetic that I still think about this place pretty much everyday and want to be back there? It was quite possibly the best vacation I've been on.  My favs of the trip: spider monkey, snorkeling, Chichen Itza and the beautiful clear blue water!

June brought the yearly trip to Moab...

...and lots of time with these people!

July brings a trip to Seattle, August will be Cali and hopefully Thailand at the end of the year!

My dream list: Tahiti, Thailand, Europe, Egypt (or anywhere in Africa would be sweet), Brazil, back to down under & New Zealand, San Fran, Alaska...pretty much the whole world :)

Anyone wanna be my travel buddy?