Pinches and Baby Feet

It's an exciting day.
I feel like I can claim a real hobby. No more need I answer the question: What do you do for fun? with the answer: Sleep...?
I bought my first pair of rock climbing shoes.
They are so pretty and I can't help but stare at them and try them on over and over.
It's an early birthday present and probably Christmas present too.
After a couple of trips to REI to try on all of the options over and over, I finally found a pair that I liked.

I wish I could wear them around all the time, but turns out walking around in a shoe that is a size and a half smaller than the normal tennis-shoe I wear is not so comfortable.

I'm lucky to have friends that like to climb and do it often. It's outdoor season and I can't wait to climb some real rocks up the canyon, I might even try to get better at bouldering. Who knows, I'm a free woman, I can do what I want and I have the shoes to do it!

Close Your Eyes and Feel Content

Let's talk about summer for a second, shall we?

Oh, am I ready for this season or what?
Today is the first day of summer break and I don't have to be at work, or at school, or anywhere else. I am free. I started this break off with a bang; going on a short run to go get donuts and chocolate milk from Banbury Cross. Best decision I've made today. Happy Summer everyone. And then I got to play sand volleyball with some peeps in this beautiful weather. Oh glory.
I made the decision not to take any classes this semester, so I am just going to work and shadow and play. I'll be playing volleyball at least weekly along with ultimate frisbee and softball. I'll be climbing. I'll probably be doing the opposite of what I did last summer and be building up a house instead of tearing it down. I'll be counting down the days until Bear Lake (91). I'll be boating with the adopted family and probably even going down to "N'armony" to visit my own blood. I'll be blaring country music and staying out late on these warm summer nights in my favorite city.
Can we have a moment of silence for BBQ season?
I have been craving ribs and brisket and polled pork and beans and coleslaw and hamburgers for MONTHS. Now I can enjoy it outside.
Also, let's not forget that I have a birthday in a month. Summer birthdays are the best.
These next 4 months are going to be glorious, I can tell.

Word Vomit

I have no reason not to be happy, which is why I am so very happy right now.

This semester in school has been so good to me. I don't know that I have ever had a semester where I enjoyed all of my classes. I'm a little bummed that it'll come to an end in 3 weeks.
I am starting to look forward to Fall semester though. I'll be applying for the Athletic Training program and I am stoked. The more I think about it, the more I want to do it. I've been liking the idea of working with an Olympic team. Just think for a second how cool that would be!: watching the best athletes in the world compete in different places all over the world. It would be so cool.
I'm also going to be part of the Utah gymnastics team next year. I'll be a walk on and rock their world. Or, I'll just be taking a gymnastics class in the fall. Either way, that'll be cool.

I've come up with a new hobby/talent. I never thought I would say that, but it's true. I can make piñatas. I'm pretty good at it. I'll probably start making piñatas for every celebration. People have started asking me to make piñatas for them, so I've basically started my own business.

It's been a blast seeing all my friends head off in different paths and experiences: missions, marriages, moving away, graduation, graduate school, etc etc. I love seeing them all grow and be happy in the stages they are in. I wish we could all just pause and soak in how awesome life is right now.

And since I don't say it often enough... I LOVE SALT LAKE CITY! Seriously though. Every time I walk out the door and head up to campus, I love turning around and looking down on the city (or at least when I can see it--sans inversion) and looking up at the mountains. I love looking at all the cute houses and cool buildings. I love that there are flowers everywhere and that the trees are budding. I love riding Trax and watching the people as I go. I love my school and the diversity it has and the opportunities it holds. I love that I can go snowboarding just minutes away and go climbing just down the road. I love that I am just a hop and skip away from my favorite niece and her mom. I love the people I've met and the impact they've had on me. I love that sometimes I run into "celebrities" (at least for us Mormons) by simply going to the grocery store. SLC looks good anytime of the year (minus those super crummy weeks in the middle of January). Oh I love it here.

Just some more photoshopping skillz.

It Just Keeps On Coming...

November 19th

• Witty little old women
• No shoe Monday put into action by the man in the office

November 20th

• Naps before 9 AM
• Being able to see Salt Lake Valley (the air is clear today)
• Watching the sunset as I finish my Physics homework
• Knowing that tomorrow is my last day of classes this week

November 21st

• "Warm" fall weather
• Making small-world connections

November 22nd

• Denny's breakfasts
• Simple moments like watching dog competitions with my parents
• Snuggling with my dad
• Paper dishware
• Leftovers

November 23rd

• Not feeling guilty when Christmas music comes into my head.

I'm going to say that this is the end. We're all sick of it, so I'm ending it.

Happy holidays.

Food Coma

I had this discussion with a few friends the other day and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since.

If I were on death row, going to die tomorrow, what would I choose to eat for my final meal?
Here's what some real death row inmates chose.

I realize that in real life they only get one last meal, but I'm going to pretend that the prison I was in was really good to me and offered me three giant square meals.

Breakfast:
-Nestlés Chocolate Milk. That cold, thick, chocolatey mouthful of goodness. Or maybe egg nog....
-A breakfast crêpe full of spinach, mushroom, cheese, onion, and egg. Mostly I'm just imagining the one from Crêpes of Brittany. Best crêpe I've ever had. It haunts me. 
-A side of crisp bacon and sausage and teenie weenies and a little bit of syrup for dipping.

Lunch:
-Monte Cristo from Disneyland's Blue Bayou. 
-Fresh green beans that are sautéd with almonds
-Warm dinner rolls with butter
-Crème Brûlée to finish it off.

Dinner:
We are going all out on Barbecue for the final shebang. I don't want the cheap stuff from the freezer section. I want it freshly made and melt in my mouth delicious.
-Pulled pork sandwich
-Burned end sandwich
-Brisket
-Ribs
-Side of coleslaw
-Side of corn bread
-Side of mashed potatoes
-Side of mac and cheese (Stouffers syle)
-Side of baked beans
-That Mexican corn on the cob that they have in Delta during the demolition derby
-Ice cold Horchata to drink

I'll be forgoing dessert with my final meal. I'd rather eat "real" food than dessert. Also, I can bet that my belly would be near bursting point after shoving my face with all that food, so naturally there would be no room left.

The more I think about it, the more food I can think of that I would want to eat. So, here is my Runners-up List:
-Hamburger with all the toppings
-Chicken and Waffles
-Homemade ice cream or Mint n Chip or Salted Caramel Pretzel. Probably all three.
-Portabello mushroom stuffed ravioli

I obvioulsy like my food. Good food at that. Family trips revolve around food and when I feel like grocery shopping/spending money, so does my day.

I feel like I need to go eat all this food now. Just in case...

The Never Ending Story.

Fourteen:

• Posters like this:

Let the beards flourish. And may they look like this.

• That little pinky wave that people give while they are on the phone.
• 7/11 hot chocolate.

Fifteen

• When professors postpone due dates. 
• Sleeping in
• Homemade soups. I'll be a great homemaker some day.
• The button on Pandora that says "No. Do not allow explicit content." I'll be listening to my Pitbull radio a lot more often now.

Sixteen

• UFit and seeing people interact with kids that have disabilities. 

Seventeen

• Spending time with friends
• Checking things off of my bucket list. ie. riding a mechanical bull (my inner thighs kill)
• Full and bright rainbows
• Seeing friends be successful in what they want to be doing

Eighteen

• Sunday naps
• Free dinners with the family
• Phone calls from Mom
• Hoodies and sweats and the quilt grandma made me. If there's one thing (or three) that can improve a day, it's that combination.

It's Still November...

November 9th:

• Watching the snow fall from inside
• A sister that lets me use her car
• A friend willing to let me tag along on a car ride so that I could go home for the weekend
• A mom that feeds me good food

November 10th:

• Grandparents that love me
• Getting lunch with the family
• Seeing friends that I haven't seen for over a year and having things still be the same
• A wood burning stove

November 11th: 

• RM's. They are just full of the Spirit aren't they?
• Adopted families that feed me dinner. They killed their own turkey and cooked it up. Delicious.
• Puppies! Oh puppies. I want a puppy. 

November 12th:

• Jackets and gloves and pants and sweaters and scarves. It was freezing at 7am.
• Twinkle lights used as interior lighting. Holy crap it's magical. It's like I live in a fairy land.

November 13th:

• Ping pong and being a winner.
• Getting a better score on my Physics test than the kid next to me. I feel better now.
• Friends that offer to drive me to class.
• Paper snowflakes.

That's my snowflake in my fairyland living room.