it's nothing special....it's just kriss

The final piece of the Robert Burns Night 2012: The  Mason's temple in Salt Lake and assorted tidbits! One of the Association members is a member of the Mason's so he was able to give us a full tour of temple - which was incredible! There are so many architectural styles showcased beautifully throughout the temple. My favorite room was probably the Auditorium  which has amazing acoustics and a gorgeous night sky complete with working lighted constellations in the dome (please note that this building was built in the 1920's so the fact that you can stand anywhere in the auditorium and be heard because of the original acoustics...that's pretty freaking awesome!). But it's hard to pick a favorite with so many amazing rooms to choose from! It was by far the highlight of the evening! After the tour, we had a delicious dinner of perfectly normal food (including strawberry short-carbs...we couldn't decide on strawberry shortcake or shortbread...so we just stuck wi

On the 21st I had the awesome opportunity to go with my wonderful friend Mandy to the Utah Scottish Associations annual Robert Burns Supper. I have a few stories...so I think I'm going to break it out into a couple of posts. Hope you don't mind. Not like you really have a choice. :) Mandy asked if I would be willing to bring the Haggis up from BYU. Yes, the Haggis. If you don't know what Haggis is...don't ask me. Google it. Or click on this handy link  but try not to lose your lunch. Now we went to our first ever Robert Burns Supper up at Utah State last year - where I tried Haggis for the first (and last) time. It actually wasn't too bad - but after you read the link above, you might understand why Haggis and I are not exactly friends. So when Mandy asked me if I could bring up the Haggis...I stemmed the instinctual urge to vomit and said yes. Why? Because I love Mandy. Here are a few of my thoughts about the warm-reekin  entrails as I drove to Salt Lake with a

So I'm pretty sure it's a good thing I'm going into Occupational Therapy. Too bad I won't be done with school this week though - I'm going to need some serious rehab just to be able to get dressed after working out with Melanie at the gym this week. She is kicking my trash!! (P.S. Melanie is my personal trainer. She is REALLY good at her job...which is painful.)

My Mom wanted to go to the Idaho Falls temple while we were there last weekend. So, we got up early and headed over there while we left the gaggle of cousin's getting ready. Just as a side note - Idaho is COLD! Walking up to the temple I lost all feeling from my toes to my nose. And I am pretty sure my brain froze. I told my Mom that just because there was no snow and the roads were safe didn't mean we were supposed to come visit Idaho in the winter. BRR! But what better contrast to the frozen outside than the warmth and Spirit of the House of The Lord. And what better refuge is there than the temple when visiting family we adore but who don't live The Gospel. It was a really neat experience. We did Initiatories and, among many other thoughts and impressions, I was again reminded of the amazing love our Heavenly Father has for each of us and His willingness to forgive us as often as we seek that forgiveness. I am grateful for the temple and for the promised blessings we f

You gotta love Idaho Falls. And my family. My cousin, K had a date on Friday night. They went to Jaliscos for dinner. She left at 7:00 and we showed up at the house a few minutes later. We all decided to go out to eat too - all 7 of us crazy, loud family members. Guess where we went for dinner? Jaliscos. Guess where we sat - close enough to spy on them on their date. And we interrupted them to make her give us a hug since we hadn't seen her in ages. Yeah, we're just cool like that. Oh, and my cousin's are blond to the core. During dinner, my cousin H told us her woes about going on vacation to the Dominican Republic next week. She has to buy a suitcase. But she just can't bring herself to 'commit' to a suitcase. Note: H lives with her boyfriend. Living with a boyfriend is acceptable commitment. Buying a suitcase - inconceivable. And I thought I had commitment issues. Then she told us about her sister, D, who is going on vacation with her. D was putting in fo

This past weekend my Mom and I took Piper on her very first road trip. We went to Idaho Falls to visit my aunt and cousins. This dog LOVES car rides - so I didn't think it would be too bad. And really it wasn't. On the way there, she sat on my lap the whole time. She stared out the window and wagged her tail for seriously the entire four hours! My Mom was super sweet and set up the back seat like the doggy Hilton. There was a tarp on the floor so Piper could have her food, water and litter box down there - just in case she needed them (and my Mother says she hates this dog. Right. I'm so not buying that!). The first time I put her back there, she got in her litter box and then jumped right back out and gave me this look like, "Are you kidding me!? How the heck am I supposed to use that when the whole freaking car is moving!?!" Then she proceeded to scratch at the back of the seat and cry because she was too little to jump back into the front seat. As pitiful as

I had the opportunity to give a talk in my ward on New Year's Day. That was an awesome experience. Really. The topic was, want to guess? Resolutions. From my previous posts...it might be obvious that I struggle in the application of the principles learned from preparing my talk. But, there were a couple of points that I came across that I absolutely loved and wanted to share. Resolutions, goals and covenants are not so very different from each other. They are all commitments and they all require action on our part. Preach My Gospel has some amazing quotes on goals: “I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life” (Elder Ballard

My New Year's resolution for 2012 is to make New Year's resolutions next year. Aim low & you reach your goals.

So, I know that the rest of the world doesn't really care. But today I made the first cut. Yep. That's right. I got an official invitation from the University of Utah to come on February 10th for an interview day. That means I have to manage to not say something stupid, act stupid or trip on anything in front of the people I am trying to impress - each of which is a monumental feat in and of itself...so I'm not sure how I'm going to pull off all three in one day and for an entire day. But, if I do manage to somehow pull it off - I might actually make it in. But, at this point, I think that is actually more terrifying than not getting in! (P.S. Inspite of my sarcasm and boasting...I just have to put a plug in here that I fully acknowledge that getting in to grad school - even making it this far - doesn't happen unless it is supposed to. The Lord is in the details. And He is guiding my life as He always does. He is opening doors that otherwise would remain shut i

I was talking with my Mom (who shall remain nameless) the other night and she was reminiscing about her mission and the film strips they used as missionaries. Then she said, quoting the introduction to Man's Search for Happiness : "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives." Need I say more? Best laugh ever.

So I think 2011 can be summed up best by Chris Cagle: "Scars heal, glory fades and all we're left with are the memories made. Pain hurts, but only for a minute. Life is short so go on and live it." We'll stop there because 2011 certainly wasn't lived because 'the chicks dig it'...that would be awkward. But this year definitely taught me that scars, both external and internal, do heal; that the glory of this life will fade - but the glory of a righteous life will live forever in the hearts of those you touch. It taught me that memories made and relationships cultivated with good friends and family members are some of the greatest privileges and joys of this life. 2011 brought a share of pain - but it really does only hurt for a minute if we turn to The Savior. This year, perhaps more than any other, I have become keenly aware of the frailty of life. But I have also found courage in that awareness - courage to take a chance, to live life a little more full