this years list

My friends mom challenged everyone to make a list of 100 things we are grateful for. So, in no particular order, here is MY list!

1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ
2. My madre for all her amazing-ness
3. My padre for teaching me the value of doing hard things, and how to save money
4. My little [but much bigger] brother for his constant humor and silent strength
5. Peanut butter, peanut m&m’s, and pretty much any peanut related food
6. The alphabet – so that I can more easily organize things
7. Starbucks mint hot cocoa
8. A gentle confirmation that Someone is watching over me
9. Emma Lucy and her constant friendship
10. my Matthew
11. Traveling and the cultures of the world!
12. Weekends
13. afternoon naps
14. really warm, soft blankets
15. Christmas
16. new shoes
17. AMAZING friends – Diana, Bri, Nic, Sheri, Jon and Megan – who all teach me by their amazing examples
18. the smell of rain
19. Portland
20. The internet and it’s ability to keep in touch with people
21. the excitement of what the future holds
22. Dr. Pepper
23. Music and those talented enough to perform it and share it with those of us who are not musical!
24. Pictures
25. Digital cameras
26. Microsoft Word and Excel
27. Temples – and having always lived so close to one
28. kissing a cute boy on New Year’s
29. Summer 2005 good times with Jess – concerts, staying up way too late, and eating lots of ice cream!
30. scrapbooking
31. The Book of Mormon and the Bible
32. New socks
33. Fireworks
34. my own apartment
35. A car that’s paid off
36. Soy chocolate milk
37. ex-boyfriends and lessons learned
38. Snow
39. Skiing
40. Holiday memories with my family
41. my YSA ward
42. Having a job [some days more than others!]
43. My Grandparents
44. freedoms that I take for granted daily
45. the extra pounds that I’ve gained – which means I have plenty of food to eat
46. Clean, warm sheets [especially since mine are red!]
47. Blogs
48. Chapstick
49. My extended family
50. Contacts and glasses
51. Concerts
52. toothbrushes
53. hoodies
54. The Ensign
55. a warm shower
56. Disney movies
57. Institute
58. mittens
59. tulips
60. people who are still reading this list
61. a college education, and Utah State University
62. good health
63. text messages
64. airplanes
65. the Word of Wisdom
66. pedicures
67. mountains
68. my home ward in Alpine, and all the people who helped me find my own Testimony
69. Brother Rose, my 9^th Grade Seminary teacher
70. a cute purse
71. hair color
72. family memories
73. laying in the sun getting a tan
74. Patriarchal Blessings
75. Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked ice cream
76. my cricut
77. Snapfish.com
78. YouTube
79. flip flops
80. a good book
81. a good fortune inside your fortune cookie
    
82. pay day
83. curling up by the fire
84. Macaroni and Cheese
85. new haircuts
86. Facebook
87. doing service for those who need it
88. a good sale
89. Diamonds ;)
90. clean clothes and doing laundry
91. French fries
92. Lone Peak High School
93. freshly shaved legs
94. a gym membership that I need to actually use
95. getting letters in the mail [old school, I know!]
96. co-workers
97. Sunday walks
98. NetFlix
99. the perfect Little Black Dress [which I have yet to find, but I know it’s out there!]
100. mascara
101. good hair days
102. Turkey sandwiches on Thanksgiving!!

quote of the week

Maybe the most any of us can do is not quit,
play the hand we've been given,
and accessorize the outfit we've got

[I think this quote pretty much sums up the past week or so of my life! Love it!]

Visitors are always the best – especially when it’s a cute boy! Matthew came up to Portland to visit me last weekend, and it was great! He flew in Thursday night, we hung out downtown and when to dinner at a nice seafood restaurant! Matt ordered crab, and I had some amazing salmon!

Friday, we spent the day at OMSI [Oregon Museum of Science and Industry]. We went on a tour of a submarine, learned all about the human ear, saw a show at the planetarium, and had a blast in the area that was actually for younger kids – but we still had fun!

[in a rocket ship - all ready for take off. isn't he cute?!]

[right outside the submarine tour - it's the background]

[the beds that the soldiers slept on. i would never have survived!]

[in one of the control rooms]

After fighting traffic to get home, we and hurried and changed, then to dinner and the Opera with my friends Megan and Diana. The Opera was pretty good, and it was nice to have something fun to get all dress up for!

Saturday, we went to the 'Living Room Theaters' – which was awesome! It's just like a normal theater, but instead of normal chairs, they have these big lazy-boy type chairs, with foot rests, and if you order food, they bring it right to you! We saw a documentary that was about this guy who tightrope walked between the roof’s of the Twin Towers. It was crazy!! After the movie, we ran a few errands, then some of my Portland friends came over to play games and such!

Sunday was my birthday, and it was a great one!! Matt and I went to Sacrament a my ward, then I took him to the airport so he could fly home. We had such a fun visit, and I was sad to see him leave.

After dropping him off at the airport, I went over to Diana's for a birthday dinner - manacotti! - with all my friends. It was really yummy, and lots of fun, and an amazing cake!

[me, Diana, Andrew, Nic, and Megan]

Overall, it was a great weekend! I love having visitors, so next time you’re looking for a vacation, come see me in Portland!!

I AM 1/5 DARKNESS.......

Or atleast I was. That's right, I actually dressed up for Halloween this year!!! My friends and I were a league of Super Villans - 'Darkness'. We spent quite a bit of time on the costumes, which means that I have a Halloween costume for the next few years!! We made multiple trips the to the fabric store, did some paper mache [yeah - haven't done that since elementary school!!], and took full advantage of my friends vinyl cutter and heat press. We had lots of fun making the costumes, and even more fun at the Dance Party that we went to! We even won the prize for Best Group Costume!

The Distractor

The Devistator

The Deliberator

The Danger

The Deluxe



(Disclaimer: We took these pictures at about 2am - after dancing all night!! Please pardon the dark circles under my eyes!)