first day of school.

though i had a surprisingly excellent first day of school, i miss the first days of school from back in the good old days. there is nothing like the thrill of returning to school as an elementary-aged child. looking back on it, it all seemed so magical-- the excitement of catching the school bus with backpack full of fresh school supplies, the anticipation of meeting new classmates and a new, smiley teacher, and the first opening of a long-lost lunch box filled with a homemade pb&j and a cutesy note from a loving mother.

first days of school have changed dramatically for me. catching the school bus has turned into making the long haul up to campus with a 43-pound backpack strapped on. meeting one smiling teacher has been replaced by meeting several new professors in one day, all with different personalities and expectations. first impressions with new classmates have been replaced by weaving in between the thousands of students, meeting a handful of new faces every day for the first three weeks (and consequently forgetting their names three minutes later). and that note from mom in the lunch box has turned into a thoughtful "good luck" text in the morning from a wonderful mother.

looking back on my childhood, i realize how lovely it truly was. though i miss those days, i am in a crazy yet exciting time of my life. my classes are all very interesting, and my first day exceeded all expectations. so i have a lot to be excited about at present. and maybe someday, i will be able to make my children's first days as magical as my mother always has for me.

the beauty of friendship.

this is the reason my return to provo hasn't been completely terrible.

thank goodness for my amazing friends.

(aren't they beautiful?)

i cannot wait for the adventures that are yet to be had!

sorry i stink at blogging as of late. i will get better, i promise.

getting better...

today was a better day.

and for this, i am grateful.

pictures of apartment/friends/adventures to come soon!

another bad day.

i guess it's good to know that even when things get bad,

they can always get worse.

i am grateful that every day is not as bad as today was.

thank goodness

for mothers.

i do not think i could have gotten through today without mine.

thank you, mama.

i love you.

a few random thoughts...

-moving is hectic.

-road trips with best friends are fun.

-making money is fantastic!

-uncle's new house in draper=beautiful.

-being back in utah is not as horrible as i thought, i guess.

happy wednesday.

so happy!

this has been the theme song of our household over the past few days:

it makes me smile.

back to utah today.

a bit of humble wisdom.

"I don't think of all the misery,

but of the beauty that still remains."

-Anne Frank

what a beautiful world we live in.

a glorious sunday.

today was a glorious sunday.

it reminded me why i always loved sundays so much.

i am so lucky to have a church in my life with such loving people.

i am so lucky to have an incredible family.

i am so lucky to have a gospel in my life that brings me so much joy.

home sweet home.

the closer i get to moving, the more i don't want to leave colorado.

i love it here.

today was the perfect saturday.

america's favorite pastime.

i love baseball.

i love baseball games with my family and friends.

i love the rockies.

even when tulo is sick and we lose to the giants.

it was an excellent night.

catching up with friends..

until 3 a.m. in a hot tub

makes for a lovely summer night.

sometimes.

sometimes, in colorado, mr. sky randomly decides to hail like mad for a period of four minutes.

(and this picture was even taken a good ten minutes after the hail had started to melt)

and sometimes, little brother and i must run through the hail barefoot to rapidly cover our precious cars in the driveway with every old blanket we can find, all while being pelted with nickel-size hail and shrieking.

(clearly, good times had by all)

i love colorado.

oliver james.

today kind of reminded me of this:

it rained, and hailed, and rained.

and i had a killer headache.

well, at least i had the fleet foxes to keep me company.

on the bright side, my mom was so kind as to buy me a nice little rice cooker,

and one of my best friends comes to my lovely colorado

tomorrow to play!

a delightful day.

it is official. i am recovering. am i one-hundred percent better? no. but today was a good day. and i can't really remember the last time that i had a good day.

today, i am grateful for:

-dentists. though i have found trips to the dentist semi-horrific in the past, there is nothing like the feeling of having freshly cleaned and polished teeth.

-morning naps. i certainly enjoyed being able to come home from the dentist and get a few more hours of shut eye... it was greatly appreciated.

-improvement. though i don't feel great by any means, i definitely can say that i feel better. and i haven't been able to feel that positivity in my life for a while now.

-mom&daughter dates with some old friends. my mom and i went out with two of our dear friends to see the film julie & julia. i highly recommend it. not only is the meryl streep/amy adams combination excellent, the film as a whole is light-hearted and thoroughly enjoyable. it reaffirmed my love for french music, made me realize how insignificant my blog really is (i like it anyway, however), and made me smile. it was great to spend some time with my mama and with some great company.

-evening showers. as we drove home from the movie, there was some serious storm action going on. lightning illuminated the skies, and the cool rain came down in sheets. i don't mind it though. it gave me the chance to come snuggle with some blankets. and now i am going to fall asleep to the sound of the rain. excellent.

p.s. i am so in love with the french-themed soundtrack from the film, i have already looked it up. someday, i will be able to understand this. (please forgive the potentially-juvenile slideshow video situation... just enjoy the music)

a sunset.

do you know what is lovely?

a summer sunset over the mountains behind my house.

shared with my wonderful family.

in our new hot tub.

summer, please don't go away!

a nice treat.

have you tried these?

having a sore throat never tasted so good.

and for this, i am grateful.

pamplemousse!

recently, i have been inspired to learn french.

it is just so lovely to listen to.

i love the word pamplemousse.

i find every excuse possible to throw it into everyday conversation.

but i should probably learn how to say more than just grapefruit...

french lesson #1:

don't you love the random swedish subtitles?

bret and jermaine are true men of culture.

bon vendredi!

good news/bad news.

today was certainly one of those mixed bag type of days. but i guess we've all gotta take the good with the bad, right?

the good news: my sinuses are healing nicely. thank you, mr. ent doc. and your mad surgery skillllls.

the bad news: i now have bronchitis.

remember this? i am getting serious about the purchasing of a bubble so those germs will have no chance with me, no matter how hard they try. anyone care to pitch in some dinero to help a sister out on this one?

inspired by mr. michael scott himself, we could establish some sort of fun run to raise money... we could make really rad t-shirts, and everything!

don't you think michael had the right idea?

p.s. no fettucini alfredo will be served at this event. my apologies.

a few more little treasures.

another band i'm currently loving: the weepies.

p.s. yes, i DID eventually fall asleep last night...

getting all stream-of-consciousness, for a sec.

it's 3:58 a.m.

i should be sleeping.

oh, why am i not asleep?

maybe it is the fact that i have slept 12+ hours every night since my surgery.

is it possible for someone to continually oversleep?

maybe it is because i really can't breathe through my nose... at all.

maybe it is because my stomach sounds like niagara falls.

scratch that-- i have never been to niagara falls.

maybe i am being punished for spending too much time resting this summer.

why am i blogging?

i want to be dreaming.

it's 4:01 now. still in the a.m.

maybe, i'll eat some fruit snacks and try this whole sleeping thing out again.

at least the crickets are keeping me company-- they're still awake.

improvement...

today, i made a big step.

i blew my nose!... well, kind of.

though this may seem like an odd thing to be grateful for,

for those of you who have ever been sinus impaired like me,

you know just how nice it feels.

question:

have you ever seen anything more attractive in your life?

today i am very thankful that i can still laugh at myself, even when i look and feel beyond terrible. sometimes, life is too short to be taken seriously.

p.s. i'm waving in the picture.. it's like a "hellllo monday" situation. yep.

just a little help.

on days like today, words like these are the only thing that could get me through.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

-Psalm 23

recovery.

today, i am grateful for:

• pudding (for nearly every meal)
• pain meds
• a big, comfy bed
• movie nights with my mom

it's all downhill from here, right?

ouch.

i feel as if i have run into a brick wall going 2391 miles per hour... with my face. ouch. i am so very blessed to have a loving mother to take care of me and watch movies with me, though. i am so lucky... she is so great.

gone under the knife.

today i am thankful (oh, so thankful) for successful surgeries, kind nurses, and percocet.

my surgery went well, and i am incredibly relieved to have my surgery over with. now i have a few days in bed and many, many movies to look forward to. hopefully this will be the start of a new life for me!

modern medicine: parte dos.

i am happy today. mostly because i have something big to look forward to tomorrow: surgery. why would anyone be happy about surgery?, one might ask. well, though incredibly painful, this surgery is supposed to be the start of my ultimate recovery. huzzah! i'm hoping for the best.

in other news, i became acquainted with another lovely band, she & him. can i just tell you how much i adore zooey deschanel?

p.s. don't mind the slight (okay, more like severe) morbidity of the video-- just enjoy the music!

happy wednesday to you all!

lessons learned.

in traveling through germany, i learned many things:

-germans are nice.

-mad king ludwig had mad castle-constructing skilllls.

-germany likes nutella... a lot.

-germans make incredible nutella ice cream.

-my father loves fountains... and cuckoo clocks.

-life is fragile; we are so lucky to be alive and free.

-bavaria is beautiful.

you don't believe me? as evidence of this, i will give you a little lesson through photos to support the things that i learned. get excited!

füssen, germany. the quaintest, most adorable town!

discovery: my father loves fountains.

castles are too big for normal humans. they must only be fit for a king, or something.

this is why i just might move to füssen some day.

proof that german nutella ice cream is like heaven. please note benny's flight of the conchord's inspired shirt. he makes me proud.

like father, like children. we all loved the fountains, too.

gorgeous neuschwanstein. props to king l!

a happy little hike away from the castle.

hohenschwangau, another masterpiece of king ludwig set in the amazing alps.

bavaria=beautiful.

i feel as if everybody deserves to visit this unbelievable part of the world at some point in his/her life. i would go back in a heartbeat. but i am so grateful to have had the opportunity to visit with my wonderful family and to have these lovely pictures to reminisce about it!

sounds like summer to me.

in listening to regina's new album (on repeat, might i add), i just can't decide which track is my favorite. the album as a whole brings me much happiness, but i think that this particular track is bringing a bit more of some desperately-needed summer into my life. maybe it can do the same to you?

regina, you are a genius.

european adventures, part 2.

oh, how i love europe. i feel so lucky to be able to have traveled there twice now-- to have had the opportunity to see the beautiful sights and learn about the different cultures. i thoroughly enjoy reminiscing about my european adventures, and thus will begin with my second installation of my most recent travels... this time, the photos are quite austrian in nature. enjoy!

our first views upon entering austria... these lovely little chalets were everywhere!

salzburg!

it is true, mr. mozart rules salzburg. it is truly his town.

where the von trapp family lived in the film, the sound of music!

a gorgeous basilica in the quaint town of mondsee, austria. this is where the wedding scene in the sound of music was filmed.

overlooking the lake and another beautiful austrian town outside mondsee.

mirabell gardens in salzburg.

with my padre in mirabell gardens!

isn't austria just lovely? i think i will return, someday.

a few good laughs.

today i am grateful for the brilliant masterminds behind this:
i can easily say that this show has been my main source of comedic relief this summer. sadly, i made my way through all three seasons quite rapidly, so i will have to find another source of laughs to help keep my spirits up the rest of the summer. or i could just start over at season one...

oh fox, why did you have to cancel so quickly?

a challenge.

though the weather has been anything but sunny lately (since when do i live in seattle?), i have challenged myself to a little game, of sorts. and that game is to make every day sunny, even just for a few minutes.

how will i do this?, you ask. i will do this by finding something-- no matter how simple or menial in appearance-- to be grateful for. i know that the bad days will come (and they've been coming in abundance lately). but i think that if i take just a minute every day to consciously be grateful for one of the numberless gifts that god has given me, it will help brighten my days.

so, this is my task:
for three hundred and sixty-five days, i will post a little bit of happiness (or sunshine, if you will). until july 31, 2010, i have resolved to find more positivity in my everyday circumstance. yes, i do realize this will require an increased dedication to my blog, but i think it will be worth it. i am a firm believer that this whole happiness thing is good for the soul, after all. i would love to hear ideas from you all, as well. so today i ask, what makes you happy?

today, i am grateful because:

i am alive. this week, i have had several friends who have had a family member pass away. though i have been miserable for the past few months, i do realize what a gift it is to simply be living-- to have the opportunity to improve myself, to experience life's adventures, and to grow. though i might be experiencing a bleaker period of my life at present, i have been given the chance to live, and i have a whole wonderful future ahead of me.