Last Chance 2010

I don't know how it happened....but another year is almost over! What the crap. This is crazy. 2010...what a year. Definitely full of surprises, I can say that for sure. Some big things I guess. I closed the chapter on Utah this year and moved out to Chicago. Had an internship with my dream firm. My book finally got published. There's been plenty good.....more than enough bad....but overall, I guess it's been a good year..ish.
So, I've been thinking....what didn't happen that I wanted to? What would I do different? Etc, etc. There is one day left in this year. It's 2010's last chance! What will you do with it? What will I do with it for that matter? I think it's a fabulous reason to do things you've been putting off. I'll talk about goals for 2011 some other post. Not this one. This one is still all 2010. I mean there have got to be loose ends to tie up....apologies to make....adventures to be had :) One more day! January 31st. Show me what you're made of 2010!

Christmas (My Linus Moment)

So, you know on a Charlie Brown Christmas when Charlie Brown says, "Can't anyone tell me what Christmas is all about?" and Linus answers and says, "sure Charlie Brown..." he then proceeds to recount the birth of Jesus Christ as recorded in Luke chapter 2 of the New Testament. Well....this is my Linus moment.
I know I made a Christmas to-do list and fortunately, I was able to do most of it. I loved it. There are so many fun things to see and do in a big city at Christmas. I was not disappointed. All the same though, as I drive around and listen to the Christmas station on the radio, I hear winter or Santa songs...not really true Christmas songs. I just want to make sure I take the chance to tell all within the sound of my (virtual) voice, that I know what Christmas is all about.
I celebrate the birth of my Savior Jesus Christ. I know He was born to the virgin Mary in Bethlehem. I know that He is the Son of God and that His birth was a miracle. He lived a perfect life, taught all of us how to live, to love and to pray. He atoned for mine and your sins in the Garden of Gethsemane, was crucified on the cross and was resurrected. I add to my testimony to the many that have been born of Him, truly He lives. May we all come to know Him a little bit better this holiday season. It is the reason for it, after all. Merry Christmas everyone!

What yer made of!

So, what do you do when you've lost your trail? Run out of water....don't have food...shelter? Well if you're Bear Grylls then it's no big deal. But for most of us...this would be a pretty rough scenario. Lot's of questions run through your mind in a moment like this: How do I find my way back? How did this happen? What if I can't find my way, etc, etc. You guessed it-I'm going for another analogy!
Life just plain kicks your trash sometimes. It is what it is. You can lose everything in an instant (most likely it doesn't happen in an instant...but stay with me anyway). Then what?
The what-is what yer made of. Defining moments, they usually come when you are pushed to a breaking point. Seriously, what do you do in a moment like this? Whenever I watch Man vs. Wild I am ALWAYS in awe. I didn't know anyone could do the things Bear Grylls does. When I have my break through/defining moments, it feels about the same. Kind of wow factor. "Didn't know I had that in me."
Once again, I've come to one of these moments. I almost feel like this post should be a to be continued post. I say that because the moment hasn't passed necessarily. But I can tell you this: I've learned that these defining moments are the product of every choice you make. You just don't realize how much every choice you make reflects about you until it's brought to the surface. "We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day." Richard G. Scott. You see what yer made of. Here's hopin you like what you find.

My Chicago Christmas To-Do List

I'm pretty excited. This is my first Christmas living in a big city. I think we can all agree that movies are a pretty accurate depiction of real life........and this is where my romanticized vision of a big city holiday season comes from....I can't possibly be disappointed. Really, though, anything Christmas makes me happy, I'm not a tough sell on that point.
I'm pretty ambitious when it comes to Christmas, so I decided to make a To-Do List. :) (I'm going to cheat a little by including one item that's already been done...but who doesn't like to be able to check things off their list?)
1. Magnificent Mile Lights Festival (check)
2. Christkindlmarket Chicago
3. Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo
4. Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier
5. Ice Skating at Millenium Park
6. Christmas display at Macy's
7. CTA Holiday Train
8. The Messiah
9. The Nutcracker
10. Chicago Botanic Garden
11. Caroling at Cloud Gate

It's a starter list anyway ;)
Merry Christmas everyone! ....I think it's gonna be a good one!

More Than Fine

"When I’m up with the sunrise, I want more than just blue skies. I want more than just ok, more than just ok." This is my theme song for life. More Than Fine by Switchfoot. "I want more than just okay" in my life.
So it's decision time again. There's lots of things to think about...what to do....what to do..... So, here's the thing. This little adventure of mine that I call life has come to a fork. More like a fork with appendage forks.....At any rate, it's time to make some choices and head down some paths. I find that I have recently had some safe and stable paths presented before me. The tricky thing is...is that I am also being tempted with possibilities. This is where the path analogy loses relevance on some level. These possibilities are the dreams. There is the hope and possibility that they could come about for me....unfortunately....(back to the path/fork analogy) I can't see from here how the "possibility" paths turn out. Do they come to a dead end? Then what? Will I have ruined all my chances and be left with no path? At any rate, I have to make a choice between stability and hope right now.
Back to the song, "More than fine, more than bent on getting by. More than fine, more than just ok."
Somethings are worth the risk. Sometimes you just have to roll the dice and go for it. It's come to that for me. That's the point of being young right? I still count as that for a little bit longer. Why head down a path I don't want to go, just because it's safe? What's the point if it's not what I want? The trick is, we have to decide and we will never know what would've happened had we chosen a different direction. But sometimes you gotta leap! I know what I want! and I'm going to hold out for it! "I’m not giving up, giving up, not giving up now.
I’m not giving up, giving up, not backing down.
....you'll get it better if you listen to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxiYRx55g1c

Washington for the Weekend

This last weekend I got a lot of quality time with the fam! It was so wonderful. Thursday night, I flew into Salt Lake City and hopped in a car with my sister Katherine to drive through the night to Washington (not so wonderful....but we made it). Friday was full of family time. It is always great to be with my siblings. We don't need to have an agenda...our time just passes with busy nothings...but it manages to be such a great time. My siblings are pretty clever it turns out. I feel like most of the time we spend together is spent laughing....and I happen to love laughing! I got to see my Grandma, which was great. She is such a trooper-still such a hoot even though she's seen better days. I love her!
Saturday was the main event-the reason all of us made the trip to Washington. My brother David was getting sealed to his wife and children in the temple. It was such an amazing day! There are not words sufficient to describe the joy I felt being in the temple with my family that day. I knew I was witnessing a miracle, and I just felt such a strong witness of how much Heavenly Father loves each of His children and how His hand is in each of our lives. I love the temple and I love my family. I was busting! So happy for them.
Sunday morning I got up early, went and had breakfast with the siblings and then jumped in the car to begin the exodus back to Salt Lake City. I don't know why it turned into the longest drive EVER.... I think it was a combination of a couple of longer than planned (and unexpected) detours, small bladders and who knows what else. In the morning though I got to see my nieces and nephew! Whom I love sooooo very much. It was awesome to hear their little feet race down the stairs to my room-scream my name as they jumped into bed with me! <3 They are so wonderful-we made breakfast together, played dolls a little, had a tea party and went out to lunch.
It was a full weekend-and just what the soul needed. Sigh.

Chiclone

I want my money back. Nobody told me that Chicago gets tornadoes. This week there were warnings for the worst storm Chicago had seen in 70 years. Winds coming off Lake Michigan were projected to have the strength of a hurricane. Which is neat. It was supposed to hit its climax at 4 am. I live in a little studio apt right off Lake Shore. So this made me pretty nervous.
I asked around to a couple friends about what we should do. I was told that so long as I stayed clear of my windows I should be fine, and that if it got really bad that I should go into my bathroom. Also, that I would hear the tornado sirens peeling through the neighborhood to warn me. This didn't sound promising. I went to the store to buy some food storage and water, just in case the power and water went out. In hindsight...my purchases were not very smart. I bought a tub of yogurt, salad, veggies, chicken, orange juice, all kinds of things that needed to be refrigerated.....but also, I bought a ton of ramen...which would not taste as good if the water and gas went out anyway.
Well, it didn't take very long for me hanging out in my apartment by myself to decide to migrate inland a little. A friend of mine invited me to come stay at her place, so I didn't have to brave my first intense midwest style storm alone. It turns out, that night wasn't too bad. I did hear a lot of sirens, and I think I mistook a motorcycle for a tornado warning once....but aside from Tiffany talking in her sleep, the night was pretty uneventful. Phew.
Don't get me wrong, the wind was fierce and stuff had blown all over the streets, tree branches were everywhere and stoplights had lost power. But this was no where near the intensity I had mentally prepared myself for. It did ruin my big movie debut, production got all kinds of messed up and consolidated. The worst was supposed to have hit that morning. But that night my entire neighborhood and surrounding area got knocked out. I felt like I was in a scary movie. All the street lights were out. It was terryfying to walk on the streets. When I got into my building there were emergency candles lit on the floor and there was the dull sound of an emergency alarm. None of the emergency lights were working. I had to walk through the halls, up the pitch black steps to get to my dark apartment. Who needs a haunted house for Halloween when you've got Chiclone?
All in all, I survived. It was not as bad as predicted. Though it made for an adventure, to be sure, I came out just fine....the worst of it was only a little bit of spoiled food. I'll know better next time.