Gratitude

I taught a lesson today in Sunday School about gratitude. This last week because of some drama at work it’s been hard for me to find anything to be grateful for, so it was a great experience for me to teach about why it’s important to have gratitude even during times of trial. I thought I would practice what I preach and make a list of things I’m grateful for.

I’m grateful for my family. For my sister who listens to me complain, is a great friend, and gives me pie. For my parents and all the things they teach me and how they let me make my own decisions and often mistakes. I’m grateful for the great relationship I have with my extended family and that I always feel comfortable around them.

I’m grateful for the first friend that introduced me to Café Rio. For the friend who introduced me to college football. (Same friendJ) I’m grateful for every friend that ever sat with me while I cried. I’m grateful to have people I always know that I can trust. I’m grateful for a job that I never expected. For a boss that lets me get away with things no other boss would. For coworkers that are willing to celebrate every holiday known to man. I’m grateful for a roommate that listens to my word vomit, puts up with my drama, and reassures me that everything will be ok.

I’m grateful for the people who have betrayed me, because they’ve showed me how important loyalty is. I’m grateful for every person that told me I couldn’t, because they made me try harder. I’m grateful for all the people that ever put me down, because they made me stronger. For every person that has lied to me, because they taught me to appreciate the truth.

I’m grateful for my failures, because they teach me patience and humility. I’m grateful for my physical trials, because they teach me empathy. I’m grateful for my times of solitude, because it makes me cherish the times with friends. I’m grateful for the times I have fallen, because they teach me to get back up.

And most importantly, I’m grateful for a Heavenly Father who has let me go through the things in my life that have brought me to this point. I’m grateful for every experience that has helped me become the person that I am.

Fall

I've been really bad at posting things lately. It seems like life just runs away with you sometimes. Here are some fall pictures that I took when I went for a drive up Big Cottonwood canyon. I take pictures a lot there, mainly because it's the canyon in Salt Lake that I'm most familiar with! The weather was perfect and it was a beautiful day. It makes me sad that it was so long ago and that the weather is now getting cold. But I just bought some new snow pants, so maybe I'll get out a little more this winter!

Adventures

Ah, adventures. I know everyone has been waiting to hear about my trip. I have to say, it's hard to sum up a 3 and a half week trip into a blog post. My poor roommate has had to listen to my stories almost non-stop. And I took about 384 pictures, so unless you're willing to sit through a lengthy slide show, you're only going to see bits and pieces.

My trip was amazing though. I had a lot of great experiences and a lot of adventures. Portugal was amazing. Seeing some of my old friends really is the best part of going to Europe. Although, going to the temple with a dear friend to see her take out her endowments and be sealed for time and eternity was by far the highlight of the trip. I told my mission companion that if the rest of the trip was a bust, it still would have been worth it just for that moment.

If you want to hear some of the stories, you'll have to schedule story time. And if you're lucky, it will be picture story time as one of my friends calls it. But I thought I would share some things that I learned while on my adventure.

1. There are nice people everywhere, some times you have to look harder than others.

2. Picking your nose in public is ok as long as you're going for gold.

3. The places that are the hardest to get to are the most worth it.

4. Tape doesn't make mosquito bites itch any less.

5. Everyone will try to tell you how to plan your trip, but you really shouldn't listen to them.

6. Flashlights should be easily accessible at all times.

7. You can never pack too many socks.

8. Rick Steves does not know all.

9. When in doubt, follow the crowd.

10. It's all part of the adventure.

And 11. In the end it's the experiences, not the sites that make the trip memorable.

So enjoy a few pictures from the collection of 384. They are in no particular order.

Me and my paragliding instructor. I said I should have brought him home with me! ;)

Paragliding in the Swiss Alps.

More paragliding.

Monte Carlo

Vernazza, in the Cinque Terre in Northern Italy. The water really is that blue.

The Sistine Chapel

The Colosseum, Rome. We were kicked out because of a bomb threat.

Venice, Italy. Not as romantic as the movies.

Gimmewald, Switzerland. My favorite city outside of Portugal.

At the temple in Madrid.

Words to live by.

Deep thoughts.

Ah, Portugal. My second home.

No rest for the wicked...

Sometimes life is funny. I often look up to the Heavens and shake my head because I know Heavenly Father is laughing at me, in a loving way of course. The last couple of months have been kind of like that. As some may know, back in October I got into a friendly debate with my boss over the flu shot. I don't get the flu shot as I have never had the flu and he is very pro-flu shot. We debated back and forth for a long time, probably even months and it eventually became a running joke. Towards the end of the debate I said to him that if I ever got the flu I would buy everyone lunch and he said he would bring me chicken noodle soup. But part of my argument was that I only get sick once or twice a year and rarely take sick days. I guess the Fates felt I needed some humbling. Towards the beginning of April I got a really nasty cold. I tried to play it off as nothing but as soon as my boss saw me he made me go home. I ended up being home sick for a couple of days. It took me so long to get over it I thought I would never be healthy again. Then at the beginning of May, I got sick again. It was bad enough that I sent myself home. I now believe I've taken more sick days in the last 2 months than I have in the last 2 years. And you can believe that I've been hearing about it a lot at work!

Just as I was beginning to feel better again it seemed like several things started breaking or going wrong. At first it was just one thing and a minor inconvenience. Then it built up to several things, some things at my apartment some at work. It was like a dripping faucet, at first you barely notice it, then you try to fix it but it still doesn't bother you. Then after a while it's the loudest sound in the house and the only thing you can focus on. I was talking to my mom one night and I remember saying how I just needed one thing to be fixed or go right, just one. Well, that Saturday I woke up in horrible pain. I didn't know what it was but to make a long story short I ended up in the ER with gallstones. I had to laugh on the way home from the hospital and I looked up at the Heavens and said, "that's not what I meant by one thing." I now had to add surgery to my list of things that just weren't going right. It seemed both ironic and tragic all at the same time!

But before this post becomes too depressing, I can say that everything with the surgery worked out better than I could have hoped. (And all the other stuff eventually started getting fixed or worked out.) The doctor I saw in the ER called a surgeon and made special arrangements for me to be seen right away. He was concerned about needing time to heal before I backpack my way through Europe and if I didn't get the surgery before my trip I ran the risk of having an attack while I was there. So I was in the ER on Saturday and by Thursday I was having surgery. The pre-op nurse told me that between my surgeon and my anesthesiologist I had the dream team. And now I can confidentially say that's true! The surgery went really well and I was back to work by Monday. Even though I only worked a half day most were surprised to see me there. By Tuesday (today) I felt so much better sometimes I forget I had surgery. I'm very blessed to have had things go so well. And I'm blessed that all of this happened now and not while I was in Europe, I think I would have died before I went to a hospital there. (Having experienced European healthcare before, I never wish to again!)

So instead of a picture update, it's a story update. I do have a few pictures though. They're from a hike that I did last year, only in the fall. So they may look familiar but I promise I took them recently.

I just had to include this picture. I know a lot of people know about how I've been celebrating random holidays at work. It's been a lot of fun to find holidays to celebrate and excuses to goof off at work. One day a few weeks ago it was National Scavenger Hunt Day. On that dad my boss made the mistake of coming in late. As soon as I found out he was coming in late I began planning. He has a bobble-head Einstein doll on his desk, so I kidnapped it and made him go on a scavenger hunt to find it. I left this picture with a ransom note on his desk! I think he enjoyed it, or at least he didn't fire me over it! I know I had a lot of fun.

Anniversary

Last week Betty and I celebrated our one year anniversary together. I felt it only appropriate to go to some of my old favorite places to take pictures. When I lived in Sugarhouse I lived about a mile from this park. I went there a lot when my house felt a little too loud or when I had a bad day. There were many days that I found myself there alone looking out over the Salt Lake Valley just enjoying the peace and quiet. Walking around last week it kind of made me smile at how much things have changed since then. It didn't feel quite the same, but maybe that's because I don't need it like I did back then!

These pictures are from our trip to Grouse Creek over conference weekend. We had a lot of fun and I can't wait to go again.

Still Alive

When I started this blog I fully intended on posting something about once a month, so I guess I've only missed one month but it fills like a lot longer! For anyone who's been worried, I am still alive! Back in November I was talking to a friend of mine who was having trouble with her roommate. Jokingly I said, "don't you wish you had moved in with me?" We both laughed and then she said, "Are you serious?" I thought about it for a minute and said, "I wasn't, but maybe I am." Long story short, she convinced me to move. I'm sure I drove her crazy going back and forth with my decision. I just didn't know if I really wanted a roommate again or if I wanted to go through the hassle of moving. But we found a place that we both really liked and it seemed like a good decision. It's a nice condo in an older building, when I tell people where I live most say, "isn't that an assisted living place?" It's not, but I have very few neighbors under the age of 60! In the process of moving, I've learned a few things.

1. When you ask the landlord if you can paint, prepare yourself. Once you start painting an older condo it's a slippery slope. You can't paint just one wall or one room. When you paint one room, you realize how bad the old paint looks next to the new paint. I wanted to do two rooms and ended up doing a lot more!

2. Wallpaper is more complicated than you think it is. It's best just to avoid it.

3. Never experiment with red paint, that's all I want to say about that.

4. If you start looking for things to fix, you'll find them. It's best to just stop looking!

And 5. In the end, the painting, fixing, and what seems like endless trips to Lowe's is worth it if it makes you happy and more comfortable in your home!

So we moved in at the beginning of February and I finished all the painting and stuff about a week ago. It was worth it though! And I'm happy I decided to move. Having a roommate again has been really fun, the biggest problem I have is that we keep each other up way too late! I thought I would post some pictures to show off my hard work and some other random ones that I've taken recently. I hope you like them!

This is wallpaper that I put up in my bathroom. It doesn't really do it justice without being able to see the rest of the bathroom and how it all ties together, but I was just proud I could actually put up wallpaper!

All of our kitchen stuff is red, so we wanted something red to go above our cabinets. After I experimented with some really bright red paint and then had to use 4 coats of white to cover up what I called the massacre of Elmo, we decided to go with something a little more simple! I found vinyl that you can buy by the foot and we used my roommates cricket to print these out. I really like the end product and it's a lot better than my red paint experiment!

This is our living room. I just really like the dandelions!

And this is the view from our balcony. By far one of the biggest perks! We never close our blinds!

The rest are just random pictures that I've taken.

A New Year...

At the end of every year, I like to look back and see how my life has changed in the last year. It's kind of like counting my blessings. This year I have a lot to be grateful for.

My family. I have such a great family. They provide me with so much love and support and more than that I feel like they're not only my family, but my friends. They make me laugh, put up with my craziness and help me to become a better person. Over the last year my life plan has changed several times and my parents were behind me with every change. Not many people can say that and I am always grateful that I can. Their support means a lot to me.

I love this picture. It has always been a tradition in my family that when we went to my Grandma Christensen's house on Christmas that my Grandpa would read the Christmas story in Luke. And now my parents have continued the tradition with their grandkids. I love watching the grandkids gather around as my dad tells the story of Christmas. And I love that my parents and grandparents always remind us what the true meaning of Christmas is.

When I think of family I also think of those who have passed on and how much I miss them. It makes me very grateful for the knowledge I have of the Plan of Salvation. I'm grateful for the lessons taught and the examples given. I had a unique opportunity to attend a devotional held in the Salt Lake Temple. It was for temple workers and volunteers only. It was an amazing opportunity and Elder Scott was one of the speakers. I will never forget how he spoke about the relationships we can have with our family members on the other side of the veil. He spoke a lot about how they aren't as far away as we may think. I look forward to the day when I can be with my grandfathers again. I feel very grateful that I had small personal moments with both of my grandfathers just before they passed on. The moments were short, but special to me.

This year I am especially grateful for my job. I'm assuming if you're reading this, then you've read my other posts about how my job came to be. Needless to say I feel very blessed to have been lead to this job. In the short 4 months that I've had this job, I can honestly say that I was meant for it. It's been a perfect fit for me in many ways. And I've been able to have some amazing experiences that have proven to me that this is where my Heavenly Father has always wanted me to be.

I like this picture because it shows what awesome people I work with. They have all become very good friends in a short amount of time. I love working with them because they let me convince them to do all sorts of crazy things! Like dressing up as zombies for Halloween, or celebrating not only Christmas but Hanukkah and Kwanzaa too! A few weeks ago my alarm for whatever reason didn't go off and I had left my cell phone in my coat pocket, which was in my coat closet. My shift starts at 5:00AM and when I woke up at 7:40, I was a little panicked, especially when I couldn't find my phone. When I did find it, I of course had a couple of messages from my boss. I called and told my coworker that I was on my way and went to work as fast as I could. When I got there I expected my boss to be mad, especially since he was the one who had to come in at 5:30 to cover for me. I was a little surprised to find that my boss wasn't mad, but worried. He knows that I live alone and he was worried that something had happened to me. He had an early meeting and told me that if I hadn't shown up by the time he got back he would have started making phone calls to my emergency contacts. (I'm VERY glad that he didn't get the chance to call my mother!) He also said that if he had realized that I only live a mile from the hospital that he would have been at my apartment banging on my door! As horrible of an experience as that was (I now set 2 alarms just in case) it's comforting to know that the people I work with everyday, and see more than anyone else, worry about me. And I'm sure it makes my mom feel a little better too!

This year I am also very grateful for the temple. A few months ago I put in an application to volunteer in the temple. I'm not sure what I expected, but what I got was not it. I ended up working in the clothing department every other Saturday. That's not a bad shift or anything, but I guess I expected a weekday shift and honestly I thought I would be handing out socks at the baptistery! I like to joke about how I always plan when I go to the temple around the weddings. The Salt Lake temple is always the busiest for weddings and I always try to go on a weekday at some obscure time so that there are as few weddings as possible. So of course I'm assigned a shift on Saturday afternoons, the busiest day and time for weddings. I get to watch every bride come in and out. Maybe I'm supposed to learn something or be humbled or something like that. Right now I'm choosing to be stubborn and learn nothing!!

I love the beauty of the temple and I remember in an institute class on Isaiah how we discussed why the temple looks like a castle and that it's not by accident. There are some beautiful scriptures in Isaiah about the temple being a fortress and refuge. The temple is my fortress and I'm grateful to be so close to one.

When everything is said and done, I have a lot in my life to be grateful for. I have amazing friends all around me. I'm very lucky to have wonderful friends that always accept me for who I am. When I decided to serve a mission I never could have even imagined how it would change my life. But I have this wonderful second family full of people from my mission and I love them just as much as my own family. It's something I never expected, but am grateful for. Portugal has become like my second home and I can't wait to go back there this year and see my second family!

So thank you to everyone. Thank you for all that you do, for reading my blog, complimenting my pictures, putting up with my goofiness, accepting me, supporting me, and just being there for me. It has been a good year full of ups and downs along with excitement and disappointment. I look forward to what the new year will bring.