6. Paint

First...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I've been bundled up in Salt Lake City with a cold but I have been enjoying my 2012! It's been full of tasty food, trips for Christmas bargain shopping, and a wonderful birthday party for Daphne Kate -- she's six months already!

Today we played our classic game of Gingerbread House Bat, where we take out a little aggression on our gingerbread houses. And then we painted!

6. Paint!

I painted two masterpieces, both for Valentine's day! Both are dedicated to my valentine, Sean. Hehe.

Ali used Utah landscapes and Rothko's work as inspiration. I love her pieces...

Emily's is titled Bubblegum and I think it's very sweet! She spent oodles of time on this fun painting!

And I saved the best for last! Daphne joined forces with Taylor to create the cutest painting!

Happy new year, friends!

Five down, twenty to go!

1. Go backpacking.
2. Walk across the Golden Gate.
3. Have a gluten-free beer tasting. (I don't like beer! 12/17/11)
4. Take a midnight walk on the beach.
5. Make gluten free pasta.
6. Paint. (Painted Valentine art! 1/2/12)
7. Do an entire roll of instant film using strangers and subjects.
8. Make my own goat cheese.
9. Take the train to Reno.
10. Solve a Rubix cube.
11. Attend Midnight Mass.
12. Pick a pineapple in Hawaii.
13. Host a dinner party.
14. Lose 25 pounds.
15. Get my A1C below 7.5.
16. Take a trip along CA-1.
17. Make gluten free bagels.
18. Go on a Segway tour of San Francisco.
19. Snowshoe. (Whew! Exhausting and fun - 12/28/11)
20. Make my own amazing CrockPot recipe. (Spaghetti with veg and sausage! 12/19/11)
21. Camp in Yosemite.
22. Learn to and catch a fish.
23. Take a wok around Chinatown in Vancouver.
24. Make stained glass.
25. Embroider pillow cases.

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19. Snowshoe.

Today, my younger sister, Ali, took me snowshoeing. It was quite the adventure! Exhausting, but fun. She kept me going with a promise of a surprise treat at the end.

We found a trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon,
just southeast of Salt Lake City.

We snowshoed along Butler Fork Trail!

The drive through the canyon, as usual, was beautiful!

Ali is a fearless snowshoer!

I look freakin' awesome in my mismatched attire with gaiters!

My treat at the end for pushing on! California Cutie and a candy cane!

We are planning to go again before I leave. I learned many important things... (1) small steps work best, (2) the snow is my friend, (3) snowshoeing is for the tough, like Ali!

It was so much fun. It was nice to hang out in the snow and, afterwards, enjoy some warm drinks. Mmm!

Four down! Twenty-one to go!

1. Go backpacking.
2. Walk across the Golden Gate.
3. Have a gluten-free beer tasting. (I don't like beer! 12/17/11)
4. Take a midnight walk on the beach.
5. Make gluten free pasta.
6. Paint.
7. Do an entire roll of instant film using strangers and subjects.
8. Make my own goat cheese.
9. Take the train to Reno.
10. Solve a Rubix cube.
11. Attend Midnight Mass.
12. Pick a pineapple in Hawaii.
13. Host a dinner party.
14. Lose 25 pounds.
15. Get my A1C below 7.5.
16. Take a trip along CA-1.
17. Make gluten free bagels.
18. Go on a Segway tour of San Francisco.
19. Snowshoe. (Whew! Exhausting and fun - 12/28/11)
20. Make my own amazing CrockPot recipe. (Spaghetti with veg and sausage! 12/19/11)
21. Camp in Yosemite.
22. Learn to and catch a fish.
23. Take a wok around Chinatown in Vancouver.
24. Make stained glass.
25. Embroider pillow cases.

Read More

11. Attend Midnight Mass

Merry Christmas! Yesterday was a wonderful Christmas Eve. I hit the snooze for over an hour and headed to my friend Vanessa's house for some delicious pumpkin cheesecake! It was so fun to see her, Ryan, and her little Ev. I then visited with my grandma. We talked about San Francisco and other things. After visiting my grandma, we headed to Emily and Taylor's place for an early dinner. I assembled ingredients for a pot roast the night before, and my mom got it cooking in the morning. It was DELICIOUS.

I got to open my gift from Emily, Taylor, and Daphne! Adorable cafe curtains for my kitchen. I am so excited to put them up. I'll post a picture when I do! Afterwards, we drove around Salt Lake looking at Christmas lights, including my favorite street...

We spent some time hanging out with Wes and then Ali and I went to Midnight Mass, knocking #11 off my list!

We got there early for some caroling (very, very fun!) and a few minutes before Mass began, a man approached us telling us that we were so lucky to be sitting in the back, and that we got to deliver the wine and host to the priest! Pretty sure my face was a mix of nervousness and excitement, because he asked if we were Catholic. Nope! He then asked, if he could, what faith we belonged to. "Ummm... nothing really." His response? "That's great!" It was fantastic to be a part of the service. 

The priest gave a wonderful talk about Christ, power, and weakness. A few points that have really stuck with me, and I hope will continue to stick with me, were that God chose to become human in, essentially, poverty, and to be born weak as an infant. Further, the priest talked about in our weaknesses is perfect power, and where love comes from. I thought a lot about my weaknesses and how empathy grows from them. It's a beautiful idea to not focus on squashing weakness but accepting, embracing, and appreciating it. Wonderful things to think about. 

Three down, twenty-two to go! 

1. Go backpacking.
2. Walk across the Golden Gate.
3. Have a gluten-free beer tasting. (I don't like beer! 12/17/11)
4. Take a midnight walk on the beach.
5. Make gluten free pasta.
6. Paint.
7. Do an entire roll of instant film using strangers and subjects.
8. Make my own goat cheese.
9. Take the train to Reno.
10. Solve a Rubix cube.
11. Attend Midnight Mass.
12. Pick a pineapple in Hawaii.
13. Host a dinner party.
14. Lose 25 pounds.
15. Get my A1C below 7.5.
16. Take a trip along CA-1.
17. Make gluten free bagels.
18. Go on a Segway tour of San Francisco.
19. Snowshoe.
20. Make my own amazing CrockPot recipe. (Spaghetti with veg and sausage! 12/19/11)
21. Camp in Yosemite.
22. Learn to and catch a fish.
23. Take a wok around Chinatown in Vancouver.
24. Make stained glass.
25. Embroider pillow cases.

Read More