Mother

I love my mother.  She is the greatest thing in my life.  I have no idea what I would do or where I would be if she was not the amazing lady that she is.  I love her sense of wonder and the way she enjoys discovering new things.  I loved being home when she'd take us all around London, showing us things that she loves.  I love how she shows us her love for us and for the Lord.  Her testimony is so strong, and just by talking with her, I can see that.  I love her sense of hard work and service.  I know these are things that I can incorporate into my own life.  I love that she is so focused and driven.  When she has a goal, she follows through.  She always does her morning exercise and stretches.  She always does her scripture study.  She is truly an amazing woman.  She is the inspiration for me when I think about being a mother.

So, thank you mom.  Thank you for everything.

xxx

london trip [aka katherine and trey's engagement pics]

last week i went to london.  it was a blast.  i went mainly to see my family and hang out with them, but i also went to take katherine and trey's engagement pics.  just in case you haven't seen them on my facebook, here are a few of my favorites:

i also created their save the date.  and i'm really proud of it.  so here it is:

blessings.

so, i was having a really rotten, no good past few days.  school is so close to being over, i think it's mostly just end of the semester stress... and the cold [it was basically snowing on friday!]

but i have been so blessed this week.  here's how:

. like i said, semester almost over

. an awesome, selfless boyfriend who let's me rant, complain, etc. and knows the tease : sympathize ratio perfectly. he also just holds me and lets me be.  remember that scene in waitress (around 1:20)? yeah, that's how it was for me, these past couple of days.

. family who lets me rant and complain [especially my mother, who just had a birthday!]

. essie nail polish.  this is by far the brightest color i've had since i was like 14... but i like it.  it makes me happy (thanks to boy for helping me pick it out)- also their top coat "no chip" works really well. just sayin.

. m&ms

. running/ pilates: these endorphins were definitely needed

. my awesome classmates who listened to me rant

. pandora: well picked songs, as always [new amsterdams, nicole reynolds, angus & julia stone, etc.]

. Mosiah 15

. rain boots

. sweet potato fries and burgers; pizza and lemonade

. divine comedy

general conference weekend

so, it's general conference time, again.  i love it.  this general conference was really good.  a lot about family, marriage, and serving.  it was the church welfare's 75th anniversary, and it was neat to hear so many people address what the church does for the world.  my boy had tickets for the conference center for saturday afternoon and sunday morning sessions.  so, we went to those.  then, he dropped me off at katherine and joe's to watch sunday evening.  katherine made some delicious corn and leek filled peppers, with couscous and homemade cornbread [she's such a chef.]

you can read the entire conference here, and these are some of my personal favorites: elder cook, president eyring, president monson [saturday afternoon especially], elder scott [always], elder holland [always- and especially if you are a non-member trying to understand what general conference is exactly]

sunday evening we went to my grandparents house for a little family home evening [boy drove up to meet us for that.]  it was great talking about the importance of family while being surrounded by family.

this week's recap:
- i found what my internship is exactly.  i am a co-curator of a warhol and murakami exhibit coming out sometime in august.  i helped choose the pieces for that on friday. [so cool!]
- weather was awesome all week, until sunday [when it snowed]
- i am awesome at "just dance" [the wii dancing game]; i am only so-so at the kinnekt dancing game
- i made a quiche [so good] and chocolate and m&m cookies  [see pictures below]
- three more weeks of school [but only two more weeks of classes]

life changing

my younger brother (john) shared this with me.  and i fell in love.  it's so beautiful.  listen and let it change the way to view life.

and you might need some tissues.

important people

now this blog is private, it's going to get a whole lot more personal.

meet some incredibly important people in my life:

my parents

laura and peter

their son, andrew

ruth and joe

katherine and john

my grandparents

my roommates (and ahlin)

last but not least, my boy

"a bouncing baby brat!"

(name that movie)

yesterday evening, my brother-in-law called me to let me know that my sister gave birth to a healthy baby boy!

his name is andrew david lindsay.  [my mom is planning on calling him eddie. don't ask]  he was a healthy 6 lb 9 oz.

congrats to the happy parents!

i think i'll get to meet him next week when i'm in new york.

christmas time is the best time

- happy 80th birthday, grandpa t

- getting mommy hugs

- being snowed in

- a visit from santa

- family time

- winter walks
- snowmobiling

- babies

dc: day 4

final day:
- 6. something run (i misjudged the distance, and ended up running a little more than a mile over what i was supposed to)
- 4-D ultra sound with laura and peter (i love babies!)
- grocery shopping at trader joes and whole foods (aka stocking up on joe-joes)
- making marshmellows and hot chocolate on sticks
- watching millionaire matchmaker (yes!)
- dinner at open kitchen (yummy lamb burger!)
- monopoly (again, i might've become addicted)
- drinking our hot chocolate with marshmellows while watching "locked up" (some prison reality show)
- packing
- looking at baby clothes (zara has some adorable baby stuff.  i want to start stocking up)

dc: day 3

- peter's "best oatmeal"
- National Museum of Women in the Arts (i'm applying for an internship there this summer)
- lunch at a fabulous italian place in george town
- harry potter (i liked it visually, but i thought it was a little too dark)
- catching up on my blogs
- catching up on tv shows
- playing games: hearts and monopoly, again
- early bedtime to prep for my 5 miler tomorrow

dc: day 2

- 3 mile run along a gorgeous old railroad track that has been converted to a running trail
- thanksgiving feast prep
- thanksgiving with some of laura and peter's friends
- a trip to arlington cemetery
- monopoly (card game version)
- pie contest (which i did not attend, cause i don't like pie)
- more monopoly
- eating frozen pizza
- eating a billion pepermint joe-joes because they are delicious!
- watching a league of extraordinary gentlemen

ps: i am thankful for family, friends, food, art, the gospel, music, and pepermint joe-joes.

dc: day 1

day 1:
- jet lag = sleeping in instead of running 5 miles
- manis and pedis with the sister (pregnant people are fun)
- lebanesse for lunch
- a quick stop at the craft store for quilting supplies
- organizing and cleaning the kitchen
- falling in love with little details of laura and peter's house (like their travels map)
- dinner at a fantastic italian place (the owner would come out and sing opera.  i didn't know if i was supposed to laugh or look somber)
- watch st. ralph a pretty funny/ sweet movie
- bed time for bonzo

bits of my weekend

this past weekend was jammed packed with family, general conference and fun!

friday: katherine and i road-tripped it down to st. george to watch my daddy and my uncles run the st. george marathon.  we ate about forty dum-dums, took only one bathroom break, and didn't get a single ticket!  yay!

saturday: woke up from sleeping on a tiny couch- yes, my back is killing me. then, we went over to the finish line to see the band of brothers cross the line.  then, we "rushed" back home [rushing with people who just ran 26.2 miles as well as your grandparents is kinda hard] and we watched the last speaker of the morning session.  during the two hour break, katherine and i dyed my hair.  we then played and talked with family.  we watched the afternoon session.  and then, my grammy took katherine and i shopping with my aunt shelia.  then, all 21 of our group went to dinner.

the new hair color.  what do you guys think?

sunday: woke up again, after being curled up all night on a couch, watched the morning session of conference and took off for home.  it started raining our drive home which meant the remaining heat of summer is going away. yay! finally!  when i got back to provo, i bid my father farewell-- i won't being seeing him again until christmas.  it was jen's b-day, so katie and i watched her open her presents, then we ate cupcakes, decorated our apt for halloween, and then partied it up with some friends.  we played "battle of the sexes"- yeah, the girls won.  [say what!] yeah, i know what the "green monster is." be proud.

so, it was a fantastic weekend... but i could really use a good back massage.