Christmas is here!!

Christmas is here, and I can't even believe it! another year gone by and more experiences under my belt. ski season is well under way and I LOVE it! :) the dreaded 'Finals week' is done and behind me. there are plenty of things for me to be grateful for during this season, however, I can't help but get a little bit depressed at this time of year. So much has been put into the commercialized side of Christmas that most people lose sight of the real reason for the season and care more about finding the 'perfect gift', when the Ultimate Gift has already been given to them- the one that the commercialized blinders are hiding from their view. don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good 'ugly sweater party' as much as the next person, and love making gingerbread houses with friends, or even a good white elephant exchange, but it continues to surprise me how much weight the human population puts on the commercialized side of Christmas. I had a friend tell me the other day that I am fighting a losing battle and that I need to just embrace the commercialized side of things. well, I will continue to enjoy the sweaters, the gingerbread, and the white elephants, but that doesn't mean I will ever embrace it more than I embrace the fact that during this season we celebrate the birth of Christ our Lord. Merry Christmas!

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

-Mark 2:11

Disappointment..

So I am a pretty big Dr. Pepper fan. I don't get it too often since I usually just prefer to drink plain old water, but I love me some DP. Today I decided to go out on a limb and try the Dr. Pepper Cherry since I love the traditional DP so this must be good right? Nope! I found I was severely disappointed.. it was gross! so from now on I think I will just stick with what I know works.. Original DP for me!

Green thumbs are rare 'round this house

So I tried my hand at gardening this summer and I can definitely admit that I do NOT have a green thumb.. but, I was pretty excited with my little, but delicious outcome. I absolutely love squash and zucchini and so I planted some earlier this summer and was very hopeful to get a large crop. many of my mom's friends and people around the neighbourhood have planted zucchini and they usually get HUGE zucchini out of their little gardens.. but sadly my luck just wasn't the same as theirs. however I was able to pick one of my little crookneck squash tonight and it was delicious! if you look very closely at the picture to the right you can see the pathetic little squash attempting to grow on the plant, and here is the cute little squash that I was able to pull off the vine tonight.

it is pretty small as far as crookneck squash goes, but it was the biggest by far out of the whole lot and definitely the only one ripe enough to pick. so moral of the story is, I need to put my squash and zucchini in a spot with much more direct light next year. although my fruits were not as large as I had hoped, I sure had fun growing my own veggies this summer and I'm very proud of my attempt!

on a much happier note.. SNOW IS ALMOST HERE!! :)

Decisions, Decisions

so I've been thinking a lot about my future lately and about the decisions I have to make- some life changing, others not so much, but lots of decisions regardless. no matter how much I ponder over these things in my head, nothing seems to work out. I come up with dozens of ways to change things and make my life go in a planned direction, but then things never work out as planned anyway. so I started to think about not planning at all, then I wouldn't be disappointed when it didn't happen as I put on my list to accomplish. but that seemed stupid because I would just be floating through life, when I know deep down there is a very real and true purpose to my life on earth. today while I was sitting through one of my church meetings, I felt as though God was knocking me over the head with a baseball bat. The person speaking was not even talking about anything to do with my concerns or even about what I felt, but as I was sitting there I got the feeling that I was thinking about myself too much. when I was on my mission, I didn't have time to think about myself because I was constantly figuring out how to serve the people around me, and life was GREAT! things always seemed to work out. now that I am home, I have more time to think about myself because I am not focusing on serving people as much and to be honest, that has gone by the wayside for the past little while. I don't know what those of you reading this believe, but I believe that when you are serving those around you and focusing on their needs more than yours, God blesses you in ways you didn't even think of and your life just seems to go smoother. so as I was sitting there this afternoon, I thought to myself, that I was thinking about my own life a little too much and focusing on blessing the lives of others a little too less. all in all, the conclusion I came to was that I need to stop thinking of myself, focus a little more on those around me and God will do the rest.

Summer Fun..?

well, it's been a while since I last blogged and I figure it's time for a new one. I've been thinking about summer lately, mainly for the fact that I don't really get one this year. I had so many things I wanted to do this summer like hiking, camping, backpacking trips, learn how to mtn bike or rock climb, a road trip, running the river, catching up with friends, etc. and now it seems as if I am never going to get to even half of those. I was looking forward to summer even though I would prefer the snow any day of the year, so then what do I do..? oh that's right, I decided to sign up for a summer class and work. so now, I am spending my days at school studying polyatomic ions and balancing equations instead of enjoying the natural elements that I'm studying. I am told that one day it will pay off to have taken the summer semester, and right now all I have is the hope of it coming into view; but I'm sure in the long-run it will be better. so I guess all I can do is try to get as many fun things in as I can, in the little time I have out of the classroom.

never satisfied

it seems as if we as a society are never completely satisfied with when the opposite gender flirts with us. which is a shame, because we are all just trying to find that special someone in our lives, but lately it seems as if I have been a bit hypocritical about it. I have caught myself complaining to friends, that guys don't put themselves out there more, and then other times I complain to them because guys put themselves out too much. it seems as if I am one of those common denominators that is never pleased. but I think in my case it is the fact that I get attention when I don't want it. I have plenty of stories about this topic but this one in particular I was getting an innocent pedicure with my sister a few weeks ago when the gentleman who was working on my feet(that's right, a guy was giving me a pedicure..) asked if I wanted to go get a beer with him that night. I politely declined and he proceeded to work on my toenails, and he did a pretty good job for being a guy actually.. but then later he asked if he could set me up with his brother that evening; to which I politely declined as well. and then if that wasn't enough, he asked me once more at the end of my pedicure if I was sure I didn't want to go out for a beer that night with him... how many times can I be polite? too many I guess. I graciously declined again. in this case, the flirting was unwanted.. but then there are plenty of times that I am disappointed at the lack thereof. so I guess instead of complaining next time, I just need to remember that there will be a happy medium eventually and to be patient; then if all else fails, get a fake engagement ring to ward off potential creepers.

ski days slowly come to an end eventually

so I have been told by many people that I should join the crowd and make a blog of my own. I guess the next thing you read on here, I will be jumping off a cliff as well; but I decided to go for it and see how I like it. for those of you random bloggers out there who have no idea who I am, I am currently a ski patroller at a local ski resort in Utah and I LOVE it! this particular day last week, was especially wonderful. we had gotten a large unexpected snowfall and had to go blast the mountain to make it safe for the public. Can I tell you what an adrenaline rush it is to have two pounds of pentolite exploding behind you, and the snow rushing down the hill! good times to be had, for sure. but after the hill is safe, we get to be the first ones to get fresh tracks. if you didn't think the pentolite was an adrenaline rush, the creamy turns down fresh white powder all to yourself sure are! it's days like these that make ski patrol entirely worth it. sadly, the ski season is drawing to an end and it makes me sad to see those days of face shots, and knee deep powder go by the wayside, waiting to be seen again next season. it does make me excited for the adventures I will have this summer in the sun- all the fun hikes, camping trips, possibly learning how to rock climb and mountain bike; but I will be anxiously awaiting my snow next season.