Day 39: Road Construction

It is just me, or is anyone else getting tired of the road construction everywhere in Riverton? I wanted to make sure I devoted one day of my photo challenge to all the road construction. The challenge is meant to be a "recap" of everything that has happened over the year. This is definitely been a big part of the year. Hopefully one day, I will know what it's like to drive down the road to get to my home, without having to see all of this mess!!

Day 38: What I'm Reading Now

So I decided to read "The Hunger Games" again to get ready for the movie. I'm glad I decided to, because to be honest, I didn't remember everything. Now I am getting more and more excited for the movie!!

Day 37: Skor Bars and memories

I love Skor Bars. They are so good!! Toffee, and chocolate... you can't go wrong with that.
It's not only their taste that makes me love them. They also bring back good memories of my childhood. I grew up in San Jose, California. My Grandparents had a cabin in Sierra Nevada. Sometimes on the drive to our cabin, we would stop at the Hershey's Chocolate factory. We'd take a tour of the factory and get free samples of chocolate. Then, my mom would buy a case of Skor bars.
When we went to the cabin, sometimes we went on a treasure hunt and the prize at the end would include a skor bar!!

This is me, two of my sisters and my Dad in front of our cabin

Day 36: Rainbow Jello

I wanted to try making the rainbow jello a new way.  I found this online and decided to try it. This recipe requires you to make it all in the same day... and is a bit more precise as far as when you put the next layer. But I think it turned out beautiful this way!!

Day 35: What Happens When You Leave Cookie Monster Home Alone with the Cookies

Well, I guess it's a given. When you leave Cookie Monster alone in the house with Girl Scout cookies, he's bound to find them. At least he hadn't finished them all when we found him!!
Oh, and P.S. these ones are from last year. Good thing I ordered more and they'll be here soon!

Day 34: Sunset and Mountains

I just love our beautiful mountains! And I also love that I am learning more about my camera and can play around with all the settings!!
Enjoy todays pictures!

Day 33: I'm Glad That I Live In This Beautiful World...

Today started out really rough. I got out the door late, which meant traffic was also bad. Then my check engine light came on my car. I've had enough car trouble lately... I don't really need any more. When I got to the school, I noticed about four police cars and two fire engines. Once I got to a meeting I had this morning, I found out that the emergency vehicles were there because two students at our school got hit by a car. One of the boys was a Kindergartner from my class. Turns out he is going to be okay, but it's still scary.
We had a sub in my class today since the teachers had a meeting. When there's a sub, the kids tend to think they can get away with more, so that made it difficult too.

 This afternoon after work I decided I needed some relaxing with Netflix, and some chocolate. I then decided to take a walk and snap some pictures. It's amazing how being out amidst Heavenly Father's creations we realize how much He loves us and is aware of us. I believe the beauty of the world is a message from Heavenly Father that He loves us.
It's important to stop and look around and remember that.

Day 32: The Stars of the Show!!

So now that I have done this challenge for a month, I am finding that sometimes it's hard. You really have to be creative and motivated to continue this challenge. I thought it would be fun to showcase the two "stars of the show". For my photo challenge, I have been using both my Nikon CoolPix camera, or my iPhone. So why not include them showcasing each other?

Day 31: Curry

The first meal Brian ever made for me when we started dating was curry. One bite and I was hooked. (to the curry and Brian). This meal has become a favorite of ours. It's fairly easy and tastes, oh so good.
Not to mention, we can always remember the time we first had it together!!

Day 30: Snow Day

 This post is for my nephew. He LOVES snow and misses it a ton. I wanted to send him a little bit of Utah.
Here's hoping he gets called to a snowy area for his mission!!

Day 29: Sinuses and Emotions

 Kleenex.... not a very interesting subject. But when I was thinking about what I would take a picture of today, I thought nothing fit better than this. Around the house I have a box of Kleenex in every room. With my crazy sinuses, I never know when I will need one.

The last few days I have been all kinds of emotional. I cry when I am happy, I cry when I am sad, I cry when I am unsure. Well, I've been all those things, therefore; I've used a lot of Kleenex.

To get a bit more personal, I will share a bit of an experience I had today. I was feeling down about something I've been wanting to happen in my life. I started thinking how I've tried to be faithful and righteous and I didn't understand why I see people who aren't doing all they should be doing and seem to get blessings. The devil on my shoulder said "why keep doing what is right when it doesn't seem to get me what I've been asking for, when others get it who aren't doing what is right"?

In church today we sang "Do What is Right". The last verse of that song says "Eyes that are wet, soon ere long will be tearless, Blessings await you in doing what's right".  As I sung that song, I realized that was my answer. Even though I've shed some tears for that thing which I don't yet have... my tears will be wiped away and blessings will be mine for the taking.

One of the speakers also shared a quote from one of my favorite talks of all time. Jeffery R. Holland says "Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until heaven, but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come."
I am so glad I have a Father in Heaven who is mindful of me, and helped me to get that message today when I seemed to need it the most.

Day 28: A Lovely Afternoon

 This afternoon my husband and I went to a park near our house. We spent some time and walked around- just enjoying each others company.

I am grateful for the weekends and the time we can spend together. I value our time together as he is very busy with school and work. I love how he always has time for me though!!

Day 27: Beautiful Day

It's hard for me to believe it's the middle of February with this weather we are having. Not that I am complaining... I don't like cold weather. It's been fun to go outside and try different things. I'm slowly building up more courage to just snap tons of pictures and play around with angles, etc. One day I will get the courage to photograph people.... :)

Day 26: School work

So on the website where I found the 365 day challenge, it suggested the challenge should be a way to document your life. That way, you can look back at any picture and remember what you did that day. Today I worked on cutting out some sorts for school.
Every day I work with the kids in small groups and this is some of the work we do. Anyone want to come over and help me cut? :)
The good news is, I learned a better, more efficient way to do this from one of the other aides I work with, so this will probably be the last time I do this.

Day 25: Clouds

Today was one of those days where I just needed some me time. After school I had a wonderful massage.
Then after doing some errands and chores, I decided the me time would start. I took a warm bath, popped in "Breaking Dawn" (my Valentines present from my hubby), painted my toes and just relaxed.

I love the clouds. I love when I can see the rays of sun poking through the clouds. I also love when the clouds are puffy against the blue sky. It reminds me of when I was little, and would lay on the grass and find shapes in the clouds. Seeing the  clouds like this helps me relax too. What a perfect afternoon.

Day 24: Valentine's Day

 Today was a perfect Valentine's Day. I went in to take a shower and much to my surprise, I found all
 these beautiful roses all around the bathtub. I thought it was a wonderful surprise, and didn't expect that there would be more surprises to come this morning.
When I came out of the shower, I found this cute little bear waiting for me on the bed.

 When I went downstairs, much to my surprise I found breakfast and a Valentine's ballon!! It made my whole day and I just couldn't stop smiling!

Here's some pictures of the dinner surprise I prepared for my husband. I was so excited, as well as pretty proud of myself. It is so hard to surprise my husband because he always somehow  figures out what I am up to.










I love my husband so very much and am so grateful for the love he shows me everyday!!

Day 23: Sun through the trees: Winter Edition

So one of the things I like about living in Utah is being able to enjoy the four seasons. Don't get me wrong: when I lived in Hawaii, I loved, loved, loved the fact that the weather was usually summer, or spring. And come on, Hawaii is just plain beautiful ALL THE TIME!! But I do love seeing the leaves change color in the fall, the leaves then falling off leaving empty branches in the winter, and then budding flowers in spring and full green trees in the summer. I decided I wanted to make sure I have pictures of each of these stages in my 365 collection. So here is the first one... I love how the sun is shining through the branches. It's interesting to me as well, that this picture looks like I used the black and white setting on it... but I didn't. This is color...
I am so grateful for the beautiful world our Heavenly Father created for us...

Day 22: Michael Scott

Hey Michael, what are you up to?

















Oh I see, you're watching The Office!!!

Day 21: Signs...

I saw this sign today and started thinking... wouldn't it be nice if there were signs to warn us when we are about to encounter a "speed bump" in life? Then at least we could brace ourselves for the ride....

 But then I realized that we are given some signs from our loving Heavenly Father. He gives us things like the sunset, to tell us to slow down, and enjoy the beauty in the world around us...


I know that life can be hard sometimes, but we really are blessed. If you are going through a rough time right now, just remember that you have Someone who loves you and wants you to be happy. Always remember that things will work out in the end. I heard a quote once about that. "Everything will work out in the end, and if it hasn't worked out, it isn't the end."