A Little Twist of Tradition

To spice things up a bit with the annual resolution tradition, I looked to my iPod for some inspiration.  Putting the playlist on shuffle for my entire music collection, I listened to the first ten songs that came on, using them as the driving force for my ideas to paper.  So, here goes:

1. Edelweiss (from the "Sound of Music" soundtrack) - The beautifully gentle acoustic guitar in this song got me thinking that I should spiff up and use my music talents a bit more.  So, working on a piano piece or two, even pulling out the guitar again, will be on the docket for the year.
2. Traffic in the Sky (Jack Johnson) - Jack is a simple, care free writer, but what he says does have meaning.  Thus, a little nudge to record thoughts, impressions, and events are taken from this one.  This could mean more consistent blog posts (but I'm not promising anything).
3. The Spirit of God (Mormon Tabernacle Choir) - Where else do you feel the spirit more than in the temple?  Thus, at least biweekly temple attendance will be scheduled into the ever busy and full schedule of a grad student.  But, really, it should be priority among all the things that I have going on.  Also, a commitment to read out of the Book of Mormon each day for the next year.
4. Face of Love (Jewell) - Follow me on this one: to have a really beautiful face, full of love, you need your "beauty rest"; for me this means that I will be going to bed earlier and arising earlier, because I've been promised health and a wealth of knowledge and ability by following this simple lifestyle.  I'll just have to be a bit more creative with my lifestyle to keep up with the important people and things that I love.
5. Remember (from the "You've Got Mail" soundtrack) - Remember those great dishes that your friends and family have made, and you keep thinking about them, but have never gotten the recipe?  Well, now I've made it a priority to gather some of those fantastic recipes and make them myself.  Awesome.
6. Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkle) - I'd really like to learn how to swim (like swimming strokes....I've already advanced beyond doggy-paddling). May happen this semester, or it may happen later on this year.  But it will happen.  
7. Dell'Amore Non Si Sa (Hayley Westenra and Andre Bocelli) - I have no idea what this title translates into (something about love, I'm sure), but it makes me want to travel to Europe.  While they may not be feasible this year, at least I can start a fund to make this dream come true.  And I can keep enjoying all sorts of art events that are inspired by this great continent.
8. Your Smiling Face (James Taylor) - Let loose a bit, and be a bit spontaneous; leave everyone with a smile!  Have a plan, but don't be afraid to go off the beaten path...
9. My Favorite Things (Yo Yo Ma on cello) - What about all those great things that I love, but have seem to slipped by and out of what I do?  Three things top this list for sure: playing tennis, photography, and national park trips.  Thus, a resolve to find a way to take part more in all three of these.
10. My Oh My (David Gray) - Just let the new year and world surprise me--be willing to look at and recognize God's  hand in all things. 

Too bad I can't post this awesome music list.....

"Give" Said the Little Stream

Elder Oaks recently pointed out that Brigham Young taught us a powerful lesson about the One who consistently went about doing good: "The difference between God and the Devil is that God creates and organizes, while the whole study of the Devil is to destroy" (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe (1954), p. 69).

Recently I've had some pretty sweet instances with some other people who decided to build up, when it could have been pretty easy to make zero goodness happen.

Anecdote #1: After an amazing concert at the Deer Valley resort this July, I found my car had been hit while in the parking lot. Not much damage as far as size or effect on driving, but hundreds of dollars in repairing that small stuff. [Cue nice people.] Two scribbled notes on leftover tickets said that they were witnesses, to give them a call, and here's the license plate of the not-so-cool-or-nice-person who hit you. [Cue nice cop.] The cop takes this little matter into his own hands, follows up, and is able to verify that I was really hit by a Mr. So-and-So, and yes, he is a registered and licensed driver, so here's his insurance information.

Booyah. I'm saved from paying for repairs. And now my Toyota Camry has had another two pieces of bodywork replaced; when that car reaches 300,000 miles it's still going to look only three years old with all the repairs that accident magnet has received.

Anecdote #2: Picturesque camping spot by the Colorado River in Moab with my fun little group of girls from work for our awesome camping trip. While we're unloading and setting up camp, up pulls a sweet van (somewhere along the lines of a VW, but not.....) with a hippie-ish, mod, up-and-coming rock band who want to film a music video in the midst of our sweet canyon camping. I give them permission to do their thing, and to start the recording once we leave to do our sunset hike of Delicate Arch. Not a bad idea until you consider the bad idea that you have pretty much every possession you took with you back at the campsite, and it's just sitting there, free for the taking.

Uh-oh. What kind of stupid decision did I make? Why do I trust people so easily? Coming back to camp, we found a sweet addition (instead of desolation) of a gracious note and a CD of the Battlehooch. Check them out on YouTube to see their aspiring sound waves....and possibly a shot of our awesome campsite.

Anecdote #3: Still living this one out, as I don't finish my work with Provo Canyon until this Friday. Despite my negativity and frustration with high up administration, this has been an absolutely great place to work. Who else gets to have about 50 kids make them feel like they're on top of the world by the things they say, the attention they clamor for, and the silly things they do? Plus have recreation as the main focus of their job description? Plus have an awesome boss and co-workers who gives autonomy with lots of support?

Lucky, you say? Yes. But no. It's more like I'm super blessed by super rad people and my Heavenly Father.

Give, oh, give.

Cleaning Off the Camera

Sometimes I don't take pictures off of my camera until a year later. Which then means that no one really gets to partake in the goodness and fun until much later. Sorry about that. Here are a few snapshots from some memories of this past year.

#1) Henry made his first visit outside of his home to Christy's and my place, for which we were supremely surprised and honored. And to top it off, Trish and Matt gave us grape juice and thank you notes for our time helping them with Henry in his first few weeks of life. Those were some good times. It was neat to intimately watch a mom in action with her new gift of life, and see how they were adjusting to one another and their forever changed worlds. I loved that time together with Trish and Henry, and I love Henryman heaps!

2) Why would you ever document your Sunday dinner? Well, you can't really see it, but there is some awesome roast on our plates. And why, Miss Newman, would you document having a roast dinner? Because it's not just any roast, it's our Grandma John's roast--her recipe, and her roasting pan from her mother, Hazel Adeline Post McRae. Miss McRae was an infamous cook in her parts (St. David, AZ), and her roasting pan is tried and true. Luckily I have the pan and the recipe to thank for a killer roast.

3) I was the lucky one able to see Henry on Day 2 of his life. Matt needed to get some sleep before trying to function as a normal human being, and I got to spend some time with Trish and the little man. Here he is sleeping just after being fed. You might have noticed that Henry hands are out. Well, that kid fought me when being swaddled, and since he was only a day old, I didn't want to fight him that hard, nor did I have any experience, so he won out and looks like he's a little chipmunk with his hands up.

#4) Visiting Caroline Dunn and Emily Moulton in Wyoming! And it just so happened that Cosmo wanted his picture with us at the BYU v. Wyoming football game in Laramie. Fortunately, the weather was in the 50s on this November day, and the fans were polite to us womenfolk. And BYU kicked some trash, 51-0. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!

#5) Classic family photo by the awesome landscape. Trish, Mom, Dad, and I enjoyed some Shakespearean Festival plays in August last year, and the girls visited Cedar Breaks while Dad fished at Panguitch. We eventually met up for our plays and our traditional steak at Milt's. So good!

More good times to come. And hopefully before months have passed.