Recomendation:

I would that everyone should see the movie "About Time."

It is a beautiful, sweet, charming film.

And may even make you ugly cry, but in a good way. 

(see photo below)

I will now proclaim & set forth THIS: 

My goals of 2014. 

I will be:

Happier

Healthier

Kinder

Wealthier

Smarter

I will improve my posture. (I slouch all the time)

I will start my online shop this year. 

I will join a gym and work out regularly. (This is the scariest one of all.) 

I will wake up before 10am every day, regardless of when I went to sleep the night before. (I'm hoping this will cure me of my "stay up late, wake up late" routine.) 

And this year I will have:

Twenty-Thirteen

Is it just me or are the years going by faster and faster? I know I know, its just because I'm getting old and so time goes by quicker because a year is a smaller portion of my lifespan... blah blah blah.

The point is, its time for the YEAR REVIEW!!!

Lists of memories from this year:

BIG Things:
Angel and Mike tying the knot!
Newest nephew & Nevin-ite born - Koen Hale Nevin!
Parker baptized at age 8!

Trips:
Portland - for Ari's very special Wildwood birthday party!!!
Texas - just because I miss all my dear friends and family who live far away & I had to meet all their new babies I already love and adore!
California - where we rocked six flags and sunburns (okay it was just Julie on the sun burn thing)
Cedar City - Utah Shakespeare Festival for my first time! We saw 12 Angry Men and Peter & the Starcatcher. Both were amazing.

Shows worked on:
Rapunzel - first time I was back ON stage, probably since High School, for reals.
Harlem Shake - does this count as a show? haha In case you missed it:

The Box - a wonderful new piece by Christian Swenson, that I was dramaturg for (kinda.)
Hello Dolly - SM for the Jerry Elison
The Scarlet Pimpernel - SCERA Shell Summer show, again alongside Mr. E!
The Jerry Elison Scholarship Night - I was the emcee - which was scary. But I'd do anything for that man!
A Christmas Carol - 3rd year! It gets better every time! And of course, with Jerry!

Other Shining Moments:
Our beautiful new juicer!!
Being Cinderella for a day in the 4th of July parade!
Seeing Wicked for my 25th birthday
#uglypicturefacecontest
Andrew finished wheel of time series - an end of an era
Hiking up around Strawberry Lake & seeing wild beavers only a few feet in front of us
Attending the Beautiful Singing vocal camp at BYU with my Mommy!
Lincoln riding on 2 wheels
Halloween - biker duo
Anvil, thermos, axe collection grew and grew
Little camping trip
Witches Tea Convention
Andrew's axe from the Ukraine
And of course just stopping at every estate sale and antique shop we can! seriously.

Not-so shining moments:
Spraining my ankle jumping in puddles
Scout's eye infection and having to wear the miserable cone
My awful sunburn from Cali
Cracking my iPhone
My fantasy football team
.....wait why are these mostly about me?
Wasting too much time of our lives watching the Netflix original series Hemlock Grove.

Memorable Movies of 2013 (in no particular order):
Catching Fire, Ender's Game, Gravity, Monster University, Iron man 3, Life of Pi, Bridesmaids, Warm Bodies, OZ: Great and Powerful, The Great Gatsby, Silver Linings Playbook, Django, Les Mis
Burt Wonderstone, Saving Mr. Banks, Bernie, and The host.... just kidding about the last one. :)

Firsts that happened this year:
Pyrex! And so began my obsession.
Dirty Dr. Pepper (at Swig)
Men in Black
Acting performance on Utah stage
Bachelor and Bachelorette viewing
Andrew's Handmade knife
Utah Shakespeare Festival

What I wish I could say we did this year.... and is *maybe* going on our goal list for 2014:
Buy a house
Start my online vintage shop
See a Broadway show in NYC
Take lots of pictures on our amazing camera. (I mean I took some this year, just not enough!)
Camping camping camping (again we did go, just not as much as we'd like to have)
More swimming and hot tubbing!!!! (notice the amount of exclamation points - this is serious)
Grow a garden

More of 2014 goals to come. But for now....

here's a little photo flip review of twenty-thirteen! 

Goodness it has been a long while.
I'm hoping to eventually catch up and start this whole blog thing again!

But for now, I'm just going to share a quote. I heard this quote for the first time yesterday, and I cannot stop thinking about it.

“There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer: no disease that love will not heal: no door that enough love will not open...It makes no difference how deep set the trouble: how hopeless the outlook: how muddled the tangle: how great the mistake. A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all. If only you could love enough you would be the happiest and most powerful being in the world..."

― Emmet Fox

The love he talks about is not limited to our own human love, but also by the love from our Heavenly Father. The love from our Savior. The love that abounds from the atonement. Because that love, specifically, is the love that will conquer & heal all things. Although, even among each other, it is always about love. Love is what brings us peace and joy.

That's all.

Happy Day!

So Much Thanks!

This Thanksgiving season has been pretty awesome for me! A couple weeks ago I started to really get into the feeling of Thanksgiving when a little interesting something happened to me.

I was leaving Salt Lake a few hours before rehearsal, and had just passed Thanksgiving Point (which actually has nothing to do with the story, just a point of reference for those of you familiar with the Utah valley), when my car began to shake, and I heard this awfully loud "vrooming" sound. At first I attributed the noise to the construction crew using a jack hammer near me, but soon realize that it was, indeed, my car.

I did not freak out. Which surprised even myself! I just thought, "One of my tires is blowing out. I need to pull over." And so I gracefully changed lanes and pulled off into the shoulder, which had been widened for construction.

I called Andrew, who was in Moab for work. He said he would try to find me someone to help me. But before he did, a nice man working construction came over and asked if I needed help. He so kindly changed my tire and I was on my way in probably less than 30 minutes. As I pulled away, I noticed that I was able to pull off into the last piece of the shoulder for about a mile.

All week I kept thinking about this, and could not help feeling overwhelmed by gratitude for the man who so willingly helped me out, and for the calm composure I was able to maintain through the whole experience, and just how perfectly everything worked out.

It seemed to re-open my eyes to a small concept that we often overlook and take for granted.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." 

- James 1:17

"For I say unto you that whatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evil cometh from the devil." 

- Alma 5:40

Everything good we have is given to us by our Heavenly Father. Even when we believe we are working all on our own, He provides us opportunities and sources of relief and help. When we are willing to listen, He will give us peace to sooth, strength for the uphill climb, and comfort for our hearts. The more we listen and receive, the more we see His hand in all we do.

How grateful I am for all that He has provided me with, I cannot describe in words. So in fear of injustice I will simply say:

I am so thankful for everything I have been given. I am grateful for dear Andrew, and all my family. I am so grateful for friends,the Gospel, my home, health, education, employment, and all the little things that bring me happiness.

I just feel so outrageously thankful this year. 

It's a wonderful feeling.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

To answer some questions:

Andrew is back working on a rig. 

It is a good thing for us right now. 

But temporary. 

I miss him already...

...and he's only been gone for one day.

I love General Conference weekend!

I just finished reading The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. It was very moving, and powerful. However, I will warn you to keep some tissues with you. It is a very bitter sweet story and will at least make you tear up if you have a heart. But it is wonderful and I encourage you to read it. 

Any suggestions for my next read?

I love my major

Perhaps I should feel a little shamed when people scoff at my being a theater major. But I don't. 

Because being a theater major totally rocks! 

This week in my contemporary performance practices class, we learned about Hip Hop culture, Hip Hop theater, got down with the B Boy style, and Krumped it up! We created our own grafitte tags, and (secretly) posted them around the HFAC! And today, we held a Slam Poetry contest. Most of the material shared was original work, and it was awesome! 

I love being a theater major. 

Also, this woman  is AMAZING!

Looking Back

Some of the best times in 2009! 

1. I gained a new family whom I love dearly! They are all incredible and so much fun to be around!

2. Read my first fantasy novel by influence of Andrew. And I will admit, it was pretty fabulous!

3. Spent all Summer planning my fabulous wedding! (Mostly at work!)

4. Traveled to Vegas to spend time with girls I love!

5. Saw both Ingrid Michaelson & Regina Spektor in concert! (Happy faces!)

6.  Directed my first play! It was such a fantastic feeling and wonderful learning experience!

7. Celebrated these two little guys' 2nd Birthday!!

8. Took up rock climbing with Ryan & Kristen. A little scary at first but really quite thrilling! 

9. And of course, I married this hunk of a man! And what can get any better than that?!

So because we are kinda poor these days, we do not currently have internet at our place, which isn't too big of an inconvenience, except when it is. For example, it has become quite a problem on nights when I need the internet for homework (which is often) and it is too late to go to the library or other places that so kindly host free Wi-fi! But that is a different story, entirely.
Anyway, with finals currently taking place this week, and the library being super full, I have found a new place to study and work! Hidden away behind the many shelves of books and magazines, there is a cute little Seattle's Best Coffee cafe in Borders. I have found this such place bring great comfort in reading and working there. The atmosphere is just so cozy! I usually warm up with a hot chocolate, or chai latte and can stay for hours. (And they constantly play Christmas music, which I love!) Is this sad? Perhaps.
When I'm here, I spend about 5 hours on average, during which I see plenty people coming in and out. These people range in all different races, ages and styles. They all seem, for the most part, like people I would like to get to know. With my recent experience with The Zoo story, combined with sitting in the coffeehouse has made me think about why we isolate ourselves in public. Why do we put up our guards and keep our distance from strangers? Are there relationships and experiences we are opting out of because we don't want to step outside of our comfort zone? And what could we be bringing to other people by simply offering a smile and small conversation?
I think this is something I would really like to work on personally. Maybe this could be my New Year's resolution for 2010: To allow myself to be more comfortable engaging with people I do not know. Because when you think about it, all of our current friends and family members were at one time strangers.

my love and life for the past couple months

I have successfully finished directing my first play! It is a pretty good feeling, I'm not going to lie. The process was pretty exhausting both emotionally and time-wise. (hence why I haven't blogged in a month!) But through this process I have learned so much about myself as an artist and person, and how
"...sometimes it's necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly."  

After each show, there was a talk back session. As people told what they saw in the show and how it affected them I was so surprised at how different each person's experience was. (This is one of my greatest loves with art and theater: There is no one correct answer.) Listening to their thoughts and responses about the show, was when I really felt success. I hope that their exposure with the play has become a learning experience. I just want to share a quote from the playwright himself:

"One must let the play happen to one; one must let the mind loose to respond as it will, to receive impressions, to sense rather than know, to gather rather than immediately understand." 

-Edward Albee

Happy Little Things

So in a blog I follow called the rockstar diaries, the writer asked what little things in life make you incredible happy. I especially liked her post about how the little things in life aren't insignificant, and can make life worth living. So, I started thinking about what little things in my life have recently and continually brought me happiness. And here is my list:

1.the color green

2. Sonic's Cherry Limeade *with extra cherries*

3.sleeping in

4.blooming tulips

5.friendly strangers

6.chocolate-covered cinnamon bears

7.picnics in the sun

8.Andrew's hugs

9.long phone calls

10.game nights with family & friends

Ari and Me!

I'm sure going to miss this sweet little boy. He is so much fun to play with and can always make me smile. I love him!