Festival of Colors!

I love my life. 

And I love my best friend. 

And I love that I have a really fun life because of my best friend. 

Last weekend we went to Festival of Colors at the Hari Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork. I was apprehensive about going because the idea of getting absolutely filthy didn't exactly sound appealing. But then I remembered that I always have a blast when I try new things.

So off we went to join the mayhem at the pagan festival. It was so much fun! I didn't even mind being dirty! ...Well, my lungs minded a bit when they were covered in powder just like the rest of me. But other than that I loved every second! 

To make the day even better, we made new friends, reunited with old friends and even discovered a new restaurant that's pretty much amazing. I'm so glad I have the coolest best friend ever who encourages me to play and try new things!

Floral Designer Extraordinaire

I've been working really hard for the past few years to resolve some emotional issues and traumas. I feel like just recently I have finally emerged. At long last my head is above water and I feel so happy and free.

It's truly a miracle from my Heavenly Father. The Atonement is an incredible, beautiful gift! Even when all hope for healing is lost and the smallest measure of joy or peace seems a million miles away,

I am reminded that I am not forgotten,

I have not been abandoned

and I will laugh and dance again.

 I am reminded of God's everlasting, unfailing love for me and that truly 

all these experiences are for my good. 

It's been a very long, difficult journey and now I appreciate that glimmer of light I'm starting to see at the end so much more because of where I've been. It's true that in order to comprehend and cherish joy, 
we have to understand its opposite by experiencing sorrow.

Now that the crisis is largely over I'm beginning a period of self-discovery, I'm trying new things and discovering 
what I like, who I am and what I love to do. 
It's an amazingly glorious experience to get acquainted with myself for the very first time and find out how awesome I am! I feel like a new person. 
I have been through the refiner's fire and come out 
completely transformed for the better.

As a part of this self-discovery I am reevaluating my current career path. I have been working in a lot of different areas of finance for the past several years. While I absolutely loved being a financial analyst, I am longing now to do something more creative. I want to use my resourcefulness, ingenuity, leadership, organization skills, ambition and enthusiasm 
to create something beautiful.

I would really love to become an event coordinator. I would love to put together smooth, seamless events by orchestrating every detail and bringing a million moving parts into perfect harmony. I want to make people happy and stress-free during their big event, 
whether it's a wedding, a corporate event or just a party.

I would be the hero that makes the whole thing possible! 
What an awesome job!

In my search for such job openings I have also discovered floral designer positions that sound like a lot of fun. I took some classes a few years ago and fell in love with flowers. It's so rewarding to 
create a beautiful masterpiece 
with flowers that I can give away as gifts or use for centerpieces at big family parties. I created a little sampling of my designs 
to submit with an application this week. 

It makes me so happy to make the world just a little bit more beautiful.

Girls Night Out

We went out to Pizza Factory and Comedy Sportz for Martha's birthday. I love hanging out with my girls. :)

Severe Weather

My sister just sent me this very alarming email. I knew Phoenix was having some pretty severe weather this winter, but I didn't realize the seriousness of the situation. I pray that the good people of the greater Phoenix area will have the strength to carry on as they clean up the damage left in the wake of these terrible storms. There will be sunny days ahead, good Phoenicians. There will be sunny days ahead.

With all the news lately about the subzero weather and snow that the Midwest and East coast areas are experiencing, we shouldn't forget that Phoenix also has had its share of devastating weather in the last couple weeks.   

Attached is a photo showing damage to a home from a recent storm that passed through the Phoenix, AZ area. It really makes you cherish what you have, and  reminds us not to take life for granted.

My thoughts and prayers go out to these folks. I hope that they can find strength to work through this.

Mocktail Party

Last September Emily and I went to a swanky Black & White Mocktail Party, which was so much fun! I love Utah parties that cater to us classy, sober girls. I never knew there were so many fun drinks that could be made without alcohol. ...Like Dr. Pepper with Piña Colada mix. It sounds nasty, but it was surprisingly delectable.

How To Be an EVIL Villain

I love Jana and Dan's theme parties. They hosted an Evil Villain Seminar twice last year. Both events were a huge success, and very educational as well!

Thankful Thursday

Since I'm new to blogging, I thought I'd borrow a tradition from my dear friend Julianna, who borrowed it from her friend Heather. Where did it come from before Heather? I have no idea. I'm not really a genealogist, so tracing anything back more than two generations is not really my forte. 

But that's not the point....

Thankful Thursdays

a chance to reflect on the week and count my many blessings

On this particularly snowy Thursday, 

I'm grateful for winter 

....and space heaters, 

(without which I wouldn't be able to enjoy winter weather the way I do). 

I'm also grateful that my landlord fixed our furnace last week. 

It's so much easier to appreciate winter weather when I'm warm. I haven't always enjoyed winter, which many people who have listened to me gripe about the cold in past years can attest. However, since I moved back to Utah last year I have really come 
to appreciate the season I never knew growing up.

What I love most about winter is how

beautiful it is!

I love when the snow sticks to the tree branches.

 

It's absolutely gorgeous, especially when the street lamps 

light up the trees at night and make them glow. 

I love the ice crystals that appear on my windshield in the mornings. It's not often that I can see the fine details of each snowflake and I love how beautifully unique each one is.

It's especially beautiful when the sun makes 

the snow sparkle like glitter.  

 

 I love to see the snow on the mountains all around me. It's an incredible experience to see the sunset reflected on the white mountains. Suddenly they are transformed into such glorious works of art that I can't take my eyes off them. It doesn't last very long and it takes a clear day and a fabulous sunset to make it happen, so it's a rare treat to behold.

It seems ironic for this Arizona girl to appreciate a 
season that comes with such ungodly temperatures, 
but it's true. 

I am thankful for winter.

Snow Patrol Concert

Emily and I love going to concerts and rocking out together. We saw Snow Patrol & Plain White T's last October and they were both fantastic!

Goodbye Emily, Hello Brazil Party

Last May Emily moved to Brazil for the summer to do a really great internship teaching career workshops in Portuguese. We had a going away party for her before she left so we could all say goodbye. Jana had an awesome idea to have a dessert contest at the party, where Emily would choose her favorite and the winner would receive an autographed headshot of our favorite little Brazilian babe. I brought Peach Kuchen, which is always a winner at my house, and it was a hit! I won the most-coveted and desirable prize! I am now an award-winning culinary artist. 

 

 

Holiday Banquet

I love formal events where we get to dress up in our fanciest clothes and party in high style! Jana and Amanda put together this incredibly awesome Holiday Banquet for all their friends last winter, which was a huge success because they are truly fabulous. It's always fun to have an excuse to feel like a movie star and play with some of my favorite people!

Trip to California

Emily and I took a weekend trip to Livermore, California to visit Angie and Jim last March. We played at the Pleasanton Farmer's Market (which is the cutest town ever! It reminds me of Disneyland) and shopped for makeup at Sephora, where my life was forever changed as I finally learned how to properly apply eye shadow. After a fun day of shopping we took pictures to show off our new and improved makeup skills.



My absolute favorite picture is the top left of me and Angie. Sometimes I'm shocked by how gorgeous I am and how stunning all my friends are. The picture of Emily hiding in the tree comes in as a close second place. I have the funniest, most amazingly awesome best friend ever.


On our way back to the airport to head home we made a quick stop to see the Oakland Temple. I remember my mom had a picture of this temple in her bedroom when I was really young because she grew up near the San Francisco area. Maybe that's why this temple is so endearing to me. It's always a wonderful experience for me just to be on the temple grounds and remember what really matters. I'm so glad I got to share this brief moment of bliss with Emily and Angie, two people I absolutely adore!

A Dog is a Hairy, Slobbery Reminder of God's Unconditional Love

I love my dog Milo. He is so mild-mannered and gentle with little Sarah. I took him through puppy training school and now he can do some of the coolest tricks on the block! This page is for him. :)

Favorite Aunt Kim!

One of the greatest joys in my life is being the aunt of two little angels! I don't care what anyone says, my nieces are the greatest things since sliced bread.

Arrr Matey....

Jana & Dan throw the best theme parties ever! Their pirate party last year was one of my absolute faves.

San Diego Zoo

I love making beautiful things, and right now I'm really into digital scrapbooking. It's so fun! This is the latest project I just finished.

Emily and I are fantastic travel buddies, and it's a good thing we both go with the flow because this was one of the funnest trips we've been on even though just about everything we planned, well.... didn't go according to plan. :)

A Whole New World....

Blogging: Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few.

I have officially joined the blogging community. I'm not sure yet exactly what a blog is or does, but it seems to be the popular thing to do. ;)

So here we go! Hold onto your hats! We're all in this together.