I kind of loved this.

9 resolutions for '09

Happy New Years!! Crazy that 2008 is over and 2009 is here already! 2008 was a great year full of travels, new friends, and lots of fun! 2009 is going to be a crazy year I'm sure, with graduating in April, and moving to NYC in July...it will be a year of change. I've decided in honor of the year 2009, I'm going to make 9 resolutions/goals for the year.  And here they are!

1. Run the Salt Lake Half-Marathon in April.  I'm also considering doing a triathlon in July...considering being the key word

2. Be better at writing thank-you notes

3. Keep my room clean

4. Cook more and eat out less

5. Attend the temple at least twice a month

6. Write in my journal at least once a week...I have about 15 journals in my room just waiting to be used

7. Be better at staying in touch with family and friends

8. Exercise at least 4 times a week

9. Take advantage of all opportunities that come my way!

Here's to a great 2009!!

Oh finals week....

I am actually ready for my final and have a few hours to kill. So......

Tagged! Rules are: Anything you have done has to be in bold. How much have you done?

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Been to the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on a train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo's David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar

72. Tied a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone's life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Visited Italy

Fall!!

Wow! It has been a while since I've posted.  Life has been good!! Super busy but still good.  Here are a few updates from what I've been up to the past month...

For Halloween we met some friends up in SLC and went to dinner and a movie. I am not a Halloween lover...actually, I have been called a Halloween grinch.  Corn mazes-lame. Dressing up-hate it. So we kept Halloween pretty low key. This is me, Blake, and Tawni at dinner.  Note: Spaghetti Mamma's-not the best choice for Italian food...

We went to the Joshua Radin concert at In the Venue.  I love LOVE Joshua Radin!! He seriously is so amazing! If you haven't heard his music you should check it out here or here.  You will love him too! Best part of the concert....we got to meet him!!!

We went on a drive to look at the fall foliage.  Unfortunately, we went just a little bit too late and missed all of the fantastic colors and caught just the yellow leaves.  My last fall in Utah...weird...

We had a fall pumpkin carving party.  I remembered that I like to clean out the pumpkin more than I like the actual carving...

I also decided to take a pre-thanksgiving break break and go to California for the weekend. Pictures and details to follow!

Starting from scratch all over again...

Once upon a time I decided that it would be a great idea to run a half marathon.  Me and Morgan went down to St. George with Tawni because she was running a half down there.  We stood at the finish line, watching people come in waiting for Tawni.  Turns out we missed her by like 2 minutes, but we did get to see all kinds of other people coming in.  We kept saying to ourselves...That person ran a half?!? If they can do it, so can we! That 80 year old man ran the half?!? We totally can do it! So I was inspired.  With the encouragement of my roommates I signed up and trained for the Salt Lake Half Marathon.  April 19th was the big day and I actually survived.  I'm just about the slowest runner ever, but I accomplished my 3 goals: don't stop/sit, no crying, and finish the race in one piece.  It was such a great feeling to know that I had just run 13.1 miles!! 

Then finals came. And a trip to Mexico. A trip to London. A summer in NYC. None of which involved any running. 

Now I find myself back in Provo. Back to the routine of school, work, homework, etc. And back to running.  Taking 4 months off from running was probably not the best idea.   I've decided to run the painter's half in St George in January. This week marks the first week in my training schedule.  Sometimes I can't believe that I actually ran 13 miles, all at once.  It feels like I'm starting from scratch all over again...

Quirks

Thanks Caroline!

Here are the rules: Link to the person that tagged you. Mention these rules on your blog. Tell 6 unspectacular quirks of yourself and tag 6 fellow bloggers!

1- If I eat something like skittles or fruit snacks, there has to be the same amount of each color.  If there is extra of one color, I'll eat the extras until all colors have the same number.  Then I eat them in order from least favorite color to most favorite.

2-I am terrified of being pushed into my trunk while reaching into it.  I don't know where on earth this fear came from, but I think about it every time I reach into my trunk.

3-I collect cookbooks from places I travel. These days I don't cook much, but I have shelves upon shelves of cookbooks just waiting to be used!

4-I love to re-read books.  Sometimes once just isn't enough. 

5-I am terrible with names, but remember birthdays.  When I meet someone, I usually have to ask their name 3 or 4 times before it sticks (terrible I know, I'm working on it) but for some reason birthdays stick.

6-I have an aversion to feet, especially socky feet.  Feet in shoes, ok. Bare feet, if they are newly washed and aren't near my face, bearable. Sock clad feet, yuck.

I tag Lara, Steph, Melissa, Lisa, Laura, and Morgan!

Love, Love

Fell in love with this shoe today!! Ruffles-so fun. Red! So fun! Love it.