little un-valentines

dear headache: frankly, you were not the valentine i wanted to wake up to this morning. but that was cute of you to try.

dear motivation to get stuff done: you stood me up, man. were you today?

dear good intentions: thanks for being there--so many of you vying for my attention--though perhaps next time you and motivation could have a little chitchat so we could make something happen.

dear teen girl squad valentimes episode: i will always love you.

dear valentine cards: maybe i'll make you tomorrow. .. . ..but maybe not. i promise--it's me, not you.

dear valentine's day: usually i try to make you into something awesome and personal -- about loving people in general, regardless of whether or not i have a "valentine". well. there is a first time for everything and this year just wasn't our year. i sang a bunch and warmed my fingers up to those steel strings again but didn't really put smiles on the faces of anyone like i wanted to. my night was headed downhill--but i will have you know, i gussied myself up anyways, took a picture to prove it, marched to the grocery store, bought two ingredients and marched myself right back home again, probably passing most the social gatherings i was planning on attending. some years you just don't feel it. luckily, you're an annual sortofa holiday.

dear desiderata: you were the perfect read to end my wearisome night. you'll probably get your own post later for that.

believe it or not, this photo actually underwent fairly little editing. it was a great night for moodily lit self-portraits.

what Christmas means to me

yesterday on my art blog i posted a little sketchity sketch i did about what Christmas means to me (when i really think about it).

it was an interesting experience to look inside and remind myself what matters most. a few times, i was a little surprised about what came out of my hand.
among these things were:

laughter
the gift of self
stories by candlelight
closeness
warmth
pure wonder and excitement of children
new hearts
hope for the future 

so i hope your holiday has been lovely.
or whatever you needed it to be.
if not, that's okay.
because really, Christmas is always in season
so you always have the chance to feel its spirit.

what does Christmas mean to you?

thanksgiving shortcuts

hey there.

may i defer to two thanksgiving posts instead of writing one at this moment?

this, (read this one to find information about an AMAZING exhibit that the utah people need to see in the next TWO DAYS, as well as some left-handed drawings)

and

this. (read the end to find out about the best service i've had the opportunity go participate in for some time! and to find a lovely photographer's work!)

:)

oh -- to reward you for hanging around this blog, here's a picture of my adorable niece starting off her thanksgiving meal right.

hope your thanksgiving was wonderful!

yom dmaot, simcha

just so you know, this is what i believe:

 
pretty incredible, huh?
oddly, through some unexpected difficult nights,i really internalized easter this year.
i hope yours was as meaningful as mine
...but only because when you think about what easter really means,you get a really wonderful, hopeful feeling.and i feel like everyone deserves to experience that. 

now that i'm older

today was my birthday. i hope you celebrated, too. :) 

february 29th is a fake day

and here's why.

me: hey today. i have an extreme headache and more work to do than i have time for. i don't know how i'mma get it all done.

today: ....

me: what, you're not gonna fight me on this?

today: ....

me: erm...this is unsettling. k, i'm just gonna start then....

today: [vaguely nods]

me: *makes a fancy to-do list, works with incredible focus that i don't hardly ever remember feeling (EVER), completes last paper for block class and sends it, finds some awesome listen-while-i-work bands, reads professor's complimentary notes on my papers, headache slumps off sometime in there, finds evidence to support thesis and gets most of research paper written, looks up, blinks, and rubs eyes.*

me: WHAT.

today: [giggle] happy fake day.

me: WHAT.

[end]

sigh no more

Source: ffffound.com via Kristin on Pinterest

ah. what if.

excuse me: i have some diem to carpe

two weeks ago in relief society, one of my amazing friends taught the lesson.

{via here}

she challenged us to make 2012 the "year of no regrets".
she said, if you've always wanted to do something, now's the time to do it!
     have you ever wanted to learn to sew? do it!
     have you ever wanted to take that trip? do it!
     have you ever wanted to be more outgoing? do it!

my ears had perked up. permission to be awesome, is what i heard.
and then carpe diem! is what she said.

hearing her encouragement kind of freed me, in some ways. so i made a new year's resolutions list. well, sort of.

i know we're often told to just focus on a few goals at a time, so that we don't get overwhelmed, but i've always felt limited by that, so my perfectionistic tendencies would generally put off "resolutions" because my indecisiveness kicked in and i couldn't decide on what to resolve.  strange phenomenon, i know.

so, i didn't try to put limits on my list this time. i decided to go with that old phrase along the lines of, if you shoot for the moon and miss, at least you'll hit the stars. and the stars are a pretty great place to be, right? --as long as i don't let myself get overwhelmed by this or disappointed when i can't fulfill everything or complacent after i've hit only a few stars. granted, this list could be about a billion pages longer, which is why i didn't think too terribly hard; i just wrote down things i've been thinking about lately.

...

the week after the "carpe diem" lesson, i taught a lesson based off of elder george albert smith's personal creed. this wonderful man made a creed at age 35 to follow for his whole life.

i asked the relief society gals, "if we find it so difficult to follow through with our new years resolutions, which are generally only for a year, then how do you think he did these for his whole life, without getting overwhelmed?" there were lots of good answers. but i think the bottom line is, he just decided to make that list who he wanted to be, not just what he wanted to accomplish.

aaaand that's why i've been thinking a lot about this talk lately. as elder robbins puts it, "to be and to do are inseparable."

elder robbins also says,

Many of us create to do lists to remind us of things we want to accomplish. But people rarely have to be lists. Why? To do’s are activities or events that can be checked off the list when done. To be, however, is never done. You can’t earn checkmarks with to be’s. 

i really liked that. so on my list, i made a "to do" section, a "to be" section, a "to avoid" section and a "remember..." section. so:

-to do's are obvious, but take work.
-to be's are harder, but help the "to do's" get done and add to overall character.
-to avoid's are essential, but i don't want to focus on what i don't want to become; i want to focus on what i DO want to become. so i kept those at a minimum.
-and the to remember section is how i will get to where i want to be (and thus, fulfill what i want to do).
-then i left white space...for when i think of others or when things change. changing my goals is okay too, even necessary, i've decided. and i feel the whole list is a little too self-centered; i'm planning on using that white space for goals to be more others-centric. i just want to observe myself in various surroundings these next few days to figure out in what ways i serve most genuinely. i want to use that extra bit of space in the best possible way. :)



so i'll see what jives with me this year and try hard to do/become/avoid these in manageable bites. i'm going to be happy with my success and i'm also going to be okay when i fail. and i have the rest of my life to work on everything else.

clear as mud? then my list probably is, too. but there it is, and it makes perfect sense to me.

there. now i'm accountable.
step one: check.

jackpot question

...maybe someday.

happy new year's eve. :)

santa's team

as one tends to do in this season, i've been thinking about santa claus. does he exist?

before you come to a conclusion,
i hope you've done your research and have read this.
and even better, in my opinion, is this.

and as a third evidence, i'd like to add a personal witness to this case.

 ~*~

quite possibly one of my favorite Christmas memories happened this year.

my young single adult ward gave Christmas to a little family in our town. i was very much privileged to be in charge of it. i found out the story of the family and plead their case to my ward members, just hoping that someone would participate.

not only did they participate, but they went the extra mile -- no, the extra few miles. people were so generous. so much that i had to double the assignments for gifts because so many were willing to give. and even then, people still donated food, extra items, and money to help the family.

it took some doing to gather and organize all the presents, including components people had volunteered for a good-sized Christmas meal. but by friday night at 9, everyone had come through and my front table was literally overflowing with gifts for this family.

after quadruple-checking my spreadsheet making sure everything was in place and properly labeled, three friends from the ward and i put everything in big plastic garbage bags. then headed out to make the delivery.

our excitement mounted (at least, i know mine did) in the chilly air as we knocked quietly on the door of the small apartment. this would be our first time meeting the mother; i had previously only talked with her on the phone.

she opened the door and we could tell she was excited. she beckoned us in and we crept quietly as to not wake the five sleeping children. we entered into a smallish living room with a sweet little tree decorated with homemade ornaments, whose lights were the only light source in the room.

i loved seeing her face as we brought in the bags for their family -- more and more bags. between the four of us, we were able to manage bringing the gifts in one trip, but there was still quite a bit.

the best part, however, was what the mother presented to us after we put down all the bags. next to the standard milk and cookies, their little family had made a Christmas card out of an entire poster board folded in half. it was heavily and wonderfully decorated. inside was six pockets, one for each child and the parents. the children had taped a picture of themselves on their respective pocket. inside the pockets were personalized letters to santa from each of them, thanking him for their Christmas. the grateful mother also wrote one as well.

on the way home, the boys in the backseat read the letters aloud. i was driving, so i couldn't look at the beautiful card quite yet, but my eyes got a little misty when i heard some of those words and realized the implications. this was more than just toys, clothing and food for them -- this was their reminder that they hadn't been forgotten. and i realized that we didn't really "give Christmas" to them at all -- they helped us find it.

~*~

some people ask if there is a santa claus.

so does he exist? absolutely. i felt him this season more than i ever have since i was young. santa exists, and like the writer in that article you were supposed to read up there, we were on his team.

as i come to understand santa's nature, i better understand the letters he writes to me throughout the years (the letters i still find next to the cookie crumbs and partial glass of milk on Christmas morning). he always makes a point to remind me that it is not him i should be celebrating, but Christ, from whom love really stems. 

because if you look in the right places, you can properly find Christmas. and if you properly find Christmas, you find Christ. and honestly, there's really no greater gift than that.

true story

i could do lots of things for a Christmas post.

but i especially liked this.

 these kids obviously get it. do we?

hope your Christmas has been very merry!

see the lovely.

as i alluded in my last post, this has uncharacteristically been a really hard year for me to "feel" Christmas.

this morning, i woke up feeling a bit sick and was running extremely late to work. but as i drove, i saw a lady on the side of the road with a sign that said "tamales, $1" on it.

i thought to myself, ah, i wish i could but i'm already running so late... then i realized that i might not see her again, as i'd usually already be at work by that time. and then it struck me what that thought implied: i was in my car. was on my way to work. to sit in a comfy (and might i add, bouncy) chair in a nicely heated room in front of an expensive computer to make a decent chunk of money by designing cool-looking things.

i abruptly turned left onto a side road. i pulled over and checked my wallet. the only cash i had was my $2 bill. i felt like it would be kind of odd, giving her a $2 bill... shoot, i thought, well maybe i can get some cash and come by again when i don't work on friday....

so i pulled out to turn left to continue to work, when it donned on me -- duh, kristin. a $2 bill is still legitimate money. i turned right and pulled into the street next to where she was standing. as i approached her, she saw me and turned, putting her sign down. she was a sweet, tiny lady with a pure face.

as we greeted each other, her face honestly just completely lit up. i couldn't believe how happy she was that i was buying one little tamale. she had a happy, almost singsongy voice, with an innocent little girl quality. she spoke to me in spanish, which i understood, as i pulled out my 3 years of rusty high school spanish from the back of my brain in an attempted response. regardless, it didn't matter what language we spoke -- we didn't need to communicate with words to make each other's day. i bought my tamale, explaining that i needed no change, thanked her, and we parted.

***

right before i saw her, i had passed a cement barrier on the side of the road, where someone had pinned a series of pieces of paper in a line. on each paper there was a letter. the letters created the simple phrase "see the lovely."

right as i drove away, "where are you Christmas" came on the radio. yeah, it can be pretty overdone, but this time i think i heard it differently. i couldn't believe that i had tears in my eyes, but it was because that song embodied exactly just how i've been feeling this season. and then i paid attention to the last verse. and in the light of the experience i just had……

yeah.

cartoon heart

this past weekend, my sanity came in the form of three very important and traditional holiday events, plus one other that was just plain fun.

friday was festivus.  saturday was muppets and nog.  sunday was caroling.  monday was tangled.

f e s t i v u s : :
"festivus for the rest of us!" you can read all about what wikipedia has to say about it here. basically, it's a made-up holiday from seinfeld (though i believe it's the only seinfeld episode i've ever seen) including a feast, a festivus pole instead of a Christmas tree, an "airing of grievances", and a "feats of strength" --where anyone can challenge anyone else to any sort of feat of strength. the party doesn't end til the host gets pinned.

a buncha "cool kids" started hosting their own festivus in high school, but i didn't know them well enough to feel like i could go.

since talisa is always one of the hostesses, i started attending festivus along with her her other parties during my college years (because we've been super close friends since we were...6 years old) and have gotten to know my old classmates in a different light, sans-high school clique. and i have come to really love and care about these people, so it makes it awesome. plus, we've gained a lot more friends along the way from all sorts of places.

the festivus bunch, 2011

f e s t i v u s    h i g h l i g h t s:
- grievances (often a highlight) -- i grieved that we didn't do festivus in sweden where talisa is. the grievance i read said "i grieve that some of you didn't dress up -- and in the presence of the festivus pole, no less!"
- everyone always looks so darn swanky.
- the inside jokes that form over the years. this round, i think about 3 people grieved over luke's mustache from last year, and he wasn't even there. so another grieved that he wasn't there this time so that they couldn't even give him grief about it.
- redeeming my dignity by winning a feats of strength of balance (after losing to britta last year...who needs to know how to blow a kazoo anyway?!....)
- so much cute offspring from my classmates! (many of whom ended up marrying each other, which is kinda fantastic)
- ...aaaand the after-party. this was honestly the best. i caught up with some friends with whom i've not really talked to for quite some time. for me, that was the best part of festivus this year. i really walked out on a high. i'm so blessed to have long-time friends!

provo high : class of '06

m u p p e t s  +  n o g .
"there's no such thing as strangers, when a stranger says hello!" when jeff lived in utah, he had a "muppet Christmas carol" and homemade eggnog party every year. since he's moved to texas, he's still been able to pull it off when he visits utah. it's cool, cuz jeff's the only common denominator between all of us. it's amazing what one person can do to glue lots of other people together. forgive me for deferring to his blog for this one, but he really sorta nailed it.

we found mark's face!

adding my two cents: this was a welcome relief to a really long and kind of disheartening day. and it really was one of my favorite muppet parties so far.

 c a r o l i n g ! 
"the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!" my family has hosted an annual caroling party for the past...21 years. give or take.

t h i s    y e a r ' s    n o r m a l i t i e s :
- met at 5pm
- everyone introduced themselves, how they knew us and how many years they've come to this tradition
- there were about 70 people this year, which was a good group (we've ranged from 25-90)
- headed out around 5:30 after gaining confidence by singing around the piano

- caroled  for about 45 minutes. and here's the cool thing -- we often carol to those who are sick, in need, or older in our neighborhood. we even have "regulars" to whom we carol :)
- when thoroughly frozen, we came back home to dethaw

- ...and ate and ate and ate. including my mom's famous cider stuff.
- and the after-party. they really are the best.

t h i s    y e a r ' s    a n o m a l i e s : 

- i decorated the tree the HOUR before it began. by myself. and i did most the lights while on the phone. boo-yah.

- it was lots of people's "first time" to caroling. ironically, many of these people i've known for multiple years (and others came who have been coming for literally more than 17 years!)
- jessicabarry (and talisa) and i were inseperable growing up and she finally made it to caroling. it was fun because after we caroled this year, jessica and i were able to talk with the older residents we caroled to and i realized how many wonderful memories i've had with these people.
- papa joe accompanied us on guitar. he and mama haynie are like my second parents. 
- the "married person" room. :D my brother kevin and his wife debbie, logan and tricia, murph and laura....what?! they were all in conversation for quite some time. for some reason, it was a little funny. weird. but cool. but weird. .......but cool.

like jeff is the glue for his party, i was the glue for caroling. i love having all my friends from different aspects of my life meet each other. gosh, it's a wonderful feeling.

....

i was sad not to get any pictures of the group this time around, however, i guess that's okay because we did catch the sweetest part of the night:

floyd + simon = roommates / buddies / our examples.

floyd and simon continually teach us what Christmas really is all about. as we were watching this sweet correspondence, britta leaned over and whispered, "i'm excited to see what they're like in heaven. best friends and all." and that was a lovely thought.

t a n g l e d ~
"stuck in the same place i've always been, wondering when will my life begin?" until last night, my teacher for this animation class, cynthia hogan, had never seen 'tangled'! so she very kindly invited all her classes over to her house to watch it. pizza and brownies were provided, as well as chocolate milk, so it was all sorts of guilty indulgement.

i really love hanging out with animators. there's such a vitality amidst them. and i super loved watching the movie with them -- i felt like we were all so much more into it than other groups with whom i've seen it.

c o n v e r s a t i o n    b i t :
...*SPOILER* (but honestly, if you haven't seen it by now, ...i doubt you care that this will spoil it?) -- one of my favorite parts was toward the end of the movie, when rapunzel's parents come out and see her for the first time. it was a super tender moment, but this is what made it awesome: scott commented aloud, "is it bad that all i can think of is, 'man, the rigs of those parents must be so much easier than the other characters!....' ?" we all chuckled, then cynthia retorted with, "well i'm sitting over here thinking, 'you can't marry him anyway -- he's not a prince!!" and everyone just busted up laughing. and even more so when scott responded with, "well, is he sultan or is he sultan?!!" -- quoting the end of aladdin where a similar circumstance occurs. which is extra funny, because cynthia actually animated the sultan in aladdin. the whole movie was riddled with exchanges like this between us (which honestly sometimes frustrates me, but not at all with this group -- the comments were too witty to not share).

and, um...as much as i hate to admit this, watching tangled reminds me that the little girl who really wants to be a princess and have a fairy tale story is still somewhere inside of me. i feel like it should be something that i should grow out of, but uh, as of now....nope.

//

oh, good times. each of these groups of people were different, and all had unique and wonderful dynamics. bottom lines...in order:

bottom line #1 -- there wasn't anything fantastic about festivus -- just an aluminum pole and some awesome people. but it was such a fantastic night. we've grown up, branched out and have experienced life since high school. and the group has gotten so much more diversified because of friends of friends of friends who come (and that whole marriage thing) -- that we're an eclectic bunch. it really is, "for the rest of us"!

bottom line #2 -- it's fascinating what or who can bring people can together, and how often we can find a new friend when we go outside of our comfort zone. it all starts with a mere "hello".

bottom line #3 -- music is (to me) so essential! it can make me feel happy or sad...or terrible, or angsty, or hopeful, or grateful, or just plain peaceful. i feel like it speaks to all emotions that can't be expressed in plain words. (by the way, i'd still love to know what you're listening to!) whether one could sing or not was completely irrelevant at caroling -- everyone sang because it made us happy, and in turn made those to whom we sang happy as well.

bottom line #4 -- life has already begun, and if we wait too long for something to happen, we'll miss it! so stop wondering and make things happen. something so cliché, but i'm still learning how to apply it.

//

lastly, it's easy to get mixed up in the worries of life at this time of year. even for those of us who really revere Christmas and especially Christ. i hope we take time to really remember the meaning of it all -- and especially what it means to us. i started wondering, what does it mean to me, individually? right now? and is that consistent with what i think it should mean to me? if not, i need to do something to change it. 

let's be like simon and floyd. let's be excellent. :) 

one of the order

the name's tonks.

and don't you dare call me nymphadora. i'll blast you so hard with a jelly-legs curse that you won't know what hit you.

'til you fall over.

[editor's note: bask in the glory of this photo, but know that my hair actually was pink. process post here.]

...mischief managed.

a day to love

9:56 am -- every valentine's day, i'm determined to find things and people to love extra well, regardless of my relationship status. i think it's sad how much anti-happiness there is because there's so much emphasis on the dating aspect of valentines.

i wanted to write a valentine post today, but had no idea what to write about. so i started keeping a log during the day of these valentine-related things.

9:37am (yeah, i realize that one already happened)
my teacher ryan woodward and his wife brought us all donuts! and i added chocolate milk : )

10:02 am
my friend simini posted something adorable for her parents.

10:52 am
in the ladies' room, i found sweet little post-its on the mirror. i found out it was part of this. kind of lovely.

11:04 am
i am specifically trying to smile at everyone i see today. it's working pretty well so far. and i'm happier, too...i used to do this all the time; why don't i reinstate that habit?

11:28 am
i got distracted watching this video.

11:46 am
'harappa'  by e.s. posthumus lulled me to sleep in the animation lab. i woke up at 11:52. it was a soothing little nap

2:12 pm
went to eat tasty food with nikki, and the clouds were BEAUTIFUL. the day just felt...good. on the way back, i experienced a tiny hail storm. quite the interesting phenomenon

3:24 pm
wish i could say i spent that hiatus being productive...but alas, i was better spending my time eating good food, fabulous chocolate, chatting with friends, and drawing jamba juices with sad faces on them.

4 pm
went to class and had a fun time joking with my classmates; i also appreciated talking to my teacher jake parker about how to get out of artist slumps and realized how fortunate i am to have such awesome professors.

i stopped keeping track after that...but you get the idea.

i was also very fortunate to be the recipient of various valentine surprises from some of my dearest friends, as well as from others whom i was pleasantly surprised.

it was also good to hang out with some of my girl friends and made me realize how grateful i am to have such wonderful people in my life.

the night proved to be difficult and didn't end quite like i had planned, but tomorrow is a new day.

{image via here}

His birthday celebration

this year, i especially loved Christmas. i still am.

guitar jams, stories by candlelight, talking, indoor snowball fights (just one), laughing, bonding, pencil fights, little kids, homemade gifts, gifts of time, reminiscing, sharing, lots of food...good. so good.

i'm really trying to focus on enjoying my family, and it works! sometimes i realize even when i'm with people, i'm not really with them. i'm with them + my phone, them + my computer, or them + my wandering mind. this year, i pushed myself away from that and it's been wonderful.

in our family, Christmas is full of traditions. while that's another post of another day, it's one of my favorite things about the holiday. most of our traditions focus on the real reason why we celebrate.

preliminary sketch i did for a competition i ended up not entering...

let us all remember at every point of the year! merry CHRIST-mas!

while a happy man takes a walk

this morning, i read this talk. it was wonderful, and said many things that have been on my heart and mind lately, better than i could. so, here is some of it:

Those who live in thanksgiving daily, however, are usually among the world’s happiest people. And they make others happy as well.


Gratitude turns a meal into a feast and drudgery into delight. It softens our grief and heightens our pleasure. It turns the simple and common into the memorable and transcendent. It forges bonds of love and fosters loyalty and admiration.


Pray with all your heart. Consider the love your Heavenly Father has for all His children. Open your heart to His cleansing word. Feast on the words of holy writ. Cherish the messages of modern-day prophets and apostles. Forgive others who have offended you. Don’t waste another moment feeling self-pity. Every day drain from your heart the feelings of resentment, rage, and defeat that do nothing but discourage and destroy. Fill your heart with those things that ennoble, encourage, and inspire.

i completely agree with everything that is discussed in this talk. there are so many things to be grateful for in life, and i realize that i don't recognize those things often enough.

i heard a speaker in church the other day tell of a unique challenge that was presented to him, a goal of sorts. two dear friends took that same challenge upon themselves this week, and even knowing what they've done with it has blessed and inspired me.

this is my little book that will hold my list!

today, i will take that challenge as well: i will start a list of 1,000 things i am thankful for. i will do this by december 1, which will help me reflect upon these things daily until Christmas season (what else could be a better precursor?) if you (you, reading this! regardless of location, religion, or any other factor) feel even a tiny bit inclined to do the same, i encourage you to follow that feeling and do it. what a blessing it is to recognize our blessings!
after all,

Not everyone can be a star quarterback; not everyone can be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company; not everyone can win a gold medal at the Olympics; but everyone—everyone—can live in thanksgiving daily.
 {via the aforementioned talk}

...My brothers and sisters, to express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven. {from president monson in this talk, which is equally amazing}

why i celebrate

forgive my lack of posting; it's been a ridiculously busy month. on the upcoming 'to-post' list: tally hall, fall '09 classes, winter/spring '08 classes (wow, i'm behind), holidays, other such fun stuff

watch for 'em [hopefully...relatively] soon!

...but for now, i'll just let you know that Christmas was amazing. i hope you are all enjoying the holidays. for those of us who celebrated Christmas, let's remember the reason we have it, eh?

{these photos are brought to you by my camera and my mother's lovely house.}

to see another Christmas reminder, go here.

as my friend britta put it, Christmas = Christ + mas ("more" in spanish). so,
more Christ.

(i agree)

in the spirit of thanksgiving

i wish you all a happy thanksgiving.

it sounds cliche; but i truly appreciate the friends (and other readers whom i don't yet know) who read this blog. it really means a lot to me when you read or comment on my posts; this is a blog where i share things that are of particular interest to me, whether it's silly, spiritual, interesting, artsy, or something close to my heart. it's nice to have people to share that with.

more importantly, though, i am grateful for the people in my life in general. people really are so important to me, and i've realized that more in the past couple of months than i have before.

i'm also grateful for skills and talents, the education that allows me to cultivate those, and the freedom to do so.

though i've experienced multiple injuries and frustrations, i am so thankful for my body and the capacity and potential of human bodies.

i am also thankful for this family reunion, from which i am typing to you. my family is crazy awesome, and it's basically a double reunion-- i'm here at my dad's brother's house in arizona with all of that side of the family, and tomorrow and the next day is a huge reunion for my mom's side of the family.

we probably won't ever be able to do this again. i'm so blessed.

robin and i experienced many miracles along the way here, and even though we ended up getting thoroughly lost by the end, we made it. eventually. and for that, i'm grateful.

overall, i'm grateful for the gospel. for the hope, courage, and strength it's given me, especially in times of recent trial.

i'm off to go family-ize...but i have a question for you: this thanksgiving, what are you thankful for?

brilliant.

please look at jeff's post.

my holiday music is rockin, my toenails are red, and my scarves are ready for duty.

we just got our tree, and i smell like pine.

i'm excited for Christmas.