Life lately...

 Life has been great lately. I've been busy with lots of work and play. Life is about balance right? Gotta have both :) These are just some random things that have happened over the past month.

Kelsi and our somewhat matching pants on Pi day.

On St. Patrick's Day I spoke in church and we made green clover pancakes and delicious ebelskivers. 

Melissa told me that she found these cute little pies at Walmart, so Kelsi and I decided to try making our very own homemade pie shakes out of the baby pies. They were worth all of the trouble to make them. We would highly recommend a homemade pecan pie shake ;)

Our ward had a ward clue party that was pretty awesome. I had to go late after going to a friend's bridal shower, so I didn't dress up, but everyone else went all out especially our Bishop and his wife. It was way fun!

Cheers

Sometimes we wear goggles when we chop onions so that we won't cry. It is actually a very affective solution to chopping onions as long as you don't mind looking ridiculous while you do it. 

We also love our camelback water bottles in this apartment. They will seriously change your life...by 24% (according to the label). You should invest in one if you haven't yet. You will not be disappointed.

Happy half birthday to me!

Today I turned 20.5 years old. Crazy. My family is the BEST and they sent me a lovely package to celebrate the day, including my favorite Wegmans donuts. I was so excited to receive it. It literally made my day. 

Thanks fam! I love you!!

Aspen Grove Reunion

On Saturday I had the lovely opportunity to go cross-country skiing and snow shoeing up at Aspen Grove. It was great to reunite with many of my co-workers and friends from the Summer, especially in such a beautiful location. It was my first time for both activities and I would definitely have to say that cross-country skiing is more fun in my opinion. It was kind of scary going down some of the hills because I've only gone skiing once when I was ten years old...it's been awhile. It was way fun though!

Check out those views!

Alissa and Aubree making some snow angels while we were snow shoeing.

It was a great time to catch up with friends and try out new things. I would definitely do it all again.

Temple Trip

This past Saturday I had the lovely opportunity to participate in a Ward Temple Trip that I had helped to plan. It was wonderful. We went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, which is absolutely gorgeous inside. I got to participate in baptisms for the dead, which was great. I love going to the temple. Then afterward we had salad, chili and rolls at the Bishop's house. It was a wonerful event.

We had an awesome turnout. It was fun getting to go to a different temple with my fellow ward members.

General Conference

Last weekend was General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to hear from modern-day prophets and gain insights and guidance from them. I especially loved the news about the mission age changes for both men and women. What a blessing!

Michelle and I were lucky enough to attend both Sunday sessions. We drove to Salt Lake and stood with signs that said "2 tickets please" and both times random people gave us two tickets so we could enjoy the conference in the center. It was awesome. We also got to spend time with her grandparents, who were such gracious hosts, and her parents who were in town for conference. It was a lovely weekend. Here is the link to listen to General Conference. I would highly recommend it.

f'real

My roommates discovered "magic shakes" that you can get at Maverick gas stations so naturally we all had to go back to try them out. It's pretty cool and delicious. You pick which kind you want out of the freezer (I got reeses peanut butter cup) and then you put it into this machine and it lifts up the shake into the machine and it blends it up magically into a drinkable milkshake (you can pick the thickness). Then it lowers the shake down and you drink it with really big straws. I would recommend it not only for the shake but also for the experience.

so good...f'real.

p.s. Today was a great day because I was super productive. I rocked my Human Development test, finished my clay sculpture, went to class, did homework and celebrated with my roomies. Life is good.

Happy...

Happy first day of Fall!

I'm excited to wear sweaters and boots and see the leaves fall and feel the crisp air and start celebrating holidays and to be with family and to drink hot cider and hot cocoa and to make pies and to enjoy the beauty of the earth and to feel grateful.

Happy birthday Liss! I love you!

You are so wonderful and cheerful and full of energy and joy and beautiful on the inside and out and so fun to be around and so kind and loving and I'm so glad that you are a part of the Livingston fam. Hope you have a great day celebrating!

Happy 21st night of September!

a still mind is divine.

I was re-reading through my journal that I kept in Spain and I stumbled upon this quote that my friend told me. I hadn't remember her telling me this quote and I was so glad that I had written it down because I love it. I had to write it up in InDesign real quick to make a little sign to remember. 

"A still mind is divine." How awesome is that?! I want to have a still mind. I know that that is possible through our Savior Jesus Christ. Having a still mind truly is divine because it comes from the knowledge that Christ atoned for my sins and afflictions. He is there with me through all things and can help me to have peace and a still mind. I'm starting to feel stressed with everything in school and life and I can feel my mind start to wander and get busy, but I just need to remember that a still mind is divine. Trusting and having faith in Christ is what will bring me that still mind and I'll be able to be more productive and happy through obeying His commandments and remembering Him always. 

Running

I've started running more this semester and I've discovered that I can actually enjoy running! This is a new thing for me. I ran track in high school but pretty much hated it and ever since then have bad memories of running. For some reason, maybe because I started listening to Harry Potter on my ipod while I run or maybe because I am super chill about it and don't have super high expectations for myself that I am able to run more than I have before. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it up. But for now I can just say that I'm grateful I have a healthy body that allows me to run.

Life Lately...

Some things I've been up to include, going to The Chocolate with my roomies for some bonding and delicious desserts. I got a chocolate chip "cazookie" which was absolutely delicious. Imagine a warm gooey choco chip cookie with delicious ice cream on top. Can't be beat. I am loving living with my awesome roommates! This is Michelle and I enjoying our desserts:

Courtney and I are trying our hand at being domestic. I made black bean burgers for us for dinner last week. They were a success.

We went to a ward bonfire and then a dance party, which are two of my favorite things.

I've discovered my new favorite meal. A toasted wheat thin with hummus and a cut up tomato on top. SO GOOD! Try it. You will love it.

Meet Henry.

My friend Peter went on a study abroad trip this summer to a bunch of different countries and he brought me back this hippo. His name is Henry and he is an artist. (he has a paintbrush and paint bucket) I was incredibly happy and excited upon receiving such an awesome gift.

Henry is from Finland. So obviously I sometimes call him Johannes.

Peter said he thought of me when he saw Henry because of the lithography print I made last semester. Henry and the bathing hippo would definitely be great friends.

Henry and his Russian penguin friend Parry are great additions to our lovely home and mantle. Thanks again Peter!

Start Making Chips

I read this article for my Ceramics class and I found it refreshing. Creating is an awesome process and I do feel soul satisfaction as I do so. Often times it is intimidating, so I'm happy to take the advice to just start making chips and go from there. The article reminded me of a doodle I once did that's kind of stuck with me. 

"how do I create?"

Life Lately...

Life here at Aspen Grove is the best! I'm loving my job and the people I'm working with. It is absolutely gorgeous here. I never get sick of looking up at the mountains and realizing that this is my life right now.

It did snow one day and it was way cold, especially since I was definitely not prepared for that, but it did look really pretty.

The aspen groves up the alpine loop are soooo pretty. Some friends and I drove up the alpine loop one evening and it is one of my favorite things now. The trees and mountains are out of this world.

On one of my recent days off, Alissa and I ventured off to her home and we stopped by the new City Creek Mall which was quite impressive. 

We stopped by the temple because it is right next to the mall. It was looking gorgeous as always. 

Then on Saturday I hung out with Greg, Liss and Jessie. We went to a parade in Springville in the morning and then hit up The Model A Cafe where I got the biggest pancake I have ever seen in my life. It is called a Flat tire. I could only eat half of it, but Greg proudly finished his whole pancake. It was so fun to hang out with my siblings. They are the best.

Last night we had a staff bonfire, which was great. Nothing says Summer nights like a campfire and good friends.

Hope your Summer is going great!

Life Lately...

Life since I've been home through pictures from my phone.

Happy Easter

I know that my Redeemer lives

What comfort this sweet sentence gives

He lives, He lives who once was dead

He lives, my everliving Head

He lives to bless me with His love

He lives to plead for me above

He lives my hungry soul to feed

He lives to bless in time of need

He lives my kind, wise heavenly friend

He lives and loves me to the end

He lives and while He lives I'll sing

He lives my Prophet, Priest and King

He lives and grants me daily breath

He lives and I shall conquer death

He lives my mansion to prepare

He lives to bring me safely there

Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives, 

"I know that my Redeemer lives"

Watch this video about Christ's amazing life and atonement.

Hey Guess What?!

You're looking at the newest Arts and Crafts Counselor at Aspen Grove for the Summer :)

Get Some.

Today was Presidents Day so there was no school. It was the last break we have this semester before finals so we wanted to take advantage of our free time. Our friend Peter invited Courtney, Kayla and I to go shooting with him so we took him up on the offer. Not gonna lie, when we got there I was pretty scared. I could feel the air from other people's guns, caps were flying everywhere and it was really loud, but once I shot the gun I realized how fun it was! Seriously. It was so intense, yet so fun. Here are some pictures to illustrate the day:

We all took some shots on this target

Courtney shooting:

So proud of my target shots:

Kayla shooting:

Peter shooting:

Me shooting:

I think one of my favorite parts was that the shooting range we went to was called "Get Some." 

I would definitely have to say that we "got some" and now we're excited for our newest house decorations.