looking up - Jan 2010 playlist

January was a great month. I got to spend new year's with Stacy, Wayne, Nynaeve, Trajan and Steve. We watched Beauty and the Beast and played Candy Land and Scrabble all night. It was perfect.

Then I got to fully cater a wedding in Provo, thanks to Riehl Events. It was my first big success as Crave Catering.

A week later I went to Hanksville with Steve to visit with family and see the sights. Pictures from that are in my last post.

I spent the next weekend in Wendover with Amber, Gregg and Brad. We got a sweet hotel room, ate some amazing buffets, listened to some live music, and gambled our pocket change away.

I watched all the seasons of Friday Night Lights. I'm obsessed! What an amazing show! I have fallen in love with Taylor Kirtsch and finally understand football.

A few days later I got a call from The MORE Project and was offered a position I had been dying to get! I couldn't be happier with it. It's an amazing organization and I work with great people. It is definitely worth the wait and all the hard work of these past several months.

While all of this was going down, I was listening to this playlist. It's perfect for everything this month meant to me.

looking up
1. july flame. laura veirs
2. walk over me. dirty blonde
3. i run to you. lady antebellum
4. devil town. bright eyes
5. begin again. colbie caillat
6. cigarrettes and rain. chris o'brien
7. don't you evah. spoon
8. fireflies. ron hope
9. i'm the only one. melissa etheridge
10. need you now. lady antebellum
11. i'm yours. ron pope
12. off i go. greg laswell
13. i want you back. colbie caillat
14. back to her. five way friday
15. chasing cars. natasha bedingfield
16. all we'd ever need. lady antebellum
17. hard times. dirty blonde
18. fearless. colbie caillat
19. sesame street. joshua radin

enjoy!

the beauty of home

I grew up in what the world calls "Majestic Southern Utah." I never understood why people were so enamoured by my natural surroundings. everything was so blah and drab. I hated the drive no matter where I was going. I hated the view from my windows. I hated every place my mom took us camping. all I ever wanted was to move somewhere green and wet and lively.

so, I did. I moved back east and smothered myself in trees. I even lived amongst the corn fields in Iowa for a while and I loved it. I savored every moment, every sunset, every view. I was heartbroken that I had lived in such an ugly place for so long.

a couple weeks ago I went home to visit my mom in Hanksville. it was very strange. I felt as though I had never been there before. I suddenly saw southern Utah through the eyes of a foreign tourist. every corner was a priceless painting I couldn't wait to see. everything was breathtaking. and it was even winter! I took a ton of pictures and just couldn't get enough.

that night as I was trying to fall asleep I suddenly felt a deep sorrow for wasting all those years wishing for something different. there are countless miles of beauty that I have never noticed or tried to discover. I vow to never let that happen again. I can't wait for the snow to melt and the winds to dry up the desert so I can venture back to my homeland.