Snowy Yellowstone

My family and I spent this past weekend in a very snowy Yellowstone. Who would have guessed we'd encounter snow in June?! But we still had a great time; luckily we were prepared for the cold weather. And the sun did make a few brief appearances. We saw lots of animals, including a bear, and of course lots of springs and geysers. Yellowstone is such a beautiful place, no matter the weather!

Norris Geyser Basin

The bear!Buffalo...
Old Faithful

The brink of Upper Falls

For Sale

My sister and brother-in-law are selling their darling 2006 Lehi townhome. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths, is immaculate, has a garage and fenced backyard (with automatic sprinklers) and easy access to I-15. It's really a great place.

If you know of anyone who might be looking, leave a comment and we'll get you pictures and more info. Thanks!

It's Not Easy Being Green

I try to at least think about being more "green," I definitely think it's good to take care of our environment and be kind to the Earth. Sometimes it's just a lot harder than it sounds. But I am making efforts and I'm going to proudly share them here. Every little bit counts, right?

1. I bought a reusable shopping bag, and I've it used a few times, but right now it's sitting in my bedroom, not in my car where it should be, I'll work on that...
2. I now wash all my clothes in cold water only, and they seem to be just as clean.
3. My family participates in the city's recycling program.
4. At work I've been working on uploading reports to a shared site so we don't have to print them and pass them out, people can just look at them online.
5. I try to consolidate my errands and drive less.
6. I try to be good about unplugging appliances, chargers, etc. when they're not in use, although I need to keep working on that one.
7. I always turn off lights when I leave a room.
8. I just recycled 7 photos from an old calendar by framing them and hanging them in my room. They look great!
9. I've heard that you use less water running your car through a car wash than you do when washing it by hand, so I'm using car washes (okay, maybe that's just laziness).
10. For Christmas I requested (and got) a lunchbox and some plastic containers which I now use to tote my lunch instead of paper bags and plastic bags.
11. I just purchased a new bag made entirely from recycled plastic bags for an upcoming trip.

Small steps, I know, but I'm working on it!

Keeping Up

Sometimes I get a little caught up in keeping up with everyone else. I worry that I'm not in the same place in my life as all my friends. I'm definitely not where I thought I'd be at this point in my life. But it's at times like this when I have to remind myself that I'm right where I'm supposed to be and I have so many blessings...

So I'm counting my blessings (in no particular order):

1. I have a wonderful family. My parents are supportive and loving (and they let me live with them.) My sisters are my best friends. I have a really great little brother.
2. I have the most adorable niece and nephew and I absolutely adore them and I think they like me too. I'm lucky to get to live close to them and see them often.
3. I have a good job and I work with great people.
4. I have the gospel in my life.
5. I have a warm place to live with plenty to eat and a car to drive.
6. I live in a beautiful area.
7. I have access to as many books as I can possibly read.
8. I've had opportunities to travel a little and live in a few different places.
9. I have a great group of friends, near and far.
10. I had the opportunity to attend college.

And I could go on...I really am a lucky girl.

U.S. Mail

I just got a Christmas Card I sent to friends in New Jersey returned. It's marked "Not Deliverable as Addressed." Nothing too unusual...except...I sent the Christmas Card on December 16, 2003. That's right, 2003! It somehow took FIVE years to come back. No wonder it wasn't deliverable. My friends haven't lived there in years!

I wonder where it's been...

My gardening days...

Some of you may not know that my degree is in Horticulture. When I graduated from BYU I moved to Indiana to complete my internship at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The museum was built in the 70's or 80's on the historic Lily estate, in the midst of over 150 acres of amazing gardens. It's smack in the middle of Indianapolis. The gardens were originally designed in the 20's. They're sprinkled with sculpture and are absolutely beautiful! So green and lush. It was an amazing place to work and I miss it! I also miss the wonderful people I worked with, they were so much fun and taught me so much.

Today I visited the museums website and found a blog written by one of the gardeners I worked with. He's one of the funniest people I've ever known and I was so excited to hear a bit about what's happening in the gardens, all told in Irvin's style. It made me miss the gardens even more! However I do have to admit I don't miss pulling weeds or tossing mulch on a 95 degree summer day with 95 percent humidity!

So check out the blog!http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/category/horticulture/

And here are a few pictures of the gardens. I can't wait to go back for a visit!

The Formal Garden

Chad, one of the horticulturists I worked with, leading a tour in one of the border gardens.

The Allee with the Lily House in the background.

The Ravine Garden.

December Cruise

A few girlfriends and I took a cruise to Key West & Cozumel a few weeks before Christmas. We had a great time and I had to show off some of our pictures! The beach in Cozumel.

The one ruin we saw in Cozumel--El Cedral.

The ship had a huge movie screen on the top deck. What a great way to watch a movie! Here we're watching Transformers.

The ship docked in Key West.

The beach in Key West.

Key West's lighthouse.

The southermost point of the continental United States. We didn't know they were repainting it when we leaned in for this photo. Paint from that middle white stripe is still on my pants and bag.

We rented this little electric car in Key West and drove around the island for a few hours. It was great.

Lounging on deck during our day at sea. The hood kept my hair from blowing into my eyes. It was windy! But we couldn't have asked for better weather, it was beautiful the whole trip!