It's been a while....

Woah... where did the last year and a half go??? Holy smokes.

Things finally settled down so now it looks like I am going to get back into that favorite female Mormon ritual of advertising my life to the public through blogging.

This post could probably be a million pages long if I got into the details. But let's just do the quickie recap:

May 2011: Went to Mexico with J to decompress from school and spend 10 days in the Riviera Maya. Saw some cool ruins. Oh yeah, and we graduated with a BS in Biology and minor in Chemistry for J and a BS in Exercise Physiology for me.

June 2011: Went to India. By myself. How about that? I went with the study abroad Public Health program through the U of Utah to study environmental health by participating in research in rural northern India. (Chandigarh to be exact.) Trip was supposed to be 3 weeks, but ended 1 week early because I got so sick from the water/food.

July 2011: Silver lining from my India trip.... the day after I returned to the motherland we found out my Mother in law needed a double bypass. Boy was I glad to be in town for that to support my husband and his family.

September 2011: Lotoja! Supported J on his 4th ride. Fun fun fun!

October 2011: Went on a FANTASTIC trip to the East Coast with J. He had never been East of Colorado so I thought it was time. We flew in to DC, drove to my grandparents house in Southern Va. (Seriously, their house is in the middle of NO WHERE. No cell service, no grocery store for miles.... it's awesome.) We went to a Bluegrass Festival called The Festy and ran a corresponding 10k trail run in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Then we drove up to Palmyra, NY. Saw some church sites. Went to Hershey World on the way. Then drove to NYC for a day. Yep, just 1 day. That's all it takes, apparently, for my husband to officially hate NYC. Then we drove to Philly to stay with our friends and see the city. Best water ice ever in Philly! Then drove to DC and spent our last day seeing museums and government buildings.
The last part of October, Montage sent me to Laguna Beach to train for work with some co-workers. I felt very grown up being paid to stay at the Montage Laguna Beach and train for 3 days.

Winter 2011-2012: Worked a lot. That's all.

April 2012: We bought a house. Yes. That's right. More about that later....
Went to Newport Beach with my family and visited Trader Joe's about 17934789 times.
Got our first dog, Koda! A 6 month old Sib. Husky

July 2012: Went to Oahu with Justin's family to celebrate our niece's first birthday with a traditional Hawaiian luau.
Got our 2nd dog, Porsche! A 3 month old Sib. Husky rescue from a puppy mill in Minnesota

August 2012: Went to Seattle to visit my cute sister and her family. Was my first time to Seattle!

September 2012: Went back to the East Coast by myself for a super fun girls trip with my old partner in crime, Evelyn, and my newest partner in crime, Elizabeth. Went to NYC for 3 days and Philly for 2 days to visit our friend Charise and her family. Saw my first Broadway, Wicked, and then on a whim saw my 2nd Broadway, Mary Poppins!! So fun


So that brings us to today! Here are some picture highlights of the last year and half of my life. Enjoy.

Mosaic About Me

I found this idea on my friend Evelyn's blog. Basically, this is a mosaic about special symbols/places to me. I'll explain each picture and then you can make your own if you want.

The first row is all about special places to me. I find that places have as much meaning in my life as symbols and people.

1. This is a picture of Lake Blanche in the Wasatch Mountains. Lake Blanche is only a 20 minute drive and a 3 hour hike. Justin and I have made it our tradition to hike up there every 4th of July weekend. This is where the best tasting water on the earth is (that I have found). It is also gorgeous and has special romantic memories for Justin and I. I love it there. Heaven on earth.

2. Telluride, CO. To me, Telluride represents a second chance, healing and redemption. I moved there for 4 months after a traumatic relationship with a boy and to get away from everyone, to start fresh. I worked long hours, snowboarded every morning, ate healthy organic food and enjoyed the therapeutic mountain air. It represents so many things for me and was a place of healing. I haven't been back since that time, but I plan on it.

3. This is Jackass Pass in the Wind Rivers of Wyoming. I have only had one absolutely perfect day in my life. The day Justin and I went fishing for the first time together in the Wind Rivers was it. First of all, I love fishing and reminds me of my relationship with my Dad and his father. Second, it was Justin's first catch and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We did nothing that day but hike, fish, eat and nap in the backcountry. Absolute perfection.

4. Although this picture doesn't do it justice, this is Nelson County, Virginia. I feel so drawn to this place and always have, as if a part of me belongs there at my grandparent's house in the rural town of Roseland. I love it and I feel like the story of who I am begins there.

5. Aspen trees. I love aspens. I love the leaves, the way they sound in the breeze and love the fact that a grove of aspen trees is not a bunch of trees stuck together but is one giant organism. It is a global community of oneness. What a beautiful symbol of unity, growth and beauty.

6. Yoga. Yoga is my sanctuary and the most grounding force, besides my family and mother earth, in my life. It reminds me to slow down, breathe and appreciate my own strength.

7. Grapefruit. My favorite food. Nothing else satiates like a cold, big, juicy, red grapefruit.

8. Bluegrass music. As you can see, I am a bit of a earthy/granola girl. I love bluegrass music. It reminds me of my southern roots, Nelson County, Virginia and my paternal side of the family. I love it, it makes my soul soar.

9. Water. I am drawn to it like a magnet. If I see a river/lake/ocean/pond then you can bet that I'm standing knee deep in it. Give me a pool and I'm like a fish in water. I love it. I drink lots of it (and almost nothing else), bathe in it more than once a day and seek it out.

10. Canning. Canning is awesome. I love it because you can grow your own food, preserve it through the winter and it tastes so much better than buying store-bought canned crap. Plus, it is a family tradition that my mother and her mother did. It makes me feel closer to them and reminds me of the strong, proud feminine heritage that was passed onto me.

11. Anatomy. I guess you can say I am an anatomy geek. It is the one subject-along with physiology-that is a pure joy for me to learn. I love the human body. The more I study it the more I realized that we from a divine source. There is absolutely no way we crawled out of the ocean as bacteria a bazillion years ago. God made us after Him and our bodies, when taken care of, are as perfect as the plant that we live on.

12. The Book of Mormon. A true testament of Jesus Christ and the only book that can bring me so much peace. It teaches the story of life, death, hope and redemption. It is the road map for life.

Now do your own! http://bighugelabs.com/mosaic.php