V-J Day...

Here's to Halloween and the end of War War II!

One Year Wiser... But that's it.

 I'm not allowed to mention who's birthday it was recently. Or how old he turned. In fact, we weren't even allowed to celebrate. I obeyed these requests with respect... see for yourself...

Just us have dessert with a few friends - clearly not a celebration.

Sticky rice with mangos. A Thai delicacy. A unique dessert - but not for celebration of course.

A test drive on a newly remodeled motorcycle. But obviously not for any sort of celebration.

As you can see, Jake and I had a fun filled weekend just like any other weekend with no mention of a birthday and no celebrating of any kind....

The End of Summer...

The hardest part about Labor Day is saying goodbye to the long days, warm nights, and outdoor adventures of summer... Jake and I made sure we experienced every last minute of the long weekend with a few of our favorite things...

1. slurpees and a midnight walk...

2. cooking our favorite breakfast together - eggs in a basket...

3. 7 Peaks and the Boomerang. This ride gets both of us screaming every time...

4. expensive, greasy amusement park food on a park bench people watching...

5. an outdoor dinner with family to celebrate mom's birthday...

6. A run around and around and around Sugarhouse Park with the boy that pushes my pace...

7. take-out and a late night movie with friends...

8. one last camping trip at our favorite place... Logan Canyon...

9. miniature golf in the rain followed by a warm breakfast and hot chocolate...

and...

10. an afternoon relaxing with a nap, strawberries dipped in homemade fudge sauce, and laughing until we were crying (when you're already laughing pretty hard and then Jake gets the hiccups so he starts squeaking between laughs there is no stopping the hysteria).

I'm putting this one on the list for the best Labor Day weekend yet...

A Break and a Boat...

Words cannot describe the joy I experience every time I visit Lake Powell - so I'll let these pictures do the talking...

What a wonderful break from busy lives we all lead and a way for the soul to rejuvenate - aside from the lost cell phone... that's not very rejuvenating. It's probably on its way to the bottom of the lake...

The people and the laughs, the views and the sunrises, the HOUSEBOAT with a HOT TUB on top!, and the relaxation in such a gorgeous and unique place make these trips some of my favorites...

Feeling Powerful....

This moment in history marks the time that I will never again have to submit a paper, assignment, or take an exam for my undergraduate degrees. This moment right here will never happen again... and I couldn't be more thrilled!

"Didn't you graduate in April...?" You ask. Well, technically yes and no. I finished my Interior Design degree in April. I had three more classes to go to finish my sales degree. Yes, I could have taken the classes during the previous semester and killed myself, but instead, I saved them for the summer. They were all available online and there were only three of them, so what the heck.

I turned in the last essay at 10:30 this morning. So today marks the day that I am officially done with my undergraduate degrees! 

I'm excited, relieved, but most of all, I feel powerful. Maybe a strange thing to feel. But even before I hit "submit", the feelings of excitement started to bubble up inside of me. I had to keep from shouting hurrah! I swear I could have run a marathon right then and there. So I threw on my running clothes and went running. I didn't quite make it 26.2 miles, but I didn't once feel exhausted and ready to give up. I was pumped! 

I feel like I have officially arrived. I got a glimpse of this when I got offered a design job the week before graduation. I got another glimpse while I was sitting in the auditorium in April listening to someone say how wonderful I (and however many other hundred students there were) was. But today combines all of those moments into a seriously rockin' feeling of accomplishment. If I could feel this powerful everyday can you image what I could do with myself?? 

I know this feeling won't last forever, but while it's still here I have a lot to do with it! First I need to figure out what my next big goal is....

Moab Trip...

Took a quick weekend trip to Moab with a couple of friends. It am seriously in love with red rock and blue skies! Although it was quite hot - Moab isn't necessarily the middle-of-summer-vacation-spot of choice - we had a great time relaxing and just enjoying the free time. 

One of our spontaneous activities included making music at this awesome park! Why don't we have these at home? Those bridge looking things are xylophones. There were drums, bells, chimes of all sizes, and tons of xylophones all over.

We met this odd gentleman who built his own bike - with two (maybe three) bikes welded on top of each other. Soon to be more.... of course.

We did other wonderful things like rock climbing, hiking, swimming in a watering hole...

...and snapping my very first instagram photo! Holla! (Yes, I gave in to the instagram world. I've been holding out for awhile. Maybe one of these days I'll blog about why I decided it was worth the time suck).

Definitely need more of these quick and relaxing getaways - fuels for the spirit....

Real in the Rain...

Last Tuesday Jake called me on my lunch break and asked if I was dressed warm. It was raining hard that day but I was wearing a skirt, heels, and a cardigan. I told him I was dressed sufficiently (seeing as I was sitting inside all day at a computer) and asked him why. He then told me to clear my schedule after work. Again, I asked why. After much probing, Jake finally told me that he had won tickets to the Real Salt Lake game for THAT night! I was so excited! Not just for the soccer game, but it's very rare that I get to spend time with Jake during the week!

I rushed home from work, changed, and grabbed some serious rain gear - it was going to be a wet and cold game. I made it to the stadium just in time. We had great seats! $100 tickets will do that for you! They will also buy you dinner! I wish this picture gave you a better idea of what the rain was like - it was coming down in sheets.

Luckily the design of the stadium kept us just out of reach, even with the wind. We stayed nice and dry :-)

I love when I get to spend unexpected time with this boy...