A Trip for a Cookie...

Sometimes you just want a hot cookie. And sometimes you get a coupon in the mail for a free one. So what do you do? You take a 2 hour trip to get yourself that cookie dang it!

Ragnar Zions 2014...

Let's talk about Ragnar Zions. 127 miles, 8 runners, in the beautiful Zions National Park. Camping, running, camping, running, etc. I went down with a group from my office and had some quality coworker bonding.

What started like this...

Turned into this...

It rained for 4 straight hours. I kid you not. Utah does not rain like that. But this time it did. And 4 hours of rain brought mud. Sooo much mud. Oh. And after the rain and mud? Snow. Yes. Snow. About a half mile into my 8.2 mile run it started. And how long did it snow for? No short of 2.5 hours. 

Running literally turned into taking a few steps and waiting as I slid around on the mud. Trees became hand holds to pull myself up the hills. I lost count after 20ish total wipe outs. I'm not talking slips in the mud, I'm talking cartoon like banana peel wipe outs.

I wish I could explain better the yards of mud up to my knees, the hills I practically had to crawl up because the mud was so slippery I couldn't even stand, the horizontal wind on the crest of the hill that made it impossible to see the next hill, and the beautiful silence running in the snow, in the middle of the mountains, in the middle of the night. It was surreal - and freakin' crazy!

So after all of that, what did I do last week? I registered for Ragnar Zions 2015...

Best Mother's Day...

Mother's Day at its best... for your viewing pleasure...

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Color Festival...

Everyone and their mom has been to a color festival in Utah. And everyone has to post their photos online. So without further ado...

Cafe Crawl #3...

The Wild Grape! So delicious! And so quaint! I really liked this place :-) It was a touch on the pricey side, but every once in a while it's okay to splurge on a unique meal - and of course when it's expensive Jake never let's me pay. So frustrating, but so so sweet. He's such a gentleman.

Dream Job...

Holy Heck. This year is getting away from me. Isn't it crazy how the times in life when the most changes are happening are the times that we can't seem to find a moment to write it all down, yet these are probably the moments that my matter the most?

Did you know I have been at my dream job for almost a year now?? I have had some amazing opportunities at this place. Every day I get paid to sketch ideas, be inspired, and collaborate with creative people to design spaces that will affect those that use them. It's really quite incredible.

I get to take an idea in my head and turn it into this... 

... and then I take that sketch and turn it into this...

...and that rendering becomes reality (this project will be done by the end of this year).

When I was in high school I thought I wanted to go into the medical field so that I could affect people's lives - as if the only way to influence others was to help them when they were sick. But now, I get to change people's lives through their environment - by making it beautiful and functional. People think design is just picking colors and furniture, and if you ask me about it, you'll get an earful. That's maybe 10% of what I do! Design is the opportunity and the science of shape people's surroundings in a way that will affect their productivity, mood, health, and ability to learn, heal, or work. Everyday I focus on things like how people will move through a space, how the layout of a room will foster creativity and learning, and the psychological affect colors and patterns have on people. I study how the chemical make up of building materials will affect health and well-being - and I am in control of making sure my designs have less impact on the environment. It's a beautiful thing really.

This last week I got to see an almost finished product of one of the first projects I worked on when I started - the Wayne Estes Athletics Building up at Utah State University. It was so incredible to walk through the space and see what my hard work had done! It's almost surreal! Here are two images of designs that I worked my tail off to make look good and was so excited to see them in real life!

Looking forward to a great year and some more fun designs...

Cafe Crawl #2...

Cafe Crawl stop #2 brought to you by Masala Indian Grill...

Located in the heart of downtown Sugarhouse, Jake and I walked to this nice little place. It was a decent Indian meal - I'd give it 2.5 stars. Let's hope the next stop is a little more exciting...