365 Project-#18

Today was great. I had the opportunity to hang out with my family, and some members of my pseudo family as well. We got together today for lunch, at Red Lobster. I am not gonna lie, it was pretty amazing. I love my family. I love my family so much.

Pictured here are some of my favorite people. On the far left is a lady named Paula. Then, me. Then, my Aunt Monica, my Mom, and Maxie. All of these women mean a great deal to me. I am very privileged to have each of them in my life. Sometimes we take the good things in our lives for granted. I try not to do this everyday.

365 Project-#17

Sick desperation. That is what this is. This is what it looks like. Only 10 more days of the semester, and this is how I feel. With three papers due in the next 2 days, and three or four tests to look forward to in the next two weeks, I feel like I am in over my head. School is amazing, I love learning...but, the end of the semester blues hit pretty hard around here.

BYU gives no spring break. Granted, we get out almost a month earlier that most people, we still get NO spring break. Just about the time you are needing a break in the Winter Semester, your professors up the ante and throw on a test or two along with a couple of assignments. I don't know about you, but just thinking about it makes me tired.

10 more days. I can survive!

365 Project-#16

Well, today I made soup. I make soup like once a week. Then I eat it all week. In fact, if you want the truth, I mostly eat soup...all the time. Every once in a great while I will scrounge up something else to eat, but most of the time it is just soup. I am kind of like the narrator in the movie Fight Club, "How embarrassing, a house full of condiments and no food." That is my life. I never have any actual food at my apartment. I attend a lot of things where they give free food away, or I go to my loving Aunt and Uncle's and they feed me. But other than that, I eat soup.

I throw whatever I can find into this soup. If it is a vegetable, and I can cut it up, it usually goes in. I really like soup. Though, I have to admit I do get sick of it from time to time. Oh well.

Soup's on!

365 Project-#15

This my friends is what roller blading looks like. Today was awesome. It was Sunday, which means I had the chance to be quite lazy. Got up and went to Church. Then I came home and had a few things to work on here. After like 3 or 4 hours of that I was sick of being in this house and sick of what I was doing. So I asked my room mate Michelle if she wanted to go on a bike ride or something. She said she was game, and away we went.

This was my first excursion of the season on my blades. We went from our house in Eastern Provo all the way out to Utah Lake. For those of you who know Provo, this is quite a little trek. Things were going amazingly right up until we were about 4 blocks from home. That was when I biffed it.

I don't eat it very often on blades, but today I did. And it happened right in front of like 12 other college kids who were playing a game in their yard. Ya, I felt like a total idiot. I guess it is through the tough moments in life that we are supposed to grow the most. Or something like that.

365 Project-#14

Hare Krishna! The Holi festival of colors happened today, and it was amazing. I went with two of my greatest friends, Marcus and Amy (who happen to be siblings). It was a great day. For those of you who don't understand or know about the Holi festival, it is a Hindu religious festival that they get together once a year and do. It is like a reigning in of the spring time, hence all the colors. The powder is made of maize, or corn and it edible. Thought it stinks...like roses, or something odd like that.

This is what happens. You drive to Spanish Fork, you park your car, and then you walk. We didn't have to walk very far actually, which was quite nice. Then you go and you buy your colors. After you have bought them, you go to this huge field with a stage at the far end. You stand with a ton of people all around you. You feel like you are going to be trampled on because there are so many people and you are so close. Then a guy on stage starts to chant. He chants and chants and chants, and the whole crowd gets into it. Aboriginal style. You start to move and sway and jump and act crazy. Then after like an hour of this the guy on stage counts down from 10 to 1, and then everyone in the crowd throws a bag or two of this colored powder in the air. It of course lands everywhere. On your clothes, in your hair, and the worst part is, you breathe it in. There are like 10,000 people there, crammed into a field that isn't big enough to hold 2,000. It is amazing. And I loved every minute of it.

It is about as close to being a drunk, colorful, hippie as a member of the Church can get I think.

365 Project-#13

Good ol' Deseret Industries. I shop at DI for many reasons. Here are a few:

1. I am poor.

2. I am poor.

3. I am poor.

4. You can find really neat stuff at DI if you are patient enough to look.

5. Shopping there is like finding treasure.

6. I like second hand clothes, almost better than I like brand new things.

7. It is cheap.

8. They have one of everything, seriously.

9. Other people like that I shop at DI and think it is neat when I tell them I found cool stuff there.

10. The have old things...like retro...except it isn't fake retro, because the stuff at DI has actually been used before.

I love DI. I love DI so much that sometimes I wish I lived there. Ok, maybe not for real lived there. But I do wish I had the time to go and look through all the stuff they have there, rummaging around for a good deal. It is a great place to waste a lot of time.

365 Project-#12

Happyness. Yes, you read right, happyness. I've always wanted to type it that way and have people read it. I wonder what went on in your mind when you read it? "That's spelled wrong?" Well, it wasn't spelled wrong for me yesterday. This is a 3 generation photo. My Grandma on the right, my Mother in the middle, and me on the left. Yesterday was pretty monumental in the life of my mother. She had the opportunity to go through the Temple.

Now, those of you who are LDS understand the significance of this. And those of you who read this that aren't well, it is significant. Very significant. I was so excited to have the opportunity to be there with Mom. She is so amazing, and I love her more than life.

Happyness. Total happyness.

365 Project-#11

This is what changing light bulbs at work looks like. I cut myself this morning, and didn't realize it for about 10 minutes. It surprises me how the human body works. Prior to knowing that I had cut myself, I had no pain in my hand. After I saw the blood, I felt the pain. I think a lot of things in life are that way. Only when you know about the so called "bad" things in your life...only then does it hurt. I'm glad to know that the mercury content in the lights I change at work isn't enough to kill me.

At least I don't think so.

365 Project-#10

The eyes are the windows of the soul. At least that is what they say. My eyes most of the time can't decide if they want to be green or brown, or a mixture of both. I acquired these colors from my parents. My father has very brown eyes, and my mother has green. Combine the two (at least when they were combined in me) and you get weird brown/green/hazel. I find this kind of funny. I like eyes, and I like making eye contact with people. Your relationship always means more if you can make and keep eye contact with someone. It is an intimate quality most people forget about.

My eyes look tired today. My eyes look tired most days. But, when you run with the kind of hours I do, anyone would be tired.

I stay that way most of the time.

365 Project-#9

This is most definitely what a lazy Sunday looks like to me. I totally bummed it out all day today. It was beautiful outside so I laid right outside of my door (in the middle of the walk-way) and soaked up some rays. It honestly couldn't have been prettier. I love Utah. And I love Utah spring/summers.

I stole these shorts from my cousin Chelise, who stole them from her brother Wesley, who stole them from his older brother Colton. So, these shorts have been through a lot. I think they are my favorite pair for this reason. Sure they have been used a little. And have been around since 2005. And they are kind of falling apart. But I love them.

Rock on lazy Sunday.

365 Project-#8

Why? I think that is the question many BYU fans are asking themselves tonight. After a quick 10 to nothing lead in the first half, things were looking great for our boys in blue. But then after a timeout by #2 ranked Kansas State things began to fall apart. In a sad loss (72-84) we of course were knocked out of the tournament. It is a sad night in Cougar Town.

But, things are still ok. There are still a few teams namely Northern Iowa(9) who won big over Kansas(1) to make it into the Sweet Sixteen, which will be played next week.

Sweet Sixteen week will probably find me huddled in the corner singing, "Rise and Shout the Cougars are out..."

365 Project-#7

I love March Madness. I love March Madness a lot. I love spending days, nay weeks watching excellent basketball being played. I have the teams I root for every year, like Xavier and Gonzaga, and the teams that I root against every year, like Duke and Kentucky (who I hate...).

This year the tournament means a lot to me though. The BYU Cougars (who also happen to be THE team for me) made it past the first round. This hasn't happened in the last 17 years. There are a lot of excited fans around campus as of late, and to tell you the truth I am proud. I am proud of the fact that the Cougar's pulled out of a double over-time, nail biting game to win 99-92.

I am also proud of some lower ranking seeds for pulling through. Teams like Ohio(14) who beat out Georgetown(3) and Murray State(13) who beat out Vanderbilt(4). Granted this did no help for the brackets that I filled out, but I am still proud to see some lesser known teams making names for themselves in this years tournament.

That is what this tournament is all about. Having the chance to come from nothing (a lesser valued school) and make a place for yourself among the elite. I have heard and read many reviews this year, (and while the tournament is still not over and none of us are sure of the outcome yet) some of the teams that are not known well, or who have yet to make a name for themselves were ripped on pretty bad. And I think it is awesome that they aren't standing down. No matter what the reviews say, they are still playing well, and still winning games.

This is why I love the game of basketball.

365 Project-#6

Converse. All Stars. Chuck Taylor's. Chuck's. And my favorite nick name for these shoes, Convy's. As you can see from this picture I could probably be a Converse spokesperson if I really wanted to be. I was introduced to Chuck Taylor's when I was in grade school. A few of the kids wore them then. I didn't really think much of it at the time. Then again, in Jr. High a few kids had a pair here and there. Then came High School. In High School the world of Chuck Taylor's opened for me, and has been open ever since.

My first pair was the black pair you can see here. I wore them nearly everyday when I first got them as a freshman. Then as the years went by I grew less and less fond of them. Finally, I boxed them up and came to BYU in July of 2004. My Convy's came with me, but were left under my bed for the majority of that year...and the next....and the next. Then once again, I boxed them up so that I could go on a mission in 2007. In December of 2008 after I had returned home my Grandpa had given me some money for Christmas. The green pair you see here were my next purchase. I wore them everyday when I first got them. That is until I went to Colorado and spilt battery acid on them...making them almost impossible to wear (until I found some duct tape that is).

After nearly ruining my green pair of Chuck's, and wearing them with duct tape on them for months, I decided to acquire a new pair of shoes. This time though I didn't want just any shoe. I wanted to make the shoe myself. I went to www.converse.com and did just that. The green white and blue pair here were the result.

As was mentioned before, my birthday was last Friday. And so, for a birthday present to myself I decided to buy the red pair you see in the middle. I have always owned All Stars that were either green, blue, or black in color. Never red. But, this red pair of Converse shoes has already brought me a lot of happiness. I think I am going to enjoy them as I have all the others.

365 Project-#5

Chuck Palahniuk is one of my favorite authors. He is real. He doesn't sugar coat stuff, and doesn't caudal you with lameness about butterflies and rainbows. He is gritty, usually writing about things most people are too scared to talk about.

My favorite book (and movie) by him is found right in the middle of this picture. If you haven't read Fight Club, I suggest you do. It might just change your life.

"It's only after you've lost everything, that you are free to do anything." -Tyler Durden

365 Project-#4

So as part of the psychology department at BYU we as students have the opportunity to not only become part of the Psych Association, but also receive way awesome T-Shirts. I love T-Shirts! I was very excited to buy this particular shirt because of the saying on the back as you can see.

As a psychology major some people think I can read their mind. Some people think I am analyzing them on the spot. And frankly, I won't lie. I do my fair share reading minds, analyzing, and pseudo diagnosing of my friends, relatives, and (most of all) acquaintances I meet everyday. I honestly can't help it. It is in my blood...and my brain.

I love the work that I get to participate in as a psychology major. I look forward to graduate school, for not only the purpose of furthering my education, but because graduate school means I will get to do the work I feel I am suited best for. I want to help people, bottom line. Living through what I have, and the experiences that make up my life have a lot to do with why I chose this field. In the end though, I really just love it and look forward to serving people for the rest of my life.

365 Project-#3

This photo was taken right outside of my apartment complex in Provo, Utah. As I said on my first post, I think reflections are awesome, and I always look for them in random places. This one was found in the scooter that I recently acquired. This scooter means a great deal to me actually. It was first owned by my cousin Quinn. He passed away January 11, 2009. After Quinn bought it, and didn't ride it he passed it on to my Grandpa Bill. Grandpa Bill only took it out once or twice, but the scooter had made a cross country trip from Utah to Illinois. With the recent divorce of my parents, the scooter has once again made it back across the country to be in my possession in Utah. It needs a little work, but as soon as I can get it running you can bet you will be able to see me cruising around Provo on it.

My shirt is also significant. St. Patrick's Day is on Wednesday as we all know. I decided to see if I had enough green shirts to fill an entire week (because St. Patrick's Day is my favorite holiday) and today of course is the first (and for those of you who know my wardrobe, or course I have that many green shirts.) The shirt says "Lucky to be Irish, Proud to be Awesome." And I love it. I'd like to formally thank my ancestors for being from Ireland.

Serious. Thank you.

365 Project-#2

365 Project-#2

This photo was taken outside of my Grandparents house in Duchesne, Utah. I love spending time in Duchesne, and wish I lived there. I swear, I must be half horse or something close to it. I have loved them since I was old enough to remember. They are honestly the most peaceful animals that I know of. Quiet, serene, and thoughtful, they can read my body language better than I can a lot of the time. If I am having a day (like I sometimes do) all I have to do is walk out in the field. I don't have to say anything, because honestly sometimes there isn't anything to say. All I have to do is reach out my hand to one of these horses and they know the whole story. It is amazing.

This horse's name is Buddy. He is a great ride and I love him. I also love that it was snowing when I took this. It was a good day.

365 Project-#1

This photo was taken in the parking lot of Beer's Harley Davidson in Roosevelt, Utah. I spent the day with my Aunt Monica, shopping and doing various other things. This is a random truck I found in the parking lot. I think reflections are awesome...and there will probably be a lot of them throughout.

Thank you Zack for your inspiration. And Roxie for your ideas. I love you, cousins of mine.

So, I have decided to start this 365 project. I feel that it will be good, not only for me but for those around me as well. Taking photos has become a real past time of mine the last year or so, and I figure if I am going to take them, I might as well share them. I didn't start this back in January because my life was in upheaval. Things have settled a little now, yesterday was my birthday, and I figured it was a good enough day to start. You will find a lot of different photos here, dealing with my life. Happy hunting.