bucket list: promontory, utah

promontory ranch

may 2013

i delight in fishing. i kind of always have. i liked the concept of fishing...throwing my line out, being able to get distracted, think, let my mind wander and ponder and then...tug tug tug...and i caught a fish. over time i've developed a love for fly fishing which takes a little more of an active mind than good 'ole bait fishing but possibly even more relaxing and pounds more fun. i loved being able to get our for the first time this season with my dad to a new place, the atk ranch. it's in the middle of no where which is part of its beauty. a gem in the desert we had the place to our selves with the exception of the caretaker, his dogs and a mindful horse who seemed to enjoy whinnying at us when he thought we were doing things we ought not (like taking kayak's out on the bass and bluegill pond). 

after a delightful day of good fishing, kayaking, photography and a sunburn. the day was topped off by going to see the reenactment of the wedding of the rails (uniting of the transcontinental railroad).  more pictures of that later, but it was definitely on my bucket list of things to do. i'm a true lover of utah history and pretty much everything i learned about utah in fourth grade--the indians, the songs of all the counties (which i can still sing all 29), the rocks, the trains, the pioneers...i delight in it all.

and so here's to meeting a bucket list goal. welcoming in summer the right way. and celebrating an awesome half birthday. 

delighting in 18/52: progress, lessons and prayer

we are ute fans

j/k, we are really byu fans

may 2012

How has it been an entire year since graduation? It actually feels like I've been an SLP forever, and I don't even have my CCC's yet. I still love it though and I'm so grateful to be where I'm at right now.

It has been a fantastic week. No near death experiences on the freeway, no getting hit on by old men (I don't think that post ever made it on here), and no other crazy out of the ordinary things to report on this week.

One of my biggest delights of the week is exercising. I've finally gotten back outside on a regular basis, and I love it! (And need it!) I don't know how I survive winter.  Friday was my first real Friday off in forever. I got up and went on a walk early enough that only the junior high kids are out waiting for the school bus. As I walked on the usual route, I listened to conference talks. I also had the Nike Running App letting me know when I'd gone 15 minutes, reminding me how out of shape I am. Surely it must know I'm walking with that many minutes to go one mile. Oi! Anyway, as I walked and pondered the gospel, I just kept thinking...step by step.

Step by step, we just keep going. Today in sacrament meeting, a few people talked about how they weren't sure why they were where they were in their lives right now but that they'd figure it out and be grateful for the experience. Then someone else stood up and said how she has come to realize how the Lord really does want us to be happy, even in times of trial. She said, "God's plan is called the Plan of Happiness for a reason, he means for us to be happy." And I agree. Life in the gospel is not easy and we can never and should never confuse easiness for happiness...those words have no relation in that way. Life takes work and life in the gospel requires work. Work brings happiness because work also brings progress. God's plan is all about progress. It's about who you were, who you are and who you can become.  

Step by step we make it where we need to be. Sometimes I feel I'm not stepping and I'm actually just shuffling...but it's still moving forward. It's still progress and we can't discredit progress. 

And so, this week, as I have seen bucket list dreams become not just possibilities but realities...I think of how mindful my Heavenly Father is of me. That he cares about what I care about, not just about what I think he cares about. My prayers need to reflect this too...I need to tell him about all my problems, hopes and desires, not just the ones I think He will care about because all the ones I care about, He can and will care about.

I delight in hope. I delight in new adventures. I delight in trying. 

i delight in the way things work out.

quick chat moment...

things with me work are good, things with me family are good, things with me room are a disaster.

my mind is like my room, a disaster.  there are so many things rattling around that there is little order. in this fact, i do not delight.

i do however delight in the things that i can't see but that the lord can see. i delight in following those little promptings, even when i don't understand them. i delight in the things that didn't work out even when i thought i wanted them to. i delight in those moments when i see what i once couldn't see but now i see so so clearly. heavenly father is so kind that way. and in some ways i also think he just must have a great sense of humor. and so, i am grateful that he humors me and protects me through this mortal experience.