Oquirrh Mountain

Last Sunday I went to the dedication of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was beautiful, and I'm so thankful that this one has been built. Yes, I have a closer temple to attend, but I know that the Lord is thinking of us, and that we are thinking of Him, every time that another temple is built.

I think I remember this being a foyer area.

Branden and I went to the open house together on Thursday, July 30. It was a lot of fun. It's so beautiful, and the pictures don't do it justice. We went at the evening, so every chandelier glistened and sparkled. Branden and I had a great time. It started with a movie about the temple, and then we got to wait in line before we went inside. The wait wasn't that bad, but it was cold and windy night. I tried to hide behind him, and he worried about his tents. Inside I was amazed by the majesty of the building. It was beautiful, even down to the detail of stars etched in the windows. On the third and highest floor are the sealing rooms, where couples are married and sealed to their children for all time and eternity. It just serves as a subtle reminder that that's the whole purpose of the temple. It was our last "stop," though on our way out we walked through the Bride's room. Temples are just special places. Branden and I were so happy as we walked back towards our car, and afterward we drove by the Jordan Mountain Temple, because I had never seen it before.

The baptismal font.

A waiting area.

This room is painted to look like the surrounding landscape. It's gorgeous!

This and the two pictures that follow are the celestial room.

This is another waiting area.

This is a sealing room where people get married.
Their family and closest friends come and watch. It's just more private than normal weddings.

This is the stairway. I think it looks prettier from the bottom looking up.

This and the next one are pictures of the bride's room.

That night on the way home we talked about which temple we wanted to get married in. Funny thing is we weren't yet engaged. Now all of that is irrelevant.

I'm so thankful for temples. Their whole purpose is to unite families throughout all of eternity, and I can't wait until I can one day be married in the temple for all time and eternity. What a blessing.


{I love temples.}

Graduation getting closer

{I just applied for graduation.}

I went into the Humanities Advisement Center and met with an amazing lady who helped me fill out the form. While I was writing she was checking my requirements. I glanced at the computer screen once. Little RPTs peppered the right margin of my Academic Record. I couldn't help but be a little ashamed of them. I'm happy with my GPA, but in order to get it where it is I've had to repeat about a semester's worth of classes. I just wish that I would have done it right the first time.

The good news is: I only need to take one test to be done with my Spanish major. I only have two classes to be done with my business minor, and I just have one class and an internship until I'm done with my Global Management Certificate. And I'm already enrolled in all of my classes.


Now, I'm looking for an international internship. I'd love to find something part-time in Utah this semester. If I intern during winter semester, I'm mainly considering internships in Argentina or Mexico.

I'm so glad that life has given me this opportunity.

It's still most likely that I won't be graduating until April, but as of today, I'm ready for December--just in case.

My first fish

This past week has been odd for the Cove. Nobody has been here. Old tenants moved out and new tenants haven't moved in yet. So, Aaron, Dirk, Whitney, and I decided to go camping. We went up the Farview Canyon to Huntington Reservoir. When we pulled up the wind was so nice on the lake that I could only think about one thing: sailing. Little did I know that I'd have a new adventure this trip. (P.S. I love editing pictures with Picnik, but these are too nice on their own)We set the tents up in a grove of trees by the shore. Whitney and I shared a tiny tent made for 2 adolescents. It was a little cramped, but we felt safer sleeping in cramped quarters than we would have if we were alone.

As the evening fell the lake became glass smooth. Aaron and I gathered firewood as Dirk and Whitney tried out the lake for fish.
It was so nice to get away from all of the worries of daily life. Early in the morning I couldn't believe how beautiful it was to look through the trees at the sunlight reflecting off of the lake. I now understand what I didn't two years ago. Camping is amazing.
In the morning we jumped back in the truck and headed around to another spot on the lake. After the men taught Whitney and I how to cast, they tried fishing while we ate granola bars. There weren't any real bites, so we decided to move on.
We drove down the dusty desert road until we found another reservoir. I didn't bother to check for its name. We climbed down the rocks to the water's surface, but once again, no fish.


We jumped in the car again, and found the most beautiful little pond. I didn't expect Potter's Pond to be so gorgeous in the middle of the desert.
Not only was it gorgeous, but it provided us with dinner. Aaron and I were eating Limón chips on the way to our spot, and it was a good thing, because we used the bag for our fish. Dirk hooked a fish and then gave me the rod to reel it in. Once he got it off the hook, he handed it to me. I'm pretty sure that I dropped it immediately!
Lets just say, I was expecting scaly not slimy! I had never held a fish anywhere away from the coast. Gotta love that reaction huh?
Well, not only was I tough enough to grab the thing, but Whitney got tough enough to try to gut it.
Dirk was the master fisher. While he was teaching Whitney I took his fishing rod and tried my luck at catching one all on my own.
Aaron's rod wasn't very good, but he finally got a fish big enough for dinner.
This was my biggest fish. I was the only one to catch an albino, and I caught not only one but two! Too bad we already had four fish gutted, because this one was big enough to eat. After a little more catch and release, we packed ourselves back up in the truck and headed to our camp site.
Aaron and Dirk packed the trout in tinfoil with butter, salt, and pepper. I have never been more proud to eat dinner.
Looking towards our campsite.
Notice the fish in the hands.
This is on the dam looking opposite the lake. When the repaired the dam in 1988, the backhoe operator discovered a mammoth skeleton. After we chilled around our campfire and explored the area that evening, we decided to make an evening run to Walker's in Fairview. That drive became one of those moments that I always want to remember. The stars were beautiful that night and we were driving down the mountain roads with music playing. I did a lot of thinking that trip, and the midnight break seemed like one of those moments from a movie. I wish things in life worked out a little easier, but at the same time, it's the stress of daily life, relationships, and decisions that make trips like this perfect.

After we got back to the site we started up our fire, and I asked everyone repeatedly if there was a storm coming. Everyone told me no. We sat and talked until around midnight. It was a creepy evening. We encountered a couple waiting for two hunters to return around our campsite. They were still there when we decided to go to bed. The wind was blowing in all directions, but Whitney and I were cozy in our little tent. Around 2:00 am the rain started, and we could hear the guys getting their rainflys out. By that time the couple had left, and I can only hope that they found the missing hunters.

The morning came cloudy and peaceful. We packed everything up and headed back to Provo.

Finally!

As I sit here in my living room, winding down and waiting I can't help but feel a sense of relief.
Finally.
I have finally found my camera charger. That means, more blog posts.
I have finally painted my living room decor to match.
I finally feel done with my living room decorating project (though decorating a living room will never come to a complete end).
I finally feel like my living room is part of a home.

My living room project started when I finally got fed-up with having blank walls. We had two couches against adjacent walls, and one wall that had my keyboard, my bookshelf, and a giant tv. It felt like a box. I started collecting a few odds and ends for the walls. But, my project kept expanding.

When one of my roommates moved out she took her DVDs with her, and my bookshelf was left barren. I spent hours online trying to figure out a style that I liked, but I knew that I wanted something aesthetically pleasing as a focal point in my living room. Here is a result. I got it a way that I liked even better than this, but now we actually use the TV in it, and it's not quite the same.



One night around final exams I went out for the evening with my books spread all over the living room. I promised my amazingly patient roommate that I would have them cleaned up before I went to bed. I hate making other people feel uncomfortable, and I LOVE having a clean, neat, and organized space. Well, when I got home, she had moved the couches so that they sit diagonally against the walls. It made the space so much more cozy and draws the eye straight to the middle of the room. It's like it says "Come on in" to everyone who walks through the door. I just about cried. She had picked up my junk and put it in a neat pile, and the room was homey. I later moved everything else, and somehow, the room took on a feeling similar to the one I had in my great-grandma's house. It's not a bad feeling, and although I'm not 100% satisfied or 100% done with the room, it finally feels like a true home to me. Maybe it's just changing what we were given and being a bit rebellious. Who knows?

Here are a few pictures. There's a little bit of junk sitting around because I got too excited about taking pictures to wait.

Dollar Tree: Black picture frames, glass vases and cubes,
wine glasses, twigs, pebbles, flickering electric tea candles
Walmart: Baskets, easel, double picture frame, and candle.
IKEA: Sailboat post cards
Deseret Industries: Small Clock
(It's always on 5:00 because I haven't fixed it yet)

Looking towards the balcony

Sailboat print from Walmart

I think this wall still needs a lot of help. At the very least the shelves
need to be a little closer together.
Clock from Walmart, floating shelves from DI.

I got the key hook from Walmart and painted it black and antiqued it.
I covered the bulletin board in black damask fabric and I painted and antiqued the frame.
(The fabric was "Dandy Damask" by Michael Miller. I got the remnant for an amazing price through Ebay. I have to say that this vendor was amazing and she even gave me combined shipping rates although I didn't understand the instructions. I'd recommend this lady to ANYONE! http://myworld.ebay.com/emeraldcityfabricandcraft/)

So, what do you think? Let me know if you have any suggestions.

{Rain}

I should really be doing homework, but I can't seem to keep my mind from wandering. I can hear the rain pouring outside, and I'm watching the gigantic flag at Macey's stretch out and ripple in the wind. There's been a lot of wind recently. These past few days have sure been interesting and surprising for me. The rainy and windy environment really seems to reflect what's going on in my mind. I feel so attached to the wind. It makes me smile and feel both happy and free. The rain however, sometimes keeps me from enjoying the wind, but at other times it can't stop me no matter how hard it tries.
I've had some really happy days. I know that Heavenly Father is watching over me and giving me strength to keep a smile on my face. I'm also having some days like yesterday, where I'm frustrated by the situation, I can't concentrate on my tasks, and I just wish time would stop.

I don't know whether time will bring Branden and me closer together or farther apart. For now, I just have to figure out if it would be better to slowly wean myself from time with Branden as we try to build a friendship, or if I should try to take a break for a couple of weeks before we try to adjust to the new "friend" roles that we have. The fact is, he is my best friend, and this week we've managed to stay friendly without being too close. If you have any ideas about what the best thing to do is, or any books to suggest to me, please let me know. Although the uncertainty is intimidating, I know that at this point, there are only good options ahead of me. I have my future at my feet, and it's in my hands.

I admit it

Ok, so I'll finally admit it. I guess it's part of moving on.

This week was a little rough for me. I couldn't wait for Branden to get home from Idaho. I was driving home from school on Friday, and I called him. He was only 30 minutes from home! I didn't expect that. When he came in my door to see my new bookshelf (post to follow if I can EVER find the charger for my camera), he gave me the best hug in the world. His hugs are always the kind that make any troubles that exist in the world just dissolve. It felt marvelous, one of the best things in life. We we enjoyed a delicious lunch (I think it was at Jason's deli) and spent the whole afternoon together. Branden and I went to Wingers for dinner--he had been craving it for the whole week. As we were waiting for our seat, he suggested we go check out the piano store next door. It was so fun! He told me to tell the employee that we were just looking for the future. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. We even saw a piano (a real one not a digital one) that played music off of an ipod! I really want to take my grandpa there to see it. He was the first person to put a mechanical player into a piano (that's part of the reason I want his one day), but he later sold the patent.


We ran back into Wingers and enjoyed their original amazing sauce. We had a good evening, and I ended up with sauce dripped all over my pants. I promised Branden that I'd try a wing after I wasn't so full. I'm not big on chicken on bones, so I had the chicken strips. Branden kept asking me if I wanted to go see Harry Potter, but I couldn't since I haven't even read the 6th book. I don't remember if we really did anything the rest of the evening, I just remember that it was a lot of fun.


The next morning I got up to practice my dance for the ward talent show. Before Whitney came over though, I went to offer pancakes to Branden for breakfast. He had asked me to make them for him before, but I just couldn't do it in time. After I practiced for about an hour I ran back over to Branden's and we decided to go to Beto's (I was starving to the point of tears now). We came back and were sitting on the couch, when we got into another one of our issues.

Branden and I are pretty good at fighting for what seems like hours. That week I was starting to develop a new concern. I love hearing good news from my friends, but I would be lying if I said I was able to keep myself from getting jealous. I was starting to feel like I was watching my friends live their lives while I just sat around waiting for things that I couldn't control at all, instead of making progress. I've been really frustrated with the progress that Branden and I haven't been making towards marriage. He's worked really hard, but he's also given me expectations about when we would be getting at least engaged, and he's either not fulfilled it, or he's taken it back. It was hurting me so much, and he saw that. My pain was killing him. And, it made him hard to ask me to marry him, when it seemed like my love was so conditional. I finally realized that I couldn't NOT care about being married to him, and he needed me to be patient enough for him to get everything prepared (finances, etc...). I realized that I couldn't just be patient without knowing that marriage was in store for us. I couldn't be as strong as he needed me to be.

So, I brought up the idea of a break up. Thinking back now, I can't believe that I did. I just knew that we were hurting each other, and we were hurting our relationship. I needed him to let me know that he was going to propose, and he needed to know that I accepted him no matter what (especially since he was working so hard for it, but he just couldn't give it to me). The last thing I want is to hurt him, and I want our relationship to grow stronger--not be in a downward spiral. We decided it would be better to try a breakup instead of trying to stay together if it wasn't right. It's easier to fix a breakup than it is a broken marriage.

I still love Branden, more than I can even explain. It's been ridiculously difficult for me to understand that it's going on. I could not comprehend it for two days, but now I'm starting to come to terms. I love him, and I want it to work out with us in the end. Either way, it will turn out well now. If Heavenly Father wants us together and we live as we should, we'll get back together. If not, we won't get back together, and we'll know that it's right. I just hope that we can manage to be friends, even if it's just for a little while.

For now, I've given myself the tasks of acing my exams, reconnecting with old friends, finding a job that can fit into my life, pursuing more of my hobbies, deciding where to do an internship in January, and serving God.

Stay tuned for more updates and even more adventures.

Branden sent these photos to me Saturday or Sunday night on facebook.
This is from a Bonfire in 2008. His are the bunny ear hands.


One of Branden's favorite memories:This is from Thanksgiving 2008.
Sariah took the picture with her phone while we were on our way to a family dinner.


Another of Branden's favorite pictures: This is from Hoover Dam in 2009.
This was one of the best vacations we ever took.
We went to go see Jimmy Buffettin Las Vegas in May.

Another favorite memory: This was from a bonfire in a friend's back yard in 2008
We were enjoying the swing beside the Provo River at night.

New Gadgets!!

I should really be doing homework right now, but as I try to avoid it, I'll update on my wonderful life. Well...two weeks ago, I finally got sick of my phone. The problems started with the screen on the outside fading out. Then I ended up with hit-and-miss performance of my regular screen. Sometimes it came on. Sometimes it was scrambled. Sometimes it was plain white. It lead to a whole bunch of blind dialing. I have to say though, even with these problems, I've loved this phone. I had to go into the AT&T store so that I could call them while they activated the return stuff. By about Tuesday of last week, my phone came in the mail!!! I popped my battery in and it works great! This time around, I've even splurged for an invisible shield so that I don't scratch it up like I did with the first time. Secondly, last Wednesday, Branden called me and asked me come over because he had a surprise for me. Turns out, he decided on what to get me for my anniversary present. I would have never expected it, but it almost made me cry. It was Branden not only thinking about what I need to make my life easier, but he put that before his own needs.

He got me a new laptop!!! And he doesn't even have a computer for himself. My old one has gone through two hard-drives and various other repairs. Around last march the screen was dead, and now I can't have it turned on for more than 5 minutes without it freezing up on me. This new lap top saves me so much time when I'm doing my homework. I can actually surf the internet and listen to music at the same time!

I have to say, I seriously have the best boyfriend in the world!

Also, for everyone who says that Windows Vista doesn't work very well, I'm enjoying it a lot. I like the new layout, and it supports newer technology better than my 4.5 year old laptop did. Now I just want to cover this with an invisible shield, but it costs around $50. I can't afford that.

P.S. I also got some really inexpensive hiking boots on sale. Now I don't have to worry about slipping down mountains like I did last year. Be looking for some pretty new pictures come fall.