Zoo, Zupas, And A's.

Lisa wanted to get her hair done before the baby comes, so Megan and I were on kid duty. We went up to the zoo, and let me tell you, mid-December is prime zoo-going season. Not a person there! We had the animals all to ourselves. It flurried a bit on us, but we had fun anyway, besides everyone (AKA Lucas) being bummed about the train being closed for the winter. Here are some pictures from our fun morning:

They were both cold. Tigers are humongous.

I'm pretty sure that I haven't been to the zoo in about 8 years. It's completely different, but totally cool. Check out this Asian-looking elephant. So cool.

Yeah, we were pretty much wearing the same outfit. Oh well.

Afterwards, we ate at Zupas. I'd already ordered a salad when I decided to sample the chicken enchilada chili soup. Oh my gosh. So good.

This morning, I took my last final of the semester. Freedom!! It was for my French literature class, which was one of my favorites because my professor was hilarious. I only needed like maybe an 80 to keep my A, but I wanted to do well. I told myself that if I got higher than 92, I could reward myself. Here's how it went:

I love taking finals.

And here was my reward:

I seriously recommend that you try this soup. It's so delicious. I might have to find other reasons to reward myself.

And thus begins Christmas break! Woot! I'm going to try to see how many books I can read over the break, since I don't ever have time for leisurely reading during the semester.

:D

Guess who...

...got a haircut? Me!! And it's darker than before. I like it. I especially like not having to rip my hair out from under my coat and my backpack every time I went anywhere.

Partying it up, Nu Skin style.

I have been looking forward to Nu Skin's Christmas party for about a month, and it did not disappoint.

So I got dressed up, actually did my hair (attempted!)...

My friend Nathan and I took our dates to Smash Burger and then headed off to the party. They served some refreshments (aka dessert for us!) while everyone arrived.

The entertainment for the night: Kurt Bestor. He put on a really good show with his piano skills and trying to impress us with his synthesizer. I really loved his rendition of "Il est né le divin enfant," a French Christmas song. He played some fun songs and his fellow musicians were equally impressive (including Michael Dowdle on guitar).

Next up: Prizes. They had a lot of them. Basically they just put all of our names into one of those little turn-y things, and pulled out random names to come up and get prizes like IPads, a laptop, flat screen TVs, watches, a telescope, a KitchenAid mixer, a powerwasher, a vacuum, etc, etc. If you didn't want your prize, you could pick out of one of their pockets. If you picked a pocket, they basically just pulled out a wad of $100s and had you count it out. This one girl won $1000. She seemed pretty calm. I would've been freaking out.

Here's my friend Nathan (far left) showing off his French with the founders . . .

and winning his $600. Brat.

Finally: GIFTS.

Boy does Nu Skin know how to give a gift.

Each of these four just started "giving out" gifts to all of the employees.

First off, $100 Costco gift card. Woot!

#2- Two weeks extra pay

#3- this fancy body cream that they don't even sell

#4- a leather backpack

#5- $250 American Express card

and number 6 . . .

A Kindle Fire!

Yeah. Pretty. Dang. Cool.

So fancy. I'm excited to start using it.

Have I said how much I love my job?

Thanks Nu Skin!!

Merry Christmas :D

a festive weekend

It's that time of year again!

Props to Megan for getting us all together for our once-yearly beloved tradition that we haven't really done for a while. I still remember going to the Festival of Trees when we were little: dancing the Nutcracker on those little stages, playing in the playhouses that my dad built, and just having fun looking at all the trees. I still love it! :)

Mom was happy that they started having quilts... check out this cool Book of Mormon one.

Jayna sure loved this Barbie tree.

I don't have pictures (maybe my dad does, somewhere? I'll have to ask), but we were glad that Lisa could come too... although we had to wheel her around in a wheelchair! She's thinking up excuses to get the same treatment next year. Not likely, unless she's somehow 9 months pregnant again!

For the rest of the weekend, Megan came down to Provo to visit! Woot! We had fun. Went to a waffle party (awkward much?), Texas Roadhouse (we love ribs! and rolls. Mmm...), and then watched P.S. I Love You and got serious about planning our trip to Europe this summer (maybe we'll find some attractive Irish men? Who knows). It was fun to have her down here for the weekend. One day our plans will work out and we will be able to live together and get away from all of our crazy roommates. Love you Meg!

(Don't worry, I'm getting my hair cut this week. It's a little bit out of control. I'm aware.)

p.s. my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner:

Yeah, don't even ask how long this took me. But it was so worth it!

Belated Thanksgiving

The week before Thanksgiving, I was asked to give a talk in church. The theme? Thanksgiving. Quelle surprise! Anyway, it was really good to have an excuse to really think about Thanksgiving for two whole weeks (they forgot about me and I didn't actually give the talk until the following week). I loved trying to think about Thanksgiving in a different way, and it made me even more grateful for all that I have.

Some great thanksgiving-related thoughts:

"Receive [the Holy Ghost], and take upon you the name of Christ; . . . humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth, and . . . live in thanksgiving daily,

for the many mercies and blessings

which he doth bestow upon you."

-Alma 34:38

"Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things."

-D&C 59:7

"In nothing doth man offend God, or against none is His wrath kindled,

save those who confess not His hand in all things."

-D&C 59:21

"When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives."

-Pres. Hinckley

"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not,

but rejoices for those which he has."

-Greek philosopher Epictetus

"Do material possessions make us happy and grateful? Perhaps momentarily. However, those things which provide deep and lasting happiness and gratitude are the things which money cannot buy: our families, the gospel, good friends, our health, our abilities, the love we receive from those around us. Unfortunately, these are some of the things we allow ourselves to take for granted."

-Pres. Monson

"He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious, and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundredfold, yea, more."

-D&C 78:10

"Know ye that the Lord He is God . . . Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name."

-Psalms 100:3-4

I LOVE this Mormon Message, taken from a talk by Elder Wirthlin:

President Hinckley's first Be:

Be grateful. There are two little words in the English language that perhaps mean more than all others. They are “thank you.” Comparable words are found in every other language, such as gracias, merci, danke, obrigado, domo.

The habit of saying thank you is the mark of an educated man or woman. With whom is the Lord displeased? He names “those who confess not his hand in all things” (D&C 59:21). That is, those who walk without grateful expression. Walk with gratitude in your hearts, my dear friends. Be thankful for the wonderful blessings which are yours. Be grateful for the tremendous opportunities that you have. Be thankful to your parents, who care so very much about you and who have worked so very hard to provide for you. Let them know that you are grateful. Say thank you to your mother and your father. Say thank you to your friends. Say thank you to your teachers. Express appreciation to everyone who does you a favor or assists you in any way.

Thank the Lord for His goodness to you. Thank the Almighty for His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who has done for you what none other in all this world could do. Thank Him for His great example, for His tremendous teachings, for His outreaching hand to lift and help. Think about the meaning of His Atonement. Read about Him and read His words in the New Testament and in 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. Read them quietly to yourself and then ponder them. Pour out your heart to your Father in Heaven in gratitude for the gift of His Beloved Son.

Thank the Lord for His marvelous Church restored in this great season of history. Thank Him for all that it offers you. Thank Him for friends and loved ones, for parents and brothers and sisters, for family. Let a spirit of thanksgiving guide and bless your days and nights. Work at it. You will find it will yield wonderful results.

Well, they obviously can say it better than I can. But I hope that we can all just think about how to make thanksgiving a part of our daily lives, and that we can take the time each day to recognize the Lord's mercies in our lives.