Confessions

1. I listen to my music too loud in the car. I love being absolutely enveloped by the sound. But I know I shouldn't...because I might hurt my eardrums someday (that's what my mom told me).

2. I love dancing, singing, and driving--at the same time--a dangerous occupation, perhaps, but I blame it all on my high school friend Amber Haueter White.

3. I have never been pulled over, but I have a j-walking ticket, and I accidentally stole gas once; so there's my criminal record for you. Don't worry, they (being the officers) found me, and I confessed in a written apology with the amount accidentally stolen.

4. I love eating raw cookie dough, and I haven't died yet.

5. Sometimes I would rather be reading by myself than in a crowd socializing.

6. Reality TV. So embarrassing. I never thought I liked reality TV until I found the Food Network and HGTV shows on Netflix. They are a guilty pleasure--Chopped, The Next Food Network Star, The Great Food Truck Race, Fixer Upper, International House Hunters, they are all things I shamefully enjoy, even though I know there are a lot more productive things in life: like reading, cooking, serving others, and being president of the United States. I blame this on Ben's MBA program and him being gone so much or doing HW, leaving me alone at random hours of the night.

7. I love music like Enya, Celtic Woman, and the Canadian Tenors. Nerdy but oh so true.

8. I also love clean, modern clean pop music that you can dance to!

9. I once was told I dance like a black person; I am still not sure how to interpret that.

10. When I used to straighten my hair occasionally, everyone would ask, indirectly, why I didn't do that more often or every day because it looked so much better (after 2 hours of hard labor). I tried not take that as an insult to my curly hair, but as you can tell, I'm not over it. It doesn't help that my husband thinks I would have been married much sooner if I had straight hair--indirect quote. Obviously, I wasn't affected enough to straighten my hair permanently. And good thing my husband now loves my hair curly :)

What I've Learned in 10 Years

Life's craziness got the best of me, and I have been neglecting this poor blog. I am going to spare you all from trying to play catch up and posting zillions of pictures of summer travels and, instead, summarize in one sentence: We were gone the entire summer with family or on trek, and it was a blast, but now we are glad to be home. The end.

The last few months I have been marveling that it has been ten years, a decade, since I graduated from high school and started my BYU journey. I was never one to be super homesick; I guess you could say there was a part of me that was so excited to be independent. My parents were mission presidents in Washington at the time, so they could not come and "drop me off" at school like every other freshmen's parents in the entire universe (it felt like.) So we said goodbye at the WA airport. I remember crying when my mom started to cry. I wasn't expecting saying goodbye to my mom to be so hard (definitely, the hardest part.) Getting to the dorms, you realize, "Wow, I know no one! And now I am supposed to be a grown up and live on my own and pretend I know how to do this." Even though it scared me half to death in some ways, there was always a part of me that loved that feeling of independence.

Ten years later I look at that little me starting off at college and wonder how I've changed. Here are some things I have learned about myself in the past ten years:

1. I am passionate--for good and for bad. Everything I do in life, I do with mucho gusto. I will cry if I hear music that transcends earthly sounds, I will burst with joy if I see baby animals or a gorgeous lake, and I can fume with frustration if I find myself irritated. This = that I can be too sensitive. Whether it's accepting a criticism about the way I fold a towel or cut a tomato, it can all feel personal, and I can let my passion get the best of me. It's all the Anne of Green Gables side of me that I am still learning how to bridle. I think I knew this growing up, and I know my parents knew this growing up (unfortunately). But it's something I really recognized in myself once I was in college. I have had to really work on emphasizing the good parts of living with passion and minimize my passion in regards to negative emotions.

2. I am in love with learning. I loved soaking up everything I could learn (I take that back, I had no sponge-like qualities when it came to math or science). I loved my college classes. I loved my teachers. I loved our class discussions. I loved my graduate program. I loved being assigned to read novels and poems. I did not love when it stopped. When Ben and I got married, my formal education "halted" as I had just completed my master's degree and student teaching. That first year of marriage I didn't know what to do with myself--no school, no homework, no educational milestones to be striving for. Then I realized, for me to thrive I must have an educational outlet. So I created reading goals for myself and became involved in book clubs. I am now involved with the Treehouse Children's Museum in Ogden and love our emphasis on encouraging literacy; it gives me purpose. Learning gives me a sense of direction.

3. Friendships mean the world to me. I have made so many friends the past ten years--from BYU to Weber State to institute to different jobs to different wards and different callings. I have loved it. I love friendships where you can talk so deeply; I live for them!

4. I don't think I realized how much I liked to travel until I was out on my own. I blame it on Study Abroad in London, traveling the country every day for two months; although exhausting, I relished it. I also realized that I love traveling to learn. I am not so much a 'lie on the beach and fry' kind of vacation person, although an occasional trip to somewhere relaxing with beautiful scenery, reading, and some BBC movies involved can get me excited. Being married has added a whole other dimension of travel. We can save and plan when we want to go explore--from the south, to the east coast, to the pacific northwest, I have loved "exploring!" And on top of that, I love planning our trips--researching every tidbit: where to eat, where to stay, what to see, what not to see, hidden places, etc. If I were re-incarnated, I would come back a travel agent.

5. The gospel of Jesus Christ really is everything to me. Life is good, but life is also hard. Our trials come and go from one to another, but Heavenly Father is always right there, waiting to answer our prayers and bless us if we turn to him. This is a gospel of peace. Of hope. Of light. Of faith. Of joy. He can always show us the joy and hope if we let him. The nature of my trials have changed since being a freshmen at BYU and stressing about my biology class, dating (or the lack thereof), or how I would get somewhere with no car, but He has never changed. He's still there for me. Always has been. Always will.

Some flashback pictures from the first weeks of BYU:

Simple Joys in Turbulence

Yes, I am still here! Still alive~I think this is the longest I've gone without blogging. Life has had some turbulence lately and so I have had to slow down and focus on the things that matter most. I have done this by focusing on President Uchtdorf's words on times of adversity:

A student pilot may think that increasing speed is a good strategy because it will get them through the turbulence faster. But that may be the wrong thing to do. Professional pilots understand that there is an optimum turbulence penetration speed that will minimize the negative effects of turbulence. And most of the time that would mean to reduce your speed. The same principle applies also to speed bumps on a road. Therefore, it is good advice to slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions."

And so, I have been slowing down and reducing any "non-essentials." Heavenly Father knows my needs and has sent many tender mercies over the past couple of months; there have been so many times where I have felt I have had no where else to go other than down on my knees and into the words of the scriptures. This is what has sustained me so many times throughout my life, even now. On my monthly calendar, which has a monthly quote, April's message read, "There are always flowers for those that want to see them." I have read that many times lately; here are some of the flowers in my life the past couple of months:

My home grown asparagus. It grows faster than we can eat it. Asparagus, anyone?

It has been sweet experiencing the blossoms in our new home.

We have the fluffiest pink trees in the world for a couple of weeks! 

 I got to hear my dad speak at an LDSBC devotional; it was absolutely inspired and amazing. The Spirit was so strong and the students loved him. I don't know how I got lucky enough to have parents like mine. Hearing my dad speak is one of my top favorite activities. 

Apple blossoms may be some of my favorite

And, of course, rainy days are my favorite. 

Another tree in our yard! 

Another sunset. One day I may stop taking pictures of them. But every night they are new and unique. They have to be captured!

Went to the Payson Temple Open House. It is my new favorite temple. The details are exquisite.

We had a fun Browning family get together and celebrated Sam and Nat's BYU graduation--hooray! We also went to the Tulip Festival with Ben's parents. It was breathtaking; I think I may want to make this a yearly tradition! Growing up, my parents would often take us to gardens like this; my grandma is an amazing gardener, and we all love looking at gardens like this. It definitely brought me back to my childhood.

The lilacs in our yard are my favorite!

My herb garden! Fresh cut cilantro in guacamole is my idea of delish!

I can't forget to mention our newest addition: Oreo! She is my parents' 7 year old dog that, because of traveling, they needed a new home for. She is so well behaved except when we try to get her in her crate at night, and she pretends that she doesn't hear us. We have loved having her already!

 A squeaky hot dog is her favorite toy.

My Sun Star plant!

Ben was in the middle of doing yard work when Oreo decided that she wanted to sit on his lap. It was a nice break from the 9 hour yard work day we had.

My puny little garden. We'll see if it survives...it's my first try--lots of pepper varieties, cucumber, spinach, garlic, and cantaloupe! 

I love that our yard faces this beautiful, peaceful peach orchard. 

Oreo loves getting into any nook or cranny she can find, even if it's in between your legs or arms. 

Tis the life. 

We went to the temple to do a session the other night; how I love the promises and surety we feel there. 

For comic relief.

These flowers in our yard are about the size of my head. 

 Even though we've had a lot of house projects in our new home. I would not trade it for the yard and view we have. I now have a reason to go outside, and I love the peace I find there. 

Our scary trees are finally growing leaves and won't look so scary anymore.

These are the "flowers" (literal and non-literal) I am finding in my life right now. There truly are always flowers for those who look for them.

Shenanigans & Staycation

In some ways, life has felt slower than ever and, in other ways, faster than ever before! Funny how that works! I am relishing in some of the slower moments I've had with long nights when Ben is in class. One night I decided to finally decorate my home blocks,which resulted in this. The problem=they don't match anything in my house.

I got together with some Browning girls to make 16 crock-pot meals in an hour and a half--what a fun and productive team effort! 

Homemade bread is my weakness in life (actually, one of several). 

I finally got to see what our backyard looks like in a snow storm since we were gone for the only other snow storm during Christmas. Snow produces magic. 

When Ben occasionally has an hour to spare from HW, we exercise downstairs together. I still can't get over the sunsets we see from our house (you may never stop hearing me say that--sorry!)

We finally got to taste the real deal of my brother-in-law's salsa. It was SO good that we couldn't stop eating it, and that's coming from two tomato haters, so that's saying something!

Did I mention that some of the cutest animals on the planet can wreck the greatest havoc, especially when they've been taking residence in your attic!? I am grateful to know that I haven't been making up the insanely large noises I hear at night, but knowing that raccoon are on the other side of our ceiling kind of gives me the heebie-jeebies. 

The second raccoon we caught was much bigger. I know everyone says they're mean, but these two were so cute and friendly. I think they were just terrified, actually. We are hoping to gain full ownership of our home in the next few weeks. 

Once the whirlwind of remodeling ended, the raccoon problem started back up as well as Ben's busiest class yet, resulting in him leaving at 7AM, getting home at 10PM, and often doing homework until 11 or 1 at night. I don't know  how he does it. I barely see him for more than an hour each day. 

To get a break from this craziness and to save on pennies, we decided we'd take a mini staycation this spring! We reserved our two days off from work and planned some low key activities for dates. It was wonderful to just be together and relax from the tumult of our lives! 

Our first adventure was breakfast at No Frills Diner in Ogden and then the aquarium in Draper! (Part of the staycation deal was we'd go out to eat so I could get a break from cooking; even though I love cooking, I needed a break too :) ) 

The tropical exhibit was our favorite!

Jellyfish....so beautiful and so creepy at the same time!

The otters were my favorite! But they were asleep when we went by; good thing they look so cute!

The 3-D movie Sea Monsters scared me more than I thought a child's show could!

Oh you know, just a shark swimming above us in the shark tunnel.

The aquarium was a fun break from real life. I am so glad Utah is getting more and more educational and fun attractions! We ended the day by going to Ikea and watching 12 Angry Men for Ben's class assignment (which I actually LOVED!) 

We got a wreath from Ikea that I decorated with ribbon. I love how Celtic it looks! Ikea for the win!

Letting magpies out of the raccoon traps has been one of our daily occurrences. Silly birds!

Our second day of staycation consisted of going to the matinee of Cinderella--one of my new favorite movies! I loved its message and that it emphasized that kindness can be a super power!

After Cinderella, we went to the Union Station to go through the museums, which I had never seen before. 

I love the main hall of the Union Station--so beautiful!

A model of Ogden!

We got to go through the Browning museum and learn about guns! It was fun to learn more about the ancestry Ben has.

J. Edmund Browning is Ben's great-great grandfather!

I loved getting lost in the Union Station and finding treasured hallways like these. 

Truth be told, Ogden is finally growing on me with the temple, 25th street, its re-vitalization efforts, and increase in good restaurants :) 

Speaking of good restaurants, we went to Rovali's, an Italian place on 25th, and we fell in love. We usually never get drinks or desserts when we go out, but we made an exception for our staycation. Best decision ever! A watermelon Italian cream soda, Italian pizza, and cookie dough cake slice later, I was on cloud 9! 

This picture does not do this cake justice. This cake had the perfect ratio of a light, fluffy cream frosting! I can't look at it any longer....it's just too tempting.

Saturday, our last day of staycation, was spent taking it easy (well, Ben insisted on doing some yard work), reading, and me loving our daffodils! Like only an amazing husband would do, Ben took me to Petsmarts (plural because we had to go to three before we found one that had a full fledged adoption day!) because he knows how much I love animals and that being petless has been hard for me. 

And once this rat gave me a high five, I mean, four,  I knew that the three stores were totally worth it! 

As I'm writing this post, this is my view....

I had to share! Maybe one day I'll stop posting about the sunsets!