days 10, 11, and 12.

day ten.  nature.

this is an oldie but a goodie. 

i am so grateful for nature. i am able for the time that i am able to spend in the sun while lying on the grass, that i live so close to the glorious rocky mountains that i could just go climb them if i wanted (i haven't ever wanted to yet), i am grateful that i am just a short drive away from one of the most beautiful canyons ever. this world is absolutely amazing and we are all so lucky to be here. 

way to be awesome, earth! 

 day eleven.  written words.

this is my journal. 

i am grateful for my journal. i am grateful that i was so diligent in my journal writing for about 5 years. i am sad that i haven't done very well that past couple of years, but i am grateful that the world of technology has given me this lovely blog that i kind of use a journal. i am so grateful that i have the ability to write down my thoughts and feelings. i am grateful for all the beautiful ways that each of us can write from poetry to music to facebook posts. i am grateful that there are so many people out there that write words for us to read. i am a big fan of words and reading them.  

day twelve.  something old.

this tiny ring belonged to my great grandma. 

it is super tiny and has a tiny diamond in it. i used to wear this necklace almost everyday. i never knew my great grandma. or my grandma. my grandma died when i was about five. she lived in california and my family lived in utah. we went for a visit when i was really little, but of course, i don't remember.  i am grateful that i have this necklace to remind me of the great women in my life. even though i never met my grandma, but i kind of feel like when i wear it, she is there with me and getting to know me and who i am. i am grateful that i have something  i can hold in my hand to remember her since i don't have memories to look back on. i am grateful for my grandma and that she gave me my mom. 

days 8 and 9.

day eight.   favorite color.

this was my dinner tonight.

i am not really one to choose favorites when it comes to things like movies, colors, songs, etc. but i guess if i were to have to choose i would say green. there are so many shades of green that are so lovely. i especially love green in the spring and summer when the grass is green, the trees are green and the world is so alive. i am grateful for green and that is a sign of life. i am a big fan of life.

day nine.  an inspiring person

this is my mom.

and this is the most recent picture i could access of her. it is from her visit to texas with my dad to see my sister and family. i am so grateful for my mom. she has always been someone that i have looked up to. she is the absolute hardest worker i know. she is smart, kind, funny, generous, and the best grandma in the world. i look forward to the time when she will be a grandma to my children.  i am grateful that m. and i live so close to my parents. so close infact that we are in the same ward! (i am actually at their house as i write this). my mom is the greatest. and just so you know, she may be small, but she can and will take you down if you mess with her.

 also. i have never seen her belly button. is that weird?

day 6 and 7.

day six.  books.

just a handful of my favorite books. 

i am very grateful for books. i am grateful for writers and for how they can take me to whole different world with their words. i am grateful that there are so many creative and artist people out there that can write such wonderful words. and i am grateful that i can read, comprehend and understand the words that are written. someday, i will write a book. you'll see.

day seven.  something funny.

meet the most friendly batman on the planet. 

 i am grateful for this guy and for joy that he brings into my life. i am grateful that almost everyday on our way to work, he makes up a new song about how much he loves me. i am grateful that he is there is the night to keep me warm and is there to laugh with me when i get the bedtime giggles. i am grateful that he only swears when it is appropriate or to be funny. i am grateful that he knows how to make me laugh even when i am in a bad mood. and i am grateful that he always asks me #1 or #2 when i go to the bathroom. i am so lucky. 

days 4 and 5.

day four.  leaves.

pink leaves outside my house. 

i am grateful for leaves. i love that they mark the changing of the seasons and that i live in a place where i am able to enjoy each and every season.  i love especially love fall time and that crunchy sound that leaves make when walking through on them.  i love that when the leaves are crunching it is fall time and fall time means that the holidays are coming and the holiday season is my favorite time of the year. i am also grateful for green leaves that provide shade on hot summer days. leaves are just like all of us; different colors, shapes and sizes. and all make the world more beautiful. 

day five.   the morning sky. 

this is not a picture of the morning sky today. 

this morning it snowed and i was not about to go outside into the cold and take a picture of the sky.  i am grateful for the morning sky and that i am able to be alive every morning and enjoy the day. i must admit that i am not really a morning person and this time of year i am at work before the sun comes up which isn't my favorite thing, but i am grateful to be alive and to see the beautiful morning sky that is different every single day. 

day 3.

day three.  happiness. 

easter in china. 

i chose this photo because the experience i had in china teaching the crazy and wonderful children was one of the happiest and most worth while experiences of my life. these children changed my life for the better. up until that point in my life, i don't think i had ever been that happy. to completely give myself to those children and to get their love in return was pure happiness. those children stole a piece of my heart and showed my what true happiness is.  

 and then there is this man. 

the man that i call my husband. the day that he and i got married was the happiest day of my life. i know that everyone says that, but it absolutely was. he and i had been together for so long but when we were finally husband and wife was pure and absolute bliss. my heart was pounding, my eyes were watering, and teeth got so dry that my lips stuck to them. at the moment we became husband and wife was heaven on earth. happiness to conquer the eternities. 

days 1 and 2.

30 days of gratitude. in photos.

day one.  my favorite food.

ice cream. not just this kind. any kind really. 

i am grateful for ice cream because sometimes at the end of a long day, i can eat some ice cream and it makes everything okay. of course, this isn't a very healthy food for me to call my favorite, but i cannot deny my love for the sweet {chocolate} ice cream treat. 

day two.  smiles.

like the one on my sweet niece lily. such a doll. 

there are about a million smiles i could put up here to show you, but i wanted to put this one up cause i took it this weekend and i thought it was the sweetest thing. i am grateful for smiles. i am grateful that they can brighten someones day and are so easy to give away. so go ahead, give someone a smile and let them know that you are happy to be alive. 

october is ending too quickly.

six days til halloween. four days til my family party and i have no idea what i am going to be. m. and i had/have an idea, but i don't really have the motivation to make the costume. so. do you have any easy ideas? ha. 

before we get to halloween let me tell you about the past week. 

the  biggest news of the week is.....

the construction in front of our house if finally done (at least for now)! we don't have to wait ten minutes to get our of our driveway anymore. the huge lights are gone, which means the generators that run the lights are now turned off an not buzzing all night and the loud clanking of cars going over those huge metal hole covering things at all hours of the night is over! i could not be happier. thanks for being so happy for us. we are happy for us too. ha. 

so. last tuesday after my post, m. and i decided to have a little dessert night and went to our favorite frozen dessert spot. coney's frozen custard. i have never realized how much i love custard. i have always been a huge fan of ice cream, so naturally, i knew custard would be right up my alley. i think it might win over maggie moo's or cold stone or any of those places. if you haven't checked out coney's yet, you totally should. we always get this: 

it's called a concrete. we get chocolate custard and mix in reece's peanut butter cups. the chocolate on the pb cups gets crunchy, but the peanut butter stays smooth and creamy. i want one right now. too bad m. took the car to band practice. 

m. and i don't text a lot during the day. usually because he is in class or working and i am always working. so at some point during the day when one of us has a minute we will text a little love to each other. last wednesday m. texted me just after i came back from lunch. here's how it went: 

it totally made me laugh. i am the worst at texting so auto correct always catches my mistakes, but m. never makes mistakes, so this made me laugh really hard. he was being so sweet, but his frustration came through and it was just hilarious.  i love that bag of bones. 

the middle of the week...the middle of the week...oh! m.s cousin got married! it was a wonderful ceremony in the provo temple. it was really neat. let me give you some background. m.s cousin served his mission in mongolia and met his now wife, then fellow missionary when they were both in the mtc.  she was at the mtc (via mongolia) on her way to serve in indiana. so they met, didn't keep in touch on their missions, got back in touch afterwards and from opposite ends of the earth he helped her with her english via email, after a while they started talking less about english, more about each other and eventually fell in love. he went back to mongolia, asked for her hand, she (and her family) said yes, they waited for forever to get her visa, she finally got it, came to the US on her birthday, they got married one month later. it was a very special day for them and we were so happy to be there for them.  

on friday night, m. and i decided to have a night in. we made dinner together, which i foolishly didn't take a picture of. we made breaded curry chicken with rice pilaf and steamed carrots. it was absolutely delicious and our house smelled like curry the entire weekend.  

we were going to go out for dessert, but then i remember that i had bought some pumpkin and wanted to make some kind of pumpkin dessert, so we made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  

they were delicious. i made them bite sized, which made way more than we could eat so we gave some to our neighbors and both of our parents. after we gave out all the cookies, we watched district 9. it was on tv and m. recorded it for us to watch. it was good. have you seen it? if you have, keep reading. if you haven't you can skip this next part. okay, so ya know how the main guys fingernails fall off, cause ya know...? well, that made my fingernails hurt SO bad during the entire movie. i know that is kinda weird and you probably don't know what i mean, but it was not great. the movie was, my achy fingernails were not. 

we didn't have any plans during the day on saturday, so m. went to the skatepark with one of our good friends from high school. i went and hung out for the last little bit and watched them skate. neither of them had skated in a while, but it was a really nice day and they had fun. here is proof that they haven't completely lost their skating ability. 

the one on the right is m. (sorry he is so small and in the shadow). the one of the left is our friend shad. 

on saturday night we went up to slc and met up with some of our friends. we went to the popular waffle joint called bruge. we got the famous german chocolate stuffed waffle with some vanilla bean ice cream on the side. 

it was delicious (and a little expensive), but overall it was a good time. 

 our dear friend hofe is always a crowd pleaser. he isn't married or dating anyone so he was came on a blind date, and pulled out this little number to show his date. obviously he isn't shy. 

that is his hoodie. the zipper went all the way around the hood, so the boys decided they would help him zip it all the way up. so yeah, they succeeded and of course, hofe had to see so they helped him out and put his glasses on his face for him. boys are so silly. 

we went and saw captain america after all this went down. i can't say if i liked it or not cause i slept for about 75% of it. i have seen too many superhero movies in too little time. i'm not all that into them. i give it a "meh" and that it. 

and lastly, here is the wreath i made for m's cousin. the one that got married last week. i like how it turned out. i wish i had made a few more flowers to put on it, but i ran out of time. 

when i put the finishing touches on it, i had a hard time giving it away. i guess that means that i will just have to make another one! yay for crafts! 

okay, so back to halloween, give some ideas stat! it's okay if you don't, i won't be mad. 

well guys. i think you are great. thanks for reading my silly words and coming back every week. 

i will most likely have more exciting pictures next week since all the halloween festivities will be going down. stay tuned. 

xo. 

linds.