Ms. Monroe

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” 

 ~ Marilyn Monroe ~

weekend in snaps

Back to Monday tomorrow, 

amazing how quickly the weekends go.

It was a busy weekend with the byu men's volleyball game,

friends birthday celebrations, 

catching up with friends till 2 a.m. {getting too old for those wee hours},

our first real snow fall in the valley{snowshoeing is a must soon}, 

and having some of my dad's amazing chicken soup for Sunday dinner, 

not a shabby way to end a great weekend.

A new taste.

Last week some of us went to Banana Leaf a new 

Sri Lankan restaurant in Provo.

The ambiance, the food, the presentation 

was all so delicious and foreign to my palate it 

was refreshing.

If you're in the area I definitely suggest trying it out.

Happy 1st to Odin!

I can't count all the ways that I love little Odin.

He's absolutely my favorite little boy.

He always makes sure to bring a smile to my face.

He gives me big wet kisses all of the time.

Dances when I put music on.

Always shares his cheerio's with me.

We're the best of pals.

Happy Birthday to the cutest nephew ever!

A good read.

Over the Holiday's I read this amazing book, Intuitive Eating.

My friend had given it to me some time ago, 

and unfortunately for me I got busy 

and didn't get to it till now.

I am not a health expert, I realize that there are 

a million ideas out there on what to do or not do.

I am just a chica that wants to be kind to my body{eat healthy & exercise}

& have a good relationship with food.

So when I picked up this book it helped me realize many things, 

like listening better to when I'm full instead of just eating to be eating and so forth.

It is a book that makes sense on every level.  It's not a diet or miracle working book.

It just brings you back to the basics like these 10 principles outlined.

If you're looking for a good read on health, I highly recommend it.

Cotton Candy Skies

Driving home from work lately I've been

in awe of how gorgeous the skies are.

The sky is painted with intense shades of pink, orange, blue & maroon.

I could stare at it all day, it's mesmerizing.

Island life dreaming...

 

Now that the Holiday's have sadly left us, I've got my sights

on vacationing in the sun and away from this brown cold winter {sadly no snow this year yet}.

Which I will be gladly doing end of February in the Caribbean.

I'm so so excited and looking forward to exploring some islands 

{Bahama's, St. Maarten, St. Thomas & Grand Turk}.

It's my first time to the Caribbean...

so if you have any tips please send them my way.

Meanwhile...shhhh...I'm daydreaming!

2011 in review.

Happy New Year, welcome 2012!

This year seemed to have flown by at times, and at others it was in slow motion.

It was a good year.

I am too lazy to do a post filled with pics so this'll have to do.

I started January last year with snowshoeing in the winter wonderland that surrounded us {sadly not the case this year, no snow yet this December}. My darling little nephew Odin was born a couple weeks later, he's a barrel of laughs and I can't get enough of his chubby cheeks.

The month ended with a bit of a fender bender with a dog and me feeling horrible.

Thank goodness February started out with a relaxing weekend to Park City with a good friend, just what the Doctor ordered. Later on in the month I took a trip to 

San Francisco to see my brother and his darling family and see my brother play lacrosse.

It was truly splendid...I love those little nieces of mine and the California sunshine was much 

welcomed in the drear of February.

March was filled with baking new recipes, a minor wax mishap, a color festival at the Hare Krishna temple and watching the Real play some great soccer.

April started out the month with a 5k with some of my cousins which we were 

hoping for in warmer weather, but nonetheless we had a grand time.

Got hit on with some interesting pick-up lines such as this one and this one along 

with some good and not-so-good dates.

I started a hip-hop class with some friends and loved dancing my tuesday evening away.

Easter traditions with the family is how the month ended.

During May the sun barely starting coming out...not much of a spring.

A road-trip to Colorado to help my brothers move home turned out to be not all work, we squeezed in some hiking and relaxing. I was ecstatic to go to my first U2 concert.  It was a dream come true and I was elated for weeks after.  

In June my brothers and I decided to have a paella cook-off and see who's paella was the best

amongst the judges.  Peter won, which the other two refuse to accept.  

With a cousin in town from Jersey we decided to take her to gem of 

southern Utah to Zion National Park.  The much anticipated hip-hop performance finally happened and 

it went surprisingly well.  The last weekend in June was

very busy with my brother's sealing, a baptism and baby blessing.

The 4th of July was kicked off by running the 5k Freedom Run in downtown Provo, a family bbq, and fireworks.  The month was busy with all of the things I love about summer: pool time, shaved ice, 

bbq's, movies under the stars and evening walks. 

August found all of the family together from everywhere so family pictures were in order. 

Since summer was on its way out squeezing some tennis time was a must. 

As usual I have impeccable timing for all things including vacation time

in NYC during the earthquake and Irene fiasco.  Luckily I got to extend my trip and 

fit in all of the things I love including my first time at the U.S. Open...dream come true!

With one last summer holiday {Labor Day} I returned from NYC and a few days later packed my 

bags and headed to Wyoming with some friends for some small town hospitality.

As soon as the October crisp air hit, I was ecstatic for all things autumn, including the Sundance Moon lift ride with good friends...a must around these parts. Another must is the Witche's Night Out at Gardner Village. I then went on a quick trip to San Francisco with my cousin and parents where we enjoyed all that the Indian summer offered. Halloween was a superhero good time with friends and I'm thinking each year should be a theme with friends.

November was a whirlwind month with some unexpected events such as my dad's health scare any my nonna's passing, but in light of it all it was good and what a blessing to have the family I do. Before I knew it Thanksgiving was around the corner.  I had a great time helping set the table, helping in the kitchen, watching movies and relaxing.

December always comes and goes in the blink of an eye. Sometimes I wish I could hold it in my hand a bit more, but such is life.  It was a great month with the traditional visit to Temple Square, a wonderful birthday celebration, many holiday gatherings with friends and a great Christmas with my family.

Usually when I reflect back on the year I think not much has happened or changed.

But one of the sole reasons I started blog journaling was to have something to look 

back on and see the events, progression and what I can work on for the upcoming year.

I am super excited about a new year.

I love a new year, it's a clean slate with new dreams and goals.

 Here's to 2012!