Snowshoeing up Tibble Fork

 While the east coast has been mercilessly dumped on with snow, 

we here in the west have had such a warm winter. I'm talking 50's and 60's!

When I went snowshoeing with a friend a few weeks back 

we weren't sure my favorite spot would have snow.

Luckily it was high enough in the mountains that it had snow 

and were able to snowshoe. 

Snowshoeing is my jam. I'm terribly

afraid of heights and fast speed, so skiing just makes me

want to curl in the fetal position and cry...

perhaps someday I'll tackle that fear but for now snowshoeing it is.

 ^^The most beautiful sunset greeted us on our way back to our cars.

My Winter Essentials

Growing up in a mountainous region really makes you keenly aware
of what your winter essentials are to survive the long months ahead.
I think everyone knows what they can
do without and what are the must-haves.  These are just a few
of the items that every year I realize I can't do without:

1. A good pair of gloves, I especially love the ones that can be a mitten

and then folded back to use your fingers like this pair from J.Crew.

2. A pufffer coat, this is not a luxury in my book, but more of an essential. It gets frigid

here and the last thing you need is to feel all that cold air permeating your body. There are puffers that

are expensive, but you can still find good quality for much less like this Gap one.

3. A good moisturizer. It is so dry here that without constantly lathering up my hands

they can easily crack or without a good chapstick my lips get chapped as well. So I take all

precautions and buy a good lotion like Eucerin and make sure my hands and body are lathered up.

4. Snow boots.  I didn't used to own a pair, until recently and wow what a difference! My leather boots 

would get ruined every year without fail. Now when the snow falls, I have waterproof, shearling lined

boots to walk around in and my leather boots are thankful to take the back seat!

Good Reads

Winter is definitely the time I read more than the summer when I try to 

spend most of my free time enjoying the sunshine.  I've compiled a list of

some books I've read lately that I liked enough to reccommend.

 

The Glass Castle: Such a compelling book that had me laughing, crying and cringing and baffled all within a chapter. It's a memoir of author Jeannette Walls and recounts her dysfunctional childhood with mentally unstable parents, moving around like vagabonds, and living in poverty.  It's a touching book that gives you a glimpse into what an unstable childhood must feel like.

The Paris Wife: I didn't know much about Ernest Hemingway when I picked up this book. The book is a novel about Ernest's first wife Hadley and her marriage to Hemingway.  The book made me feel like a fly on the wall of a married couple's marriage, which at times was uncomfortable but so interesting in that it describes her love for him, her insecurities in their marriage because of his infidelities and his passion for writing. A good read, but when I put it down I couldn't stop thinking about how it ended.

To Heaven and Back: A memoir of a doctor and her experience with dying while on a river in Chile. She recounts her recollection of going to heaven and coming back and how it completely changes her perspective on every day life. It was inspiring to read and makes you think about how each day we live is precious.

Unbroken: Before the movie came out I read the book. There are no words to describe what Louis Zamperinni, an Olympian and POW survivor went through in his life and actually survived. The book is so well written and detailed that it makes you feel like you are living it yourself.  There were times that I felt physically exhausted reading it and had to put it down for a minute before continuing on.  I absolutely loved this book. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend you start reading it asap.

Wild: Author Cheryl Strayed recounts her experience leaving her entire life behind and going solo on a journey to find herself on the Pacific Crest Trail. At times I'm not sure if I admire her for being brave to do this journey alone or plain stupid.  Either way it is respectful that she decided to make the journey on her own and have that sacred experience alone and getting to know herself better.

I'm always up for a good book recommendation and would love to hear about them!

As of late..

The last couple months seem like a blur. Has anyone ever had the experience

where you drive somewhere like work, the grocery store or wherever else and 

your mind was so preoccupied that you literally don't know how you got from point

a to point b? That's what November and December were like for me, especially December and here's why...

I was offered a new job and needed to make a decision between two offers, my good friend

got married, I helped organize a charity event for children with cancer, holiday parties, 

Christmas shopping, baking, family traditions, friend traditions and 

by the end of it I was exhausted. I'm not complaining because they were all 

good things to be spending my time with, I just can't believe it's a new year.

As mentioned previously I've started a new job with a different company.  This week I've 

been training and am excited to start off the year with new possibilities and opportunities

not only with a job but making new goals for myself.

I plan on getting back to posting more often, but right now I'm just

trying to catch my breath from all the madness.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

 ^^Impromptu family photos.

^^Good friends at the wedding.

^^Top photo: Friends that helped volunteer at the charity event

Bottom photo: The venue

 ^^Temple Square

^^Birthday celebrating with the most beautiful cake my brother made.

 ^^Baked so many cookies

^^Gave away cookie jars to friends filled with goodies

 My sweet mom knit us all beenies and scarves, shes' amazing

^^NYE

Snow adventures with kids.

 A few weekends ago my sister-in-law had to leave town for a family emergency.

With my brother working full time I volunteered to take my three nieces for the weekend.

The kids had watched too many movies, colored to their hearts content, 

and were getting cranky being inside. So we put on our snow-gear and

headed outside to play in the snow. We made a snowman, went sledding and

made snow angels. It was the best idea to get them out of the house, 

while getting their energy spent on having fun instead of going stir-crazy.

It was a win/win in my book. We came back inside, had hot chocolate, 

and the crankiness was left on the turf and before I knew it they were taking naps.

 ^^Odin, my nephew, likes to show off how strong he is at every chance he gets. He's so cute.

Getting through February

Around this time of year I'm counting down the 

days until warm weather is consistent and the

white stuff on the lawn is out of sight. Usually I try to 

have some sort of vacation planned to sunnier destinations, 

it helps so much.

So I've compiled a little list of things

I plan on doing this February to help lessen the blow

that it's still winter and we here in Utah have at least another 

two months of freezing temps.

{Taken while snowshoeing up Provo Canyon}

*The Winter Olympics start this Friday, which is always 

a fun thing to watch and get involved in.

*Snowshoeing - My fave way to enjoy the season for the fact it's a cheap, 

great way to explore my surroundings and an awesome workout.

*Bubble baths - I think nothing can transport you better than being able to relax

with some lit candles, music, and a warm bath.

*Reading books - In the summer I'm busy with bike riding, 

picnics, playing at the lake, so I hardly get any reading done. I'm currently 

reading The Book Thief and I'm loving it. Any good recs?

*Movie nights - Nothing better than some favorite snacks and a good movie.

*Museums - I love them year round, but for some reason I tend to go more

when there's no sunshine outside.

*Learning a new recipe. I am always up for a new recipe. So this month I plan on tackling that.

What are some of your favorite things to do to get you through the winter blues?

Please do share!

As of late...

1&2. Walks in the evening/Train ride views
3&4. Lunch at a new fave, Eva's/Birthday lunching with my brothers
5&6. Yearly reunion with old friends/On a walk with my cousin in the freezing cold
7&8. More snowy scenes/Pain au chocolate & chamomile tea for breakfast
9&10. Taking the niece & nephew for a ride/Man made ice castles some friends and I went to

It's my least favorite time of year, I really really dislike
this time of year, when the holidays are over and
I know I have the long stretch of cold winter months
ahead of me still.  But se-la-vie, I am trying to
keep creative and make the best of it
by playing in the snow, enjoying down time
indoors watching movies and spending time
with family and friends.

This too shall pass :)

Christmas Day

Some pictures from Christmas morning and

evening for our annual Christmas party at my uncles place with

the extended family.

^^My nephew hamming it up as usual. 

 ^^Traditional Christmas brunch at my parents.

 ^^Cousins and best of friends.

 ^^Sister-in-law love.