Day 8

Meet my current "scripture journal."

I love those quiet little moments of reflection when I can really just write things down; ways I want to be better, and how I think I might go about actually...being...better. Things I loved from my scripture study that day. A quote I loved from a general conference talk. Promptings I felt and didn't want to forget. It's always with me, in my purse, so I can write things down whenever I need to. Call me old fashioned, but even if I only have my phone with me, and I write it down digitally, it's only permanent to me when it's recorded in my little book. :) It helps me remember what's really important, and what I still need to work on as I go along in life. So really - haha - it's chuck full of my imperfections as well as insights of the good things. It helps me remember to follow through on good things and not just wish they'd happen already.

Today something was incredibly comforting, so I wrote it down.

Then I prayed about it, and now I'm going to work on it.

It always works...I just wanted you to know.

Heavenly Father is real, and He knows me personally, and He really cares.

Today I'm just grateful for everything that helps me know. :)

Day 7 on the road again!

Okay, so I'm not on the road. Currently. But I do love it when I am. :)

This past summer, I forgot to blog about certain roadtrips, and this possibly could warrant me ungrateful for my working car, vacation hours, incredible friends, and the little spare change required here and there in order to do so.

That's my really long way of saying I'm grateful for vacations. :)

Numero uno: Nauvoo with my literal sister, and two figurative ones. :) SO much driving...but SO much fun! I love Nauvoo, and I love love LOVE my sisters. :)

...and let's not forget the OMNI Cali Roadtrip...with people I love as much as life itself. :)

And then there was the quick San Fran with the fam. :)

Though my vacation hours may be depleted to almost nothing, what good are they, really, if they just sit there accumulating? :)

Using them means I'm grateful for them, right?

Right. 

P.S. Kaley...see how you made the blog? See?

Day 6 was a Sunday.

And I made my new favorite dinner: Cheesy Zucchini Enchiladas. 

Holy crap. 

You wouldn't think it would be that good...

but you'd be wrong.

The only problem is I want 10 because they taste so good.

But 1 filled me right up. 

...which is something else to be grateful for, considering my attempt to eat better, combined with that thing called working out that I love and only wish I had a regular schedule for again...

Seriously. Make them. Then tell me how much you loved them.

Or bring them to me if you hate them.

I'm grateful for good food, especially when it's simultaneously good for you.

Plus I love cooking...

so it's a big bonus of gratitude all around. :)

Day 5

Weekends are hard with the blogging. :)

But Day 5 was Saturday, and I was incredibly grateful for the seemingly endless rehearsals filling up my free time these days.

Being in Savior of the World during the holidays is a lot of work, but not really - at least not the kind of work that brings drudgery. :)

I'm grateful for the script. Every single word.

The people: oh my goodness, the people!

The music, the testimonies, and the opportunity to be part of it all. It's my favorite way to spend this holiday season, and it's only second time doing it, but I love it. 

If you want tickets, there are still available nights! I'm in the Wednesday night, Friday night, and Saturday matinee cast. But any night you can go would be worth your time. 

Also, it also snowed a LOT in Salt Lake on Friday night. Thank heavens for friends who live there, and who let me sleep under their roof. :) But another thing I was grateful for on Day 5? 

There were inches upon inches of snow on the ground the next morning. So beautiful. But by the time I got back to Orem later that afternoon? No snow. :) I just wasn't ready for the snow at my doorstep quite yet. 

Day 4

Aaand the gratitude today goes to a somewhat small corner of my life.

Sometimes I take sanity-saving walks for a few minutes during the day.

There's just something about the sunshine and the outdoors that just...makes sitting inside at a desk seem a little less dreary. :)

And today, as I walked back to my office from the tiny little creamery in this little corner of campus, I thought for a minute of my own college days...when I worked in Aggie Ice Cream (for some reason the small creamery always reminds me of AIC) and how I'm glad I don't work there anymore, but I still miss days with the Aggie Ice Cream Rap,courtesy of Kara, Marni, and Megan, with me crying laugh tears on the sidelines.) :)

Those were fun days. 

That was a tangent. :)

But this is today, and I've developed a strange love for this little corner of my world...especially in the fall!

 Say hello to my little afternoon scripture study bench. Nobody is ever there, so it's perfect in its tranquility.

 And those are the majestic mountains I see every day, as I'm about to enter the building for the next 8 hours or so...and I still think they're breathtaking. :)

And last night was full of little grateful moments:

30 uninterrupted minutes of scripture study, sitting in the North Visitor's Center on Temple Square on the benches by the Christus statue while I waited for my vocal assessment for MoTab.

That vocal assessment was the most singing fun I've had in a while. :)

A friend's wedding reception where I met a few more choir members, and I keep getting that "right place" feeling. I love the relief that brings.

The realization I'm going to be spending a WHOLE LOT more time on Temple Square. 

Whew.

But once again, I digress.

I just loved the walk outside today in the middle of my work day. That's all. :)

Day 3, fat boy.

Haha, today's is funny. At least to me. :)

I mean, you can do what you want...my dearly beloved roommates say November 1st is the day Christmas music is acceptable.

My little sister joyfully proclaims from facebook status that her bus driver turned on the Christmas tunes.

Thanksgiving traitors. 

Today I'm grateful for the turkey. :)

Thanksgiving is 100% my favorite holiday. 

Hands down.

Gratitude Day 1. Oh, and Day 2.

I probably need to be more grateful for everything in my life. So I'm going to find one thing every single day and post it here. It's possible I'll get behind by a few days, but the goal is to find one thing every day. Some days it might be creative, but other days it might just be simple. So if you hate gratitude, or the stuff I'm grateful for...just come back in December. ;)

Day 1:

President Monson came and spoke at the devotional at BYU today. How lucky am I to work in the building right next to the Marriott Center, and I can go to devotional anytime I want? I walked over in the cold to a seat a friend was kind enough to save for me, and loved the opportunity to just sit and re-fuel on the words of a living prophet.

"When you choose to follow Christ, you choose to be changed."

He is always so positive, I can't help but be lifted every time I hear him speak. His words of love and testimony were just what I needed in that very moment. 

“Look inside yourself. You are more than what you have become. Remember who you are. Remember. 

You are a son or a daughter of our Heavenly Father.”

So on Day 1, I am grateful for the words of a living prophet, and my proximity to hearing them in person. 

Day 2:

I'm grateful for a body that works.

...And a chiropractor to fix it when it doesn't. :)