Bigcitydreams

My Bucket List!

There are so many things I havent done, or see, that I want to do...so I started a list and I want to document them! I tend to play things safe but I want to push the limits I have set for myself, even if that means doing things that I dont like or that utterly terrify me! So...here it goes!!! :)

Movies:
A Knights Tale
Rocky
Snow White
Bambi
Dumbo
Lord of the Rings
Indiana Jones
Goonies
Aladin
Little Mermaid
Ghost Busters
Newsies
Groundhog Day
Jurassic Park
Back to the Future
Toy Story
Rovin Hood
Tarzan
Dumb and Dumber (turned it off...not a fan)
The Bourne Trilogy
Pinocchio
Avatar
Zoolander
Monty Python
E.T
Jaws (idk what the hype was about on this one)
Superman
Batman
Spiderman
A Christmas Carol
Madagascar
Alice and Wonderland
Top Gun
Peter Pan

Things To Do:
Climb a Tree
Try Gelato
Go Star Gazing
Go to a Haunted House
Go Trick or Treating/Legit Dress up for Halloween
See the Great Salt Lake
Go to Park City
Go to a Midnight Showing
Run up an escalator the wrong way
Play a video game
Write a song out of inspiration
Buy something from an Ice Cream Truck
Shoot off a rocket
Try Lobster
Visit Via dell Amore (lovers walk in Italy)
Learn a different language
Make a cookbook

This list is to be continued! :)

I Know That My Redeemer Lives!

I don’t know how often I share my testimony with others, most definitely not as much as I should. As I sat and earnestly listened to the Prophet and Apostles speak to the World a fire built up inside me. How blest we are in these days to have a Prophet who speaks to God.

As I sat in the conference center waiting for conference and noticed…the seats were not all filled. I looked at my clock…5 min before we were about to hear from the Prophets and Apostles of God and the seats were not filled. From the very depths of my soul I wanted to scream out! DON’T YOU PEOPLE KNOW WHAT WE HAVE!!! I wanted to go and pull people off the streets and bring them in to listen. As the session was coming to a close I noticed something else…tons and tons of people getting up to leave early, to do what...beat traffic? This KILLED me! I don’t know why I was noticing this now and not before but this truly resonated in me. I again was thinking, 2 weekends out of an entire year and you try and cut the time because you want to miss a little bit of traffic? Sometimes I think as members of the church we take our knowledge and the things we are blessed with for granted. With this experience I decided to take a look at the truths I hold dear and in what ways do I take my knowledge of the restored gospel for granted and how I can improve. One way I take it for granted is by not sharing my testimony as often as I should. I am not an eloquent speaker and it may be simple but this testimony is mine and I hold it very dear to me and today I wish to share it with you. Never in my life have I received so much joy, peace, and comfort from knowledge than I have from knowing these things. 

I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was something I truly sought after. I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves me so much that he sent His son so that I may dwell with them in Heaven. How blessed I feel to have Prophets and Apostles who speak to God and give the world His knowledge and teachings so that we might be perfected through Him who redeems us. I am grateful for the opportunity that we are all given to develop our relationship with our Heavenly Father to be able to know Him so personally and to be able to receive personal revelation. I am thankful for the temples that we have that we can go and feel the presence of God and to feel the sweet spirit that is there. I am so excited for the day that I will be able to make sacred covenants with Him that I might draw closer to Him and move forward on my path to eternal salvation. I am eternally grateful for the many sacrifices and the incredible faith of Joseph Smith who withstood persecution because he knew the truth in which he held and because of that the world was able to receive the Saviors gospel as it was restored correctly in these last days. 

I know that My Redeemer Lives. I know that God talks to men in these latter days and that President Monson is the Prophet of God here on earth. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and is so very aware of our lives and has His hand in guiding our path. If we but let Him in, He can do far greater things with our lives than we could possibly imagine. I am so grateful for the peace and the comfort that He and His teachings bring to my life. No matter who you are, what you have done He loves you…more than our minds can comprehend. “We are nothing compared to God, but to God we are EVERYTHING.” I know these things are true for I have sought after it. I say these things in the name of My Savior and Redeemer, Amen. 

Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop

I have failed recently at blogging. It has been a few weeks. Id say my excuse was moving and the 
fact that my lap top was in the shop for a bit but...we all know thats just a lousy excuse. I feel like I have so much on my mind so if you are actually reading this...you are about to get to know me just a bit better haha 


 I have contemplated the thought of love (of all kinds) a lot lately and as of right now I am sitting at the Starbucks in Cedar City (because they have free internet) and as I was contemplating...life (super cliche i know) I noticed this cute little asian couple sitting at a table for two all goo goo eyed and it reminded me of my first "love" ha my first infatuation, relationship or whatever you want to call it. When I first started liking this boy he sang me the song Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop and I was all giddy and nervous cause I mean come on?! a boy singing a love song...to ME!!! Who wouldnt and coffee shops kind of became our thing. So anyways the song just fit my title :)

Since that first boy there have been others and what I thought I knew about love at that moment has changed dramatically. 


           This summer I was on a mission to discover myself in relation to love. How to properly love other people whether it be in friend, family, or romantic relationships. How to love myself fully also how to feel loved by other people. I fully believe that God gives us reoccurring situations so that we can overcome them and master them in pursuit of becoming better and more like him. 


            I use to think it was a weird saying You can't fully love others until you love yourself. What a huge truth that is. What has boggled my mind is what people constitute as love. Maybe its me that has the off views but I feel like love is exciting and selfless. Where all you want is for that person to succeed that you would never intentionally do something to hurt them. Obviously love is not a perfect fairy tale. We are humans and we make mistakes but I feel like love is being able to admit that you were wrong. To own up to your mistakes and make them better. To be honest and genuine. To not mislead or misdirect them. I believe that love is something you have to work at sometimes there can be those initial feelings of love and adoration but as with anything worth while it takes work. As it is said, fear and faith cant exist at the same time so is it with love. True love and fear cant exist. I am talking about fear of you being hurt or not being approved of or mishandled. Fear of if your not with that person who else would want you. I understand that people have fears of being hurt or of uncertainty that's not what I am talking about. I have witnessed so much of that and it breaks my heart that such things are accepted as the best kind of love there is.


          Through my whole experience/journey this summer I have been able to feel the most amazing love of all as I have built my relationship with my Heavenly Father and I have come to better understand love as a whole. I have at times looked at love from a worldly eternalness perspective and I couldn't have been more wrong.


           Our souls were designed to be filled with love, a love that all can feel but it can’t be filled by just one person. God places people in our lives to love us, to be vessels of his love. For our souls to be complete we need to fill it with a special kind of love, which is the love of our Heavenly Father. In the book, Do You Think I’m Beautiful? It says, “Our hearts have been made to cry out for a love that can only come from our creator.” President Uchtdorf describes the love of the Savior when he says:

“Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount—that is the measure of God’s love for you. God does not look on the outward appearance. I believe that He doesn’t care one bit if we live in a castle or a cottage, if we are handsome or homely, if we are famous or forgotten. Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely. He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked.”

I am so grateful for the knowledge that God’s love for us is perfect and never ending. We could neglect him, hate him, and curse his name but his love would not change. What a beautiful thing to have. Although it would deeply sadden him, his love for you and I would still be perfect. Sister Virginia H. Pearce describes the love of God by stating His love “truly is the most joyous and delicious thing we can experience on this earth. It is so good that when we are filled with it, we are consumed with a desire that others should feel it to.”

It has often been argued that God’s love is not perfect, that his love isn’t real, for the reason that if he truly loved us there wouldn’t be things in the world such as starving children, murder, hatred and disease. President James E. Faust commented on this subject saying, “The overwhelming message of the Atonement is the perfect love the Savior has for each and all of us. It is a love which is full of mercy, patience, grace, equity, long-suffering, and, above all, forgiving.” It was through the atonement, his pure love and complete selflessness that he sent his only son to come down to earth, knowing he would have to endure every kind of heartache and pain. That His beloved son would have to take on the sins of the whole world and during his hardest hour heavenly father would have to withdraw himself from Christ. Stated in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son…” What a sacrifice that must have been. It is because Heavenly Father loves us that we have free agency which sometimes unfortunately, creates disease, death, and hunger. 

When we came down to earth we knew it wouldn’t be easy. That because we are not perfect there would have hardships. Like any good parent, Heavenly Father gives us experiences to learn and grow, to help us draw nearer unto him, and become perfected in him so that we might once again return to live with him. God shows us his love by offering us his wisdom, love and support as we go through life. There isn’t anything he doesn’t understand and he doesn’t expect us to do it alone.

I don’t know a lot of things but one thing I do know that God’s love is real! To feel the Saviors love is an amazing feeling and it is something that we can feel every day. Unfortunately sometimes we let things get in our way. None of us can fully comprehend just how powerful his love is. If we truly understand the impact it would have on our lives to feel the Saviors love for us in our daily life we would hunger after and be in an active pursuit to feel it. The possibilities are endless. Explaining this concept more fully Elder John H. Groberg said, “When filled with God’s love, we can do and see and understand things that we could not otherwise do or see or understand. Filled with his love, we can endure pain, quell fear, forgive freely, avoid contention, renew strength, and bless and help others in ways surprising even to us.” I feel so incredibly blessed to have an increased understanding of God's love and a better understanding of what it means to love others and what it feels like to let other people love me.

I dont know if this is where I intended this blog to go as at first I was kind of on a tangent. I am so thankful for the people in my life for the experiences that I have to help me learn and grow. My hope is that I will eventually get to the point in life where people will be able to feel how much the Savior loves them because of the way I love them and treat them. 

Love is patient, kind, compassionate, understanding, full of service, humble, honest and sincere...

The Nicest Thing

Day 2: The meaning behind your blog name:

So I wrote in early blogs my actual web address was a mistake. The "inspiration" if you want to call it that came from a dance audition on So You Think You Can Dance. I very rarely watch t.v but for whatever reason I was watching the auditions and there was this girl dancing to a song and I couldn't help but focus on the lyrics and the way she chose to relay the story. It was beautiful. I immediately went and found out the song she was dancing to was called The Nicest Thing by Kate Nash. For whatever reason the words we related to my life at the time and it just stuck.

As for the title Today Is Your Day of course it is another title of a song, by Shania Twain. The words are so real and very uplifting. Too often I feel like we put things off...or leave things to happenstance but now is the time to take the reins and take charge of your life. Do the things you want to do! Today is YOUR day to do...whatever you want, to BE whoever you want to be! I find that message so simple but so powerful.

Come Clean

Day 1: Introduce your self, Recent picture, and 15 interesting facts!

My name is Jessica Noelle Jones. I was born September 28, 1991 and I am just plain silly. I am going to school to finish my bachelors in communications emphasis in public relations.

Court and I :) LOVE HER!!!

"Interesting Facts"

1. I LOVE earlobes!!! (not everyone has good earlobes....trust)
2. I really enjoy taking care of people
3. I am getting my bachelors degree to go to cosmetology school
4. I have never climbed a tree
5. I would almost always rather hang  out with a male instead of a female. I grew up around men and thats just what I am use to. Less drama, more fun!
6. I cant lie. If I lie I will either tell you right after it was a lie or start laughing or something. Therefore games like mafia or poker are a no go for me and I am the worst at being sneaky.
7. Birthdays are my favorite thing EVER!!! Yours, mine, the kid next store. It just excites me! I love birthdays!!!!!
8. I love to read biographies. They intrigue and inspire me. I have always been one to observe and learn from other people. love love love it!!!
9. I hope to start up a non profit organization
10. I have an outrageous heel collection! I adore shoes!
11. Among the people I associate with I am known as someone who you can count on to be loyal and trustworthy. I will never share a secret, however I dont trust most others with my secrets although there are a few who I trust more than anything.
12. I had my own business card.
13. I am not a fan of animals...dogs/puppies are ok sometimes but generally speaking I dont like them.
14. Generally speaking I like vegetables more than fruit.
15. I have never broken a bone or been stung

All The Small Things

So I have decided to do the 30 day blog challenge!!! So soon enough you will know "All the Small Things" I know I'm so PUNny! ahahahahaha. You take the challenge day by day and the list is:

Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts
Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3-Your idea of a perfect first date
Day 4-Your parents
Day 5-Your siblings
Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7-Your dream wedding
Day 8-A place you've traveled to
Day 9-A picture of your friends
Day 10-Something you're afraid of
Day 11-Favorite tv shows
Day 12-What you believe
Day 13-Goals
Day 14-A picture you love
Day 15-Something you can't leave the house with out
Day 16-A picture of you from last year and how you've changed since then
Day 17-Something you're looking forward to
Day 18-Something you regret
Day 19-Something you miss
Day 20-Nicknames
Day 21-Your love life
Day 22-Favorite city
Day 23-Favorite vacation
Day 24-Something you've learned
Day 25-A photo of something that means a lot to you
Day 26-Picture of your family
Day 27-Pets
Day 28-Something that stresses you out
Day 29-3 Wishes
Day 30-a picture of you today and 3 good things that have happened to you today


Now...will I actually do this all within 30 days?!...if we are being honest...probably not! but I will do my best to get it done sooner than later! :) I am excited! and so the adventure begins! 

Daddy's Little Girl

So for those of you who really know me you know that I love music. Growing up I have heard the stories of how I would make my brothers sit down and listen to me for forever while I would sing and put on a show. When I was 4 or 5 my parents put me in lessons to learn how to play the Violin. I was good at it but it got to the point where practicing for hours on end took the enjoyment out of it for me because it was being forced. Singing however was something I did because I enjoyed it not necessarily because I thought it would take me anywhere or that people would even listen to me it just became an outlet for me a way to express myself. It always amazed me how people no matter what stage of life, circumstance or gender could connect through music. Music is a universal language and I love that it has the ability to speak to a persons soul. It is something everyone can understand.

I made an interesting observation about myself a while back. I am the type of person that listens to the same few songs over and over and over again until I move on to something else (obviously) but I was thinking about it and my favorite songs at the time are songs that I can relate to in that moment. Somehow it explains my thoughts, current situation or feelings. Hence why the titles of each post I make may not make sense to what I am writing, but really it does because each one is a title of a song that relates to what I am posting. Cheesy I know...but I kinda like it! :) 

So I got a small blast from the past today when looking through some things I found videos of me in high school performing. (although I must admit they are a little embarrassing) I look at them and I see all the things I did wrong. (granted part is due to the awful quality of the recording but still...) No stage presence, engaging the audience, tone quality...yada yada yada. But it is cool to see where I was and how far I have come since then. So what the hay! I'll post them hahaha

My dad is my biggest fan! He cracks me up! I have always appreciated his enthusiasm for my love for music. I am so grateful to him and all that he has done for me especially in regards to allowing me to follow my dreams. In high school he would always ask me to sing for him and encouraged me to sing at my school concerts so I did. You have to get your practice in somewhere right? I just found a few videos and it gave me a good chuckle so I thought I'd share them with you! The second video is at my last concert in high school and I dedicated the song to my parents because I knew it would mean a lot to them and I felt like this song described how I felt about them and the fact that I was about to move out on my own and away from them. It all just seemed to fit so perfectly. <3 

No matter where I am or what I am doing in life. Music will always be a part of me. I appreciate the impact it has had on my life and the friendships I have made and strengthened through music. I know there are better singers as well as performers than me. Music has never been about being the best. It has just been about doing something I love and something that brings me joy! I think everyone needs and deserves to have something like that in their life. An outlet an escape from the world a place of solitude and peace. Far too many things in life are about competition or doing things for the wrong reasons on my journey to find joy I have found that most important above almost all else is to find something you love and incorporate it into your everyday life. There is no need to do it to make money or beat someone else to the punch but to satisfy your own soul. I pray that everyone can find this sort of joy in their own lives. For me, it is music.

 

Jesus Take The Wheel

Holy Cow! It has been forever since I have last blogged! So long that I had to get a new password ahaha I feel like so much has happened and changed in my life the last six months there is no time in the world (at least that someone would want to spend reading) that I could share the major things that have happened to me. So I am just going to start with summer...well I will start in April. I GRADUATED!!!! Just with my associates but seriously I am so glad to have my generals out of the way so I can get going on what I really want to be doing! I was still trying to figure out what to do with the next four months of my life because I felt like I was in a weird in between of knowing I was leaving but wanting to stay because I had made such wonderful friends. The plan as of graduation day was to stay in SLC and work hopefully save a fair amount of money and then move to Cedar in August but somehow I was so unsettled with that idea, I felt as if I was just stuck, not moving forward and as I saw it if I wasn't moving forward I was falling behind. As my closest of friends could tell you I was going through a rough patch. Trying to "find myself" and figure out how to find true joy. My strongest desire was to feel "whole"  and I wasn't finding it in Salt Lake City. Don't get me wrong I LOVED it there I was blessed with amazing friends, wonderful roommates and amazing opportunities but something wasn't right. Things were not lining up with in myself and I was determined to find my inner peace.


Taking a step back and looking at my life experiences I never fail to be amazed at how much the Lord has guided my life. Heavenly Father was defiantly preparing me for what is coming next! He has always taken me in directions that I could have never dreamed for myself nor would I have chosen. I feel like I am constantly afforded opportunities to refine my soul and  come out a better and strong person. 


My father had called me one evening on a thursday night inviting me to move down to California to help take care of my mother who had been ill and unable to do the daily tasks in life which was very hard on her because she is such an independent woman. He went on saying that in order for me to work while I was down in California (if that was my choice) I needed to be to work on Monday. Now math is not my best subject but I quickly realized that gave me only 3 days to pack up my life in Utah and be gone. What was I going to do about my apartment? My friends? My job?!?! Oh my goodness its a cool and weird feeling knowing that you can just pick up your life and move in a matter of days (not a big deal) needless to say as I said a little prayer trying to understand what I was suppose to do. Torn between staying in Salt Lake because I had such wonderful friends who I adore, living on my OWN, my job that I enjoyed or moving to California to go back to Riverside (which in my mind would be social suicide) however I would be making and saving a lot more money and most importantly being there for my mother. Needless to say it has been one of the BEST decisions I have made ever! I have had so many opportunities to better myself, help my mother, and build friendships here in Riverside and make more friends than I would have ever imagined.


One thing is for sure the Summer of 2011 will be one I will never forget. The opportunities and experiences that have been placed before me have been priceless. My testimony of the Savior and just how much He is aware of me and my life has grown tremendously. I feel so blessed loved and through my journey have come to feel whole, find joy and understand better His gospel thorough Him who knows all things. 

And Run!

So first I had such a wonderful night last night! I went and babysat with my friend/roomie Amanda! She has an aunt that lives down in Provo and so she invited me to go down with her! It was the BEST! We watched her 3 little nephew 8, 5, 3 they were adorable! It was so much fun! I hope I dont jinx myself when I say I hope I have all boys when I start to have kids! The 5 year old and I became friends right away! I said, Hey Jackson are you my buddy?! he was like nooooooo giggling and then we went down stairs and he came and sat on my lap turned around and then said Jessica I am just kidding... we are buddies! :) so adorable and then everyone was laying down watching a movie and so he comes over and lays down next to me and starts to cuddle me and he said Jessica...we are BEST FRIENDS!!! This kid was adorable he melted my heart!  The cutest line of all is when he had to get up and do something he starts to leave and then comes back, grabs my hand and says Jessica I have to leave, but dont worry we are still best friends! :) It was such a fun night!

This is the boys and Amanda with our ginger bread cake that we all decorated! It was covered in icing lol

So for the title of this post I chose the song title And Run! Such a good song! I heard it for the first time today and it fit perfectly with my thoughts the last few days. Me and Amanda were even talking about the very subject on the way home last night! Its the concept that a lot of people have of needing a significant other in their life to be happy and to be productive and accomplish things. It kind of goes along with one of my favorite quotes and life mottos that "Far too many people are looking for the right person instead of being the right person." The song is amazing! You should listen to it! Anyways, I have noticed that most girls sit around waiting for a man to come and save them. Like suddenly having someone in their life is going to make everything better. While having someone there is nice it is important not to just sit there waiting. Develop yourself and have fun! 

So often the religious culture I grew up in if you are 21 and not married girls start to feel abnormal or strange and they are left not knowing what to do with themselves. Now me on the other hand I am probably a little too opposite of this. I have too much planned. A life where there isnt space for someone to come and "save me" I have everything planned out. I graduate right after I turn 21 and then I want to go on a mission for my church and then come back, get a job at a PR firm and then go to cosmetology school! Go to a different country to help less fortunate people and teach little children english! What I have been trying to figure out for me and my life is a way to balance these two extremes! To find a place for someone to come in to my life. I tend to push men away who try  to come in to my life! But I am working on it!

The most important thing that I have left out is my ultimate dream to become a mother and while all my goals are good and righteous desires to achieve my ultimate goal I need to learn how to open myself up to men. So that is my biggest goal for 2011 is to provide room in my life for "men" not saying that I hope I get married anytime...NO NO NO NO NO lol I just need to make some changes so that I am ready when God needs me to be! Much love to everyone! I hope you have a wonderful week! :)

Here is that song :)

All about us!

So I've kind of got stuck on this song thing so if my titles dont make sense...its probably a title to a song I am currently in to or one that explains my situation/feelings whatever. Ps I dont even know if anyone actually reads my blog so I guess this could just be a place for me to write down my thoughts...kind of like a journal except anyone could read it...weird.

Anyways, first I would just like to point out how RIDICULOUS I am. I made a blog a little over a year ago but I couldnt get back in to it because I forgot my password so I thought oh...i'll just create a new one simple enough  but I was having issues finding a web address that wasnt taken. So I finally found one, it was going to be The nicest things with out any spaces of course and i was so excited (its the title of a really good song...shocker) anyways I am all excited about it. I set up my blog post something and then I go to look at it again type in the web address and a blank blog pops up! I was so confused! Come to find out, I CANT SPELL! No big deal my blog wasnt the nicest things I had accidentally created The Nice Set Things haahahaha the worst! story of my life lol so silly

So I had the opportunity to drive from California to Utah all by myself and seriously it was one of the best experiences of my life! I know that sounds silly but it was! I got to spend a lot of time with just me! :) I know that might sound weird but there is just something about being by yourself in a car for countless hours. It gave me a lot of thinking time. I was able to think a lot about my life. It allowed me to reflect on where I am headed, what I've been doing, who I associate with and things about myself that I need to change or things I need to develop more! It was wonderful! I stopped off in Cedar City...where I am moving in 5-6 months and it gave me a little slap of reality! I am so excited for change and something new. The school that I am going to be going to is AMAZING and I know I will have so many wonderful opportunities for learning and growth! It will be awesome! It was exciting and scary at the same time. When I move there I will not know a single soul. NO ONE!!! Thats so scary to me! but I know like it always has everything will work out!

Ok well I'm off to bed! Tomorrows adventures start early! I'm going to the temple in the morning then off to find a job yay!!! we will see how this goes! Love you all!
 

Blah, Blah, Blah!

My head is so full of thoughts and so I figured this would be a way to get them out lol Im heading back to Utah tomorrow which is good because I have so much to get done before school starts on monday and I have been so unproductive hahaha but I get this weird feeling every time I'm about to leave home like I want to stay forever. I think its because its safe here. Everything is so unpredictable in life thats what makes it so exciting and scary!

Tomorrow I am going to check out my new school, SUU, and I am so excited! Cedar City is different than anything I have ever really experienced before. Its just a small town. It will be a great school for me and I know that I will have lots of room to learn and grow!

I am so excited to see what unfolds for me there. I have to be careful because knowing myself I dont want to get in to a mode of not caring what happens to me in Salt Lake because I know I am moving! I have the opportunity to have a wonderful next few months and I need to put the effort out there!

Well I should probably go to bed! I have a long drive ahead of me!

New Year New Blog

Wow! I don't know how life moves this quickly! Its 2011! How exciting! I love the end of the year the whole world seems to shift the atmosphere and general feeling if only for a few weeks! Its wonderful! It always allows me time to sit back and reflect on the past year. It provides me with something to measure my progress in life. I feel like 2010 was a crazy year for me but so good! I was reminded of a lot of important things. I went through a ton of life changing experiences making me a stronger and better person! Ive been so blessed to have met so many wonderful people! Looking back it always amazes me just how much the Lord has guided my life!

So I have had a lot of new experiences this past year and have made so many new discoveries:

1) Twinkies are not the business, blegh!

2) Cafe' Rio is the best! God's gift to white mexican food!

3) Cuddling is my new found favorite hobby!

4) Texting is not the shiz anymore, I miss when people would actually pick up their phones and carry on a             conversation. I guess thats so 2008...my bad!

5) Taylor Swift lyrics are the cure for all heartache! <3

6) I love camping...who would have thought!

7) Star Wars was better than I thought!

8) Yoga pants are wonderful!

There is so much more...but I will spare you! :)

I have a "bucket list" for myself for this new year!

1) Watch all these movies "I've missed out on" and here goes the list: 

A knights tale, snow white, bambi, lord of the rings, indiana jones, goonies, aladin, ghost busters, newsies, groundhog day, jurrasic park, back to the future, toy story, robin hood, tarzan, jaws, superman, batman, dumb and dumber, pinochio, the bourne trilogy, and so many more but yeah you get the idea! I am determined to finish this list by the end of the year.

2) Go star gazing

3) Watch a sunrise

4) Go to a haunted house

5) Go to park city (before i move)

6) Go golfing (i should probably learn first)

7) Take photography classes

8) Take cooking classes

9) Assemble a cook book 

10) Run up an escalator the wrong way

11) Create my own art piece

I have so many more but this is a start! I am so excited to see where this year takes me! I know some big things are coming this year! I graduate in April, I move away from Salt Lake this summer to a place where I will literally know no one! Bring it on! :) I love you all! Have a fantastic year!!!