My Favorite Things: Z

Zoos:

I really love to go to zoos! What's not to love? Animals running around doing silly things all day, yummy snacks, little kids staring in awe and wonderment. Seriously! Zoos are cool, people! I can't wait for the day I get to go to San Diego Zoo. It's gonna be awesome. The one here in town is super lame, so one day it will be great to go see a real zoo at it's finest!

My Favorite Things: X & Y

Nothing. None. Nada. 

I wish that I could come up with something cool like loving X-rays or Yodeling  but let's face it, no one loves those things. Seriously.

So, shortest blog post in my history I swear. But there it is. :)

My Favorite Things: W

I hope you'll bare with me through this one. I'm on migraine meds today and am, therefore, a little drugged out and still trying to blog. So, if I seem a bit disjointed or don't make any sense at all, please forgive me!

Wicked:

I loved this play! It's probably one of my favorites I've seen yet! I got to see it when I went up to Canada to visit Nadine in the summer of 2011. One of the greatest times ever!

WWII:

I'm so fascinated with this whole period of life. The entire world was enveloped with this sense of fear and sadness and yet, people faced it with hope and determination as well. I love to learn about everything during this time period.



Watermelon:

Gosh, who doesn't love to bite into that yummy pink center during the summer months? You bite into it and all the yummy juices come squirting out in this delicious euphoria of watermelony goodness! Mmm! The best are the seedless ones so you don't have to worry about all the little black seeds getting in your way. Although, I will say that sometimes it's sure fun to get to spit those seeds out on the ground... or on people... :) Anna was supposed to pay me a dollar for each seed I spit on her at a Relief Society party the summer of 2011... I've still never seen the $2. :) It was a great party!



Wedgwood:

This china pattern is beautiful. Mostly, I love the red castles print that is incredibly hard to find. You can normally find the blue pattern. Also, this lovely china is included in a book I'm writing, so I suppose I find myself having a little more draw to it than I would normally to things like this.

Wainscoting:

You can transform ANY room you want, just by putting up some Wainscoting  I love this stuff! It's so versatile and can polish off space in a inexpensive, but effective way!




Words:

This one is silly, but I really LOVE words. I love them because I love to be able to describe things effectively and the only form of communication (especially for a writer) is words. There are some that are just fun to say, some that induce fear, some that are sweet and gentle and some that are powerful. Words are a driving force to be reckoned with. I understand that a lot of what a person says is with their body, but words spoken to someone in anger or kindness are also very powerful.



Wine Glasses:

I collect wine glasses. I don't drink wine, nor will I ever pick up that habit. But I LOVE to collect wine glasses. I think I got this from my mother. She has collected them for years. When I was a senior in high school, at prom we received a flute monogrammed with the date, theme and a little logo on it. And that's when my love began. Since then, I've collected wine glasses from Disney World, a train station in Washington State, my wedding(s), etc. I try to collect a set (at least 2) from important trips or dates. Silly though it may be, I love them. I think they are beautiful.



Wipe Out:

Have you ever seen this TV show? Good grief I love it! It's hilarious! People sign up and act silly, all the while getting pummeled in these obstacle courses that look easy, but are hard when you're in the middle of it. And the contestants say the funniest things. OH... and don't get me started on the Red Balls... they are a force of nature! Have a watch....

My Favorite Things: V

Victorian Era:

This entire era of global society is fascinating to me. I can't seem to learn enough about it. Whenever I see anything from that time period, my brain becomes a sponge and soaks up anything and everything I can. I become ravenous for information. It's a bit ridiculous really. :) If you're interested:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_era



Isn't it all just delicious!

My Favorite Things: U

You ready for this list... I'm sure you won't be able to handle the sheer numbers here...

President Uchtdorf: 

When this man was called as an Apostle, all I could think was how I didn't think I'd EVER be able to pronounce or spell his name correctly. :) Now, and I know I shouldn't have a favorite (but everyone does), he is my favorite one to listen to. The man's voice just calms my soul and helps it have hope. He has such a kind face. Here is my favorite talk he's given. I'm sure you know it. It makes me cry every time I hear it.

My Favorite Things: T

Trooper:

Aww... my sweet baby. He was actually one of those "well, if we get one, we might as well get two" decisions and we had already decided to get my Lucky boy, but I'm super grateful that we decided to get two! He is so cuddly and follows me everywhere. He makes the funniest little meowing noises and will howl only if you get him really worked up. And when you are playing with him, he will take off like a shot and run in circles around the house. Super funny. I sure love my baby boy!

Travelling:

I have always wanted to see new places, meet new people, experience new cultures and make memories travelling across the globe. We "travelled" a lot to my dad's various fishing tournaments when I was younger and even though the farthest away I ever went with them was Noxon, MT where it seemed the stylish thing to do was go around missing your two front teeth and my mom got bit by a hobo spider on her eyebrow and it swelled up like she had a baseball under her skin. It was quite the experience for a 11-12 year old girl. Since then, I've been to Nova Scotia and Alberta, Canada, Washington, Florida, Aruba, Curacao, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, NYC, Mexico, and various other places closer to home. My dream is to travel Europe. Someday, I'll get to do it. Until then, I'm mostly satisfied with the sights to see in the US. I have so many to see before I die!

British Columbia

St. Thomas

St. Kitts

Aruba

Curacao

Curacao

Temple Square:

I used to love to drive down to Salt Lake, even before I could go into the temple, and just sit on Temple Square. I felt so at peace there. I felt closer to heaven than anywhere else. Yes, it's teaming with people most of the time. And yes, there are too many brides to count every Saturday of the year and therefore countless bridal parties everywhere. And yes, there are tons of homeless people asking for money all over just outside of the gates. BUT, when you are lost in thought, gazing up at that beautiful temple our forefathers spent hundreds of thousands of hours painstakingly building, you know that it is the Lord's House. It's an indescribable feeling.



Temple Work:

There is no greater feeling on this earth than walking through the doors and being able to serve the Lord in His Holy House. None. Temple work is one of the most important things that I have ever or will ever do. I don't know what more to say than that.

Theater:

I love to sit and watch a good play. And I loved going to the theater in NYC. Theater in high school helped me discover so many things about myself and I'm grateful for the experiences that I gained while in those productions.

Thanksgiving:

You know, after 4th of July and Christmas, Thanksgiving is the best holiday. And no, it's not just for the food! Although, I kid you not, I make a stinkin awesome turkey, my mom makes amazing mashed potatoes and anyone who has not experienced the exquisite glory that is my sister's devilled eggs is missing out on pure ecstasy! But I love the holiday more simply because it's a whole day just to appreciate what you have, the people around you and the lovely things in the world. It's not a day absorbed in presents, and yet everyone gathers together to spend time with one another. There aren't any big productions of fireworks and BBQ's, but you still get to have a grand party and sometimes (most times) play games. It's just awesome.

Tyson:

Aw. My sweet Ty. I'm not going to go into detail other than to say that I miss him and love him and can't wait to see him again someday. Until we meet again... "Thank you for sharing yourself with me"!

My Favorite Things: S

This post will be the last long one. So, if you've been enjoying the short posts, hold out, the next several are super short!

Steak:

Mmmm... I love a great steak. Whenever I go out to one of my favorite restaurants and order a steak, the waiter/waitress will normally ask, "Would you like some steak sauce?". My usual response, "It shouldn't need it. If it does, I'll let you know." And I really believe that's true. If a steak is good, it shouldn't need steak sauce. I'm a big believer that if food really is good, you shouldn't have to doll it up with some slimy sauce. Normally, the best steaks are medium to medium well and not overly or under seasoned. My mouth is watering... moving on....



Seafood:

Um, yes please! Lobster, shrimp, crab, salmon, trout, scallions, octopus, even eel sometimes, can be so amazing! They can also be done really badly. But, seafood done right, wow. My taste buds can barely handle the exquisite joy!



Scrapbooking:

I truly enjoy taking all of my little keepsakes, brochures, photos, etc and putting them all together. Can we say "organizing!"? Scrapbooking is just a fancy term for organizing all your mementos into one big book. And I'll tell you... when one of them is done right and everything is finished, it's a work of art.



Swimming:

There are few things in this world that give me as much joy as swimming does. Maybe it's because you are next to naked and clothes drive me crazy. Maybe it's because in water you are virtually weightless (and let's face it, I'm certainly one who could benefit from being "virtually weightless"!). Maybe it's because the burning I get in my lungs and muscles after swimming as long and as hard as I possibly can gives me an artificial high. I'm not sure. Maybe it's all of them. I just love to swim. I began swimming lessons when I was very little and never lost the love of it. I was on the school swim team in high school and lettered in it my Sophomore year. It was glorious to have such a great excuse to be in the water that often!



Star Gazing:

This one is sort of silly. But, when the sun goes down and it's really dark outside, I love to sit outside and stare up into the sky and just watch. There are so many things out there floating around. Even things that we can't see with the naked eye and that's very fascinating to me.



SLC Temple:

This temple has been my favorite for a very long time. Mostly because it looks like a castle, but also because it of all the history steeped there. And anyone who knows me knows that I'm a sucker for a great architecture story! And this one is just fantastic!

Skyline High School:

Ah, my old high school. You know, some people really hated high school. Some people couldn't wait to leave and never wanted to go back. I, however, was not one of those people. I really started to find myself there. I had great friends, great loves, and great experiences there. I wouldn't trade my 3 years there for anything. And I think I'd go back in a heartbeat. Provided I could go back knowing what I know now that is. And to this day, I still love to go back to the high school football games and cheer on the Grizzlies. Every year, they participate in what's call the "Emotion Bowl" which is basically just a game played against our rival team in the stadium we both call our "home field". And each year, the winner of the game gets to paint the goal posts in their colors (Skyline - Blue; IF - Orange) where the paint remains for the rest of the school year until the next Emotion Bowl. Emotions run high each week preceding the game and there is such a rivalry that we actually made national news as being one of the top 10 intense rivalries for high school teams in the country one year. It was pretty crazy!



Sunsets:

I am not an early bird by any stretch of the imagination and therefore prefer to miss those pesky sunrises that can, yes, I'll admit, be beautiful. However, have you seen an Idaho sunset before? Wow. They can be pretty incredible and totally worth missing all those sunrises!



Summer:

Oh how I love summer! I don't much appreciate being hot unless I'm in a bathing suit or something, but I really LOVE summer. I love how all the plants are alive, the flowers are blooming, the sky is blue, the clouds are white and the birds are singing. I love how much promise the beginning of a summer holds. Everyone is excited at all the plans they have made and are anxious to carry them out. I love to be outside BBQing with family and friends, taking walks, playing volleyball, playing games, you name it. Summer is awesome!



Strawberries:

My favorite fruit! My G'ma Dursteler and I used to sit on her back porch eating strawberries in a little bit of milk sprinkled with sugar on them. So yummy and such a precious memory for me. Mmmm...



Sapphires:

They are by far my favorite gem. Yes, even more than diamonds. I love how they can range between reds and purples to blues and almost clears. I have a diamond and sapphire ring that I bought myself when I went to NYC several years ago that is one of my most valued treasures. It's beautiful and it's a great reminder of something that I have to do every single day. I'm not saying what it is because it's personal, but the ring helps me remember. It's beautiful thing.