goodbye october.

it's been breathtaking.

p.s. HAPPY HALLOWEEN

*pictures from camping over fall break

tonight i ate chinese food. and this was my fortune: 


"you will make many changes before settling satisfactorily."

i love when fortunes tend to relate right to your life at that moment.
i also love when horoscopes do. it's funny though because i only believe them if they're good. hehe.

lovely & not-so-lovely.

lovely things about lately:
-i got eight hours of sleep (that is rare these days)
-i registered for spring semester & realized how close i am to being done with general classes (just 2 classes away) and getting into what i really want to be doing.
-i had a fun night on the town in slc with savannah&alicia.
-i have been spending time with a special someone :)
-i am currently baking chocolate chip pumpkin cookies again & blogging while they're in the oven.

not-so-lovely things about lately:
-it snowed already.
-halloween is this weekend & i still don't know what i'm going to be.
-homework. but is homework ever lovely?

anyway... for the most part; life is just pretty darn lovely right now.

*picture via photobucket

sometimes when i close my eyes...

i picture myself somewhere like these pictures.

pictures i took of the countryside in hawaii

i am in the midst of a lot of decisions. big decisions.

i am standing in this big, wide, open space & there are thousands of directions i could go.

even the tiniest shift in my place would take me in an entirely different direction.

this is exactly where i'm at in life right now. i am twenty years young. but this is the time when the biggest decisions are made.

& at this point in my life i'm not very limited. i have the world at my fingertips (okay, maybe not the world... because money is limiting. but you know what i mean). so, where to go from here?

i'm not exactly the quickest decision maker... i tend to over-think things a lot. 

i write so many pros & cons and analyze them to the point that i'm even more confused.

but after thinking so very much lately i have found that there just may not be one right decision or direction to take.

how will i ever know that the decision i make is right or wrong? i won't. because i will never know the difference of my decision; whether the other choice would have been better or not. and that is a good thing because no matter what comes out of each decision i make; i will always learn something from it. i will gain new experiences & hopefully be better equipped for the next time it's time to change directions & make another decision. 

and even though it seems sometimes like i have no idea what to do next... i know that deep down i will always know what i truly want to do and what i think would be best for me. i just need to stop thinking with my head & trust myself. 

thanks for baring with me through my mess of jumbled thoughts.  

i came across this quote today on this lovely blog. it pretty much sums it all up.

some stories don't
have a clear beginning,

middle, and end. life

is about not knowing,

having to change,

taking the moment and 

making the best of it,

without knowing what's 

going to happen next.

delicious ambiguity...

-gilda radner

a tasty fall treat.

chocolate chip pumpkin cookies

picture via google

if you are craving something yummy & perfect for the fall season then i suggest you make these tasty things.

the recipe is so simple. they are almost so easy to make its dangerous..... i will probably be making another batch too soon.

-1 spice cake mix

-1 can pumpkin

-chocolate chips

mix together well. then add as many chocolate chips as you prefer.

 i used one entire package of them (milk chocolate chips are best... none of this semi-sweet stuff ;).

heat oven to 350 degrees & grease cookie sheet.

enjoyyyy

fall is lovely.

fall break was just lovely.

i baked chocolate chip pumpkin cookies {yum}.

went to the jazz game {we won}.

& fulfilled some lasts of the year:

last dip in celia's pool.

last camping trip.

special thanks to october for giving me such beautiful fall weather this weekend.

bring on the next five weeks until thanksgiving break.
(i'm beginning to live for breaks these days...)

excitement & a commitment.

excitement:
it is here. FALL BREAK.
which means a four-day weekend.
okay i know this isn't even that big of a deal... i mean some people had a whole week off (like this lucky girl)
buuuut i'm still completely content to have even these two days off. it is a much needed break.

now for the commitment:
the other day i realized that i've pretty much just been going through the motions of school lately...especially this last month. i've been doing my homework & going to my classes (for the most part) but i haven't been doing my best. just been getting by.
& i know i can do better than that. much better.
so i am going to commit to myself that the monday following fall break will be the first day of the rest of fall semester for me. there will only be eight weeks left so i think its time to start doing my best & end with a bang. 


p.s. but i do admit, i wouldn't mind if those eight weeks flew by really fast. actually i'm praying they will.

i just finished my last piece of easter candy.

i am now ready for halloween candy. yeeeesss. 

BUT i still don't know what i want to dress up as. 

i always end up just throwing something together the day of. but i kind of want to be ready for it this year.

i'll try to keep my creative juices flowing. but let me know if you have any suggestions!

twenty-five simple things..

that make a big difference.
this is what i'm working on right now. because kristi inspired me to do so.

here is a list of things i came up with:
1. smile more- even at strangers.
2. send someone a card in the mail.
3. call someone out of the blue to see how they are doing.
4. let someone into your lane instead of speeding up & cutting them off.
5. leave goodies at someone's door step anonymously.
6. donate the things you don't need/use anymore.
7. give up your seat in a crowded place.
8. leave extra money in a parking meter or vending machine.
9. give someone a book you've read that they might enjoy as well.
10. leave little sticky notes of "love" for your family or friends.
11. say please&thank you (of course).
12. make something for someone.
13. give more compliments.
14. if you see trash, pick it up instead of walking past it.
15. use one of your talents to help someone.
16. help an elderly person load their groceries.
17. drop a dollar (or more) somewhere random for another person to find.
18. wave to your neighbors.
19. volunteer for a local cause.
20. just listen to someone who needs to talk.
21. let someone in a hurry cut you in line.
22. return your shopping cart instead of leaving it in the parking spot.
23. get off your phone when associating with other people.
24. find a way to serve someone every day.
25. say "i love you" more often to those you do!

i know these "simple acts of kindness" are pretty common & we've all probably made lists like this several times. but lets be honest, life is busy & demanding and things like this are forgotten. kristi & i challenged each other to work on our lists and so far i'm loving it. its been a wonderful reminder for me. you are welcome to join in... it's amazing what a little bit of kindness can do to lift your spirits! 

makes me laugh.

i was looking through my hawaii pictures & this one:

reminded me of this photo alicia & i took in san fran: 

because of our obsession with this video.

"some people win the lottery, some see double rainbows".

p.s. this guy is completely serious. haha i love it. but maybe its just really fun to quote afterwards...