{poignant} moments

The moment when you open this email {and then the phone battery dies :) }:

and realize that thanks to this, you now will have a place to visit and remember {not that you really needed a reminder . . . }

Her name should be on there sometime in the next few months . . .

{Celebration of Life Monument}, via

good things . . .

- listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival because it reminds me of Mom

- upon further reflection: realizing I still won't listen to the Moody Blues - no matter how much I miss her :)  (I'm pretty sure she's laughing at me right now. . .)

- listening to Mormon Channel radio and having "Come Thou Fount" always play at just the right moment

- Auntie telling me she feels Mom around when talking to / helping me with something

- seeing a butterfly when I go out on the deck

- tortilla chips in the shape of Texas

- crossing something off my bucket list

- a 1,300 mile "toad rip" (we all know who to thank for that phrase . . .)

- faith in the Lord's timing

(and yes, my favorite conference talk is from a priesthood session)

- knowing that good things happen every day

Good books are like conference talks . . .

You know that feeling you get in General Conference where you feel like all the talks were written just for you and your struggles? Or when you're reading your scriptures and it "just happens" to be the perfect thing to read that day?

Well, good books are like conference talks. I've been reading Plato's Phaedo over the last few days and I just have to say that I've loved it. It was the perfect thing to read for all that has happened over the last {especially} 6 months.

Short version: Plato is recounting to his friend Phaedo a conversation that Socrates had (while in prison) with a few other philosophers regarding the afterlife and what happens to the soul.

You should read it, it's good stuff. {Warning: it's not exactly an easy read, but it's only 67 pages.}

Simple joys of having a bucket list

Exactly two weeks from today I will finally be able to cross something off my miles-long bucket list. I originally thought I'd do this when I crossed off another big item on my list {traveling across Europe}, but this time the destination is so much better than anything across the pond. :) (I guess that means my priorities are somewhat straight, right?)

{California Zephyr}, via

Yes, I've always wanted to ride a train - not a metro or a subway (although I've liked those too) - a train. My favorite part of crossing this off my list (besides the train part) : it's practical . . . it's the cheapest and easiest way to get from point B to point C. :)

I'm choosing not to dwell on the fact that point A to point B involves 18 hours squished in the backseat of a small Volvo . . . unless "driver extraordinaire" chooses comfort over practicality, in which case I'll spend 18 hours in the backseat of a slightly larger vehicle.

{tomato} oatmeal

I'd like to say that I've been inspired to create a new recipe, but . . . I cannot tell a lie.

Awkward moment # . . .
 realizing after you've made oatmeal for breakfast that someone (a.k.a., you) must not have cleaned the pot well enough after dinner last night and your breakfast tastes distinctly like tomatoes . . . and cumin . . . and garlic.

A little persuasion is good for the soul

Those of you that follow me on Pinterest may have noticed I'm a little . . . um, Jane Austen obsessed. Persuasion is my favorite - maybe because Anne is in her late twenties and doesn't quite have her life together yet? or maybe it's the guy who plays Wentworth in the 2007 BBC adaption . . . either way, I love both the book and the movie adaption.

This is by far my favorite scene in all the adaptions of any Jane Austen novel - and it's not even in the book (what a shame; the letter, however is "real"). I promise, it's 4 minutes of your life well-spent. :)

Six months {one day ago}

Excerpts from the one that didn't. . .

My wonderful Auntie is taking classes this summer. I was helping her with a paper over the phone and I loved her opening paragraph (Auntie - if you read this, YES, you are a wonderful writer!). I was inspired. SO...

My application essay for grad school was a nerve-wracking experience. Writing usually comes pretty easy for me, but I haven't done any serious writing for a long time and I was kind of afraid that all of my skills had deserted me. So, I agonized over it and for the first time in my life I wrote a rough draft. And I kept editing it until it didn't make me cringe... it must have been OK in the end, right? :)

Anyways, my opening (and favorite) paragraphs ended up on the cutting room floor, so to speak. When I decided to rework the essay I was actually a little nervous about taking it out because I liked it so much, but when you only have 750 words... grrr.

And since I won't ever share the finished product that did, in fact, get me into grad school, here's an excerpt from the one that didn't (or couldn't? since I didn't give it a chance? Oh, whatever...):