I blinked.

Consider me sighing THE longest sigh of relief and happiness on the face of the Planet Earth.

It's a record breaking sigh I tell you.

I. Am. Done.

(not counting that exam on Wednesday)

I can only imagine how relieved all of you are at that news.

Am I right?

Can I just say thank you to all of you patient people for your words of encouragement?

It means a lot to me. Thank you!

No more lonnnnng and draaaaaining complaaaaaining sessions from yours truly,

Just motivational blisssss in rich abundance all the livelong Summer!

The celebration (yes, of course I celebrated) began with a bubble bath and "Just Like Heaven" immediately when I got home Wednesday night from my 13 hour day of final classes and projects out the wah-friggin'-zooooo.

The celebratory giddiness and joy continued with a Girls Afternoon Out in celebration of my sister Kimmy's birthday at The Olive Garden! $5.99 for endless soup, salad and breadsticks?

Don't mind if I do!

My niece Binny took this first picture..

Unfortunately, I wasn't ready.

Or, at least, my hair wasn't.

Then a nice lady asked if she could take one of all of us... and I blinked.

Oh well. If life was perfect we wouldn't be here.

Happy Friday!

My ward has a talent show tonight, I'll see what I can do about posting a video of my talent

...if it isn't too embarrassing, that is.

Meet Kristin

If you don't know Kristin Chenoweth, allow me to introduce you to her:

Isn't she fabulous?! BAH! I crave Wicked in NY real bad. Who's in?

Happy news: I'm handing in my first project tonight!

YAY! One down!

Happy day to all!

tah tah for now.

Something Happy To Say

Today is a good day and I am happy, buuuuuut . . .





. . . till I'm DONE and mucho MUCH HAPPIER!

But yes,

I am happy.

Hope y'all are, too!

Blah.

That is all.

Memo 2 Me: Take Up Boxing

...figuratively speaking of course.

School is putting up a terrible FIGHT!

(Terrible as in awesome...like the way they use it in the scriptures)

Luckily it hasn't knocked me down yet,

(YET!)

But holy moly, I'm exhausted!

BAAAAHH!

*deep breaths*

(I do that a lot lately, don't I?)

Count a blessing, Lindsay,

Any blessing...

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Well, people seem to still accept me despite my lack of makeup today.

Alright.

Good enough for now, I s'pose.

Man, guys (what a masculine exclamation!) and gals (that's better)

I promise I won't devote ALL of my future posts to complaining about school.

Truthfully, I really do love school...

Hmmm, well no. That was a lie.

Let me amend:

ah-hem

Truthfully, I really do love learning!

The whole "school thing" just happens to be a really convenient way of doing it, learning that is, all in one place from people that usually know what they talking about (I said usually).

Alright, I'll leave you alone until I have something happy to say.

End of spontaneous rant.

Continue with your day,

And send some happy vibes my way if you have some to spare.

"Knock, Knock. Housekeeping."

Writing is the "housekeeper" of my brain,

Meticulously clearing away the mess of "merrrr"ing thoughts before they pile so high that they come spilling out of my mouth in a spew of insurmountable flusteration and insanity.

Yes, insanity!

(Gotta love old school magazine design & illustration, no?)

That's why I came back to "the office" prematurely:

1 project down.

3 to go.

9 days left.

'bout to go bonkers!

I just need to take the "Do Not Disturb" sign off my brain long enough to let housekeeping come in and organize my thoughts into their various cabinets, drawers and boxes, dust the cobwebs from the hard-to-reach corners of my mind and allow myself to take in the sweet smell of lemony potpourri - the tell tale indicator that the dust bunnies are nestled all snug in the vacuum bag, far far away from the pristine birthplace of my genius aka my brain.

(Not to mention, write a really long, paragraph-sized run-on sentence cause I'm so darn good at that kind of thing)

Aaaaah. Yes.

*inhale through the nose*

I'm feeling better already.

Amazing how a quick visit to the good ol' blog can transform an otherwise measly ol' Monday into an opportunity to work just a little bit harder, a little bit longer and breathe without inhaling a mouthful of dust. That writing o' mine cleans this place up pretty well, I'm thinking.

Thanks, friends!

The Final Countdown

I will be out of the office (aka the blog) until "The Work" is done.

Time to polish off my dusty work ethic,

buckle down, get 'er dun,

and

live it up with no regrets.

boo . . . yah

“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

-Donald Kendall

The End.

Rant. Breathe. Faith. Repeat.

Soo...basically, Spring Break is like riding a horse... a white steed to be exact.

There you are, just the two of you, galloping through meadows strewn with fragrant wild flowers. The wide open sky offers a gentle reminder of just how much room you have to breathe.

To be free.

But alas, being so caught up in the sheer bliss of the occasion, you somehow miss the fact that you are careening at full speed toward a tree with a precariously low-hanging branch headed right for your... well, your head, annnd WHAM! You fall off the steed quick as a hiccup, with a goose egg that would put Wile E. Coyote to shame. Dazed and confused you look up at the spinning world around you and find yourself back at (deep breaths) school.

Now, that's not to say that I have a "bone to pick" with Spring Break, because like I said, it is sheer bliss, but holy massive reality check, Batman, it is almost too much for me to handle right now (pardon my lovely run-on sentences).

The day-to-day shuffle of my college-infused life, or should I say my life-infused college, presently revolves on the axis of these two words: "final projects" DUN DUN DUN!

The best part is that I have 3 final projects due before April 28th...2 of which we haven't even started designing yet. FYI, it's April 12th. Thus, my teachers are nutso, but don't tell 'em I said that. They don't need another excuse to fail me.

* i n h a l e *

Ok.

Now that I've over-exaggeratedly vented my merry way to Saturn and back, I will say this:

Life is not defined by

the number of A's on our report cards,

the amount written on our paychecks,

the weather over our heads,

the brand of the clothing on our backs,

the number that comes up when we stand on our scales...

Life is defined by the decisions we make from day-to-day

That shape our character and mold our future.

"Your future is as bright as your faith."

-President Thomas S. Monson

Choose faith.

Keep breathing.

And smile.

photo credit: Nicole Hill Gerulat

Hey Riddle Riddle

You know what I love about afternoons?

Let's see if you can figure it out,

I illustrated this lovely little riddle for you (answer's at the bottom):

Enjoy the sunlight & your weekend!

Happiest Friday, lovelies!

*all images illustrated by Lindsay Kay

A Thought

I owe every good thing I have become to the stumbling blocks along my path

and to those who have helped me get back on my feet each time I've fallen.

The bigger the block, the more faith I have that Heavenly Father

sees a potential in me far beyond what I can comprehend.

Impossible is nothing.

With the overcoming of each stumbling block,

awaits the blessing of seeing a glimpse of that divine potential,

within myself, through the eyes of He who loves me the most.

Blocks that once caused me to stumble,

pave my way back to Him as stepping stones.

Don't Panic

It's just snow.

"A major storm system is forecast to hit the Wasatch Front around 2:30 pm this afternoon. Ahead of the front, mild very gusty southerly winds will be followed by high west to northwest winds and a quick changeover from rain to snow. There is the possibility for isolated thundershowers and microburst winds. As the front moves eastward, cold air and a lot of moisture will bank up against the Wasatch Mountains and the cold air will move over the relatively warm waters of the Great Salt Lake. The bulls eye for greatest snowfall will be Davis and Salt Lake County (with the Bench areas possibly receiving up to or even over 12 inches by Tuesday afternoon. This is a serious winter storm that will disrupt travel through the mountains and cause near blizzard conditions over mountain passes, and finally it will be a morning commute problem for the Wasatch Front on Tuesday. By the middle and end of the week, expect a warm up and a drying trend. We'll actually see temperatures over 60 degrees by Friday!"

- Meteorologist Dan Pope, Live 5 Weather HD, Monday April 5th 2010 -

This is Utah after all.

Button Button

My apologies for the mismatched buttons in the sidebar --->

I was experimenting with HTML code (yet again).

I shall redesign them soon to bring unity to my blog once more.

Until then, just try not to be too picky.

Despite their "red-headed step childness" I think they're fun.

So check 'em out.

Do You Love Breakfast Food More Than Me?

I think not.(jk, maybe you could...)
Our Conference/Easter Sunday morning tradition has always included a big delicious breakfast,
Consisting of:Eggs, Bacon,Hash browns,Blueberry muffins,Apple cinnamon muffins(because you basically need both),and some sort of juice.
And, because this isn't the most healthy meal on the planet,We tried to find the healthy "twin" of our favorite breakfast foods.

Organic Eggs

(good source of Omega-3's),

Turkey Bacon,

And there was something healthy

About the Hash Browns, too,

But I can't remember what it was...

So, I'll get back to you on that.

Krusteaz Fat-Free Apple Cinnamon Muffins,

Frozen Fruit Smoothie,

Krusteaz Fat-Free Blueberry Muffins (drooling),

Annnnnd...then there's the not-so-healthy dessert of

Cadbury Mini Eggs,

But cello, folks, it is Easter after all...

Darn it,

I just made myself really hungry.

Bon Appetit!

I Know

...That My Redeemer Lives.

And I love Him with all of my heart.

Happy Easter.

Happy Easter! Happy Conference!

This weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the whole year,

General Conference!!

Is there anything more beautiful than receiving personal, inspired counsel from our Heavenly Father through a living prophet AND celebrating the Resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ all in the same weekend?

Happy Easter, everyone!

It's comforting to know that despite all of my faults and shortcomings, I can change for the better, thanks to the Atonement of our loving Savior and the Plan of Salvation prepared for each of us by our Father in Heaven.

Is it just me or does Conference always come at the exact moment you need it most?

There is hope smiling brightly before us

And Life is absolutely Beautiful.

Listen to Conference.

I Think I'm In Love

Hey guys,
Just a little update on the fabulous day I'm having today.
I received a call this morning from James (you know, James Marsden).He invited me to fly with him to Italy for the day on his private jet.
So apparently his jet is super fast, cause we've been soaking up some sun here on the beach all afternoon (no snow!) and eating gelato.
James was even so kind as to buy me my dream car: a Mini Cooper convertible.

We stopped in Rome on James' scooter to visit the Colosseum and to get some lunch.

We even got a customized postcard from a vendor at the Colosseum.

After we're done in Rome we're taking James' yacht over to Venice for dinner and a serenaded gondola ride. James is a great singer.
Hope you're enjoying your April Fools Holiday as much as we are!
Ciao for now!(soon to be Marsden) ;)

Red Rocks. So Does Moab.

Spring Break seems like so long ago, especially with all of this wet, cold, nasty snow trying to steal Spring's thunder (figuratively speaking). Well, the snow cannot take away the magic of reliving Spring Break through picture form...
My sister-in-law, Kara, pointed out one reason she loves Moab - everything is set in complimentary colors: orange rocks against the blue sky, green sage against red rocks...not so much yellow & purple in there, but you get the idea.

Landscape Arch...looking more and more like "delicate" arch.

Feathy and I take this picture each time we go to Moab. I'll have to post them side-by-side.

And you thought being a 3rd wheel was bad... jk ;)

Cute Madre, I love her.

Ok, I love (LOVE!) the trees at Arches. Each one has so much unique character and personality... that said, I apologize in advance for how many pictures I took of them. I just couldn't get enough. Cello, they're ancient.

The trail back down to the parking lot from Delicate Arch. Isn't it beautiful?

Another thing I love about Arches is that you can find SO many images in the weathered rocks. This one is one of the Window Arches. I think it looks like the front facade of a house with a door, window and a chimney on the left. Do you see it?

Feathy & Joseph are a cute couple. They stopped in the middle of the trail to take a picture of themselves, so I took one of them, too.

More Window Arches. Kara called them "Zorro's Mask."

Ok, tell me you don't see a lion in this big guy. Just picture it saying, "Simba," in a booming voice like James Earl Jones' and you'll see what I mean.

Double Arch in all its (their?) glory.

Moab love.

This is the Devil's Garden loop (roughly 6 miles). And yes, that is a giant puddle that we got to climb around. It was intense. The trail marker said "Primitive," but what it should've said was, "Primitive indeed," as one man cautioned as we passed on the trail.

So steep! Look at my sweet gentleman of a dad.

Mom came right down behind me and nearly plowed me into the puddle, so I slid a bit faster.

And we all laughed pretty hard when the "ordeal" was over. Especially me, cause I'm a laugher.

Yeehaa! Conquered that massive puddle!

The trail was SO cool. We all agreed that we felt more like explorers than tourists. This li'l beauty is Double O Arch.

Trees growing out of rocks.

We stopped at Private Arch for some Subway deliciousness and rejuvenation.

Beautiful view. I love the fins.

Walking on top of the fins, however, is another story. This one was A LOT steeper than it looks. Like 30 foot drop off on both sides and serious winds threatening to blow us off the edge. I think I crawled on my hands and knees the whole way down.

See why I love the trees?

We all survived and lived happily ever after!

The End.