25 Things to do before I am 25-Update!

On Saturday I turned 24 (blah!), now I have less than a year to accomplish the rest of my goals. I have to put an update so that I can motivate myself to work on them. I am really enjoying them, and I hope that I will continue to make progress! I made a list of 25 things to do before I am 25, they are in no particular order, I just started writing down things that I wanted to do.


1. Have a gallery show of my fine art photos.

2. Have a Summerfest booth of my photos.

3. Design a line of fabric and submit to a company.

4. Design 3 patterns and make the items.

5. Go to Nepal for humanitarian work.

6. Go somewhere in Africa for humanitarian work.

7. Go to the East coast to see the fall leaves, especially the Sacred Grove.

8. Start learning Spanish.

I listened to some CD's and they were pretty use less. I can say a few phrases, but nothing really useful. I hopefully can find a better way to learn!

9. Decorate my bedroom.

10. Be in a serious relationship that has potential for marriage.

11. Learn how to knit.

I learned with my grandma, it was way funny. I can't post anything yet, because I haven't made much progress, I think crocheting is easier. The most memorable part of the learning experience was what my grandma said. She was telling me that she knows some ladies that are really good and they are a bit retarded, so you should be able to do it. So if I can't make something fantastic I am going to feel pretty dumb!

12. Read the C.S. Lewis Box set.

Mere Christianity: Finished May 18, 2010
The Screwtape Letters: Finished July 4, 2010
A Grief Observed
The Problem of Pain
Miracles
The Great Divorce

13. Read the Bible Dictionary.

14. Read the Book of Mormon in one month.




I started reading on March 1, 2010 and I finished March 31, 2010.

The last few months have been really hard on me, as you have read in some of my blogs I have a really great dating life (sarcasm just incase you didn't pick up on it). I thought things were great, he said that he loved me and to trust that and then he ran... Since that time, I haven't had much motivation for anything, I had gotten behind on work and haven't cared. It is hard to take photos of other peoples happy moments, when my heart just got ripped out. I truly thought I had found the one, and he never gave me reason to doubt that. So anyways in short I have had a really hard time. I have sought for comfort in so many things, I have tried to be social and move on, I have fasted, prayed and sought for answers in the temple. At the end of February I was sick of being so miserable, so I went to my Uncle for a priesthood blessing. It was such a great comfort and a reassurance that my Heavenly Father is truly aware of me. In the blessing he told me to study the Book of Mormon, at the time I was reading in the Old Testament. The next day was March 1st and remembering my goal to read the Book of Mormon in a month, so I decided to start.

I know I probably just told you a lot of stuff that doesn't really matter, but as I read the Book of Mormon I was able to see how much love our Heavenly Father and Jesus have for us. I know that I read it fast and probably didn't get that much out of it, but I was able to see how constant the Lord's love is for his children. I know that we are all children of God and that He loves us so much. No matter the difficulty that we are in, He is always there to comfort and consul us. I know this with out a doubt. It is the weirdest feeling but it consumes my whole soul, there is no way to explain the feeling. It is just something that you know. Our Heavenly Father is so merciful, He will always allow us to repent and return to Him. As I read the Book of Mormon, I was able to understand my purpose here on earth. I know that as we go through this life it will all be worth it in the end if we stay true to the commandments and the covenants that we have made. The time that we spend on this earth is such a short moment in the span of eternity. We can't give up, we can't let a break up ruin our lives. Afflictions and trials will come, but if we have the proper association with our Heavenly Father, we will be able to grow and to become what He expects us to become. While we are in trials, it seems like a long time. We need to step back and see that we are the only ones that measure time. This life will pass so fast before our eyes, and we can't let the things of the world get us down. We have to endure so that we can inherit the great mansions that our Heavenly Father has prepared for us. In the Book of Mormon and especially in 3rd Nephi we see how they are preparing for the coming of the Savior. They watch for the signs of his birth and then for His death and then they await for His appearance in the Americas. We are in a similar time in our life, other than preparing for His first coming, we are preparing for His Second Coming. We read of the signs of His return, we must prepare. It is so crazy the amount of the natural disasters that have been happening. We do not know the hour that He will come. I don't know if it will be in my life time, but I know that I will be an instrument in preparing the earth for His return. We can't take this lightly we must always improve ourselves and look for ways to help our neighbor. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have, I know that there is no other way to be happy. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and when we read it we can feel of Gods love.

I was so grateful to read the Book of Mormon, I am still trying to get over things, but it helped a great deal. I don't know what will happen next in my life, but I trust that my Heavenly Father can see the bigger picture. He knows what will be best for me, I don't know if something will end up happening or if I will get another opportunity. I know I complain a lot about not being married, but that is pretty much the only thing that I have a complaint about, I am so truly blessed, and I owe all that I have to my Heavenly Father, I know I wouldn't be where I am today without Him.

15. Train for a triathlon.

16. Make a dress.

17. Take a class.

18. Decide whether or not to get my teaching degree or another degree.

I gave it a lot of thought and prayer, my schedule is too busy to take something else on. I would still love to go back, but not now.

19. Go backpacking in the Wind Rivers.

Me and the Cirques, I need to get more photos from my brother.



Trying to get a self portrait with my sweet headband that I made for the trip!



My awesome tour guide! (aka my bro!)




This is where I slept...all by myself. Justin didn't want to put his tent by mine. I got a little freaked out at night!



This is Big Sandy Lake our tents were just a little ways a way, so beautiful!




20. Start a photo project.

I took some photos of some blossoms, and now I want to do some photo transfers with them. I also want to use my Italy photos to do some transfers. We will see if any of them work out!

21. Give a quilt away.

My good friends Sarah and Rob lost their baby Benton in November. Words can not explain the loss or soothe the ache. I wanted to do something for her, so I put together my scraps and this is what came out.



22. Submit my Peru book to different Humanitarian organizations, in order to broaden my photography oppurtunities.

23. Find dead ends in Family History and find the original location and try to further the lines and information.

24. Visit all of the temples in Utah and do work in them.

I am almost half way done! (May 23, 2010)

Logan: May 6, 2010
Ogden: July 15, 2010
Bountiful: May 14, 2010
Salt Lake: May 20, 2010
Jordan River: July 23, 2010
Oquirrh Mountain: May 22, 2010
Draper: February 26, 2010
Timpanogous:
Provo:
Vernal:
Monticello:
Manti: February 5, 2010
St. George:

If completed by April 3, 2011
Brigham City:
Payson:

25. Study more about graphic design. Learn Illustrator.

My friend Kara has taught me a lot, I feel a lot more confident. But I still need a ton of practice.

These appear in no certain order, and I am going to try to complete them by April 3, 2011!

Buttons and Thread!

I tried to think of a creative title and that is as creative as I get! I just love the colors of all of the thread and buttons. I have these for decoration in my sewing area. The buttons I got at the DI, I probably will never use them all, but I like them. And I will probably keep buying more....

Jenna's Apron

So I finally finished Jenna's apron, it was for her birthday last June. I bought the wrong amount of fabric at the time, so I went back the very next day to get some more and they were out, and didn't get more for a couple of months. By then Brad and Jenna went to Peru so I just never finished it. Sorry Jenna!

Headbands

It was so fun to make these! I sat down on my bedroom floor and spread out all of my materials. (When I say all of my materials, I had a ton of fabric spread around, buttons everywhere, my thread jars, antique jewelry, and a ton of other embellishments.) I wish I had more time to do this, it was so fun to just create and have it all at my fingertips.


I know I really need to get someone to model my stuff! I got this jewel in New York City at a Thrift Store. It was actually an earring and I turned it into a sweet headband!





I love this one, the hard thing about making stuff to sell is that I want one of each! I used some grey knit fabric that I got at a Thrift Store and a little lace doily that I also got at a Thrift Store. (Don't worry I wash all of the stuff before I use it.) I added pearls to the middle of each flower. I really like how it turned out.





I used some turquoise swede material, black tool and some black silky fabric and made my own elastic headband. The elastic that I used I got in New York at Mood Fabric (I think it is my new favorite place, they had everything in abundance, I was in heaven. It is probably the only thing that would get me to go back to New York. I will post photos of the fabric that I got, it is to die for!)




This hair clip I made from some mustard fabric, I don't really know what type of fabric it is. I got it in Burley, Idaho in this way old fabric store. (Most of the fabric was probably there when the store opened.) For the leaves I used some of the wool that I got from old man suit coats from the DI. I added a little bit of tool to give a little extra style.

Hope you like them, let me know what you think and hopefully there will be more soon!!

Spinach!

Lately I have been craving spinach, I know that is really weird! I have been putting it in everything. My cousin Crystal gave me a recipe, and it is very interesting, it was definitely a taste that grew on me. When I first tried it I was mad that I had waisted all of the good ingredients. But after a few sips I really enjoyed it!

Shake




Recipe:
1 cup of juice (I did orange juice)
1/4 cup non dairy creamer (I used vanilla yogurt instead)
3-4 baby carrots
2-3 handfuls of spinach
1 heaping tbsp of cottage cheese
1 banana
1 cup mixed fruit (I put pineapple, strawberries and mangoes)
2 cups of ice
To make it sweeter add a little bit of honey (I just realized I didn't read that line, but I just added a ton of sugar!)

Mix it up in the blender and enjoy! Give it a second taste, the first might not be that enjoyable! The texture takes a bit to get use to. My cousin gives this to her kids, I don't know how they drink it (no offense Crystal), it is good, but I can't believe her kids like it. I tried it on my cousin while I was babysitting the other day, and the look on her face was really funny!


I don't know why I am putting these photos on, mainly because I enjoy taking photos of food (not that these look great, but it is fun.) I also am showing how I have been putting spinach on everything!

I used a baguette from Crumb Brothers, thinly sliced. Topped it with some spinach, Myzithra cheese and a poached egg with some Tony's Creole seasoning. It sounds so weird, but I love it!

I have also been making quesadillas with spinach, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Flour or Corn tortillas work great, right now I am really liking corn tortillas.

One Tree Bird Design Etsy Shop

I have had a hard time deciding how to set my etsy shop up, but I think I am going with this shop and I am just going to have everything on it. Let me know what you think, share the link with your friends and family. I know I need to put some new stuff on there, but for now it is stuff I have on hand.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/onetreebird

North Indian-Style Spinach Chicken

The photos do not look the best, and sometimes Indian food doesn't look that appetizing. This recipe is from the March edition of Sunset Magazine. Check out their photo it looks a little more appetizing!

I am in love with Indian flavors and spices, I can't get enough of them. I am loving new recipe right now and especially ethnic foods.

Ingredients:
8 oz. cremini or button mushrooms, quartered
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 lbs chicken cut into pieces
1 lb baby spinach
3 Tbsp. canola oil (if you don't have that you can use vegetable oil)
1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds (I can not find these, so I left them out. If anyone knows where to buy them let me know!)
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1 large onion (I used a yellow one)
4 large garlic cloves minced
2 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup diced canned tomatoes
1/2 bunch cilantro

Directions:
1. In a 6-8 qt. pot, heat oil, add fenugreek seeds and sizzle for 2 seconds, then stir in onion and mushrooms. Cook for 5-7 minutes stirring often and until lightly brown. (I used a Tagine to cook all of this, it works really well and makes the chicken very tender. I found my Tagine at Sur La Table.)

2. Add ginger, garlic, turmeric, cayenne, coriander, cumin, and salt to pot; sizzle for a few seconds. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink on outside. The chicken will continue to cook while it simmers in the sauce. Add tomatoes, simmer covered for 8 minutes. (My brother taught me that the flavors will mix together if you pre mix all of the spices before adding to dish.)

3. Stir in spinach and simmer, covered, until wilted about 3 minutes. Chop cilantro, stir in dish along with lemon juice and serve with rice. (I prefer basmati rice)

It wasn't very spicy, so in the end I added a 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper, it could take a little more. Or at first you could saute a jalepeno pepper in or a serrano pepper.

Serves 4.