30 by 30: The 1/3 Update

Hard to believe it, but yesterday was the four-month mark since my birthday - which means there are only eight months left to make my 30 by 30 list a reality. How's the progress coming along? Well, I thought it was time for an update, so here's where we stand:

• #2: Visit five new states - I went to Georgia in October, so one down, four to go. Boston's up in the air, but I'm feeling strongly like Route 66 will be a go this year, so I'll start making actual plans for it soon. 
• #3: Go on 30 dates - Well, I've made it to 22, so just eight more to go. I think it's doable. Counting them seems silly, so I'll be glad to check this one off, honestly. It feels wrong to make each date a hash-mark on my way to making a goal, especially when some of these guys are just plain wonderful.
• #5: Attend the temple 30 times - Shoot! This one's tough, because I don't always jot down in my planner if I go, and I didn't think to start a hash-mark tally until now. So, from what I could count from my dayplanner, I've been eight times. I think it's more - I was going pretty much weekly from September through November, with some interruption from all the traveling I did in that time - but it's not like it'd be bad to go more than 30, so I'll start counting the next 22. Starting in January, I'm planning to do a session at each of the temples in Utah in 2012, of which there are 12 in operation - I'll try to get through as many of those as I can by my birthday. And for the record, I have come to love the Draper temple deeply, so check on that one!
• #6: Learn to ski - Four lessons booked at Alta, starting Jan. 21. I'm excited!

• #7: Drive Route 66 - See #2. When else will I have friends scattered literally all the way along the route? Chicago, St. Louis, Tulsa, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Sedona, and L.A., not to mention friends in Denver and Omaha for the drive from Utah to Chicago (I think I'd rather drive Lola than get a rental) - I'll only have to pay for a place to stay a handful of nights if I do it this year! So now the debate is timing. I'd wanted to go in the fall, so it'd be cooler, but I don't want to miss out on stuff that closes Labor Day, so... we'll see. Again, whether Boston happens and when will impact this trip's timing.

• #15: Read 30 books / #16: Read the Book of Mormon twice / #28: Make the most of my commute - At least five read so far, according to my Goodreads. Thank heavens audiobooks count! They're making my commute so enjoyable. I finished the Book of Mormon that way and got so much more out of it listening than I usually do reading. I'm a couple chapters into The Late Bloomer's Revolution and am LOVING it. I've got another five audiobooks from Audible to dive into after that one, too, including E.L. Doctorow's Ragtime, which I've wanted to read forever, David McCullough's 1776, and Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers.
• #21: Sing, sing, sing - I'm starting voice lessons in just a few days with my cousin Rob's friend Amanda, through Hale Center Theatre Orem. Pretty excited!
• #25: Give up the Diet Pepsi - This'll be a tough one, but I'm biting the bullet and giving it up with the advent of the new year tomorrow. I've got a detox drink a friend recommended (which is delish!) in lieu of the soda, and I've got PLENTY of ibuprofen on hand for the impending headaches. And, how perfect is this, but I've got one refill left on my soda punch card. Time to redeem that and be done.
• #27: Learn to poach an egg - DONE!!! Today I was feeling particularly culinary, so I not only poached an egg - I made Eggs Benedict, complete with from-scratch Hollandaise sauce and steamed asparagus. It was amazing! The egg wasn't nearly as hard as I'd expected, especially thanks to a handy-dandy video tutorial made just for me by my dear friend Emily.

The rest of them need some work, but I'll get there... eventually. At least I've made a good start, right?

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

Ah, New Year's Eve. I can't believe it's tomorrow already! How on earth did 2011 wrap up so quickly? I've got a thing or two I'd like to do, but as of now, no official plans yet. How about you, friends? What are YOU doing New Year's Eve?

2011: A Year in Review

Ringing in 2011 with the Davis clan in Provo - can't believe that was a year ago!

Hey, friends! Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to all of you! 2011 has been quite an incredible year. In many ways it's been "the best of times and the worst of times," filled with amazing adventures and the realization of long-held dreams as well as some heartbreaking disappointments. I've also been a sidelines observer to some amazing triumphs and hard times friends have experienced, and the resilience of the human spirit never ceases to amaze. I'm no doubt a better, stronger, and more authentic woman than I was when the year kicked off in January, and I can't wait to see what further growth 2012 will bring.

Anyways. On to the fun stuff. Here are some highlights from the past year:

• 16,250 miles traveled on 10 trips to/through 9 states and 1 Canadian province - and that doesn't include many trips along the Wasatch Front to Layton, Logan, and the like (which, on days like today, tack on 200 miles!). This year I journeyed to San Francisco, Capitol Reef, Glacier/Waterton/Banff/Calgary, Yellowstone/Island Park, Denver, Savannah/Atlanta, and Southern California times four (but at least to varying parts - L.A., Orange County, and San Diego). For the record, I miss Savannah and/or Banff on a near-daily basis. And I LOVE that I can say that I miss places like Savannah and Banff. Jet-setting has been a blast!



• 18 plays, 20 concerts, and 4 Sundance Film Festival flicks thoroughly enjoyed. There's such a vibrant scene of local performing arts talent around here, it's awesome!!! Those concerts range from local bands in block parties, clubs, and even their parents' homes to choirs like OCMCO or the Mormon Tabernacle in concert halls to the Pacific Symphony playing the 1812 Overture in the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater while visiting Orange County; the plays range from Broadway tours and professional companies to very, very amateur local productions. Professional or amateur, I've loved them all!



Rosie and I got to meet Kevin Clash, the man behind Elmo!


Photo snagged from Justin Hackworth


Photo snagged from Hue & Hum - see my shoulder in the tan jacket on the left?
• Oh, and let's not forget taking the stage for 1 amazing, technicolor production and 2 performances at Temple Square during the Christmas season with the Lehi Chorale. Wish I had bandwidth to do more! Can't wait to start voice lessons next week and dive into next summer's show in the spring.


• 21 dates with 12 amazing men, ranging in age from 25 to 43, with 1 more date (with possibly 1 more guy) slated for the weekend... but still 0 relationships to show for it (despite getting the label of "wifeypoo" from this summer's stage hubster). All this dating's exhausting! But I'd rather be dating than not, so... it's worth it. I've really enjoyed getting to know these guys, but I'm still definitely not used to interacting with guys I know strictly in the dating sense (as opposed to my former normal of going on dates with guys who were friends first). It's a learning process, that's for sure. Better late than never!
• 3 roommates and 2 wards, despite not moving an inch (which was LOVELY, considering I moved three times from Nov. 2009 to Sept. 2010!)
• 1 royal wedding viewed with 2 lovely friends at 3:30 a.m. via streaming internet - and yes, many happy tears were shed. Love Wills and Kate!


• 3 speeding tickets - I know, I know, slooooooow doooooooown...
• 5 temples visited, including many a trip to the temples in Newport Beach and Draper, lest this list seem all vapid and ridiculous. I wish I could've actually gone in and spent time at the Cardston Temple, but it didn't work with the travel schedule. Ah, well - maybe next time. I can't wait to add the Brigham City temple to the list next year, and the Fort Collins, Colorado, temple soon as well!

• 30 lbs. lost... but let's not talk about how many came back from 7 boxes of Candy Cane Joe-Joe's, mmmmmkay? ;) Hitting the gym again tomorrow... *sigh*

• 1 promotion at work and a 2-year work-iversary celebrated - hooray for finally finding a job into which I can settle and stay put! 
  
• 3 sections of the GRE passed with flying colors, and 1 Utah State University class toward my masters completed with an A! Just 10 more classes to go...

WHEW!!! What a year! 

Just flipping through my planner to recap makes me exhausted. It's been an intense year, but wow, it's been such a blast. Being too busy has been great in some ways because it's made me evaluate how I'm spending my energy, and there are certain things that just plain aren't worth it. If it means dropping some relationships, sadly, so be it - much like Elphaba sings in"Defying Gravity,"

I'm through accepting limits 'cause someone says they're so

Some things I cannot change, but 'til I try, I'll never know.

Too long I've been afraid of losing love I guess I've lost - 

Well, if that's love, it comes at much too high a cost! 

I'd sooner buy defying gravity.

Amen and amen! My theme and goal for 2012 is to truly defy gravity - to stop imposing silly limits on myself, being hemmed in and held back by insecurities lacking in any real basis other than falsehoods that got drilled into me over the years by people who should've complimented instead of criticized, myself included. Why I let such negativity seep in over the years, I'll never know - but now that I see it, I can make the future better, and that's what really matters, right?

Anyways... that's my adventure from this year. I can't wait to see the exciting things 2012 will bring!!! 

How about you, friends? Any fun journeys taken or lessons learned in 2011?

Christmas for One

Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year. There's something magical and special in the air, celebrating the Savior's birth but also cherishing the common ties that bind us together as a human family.

In a word, lovely.

This Christmas will be the fourth I've spent alone and the first of the past three where I will have the house completely to myself for the bulk of the long holiday weekend, Christmas Eve and Day included. As much as that might sound sad and mopey, it's not. I promise. So much of my life is spent engaging with friends, colleagues, family, etc. that the best Christmas gift I can give myself is the gift of me time. It's something I hardly ever get, and I'm really looking forward to it. Do I want to spend Christmas alone forever? Of course not, but it's the best option of all the possibilities for me out there right now. Christmas is such a family time, there are precious few families where I wouldn't feel out of place for crashing their celebrations, and none of those families are in the Beehive State. As much as I appreciate the sympathy or the invitations from other people, I really am not worried or out of sorts at the thought of being alone.

So, that said, here is the rundown of how I'm making this Christmas count, even in a dose for one:

• Breakfasting with friends at Little America - Two of Salt Lake's finest hotels, the Little America and the Grand America, go all out for the holidays. Last year I went to Little America for Christmas brunch, and it was lovely! With Christmas falling on the sabbath this year, I'm opting for a Christmas Eve breakfast with friends, and I'm really, really looking forward to it. The food is divine, the atmosphere festive, and the company will be fabulous. It's my big Christmas to-do this year.
• Starting my own traditions - Just because I'm not yet married or celebrating with family doesn't mean I can't have my own traditions. Breakfast at Little America is one of them, but I'm looking to develop more. I'd thought about going to Temple Square on Christmas, which I've done before, but I've already seen the lights up there three times so far this season, so I've had my fill of that. I'd love to go caroling ON Christmas to a nursing home or hospital, but it's been tough to round up a group. The new-PJs-for-Christmas tradition has always sounded wonderful (I have a major love of pajamas!!!), so I just may end up buying some new ones, wrapping them up, putting them under the tree, and unwrapping them Christmas Eve. Why not, right?
• Working on Christmas cards - What better time to write notes of love and appreciation to the wonderful people in your life, right? My Christmas season has been too packed, and I haven't had a break to get my cards sent, so I'm looking forward to popping in some favorite Christmas flicks (Christmas in Connecticut, Holiday Inn, The Holiday, I'll Be Seeing You, and, of course, It's a Wonderful Life) and getting those done. They're awesome, believe you me. Totally worth the wait. (If you haven't yet sent me your address and want one, email it my way!)
• Enjoying some lovely Christmas tunes - Ah, I love music. LOVE it!!! So far this Christmas season I enjoyed a performance of Lex de Azevedo's Gloria in the Tabernacle, saw Nathan Gunn and Jane Seymour perform with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the Conference Center last weekend, and celebrated Christmas Tuesday evening at a house concert of Hue & Hum, the husband-and-wife team whose Christmas album is just wonderful! (He's in my fav band, and she's a gifted painter whose lovely print is now gracing my room.) Oh, and let's not forget last Sunday, when I performed on Temple Square with the Lehi Chorale (including a solo, which was pretty awesome to sing on the Assembly Hall stage!!!) It's all about music at this time of year, right? So I'll keep enjoying the Christmasey goodness. Next awesome Christmas music purchase: The Lower Lights' Christmas album. I'm sampling it on Bandcamp and can't wait to snatch it up as soon as I get home tonight!

• Making delicious eats - The season ran away from me! While I did cook up a storm for Christina's and my annual Christmas party, I haven't made goodies yet for my coworkers and some friends, so I'll get a little baking in. More importantly, I'm planning to make myself an excellent Christmas dinner. Pear and shallot stuffed pork tenderloin in a port wine and fig reduction sauce, anyone? Yep. It's amazing. I'm also hoping to swing up to Sugarhouse tomorrow and pick up a loaf of challah, which is my new Christmas tradition as of last year (great for French toast!). By the way, the mini-French silk pies turned out AMAZINGLY! They're on the far left - such keepers. A little labor-intensive, perhaps, but worth it for sure.
• Relaaaaaxing - I can't remember the last time I didn't have some stress/duty hanging over my head. Sure, I have a little freelance work to do, but I can do it while curled up in my PJs, enjoying a good movie this weekend. Tonight I'm kicking off the holiday weekend with a massage, and my goal is to maintain that sense of loose relaxation throughout the weekend. Also on the agenda: at least one trip to the temple, returning to my favorite dance class tomorrow morning, reading some books, and just staring into space without feeling guilty about letting something go undone, if I feel so inclined. I've got tentative plans with a few friends ("yeah, we should do something!" "Mmmmkay, let me know when works for you..."), but I'm enjoying the idea of no set plans for four whole days except breakfast Saturday and church Sunday (which I'll be enjoying from the stand as a speaker - more on that in a later post...). 

Merry, merry Christmas, dear friends!!! I hope your holiday weekend is chock-full of wonderful plans. Love and all the best to you each!

Astonishing

When the Pantages had a fairly family-friendly season about 5-6 years ago, my dad and stepmom got season ticket for my sister +1. Lucky for me, the Broadway-obsessed one, I got to be Tessa's +1 more often than not. Annie, White Christmas, and more - it was good times.

Well, one of the more forgettable shows that season, Little Women, yielded a song that's resonated with me ever since: "Astonishing." It's a truly powerful song, one that singer friends of mine have incorporated into their audition and recital repertoires for a reason. Not only is it musically wonderful, but the lyrics are great.

I've connected with the song for years, but never more so than this past year, the year in which I finally decided that I was done with certain relationships and self-imposed limits. I respect and love myself too much to settle for lackluster - and, more so, for people who tell me I'm less than I am or treat me like I'm less than I am, particularly when they have absolutely no claim on my life or my affections other than the mere chance of birth. DNA does not a relationship make.

I can - and will - do what I need to so that I truly can be astonishing. And I'll be darned if anyone stands in my way of getting there.

(Sorry, not the best version of this clip, but Sutton Foster is astonishing!)

ASTONISHING

I thought home was all I'd ever want

My attic all I'd ever need.

Now nothing feels the way it was before

And I don't know how to proceed.

I only know I'm meant for something more

I've got to know if I can be

Astonishing

There's a life

That I am meant to lead

A life like nothing I have known

I can feel it

And it's far from here

I've got to find it on my own

Even now I feel its heat upon my skin.

A life of passion that pulls me from within,

A life that I am making to begin.

There must be somewhere I can be

Astonishing

Astonishing

I'll find my way

I'll find it far away

I'll find it in unexpected and unknown

I'll find my life in my own way

Today

Here I go

And there's no turning back

My great adventure has begun

I may be small

But I've got giant plans

To shine as greatly as the sun

I will blaze until I find my time and place

I will be fearless,

Surrendering modesty and grace

I will not disappear without a trace

I'll shout and start a riot

Be anything but quiet

Christopher Columbus

I'll be Astonishing

Astonishing

Astonishing

At Last

In Which I Realize I'm Hopeless

My career has created a monster.

An editing monster.

And it can't be stopped!!!

Tonight I got an email from Utah State with the subject line "TEXTBOOK BUYBACK- GET A ‘STACHE’ OF CASH." My thought process went as follows:

• Ewwwww, all-caps in a subject line. Don't yell at me!
• Ummm, "stache" is short for "mustache" (i.e. my friend Anika's "Respect the 'Stache" blog). Surely they meant STASH.
• And if we're talking about a "stash," a more clever word choice would have been "cache." After all:
• "cache" sounds like "cash"
• it refers to something that's hidden (and usually has the connotation of hidden treasure)
• Utah State is in Logan - which is in Cache Valley
• which means "cache" would have been a BRILLIANT play on words!
• Oh dear. I need to stop.

And thus we see that I need a ginormous red pen with which to edit THE ENTIRE WORLD. 

But, alas, I ought to be content with the things allotted unto me - namely, a career that considers this obsession an asset, not a freakish, OCD liability.

Thankful No. 10: Opposition

It never ceases to amaze me how the worst things in the world highlight all the best things, thanks to the contrast provided. Every cloud has a silver lining, right?

Without waxing too personal on the interwebs here, let's just say I'm locked in this weekend for a very difficult time, and it's dredging up a lot of reminders of why I've drawn certain boundaries in my life. And while it's really pretty heartbreaking and frustrating to have to mire through, at the same time, I am sooooo filled with gratitude for the many blessings that I do have. The contrast between my life now and my life before adulthood couldn't be more different. Things majorly lacked when I was a minor and didn't have control over my situation - but you know what? I have control now, and I've created something beautiful (with LOTS of help from a loving Heavenly Father and amazing friends and church leaders). There have been so many wonderful threads woven into the tapestry of my life, and it's really bizarre to now have the source of so much pain present in my beautiful life. The contrast between then and now is simply stunning.

Anyways. I don't think I take my amazing support system for granted, but this is just reminding me all over again just how blessed I am, and I am so grateful for it. There's nothing like a throwback to a horrible past to remind you of just how far you've come in the present. Life is good.

Meanwhile, please keep me in your prayers, friends. It's going to be a challenging weekend, and I need all the support and help I can get.