Before I die...

Check out this great project by artist/photographer Nicole Kenney. I think it's inspiring.

Nicole also has another cool site, where she takes a photo every day to document the last year of her 20s. It's called Diary29, and I think it's worth checking out. It gives a real look into everyday life in New York.

I made my own "before I die" polaroid using this fun application, Poladroid. Polas are so trendy, I resisted jumping on the bandwagon and getting this application for months. But tonight I finally downloaded it, and it is actually a lot of fun. Who cares if everyone is doing it?

nie on oprah

I couldn't miss this today. So I'm watching the recording at my parents house, via video chat. Oh I love technology. And Stephanie Nielson. Watch it if you get a chance.



The Nielson's are such an inspiration. They're such a good example of a great marriage and family. Even after everything that's happened, they still love and care for each other more than ever. The way Christian looks at Stephanie melts my heart. And I am so inspired by their beautiful example of living the gospel. I really felt the spirit watching the show. As part of the segment they had another wife and mother spend a day with the Nielsons. She described the "energy" in their home. She said it was "peaceful, and warm, and everyone was happy, and it just felt good there." I said to my mom, "She's describing the Spirit!" I hope our home feels the same way. I want to be the kind of wife and mother Stephanie always has been. I want to have that same passion for homemaking and raising and loving my kids. Good thing I have great examples in both Klane's and my mom!

weekend review

We've had such a nice, relaxing weekend. General Conference was so full of encouraging words and inspired counsel from our church leaders. I noticed a lot of talks centered on love. I especially loved what President Thomas S. Monson said about Christlike love and service toward others, and David A. Bednar's words about consistency in living the gospel daily.

Jeffrey R. Holland's powerful testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon really struck me. I wished everyone in the world was listening at that moment. He left no room for doubt. I also know it is true. Just like he said, it can't not be true. People don't sacrifice their lives and so much more for something they made up.

We loved being able to watch via the Internet, sitting on our new couch in our newly made-over apartment. It's so much more comfortable in here now that we've made it ours.

Other weekend highlights included:

Catching up on precious sleep, hopefully not too much during sessions of conference.

Wandering through SoHo and Little Italy looking for a restaurant, and finding a great Malaysian place. While we enjoyed our unique and delicious meal, we talked about how we love living in a city with such diversity.

If you're familiar with Brian Regan, you'll find this as funny as we do. If you're not familiar with Brian Regan, you should go check him out on youtube because he's hilarious.

A birthday celebration for Todd, complete with cake and ice cream, and watching Todd open the most hilarious and awesome gift: surprise trapeze lessons. Good call Casey!

A Walmart + Ikea excursion to New Jersey on Saturday with Abbie and her kids. It was a ton of fun; riding in a real live car (haven't done that in three months), negotiating driving directions on the phones, taking a few wrong turns and subsequently laughing a lot, talking, playing with the kids, and shopping. Plus I was able to stock up on cheap groceries and get some more things to finish the apartment. It was so fun!

While I was gone Klane went with his home teaching companion, Lawrence, to help him pick up some groceries.

A pre-Conference potluck brunch at the White's with some families in their ward. Oh, the magical things that happen when a bunch of Mormons combine their cooking skills. So much delicious food! And we had a great time getting to know some new friends.

We had Barbacoa Pork (Cafe Rio style) to celebrate our recent purchase of a slow cooker. Recipe posted here.

Klane and Lawrence's home teaching family invited us over for Sunday dinner tonight, complete with my very favorite dessert, homemade apple pie. I think they were inspired. Must have been an added measure of the spirit from conference. ;)

remember

It's amazing to be here in the city on 9/11,
and to hear the perspective of all the people who remember.

smells like home

I love my mother. She sent me some of her famous peaches from the tree in our back yard. Have you heard of the famous Graf peaches? They are incredible. Truly amazing. Pretty much world-renowned.

One of my favorite times of year is when the peaches come on at the Graf house. There's a two week window of opportunity to harvest when they're perfectly ripe. The peaches demand our attention for those two weeks and we must obey, so they don't go to waste. My grandparents come up to help and sometimes my aunts. We spend a lot of time picking, washing, peeling, slicing, canning, making jam. It's a time for peach cobbler, peach pancakes, peaches and cream. It's a time for family, for chatting and laughing and working together.

I love the sweet peach smell when you walk near the trees. I love climbing up to pick the ones that fall off the branch into my hand. I love inhaling that sweet scent, feeling the itchy peach fuzz on my arms. I love walking into the kitchen to see my mom's whole counter covered in giant orange and red fruit. The whole place smells like peaches.

Imagine my delight when I opened this package and was hit with that exact same smell! I stuck my face in the box and breathed it in. It smelled just like home. It's heavenly!

Last week was really tough for me. I felt overwhelmed at my new job (I got yelled at on my first day for not printing a form fast enough - yeesh). I miss the mountains terribly. I came to the realization that this New York thing is really happening, probably for a couple years. I had a tearful meltdown on a crowded street in the middle of lunch hour in Midtown - thankfully Klane was there for a shoulder to cry on. I planned an emergency weekend trip to Utah, then realized it wasn't possible. I realized I'l miss Peach Season at my parents' house! It was a rough week.

I'm amazed at how mindful our Heavenly Father is of his children. So many things happened last week to build me up and give me some perspective. The lesson we taught on Sunday was on overcoming adversity by turning to the Savior. So I spent the whole week studying scriptures about how Christ perfectly understands what we're feeling and is always there for us, and realizing that my trials pale in comparison to the things others have gone through. These verses from D&C 121 and 122 were especially great:

"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."

"...Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?"

This week has been a lot better. It's still hard, but I'm going to be okay! This is where we're supposed to be right now, and we're grateful to be here. We'll have our whole lives to live in Utah, but for right now we're going to live life in New York to the fullest. We can't always choose our circumstances but we can always choose our attitude, which shapes our experience. Happiness is best found in the journey, not in a destination.

(But a few fresh peaches from home can't hurt!)

inspiration

This is absolutely beautiful (and while we're on the subject, so is this). It made me want to cry, tears of joy and sadness and sympathy and admiration and inspiration.

Over the past year I've come to love this family I don't even know. I've donated money, I've participated in events, I've posted about it on my blog, I've cried for them, I've prayed for them, I've put their name in the temple prayer rolls every time I go. As I'm sure many other people do, I feel connected to this family. Looking at the pictures on this post makes me wish so badly I had been able to be there, to partake in the spirit of life and love and to be inspired.

I am so inspired by their love, their faith, and their incredible positive outlook on life. Makes my problems seem pretty small. Makes me want to be more grateful. Makes me want to be a better person, to live each day to the fullest. Life is beautiful.

everybody freeze.

I have my first job interview on Wednesday morning, at a real office. I am really excited and really nervous. Pray for me a lot!

I also found this talk on being positive, and am trying to think positive thoughts. Give it a read, it's a great one!

inspiration for the day

image by the incredible justin gaynor

I found this great talk today and thought I would share it with you. It's about adjusting to changes in our lives. Those who know me best know I usually resist big changes in life. I make a big deal and think the world is going to stop spinning, and then I adjust and everything ends up being just fine. Usually things end up great! But it's no surprise that adjusting to the idea of living in New York has been a bit difficult for me. I can't believe I didn't remember this talk from April's general conference, it's like it was meant for me! Hope you enjoy it, and here's a few favorite quotes:

"Most of us do not seek or even welcome dramatic changes. But change is an essential part of life's experiences... Too often we are reluctant to enter the next stage, begin the next challenge. Maybe we are too comfortable, fearful, or lacking in faith."

"...keep an eternal perspective. Understand that change and challenges are part of God's plan. By design this mortal existence is a time of testing or a time "to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them". In order to test our use of our God-given agency, we as mortals undergo a series of changes, challenges, trials, and temptations as we proceed through life. Only then are we properly tested."

something beautiful to see

If you're into weddings like me, check out this one, captured by one of my favorite photographers, Jonathan Canlas. Besides the great photography, I thought the wedding itsself was really beautiful, interesting and very unique. They had an intimate reception where everyone ate dinner at tables set up on a beach. No shoes allowed, and the bride and groom even lounged in an oceanside hammock for a few moments. It's a little more casual than I would've done, but I thought they pulled it off extremely well, making it still feel like a mostly formal event. Anyway, check it out. Very very cool.

another mother (and just as special)

Before Mother's Day gets too far past, I want to do a little tribute for another wonderful mother in my life: Klane's mom, Kaylene. She is such an amazing person in so many ways. I'm grateful to her for raising Klane to be the perfect man and husband that he is, and she has been a wonderful mother to me.

She's an amazing homemaker. She hosts incredible (think Martha Stewart) family dinners on a regular basis. She takes time to add the little touches and details that make all the difference. She's a master chef. She makes the most amazing, beautiful birthday cakes. She's a talented seamstress (made all the bridesmaid dresses for Mike and Sara's wedding). She's also very thoughtful, she really cares about people. She's always thinking of others.

She is an awesome grandma; she has ninja turtle and charlie brown movies, reads the best stories, and builds the tallest lego towers.

She is fun! She ran a half-marathon with us last August. She quotes Brian Regan and discusses American Idol and The Office with her kids.

She is honestly one of the most kind, spiritual, humble, deeply good people I know. I really look up to Kaylene in so many ways, and want to be more like her. She has inspired me to try to be a better person. I'm so grateful to have the example of such wonderful mothers in my life.

happy mothers day (a little late)

My mom is an amazing woman.
I'm copying a couple friends and making a little list of reasons why I love my mom.
Because she deserves to be honored.

1. She is absolutely beautiful and could pass as my sister, but has always lived by her favorite scripture: 1 Sam 16:7 "For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." This woman has a heart of gold.
2. Her cheery voice on the phone was always sure to cheer me up when I called her almost every day after clinic feeling discouraged.
3. She didn't mind when I called her three or four times a day from New York. And we always had things to talk about.
4. During the past year I watched her conquer the most difficult trial of her life - fighting cancer - and she smiled the whole way. Even when her hair fell out. Even when she couldn't taste food and she felt sick. Even through four hour chemo treatments. She taught me so much through her example.
5. She is strong. She's stronger than probably she even thought. She is a survivor.

6. She sings all the time, and even though she usually doesn't know the words, she is great at making them up on the spot, and her lyrics are usually pretty fantastic.
7. When I was an awkward lanky teenager she never stopped telling me I was beautiful. She taught me to stand tall and be proud of who I was.
8. I learned about being healthy from her. She has such self mastery and takes great care of herself.
9. She's a great shopping buddy, and it's an added perk that we can share some clothes. (I'm taller.)
10. She can be anyone's friend, no matter their age or background. She has touched others' lives by her goodness and genuine friendship and love.

11. She is the one bringing someone just what they need at a difficult time, whether it be a note or a homemade treat or a flower or a listening ear.
12. She hears and listens to the Spirit.
13. She knows how to saddle a horse and herd cattle. She's got a sweet scar from driving a stick-shift truck while baling hay as a kid.
14. She got up early to fix my family a hot breakfast every morning of my 12+ years of education, and is still doing this for my brother at home.
15. She refuses to say the word "fart". My brothers and I tried for over an hour in the car once to get her to say it. Not a chance.

16. She is an awesome waterskier.
17. She makes the best, most beautiful sweet rolls you've ever seen. They are a work of art.
18. Many times she stayed up late with me listening to my woes about whatever drama was going on in my life at the time.
19. She is almost always happy. She smiles all the time.
20. She always comments on my blog.

21. She is a ton of fun. She dances and sings.
22. She camped out all night in 20 degree weather for Wicked tickets.
23. Through the years she has become more than just a parent, she has become a real friend.

I love you, mom.

we've been waiting for this for 6 months

I always look forward to General Conference weekend. Listening to counsel from our church leaders and spending the weekend with family is so relaxing. It's just what we need at this crazy time of our lives! This morning we had breakfast with Mike and Sara and we're watching conference together at their place. We're headed up to the cabin for the afternoon session, and there's bound to be some kind of girls night tonight while the men are at the priesthood session.

I've loved conference so far. There have already been such inspired and relevant talks. If you're looking for inspiration, encouragement or something to lift your spirit, you can watch General Conference online here.

What were your favorite talks of conference?

we showed cancer who's boss

The Rex Lee Run is an annual event for my family and the office. By running we donate to cancer research.

This year was extra special because my mom was back in the race. Last year she sat on the sidelines because she was in the middle of chemotherapy.

She showed cancer who's boss. She placed second in her age division yesterday. I'm so grateful for my mom.

And for this handsome guy who runs by my side and likes being silly with me.

I'm also grateful for Magleby's Fresh and their wonderful french toast. Thanks dad!

the Nie is Back!

after 5 months of recovery, Stephanie Nielson is back in action. And I couldn't be happier for her and her family! How exciting. Check out her first post since the crash here. If you haven't heard of the Nielsons' story, check it out, it's a story of love, faith and courage and it will inspire you!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

We put up our tree this week and it's quite festive. There's nothing like turning on the Christmas tree lights, curling up with a cup of peppermint hot cocoa and... studying for finals. :) I can't wait for that last part to be done, which it will be in about a week. Then it's on to enjoy the Christmas season with not a care in the world. We're excited to have some time to spend with each other and with family and to enjoy the spirit of the season.

About this time last year my mom was diagnosed with cancer. It was a difficult time for me and my family, to say the least. But through the darkness and fear came light and hope. We found it in the true spirit of Christmas, the kind that comes from the love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for Him. I have seen His miracles in the lives of those close to me, especially over the past year. I will never forget one December evening just after my mom's first chemotherapy treatments, when my family answered the door to find the entire ward (and then some) on our front lawn, singing Christmas carols. I felt such overwhelming love from these surprise carolers for my family. Their love communicated to us the love and hope of the Savior. His image truly was 'engraven upon their countenances'. It was so touching, and with tears and smiles and "thank-yous" we tried to express our gratitude. So many people showed Christlike love through our time of trial, and so many times we saw how people in tune with the Spirit became an answer to our prayers. Thank you to all who offered help and prayers in our behalf, I now know how real it is that you can feel the prayers of others giving you strength.

Here we are a year later and all is well. Thankfully my mom will be around for many more Christmases to come. I hope to always keep the Christmas spirit, Christ's spirit, with me during this season and through the year. I hope I can be someone's Christmas miracle or an answer to prayer. This Christmas season, spread the Savior's love. Seek out those who are in a time of darkness, and let in the Light.

I Ran for Nie

I recently stumbled upon the most beautiful blog. It’s the blog of Stephanie Nielson, all about her love and passion for life and her family and her husband. She writes so beautifully, posts gorgeous images, and creates this magical fairytale life out of the everyday occurrences of being a wife and mother. It’s fabulous. Two months ago NieNie and her husband were hospitalized after a horrible plane crash. Now her family reposts favorite posts of Nie’s and get people to donate to her recovery fund. I highly recommend checking it out, whether you plan on donating or not. Her outlook on life and lovely posts will at least be uplifting to read. It is amazing.



This morning I participated in a 5k “Run for Nie” on Grandview. I ran and appreciated the ability I have to do so. I was grateful for my health and prayed for Nie, her recovery, and her family. It was touching to see so many people come show their support. Her sisters and mom were there. I am pretty sure I saw Mindy Gledhill as well, who knows Nie and is doing a benefit concert in Mesa next weekend for her. I was a little starstruck by the LDS singer and blog-stars. :) Before the race, I made friends with a nice girl named Brooke. We talked a bit, but when we started running we parted ways. Brooke, thanks for talking with me so I didn’t feel like a loser standing there by myself. I saw you cross the finish line as i was getting in my car and I cheered for you!

Tonight, pray for Nie.

"Remission": What a beautiful word!

This pic is kind of old, it's from February 19 when I was lucky enough to be the one to sit with my mom at the cancer center. She had a really great few weeks leading up to this, and was just glowing. (I keep saying it's not very fair that she looks healthier than me and she's in the middle of chemotherapy... :)

But here is some awesome news: She had a CT scan and the tumors are gone! Her doctors were amazed, but she is now cancer free! The miracles of modern medicine combined with the faith, prayers and fasting of SO many people around us... what a blessing! We are excited and now she just has to finish out her last two chemo sessions. Hopefully I get lucky enough to go sit with her again, it was fun to have nothing to do but sit and chat for a few hours with my mom. She is awesome and an amazing example to me!

My Mother is My Hero

Look at my cute mom!

If you're ever having a hard day, I know someone you should talk to. My mom has to be the most positive person I know. Today Klane and I went over to visit her and she is all smiles, even though the last of her hair fell out this week after her second chemotherapy treatment. Look at her in this picture earlier this week! My dad cut her hair short for her when it really started coming out. She has always been such a great example to me of the power of positive thinking, and since she was diagnosed with Lymphoma a month ago, nothing has changed! We're so blessed to have such great examples around us from our wonderful family.