Things I Love Thursday & Why I Dislike My Birthday

I'm gonna start by complaining a bit...

I have a hard time with my birthdays. I'm not entirely sure why, getting older doesn't really bother me (at least not yet). One of my past birthday's I spent the entire day crying my eyes out (we had recently moved and I was having a hard time with it) another was spent in a car, driving across Kansas when my family moved to Kentucky (normally I like traveling, but I remember that day was particularly sucky). I always seem to get really down and depressed right around my birthdays. (My birthday's themselves aren't usually too bad - my family typically manages to put together something low-key but special enough to make me smile - which I suppose is all I can ask for).

Sadly, this year once again brought along all the traditional down and depressed feelings. Between a couple fairly large disappointments (which have made me feel like a pretty big failure), trying to get through finals (eating too much junk food, not sleeping, and basically burning myself out), struggling quite a bit with some spiritual promptings, feeling stressed by graduation (which scares me because I worry that the bigger it's made out to be, the less I'll want to focus on my summer classes) and an upcoming move back onto campus...I'm having a really hard time with things. And all 6 days before my birthday. Thanks, Life - great timing.

I tried to be excited and make plans for my birthday but...like always, things fell through or fell apart.
So it will probably just go by like any other day. But hey - mother's day is more important anyway, right? - There's a goal to work towards.

One day, I'm just gonna give up entirely and not even think of my birthday, then maybe, hopefully, I won't go through these feelings of upset and depression every May.

Okay - I'm done complaining. Time to be thankful...

 This should always be at the top of the list and it should always be the first thing I think of when feeling thankful or just loving -- The gospel and the scriptures! Last night was a really bad night for me, but studying the scriptures made a big difference.

My best friend - he means so much to me, and is always there for me (even when I'm an absolute wreck).

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One night, Mandy made me cucumber sammiches cut into heart shapes with apple slices and Doritos
(she's clearly gonna be an awesome Mom one day).

My roommate/cousin, Mandy - who is not only the most amazingly awesome person in the world, but she also made sure that on the nights that I *have* been home, I've eaten something legitimate. 

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The weather lately has been super nice! I'm loving this warm, breezy spring/summer weather! I've even been able to sleep with my window open a couple of nights (which is lovely for the breeze and what not...though I may have to stop it because of my allergies :P).


Well - I still have 3 assignments and an exam to go study for.

What are you loving this Thursday?

Things I Love Thursday

This week has been kind of hectic (which if you know me at all, is code for: insane).

So...quick overview of the week! Things that I'm loving...

1. I don't actually LOVE rain - but I do love how rain makes everything look saturated with color! It makes for some pretty awesome photos afterwards...

2. My last (legit) pedicure was starting to chip - which really annoys me. So I decided to take it off and give myself my own pedicure - I did pandas (cause none of my flowers would turn out!)

3. Pulled an (almost) all-nighter to complete a couple assignments last night. Tried to limit my caffeine intake by mixing it up with Bing and Neuro-Sonic.

4. For my upcoming birthday, I got a Costco membership. I hit Costco the other day - managed to spend less than $100 - which I'm told is an impressive feat :p (course...I was also very intimidated by the bulk-ness of everything!)

5./6. Did you know that they have these ridiculously big bouquets of flowers you can get at Costco?! I bought 1 to add a little color to the dining room. And this morning, while eating my totally nutritious breakfast of a turkey burger (...well...technically just the patty, nothing else - I know, I'm weird like that) and a Rockstar energy drink (a pink one...I'll only drink the pink one!) - I watched a TED talk by Seth Godin (more on TED talks at some point because...you would not believe just HOW much I LOVE TED talks!)

7. Admittedly, editing photos is NOT my most favorite thing to do - but I do love photography and on Tues. I had the opportunity to do portraits for a guy in my ward who wanted photos for his upcoming birthday.

And now I need to go and do some homework, so that's all for this week.

What are you loving this Thursday??

Things I Love Thursday

Hello All! It's Thursday Again!

First of all - I am loving the EFT tapping therapy that Colleen (the aura specialist I've been seeing) taught me. It is FANTASTIC! Every time I do it, I feel like this anvil of weight has suddenly been lifted off of me and I feel happy. I felt really silly doing it at first, but the more I do it, the less I care about feeling silly because it seriously works! :)

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On Saturday/Sunday/Monday, I designed a logo for this year's MadSkills competition (I was also signed up for the print design category but didn't manage my time well enough to get that entry in on time). The company which all competitors were designing for is Heavystone Lab. They make a cemented tungsten carbide material for industrial applications (ie used in aerospace, mining, construction, machining, etc.).

After researching the company and it's competitors and target customers, I decided that I was still struggling to get a feel for what style direction I really needed to go in. (I knew I wanted to play with the imagery of the name of the company and I wanted it to feel somewhat industrial but I was kind of unsure about the direction I was heading in). Now, one of the most important parts of communication and design is knowing your audience so...I got a little bit of help from someone who knows a little bit about these industries, Jared! He kind of played the role of "unofficial art director" for me and helped to guide me through figuring out the design. He was super helpful in giving me ideas and suggestions, and I was super thankful for his help! This is what I ultimately came up with and submitted:

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Yesterday, for Publicity Committee - we all drove up to the Museum of Natural History (it's right by the UofU and I HIGHLY recommend it - the architecture of the building alone is reason enough to go see it!) We were at the museum to do a committee photo (which, from what I could tell - is gonna turn out SUPER awesome!) Random fact about me: I LOVE museums and I LOVE buildings with really cool architecture! So, while we were there - about every two seconds, I would squeal and point out an exhibit, architectural feature, or just declare "I LOVE it here!!!" - I'm excited to go back sometime, anyone wanna go with me!?!? :)

What are you loving this Thursday!?

21 To 21

I turn 21 in approximately 21 days.

I don't usually do much for my birthday, it's never really been a big deal.

Normally in my family, you get to pick whatever's for dinner that night and we have some cake and you get a couple presents from family members (which, don't get me wrong, is great - I've always appreciated and enjoyed my family's lovely little celebrations together) but it's always been small and calm (well, as calm as things can be when my siblings and I are around each other while in good spirits). 

I'm turning 21 this year. It's one of those 2 (18 and 21) "Threshold of Adulthood" ages where you're suddenly allowed to do more by virtue of simply having survived life for so a certain amount of time. While I don't drink or anything like that, I still feel as though I'm moving on and transitioning into a new phase of my life (after all, it's the start of my 3rd decade of life). So it is something I'd like to celebrate in a  fun way. 

I turn 21 on May 2nd.

But, I walk for graduation on the 4th and my family will be in town and everything. I'm expecting the focus to me more on my graduation and visiting relatives (which is totally fine - I'm not complaining. I'm excited to see my family and I'm excited to show my parents my gratitude for their support by participating in the school of Humanities Convocation). 

So... for the 21 days leading up to my 21st birthday - I've put together a little "To Do" list (some are vague and some are specific) I don't have a LOT of time since this is pretty much the last 3 weeks of the semester so I've tried to keep them from being too time consuming and I'm not gonna be upset if I don't do all em...

• Redecorate (...or at least get a new bedding set) - If you've ever seen any of my bedrooms since I started college, I've always had a pink and purple color palette. Time to graduate (pun intended) to a more 'grown-up' (but still fun - I'm gonna be twenty-something, not fifty!) style.
• Put a smile on an old friend's face!
• Do something that makes me happy, every day! (Whether it's hoopdancing outside for 15 minutes or going for a fun drive - I wanna do something that makes me smile and feel content at least for a little bit every day!)
• Try a new food and/or restaurant! (One of my most favorite things is food! I love food, I love eating, I love food culture, I love cooking - it's all so great! And I always enjoy the opportunity to have new food related experiences! -- I've also got a ridiculously long list of restaurants in SLC that I've been dying to try!)
• Put together a Life Board (a Life board is a visualization of your life's goals. You can use anything you want to create one but you essentially just write/draw/collage together your life's goals and dreams and place it somewhere that you can see it everyday).
• De-clutter, get rid of at least 21 unnecessary items (I'm a nomad...with a LOT of baggage. For someone who moves as often as I do, I have WAY to much stuff. I'd like to simplify my life and cut down on all my material possessions. And since I'll be moving back onto campus this summer, now is a good time to pare things down a bit).
• Update my Resume (I'm gonna start job hunting soon - now is probably a good time to polish up my poor little resume - Not necessarily a 'fun' activity but I'm sure that Future [employed] Kaylynne will appreciate it, so it's really a gift to her). 
• Take a Photo Every Day! (I still feel like I don't do near enough with my cameras or my photography skills!)
• Start eating healthy again (Back to Paleo - but this time probably just 80% of the time and regular foods the other 20% because as awesome as I felt while eating paleo all the time, missing out on all the yummies [specifically my beloved carbs] was just making me sad!)
• Get my car washed and maintenance'd (Cause I'd like to be a responsible 21 year old and I like to think responsible 21 year olds would have cars that are clean, have fresh oil, rotated tires and the steering wheel doesn't vibrate when they go above 60 XP) - Plus, Mandy has assured me that we would get snacks and hangout while the car is being washed - so it'll still be fun!
• See a movie (Cause I think the last time I was in a theater was...months ago!)
• Compile and update my portfolio (seriously, my website has some of the oldest stuff on there - it's not impressive)
• Go to the SLC Public library (and by go to the library I mean...actually go inside library - I've photographed people outside of the library but...I've never actually gone inside. So I wanna go and I'm gonna get a library card too!)
• Explore SLC! (By which, I mean - I wanna go somewhere I haven't been before! - This may actually be the first thing I do since the LDSSA Publicity Committee is going to the new Natural History Museum this Wednesday!)
• Finish the Semester! (Well...DUH! :p)

I'm so excited!
I'm gonna be 21!
It's gonna be a good year (I'm determined to make it so!)

Things I Love Thursday

Hooray for another "Things I Love Thursday" (is it just me or did Thursday get here super fast?)

So, this week, Instagram came out for Android!
If you've never heard of it, it's an incredibly popular photo app among iPhone users (and some 4th gen iTouch users) and it's done a lot to increase the popularity of 'iPhoneography'. There's really not much to it, you can take a photo with your phone's camera, apply a filter/frame, and then upload it to the Instagram website (and share it via Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, etc.) - I just think it's neat!

This was my first Instagram:

It's blurry cause I was so excited :p

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This week, I also stumbled across this (and then proceeded to watch it at least 20 times!):

Now, usually I'm not really one for poetry, but I absolutely loved this!
I've also watched some of Sarah Kay's other videos on youtube and she is awesome! I love her work!

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The Marriott Library at University of Utah...

I LOVE the library. I've been going to the UofU for about a year now, and I'm STILL finding new and interesting places in the Marriott Library (not to mention, I'm still going through my "Holy Crap! Look at ALL the books in here!! I MUST read them ALL!" Phase :p)

This was taken in the Grand Reading Room on the 3rd floor. There's access to an outdoor walkway where you can get a pretty awesome view of the gorgeous mountains that surround SLC and, of course, the stadium. Go Utes! :P

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General Conference was this past weekend. I really enjoyed it (although, how can you not!?). 


For my Non-Mormon friends, General Conference is when the leaders of the church (including the president of the church, whom we believe to be a true and living prophet) address the world with talks that are meant to help uplift and guide us in our lives. General Conference is held twice a year, every year. Once in April and again in October. If you'd like to learn more about General Conference or about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (often referred to as, the Mormon religion), you can visit lds.org or mormon.org! (OR, you can even talk to me!)

I've been told by a couple different people who are very close to me, that they felt that the talks were conveying some things that I really needed to hear. I absolutely agree! Though, I feel I should go back and re-listen to some of the ones I didn't pay particularly close attention to, there were 3 that absolutely stood out to me:

Elder Holland's "The Laborers in the Vineyard"

Elder Ballard's "That the Lost May Be Found"

Elder Uchtdorf's "The Merciful Obtain Mercy"

I haven't listened to the Priesthood session yet (normally I do because, well, as a woman in the church, it's important that I support the priesthood holders in my life, and so I personally feel that it's important for me to know what their roles are). However, I was fortunate enough to be at my aunt and uncle's home the evening of the priesthood session. In their family, when my uncle and cousin get home from the priesthood session, they sit down with the family and give a report on the topics that were addressed during the session (it's something that I personally love and hope to one day incorporate into my future family's traditions). It sounded like a very good session, so I'm eager to listen to the talks from that as well.

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I had planned to leave this as a surprise and post these photos on Friday but...

I did something with my hair!

Hooray for summer-y hair cuts! :)

So, that's all for this week. What are YOU loving this Thursday??