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??

Things I Love Thursday

So, I read a couple different blogs that have a TiLT feature every week.
Usually it's nothing big, just a short post with links, photos, thoughts, etc. to/of/about things that the writer liked that week and wants to highlight. I've decided to try it out here on my personal blog in order to increase my blogging (considering the fact that I'd like to blog as part of a future job, I really need to get better about consistency) and in order to teach myself to focus more on positive things, things that make me happy!

So - The first "Things I Love Thursday"...

First things first, my cousin Allison Barnes (of An Apple a Day and a collaborator on the We Are Women project), is a pretty legit folk artist and this Friday (tomorrow) she's releasing her Winter War EP (you can learn more about it HERE).

Allison asked me if I would like to review the EP ahead of time on this blog, but I'm not really a music person (I swear, I'm sure I'm pretty much tone deaf :p) and I wouldn't have really known how to even begin to review a CD! However, I did get the opportunity to listen through the EP and personally, I really enjoy it! My favorite track is a tie between "Husband" and "The Slow Goodbye." The EP will be released digitally tomorrow, March 30th, and on CDs, April 6.

And right now, if you "Like" Allison's Facebook page, you can get 25% off the EP.

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I've decided that I really love Firesides...especially big ones at the Salt Lake Institute. It's so amazing to be sitting amongst (note - not an accurate estimation:) hundreds of like-minded young adults, gathered together to share in the spirit and to listen to a spiritual leader. 

I once had an Institute teacher tell our class that these CES firesides are fairly new, and that we should be thankful and excited to hear these speakers because it represents the church Presidency's recognition of our (Young adults) importance! :)

And I swear, I totally started to tear up while singing "Be Still My Soul" with ALL these people. (I always feel so awkward when I'm singing, because I don't consider myself to be particularly good at singing, but I didn't even think of it. Everyone's voices just blended in the most perfectly beautiful way).

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I know, this picture is kind of awkward, the girl by me was talking to me and I accidentally lost my framing. :p
And yes - one of the girls in our group was running around in socks. So random! lol 

One of my favorite things about being a part of a collegiate community is all the opportunities to have academic-type discussions about various topics. Seriously, I love that I can sit around with a group of my peers (both academic and future-professional) and discuss things like the importance and application of strategic communication principles to various situations and such!

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And, last but not least, this song:

The music video itself is kinda strange (but...I feel like anytime masquerade masks are involved, things are gonna get weird. Especially in music videos) but the song is awesome.

Be Still My Soul...

The alternative title for this blog is "That Time I Lost My Trust in God," however, the song 'Be Still My Soul' is a hymn which always calms and comforts me.

A while ago (well, technically, recently - like, within the last 3 months), I prayed about something important, something really important, life-alteringly-important. The answer to that prayer was that it was right. So, happily, I carried on (well, not always quite so happily, I did flounder a bit a few times) - I was repeatedly assured and reminded that it was right, so the only thing to do was move forward. Which was fine. Until...

It began to feel not-so-right and moving forward was my only choice (and not in a "just get through the flu shot because it's the only medicine that could prevent the flu" kind of way. It felt more like "keep moving forward because if you stop you'll be trampled to death" kind of way). More and more, "right" started to feel more and more like "wrong," but that couldn't be. God himself told me this was right - and you don't argue with God. And it's not like He would go and change His mind...

...would He?

Now, I wouldn't call myself a particularly spiritual person or anything, but I do read my scriptures and pray consistently, go to church, and I'm even an active/contributing member of LDSSA at the Salt Lake Institute. I may not always be the epitome of reverence but I always try my best not to be too far from Heavenly Father's presence. However, this question shook my faith...actually - correction: this question was a 7.6 magnitude earthquake to my faith. (Honestly, shelves fell over, it was a mess, and the national guard was called in for help).

What if God is a trickster or puppet master?

Sadly, this also lead to me asking, "What if, technically - I don't have any agency and I am only at God's whims. He can make me do whatever he likes, he can tease and play tricks? What if...

He can tell me that something is right one day, and then tell me its wrong the next?"


(I sincerely apologize if anyone's computer has exploded from all this blasphemy!!!)


Suddenly, my mind went dark (and not like the-fourth-Harry-Potter-book-when-Sirius-died Dark; worse - like literally dark - it was frightening, empty, hollow, cold, desolate, etc. etc.) It was as though Heavenly Father had suddenly left. I was completely alone.

I began desperately trying to claw my way out of the dark - scriptures, prayers, mediation, going to the temple...

How does one reconcile these conflicting feelings/answers with one's faith and testimony? Can it be done? Could I do it based on what I believed I knew or did I need to call the bishop or one of my institute teachers?

After going through every solution I could think of, I kind of gave up. God had officially abandoned me. The longer I sat there, the worse I felt, the worse my thoughts became.

On Saturday (at the insistence of my incredibly worried and concerned roommate/cousin), I went to see an aura specialist (which is another post in and of itself, but in brief, she read's people's auras and energies. She's also an herbalist and aromatherapist) in the hopes that perhaps she could suggest something. She's also LDS and as part of the aura reading, she also linked everything to gospel principles. As we were discussing my aura, she noted that it indicated that I am very spiritual (at which point I had to prevent myself from blurting out that this was impossible considering the fact that God had apparently abandoned me because of my inner blaspheming dialogue).
However, as the session continued, my mind began to calm down, and I began to feel Heavenly Father's presence again, and I began to recognize his love for me - as well as the amount of power and divinity I have within me - obviously gifts granted by Him. The darkness lifted and, later, when I tried to meditate again - I learned/realized something.

Heavenly Father truly does know me, he knows how I will react to things, he knows what I'm ready or not ready for in life, he knows everything. Only He knows what He meant by telling me that what I'd prayed about was "right" and what He meant by the uneasy feelings I'd later begun to feel and pray about. But I am content with 2 possible interpretations.

Now it's important to quickly note here that, when He said it was "right," I know He meant it. Elder Holland once said in a talk, "If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now," I believe that.

So,... either, He told me it was right in order to make me continue on, knowing that things wouldn't work out, that I wouldn't follow completely through (because, remember - he knows me better than I know myself) but knowing that I needed to go through this in order to learn some important lessons.
OR
It truly is right, but perhaps He didn't necessarily mean "right now." We don't know what Heavenly Father's time table is - perhaps, in the future it will still be right, and perhaps things will work out. And, perhaps, this was an opportunity to begin preparing myself.

I strongly believe that things have come to this for a reason, and that this is indeed how things were meant to wind up (at least at this point in time).

While the whole ordeal of my experience with Heavenly Father over the past few days was upsetting, and quite honestly, one of the scariest things I've ever experienced (I've read the Book of Mormon, guys - I know what happens when the Lord cuts a people off from His presence. It's not pretty!) I am thankful for it. I find that the more I learn about the nature of God, the more I learn about myself and ultimately, the closer I feel to my Heavenly Father.

As for the situation which previously felt right and began to feel wrong. I am upset. I have occasional moments when it feels as though I have experienced an emotional Hiroshima, I'll sulk, listen to "What I've Done" (don't ask) on repeat, eat ridiculous amounts of junk food, and cry until I feel absolutely sick. But - I'm trying to be hopeful. I know that Heavenly Father is watching over myself and the other party and He will see to it that we both find happiness. The fallout will eventually clear and the morning will come (punctual as always) and greet me with a warm embrace and a reassurance that I am okay. I am alive. I am happy. I pray that the other party will see that particular morning soon, and recover from the "emotional Hell" I put them through and maybe even forgive me for it one day.

Blending In...(An Essay and GPOY Post)

I'm from California. - Okay, not really.
I was born there, at one point in my life, I even lived there (for approximately 1 year...and it was actually in the middle of the Mojave desert), and if there is any place in the world where I am my happiest - it's at La Jolla Coves in CA.

However, according to many of my CA-native friends, I am not a "real" Californian. Which is an argument that is enough to bring me to the brink of tears. I have moved SO much you guys, I don't have a hometown! People will ask me, "Where are you from?" and I hesitate, "No where," I finally stutter and then quickly attempt to clarify that I've moved around all my life and therefore don't really have a "hometown" and am not really "from" anywhere. (I once heard a friend of mine, another Army-brat, answer the dreaded, "Where are you from?" question with, "I came from my mother's uterus. Thanks for asking." - Well...it's certainly an interesting way to answer the question!)

Honestly, I can't really claim to be from any other place, I am apparently not a "real" anything.

The identity crisis aside, I decided (about half way through my trip) that I ought to do my best to look like a "real" Californian. I closely observed the locals (specifically those around the coastal areas) and some patterns emerged: Booty shorts for gals, Cargo shorts for guys; Sunglasses for everyone; Cute/tight tees or tops for gals, polos or t-shirts for guys; Cell phones (almost always a smart phone) for everyone; light sweaters (for cool/breezy days - but still worn with shorts); and some other accessory or item (ie surfboard, Starbucks, Designer Bag, etc.)

Now, I've seen people dressed like this elsewhere. However, there's a sense of attitude that's also worn by Californians (I don't mean "I'm all that" or a kind of haughtiness or anything like that, of course. I mean - a sense of self-awareness, confidence, and belonging to the lovely West coast.) Their looks all just seemed to say "This is how I look, this is where I belong, this is where I live/work/etc. This is me." - I wanted to emulate this (short of booty shorts of course). I wanted other people (tourists) to look and me and think, "whoa, she must be from around here."

So, let me see if I can't give you an idea of how I looked while on my trip:

Day 1:
 Sunglasses; Old Navy "San Diego" top (apparently, it's not very CA to wear CA themed
shirts...unless they're Hollister or something like that :p); Bermudas; White Flip Flops

Day 2
Black Jeans (felt a bit weird to be wearing em in CA...); White
Cardigan (Old Navy); OP Tank top; Purple Converse (Not Pictured); Sunglasses (Not Pictured)

Day 3
Weirdly enough, I wore jeans to La Jolla Beach :p
Red/Stripey/Crocheted Tank (Old Navy); Black Cardigan; Sunglasses (not pictured)

Day 4
I almost totally forgot to take a photo on Day 4 - this is the closest I have to an outfit photo for that day.
Light blue jeans; Green t-shirt (Old Navy, and SUPER soft...though, a bit low cut XP); Sunglasses

 So...what do you think? Did I look at least a little Californian? :p

Sorry for the random outfit post everyone - I haven't had a chance yet to sit down and sift through all the photos I took while I was here (I actually didn't take as many as I was expecting to) and write up some legit blog posts. -- I have some homework that I need to get done this weekend/upcoming week, but as soon as I can, I'll be posting more about my trip! :)

P.S. In case you're curious, GPOY stand for "Gratuitous Photo of Yourself" :P

Foraging for the Modern Paleo...

The alternative title for this post was:
"How I Feed Myself: Quick Paleo Meals for the Modern College Slob" :P

Since I've had a few family members and friends express interest/curiosity in my "crazy new diet" (technically, it's more of a lifestyle thing rather than a "diet" since I don't intend to quit eating like this once I've hit my target weight/body fat %), I thought I'd post a few examples of the kinds of foods I like to throw together.

Lets start with Breakfast!
I'm pretty simple and usually I just go with good old classic bacon and eggs (and sometimes a side fruit or veggie) - if I go to overboard, I usually wind up being late to class:

In this case, the side fruit or veggie was orange slices, Yum!

For Lunches, I usually have extras/leftovers (I prefer to use the word "extras" because the word "leftovers" makes me think of foods that are all cold and soggy...like old cereal *gag*) from cooking bigger batches or extra portions of whatever I make for dinners.

One meal which I particularly enjoy making is 'Paleo Spaghetti' - I know, most people think, "But Kaylynne, if you don't eat gluten what do you eat for noodles in order to have said spaghetti noms!?" to which I reply, "Why spaghetti squash, of course!" (It's like God recognized that even paleo people would want spaghetti and so he made a vegetable that serves as the *perfect* replacement!)

So you can actually find the whole recipe already written up here (one of my favorite websites) - But I took some photos the last time I made Paleo spaghetti so...I'm gonna post em goshdarnit! :p

Another quick and easy meal I like to make is the chili that I posted the other day (I've made and experimented with that one multiple times). 

I've also made:

These Ribs in the crockpot (but I changed up the recipe a bit...and used beef ribs instead of pork)

This Bacon, Grape, and Broccoli Salad is yummy (Boyfriend liked it too)

I made some really yummy citrus/lime/chili chicken drumsticks a few weeks ago but the website with the original recipe on it went down and...I did not copy the recipe down somewhere (You mean the internet ISN'T permanent!?)

So...Yeah - Some more ways to stick to the diet. Now...when I'm NOT sticking to the diet... Once a month (I'm a chick, take your best guess as to the reason why this happens every month), no matter what diet I am on - I tend to leap off the wagon and go in search of any and all of my cravings (usually sugar or caffeine - which is bad since I tend to get really bad headaches when I over do it on either of those)...

So, this is how I don't stick to my diet...

Vanilla scones from Starbucks - I LOVE these!

Generally, I avoid caffeine and teas but...every now and again, I'll get a
Tall, Soy, Chai Tea, Frappucino from Starbucks. So yummy! (but shame on me!)

In my defense, these brownies were at least gluten free (although...I may have
also added a whole bag of chocolate chips to the batter... -- I have to go easy on
these though because chocolate gives me really bad tummy aches...I've been
meaning to try carob instead...I just haven't - I'm scared it'll be gross :p)

Side Note - So, I realize that lately I've been posting a lot about food and Jared (they're kind of the loves of my life right now...and not always in that order :p) However, next week for spring break - I'm gonna be in CA for a few days, so you can look forward to some more travel/photo oriented posts! :)