Look to the Light

"That’s when I really started seeking Christ, because I knew He was real. I had done everything in the world that man had to offer, and none of it was real.”

Music and Beauty

I love music and sometimes I come across something that is so moving and beautiful. I really like the Weepies and Ryan Woodward created this beauty. I can't stop watching it, so I thought I'd share it with everyone. Enjoy.

Thought of You from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.

Give Thanks

I love Thanksgiving! It's the holiday that makes me realize how much I have to be grateful for. I have incredible roommates! They are so fun and they always make me laugh to the point where all 3 of us cry uncontrollably. We have a lot of fun together. We all love going to The Chocolate, a desert cafe. I'm grateful for the incredible hazelnut hot chocolate they make.
I'm grateful that my roommates will order mint and spice hot chocolate so we could all share.
The Cazookie! Best desert ever. I'm grateful for the first bite....
.....and the last!
I'm grateful for these people! Ryan is the greatest! He is funny and so kind! He has a sweet heart and he always makes sure everyone is happy. Jaclyn! I don't know where to begin! She is my roomie! She is my buddy who stays up late and listens to me while I rant about everything and anything. She sits by me at church, makes Jones soda run with me. She is beautiful, kind, sweet, compassionate, and just all around amazing. I'm so grateful for her in my life and I'm so grateful she has become one of my closest friends. Brandon- I love him with all my heart and I'm so grateful for him. He is always there to pick me up and cheer me up. He is always taking care of me, helping me, laughing with me, and so much more. He is my best friend! I'm so grateful I met him, I'm so grateful he picked me up, dusted me off and showed me how good life is. I'm grateful for the blessing he is in my life!
I'm grateful for Noodles & Co. and their yummy pesto pasta!
I"m grateful for Christmas and my Savior Jesus Christ.
I'm grateful for being able to spend time with those I love.
I"m grateful for my friends and how purely goofy they are!
I'm grateful for delicious food!
I give thanks for all and many blessings in my life! I am truly blessed! I am blessed with trials that make me rely on my Savior, my family and my friends! I'm grateful for a new look on life and its beauty. I am grateful for my testimony and the truth of the gospel. I am grateful for always knowing that no matter what happens in my life things will always turn out ok and even better than before! I'm grateful for this life I have been given and everything it comes with. I am grateful!

November Dish

Alright, I"m little late but here is my November dish. Jaclyn and I went to Costco and say pita bread. I love pita bread. When I was little I would always get gyros form street stands. They were so delicious. I decided to get the pita bread and make homemade gyros. Jaclyn helped me and we made all the cucumber yogurt sauce, which was incredibly good. Instead of lamb, which is usually used when making gyros, we used chicken. Everything was spiced just perfect and after the sauce was marinated for 24 hours, we finally got to enjoy the dish. Friends came over and after lots of laughter and chit-chat, the food was gone, out tunnies were full, and the night was perfect. I love my friends who are always up for letting me experiment with food and have them be my guinea pigs. So far reviews are been great, so I will keep making food. I think I'll skip December. I will let you know.

Russian Food

I'm giving up on catching up, it is taking me way too much time. On my 25th birthday, which I celebrated in September, I've decided to make my resolution list (like the one people usually make on New Years Eve). One of the goals I put on my list is to make more Russian food, actually it is more like re-learn how to make Russian food. So far I am making a great progress, one dish each month. I present to you my little creations:

- October: Black Bread. I great up eating this bread pretty much with every meal. I smelled and tasted so good. I will change few things next time. This bread is good but I'm not sure when I will make it next time. It has 17 ingredients in it!!!! It was easy to make but it tool a long time. It was worth it!
- September: Stuffed Cabbage. This was SO tasty! I doubled the recipe and it cost me $13 (and some cents). I fed 12 people and had left overs! This dish is something my grandmother used to make and it is so filling! The stuffing includes lots of veggies, rice, and ground beef. I will be making this again soon.
Stay tuned to see what November brings.

So.....

..... there is a possibility that I've been having way to much fun to keep up with my blog. Its true. Fall is almost here and I am slowly catching up!

*May*

1. Natalie and Andrew got married and I got to attend their sealing! Love these two! 2. Brandon and I discovered the best shaved ice known to men! It was the best! Thanks Sarah for telling us about it.
3. Celebrated my beautiful mom's birthday and Mothers day! Got to talk to Sam
... and Stephen. I absolutely love my little brothers! They are incredible!

4. Alyssa and Randy got married! Brandon and I were able to attend their sealing. Brandon was the best man!

5. This handsome guy turned 24!!! I love him with all my heart!
Just few little notes as to why Brandon is pretty much the coolest:
- He has the best dance moves.
- If my Mac ever gives me any trouble, he can fix it right away and knows how to.
- He is super active and we have lots of fun hiking, swimming, going on bike rides, and lots more.
- No one has ever been able to make me laugh as much and as hard as him.
- He is sweet and kind!
He is my best friend! Happy Birthday mister!

~April~

1. Lots of work, massive conversion/ merger at work. Busy, busy, busy
2. Went bowling with my work, and it was awesome!3. I met mister B a year ago. We celebrated and went out to yummy dinner.
4. Put braces on my teeth, I know I looked like I was 14 again. It was worth it. Plus it was only for two months.
5. Moved out of my parents home and moved to Provo.

Cross That Off My List

On Saturday I got to cross something off my Bucket List! I finally attended Holi Festival of Colours. It is an Indian celebration of Spring and other interesting little things. We got together with friends, dressed in white t shirts (Brandon and I made a little stop at DI) and headed out to the festival. There were so many people there! Seriously! It was so much fun. Lots of music and people, and the best part colored chalk! We got there just in time before they started to toss the chalk and we got our nice white shirts and clean faces smothered with all sorts of colors! People toss the powdered chalk in the air and at people, it gets everywhere! I had to cover my nose in order to breath. Once the colored dust settled this is what was left:
Everyone was covered in color!
Being silly! I washed my hair 4 times after that to get all that chalk out, it was so worth the fun!
Jaclyn and Brad! Love them!
Monkeying around before going home.
I was having so much fun I didn't want to go home, so Brandon carried me away.

Jackson Paul

This little family of 3 just got a tiny bit bigger!
Handsome baby Jackson Paul Stringham finally decided to arrive on March 19th. He is so cute and I am head over hills in love with him!
I can't get enough of this cuttie! Congrats Jack and Melissa!

Road Trip!

Brandon and I decided to go on a road trip to Idaho to see our friend get married! We packed the car and headed out with a car full of good friends. I've never actually been to Idaho but I've driven through it. When we got there I was so disoriented and I missed my trusty Utah mountains, I couldn't tell where east or west was. Thank goodness Randy our awesome driver had a GPS, it got us safely to out hotel. We packed close to 10 people in out tiny hotel room and it was so fun! There were people everywhere! I couldn't step on the floor without accidentally stepping on someones arm or leg. We attended wedding dinner on friday and a beautiful sealing ceremony on saturday morning. I forgot my camera so I didn't catch any pictures of the beautiful bride and groom. As most of you know, Idaho is pretty flat right? Well we were driving in Twin Falls and all of the sudden there was this huge gorge! So we all decided to go and check it out and kill some time before the reception.Brandon and I grabbed our blanket and went and sat on the dock. I enjoyed my Vanilla Coke. I haven't had one in forever and it was delicious.
Brandon dared me to dip my toes in the water, I did and the water was freezing!
Thanks for a fun road trip!

My dad!

Today my dad celebrated his birthday! I seriously have the best dad on earth! He is the most kind and understanding individual I know. I love you dad! Thanks for all the support, long talks about life, boys, work, and little things that matter! Thanks for all the fun trips, for teaching me how to ski and enjoy water sports! You are the best!

My Sweet Grandmother

My sweet grandmother passed away earlier this week. I"m so grateful that she was my grandmother. She always had the kindest and sweetest words of encouragement, she always gave the best compliments! She was a great example to me and how blessed I am to have her beautiful influence in my life. I know that I will miss her and so will everyone else that knew her. I'm so happy to have the eternal knowledge and know that she is happy and healthy with our Heavenly Father. I know I will see her again and I bet she is planting beautiful flowers in heaven!

MARIAN LOIS STRINGHAM

Marian Lois Smith Stringham 5/14/1925 ~ 2/25/2010 Marian Lois Smith Stringham peacefully passed from this life on February 25, 2010, surrounded by her loving family. She was born May 14, 1925 in Ogden, Utah to Edwin E. and Lois D. Smith. She graduated from Ogden High school and the University of Utah in Business and Music and was a member of Chi Omega. She was married in the Salt Lake Temple to her sweetheart, Jack Dunyon Stringham M.D., in 1949. Having been together for 61 years, their love for each other was always present and felt by us all. They were an example of true love, devotion and unselfishness. Her life was centered on her family whom she cherished dearly, always putting her family first in encouraging, supporting and promoting her children's and grandchildren's talents and desires. From her early childhood, music was very important to Marian. She continued to develop her musical talents throughout her life. She was a member of the Utah Symphony until moving with her husband to San Diego and Seattle while he served in the Navy. Later, she played her violin with the Salt Lake Symphony for over 25 years. Marian was known for her beautiful flower gardens. Each summer she and Jack carefully and meticulously planted flowers, creating a haven of beauty for gatherings of family and friends. She loved family traditions, Sunday dinners and get-togethers, especially those shared at Bear Lake, Lake Powell, Jackson, Wyoming and Aspen, Colorado. She was a devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints and served in many capacities, her favorite being serving in the Primary with the young children and as a hostess at the Church Office Building. She brought the spirit into many meetings with her lovely violin music and also found joy in sharing her talents creating floral arrangements each week for Sacrament and Relief Society meetings and for many special events both church and civic. Later, Marian found great happiness as she and her husband served in the California, San Diego, Mission. Marian loved people and throughout the years enjoyed association with many wonderful friends who were very dear to her. Marian radiated beauty, grace and refinement and brought joy into the lives of everyone she knew. Though she had many challenges in life, she met them with strength, dignity and a positive attitude, always focusing on the needs of others. She is survived by her devoted and loving husband Jack, and four of their five children, John E. (Jan), Anne (David Jerman), Paul B. (Kim), and Susie (Kent Compton), her brother Ray (Colleen) Smith, 20 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren with #27 on the way. She was preceded in death by her parents and son Stephen. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. at the Monument Park 17th Ward building, 2795 Crestview Drive in Salt Lake City, Family and friends may call Monday, March 1st, 6-8 p.m. at Larkin Sunset Lawn, 2350 E. 1300 South, and at the church Tuesday, 10:00-10:45 a.m. preceding the funeral service. Interment, Salt Lake City Cemetery, 200 North "N" Street.

My New Favorites

You guys! I've found some new favorites these last few months! First of all I've always wanted to go to a roller derby, so when this movie came out I had to see it. Plus I think Ellen Page is pretty talented. "Whip It" is now on my list of favorite movies! I laughed a lot and they got a great cast! If you are bored one night, rent it!I've also been reading more and last month I finished "Dear John". It was really cute and sappy (what else would you expect from the guy who wrote the "Notebook"?!), but I liked it. Now I have a dilemma: so see the movie or not to see the movie. I think I might wait till red box!
Feel free to share your favorite movies/ books if you'd like. Maybe I'll check them out and let you know what I think.

Happy Birthday Jack!

Happy birthday Jack! Thanks for being the greatest older brother! Love you!

Hawaiian Christmas

Ok, so I might be just a little bit behind on blogging. It's okay! I've got lots of pictures!
My parents decided it was time for all of us to spend some time together, what a better way to do that then take us to a small island! Being the awesome parents they are, they took all of us (minus San who is on a mission) to Kauai. It was so much fun to be with everyone! I loved being with family and especially cute little baby Hannah! She gets cutter every second! Here are few pictures form the trip.
We went of few drives through the island and found a beautiful beach and a cave!
Messing around in the cave!
We went on some amazing hikes! Our house was located in the little bay behind us.
Our family Christmas/ New Years card!
Hannah is so cute!
Hiked up to a waterfall and a rope swing! I jumped off both! It was awesome!
We also went to few farmers market and my dad found me a Tarzan and his brother. I had to leave them on the island!
We even had a little fire on the beach at night! It was so good to be with my family! They are incredible!
Stephen showed all of us how surfing is done!
I went on a scooter ride around the island with my dad and brothers!
We went swimming on this beach! It was so beautiful! My dad took this picture! He is an awesome photographer!
Cute Sarah and I.
Trying a new fruit at farmers market. I was a little scared, but it turned out to be pretty yummy!
They had avocados bigger than my foot! Oh they were so tasty!
Sarah and I tried a coconut! It was good.
Chocolate covered bananas! So good! I've never eaten so much delicious and fresh food!
Stephen didn't want to leave, so he hid from us in the bushes.
Thank you family for an awesome trip! It was so good to be with all of you!