A beautiful day for adventure! #brilliantmoments 

Not your average Utah Christmas TO DO list

There are so many fun things to do in Utah around Christmas time but these are some of my favorites!

1. Bells on Temple Square

This already came and went this year but mark your calendars for next year because it's something you don't want to miss. Temple Square has a holiday season concert the night they light up the square featuring "Bells on Temple Square." The Bells on Temple Square is a hand-bell choir of 28 musicians. They use a 7-octave set of English hand-bells, a 6½-octave set of hand-bells, and two 6-octave sets of hand chimes. These bells might be the sweetest sounds your ears have ever heard. It is seriously beautiful. The best part is that it is FREE if you are lucky enough to get tickets, they are usually gone in a day. While you are there you can browse the newly lit temple square and cross that off your regular to do list.

http://www.mormontabernaclechoir.org/about/bells?lang=eng

2. Spend an entire day serving others or doing random acts of kindness.

3. Visit a Live Nativity

The best way to embrace the true meaning of Christmas. Go back in time with the elaborate costumes, live animals, and scenery. Be filled with love and gratitude as you watch the story of the lord.

http://www.echoesofchristmas.com/

https://www.facebook.com/nativityintheglen?ref=br_tf

4. Christmas Village in Ogden

A tradition in my family. See elf's at work and elaborate displays.

http://www.ogdencity.com/en/about_ogden/special_events/christmas_village.aspx

5. Snow shoe to Donut Falls

If there is enough snow, rent some snow shoes and take the short hike to the falls. It freezes over and creates a small ice cave. Breathe in the beauty and enjoy the miraculous views. It's not very crowded this time of year so the solidarity makes it that much better and it can even be romantic.

http://www.utah.com/hike/donut-falls-trail

6. Have the ultimate snowball fight

Take some time out of your hike up to Donut Falls and indulge in a little play time.

7. Take a night hike to the hot pots

After about a mile hike enjoy soaking in the warm hot springs with the stars shining brightly above you and hopefully a light snow falling. The pots appear to be emerald due to the sulfur content and makes you feel like you're are not in Utah anymore. Don't hike too far, a nudist group usually meets at the very top pot.

http://www.everytrail.com/guide/fifth-water-hot-springs-in-diamond-fork-canyon

8. Eat a Christmas dinner in a yurt

This is a little more pricy but totally worth it. If you are a true adventurer then you can snowshoe to your dinner at solitude or take a sleigh ride at Park City Mountain Resort. After the ride or hike enjoy a several course fine dining meal!

http://www.thevikingyurt.com/

http://www.skisolitude.com/dining/yurt.php

http://www.rockymtnrec.com/sleigh-ride.php

9. Drive by the decked out holiday homes

Follow this link for a map to some amazing homes from last year.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57270769-78/lights-holdman-christmas-com.html.csp

10. Go caroling in the neighborhood, at a homeless shelter or senior center

            1. Get a group together

            2. Set up a time to go and coordinate with venues.

            3. Print off classic Christmas music lyrics so every knows the words

            4. Dress warm and festive, it makes it more fun.(Go all out,  I dare you)

            5. Sing loud for all to hear.

11. Bake your favorite holiday treats and share them with your friends or neighbors

12. Hang some mistletoe and give out kisses

If you are single and really ambitious

13. Tour the Governor's Mansion

The Utah Governor's Mansion is decked out for the holidays, and free tours are available to the public throughout December.

http://www.utah.gov/governor/mansion/mansion_tours.html

14. Visit some elk

Take a sleigh ride out to view Elk in their natural habitat as well as other activities such as fish printing, wildlife Christmas ornament crafting, and more. I haven't done this yet but can't wait!

http://wildlife.utah.gov/hardwareranch/activities.php

15. Ride the River in Provo

It's a lighted Christmas riverboat ride on the Provo River full of holiday scenes, music and a visit from Santa

http://clasropes.com/halloween-cruise.php

XOXO

M

"Fall"ing

This fall has been stunning here in Utah. It seems like us Utahns actually got to enjoy the leaves falling rather than it going from sunshine to snow in a week or so. Royal and I made the most of the beautiful season and my favorite holiday, Halloween!

I decorated the house!

Buzz and Woody made their debut after a lot of work. Thankfully Royal has the hidden talent of being crafty. I didn’t know a man could be that good with a glue gun and I have added it to his never ending list of “I think I am in love with you.” We drew the lines on his shirt, painted and added the buttons. Created his vest from was a thrift shop find and some felt and decorative trim. Then we got resourceful with felt and puff paint for my shirt and gloves. From the reaction we got from others we are thinking we looked pretty darn good.

A new friend of mine hosted an outrageous Halloween party at a bar. We rocked our costumes and had a great time. Royal invited one of his friends from growing up and he made for an interesting night. The best part was that Lauren came along and we finally got to let loose together. We are so wrapped up in school, the business, and other obligations that it’s hard to have quality friend time. Thanks to her I was laughing all night and got some dancing in. After the party we got our fill of greasy 24 hour restaurant food. Royal’s friend showed up late to the restaurant with a new found friend whom turned out to be a bum that he picked up on the way there.

The Red Iguana provided me with some delicious spiced cider that warmed my soul on a very chilly fall night. Royal and I also discovered that The Red Iguana 2 (it’s just around the corner from the original one) is less busy, cleaner, and it’s the exact same food as the original. Check it out!

In honor of my family I sang ‘Halloween Cat’ as much as possible to the point that I was annoying the hell out of Royal, but he is a good sport.

Going to a haunted house turned out to be quite lame but the company was wonderful! We went bowling after and then stuffed our faces with some more greasy 24 hour restaurant food. We all look a little zombieish below.

One night we went out to Sundance and went on the spooky full moon ski lift. It was a lot of fun (weird to say but a little romantic too) and I hope a new tradition!

We also had an amazing dinner with our families! Trick or treating is getting scarce in our neighborhoods so everyone headed to my house on all Hallows Eve. We had monster brains, eyeballs, candy corn fruit cups, bones, and other spooky treats.

We also spent a wonderful weekend in Park City. We just wined, dined, and relaxed. One night we started with appetizers at the Blind Dog. Which is wonderful, we highly recommend it and can’t wait to go back. Their Kobe Sliders are a must and the house pickles make anything great. For the main course we made our way over to the much acclaimed restaurant Grappa. Our visit made the night interesting. After finding a live ant in our bread and then watching it die in the dipping sauce our server still did not mention it to the manager. Royal had to put up quite the fight for us. The manager who seemed to be high on coke, ended up giving us our meal for free. We will not be heading back, not because the service was completely unprofessional but because our meals were completely bland. For $30-$40 a plate our mouths should be bursting with flavor. I always take my left overs home but the remains of that meal went untouched, which is very rare. It was getting late so our desert choices were limited and we wanted to catch the end of the University of Utah football game. At Butchers Chop House, I enjoyed some Crème Brule while royal had a chocolate Sunday. We followed up our dine o’round experience by swimming in the heated pools with the beautiful fall mountains surrounding us!

As the holiday season is now here there is much to be grateful for and much to look forward to!

XOXO

Meg

Frightfully Delightful Season

Halloween happens to be my most favorite holiday, mostly because I love costumes and reasons to make them. Also because the fall season is a reason to celebrate! The leaves changing and the crisp air calls for warm sweaters and tall boots. If you want to make this season spooktacular here is a list to get you started!

Decorate the house

Make amazing costumes

Watch:

---Hocus Pocus

---Halloween Town (a really old Disney Channel Original Movie)

Carve Pumpkins

Drink cider

Go on a hike in the leaves and take pictures

Sing ‘Halloween Cat’ as much as possible

Go to:

---Haunted house

---Halloween Party

---Corn maze

---Witchfest at Gardener Village

Host a spooky dinner for family or friends

---(I have been pinning a ton of great pins on Pinterest for this and I even found this awesome Halloween Pandora Station)

Best Witches, Meg

Mr. Royal

Well I know my aunt would tell me she told me so and probably many of you reading this would as well but not too long after my last post I just so happened to meet a really amazing guy and we have been dating exclusively (yes I said it, exclusively) since the beginning of March. He is going to kill me for writing this since his whole family is under the impression we met at the grocery store but he and I both gave online dating a shot and what do you know a happy little relationship came out of it.

He's adventurous, kind, a redhead, hard working, and most importantly he is TALL!!! ; ) There is so much I could say about him here but I will leave my mushiness for his ears. All you really need to know it that he is a beautiful soul.

I think it is safe to say that we are both smitten with one another and perhaps that is why it has taken me so long to write because I wanted to make sure this was actually going somewhere before I told the whole wide world how insanely happy I am. His name is Ben but I call him Royal and that is what he will go by in future posts. I can not remember having feelings like this since I was 17 and I am going to relish in them for as long as I can. Grinning from ear to ear is usually how you will find me these days.

Spread Beauty - Spread Good - Spread Truth

I had a lovely moment today.

For spring break I flew to St. Louis to spend the week or more like twelve days with Little Brother. We had a ton of fun. We road tripped to Memphis and Nashville and fit in as much fun as possible before we were separated again. All the tourist actives and my unruly appetite for amazing food was a good time but the real joy was found in the moments between us siblings in which it felt as if we weren't on vacation at all and the rarity of the circumstance was forgotten. The moments when it felt like we were back home living our regular lives. Driving around singing in the car together seemed like something that happened everyday and that we wouldn't be leavening each others side shortly. These ordinary moments make me miss him most. Thinking back it makes the distance between us seem farther than it really is. I tend to take those everyday moments for granted.

While preparing for takeoff out of St. Louis the city was surrounded by a foggy haze and I was prepared for a dull flight with nothing to look at. I was disappointed thinking I would be seeing nothing but white out my window the whole time. To my surprise while climbing altitude we broke through the fog and found a place in the sky between two layers of clouds resting in a crisp blue layer of light at the center. It was like we were sandwiched between the layers of clouds. When people think of heaven I image they think of this exact image. Still climbing we rose again and broke through the top layer of the sandwich to which the entire plane was greeted by a gorgeous sunrise in the distance. I fly quite a bit and nothing could have prepared me for how breath taking the wonders before my eyes were. The clouds below looked like ginormous waves billowing in a fierce and stormy sea, almost cartoonish and surreal. Strong but fluffy they rose and fell for as far as I could see. The sun giving off all its powerful energy and its bold oranges and reds shone fearlessly against the wavy clouds and deeply into my soul.

In this moment I felt as small as an ant but also extremely significant. Intensely feeling both these feelings at the same time was overwhelming and it brought me to tears to think how vast the world is but how easy it is to effect it. Whether we believe it or not, what we do lives on and on through others. The energy burned inside me and filled me with gratitude, hope and love.

Spread beauty - Spread good - Spread truth

I feel blessed beyond measure for the wonderful life I live and all the love I get to experience. Thank you if you are one of those people that has given me so much to be grateful for and the belief that I can leave this world a little bit better then when I got here.

XXXX Meg

Pumping Iron – Slaving over the stacks – Working like a boss – Out on the town - Repeat

Life has taken me to new places in the last few months. Much has changed since I last wrote and for that I am thankful.

I quit my job. Went back to a full time class schedule at the U! Sent the not so little brother off to new lands. Broke up with my boyfriend. Made some new friends. Kissed some new faces and faced old fears.

It's been a great couple of months but what's even more exciting is to look ahead!

Lately my life consists of four main things. Working out, studying, starting a business, and dating like crazy.

Pumping Iron - every single day. Thank heavens I have my trusty side kick Jordyn to hit the gym with. Without her this whole getting in-shape thing would have gone downhill a long time ago but together we prevail and we are now in our third week of the Gold’s Gym Challenge. Yes we actually joined a challenge and have an opportunity to win $500 dollars. On the down side, Gold's has nearly naked photos of me in not so good of shape that they legally own until the end of time and that they can use to do as they please. Not sure $500 is worth that and not sure I even want to win now for fear that these photos might end up in advertisements all over Utah. It's really not the best motivator

School - I love it when I am not in it and then the second class starts I want to die. Last semester was great but this semester is a different story. The classes are brutal and the material is dry. My most interesting class being a statistics class that involves labor economics..... I think that sentence says it all and I didn't even mention the professor is from South Korea so you have no idea what he is saying. Although I think I am his favorite student. He always chooses me when wanting the answers to the most difficult questions. Nothing you can bull shit (my specialty). Even when other people are raising their hands he just a keeps on calling. I am beginning to wonder if he knows any other students names.

Starting a business - my most interesting new venture. I am proud to say that Fearless Self-Defense was established in the state of Utah in December of 2012. We are dedicated to educating and promoting self-defense products and their uses so that if one is in a threatening situation where physical defense is necessary one is able to protect oneself. Lauren (my business partner) and I are very passionate and excited for the great opportunity. You can check us out on Facebook here.

Dating - gives you some interesting stories plus you get to eat at fabulous restaurants twice a week without spending a dime it’s quite the deal. I have been having a ton of fun meeting some really amazing people. There hasn't been too many weirdos thankfully. But what most people ask when I tell them I am dating around is if there is anyone in particular? And the answer is NO. The sad thing is that when I reply with a simple no I get looks comparable to a look you would give an adorable puppy that has just lost a leg or even two. It's not sad, it's beautiful! I know I know all of my friends my age are either married with kids or in very serious relationships heck some have four kids and two divorces under their belt. I am an old hag in Utah standards and I realize this but in the words of Wiz Khalifa "I am young and wild and free" and having fun people so 'no one in particular' is in my future. Even if a Mr. 6'3, ambitious, thoughtful, beard growing, go getting adventure man walked through my door I would still not be ready. I'd just smile and make sure I ordered desert.

M