It's Dad's 50th Birthday!!!

My Dad is:

sacrificing

Hard working

strong spirited

faithful

a Melchizedek Priesthood holder

a return missionary

a teacher

a lover of hymns

a lover of books

a lover of traveling

a lover of neckties

a good story-teller

a Trojan through and through (fight on!!)

funny

sometimes embarrassing (but we love it)

a wonderful father that I love very very much.

My Dad helped me to learn how to read. He has always worked very hard to make life good for us. He has saved money to take us to really cool places. He has sacrificed a lot in the past few months to keep our family happy. I love him very very much.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Daddy!

What I am most grateful for.....

Today was a really good Thanksgiving. It was a little weird not being with my family, and it is a little weird sitting here in my apartment on Thanksgiving night, but it is refreshing to mix things up a bit and to know that I can be happy and have fun in new places with new people.

Writing a post every day about the things I am grateful for has led me to a lot of reflection on what I am MOST grateful for in my life. The thing I am most grateful for in my life (besides my family, that is a given) is my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was fortunate enough to be born into the church and to be active in it my whole life. However, it was not until about a year ago (if I am being really honest) that I started to gain my own testimony. My testimony of the gospel-and more specifically of my Savior Jesus Christ- is my most prized possession. Luckily it is one that can never be taken away or stolen from me. It is one that I can keep forever, and it will even get stronger as I live through the rest of my life. I am so grateful for EVERYTHING that has happened in my life to get me to the point I am at now. I still have a looooong way to go, but I have a strong and deep faith in the Atonement and in modern -day prophets. I have the Book of Mormon and temples. I have my family for all eternity. I have a strong relationship with my Heavenly Father through prayer. What else could I need? I am so grateful for these things which have been (and will be) the strong foundation I need to conquer whatever challenges life brings me. For this I am very, very extremely and eternally grateful.

lots and lots

to be thankful for:

inspiration

my job

got my paper done :)

seeing my cousins tomorrow!

LDSP job posting

Noelle in PMPC for helping me make two people's day :)

dancing turkeys

Mt. Timp (it was pink tonight) kind of like this:

It looks like Thanksgiving outside

Today I walked outside and it really looked like Thanksgiving! I don't know how, it just did K? Ok.

Tonight I attended my FIRST BYU basketball game EVER! It was way fun! I am really glad I went!

I am grateful that I live on this earth,at this specific time, in the United States, in Provo, UT, at Chatsworth, in Center 7, as Tati's roommate. I am so blessed.

I am grateful to be the daughter of Rex and Janet Gutierrez. I am grateful to be the grand daughter of Welcome and Eleanor Adamson and Carlos and Lucy Gutierrez. I am grateful to be the sister to Anna Beth and Rex Elias Gutierrez. I am grateful to be a cousin to my 56 cousins on my Gutierrez side and my 9 cousins on my Adamson side.

Basically, I am just grateful for my life. Just the way it is. For everything that has happened in my life, the good and the bad. For everything currently happening in my life, both the fun and the not so fun.

Dear life,

I love you.

Love, Alison

Vulnerable

Today I am grateful for many things:

Joseph Smith

Guru's with the BF (best friend, not boyfriend!)

Kathryn I.

Apple Cider

Thanksgiving break

Katie S.

That I was not one of the ones presenting today in ethics

that I changed my emphasis

Eva- for being understanding and flexible

Mom

Oops...

Oops, I totally forgot to post yesterday! So this post is for what I was thankful for yesterday and tonight I will (hopefully) remember to post about what I am thankful for today. But first, what is the difference between THANKFUL and GRATEFUL? I am going to investigate because I have always wondered....

Ok so they are synonyms and are basically the same thing.

In Websters Dictionary (online edition) it defines thankful as:
1. Conscious of benefit received
2.expressive of thanks (duh)
3. well pleased; glad

Grateful is defined as:
1. a) appreciative of benefit received. b)expressing gratitude (duh)
2. a) affording pleasure or contentment. b)pleasing by reason of comfort supplied or discomfort alleviated.

Hmmmm.... very interesting.... so being thankful is more of a recognition of something whereas being grateful is actually being appreciative something. I think you have to be thankful for something in order to be grateful for it. But they are basically the same so.....

I am grateful for Steve for helping me transport the turkey last night and for not getting juice all over my car.

I am grateful for days where I am alone most of the day (I really mean it, I am not being sarcastic). I think we all need those once and awhile.

I am grateful for music

I am grateful for my car

Pink

Squaw Peak was pink tonight at around 5 and I really liked it.

I am grateful that I got to talk to my sister today. We really don't talk enough.

I am grateful for seeing friends I haven't seen in awhile and catching up with them.

I am grateful for hugs.

I am grateful for children and the pure love of Christ that they exemplify.

I am grateful that it was warm(er) today

I am grateful for Michael for making me laugh this morning when I really needed it.

I am grateful for the email I just got from Andrew M.

I am grateful for Jarilyn.

I am grateful for the "Peaceful Holidays" station on Pandora

I wish...

I wish I was going home for Thanksgiving.

So it's not that I wasn't thankful for anything the last two days, I was just really busy :)

Today I am very grateful for:

amazing friends

my job

life

the gospel

laughing

this:

Homeward Bound

Today I am grateful for:

The gorgeous song "Homeward Bound" written by Marta Keen. I downloaded the Mormon Tabernacle Choir arrangement of it and I can't stop listening to it.

Mom calling me on her way home just to say hi :)

My great-grandmother Rachel Bleak. I have a beautiful picture (that I may or may not have stolen from my grandparent's house) that I love to look at for inspiration.

The Book of Mormon and Elder Holland's conference talk "Safety for the Soul"

A friend (who shall remain nameless so his head won't get too big ;) who carried my books home for me. Thank you!

Lovely Weekend

I feel like there is something important I should be doing, but I can't remember....so I will just blog :)

I went to the temple with my ward on Friday night. We ended up doing some family names for Aubrey which was really neat! I then went home and actually did some studying (gasp!) I usually don't do that on Friday nights......

I woke up earlyish on Saturday. I looked out the window and what did I see? SNOW! My initial reaction was some form of "ugh" but then I remembered my goal to find the beauty in everything. So I decided it was beautiful and I got really excited. The days events proceeded as follows:

- a wonderful little meeting of the ethics club ( members include: me, Raymon, Jarilyn, Lindsay,Heather,Andrew, and Brooke). We had a stimulating discussion on various topics such as subjective vs. objective reasoning, the ethics toolbox, and the Bathsheba syndrome. Oh how we LOVE ethics!

- a little BYU game-watching BBQ at Jeff's house. Great people, yummy burgers, and a leg wrestling competition in which I witnessed Ray dominate everyone(except Carolyn of course :)

- more homework ( I know, I was on a roll!) mixed with naps, mostly because I was doing homework on my bed.

-hot cocoa party with more wonderful people!

- ice cream, cards, and dancing to music from Glee with Lindsay, Boyd, and Brian. Great fun :)

Today was a bitter sweet day. Church was great as always. We bid farewell to our bishopric and welcomed a new one. I love them already. Just by looking at them and shaking their hands, I know that they love us.

Besides surprising myself with the amount of homework I accomplished, I am surprising myself in other ways too. I can't quite put what I have been feeling lately into words yet, but it is happy and scary all at the same time. It makes my stomach get all tied up in knots but also makes me excited. Maybe one day I will be able to share it, but as for now, NO WAY.

I am thankful for :

love

snow

friends

happiness

the Mormon radio channel on lds.org

my ward <3

I want to go to there....

(all photos are taken by this amazing woman)

La dee da....

Today was a good day. I am thankful for:

RB

Niki- the department secretary who I sit at the front desk with. We have so much fun talking, especially about baking :) Today was her birthday and she brought cupcakes for everyone else! She is so sweet...

This morning when I walked out of that Tanner building, the wind was blowing and all the leaves were flying everywhere. It looked so magical and beautiful, I wish I could have captured it somehow.....

The city clerk of Grand Terrace for actually returning my call!

<3

Brooke Reider Day!!

Today was so fun! Some of the girls in the program dressed up like the fabulous Brooke Reider! This included lots of pink, bows, and teased hair! It was way fun.

Today I am grateful for:

All the girls in my program, and especially Eva Witesman for being so awesome!

All the men and women who have sacrificed their time and their lives to protect our country and fight for what we as Americans believe in. Happy Veterans Day!

Speaking of Veterans Day, I am grateful that my Dad's event went well tonight. I think he has a good turn out which I am sure made him feel very happy. Dad happy= me happy!!

Institute- amazing. I hope the teacher knows how great his lessons are.

Hymn # 131- More Holiness Give Me. My favorite line is "More fit for the kingdom"

Warm weather- because I know the cold is coming-- like tomorrow.... :/

Now the day is over....

Today I am thankful for:

Pandora- specifically the Jon Schmidt station I have been listening to for the past 4 hours.

Being done with this grant proposal assignment

My mom not having to work tomorrow

feeling like I should check the DVDs before I sent them to Elder Packer

water

new boots :)

Berto (the guinea pig) looking really cute

the meeting with Orem city going well

Monday!!!!!

Today (even though it was Monday) I am grateful for:

Advil and airborne- helped me not feel sick anymore so I could go about my daily activities free from pain and sickyness.

Singing in the car

Eating dinner together with my whole ward at bishop's house :)

This poem:

Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
-Robert Frost

I <3 <3 Sundays

Today I am grateful for so so many things, and I don't have time to extrapolate on all of them so I will just list them all:

1. My ward. I love everyone in it so so much. They bring me so much joy!

2. My bishopric. so so sad they are getting released nest week :(

3. Visiting teaching

4. Visiting friends i haven't seen in awhile! Happy Birthday Celia!

5. leftovers. Without them, I would have gone hungry today ( not really, I am just being dramatic, but still very grateful)

6. amazing amazing wonderful beautiful friends. and brownies from said friends :)

7. sister <3

I <3 Saturdays

Today I am grateful for :

people who don't rake their yards- this gives me an endless amount of crunchy leaves step on when I am running. :)

running- I love running and I am grateful that my body is healthy and strong and able to run.

Relief Society- last night was the RS sleepover and it was way fun. I was reminded once again how blessed I am to be surrounded by such beautiful and amazing people!

Song and Sky

Today I am grateful for:

The sky: today is one of the most beautiful days I have ever seen. I know I have said this like a bazillion times, but i absolutely love Fall. Today is so warm. I just regret that I couldn't be outside in it. However, I am blessed that my desk faces a big window which faces the mountains so it could be worse right? The sky is an amazing blue color right now and just makes the orange and yellow leaves pop so much more. I am also looking at two hang-gliders who are over the mountain. Wouldn't it be so cool to feel like you were flying? I LOVE TODAY!

Lady Antebellum's "I Run To You"- I can't get enough of this song. It makes me so very very happy. It is a beautiful song with great lyrics and every time it comes on the radio I get really excited. Like today, I was driving to work and the windows were down (because it is a beautiful day) and right before I was going to turn into the UPB parking lot, the song came on! So I just kept driving so I could hear it.

Here is a link to the song on youtube :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXf4QLqnROU

Gratitude

My good friend Brittney gave me a great idea. Everyday in the month of November, she is going to talk about things she is thankful for. In reading her blog thus far, I noticed that she is very aware of the little things in life, the little things that bring joy. She usually lists more than one thing, some of them are small things and some of them a little more serious. I decided that I want to do this too. Thanks Britt!!

Today I am thankful for:

My Dad. He is working so hard to support my family. He has always been a great example to me of hard work. I am sure it isn't easy when you have to essentially change your whole career path at the age of 50 and basically start all over again. But he is doing it. He is doing it with dignity and strength.

Berto- Berto is our new guinea pig. He is super cute, even though I am still nervous to touch him. More importantly, last night when Tati brought him home, she was more excited and happy than I have seen her in awhile. This brings joy to my soul!!!

Crockpots- They make my life so much easier! Especially on busy days like this :)