Swimming Toward the Light

This past month I had the opportunity to go to Click Away, a photography conference that lasted for three days.  I loved it!  I learned so much and left the conference feeling totally inspired, not just in photography but in life.  The last class that I attended was called "Why Black and White" by Cole Thompson.  I added the class to my schedule at the last minute because I haven't shot many black and white pictures and was curious about it and wanted to learn more.  I was so glad I did.  It was one of my favorite classes.  Here are a few tidbits that I learned from teacher Cole Thompson.

We each must have a vision.  You may ask, "what is a vision?"  Cole defined it as a "Sum total of life's experiences".  We each have a unique vision.  Find your vision and share it with others.    

Don't be afraid to be yourself.  Don't copy others.  He gave the example of The Mona Lisa.  If you bought a paint by number kit to try and recreate your own Mona Lisa it would be just a shadow of the original.  The Mona Lisa has already been painted.  "They who walk in another's footsteps never find their own path"

Cole Thompson visited Auschwitz a concentration camp.  He created a very moving portfolio called The Ghosts of Auschwitz ( http://www.colethompsonphotography.com/Ghosts.htm)  He talked a little bit about survivors he has met from Auschwitz.  People who lived were all positive, optimistic and hopeful.  Are we living? 

At the end of each class he teaches he says he always does a drawing to give away three of his prints.  I was shocked when he read my name.  He handed me my picture and I sat down and looked at it trying to decide if I liked it.  The swimmer was sort of fuzzy and the picture seemed dark.  But as soon as I read the title and continued to take in all of his lecture I knew I loved it.  The print is titled "Swimming Toward the Light"  It is a picture of his daughter swimming at their hotel in Hawaii.  As I looked at the picture it again it was like a "lightbulb" moment.

Life often seems dark and fuzzy.  It isn't always easy to tread and sometimes darkness feels all enveloping.  We feel alone.  We struggle and try to make it through and sometimes all we can do is look torward the light and just keep swimming.  And then when you reach the light it feel so good and you just hold on tight and look ahead and know that when you are with HIM you are okay because it isn't dark, it is bright, it is hopeful, and life is beautiful.  

Homecoming!!

Well, as many of you know, last Saturday was my senior Homecoming! I went with Nic Petersen which was super fun. Him and I are best friends and simply had a great time together. The rest of my group went up to Park City for the day activity but he had a soccer game so I chose to go to that instead! The game was out in far away kinda by like umm Lagoonish? I forgot what the city name is! He played his game and they won 1-0!! I think I was probably the good luck charm and the reason they won! ;) Although it should've been about 4-0. They had soooo many close goals including one that went in but was about 8 inches off sides.. :( After his game I went to take a picture with him and all of his team started teasing us and then decided that they wanted to be in the picture instead. I think the boy on Nic's left is super cute too.. he's number 1 and his name is Taylor and that's all I know about him! Well and I think he goes to Lone Peak...?

After the game we drove home and grabbed Wendy's on the way which was good. Then he picked me up and we left for the dance! We went to Taylor's grandma's house for pictures with the group which took forever but it's fine...!  There were some dang cute ones!! :)

The last picture is my favorite of us and the long one of the group is my other favorite! The straight face picture is pretty funny too.. hehe! Then we went to Isaac's house for dinner and they had the cutest set up probably ever. There were lights hung all around and candles on the tables and then they served us and it was just Dang Cute as papa would say! As well as delicious!!

Then we went to the dance and partied. Hard. And it was very much a blast!! Then we went to a boy named Ben's house and watched Captain America 2 which was grand fun! Then I went home and we didn't kiss or anything just hugged because I figured you all would ask... ;) Overall it was a wonderful night and I had a blast! :)

Visiting Logan

This past weekend was so much fun. On Sunday Josh, Tyler, and I went up to Logan to visit Holly and Dusty. We had never seen their new apartment and thought it would be a nice Sunday drive up the canyon and a lovely visit with the Haw’s in Logan.

Our trip did not disappoint. The drive was absolutely breathtaking. The leaves have changed colors in the mountains and they are all bright and vibrant colors. There was a drizzle of rain on our way up and a downpour on our way home!

When we got to Logan we saw Holly and Dusty’s darling home and visited with them for a few minutes there. I had no idea that Holly makes homemade salsa that tastes just like Chili’s salsa; so we ate some of that (amazing!), and then we headed out the door to go and feed some ducks!

I have attached a photo of us all feeding the ducks. It was pretty chilly outside but it was so worth it! The ducks all flock to you as soon as they see the bread and some of them will catch the pieces in midair. We had a little photo shoot and threw bread galore into the water.

We then drove over to USU’s campus and walked around. We saw beautiful views of the temple, the building Holly works in, many of the buildings Holly and Dusty attend classes in, the “Quad” (a large grassy area with a sidewalk that separates the grass into four enormous squares), the school’s amphitheater, and we met an elderly man that has a bunch of degrees from USU and seemed intent to follow us and talk with us all.

After our tour of campus we drove Holly and Dusty home and went home ourselves.

We had so much fun visiting with them in Logan. If you haven’t gone up you really ought to go sometime! Thanks Haw’s Family!

-Sheri 

Canal Runs

The last few months I have been running on the canal roads.  You may be wondering why I feel this is post worthy (I am wondering it myself), but it just baffles me why I do not see more runners/walkers using them.  I love that I am not inhaling car fumes, but rather looking at ducks swimming, cows grazing, horses roaming, and dogs barking.  

Moving from Arkansas (the Natural State), one of the things I miss the very most is running between the 2 Rivers Bridge and the Big Dam Bridge.  I grew to really love being off the beaten path, surrounded by nature.  In Arkansas, I loved seeing cardinals, deer, pelicans, beaver (once!), the flowers, trees and water (the snakes I do not miss seeing!).  I would meet up with friends on Saturday mornings for long runs (8-13+ miles), and we would run and talk and take everything in.  

I am trying to get to a place in my running where it isn't work, where I can just run and let my mind wander.  It is so therapeutic.  Right now I am doing a variety of running workouts to get myself back in shape.  Mondays I run a moderate pace for 4-5 miles.  Tuesdays I am playing soccer (all women's team- it is a lot of fun!).  Wednesdays is an easy pace for 3-4 miles.  Thursdays I do speed work (tough workout).  Fridays are cross training (usually P90x or Insanity).  Saturdays are my long runs (right now around 8 miles).  I would love to run another 1/2 marathon, but I do not have my speed or distance where I want them yet.

If you haven't tried running, you really should.  Once you get past the "work" stage, you will see why it is so addictive.  You could tweak your running distances to the above schedule, and work toward a weekly mileage goal.  If anyone ever wants to meet up and go running with me, I am always up for a run.  Just let me know when, and I will see if I can make it happen.   

Family Theme

This year we started a new tradition with the kids for back to school.  Danny and I want them to know how important learning and gaining knowledge is so we kicked off the school year with a nice family dinner party.  They each got some school supplies and a book that they have loved this past year.  I was trying to think of something I could give them each year that is the same, but different and I knew books would be perfect.  They absolutely loved them!

My favorite part of the night was the back to school blessings and introducing our family theme.

We want the kids to have something they can focus on when struggles or hard times come.  I especially thought of when we are learning something new and they get frustrated and think they can't do it.  We have been saying it every morning before we start school and it really has helped not just them, but me.  There are things that I struggle with and am afraid of doing, but this quote reminds me of the faith I need to accomplish things that may seem impossible.  

Here are some more fun pictures from the night.

The Subway

Many people know my life is super busy and crazy right now. I am currently balancing 16 credits. That doesn't say much about my schedule though. Just a quick run down. Generally I leave in the morning at 8 a.m. and come back for a quick dinner around 5 p.m. then I am back to the library till at least 11 p.m.. You may wonder what in the world I am doing for that long. Right now I am taking Organic Chemistry, this class takes up the bulk of my time not only is the class everyday but Thursdays, I have a 3 hour chemistry lab. On top of that I have to prepare for each day by reading and doing the homework so I don't get "lost" in class. I am also taking 6 Nutrition classes and an Internship. The internship is where I go to elementary schools and help out with school lunches. On an average Monday I am in class for 7 hours.. talk about a long day of classes. I'm not complaining, I did it to my self for a reason.(Mostly so I can graduate sooner) In order for me to stay sane though I have to plan things for the weekend that will keep me entertained and give me a break from my day to day routine.
That's where you all come in. I know most of you know about my hike on October 11! I am so stoked for it I can hardly wait. Currently I only have 6 people coming. I can have 6 more people come and I would love for some of my family to attend. I know that it is far away for a hike, but this isn't your ordinary hike. It is a 9 mile hike in Zions. It is called The Subway. In order for me to be able to hike this, I had to "put in" for it 3 months in advance and I wasn't guaranteed a spot. They do this because the hike is so popular and incredible. If you are interested in hiking it let me know. I will do it on a first come first serve basis... I'm sorry that I can't get everyone there. Even if your spouse doesn't want to hike and you do I would love for you to come down! You can even have a sleep over at my apartment! Anyway I hope everyone is having a fantastic day! :) Please let me know!

Mom and Dad- lovers

Shout out to Mom and Dad- they rock! I love how in love they still are after all these years! 

(This is from a super fun hike we went on a couple months ago in Snow Canyon in St. George.)

Holiness to the Lord

I love these pictures :) just thought I would share with all of you. I am so blessed to have such an incredibly loving and supportive family!

Asian Chicken Recipe

Here is the recipe for the BBQ Asian Chicken I did on Sunday.  Enjoy!

Asian Grilled Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

Juice and zest from one lime (or 2 tablespoons lime juice)

 juice and zest from an orange (or 2 tablespoons orange juice)

1 tablespoon Honey

1 - 1.5 teaspoons Sriracha® 

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (trim fat off, smash with mallet/pan, and poke holes with fork)

1 tsp corn starch

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the soy sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, orange juice, honey, Sriracha, garlic, and corn starch in a large plastic zipper bag. Seal and knead the bag with your fingers to mix all the ingredients and dissolve the sugar. Place the chicken breasts into the marinade, squeeze out the air from the bag, zip the bag closed, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-low heat; lightly oil the grate.

3. Remove the chicken from the bag, pour the excess marinade into a small saucepan, and bring to a full boil for about 1 minute to sterilize the marinade.

4. Grill the chicken breasts until they are no longer pink in the middle and show grill marks, about 25 minutes, basting them generously with the sterilized marinade as they grill. Let rest about 5 minutes before serving.

Printed from Allrecipes.com 8/28/2014