The Weekend Experiment

Ok, so I've taken a break from blogging...a very loooong break actually. 2009 was kind of a difficult year on my health and dealing with a chronic illness kind of zapped some energy and a little bit of the zest for life out of me. Thankfully I am starting to feel a little better even though I seem to be catching a good dose of cabin fever.

Last fall I was talking to my roommate about all the fun things I've been wanting to do but always put off because I don't think I can take time off work or I haven't saved the money or I feel too tired, or, or, or...I am not always the best planner so it is easy to find an excuse to put things off. I'd often decide to do something and write it down on the calendar but when it came time to following through I usually decided to put it off again. To be honest I've allowed myself to get in a bit of a rut. Being in a rut is hard but getting out of it is sometimes harder. So I've devised a plan to try and extricate myself from becoming boring. Hence "The Weekend Experiment." This year I am going to plan to do something outside of my house or try something new every weekend. I think it will be a good creative challenge to help me get over some of the complacency I've been feeling and become reinvested in the world around me. 2010 is a new year, heralding the start of a new decade and I just so happen to have just turned 30. What better time to try something new? I'm a little excited to see where this takes me and hope you enjoy it too!

Tired?

Ever felt this tired before? I found this picture online and it totally made me laugh. Too bad I really do feel that way sometimes. This past week I've decided to revisit my New Years Resolutions. I once had a friend who said they like to make them in the spring anyway because that is when the world is starting to become alive again. It just seems natural to start over and begin anew when the ground outside is beginning to thaw out and new growth starts to shoot up among the diminishing patches of snow.
For weeks I have been talking to my roommate about how I need to get back into my old running routine. Well things finally came to a head when I stepped on the scale last week. I turned to her and said this is the last week that I will weigh xxx lbs! This is the last week I will continue wearing my least favorite pair of jeans because nothing else fits! This is the last week I will let excuses keep me from getting the exercise that I need. So I began running again on Thursday. Sometimes it is better for me to start mid week when I am feeling motivated rather than waiting for my nonexistent 'Monday morning self discipline' to jump up and pull me out of bed at 6:00 a.m. Thankfully I moved to a new area that is adjacent to four miles of back road farm land. Running on a crisp cool back country road facing a field that seems to blot out the distant houses and meet up with old Mt Timp itself is very rewarding. However, I wasn't prepared for the pain that awaited me. I have attempted to be a runner for a long time and I am familiar with the sting of cold air on complacent lungs but up until last year I wasn't so well acquainted with the 'now-you're-getting-older-joint-pain' that accompanied it. I suppose that I have been ignoring all the signs that point to the fact that my body is now nearing that closely looming number '30' and I can't just jump up and run three miles like I used to. How do sixty year old women run marathons? How does that white haired man power up Timp every summer running the whole way, no less?
Once, when I was on a group date hiking the Y on a clear dark night we delivered ourselves heaving onto that big concrete slab. The other girl sucked in a few heavy sighs and spit out the words "Getting in shape is a brat!" If only I could remind myself that when it seems like an OK idea to slack off a little when I finally have worked back up to my optimal fitness level. That quote along with a few other friendly reminders are now are taped at eye level next to my bed. My freshman English teacher worded it a little differently when she said "things get harder before they get easier." For some reason that quote has really stuck with me. So as I pounded 4 miles of pavement this morning at the protest of every joint, muscle, and sinew from my waist down I kept repeating that phrase like a mantra: "Things get harder before they get easier, things get harder before they get easier...but the good news is that someday they do get easier..." and I'm 8 miles closer to that day than I was last week.

Life's little detours

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from a recent trip up Provo Canyon. A couple of weeks ago me and my room mate, Eileen, spent a sunny afternoon strolling through the woods. Snowshoeing has always provided us with an opportunity to sort life out and gain a new perspective on things. Sometimes it is good for me to get out in the snow and see how beautiful it can be so i will stop thinking about how cold and irritating it is. Well this trip was successful. I again felt rejuvenated and happy for a few hours while playing in the snow. Of course, that didn't transfer over to the next morning when I had to scrape my windows...

Hutchison Girls Make a Comeback

Growing up I was the only girl among 6 boys. My Dad only has one sister and she has only one daughter. Boys, it would seem, tend to run in the Hutchison genes...if that is at all possible. A few years ago my brothers started getting married, settling down, and having kids. At first it seemed that we were destined to keep adding boys and more boys to the family but the girls have finally caught up. I now have four nieces and four nephews. Mark's wife evened out the balance when she delivered Elenoa on December 4th at 2:12 am. She is a little chunk at 8 lbs 6 oz and 19inches long. I think her facial features look a lot like her mom but her expressions look more like her dad, especially when she wrinkles up her forehead or her nose...she looks just like Mark when she does that. It is so cute!

Quilting Fun?

Recently I finished a baby quilt for my brother Mark and his wife Lani who are expecting a baby any time between now and the end of the month. It turned into a more elaborate project than I intended but now that it's done I'm happy with how it turned out. I learned how to machine quilt from an online tutorial. Since I don't especially care for hand quilting I thought this would be a fairly easy alternative and allow me greater freedom in the finished design of the quilt. 10 hours and five needles later I decided that it wasn't necessarily easier, though I'd hate to think how long it would have taken me to finish all of that by hand.

Favorite Quotes

Recently I've been collecting a smattering of my favorite quotes 'cause lets face it...we could all use an encouraging word now and again. Below are some of mine...Feel free to post some of yours. I would love to read them!

No ray of sunlight is ever lost, but the green which it awakes into existence needs time to sprout.
And it is not always granted unto the sower to see the harvest. All work that is worth anything is done in faith.
-Albert Schweitzer


Black is beauty in its deepest form,
The darkest cloud in a thunderstorm.
Think of what starlight
And lamplight would lack
Diamonds and fireflies
If they couldn't lean against Black...
-Mary O'Neill

Miracles do not always need to happen all at once

What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well...
-Antoine de Saint Exupery

When we love, we always strive to become better than we are.
-Paulo Coelho

Time is purple
Just before night
When most people
Turn on the light--
But if you don't it's
A beautiful sight.
-Mary O'Neill

Let us have integrity and not write checks with our tongues which our conduct cannot cash.
-Elder Neal A Maxwell

I heard John Taylor preach in the Tabernacle one of the most heavenly discourses ever spoken, upon the principle of Jesus Christ being in man a well of living water. If people will live to the light they have, and to every manifestation from God, they will arrive at such a state of perfection that God will dwell in them a well of everlasting life—a fountain of living water that will dispense life wherever they go. Whatever they do, every act, thought, and word will be full of life, and they will grow into eternal lives in the kingdoms of our God. It is your privilege to so live that you are constantly filled with the light of revelation, that Jesus Christ may be within you as a fountain of living water continually springing forth and yielding life eternal
-Brigham Young

Every beautiful moment in my life has also been imperfect and everything that has been painful has brought me to a better understanding of what beauty and truth truly are

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
-Nelson Mandela

Love, patience, and meekness can be just as contagious as rudeness and crudeness.
-Elder Maxwell

Under Construction

So I finally figured out how to customize the background on my blog but I'm still playing around with the text. Sorry it is so small and hard to read right now...Improvements coming soon...Hopefully...

Morning walk and Musings

Last Saturday morning my boyfriend, Mark, wanted to go target shooting up hobble creek canyon with my dad. I wasn't planning on going with them since I only have about a one hour attention span for such activities; however, when I went outside for a morning walk and saw just how beautiful the mountains were I couldn't help but tag along. It was a perfect day. The temperature was just right, and the slant of the Mid-October sun was casting momentary pockets of delight along the river bank I was exploring. Sometimes it is good for the soul to have quiet, unhurried, moments to enjoy God's creations. It doesn't matter what kind of mood I'm in--happy, contemplative, heart broken, unsure, confident, hopeful, worried--doesn't matter, I always find a sense of inner peace and wholeness when I'm exploring the natural world around me.
The following day while at church a girl in my ward announced that she had experienced sudden and severe hearing loss due to a virus she contracted at a recent relief society sleepover. How quickly life can throw unwelcome surprises our way. This morning I was reading a post she made about her new challenges. She quoted Elder Dennis E Simmons who said:

“When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refused to bow down and worship a golden image set up by the king, a furious Nebuchadnezzar told them that if they would not worship as commanded, they would immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.
‘And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?’
“The three young men quickly and confidently responded, "If it be so [if you cast us into the furnace], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand." That sounds like my eighth-grade kind of faith. But then they demonstrated that they fully understood what faith is. They continued, "But if not, . . . we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." That is a statement of true faith. They knew that they could trust God—even if things didn't turn out the way they hoped. They knew that faith is more than mental assent, more than an acknowledgment that God lives. Faith is total trust in Him.
Faith is believing that although we do not understand all things, He does. Faith is knowing that although our power is limited, His is not. Faith in Jesus Christ consists of complete reliance on Him.
“So there we have it—it's a test. The world is a testing place for mortal men and women. When we understand that it's all a test, administered by our Heavenly Father, who wants us to trust in Him and to allow Him to help us, we can then see everything more clearly.
“Men accomplish marvelous things by trusting in the Lord and keeping His commandments—by exercising faith even when they don't know how the Lord is shaping them.
“Our God will deliver us from ridicule and persecution, but if not. . . . Our God will deliver us from sickness and disease, but if not . . . . He will deliver us from loneliness, depression, or fear, but if not. . . . Our God will deliver us from threats, accusations, and insecurity, but if not. . . . He will deliver us from death or impairment of loved ones, but if not, . . . we will trust in the Lord."
http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,49-1-439-25,00.html

What a powerful way to view our challenges. I admire her faith. I remember the first time I heard this talk and how the words affected me deeply. As I re-read it this morning I thought of that quiet moment in my living room again. Since then I have experienced a few of those "but if not..." moments in my own life, as we all do. Usually it has been my response to become bitter, or angry, or frustrated when those test of faith have come. However, after thinking of that lovely morning walk the other day I think I need to remember the abundance of good I enjoy in my life every day.
I keep telling myself that someday I am going to convince that boy that is perfect for me in every way to marry me...but if not...the sunrise will still be crisp and beautiful each morning. Someday I will overcome my lack of self confidence...but if not...there will still be brilliant fall leaves, desert roses, and red sandstone cliffs that won't withhold their beautiful colors. Someday I hope to have a family with children of my own but if not I have brothers, and sister-in-laws, and nieces, and nephews, and friends, that share their kindness, and love, and laughter. Someday (even though I am an English major. hah) I might get a good job and never worry about money...but if not...I feel rich when remembering the relationships I have in my life and the beautiful moments that take my breath away.

Graduation

So the big day finally arrived and I have now graduated! Who would guess that in just 10 short years you could get a bachelor's degree. Both me and my oldest brother graduated however he didn't want to walk and he wasn't too excited about taking pictures, as you can see. My sister-in-law, Lani, wove a chain of ribbons into a beautiful lei for me to wear but I didn't have it when we took this picture. Anyhow...now that I am graduated I want to learn how to make my blog as fancy and cool as everyone else so if anyone wants to tutor me in the ways of blog design, please, feel free!

Zion Narrows & Angel's Landing

So last weekend me, my brother, and my (recently reinstated) boyfriend and his family hiked the narrows in Zion Canyon together. It was probably the most painful hike I have ever attempted. Though I expected to be sore (it's a 16 mile hike) I greatly underestimated the toll it would have on my joints; especially my knees and ankles. By the time we reached the bottom of the canyon I could barely walk back to our campsite. The next morning as I hobbled to the bathroom one lady said "You look sore, did you hike the narrows?" I replied "Yes" and then she asked "Was it worth it?" Though my body wanted to say otherwise I would have to say absolutely. It was so beautiful and I really enjoyed the serenity and beauty of the canyon.
The following day we hiked up to the top of Angel's Landing (I know I'm crazy). When we reached the top we were met by a beaming bride and her brand new husband. It was super hot and I don't know how they were able to bear wearing a tux and wedding dress in the blazing sun at 3:00 pm but I snuck a few pictures of them anyway.

This is us at the top of Angel's landing.
Me and my brother in the narrows. If I knew how much further it was I probably would not be smiling. Ha Ha.

Pine Creek Canyon--2nd Time

I've been chained to my computer the last two weeks trying to finish up my last paper at BYU so when my friend Pat called to see if I wanted to go down to Zions on Thursday night I didn't feel too bad saying "yes" even though I had another draft due on Monday. Friday afternoon I packed my bags in a matter of 15 minutes and we were on our way.

That night none us of slept too well. It was very hot. And our campsite was infested with ants; lots of them. I was laying on top of my bag trying to fall asleep but all the little ant paths being forged across my legs and arms, while one daring little ant went exploring down my shirt was keeping me awake. Finally I submitted to the sweltering inferno of my bag. Heat after all was better than creepy crawlies. I had just thrust half of my body out of my bag as a compromise when it started to rain. Surprisingly the rain felt refreshing. It cooled the air and chased the ants back into their little sandy homes. However, it is still very difficult to fall asleep in the rain. It rained twice that night and finally after the second time I was able to get some rest. When I awoke at 7:00 a.m. to the stirrings of other campers everyone laughed at my hair. It was sticking out in at least five different directions. Rain + naturally curly hair + steam rolling ants all night long = naturally bad hair day.

Our original goal was to do Mystery Canyon but all of the permits had been taken so we decided to go through Pine Creek instead. This was a blessing in disguise. Just after Pat descended the first rappel and the rest of us were about to follow, two of the girls that had come with us informed me that they had never been rappelling before. That made me feel a little bit nervous, especially cause I knew what was to come. I gave them a quick crash course guide to rappelling and thankfully we made it down without any problems and all had a really fun time. During our descent we came across a couple of spotted owls and one brightly colored yellow butterfly. The scenery was beautiful and even with all the stress of getting things together at the last minute and enduring a night with the ants, and the rain, and the heat, this trip left me feeling totally refreshed and rejuvenated.

City of Rocks, Idaho

Last weekend I revisted the first place I ever went Rock Climbing. I can still remember after that first very nerve wracking scramble up "Practice Rock" my good friend Tammy turned to me and said "Maybe you've found your new sport." It was another 6 years before I really started climbing outdoors but it has been something I've loved ever since.

My and my good friend Patrick took turns leading a route called Jackson's Thumb. This particular route is a 4 pitch climb. A pitch equals the distance between the anchors and your belay, which means we climbed up to the chains, anchored in, and belayed our partner up 4 times. It was pretty high! This was my first multi pitch route so it was kind of thrilling. This is a picture of us up at the top.

Maple Canyon

This summer I've been exploring some new places with new friends. Last weekend we went rock climbing in Maple Canyon. I've always heard that the climbing is fabulous there but I had no idea how crazy the rock would look. I've never gone climbing on anything quite like it. After navigating through a herd of sheep in an old VW rabbit that almost didn't make it we found this beautiful little canyon chock full of outdoors enthusiasts tucked away in the mountains near Fountain Green.

Little Photographers

Last Sunday my nieces and nephews wanted to play photographer with my digital camera. I think it gives them a sense of power. Alyssa actually took a few good shots. The hard part was distracting her with something else long enough to get my camera back and hide it.

Life After College

With a little break between winter semester and my last class at BYU I'm starting to get a little taste for life after college. I get up, go to work, come home and I no longer feel guilty for engaging in creative projects or socializing with friends and family rather than doing homework. It's great! However, I do forsee myself getting bored if I don't actively continue to engage my mind in new pursuits. This month I've been returning to one of my favorite hobbies, quilt making.

Over the last 8 years I've been collecting 1930's reproduction prints because I love them so much. I've been looking for the perfect pattern to set off the prints and I think I might have found it at last. It looks hard though and I'm not exactly sure how to piece it together. I think it is a very old pattern as I've only found it catalogued in one quilting book and they got the pattern from a newspaper article citing old family quilt patterns.

A couple of days ago, I was going through my bucket of fabrics and found some nine patch squares for a quilt I'd never finished. So last night rather than going out on a date I pieced the top of a quilt together after work. It was very satisfying to see the end result. I think I will call it "Winter Sunrise."