(picture above: on the Pynesses in Spain.)

This one for the new year! Hope it's a wonderful year ahead for all!... And for me too.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
Mark Twain

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Be careful when you drive through my neighborhood... we have deer here.

The Good List

2009: Things I'm Proud Of...

1. Paying off school loan.

2. Job promotion and raise. Yay!

3. Embrace the independence woman that I am.

4. Discovering how much I love and enjoy life.

5. Discovering how much I unexpectedly love and enjoy being single, and meeting different people.

6. Having patience with myself as I learn to snowboard better.

7. Having a gym trainer that had kicked my butt into shape.

8. That I've figured out how to be both serious at work and have fun at work.

9. Taking a trip to Spain because I want to.

10. Hiked some of the most beautiful and difficult trails in Utah.

11. Save money on car insurance by switching to another company.

12. Making this year a great one.

You should make a list too... what you're proud of this year.

This made me smile, mainly because Marge refer to them as 'who who' and 'ha ha'.

“Excuse me Reverend, as long as two people love each other, I don’t think God cares whether they have the same who who or ha ha.”

- Marge Simpson

Life is good on the freeway.

Dear Acura RSX,

As we drove past all the cars, the SUVs, and trunks on the freeway this morning, I realized after all these years, I still get a rush from testing your horse power.

During all our long drives and short ones, you've taken good care of me. We had some awkward moments when I've had to talk us out of speeding tickets. We had some scary moments when my brother had to push you out of the snowy drive way, and that one horribly snowy morning when the nice towing trunk pulled us out of the freeway medium.

But driving this morning, I couldn't help but think how much I enjoy having a car like you.

Sincerely,

Me

Green and Driving

I'll recycle.

I'll donate my old clothes to D.I.

I'll buy energy saving light bulbs.

But I won't give up my car and take public transportation. I like how people are making less pollution because they take the bus to work and stuff - it's just not for me. Driving my car makes me happy. Owning a car that I paid for myself increase my utility.

I love my Acura. It's a great car. It's my baby.

My car lets me go fast. It satisfy my need for speed. It provide my need for independence and freedom - to go when and where I want.

(Please no hate mail.)

(via overflowing)

Something lighthearted for those of you that can't get to sleep tonight.

I should go to bed soon. I need to turn my brain off and put aside my notes, my MacBook, and my scribbled directions to my grandma's house. Tomorrow will be a long drive. Too excited to sleep. Going to Cali tomorrow.

Happy Dream

(via





papertissue)






(via notebookdoodles)

Pink. Laughing. Kissing. Happy.

A random thought: Happiness is the freedom to live freely, not confined in a box.

We've all had that moment of looking for answers. Just recently, I've had that "what is the purpose of life?" conversation with random people. It came up a time or two on my car pool to work with my brother. He told me that he loves life and he wants to make it GREAT because there may not be an after life. This could be the one life he has and so he wants to live it to the fullest. Quoting my brother, "You can make your world a hell to live in or wake up every morning realizing that this is as close to the idea of heaven as anyone can promise you. See, touch, and taste as much as you can of this world. LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST!"



This is a really cool picture of me and some new friends in Southeastern Utah. We met at the trail head, all of us were looking at the trail map and then little talks led to us becoming hiking buddies.

One of those guys is Andrew. I found him to admirable - simply because his motto is, "The purpose of life is to live it." His adventurous spirit jive with mine. Most people get caught up in the mundane things of life, and they keep putting off the things they enjoy and they keep putting off the life they want to live. Well Andrew moved here from California because he love skiing, he loved being close to the mountains and decided to stay for the hiking too. He's originally from Pennsylvania, makes a good living, could work from anywhere and do the things he enjoy on his own time. (Support my theory that happiness is the freedom to live freely, not confined in a box.)

Inuit can too...

Be this cute.
Kidding. =)

The top of the world!

Earlier this year, I decided I was going to have fun exploring Utah. And fortunately, I found a great bunch of people, met through hiking groups in the valley, that had the same goal. I've never been so excited about the outdoors as I am right now!

Today, I hiked a difficult trail that took me to the top of the world! (not really, but it felt like it) I like the last part when we had to scramble to the summit. We got to enjoy a nice view of the valley.

It had rained on our way back when we were close to the bottom. I had to be careful not to slide and hurt myself.

Overall, it was the perfect morning to go hiking, the cool air and the fall colors, with the spectacular views all around.

Mt. Olympus, adding you to my favorite hiking list.

I love it!

My trainer kicked my butt tonight, and what do I do after the strenuous workout...



Man I feel like a cheater. But it was just too rich to resist.

I love it with french bread, I love it with sandwich bread, and I love it with croissant.

Hooked on Slot Canyons

I'm hooked! Went on my first slot canyon hike, and wanting more.



This hike was a good introduction to slot canyons.
I'm excited to find more technical ones to play in.

Life Keeps on Scooping

My love affair with ice cream...

In China...
Vanessa, "If you want to know where to find ice cream, just follow Holly." I was always on the hunt to find some Magnum ice cream bars.

In Czech Republic...
I was always sharing a little bit of my ice cream with Matt. That's what you call a great friend... if they share ice cream with you.

In Spain...
Melissa, "You don't have to tell me about your sweet tooth, I figured that out when I met you the first morning and saw you having gelato before breakfast." Before breakfast? It was part of my breakfast.

Life is a box of post secrets

Here are my favorite ones from this week's Post Secret...





A co-worker told me that someone posted this about me. But he spelled my name wrong.

The Waterfall and I

My newly favorite hiking spot.

I could visit you again and again.

Soft and Delicious

Someone, please take the bag away from me. I can't stop eating these Aussie style gourmet red licorice. Really hard to resist!

Enjoying life and so many things to look forward to...

You'd think I'm crazy if you knew what an type A personality I am. An obvious example; I am very time conscious. If I'm running late anywhere, I'll feel anxious, and that is why 99% of the time you'll see me on time or early. Another thing about my personality is my love for making lists. I do believe in living in the present, but I can't stop from making a list of future plans and goals. People who know me teases me about having my weekends booked up far in advance.

List - Things I'm looking forward to this next couple months:
My Halloween costume will be in the mail this week! It's going to be a great Halloween!
Camping trip at Goblin Valley! I can't wait to run around and climb my way around those weird-looking rock formations!
Going to Arches with my bro!
Spain!
Someone is taking me on a surprise weekend trip in October!
Hiking Adams Canyon!
My birthday's coming up!
Visiting families in California for the holidays!
Swimming lessons. (as much as I love wearing life jacket and having good looking life guards come to my rescue) This is a pre-req. for my summer plan of 2010.
Paying off school loan!

So far, this year have flown by so fast. I can't believe autumn is just around the corner. It's been a really fun year, I would say this year's theme has been "enjoying life, and taking advantages of what Utah has to offer in its outdoor recreations."

So many things to look forward to...

Fact: I'm too excited to go to sleep.
Fact: I lay on my bed thinking of all the things I want to do in this lifetime, therefore I have a hard time going to sleep.
Fact: There are so much to see and do in this amazing world.

P.S. My birthday is coming up! And then Halloween! And then Thanksgiving in California!

Kamsahamnida (thank you)

I had a great time with our visitors from Korea. My brother and I hosted two boys, age 10 and 12, while they were here to perform at the local festival. This was the first time we've hosted international visitors.





Their performances were great! I was really proud of them!






We took them out for Dim Sum. And then we went to a street festival in Park City. They love to hola hoop. First, they'd use a single hoop, but these kids were more talented than that, so they showed me they could work two hoops while giving the peace sign.




I must admit, they were such good kids, it was hard for me to say good bye. As I farewell to them and the other kids at the airport, one of the girls said to me, "Kamsahamnida... you give us kim chee, thank you." The day after they arrived, I made a trip to the Korean market and pick up jars of kim chee for my boys and left two with each of the other host ladies I met. When I stopped over at another host's home, some of the Korean girls were cooking in the kitchen and showed me the biggest smiles when I pulled out the jar of kim chee for them.

Good times and good memories... kamsahamnida.

Goblin Valley and Little Wild Horse Slot Canyon

Sometimes I get obsessed with a place that I've never been to... until I get there and satisfied my wonders and curiosity.

Goblin Valley and Little Wild Horse Canyon is where my curiosity wants to take me. Look at these websites and tell me you don't want to go there.

http://www.utahredrocks.com/lwh.htm
http://www.yellowecho.com/travel/goblinvalley.htm

500 days of summer

You must see it!

I like the love story, the soundtrack and the fun vintage outfits.

A fun dance number - express well how he felt after a big event between him and his lady.

In Awe of Benjamin Franklin and His Patents

http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/can-do/

Very delightful and entertaining blog. Take a look for yourself. I think you'll like it too.

Fainting Goats

Have you seen this? It's cute. They would fall over when they're excited or startled.

Summer Days

When I was young, I didn't spend much time in the outdoors. Only as an adult did I fully appreciate the contrast of the Utah outdoors. With each season, I'm able to find something fun to do outside.


This summer, I find my mother smiling about her garden. Here are pictures of the bamboo growing and spreading in her garden, more so this year than years before.





Hiking Sunset Trail in Farmington








Mt. Timpanagos is a beautiful place to hike. It's a long one, but well worth it.






I love the view from Bald Mountain in the Uintas.