In mid-October, I had a very stressful, upsetting, degrading experience. It changed me, and I'm still not ready to discuss it openly on this blog. After we returned from our trip to Las Vegas earlier in the month, I felt a resolve to change my mindset in order to rise above the circumstances that were weighing me down. But once this unnamed experience happened on Monday, October 16th, I was completely set back--I felt like I dropped to rock bottom. I knew I needed an escape. I'd already planned a 3-day trip to Utah with my friend Amanda to visit temples and see a play in October, but I had to take a day off work for the event on the 16th, and then my PTO (paid time off) was shortened, so my 4-day, 3-night planned trip turned into just one full day and 2 nights on the 3rd weekend of October. I stayed with my parents one night, and stayed with Amanda the next night, and in between, Amanda and I went to one Temple and one play and we even walked around IKEA a little bit (another place I love!). We talked, we laughed, I cried, and I felt renewed from just being with my friend and doing things I love.
A few weeks ago, Josh and I were evaluating our present situations and discussing our future options. I asked my husband what we need more of in our life. His immediate response was "peace". We have both felt so much turmoil in our life this year, but it's been increasing exponentially recently due to health concerns, work stress, and toxic people. After his response, I was reflecting on the last time I felt real peace. It was a month ago, within the walls of the Saratoga Springs Temple, alongside my forever friend Amanda. I love going to the temple. Even though I have felt lost and broken and hopeless for most of this year, I felt God's love for me within the temple. And that filled me with calm and hope and peace, feelings that I am craving a thousandfold in the moment.
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| I loved seeing the fall foliage on my drive to Utah |
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The beautiful sunset on Friday night was lovely to see unfold. I
got off the freeway & went down a side street so I could watch it. |
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The majesty of Utah's Wasatch mountains
were a happy sight for me on Saturday morning. |
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On our way to Saratoga Springs, Amanda & I did some shopping at
Trader Joe's in SLC. We missed the exit to head south, & accidentally
found ourselves driving by the newly built Taylorsville by accident! |
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We stopped again at IKEA and got a few things,
and also ate their meatballs for the first time!
They were just okay...but we had a fun lunch!
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Saratoga Springs was the newest dedicated Temple in Utah at
the time. It was so pretty! We loved the dark spire, the stained glass
in the windows, and the bold color choices throughout the interior. |
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Neither of us had seen this play before. My
favorite parts were the giant elephant and the
beautiful hot air balloon. |
While I was gone to Utah, Josh went on a trip of his own. He took the camper van to East Fork and went camping, motorbiking, and hiking for 2 nights. On Saturday, he went into the White Clouds Wilderness again (we'd gone camping together at the same location last year in October). This time, his adventure led him to the Big Boulder Lakes (last year it was to the Boulder Chain Lakes). On Sunday, he tried to ride over a backcountry trail in the East Fork that he thought would lead to West Bowery Hot Springs, but the trail proved to be extremely challenging, and after it got to be extremely dangerous, he turned around. He stopped by Cronk's Canyon Hot Springs on the drive home instead. He had a wonderful solo trip--he always feels rejuvenated after being alone in the mountains!
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He bought a new motorbike rack to hitch onto the
back of the van. It worked great! |
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| He experienced a gorgeous sunset on Saturday night! |
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| Cronk's Canyon Hot Springs--our favorite! |
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He stopped to take photos of the pretty fall foliage along
the Salmon River on his drive back home. |
