Spacing out

As I was looking at these pictures today, I couldn't help but think how intricate God must be to be abe to create things like these. That, and our world is so small compared to the endless miles of space there is around us.

These are the top ten photographs taken by the Hubble telescope.
It also makes it awesome to think that God had allowed men of science to create a telescope like this to be able to see that far into the beauty of space.
The first one is my favorite, maybe that's why it's number one.

The Sombrero Galaxy - 28 million light years from Earth - was voted best picture taken by the Hubble telescope. The dimensions of the galaxy,officially called M104,are as spectacular as its appearance. It has 800 billion suns and is 50,000 light years across.

The Hourglass Nebula, 8,000 light years away, has a pinched-in-the-middle look because the winds that shape it are weaker at the centre.

At four is the Cat's Eye Nebula, which looks like the eye of disembodied sorcerer Sauron from Lord of the Rings.


In third place is Nebula NGC 2392, called Eskimo because it looks like a face surrounded by a furry hood. The hood is, in fact, a ring of comet-shaped objects flying away from a dying star. Eskimo is 5,000 light years from Earth.

The Ant Nebula, a cloud of dust and gas whose technical name is Mz3, resembles an ant when observed using ground-based telescopes. The nebula lies within our galaxy between 3,000 and 6,000 light years from Earth.

The Trifid Nebula. A 'stellar nursery', 9,000 light years from here, it is where new stars are being born.

The glowering eyes from 114 million light years away are the swirling cores of two merging galaxies called NGC 2207 and IC 2163 in the distant Canis Major constellation.

Starry Night, so named because it reminded astronomers of the Van Gogh painting. It is a halo of light around a star in the Milky Way.

The Perfect Storm, a small region in the Swan Nebula, 5,500 light years away, described as 'a bubbly ocean of hydrogen and small amounts of oxygen, sulphur and other elements.

In sixth place is the Cone Nebula. The part pictured here is 2.5 light years in length (the equivalent of 23 million return trips to the Moon).

Camera Down

I guess I am one of those people that think I have to have pictures in order to have a good post (even though this really isn't truly the case).

So because my camera has not been working, I haven't posted much in the last couple of weeks. I think I just need to buy new rechargeable batteries for it, I am hoping that is the only thing that is wrong with it.

Until then, here is just a little update on some of the things past and some things up and coming.

Recently Blair and I got a new roomate (along with Blair's new puppy Dash, cute!). Sarah Grosgebauer moved in about two weeks ago, and so far everything is going great.

So far the cooking resolution is going really well, I have made a couple of new dishes, low fat ones at that, and they have turned out great.
Check out the Low Fat Cherry Berry Cobbler on Betty Crocker's website for a tasty low fat treat!

I applied to grad school a couple of weeks ago, and as long as I can take the MAT and get a better score than what I got on the GRE, the head of the department at Utat State said that he would be willing to hold the spot for me until the scores came back. So, essentially, I am pretty much getting myself ready to start grad school in the fall.

Jose is leaving this weekend to go help his dad with the ministry at his church in Burlington Colorado. He is hoping to only be gone about 6 months, but that is not for sure at this point. But things are going well with his health, and he will have a follow up with his oncologist in April. So that will probably be the next time I get to see him after he leaves this weekend. I am sad, I am really going to miss him. Gosh I love this guy!

My dad is planning to have another back fuse operation around May or June, so prayers for a healthy and speedy recovery are much appreciated.

Here's a list of the people I know that are planning on getting married this year!
Amy and John (my best friend from Washington)
Claire and Matthew
Glendon and Kate
Brady and Colby
Josh Herod and Emily(a girl he met in MO)
my step-cousin Andrea
Kristy and Joe (though I think they may have already gotten married)

Wow, that's a lot of people!!

Lots of things are changing, mostly for the good that I can see.
I hope you all are doing well and will be able to post again soon!

Catchy

This guy is coming to Washington Heights on January 30th.

Check him out, see if you like him, maybe come to the concert?

His name is Josh Wilson, he's a pretty talented guitar player.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wng18sF0egc

Bringing in the new year

This new year's was spent with only a few people, but it was one of the funnest nights I have had in a while.
Jose and I wanted to do something that was a little more low kew, so we decided to make dinner for a few of our friends. Kelli and his friend Steve joined us for dinner and games, and it ended up being a dang good new years for all of us.

Our menu consisted of:
Crab dip and crackers as an appetizer
Pork roast
Scallioned mashed potatoes
Seasoned vegetables
White wine
Baked Apples with cinnamon, sugar and milked caramel for dessert

And of course we brought in the new year with Kelli and my's favorite, Martini and Rossi Champagne, always a delicious choice.

We played a good game of Cranium, and beat the boys to a pulp, I am sure they are still recovering.

We also played Like Minds, another fun and interesting game. Jose and I didn't do as well on that one.

We also spent some time at midnight thanking God for one more year, and for the things that he had given us in 2006.

Kelli stayed overnight and I woke up about 9:00 to make strawberry crepes and eggs. MMMM, tasty.

Then I whooped up on them a little in a game of Scategories. I have to say, it was a great way to start the new year.

One of my new year's resolutions is to be more adventurous in my cooking, which also means cooking at home more.
I started that out last night by making my first batch of sushi rolls. California to be exact, with crab meat. I thought they turned out good, and apparently so did Jose, he ate about 12 of them.

I also made a chicken and veggie stir-fry with rice noodles that included me going to the oriental market in order to get some of the ingredients for the dish, to make it that authentic. Also, a big hit.

I can't wait to try out some more new recipes.

Here's to the new year!

Merry Christmas

Alright, so I just spent the last two days stuffing my face with every kind of holiday goodie you can think of. Everything tasted too good, and you know what that means. Yup, time to hit the gym hard!

This Christmas was the first time in six years that I spent Christmas day with my dad, and I had a great time. As I have been thinking today, I was inspired to write a blog list of some of things I am thankful for during this past year. (I say some because there is no way that I can remember them all ;)
So, without further ado (spelling?), here is my Christmas "list":

• I spent the first 6 months of this year in a house by myself, in order to learn more about God and what it really means to be in a closer walk with him. I feel that this truly had prepared me for a lot of what happened throughout the rest of this year.
• I spent a lot of time with my neighbor, Leeann, the lady that I also work with, and building a great friendship with her.
• I learned what it was like to have to take care of a dog on my own, which in turn made me realize that I am not ready for one. (even though my roomate got a dog....it's still not mine)
• I got to go to Washington more than once this year by taking a flight up to Seattle in May to visit my best friend Amy.
• A month later, she got engaged to an awesome guy named John, and they will be getting married on August 25th, 2007.
• One of my very good friends and one of the most respectable women I know, Claire Cain, also got engaged this year. What an awesome blessing it is to see two people who truly love each other come together in Christ. I can't wait for August 11th!
• I was introduced to a man named Jose Corado on June 1st, and my life has been forever changed by him in so many ways. He asked me to be his friend on MySpace, I am not ashamed to say that. (If he would have turned out to be a creepers, maybe...) But in all seriousness, God has turned my heart around in so many aspects because of Jose's character, and it is who he is that allows me to feel loved the way that any woman truly wants to be loved. And though he is not completely healed, God has already done a miracle in Jose by keeping him alive for the last 6 years through batteling cancer. He is truly one of the strongest people I know, and a man who truly seeks the face of God. And I love him.
• I had an awesome opportunity to travel to Italy to see Venice, Milan, and all the beautiful sights in October. It was a trip that I will never forget, and only something that I can thank God for giving me the opportunity and the financial possibility to even do.
• I have read more books for leisure this year than I have probably in the last 6 years that I have lived in Utah. And they have all been books that have either given me more knowledge about Christ and my increased desire to seek him and his word, or it has challenged my faith in some way to encourage me to step outside the box of Christianity and seek something more bold than just a Sunday Christian walk.
• I have had the opportunity to spend more time getting to know and growing in a friendship with one of my closest friends, Kelli, and realizing how much I have learned from her in the last year we have been friends. She is an amazing person, and she even invited me to Thanksgiving dinner with her family.
• God has given me a great place to live, with a great landlord, the expereince of having roomates, and the financial stability to be able to feel secure in what he provides for me every single day.
• I have been able to see my friends step out in faith, and because of that, God has given to them as well, and that is a great testimony. And even when people don't get what they expect, they still praise God, and that is also a great witness to others.
• I am thankful for the fact that I live in a country where I can gain knowledge at my fingertips, where I have the freedom to read my bible in public if I want to and not get scowled at or beat up for doing so, and where I can apply for a higher education if I choose to do so. And I did.
• I have been able to spend the last 6 years with my family for Christmas, and to even have the ability to pay for a plane ticket to Washington every year is a huge blessing alone. Then add on to it the whole spending time with loved ones and building greater relationships on to the ones that you already have, and that is almost a little piece of heaven right there.