Thanksgiving Week

was the best. I love a good break from school.

The best parts were that i got to see Craig every day, and I got to eat real food. Food just isn't as good here at school. And life just isn't as good without Craig!

Here are some other things that happened over the break:
~I worked. It was more fun than a few other promotions I have done, but it was a very challenging one to. I mean,I had to deal with black friday shoppers. But handing out goodie bags and gift cards to tons of people goes by really fast.
~I got new boots! And they are perfect. They are cute, nice and warm, have great tread, and they are not suede, so I am happy. We walked around the mall on wednesday for like 1 1/2 hours, and then finally when we gave up and were on our way out of the mall in JC Penny, we saw that they were having a boot sale! If only we had looked there on our way in...
~I played Zelda at Craig's house. Love it.
~I got to hang out with Miche and Jency! We laughed so much together. Hanging out with them is always like a breath of fresh air.
~I discovered to new favorite movies. I saw The Blind Side friday night, and I recommend it to anyone. It is such a sweet, profound movie, and a true story. It was also surprisingly funny. The other movie was If A Man Answers-a cute one from the 60's. It had some really cute moments and was so funny. And i was amazed at how true to real life the movie was-it made some really funny observations about marriage.
~My sisters sang at the Assembly Hall on Sunday. It was fun to see the old choir and some of my old friends! They did a really good job this year. And my family even took picture afterward! That is amazing.

Questions

Lately it seems to me that everyone is having a hard time. So many poeple I know I just...going through many trails and much turmoil.

It's made me think.

Are these people going through these hard times because the state of the world is getting worse, or are they just natural chellenges that come through transitioning into new stages of life?

Lots of older people say the world is getting worse. Is it really? Or are the challenges just changing and switching around? Maybe challenges change for each generation, and as the challenge progresses for the new generatio0n, they think the world is getting worse, and when the older generation see a challenge they aren't used to, they think the worls is getting worse.

Maybe the worls isn't getting worse, it just changes and the advantages and hardships end up being about the same ratio that was in a different time period.

I just felt like writing that down...

And still...

No, really, I would love to escape right now. Like as in doing the stuff from the previous list would be the best thing ever.

Thank goodness I am going home for like 6 days next week.

I just keep thinking: Puppies, funny sisters, video games, best friend, and boyfriend.

Next week.

I can make it.

No, don't tell me about how I should be enjoying my life on my own, ok? I am trying, and I am doing a pretty good job.

I just could use the break.

The Escapist desires escape.

Lately all topics of conversation are sooo...well, grown-up. And all my classes are telling me what I am looking forward to for the rest of my life. I mean all I hear about lately is doctor visits, saving for retirement, the stock market, punishing kids, the small amounts of sleep you get as an adult, mid life crises, physical aging, keeping a house clean, buying a washer, saving money, preparing to get married, preparing for higher spiritual things, preparing for the cost of weddings, dealing with people that have problems, blind dates, registering for another semester of more classes that will tell me how bad my health is, how bad it will be when I have kids, and how my kids are all going tp screw up thier lives if I don't tell them exactly the right things-Shush!

No More!

Nope. Seriously, it's the weekend now, and everyone that is planning to talk to me about anything of this nature needs to zip thier lips right now and leave.

No, really. Shut your face up.

Okay, now, it's not that I am trying to ignore these things in my life, I really am listening, and taking notes, and planning, and getting good grades, and preparing myself for the future. Don't think I am not, because i really am.

But sometimes, you hear so much, and it becomes too much. Honestly, I just need some moments where I am not analyzing, or planning, or anything. Everyone does.

So in honor of shirking reponsibilities and adult-like things for just a little while, I make a list of quick ways to escape.
1. Play a great movie soundtrack and daydream. This is very effective, if you can clear you head. Look on my playlist for inspiration...
2. Go sledding. It's almost time for that to happen!
3. Watch an upbeat movie. Duh. Preferably no coming of age or relationship drama ones.I suggest this:



4. Play Sonic the Hedgehog. Almost any of those games will do. I mean, Sonic is the guru of not taking anything too seriously. That can be a good thing sometimes.
5. Make something really unique, and don't make it to sell it. Make it so that you or a friend will have something cute.
6. Play Wii Sports, or even better, Wii Sports Resort.
7. Write a funny story. It doesn't have to be long.
8. Break out those coloring books.
9. Make a playlist of funny videos on YouTube. Music videos that mock relationship drama are always fun too.
Here a funny one (ok, it's probably not everyone's definition of funny):



Here's One that mocks relationship drama:



10. Make up a fun game on the playground with your friends. my friends and i made one where we had princes, princesses, bad guys, and a king, and it was really fun.
11. Play Ghost in the Graveyard.
12. Play Improv games with your friends. remember when you were like, 15 and those were the coolest?
13. Draw up a little comic strip with you and a friend as the stars. Those are awesome. for example:
14. If you and a friend know how to cut or style hair, and that sounds like a realistic idea, then do it for each other. No fear.
15. Go buy Japanese candy or Pop Rocks or Fun Dip and eat them with your significant other. Or if you wanna be healthy, you can make a fruit smoothie or fruit tea together.
16. Read Laffy Taffy Wrappers.
17. Go on a nature walk.
18. Read Harry Potter
19. Watch Star Wars.
20. Go sword fight.And make your own sword too. href="http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Boffer/Boffer-Generic.html">
21. Have a dance party with your few best friends.
22. Make a superhero identity for yourself. Powers, outfit, what kind of villains you'll fight, all that.
23. Watch Teen Titans. 5 seasons of glorious, hilarious crime fighting.
24. Go to the bookstore and just learn something new. You don't even have to buy anything. But there's a good chance you will. Just go relax and enjoy perusing through books to the sound of soft rock and the smell of expensive coffee.
25. Plan a themed party and go all out with cheesy activities, awesome decorations, and fabulous prizes. (probably from All-A-Dollar)
Here is an action shot of me defeating the Death Star at my Star Wars birthday party:

Warm Fuzzies in a cold, hard place.

I have been so frustrated lately. so frustrated. The school thinks I am a freshman (they messed up my transcript), I feel like i have no role were within my feeble circle of friends up here, and I often feel judged for my different ways of thinking and doing things. i am also sleep deprived, and I don't dress very cute very often anymore, which is really really sad for me. If you know me, you know what happens when I don't get the chance to express myself through my clothing.
A peaceful moment of daydreaming is rare and always interrupted. My little fantasy world is growing dusty with lack of visitation, and my brain is weary.

I also have a cold.

BUT! Tonight was a tender mercy. Tonight I was invited by my roomate to go to her IWA activity, and I got a little break. We went to her IWA advisor's house to watch a movie.

First, the house. Huge, beautiful and fancy. But if had that lovely feeling in it. You know, that refreshing, clean feeling that houses have, but at the same time totally comfortable and laid back. I think everyone there felt that way. And everyone was nice and friendly! Thank goodness!

Second the movie. We watched Meet The Robinsons, one I have seen many times. I love that movie. It was full of warm fuzzy moments. I want to be Mrs. Robinson when I grow up. She is sweet and has a lot of personality, and she pursues her interests with zeal. :)

A note about futuristic stuff:
Being the escapist that I am, i love the scenery and ideas of the "Todayland" from Meet The Robinsons. I so want cool gear, and a trampoline lawn. I can't wait to decorate my future house all cool and futuristic. I watched the movie with sparkling eyes and a happy imagination.

Anyway, I love that movie, because it A) encourages imagination and B) it tells you to keep moving forward. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's just what i needed. I need to just keep moving forward, looking for better, happier things in life.

I sure love to put my brain in screensaver mode and watch a movie. It nice to not feel like my brain is being ripped apart every once and a while.

Lastly, I just wanna say how glad i am to have a sympathetic, encouraging boyfriend. He helps me to-

Keep Moving Forward.

Real Love

It's the fact that through all our struggles, arguments, and misunderstandings, I could always see a justified reason to stick with him.

And, sometimes I cry with happiness after we hang out because he made me feel that happy, even though all we did was sit around playing video games and listening to music, and talking.

It's awesome because we know all about all of each other's faults, abd we also know that we can each get over them.

It's cool to just believe that someone can do anything they set thier minds to, because you see them as more than just a person.

He makes me want to be a kinder, smarter, better person.

Not to mention, our favorite activities happen to be the dorkiest ones.

I love that I can ask him any question, confess any fear, unload any concern, and he will make it all clear to me.

It makes me happy that we don't define ourselves by anyone else's standards except our own and God's.

And I know that no matter what task or activity we have to do, it will be pleasant if we do it together.

And we don't let anyone rain on our parade.

Because we are best friends, and we like it.

It's our goal to always make our lives exciting.

It's the fact that we can talk forever or not talk at all.

It's real love.

Snapshot.

Where I am: The Student Center computer lab. Too lazy to bring my laptop to school, and the Institute internet is slow. Plus I won't get anything done anywhere else.

What I am wearing: My gray school uniform skirt, pink tanktop under a light-blue long-sleeved thermal tee, which is under my awesome Jared Gold "Wallpaper vest", which is under a gray cardigan. Also, neon pink tights, blue and black check knee high socks, black mary-janes, and a pink flamingo bubble necklace. :)

Where I am going after this: Family Finance class. Hopefully will not play tetris on my phone the whole time!

Stuff I want right now:
-A kiss from my man
-A shopping spree
-A text from my man
-Just my man in general
-A zucchini muffin
-One of my institute classes

Currently reading: No books for me! Only required class readings.

Currently watching: Project Runway Season 5. Feels so good to watch that.

What I did yesterday:
-Class
-Nap at school
-Another class
-Facebook/wasting time
-Project Runway while making accessories
-Taking back stuff that people left at my apartment from FHE
-Hanging out at my sons' apartment. We played World Tour, Feeding Frenzy, and then talked about relationship woes and kissing, and then made pizza and watched X-men 2. Oh, and ate Oreos!

What I am doing tonight:IWA and then Dance Party! yeeah.

What I am doing tomorrow: Driving for 2 hours, hanging out, then working. I have a coolio job.

The background on my phone is: The Hylian Crest from the Legend of Zelda Games.

The background on my laptop is: A scene from the movie "The Cat Returns"

Who I miss: CRAIG!!!

How I feel right now: Bored, chill, slightly in suspense, and slightly lonely. But not sad.

What I am thinking about: Not much for once. Basically, what to do with this next hour I have before my next class, and I have the Ponyo theme song stuck in my head. This is like the closest I have ever come to not thinking about anything. But now I am thinking about the differences between men and women.

I know this is like...posting a survey. But at least I didn't copy and paste it from someone else's blog. I made it up myself!

across from campus

i have been a busy woman. Actually, I haven't been horribly busy, but I have been lazy when I am not busy. Anyway, here's my life.

-Logan is awesome. It's pretty, and everyone here is really really nice. I haven't actually met anyone that is grumpy or mean yet. Today was the first of many cold days. I kinda snowed. I hear it snowed down south too though..

-I am FHE mom. I am pretty excited about this! I think it will be fun and I have some fun ideas for activities. I don't know my family very well yet, but everyone is really nice. Because my apartment complex happens to be one of the nicest locations in this nice town!

-My classes are pretty chill. My teachers are all really good, and some are way funny. The only class I hate going to is family finance, even though the info is very very useful, it hard to follow and pay attention in class! My most entertaining class is human development. My teacher is practically a cartoon character! It's awesome. But really, the best part if all my classes is that I am already starting to apply information from each class, except maybe human development. Family and Consumer Sciences is a good major.

-My new laptop is sweet. It's so useful and it fits in a lot of my purses because is little, which makes it easy to take to my friends' apartments and such.

-My room is cool, and so are my roomates. The best part of my room is my star wars poster. And my Ponyo Poster. And my roommates are all really fun :)

-IWA is my favorite part of the week! My IWA group feels like it was handpicked for me! We have so much fun every meeting!

Here are some of my favorite events that have happened with pictures:

Bear Lake: The saturday before labor day, Heather, Rachel, Jesse, and I went and chilled out at bear lake for a couple hours. This is the first time I have ever been to bear lake! We just walked around and relaxed on the beach, and gathered seashells. Rachel practically buried herslef in the soft sand, and I gave Jesse a wedgie. :)

Roomie Picnic: On labor day, Heather, Abby, and I went on a picnic on the Quad, and we took some cute pictures and just had fun! Later that day we watched a bunch of movies and made crafts, and "cleaned the sink" which happens to be the ice cream eating challenge at a local resaurant.

Fairytale Photoshoot: One of my friends from IWA, Laura, invited me to be part of a fairytale photoshoot with her and her roomates. So, we dressed as fairytale characters and had a blast! It was one of those magical, sparkly moments that comes close to actually living in a fairytale.

Homecoming dance: The dance was way fun. We did do lots of dancing, which i am so happy about. Craig and I dressed 1940's style, since it was kinda decades themed. It was fun to see all the costumes and outfits people came up with. Everyone looked great!

Homecoming game: So, football isn't as fun as basketball, but it's still fun. That is what I discovered at the homecoming game. We won, and I am so proud of it. But, my favorite part of Aggie sports really is singing "The Scotsman."

Yep. Other than that, I am just having fun chilling out with friends and doing homework. Last night there was a pirate party where everyone dressed up as pirates and we watched Hook. I'm glad I found a group that I fit in with up here! hahaha

Emotional Commotion

It's almost the end of summer. I already miss it. In a few days, I'll be moving to a very cold place, and I am not a fan of the idea of leaving this perfect weather to go freeze my butt off. 

The end of summer always brings such sadness and regret to me. I don't often regret things, but I am filled with regret at the end of every summer. If only I had taken more walks, made more smoothies, swam more, played more.  This summer gets a little extra regret in particular because of the lack of work I have done, resulting in a lack of funds. I tried really hard to get a job, and then I got really sick, and by the time july arrived, I was done with trying at life for a while. I have done a few amazing things this summer, but it has been a very disappointing summer. If only summer could last longer here in northern Utah.

Nevertheless, I will list the good things i did do this summer:

1. Joined a fighting club. So, i didn't go regularly, and I still suck at sword-fighting, but it was really fun. And it was a new experience.

2. Did a lightsaber flash mob. It was so fun to play around at the park with lightsabers! 

3. Went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  The pre-show party, the costumes, the food, and the great amount of pretending was amazingly fun. 

4. Star Wars birthday party.  Thank goodness for themed parties. This was the best birthday party I have had yet in my life.

5. Making accessories with my friends.  Getting together to listen to music and make cute things to wear, as well as talk, is excellent. And it felt like I had been shopping, without spending tones of money.

6. Going to Lagoon. I rode Wicked a couple times, and the whole day was just fun. Definitely glad I went.

7. Reading Harry Potter. I read books 4-7 all over again, and that was great. Reading in the summer is important.

8. Spending tons of time at Miche's and downtown in general.  It's always so refreshing to hang out with Miche and Jency, and I am glad for the times I was able to walk around and shop with them, as well as Megan and Kim, on separate occasions. 

9. My concert.  Putting together my own solo recital was a fun challenge I so needed and enjoyed. It went so well, and although I missed some people that weren't there, oh well, they'll just have to miss me. Because they sure aren't going to see much of me anymore. But, I sang well, and I made people laugh, which is what I wanted.

10. Becoming aquainted with the Zelda games. I had already played a little old school Zelda in my life, but this summer I got to try out Ocarina of Time, and Twilight Princess.  Awesome games. 

11. Watched, and introduced my friends to the movie The Sasquatch Gang. Such a hilarious movie! Also, watched Ponyo! Myazaki amazed me again.

12. Went all out for nicklemania. Craig and I saved up all our change for the summer and had sooo much fun! 

13. Mine and Craig's anniversary. We went and looked at some art, and then the next week had a nice hike and campfire.

Things I wish i had done:

1. Gotten a steady job. Well, obviously.

2. Learned to sew.  

3. Taken more evening walks

4. Gone to a water park.  Too poor for that though.

5. Played in more sprinklers

6. Had more campfires.

7. Went on more hikes. But at least I am going on one more before I leave.

8. Ate more popsicles.

I am starting to miss a lot of people already. Moving and saying goodbye makes me sad. But, on the other hand, I am going to say a lot of "hellos" soon, and that will make me happy.

Utah

A lot of people complain about Utah. They think it's such a dorky place, full of intolerance, annoying kids, and backwards viewpoints.

But I love living in Utah, even if the winters do kill me. (at least we don't have horrible bugs in the summer) And July 24th is the day to celebrate the settling of our state, I am going to write a list of reason I love this state. (yes, I stole this idea from Jill, if you read her blog)

1. The underground fashion community-yeah, Utah isn't one of the most fashionable places in the country...I mean Macy's is relatively new to us, but there are a lot of people here that have a very unique style. And our fashion community isn't full of competitive prissies, from what i have seen.

2. Our local businesses-This ties in with the fashion stuff, but Utah has some sweet little boutiques, restaurants, etc. And a lot of Utahans really like to support the local scene, which I think is really cool. And where else can you go to a Mexican restaurant, tell your waitress you'd like a virgin Margarita, and hear the reply, "Oh, all our drinks are only served virgin here."

3. Zoo, arts, and parks-Utah is full of celebration for education and culture. There are so many fun educational activities! I love it, because it adds so much variety to what i can go out and do.

4. The variety of the landscape-It only takes about a half hour to go into the mountains and see no signs of city life. You can go on a hike in the afternoon, and be back home by 6 to eat and change into something nice to go dancing! And if you want more of a desert feel, it doesn't take long to get to the desert. In fact, and hour drive to the salt flats will render the scenery completely treeless. Like water? There are some way fun lakes. all over the state. And if you want a cheap, warm vacation in the middle of January, St. George is a reasonable drive.

5. Snowboarding-Oh my heavens....snowboarding on perfect, fresh snow is one of the closest things you can get to independent flight. And there are tons of places to go. Some resorts aren't as cool and only allow skiiers... And then, you can't forget sledding! Our winters may have bone dry air, but our snow is perfect!

6. The grid system. It makes life so much easier. Give me a set of coordinates and I will be able to find you. It's rare I actually need extra directions.

I honestly love living here!

p.s. Tonight I watched a way good fireworks show, and it made me think. Are people living vicariously through fireworks in order to express their joy/excitement? is that why fireworks were invented in the first place? I know that when I am excited about something, I wish I could fly around and sparkle and explode. Maybe that's why people cheer so much at firework shows.

Harry Potter

I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince a couple days ago at the midnight showing.

And yes, it was awesome, if you haven't seen it.

And yes, there are some things I wish they had made more true to the book. But that's not what this blog is about.

I just want to say how I think it is so awesome that there is a whole...subculture, stemming from the Harry Potter books. How there are bands that write songs about various characters and situations. Or how about the fact that you can get candy based off the snacks described in the books?

It was just so great to go to the theatre dressed up, and see like a thousand people there that were also dressed up in amazing magical costumes. And all those people were friends that night, because we were all pretending to be part of a made up magical world together

It's very important to experience something like that in life. To get into something wholesome and unique, and celebrate it with others.

Updates on an increasingly nerdy life

Harry Potter: Just finished re-reading The Goblet of Fire on sunday, and I am stoked for the Half Blood Prince opening. Craig and I are going as Ron and Hermione, so I am keeping busy embroidering a yellow "R" onto a maroon sweater for Craig. It looks crappy, but it kind of is supposed to, right? Also have watched 3 of the five current movies in the past couple weeks. Love it!

Fourth or July: I went boating with Craig and some friends for Independence Day. It was really, really, fun. Waverunners are now my new favorite. I also learned a lot about the nature of surface tension. We did some tubing, and most of the time I was just hanging on the tube with my hands, while my lower half bounces off the water. It hurt. I discovered that Utah Lake isn't really gross like it has been rumored to be, although i am sure it has it's moments. But I love it because it's so huge and the water was the perfect tempurature!

Singing: For the past month, I have had laryngitis, which means I had to talk and sing as little as possible in order to help the swelling in my vocal chords to go down. In this time, i have realized what a vocal person I am. I sing along with almost everything i hear, I have a sound effect for almost everything I experience. Not doing all these things has taken a lot of willpower that i have poorly excercised. But, finally, my voice is getting better, and I am resuming preparations for my upcoming recital! Yay! I think if singing were a horrible sin, I'd be running right down the stairs of hell, with a smile on my face. Thank goodness it isn't.

Fighting: So, I have reached the height of healthy nerdiness, and joined a medieval fighting club. You know, the foam and ductape swords, the costumes, the battles in the park....so far i really like it, even though i am horrible at it. Everyone is so nice, it's a great workout, and it's definitely better than sitting around at home.

Zumba: I have been working on a great Zumba workout routine playlist on Youtube in the past few days. I am pretty much addicted to Zumba, and there are some excellent workouts on Youtube! It's my broke way of going to the gym. Her are a couple favorites:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THcyrCrahTs







My favorite styles in Zumba are Hip-hop and Cumbia. I also tend to go for the Reggaeton stuff, and my teacher when I took a class last did great Reggae choreography. But sadly I haven't found much good Reggae on youtube yet.

Last but not least: I am so broke. Because, I am trying to save up money for school in the fall, but I haven't been able to find a real job all summer! I have applied so many places I wanna die. Now basically I am just trying to do whatever little things I can. So....I just want to let everyone know that I am a great babysitter. And I have a LOT of free time. If you know me, please contact me!

The little things I like about summer

~Having time to clean my room
~The strong smells on summer nights. Flowers, cut grass, fabric softener, rivers, pond, and sprinklers...these aoll come out so beautifully during a walk arounf the neighborhood on summer nights.
~Downing Otter Pops when you get them at that perfect slushy stage.
~Going on walks at random places and parks around town.
~Little neighborhood kids coming over to play in the middle of the day and i actually have time to stop and say hi to them.
~Playing Dance Dance Revolution with Kristan at night even though it's sweltering hot. (so we open all the windows)
~Going out to check the mail and realizing how pretty everything is.
~Wearing shoes that are easy to put on
~Driving around at night with the windows down
~Free outdoor activities and not having to bring a sweater.

Things in my life right now.

~Unemployment. At this point, I have little more than a month and a half to actually, you know, work...so I am going to keep looking for a job, but focus more of my energy on making money in other ways, such as making and selling accessories, babysitting, gig-like stuff, (such as working at events) etc. This whole job hunt has been so frustrating. I can't even let myself think about it too hard, because I just start thinking of all the things I could've done differently, and wondering why I am not good enough. Every step seems to have had a roadblock with it, and it's been really hard.

~Laryngitis. I haven't been able to sing for 3 weeks, which drives me nuts. It's taking a long time for my throat to heal, and that's partly my fault, because I talk a lot. ugh I just like talking so much though. I like clear communication where everything is confirmed and everybody says their point. But how I long to just sing along with the radio.

~Swine Flu. Craig (along with a few other friends) had it, which means I didn't get to see him for like a week and a half. I missed him. But now we get to hang out again, and it is really fun. It's always so fun with Craig

~Hair Accessories. Last night I had Miche and Jency come over and along with my sister Alyssa, we made tons and tons of cute stuff to wear in our hair. Making accessories feels so great to me. And now I have cute new things to wear!

~Support. I have had a few people be way more supportive and kind to me than I ever expected lately. This is good, because recently it seems like it has been one disaster after another for me, but I have such great friends pick me up off the ground and say, "Hey, people don't like you to be sad. Have some encouraging words and compliments, on me." :)

Six of my Favorite People

A list of a few of my favorite people, celebrity, fictional, and local. Not all of course. I think I should make a new list every month, in order to tribute all the awesome people I know. (or know of)

Tim Gunn: He's the smartest man in fashion. Not only is he impeccably stylish, but he has a great sense of humor, is kind and polite to everyone, and is passionate for what he does. Basically, I wish he was my uncle.

Sonic The Hedgehog: The reason I like Sonic so much is that he's got that

confidence everyone wishes they had. You know, the confidence that enables you to do what ever you want, have confidence in others, and actually seem generally nice and humble. And he follows through with this confidence by have the time of his life doing what he loves. How could you not like someone like that?

Kelly: I won't put up a picture because I don't have one, but Kelly is the wonderful mother of an amazing family I have been privileged to babysit over the years. How different my life would be without these people! They are the ones that got me into Studio Ghibli, and my favorite video games. They have truly become some of my best friends. The thing I look up to Kelly for is that even though raising kids can be exhausting and time consuming, she manages to do fun activities with her husband and friends. (like dressing up in crazy clothes and going out to eat!) She hasn't gotten stuck in the "stressed out, boring grown-up" mindset that I see so many people get trapped in. I hope I turn out like that.

Miche: She is such a great example to me! In fact, I actually told a story about her in testimony meeting. One day, I picked her up from trax, and she was worried because she accidentally left her phone on the train! So, I called it to see if anyone found it, and no one answered. A few minutes later however, I got a call from her phone! And who was on the other side? Her mom! Her mom had happened to get on the exact same train a few stops away, and found her phone. And Miche's reaction? "I am so grateful my Heavenly Father loves and blesses me!" I am always reminded by her to be grateful for everything, even though she doesn't know she's reminding me. Another reason I love her: She is what i call a "lazy friend". You know those friends you don't see for months and they like you less because of it? Or they feel like you aren't pulling your weight in the relationship, so they get mad? Miche is not one of those people. sometimes we go a while without talking (we are both very busy people) but when we talk, things pick right up where they left off, with no awkwardness. We pick up each other's slack, and we are cool with it, because Miche knows that friendship is about having fun and caring for another person, not personal benefits. I am lucky to have her as my best friend.

Kristan: I have been waiting for an opportunity to put this picture on the Internet. Anyway, Kristan is great because sometimes she unknowingly gives me a slap in the face and reminds me to not sweat the small stuff. Laughter is important to this girl, and she'd much rather laugh than hold a grudge. If she's angry, she just says what's bothering her, and gets over it. No silent treatment, no catty remarks, just back to the fun and action.

Briar Rose: What can a dog teach a person? Well, I think Briar Rose has been a great teacher or humility and forgiveness. She is so sweet and loving, and doesn't hold back. She wants everyone to be happy, and lives to give her support and service. I am not even kidding. Just pretend to be sad around her and watch her reaction. She's the most sympathetic...person...that I know, and i think we all would be better people if we followed her example.

Craig: Oh man, where do I start? With a story. Yesterday I of course, was kinda grumpy, tired, and had a headache. I wasn't very nice. While I was attempting to microwave some teriyaki chicken for Craig and I to eat for dinner, I said something snippish and he just said "Why are you so grumpy today Brynn?" And I told him...I am tired of being sick, I want to go to sleep, but we have to go watch my sisters choir performance, etc...and he replied with "What can I do to help?" He could've taken the whole situation in another direction, but he is great at choosing the peaceful way. Then as we were leaving (late) to the concert, I reached into my purse to find all of the contents of my purse wet and sticky. I then pulled out my now-opened and upside-down bottle of precious cough syrup to see most of its remains spill onto the driveway. This was too much for me in my half asleep, sickly state, and Craig knew it. So he took me inside, helped me wash off my lip balm, wallet, etc., and filled up the sink to soak the lining of my purse. He did all this without being frustrated at my stupidity of not checking the lid, not minding how late we were. That's just one of the great things about Craig. He knows how to deal with problems without drama, moodiness, or stress. He's always rescuing me from the little disasters I tend to have. In a way, he's a bit like Briar Rose, and now you know that that's a great compliment to his character. I love my boyfriend.

Being Sick

So I have been sick for the past couple weeks, and it has sucked. Especially this past weekend, where i couldn't stop coughing and had a fever. Bleh. But now I am almost better, so I thought I would write down a bunch of the remedies I used and how they worked for me.

1. Ny Quil- I used this 3 nights in a row. The first night was great, even though it wore off a half hour before it was time for the next dosage. But I slept well when it was in my system. The second night it wore off sooner, and i didn't bother taking a second dosage. The third night, it did nothing. No sleepyness, no pain relief, no cough suppression. So I guess you shouldn't take it too much in a row or your body will become immune to it.
2. Tussin DM-This is basically just standard cough syrup. It kinda worked.
3. Herba Tussin-This was an herbal tea that I found to be pretty helpful. It doesn't taste bad and it felt really good on my throat. It wasn't always strong enough, but I don't think much would be for the throat problems I had.
4. Cough Drops-I got some cough drops that are supposed to numb your throat. They worked, but once it was fully dissolved, the effect went away pretty quickly.
5. Sucrets Ice- Awesome stuff. Felt sooo good and the effect lasted a little longer than cough drops. They also can be safely taken every two hours, unlike the aforementioned numbing cough drops.
6. Throat Coat herbal tea- I always stand by this stuff. It feels awesome and tastes really good.
7. Hot lemon Jello-It sounds wierd, but you just take some lemon jello powder and put it on hot water and drink it. My friend told me to do it. It actually felt great and tasted better than many options.
8. Gargling warm salty water-this is supposed to soothe your throat. It's worked on me before, but not so much this time. Again, I think what i had was just too severe.
9. Honey and Lemon Juice with warm water-This is also supposed to soothe your throat. It didn't worked for me, but other people swear by it.

If you have a really severe cough like i did, you really should go to the doctor. Coughs of course aren't serious and people usually get over them in a week or so, which means that most people don't go to the doctor for it. But! I went to the doctor and he gave me a prescription for cough syrup that really works! I have improved so much since taking this stuff. Also, remember to drink lots of water (not just liquids) because water dilutes your mucus, making it easier to get out of your system.

Fun things

Sometimes, you should just document the fun days that happen.
Today, I didn't do anything work-ish. No cleaning, no job hunting...(Mostly because I am waiting to get some calls) no organizing...and that was nice. I have been doing a lot of cleaning to fill the void in my life that unemployment has made. Not having some sort of structured work is depressing to me. I really hope I find a job soon, because I don't know how long I can go like this.

Anyway, here's what I did instead that made today fun:

-Watched some homeschool kids do reports on recent projects they did.
There is this thing my sisters are involved in (and I used to be involved in) called Great Brain. It's a club where kids get together each month to present projects they have been doing, such as research reports, learning a new skill, becoming an expert at something. The subject is thier choice. I did one on the history of slang when i was in highschool. This is a great thing to do, because it's fun (if you enjoy learning), you get exposed to new things, and you get practice in public speaking. Today, I heard about Ripsticks, Box Turtles, a few writers, Karate, and what it's like writing short stories for a magazine. I enjoy being an information junkie.

- I went to see Dragonball Evolution in the dollar theatre. Which was so cheesy and I thoroughly enjoyed. I can see how people wouldn't like it, but I really did like it, and I would watch it again. On the way out of the theatre, and spent my precious quarters on some vending machines and got a little ring and necklace. :)

-Craig and I went to play at the park, where we enjoyed an array of outdoor orf instruments. Craig is very musically intelligent. I decided I want a big wooden xylophone thing in my backyard when I grow up. After those, we played on the swings. I think swings are one of the best recreational inventions ever. I love how it feels to soar through the air on a swing. After the swings, we played with other playground things and in the kids fountain. We also discovered tables with chess boards on them...so we will being doing that soon.

In conclusion, a list of things Craig and I need to do this summer:
-have a picnic on the grass
-Make a campfire on the park stoves
-have a campfire in the mountains
-go on lots of hikes
-play checkers on those tables (because I suck at chess)
-go on some more bike rides
-get cupcakes
-go to a water park
-go to lagoon!
-make a music video
-learn some songs together

Ahhhhh!

Maybe my brain doesn't work as well while I have a cold, and it makes me easily overwhelmed. Because I am really overwhelmed.

I have been trying pretty hard to find a job in the past couple weeks, and I haven't gotten one yet because people don't want to hire someone that has to leave in two months. What happened to the concept of summer jobs? No one seems to be hiring for the summer. It's been hard for me to find a legit place that actually is hiring. And when I do, they are looking for someone to be a permanent employee.

To make things a little more difficult, I got a bad cold this week. It has just made it harder for me to think, and I don't really want to go out job hunting if I am going to sound like a frog. Bleh...

Also, I have an opportunity to nanny full time for a 4 month old baby. I don't know how I feel about that. I suppose I'll have to see how it pays along with the other details. But the thing is that I am so sad that the baby and her mother will be missing out on 8 hours of bonding time nearly every day. I am just so glad that my mom stayed at home for me and my sisters. Kids need to have the safety and and comfort that only thier mothers can give them.

But I don't know yet all the details of this job or how well it would work out. So we'll see. Also, I don't know if I know enough about babies to do a good job taking care of one full time...

On the bright side....

I had an awesome time hanging out with Miche and Jency. Those girls surely brighten up my life. We had some awesome fun Monday and Tuesday being girls, going to the mall, taking pictures, talking out faces off...all that. It was refreshing.

The Ren Faire is over! Which means I can finally make stuff for myself. There are a lot of hair accessories I want to make. I also bought some neat things. I didn't sell much, but hopefully I can sell a lot on etsy, because I think I have some fabulous things that maybe a non-touristy audience would love to buy.

Craig and I worked on my Ocarina Of Time game tonight. I love Zelda. It's definitely one of my little escapist things. Also, Craig is a smart person. The nicest thing about him though, is that he's usually really chill and fun to hang out with. And very sweet, of course.

Tomorrow Craig and I get to go see Star Trek (yessssss) with my old buddy Peaches and a friend of his. I am very excited! First of all, I have heard amazing things about this movie. Second of all, I get to see Peaches! Oh my heck! I haven't seen him in forever! He's like a brother to me. I am so glad I get to go do this tomorrow, because there has just been so much pressure in my life (School, Ren Faire, Job hunting) and this will be a nice little break where I can just forget about it.

Last, but not least, my voice teacher is getting me to throw a little concert/recital before I move, as kind of a "graduation/goodbye" thing. At first I was reluctant to do this (Put together an event that features just me? Won't that be wierd? Won't people get bored?) but now I am actually excited. It's a good excuse to see a lot of people before I leave, and it'll be good for the voice studio. And so far, everyone I have told about it has seemed sincerely excited and they really want to come. I will be practicing a lot to make it worth everyone's time.

So there you go! A little update on what's going on...I should know by now that there is no hope that my life will calm down.

Accomplishments

I admit it, I catch myself envying other's talents and accomplishments much much more than I ever want to. How do they fit it all in? I don't know.
But then again, I see others envying MY talents and accomplishments, which is crazy to me, but it makes me realize that I am right in the middle of the talent spectrum, which I think is a good place to be, when it comes down to it. I mean, I certainly am no prodigy, but I have gotten to dabble around in a lot of different things.

And what's more important to me than how awesome I am at such and such, is that i can help others be happy. And if being approachable, not having way high expectations for myself and those around me, and letting people be themselves aides me in that, then I can feel like I have done a good job at life. Because i think those are quatlities that are often lacking. People get so high strung about whether they are "excellent" or those around them are "excellent" enough to associate with them, and then they get all rude, and do those little micro-inequities to everyone. Which is sad. It's sad to try and be friends with someone and get a mixed message. Or, to feel pressure to not be yourself, because it's to lame, too wierd, too disorganized.

Maybe some of you can tell now that I have had experiences like this. And i can tell you, it sucks to feel like you HAVE to justify and explain everything you do. And it really sucks to not truly show who you are around someone, because you just don't feel like hearing crap about it. And it sucks even more when thier snooty behaivior rubs off on you, and you start catching yourself acating like that.

Well I have pretty much had it with that.

So I am not even going to explain why I am making the two following lists.

Recent Accomplishments I have had that I am excited about:
1. I have a booth with my sisters at the Renaissance Festival. How awesome is that?!
2. The other day, I carried a huge bin (like as in i could fit in it) that was full of stuff and very heavy down to my car all by myself. A few months ago, I probably couldn't have lifted that bin.
3. I lost 10 pounds! I feel so great. I have so much more energy than before!
4. I can hula hoop!
5. I can take a plain silver plate, or little balls of silver, silver wire, etc, and make something awesome. I never thought before that I would be making silver jewelry! I never even thought of that as something people do.
6. I have become a tiny bit like a fashion icon at my school. When I walk into a building, people i know are actually anticipating seeing what I am wearing! I just gotta thank all my institute friends for that support!
7. I have been teaching piano for like, more than 2 years! I love it. My students are awesome and it's amazing to help them make music.
8. I have been dating Craig for almost a year. It's amazing that he hasn't like, gone insane from how annoying and stupid I can get. I am so glad he hasn't.
9. I have a freaking 2 year, full tuition scolarship. This is such a huge blessing to me, and it's awesome to think that I got the grades to qualify for it.

Now here is a list of accomplishments I've been wanting to work on:
1. Learn to sew. I've got the designs, I just can't make them yet. This is always my problem. I always have the vision, the inspriration, but executing it is harder for me.
2. Learn to decorate cakes really well. I would love for kids and friends to come to me with a request for thier birthday cake.
3. Get really good at playing Clair de Lune on piano.
4. Get better at doing my hair. It's always in a ponytail with my bangs pinned back, or just down and straight, or in pigtails, or in a headband. I am not very creative when it comes to hair.
5. Learn to cook, at least well enough so I don't die when I move out.

Late Night Escape

Here it is, almost 12:30. I am so awake because I know I can sleep in tomorrow. And I just have lots of thoughts.

First of all, the Renaissance Faire is this weekend. Oh my gosh! I can't believe it. It's finally happening. I am really excited and just hoping it goes well. Having a booth at a rather extensive Renaissance Faire is huge to me.
But the thing I like about this is spending two weekends pretending to be in a land of fantasy. I mean, that's what everyone goes for right? And I love it because this one is not so educational as it is fun, which means that everyone that goes will be there because they love pretending to be in a fantasy land! Which means a minimal amount of bad attitudes and arrogance. Let's face it, everyone that has a proper sense of fun hates it when atmosphere is disturbed by someone that is acting like a brat.
So yeah. I am excited for this. If you are one of my friends and you want information so you can come, please contact me! I would love to see you up there! Because, historical reenacting is the bomb.

Secondly, I was going through things in my room and found a little notebook with the beginnings of a fantasy novel I was trying to write when i was 12 or 13. I read it, and it was actually not too bad! There are a lot of things i would change about it, but it sparked my imagination. I thought it was really bad back then...but I now feel like I was doing good for a little pre-teen. And now the story is swimming around in my head. What am I supposed to do about it? I don't see myself as a writer, really, and I don't have much time to write. But there it is, begging to be finished. I think it would make a great family adventure movie. My problem always is that I have the idea and inspiration, but carrying out those ideas? That's a hard one for me.

Thirdly, I am just in that mood where I wish I could delay my life a little bit and go off on an impossible adventure. Yep, an escapist moment. Can't I just pause life for a minute and go to another world to play for a while? You know...fly around, meet other creatures, jump off giant waterfalls, etc.

I think it's obvious I need to go on a vacation. Disneyland, perhaps?

Green

Spring has finally started making an appearance, however fashionably late it seems. A list of my love for Spring:

1. When it rains, all the green becomes so saturated and intense. I love seeing the bright green plants against all the gray sky and pavement.
2. I wake up in the morning feeling crazy vibrant. I just want to do everything! It makes me wish i was a superhero.
3.I get to wear my cute, frivolous tights and leggings instead of my thick warm ones.
4. I get to wear cardigans and 3/4 sleeve jackets.
5. School is almost out!
6. I walk by any given flowering tree, and am surrounded by the smell of the blossoms.
7. There are so many different colors to look at!
8. The air is more humid (hah, as humid as it can get in Utah) so my skin and hair feel much better!
9. It's warm enough to enjoy walks and bike rides.
10. It's more pleasant outside than in.
11. I am not eating anymore to keep myself warm, and my metabolism is speeding up!
12. The birds are coming back and having babies! Can't wait to see the little ducklings.
13. The birds are also singing.
14. The wind is starting to calm down, which means less tangled hair!
15. The sun shines into my room in the morning, making it warmer and easier to get up.

Upside-down

Life has been pretty eventful lately.

Especially regarding my education. You see, I was planning on Interior Design at USU, but I just wasn't feeling it. So, I thought I may as well try fashion out at SLCC because I love it so much. I felt really good about that plan. But, a week later, I got a very special letter in the mail.

A letter that told me I have been awarded a 2 year, full tuition scolarship to USU. What?!

Yeah so...I am going to USU, because I wanted to go there after doing fashion anyway, and...it's a free education! Even though I actually was upset that I got this (I really wanted to learn fashion first!) , I feel really blessed, because it's going to take a lot of finaicial worries off my mind, and i think there are some good opportunities waiting for me at USU. It's going to be so hard to be able to see Craig whenever I want though. However, I know we can work through it. We're Superheroes!

Am I going to do Interior Design? Actually, I am now leaning toward a Family and Consumer Sciences Major. But we'll see.

In other news, I actually won something. Me. I won something. hahaha with Craig too...I couldn't have done it without him! You see, we went to a "flashback" dance on Friday in which you could dress up as your favorite era. Craig and I went for the early 1960's. (Hairspray anyone?) It was awesome! We won a gift certificate to Tio's, which happens to be one of Craig's favorite restaurants. Yay! The dance was really fun too. A lot of people actually danced, which was awesome. And we played that hulahoop game where you have to get through the hula hoop before the music stops, or you are out. (think Down by the Banks.) I got into the final 5. Sweet!

Saturday, Craig and I went to the Holi Festival. Which was awesome. Except for the drive there. Apparently like the whole student population at BYU goes to the Holi festival (which i find a little ironic). So...it took forever to get there, because the last third of the way there was stop and go traffic! And then we parked really far away and had to walk for like 15 minutes to actually get to the festival. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Even though we didn't stay that long, just to be in that atmosphere was pretty sweet. Everyone was so happy, and there was some sweet reggae music playing. The bright colors, however, was what made it for me. Everyone had bright powder all over thier faces, hair, and clothing. In the sunshine, with green fields all around, I thought it was beautiful! I think my brain has this...exceptional reaction to bright colors or something! When I see a lot of bright colors, I have a total mood change. It was awesome.

I guess you could say that bright colors (and sunshine) are my anti-drug.

Lastly, I got to chill out with Craig and his cousins and grandparents on Sunday. I love his Grandparents. They are so welcoming and sweet! And his cousins all have a good sense of humor! We played the card game, 5 Crowns, and I have finally caught on. Now i am kind of craving it. We also played Psychiatrist, which was so fun.

Whew. I feel like unicorns are running around in my head. Sorry this post was so wordy! Life is good.

Things to be happy about.

Just some things running around in my head at this late hour:

I went to an awesome tea party on saturday. I wore a white dress that Camilla made me for my last birthday. It was just so fun to sit around in nice dresses, eat yummy, miniature sized food, and get to know other girls that like to dress up and have fun. :) The cucumber and mint sandwiches were amazing, too.

The Gem Faire is like the craziest place ever. If you like to make any type of jewelry at all, you could easily blow your life's savings there. I saw a few things I really want:
-Small Flex Shaft (i think it was portable) and burrs
-Little skull beads
-Majongg piece beads
-Blown glass beads that look like potion bottles
-All sorts of chains
-Crazy colored and shaped pearls

I found the perfect "little black dress" that I think was meant for me. It looks like it is from the forties...

I love feeling so excited and sure about my decision to stick around and get a fashion certificate. YES!

Lately Craig and I have been having the most interesting conversations. We have been hanging out at each other's houses a lot because neither of us can really spare the money to go dancing or bowling or anything, and it's still a little too cold to play outside at night. I really like getting out and doing stuff, but I also love staying in and talking. It's so fun to talk, and listen to this amazing person's insight and stories.

I have recently fallen in love with the Zelda games. I liked them before, but never had the chance to play any very much. I am on Ocarina of Time and it's amazing!

I have a new favorite in the music world, The Ditty Bops. Cute, old timey folk. I love it!

I love the temples, and I enjoyed the dedication of the Draper Temple today!

I didn't realize how yummy string cheese is.

p.s. No one wants me to make them anything? You don't have to do it too you know. You could just comment and make me make you something cute. Oh well though. It's your loss! (see previous post)

because i want alyssa to make me something.

The first THREE people to respond to this post will get something made by me!
My choice.For you.
This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year. (might be a little while)
4- You have no clue what it's going to be.It may be a story. It may be a joke book, autographed picture of myself, or a little invention of my own! I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows?
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. Believe me... it may blow your mind.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who do the same on your blog.The first 3 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did, win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!Sounds like fun, right? So, let's play!

And I actually WILL do this folks, so if you want a one of a kind creation from Brynn, do it! and then spread the word for my fashion blog!

I am turning into a sunbeam. It's a bit ironic.

Today was a crazy, yet really fun, day at church.

My sunbeams lesson was kindof insane. I was really excited for it, because it was full of really different and fun activites. But, the sunbeams were very very talkative today, so i hardly even got through it. It was kindof disappointing.

However, sharing and singing time were much more fun than usual! I don't know why. It was just a lot more enjoyable.

The lesson today required the kids to try an apple (we talked about plants and how they benefit our lives), so i cut one up and brought the pieces. Somehow I ended up with extras, which I ate right before sacrament meeting. This apple was really sweet and yummy. Seriously, it tasted like it had already been dipped in caramel! Yum!

In sacrament meeting, the family of of one of my sunbeams sat on the the row I was on. And they brought cousins! That was the best. I handed out some extra stickers that we had used in primary class. In return, I was entertained by the really awesome pictures made. The 2 little boys that were next to me were using the pine tree stickers as rockets in thier picture! It was awesome! They also drew a rocket that had a trail of every color of fire behind it. This was cool, because it wasn't like "oh haha how cute, they are drawing colorful fire" but they actaully knew about the different colors of fire and explained as they drew that the blue fire was really hot, and the red was the least hot, and so on. I was impressed! They are only about 6 or 7 years old! After drawing the rocket, they proceeded to draw a blue jupiter, saturn, and sun. ("wow a blue sun is really hot!" said one) They asked me if a blue sun really exists (I was explaining to them a few astronomy facts as they drew) and I told them I hadn't heard of one. So now I am wondering if there are any. Does anyone know?

On the other side of the paper, the cousin drew a jedi (Luke Skywalker, acutally) (oh and he had a Jedi figurine with him :-} ) And as he drew that, he and the other boy mused on whether lightsabers are made of light or fire. I am not really sure what they are made of, but i think I heard that they are made of some hot, light emmiting element (a gas maybe? How come i don't know this?), so I told them that. Which included explaining what element means. hahahaha.

After that, they went back to the other side of the paper where the rocket and planets were, and drew a "pirate X" (as in x marks the spot). Then they drew a treasure chest exploding. I heard once that boys tend to draw events, as they are happening (like acting it out with a pencil) and girls tend to draw portraits of a scene (what people usually think of as a drawing). Watching them draw this teasure chest exploding was proof that this theory is true. They made the sounds effects for the explosion and everything. hahaha it made me laugh!

Right after sacrament meeting I was assigned to hold a little baby as the mother (the cousins mother) went to go change a nasty diaper of another little cousin. This baby was sooo cute. And knowing me, to really like a baby is something, because I usually just don't bond with that young of a crowd. (but I am improving a lot in that area) I am really glad i got to hold it, because she was so cheerful! If you just looked into her eyes and smiled she would smile and laugh.

So, basically, I am becoming like an older sister to most of the kids in my ward. They are so fun to talk to, really kind, and draw really cool pictures. I've finally found a place where I truly fit. :)

Music

I feel like in my day I have been exposed to some great music. I just, you know, wanna share my thoughts on that.

Here are my top 5 bands/artists in this moment:

1. Weezer
2. Keane
3. Vampire Weekend
4. Regina Spektor
5. Jack Johnson

Here is what i feel these musicians represent in me:

-Weezer represents the nerdy little punk in me. Not saying that they are punk, because they aren't, but they certainly represent my sarcastic side, and they have several references to nerdy things in a few of thier songs. Which just makes me happy, so see that some rockstars out there are dorks like me.
-Keane represents the artist in me. Thier distorted and imaginative sounds turn into pictures instantly for me.
-Vampire Weekend represents the designer in me. I love the funky baroque sound they infuse into some of thier songs. When I think up clothing and accessory designs, usually it looks a lot like how Vampire Weekend sounds. (Plus they have a song with my name in it! How cool is that?)
-Regina Spektor represnts the vintage woman in me. I think any girl that is a fan of Regina is inspired by her style. I feel like everything is a little more gorgeous when I listen to her.
-Jack Johnson represents the sincere, humble, chill side of me. I don't think that I let this side out as much as I should. But Jack certainly brings it out.

My top 10 favorite songs at this moment (in no particular order):

1. Yoshimi Battle the Pink Robots- by Flaming Lips
2. The Frog Prince- by Keane
3. You Don't Know Me- by Ben Folds and Regina Spektor
4. We Can- from the Sonic Heroes Soundtrack
5. So Hot- by Wondergirls
6. Old Times- by The Whispertown 2000
7. Goodbye Mr A- by The Hoosiers
8. M79- by Vampire Weekend
9. Don't Ask Me (Hurt)- by Ok Go
10. Chemical Bomb- The Aquabats

Other Favorite Bands and artists I feel I should mention:
The Aquabats~Ok Go~Yael Naim~Math The Band~Uncle Monsterface~The Offspring~Stephen Speaks~MC Lars~Arashi~Wondergirls~Hoobastank~All American Rejects~Blessid Union of Souls~MXPX~Beyonce~Estelle~Damone~Save Ferris~Amadan~The Mollies~Rooney

In conclusion I feel like I should mention how wonderful classical music and orchestrated movie soundtracks are. I love classical music, especially playing it, and I love how movie soundtracks can stir up the imagination.
One last list, of favorite movie soundtracks:
-Peter Pan
-The Cat Returns
-Howl's Moving Castle
-Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
-Whisper of the Heart
-ok, pretty much any Studio Ghibli film.
-Hook
-Pride and Predjudice

Yep. So if you are stuck in a music rut, I just typed out a bunch of ideas there for you.

I'm the paradox.

Today, I was just cleaning my room, when my sister Jill came up and asked me what I Craig and I were doing tonight.

"Uh, I dunno, probably playing video games," I replied over the warped tour screamo playing in my CD player.

I then continued to take steps in cleaning up my room, which is teeming with clothes, fashion magazines, craft supplies, accessories, and a horrid mending pile I hate to look at.

"Huh. I am kind of a paradox," I remarked. Jill: "Yes, very much so. "

Jill then went on to explain that sometimes she wonders if she has a split personality or something, because in every career and personality test she took in high school, she got exactly 50% on one end of the spectrum, and 50% on the other end. I can definitely relate to that. I definitely have 2 opposite sides of my personality. I guess? Here's the thing. If I don't think about it too hard, I can easily see two sides of my personality. A nerdy, sciency, fantasy/scifi side, and an artistic, fashion oriented, music and dancing side.

But wait. If I start to think just a little past that, suddenly, my personality seems more overlapped, and scattered. What about the piece of me that loves punk and ska? Or the piece that enjoys watching kids movies? There are so many that i don't feel like fit in those two categories, but aren't big enough to fit in their own.

Somebody with probably try to correct me on this, but this whole train of thought is looking a lot like the infamous double slit experiment, the one that got "quantum weirdness" going.
Here's a video to explain.



So, do you see the connection here with the double slit experiment and what i was saying about personality? Maybe? I think the two different patterns made by the particle is a good visual illustration of the two ways I can look at my personality. Maybe even personality in general! Plus, they way you look at it changes what it does!

And is every body's personality like this? Full of opposites and even contradictions? I think so, at least to a point, although people have pointed out my polar tendencies a lot. Like, more than I've seen with people in general. huh.

Now that I have managed to confuse myself and probably you, just, be yourself. Cus really, it's the best way to be.

Valentime.

Valentine's Day is great when it's on a weekend, because you can use the whole weekend to celebrate it.

At least, that's what Craig and I did. Which wasn't totally out of the norm for us because we are excited for every weekend. So, this is what we did this valentime.

Friday was my day to be the giver. I took Craig snowboarding and taught him the best I could. We had a blast of course, as craig practiced steering and staying upright, and I worked on my toe side and turning 360 degrees without tripping over the snow. Both of us mastered getting off a lift. Yay! This was a huge thing for me, because I am not a bad snowboarder, but i have always had a really hard time getting off the lift without crashing or completely falling! Anyway, we had tones of fun, and afterwards, we went back to my house for some hot chocolate. Both of us were exhausted, and we just sat around and talked and joked around for a while with my sisters Kristan and Sarah. Being really tired yet really happy and excited means, of course, that we made up some stupid jokes. The best joke was, of course, making up funny lyrics to the Oompa Loompa song.

Saturday was Craig's turn. He took me to the Planetarium (my favorite!) and we saw the Dinosaurs 3D movie. yay! Then we went back to his house for some yummy homemade italian. He also made me some delicious cupcakes! I have to say, I really loved the cupcakes. They were marble swirl flavored. After that, we headed over to the adult session of stake conference. It's funny, because both of our stakes were having conference. But we decided to go to mine together. After Stake conference, we went to my house (after getting some more cupcakes from Craig's house) and watched The Empire Strikes Back. Which probably doesn't sound like a very romantic Valentine's Day activity. However, if you know me and Craig, it makes sense, because Star Wars just rocks. Plus, we were too tired to do anything else.

Today we went up to my Aunt's house with some of my family. We had some delicious Barbacoa Pork, played rock band, our own version of pictionary, and saw the cute new little puppies . It was, as usual, a relaxing and fun visit! And then on the way home, we played "Corrupt a wish", which is seriously such a great game.

Spending time with Craig is the best. We are always laughing. And we have such great conversations. Thanks Craig, for being such a sweet and amazing boyfriend!

My happy place.

Every time I go to the Planetarium, my mood is completely elevated past the stars and into nerd heaven.  Something about going and escaping into something educational and fun completely changes how I feel.  It's amazing!

Lately, I have been feeling pretty down, probably due to winter depression, but tonight I went to the Planetarium to preview the new movie Under the Sea. By the time the movie was over, I was back to appreciating the fact that i am alive. By the time I was out of the gift shop, I was quite cheerful! I remember my psychology teacher said that everyone should find one thing that seems to cheer them up no matter what. Then, when you are feeling down, you can try that one thing. If it doesn't cheer you up, you know it's time to seek help. I am starting to think that the planetarium is the thing that always cheers me up.

This preview was really cool, because only planetarium members were invited, so everyone there was like me; someone that enjoys learning about biology and the earth and animals. It was really neat because before the movie, an expert came and talked about the biodiversity of the coral triangle (the area around Papua New Guinea and the Philippines) and the bacteria found on Sea Squirts in that area. It turns out that some of the Strains of these bacteria produce substances that can be used in pharmaceutical drugs.  These bacteria can produce new chronic pain relievers, and fight against tuberculosis and maybe even cancer!

As for the new Under the Sea movie, I highly recommend it. It might get a little "propaganda-ish" on the subject of global warming, but it's not overwhelming and the are many amazing sights to see and facts to learn in this movie.  Sea life is sooo beautiful.  I would really love to go scuba diving someday.  

In other news, I helped out at the primary activity today. I was the caller for bingo. hehehe. I love Primary. I feel like I can't say it enough.  There were lots of perks too. Such as a soon-to-be-decorated door hanger? Oh yeah. And a free cookie. 

And last but not least, I wore my Kermanian Monster fur leg warmers AND my colorful heart tights today, which gave me an instant dosage of happiness as soon as I put them on.  I love my monster fur leg warmers. I should make more, in bright colors.

Crushes.

Most people that know me know that i have a tendency to crush on fictional characters. I have a hard time hiding it! There's just something about them that's so magical. (ha. obviously.) So I am going to try and make a list, in chronological order, of all the fictional crushes I have had.

-Simba (From Lion King)
-TJ Dettweiler (From the TV show Recess)
-The Guy from the game Math Blaster (That might just be the dorkiest one)
-Link (From the video game Zelda)
-Matt (From the TV show Digimon)
-Izzy (From the TV show Digimon)
-Tai (From the TV show Digimon)
-Davis (From the TV show Digimon)
-This one guy from Cardcaptor Sakura (I think..I can't remember his name)
-Eric (From Boy Meets World)
-Matthias (sp?) (From the book Redwall)
-Haku (From the movie Spirited Away)
-George Weasley (You should know where he is from...)
-Prof. Lupin (haha a teacher crush)
-Frodo Baggins (If you don't know what he's from then I am ashamed..)
-Samwise Gamgee (Same story as Frodo)
-Pippin (Same as Samwise)
-Pazu (From the movie Castle in the Sky)
-Sam the Onion Picker (From Holes)
-Lightning McQueen (from Cars)
-Spiderman
-Wolverine
-Kronk (From the movie Emperor's New Groove)
-Prince Philip (From Sleeping Beauty)
-Baron Humpbert Von Gikkingen (from The Cat Returns)
-Peter Pan
-Buzz Lightyear (Fell in love with him at Disneyland)
-Howl (From Howl's Moving Castle)
-Sonic The Hedghog (From the video game duh)
-Shadow the Hedgehog
-Knuckles the Echidna (he has nice shoulders)
-Jim Halpert (From The Office)
-Seiji Amasawa (from Whisper of the Heart)
-Yamada Taro (From the show Yamada Taro)
-And Yamada's hot best friend of course
-The main guy from Pom Poko (What's his name?)
-Cyborg (From the show Teen Titans)
-Robin (From the show Teen Titans)
-Beast Boy (From the show Teen Titans)
-Bolt (from the movie Bolt) (Not as an animal!)
And most recently:
Luke Skywalker (and if you don't know what movie he is from, then you certainly don't deserve the title of nerd! or life.)
I've been watching the old Star Wars movie lately, and I just realized that luke is a great man! He has nice eyes, a good smile, willingness to learn, humble, caring, great sense of adventure...and he has the Force.

Should I explain myself? Well, let's just say I am attracted to males that have nice voices, eyes, like to take action, and have a heroic, caring demeanor.

frosting

Life is full of yummy goodies. Here's a bunch of the goodies my life has collected lately: (in chronological order)

1.Friday, Jenna and I went to the planetarium to watch Space Station 3D. I love the planetarium so much. Also, we had Panda Express. Yummyyyy!
2. Also on friday, I drove home in very thick fog, through and unfamiliar area. And, I didn't get lost! I feel good about that because it's like...wow, I can hold myself together in a tough situation and figure it out!
3. Saturday, I got to see my old A-team. Oh goodness! I love my homeschool buddies. Here's a shout out to all you that came on saturday!
4. While hanging out with aformentioned buddies, I rock out on rock band, and surprised myself. I felt really cool, and dedicated that one linkin park song to my cousin Bryan. :D
5. Cupcakes! Craig and I made the frosting for the cupcakes on saturday, and craig had this brilliant idea for cherry almond flavored frosting. I made it bright blue, and behold, it was swank.
6. On sunday, I taught the sunbeams for the first time. What sweethearts! They are such good examples of compassion and friendship.
7. Also on sunday, i was able to attend a court of honor, to see the rite of passage of a boy becoming an eagle scout. What a great kid! I was able to see some of my wardie friends, which is refreshing. I think one of the best parts was when the brand new eagle scout started a round of applause for his mother.
8. After the Court of Honor, i went home and watched a Hallmark movie, entitled "Loving Leia." Hallmark movies are so cheesy, but the warm fuzzies I get from them are worth it.
9. Monday, I just felt great after my Zumba class. I also had a delicious lunch of a tomato, lettuce, and onion sandwich. hahahahaha there were free hoagies for the institute students, and they had run out of meat by the time I got there. But, I am so poor that i took what food I could get...it wasn't like there was going to be anything else for me.
10. Monday night, Craig and I played my favorite video game, Sonic Adventure 2. To many gamers, this game may seem a little old (it's for gamecube) but it's still my very favorite! We have been taking turns beating stages to get through the story mode. it's been really fun, but after like 3 hours tonight, we are burnt out.
11. On tuesday, I got a couple rather nice compliments from my friends during lunch. They said that they really like my style! :)
12. I found an old dirty CTR ring lying around at home, so I brought it to jewelry making class and shined it up. It looks great now!
13. Tuesday night, i played around on the piano, and learned 2 Regina Spektor songs. She is seriously amazing! I love playing her music.
14. Today and on tuesday, i made some delicious chow mein with eggs for lunch. Yummy!

A paradox

I just totally realized that my life is contradicting itself right now. Just in the past week, I have had many exciting events happen. Amazing stuff! But at the same time, i feel so lazy and unmotivated. I don't get it.
The wierd thing is that everyone around me seems ultra active and excited for life.
It could just be the fact that it's january, and i just don't do well in january. But, it has been rather sunny lately. I thought the reason I don't do well in january was because of the lack of sunlight. In theory, i should be rather excited and happy.

So, here it my fix-it/make it work appraoch to the whole situation:

I have already identified the problem, now what is going on that could be making it worse?

a. Headaches. Why am i having headaches? Tight headbands? Dehydration? Too much sugar?
b. Procrastinating. I could get most of my homework done before I teach, yet i don't. That's just one of many examples.
c. I haven't paid my tithing for months. This is probably contributing to my recent lack of self confidence and independence
d. Senseless spending.
e. Too many interruptions. In conversation, in homework, in everything! It takes me so long just to get one thing done.

Now I will derive solutions for the problem based on what makes it so bad:
1. Drink more water and go to bed earlier. This will probably relive headaches, and if I start my bedtime routine earlier i won't skimp out on the full routine. Also, if I drink more water, I won't crave everything else as much.
2. Get home, sit and play with dogs for 5 minutes, and them do some math homework. It's the only homework I have this semester, since my other classes are all in-class work so i may as well do it!
3. Keep track of paid lessons, pay tithing monthly, and make a spending priority list I can keep in mind when out and about.
4. Do my chores and homework without touching my phone, and listen to the full sentence/story without interrupting. Now, if anyone would please offer advice to keep people from interrupting me, i would appreciate it, because I swear, I am about to explode from the amount of cut-off sentences i say every day. I might just get mean if i have to. And it's the people that do it to me who always say i never listen, I am selfish, whiny, blah blah blah...well maybe if they listened and got to know me, they wouldn't be saying such things.

There. This will keep me on track for a little while. Hope you didn't mind the little angry outburts at the end of the list there. I am going nuts!
This method of dealing with life was inspired by my best friend Miche, who said if you can just get it out of your head and on paper, or in someone's ear, you can pretty much deal with whatever comes your way. She writes essays when she has to figure things out.

In case you were wondering, here's the exciting stuff that's happened lately:
~I got a new snowboard! yay!
~I am now teaching the sunbeams! Best calling ever.
~I am almost ready to transfer up to USU! And I am getting an amazing scholarship while at it!
~I rediscovered my love for Star Wars!
~I get to keep making amazing jewelry! I hope this is something I can keep pursuing throughout my life.

sincerity

When I was younger, as you probably know, my favorite show was digimon. On this show, each character have a trait that was kindof their own power. My least favorite charcters usually had the power of sincerity. "How is sincerity important?" I always thought. I didn't understand how that was a trait; what sincerity really means.
Well, of course I have learned more about sincerity, and now it's one of the most important pieces in my life. I strive for sincerity all the time. I want to be sincere, and I want others to be sincere towards me.
What is sincerity? Basically, sincerity is meaning what you do or say. It's putting your heart into your words and actions. To me, sincerity is also being enthusiastic about life and the activities therein. It's the real deal.

Sincerity just makes things so much more pleasant. No deceit, no halfhearted attempts, no cynicism or biting sarcasm(not that sarcasm is always wrong, but there is definately a taste line there), just people being honest and open about their thoughts and feelings.

So, in honor lovely virtue, I have made a list of sincere things:

1. Jack Johnson lyrics. "The doctor gave him 2 weeks, I would give him more if I could." "I remember watching that old tree burn down, I took a picture that I don't like to look at." Just a couple examples. I just love his lyrics.
2. Last week, Craig brought me flowers just because. Not roses though, because he remember that a few months ago i said roses are kind of cliche. So, he asked me what my 3 favorite colors are and brought me daises in those colors!
3. When you dance all crazy and you don't even care that people are laughing at you.
4. My friend Zach has always written me these nice notes, and they are always sincere. Little random notes are the best.
5. Specific, well meant compliments. Usually it's easy to tell when compliments are sincere. And those are the best.
6. My dog Briar Rose. She is probably the most sincere thing on earth. She is always happy to cuddle up, or jump on you, or whine with you if you are sad (or just act sad)
7. Kisses that you wait for. When you are willing to deal with someone for months with little physical affection, it makes the relationship so much more sincere. Rushing into the physical side of the relationship, to me gives a more shallow motivation to spend time together. Then, before you know it, you find yourself not accepting their personality, yet you are stuck to this person because you can't give up that physical affection.
8. Shopping at a thrift store when you can afford new things. I think this says a lot about true frugality, true development of style, and true concern for the amount of potential waste that should be there.
9. And last but not least, crying in movies (or when you see other people cry) is a great act of sincerity. Crying with someone really backs up the fact that you feel for them and are concerned for their feelings. I am not saying that you aren't sincere if you don't cry, because many people are, but not many people would go for the discomfort of crying for kicks.

:D I am going to try and do more sincere things. I think that the greatest gift you can give anyone is the knowledge that they can always rely on you for truth, love, and support.

Adventures in Winter Break.

On monday...I start school again. I love school, but I am sad to go back, because I have loved loved loved this winter break. Here, enjoy this list of happy things I have done in the past few weeks:

1. Rediscovered my love for Jack Johnson, especially the Curious George soundtrack.
2. Had a few wrockin band practices. I think we are getting better!
3. Gone cupcake/vintage shopping with Michelle and Bri. I got a hat! One that actually looks good on me!
4. Got 275 pictures printed, and a bunch of them scrapbooked.
5. Cleaned/organized my room.
6. Finished beating all the team stories on Sonic Heroes. (now for the final story!)
7. Had some good times with the puppets at work.
8. Watched Teen Titans and realized what an awesome show it is.
9. Developed a deeper love for 1920's Fashion
10. Went to a ghetto discount store
11. Discussed Dumpster diving with several people that are surprisingly way into it (still haven't done it though)
12. Ate lots of Asian confections.
13. Had a way fun sleepover with Miche.
14. Met Craig's dad's side of the family and had so much fun!
15. Watched many old home videos.
16. Went on several fun dates with Craig.
17. Hung out with Kim!
18. Saw High School Musical 3 and loved it! It made me way hyper of course. And, bought a cardigan and recieved free ice cream. :)

For New Years Eve I went to the institute dance. I haven't gotten dolled up and went dancing for so long, and it was such a blast. Ah it feels so great to dance! It was amazing. I was able to see some old friends too, which made it all the better. For part of the dance they had a magician come, and I was called up on stage. The magician did a magic trick in which he turned a balloon into a bunny, and because I participated, he gave me a bunny puppet! I named it Duck, because I had told him my favorite animal is a duck. I love bunnies, but I thought that it would make a good name because when I told the Magician that I love ducks, he called the bunny a duck onstage. It was just funny.

Christmas was awesome. I got pop-it beads, a camera, some awesome movies, and of course, a few new things to wear. What can i say? I just love wearing things.

And a marvelous time was had by all. :)