Fond Memories by Em

I can't stop laughing.

2012-01-23T13:46:00.001-08:00

Scatterbrained.

2011-11-13T14:23:00.001-08:00

I've had a lot of half written blogs lately. I'll start something out and then half-way through I'll realize it's not what I want to write about. I'll have spent so much time on it that I can't bring myself to delete it, but still they sit in the draft folder.

School is busy. I've got so much to do and little desire to push through with it. But things are good. Thanksgiving is coming up soon, and I can't wait to go home. Just a week and a half and I'll be with the people I love and stuffing my face until I feel like passing out.

One of my best friends went to the MTC on Wednesday. It's so crazy to me. I feel almost like everything is passing me by. I'm doing everything I'm supposed to, except living life. I have so many great things to be thankful for, and a wonderful opportunity to be in school here at SUU. This is an awesome school, and I have some really great professors. I should be more excited at the start of a new week. I should be looking for more opportunities to learn rather than thinking about all the work I'm going to have to do.

This weekend I went to the Opera scenes at the school. Kelli and I had a good time. It is fun to see people that I've gotten to know over the past few months perform on stage. There are some very talented people in this program.

I'm learning a lot. This Friday I will be performing in a student recital. We have to do one every semester. The song I'm going to sing makes me nervous. It's got this jump in the beginning that I've never really had to do in the past. But I will work hard on it and I will be ready to sing on Friday.

I miss CEU, and my friends. I feel a little bit on the outside here. I'm sure that it's my fault just because I don't put myself out there, but sometimes I just wish things could be easy. Unfortunately that's not the way it is.

This blog is kind of random and it shows you how crazy my mind has been at least for the last week. My thoughts are jumping every where. Hopefully, Thanksgiving break will come a little faster and I'll be home with all of my family and my cute nieces and nephews. I can't wait!

The snow is here, whether I like it or not.

2011-11-07T20:02:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me, is familiar with the fact that I hate snow. I don't like to drive in it. I don't like to walk in it, and I don't like to be cold.

These all sound really negative, because they are. I grew up with hot summers and mild winters. When I was at CEU, I had to endure winters with snow. My roommates always made fun of me because I was not a fan of winter.

There was a day that I wore flip flops and came out 3 hours later from a class and it was a blizzard. I walked all the way back to my apartment wading through the snow unpropected. smart move, right?

This year I am more prepared. I bought awesome snow shoes at Walmart for $22. For expecting to pay $50, i'd say I did a dang good job.

They aren't the most fashionable, but they get the job done. I'm much more concerned with being dry & warm feet than a perfect outfit. ~~Have you seen some of the stuff I wear?~~

All day I was pretty warm, and the snow didn't bother me so much. The only annoying thing was when the snow would blow into my face. Otherwise, I could handle it. :)

These are some of the things I saw on campus.

see the slushy-ness on the ground?

You know those people who like to kick it up in the air?

annoying.

that was me today

doesn't this make you feel like like it's Christmas?

'tis the season!

it looks so deep

autumn leaves and winter snow.

pretty

~~(if you don't have to walk in it)~~

These are just a few photos I took from the day. I was pretty reluctant to start the week, but oddly.. it's pretty nice to get back in the swing of things.

We're starting to get into more complex things in my classes, I'm really having to pay attention to understand all of it.

But I'm grateful for this chance to be in college at a great school, and in a great program.

but this sure doesn't mean I'm not excited for thanksgiving! :)

How Now Brown Cow?

2011-11-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

This is the point in the semester when it starts to get difficult. Assignments keep piling up and I am not sure I can handle it.

A really bad thing happened yesterday. El Vafe is not working anymore.

It's forced me to start walking to school. Which means I have less time to spend at home. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I feel like those 15 minutes make a difference. A lot can be done in 15 mins. It's amazing the difference now that I don't have a car. I can't go to the grocery store. I have to walk to classes, and church. I hate relying on other people too. Yesterday I was feeling really sick, but I had to walk home. So I started walking across campus, I made it to the other side and then just lost all of my energy. I had to sit down for a few minutes just to regain some strength. I called Kol and thankfully he was nice enough to give me a ride home.

This sounds like a whining blog, but really what I'm trying to say about this... is I'm so grateful that I had a car the last 3 months of school. I've been very spoiled.

Onto a new note, Thanksgiving is in a few weeks. I can't wait to be home. My whole entire immediate family will be there. This is a first in a really long time.

I like all my classes except trig. Can I quit trig now?

On the brighter side, I won't be taking math again for the rest of my college career. I'm dropping my minor. :D and I totally think that it's right.

Hopefully this weekend will come faster.. I'm ready for the break.

All Hallow's Eve

2011-11-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

What did you do on Halloween?

Here is a little look into what I did:

1. We ate some really good food. Kelli made chili which I heard was really amazing. I'm sure it was. I was a little bit distracted by the carrot chowder that Kol made. His mom always makes really good carrot chowder on Halloween. This was just like I remembered it. We also had rolls and sparkling cider. yum.

2. What is Halloween without Hocus Pocus?

I realized how long it's been since I've seen this. I loved it just like I did the last time I saw it.

3. Dessert: Pumpkin chocolate shake. it was so good.

I also ate a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie. absolutely amazing.

4. Scary stories that turned into watching scream. I knew I wouldn't sleep and I would get really freaked out if I let myself. Basically I just started laughing at everything. (Trying not to do it out loud). Then I decided to sleep. ~~I don't do well with scary movies.~~

The night was a lot of fun. I was so tired by the time I got home.

Here's just a few more pics:

I put black eyeliner really thick around my eyes to feel like I was Halloween-y.

Kelli goes all out.

freaky

When we we got there someone had halloween orange lights outside. By the time we left, around 12:10, they had switch them to Christmas lights. Crazy, right? They must be excited. :)

Came back and my eyes looked like this...

semi-normal?

don't ask about the face...

I was exhausted.

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! :)

The power of the mind.

2011-10-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

It's amazing the capabilities we have. Our mind is incredible and is able to do more than we think it can.

This last friday my day did not start off that great..

Flashback to Thursday night 1AM:

I'd been at the ELC doing math homework until 1AM because it was due the next day, and I didn't really understand it. It had been hard to stay focused and keep on top of it because every time I would start it I would become frustrated pretty quickly. So here I was late the night before these assignments are due, trying to play catch up. I finished one homework assignment and still had about 3/4 of the other one to do. I got home and was so tired that I decided I wouldn't be able to focus anyway. I would just get up early in the morning and finish it then. I set my alarm, put it across the room (that's the only way I will wake up), and climbed into bed.

Okay, now it's 8:01 AM. I wake up and see it's light outside, much brighter than usual at 6:30AM. Keep in mind, my music theory class is at 8:00AM. I immediately start freaking out. Not only do I usually give another girl a ride to this class, it's a quiz day. (why does it have to be on a quiz day?). I hurry up and type an email to my professor and pray that he is understanding and will let me take it another day even though this is the 2nd time something like this has happened. My other math assignment also isn't finished so I quickly hit the books.

My next class is at 10AM. I'm still not done with the other assignment but I have to go to class anyway.

I'm walking to Music of the World and I am thinking about how awful this day is and how I wish that these things hadn't happened. I then realized that I am going to make this day a good one. I changed my attitude and hoped for the best.

Thankfully, it was a group meeting day and we finished a bit early (even though there's always that one girl in each group that you just have to compromise with her). So I have a few minutes to finish the rest of the assignment. Wahoo! I finish it.

I head to Trig, where I totally understand everything he talks about.
Then I have a break, and head to the costume selling event. She buys some sweaters and we engage in some good convo.

Then I had a presentation in my education class. It went SO well. I had an amazing group to work with and we did an awesome job. (I love teaching).

Studio class was good and I enjoyed it.

Then I finally got to go home. Shortly after I skyped with Leisl which is always so much fun.

and ended the day with good old HP 6 with Kelli and Ali. and some trig too.

All in all, I changed my attitude about things and ended up having a really great day.

by the way: my music theory prof. emailed me back and said I can take it on monday. YES!

So if you are having a bad day just try to look for the good things and make a conscious decision to make it a good one.

P.S. one of my best friends, lacey, has her farewell this weekend. She is so awesome and is going to be such a great missionary in the Ukraine! YAY!

miss you already.

midterms... check

2011-10-25T22:23:00.000-07:00

hmmm.... Do homework or blog?

Things have been odd lately. It's as though I'm just going through the motions.
Sometimes I say things and then I look back and think.. "Why?" I guess it's just been one of those weeks.

Just in case you all wondered... I just got the biggest urge to watch twilight. haha. I will have to suppress it, because netflix doesn't have it..

I checked.

I'm not a raving fan or anything, but I just think it's so dumb and cheesy that I love it.

Anyway. Let's start into this...

As I said before, things have just been weird lately. Classes are becoming second nature, my days are blurring, and things are becoming comfortable. I guess that's good and bad. Good because I'm starting to feel more at home here but also bad because when you're too comfortable that's when mistakes start happening and you feel like slacking. Or maybe that's just me.

That's not to say that I have been slacking. Actually, I've been quite on top of my assignments, except for the occasional trig assignment (where I wait until the day before). I'm glad that I am really trying this semester. I really do enjoy most of my classes. It makes going to them and doing the work for them a lot easier.

My midterms are behind me, and I think I am doing pretty well in my classes. There are a few that I'm a bit nervous about, but all I can do is my best right?

Aural Skills is proving really difficult for me. I never would have thought that I was going to have so much trouble. I honestly believed that music theory would be one of my most difficult classes. It's not (i do have an awesome professor though). The thought of listening to something and just being able to write it down, BOGGLES my mind. It is so difficult. I don't know what to do with it. But I'm trying to be better at it. My tests are improving... semi.

Trig. OH trig. Unfortunately, I've grown to really detest it. (good thing i'm dropping the math minor, right?). Now that I don't have to have the class anymore, I have the thought of "Why did I take this?" run through my mind just a little too frequently. Meg was right. I need that stupid unit circle memorized. ugh. I guess i should start doing that.

Basically, these are the 2 classes that I probably won't get an A in. Sad, I know. I'm working pretty hard and so it distresses me to think my grades won't be perfect. If I'm gonna put the work in, I should get the grade I want! haha.

By the way. I found a white hair the other day. PURELY white. It's so sad. I can't believe i'm already getting them.

I've finally finished all my homework. This post is odd, like all the rest of them. Shows my life is a bit odd right now.

I'm going to sleep. YAY!

this is so random

2011-10-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

so i had this blog post all filled out. It was a questionnaire. I just decided i didn't want to post it. So here is the alternative.

Last weekend was fall break, and now it's the weekend again. It was so weird to only go back to classes for a few days and then be off for 2 again. I'm definitely not complaining. I think it's so wonderful.

last night kol and i rented some movies from redbox. 4 to be exact. haha. i was totally alert and awake for the first one. the second one i closed my eyes for a few moments (which was really sad by the way because it was "The King's Speech" and I really wanted to see it.) But the movie was really good. I really enjoyed it. Next was thor. I probably watched maybe 5 mins. and then I was out for the rest of it. And then some other scary movie. Definitely didn't watch any of that one. haha. I was so tired. I am honestly becoming an old woman. these early morning classes are kicking my butt. Next semester, that will still be the same too. 8AM monday through friday.

here's a photo:

cute, i know. haha

(side note: the photo uploader on blogger?

so much better.)

Today on my list of things to do: HOMEWORK.

I've got 2 sections of trig. Music theory. a presentation. and stuff for the Experiential education class i'm forced to take every semester.

~~Rant~~ Random thoughts for today:

- why must there be so many repetitive unnecessary classes to take to get a degree? please stay longer at our university and pay us more money...

- loving this weather. not ready for the bitter cold.

- how does anyone decide what they want to do for the rest of their life? I'm so deathly afraid of spending so much time to get a degree and either not finding a job, or not wanting to do it a few years down the road.

- I need to take more photos. I've started taking my camera places, but I think I'm too afraid to take it out and use it. haha weird? yes. most definitely.

Alright. I think I've rambled enough. Sorry if this post seems a little weird and random. That's kind of how I feel today.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! :)

Honey, I'm home.

2011-10-18T14:49:00.000-07:00

I'm never satisfied with the length of these breaks.

I always wish that I had just one more day. (like I would feel differently).

This morning I was basically kicking and screaming. My parents loved it, I'm sure. haha.

I just had such a wonderful time that I couldn't believe it was already time to come back and face reality and school work again.

Breakdown of the weekend:

Spent time with "Sadie, Sadie Married Lady"(a quarter to the 1st person who recognizes the reference) aka- Mrs. Ritchie.

I got to see their new apartment and the things they received from their wedding guests. They got some really nice things and some odd things too. That's probably pretty standard though. I'm sure everybody always gets the things that people dig out of their closets that have been buried under there for 50 years.
We spent some time shopping for things still on her registry that they need only to leave the store empty-handed. Long story and really frustrating. I felt bad for Alyssa. Don't register at the target on Stephanie. or shop there. (this is what they get).
She locked her keys in her car with my bag of ice in the backseat (hahaha). It's ok. the ice was fine.
I've missed being able to see her whenever I want to. Especially now that she is a married woman, it probably will be a bit harder to get in contact with her. She's just so wonderful. I'll miss her.

Math with my brother

I recently didn't do so hot on a math test. (BUT he drops a test)
Michael was nice enough to help me out with the things I didn't quite understand.
He's a genius.
I'm sure he was frustrated with me, but he is so wonderful to continue to help me. I can tell that he really cares for me and wants me to do well.
I will rock this comprehensive final.

The Conrads

I used to spend all my nights at their house, and I think my family was a little jealous. They always refer to them as my second family.
It was good to see them. I always laugh a lot. They love me enough to pick on me. (that's the relationship I have with everyone. haha)
The pumpkin chocolate chip cookies were so good. (i ate a few too many)

Mom and Dad

My relationship, especially in the last few months, has changed with my parents.
They are so giving and so wonderful. They truly want me to do the best I can.
Bonding with my mom the last little while has been fun. It's so carefree and wonderful. I'm learning so much about her that I didn't know before.
My dad is getting to be a softie in his older years. Don't worry, he was always sensitive. Now it just shows a bit more. I'm so grateful for him in my life.
They are my rocks.

Did I do any homework?

-not really

Did I take pictures?

-of course not

I never do all the things I plan to do... oh well.. Maybe next time.

Trip down memory lane

2011-10-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

This weekend is fall break. THANK GOODNESS. I was really desperately needing some "me" time. I've been so busy lately that I've felt like I haven't been able to take a breather. Well this weekend is going to be full of wonderful relaxation.

My car is not one that likes to go long distances. My dad thinks that I can drive it from cedar to vegas and then back again. I think he's crazy. I guess he would know better than I would, but still. I wouldn't want to take the chance and then be stranded on the side of the road in the gorge with no cell phone service. It would totally be just my luck.

My parents were nice enough to come up to cedar city and come get me, just so I could spend a few days at home. So what are my plans for the next few days? absolutely nothing... :)except I've already decided to be useful instead of a bump on a log. When I get back in the swing of things at school it's hard to slow down and do nothing. (except in the summer.)

My parents have a storage room with tons of family photos and memorabilia. It's all in boxes on shelves. I want it to be separated into categories so maybe I can make a slideshow with photos or something in the future. There is so much history on those shelves, and it's begging to be sorted.

We've spent just a little bit of time so far reminiscing and going through old photos. Most of them don't have me in them or are about one of my other siblings but it's so fascinating to hear all of these stories and see pictures I haven't seen before. I want to know more about my grandparents on both sides of the family, read letters my parents wrote back and forth when they were engaged, and see photos and comment about how my dad was pretty good looking back in the "old days."

It's so wonderful to be with the people you love in a place that is so familiar and comforting. I have so much to be thankful for. My life is pretty fab, if I do say so myself.
- I get to learn so much at a great University
- I have a wonderful family that loves me and would do anything for me
- I have awesome friends
- I have a nice apartment to live in
- a mac
- I am alive and well

These are obviously just a few things I'm blessed with and I couldn't possibly list them all.

Each day is another chance to start over, and make the best of every opportunity.

I'm grateful for all of you in my life. Thanks for everything.

I have the hiccups.

2011-10-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

Thankfully the weather was pretty nice today. I don't think I could have suffered through another episode of psycho weather like we had all last week.

I'm having a hard time figuring out what I can blog about for today. So I guess I will just blog about a few of the things that describe me. This is a blog all about me and what I go through right?

- I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am a Christian, and would be nothing without my Lord and Savior. Through the difficult times, it can be difficult to remember my worth and why I'm here. Sometimes I get discouraged, but He never leaves me. I am so grateful for the things I have been given.

- I love my family with all my heart. Sometimes I get short with them, and overreact. But this will never change. They are my rock. My Mom and Dad would do absolutely anything for me, even if it meant that they would have less. They are selfless people who serve the Lord with all their hearts and I was so blessed to be born into this family.

- I miss my friends. I tend to seclude myself a lot, especially when I am in unfamiliar or new places. It's hard to think that I am so far away from the people I met and loved at CEU. I'm meeting people here, but I'm not at the point yet that I can really be comfortable. I've had some really wonderful people in my life who have influenced me for the better.

- I work really hard when I apply myself, but I expect a certain amount of good results when I put so much effort in. Now that I am at a full-fledged University I have to work a lot harder to get good grades. I can't coast anymore. I'm working really hard in my classes, and I hope that my grades will reflect that. Sadly. I can tell that anything less than an A in my classes will upset me. I know it's not rational to expect that, and hopefully I will come around. But for now, it's how I feel.

- I love music. As you can tell from almost every blog post, I really love what I am learning here. You already know all about this so I won't go into more detail.

I may not be popular. I may not be perfect. I may not be exactly what anyone else wants me to be. I may make mistakes every day of my life. But I am a work in progress. I need to love who I am and not care what other people think. I need to be passionate, and love everyone around me. I need to make each day better than the last.

Here's to the future..

p.s. I still have the hiccups...

This is a day that memories will be made.

2011-10-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

There is so much going on today.

Tonight marks my very first choir concert at Southern Utah University. I feel prepared. I have my glittery shirts all ready to shimmer all over the stage tonight. I have photos but they aren't very good quality. Maybe I can get some better ones later. Maybe even with me in them, but only if you're lucky. hahah.

Women's choir. directed by Sara Guttenberg

Concert choir. directed by Dr. Kevin Baker.

We are performing at the Heritage Center. This is where the Utah Symphony Orchestra Performed that I watched a few weeks ago.

It feels just like any other day. Honestly, yesterday I forgot we even had a concert today. I was texting a friend to see if she wanted to do something this weekend, and she said, "Maybe before our concert tomorrow." I totally had let it slip my mind.

I can't believe it's already concert time, and we are half-way through the semester. I feel like everything is so surreal.

I wish I could have actually blogged about this tomorrow or something, but I was short on topics and i can't lose the challenge!

But today is not just about my concert. Today is my cousin's wedding. Alyssa is getting married to Burt today and I can't be there for her reception. Though it breaks my heart that I can't be there for her special day, I know that she will be a beautiful bride and it will be special anyway. I'm so happy for her.

She is a wonderful influence in my life. She is sweet and kind. I feel so privileged to know her. Though she may never see this, I hope she knows how much I love and miss her. I will be there in spirit, rooting for her!

Congratulations Burt. You've got a great girl in your arms. I wish the best to both of you, and send my love on your special day.

This photo is better than the one I just had.

an outcast

2011-10-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

I don't really understand why I even try to get my homework all done early, because then the next day I have nothing to do. Let us take yesterday for instance. I was doing homework all night long. I finished everything that I could. About 5 different assignments. So today I could do what?... Sit and and watch Psych? Honestly I shouldn't even try to be an over achiever.

The logical thing to do would be to find someone to hang out with right? Well, I'm a little bit too reserved. I mean. I've made friends, but I don't really have the money to spend on stuff and I don't know them well enough to know something else to do.. So I just resort to laziness.

About 2 or 3 months ago I decided to give up my regular tv shows. I watched a talk by john bytheway and he talked about how if it doesn't bring you closer to the Lord then you shouldn't be watching it. Not only were these shows inappropriate but they also sucked out too much of my time. I will list the shows I was watched but have now given up.

1. Glee- Most people are surprised by that, and I've actually had quite a few people ask me if I was going to watch glee tonight. Then they look at me really weirdly when I say no.

2. The Bachelorette- It was actually mid-season when I gave this up because my dad told me he thought it was inappropriate. So when I decided to give shows up, this was at the top of the list.

3. Pretty little liars- also mid season.

4. The Secret LIfe of the American Teenager- Also mid-season. If I had to rank the shows I watched this would be at the top for both "so stupid that I don't even know why I watch it" and "Super inappropriate." Do you have guilty pleasures? Yeah this was mine. It was so stupid and I hated it every time, yet I kept going.

5. Grey's Anatomy- This was actually a recent show I had started watching last semester. I'd seen all the seasons in a really short period of time. It just started up again, but I've not watched it.

If you really think about it, this was taking up so much of my time. 1 hour each for glee, pretty little liars, secret life, and grey's and 2 hours for the bachelorette. That's 6 hours a week! I never realized it at the time but it was sucking away my life!

It's a really good thing that I have stopped watching these shows. Honestly I don't think I would have 6 more hours a week to spare. It's a great blessing to have started cutting out unnecessary time consuming things before I started being so busy!

On other news, it's really starting to get cold here. I had to wear a sweatshirt all day today. Don't worry once the cold comes the subjects of my blogs will change to how much I despise the cold! WOO HOO!

vulnerable.

2011-10-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

I've blogged a lot recently about what ever musical thing is happening in my life that day. It's become a huge part of my life. Other than Math, I live and breathe music. :)

Anyway. Yesterday I went to my studio class like I always do. Studio class is like group voice lessons or workshopping. People sing, critique is given, and then she works individually with that person with everyone watching. Today was different though.. Because I was singing... It's all fine and dandy when anybody else gets up and does it. They are all Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors. They can handle it. This was my first time being the subject. I was nervous before-hand but not anything I couldn't handle. I got up, sang my song, and kept composure even through the critiquing. Then she wanted to workshop with me.

I lost it.

Suddenly the fact that I was very vulnerable in front of 15 voice majors became more real than it was before. Every time Guttenberg (who is the most amazing voice teacher) would look at me I would close off more and keep spiraling down continuously. Obviously I no longer could compose myself enough to sing through it again, so I just sat down in the audience. I've heard it from all of them before that they have all done the same thing. It's different when you are the one. Not only was embarrassed that I had just cried in front of all these strangers, I was also upset with myself that I didn't get to sing through the song with her again and benefit from the workshopping. The longer I sat there the more ashamed I became.

The thing I have to remember is that this is a process. I am not alone and my peers will not judge me for it. Even though it was a difficult thing to experience, I am better for it. Though I would never like to do it again, It might happen. With each time I perform it will get easier. I can do this. I can graduate with my bachelors in Music Education. It's not going to be easy by any means at all, but if I want it enough, I will get through it.

Last night I attended a Utah Symphony Orchestra concert. It was brilliant. To see these musicians, that have mastered their respective instruments, play so beautifully was an experience unlike any other. There was a concert pianist there. He was the most amazing pianist I'd ever seen. He memorized 45 minutes of extremely difficult music. On top of that, he made it look so easy, with his fluid movements and gentle touch. I am so glad I had this opportunity.

To top it off, it's wonderful to see there are sweet people out there. We thought that it was free to students. We were wrong. $15! That's a lot of money to a college student who is poor. This sweet woman came out and gave up her extra ticket to me. How nice of her to do that! (I offered to help pay for theirs but they refused.) Janese, a new friend I've made) paid for her's and Garrett's ticket because she invited us. She's a really nice girl and I'm glad I've gotten to know her.

Well, conference is on today. I love Pres. Monson, and his happy-go-lucky demeanor. What a sweet man! :)

Happy Conference Weekend!

awkward.

2011-09-27T19:58:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had those moments when you are walking, you have headphones in and you start singing out loud? I do this all the time. Well today I was doing this very thing and a man came up behind me right as I was singing pretty loud.. It was pretty awkward. You would think I would be more cautious of things like that.

Anyway. Yesterday I spent the day doing practicum for my education class. First I went to the middle school. It's interesting to see how young the kids are. I can't even believe how short they are. I feel a million years old. They didn't seem as though they were really interested in being in a choir. There were 22 girls to 5 boys. How funny is that? The teacher had the boys sing the tenor line. I got the feeling that the teacher wasn't all that interested in teaching them. Later I found out why. Apparently he teaches at the high school too. I think they asked him to come try it out and teach for a year there. He said it was his first year there, and would be his last. Sounds like he's not too much of a fan of teaching that age group. I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't want to teach in a middle school either. At times I felt like I could enjoy it, but this moment solidified my former thoughts about it.

Then we were able to sit and observe the high school students. There is so much more passion and dedication there. Not only in the teacher, but in the students as well. It reminded me of all the wonderful times I had as a young high school student in choir. It was my life, and I would have been completely happy to stay there all day long and not have any other classes.

After observing all day, we got to ask him questions about what it's like and advice he could give. Honestly I could have stayed and asked him questions for a lot longer than I did (and I'm pretty sure he would have answered them... he was a talker. haha) but the boy I was with seemed pretty antzy to go. It was fascinating to hear all of this good information. Anyway, long story short... total success.

I have to give a shout out to my best friend Lacey! Her birthday was 2 days ago on the 25th! She's going on a mission the beginning of november... Nuts right! I'll miss her dearly! love you girl!

Tonight I have tons of trig. I have more i'd like to blog about but we'll leave it for another day. Good night!

remember.. it's for the experience.

2011-09-24T09:20:00.000-07:00

As I noted in a previous post, I've been a little bit nervous that my major isn't what I'm supposed to be doing. I've always been a more standoffish person until you get to know me. Teaching is not a standoffish job. Especially working with high school kids will be challenging. I have these moments that I wonder if I will be able to handle the attitude that WILL come from my future students. High school age is a difficult one. They are just starting to feel like adults, and getting a small taste of freedom. Some believe they don't need to learn anymore, and some want to learn but don't have any idea what they want to do with the rest of their lives. I'm sure some are a little of both. I will be a person that will need to inspire them. I have to be their leader, and guide them into their future. Thinking about this makes me a little overwhelmed, yet so excited. I want to inspire. I want to be a person they come to for moral, and educational support.

Recently I was called to be the choir director in my ward. I know deep down that this will be the best thing for me. This will give me some experience in directing that I haven't really had before. And honestly, this is what I'm going into so don't you think it would be perfect? Really, it is a wonderful thing. I just can't help wishing I had more experience. That I was a junior and had already taken conducting methods and vocal pedagogy. But this is when I'm supposed to be it. This will help me know that this is what I want, and help prepare me for those classes and for my future as a choir director. This music ed. program is difficult and I'm going to need all the help I can get.

Today I was thinking about all the things I should do with the choir, and I think I've mapped everything out at least for the first rehearsal. You don't realized how difficult these things can be until you are faced with them. Everything must be prepared and planned out beforehand.

I leave with this talk by Elder Russell M. Nelson. Definitely lifted my spirits about this calling, and will reinforce, for you, the need for singing praises. :)

http://lds.org/ensign/2009/12/the-power-and-protection-of-worthy-music?lang=eng&query=music+singing+praises

Happy Saturday! :)

p.s. I LOVE SLEEPING IN!

What am I doing on a friday night?

2011-09-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight I spent my time in the music building for a concert. This concert was by the Chinese Opera Orchestra.

First thing you should know... I'm not a huge fan. It's not that they aren't talented, because honestly, they are. I think it's just how loud the instruments are and how different the sound is.

My roommate and I decided to go because we both get credit for going. (side note: I have to attend 12 recitals a semester). On top of credit, I also get extra credit. Double Whammy for me! woohoo! Anyway.. they showed us the instruments and how they play them. My favorite was this one that was a miniature pipe organ you could hold in your hands. Instead of playing the notes on keys, you blow into it. Pretty awesome. This is what it looks like... I just found a pic on google.

Pretty awesome right?! I thought so too.

My least favorite instrument was a horn-ish instrument. The man who played it was extremely talented, but I just wasn't a fan of how loud the instrument was. It was almost piercing.

I don't know what any of these instruments were called because they all sounded the same to me.

But honestly, the experience was good for me. I feel more culturally enriched than I did before. They were all extremely talented musicians, and you could see the passion in them while they played (especially the soloists).

So it's only 10 PM. What am I choosing to do with the rest of my night? Homework from my favorite class. (see photo in post below).

I better get on it. I have lots of trig to get through this weekend.

Happy weekend to all!

a moment to second guess

2011-09-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

If you don't know. I'm a music ed major here at SUU. This means that I am also a vocal major. My favorite part is taking voice lessons, but then this is also the most difficult. I have always been taught to sing as an alto, and now I am having to work the notes in the higher range and it's kicking my butt.

Today, I just got back from my voice lesson, and I am physically fatigued. It's such a new experience to try and rework the way you have done something your whole life. It's as though I'm not only working on my voice, I'm changing who I am. I know that sounds super cheesy, but honestly. I have to push back my insecurities and just go for it. No matter what I look like. No matter how dorky I am. No matter how ridiculous I can be at times... I have to just give it my all and hope for the best.

Another thing that I'm finding difficult is knowing I'm for sure doing the right thing. I have these moments where I am loving everything I am learning and loving finding out that I really can do it, and others where I'm not to sure this is what I should be doing for the rest of my life. But honestly, how does anyone really ever know. I'm positive everyone has moments in their life where they question their decisions. And I feel as though since I am really just starting out with the program, I couldn't possibly know everything yet. The confidence will come. The passion is there. So I just need to stick through it and learn everything I possibly can.

I want to show you some of the stuff I'm learning to do. This may not excite you, but HONESTLY.. It gets me feeling giddy just looking at it.

Basically... I'm writing music... already... 5th week in... and I LOVE IT.

For those of you who are in school, do you ever have those second guessing moments? How are you coping with it?

"Let's play baseball with a rock!"

2011-09-21T17:47:00.000-07:00

So much time passes so quickly. I can't believe I've already lived in cedar for over a month. I've learned so much from my classes in such a short period of time.

1. I can actually get out of bed and get to class on time for an 8AM class. Amazing, I know. I've never been a morning person, and now I am actually enjoying being up so early.

2. Walking is actually nice, and quite enjoyable. Only on tuesdays and thursdays I walk back and forth from the school. The weather is amazing.

3. Thank goodness for the few people I already know that are here. I'm not quite comfortable enough to "hang out" with the people I've met in my classes. Especially Kol has been nice enough to let me hang out at the condo with him on weeknights. I call to hang out all the time. I really have been blessed to have him here with me.

4. I can't pull over nighters anymore.. It's just dumb to try.

5. I love SUU. This school is so wonderful, and there are so many great people that I have met here. I'm so glad I made the choice to be here.

These are only a few things, but over the course of the month I've really enjoyed everything about it here.

I'll leave you with a photo. Here's to you Alle Finch!

(with a book from my fav class)... ;)

lyrical fumbles.

2011-09-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I have these all the time. You know, those moments when you are singing the lyrics to a song out loud and someone corrects you and then you think, "Why in the world did I think it said that?"

Let me just tell you about the recent mishaps.

You know the song, "Live like you were dying" by Tim McGraw? Yeah. You know that part in the chorus where it goes, "I went sky divin'. I went rocky mountain climbin'. I went 2.7 second on a bull named..." Can you fill in the blanks?

Yeah. I did. I filled it with. "on a bull named Blue Man Jew"... ? What? Where did I get that and why would I think that is the lyrics? I think blue man jew is a really odd name for a bull. So the real lyrics are... "on a bull named Fu Man Chu" Really odd right? and I did get the man part. :)

The best one I have ever done in my lifetime though is the song by Shania Twain. "Whose bed have your boots been under?" I may or may not have replaced boots with boobs... Yeah... The only thing that makes me feel better is that it basically means the same thing, right? haha.

I do that all the time. I will be singing a song at the top of my lungs with someone else and get it wrong and they just laugh at me. I mean I totally would laugh at someone else too. :)

Have you ever had moments like that?

slacking.

2011-07-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

I definitely haven't been an avid blogger the last few months or even the last year, but I guess as long as I get to it every once in a while then it's worth having.

I move in a week and a half.

It's so odd to think about living in cedar. It's going to be a new experience, with new friends. A whole new life. Change has always been the best medicine for me, yet I'm so resistant towards it. That doesn't make any sense, but there it is. Funny how life works out that way. Some times the things you dislike or are afraid of, are the things that will help you the most. But I am so excited to be away at school again. There's just something about living away from home. Not that I don't love my parents. I do. Very much so. and I'm grateful for everything they've given me. But I don't feel the same freedom when I'm here. It's as though the sense of adventure is gone.

but.. I do love summer in henderson. minus the heat of course.

I've missed my family. Soon I will be home to celebrate a wedding of one of my favorite cousins.. I love her so much and wish her the best in life. and her wedding reception will be beautiful. Those Walkers.. They are all very creative.

For a week I went up and spent some time with my nephews in Utah. They really are great kids, and I love them so much. Heather had to go to girl's camp, so Jill and I came up to help out while Daniel was working. I made a special bond with the youngest that week. The funniest thing happened and I just have to share it.

P: "Can I play your iPotch?" (iPotch is my ipod. I think it's a combo of ipod and touch. haha.)
Em: You know, you are very cute, but I don't think so."
(sad face that makes me melt)
a few moments later....
P: "Can I play your iPotch?"
Em: "No I don't think so..."
P: "Can I have a kiss?"
Em: "Yes, you can."
P: "Now can I play with your iPotch?"
Em: "oooo you are a little sweet talker. kisses to get what you want. No I don't think so.."
P: "But I'm cute!"

I don't even know where it came from. He's never done anything like this before and he's 4 years old. What a crack up. haha
He really is a sweet boy. and I love him. The rest of the boys are a lot of fun too. Liam was very helpful with cleaning and other things. It was really hard because Jill and I got sick. Jill was definitely worse off than me. We had to take her to the quick care. She got the chills (shaking teeth chattering chills) and a sick stomach. I just got the latter.

This is the little boy in the story.

and a picture with Dev because I don't have many up.

Hopefully, I'll quit slacking.

aaaaaand 3 months later..

2011-03-14T00:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am still alive. I haven't blogged in a really long time, because everything about my life has been very unplanned. I didn't know where I wanted to go to school, what I wanted to major in, or what I wanted to eat for breakfast. I felt like I had so many decisions to make and no direction. I flip flopped so many times that it seemed like I would never make a decision.

Anyways. After lots of soul searching, great counsel, and prayer this is what I came up with...

I have been accepted into:

I also have received scholarship info from:

but I know it will soon also come from the other....

I had my auditions at both and was formally accepted into...

(I haven't heard yet from USU)

SO THE DECISION IS.......

My plan is to become a THUNDERBIRD in the Fall and I am SO excited. My major is....

You know.. You never expect where life will take you. And you know what? I could change my mind again, because it's a HUGE decision. But this is what it is for now and I am completely content. Now I just get to focus on making the next 2 months the best. I know I will miss the people and the experiences I have had at CEU and it has been a great part of my life. But I am SO excited to start doing what I love. So here's to the future and to the many surprises life will bring. :)

Break out your ugly sweater..

2010-12-12T10:42:00.000-08:00

CEU had an ugly sweater christmas party in the SAC building. It was so much fun! We went and got white elephant gifts (which I just decided to keep mine.. I know I am LAME) and they had a sweater contest. Also there were cookies and Hot cocoa (my personal favorite winter treat). The night was a blast.

Except.. I don't have one. I had to resort to my argyle sweater vest. But that's ok. I added a gold tree on top of it. So it worked enough.

Happy Birthday, Em!

2010-12-12T10:24:00.000-08:00

So I had my birthday a few days ago. It was great. I have great friends, and a wonderful family.

My parents got me a hot pink DVD player. Just what I wanted. I may or may not have opened it a tad early, but I figure it's ok because I might as well have it early and enjoy it longer than wait right??? hahaha

In the morning a woke up to this on my vanity.

My roommate is an awesome person. We definitely have tons of fun together. She also got me a scarf. (I LOVE scarves) and her mom is so cute. She got me a cute wallet. :)

Bethany brought me some great presents and a card that made me tear up. I didn't even know she was coming. She spends a lot of time with her fiancee (which she should) so I was glad to have some one on one time with my favorite scottish ginger. :)

Then DATE NIGHT on friday with Meg. haha. Meg is such an awesome person. I am really glad I have been able to get to know her. She is very loyal and sticks by her friends. I am GLAD I am one of them. :)

She took me to Wingers and embarrassed me by having them sing to me. but the plus is that I got Asphalt Pie. SO GOOD.

I ordered this thing...

Nuts right?

Overall, I had a great day! and i'm so glad that I had such great people to share it with!

HAPPY 21st!!!

Are you ever going to blog, Emilee?

2010-11-06T22:57:00.000-07:00

So obviously someone has decided that blogging is not on the top of her list. I haven't blogged in FOREVER. as you can probably tell. My excuse? No pictures, time or will.. haha. But now I have all of those! :)

So lately I have been crazy busy with Stud gov, RA, and classes, but this weekend we finally got a nice break. Today I cleaned, slept and did homework. All the things I needed to do. Though I'm not quite done with my cleaning it will happen soon.

Tonight I got the chance to have a killer karaoke party with the one and only Hannah. We sang everything from Grease to Whitney Houston. 2 and a half hours of heaven. haha. Hannah is a pretty rockin' girl. This is the beautiful luscious Hannah...

Awesome right? Then we came back to my apartment and played on the Nintendo DS and met up with Chelsey and Cameron while enjoying the greatest find ever... Pumpkin Pie Ice cream for only $2 for the whole carton! Awesome right!

This night was tons of fun and hanging out with these people was a blast. So ready for a new get together! :) LOVE IT.

Today is the day. :)

2010-09-24T23:29:00.000-07:00

Today is Lacey's 20th Birthday! I am so glad to have met her, and had the chance to live with her. She is such a sweet beautiful girl and I wouldN'T trade the time I had with her for anything. Happy Birthday Lace! Hope you have a great birthday! Love you lots and can't wait till you get back so we can party! Maybe someday we'll room together again. ;)

I LOVE Meg

2010-09-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

again, i just want to reiterate how much i love meg. she seriously is just a cool, cool person. everything she does is absolutely awesome. did you know that she got an a on her calculus test? she did!!!

Meg

2010-09-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

Have you met my friend Meg? If not, I feel really bad for you. Meg is the type of person that everyone should be friends with...check her out at maegantheasian.blogspot.com

School Pride

2010-09-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

I love CEU. It really has been the best place for me to be, and I made the right decision by coming here. We've had lots of fun here in the first 2 weeks, and I am so glad to be back up here.

Here are some pics from events of the last 2 weeks:

GO EAGLES! :)

From Drab to Fab

2010-09-05T22:36:00.000-07:00

WARNING:

If you are queasy and have low tolerance, you may not want to keep going.

For the last 2 weeks while I have lived in my apartment, I have noticed certain things that are... let's say... pretty gross. I have been so busy that I haven't had any time to break down and clean. Finally I had the chance, and once I started I just couldn't stop. I kept finding more and more wrong with each place.

Yesterday, my roommates mom came to visit. I wish I would have known because Iwould have moved my cleaning spree up abit earlier. But nevertheless...

To let you imagine just how bad these apartments are, her mother came in, saw our carpet and almost immediately went and rented a carpet cleaner from Smiths. Sad I know. She would clean about a 5feet in a room andthe water inside the machine would be completely black. It was REALLY GROSS. At this point I wasn't smart enough to think about taking pictures. As the adventure continued though, Idecided it shouldn't go undocumented.

Beware, may induce dry heaving.

This is all the before. Then I started cleaning...

The left is not clean

and the right is the start of cleaning.

obviously.

As you can imagine, this was an awful but completely necessary cleaning session.

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT MY MESS, BUT WHAT I MOVED INTO.

On a brighter note, I can now show you what my apartment looks like decorated!

Now it really looks like it should.

I'm loving having my own room.

I LOVE CEU. despite the grossness you saw today.

and I'm sorry about that. But it couldn't slide by without being blogged about.

The Vacation of the Year. :)

2010-08-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

So, I spent a week and a half in Sunny California. :) It was beautiful, and I absolutely loved it. The best part about it was letting go of all the things I knew I had to do, and focus solely on what I wanted to do. I loved getting a chance to spend time with my incredible family. They are so wonderful and I have been truly blessed in my life.

So onto the fab week. The first few days we spent in Anaheim and went to Disneyland. It was so much fun. It brings back memories of when I went as a kid. The whole experience was great. My nephews especially loved it. They went onall the great rides. I'm not a big roller-coaster person. Actually, I am deathly afraid of falling. So splash mountain is my worst nightmare. But I had great fun on some of the other rides. And there is just something about being in Disneyland. It really is a fun place to be.

Then on to the beach house. I took tons of pictures and I'm starting to realize how much I love editing photos and taking them. The week consisted of going out to lunch with the girls, lots of time out in the sun, collecting seashells, sitting chatting late at night, making meals all together, picnics, card games, a treasure hunt, and enjoying being in the company of people who love you.

The week we went an International Sandcastle Competition was happening right outside our backyard. Some of the sandcastles were incredible.

Now that I'm back to reality, I wish that I had just one more week at the beach. Just one more. Heck, even just one day more. But, of course, here I am at school. Working hard and moving forward.

Hope you all had sweet summers just like I did. :)

Time is of the essence...

2010-08-11T23:28:00.001-07:00

I am at the point in my life, that time is too precious to waste. I have to make huge decisions soon that will effect the rest of my life. If I make the wrong one, I could waste a lot of time and money, not to mention the added stress. I have been thinking about this a lot lately.. About how unsure I am of my major. I keep flipping back and forth in my mind of what I want to do. Obviously this isn't good enough. I need to know. I have to know. The reason I bring it up is Chandra, my old roommate and really good friend, wrote on her blog about these exact feelings. It does help that I'm not the only one struggling, but it doesn't make the decision any easier. How can you balance practicality with passion? How can I get all these thoughts in my head aligned and in sync to make the right decision? How do I know that if I choose something now I will still enjoy it 10 years down the road, or on top of that, if it will give me the funds I'll need?

My brothers are great examples to follow in guiding myself to the right career path. Daniel chose for practicality and for salary. As it turns out, he really enjoys his job. Jimmy chose passion because he loves chemistry and now works at Exxon making good money for his family. Aaron, in a sense, stumbled across Pharmacology and in the future will be bringing in a great salary some day.

They all have chosen their career path and it has worked out for them. I know that Heavenly Father is looking out of my best interests and that if I trust in him, I can make the right decision. But, I have to work for it. I have to explore and find out what will work best for me... Where do I even start?

I've talked to academic advising. I've taken those aptitude tests. I've mulled it around in my head over again. I guess only time will tell. I do still have one more year left before the 4-year university comes into play.

Thankfully I have wonderful parents who love and support me. I always know they want the best for me and will do everything in their power to help me succeed. Not only do I have wonderful parents, I have wonderful siblings that also are a great driving force for me. I would not be where I am at today, were it not for all of my family. The Lord has blessed me with great friends and family and will bless mewith direction in my life.

Just a little ranting... Sorry.

On a lighter note.. I am at a gorgeous beach in California and can here the waves crashing in right this very moment. and yes it is 11:48 p.m.

Just a little flavor of the week and the lovely place..

Gorgeous huh? Yeah. I think so too. I've got some burned legs, back and shoulders, but frankly, it's ok. I know it's going to be tan in a few days from now.

When I get back up to Price I'll post again and write about the actual trip, but for now.. the scenery will have to do. :)

Off to the Beach

2010-08-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

The last few days we've had Daniel and Heather's family staying with us. It has been great to be with them and we wish that Daniel could have stayed the week here. The kids are just as funny as ever and it has been so much fun to see them.

Lance is quite the picture taker.

He loves to take pictures and be in them. Since he is the most willing candidate of the 4 of them, I have more pictures

of him than anyone else.

Just a few more days and our whole family (except for Jill) will be heading to So Cal for a whole week. I'm really excited and it should be LOTS of fun!

Here are more pictures of the last few days:

Enjoy the rest of your summers! I know I'll be enjoying mine. :)

Thinking Back...

2010-07-21T22:28:00.000-07:00

Minus a few days since I have been home... The last 8 weeks of my life were not mine. I was completely and utterly a ZOMBIE. I would wake up in the morning (I am NOT a morning person) looking like either one of these.

Staring off blankly into the distance...

Or can't even keep my eyes open..

After getting up so early I would head down to breakfast. Then if I had the morning shift (which I usually did) I would head down to th

e computer lab. For hours we check homework, take attendance, and help the kids with their homework. In downtime there was a lot of facebooking, and game playing. I became an avid player of a game called, "Plants vs. Zombies." It was pretty awesome. Then we'd make it down to lunch. After lunch I would have a few hours off. My favorite activity was catching up on sleep I'd lost. Free time at 4 and dinner at 5:00. Usually after dinner there was some activity we would do with the kids. It was pretty non-stop until 11:00 when they had to be in bed. Then by the time you get them in their rooms and you get into your own room and get settled, it's already 12:00.

Don't get me wrong. There were some perks to this job. I got to meet some really great people. I LOVE ASHLEY CROWE. She was THE coolest person ever in this program. She taught me so much about everything. I really do try to be non-judgemental. I feel like everyone deserves the right to be treated fairly and it

's not right to treat someone a certain way based on first impressions. She is someone I will always want to keep in contact. ALWAYS. Good luck to her as she moves away from good old price. It's going to be the experience of a life-time. :D I'll come visit you for sure.

There were some great kids too. :)

This job, though it was highly stressful, was the right thing for me to be doing at this time. I learned to have just a little bit more patience. To make sure I wasn't jumping the gun and getting stressed out over nothing. I learned to look for the positive. There are always things to be positive about.

For now I am content to have no plans for the near future. I need some time to relax before I go back to the middle of nowhere.

Plus I found one of these...

Yes, that is a white hair.

Yikes I know.

First one I have ever noticed.

I heard you aren't supposed to pull them out because 3 more will pop up.

I didn't do it though...

and I can't remember who did...

Seems like old age is coming faster than I thought.

Hopefully I'll be able to pull myself together before I head out with my family to the beach house... Lots of sun, a sweet tan, quality time with my family, and oodles of time to relax..

I think this is just what I need...

The new addition in my life.

2010-07-04T21:21:00.000-07:00

This post has been a long time coming. I have been dreaming and hoping that this would happen soon. A lot of my friends have been annoyed because this right here is all I have wanted to talk about.

My little pink acer laptop broke. Sad I know. BUT,

thankfully I have been blessed with a good enough job that this is not completely the end of the world. Actually, it has been quite an exciting few weeks.

For a long time I have wanted an apple computer. I have heard they are the best in the business, and that they don't get viruses as easily as the rest. I could talk about all the reasons why I love Mac computers FOREVER, but I won't.

Korinne and I made a trip up to Salt Lake just so I could splurge all this money.

All photos have been edited on my new macbook.

We had a really great time and it was fun to make it out of the middle of nowhere and into the civilized world.

We even met up with Chandra for some late lunch. It was really nice to see her and catch up on the last few weeks.

I got a pretty good deal on this MacBook. Not only do I have a new laptop, but I have a printer, iPod touch and iWork. You can't go wrong with the apple education discounts! :)

I am all for going Mac. The only problem is... I don't really know how to work it! This next month I have to become a pro at my new Mac because school in the fall is coming up. If I want to get good grades on my assignments I am going to have to know how to write a paper on this thing.

You should have seen the guy who helped me at the apple store. He was making fun of me the whole time. He mostly kept looking at me like I was going to faint from being so nervous. Oh well. I'm sure he got a kick out of it.

Now to get back to playing around on the new computer so I can get it all out of my system before the high schoolers get back. WISH ME LUCK! :)

20.... 20.... 20.... but not my age.

2010-06-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

Recently, I have been employed for a program called Upward Bound. We work closely with high school students. So closely that it is "live in" with these kids 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Crazy, I know. We've already managed to get through 2 1/2 weeks and only have 3 weeks from yesterday left (No... I'm not counting..)

There are good times and bad of course (as there are with any job). But these are the things I love:

1: Nightly chats with the other RAs in Ashley's room while Tammy goes at it on the gazelle (The workout equipment, not the animal)

2: Getting my butt kicked at pool almost every time I play

3: One on one with my girls

4: The talk of who's hot and who's not in the team meeting. (hahaha)

5: Playing games and facebooking in the computer lab everyday... for hours. aka-Plants vs. Zombies

6: Feeling like I'm making a difference in someone's life

7: Making fun of Brandon for hitting on all the high school girls

8: Improv-- yes, I am pretty funny--

9: Playing around the world pingpong and seeing Tammy biff it on the floor

10: Trying to beat the other camps to the cafeteria just so we don't have to be behind in line.

11: Doing the best I can every day to work hard and put my best foot forward.

Willy is such a cheater...

I think the most important thing I can learn from this is to look for the positive and mentally list them in my mind, so that when I get overwhelmed I can think about all the things that are going well.

Being so far away from home so that I don't have the capability to pick up and leave has been difficult for me. I can't visit my mom mid-day and then come back to work at night. It's taught me self-reliance and I've gained a better realization that if I want something I will have to work hard for it. Nothing comes easy. It's meant for me to be here right now making the best of it. I might as well enjoy the ride while I'm here.

Positive Reinforcement

2010-06-08T07:35:00.000-07:00

I was eating lunch with some of the kids I am working with and all of the sudden one of them turns to me while I'm talking and says, "You have really nice teeth." I was really taken back because I've never thought they were anything special. But recently I had just started using Crest Whitestrips to help whiten my teeth a bit. I guess it had been working. :) So I thanked her and we moved on but I kept thinking back to it.

Take a guess. What was the first thing I did when I got home that day?

Go to the bathroom. But after that I put in some Whitestrips to help whiten my teeth a bit more.

I believe this must be the secret to working with these high school students. I mean it worked on me and I was a high schooler just a few years ago.

Freaky Moment for the day.

2010-05-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

I'm living in Burtenshaw this summer for the Upward Bound Summer Camp I am working for. The high school kids aren't here yet, so the RAs are living together until they get here. Everyone in my room is gone this weekend for memorial day because we have the time off.

Anyway so this morning I woke up needing to go to the bathroom. So I go out my door and look down the hall and the outside door is open. I knew that I closed it last night when I came in so I didn't understand why it was open now. But I didn't worry about it too much and just continued on my way. So I'm in the bathroom and I start singing. You know, everyone does it. Most bathrooms have great acoustics, and this one was definitely one of those. I love to sing in places with great acoustics and I was the only one there so I figured I would try it out. So I'm singing "Take Me or Leave Me" from Rent. (haha). I really like this song. Anyway. So I'm singing pretty loud and then all of the sudden I hear someone is in my apartment.Then I hear scraping And I'm thinking, "Oh great. President Carlson is out there fixing up the room and he is hearing me blast it out. I am so embarrassed." (President Carlson has been doing some fixing up in Burtenshaw because a lot of the rooms are terrible). So I stop singing, obviously, and go out the door and no one is there. I was thinking, "GREAT! I hope he didn't hear me." So I wash my hands and go back in my room.

But the whole time this was going on, I kept thinking, "if he is out there, then this would be a great blog post." (You know you blog too much when you start thinking about blogging things as they are happening.)

But it didn't happen that way. It freaked me out in the middle that someone was out there listening, but really I never saw them. So this is a lame post, and what you thought it would be, but I decided to write it anyway.

Enjoy! :)

Deep Conversation

2010-05-27T19:02:00.000-07:00

I love deep conversation. I love hearing what other people think about life in general and what they believe about the situations they have been placed in. While having one of these heart-to-hearts with Bethany, I have thought about my life and where I am at right now. It's easy to dwell on the moments you have experienced and wonder why. I could spend hours wasting away time thinking about what I wish I had done and what I had said differently. In reality, it doesn't matter. I can't waste my time wondering why things happen the way they do. I also have come to believe that I am who I am. If people can't accept that, then they are not worth being a part of my life. If they cared enough about me, they would try and make an effort to see me for who I really am.

These are my faults and my strengths, but more importantly, it's completely me.

1. I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve. I try hard to keep things contained but most of the time people can guess easily how I am feeling. I'm not sure why I do this and I have tried to contain myself. I will continue to work harder. In recent times, I have been much better and have limited myself to only confiding in those I am very close with.

2. I put a tremendous amount of effort into things I am passionate about. Take singing for example. When I prepared for solo ensemble in high school, I spent hours singing the piece over and over again. I work hard to present myself in good light.

3. I tend to jump to conclusions and then I dwell on it. My first response when something happens is to assume the worst. Then it's my next responsibility to work myself backwards and put reason back into my thoughts. I am MUCH better at helping others in their situations and using the spirit to give them good guidance rather than applying this skill to my own life. I am trying to diminish this consistent worry I feel when things happen on a daily basis.

4. I seclude myself when I feel like things are going badly. When I had an incident happen to me a little less than 2 years ago, I kept to myself most of the time and didn't enjoy going out and mingling with huge crowds. I had others try and get me to go to activities, but I repeatedly refused. The best decision I made for myself was to come to CEU. I started out fresh and met all kinds of new people. I made friends that I hope to know for the rest of my life.

5. I am a firm believer of fasting. I have seen it work wonders in the lives of those around me and in my own personal life. When I make an effort to fast for someone specifically, things fall into place for them.

6. Not that this is 6th in my life but... I have a strong testimony of my Father in Heaven and I intend to live my life in such a way that He would be proud of me. No matter what happens in my life, I know that He will always be with me. Everything is for a purpose and He knows better than I do. Life is too important and goes too quickly to worry about trivial issues.

7. I let the way that other people think of me effect too much of how I feel about myself. I do everything possible to try and make others think the best of me. I don't take pleasure in knowing that someone thinks poorly of me, and it probably affects me more than it should.

8. I don't handle silence well, and I would rather fill in these moments with random babbling rather than deal with the awkwardness that I probably create in my mind.

9. If I am upset about something or upset because of someone, I have a difficult time expressing how I feel to them. Any move in that direction that I have made is momentous, and I am actually quite proud of any moments in my past where I have expressed how I feel in that regard.

Everyone has things that make them who they are. They have passion and fear. They love and they disagree. Most importantly, they are themselves. They have a right to associate with people who want to be around them. Who accept them despite their faults. I hope I can be that person to anyone and everyone.

I'm grateful to have a Heavenly Father that loves me no matter what I do or say. That I can be myself and make stupid mistakes over and over again, but He will still think I am a wonderful person with potential.

Today and for the rest of my life, I am going to be grateful for those around me. The ones who cry with me when I cry. The ones that will sit and have deep conversations with me because we both feel like we need it. The ones who will love me and want to be around me no matter how crazy at times I can be.

Home Sweet Home

2010-05-16T19:33:00.001-07:00

Don't you love it when things just fall into place?

I was not planning on coming home until June for a friends wedding, and even then, my family wouldn't be here because they are going to Utah for my Dad's high school reunion. BUT, I got a call from a friend that said she was going down to Vegas this weekend and asked if I was going to be there... About 10 mins later, plans were made for her to pick me up in Cedar City at ULA and we would go down to my house.

So I spent a few days here and I didn't tell anyone (other than my parents) I was coming because it was so last minute. I just hung out with my family. I was definitely ok with that. You never realize the benefit of being at home until you move away.

I know that CEU was the right place for me. I hope that as I move forward I can find which school to further my education next. I think I will be applying everywhere in the state of Utah and then making my decision. I'm kind of hoping to go to SUU because it's in cedar and Kol will be going there once he is back from the mish. But I will go where the Lord takes me.

I've had a lot of deep conversations with some of my friends and my family lately. Talking about everything you could think of. But mostly how the Lord is always watching out for us. By the time I found an opportunity to move from home and come to CEU, I was so ready to leave. I wasn't even homesick much once I got up there. I can pinpoint 3 times in the entire year that I was homesick. I think I knew I was in the right place, and that it was not possible for me to be happy living in Henderson. It was not because of my family.

I'm just glad to finally be able to sit home for a week and relax. :) This week is going to be great.

Then back to Price...

Mea (the asian) and the wet haired girl

2010-05-12T00:21:00.000-07:00

are hanging out in the wee hours of the morning in cedar city.

FYI: I am the wet-haired girl because I took a shower tonight and didn't blow dry my hair. Everyone decided to go out and do things so I tagged along. I didn't like having wet hair but I didn't want to miss out. So when I was introduced everyone would said I was the girl with wet hair. So everyone here at ULA now knows me as that CEU girl with wet hair.

Meg is Mea because her name was spelled wrong on her name tag. haha. They've all decided that I'm racist.. Whatever. I do think the wide screen joke is pretty funny. I had never heard it until today.

Tomorrow starts more and more training! WOO HOO!

So tonight it seems like we will be staying up as late as possible to prepare for the endeavors. Smart right? Probably not.. but oh well.

No pictures on this blog post. Oh well. It's up to you whether or not you think its legit. ;)

Realizing what's important

2010-05-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have been getting a little bit homesick. I think it was the combination of moving out and being alone. I've really wanted to spend some time with my family. Unfortunately, I will be living in Price over the summer. It's not really my first choice of what I want to do, but it will benefit me in the long run.
Thankfully, I had the opportunity to come up North and see my mom and my brother and his family. Being here has made me realize how fortunate I am to have good family to surround me. I didn't get to see my dad though, and I probably won't be able to for a few more months. :(

My nephews are growing so fast. They are so independent and strong. My nephew Lance can work the TV and DVD player like you wouldn't believe. Both Liam and Devan both have baseball games and work really hard to play well. Preston is adorable. He waves and laughs at himself all the time. I love it!
Family is so important in my life, and I have wonderful people who love me and support me to keep me going.

Saying goodbye

2010-04-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

You never know how your life will be impacted by the people you meet. You come across people you have never met in your life and all of the sudden they become such an important part in the decisions you make sometimes even without your knowledge. Everything happens for a reason and you become friends with certain people who surround you for a reason. In just a few days the semester will be over and people who I have become so close to will be moving away. This blog is going to become a tribute I suppose, but bear with me for a moment...

NORA: As you move onto bigger and better things, don't forget all the moments we have shared together. I remember the first time I talked to you, and though I didn't really know you, I knew that we would become close. I can't really describe it, but I felt it. I knew that when you and tanner knocked on our door to wish Chandra a happy birthday that it was not the end. and it was not... Though Skype calls when I was away, late night Facebook hangouts, singing OUR song, and making the 5 year plan with Chandra ;) we have become closer than I could have imagined and I am so grateful for this opportunity. You have so much to live for and so much to offer. You are going after your dream. I truly believe that not everyone is cut out for the business you are about to jump into, and as long as you keep the strong ambition and spunky personality then you will be just fine. Good luck in all that you do, and don't forget me when you're on the stage. Maybe mention me a few times to all the big performer friends you are going to make... You know.. And know that every time I sing "For Good," I WILL be thinking of you.

CHANDRA: How can I put into words the feelings I have? We have had so many moments together over the past few months that have changed me. We have become so close in the last month and I am so glad we have spent so much time together. Isn't it interesting how things can change so quickly? When we were texting that first time, I was over at a friends house and we were asking all these questions back and forth about each other. In a few short moments we found out how many things we had in common. We were complete strangers living in 2 whole different states coming to live together in the same apartment. Isn't that weird to think about? Who knew that we would spent countless nights in our living room trying to watch movies but never getting past the first 10 mins? Who knew every Monday we would take over the TV and spend the night watching the most ridiculous show and loving/hating every moment of it? Who knew we would share the same obsession with the color pink and wish that everything was that color? We've met for a reason. We may never found out the exact reason why, but I can tell you that you've given me a little bit more strength to stand up for myself and express my own opinions. Whether or not that is a good thing I guess we will find out... haha. Good luck at Weber. You don't know why you're there but there is a purpose and you will find it. I'm glad you spent a few short months with me in little old Price, Utah and we'll have to commute in the future to see each other but it'll be worth it. 6 more weeks in Price together so lets make it something we'll both remember!

(Not the greatest picture in the world, but it is super funny. hahahhaha. I'm closer to the camera so I look like a giant and she looks little. hahhahahaha.)

I guess there are only these two who won't be coming back in the fall, so good luck to you both. You will be just fine in your futures ahead.

So I'll leave you both with a song that is close to my heart and means a lot to me. I believe it's true but this cannot be the end.

(Glinda):
I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you...

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

(Elphaba):
It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend...

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you

(Glinda):
Because I knew you

(Both):
I have been changed for good

(Elphaba):
And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for

(Glinda):
But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share

(Both):
And none of it seems to matter anymore

(Glinda):
Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood

(Elphaba):
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood

(Both):
Who can say if I've been
Changed for the better?
I do believe I have been
Changed for the better

(Glinda):
And because I knew you...

(Elphaba):
Because I knew you...

(Both):
Because I knew you...
I have been changed for good...

For your information: I tried to upload a video of Nora and me singing it, but I couldn't figure out what the best way to do it. So here's the lyrics.. Enjoy!

Coming to an end

2010-04-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

Just two weeks left of insanity..

Though I am praying for the day that my classes are completed, I am feeling an ounce of nostalgia. I cannot believe that this semester, even this year, has passed by so quickly. It's interesting looking back on everything that I have experienced and feel completely content. I've had a great year at CEU with memories I would not trade. I truly believe that coming here was right and the best thing for me. It gave me a chance to feel more productive and give me a little bit of freedom. I experienced my first REAL winter, and only complained the entire time :)... Yes, I should have learned to appreciate it, but I figure I am allowed at least one winter where I can gripe about how freezing I am. Maybe the appreciation for it's beauty and simplicity will come Winter 2010. We'll see...

Great news to all who haven't heard.. I am an RA in the Fall and Spring here at CEU. I'm excited to be a little bit more involved in the inner workings of the school. Not only will I be an RA but I just interviewed yesterday for a position on CEUSA (student government), and I am feeling quite confident. Even if I don't become the RA chair on CEUSA, I'm sure I will be extremely involved with them as I was this past year. Keeping busy gives me sanity. It doesn't allow me to think about anything negative. I just stay completely focused on the future and what is coming next. This raises my spirits quite a bit.

I also registered for classes in the Fall. 16 credits this time. Usually I like to stay with 17, but this semester I couldn't really find anything that I wanted to add. Plus, I am completely on-track to graduate next Spring, so there is no reason to worry about one measly credit. The Fall will be interesting to see how everything pans out, but I am really excited to start already... and I haven't even finished Spring yet! I am also thinking of auditioning for Sweeney Todd the musical. The story line is a bit odd, but ever since high school and A Christmas Carol, I have been dying to be on the stage again.

So as you can tell I have great ambition and hope for what is to come in my life next. All that matters to me now is staying focused on what I want and doing whatever it takes to get it. This next year will be a test for me to see how much effort I am willing to put it for something that will benefit me in the long run. I'm going to hit the ground running, so I guess we'll see how far I get until I have to stop for air.

Pictured with me here is the most awesome Scottish girl I have ever met (ok. The only one I have ever met. but still). She been an inspiration to me and I cannot thank her enough. Not only does she have a gorgeous voice, but she is so much fun to be around. She has a spice for life and wants to live to the fullest. I admire these things in her.
I am proud to call her my best friend.

Recent Discovery

2010-04-07T11:47:00.000-07:00

Chandra and I have been exploring new music through the use of Pandora and Youtube. We have actually come across some really good music. I'm excited to finally be getting new music on my iPod. If you didn't know this then I will tell you now. My iPod is RIDICULOUS. It's an iPod touch and the biggest difference between it and a regular iPod is the applications. For an entire year after I bought it, this feature didn't even work! It really frustrated me, but finally I was able to get everything to start working and now I love it!

These are the bands that we have just recently discovered:

This Century
Ronnie Day
Stereo Skyline
Never Shout Never
The Summer Set

I love music. It has become my vice in times of need, and I am really enjoying finding new material. I have a wide range of musical taste. My only dislike would have to be Screamo/Heavy Metal

So if anyone has any bands that they really like that they think I should try out.. PLEASE. The more the merrier! :)

Any recent discoveries that you have come to enjoy?

Spring Break 2010

2010-03-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

This year during Spring Break I had to get my wisdom teeth out. I was so thrilled to spend my week off confined to my bed from the pain pills I had to take. Fortunately my cousin, Ryan Gibson, did a wonderful job extracting the teeth. I had minimal pain and almost no swelling at all! I had heard horror stories of people getting huge bruises and having gigantic chipmunk cheeks. But this is the extent of my swelling..

This was taken when my cheeks were at their peak. It is said that they are supposed to be the biggest on your 2nd to 3rd day after surgery. I had made a strawberry banana smoothie, and I really enjoyed it.

Almost every day after surgery, I felt the need to have a frosty from wendys. It must have been my saving grace, and what helped to keep my swelling down. ;)

Of course, the week would not have been complete without a trip to BWW and Faustos. Both of these experiences were spent with my good friend Jordan (aka Asian Zing). One time we spent 7 hours talking inside my mom's car after a trip to Faustos and it resulted in the car battery dying. Her dad (and fam. in tow) came for moral support, while my dad jumped the car. The whole night was so much fun, and I'm grateful for the time I was able to spend with her. :)

I also had lunch with the girls.. meaning my Aunt Terry, my cousin Alyssa, my cousin Stephanie, and my mom. We went to BJs and the food was delicious! Interestingly enough, our server brought out my side of ranch (that I wanted for my fries) with my soup! I'm not sure what they thought I wanted it for.. but I just thought it was funny.. BUT.. I love spending time with the Walker Girls! I just wish Tara had been able to join us. That's ok.. Another day another time. :)

I told a friend that if I went to BJs I would be sure to take a picture for her. So here it is!

Overall I had a pretty good Spring Break. My parents were extremely hospitable and it was wonderful to spend some time with them. As I was getting ready to leave, my mom refused to go and get ready for church and said that I needed to hurry and go. She told me that she could not possibly leave the kitchen and not watch me walk out the door. I asked her why, and she responded with "It's a mother thing." She also had a few small tasks that she wanted me to complete as I left, such as pray, and put the first cd (of the book on tape I was going to listen to) inside the cd player, even though I was going to listen to the radio until it lost the connection. As I sat in my car getting ready to go, though these tasks were small, I felt that not doing them would be disrespectful to the hospitality that they had shown me. So, of course, I did them. I love my mother with all my heart, and I respect her for being the great woman that she is. I will cherish our time together, and let her know more often how much I love and respect her.

A weekend to remember. :)

2010-03-07T14:39:00.001-08:00

This weekend has been extraordinary. I have had such a great time, and I am so glad I had the chance to spend some time with some great friends that I have missed dearly.

On Thursday, I went to the SWAC games to see CEU play. The girls lost but the boys did not. It was overall a pretty good game. The day was actually really nice outside and I thought that the snow might finally be going away. :) I was wearing flip flops outside, and enjoying the sun. I went to my RA class, and when I got out there was a blizzard outside! My toes were freezing, and I was really regretting my choice in shoes. Next time, I think I will be a little but more careful.

On Friday, I stopped by one of the games to hear my Ambassador friends sing the National Anthem. They did a great job, and it sounded wonderful. Then later that night, I sang at a church function for IWA. I don't think I did too bad. Lacey was my accompanist, and, AS ALWAYS, she performed beautifully! :)

On Saturday, I went to lunch with Kelton. We didn't get much time together because he had to get back for rehearsal. But overall, it was really nice. Then that night a bunch of friends got together for Farrah and Kelton's birthdays. I hadn't hung out with these people in a long while and it was a lot of fun to spend time with them. :) I had a fantastic night and I could not have asked for more. By the time Kelton and I went home I was really tired, but at the same time, I did not want it to end!

Today is Sunday and it has been quite pleasant. I am really excited for Spring Break. It will be nice to settle down and have the week to relax!

Thanks for all who took part in this fun weekend. I really had a blast!

Isn't it interesting...

2010-03-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

Isn't it interesting how things happen and you don't really understand why they happen?

Isn't it interesting how you can think one thing but when you say it out loud it doesn't come off that way?

Isn't it interesting that you worry despite the fact that you know there is nothing to worry about?

Isn't it interesting when you want something to happen so badly, and then it doesn't, you are automatically disappointed solely because you don't understand why life had to happen that way regardless if the reasons are legitimate?

I've come to terms with the fact that life never happens the way you expect it to. Things happen everyday. It's our job to make sure that you make the most of what you have. Live each day with passion and faith. Passion will make time enjoyable, and faith will give you hope that each day will be better than the one before. Make amends with those you offend or were offended by. Treat others with the same kindness you would hope to receive, and never waste any time away because you will not get those moments back.

For those of you who wondered...

2010-02-25T13:34:00.000-08:00

I do brush my teeth more than once a day.. CURRENTLY... and will continue to in the future.

It reads.. "Everyday I... brush my teeth more than once. Just thought you would want to know! ;)"

There have been some people who looked at my last post and thought that I was meaning that I was planning to brush them more than once a day in the future as a goal. This is not the case. I brush my teeth multiple times a day. I just don't want people to think that I am letting my teeth rotting away. That's disgusting. haha

On a lighter note.. I have decided that I need to relax a little more in my life. I think I try to look into things too much and I need to just live each day for what it is. I know I will not be left alone to fend for myself. I have great friends, wonderful family, and a completely supportive boyfriend. So, I have nothing to worry about. :)

Last night the fire alarm went off again. AGAIN. It goes off at least once every 2 weeks. It drives me crazy. But this time it was at one in the morning. Lacey was already in bed but Chandra and I were up talking. Candice had earplugs in and slept through it! Crazy, I know!

I am spending this weekend in Salt Lake with some friends. I'm really excited actually. My roommates will all be gone or busy this weekend so it will be nice to just get away and not be wasting my life away in my apartment. haha.

Thanks for all of you who are in my life. You mean the world to me and I'm grateful for the wonderful support system I have gained. :)

Here you go Meg :)

2010-02-22T19:15:00.000-08:00

Twenty years ago I...
1) was only 3 months old
2) had not a care in the world
3) let everyone take care of all of my needs

Ten years ago I...
1) experienced the death of my last living grandparent
2) belonged to a group called the Peace Patrol (aka peer mediators)
3) started loving to write my own stories, particularly ones that involved me marrying each member of the popular boy band NSYNC

Five years ago I...
1) was just starting to adjust to the swing of high school life
2) began to understand my passion for singing and how important music would become
3) came to gain a stronger testimony of the gospel

Three years ago I...
1) was going through my senior year of high school.
2) couldn't believe that I was graduating from high school
3) was so ready to finally start the rest of my life.

One year ago I...
1) was dealing with the hardest thing I'd ever have to go through
2) felt like my life was going no where because I was still living at home
3) just got back into school after taking a semester off

So far this year I have...
1) switched to verizon
2) come to the greatest junior college I could hope for
3) become stronger in will and in self esteem than I would have thought.

Yesterday I...
1) celebrated my one-month with my amazing boyfriend.
2) watched so much Smallville that I wanted to poke my eyes out
3) took the greatest nap ever :)

Today I...
1) spent some quality time with my roommate :)
2) watched the Secret Life for the thousandth time
3) did more math than a person should have to

Tomorrow I will...
1) finish my reflection paper for the RA class
2) have a great night ;)
3) finally go grocery shopping?

In the next year I may...
1) stay in Price over the summer
2) finally rid myself of Facebook
3) make final decisions about what school I want to attend in the fall of 2011

Everyday I...

1) try to think positively and look for the good in everything

2) hope that I can become more independent and stronger

3) brush my teeth more than once. Just thought you would want to know! ;)

V-day weekend :)

2010-02-16T19:31:00.000-08:00

This year valentines day wasn't just another day...

FRIDAY:

We went on a double date with Whitney and Nick. Whitney and I planned the night and tried to keep it secret from the boys, but that did not work so well. Unfortunately, I am too gullible for my own good, and I accidentally let Nick trick me into thinking Whitney had already told him the plans. I guess I shouldn't be so naive.

1. We cooked up a storm including: Manicotti, Garlic French Bread, Salad, Sparkling Cider, Milk (for Whitney), and a strawberry dessert (Whitney's mom made that).

-Whether or not the boys believe it, we made the main course and the side dish all on our own, and it was homemade.

-It tasted really good.. if i do say so myself. :)

-The table was all decorated for valentines day and looked very well put together.

2. The Stoplight Dance. This is a dance where you wear a certain color corresponding to your relationship status. As my dad says: "It takes out all the guess work." Red=Taken,Yellow=Single, Green=Single and Looking

I had a really good time just being around my friends and having a little bit of time to socialize.

This is the engaged couple we went with. They are so funny and both have great personalities.. As you can see with the color of Nick's shirt.. haha

That's us. :) with him making a cheesy face. hahah

3. Once at my apartment we sat down and talked for a while. Then we chose to watch The Devil Wears Prada. I really like this movie and it was a good end to a very successful night.

SATURDAY:

We went out to dinner. We were there for a while because the restaurant was so packed, but I really didn't mind. It was nice to have a chance to relax, just us, and talk.

Then we went to the Student Center and had a game night with some of his friends. We played quite a few games, and I lost at every single one of them. Quite sad, I know. Overall, I had a really great relaxing night. By the way, I was interrupted by a phone call from my mother who said that Aunt Teresa and Uncle David were eating at a restaurant called, "Marv's Diner." They even got them t-shirts to show for it. She was pretty excited about that.

SUNDAY:

The actual V-day was nice. I didn't actually get to see him, but he had good reason for it.

MONDAY:

I'm still counting it as part of the weekend, because we didn't actually go back to school until Tuesday. I really spent the whole day lounging around until the end of the day. It still was productive because I got all of my laundry done AND took a test. 92% on a Chemistry test is incredible! I was quite excited. Then he came over later that night.

To wrap this all up, I had an excellent weekend. I had the chance to slow everything down and just take some time off from work and school. Now it is back to reality, and I'm not sure I want to deal with it just yet.

Let's just have every weekend be a three-day weekend. :)

Changes in me

2010-02-06T11:33:00.000-08:00

I can't even believe how quickly everything moves and changes. It's hard to believe that it is already February when it feels like it was just Christmas. Though it has moved fast I am grateful for the changes I am going through because they are making me a better person.

Change number 1:

Back to school! Classes are interesting, and I am trying to stay completely focused. This semester I am forced into getting up much earlier than I had to last semester. I am not any early morning person, so it has been interesting seeing how well I have adapted.

Change number 2:

Jill has left for the MTC, Kol has gone to Brazil, Rebecca is in Russia, and Jay is now in the MTC also. It is so exciting to see all these people that I love going to serve the Lord. I know this opportunity will be great for them. Though it's sad for me to not be able to call up Kol and tell him about the crazy experiences I have had, I know that it won't be long before I will have the opportunity to do it again.

Change number 3:

I have never been one to love the snow, so the fact that I live in it and deal with it on a daily basis is a huge accomplishment for me. There are instances that I do enjoy it. I love that it glitters, and it really can be quite beautiful. Sliding in it is also an adventure. Driving and falling in it are my least favorite parts. I have slipped and fallen quite a few times since it has begun to appear and I don't really like donuts (in the car). In all reality, I am starting to warm up to it. The native Utahns are trying to show me the light, and show me how wonderful it can be. :)

Change number 4:

I have met someone, and he is really the best guy I could ask for. :)

Photos are not working right now. Sorry! I'll have to try again some other time.

The origins of ear piercing.

2009-12-19T22:29:00.000-08:00

I really wonder who decided in the first place that we should stab something in our ears and hang things from it... It doesn't seem like a typical thing to think about. "Let's inflict pain on ourselves and then dress the wound with ornaments!" This is not exactly top on my list, but regardless, I love reaping the benefits of this amazing discovery! There are so many cute earrings out there just begging for me to try them!

So one lonely day I had been contemplating going back to the mall and once again having them needle my ears just so I can wear cute earrings. I wanted to know exactly how much it was before I got there... $35 to $40! I am not made of money so this was just too much for me to pay!

I decided to just go ahead and do it parent trap style (Thank you Alyssa).

So I got up the courage and just did it... Bright side to this story is that I now get to indulge in all the colorful displays of ornaments!

Pictures will be coming shortly of the actual crime scene, but for now I will just post pictures of cute earrings I really like. Tell me what you think :D

Living the College Life

2009-10-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's been a really long time since I have updated my blog. I guess that is just what happens when you are as busy as I am... living the life of a college student. Things have been extremely busy here. I am loving everything though. I think I adapted to moving very well. It's nice to feel like I have complete control over almost everything in my life. The best part is the interactions with other people. Our apartment is a lot of fun.

This is me, Lacey, and Chandra. We have a lot of fun together. We've seemed to really get along together great and almost automatically became friends. Chandra is loud and burps all the time but she is funny and crazy! Lacey is in the same room with me and she is just a doll. I love spending time with her. We have gotten really close. I just love her!

This is Tanner and me. We were at Lite Brite. It was SO much fun. Lite Brite is a dance that you throw paint at each other. It's totally just an excuse to get messy but I loved it.

We had a fondue night. It was so much fun. It ended up turning into a chocolate fight. Then we went and knocked on TONS of peoples dorms and took pictures with them. The chocolate tasted good, but it was so much more fun to smear it on each others faces.

This is Jamin.. She is our music guru... Always listening to THE BEST MUSIC :) I just love her.

This is Candice, Lacey and me. Candice is crazy sometimes hahahah. She sings randomly and always talks during movies, but of course... Gotta love her!!

Overall I have really enjoyed living here in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes it's hard to come up with adventurous activities and a lot of the time we just sit and watch movies with a bunch of people but here are a few things that we have come to love in the last few months:

1. Hot Chocolate from Maverick. All sizes were $1 yesterday. What a steal!
2. Lacey and Chandra's love sacks. They are SOOO comfortable and really easy to relax in.
3. Haunted houses. I have not taken part in this endeavor. I don't think I will, but my roommates seem to enjoy it.
4. Middle of the night IHOP runs in Springville. I also have not done this but it is definitely coming. I have gone to Los Robertos in at 1:00 am though.
5. Late night walks. It's starting to get chilly but I still love the breeze mixed with deep conversation.
6. Pizza Rolls and hot pockets. I joke not. They are the best things in the world.
7. Free meals from the institute. Who doesn't love free food?
8. Friends.. We are avid watchers and are currently on season 6.
9. Facebook... No more commentary needed.
10. Music. We all love to listen to music and it all makes us feel so much better.

Things I have come to dislike:
1. Laundry. Who ever knew it would take almost $10 to do your laundry.
2. My Biology class. Definitely not my fav. I definitely cannot do science.
3. The fact that the computer lab and library both close extremely early on Fridays. For those of us who do not have access to a computer and have to turn in assignments on this day it's definitely a hassle.
4. Being so far away from home. It's hard sometimes and I really miss my family.
5. The fact that I have to be a grown up. Sometimes I wish I could just go back to elementary school and not have to worry about the things I have to now.

How could you not love this adorable little boy? I love living so much closer to my nephews and I get so excited to go see all of them. They make me smile constantly and I am so glad I can visit them!!

Basically, I am loving school, and I am so glad I made the decision to come here. I love my roommates and though they are crazy, I love every single one of them!

Recap

2009-06-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

I've missed a few weigh-ins the last two weeks. You would assume that I had gained and didn't want the world to know how consistantly bad I have been doing, but that is not entirely true. I haven't been as completely commited as I would have like to have been, but I have been losing. Frankly that's all that matters to me.

2 weeks ago I lost 3.6 and this past week I lost 1.4. At least I am headed in the right direction. This week I am determined to lose a lot more.

I have been walking everyday. My average is about 2.5 miles a day. I am very proud of myself for getting out there everyday. It's hard to believe a month has already passed by since I started.

And for other news, school is coming. It's definitely a love hate feeling towards the big move. I'm excited for the adventure, but extremely nervous for the on my own part. I have roughly 2 months left.

Any suggestions for what I would definitely need or just any good tips for being away from home and at school?

ahh

2009-05-30T23:18:00.001-07:00

I gained this week.

enough said.

+3.2

Man.

Great news all in one week!

2009-05-22T12:27:00.001-07:00

First item of great news:

Last week Tuesday I started weight watchers. I went to the store and bought a ton of food, started walking in the mornings, ordered new walking shoes so my feet wouldn't hurt anymore, and made sure I stuck to the plan. Thankfully it all paid off!

5 pounds came off!

I am so proud of myself. I am even more determined this week to keep it going and lose more. I can't wait to see the progress I am making.

Check back every Friday to find out what weight loss or gain (hopefully never) I attain.

Second item of great news:

Finally today I figured out how to check my grades online. I have been doing it wrong all along! Anyway, I went to find out and my grades are better than I expected! Here they are..

English Composition: A-

College Algebra: A

Beginning Guitar: A

General Psychology: B

Although I would have like to have gotten all A's, I am content with what I got.

And since these grades average out to just over a 3.6, I will hopefully be getting a scholarship for the fall at CEU.

I feel like I'm finally starting to get control of my life. You are going to see a new woman! lol.

For the mother I love best.

2009-05-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

I know Mother's Day was yesterday, but I can't miss an opportunity to fully thank my incredible mother for all she does for me. So in honor of Mother's Day...

a few things about my own mother..

1. She loves her grandkids. Everyday she gets on the phone and makes a few calls to Texas and Utah. I know it really gets to her that she can't live closer to them and watch as they grow. She wants them to know who she is and feel as though she is a part of their lives.

2. She is always willing to give of herself for others even when she doesn't have the time. When anyone needs help my mother is more

then willing to drop what she's doing.

3. She's a nervous nellie. Anytime any talk or singing part comes around she gets so nervous. Which is a wonder because she doesn't need to worry about it.

4. Family is very important to her. Every sunday we sit down together to eat as a family. It is the most important dinner of the week, and it's just not right unless everyone is present.

5. She is bestfriends with her sisters. They do everything together and tell eachother everything. I hope as I grow older I can have that same bond with my sister.

6. She is a marvelous cook. From years of watching the cooking channel and just experimenting, she has become the kitchen guru of baking and cooking. Almost everything she makes is delicious.

5. Her testimony is an inspiration to all. She fervently believes in the power of prayer and knows the Lord will always be there for her. He leads every aspect of her life and she is always doing what she knows will lead her to exaltation.

6. Her voice is gorgeous, and I love singing duets with her. Her musical talent brightens up our home on a daily basis. She may get nervous when she sings, but she never dissapoints. I know that she's nervous about her voice losing it's stability but first of all.. it's not gone yet, and second of all, when it does go, she has plenty of other talents that will pick up the slack.

7. She gives her children the extra push to become what she knows they can be. She has all the faith and hope in her children possible and loves them to no end.

I am very grateful to have her as a mother, and though we may dissagree, she will always be my inpiration. I can only hope to become like her one day and have the faith in God, my own children, and others as she does.

So for the mother I love best...

Happy Mother's Day!

Houston Vacation

2009-03-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

I took a short trip down to Texas to visit Jimmy, Mandy, and the girls. I absolutely loved spending some quality time with Sophie and Chloe. Chloe has her own little personality. She's so funny. Sophie just turned three on Wednesday. Although I didn't get to be there on her actual birthday, I did get to give her some presents from back home. Grandma and Grandpa gave her two dresses.

She spent lots of time at the mirror admiring her new dress. Chloe was so upset that she didn't have a pretty dress, so Jimmy went and got a pretty princess dress of hers to wear. They only wear them on special occasions.

Here are a few pictures from my trip:

Right after we both woke up.

look at those curls!

She's not really a morning person. :D

Thanks Jimmy and Mandy for letting me stay for the weekend!

Off to Texas.

2009-03-14T01:32:00.000-07:00

I'm going to Texas for Spring Break to visit Jimmy, Mandy and the girls.

I'm really excited and will be taking LOTS of pictures.

Stay tuned to see my amazing trip "Back East."

At least I can say I'm alive...

2009-01-30T12:46:00.000-08:00

I've lived through the first two weeks of school with LOTS of things to say. So here it goes...

Guitar:

I really enjoy being in a music class, but the first few classes have been going a little too slowly for me. I'm sure by the end of the semester I will have perfected my doodling skills. Arnold from "Hey Arnold" is my favorite to draw, along with my guitar.

You must think that I don't pay attention. That is not entirely true. I have learned in two weeks a whole whopping number of 8 notes that I can now play on the guitar. I may not be a musical expert on the guitar yet, but you better believe I'm getting there.

My professor the other day was angry at me because I was talking too much. Only because I don't know how to tune a guitar (though I am learning), and I can't string a guitar. He said, "Maybe you should stop talking and fix it." YIKES! It was extremely embarrassing for me. :(

English 101:

Apparrently this professor wants the class to be all about music. Great right? This should be a breeze. Well, then he tells us, "I grade according to quality. So if I think it's good you'll get a good grade. You could definitely turn something in and still get an F." There is a big problem with this. I don't like the same music as he does, and apparrently that is necessary to pass the class since he argues with EVERYONE who doesn't agree with him. Humph!

Algebra:

Extremely easy. Except I keep making stupid mistakes like adding instead of subracting. My first quiz I got 8/10 because of that exact reason. I better get my head together before the test.

Psychology:

My worst nightmare. This class is 3 hours long, and if that isn't enough to turn you away, skim through the book he's having us read. It's called, A Ballad For Allison Porter and it is quite graphic. Unfortunately, I realized I'm just going to have to deal with it. It's too late to drop the class and on his defense he did warn us. Except I thought he was just saying it was going to be blood and guts and psychological things (which it is), but also it is much much more.

Bottom line, my classes are going ok. I just want to make it through this semester so that maybe I can choose my classes on content rather than only on time.

But things are going well. I haven't really had time to post but I've decided I'm going to post more often.

Confused on my future and what's in store...

2008-12-15T00:19:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. Of course, I don't know what surprises are in store for me, or when certain milestones in my life will happen, but I feel I need to at least consider my options.

Is it bad to choose a career that I know I'd love but don't know how much longer there will be a need for the position? With all these education cuts (especially music education cuts), I fear that I won't be able to support myself. I really love music, but is it enough?

I am pretty good at math, but I hate science. Everything is math-based so maybe I should go in that direction.

I keep thinking.. I wouldn't have to be the sole provider for the home. but.. Do I really know when that is going to happen?

What is better to choose? Something I know I'll love that might not be a secure option? or try and find something else that makes more money, is more stable, and I could like just as much?

My life in the past 4 weeks in a nutshell..

2008-12-11T21:53:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time.. I know. I've been kind of sidetracked, and I was hoping to post after I got some pictures to add. But I have finally come to the realization that if I wait that long, it will never get done!

So I have been trained as a Cash Handler at work. That means I have a lot more responsibility with no pay raise. Nice huh? BUT.. I've heard that the pay raise we get in February is better for the Cash Handlers (which is definately o.k. with me). My responsibility's include... being in charge when a manager is not on the floor, making sure employee's don't steal or abuse their discount, count ALL of the money at the end of the night, and pretty much be in charge of all of the registers. Interesting huh? It's going to be a lot of work, but I hope that I can pull it off. :)

I am registered for CSN in the Spring. Classes start January 26? I think. I'm taking 4 classes. College Algebra, Psychology, English 101 (composition), and a guitar class. I should have a pretty easy sememester. I took Calculus in High school and Composition AP. I don't think Psycology will be too hard. And I'm hoping the guitar class won't be extremely time consuming and difficult.. but we will see. I have had so much trouble with CSN that I hope I wont be returning in the fall.

My birthday was fun. The only downside was that I had to work, but we went to lunch and I got some good gifts. I got the CHI i wanted. (It's a straightener). I was going to post some pictures of my hair straightened before I posted BUT.. I haven't done it yet. Maybe later.

Life is going well..

I have a new calling. I am a primary worker. They already have planned out what I am going to be doing, but the information is not released to the public.. so when it is I will let you know. But just know that it is already stressing me out.. and I haven't even officially started yet.

When I have some pictures I'll post them. :)

Current events.

2008-11-17T14:14:00.000-08:00

I've decided instead of doing my parents blog, I'm going to do my own. To get them to update regularly, you'll have to hassle my mother.

So.. A few things about my life right now.

1. I am currently working at Old Navy. It's a pretty good temp job. I like the people I work with, and my managers seem to like me, so I think for the time being I can keep my job. I work A LOT. I try and take on as many shifts that I can. Everyone knows to call me if they ever need a shift covered because I am always looking for more hours (meaning more money).

2. I'm not going to school at the moment, but I plan to attend CSN in the spring. In the fall I hope to go away to school. Maybe Cedar.. Maybe Price.. Who knows? I sure don't yet. I figure I'll wait until I know how much money I'll have saved up, and then I will make a decision.

3. Mom's birthday was this last Sat. She turned 55 this year! Except for me it's as though she is turning 56 because I've been saying 55 all year. haha. I just forgot her age. :(

I got her a few shirts she's been wanting from old navy and took her out to lunch with Jill, Aunt Terry, Stephanie, Tara, and Tara's kids. We had a good time, and Cheesecake Factory is the best place for desert.

Hopefully I'll be a little better at keeping this updated unlike a few others I know. ;)