-Hil-

Awesome quote I heard today...

2012-02-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

"I wish none of this had happened."

"So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

Recognizing Answers

2012-01-28T16:41:00.001-07:00

“He will always hear your prayers and will invariably answer them. However, His answers will seldom come while you are on your knees praying, even when you may plead for an immediate response. Rather, He will prompt you in quiet moments when the Spirit can most effectively touch your mind and heart. Hence, you should find periods of quiet time to recognize when you are being instructed and strengthened.”

-Elder Richard G. Scott

via

Polaroids!

2012-01-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

I got special films... both color and black and white are very expired films, yet I love the colors that they turned out to be! Despite the undeveloped area... but I actually like those little flaws.

Catching up... in very few words.

2011-12-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

So I've been in Washington for the past 2 weeks and I'm heading home tonight.

Boy... do I love it here! I definitely can see myself living here, which is great news if I get accepted for grad school here..........

And Washington peeps have been telling me how great Portland is so I think I can survive there if I also get accepted there. Hah. :)

I got a polaroid camera for Christmas, and I need to scan the pics from the trip and show you guys! I love this camera! :)

I also will put up some pics from my digital cameras... don't worry. You will be overwhelmed with pictures on my next post. :)

I'm back!

2011-12-14T09:35:00.001-07:00

Hello world!

I'm actually back.

Sorry for the such LONG delay on my blogging.

You see... this semester sure kept me busy. Plus finding out that I had to do 100 hours of service before I can apply to ANY grad school. And the entire time I thought you just go ahead and apply to grad school, cross your fingers and toes that you get a call back for an interview, and get in if you pass the interview round.

Nope.

So... I've been busy doing volunteer work all semester long in my free time from school. :) Plus hanging with my man as much as possible for he also have been busy with school and work.

I have a final today and tomorrow and then freedom.

I'm flying out on Sunday to Washington for Christmas with my man and his family. For 2 weeks.

Then New Years with my family.

Then... last semester of undergrad.

AND...

A new experience...

But not-so-new at the same time... just... a different ear...

Yup. I'm getting another cochlear implant.

I honestly have been thinking about this chance for a loonngg time and definitely listed all kinds of pros and cons for it, for different situations and future plans.

...Then threw those lists away.

It's about what makes me happy right?

I hope so.

This year has been quite a year.

With family, friends, school, love, and personal decisions.

Whew. I'm already so tired of making such grown up decisions.

But that doesn't mean 2012 will be easier.

In fact... I know 2012 will be MUCH harder. And a lot of changes.

I honestly cannot stop thinking about a few changes that will change my life for sure.

...Oh yeah...

But it will be full of accomplishments though. FABULOUS accomplishments.

With faith... I'm ready to face the music.

With love and support from family and friends... definitely will give me the boost.

I will definitely do my best to get back into the blogging habit!

p.s.

Great video...

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

Load of Disney

2011-08-21T23:39:00.000-06:00

Oh internet... how I hate you sometimes... when you distract me with neat-o stuff and make me waste my time of the day away...

Enjoy.

found here.

So freaked out that I'm never watching that again.

2011-07-14T07:51:00.002-06:00

Insidious.

Gah. (He looks like the guy in Star Wars, but man.... his actions were creepy)

I'm pretty sure that if I ever see an old lady dress similar to this, I will bust out my
kung fu chopping skills and scream out a bunch of nonsense....
then run away.

I literally couldn't sleep for a while last night.

Gah.

I'm ready for some Harry Potter now.

2011-07-11T09:27:00.000-06:00

"Bearing our testimony, after we have carefully thought through and evaluated our feelings, often helps us realize how deep our convictions really are. As we share with others our personal experiences in living the gospel, we often see more clearly principles and situations we never fully recognized before. This inward search, accompanied by the outward bearing of testimony, becomes a great source of personal spiritual strength."

-Emerson R. West

via

Couldn't have said it better.

2011-06-26T21:14:00.000-06:00

Two posts in a day? What the crap?

But I've been catching up on my daily blog reading tonight and I'm currently following "hue and hum" (very cute, wifey is an artist and the hub is the lead guitarist for Fictionist. awesome), and she did a guest post over at C. Jane. I couldn't have said it better about artists finding "their styles." I thought I would share this just for the heck of it. :)

P.S. Her artworks are very unique and way cute. Love it.

Patience

2011-06-26T20:42:00.000-06:00

"Patience—the ability to put our desires on hold for a time—is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at times, bitter.

Nevertheless, without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect. Indeed, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace.

...

Patience means staying with something until the end. It means delaying immediate gratification for future blessings. It means reining in anger and holding back the unkind word. It means resisting evil, even when it appears to be making others rich.

Patience means accepting that which cannot be changed and facing it with courage, grace, and faith. It means being “willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father.” (Mosiah 3:19) Ultimately, patience means being “firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord” (1 Nephi 2:10) every hour of every day, even when it is hard to do so. In the words of John the Revelator, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and … faith [in] Jesus.” (Revelation 14:12)

Patience is a process of perfection. The Savior Himself said that in your patience you possess your souls. (Luke 21:19) Or, to use another translation of the Greek text, in your patience you win mastery of your souls. (Luke 21:19 footnote b) Patience means to abide in faith, knowing that sometimes it is in the waiting rather than in the receiving that we grow the most. This was true in the time of the Savior. It is true in our time as well, for we are commanded in these latter days to “continue in patience until ye are perfected.” (D&C 67:13)."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"Continue in Patience"

2011-06-17T16:55:00.003-06:00

"When we long for life without difficulties, 
remind us that oaks grow strong 
in contrary winds and
diamonds are made under pressure."

Peter Marshall

This is what has been taking up my life lately

2011-06-07T10:29:00.002-06:00

Babysitting

and

....more babysitting. ;)

I've been babysitting my nephew for the past three weeks and got 5 more weeks left of babysitting.

My man works almost every morning and I work in the morning and don't get done til sometime in the evening so we have a few hours a night to spent time... since I take the bus and TRAX to go to babysitting in Salt Lake from Provo. :)

(Side note: UVU sucks when it comes to handling your bus pass. Seriously.)

Yeah. That's my life.

BUT

my nephew is 2 1/2 years old and is quite a handful. :) It's keeping us all busy. Love it.

Plus... I think my nephew loves Jake more than me whenever Jake comes with me on his day off. :)

Umm...

2011-05-17T09:09:00.000-06:00

via

You have no idea how much I love this.

Learning Life's Lesson #405

2011-05-16T01:25:00.004-06:00

Sometimes people hurt your heart. Some people even break it.
Friends, role models, loves.
Lots of people really.

And you know what? you're going to be ok.
Because all things must fail, but charity,
Which is the pure love of Christ, never faileth.
He will never leave you, nor will his love.
Never is the strong kind of word that I love.

I never have to be sad for long.
Someday I will get married and start a family.
When I have children, I will never stop loving them,
just as I will never stop loving my husband. I never have to stop learning.
I never have to stop growing.
My world never has to stop expanding.

Most nevers, you see, are choices.
Most everything is a choice actually.
So make yours.
And if your heart hurts, never let it stay that way.
And if you are unhappy, choose something else.
Choose who you want to be, and be just that.

Today, I am happy.

This is what happens when...

2011-05-09T14:45:00.000-06:00

you leave your laptop unattended

and your boyfriend's mischievous sister discovered your laptop.

And obsesses over it and decided to show everyone how wonderful

Photobooth is.

Stick Humor

2011-05-05T11:05:00.000-06:00

Yes... this was random.

Real blog post soon... hopefully later today when things settle down.

art history is taking over my life

2011-04-12T16:16:00.001-06:00

I had a dream last night

that a friend and I were studying at the library 'til late at night, working on our papers.

When all of a sudden...

Windows suddenly disappeared and then came the Roman soldiers, marching right in through

the open spaces of where the windows supposed to be.

They talked to us in Latin

and we so just happened to know Latin fluently.

We chatted about how awful was the fact that it's April

and it still snows every now and then when it should be

full of flowers

and tissues due to allergies.

One of them was Channing Tatum.

What an unbelievable dream.

I'm not sure to take it as pretty neat

or slightly creepy due to the fact that

my friend and I

WERE AT THE LIBRARY,

WORKING ON OUR PAPERS 'TIL LATE AT NIGHT...

just hours before my dream.

P.S. This movie hasn't even come out yet, and I can't recall seeing this picture at all before my dream....

*sighs*

two more weeks. two more weeks. two more weeks.

Good Days

2011-04-09T02:44:00.002-06:00

Some days are good :)

Like today.

I only had 3 hours of sleep (whaaa? How can this be a good thing??) but I wasn't even physically tired until after dinner. Went to the studio to get things done. Yay for the feeling of accomplishing something! :)

Got Jamba Juice's Endless Lime, something I haven't had in a looonnngggg time. Mmmhmmm.

Went to the student art show's opening reception (Note: it's been four years since I last entered into an art competition. I've been too chicken to enter into the competitions over the years because I kept comparing my art to other people's art, no matter how different our styles are. Finally after the long hiatus, I submitted four pieces and got two pieces accepted. Two pieces that I never thought would ever get in. Not even the slightest chance with the other two pieces that I submitted... almost all of my teachers that I talked with thought that one of the pieces would FOR SURE get in.... and it didn't. Life is kinda funny sometimes...) with no expectations and hopes of getting cash prizes and awards due to the four year hiatus of competitions. Both of my pieces got Top Juror's Choice awards and each award is 50 bucks. Oh boy. I would have posted pictures of me with my pieces... but I didn't realized that my SLR camera was still on the manual setting when I handed my camera to my dad. I should have checked that first and switch it to auto or checked the pictures right after my dad gave me my camera back. I have eight pictures that are pitch black to pitch black with a yellowish-white faint glow on the bottom.

Went to Old Spaghetti Factory with the fam damily after the show.

Hanging with my man all day, despite the fact that I literally dragged him all over the museum, not letting him look long enough at the art.

Harry Potter 5 and 6 with Jake.

Made an awesome playlist for whenever I am painting or in the process of planning out the art piece. '

think back on your day and remember all the happy things.
there's always at least one. sometimes more... :)

P.S. This actually has been a great and fantastic year. 2011, I love you.

Homesick

2011-03-29T12:31:00.000-06:00


I miss the simpleness of life in Venice.

I miss digging my toes into the sand and letting the waves bury me as deep as possible. I also miss being one of the only people on the entire beach watching the sunset.

I miss the little cities along the hillside next to the ocean.

I miss walking up and down the allies.

I miss the beauty of the full moon.

I miss the vine covered walls.

I miss the brightness of buildings and the blinds.

I miss seeing the artists painting everywhere I go.

I miss the drunk Italians that provide us great entertainment.

I miss seeing the old people.

I miss seeing the artworks and sculptures in person and up close.

I miss seeing the actual structures and columns that are amazingly still standing today.

I miss seeing flowers creeping out of the walls to grow.

I miss the freshness and warmth of the Italian rain.

I miss the flowers, red poppies especially.


I miss seeing the balconies and fences covered in vines and flowers.

I miss the "friendly" Italians. But honestly, they really are friendly people.

I've been learning about the Roman Empire in my Art History class for the past few weeks...

and that caused me to be a little homesick... for Italy.

It also doesn't help with the fact that I watched Cake Boss last night and the episode just so happened to be the family trip back to Italy.

But the two things that I DON'T miss are:

Veal

and


flying rats.

I'll give a real blog post soon... I promise.

Holy freak

2011-03-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

Kids who are 10 can krump better than I can.

Thank you Jay for showing me. I. am. in. complete. awe.

These kids need their own movie.

mmmhmm

2011-02-28T12:22:00.001-07:00

Time flew by fast.

Tomorrow is March. What the freak?

I've been lacking in the blogging department lately... but life has taken control of my time... seriously.

....but it's been good. :)

* Went to Nebraska to see Jake get baptized and spent time with him and his family. Had some unexpected events which led to having his "move to Utah" from May to February 14th.

* So instead of me flying back to Utah on Valentine's Day, I got to drive 11 hours back to Utah and I got to bring Jake with me. :) Honestly.... it was the best Valentine's Day and gift ever. :) Nebraska......... is very flat. Good thing Jake and I chatted the whole time during the 11 hours of driving or else I probably would have died of boredom due to the scenery. ;) But one of the best thing about Nebraska though is.... their sunsets/sunrises are b-e-a-u-tiful. Utah... eat Nebraska's dust!

*Had a lot of unexpected school events... I was suppose to "graduate" and walk this semester and finish up my last two classes this summer... but UVU only has one of the classes I needed to take over the summer. Oh joy. So had to postpone my grad school stuff, re-plan my classes after getting an email from UVU saying I have too many credits in order to graduate (what the freak?), figure out my classes and such in the fall, and move my whole show to this fall instead of this semester. So I'll be graduating this fall! Better late than never.... right?

*I just registered to take the GRE this summer. Holy crap. I'm way excited though... (no, I'm not smoking anything... yes, I'm crazy).

*I've been spending a lot of time with Jake now that's he here. :) Definitely beats Skype-ing at 11 P.M. almost every night til about 3 or 4 in the morning. We're crazy... but it was the only way we could see and talk to each other with our crazy schedules. Jake definitely likes it here, despite the snow and Utah drivers. :) Can't wait to show him more of Utah. Ice castles.... are amazing. I strongly suggest you go at least once in your lifetime.

*We went car shopping for him, and found a car for a REALLLLYYYYY good deal. 2010 Chevy Aveo with only 13,000 miles on it.... 9,000 bucks. BOO-YAH. And good timing too because we have a lot of travelling to do in a few months (His Marine brother coming home from Afghanistan, close family friend's wedding, visiting his other brother and his grandma in Washington, MAYBE visit my brother in Boston if we have the money and goes the same for visiting my grandma in Texas).

*We've both suddenly became quite responsible now with money and career and such, and I'm kinda liking it. It definitely gave me a glimpse of what the real world is going to be.

*.......I've lost over 50 pounds now, since October. I'm not quite there yet to my goal weight but man... it feels so good to be this healthy. I haven't been at this size since Junior High.

Man...

life.... is so good. :) Gotta love unexpected moments. :)

Mystery People

2011-02-10T02:10:00.001-07:00

Let's have a quick mystery people discussion.

Have you ever encountered that person who either...

a. You see everywhere or sit near everyday in class, but don't actually know?

I currently have one of these. In my case, I feel like I can't say anything. You see, I have this creepily accurate face memory. So if I have seen or met you once, I normally don't forget it. I figure someday I will be able to use this God-given talent for good....but I'm pretty sure about 99% of the time it classifies purely as creepy. So, when I'm in this situation I'm never sure if it's mutual, or if I can contribute the entire situation to my odd talent.

b. That person you know.....from somewhere....and it's on the tip of your tongue but you can't quite figure it out.

This one does not happen to me often, so when it does it legitimately drives me insane.

And naturally, it happened today. it's still bugging me.

Well, today was blehh.

Got four hours of sleep.

Walked to school with wet hair (aka....frozen)

Feeling anxious and impatient for this weekend.

Gosh darnit, sometimes we all have them...right?

And today I miss people.

So many people I love are so far away from me.

I wish I could put life on hold for just a second sometimes.

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
Theodore Roosevelt

Millicent and Yolanda

2011-01-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

Twins separated at birth. No. Seriously... we both have natural curly hair. That's proof. :)

I love our fun times together, we always seem to have fun with each other along with others, no matter what happens or where.

Our personalities just click and we love being crazy together. I think what started this whole thing was the Sparks drinks. ;) That has to be the reason why we are so crazy together. hahaha

It's funny how we are, we don't really text each other or see other often, but we're completely fine with that. Once we see each other, we can go for HOURS AND HOURS of chatting and being crazy. We would have our weekly meetings in the library last semester, and we always seem to not have enough time to finish our stories. :)

This picture is one of our MANY inside jokes that we will never ever forget. :)

I can talk to her just about anything in the world and she is one of the very few people that I can completely trust. :) She's very loving, adorable, trustworthy, creepy... hah! :) She is just one of the absolute best! She is seriously like a sister to me, I love her so much! She is also one of the most amazing interpreters I know!

I saw her for the last time for 18 months last night, and I am going to miss. her. so. freaking. much. But I know she will be one AMAZING missionary in the London South Mission. :) I repeat, AMAZING.

Notice that her and I are always in sync when it comes to pictures? We seem to have the exact, if not, almost, same facial expressions and personalities. :)

I love you Becky!!!

Sister Allred, see you in 18 months! :D

...walking on a dream...

2011-01-27T17:45:00.002-07:00

Never looking down, I'm just in awe of what's in front of me

-Empire of the Sun, "Walking on a Dream"

Two weeks, I'll be in a section of the land of the corn fields.

My creeper twin leaves next week. Sniff.

Started playing the piano for the first time in over 4 years. I forgot how much I loved playing.

Debates with myself and I on entering into juried art shows.

Skype-d in the past two weeks is a lot more than I ever did in the past 2 years.

Experiences with interesting people. Hmmm.

Summer is going to be so. much. fun.

Spring break: Havasupai Falls hopefully. Anyone wanna join? :)

Seinfeld, how I miss you so.

Faith and testimony.... has increased so much in the past few weeks.

Grown up decisions are fun...

Receiving letters full of compliments are one of the greatest.

Sometimes being cheesy is a good thing.

30 degrees today. What the eff?

Looking forward to watching this.

Girls night with ma sistas is always required.

(these are what's swarming around my brain)

"ah ma gahsh"

2011-01-20T13:42:00.001-07:00

I love my friends.

I love our dorky moments, random quotes, and crazy stories.

Love this print. Don't know why, I just do. You can find it here.

Life is ridiculously good right now... despite the car accident and other things. But I didn't really care about those. That's how much I love my life right now. :)

About my internship...... I pretty much had the position. The next round of interview, they told me that they want to train me on the computer and everything when I go in that weekend. .......This would have been a great and amazing opportunity, do tons of projects (Be on call for 24/7 for the entire week of Sundance Film Festival and work with famous modern artists and help celebrities with their needs? Yes please!) and I actually really did want this. Yet...... I turned it down. SO incredibly sad, but I'm glad I did it though. I realized how much time and focus I really need to put into my BFA show at the end of this semester, and the internship requires total commitment, and I felt I wouldn't do my best with the internship because school is more important to me. Thankfully, they understood.... and the best part? They said that they want me to come and ACTUALLY work with them in the summer. I have a job already lined up? SWEET. Potential move to Salt Lake, specifically the artsy part of downtown? Maybe so, maybe not. We'll see how things turn out. :)

So that means I only have classes on campus on Mondays and Wednesdays. Only 12 credits for my "last" semester (Too much of the homework load for 12 credits if you ask me.... My special topic fine art class? FRICK). So weird to re-discover this thing call "sleeping in". No school this past Monday due to MLK Day, so I only had one day of class this week. .......I don't like it. Hahaha. I'm not busy anymore. I have A LOT of free time now.... until about 6 at night on Tuesdays and Thursdays, that's when I get to go to the studio to paint. Love it! :)

Yeah. Random post of an update of my life. Whoo......hoo....

P.S. I've been really digging the poloroid photoraphy lately. This is one of my absolute favorites from this guy. Go Batman!!!

......Somebody wanna get me a poloroid???

CTPT

2011-01-11T18:27:00.002-07:00

Enjoy.

Calling You

2011-01-10T14:56:00.001-07:00

I will be calling you to see
if you're sleeping, are you dreaming,

if you're dreaming, are you dreaming of me
I can't believe
you actually picked

...me

-Calling You, Blue October

Ran across this today and I absolutely love this print! You can find it here.

2010 was awesome, lots of ups, downs and loop de loops, but the experiences were interesting.

However...

2011 is already off to a great start. So much has happen and it hasn't even been two weeks. I have a feeling this is going to be a really really really really good year. ;)

I'm alive!

2011-01-04T10:51:00.001-07:00

Holy crap. It's been forever since I last wrote.

This break was supposed to be very relaxing and lots of sleeping in.

....It was very relaxing and some days may or may have not started at noon or one... I guess you'll never know. :)

However... it went by WAY too fast. I feel like Christmas was just last weekend, instead of New Years.

It was definitely eventful. I don't think I had a day of just sitting around in my pjs and doing nothing. haha. TODAY will be the day.... because it's laundry day for me. :)

Brent and Tara flew in for Christmas, and they were suppose to fly back to Boston on the 27th but the snow storm's abilities forced their flight and over 20,000 flights to be delayed then get cancelled. Tara was able to fly out on the 28th because she had to get to work but Brent couldn't leave until New Years Day. My family honestly quite enjoyed that, we got to have him around a little bit longer.
This past Christmas might have been the last time my entire family will be together for a while... almost everyone is moving out of the state.
A mother and his deaf son drove up to Utah to learn Cued Speech from my mom, I was able to take him around my hometown and my college town and he already is planning on moving here. They are such wonderful and nice people.
Sam, Travis and I went to Arizona to surprise his mommy over New Years weekend. It was a very-much-needed vacation and it was a lot of fun. We got out just in time before the big drop in the temperature in our hometown. 15 below... frick! We even got to see Toby Keith perform for only 10 bucks on New Years at the famous Toby Keith's Bar and Grill. I don't think anyone knew that he was showing up.... It was awesome for the guys (me... I like some of his songs, but I couldn't even recognize him.... hahaha) I'm glad the guys were able to tolerate me... sometimes. ;) It was a first for all of us: first time for them to have a person go with them on their usual road trips, and first time for me to go on a road trip OUTSIDE of my family. It was interesting. :) Theses guys made sing-alongs waaayyyyy fun when they are loaded on sugar. :)

Happy 2011!

Now reality starts tomorrow. Boo.

2010-12-16T21:48:00.000-07:00

Charity is refusing to take advantage of another weakness and being willing to forgive

someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other.

Marvin J. Ashton, “The Tongue Can Be a Sharp Sword,” Ensign, May 1992

Beautiful

2010-12-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

A friend shared this on Facebook... and I just simply had to repost it. It's amazing and beautiful. Be sure to listen to the song while watching this.

Thought of You from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.

I love the BYU art program, it's simply amazing.

Rules For Happiness

2010-12-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

1. "If you can't say anything nice..."

"don't say anything at all." If you want to really help people, give up trying to correct them. Instead, compliment them on their strengths. Will they still make mistakes that, to you, are obvious and need correcting? Sure... but there is always, ALWAYS, someone willing to tell others where they are failing. It is rare to find someone who will tell others where they are succeeding. Be that person.

2. Be Optimistic

Everyone likes to be around the "realistic optimist". The "realistic optimist" is a person who can acknowledge that everything isn't always great, but that somehow we will all make it through. Knowing that trials and setbacks are both inevitable as well as temporary makes you an asset to the people around you.

3. Be Funny

When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? That was TOO LONG AGO. Learn some jokes, watch a hilarious movie, go out and be spontaneous or random. Try to use those kind of humor when you are with friends, you would be amazed how everyone around you will respond... and how much better you will feel.

4. Give it Away

Go ahead and be frugal when it comes to your bills, clothes, or whatever else you want to save money on, all that people really ask of you is to be generous with PEOPLE stuff. Give a 25% tip to the waitress who served you that awesome meal (Trust me, I used to work in a restaurant, and there are many waiters/waitresses who are having such an awful day or going through a tough time. Tipping that much, it really does help them out to be better for the next service they have). Give away hugs like you get paid for each one. Take someone out to lunch or dinner.

5. Live in the Moment

I've been noticing that this is something that's hard for many people to follow, because we tend to worry about "tomorrow" instead of trying to have fun for "today." Live in today, take every advantages of your moments. Live in right now. Live as if tomorrow will worry about itself. After all, what can we do tomorrow until tomorrow gets here? All we can do is whatever is before us today.

6. Love Deeply

This is the most important tip for happiness. Sure you love your family and friends. But what about the people you work with? What about your neighbors? If you love deeply, you will get a couple things, guaranteed. You will be disappointed and hurt, but you will ALSO find happiness from some people who will deeply love you back. Trust me. It's worth it. Someday I hope that you can say "I like me best when I'm with you." with everyone you know.

"My brain just got fogged"

2010-12-09T19:58:00.002-07:00

Life.... is insanely busy.

Cons:
-Beginner students don't know how to share the studio/lab/press with advanced students. And they rather chat about Kate Who-Freaking-Cares-About-Her Gosslin instead of actually working on projects when *us* advanced students actually have final projects that are due a week earlier than theirs.
-Just because I'm deaf doesn't mean that I have the same exact views as all deaf people do on every. single. thing.
-If you say you can teach me how to cut a mat, I expect you to actually teach me. Not make up some B.S. because your lab boss is behind you. Thanks for helping with my mat for my final. Seriously.
-People would think that artists are very open-minded. Guess again. Raise your hand if your thesis for your BFA show got denied *4* times, and the fifth thesis that finally got approved was the exact same one as the second one.
-Amazed... on how low people can really step down to.
-People really need to learn how to shut their mouths sometimes.

Pros:
-Working on two editions of Christmas cards. Heck yes.
-Bishop giving me an LDS art book that he was prompted to get for me, but had no idea that I'm an art student who is studying religious art at the moment. Wow.
-New found addiction to Hobby Lobby. (Not sure if this a pro or a con...) Hobby Lobby employees... don't be surprised to see me everyday next semester. We might as well become friends now.
-Parents who will support me no matter what decisions I make for next semester.
-NEW Christmas tree at my parents' house. I. love. it. Stained glass galore.

-Getting the chance to stand up for my beliefs and passion to the teachers of the BFA program after dealing with "do whatever it takes to get a good grade from them" for an entire semester.
-Going 3 pant sizes down in 8 weeks.
-Having such wonderful parents and family. Friends too.
-Finally thinking about what to make for my annual Christmas treats.
-Homemade Christmas gifts to give. I can't tell you how much I really do enjoy this.
-Brent's coming home for Christmas after two years.
-Potential 4 credit hours internship in a frame shop? eeeeeeeeeeeee
-Graduation... and most likely not have to take my last class over the summer, depending on the internship.

P.S. This song has been stuck in my head alllllll week. Love it.

2010-12-05T10:49:00.001-07:00

"As we pass through the trials of life, let us keep an eternal perspective, let us not complain, let us become even more prayerful, let us serve others, and let us forgive one another. As we do this, 'all things will work together for good to us that love God"

(Romans 8:28)

you can find the story here

Parachute

2010-11-28T21:30:00.002-07:00

Won't tell anybody that you turn the world around

I won't tell anyone that your voice is my favorite sound

-Ingrid Michaelson, Parachute

What a crazy Thanksgiving break.

I learned how to make 5 different kind of pies and different recipes for Thanksgiving dinner.

Photoshoots.

Homework, lots of it, since there are 2 weeks left of school. ;aklsdjflaskdfj ;lsdf;lks (that was my forehead's attempt on venting).

The Holy War (Even though Utah didn't score at all for 3 fricking periods, I still knew they were going to beat BYU. I have faith in my Utes).

Elder Holland came to my hometown's singles ward to speak (I love him. I learned so much just from his talk today).

Then...

My beautiful Dalmation, Carrie, died this afternoon.

September 19th, 1994 - November 28th, 2010

Watching her the past couple of days were hard, her seizures and health problems. In a way, I kinda knew it was going to happen today.

She was such a spoiled yet amazing dog. Even more amazing the past couple of years having to deal with our lab springer mix, Holly. :)

We love you and miss you Carrie.

After 3 1/2 long weeks...

2010-11-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

and a mishap with my portfolios...

GOT

INTO

THE UVU

BFA

PROGRAM!!!

Hello graduation.

Hmm

2010-11-08T15:18:00.002-07:00

Love this song... Love this guy.

First off... long story short with the portfolio thing... The art department lost my portfolio.

My reaction when I found out?

Imagine yourself when you're expecting someone to give you a glass of really cold but oh so good water, then that water ends up being thrown in your face.

SO.... I had to talk with the head of the department and finally convinced him that I did turn in my portfolio. He let me have a "second chance." *pppffffttt* So if they didn't lose my portfolio during the first meeting... I would have found out if I got in the program or not this past Friday. Now, the department was able to get together again this recent Friday to look at mine, however, I won't be able to hear back until sometime this week hopefully. Yay for waiting. Bad thing about this? When they assumed that I "backed out at the last minute" due to the missing portfolio, they went ahead and accepted/rejected students. Only six students applied in this area and they can only accept four, sometimes five, students. So I have a 50/50 chance of getting in. Wheee!!! So I've been pretty anxious this past week and probably will be this week until I get the "your-life-is-about-to-get-more-stressful-no-matter-what-the-outcome" email.

Other than that... life is pretty dang good. I'm having a great time. It's nice to be back with friends again after the whole prep portfolio thing. I'm loving that fact that I have my weekly meetings with my super-awesome-future missionary-creeper twin-friend, Becky. :) I'm going to miss her terribly when she leaves, but I know this is exactly what she needs and I KNOW she will be an amazing missionary. South London... you better watch out! :)

I'm also loving that fact that I love homework parties (oxymoron anyone?), grabbing Zupas, watching awesome movies and best worst movies. I also love meeting up with friends that I haven't seen in MONTHS and catching up. Cueing dinners? Champ. Girls night out? Always will be fun. Random dates.... heh. They're interesting. ;)

BE WARNED... THIS IS A LONG AND RANDOM POST :)

However, the one thing I love the most is having deep conversations with friends who don't judge you at all and respect your opinions. For example, I was talking with my friend Sam yesterday about a recent dating experience I had and two of the stuff we talked about were the examples of what most RMs do right when they come home, i.e. find a girl to marry is one of the top priorities, and how the girls should response to situations when you meet a guy who expects you to be at certain "levels" in order to make the relationship work. With that one, I was struggling with the fact of how some guys expect girls to drop everything in order to marry them and just become a stay at home mom right away while the husband/father will provide everything himself. Typical Mormon standards and such. What about women who wants to do something with their family life too? I remember a talk that President Hinckley gave a while ago about how important it is for women to have an education, and I strongly support that. I have always thought that it would be great if both the husband and wife have great education and careers, life could get easier once the kids start coming.

However, I'm half wrong. I was talking with my mom about this last night and Sam emailed me with more information on this kind of subject. My mom and I were talking about how it really is important for women to have education, but once we start a family, we should focus on our family more than our personal education, that way it is actually easier than having to juggle education, husband, and family all at once. Not only do families should have a father who can hold the priesthood, they also should have a mom that should be great examples of caring for others, how to love people, and being a homemaker. Once the children are taught through their parents' examples, most actually grow up to wonderful people and such.

Then Sam tells me about this article he had to read for one of his classes and about his mom how she started a family right after high school and she focused all of her energy and time on her family. Once she got all of the kids out of school, she went to college and got her Bachelors. My mom basically did the same thing too. Our mom are such great examples, how you still can have a wonderful family and still get to do what you want to do... it's just a matter of patience. I am so grateful for my mom for sacrificing some of her things just so that our family can get what we need, I'm also grateful for my dad who works hard and is still amazing. He's my hero. :)

My whole perspective about this changed in a day. Geez.

If you had to ask yourself this question, "Do you put your family or education first?" I would bet a hundred bucks that you answered "family."

Sorry this was long, but gold stars to those that made it this far. :) Also, this is just my opinion... just FYI. :)

I also ran across this quote that is kinda related to what I said recently, but mainly to other topics that I was talking about with some friends lately. I love this quote and I really think that everyone should read this. :)

"We  women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. 

We  have to  decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is   comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to   prove something. 

We have to learn to be content with what we are." 

— Marjorie Pay Hinckley 

Freak

2010-11-02T23:41:00.000-06:00

Paranormal Activity...

The first half of the movie... meh, it was actually ridiculously funny.

However the second part of the movie...

It got intense. And freaky.

I had to sit REALLY close to Andy on the 2nd part.

Also, most of the time, you kinda have to rely on the sounds in the movie.

But the captioning works really well with this movie, they even know how to

describe the suspenseful music. *elaborated spooky music playing* haha.

I actually kinda recommend it if you can sit through the first part.

P.S.

If it didn't say the "f" word 3495820 million times, It would actually be rated differently.

Geez.

P.P.S.

I just found out they have a Paranormal Activity 2.

When it comes out to the dollar theater, I'm so going. (Because I'm cool like that)

Rome Temple

2010-10-27T18:43:00.001-06:00

The ground breaking for the Rome temple was last week.

You seriously have no idea how excited I am. I am going back to see the temple.

Period.

I want a scrapbook table!

2010-10-25T19:26:00.001-06:00

LOVE this idea...

I want one so bad! When I get my own place and such...
I will do it.

Also with these kind of decorations.

It would be amazing.

If you love me, won't you let me know?

2010-10-24T18:04:00.001-06:00

Violet Hill -Coldplay. Love love love love.

**I watched Star Wars the other day. I wish Han Solo was real. **I. Cannot. Wait. For. Harry. Potter.**I know I'm an art freak, but you will at least have a chuckle at this blog. **I have a secret love for tie dye stuff... ok maybe it's not secret anymore now that I've confessed this one...**Is there such a thing called "too forgiving?"**I will do something awesome over the summer as a graduation gift to myself. I. MUST. DO. SOMETHING. AWESOME.**I am loving the rain right now. It also snowed in PC and a little bit in Heber yesterday morning coming from SLC.**I like... no... I LOVE random conversations about ninjas and pirates. I also just love any random conversations**I'm so excited for so many of my friends and their future plans!**Missing Brent terribly. Hopefully my brother is able to come home this Christmas**I still hate waiting!**I heard this term "zoobie" in the hearing ward today... surprisingly urbandictionary.com has the definition.**

"A term used in Utah, mainly Utah Valley, to describe the excited bunch of mormons that go to BYU and engage in excessive social activities. It's very common usage here."

I was awoken late at night with chanting by who could only be the Zoobies, exclaiming in chorus that they were to, "Paint the Y! Let's Paint the Y!"

Peace.

It's Done!

2010-10-21T10:08:00.001-06:00

I turned in my portfolio.

Now I wait.

Two weeks people.

Two. Freaking. Weeks.

Someone wanna find me a Delorean time machine?

Props to those of you that gets what I'm talking about. If you don't...

go here.

2010-10-20T23:11:00.003-06:00

“Of mankind we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain.”

-Niccolo Machiavelli

When I'm Alone With You

2010-10-17T16:46:00.002-06:00

Please enjoy.

This past week:

Skipped FHE to drive a 2010 Chevy Camaro... in automatic and manual. I'm in love. (The manual "stick shift" was actually buttons behind the steering wheel. Go technology.)
Lunch at Zupas with awesome people (Anna, Becky, and Travy). Got a delish salad.
Jason Derulo, B.o.B., IYAZ, and Auburn concert at UVU. "In My Head", "Airplanes" and "La La La" on repeat now.
Got introduced to The Brunettes. Awesome and freaky band. Love it.
Got an email from the heads of department saying they want to see my portfolio. *insert jumping for joy here*
Haunted forest last night. Champ! I literally got scared. I don't get scared easily... but holy crap... I got scared so bad that I swore.... a lot. (thanks goodness for deaf people ;) hahahaha) I accidentally punched Jason in the stomach. He freaking came out of freaking nowhere. And that chainsaw guy cornered us in the narrow dead end of the maze. We could feel the floor vibrating when he lowered the chainsaw to our feet. It freaked us out. Can I just say that once you start signing before you go inside, and you find yourself signing "STOP IT!" at the monsters... it really doesn't work. Face palm right there. Water gun at the psycho place? Classic when watching other people get hit.

Man... what a good week.

BFA Waiting Game... Sequel

2010-10-14T19:33:00.001-06:00

!!!UPDATE!!!!

~~Part One: Letter of Intent- make myself sound fabulous~~

~~Part Two: Receive Email from Head of Department- if I get the email, they are interested in seeing my portfolio.~~

~~Part Three: Prepare Portfolio- make my portfolio as purdy and artsy as possible.~~

I got the email (FINALLY! I was starting to get worried...) I am to bring my portfolio on WEDNESDAY. Thank goodness my teacher ~~held me captive in the classroom until I finished my portfolio~~ helped with finishing up my portfolio, and it was just in time. *whew*

Now... we get to wait even more! oy.

Part Four: Drop Off Portfolio- the instructions I must follow: put my portfolio onto a CD, bring the CD to a room at a certain time disclosed in the email if I get one, leave the campus for 3 hours, come back to pick up my CD, and wait for another email.
(Sounds suspenseful doesn't it? To check this off... it depends on if I get the first email...)

Part Five: The Stupid Waiting Game- wait for 2 to 3 weeks to see if I got in the program or not.
(I don't want to check this off at all because it contains the word "wait". I'm not very good at waiting...)

Part Six: Celebrate/Wallow- depends on the outcome. If wallowing happens, it's not the end of the world.

We Both Go Down Together

2010-10-09T12:40:00.002-06:00

Coming home last night listening to The Decemberists, the soundtrack to so many past autumns and winters in my life, I'm so content with its contrast to the rock/pop sounds of summer that I've been listening to lately.

Autumn:

It gets dark earlier now and I had to double back today because I forgot to grab my jacket.

Eating soup last night because for the first time in MONTHS, soup actually sounds really good.

I love layering clothes at this time of season.

Impending heaviness of winter. All week has been so grey and gloomy, and I love it. It's a nice change of scenery for once. Something new for once. I love summer, but I like autumn too. Why can't I have both at the same time?

I think autumn is the one time of year where I really do appreciate change... of things being new, being different.

I'm very content right now.

P.S.

Spontaneous dates rock my socks off. Dating isn't so difficult after all.

BFA Waiting Game

2010-10-04T13:36:00.001-06:00

Part One: Letter of Intent- make myself sound fabulous
(check)

Part Two: Recieve Email from Head of Department- if I get the email, they are interested in seeing my portfolio.
(hopefully I can check that off soon...)

Part Three: Prepare Portfolio- make my portfolio as purdy and artsy as possible.
(partly check)

Part Four: Drop Off Portfolio- the instructions I must follow: put my portfolio onto a CD, bring the CD to a room at a certain time disclosed in the email if I get one, leave the campus for 3 hours, come back to pick up my CD, and wait for another email.
(Sounds suspenseful doesn't it? To check this off... it depends on if I get the first email...)

Part Five: The Stupid Waiting Game- wait for 2 to 3 weeks to see if I got in the program or not.
(I don't want to check this off at all because it contains the word "wait". I'm not very good at waiting...)

Part Six: Celebrate/Wallow- depends on the outcome. If wallowing happens, it's not the end of the world.

Conference Weekend

2010-10-02T22:59:00.001-06:00

I'm going to be like every other person talking about the LDS General Conference, but I don't care... conference weekends are awesome. :)

I "love" doing my homework...

But it's nice to take a break from it, and what could be better break than listening to amazing people talk about the gospel. I got to hear four of my favorite speakers today, and they were all fantastic.

"Diligently doing the things that matter most will lead us to the Savior"

- Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I love everything he says, he is so amazing.

Plus, conference weekend is great for getting together with your families and pigging out on food. :)

2010-10-02T02:33:00.001-06:00

oh.em.gee.

2010-09-30T22:15:00.002-06:00

Deathly Hallows Trailer for Part One from Sean Palladino on Vimeo.

So freaking excited.

Auto Incorrect

2010-09-30T09:45:00.002-06:00

Auto Incorrect:

When the auto-correct feature on your iPod Touch or iPhone tries to correct your spelling, but instead changes it to words that just dont make sense with what you're typing.

JR: Hey what time should i come?
Victor: I dont know... Are you busty all evening?

I MEAN BUSY!!
ARE YOU BUSY ALL EVENING!

GOSH I HATE AUTO INCORRECT!

via Urban Dictionary

Seriously. This feature of the iPhone drives me nuts.

Precious in His Sight

2010-09-25T22:47:00.000-06:00

Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.

Doctrine and Covenants 18:10

love.

I love...

2010-09-25T16:04:00.001-06:00

Cardboard Love

via Cardboard Love

Life Goal #75

2010-09-25T15:27:00.003-06:00

I want to be able to do this:

Anyone wanna join me?

I hate me

2010-09-23T11:32:00.002-06:00

I hate it when I remember something was due... yesterday.

Doh.

My Attention Span is Shot

2010-09-21T23:52:00.003-06:00

Anyone want to try to save it?

Meanwhile... watch this. Definitely made my week (it's only Tuesday... crap.)

LEG IT!

Freaking Awesome

2010-09-18T09:07:00.002-06:00

HARRY: What's wrong, miss?
BELLA: Everything! My life is horrible.
HARRY: Are you crying because your parents were killed trying to save you?
BELLA: No. But my parents got divorced and now my dad can't make dinner for himself. So it's kind of the same thing.
HARRY: Are you upset because every father figure you've had was murdered?
BELLA: No. But this one time I fell down playing volleyball. So I know what that feels like.
HARRY: Did you spend your childhood unloved, living in a closet?
BELLA: No. My parents love me, and everyone I ever met adores me.
HARRY: Are you sad because you have the weight of the world on your shoulders and if you mess up even a little bit, millions of people will die?
BELLA: No. I'm sad because I married the man of my dreams, a modern day Prince Charming who is wealthy, strong, and gorgeous.
HARRY: Um…
BELLA: But wait. It gets worse. I also have strong feelings for this other guy.
HARRY: Relationships are tough. I liked this one girl who already had a boyfriend, and then I witnessed her boyfriend's murder. It made things awkward.
BELLA: You don't understand.
HARRY: Guess not. But here's something I do understand. Stupefy!

via

Brilliant.

2010-09-13T18:10:00.002-06:00

Please go here.

I cried. Several times.

So touching.

Thank you art teacher for sharing this to the class today.

Images

2010-09-12T21:54:00.004-06:00

So a lot of thoughts this past weekend.

Ummm...

I realized how much we really worry about the amount of time of thinking of ourselves and the images we all portray. I feel like this is getting old now... trying to dress to impress or change their whole image just for that person/people.

Image, image, image

I think that we are an image obsessed culture, i.e. Facebook and Myspace (who uses that nowadays???). Nothing there is real. The things that we write on our profiles, the pictures we post, the comments we leave, we KNOW is viewable to however many thousands of people, so we always keep them in mind. We want to keep up our image of hipster freak, indie-scene hardcore, tortured artist, jock, intellectual, girl with a lot of cleavage, etc. Now obviously not all people are so insecure, and don't think about stuff like that, they are just keeping in touch with friends. But personally... it just makes me crazy.

There are times when I feel completely real, and I guess those are the moments of content. A really good show, listening to the rain on your car in the parking lot, a book or movie that changes you, driving home alone at night, talking with a friends for hours. Those are the times when you realized how absurd it all is, how obsessed we are with things of no consequence. What a royal waste of energy and time it is.

It just seems like such an easier way to live, just saying what you think without feeling like you have to cover all your bases. Just focus on the important things in life. and the rest of it will be a lot less tiring.

Personality types play a lot into this though. It's easier for some people to be that way than others.

I think the most attractive people are the ones who are obviously comfortable with themselves. These kind of people are also a lot easier to be around.

Just.... be nice to everyone. Make it easier on not just them, but for you too.

Dear Blank, Please Blank

2010-09-11T00:25:00.001-06:00

Need a laugh? Go here.

Here's an example:

Dear Jonas Brothers,

It's been 40 years, and sorry, we're still better.

Sincerely, The Beatles

Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.

2010-09-06T22:26:00.002-06:00

Just watched this episode of The Office today.

hilarious.

In summary if you don't praise The Office like I do...

In order for Jim to "beat" his enemy, he figured he must think and be like his enemy, Dwight.

Cheesy related to Harry Potter

2010-09-03T13:02:00.001-06:00

Heard this today at the gallery.

"When you're around, you're the only one I see.

It's like someone Dumbledored all the lights out."

Man.... the things people come up with sometimes.

That Was Quick

2010-09-02T16:55:00.004-06:00

Holy crap.

August went by so fast.

And I realized that I sucked the past week with POTD... sorry about that. At least it's 3 weeks instead of never.... right?

So much has happened in August with ....everything. I don't even know how I made it through the month. Summer semester, prepping for BFA portfolio, Fair Days, homecomings/farewells, helping people move, family vacations, and friends.

I really did have a good summer... despite the Italy withdrawals. :)

Now I'm back in school, and is it possible to say that I'm sick of school after only a week? And still love some classes at the same time? I think I would get back to being a school lover if one of my class didn't exist. I'm taking 6 classes (18 credits total), and love love love them all except that one freaking class. It's required for all Seniors (weird... I just had a realization that I'm a senior) and in that lecture class, it's all about getting your big break. Well.... I'm the ONLY gallery fine artist in the class, everybody else are graphic designers and photographers.

Let me paint a picture for you. Remember back in those school days where boys and girls will pretty much do everything as possible to be "cool", and as soon as they see a new kid walk into the class, they start to stick their noses up as high as they can and think that you don't belong here. They can labeled you as "outcast" quickly before you can introduce yourself.

That's how it is for me with the other students... however, all of us students feel that way equally with the teacher who thinks is the best artist of any kind in the whole freaking state of Utah. (And the lectures are INCREDIBLY boring). You have no idea how many times I have to face-palm myself in order to keep my cool after class.

It's ridiculous I tell you... RIDICULOUS.

*ahem*

Anyways... the other classes are great, just been keeping me busy. I had to drop my Fundamentals of Elementary Art Education 1, but I quickly replaced it with a new class... Senior Studio... and I'm the only student in that class... Ha! So apparently Senior Studio is when you get to have one-on-one time with your teacher (and mine is one of my favorites!) as they try to help you with your portfolio and preparing for your BFA. Oh, I'm so excited for this.

I'll try to update as much as possible.

Now... I'm going to share a quote that my friend said that's extremely funny and we were talking "quietly" in the Library. He's been the FHE dad for the past 8 months and has had 5 FHE wifes.

Friend: "Did I tell you I got divorced for the 4th time and now I have a new wife?"

Me: "Nope! You sure move on quick."

Friend: "Yeah... except this wife is only 3 weeks new and she's been texting me ever since she became my wife. It's like she loves me or something."

Imagine the looks we got from the people across the study table.

POTD: Ice Cream

2010-08-28T13:29:00.001-06:00

Coldstone style.

POTD: Writing

2010-08-27T17:59:00.001-06:00

It's so very true.

There are times when I don't know how to express my feelings or opinions in person unless I write it down. I had that moment yesterday. All day today (this was Thursday when I wrote this...) I could not get my mind off some stuff, so I had to write it all down onto paper, then I finally felt better because some of the things I needed to write were stuff I couldn't say or express to other people.

Thanks goodness for journals. :)

POTD: 1st Day

2010-08-25T22:49:00.001-06:00

School finally started today!

4 classes down... 2 to go tomorrow.

POTD: Smile

2010-08-24T18:34:00.003-06:00

Children really do have the cutest smiles. :)

POTD: Holy Freaking Bat Batman

2010-08-24T01:25:00.003-06:00

My parents' cat like to bring inside her catch of the day, to show off.

Today was this:

a freaking bat.

How nice of Bella...

Speaking of bats...

While we were at Lake Powell, I discovered that I have a fear of flying bats. I don't mind seeing them in movies, haunted houses (because I know they're not real), or even in cages. I just don't like them flying anywhere near me in open spaces. There were a whole bunch of them at nights in Lake Powell, and it freaked the crap out of me.

Imagine my reaction when I found this stupid bat. Then I found it to be dead. I felt relieved... then I felt sorry for the bat for being caught.

Fear sucks. :)

POTD: New Snack Love

2010-08-22T23:49:00.001-06:00

Yogurt covered pretzels.

Especially the cinnamon kind.

Yum.

POTD: Work

2010-08-21T07:50:00.001-06:00

These papers are going to be taking over my life

the rest of the weekend.

Happy Laminating!

I hope you have a great weekend! :)

POTD: Marmie/Hilly Time

2010-08-21T00:56:00.001-06:00

I had a night out with my mother.

I've been helping her with her classroom the entire week

and she wanted to repay me

by taking me out for pedicures and dinner.

I love my mommy. :)

Late POTDs.... again.

2010-08-20T09:28:00.001-06:00

I swear after this week I will get back into the regular pattern.

Sunday:

This is what I come home to. I miss Lake Powell.

Monday:

Antique Love

Tuesday:

I love days like these, where I am reminded how much I love our country and how much the troops have done for us.

Wednesday:

DK reunion with Erin and relaxing night involving pool.

Thursday:

Surprise! Niece #2 came!

POTD Updates

2010-08-14T23:05:00.001-06:00

I'm back!

With pictures!

(Be warned... I'll post more than one picture on some of the days... I couldn't decide... and I didn't want to post another blog about my trip, so I'm combining both. :) haha)

Tuesday:

Music welcoming us

Wednesday:


8 A.M. activities such as wakesurfing


After getting hit by the rainstorm in the middle of the lake. Definitely the calm after the storm.

You can see the waterfalls in the background. The rocks can't soak up the water so the water has nowhere else but the lake to go to :)

Thursday:


During a clear and hot day of boating, we took a dip to cool off. :)

Friday:

Rainbow Bridge


Sam and I goofing off as usual.

Our family friends.

Going on adventures.

Beautiful scenery.

Beautiful ending to an awesome vacation.

Saturday:

Back to my apartment. I'm so sad.

Mmmm... Day 9

2010-08-09T23:14:00.002-06:00

Mmmm...

This restaurant is seriously one of the best restaurants in Utah.

I'm leaving for Lake Powell in the morning.... So I'll have to update the POTDs when I get back. :)

Winterhaven Buddies Reunite!

2010-08-09T00:55:00.001-06:00

Oh man.... we got some of the Winterhaven boys together and

it was fan-freaking-tastic!

Missed this guy so much! He came home from his mission back in March and today was his first visit to Utah. Sadly, he's not coming to UVU this year. :(

He filled our night with LOADS of laughters. :)

Late POTD... again.

2010-08-08T18:54:00.001-06:00

Yeehaw! Gotta love rodeo days at Fair Days.

Salvage Yard

2010-08-06T22:11:00.003-06:00

Today was an interesting day.... However, I am thankful for friends who know how to fix cars, and know where to get parts for cheap. Even if it means one risking it's life to get to the car on the top of the UNSTABLE pile for a really small part.

2010-08-06T11:11:00.002-06:00

“As we pass through the trials of life, let us keep an eternal perspective, let us not complain, let us become even more prayerful, let us serve others, and let us forgive one another. As we do this, ‘all things [will] work together for good to [us] that love God.’ ”

-James B. Martino

Late POTD

2010-08-06T09:36:00.001-06:00

Hello all, sorry I'm late for yesterday's POTD... but I was busy getting sunburns and uncontrollable laughers.

My friends and I went to Lagoon yesterday, and it was so much fun! I definitely needed it. I was with a great group, and I'm sure all of us went straight to bed as soon as we walked into our places since we got home at 1 this morning. I know I did haha.

Sweet Summer Day

2010-08-04T17:37:00.001-06:00

It's fun to go running and be welcomed with downpour rain in the middle of the run.

It was a great afternoon to feel the warm rain. :)

It's also great to get free beta Lightroom programs and a new swimsuit.

And I officially can't wait for Lake Powell. 5 more days...

Just. 5. more. days.

Fair Days

2010-08-04T01:23:00.004-06:00

Today was one of those days where one would go to support the small town's activities for fun. And today happened to be Battle of the Bands... an event that I try to attend every year with some of my neat-o friends. (Yes... you read that right, neat-o.)

It's interesting how people can come up with band names and such, like "Holy Water Buffalo" or even something simple....

"HIE".

Overall... it was quite the experience this year, seeing a bunch of people you graduated with in the bands.

P.S.

The drummer in the pic... she's 12 years old.

Not. Kidding.

Brownies

2010-08-03T00:51:00.001-06:00

Must be brownies week... POTD 2

(Sorry about quality.... I've been taking pics recently with my phone, but I will try to go back to my awesome camera tomorrow. :) haha)

Oh sweet, dear Anna. There are too many words to describe her, and because of that I love her so. :) Such an amazing friend to me and to everyone. :)

First POTD!

2010-08-02T01:58:00.001-06:00

The first photo of the day of August.... (I know it's posted past midnight, but I took the photo earlier, and I just barely got home, so that's my excuse. :) haha)

This guy, Sam, decided to visit me and bring me brownies tonight, and I must say, they were some delicious brownies

We always have the most random conversations (only because I bring up the topics) and yet it's so normal. I think we freaked out a few people in the parking lot with our conversations tonight.... awesome.

Thanks to him, I got to practice my self defense skills for a bit. He even learned how to cue. He just started on Wednesday last week, and he's been cueing to/with me tonight. He's doing pretty well!

Great friend?

I say yes.

Thanks for the brownies and fun chats!

Challenge

2010-07-31T09:20:00.001-06:00

I visited Rachel's blog today, and she posted a challenge that she's going to do, and it was such an awesome challenge that I will be joining her!

Lifted from Susannah Conway's blog: you simply share one photo per day on your blog – Monday to Friday, or every day. Or whenever you want. Using any camera – DSLR, compact, Polaroid, Holga, iPhone (my choice), Instax, 35mm, video – with or without words – anything goes – for the whole of August. No pressure - just looking at August through your camera lens as a way to be more present this summer.

This should be interesting... Let's hope I can keep this going the whole month! :)

Smiles

2010-07-30T11:36:00.001-06:00

"Cheer up, and keep smiling. That’s the thing to do. If you go through life with a smile on your face, you’ll be amazed how many people will come up to you and say ‘What are you grinning about? What’s so funny?’ Make you a lot of new friends."

-Anonymous

Reason #153

2010-07-20T22:20:00.001-06:00

on why I love Mark Twain:

(taken at the beach in Rome)

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

-Mark Twain

Gary Larson

2010-07-18T01:42:00.001-06:00

created "The Far Side".

A comic that is very popular in my family.

While I was cleaning out my bookshelf in my room,

I found one of his books.

...I was "forced" to take a break.

sometimes I wonder where he get his ideas from...

2010-07-14T11:17:00.003-06:00

“Everyone needs good friends. Your circle of friends will greatly influence your thinking and behavior, just as you will theirs. When you share common values with your friends, you can strengthen and encourage each other.”

-Thomas S. Monson

Boys of Summer

2010-07-12T18:50:00.001-06:00

"And I can tell you,

that my love for you will still be strong,

after the boys of summer are gone"

Don Henley is the original artist for this song, but the song became more familiar after The Ataris sang it. However... I love John Allred covering this song...... I've had his song on repeat since after the concert on Friday... I hope I didn't cross the line of obsession... :)

Sadly... a video hasn't been put up yet of him singing this song, but I will still share one of his awesome songs (heck, ALL of his songs are awesome...) with ya.

This song, "Medley" is based on various artists, and he put it all together himself. Can you say amazingly awesome? I pretty much want to marry his voice. Scratch that, I want to marry HIM. (ok, this is crossing the line now... excuse me)

P.S. He's LDS. :)

Da 'uma

2010-07-06T21:04:00.002-06:00

means

"kiss me"

in Tongan.

I've been learning Tongan... and been introduced to Polynesian music.

It's pretty awesome. :)

2010-07-06T08:30:00.003-06:00

Never complain. Either take positive action, or accept with serenity.

- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Good Stuff

2010-06-26T23:27:00.002-06:00

Seriously.

Especially those with trucks. ;)

I now remember why I hate moving so much and I hate that a part of me feels like I can't stay in one place for too long.

Since 2007, I've moved 7 times. 7 times in 3 years. My parents must have wanted to shoot me after all those moving boxes.

But I am now at a cool place. I have a private room with a full-sized bed. I still have a little bit of space left after moving my crap into my room. I only have one roommate, I get my own bathroom, and we have two extra unused bedrooms. Plus... my roommate and I... our personality kinda clicked. We even hung out on the first night of my survival here.

Weekend.... awesome.

Manti was gorgeous as ever, country music (Kenny Chesney in particular), packing and unpacking, spicy beef dogs, pool side soccer, "roommate intervention" at Squaw Peak lookout point...

tomorrow...

possibly pay a visit to the new ward?

Thanks to a friend, I've been more interested in country music...... this 'otta be interesting.

Enjoy.

Summer!!

2010-06-25T16:27:00.001-06:00

Summer finally started for me yesterday.

I get to play for the rest of the summer without school keeping me inside. :)

Know what I did on my first day of summer yesterday?

Packed.... because I'm moving tomorrow.

BUT.....

I'm going camping tonight and seeing the Manti Pageant.

I'm excited.

Meanwhile... here's my song of the day to share with you.

I've been listening to this song over and over and over yesterday. I probably drove my roommates up the wall. Whoops. :)

Have a good weekend!

Being Divided Into Fourths

2010-06-20T08:18:00.003-06:00

Last night, my friend and I spent time on the trampoline remembering skills we have and used to have, friendships, love, and fears that never really leave us. Talking while lying on our backs, between ariels and back handsprings, looking at the scattered stars and almost half empty orb (the moon) in my backyard makes for a nice Saturday evening.

We talked about the joys and the difficulties of having different groups of friends and how torn we can be when it comes down to the wire of "hang out with me instead". It's so hard when one would have two groups or more that are completely different from each other, almost like on different worlds. It's nice that some of us can get along with pretty much everyone, but it's extremely frustrating when some friends start to criticize your "other friends." Some would even question why you even bother. However, the plus side of that shows how much your friendship really mean to them.

Everyone needs some love and faith. I strongly believe that people will appreciate you A LOT more if you don't judge, especially their friends. (I also believe this is something that we all have, judging others, but it's a matter of how much you control it)

There is nothing better like hearing a friend telling you that you have inspired them to become better and work harder on certain goals.

Very few people that has many group of friends that respects you for you and can still be themselves instead of strongly judging others; that is a great quality and a great friend to have in my opinion.

Also, one of the most important things is you stay true to yourself, no matter who you are friends with, and stay positive.

"I fall in love twice a day... so what? There's got to be something more important."

"Well what is more important then?"

"I guess I don't know."

P.S. I'm having Italy withdrawals.

Reason #458

2010-06-18T23:10:00.003-06:00

on why I love Mark Twain:

(Mark Twain on Jane Austen)

"I haven't any right to criticise books, and I don't do it except when I hate them. I often want to criticise Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that I can't conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every time I begin. Everytime I read 'Pride and Prejudice' I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone."

Love it

Confusion

2010-06-04T11:08:00.001-06:00

(photo found here)

Ever have one of those days where you just feel out of place for very small reasons to no reasons?

It's been one heck of a week for me.

I honestly don't have much to say... because I still can't quite figure out what's going on. :)

I promise a better post next time. :)

P.S. I'm obsessed with this song... AND I listened to them before Glee took over this song. :)

"I am a great magician... your clothes are red!"

2010-05-23T17:41:00.002-06:00

This weekend was a much needed weekend to get out of town.... by going to my hometown. :)

Parties
My first non-Mormon wedding. That was interesting. :)
my FIRST bowling tournament... with an awesome team. :) I can cross that off my bucket list now. :)
Placed 8th in the entire tournament. We got 4th in the first round and got 8th in the finals. Pure awesomeness.
My aunt from Texas flew in for the weekend.
Unwinding in the hot tub with an outdoor movie. KUNG POW! "My finger points!" "Shirt-ripper!"
Awesome company. It was nice to see my friends again.

Do You Dream?

2010-05-19T15:03:00.002-06:00

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Freaky movie... yet loved it. It's so original... I watched the commentary of the director, he wrote the script for the film and it all came from his head. It's not from a book or another movie... hence the originality.

"If you do dream, do you have a price on your dreams?"

Ugh.

2010-05-16T20:19:00.004-06:00

Why must grad school be so hard to figure out?

My teacher wants me to go to grad school if I decide to keep going.... At least I got the schools I want to try to apply down....

It all comes down to these:

Rhode Island School of Design

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Cranbrook School of the Art

Massachusetts College of Art and Design

Museum of Modern Art internships

Arizonia State University

BYU Art Graduate Program

What do you think?

P.S. I'm looking up grad schools... Freaky huh?

Patience

2010-05-14T18:13:00.004-06:00

“We should learn to be patient with ourselves. Recognizing our strengths and our weaknesses, we should strive to use good judgment in all of our choices and decisions, make good use of every opportunity, and do our best in every task we undertake. We should not be unduly discouraged nor in despair at any time when we are doing the best we can. Rather, we should be satisfied with our progress even though it may come slowly at times.”

-Joseph B. Wirthlin

Love This Quote

2010-05-09T21:43:00.001-06:00

“Faith is not a theological platitude. It is a  fact of life. Faith can become the very wellspring of purposeful living.  There is no more compelling motivation to worthwhile endeavor than the  knowledge that we are children of God, the Creator of the universe, our  all-wise Heavenly Father! God expects us to do something with our lives,  and he will give us help when help is sought.” 

Gordon B. Hinckley

"With All Thy Getting Get Understanding," Ensign, Aug. 1988