A taste of my fave kind of vacay

A few weeks ago, we took a weekend and went north to visit my mom's cousin and her family. For living so close to these guys, we definitely don't see them enough, so this was quite a treat! I mentioned earlier that this kind of vacay is the best kind of vacay, and I was dead serious: anything that keeps me close to home and close to the people I love is a good thing. But I really came here to show off some pictures, so let's cut to the chase.


We went stargazing with cousin Spencer, who is a master with that telescope. I've always wanted to try a real telescope, so this was quite exciting. We saw a star!

We always, always, ALWAYS play games after the young'uns go to bed when we get with these particular family members. It's tradition. However, we don't usually play Cadoo...that was Brian's idea, and he didn't realize it's made for kids until we, um, finished playing. So then we switched real quick to Apples to Apples.

Rye wanted her thumbs-up in as many pictures as possible...

Then we all slept long and hard. I wrote and sent a letter to that one missionary in the morning, and we played Candyland, and then we visited the Hill Aerospace Museum. Pictures of this coming later because those planes were super cool and I want them to have their own post. Yeah, apparently I like planes. Anyways... So then we got pizza. And then I played with my camera's macro function (it's kind of my favorite activity). And then we saw a rainbow!

And then we must have come home because I have no more pictures. All in all, 'twas good times! Now it's their turn to come here, right? Right? 

...*crickets*...

Ok yeah, we'll be back up there soon. 

Hand-foot-mouth is almost as bad as swine flu.

Well, this was going to be my week to post a bunch of pictures of my adventures lately with family and friends, and then I went and got all sick. And I understand that blogging is one thing you can do while sick, but I'm kind of just really really super lazy. Fevers make me wanna cry. Also, I have an irrational fear that if I touch any of my stuff while I'm sick, it will get germy, and then when I come back feeling better, I'll get the same disease all over again. I know it's ridiculous, but I really do think that sometimes. Needless to say, my computer and I were living in separate quarters until today. 


But good news: today I feel great! I got out of the house and everything, so that is good progress. Except I just realized that I felt pretty good yesterday, too, and I left the house to go shopping, so part of the excitement here just became null and void. ANYWAY, I am on the mend and life is looking up and so I shall share some updates.




:: I got a new calling in church as 1st counselor in the Relief Society presidency of my ward. It's perfect timing. Everything about it is perfect. I'm so incredibly excited to get to know the girls in my ward better and to have the opportunity to serve them, and I just hope I can fill the place I need to at this time! 


:: This week is exciting because some amigos and I are watching a Harry Potter movie each night leading up to July 31, when we will watch both movies for book #7 and celebrate Harry's birthday with a cake and a party. Can I get a "woot" for the crazy party up in here?


:: My new bag arrived! Check it out:

I usually wouldn't do a photoshoot with it, but it was requested that I send a picture to the company I won it from when it arrived. Unfortunately, that was my worst day of sickness, and I was not remotely happy with actually getting dressed and being in pictures. But the bag looks great, eh? I love it with so much of my love right now.


:: I did some productive things, even while I was sick. Like I watched a movie with Dad that I've been meaning to watch since...a long time ago. (It's been just waiting on my bedside table where, sadly, a lot of things must wait a lot of long times.) And I read a book. And I started another book. And another book. I also managed to shower every day, which is good news. So I wasn't completely useless all week, people! (Of course, I know you weren't thinking that.)


:: I am rather enjoying this song and this song lately. Like really a lot.


:: I saw the new Batman movie today. That thing is stinkin' 2 HOURS and 45 MINUTES long!! Ok, I am not a huge movie person, just as a general rule, and I think every movie should be under two hours, just for the sake of wasting as little time as possible (yes, I just said movies are a waste of time, I'm sorry for it already, don't hate me ok?), so this one was a serious stretch for me to go to. BUT I did get to go with Madi, which was lovely, and it was honestly better than I expected, and Christian Bale is always a solid "yes," so...I suppose it was worth 5 bucks (matinee times rock). But heavens, that Batman stuff is pretty dark. 

Yeah, ok, I guess I could watch it again...

So anyways...that's what all's been going on round these parts. I'll be back in the near future with pictures of actual events, so feel free to look forward to that. And look Mom! I posted a blog post. :)


Ok, peace out.

In which I tune to the music of faith

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks of England, speaking to Roman Catholic leaders last December at the Pontifical Gregorian University, noted how secular some parts of the world have become. He stated that one culprit is “an aggressive scientific atheism tone deaf to the music of faith.”

Today in Relief Society, the lesson was based on this talk by Elder Quentin L. Cook. Although I quite enjoyed the lesson, I got stuck on this phrase: "tone deaf to the music of faith." As one who enjoys making and listening to music, I really connected to the idea of faith=music, and a couple comments from other lovely ladies just got me thinking about a few things that I want to record. 


One girl commented about how music brings such joy to those who really love it in a way that is often difficult to explain. I would add that for those who don't have a connection to music (or even to a specific kind of music), it probably sounds like unwanted noise. The music of faith can go either way as well: there are those who take joy in believing things that cannot be proven simply because such belief gives hope, and there are those who refuse to listen because they cannot make a connection with something that isn't concrete.


Then another girl (a music major) commented that people who are literally tone deaf can still hear and appreciate music; they just have difficulty reproducing it. Applying that to faith, then, meant that although one may feel or believe or even know things of a spiritual nature, they do not allow that belief to transfer to others. Because of a lack of scientific proof, they keep their beliefs private, which action has the potential to gradually turn belief to doubt. 


Another comment came from our bishop's wife, who responded to a question about how we can become "tuners" of our faith. She compared this to tuning a piano: a piano tuner learns how to listen so intently that they know when a note is right and they know when a note is just slightly off. The best tuners have sort of an extra sense that just cries with joy when everything finally lines up. So then, to apply this to tuning faith, she said we should hone our own skills in listening for things that ring true and forever be tuning ourselves to that music of faith. 


While hearing all this, I thought to myself about how much music means in my life, and how empty certain aspects of my life would seem if it were suddenly taken away. Similarly, if my faith--in my church, my relationships, my future--were taken away, I would feel empty, but it would touch every aspect of my life. Keeping in tune with the music of faith is what allows me to continue if/when times get tough. It is something that I delight in, and it's something I wish to share. I love learning things of a scientific nature, and I love the using the scientific process, and I believe in many scientific theories that may not correlate exactly with scriptures I learned growing up. But I also believe in a loving Heavenly Father, and I have felt the support and influence of Jesus Christ in my life, and I know that my faith in these unseen beings is far more lasting than fallible theories and formulas. In my life, science is sure cool, but the music of faith is necessary. 


So back to Elder Cook... I hope that I can forever keep my life faith-based and secularly-enriched, rather than the other way around. Please, let's all tune to that beautiful music of faith. Happy Sunday, folks! And good night.

Please, call me Katniss

This was my hair today (except by today I mean yesterday because I'm posting past midnight):

And I'm super proud of it.

Also, we hiked the Y tonight, which basically felt like the Utah equivalent of winning the Hunger Games, so... You can tell how athletic I am by that. Tomorrow will be such fun when I wear heels to church, right? Right. Apparently it's time for me to get in shape, but that doesn't actually mean I'll do much to get there, if I know me (and I like to think I kinda do).

Anyway, proud of my hair. That's what I came here for. And now I've shared that. So I'm gonna go sleep now. 

Peace out, homeslices.

Please meet my newest most prized possession.

The other day, my mom found hidden in our piles of papers a true treasure:

It's the 4-leaf clover I found at the age of two!! I've been looking for this for years, no joke. And it came with a note from Grammie, which means we now know the real story of that day. All these years, my mom thought I remembered finding this clover, and all these years, I only "remembered" what people told me had happened. So now we have a direct witness (kinda). The note reads:

"5.14.95...Alyssa picked this from the back yard and brought it to me, not even being old enough to know it brings good luck. Years and years of good luck, little one."

And maybe it made me cry the best kind of cry. I miss my Grammie.





Oh, and then yesterday, I won a blog giveaway! 
So it looks like things are working smoothly as ever around here.


I almost bought a one-of-a-kind purse from AmyKathryn last week because I totally fell in love, but I restrained myself because I couldn't justify spending as much money as it cost on something that was more trendy than classic, even if it was all sorts of cute and good for the environment and would last more than a few summers. (I'm a cheapskate, and I'll be the first to admit it.) And then she hosted a giveaway, and I just had to enter, and then I saw this post, and then I wanted to scream with a lot of joy. 
This little lovely is on its way to my house now:

And I cannot wait for it to arrive. Hello, that whale tail??! LOVE. Many many many everlasting thanks to AmyKathryn, whose blog I will follow 'til the end of time! And since I'm a proud beneficiary, I'm going to go ahead and suggest you all follow as well. They're adorable. And maybe you'll win a future giveaway.
Seriously. So much love. 
This bag will be almost as prized as my 4-leaf clover.




P.S: We have our good friends from Japan in town this weekend, and we are having a party up in here! I just had to tell someone, so there you go. Pictures forthcoming...

Song of the moment

I've always loved this song, but never so much as at this very second.

Oh heavens.

In which I look forward

I have a book of Elder Holland quotes which I love ever so dearly and read rather often. A change in church today and a thought I had the other day are pointing my eyes to the future, so I scoured that book for applicable words.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Faith is always pointed toward the future."

"God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic); He expects you to embrace and shape the future--to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities."

"We should honor the Savior's declaration to 'be of good cheer.' 

Indeed, it seems to me we may be more guilty of breaking that commandment than almost any other!"

"Your Father in Heaven knows your name and knows your circumstance. He hears your prayers. He knows your hopes and dreams, including your fears and frustrations. And He knows what you can become through faith in Him."

"If for a while the harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart. So it has been with the best people who ever lived."

"What is the best that lies within us? Of how much are we capable? None of us yet knows. An old Arabic legend tells of a rider finding a spindly sparrow lying on its back in the middle of the road. He dismounted and asked the sparrow why his feet were in the air. Replied the sparrow, 'I heard the heavens were going to fall today.' 
"'And I suppose you think your puny bird legs can hold up the whole universe?' laughed the horseman.
"'Perhaps not,' said the sparrow with conviction, 'but one does whatever one can.'"

"Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that god has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the 'high priest of good things to come.'"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Okay. Now I'm ready. Bring it on.

Quotes from Created for Greater Things, Jeffrey R. Holland.

Maybe I'll change my major to animation

Last semester, my public speaking teacher told us about this new animation software soon to be released that could be used for future presentations in our public speaking careers, and she encouraged us to sign up as Beta testers on the website. I did so because it sounded fun.


Today I got an email from PowToon telling me I could finally try it out. (Ya know, cuz I've just been waiting and waiting and thinking about it every day.) I had nothing better to do, so I gave it a shot. And good news, folks: it is fun. I made this little soundless, pointless storyboard-type movie and uploaded it to YouTube in about an hour flat. And that's because I was being picky. Do you see how awesome this could be if I practiced more and poked around the website?? I see math presentations and FHE lessons coming together in minutes with the power of PowToon...


Anyway, if you have 46 seconds, feel free to watch this thing and let me know what you think. And if you're interested in trying it out, head over to PowToon.com! It's a blast, I promise. Comment if you do something; I'd love to watch!

Can't decide what mood I'm in...

Grouchy:
I just finished reading a book from the library and it smelled strongly like bad perfume. I wasn't a fan of the book itself, but I definitely have an extra-negative association with it now just because it smelled so awful. Don't spray your books before returning them, folks. Thanks.


Lately, I've been trying to drink lots of water because I keep having a sore throat. It doesn't usually help. 


Please please please, if I update any social media sites in the first few days of my honeymoon, just shoot me. I assure you I will have better things to do, and if anyone's offended that I didn't say "Thanks for showing up to my wedding!" in a FB status or Instagram picture, well they can just stick it in their ear. Cuz I'll care more about my new husband than them. End of rant. (PS: I don't hate people who do this. I'll just hate myself if I do it.)


This one eyebrow that I have has been twitching for three days straight. MAKE IT STOP. Or I will cut off my eyebrow. This is not a drill!!


Happy:
I mastered that Rachmaninoff song I've been working on. Did I ever tell you that I'd started learning a new piece? I did. It's this one, if you're curious. That melody is so haunting...definitely one of the more thoughtful pieces I've played, and possibly one of my all-time favorites.



We spent Friday night and all day Saturday with family an hour north of here. It's the perfect kind of vacation for me because it's close to home and short and includes only people that I already know and love. So it was a good weekend. I'll tell you more about it later maybe. Like with pictures and stuff.


Church yesterday was lovely. I meant to bring a notebook (cuz I always mean to bring a notebook), but I forgot to do so, which means I don't remember all the good thoughts I had while I sat there. Dang! But I did come home and write down all the things I could coax my brain to remember, so that's good. But I will definitely learn from that and take a notebook next week and every week after. 


Been working on my puz today and listening to good music. Life rocks.


And finally, a picture:

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Independence Day

I don't know if you're aware, but yesterday was July 4th. It's sort of a big deal in this Provo of mine, and I love it. This year's celebrations were more extravagant for me than almost any other year, but unfortunately my camera was low on battery all day. So we'll just pretend it's like a story book with pictures on the side, rather than pictures with narration on the side like I usually do. It'll be fun. 


On July 3rd, Mom came home from a week-long trip to Mississippi around 11 PM, which meant our family celebrations would likely not include anything early in the morning. And 'round these parts, the best things are in the morning (balloon festival, parade, a lack of extreme heat, etc.). So to remedy that, I moseyed down to the parade route in Provo to stake out a parade spot overnight with friends. (Ok really they did the staking and I showed up a little later, so thanks friends.) The night before the parade is craziness down there: few people actually sleep, cops are everywhere, and it's just bright and noisy all night long. I'd venture to say it's the rowdiest night of the year. Anyway, I took Mariah along, and we arrived around 2:30 AM. We chatted for a bit, slept for a smaller bit, and by then it was beginning to get light, which meant it was time for.....

THE BALLOONS. Seriously, this is the best part of Provo's festivities. And this was the first year I was awake enough to take it all in! Definitely a plus. It's so fun to walk around in all that color and listen to patriotic music and see the sunrise over the mountains and heavens!--it's just a good time all around. You should all go next year. Call me and I'll go with you.

We went back to the parade route spot and ate some food and played some Nertz:

And then we watched the parade. [Insert lots of pictures of floats and smiling people and marching bands here.] I love the parade, but not as much as the balloons. But I still love the parade. My high school's marching band is always the smallest, so that's...endearing. But my current school's football team is always a huge hit! And the missionaries are in the parade, which we love, and the flyover totally rocks. And those were my favorite parade things. 

After the parade, we sat at Jenna's house for a little bit before meeting up with the rest of the fam at Mimi's Cafe for breakfast. I got an amazing omelette with a lemon muffin, of which I have no pictures. But I do have this cute picture of Mom and Dad being patriotic in their attire:

And then we went shopping. But I don't remember anything from that part of the day because I was completely wiped out and kind of just walking around with my eyes closed. Not a joke. I did that in public. With really greasy hair that I kept telling myself looked just fine. (It didn't look fine.)

Then we went home and I slept through a hot shower and took a long nap. Then I woke up. Then I took another nap. Then I woke up all disoriented and a little grumpy because I just don't do well with waking up from naps. Lesson to be learned: get lots of sleep the night before you go to sleep on the parade route, because otherwise part of your July 4th will be lost forever to what feels like a drug-induced coma. 

We wrapped up the day with some fireworks in PG. My family tries to avoid traffic at events like this, so we have a cul-de-sac a little ways away from the actual event where we set up camp every year. We don't know any of the people who live in this cul-de-sac, so I always feel a little weird when we show up and they're all playing on their lawns and having family time, and then we put some chairs in their road and have a seat... I'm sure it's fine. But the fireworks were lovely this year, and did anyone else think they seemed to have like 3 false endings?? My favorites are those small ones that are super loud, and any that look like they're raining stars. You know the ones? Oh good. My camera was crying by this point, so I only have one picture of any fireworks at all:

In conclusion, I'd say this will be a tough year to beat. Happy birthday America; thanks for inviting me to the party.

A day late and a dollar short

Yesterday was my lovely sister's birthday. And I neglected to post the traditional list! It's because I'm a terrible person/I procrastinate/I'm-sorry-Bri-can-you-ever-forgive-me.

Anyways, these are some things to love about Briana:

1) She really makes some great faces and poses (see above).

2) She cares deeply about her family and always puts them first.

3) She is frugal.

4) She is wise beyond her years. 

5) She brought that lovely little Emerson into existence, and she's a brilliant mother.

6) She knows how to find good clean fun, for cheap/free, without going far from home. 

7) And she sure knows a good joke when she hears one!

8) She is calm and patient, even with stupid people. Something I need to master.

9) She is bold in her beliefs and has a firm testimony. She doesn't compromise on things that are most important.

10) She's the sister whose footsteps I have always proudly followed, and I will always hope to be like her someday.

Love you lots Bri!!

And happy belated birthday.