Christmas Eve

The tree is up

The lights are bright

Just a reminder,

Think of Christ tonight.

Tree of Light

AKA Tree of Life

Jen & Heidi

Your Insecurity Is Showing

We live in a world where you get reprimanded for having insecurities. We are told to hide them and to appear perfect to everyone. This series is to show that it is okay to have insecurities as long as you don’t dwell in them. Use your insecurities to make you a better and stronger person. To demonstrate this, my subject Mercedes, and I picked three “stereotypes” or popular insecurities. Then we found quotes or sayings to counteract them. For the pictures of the insecurities you can’t fully see her face. She is hiding behind the insecurity, her hands, or her phone to show how they make us want to shy away from the word. But in the photos that are the opposite you see how letting the insecurity build you up and make you shine. This is a mini-series, but I feel it can be added onto and made into something bigger.

I Am That Girl...

People look at me and see a normal girl. 

Well, news flash, I am a strange one.

I am that girl who will listen to Christmas music all year long because it is soothing. 

I wear shorts and a sweatshirt. #bestoutfit

I will read 10 books at the same time.

I am the girl who trusts too easily but at the same time not easily enough.

I am that girl who over thinks and over analyzes every little detail.

I love being with people yet I hate it at the same time.

I love car rides.
I love music but I hate noise.
Spicy food doesn't appeal to me.
Yes, I had 13 years of dance training but I act like I can't dance.
I'd rather sing with my friends than have small talk.
Silence doesn't bother me.
Snow is magical, cold but magical.

I am one stubborn girl.

But I guess that is what makes me, me.

Tree Lighting

I went to the tree lighting at Traverse Mountain.

It was the first of many holiday activities.

I am pretty excited.

I FREAKING LOVE CHRISTMAS!

Shaelee, Marnie, Heidi

A Fresh Slate

When I look at a sunset I see more than a day coming to a close.

A sunset is refreshing.

It takes the stresses of the day and puts them to bed.

One Day

Pick Me.

Choose Me.

Love Me.

Most humans who know me know that I love Grey's Anatomy. The show is dramatic and makes up for the lack of drama in my life. But of all the episodes, and all the scenes, this is my favorite minute. I could watch it over and over again and never get sick of it. The emotion gets me. 

I want to love someone that deeply. I want to be able to tell some one:

Pick me. Choose me. Love me.

Everything Is Awesome

Shaelee, Melissa, Heidi, Marnie, Janice, Hillarie

I'll be the first to say that I hate Halloween.

Everything scary just isn't my thing.

When I heard I was going to be required to dress up I was skeptical.

But honestly, look how cute we are. 

We make some pretty rockin' legos.

Mo Tab

Only this girl would go to a Mormon Tabernacle choir REHEARSAL and enjoy it as much as me. 

Uhh...

I miss Nauvoo.

Like, take me back. NOW.

I even dream about it.

Static Waves

 I went to a benefit concert at a small coffee shop in Sugarhouse. 

Honestly, I was a little skeptical but it turned out to be amazing.
I found my new favorite band. And who would of guess that they would be from Provo, Utah!

Adoption

When I started working at Hallmark I had no idea that I would be gaining four new grandmas. I love those ladies as if I was born into their families. I went to a work meeting where we played a game called Tummple. I loved being with my ladies again. Because of school and Deseret First I am not able to work as much and see everyone. I will look forward to these monthly meetings.

Obviously

Remember from my first day of school when I was complaining of that first year teacher? Well, he came around on the testing center issue. He had us vote today if we would rather take the test in class. Guess what! The vote was unanimous. No student in their right mind would want to go to the testing center to take a test. Did I mention that they charge you a dollar for every day you put off the test. So if I waited till the 15th (aka the last day to take the midterm) I would have to pay $6. Like, WHAT THE CRAP! I already paid to come to school now you want me to pay to take tests. 

That's just rude.

Introduction

Let me introduce you to this lovely lady.

Her name is Shaelee.

She makes me laugh and I do the same for her.

We like music and talk about boys.

She takes me places.

Like a Improv Comedy Show, where this photo was taken. 

And yes, those bangs are new.

Guilty As Charged

Pinterest has been around since March 2010.

And I am proud to say that I have been there since the start.

Not to brag or anything but yes, I had to send in a request to the owners to be invited to join this addictive site. Can you believe that Pinterest used to be "By Invite Only"? When all you have to do know is sign up with email or to make things easier, just login in with Facebook.

Pinterest, in my opinion, is the most addictive social media next to Snapchat.

I turn to Pinterest before Google, as far as images go.

I trust my fellow bloggers over a 'word' search.

So why is it addictive?

What is better than picking your interest and being able to pin it to your personal board. It is like adding bookmarks to websites everywhere. Of course I  mainly pin items pertaining to Photography. 

It counts as homework... right?

Vulnerability

I have a philosophy about sweet spirits.

First, I want to state that I do believe there is someone for everyone. Lagoon has proved that to me time and time again.

Second, I know I’m pretty *insert quotations and eye roll here.* But I wouldn’t consider myself beautiful for what the world-aka men- believe. I like to think of myself as a sweet spirit. I know that is condescending but let me finish.

 I classify myself as a high end sweet spirit. On the sweet spirit scale I definitely would give myself I solid eight. A guy would be lucky to call me his because I am pretty to him but no one will try and steal me away. Really, it is the way to go. I’ll even let you in on a secret. I have these moments that I might make you laugh. Now that is a deal. I’m all yours and sometimes we’ll laugh. Plus, I am working on my “Wife Me Up” skills so that the one man who does decide to choose me will be able to brag about his homemaker of a wife. He will have a full belly and a woman strong in the gospel.

If that doesn’t appeal to you, then you don’t deserve me.  Even though I call myself a ‘Sweet Spirit’ it doesn’t mean I am going to settle.

I am in that time of my life where my whole goal is to “find a mate.” (I’m Australian in another life.) This goal is easier said than done. Especially when I have this one quality, unable to act normal in a group of the opposite gender-AKA Awkward. And no one has found that adorable yet… so #single. Anyways, I forgot where I was going with this and I could just delete it but this is my blog and I can do what I want. 

Once again my blog, my rules.
So here is a kitten.
You're welcome.

Say Geronimo

I work with this girl named Shaelee.

She loves music as much as I do. 

We like to share our awesome taste and this was one of the gems she showed me.

It's catchy, but I warned you. Have fun!

Run Away!

I was headed to Wal-Mart with my mom and we saw run away horses.

I died laughing.

The owners were chasing them down on a motor cycle.

I can just imagine capturing horses is a little bit more difficult than a dog.

Jus' sayin'.

Youtube Binge

I ran out of shows on Netflix. That is a slight lie considering I am just waiting for my shows to update with new seasons. But while waiting, I have been spending a good amount of time on Youtube. My good friend and science partner from high school does vlogs on random ideas he has. 

I personally find myself laughing out loud, and that may be because I know the guy, but go ahead, watch 'em. Here is my personal favorite so far because he nailed cooking as a college student right on the head.

Wahoo!!

This happened.

I am excited for these two and the adventures that are ahead!

Congrats!!!

That Just Happened

I was drinking out of my water bottle and BAM! I dropped it.

Now everything on me and around me is wet.

#IpromiseIspilled

First Day

The first day of school starts out the same. No matter which school I am attending. I am excited to go to school until the day before. I start to over think every tiny detail. Where are my classes? Am I going to like the teacher/subject? How much outside work will be required? Will I be able to get all my homework done? Will I make friends? Will I get to class on time? Am I going to miss the bus/train?

All I can say is the list goes on and on. I am a little worry wart when it comes to school. I am half way through my schedule and I have managed being on time to my classes but finding them was another issue. Over the summer UVU decided to renumber the classrooms in the Liberal Arts building. All the signs said different numbers for where the classrooms were located. Luckily my whole class had the same struggle I did (even though I still made it to my class with 2 minutes to spare). 

I am excited for my Humanities class. I get the feeling that my teacher understands that there are other classes on our schedules and that Humanities is just a required credit, but she still wants to make it meaningful in our lives without overloading us with work. Also, with my 'art' background I already feel like I have an advantage over my classmates. 

My Positive Psychology class is the exact opposite. My class is the guinea pigs because we are the first Positive Psychology class my teacher has had and to make things a little more interesting, this is his first year teaching. Here is the first rookie mistake: group projects. Not just one but three. Only new professors make this mistake. Then they realize that it isn't a good idea because although this is college, it is just like high school. People still don't do their part. The project will fall on one person's shoulders while the other just sit back and enjoy the grade. Next mistake: This teacher calls them "Learning Groups" but the idea is still the same. Every day when class begins we get into our groups and talk about the reading for 20 minutes and then the Professor will give a lecture on the difficult points. This once again leads to slackers who don't do the reading but gain the knowledge from their peers. Or my personal favorite is those who do the reading during those 20 minutes. My next favorite isn't a mistake but just a critique of his choice: 6 hours of outside learning. This is beside the homework, quizzes, reports, and presentations. We have to either read or watch 6 hours of Positive Psychology. For this class I am required to read two books and now lets add another? Seriously, do you think college students have that much free time? Here is my favorite student rookie mistake: Don't ever ask teachers why they give to much work and never tell them all the work from your other classes. They won't take pity. They will just tell you to learn time management. As if it was that easy.  

Along with normal classes, the first day brings the biggest challenge. Choosing an institute class. There are so many options! Which is great but for us who are indecisive, it is the worst. I not only have to choose a topic but also pick a teacher. And with having a few hours open equal more options! To this moment I still have no idea which class to sign up for. I keep staring at the list hoping one of the classes will speak to me.  

Wish me luck as I continue this first day adventure. Let's see if everything works out as I planned.

These days...

Let's play catch up for the month of July. 

Lots of work at the call center and Hallmark. We were prepping for the Ornament Premiere. I worked 35 hours in 5 days. It was crazy. I was living off minimum sleep.

Off to the Family Summer Vacation to Zion. 

This trip was amazing. Words can't even describe how I feel. The more I think about it the more I fall in love with the trip. Being with family, feeling close to the pioneers, and just starting to understand what really went down in the 1840's. Here are some photos but they are straight from my camera and just a taste of what I saw. 

Liberty Jail

Temple Lot for the second coming.

Kansas City Temple

Family Photo

Sunset on the Mississippi in Nauvoo

Nauvoo House.
Where we stayed while in Nauvoo.
The house where Emma Smith died.

Nauvoo Temple

Nauvoo Pageant 

Original Floor in Assembly Hall

Anna Amanda

Annette during British Pageant

British Pageant

Carthage Jail 

The clock in the room where Joseph Smith was martyred.
The clock read just after five.
It was as if the clock stopped after Joseph Smith was killed.

Original hole.

Before we left Nauvoo we walked down Parley St.
Also known as The Trail of Hope.
The actors from the British Pageant told us stories from journals of the pioneers leaving Nauvoo.

Council Bluffs

Winter Quarters Temple

Annette dressed as a pioneer girl.

Winter Quarters Cemetery.

Sunset on Missouri River.

Mt. Rushmore

Crazy Horse

Chimney Rock

Martin's Cove

That is a nutshell of the trip. I honestly keep trying to pinpoint my favorite part but I am unable to. Every day it changes. I loved being with the family and going to the Nauvoo Temple. I loved everything. If someone offered to take me to Nauvoo, I would do everything in my power to go with them.

While on our way to Missouri, I received a phone call that was offering me a job at Deseret First Credit Union. That was a great moment. I started that job  two weeks ago. But this past week was my first week in the branch. On my second day, life became crazy. The teller next to me was robbed. I didn't noticed a thing I was helping another member when it happened. Because of the robbery, I had to go to work therapy on Friday. Honestly, the robbery bonded me to my co-workers. Only they (and other tellers) can understand what we went through.

This past week I worked a 65+ week. It was crazy. I am still exhausted from working so much. I loved being busy but hated it at the same time. I honestly can't wait for school to start just for the reason that my life will calm down. To end this hectic week, I met Carmen Rasmusen Herbert. She was on American Idol Season Two. She wrote a book that I received when I was 12. I have read that book multiple times. It introduced me to Young Womens and what I would learn there. I also bought her songs on iTunes and learned them all. I might have fangirled when I saw her but I pulled it together enough to get a photo with her and have her sign my book.

Let's just say, today my calendar looked like this...

Empty. 

I have always loved the way a fresh month looked. It brings the hope something new.

Within 3 minutes it looked like this. I brainstormed everything that was going on in the month of August. 

Everything on this calendar are things I know is going to happen off the top of my head. 

Already I can tell I am too busy.

Wish me luck.