Really Good Books, #4

The Last Silk Dress, by Ann Rinaldi. 

So, i'm definitely a fan of historical fiction.  My favorite time periods? Wars.  They seem to make for the most interesting stories.  This book is set in the Civil War, and is from the perspective of a fourteen-year-old girl in the South, who wants to do something to help in the war.  I haven't read this one in a while, but it still is definitely one of my favorites.  It's a bit long, but VERY good. 

P.s. Merry Christmas!! :)

Really Good Books, #3

The Water is Wide, by Marianne Monson.

I got this book as a manuscript from Lisa Mangum, read it, loved it, and am now eagerly awaiting for the real copy of the book as a Christmas present.  The only thing that stinks about reading a book when it's only a manuscript, is that it means I have to wait even longer than everybody else for the sequel. Oh well. It'll be worth the wait, i'm sure. 

Update:   I did get the book for Christmas. Woohoo! :D (Dec. 25).

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Really Good Books, #2

The Host by Stephenie Meyer.  This book is completely different from the Twilight series.  This book is somewhat like Ender's Game and Uglies, combined.  Both of which, are very very good books as well.   When reading it, you are inside the mind of two different characters at once, following their thoughts and emotions, and the moral struggle within.  The book is pretty genius.  Also, it's just a great love story, but still filled with action and suspense.  Read it! 

Really Good Books, #1

I. Love. Reading. I've done it all my life, and I will never quit.  I used to get grounded from reading, because my mom would send me to clean my room, and I would sit and read instead.  I used to read 2 or 3 books at a time, for hours a day.  I wish I still had the time to do so.  Reading is pretty much my favorite.

I don't know how many people actually read this, or how many people actually care, but I'm just going to put it out there anyway.  I've decided to do a series of posts about some really good books I've read.

To start off, I'm really sharing two books.  The Hourglass Door, and it's sequel, The Golden Spiral.  Written by Lisa Mangum, these books are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!  They have such a great plot line, and require you to actually think a little.  It's not simply a cute/interesting story to read (though, it still is definitely those things as well).  This is true literary genius.  The concept of time in these books is so interesting, and it makes me wonder how she ever came up with the idea for it.

Also, I am SO excited for the third book, The Forgotten Locket.  I am pretty much dying with anticipation, waiting to see what happens next.  Maybe I can get my hands on another ARC? :)

Sometime, I would really like to just sit down with Lisa and talk to her about these books.  Where she got the idea, how it all came together, and all the associated adventures with writing it.  She's pretty famous now, but maybe she'll make time for me someday.  She was one of my YW's leaders, after all.  Here's to hoping that I'll get that chance sometime.  

More to come later.  For now, I should probably go to bed.  It's 2:09 AM.  

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Count Me In.

So, my awesome sister is a blogger.  And apparently, her blog is well-known enough that this cool company called CSN stores is giving one of her readers 35 dollars to spend in one of their online stores! How cool is that?  Check it out here.

Everyone should check out this cool offer, and follow her blog, because it is super-awesome. :)

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The Forgotten Carols

The Forgotten Carols is a amazing/wonderful/life changing show that has a very very special place in my heart.  I had the opportunity to be in the backup choir for it for 2 years in a row.  (And may possibly have the chance to do it one more time.)
It is honestly a life changing experience.  It has now become a part of my Christmas tradition, and it is just not Christmas without seeing the Forgotten Carols.
Michael McLean is a genius, and Jordan Bluth, Kelly Shepardson, Christy Summerhays and Gili Getzgili are all absolutely brilliant and amazingly talented.  And of course, the beautiful Lynne McLean.  Without her, the show would not happen, because according to Michael, she is the reason his heart has a song.  (How cute is that??)

There are some wonderful points made in this show, and it is definitely a testimony builder.  I very very highly recommend this show to everyone.  (Except for small children, or those who can't sit still for 2+ hours.)

Also, I am SO super excited, because the Forgotten Carols tour is coming to Utah State!!  December 1st in the Kent Concert Hall at 7:30.   I will be buying my tickets tomorrow.  :)  (Hint: If you do want to go, buy your tickets NOW, because the good seats run out fast.)

The tour also performs in Salt Lake for 7 days (Dec. 6-11, 13), in the Cottonwood High School (woot woot!) Auditorium.  Really, seriously, go.  It is SO worth it! GO! You know you want to. :)

I'm not going to give anything away about the show or the plot, you'll just have to see for yourself!

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Oops.

So, this one time, I was driving home from Logan, and rear-ended someone.
Pictures are worth a thousand words, so I'll let the picture tell the story.

Yep.  Wanda's nose is broken.  And one of her eyes is gone.. Sitting in the backseat, acutally. 

I Have Never

Have you ever played that game? If you haven't, you should. It's lots of fun. I enjoy it.  It's a little depressing, because it makes you think about all the things you have never done, but, still, it's fun. And it's a really interesting way to learn about other people.
Anyway, this is my list of things that I have never done.

I have never.....

• Been to Disneyland
• Tasted alcohol
• Been out of the country
• Seen Lord of the Rings
• Been on choir tour
• Had a job with set hours
• Sold a Homemaker. :(
• Done drugs
• Been in the hospital as a patient
• Donated blood
• Gone skinny dipping
• Missed an episode of Covert Affairs
• Had a Twitter account
• Worn glasses
• Smoked a cigarette
• Jumped out of a window onto a trampoline
• Been a U of U fan
• Been a madrigal
• Broken or fractured a bone
• Been on a cruise
• Had a 16th birthday party
• Had a 17th birthday party
• Had an 18th birthday party
• Paid attention in my Computer Science class  (where I am right now!)
• Failed a class
• Taken an online class
• Watched a baseball game all the way through
• Liked tomatoes
• Kept a journal regularly
• Gone snowboarding
• Been skydiving
• Gone toilet-papering
• Snuck out of the house
• Understood why people like The Sims

Note to self: My Computer Science professor doesn't know how to use YouTube.

• Not been a procrastinator
• Learned how to drive stick-shift
• Been to MonsterMash or a Winter's dance

Well, class is over now, but I succeeded in at least staying awake through all of class. :)

Thankful

No, it's not Thanksgiving yet, but I'm feeling pretty grateful today, so this is a list of things that I am thankful for right now.

• Benadryl - It's a life saver right now.
• Awesome roommates that are totally willing to do anything to help me feel better
• Awesome friends that come visit me when I miss my class with them
• Hulu - It's a boredom cure. I don't have much of anything better to do at the moment.
• Netflix online - Also a boredom cure.
• Kleenex - Whoever invented this stuff is my hero.
• Hot Chocolate - It just makes you feel better inside, doesn't it?
• Sweatpants - The big, baggy, really comfy kind.
• My bed - I've been spending a lot of time on it..
• Scott - 'nuff said.
• Carmex 
• Toothpaste - For getting rid of that icky morning breath flavor, cuz you can't breathe through your nose when you're sick.
• Hot showers - Clear out the sinuses, and just all around feel better. 
• My little red fan - I'd die of heat and not be able to sleep without it.
• Gum
• Mom
• General Conference
• IWA
• FHE
• My laptop - None of this would be possible without it
• Ibuprofen
• Missionaries
• Wanda - my car

I could probably keep going for a while, but then it would likely never end.  I have so much to be grateful for. I am one lucky duck.

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Lazy Days

I have been SO lazy today.  What is up with this? I'm pretty sure maintenance came this morning while I was the only one here (and still asleep) and I was barely conscious enough to know that they were knocking on the door, but apparently not awake enough to get up and answer the door.  They assumed that nobody was here and just came in anyway, and thankfully my bedroom door was closed...  How weird would that be?
Also, I barely managed to stay awake during Institute, and did not manage to stay awake during Stats.  Oops.
I think maybe I should go to bed early tonight.  I started feeling like I was ready to go to bed at about 8:45. Crazy..
Also, it is really hot in our kitchen/living room.  And just in here.  We even have the windows open.  Yet, i'm dying of heat.  And if I walk into another room, it's immediately about ten times cooler.  What is up with this?
Life is just kind of strange today.

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Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm'kay.

So, apparently my roommate Michelle somehow set off a security system alarm, and it has now been going off for 3 hours.  On the 3rd floor, you can only hear it if you listen, but on the 1st and 2nd floors? Geez. It is LOUD! And, it has now been going off for nearly 4 hours. Four hours. You have got to be kidding me. You'd think somebody would've done something by now? You'd think that maybe the alarm system company might notice or something? Our RA isn't home, and I guess she's still not home, because it's still going off. I don't know what to do to fix it, or i'd try and do something myself. But, it's one in the morning. There aren't many people you can call to ask questions at one in the morning. So, I guess it will continue to go off until Sarah (the RA) gets home.
First and second floor people, I am truly sorry. I have NO idea how you were able to get to sleep tonight, if you did.


Oh. Well. A policeman just came to the door, and the alarm is off now. Thank heavens. The policeman asked if somebody removed the smoke alarm or if my roommates were smokers or anything. HA. Right... We didn't do anything! I promise! He said he'd trust me for now and that somebody from Maintenance would be by tomorrow to check it out.
Let's hope that Michelle isn't in trouble.
Update tomorrow on what the heck set off the stupid alarm!

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Choir

I love choir.  I am in 3 of them this year. It's pretty great. :) I now get to perform at Women's Confernce, and a CES fireside in November.
For the CES fireside, we are going to take a choir of 1002 people to Provo, and stand outside the Marriot Center and sing the Aggie Fight Song. I'm kind of super excited.

One of the things I love about choir is that I very often get the songs stuck in my head.  It makes life so much better when you have "I Feel My Savior's Love" stuck in your head.  Having choir songs stuck in my head usually helps me make better decisions.  It's pretty great.

I think that anyone who can sing, or even just enjoys music, should join a choir.

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Passion

So, I was inspired by a friend's blog about things he is passionate about.  It got me thinking, what is there in my life that I am truly passionate about? It doesn't seem like there really is much at the moment.  I feel a bit unfulfilled in life.  The things I am most passionate about at the moment seem to be tv, food, sleep, Facebook, and MLIA.

One thing I did realize that I am passionate about is my relationships with people.  I like to think that I'm a good friend, that my friends can come to me whenever.  I also like to think that I give pretty good advice.  Correct me if I'm wrong, please.

Another thing I am passionate about is laughing.  I LOVE to laugh.  Even more, I love to laugh when the laughing is brought on by a friend.  Sure, MLIA and Teen Girl Squad are hilarious, but laughing with friends is just ten million times better.
Along with laughing, I am passionate about being my crazy, weird, random, loud self.  Sadly, I don't always act like myself.  Sometimes, I'm quiet and actually rather shy.  It is actually rather rare that I am truly acting like myself.  Just like everything else in my life, it pretty much depends on my mood.  When I get hyper and crazy, I'm actually being myself.  When I'm genuinely happy, I'm being myself.  Usually, if I'm in any sort of subdued mood, I'm not being myself.

The last thing I am passionate about (that I've thought about tonight, at least) is understanding.  Probably more than anything else in life, I want to understand.  One of my biggest fears is going into a situation that I don't fully comprehend.  I deal with things SO much better when I fully comprehend them.
This is probably one of the reasons I enjoy hearing about other people's lives.  Not just the surface stuff.  The deep stuff.  I want to truly understand people.  So, if I poke and prod and pry into your life too much, I'm sorry.  It's not really intentional.  It just kind of happens.  I am usually a very very open person myself, so I guess I expect everyone else to be the same way.
Along with that, I especially want to understand the Gospel.  As a whole, I understand it, and  I have a wonderful and firm testimony of it. But I want to know more.  I want to know everything.  All the little things.  This is why I love Institute.   I get so many insights into the little things from the people in my classes.  I thoroughly enjoy it.  It's about 200 times better than Seminary.  Seminary was great, don't get me wrong.  But in Institute, people are there because they truly want to be.  I think this is true even moreso in the random elective classes (like Writings of John the Beloved), because there are people in the class who took that specific class for a reason, because they are passionate about that specific subject.  So you get people who have deeply studied the things pertaining to what we're learning in class, and they happen to have tons of insights into the little things.  For example, the word Elohim.  I think that this 'little insight' may just deserve it's own whole post.  Who cares about sleep?
Anyway. One of the main reasons I try to stay faithful and righteous is because I know that when I get to the Celestial Kingdom, all of those little things will be explained.  I hope heaven is a classroom.  Honestly.  And I hope that the teachers are people like Joseph Smith, John the Beloved, Moses, Abraham, Nephi, Abinadi, basically, all those cool people that I love.  Above all, I want to be taught 'little insights' by Christ.  Now that would be something.

So, now that I've rambled on forever.. And it's 2 in the morning.. It might finally be bedtime.
I hope that some of this made sense. If not, oh well. Writing this helped my mind be a little less scatterbrained.

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Elohim

Elohim is the word used to refer to God in the Old Testament.  In Institute on Tuesday, something interesting was brought to my attention.  The word Elohim is plural.  At first, it confused me.  How can it be plural?  It's referring to God, or Heavenly Father, who is one separate being, right?  Then, we discussed it a little more.
There's something we often forget.  We often speak of Heavenly Father, but what about our Heavenly Mother?  I know it's out of respect that we usually don't talk about her, but it sure is interesting to think about.  So, I realized that the word Elohim does not only refer to Heavenly Father, but Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother, as one, but still plural.

This is my model for how a marriage relationship should be.  Plural, but still one.
Let me explain.  Two people get married.  Plural.  But, because they are married, they should be one.
There is no equality in marriage.  It bugs me a lot when people say that, or even worse, try to define it.
Husband and wife should act as one entity.  Of course there will be differing ideas and such, but that is the point. Husband and wife must come together as one, and act as one.  Sadly, I do not think that this is a concept that most couples understand.  People are too busy thinking about equality and how it's supposed to work.  They don't realize that 'equality' doesn't matter.

I believe that Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother act as one.  Heavenly Mother has just as much influence in our lives as does Heavenly Father, we just don't really realize it. 


Just food for thought. 


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Boring....

I'm in Economics class. 'Nuff said there.
(I'm kind of wondering if I smell bad or something, there are at least 5 empty seats around me.. I promise I showered and put on deodorant today!)


So, I just want to tell you a little bit about my awesome boyfriend, Scott.

(We were at Wendy's and found a heart shaped nugget.  I had to take a picture.)

Mostly, he's a dork. Which, for me, is good. I am probably one of the most random, dorkish, nerdy, and weird people you will ever meet. The same is true of him. We get along well.
Also, even before we started dating, he pretty much became my best friend. Second only to my absolute best friend Cyndi, he is my best friend. It's great. :)

I love this boy.
The end.

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One Month

It has been exactly one month since I moved up here to Logan. Wow. That is ridiculous.  It still feels like I'm barely starting in my classes. I have a surprising lack of homework (or maybe I'm just that bad at procrastinating and don't know how much homework I have), and I still have time to take 3 to 4 hour naps about twice a week. Maybe things just haven't caught up to me yet. We'll see.
Here's my list of fun and exciting things I've done this month.
-Wanda breaking down (exciting, though not really in a good way)
-Going to Scott's family's cabin
-French Toast breakfast
-Getting asked out by a 23 year old freshman
-Ryan's farewell
-Late night Facebook party
-Starting to watch the first season of ALIAS
-Playing on the Farnsworth kindergarten playground at midnight
-Stalking my old house in West Valley
-Seeing my cousin become the 2nd runner up in the Miss Murray Pageant

That's about it. My life could use a little bit more excitement, honestly. I should work on that.
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Wow.

That's all that came to my mind when I first looked at this picture. Just wow.

This a picture of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple with the fire in Herriman in the background. (Taken by Paula Holder.)

How crazy is that? It's scary, but cool at the same time. It really makes the temple stand out, and it kind of looks like a shining beacon of hope amongst the flames.  Kind of a cool metaphor for life, I think.
When your life goes up in flames, look to the temple for hope. :)

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Wanda

For those of you who don't know, Wanda is my awesome 1998 Gold Ford Contour.
So, on Friday, I was super excited for the weekend, because I was invited to go with Rachel (my roommate) and her family to their cabin on Friday night.   So, Friday afternoon, at about 4:30, Rachel and I packed up my car, and headed out of Logan, on our way to the cabin.  Well, we didn't make it very far. We were just entering Sardine canyon when I noticed that my steering wheel felt like it wouldn't move very easily, it was all stiff.  Then, I looked at the temperature gauge and noticed that the needle was pointing all the way to the H.  Never a good thing.  So, I switched on my hazard lights and pulled off the road.  I opened the hood of the car (not expecting to be able to tell a single thing about what the problem was) and noticed that a belt had come off it's track of pulleys.  So, I call my dad, and tell him what happened.  Meanwhile, a Questar guy pulled over and came and looked at the engine and made sure Rachel and I were okay.  He discovered the reason why the belt had come off.  One of the pulleys it was on somehow got all melted and ruined.  Then he told me that it's the serpentine belt, which pretty much powers everything in the car (hence, I lost my power steering), and that the pulley would have to be replaced.  He then offered to give Rachel and I a ride somewhere, but he only had a truck with his family in it, and we had some extra stuff, and I didn't think it would fit, so I said we were okay and that we had a friend to call to come and pick us up.  So, I tried calling my dear sister, but she was stuck where she was until midnight, so we called her friend Karen, and Karen was awesome enough to come pick us up.
While we were waiting for Karen, we didn't really have anything better to do, so we took some funny pictures of Rachel and I sitting by the car, making faces and throwing tantrums.  Then, we got bored with that, so we sat behind my car in the shade.  At this point, Rachel had a really annoying song stuck in her head and kept singing it, so we sat there trying to think of a better song to sing.  It took us a minute, but Rachel started singing Part of Your World.  We started laughing, but continued the song, then we got to the line "I wanna be where the people are".  At this point, we busted up laughing, almost to the point of tears, and couldn't stop for a minute.   So, picture this.  You're driving up Sardine canyon, and you look over to the side of the road and see a gold car with hazard lights flashing, and sitting on the road behind the car are two hot girls, laughing hysterically.  What would you have thought??

So, eventually, Karen came and picked us up, (leaving Wanda sitting on the side of the road) took us back to our apartment, and my dad picked up my uncle and 2 of my cousins and came up to tow the car.  He finally got to our apartment at about 9:30, we left Wanda sitting in the parking lot, then me, my dad, my uncle, my 2 cousins and Rachel all piled in my family's van, stopped at McDonald's for a redbox movie (Leap Year), and headed home to Salt Lake.

The End.

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Going Home...

...To Salt Lake, that is.  It was a bit of a strange experience.  Suddenly, there's ten million times more construction.  And I kept noticing things that are different from my apartment.  For example, I was really confused when all of a sudden the silverware organizer thing was blue instead of white, there were no paper towels by the sink, and I didn't have to wash my dishes!  So strange.  I've lived in Logan for a week, but am already so used to being here that going home is super weird because it's so different.  Ridiculous.

I do enjoy going home though.  I had been missing a certain someone very very much, got to see them 3 times, and each time was absolutely wonderful. :)  Unfortunately, I did not get practically any room-cleaning done, which was half the point of going...  But, oh well.  It'll get done.  Eventually.  More of an excuse to go home and see Scott, right??  I really do have reasons for going home other than just seeing Scott, even if he is the main reason.  This time it was supposedly to clean my room, next time it'll be to do appointments and make some money (which really will happen! I am determined to get things done this time!), but in the future, I plan on avoiding my home ward, and being back in time for my student ward.  Today, I sluffed in Young Women's instead of going to Relief Society.  It was the 5th Sunday so Relief Society and Priesthood were combined, and I just really didn't want to go.
I did have a cool opportunity though.  There's an old people's care center up the street, and today I got to go be the chorister for their sacrament meeting.  My ward was in charge of providing speakers, and apparently forgot, so the presiding High Council Members just winged it, and gave some really great talks about the Holy Ghost and true companionship.  And of course, hearing all the old ladies sing was great.  I was also really surprised by the pianist, she had to have been at least 80, but was almost flawless in her playing, and the prelude music was some fairly difficult stuff.  Old people are great.

Last thing.  Tomorrow is the first day of regular classes.  I'm pretty darn excited, but scared at the same time. I don't like homework.  And I suppose i'm a little scared about making friends and stuff, but I know it's really up to me, and all I have to do is go talk to someone, so I'll be fine there.
Alright, if I go to bed right now, I'll actually get 8 hours of sleep! That's different.. I think I'll give it a try. :)

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Church Adventures

So, after a big humongous combined sacrament meeting with the whole stake, we separated into wards, and did introductions and such.  Come to find out, I live across the hall from 3 girls from my junior high.  Small world.  Weirdest of all though, so far, there are three guys in my ward.  Three.  This is going to be a bit strange.
One thing I'm WAY excited for, however, is that at least half of the people, during their introductions about themselves, said they love to sing.  I really really hope we have a ward choir, because it is going to be awesome!!!  It'll probably be a women's choir, but.. Still awesome.  I think it would be SO fun to be the choir director.  I've always wanted to be a choir conductor.  I guess we'll see if I get the chance to be one!

It still doesn't feel like I've moved, even though I've slept here already.  Maybe it will really hit me when all my roommates get here.  So far, it's me, Michelle and Belen, and we each have our own rooms right now.  So, things will get interesting when Rachel, MacKenzie and Jamie move in too!
It's really surprising how much storage space we have!  I didn't think i'd be able to find places for all my stuff, that it'd be really small, but we actually have 2 big closets in the hall, a big walk-in pantry, and lots of drawers and cupboards in the kitchen.  The only that might be pressed for space is the fridge.
Another strange thing, I actually have a desk now!  I'm so used to sitting on my bed with my laptop, but now I actually have a desk and a printer and everything.  It's crazy how much of a different it makes in keeping my room uncluttered.

Basically, everything is pretty awesome so far.  Except for the lack of air conditioning.  Oh geez.  I suppose I should enjoy the heat while I can, but.. I'm dying!!

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I Live in Logan Now.

How strange.

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Looking Back

Amongst all my packing and cleaning, I've come across all of my school papers from Senior year.  In particular, all of my BILLIONS of worksheets and practice tests from AP Music Theory. Also, I found all of my papers and notes from my final composition.  In finding all this, it hit me.  I am done with Music Theory.  I made it through not one, but two workbooks, hours and hours of ear training, I learned how to play the flute, completed about 10 practice tests, passed my AP test with a 4, the highest score in the class, arranged my own compostion for 5 different instruments, and it actually sounded pretty good.  The thought of all of this is absolutely ridiculous.
I remember sitting in Music Theory the first day, looking at the syllabus, and thinking, "I am going to die."  However, here I am!  I even passed the class with an A, every term.  We started off with 20 or so people the first day, lost at least 5 of those by the second day, and even more in the next two weeks, until we were down to six people.  Amelia, Patrick, Lukayla, Lola, James and me.  We were pretty awesome.  Then, halfway through the year, Patrick graduated early, and Amelia decided she wanted to be in JROTC, because the uniforms were cute.  I still don't understand.  Oh well.  A little while later, Lukayla decided the stress was too much and left as well.  Thus, we were left with the Terrific Three, Emily, James and Lola.  Now, James and Lola are some of my best friends.  I don't see them much, but nonetheless, they are ridiculously awesome.  Lola is now the SBO president at Cottonwood, and James is going to a music school in Denver.
Meeting these two on the first day, I thought Lola was pretty cool, and I was absolutely sure that James was just a dumb druggie guitar player that would never survive the class.  Yet, he exceeded all expectations and completely showed me up in knowledge of chords and chord structure.

So, to wrap up all my random scattered thoughts, basically, when I started Music Theory, I thought it would never be over with, that I could never get it all done.  But, I became an Advanced Procrastinator (what AP really stands for, by the way.) and somehow made it.  I made it.

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My Life is Ridiculous.

I move to college in two days.  The very thought of that is absolutely ridiculous.  I honestly don't think it has even hit me yet.  And it probably won't until i lay down to sleep in my new apartment.  I'm terrible at journal writing, so instead, i'm going to try out this blogging thing. 

Right now, it's 2:40 AM and I just don't feel like sleeping.  I am ridiculously excited for college, and at the same time ridiculously terrified.  I do not want to start having to do math homework again.  Statistics? Eww.  I am terrified just at the sound of that word.  Also, I've been kind of a major slacker and haven't worked much recently, so I basically have no money.  I need to work on that one.  

I'm not very excited to move away from most of my friends, and am going to miss them terribly, but at the same time am SO very excited to finally meet my roommates, and start making new friends.  Either way, I think i'll be visiting home about once a week for a while.  

I hope you enjoyed your trip inside Emily's mind, please feel free to visit at any time. 

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