One Week

My fantastic finance surprised me with flowers today. :) He was really worried that I wouldn't like them. But he is amazing and I love daisies. Spencer has never given me flowers before and it sure meant a lot to me. One of the sweetest things he has ever done. I am so looking forward to spending the rest of my life with him. I really appreciate the way he treats me and hope I can be a good wife for him.

Top Things I Am Thankful For

Giving that it is Thanksgiving, (ha) I am going to list some of the things I am very most thankful for:

1. Spencer! I sure love him :)
2. My family. They are the greatest. (I learned tonight that my siblings pray for me to "be safe at college" every day.) ((tender!))
3. My parents specifically. I owe them... everything.
4. My In-Laws to be. Thank you for raising the man of my dreams.
5. For the testimony I have of Christ.
6. That I have been able to obtain an education. (and am still going)
7. For the love and support of so many friends and extended family members.
8. My awesome student-friendly job. (Thank you Kevin!)
9. Music. I read somewhere that "music is what emotions sound like".
10. .......did I mention Spencer? :)

Loving My Classic Smooth Jazz

For my wedding reception, I have been looking for good old classic jazz music. Like Michael Buble (number one!), Frank Sinatra, Harry Connick Jr., Nat King Cole and the like. Isaac suggested I check out some Mel Torme too. So... I took a trip to the Marriott Library to find as much of this music as I could. Well guess what. I found tons! It sure took a while, because apparently no one looks for this music on a regular basis, but I got it. Actually, I found 5 cds of Frank Sinatra (between all there are 6 song duplicates), 1 Nat King Cole, 1 Harry Connick (that I liked), 1 Dean Martin (that I liked), and 6 Mel Torme cds to go through. So I think I will have plenty of music for my reception. It will be awesome.

Here is the type of stuff I'm looking at:

Totally classy! :) Love it!

Taking 5 for a Music Nerd Moment

Ok! :) I just got done with my practicing a few minutes ago and I'm feeling really good about that one. I felt like I made a lot of improvement and made some really great progress on the pieces I'm playing. Since I took my clarinet to Bob Joffs (highly recommend! He's amazing!) it has been playing a lot smoother for me. And I think I sound pretty good. Now.... I realize that my ears suck... and I'm probably hearing what I want to hear, but I was happy with it. (.....still would love to have a Buffet R13... just saying)

I reeally like my jury piece for this semester. It is a Brahms concerto. Brahms Clarinet Sonata #2 In E Flat, Op 120/2 - 2 Allegro Appassionato to be precise. It's so pretty! I love it. And it's starting to come together for me too.

I know I still have a lot to work on but I am impressed with myself and the point I am at now.

So I've been listening to it for the last few.... months. ha. But now I really really like it. A lot. 

I've also been doing quite a bit of reading on Brahms himself. (Mostly because I have a Music History assignment where I need to write two pages of concert notes on my above jury piece.) I really like this one biography that I'm reading. The author does a great job of telling the story without being completely boring and textbook like. It's more story like and I have really enjoyed learning about Brahms. He lived a very simple life and was on his own for a lot of it. And of course he has several tragic love stories because he lives a I'm-a-musician-and-have-to-establish-myself-off-on-my-own kind of lifestyle. I decided I could never lead the life of a musician like that. But he obviously did well with it. ha.

Now.... to just write those two pages on it.... Oh I mean:

"Yes Dr. Rorke, I'm almost done and have already given my paper to a peer for review today!" ................

Princess Bently

I got to hang out with Princess Bently at Karson's wedding yesterday and now we're like best friends :) So we took a bunch of pictures.

Home for the Weekend

Just watching conference with my bros. And I love that President Monson just said how he wished he had stuck with the piano :) Awesome!

I love conference weekend. The leaders of the church always have great messages for us.

Last night was pretty fun. I got to hang out with Koli Poki. We watched Union play against Judge. Jayde had to sit the bench because of a recent football injury. (The poor kid plays quarterback and it's his senior year.. and he broke his left hand.) It was a cold game, but Koli Poki kept be ..sorta.. warm. haha. Cole and I both just slept the whole way home though.

When I got home last night all of the little people were gone because they stayed at grandma's. But Brynne had her bed all set up for me, with an extra blanket and everything. (Cause she knew I would need it) :)

It's exciting being home too. I haven't seen my family in a long time! So the little people were crazy loud and excited this morning. But they're great. Cache really wanted to show me everything he could play on the piano. And that little kid read to me this morning too. He read a verse from Alma. Pretty awesome.

Being around family is pretty great.

Conducting: the 1st of Many Errors

In my conducting class, the teacher has filmed us conducting a couple of times. The first time we were working on the conducting patterns. A legato pattern and an impulse beat pattern. The second time we were supposed to be focusing on pick ups and cut offs. Today I got my videos back and I have to say... I struggled more with the second one. I will have to keep working on that. But I want to keep all of my videos from throughout the semester so I can hopefully look back and see how much I have improved. A personal self-assessment kind of thing.

Sadly, the second video, I can get to upload. It's not very good though.

I've noticed in my conducting that I seem way too serious and I need to be more engaged in what the ensemble is doing. I come across as serious..yet passive. It doesn't really make sense. I'll be working on it though.

...AND I'm conducting with my very own baton :)

Recruiting

Yesterday I spent the day up in Logan at the Bridgerland Band Invitational. It's a High School Marching Band competition (which I have never before attended anything of the sort) and it was pretty cool. I wasn't exactly there to just watch the high schools perform though. I was there to tell them about the Marching Ute Experience 2012. (Which I think I rocked at.) But it was a long day up in Logan.

I couldn't believe how "into it" everyone at the competition was. The atmosphere of a marching competition was totally foreign to me because I came from a high school that only cares about athletics and where no one thinks marching band is cool. At this competition, it wasn't just cool. It was a really Big Deal! All these kids were serious about what they did, but they all really loved it and had tons of fun with it too. And I couldn't believe how big some of these high school bands were! Totally new concept for me.

So I got thinking, because every high school except mine is big into marching band, I won't really know what I'm doing if I was put into a high school with a marching band reputation.... It would be a little out of my comfort zone because I wouldn't know what I was doing or even how to do it. I've never been in a competitive marching band situation. I guess that's something I'm going to have to figure out. Because I really don't know how that works.

Amazing How Some Thing(s) So Simple...

Welll.... for the time being, I have almost completely lost my voice. It's just gone. Poof! Tim and Haley found it pretty funny last night. haha. Welll... it is pretty funny. I sound awful.
But...
I can't believe how horrible this simple head-cold has left me feeling.

                  Dear Mononucleosis,
                         I hate your stink'n guts.
                         You've made me sick.
                         You are the reason I have no immune system left.
                         And I really don't appreciate it.

                                Not Love,
                                      Me

The other thing is that I've been letting too many little things get me down, and I've been having a hard time picking myself back up. Thursday was particularly bad. Just with a combination of feeling really sick and awful and down and yeah.... But luckily for me, I know several outstanding men who without hesitation, were willing to give me a priesthood blessing when I really needed one. I don't feel comfortable repeating some of the words that were spoken in the blessing because they were very personal for me and deeply touched my heart. I know my Father in Heaven was speaking to me that night and I am very grateful for that priesthood holder was in so in tune with the spirit.

Since then I've been gradually doing better. In fact right now, I feel pretty good. Other than the fact that I have no voice. So I guess this is just my way (for now) of showing how grateful I am.

Just Another Day

Well..... I've been sick the last few days. And that is because.. (STORY TIME)




First, On Monday, I rode trax to Sandy where I went to "work" on 100000 South and picked up the paperwork I needed and got the information for the drug test I needed too.

Turns out the closest place for a drug test is like a mile away... but it's in West Jordan.

So I rode my bike up 100000 until I reached Redwood Road (to 16000 West from about 300 West) and 

proceeded to 90000 South. Which really was not a bad bike ride. It just took me a little while.

I got to where I was going, got inside, started filling out paperwork... and it started to down poor.

In the mean time... this guy (also there for a drug test) started talking to me.. and wouldn't stop.

But. That is when I started texting people to make it look like I was busy.

Then they called me back into the clinic...

I went was done and went back outside to my bike... That guy was waiting at my bike for me..

Asked for my number (which I did not give him.)..

I had a call that I missed in the middle of this which I promptly called back as I stood next to this guy while waiting for the rain to stop...

Luckily, the rain lightened up a bit.. so.. I left on my bike..

It started raining again.

So I stopped close by and tried calling Parker, because I knew he lived in West Jordan.

Only... Turns out, he was at work.

Which just happened to be across the street. Literally.

He walked out of the building and I could see him.

So super lucky me, I just waited there for it to stop raining.

While I was there, Parker was kind enough to fix my glasses for me so they wouldn't be crooked or fall off my face so much...

Before I left, Parker gave me instructions to the nearest trax station..

I rode my bike there just in time to catch the next train..

And I finally made it home. (all of this happened between 2:30pm and 8pm....)

The end.

Phew...!

On Tuesday morning, I tried waking up. But I felt awful and nothing really happened. So I managed to stumble back into bed and I slept like all day.

Moral of the story: Don't get caught in the rain on your bike!

Marching Band!!

Go Utes!

First game of the season. Utah vs. Northern Colorado.

41 - 0

Totally awesome game! Our team played pretty well. .....except for the two missed kicks. ha. But I had tons of fun and even got a few pictures for documenting purposes. We (the band) did pretty well marching for the first performance of the season. And I'm excited because we will just keep getting better and better. It's going to be a fun season. I can tell. Look out USU! Here we come! :)

" I'm Feeling, Good " (that's a song)

Let's see, there are a few things I really want to focus on this school year and set some personal goals. I always think about goals that I have (or could have, or should have), but I do much better with them when I tell someone what I plan to do. So I figure, if I tell the world-wide-web... then I will be sure to keep with my goals because I'll know everyone is expecting me to. (Whether or not anyone actually is expecting anything is beside the point..)
So here goes.

1. I want to keep school work at school to save time for personal study at home.
2. I will forever be working on daily scripture study.
3. Keep up with homework. No getting behind or piled up.
4. Motivate myself through the whole semester. I know I'm feeling good and hopeful now. I just need to keep it that way.
5. Trust God.

Well, that's what it comes down to. I'm sure if I sat here for another hour I could have a really good (and a lot longer) list. But I feel content with the five I have right now. No need to overwhelm myself too quickly.

But I really do love the feeling at the beginning of a school year. I feel so motivated and determined and all ready to hit the ground running. It's a good feeling. The problem is, when it gets later in the semester and I don't feel like doing anything. So my list of goals is hopefully going to help me. We'll see what happens.

This is Why I Want to Teach Music

This morning I went with Spencer, Aaron, Tim and Ryan to see Music and the Spoken Word at the Conference Center. It was the first time I had seen anything in the Conference Center. And it was incredible! I loved it! The music was so amazing. I can't believe how great the acoustics were with the choir and orchestra. (music nerd moment) It was way cool! Recordings of the choir and orchestra are good, but nothing beats being there and experiencing it in person.



My favorite piece was the organ solo that as played. It was phenomenal! The sound was everywhere! It was so cool. And the organist was way good. I have no idea how they can play that fast with so many different lines and harmonies going on. But the sound of it definitely made it my favorite.


The story that was told was talking about how teachers have the ability to affect generations. It was a really cute little story. But the whole thing just reminded me of why I want to teach music. One, because music is very powerful. Two, because I want to help and positively affect people. So you put the two together and guess what you get. The secret to (my) life :)

First Day of Classes (round 2 for me)

Well look at that. Another first day down... and I have survived. (Although... I almost didn't because I couldn't see that car coming on the other side of the parked car when I was crossing the crosswalk..... Good thing their brakes worked.) I like being a sophomore better than being a freshmen (duh!) because I already feel like I know everything (about campus) and I'm not so worried about what I'm doing or how I'm going to get there.

Classes went pretty well. I'm only taking music classes this semester. No general classes at all this semester. Strictly music classes for me. I basically never leave David Gardner Hall. I did get a gianourmous locker this year though, so I won't have to use everyone else's. :) I got all my books ($$totally ridiculous!$$), started filling out my paper for private lessons, made it through the day.... even started on homework. I think we're off to a good start thus far.

My favorite thing is Marching Band class after we have had band camp. Because it feels like class is just getting going when Brian says "Ok, one more run of that and we'll be done." And we're all left there thinking. What?! Seriously??? AWESOME :)  so it definitely feels like that fastest part of the day.

The only downer is the homework that is already started. I'm actually blogging right now only because my Music History textbook was putting me to sleep. So I had to change activities. Other than that, I'm almost done :) It was a pretty good day in all, and I'm ready for tomorrow too.

Back to School :)

Band camp has started and is now underway :) I have been having lots of fun with it. And today Andrew Cortes gave me a great compliment today. It was pretty cool. I've been having lots of fun being on the leadership team. It's kind of a lot of work, but I think it's worth it.

So after band camp tonight, I decided to use the bananas that are going bad.... and what better way to find some use for them than... Pinterest!! :) So here is the recipe that I'm trying out, right now, as I type. It's in the oven.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banana-Banana-Bread/Detail.aspx

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

So here's to hoping that it turns out tasty. Aaron said the dough tastes good, so I'm not too worried. It is Aaron approved.

Sick of Being Sick

Oh my freak. I am so sick of being sick. It's terrible!

So I started feeling awful the night of March 30th. Yeah! That was almost three weeks ago! So I was home for conference, and when I drove back that Sunday night, I was just crying by the time I reached Park City. I felt awful. So I stayed home from school all day Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday I went to a clinic where they told me I just had a cold and I should get some rest and it will go away. Well it didn't. But I went back to school and went to work for the next two weeks. Only.... I wasn't getting better at all. In fact I was getting worse. Last Thursday I got up to get to school but by the time I got there I was almost in tears because my throat hurt so badly. I got a priesthood blessing and went home right after that. When I got home, I pulled out a flashlight to check my throat and found it visibly swollen, flaming red, and covered in white spots. So I went back to the clinic. Surprise! I have mononucleosis. And since I didn't know I had mono, I've been around tons of people over those two weeks. My bad everybody.

But mono really sucks. It's a virus so there is absolutely nothing that can be done about it. (AND they had to do a blood test to see if I had it.. ..... I. Hate. Needles.) So all you can do is sleep a lot, (which you really have no choice because you're exhausted and it's hard to just keep your eyes open) and wait for it to go away. The Doctor told me not to worry, "it can last anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 months". Oh great! Thanks Doc! That sure makes me feel better. Anyway. Totally sucks.

So I have been waiting to get better, and I think I'm slowly recovering. But once I say that I'll get feel awful again a little while later.... I haven't practiced my instrument; I keep falling asleep during class; I don't even go to some of my classes. Basically I'm just not motivated at all. So... there ya have it. Mono is awful. Someone just make it go away.

And NO. I DID NOT GET MONO FROM SWAPPING SPIT. Oddly enough, I got it from being at work. Another girl there had it and I'm pretty sure I was cashier after her one day.

If you have any further questions just Google mono or something. This website also has quite a bit of information: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001617/

Easter

On Saturday, I drove to Orem to meet Jayde at UVU. He was watching the track meet there. It was pretty cool. Go Union. Go Audrey. But after that, I let Jayde drag me around to find him some new shoes. A little backwards there - Jayde was the one wanting to do the shopping. haha.

After that, and after a faulty gps, we made it to the Jones house where Spencer, Tanner and Nate were with their cousins in their annual epic Easter egg coloring extravaganza. This year's theme for eggs was Heroes vs. Villains. So I decorated my one "Spiderman" egg. It was fun and I'm really glad I was there because that was the only "Easter" thing I did this year. (Cache did tell me about everything I missed back in Roosevelt though.)

I called my family Easter morning and talked to Cache mostly :) and then to Brynne for a while. I'm really excited and very much looking forward to being home with them again. I miss the little people. And even Chuck too. (And another significant person..)
But I went to church with Julie, and then later I went to Angela's house.

Angela's mom made a really good dinner but before that, I played a few games with her family. It was so fun!!  I have not laughed that hard in..... I have no idea, but I laughed so hard. Angela and her brothers are so funny. Actually her mom is too. Actually their whole family is funny. But I had such a good time; always laughing. So thank you Angela :) I had so much fun. When (note: I said "when") we live together next fall, it will be a party every day. But now I think that Angela definitely needs to meet my family now. (That would make it official Angela.) ;) So mom, I'm going to bring Angela to Roosevelt with me sometime soon. :) We just can't play Clue because Angela will win and we can't play Apples to Apples because I will win.

First Concert at Libby

This semester I am in the Utah Symphonic Band. And last night was our first concert. I thought it went pretty well. I like the songs we played especially Redwood, by Ryan George. It is a really pretty piece. Apparently recordings of this song just don't exist so everyone who wasn't there simply missed out. It was a little weird playing in Libby Gardner hall for the first time because acoustically, the hall is not set up for a band. It is set up for an orchestra. So everything echos. Like a lot. But I still thought we sounded good. (probably just shows how little I really know)

I failed though because I did not get any pictures. Oh well... I don't really like pictures anyway. 

The best part of the concert was the Utah Wind Ensemble. They sounded amazing! I loved it. They played the four movements of Maslanka's Symphony 7. It was so cool!! I thought the third movement was the coolest. (Finding a decent recording of it though is turning out to be really difficult. So you're going to have to trust me on this one too..) ((Come on people!! I need recordings of this stuff...))

Guess What I Found

Friday morning. Yep. This is what I found in my music locker.

The card says "Just Because"

Such is Life

Lately, I have been really busy with all the things I have going on and my academic "priorities" are starting to suffer. Seriously. When you completely forget that there is a midterm....you know it's bad. I have just been working a lot of late nights and then I'm too tired to focus on any school work. Even remembering that I have school work is becoming a problem.

I'm also finding it harder to fit practice time in with all the stuff I'm doing. Kathy won't be happy with that... and quite frankly, I'm not too fond of it either. I know that I really need to practice but I'm finding it harder and harder to actually find the time to sit in a practice room for two hours.

I am starting to worry that maybe I have stretched my actual time capabilities to their max. I don't want to let anyone down (including myself) and now I'm a little worried that responsibilities are going to start slipping more...

Yesterday, however, I went to the Jordan River Temple and did baptisms for the dead. It was a busy night but that gave me time to just sit in the comforting quiet of the temple and not have anything pressing to worry about. It was so calming and relaxing. I'm really glad I made the goal to attend the temple at least once a month. So far, we're doing pretty good with that.

Music and Laughter

Music has a way of making me smile. But especially music by Victor Borge. I remember watching him play on PBS when I was little. And it still makes me smile to see. So thanks Jesse for sharing this on Facebook. You have definitely brightened up my evening with YouTube entertainment. Plus the music and playing is really good too.

Victor Borge is just a cute old guy who is very talented and likes to make people laugh. This is why music. For others. Music can be for one's self, but I believe that people perform for others.

But then, you have something like this :)

And he is so incredibly talented.

Best Thing About Yesterday

Ok here it is. This blog post is dedicated to two girls from my high school. Annie and Lexi. I was having a downer day and then I saw this:

And I am still laughing. Partly because a lot of this is so true. (Annie and Lexi, points for complaining about the Big Trucks) But I'm also laughing because these girls are so funny. They always made me laugh in volleyball and it made my day when I watched this video yesterday. So here's to Annie and Lexi. Thanks guys! (And I totally agree with basically everything you said.)

Still laughing over this one :)

And it's Monday..

I guess I don't really know what to say in this post. Today was an interesting day. Not one of my better ones.

I believe that everything happens for a reason. There are no coincidences. For me, that (the happening of coincidences) is just a hard concept to fathom. People come into your (my) life for a reason. Good things happen to you (me) for a reason. Bad things happen to you (me) for a reason. And all of this is supposed to teach me something. The hardest part is figuring what exactly I am to learn from this...

On Facebook (addicted..) I have seen a quote from President Monson. Oddly enough, that same quote was in church on Sunday. Coincidence? No. I needed to hear it. Both times.
It goes like this:

In church, the entire quote actually read:

"Courage is required to make an initial thrust toward one's coveted goal,

but even greater courage is called for when one stumbles and must make a second effort to achieve.

Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says,

'I'll try again tomorrow'."

And so... I'll try again tomorrow.

.....

Sometimes I feel like I don't know what I'm doing. But this message makes me feel better about it.

Science? or Not? (in a Writing class)

In my Writing 2010 class this morning, we got on a very interesting subject. The discussion started with a reading assignment about Scientists and how they use facts to make decisions whereas other leaders will use gut instinct or their conscious when deciding what should be done. One kid in my class brought up the point that it is "human nature" to follow your conscious. Then the class talked about "well, what is a conscious?" It was brought up that your mind comes up with a solution without you being totally aware of it and then your gut reaction is to follow that "instinct". And most of the time, it turns out that if you follow your gut, you will end up making the right choice. During this whole discussion I couldn't help thinking to myself, "don't you realize why? There is totally something missing in this discussion! It isn't just instinct that helps you make good decisions, it is the guidance of the Spirit." But... me being me... kept quiet and didn't say anything. So I kind of smiled to myself, grateful that I had my own personal knowledge in this area. I did, however, notice that the conversation was bothering the kid sitting in front of me. I remembered him saying something about his mission in one of his comments. So after class, I asked him about his mission and then what he thought about what the discussion topic turned too. I could tell before that he was thinking the same thing, but he told me he was thinking the same thing.

It was just kind of a cool experience to be able to sit in an academic classroom and feel comforted because my religion has supplied me with an answer to something that the other people in class did not have an answer to. I would also be more willing now to share what I believe because of my experience in class this morning. I wanted to say something, but never actually did. In that setting, anything I said would have just been looked at as an opportunity for more argument. A situation like that can't invite the Spirit.

Beauty Redefined

Tonight, I went to a fireside with Emily (thanks Emily!) and it was so good. The whole thing was a presentation by these two sisters who have put a lot of research and study into the way media makes us perceive women. They call their project Beauty Redefined (hence my title). They do this kind of thing:

As opposed to the media which does this kind of thing:

The whole point of this being that, media is trying to get women to obtain something that in reality doesn't exist. You have to see yourself for who you are. Not what someone else thinks you should look like. I really loved this presentation. I thought it was so good and very eye opening to realize how warped public and general ideas have become. Makes me want to help do something about it.

These sisters have a website that has a lot more information about what they do and the things they are against.
http://www.beautyredefined.net/
I highly recommend checking out what is on there.

It is kind of humbling to see what the adversary has done to the world's view of women. A little scary too.
But all of this has greatly made me appreciate my own knowledge of individual worth and that there is more to people than meets the eye. After all, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". And there is really only one beholder that matters and He is the one who created me so of course He thinks I am beautiful. Today was an amazing reminder of that.

The Leonardo

Spending time with Jessica was great today! :) I had fun. Her parents bought me lunch and then I took Jess and her younger brothers to see the Library and The Leonardo Museum (via Trax, ((thank you UTA)) my mode of transportation) where we later met up with her parents again. It was pretty cool!

This white mass of awesomeness responds to people. It will move when it senses your presence and your breath. Way fun to mess around with. I don't know how it works..but it's cool.

.....And there was even more to do. Only I didn't get many pictures of that because the other floors were darker. And I was having too much fun drawing and looking a mirrors and prosthetics and other cool stuff.

So if you're ever just hanging out in Salt Lake, I would recommend checking the museum out. It is conveniently just south of the Library. But if any other questions remain in your mind, I would refer you to www.theleonardo.org because I really don't know much about it. It was just cool. Definitely give yourself a few hours to explore in there.


Almost forgot the most important part!! The question was: "What is the best thing about Utah?"

 I drew that :)

Woot! UTA has WIFI

Ok yeah. Lame title, I know. But I am sitting on the Frontrunner right now.. and I will be here for a while so might as well do something...mostly... productive. It is pretty cool actually. I feel important too, as I sit here with my laptop out and typing furiously fast (exaggerating) and answering texts on my phone every once in a while. Kinda funny, when I stop and think about it.

But I had a real reason for blogging. I promise.

So New Year's Resolutions, right. Remember those? (if not... scroll down) Well I am very happy to report that I have so far been doing well. Sure, it's only been about a week but I have been pretty impressed with myself for that one week. Most impressive of all being that I got a job!! Yay! (love you Lara!) Really! I will start working at Big5 on Monday and I am very excited about that.

The second thing I am super excited about is that I am planning on going to the Salt Lake Temple to do baptisms tomorrow!! :) (Thank you Ben!) So, really looking forward to that. It will be fabulous.

This year is really starting off well for me. I feel so blessed! I am way excited to see what the rest of the year will be like too.

Sweet... 19 (?)

Alrighty, well Saturday was my birthday. And with my birthday being in January, there is always snow. Only....this year it hasn't really snowed. At all. So you can imagine my surprise when I woke up Saturday morning to find snow covering the..everything, and it was still snowing too! Kinda cool. I'm going to just keep thinking that God made it snow just for my birthday :) Because I'm vain like that. (It hasn't snowed since either. Hm....)

So Friday night, I made my birthday cake that my loving mother sent home with me. (Actually.... I ate some of it Friday night with Melodie too. Whatever. Totally still counts.) It looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. It tasted good. That's really all that counts. But I took a picture for you Mom. (Hi Mom!)

Most of my birthday day was spent with Ben. We went bowling and played mini golf and went to the mall and watched a movie and he took me to dinner (Chinese too. Totally my favorite. Points.) and then we chilled at his house for a while. His parents even got me a present. A cook book which I am pretty excited to use. And his sister made me a cute necklace and matching earrings. Their gifts really surprised me but I was touched. Ben's mom made another cake too...so I have had plenty of cake. But it was way fun. It was quite a long day too but I loved it.

Goals for 2012 (aka Resolutions)

Ok so, today in Sunday School, the first thing the teacher did was ask us to tell our neighbor one of our New Year's Resolutions. I actually hadn't written any down...then. But now, I'm all over this.

My "Goals for 2012" are as follows:

• Find a Job
• Establish and keep track of a Budget
• Learn to play Guitar

                                                                                        

• Daily Prayer and Scripture Study
• Diligent Journal Writing
• Never forget a Fast Sunday (yeah... oops)
• Go to the Temple to do Baptisms at least once a month

                                                 __________________  (this is totally where my signature would go)

And there you have it. I wanted to keep the list fairly small so I could actually do them all. I think it is a good start for me. But I'm posting my goals so that you all (whomever that may refer to) can hold me accountable for keeping with all of them and remembering each day. (Yes, Mom, that means you.)

I'm looking forward to this year. It will definitely be an adventure and I feel like it will be life changing for me. But here is to trusting that I have a Father in Heaven who knows what I'm doing, and (more importantly) knows what He's doing.

Christmas Break part El Paso

While we were in Texas, the Marching Band had the big 'end of the season' banquet. I got an award from the Saxophone Section for being the "Professional Flirt". haha. But Dr. Sproul gave me an award that I was tied for with Jesse for "Best Rookie Marcher". That one totally surprised me! The flirt award... not so much.

Look Look Look!!! See the cute girl with the camera out? :) That's me! :)

Hyundai Sun Bowl 2011

Utah: 30 Georgia Tech: 27

Go Utes! :)