Hair

Sometimes, I get obsessed with things.  Cereal, Mario Kart, Reading, and the list goes on.  My obsession this semester was new hair-dos, particularly braids.  This obsession was fed by three things:  

1.  My shorter, layered, and thick hair that would poke out of my normal go-to french braid. 

2. The fact that in Concert Choir we were required to wear up-dos for our concerts.   

3.  Pinterest.    

I thought I might share a few of them with you.  Enjoy.

 

The awesome water fall braid.

A little creation of my own.

A simple tuck.
I particularly like how it swoops in the front.

The S Braid.  How cool is that?!

Curls from using a Sock Bun
and a twisted ponytail.  

My personal favorite of this year.  
One braid, wrapping around your head,
and tuck in the ends.
This is great for those days that you
just don't want to spend time doing your hair
but you still want to look nice.

Living the Dream

Every so often, I become quite nostalgic for my Colorado Production years.  This morning my mom said to me, "It makes me so happy to see so many of you kids still doing what you love to do."  We then went on to list kid after kid who are now adults carrying out their love for the performing arts.  The studio left a deep impression on every person's heart.  It makes me giddy to hear about Rebecca and Ashley striving to live out their dream in New York, Jake Elvig performing in DisneyWorld, Becca Allred doing a summer performing arts workshop, the Lynches making it big in Hollywood, and so many other people who refuse to let the magic die.  


In those moments, I would give anything just to go back for 10 minutes.  Then I stop to remember, isn't that what I'm doing?  Devoting my life to my passion, so that I am enabled to taste the delight of the performing arts once again. I've been in school for two years now and I still have four more long years ahead just to finish my bachelors in Music Ed.  There have been many moments I've doubted myself and wondered if it is really worth it.   Six years is a long time and the pay is awful.  Then I think of the studio and remember how spectacularly wonderful the reward is- no matter how pitiful the salary may be. No amount of money can match the reward you get as a child's smile stretches from ear to ear as the audience cheers and claps during their final bows.


Rapunzel: I've been looking out of a window for eighteen years, dreaming about what I might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be? 
Flynn Rider: It will be. 
Rapunzel: And what if it is? What do I do then? 
Flynn Rider: Well, that's the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream.


I can't go back, but I can spread Debbie's initial dream like many others already have.
Here I am, living the dream.  Isn't that some kind of wonderful?

September's Cry

There are no words to describe the horrible feeling of watching the news channels on the morning of 9/11.  The nation was in shock.  There was an immense grieving for the loss of so many innocent lives. Although I was only ten, I can remember that day so vividly.  I remember the tear stained face of my mother, glued to the tv, searching for hope, staring in disbelief, and utterly distressed.

After that horrible day, my best friend, Heather Crosby, and I decided to write a song in memory of the fateful events. Here are the lyrics to September's Cry.

Oh they can’t take away our freedom,

And they won’t take away our pride

United we stand,

We stand side by side

Through the terrorist’s acts of murder,

Though they tried to tear us apart

God bless America and be with us through the dark

They went to work that day,

They got on their planes and sailed away

We didn’t know what would happen

And we’re still crying today

Chorus

Countless tears been shed,
Many hearts been torn apart

We can’t forget what happened,

‘Cause it lives inside our hearts

Chorus

Moms and Dads have been taken,

Their kids couldn’t say goodbye

Friends and neighbors been lost,

And we don’t know why

But they can’t take away our freedom,

And they won’t take away our pride

United we stand,

We stand side by side

Through the terrorists’ acts of murder

Though they tried to tear us apart

God blessed America and was with us through the dark

God blessed America and was with us through the dark

Even during such dark times, there was some kind of wonderful that was born from the ashes of September 11th.  Our nation came together and strengthened each other.  We all searched for and found hope together.  Once again, we were "Proud to be an American".  We all shared the same devastating heartbreak and through the devastation we became even stronger.

Then, war was declared.  To a child like me, it was unthinkable.  War was something that appeared to only happen in history books, not to America, not now.  

Last night, I turned on my computer around 10:50pm and I couldn't believe what I found.  Osama bin Laden was dead.  Before I informed my sister and mom, I had to double check, and sure enough it was true.  I simply sat and read the many accounts of his death that flooded the internet. We've waited so many years for this day.  It is here.  After ten years of desperately searching for the man that directly brought so much pain to this country, it was such a relief to know he was found.  Martin Luther King Jr. sums up many of the thoughts I had as I read last night's accounts.

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."  

It isn't Obama that we need to thank.  It is the service of many men and women who have given their lives for the protection of our country and our freedoms. There have been lives lost and we need to remember them and the sacrifice that has been made.  Thank you. We surely have been blessed.  I am so grateful to be an American. 

"God Bless America and be with us through the dark"

   

Little Things to Love About Life

My life is some kind of wonderful.  Even through the ups and downs I can look and find something beautiful.  It is what helps get you through those hard times.  What better way to start this blog, than by listing the things I love? So here is my list, in no particular order, of 100 little things I love about life:

• Newborn babies
• When you laugh so hard you cry
• When you receive your first paycheck
• When that feeling of “everything will be okay” and peace sets in during trials
• Rain: the drip drop sound and splashing in puddles
• Being safely inside watching Lightning and listening to the Thunder
• When little kids bear their testimony
• Belting out to the music that’s playing while driving in the car
• The excitement and anticipation of family driving cross country to your house and the last ten minutes until they arrive
• The glow of the sky when it’s snowing
• Christmas lights and music
• During a really sad part of a movie and you look over and see that everyone else is crying too
• When a performance goes well
• When a performance goes NOT so well and you're able to laugh about it
• When you finally master a song
• The smell of fresh cut grass
• The stars and moon
• The beach
• The brilliant colors of the sunrise and sunset
• Rainbows
• Waterfalls
• Praying with a group of many different faiths
• The relief you feel when it’s your first day at a new school and someone asks if you want to eat lunch with them.
• The feeling of a clean house
• Going to sleep after a long, hard day
• When it finally clicks what the lyrics to a song mean
• The smell of cooking in the kitchen
• BBQ’s
• Looking for seashells
• When your best friend calls your parents “mom” and “dad”
• When you don’t procrastinate
• Trying new foods
• Dancing
• Dressing up for special occasions
• Stepping onto a scale and realized you’ve lost weight
• Wearing your favorite pair of jeans
• The excitement to wear new clothes
• Running in to an old friend
• Hugging someone you haven’t seen for a long time
• Making new friends
• Inside jokes
• Fireflies
• Reminiscing with old friends
• The final knot in something you've sown
• Defeating a video game
• Fireworks
• Jumping into a pool of water
• Music
• Family
• Singing
• Acting
• Apologies
• Forgiveness
• Snuggling up in your favorite blanket
• Meeting people who inspire you
• Debbie Buttars
• Sister Kenney
• Having only 8 other girls in your major
• The Restored Gospel
• Temples 
• The Priesthood
• Forever Families
• Jesus Christ
• Heavenly Father
• Photography
• Going to an art gallery and seeing the actual signature of your favorite artists
• Museums
• Knowledge
• Tid Bits of random facts about the world
• The jokes my grandpa tells
• The beauty of the earth
• Flying on a plane and bursting up through and above the clouds-It's a whole different perspective
• Hope
• Prayers
• Memories
• The beauty and fragrance of flowers
• Receiving flowers
• Endorphins from working out
• Driving
• Watching my little sister, Madeline, finally pass off her addition facts and the joy that lights up her entire countenance
• Listening to Bailey practice and practice my Ukulele, even when it wakes me up in the morning
• Going on a road trip with my dad and him stopping to have us take a swim in the Colorado River
• The beauty of driving through the mountains on I-70
• Getting a letter in the mail
• Getting a package in the mail
• Sending letters and packages to loved ones
• Coloring 
• Laughter 
• Having beautiful, wonderful room mates
• $0.50 Macey's Cones
• Wildlife T-Shirts
• Learning to be yourself and no longer caring so much as to what others think
• Being able to live in many different and diverse places which gave me a unique perspective, an opportunity to learn about the world, and meet many different types of wonderful people
• Mormon Missionaries and the sacrifices they make to bring people unto Christ
• The little Jehovah's Witness missionary that stands at the bottom of the ramp at BYU who passes out pamphlets and having to tell him no thank you two or three dozen times
• Becoming good friends with an Atheist and being able to be kind, considerate, and respectful of each other's beliefs
• Grandma playing the piano and everyone else gathering around singing in harmony 
• A dad who makes you walk outside in order to watch the sunset almost every night
• A mom who lovingly pushes you to do only your best
• Little sisters who inspire you to be a better person

Welp, that's 100 folks.  I really could go on forever, and I probably will in my journal.  I love life.  We are all so blessed, no matter what our circumstances.  There is always some kind of wonderful hiding beneath the surface, you just have to look for it.