This fairly indicative of my familial relations...

Guess which one just had their wisdom teeth out...

Puhleeeze.

Yes, this is usually their attitudes.

Nightime Philosophers

Ever since school has ended, I spend a lot of time staying up to ridiculous hours of the night. Why for, you might ask? Certainly not to watch reruns of How I Met Your Mother (but yes, we have watched so much more of that show than is actually probably necessary)
Actually, there really is no good reason for staying awake til 1...2...3 a.m.
However, this is the one thing I will say for the wee hours of the morning: they sure give you time to think.
Maybe it's the illusion of seclusion, when the dark night is kept at bay by the soft illumination of my tasteful Christmas lit living room. Maybe it's the shimmer and sway of bubbles that are blown between secrets that are shared between two confidants. Maybe the carefully constructed social guard wall becomes more permeable as the minutes tick by until sleep resets the protection.
Whatever it is, late nights/early morning are good times to take an honest look at yourself, your goals, your perspective in life. Not that it's a guaranteed pleasant experience. The morning after isn't pretty either but hopefully it helps you lead a more direct, more purposeful life.
Introspection is nice, isn't it?

Easters!

 

As a sort of celebration after this last semester, Shannon and I headed down to Toquerville, UT to spend a couple of days with her parents. And since it was Easter weekend as well, we did the usual activities. 

 

 We dyed eggs all sorts of colors...

 Shannon lost at the cutesy cardboard pop-out matching game. This is a picture of her sad "oh, I lost" face.

  These are all of my cards. (I won!)

 Shannon's mom taught us how to decorate cakes. Key to success? Hand muscles. It is really the only trick, learning how to grip the frosting and move it just right. Having the right kind of frosting helps too. Still, we did it!

 The finished product...

 Isn't it the gaudiest thing you've ever seen? :) Can you find the bunny?

This last picture is all the tips we used. The frosting always got stuck, which was gross, but it sure made for a colorful picture!
Happy belated Easter!

Jellies!

 So...today was fun! Besides the fact that is was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and WARM outside, I also got the apartment (somewhat) organized and decorated.

My paternal grandparents came down to visit and spoiled us. I got bubbles for Easter!!! (As you can see, I was much more enthused about the bubbles than I was about the Easter candy or Easter monies.)

dang, I love bubbles

My grandparents treated us to dinner and then groceries, because we are poor college students. (When I say "we" I mean, my sister and I. No, I do not go around using the imperial "we" to refer to the single entity of moi) While we were at Smith's, look what I found in the promotional/seasonal aisle: That's right, jelly flats! No longer is this type of shoe only an elementary school-girl luxury. I can have them too!! And only for five dollars. Mmmm. That is my kind of deal. Anything that is cheap and brightly colored. And plastic.

While I know my shoes are clear and not technically brightly colored, the possibility was there. There were pink, purple, green, blue, and even black ones! So many decisions. I chose the clear ones because A: they will go with EVERYTHING and B: I can pretend I'm Cinderella going to the ball in my glass slippers every. day.

 

I can't get a really good shot of them because they are on my feet and florescent lighting is the bane of all photographers and it's one-freaking-thirty in the morning. I normally don't stay up this late. Oh wait, I'm done with school. I can stay up as long as I like! Well, what do you know...

 

So, so, so excited for summer and these jelly shoes. I'm telling you...Cinderella every day.

Imagine: BYU Ballroom Concert

This weekend, mi parentals came down to party. They took me and my sister to the BYU Ballroom concert. It's kind of a tradition, at least for my sister and I. I may not go to football or other sports, but I do make it to the ballroom concert every year. Anyways, it was breath-taking as usual and since I don't work at the RB anymore, I didn't have any negative feelings towards the dancers. (Cleaning up after people doesn't engender positive feelings sometimes) This video that I posted was one of my favorite dances. This actual clip was filmed about a month before when this couple won some national title. The Marriott center was too dark for any actual filming. And I think it was prohibited...Anyways, this performance was simply stunning. I loved it. The rest of the concert was top-notch as well. They had a whole Cirque de Soleil vibe going on. It was very effective at setting the mood. Very inventive and almost otherworldly.

If the hands of time were hands that I could hold!

Things are flying by so fast! Yet again, another weekend has come and gone. No worries though, I have enjoyed every minute of it, for various reasons.
All of which are utterly delicious and I will share them with you now. This order is not necessarily mean they come in this order, they just uploaded in that way.
Exhibit a:

CARY GRANT. Or in other words, known as Dr. Praetorius from 'People Will Talk'. Hands down, one of my favorite movies of all time. Cary Grant is beautiful. Dr. Noah Praetorius is one of the best characters in film, so smart, loving, generous and Good. Just plain good. I made one of my good friends, Nick Vigil watch it with me this weekend. I told him about it but surprisingly, my estatic rendtion of the plot didn't do the movie justice. So he came, we watched. Everyone was edified. Good things happen when Cary Grant is on the scene...

Exhibit b: Sister mine. Denay Beddes. Affectionately known as Nay. I have other names for her, but they don't make sense to most people. Mainly just me. She doesn't even like the names I pick out for her. Anyways, me and nay played this weekend! All of her roommates were gone this weekend, so I slept over at her place! It was fun sleeping somewhere else than my bed. And nay is so good, learning so much. And funny too...

We were watching a movie once, (not this weekend, but it's funny) 'Bright Star' about John Keats. He had a brother. Nay turns to me and says, "If his brother stayed alive, they would have been known as a pair of Keats." parakeets. You get it? Yup, that pretty much sums up Nay's humor.

Exhibit c: Karina MAY!!!! Oh my goodness, I love this girl. I love that she loves what she does and who she is. I love that we can literally talk for HOURS and never repeat anything we say. I love that her friends are just as unique and amazing as she is. I love how smart and talented and creative she is. And...she makes me laugh and think. Not necessarily at the same time, but you know I admire it. We played this weekend. Watched her brother's roommate play guitar at someone's house. The house was CLEARLY packed beyond the fire code. But you know, we had fun. THE Ceiling was SPARKLY. That in and of itself makes it a great weekend.

Exhibit d: My friend suggested this book. I read it. It's good. This picture just symbolizes my love for books and literature in general. They open up such worlds that make you think and feel and become better people. I love suggesting books to people and getting suggestions in return. You share something in common with them, making your friendship stronger and also expanding your horizons at the same time. Wow. So good.

K, i'm done. Till Next Time.

Dig a little deeper

I took my little sister to see The Princess and the Frog. I was excited to see it. Everyone else in my family had seen it before me. I think that this movie is something that I need to see again to fully appreciate it. I will know what to look for. Regardless if it was a Disney movie, I still cried. Ha, it shouldn't be a surprise, but I did.

I finished reading the Book of Mormon! Last night! I am so excited about this because I think it was the first time that I can remember reading it all the way through, all by myself. It made me incredibly happy and I feel complete. :)

And I proved that I can accomplish a goal!

I tried to stay away from Facebook. That didn't work to well. I even had Denay change the password. I will try again, this time for real. Usually when I have school, I can concentrate on necessary things, but I am here at home and usually I have nothing to occupy my time with. Hence checking Facebook too often. I am excited for school to start. New classes and this time I am going to start my secondary education classes. I am nervous to be a teacher in a year. Teaching is such a huge responsibility! My mom had me come visit her school and sit in on some history classes. Mount Ogden is a inner city school. Maybe not all schools are like that, but there are enough students that don't want to go to history classes. I am nervous. I want to change students lives, and makes them socially responsible people who want to do good in the world too. But at the same time, I can't do everything. At some level, parents have to educate their children too.

Tonight I am going to a mocktail/moustache new years eve party, 1940's style. Pictures forthcoming.

And I am going to dye my hair again. Again, pictures forthcoming.

Gah, my sister is watching Jurassic Park and the raptors are about to make their entrance and I am getting antsy. So intense.

Anyways, see you next year! Have fun!

"Happy is what happens...

...when all your dreams come true."
This line from Wicked has been in my head all week. I got to see the show this summer in San Francisco, which you have all heard about. I couldn't shut up about it. Anyways...I don't really agree with it. If you wait until all of your dreams have come true, then you have missed out on living. Happiness is found in the process of fulfilling your dreams, not the end result. That is something I have to constantly remind myself. I am always planning, scheduling, but if I don't step back and enjoy what is happening right now, it will be gone before I know it and I won't have any memories to look back on. I am scared of not living my life in the best possible manner, of not being of the most use to people and not loving everyone as deeply as I should. This may seem to be coming from out of the blue, but some things have happened this week that have made me think about how short life is. A friend's little sister passed away in an awful car accident this week. And this December is the year anniversary of my great-grandmother's passing away. I wasn't super close with either of these people. And I know that where they are now is a very happy place. But I empathize so deeply with the people left behind. I keep thinking of how they must feel and how sad it is. People really mourn. And seeing their sadness makes me want to live my life in such a way, and this sounds wierd, but in such a way that people will miss me when I am gone to.
This week has also made me realize just how grateful I am for the gospel. I have seen what deaths have done to people who don't have these truths. There is a hopelessness that is only helped by knowing that one day we will see our loved ones again. And that is another reason to live the best life possible, is so there will be nothing standing in our way when we are reunited with those we love and care about, and those who we have missed so much.
Anyways, I hope I didn't bring anyone down, reading this blog. This is just what has been on my mind lately.
Love ya'll

All Things in Moderation, I say.

So congratulations to me, I just completed a week-long Facebook fast. Wahoo! Ya, it was a challenge to my inability to self-discipline and an adventure in trying to connect with real life, I suppose. So without Facebook, I was able to read an entire novel, complete all of my homework ahead of time, do wonderful things on sunday, AND I started baking again. Its simply astonishing what extra time I found.

And on Sunday, my cousin had his farewell. There are four of us, on that side of the family that are remarkably close in age...and he being the oldest boy, is the first of them to go. So it was exciting to see him off, and to see all the rest of the family. I LOVE FAMILY. They love and tease, and just are such fabulous things.

I love getting hugs too, and that Sunday, I hit the jackpot, figuratively speaking...family members all gave hugs, especially strong cousins who like to see how many ribs they can crack; home teachers, when you give them bread; random ward members because they feel slightly obligated too (haha, this one guy gave such an amazing hug, I actually asked for another one! It was that good.)

But ya, things this last weekend were good. Oh, one of my roommates lives in South Jordan, so pretty close, and we got to go there for the weekend and have a sleepover/picture party. Her cat studied my scriptures with me, and ATE my pen. So, i have a souvenir and about three hundred pictures, at least. It was fun. And I taught Sunday School, which, I think I should prepare more 'cause I had some panic moments and those are no fun. Hmmm, ya that is about it.