Good Day

I finished my present to Mariah!! It looks and is awesome. Honestly, I'm jealous that she's going to own it. :P I will post pics once she gets it, so you can see how cool I am! lol But really, it took FOREVER, my poor fingers feel like they just played the guitar for hours, and my hand was cramping way before I was finished. I have no idea how people get so good and doing stuff like that: crafts, tables, cars, etc. I mess up so many times before I finally get it right, it would not be a good idea for me to try to make anything big.
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I also finally (hopefully) finished my medical section of my mission papers!! Joy to the world! I have been going back and forth nonstop this past week, at least once a day, often twice to three times. Mainly just because the doctor's office forgot something, then I did, then I had to get more stuff done, then more forgetting, etc. It was crazy! But it's done! The dentist and doctor are ready to send off their paperwork.
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I just watched this movie about the Mexico/America border called American Flyer. It brought back a lot of the stuff that I talked about in my last class-- Latin American Humanities. It's really neat to see that classes can make a difference in life. I was just looking through a dollar-movie rack and because it was about something I had just barely studied, I got the movie. It was pretty sad to see what their lives are like, but it taught a lot about what really goes on over there. Another good one that doesn't show as much of the violence is Under the Same Moon. Both of these are great movies worth watching if you care about your neighbors. They just want the freedom that we have, and I wish we could give it to them.

Sheltered BYU Student

I've been working on my present for Mariah, my roommate/cousin. I'm so excited for it to be finished and to give it to her! I won't say what it is, just in case she happens to read my blog before I give it to her. That would be terrible to spoil the surprise!

I also went to hang out with some friends, and realized just how sheltered I am. It's so different coming back to the "real world," where the majority of the population is not Mormon. Going to school at Brigham Young University, you get used to that kind of society.. hearing someone swear is like whaa?? Seeing someone smoke, I always have to pause and remember that not everyone is Mormon, and even we aren't always what we should be.

But I'm completely fine with it! I absolutely love the atmosphere at the University, and wouldn't have wanted to choose any other way. The fact that I don't have to worry about any of the drama involved with drinking, sex, drugs, etc. is extremely comforting. I always hear about all the things that happen in other colleges and it seems so far away, unrelatable. And yes, I am aware that I will have to be rudely awakened one of these days, but I'm fine with the safety that I feel while it lasts.

Just another reason to serve a mission. So I can tell others about the wonderful gospel that lets you feel safe in your home, on the street, and with the people around you.

I'm happy where I am. :)

THE HOBBIT (LOTR)

Went to watch the Hobbit for the second time tonight... Worth it. Oh so worth it.

Watched Pitch Perfect directly afterward... Still trying to figure that one out... But it's leaning toward the not so much.

Back to the ever-magnificent Hobbit, I am so pleased! I am a complete Lord of the Rings fan, and love it more than anything else in the world! If you aren't completely sold on it, don't let me know. It may ruin my opinion of you (I'll still love you of course).

I went to see The Hobbit for the midnight showing on the 14th, but sadly was not able to enjoy it because I got seats in the first row very close to a huge screen. Let me tell you, craning your neck for three hours is a painful ordeal. My poor cousin went as well, and she had front row seats in the 3-D one. Yikes!

One thing that was pretty crazy about it was how HUGE the feet were. Already, hobbits and dwarves have larger feet, and from the low angle it certainly didn't shrink them any. 

Because of this not-so-pleasant first experience, I had been refusing to give any critical comments about the movie before I saw it again. But now that I have, I can officially say that it is still just as fantastic as the first three by Peter Jackson. Granted The Hobbit is a very different kind of movie than Lord of the Rings, because it is a very different kind of story. Lord of the Rings was all about the action, but I believe that the Hobbit is more of a relaxed story, and the action throughout was often added in by back-stories and such.

I hold my cup up to Peter Jackson! May he continue in his genius, and bring us more great adventures on screen!

P.S. I AM SO EXCITED FOR THE DRAGON!! Dragons are my all time favorite mythical creature. :D

Earrings By Yours Truly

I've been working on a project and have gotten a little carried away with it. I'm no where near finished! My plan is to make a whole bunch of different earrings, and give them to my girl-friends. I hope they like them! If not, I'll just have a TON of earrings haha

I actually saw something like them on Pinterest, and decided to try it out! All it takes is those paint color samples, Modge Podge, some earring hooks, and jump rings. Here are some samples that I've done so far! 

So what are your thoughts? Are these any good, would you wear them?



Afterthought: I'm currently watching the Wiz, which is pretty much a black version of the Wizard of Oz, and it's hilarious! Michael Jackson plays the scarecrow, and it's great to see him :)

Christmas Spirit For All Year

As I sit here, I can't stop thinking about the spectacular movie that I just watched, The Christmas Shoes. If there were any movie to recommend for a heart-changing and warming film experience, this would be it. In fact, I am going to make a tradition to watch it every year for Christmas from now on.

The story is beautiful, and reminds us that Christmas isn't just a once-a-year feeling. We need to have it all the time! The business man in the movie who was spending more time in his office than with his family, he did not have the spirit of Christmas because he was too busy worrying about money, possessions, etc. But in the simple act of service for a young boy who wanted to give his dying mother a present, this man remembered what he was missing out on.

This is the theme song for the movie

I was crying for pretty much the whole last half of the movie because it was so touching. It reminded me what I should be doing. My family is what matters most, and anything that gets in the way of me spending time with them should become my second priority. They aren't going to be around forever, and might even have to go before it's expected. In fact, I might be the one that is called home before expected. So I want to make sure that I've done all I can to let the people I care about know how much they mean to me. And I want to know that I spent all the time with them that I could.

Earlier Today...

I seem to be having a similar trend with my stomach and holidays this year.. It's not a good one either! This past Thanksgiving I got the stomach flu, and now for Christmas my tummy has been acting up again! It's not the flu this time, but something else entirely, though I've no clue what. It's interesting because it's like a burning in my actual stomach, but it only really bugs me when I stand up. Luckily, I am just fine with sitting down all the time lol

But now I can't eat all the sweets that we've got! It's Christmas after all... And I had a great one despite my bothersome body. I just love my family so much!

Here is the final picture of the gingerbread house, with the scenery that my dad put up for it. This beautiful house on the side of a mountain has actual trees, a life-size nativity, a snowman worth mentioning, and reindeer wandering the yard! :)

That's all for now! I've got to go spend the rest of this special day con mi familia!

Here's to Christ and His Helper, Santa

As Christmas Day comes upon us, I would just like to say,

I BELIEVE.

That's actually a reference to two movies, both of which are great to watch during the holidays: Miracle on 34th Street and the Polar Express. 

I watched the Polar Express tonight and it really touched me. I wouldn't say that the overall quality of the movie is top notch.. But the whole point of the story really got to me; the theme with the bells was perfect. In the scene when the hero boy can see the bells and yet he can't hear them, he has to choose to believe. He had to believe BEFORE he could see Santa Claus. 

I appreciated this because one of my least favorite things about now-a-days Santa Claus is the ridiculous and false statement tagged to him, "Seeing is Believing." This goes in the complete opposite direction from what Christ said in John 20, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." Who in the world decided that the very man representing Christ's birthday would say the opposite? 

So as I was watching the Polar Express, I noticed that this movie paralleled Christ with Santa in many aspects. "Seeing is Believing" was said in the beginning, but then it adds, "but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see." Yes! That, and the fact that the boy was trying and trying to see Santa, but he couldn't. And yet, as soon as he chose to put faith in him, Santa came. I believe the director was trying to compare Claus to Christ with the angelic glow about him, the more solemn demeanor, and the way that he knew and cared about each child. 

All in all, this movie was a touching one, both in it's message of the real meaning of Christmas, as well as the way it was told in a light-hearted way with the story of the North Pole. 

Here's a new video of the Nativity to tell the true story of the first gift of Christmas. This really happened. And I don't need to have seen it to believe. :)

Merry Christmas!!

The House is Done!!

Decorating of the gingerbread house is finished! I am soo exhausted. It actually doesn't look to bad, even though I was pretty much throwing frosting on it so I could finish. Here it is...

TADA!!

 I say it's finished, but my parents still want to make surrounding scenery. Which was my original plan, until I realized how time-consuming the whole thing is. But you may be seeing yet another picture later on!


Have you ever had those moments when you feel extremely jealous about a situation when you have absolutely no cause to be? Yeah, that's how I was today. It's quite ridiculous. Ah well, what can we do? For starters, I need to stop being jealous, and just be happy for the couple I'm feeling weird about. They probably work very well together!


In church today, we had a Christmas music program, done by Valerie Rawlins. She did such an amazing job! I participated by playing half of the congregational hymns while another girl played they other half. Every one one of the musical numbers were very well done, and brought the Spirit into the meeting. I'm so happy that our little Singles branch in Mountain Home has so much musical talent! I love everyone here. :)

Not much else to report today, so hasta la vista!