ART

While looking through some old folders on my desktop of pictures and poems and school work I found a folder FULL of art i have found online and liked,  I think when i get more settled I will start painting again and I think these might be my inspiration:

On another ART RELATED thread:  My classes for my euro-trip started today.  It's like art boot camp, but it's really interesting and it is getting me super excited about the trip.

One of the classes I am doing is an independent study where we make up our own research project to do.  We have to do research before we leave, then spend time looking for the thing we researched while we are in europe, then when we get home we make a portfolio or write a paper or compile it all somehow.  I think I might do how religion influences religious architecture in different countries.

For another class we have to make a bucket list (already have one) for our trip and then research 30 specific pieces of art and write a one page paper about them,  when we find them we do a little response and  make it all into a journal.  We also have to fine 15 pieces there that MOVE us and those we research when we get home.  All of this goes into our journal too.  I am super excited, but I think it might be a lot of work so  I will probably be in the l.i.b. all day tomorrow.

I know I am not as artistically inclined as a lot of my friends, and that I really don't now much about art from a statistical point of view, but I do know that art can MOVE people, and create though and change.  The world needs more leaders and less followers.  

I don't know, I guess there is balance in blazing a trail and being difficult, but it's the trial and error that shape us and make us.

Euroclasses: day one.

Today I started my euro trip classes.  I really am excited, even though it's all kind of a little overwhelming.  I will be in EUROPE in two weeks!

I could not sleep last night, at all.  I spent some time stumbling and thinking, but all in all I just laid in bed and waited for sleep to come... it never did.

This is one 

of the treasures I found while stumbling.  It reminds me of dreams and magnetic poetry:

FACTS:

1.)  My mom is sending me her nice camera so I can take it to Europe with me.  I am very excited, mostly because lately I have been having a lot of ideas about 

photography and different pictures I could take

2.)  I thought I had lost all of my paintings in the process of moving, but I found them im a remote corner of a discrete box.  True, I was mostly sad about loosing the canvases--the paintings aren't that great--but it's still nice to have them back.

Here is some inspiration for long locks, lovely looks, and life:

.

3.00 AM: insomnia

Is it okay that even though I don't have a boyfriend--or plan on getting married anytime soon--I have already made the following decisions about my wedding:

-I want my colors to be brown and goldenrod so I can have sun flowers in my bouquet

-I want the wedding party to release doves

-I want my first dance to be to "first day of my life" by bright eyes.  (cheesy?  don't care.)

-I want to get married in the SLC temple

-I want a reel dee-jay at my reception 

and set the following requirements for my future eternal roommate:

-He's gotta be tall enough that I can wear heels around him

-He's gotta be able to make my LAUGH until I can't stand up anymore

-He's gotta be adventurous and spontaneous but still responsible and spiritual

-He's gotta NOT say "dude" or use the words "fag", "gay", or " retarded" in casual talking

-He's gotta be an returned missionary and care about the church

-He's gotta be smart

-He's gotta like to travel 

-He's gotta think I am beautiful inside and out, and be able to deal with my crazy

-He's probably gotta be a little bit crazy too...

He will preferably:

-have dimple

-have dark hair and light eyes

-be musical and artistic

-be well read so we can talk about books

Having friends get married or start seriously dating is... really weird.  We are all still so young, and marriage is  E-TER-NAL!  It's a BIG deal to decide to hitch yourself to someone for the rest of time.

I guess for me it just doesn't seem like the right thing to do right now.  I just want to work on me for a while, have a few more years of fun and still be able to be selfish for a little while longer.

I just want to use this time to work on me and try to be the best version of me that I can be.  

I'm only 20 and there are still a l.o.t of things I am figuring out about myself.

Summer2010.

dreams really do come true.

Dear Rob Drydek,

Will you marry me?

Love,

Katherine Ann Fleming

World Traveler.

In less than three weeks I embark on my Humanities Tour--I could not be more excited.  I have one more final today at 12:45, and then i am free.  At least until monday when I start my classes for my eurotrip.

I can't believe how fast this semester went, how different it has been from how I imagined, and how close Europe is.  Throw in the two moves I have to make between then and now and time will fly like paper.

I still am trying to construct a euro-bucket list.  Any suggestions?

My mom was right, I am lucky I'm not getting married at 2o. I still have a few years to be selfish and do what I want.

-travel

-music

-art

Dear MTV

I understand (and completely appreciate) that Fantasy Factory has filled the void to an extent, but there is still a hole in the MTV universe left in the wake of the closure of Rob & Big.  My name is Katherine Ann Fleming and I would like to take on the task of filling that remaining hole.

I am 20 years old, and attend Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg Idaho.  Before you go get your maps let me tell you this: when you go to school in a small town you have to be more creative to have fun, and I firmly believe that you get better memories for the extra effort.

I value my education and work hard to make good grades, but I also value fun and work hard to make good memories and have good stories.

I am on a "fast grad" program and go to school year round now.   I am especially excited for the upcoming summer semester because a lot of my friends will be coming back to Idaho.  Their return paired with warm weather and long, summer nights means that all sorts of crazy things will be happening.

I have no professional training in acting, no job, and no shame.  

Do with that what you will.

Yours Truly,

Katherine Ann Fleming

think it will work?

Bucket List

This semester I started making a dent in my Bucket List, and next semester I will only continue to do so :)

infinite <3>

mighty change of heart, Mentors, and mad dance parties.

Who would have though they could happen simultaneously?

This semester has taken me to places I've never been before, and some places I am not eager to go back to.  I think I cried more this semester than I have in my entire previous college career combined, but hey: your eyes must do some raining if you're ever going to grow.  And grow I did.

The best thing about being crazy is that when you finally get over it, you have to hit the ground running.  Time will have been lost, and friends and relationships will have been neglected.  All of these factors lead to a desperate scramble to fix the things I did wrong and lead to a change of habits, thoughts, and heart.

At least two things this semester of the religious variety (devotional, firesides, church talk, etc.) have dealt with mentors in out lives and how we need to be prepared to meet them and also be humble enough to listen to them when they teach us.

wonderland.

 heard you fell into a rabbit hole
Covered yourself up in snow...

This semester has been a little bit like wonderland.  at least i learned that things really do fall apart so other things can fall into place.

yes please.

lists.

-i am getting sick

-my grades could be better

-i am doing all i can now, and for the rest of the semester, to get my grades up

-i'm done letting other people take my happiness

-only invest as much time in others as they invest in you

-never let someone be a priority in your life when you are only an option in theirs

-time, prayer, and music can fix anything.  ANYTHING

-i really don't have it that bad

-i've been dealt some pretty awful hands in life, but they only made me stronger, so to them I am grateful

-i miss pinkerton

-i get to go to europe

-i want to serve a mission

-i want to travel

-i need to marry a doctor to support all of my hobbies

-i am talented

-i am smart

-i am a good person

-i let other people into my head

-i let myself into my head

-i'm done doing that

-I am Katherine Ann Fleming and I am part of a legacy

... And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.

Today I had a meeting for my Eurotrip this summer, I am ecstatic.  I decided that i am only going to be in the hotel room the hours they require us to.  I also decided I am going to make a Eurotrip Bucketlist.

All i have to far is:

-Taking a coin from the Fontana di Trevi

-eating crepes in france and galato in Italy

The lights are on; I'm awake

So, maybe I do want my life to be like an indie movie... I think it's because I want to be alive and free like the characters in them--and I don't think thats always a  bad thing.  I'm not reckless with other peoples hearts (I know this because I'm the one who gets hurt every-time).  I try hard not to do things that affect other people, unless it lifts them up.  I try to be true to myself, but we all fall short at times and in different areas.  Thats why we have friends--to hold us up where we are weak.

THIS WEEKEND WAS SERIOUSLY SO INFINITE.

I have recently been reminded of just how much I LOVE light.  First of all light is symbolic of good things, which is rad, but i love physical light even more.

And mainly three kinds of lights:  

head lights/tail lights, skylines, and stars.

The coolest thing to me is that these are all big collections of smaller, single lights... and each individual light has it's own story, but then together all the stories come together and make up our cities and our life's and our cultures and... everything. 

 

The headlights all file down the streets in a organized line into the skylines.   From there they all disperse to their own homes and appointments and stories, and the stars watch it all.

CONSIDER THIS:

-If it's a clear night, pull over, get out of your car, and look at the stars.  Then remember everything good in your life and remember sometimes it's okay to just enjoy the ride.

-If you are driving and see something you want to get closer to.  Stop, pull over, and go look at it.  Maybe even pick a flower for your journal.

-Night is the best time of day becasue it's when all the lights come on and all the dreams come out.

basically I can sum it all up to this:  If you are curious, go explore.  Louis and Clark that because that's how we learn about the world we live in and how we grow to be ready to take it all in stride.

recharge.

This weekend I was lucky enough to come down to Utah with my friend Cody.  Her ride bailed on her last minute, and I needed a great escape, so I offered to drive her down if she would put me up while we were there--great trade off.  Everything about this trip so far has been infinite, and we still have today and as much of monday as we want to invest.  

We did sleep through church though, which i feel bad about.

Friday after classes we drove down to Logan, and got in at about 8 or 9 o'clock.  The drive was easy and fun.  Good music, good people, good time.  We didn't know much about our plans for the evening other than the fact that we were going to a dance party and when it's dance and party, I am always in.  When we got to her aunt's house I started talking to her cousin about Minnesota because he served his mission there and we pretty quickly made a list of other missionaries we both knew, and as it happened, we were going to Elder Benson's for this party.  wild.

Let me try to paint a picture as well as i can:

Roll up to the cutest college kid house ever (with a working mail flap on the front wall) and walk into the home of a boy I knew as a missionary.  In the corner there is a storage bin that is being used as a punch pool.  The deejay is great--editing is priceless.  Fun kids, and great music.  I haven't just gotten to dance since summer 08.

So that was already a great weekend, but it doesnt stop there.

After a severe night's rest on the floor of Cody's aunt's house we got ready for the day and headed into Ogden Utah for Winterfest 2010.

"okay a.  I now feel MUCH better about myself, b.  this is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever done, and c.  this is fun so lets enjoy the ride." nuff said.

After that we went down to SLC for the night and it was a dream.  I saw the Joseph Smith film, and Sister Morris, and the temple all in one night.  I also got to see Brent and hang out with Brady and Tori and Jack and Griff for a little bit in SLC.

After that Me and cody just took some time to explore SLC before going back home to Logan for the night.

INFINITE

ear worm

so far this semester I have had

Starstrukk (3oh!3)

It wasn't me (Shaggy)

and 

When you Wasn't Famous (the streets)

stuck in my head really bad.

February 8th 2010

2010 has already been a whirlwind of EPIC proportions.

Tears

Laughter

Stress

Anxiety

New Friends

Old friends

Best Friends

Bad friends

Movies

Mistakes

Growth

Apologies

Anger

Pain

Joy

Laughter

Music

Art

Painting

Disappointment

Basically what it all adds up to is that Ferris was right.  Life moves fast.

Sometimes you just gotta LET GO and see where the new path leads.

summer 2010.

what a dream.

The Brothers Bloom

Few movies move me the way this one did.  The last time I felt like this i was watching the Darjeeling Limited.  A close second was wrist cutters and (500) days of summer--for the first time.  

BUCKET LIST

-Sundance Film Festival

-Festival of Holi

-Greece

-Italy

-London

-France

-Mexico

-Australia

overslept.  feel like a zombie.  taking the day off from ad con and copy.

2010 is going to be great for my bucket list.

The actual compilation that is my bucket list is scattered throughout several journals, notebooks, sketch pads, and bed room walls back home; the mental version is probably lacking some of the context, but is still a pretty good draft.

I totally love each and every one of my friends, but sometimes I feel like when you spend all of your time with the same people you turn into each other.  You develop the same mannerism, speech habits, jokes...  I mean, it's good to have bonds and things that bring you together, but sometimes I feel like I loose my own identity to a more common one.  That's not a bad thing.  It's really fun to have inside jokes and things that everyone can relate to that bring us together.  It makes us feel at home, and being home is very important.  (In fact, we learned about coming home to the people we love today in devotional.) I don't know if any of this makes sense outside of my head...

I do however know that I am very grateful to all of my friends at BYU-Idaho (and throughout the rest of the country) and I am grateful for the way they have all helped me grow into me and figure out who I was and more importantly, who I could be.  What my potential might be.  I love that everyone here has been so friendly and so welcoming toward me.  And I'm glad they have been patient with me when I am shy or stubborn or anxious about the future.

I'm not saying I want to stop hanging out with anyone, or that I am over my current friends.  I'm just saying that I have come so far and I am eager to keep going.   I love everything that I have in my life right now, but sometimes I want to know what else is out there.  What else I can learn about and see and do.  What else I can become.

This is a new decade.  A new year.  I'm 20.  

It's time to do something and make something of myself.  My years of being young and free are probably getting numbered and I just want to try and be the best version of me that I can be, because once you meet someone and settle down, your life is never completely your again.  It's going to be new and exciting and great; however, it's also going to be shared.

heres to being infinite...

art 101

Being an art major was never even a blip on my radar. I mean, I was always fascinated by art and made time to do it on my own, but as a career or a job... I dunno. It just didn't match up. Actually, considering my history as a dreamer, it seems like a decision I would have made--I just didn't. I guess something just didn't add up.
What do you do when you already love what you do but need to check on an old equation?

little letters pt. 2

Dear January,

Thank you for being over.  You were a little too stressful...

Dear February,

Please keep me in check and remind me that i only need to take it one day at a time.

Dear Europe,

Thank you for always being such a good thing to look forward to.

France.

London.

Italy.

Austria.

january 2 2010

this is the most up-to-date list of everything I did over christmas break:

Went to Las Vegas for the first time (if the airport counts)

Slept in until at least 10 each day

Watched Glee season 1 on DVD

Watched Heroes season 1 on DVD

Read Twilight

Watched Twilight

Watched the Blindside

Went to Wisconsin

Went back to MN

Took lots of naps

Sorted through old boxes of stuff in my room

the end is in sight...

This semester has gone faster than any other one, and I feel like it's conclusion is way longer, more stressful, and crazier than semesters past.  I am also surprised how quickly it came up considering how eager I am for the next two semesters to be here.

I technically could be done with school now, but there is an optional advertising final tomorrow morning and I am going to take it and see if i can squeeze out a B+.  That is at 7:30 in the morning.  Kill me.  But I know that i should do it.

I think this is going to be the closest I have ever been to my goal of 4.0!

mail.

tech deck+candy+toy dog+FUN t-shirt=great day.

8 days

Until I fly home.  I know this because I made a count down and taped it to my laptop.  I can't believe this semester went so fast.  I also can't believe that I am coming back winter, and going to europe next summer.  2010 is going to be great.

On a completely unrelated note,  I got an A in public relations as my final grade!  Also, my presentation group got the highest score in the entire class!  96%!  On  monday my advertising group will present out pitch to Bella Coolla Pizza.  I'm actually kind of excited about it.

All I have to do this weekend, is write up my oral presentation for poetry, make some visuals for the ad. presentation, study for my world religion final, and make some flash cards for the ad. final.  Considering the list I was lookin' at last weekend, this will be  a cake walk.

PAPER CHAINS

Glee season finale:

did not disappoint.

Finals!

My brain is so scrambled, I think if i turned my head over it would all run out my ear.

Finals week always means I am runnin' on little to no sleep, which leaves me giddy and silly and kind of irritable.

Today was a lot better than this weekend, I was totally wigging out on sunday.

Hairography.

 

Thanks to my bffl, I discovered the show GLEE.  Thanks to finals I have had the opportunity to watch it a lot lately.  They have an episode, in some sense, dedicated to hair.  Well HAIROGRAPHY, which is essentially flashy hair and sass.  Because of this I have decided to dedicate an entry to my hair goals, especially since my bestie just gave me a new one.

little letters

I found this blog called rockstar diaries last winter when I was home. It is still one of my faves. today her post was titles "Little Letters" so i decided to do my own...

Dear finals,
please don't kill me

Dear Minnesota,
I can't wait to see you again! Only 13 more days :)

Dear text books, pens, and notebooks,
This semester has been good. thanks for studying with me every day!

Dear jacket, pea coat, mittens, and scarf,
Thank you so much for keeping my snugglie warm while walking through wind and snow to class each day.

Dear Library,
Thank you for always having working internet and desks to lay your head on and take a nap.

Dear Rubik's cube,
That you for coming back into my life.

Dear television,
Thank you for broadcasting Glee and the Disney channel so I have things to watch while I make flash cards.

Dear road map I used as a visual for P.R,
You look so good. I can't wait to give my Public Relations presentation just so I can show you off.

Dear Lakewood Colorado,
Thank you for being the dot on the map I choose to be you when i could not remember which one you actually were.

Dear roommate who put the thermostat on 90,
please refrain from doing so in the future.
I do not like to like in a sauna.

Dear Pinky,
You are such a trooper. Not even the bitter cold weather gets you down. you turn over and start up every time I need you.

Dear Baby Backpack,
I promise I will patch you before winter semester starts.
Thank you for holding up for this long.

Dear Winter 2010,
Please hurry!

love

<3

she keeps me grounded

.finals.

I really hope this doesn't kill me:

Poetry

-oral report

-take home final

Public Relations

-Group Project

-book

-presentation

-flip charts, graphs, and maps

Advertising

-Group Project

-book

-press release

-storyboards, advertisements, collaboration

-Final Exam

World Religions

-Final Exam

Speech

-Persuasive Speech

-Impromptu Speech

will someone please tell me how I am supposed to do this all in two weeks?!

If I don't make it through the end of this semester I leave Pinkerton to my mom, my art supplies to Amy doll, and all of my books to Christine.

lolz

okay, so you know how sometimes the computers in the library get locked out? And you can't log in without unlocking it or having some secret code or something?

Well since I have been here (a period of about 20 minutes) I have watched 4, no 5 people try to log onto this one computer and not be able to.

But hey, I tried logging onto it too and it didn't work so i moved back a row and right into perfect view of this phenomenon.


Now it's been 6 people.

Lazy Sunday

I love sundays.  I especially loved this one for fueling me up and getting me ready for the final few weeks of school.  It's crazy how church can seem to be completely tailored to you sometimes... I love that most.

Today I am grateful for:

Pinkerton

Letters from my sister

my parents

and good books

November 28th 2009

A lot of my friends can take their own pictures, but i really can't.  I lack the equipment and the technically skills...  I borrow them.  But I am a student so fair use right?

On a more serious note:

This is Thanksgiving week, and I really do have a lot to be thankful for so I think I will dedicate a post to it.

Dr. Zimmerman said that writing a list 0f 200 things you are thankful for can be a life changing experience.

-first of all I am thankful that I got an entire week off from school.  This gave me time to get a breath in, do some homework, and get caught up on sleep.

-I am thankful for the opportunity I had to have thanksgiving dinner with friends since I didn't get to have it with family this year.

-I am thankful that I get to fly home and see my family in a few short weeks.

-I am thankful for all of my friends that are scattered across the united states, and also for all of my friends that are in Rexburg with me.

-I am thankful for my family: my mom and my dad and how they always let me be me.  I am also thankful for my sister and the great example she sets for me everyday as she serves the lord as a full time missionary.

-I am thankful for clothes, fashion, and hair.

-I am thankful for make-up, face wash, and shampoo.

-I am thankful for school, education, teachers, BYU-I, and a thirst for knowledge.

-I am thankful for the church and the atonement.  I am thankful for the scriptures and the ensign and conference weekends.

-I am thankful for drive and motivation and things that keep us going when times get hard.

-I am thankful for things to look forward to and friends coming back into my life.

-I am thankful for friends that take the time to understand, see similarities, and connect the dots.

-I am thankful for PINKERTON: the album and my dog.

-I am thankful for animals.

-I am thankful for friends who remember things I tell them, even if they aren't very important things.

-I am thankful for Amy doll and how she showed me some people will always be there for you and that I am not replaceable or disposable.

-I am thankful for paper, art supplies, and a mind that allows me to create things that use to never exist.

-I am thankful for guitars, pianos, harps, cellos, clarinets, and all the things that taught me how to play and love music.

-I am thankful to Conor Oberst, Rivers Cuomo, and Jason Mraz for writing the songs that got me through High School.

-I am thankful for Weezer, Bright Eyes, and Modest Mouse for the music they make and have made and the inspiration it gives me. 

-I am thankful for summer 08 and everything it taught me.

-I am thankful for fall 09 and for growing up.

-I am thankful that I am in college.

-I am thankful that I am an American

-I am thankful that I am LDS.

-I am thankful that I am a girl.

-I am thankful for my shoes and clothes.

-I am thankful that I know how to cook and clean, even if I usually choose not to.

-I am thankful for Pinky.

-I am thankful that I only have three weeks of school left this semester.

-I am thankful for temples and the things that go on inside of them.

-I am thankful that I finally learned it is worth it to just be good and do what I know I should.

-I am thankful that I can see, hear, smell, taste, and feel.

-I am thankful for my health and body.

-I am thankful for all of the things I own.  To a lot of people I seem like a pack rat, and I guess I kind of am, but I love it all.

-I am thankful for a warm bed to sleep in each night

-I am thankful for things that make me happy.

-I am thankful for emotion

-I am thankful for things that MOVE us.

-I am thankful for my senior year english teacher who pulled me aside and asked me if i had ever considered being a writer because I have a natural way with words.

-I am thankful for spell check because I do not have a natural way with spelling.

-I am thankful that these next two semesters are going to be so much fun.

-I am thankful that I get the opportunity to go to europe.

-I am thankful for hand me down's because they are like a piece of whoever gave them to you.

-I am thankful for best friend bracelets/necklaces for the same reason.

-I am thankful to all of my friends on missions and all of my friends who went on missions.

-I am thankful for home teachers and visiting teachers

-I am thankful for relief society and sunday school

-I am thankful that I am alive

-I am thankful that I am learning what it means to be Katherine Ann Fleming.

So maybe I only got to 50, but I still am very thankful for them.  

Rome wasn't built in a day

and apparently I can't make a three column blog in a day either...

Today I was looking at the websites that I currently have bookmarked as favorites, and deleting some of the ones i never go to anymore because there are just too many.  While I was doing this I found an old jem that I haven't looked at in a long time.

when I grow up

I want to be happy.

always.

I think I'm getting close.

What's better than weezer?

Weezer ft. Lil' Wayne.

I have the greatest bffl ever.

'nuff said.

Quotes (or lyrics) can fix a lot of broken things...

Hearts
Spirits
... maybe that's it, but still: here is some food for your though:

"somethings fall apart so others can fall together."
-I don't know who this is by, but i LOVE it.

"I don't know that much about you, but I like you because you're TRUE BLUE."
-Bright Eyes (True Blue)

"Learn to be happy with all that you have while you pursue all that you want."
-Dr. Zimmerman

"Tonight I'll dream while I'm in bed and silly thoughts run though my head. About the bugs and alphabet and when I wake tomorrow I bet that you and I will walk together again. 'Cause I can tell that we are gonna be friends, yeah I can tell that we are gonna be friends."
-The White Stripes (We are gonna be friends)

"For all I know you want me too, and maybe you just don't know what to do, or maybe you're scared to say 'I'm falling for you'"
-Weezer (el scorcho)
I also have to put in a plug here and say that this is Pinkerton's namesake.

"I won't worry my life away"
and
"When I fall in love, I take my time. There's no need to worry when I'm making up my mind. You can turn off the lights but I'm still gonna shine, and I'll tell you WHY"
-Jason Mraz (The Remedy)
This song is very important to me for a lot of reasons. It got me through a lot and still gets me through a lot.

"This is the first day of my life, I'm glad I didn't die before i met you."
Bright Eyes (First day of my life)
I could seriously just post the entire song here, because that is how much I love it, but I think this line sums up a lot of it.

I could also probably go on and on with this list, but I think a hit most of the major ones, and I also think I should probably go do work.

nov 3rd...

had a lot of potential but it kind of went downhill. fast.


at least RADITUDE still came out.

And tuesdays/thursdays are always crazy. I guess I need to learn to print assignments off more than 10 minutes before class is supposed to start so i have time to deal with major technical difficulties.

And I guess I have to just accept the fact that I will never be on time to volleyball, even with the coach bumping start time back half an hour.

There is a silver lining to today though: i get to register for classes, and (I don't think I went public with this yet) I got accepted into the study abroad program I applied to! So come summer 2010, I get to go to Europe!

November 3 2009

Today is a great day.

wednesday.

today I found this on my bestie, Amy's blog.

If you ever feel loved or needed,
Remember that you're one of the lucky ones.

Lately I've been one of the lucky ones.

martyr for hip-hop

I told marion the following story from my high school years the other day, and she loved it so much she was going to make a blog in honor of the central theme; however, she chose to blog about proactive vending machines instead.  I guess i gotta do my own work:

I have always had a secret (maybe not so secret) love for ridiculous hip-hop/pop songs. i.e. lip gloss, girlfriend remix f. lil mama.  In high school me and my sister were driving home from the movie theater listening to Lip Gloss, windows down, radio CRANKED, car dancing, the whole nine yards... and that is precisely when it happened.  

Red Light.  

Car full of black girls.  

Me dancing.  

Eye contact....

I decided that I had two options:  I could act the fool, turn my radio down, and stop being ridiculous; or i could just play it off like "ain't no thang."  I decided that the first option would lead to the following outcome:  the girls would think i was making fun of them, and be real upset.  no bueno.

I decided to go with the latter option and act like i didn't care about anything other than my music and my dancing.  The only problem was that it was a LONG light and when you are driver, your dance move options are severely restricted... and i was running out of them.

"we are going to me martyrs for hip-hop christine."

long story short, I am here to tell the tale so obviously it ended okay.  I guess I learned something that day though, don't get into it if you cant bring it.

conference weekend.

beautiful thing of the day:
baby emperor penguin

A year ago I was in Utah going to conference in the conference center for the first time in my life with my dad and my sister. Today I watched it at Amy's house in Rexburg Idaho. My sister is all the way across the country in Virginia serving the Lord as a full time missionary, and I think mom said dad is away on business this weekend.
Even though we are very scattered, I love my family and we are very strong and very close.
I love conference weekend, it's like plugging yourself back into the power outlet and letting your battery light turn green again. Mine had been red for too long.
This weekend has barely started and already it has been great. Good friends and good times. (And good timing.)

Next weekend is BRAND NEW in SLC! I haven't been to a show in a really long time, and I have never seen brand new, so I am very excited. I love driving to utah, I love road trips, I love doing things that make me feel alive and make me happy. Some times you need to do things for you. I'm actually a terrible navigator. I get lost a lot. But, that's just part of life. Sometimes you take the wrong exit and have to find your own way back to civilization.

Thank goodness for street signs and people who are easy going.

today I am grateful for:
-beatles rockband
-music from high school
-instant friends
-my car
-conference
-the prophet
-technology that brings the saint together from all corners of the world
-BYU-Idaho
-teachers who instilled a curiosity for life and a desire to learn in me
-my family
-my friends
-private bedrooms
-animals
-my life and the fact that i am learning to LIVE, not just be alive.

The older I get

The more I notice that maybe the things I hold as common knowledge.... aren't.  Even things that i was taught in grade school, like basic American geography (and the fact that Minnesota is NOT in-fact on the east coast) seem foreign to a lot of people I encounter.

Maybe it's because MN is about smack dab in the center of the country(on the north "shore") so we just kind of learn the states out like a radar.  I mean, if i had grown up in california there is probably no way i could have memorized all the way to the new york islands and the gulf stream waters. 

Other kids probably also weren't (aren't) fascinated by those state map puzzle games that you can play online.

And it's totally not that i had superior schooling... believe me. I didn't. I just have a memory for weird facts and stats.  I think i just pay attention to things differently.  Maybe that's what is means to have a lyrical soul.  I don't think so, but I've always loved the sound of that ever sine i heard it in Fever Pitch.   I wish I had a lyrical soul.

These are the things I do know:

-It makes me melt every time I watch the bowling alley scene in Across the Universe, and Jude gives Lucy that look

-Animals can keep you sane

-The beginning is the best part

-Music, time, and prayer can heal all wounds

-glow in the dark air soft pellets make a decent night light

-I love playing volleyball

-you need to forgive yourself too

-I have a very wide range of interests

-Life really is too short to get mad at other people and your energy is too precious to use up on anger 

-make you life better today and love it

-it's about to get real

life lessons

On thursday I have to give a speech for my public speaking class.  I have to tell a story and land it with a point.  I have lots of stories, so I decided to pick my point first so that I can write the story portion accordingly.

While looking for a good moral to pick a story about i stumbled upon this jem:

taken from http://www.marcandangel.com/2008/02/06/26-life-lessons-learned-by-age-26/

1. Being an adult can be fun when you are acting like a child.
2. Love has nothing to do with looks, but everything to do with time, trust, and interest.
3. Laughing, crying, joy and anger… All are a vital.  All make us human.
4. The greatest truths in life are uncovered with simple, steady awareness.
5. Greed will bury even the lucky eventually.
6. Bad things do happen to good people.
7. Paving your own road is intelligent only if nobody has gone exactly where you are going.
8. Uncertainty is caused by a lack of knowledge.  Hesitation is the product of fear.
9. Time heals all wounds… regardless of how you feel right now.
10. Most of the time what you are looking for is right in front of you.
11. Your health is your life.
12. Chance is a gift, so act on chance when given the opportunity.
13. Kindness and hard work will take you further than intelligence.
14. People deserve a second chance, but not a third.
15. Marry your best friend.
16. Take lots of pictures.  Someday you’ll be really glad you did.
17. Money makes life easier only when the money is yours free and clear.
18. Carelessness is the root of failure
19. Your actions now create memories you will reminisce and talk about in your elder years.
20. Stepping outside of your comfort zone will put things into perspective from an angle you can’t grasp now.
21. Motivation comes in short bursts.  Act while it’s hot.
22. Purposely ignoring the obvious is like walking backwards toward the enemy.
23. Taking ownership of failure builds the foundation for success.
24. First impressions are completely worthless 50% of the time.
25. Personal glory lasts forever.
26. If you never act, you will never know for sure.

college.

It still half way blows my mind that I am a junior in college, 20 years old, and back in rexburg.  So far junior year is shaping out to be pretty great, i love it.

My classes are going to be really great and all of my teachers are amazing.  I think I need to drop journalism, but I will deal with that when it's time to deal with that.

I'm going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

Today Tutu came to MN.  We took her to the Zoo up in St. Paul.  It was so much fun.  I love Zoos.

day one.

Today is day one of my 13 week training program for running a marathon.  

run 1 minute. 

walk 2 minutes. 

twelve times.

Wish it was my life...

MOVIES

It’s not that I don’t love my life, because I do.  It’s just that there are a lot of really great movies.  Movies with characters that know who they are, and stand up for what they believe in.  Movies with stories that inspire us to make our own.  Movies that give us something to do while we are home for the 7 week break and have nothing to do...

 (500) Days of Summer.

In case you missed my blog the other day, I loved this movie.  Fabulous!!!

First of all, who could say no to Joseph D-L in that movie?  Second of all, if my life had a soundtrack like that,  I’d be happy.  Thirdly,  I have always loved skylines and have always wanted to live in California. I even wanted to be an architect when I was little.

         I could talk about this movie for far longer than anyone would care to listen, but it was seriously, positively, terribly, horribly, fantastically, wonderfully wonderful.  The clothes, the music, the coloring (that filter that all indie movie seem to have), the chemistry, the cinematography, the irony, the introduction, the narration, the characters, the friends, the emotions… get the point?  

The last movie I felt this much for was the Darjeeling Limited.

The Darjeeling Limited

       For those of you who don’t know this, I have seen a few rate R movies.  For those of you who that doesn’t sit well with, forget I ever said it and skip this entry.

There is something very beautiful about the idea of traveling through foreign lands with your brothers, or in my case I guess it would have to be my sister orbest friends since I have no brothers.  I wrote my bucket list after seeing this movie.  It just made me want to... LIVE.

I am almost overwhelmed to announce that next summer I plan on doing a study abroad humanities trip through europe!!  If anyone want's to come too, do it!  Right now I am just planning on doing it alone, but having a travel buddy would be grand :)

 

 

 

A Knights Tale

       Who doesn’t love a good rag to riches story?  And who doesn’t love a good Heath Ledger?  And who can possibly resist a movie that starts with a Queen song?

       Not only does this movie have HL, action, and an empowering message, but it has a tender love story to boot. 

 

Everything Is Illuminated

       Sometimes I’m just afraid I will forget too.  Sometimes I want to catalogue my entire life as well.  Sometimes I wish I has a friend as terrible with English as Alex.

Although boring when watched too frequently, Everything is illuminated is a fantastic movie.