Happiness

In my humble, albeit usually correct, opinion, this video can and should make anyone and everyone a little happier and a little more content with their life.

Stay Tuned

Right now there are sooooo many stay tuned things going on in my life. Since this is my last semester of school, things in my life will be changing, possibly drastically, very soon.

I knocked out interviews 2 and 3 looking sharp in my dress pants and vest today. I received compliments on my resume which made me feel good. I mentioned this yesterday, but I feel it even more today: I really want this internship in California! I will find out within the next few weeks if I got any of the jobs (stay tuned). I feel pretty good about them right now.

I also found some extremely elusive free time, gasp, today. In this free time I bought fabric for my shirt project in sewing class (stay tuned) and yarn, shoes, a shirt and tights for my halloween costume (stay tuned).

I anxiously await Halloween every year. I really, REALLY like to dress up. As a matter of fact, I am sitting in my living room right now looking like I had got in a fight in the back of an alley from my pre-Halloween makeup experiments earlier this evening. I entertained myself by prancing around in my costume earlier this evening! It turned out even better than I hoped!

I'm making soup tomorrow night as well (stay tuned) for the ward Halloween party. Oh, the joys of being on activities committee. I will post pictures of the finished Halloween costume very, very soon (stay tuned).

My official acceptance for HELP's Uganda team came today! It was mostly a formality, but it's exciting nonetheless.

Double header

I dressed up for my interview today. I put on comfy shoes with intentions of changing into dressier ones later. I went home for the sole purpose of getting my shoes. I came home, checked my e-mail, grabbed a snack, brushed my hair, and transferred my stuff from my backpack to my purse. I then left and drove back to work. About half way there I realized I forgot to change into my dress shoes. I hope I didn't look too silly rocking these in front of the company rep tonight:

These aren't the exact pair that I own, but they are pretty close.

My interview with DecisionWise was postponed today. Had I known, I could have slept for another couple of hours last night instead of pouring over their Web site looking for suggestions and understanding their business. I'm running on about 4 hours of sleep right now. Because of this, at my meeting tonight for another internship opportunity at times I'm pretty sure my eyes closed for at least a good 5 seconds or so on multiple occasions. I tried soooo hard to stay awake, but I simply couldn't. It was one of those times when you feel your eyes close and you're screaming in your head,

"Your eyes are closed. WHY are your eyes closed? Open your eyes dummy!"

But you just can't. Your body refuses to respond to your mind. Such is the life of a sleep deprived college student I suppose. At least I can look on the bright side and be thankful I wasn't behind the wheel of a car like that time on the way home from J. City. However, it's still not a good idea in front of a potential employer.

I really want this internship. I know it means moving to California, (L.A. to be exact) which seems a little terrifying. But I would love it! Moving to California for a semester would give me awesome work experience, a chance to live in a major city, meet new people, learn to surf, start another chapter of my life and basically have an all-around crazy semester. Cross those fingers...the real interview is tomorrow morning at 11. I also have another at 1 with DecisionWise. Hence the double header.

If I never hear the Celebrate Good Times song in my life again it will be too soon! The kids at work learned it to sing at Lights On tonight so we've been listening to and singing it every day for the past few weeks. I may hate this song, but this song has been stuck in my head all day long for some reason:

I'm not sure where I heard this recently to get it stuck in my head, but it is 80s fabulous!

One last thing:

I love The Biggest Loser. I experienced severe disappointment tonight when the black team sent Abby home. She is hands down my favorite contestant this season. She is so strong, and her story amazes me. After losing her entire family in a car crash several years ago, she has decided she is ready to put her life back together and be happy again. Just the mere fact she went through such a terrible tragedy is inspiring enough, but to hear her say how she is finally seeing the positive side of life and turning her tragedy into something that helps others is simply wonderful. I found a decent article about her online. And here's her background story if you're not familiar with it. There are also some videos on NBC.com.

Desperately Seeking Sleep

I could tell from the second my alarm went off and I opened my eyes that today would be a long day. The two large windows in my room were letting in very little light. When it's not sunshiney in my room in the morning it usually bodes a dreary day. Today was a dreary, snowy day. The kind of day where the only thing I want to do when I see the wrong light in my room is pull the covers back over my head, turn my alarm off (rather than just to snooze), and sleep until spring.

Unfortunately, this week is much too busy to even consider anything ridiculous like sleeping in. I started off my marathon internship interview week today. I have four interviews this week. Whew, I'm exhausted just talking about it!

On top of the commute and interview, I have two major projects to finish today. I finished my skirt. While it certainly needs a good ironing, I think it turned out pretty decent.

Note: Please excuse the dusty mirror and messy room. If I don't have time to sleep in, it holds true that I have even less time to clean (obviously).

In art class today we made masks. Here is one of my favs:

Oh, and here's the conclusion to the article I mentioned yesterday.

Riveting Non-fiction

So I was reading CNN.com today in my print publishing class. It's pretty much the only way to keep me awake (and therefore sort of paying attention) in this class. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have aerobic dance so early the same morning, but I make do. I learn how to use InDesign while catching up on the day's news. I don't see anything much wrong with my system. Whilst perusing the site I came across this story about an engaged couple who were unable to get married because the man was sent to prison (according to the story wrongfully so). It's a very well written feature article. Be advised: If you read this (which I highly recommend or I wouldn't be posting this) it is to be continued so be prepared for a cliffhanger. It's a love story!

On a completely unrelated note, I found a website that shows how to make a wig out of yarn. I will be making my blue wig very, very soon!

This wig is made out of yarn and a beanie! How much simpler can you get?

Here is exactly what I'm going for with my Halloween costume:

Thriller

I get to learn Thriller in my aerobic dance class next week. I am excited. I can bust out the real dance when Thriller inevitably gets played at the ward Halloween party this Friday. Also, I will be making this soup recipe for said party.

Zumba

Zumba is my new favorite thing!

I've been extremely busy lately. With school, work, homework, lesson planning for work, and sleep, I don't find much time to exercise outside of my aerobic dance class twice a week. To be honest, I feel really terrible when I don't get to work out much. I feel flabby and lazy. Nothing makes me feel better and like I've done something worthwhile more than a good hard work out where I get really sweaty!

When I woke up this morning the last thing I wanted to do was get out of bed. However, after a short but furious internal argument with my lazy and active sides, I found myself in the car on the way to 24 Hour Fitness. I usually attend the 10 am yoga class there. It's been awhile since I've been though. After this class was over there was a HUGE crowd of girls waiting to get into the group exercise room. With a crowd that large, I couldn't help but wonder what this next class was and why it seemed to be so popular. I'm all about joining the latest trends, and all these girls must have found something I hadn't yet. That's how I discovered Zumba. I already knew what it was of course, but I had never really given it much thought as a realistic cardio exercise option.

Let me proclaim that Latin inspired cardio dance routines are an excellent option. I definitely feel as if I got a work out, it's basically an hour long dance party, it was fun, and the time went by super quick! Because despite the fact I enjoy yoga, the one hour class seems to take fooooooorrrever. Zumba was over before I knew it, and best of all?

I got really sweaty!

Party Review

I have decided that facebook event invites are like direct mailers. You can only expect to have a very, very low percentage of response. However, there were about 15 people here, which is a good number for our small living room with limited seating. Some more party prep pics:

Today has been a pretty happy day for me. I took a midterm that was nowhere near as difficult as I imagined. Honestly, the worst part was when my hand got really tired during the short answer portion. I really haven't been doing a lot of actual writing on paper lately, obviously, and I'm a little rusty. 

I am ready to put my zipper in my skirt! 

I got another call about a job interview (that brings my total up to three). And I got an e-mail response for the only unpaid internship I'd be willing to accept. It's for a record company affiliated with Deseret Books. I have always wanted to work in music business and this might be a good start!

Oh, and I have a ticket for the football game tomorrow, and it's only $10!

Go Cougs!

And I Jack...the Pumpkin King

Phase one of party prep:

Awesome invitations courtesy of Janell. (Now we just have to get around to handing them out)

I carved a pumpkin tonight. It looks cool. I sliced my hand with my knife in the process. It hurt a little. It is the second time today I have made myself bleed. At least it was a different hand the second time. I edited out the blade of the knife simply out of spite in this picture. You can see the handle being used to keep the pumpkin from tilting forward.

I spilled some blood for this pumpkin. That makes it awesome.

I always worry when I throw parties. What if nobody comes? What if people show up and it's lame? What if people are bored? What if no one wants to come? Yes, I repeated that last question, but that's only because it's my biggest concern in the process of party planning. I know I am perfectly capable of planning and throwing an excellent party. The problem is that just because I know it doesn't ensure that anyone is going to actually attend. Hopefully they do though because so far the menu includes:

• 2 dozen cupcakes
• candy apples
• popcorn balls
• sugar cookies
• chips/salsa
• punch
• regular popcorn
• candy

And I most certainly do NOT want any leftovers!

Also, something strange and somewhat unfathomable happened in my sewing lab today. I had my iPod mix playing over the speakers in the class. It's a pretty eclectic mix so as to hopefully appeal at least a little to everybody in class. One of the most noncontroversial (and possibly one of the best songs) on my playlist is Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles. A few seconds into this song someone in my class stood up walked over to my iPod (without asking mind you) and skipped the song. He then announced something to the effect of "No offense, but I don't want to hear that song." 

All I could think was Really?  I mean REALLY? It's the Beatles for goodness' sake. What's not to like about The Beatles? Especially Here Comes the Sun. Also, don't touch my stuff without asking, thanks! Someone please explain to me how someone could object to this song! I just don't get it!

I found this picture in a stack of my stuff left over from our Matisse lesson last week. It is definitely blog worthy.

One last thing: How awesome are these boots?

Monet

Today in art class we studied Monet. He was a pretty cool kinda dude in my opinion. I saw some of his works at the National Gallery in London this summer. This guy invented the impressionist movement. To keep things simple we focused on only his landscape paintings, particularly the Japanese bridge and water lily paintings (there are lots and lots of these).

We talked about how up close the paintings look fuzzy and like a big mess, but when you look at them from far away they are beautiful. Some kids even thought the pictures were real from far away (hmmm?).

As far as reproductions, this was one of the hardest lessons we have done yet. And the paint was a long clean-up process. Here is a pic of one of the most successful renditions.

The kids have been asking for about two weeks now to do a Halloween project. I was also informed by one of my students that they don't celebrate Halloween and she couldn't participate in a Halloween project. Therefore, I need to think of something Halloweenish but not directly Halloween related. Maybe face painting?

I went to see Harry Potter with some of the girls from London study abroad this summer tonight. I had a most excellent time!

This is Halloween!

First of all, I really really love Brand New. They are one of my favorite bands. However, I think I had my first ever negative experience with them this morning. I have aerobic dance at 8am, and per usual I was running a bit late. It was a cloudy, dismal kind of morning and I was really sleepy. This song really bummed me out when I heard it this morning. It is a beautiful song, but not necessarily appropriate at the time.

Also, Halloween is soon! I love Halloween! I love the fall. I love pumpkins and pretty much all pumpkin flavored foods. I love the fall colors, the fall weather, and fall attire. Basically, this is a very happy time of year. One of my favorite parts is dressing up. I have my costume all planned out so stay turned for pictures. 

In the spirit of Halloween, tonight for FHE we carved pumpkins. James and I did very well considering the fact neither one of us is very artistically inclined and we both had a complete block on what the do for the first 10ish minutes. We ended up placing second out of 10 in the FHE competition.

Oh, Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

Oh, did I mention I don't particularly care for Spongebob? Because I don't. But it did make for an awesome pumpkin!

And one last thing. Janell and I are throwing a pre-Halloween movie night party this Friday featuring none other than my very  favorite Halloween movie: The Nightmare Before Christmas!

Here's a little snip to get you excited! Oh and there will be cupcakes out the wazooooo!

Shake It off and Step Up

Today in church our Stake President talked about a story he had heard about a mule that fell into a well. The farmer decided that is would be impossible to get the mule out so he began filling in the well with dirt. The mule had the choice of either letting the dirt slowly bury it, or to shake off each pile no matter how much it hurt when it hit and simply step on top of it. In the story, the mule chose the latter option and eventually was able to climb out of the well.

We are always, always, always going to have challenges in our life. A religion professor once told my class that if we aren't having trials of some kind we need to evaluate what we are doing wrong in our life. Trials are meant to make us better. Sometimes we might get huge clods of dirt or rocks dropped on our back, and it is going to hurt. However, we still have to shake it off and step up or we are going to get buried.

I also did a little bit of cooking over the past several days. I made asparagus risotto on Thursday night. It was yummy, but I believe I prefer the corn and tomato kind I have made before. You can find the recipe here. Thank goodness for allrecipes.com! The picture doesn't look that appetizing, but the picture was an afterthought because I was very hungry when I made this.

Today for supper I baked parsnips, stuffed and steamed an artichoke, and made a little bit of pasta. It was quite delicious. I melted a little bit of butter with italian seasoning and garlic powder to dip the artichoke leaves it. I found my artichoke recipe here. I improvised a bit per usual. I used a kraft blend of asiago, ramano, and parmesan cheese. I also used italian breadcrumbs instead of italian bread.

Where the Wild Things Are Review

I went and saw Where The Wild Things Are today with my roommate Janell. 

First of all it is certainly not a children's movie. If I would have seen this movie at a young age I would have been extremely freaked out. There is family drama, yelling, sadness, and other emotional scenes that even though you experience all of these as a child you shouldn't go see them in a movie. 

The movie provides a very real look into the hopes and fears we all experience as children. When we are young we see the world as a better place than it really is. Eventually you reach the age when you realize this isn't true, and for some kids (like Max in the movie) it is kind of a terrifying turning point. For instance, when Max learns that the sun will eventually die one day and destroy the earth you can see how frightened he is by this knowledge. I know I experienced the exact same fear when I first heard about the sun. As a child things like family, happiness, the sun, etc. are constants and you never even consider the fact that they might not always be there.

Basically, the movie is about growing up and the loss of original childhood innocence. Just like Carol in the movie, it is sometimes hard to accept the fact that things are going to inevitably change. Even strong friendships, love, and sometime family aren't constants. Fighting to hold on to these things isn't always worth it. When what seemed like true love or best friends at the time doesn't last you can drive yourself crazy trying to fight for it or hold onto something that isn't there anymore. Or you can learn (as Max and Carol do in the movie) to be grateful for what you have and love those you are there for you now instead of mourn the past.

I think this movie is about a child but geared towards adults. It helps us old folks remember how scary, emotional, and downright hard it can be to be a child. Of course it also reminds us of how much fun it was too! Sometimes the only things we need to make everything seem right with the world is a hug from our mother, a big bowl of soup, and a piece of chocolate cake. Running through the woods in an animal costume and howling with abandon can work too!

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If William thinks so...

One of my favorite rock stars liked Where the Wild Things Are. I'm going to choose to trust his opinion! Read his review:

http://thewilliambeckettblog.com/

I can't wait to see this

Doesn't it look adorable?

I think so!

Some Wisdom from Wise Friends

So I got a birthday present from Jessica in the mail last week. It included wonderful pictures in an adorable picture frame that is now on display in my room and a magnet. Here's what the magnet says:

live with intention.

walk to the edge.

listen hard.

practice wellness.

play with abandon.

laugh.

choose with no regret.

continue to learn.

appreciate your friends.

do what you love.

live as if this is all there is.

~mary ann radmacher

Jessica is a smart girl!

Also, thanks to Mitch for introducing me to the Silversun Pickups. I've been rocking out to them quite a little bit recently.

Speaking of music, U2 and Paramore both on tour right now and not coming to Salt Lake. That makes me sad.

I have been applying for jobs and internships like a fiend as of late. It's kind of exhausting not knowing what will happen with your life after the next threeish months.

Matisse and California Dreaming

Today in art class we studied Henri Matisse and his famous cut out style of art. Here is one of his more popular works Icarus:

He called his style of art drawing with scissors. The rules were the kids could only use solid colored paper, glue, and scissors--absolutely no pencils (though they asked me many times). It was a pretty fun and hopefully informative lesson.

There were some that were even better than this (in my opinion), but the kids wanted to keep those.

I recently submitted an application for a PR intern position with Porter Novelli in California this winter. I received an e-mail informing me that I will be contacted soon to schedule an interview for October 29th. If I get the internship I think I just might take it. It's a paid, full-time position for winter semester, and it would be valuable experience in my career field. Of course that would mean moving to California which freaks me out a little, but it would certainly be an experience to remember!

One last thing. I finally got around to making bread pudding. This is the recipe Jessica sent me:

4 cups French bread, cubed

3 large eggs, beaten

2 cups fat free milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

21 ounce can peach pie filling

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons sliced almonds

1 1/2 teaspoons butter, sliced into pieces

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Coat an 11x7 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Spread bread cubes in pan. Whisk together eggs, milk, granulated sugar and almond extract. Stir in pie filling, reserving 1/2 cup for use as a topping if desired. Pour mixture over bread cubes; press into bread with back of spoon.

Combine cinnamon and brown sugar and sprinkle on top of bread mixture. Add sliced almonds and dot with butter. Bake 50-55 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm with peach pie filling on top if desired.

As usual I had to tweak the recipe to fit my needs. I used a jar of apple pie filling my mom made instead of the peach. I was also incredibly low on sugar so I would be surprised if I used even 1/4 of a cup. I also omitted the almonds and almond extract.

Cauliflower and New Hampshire

First for the cauliflower:

I avidly watch The Biggest Loser each week. Jillian and Bob pretty much rock my world. I am positive that they could kick my butt and reduce me to tears within about 20 mins. with one of their workouts.

Each week, The Biggest Loser has a short segment called Trainer's Tip. Last week's was replacing regular mashed potatoes with cauliflower. The texture is similar, and cauliflower is actually good for you!  I tried it out tonight, and it was yummy! All I did was steam the cauliflower until it was soft, and pureed it in the blender (we don't have a potato masher) with a little bit of fat free half and half and just a tiny bit of butter. Add a little garlic, salt and pepper, too. It went perfectly with my grilled eggplant, onion, and munster cheese sandwich. 

They certainly look a lot like mashed potatoes. And check out my adorable giraffe cup my mom bought for me!

And now for the New Hampshire part:

 When I think of the state of New Hampshire, I honestly don't really have anything to think about. I don't know what there is to do there, or anything particularly interesting about that state to differentiate it from the others. But now I have a reason to learn about New Hampshire (for example I have already learned that it is the Granite State). 

I received an e-mail from a member of City Year New Hampshire about serving with them next year. I recently applied for a position through AmeriCorps, and according to the e-mail they got my information through that. It sounds like exactly the kind of thing I would like to do, so I certainly plan on applying. They offer positions in many other cities including Boston and New York, so I'm not sure if New Hampshire is my first choice. However, if they want me and need me to work for them then why not?

It sounds like a pretty awesome organization, and I would be honored to work for them wherever they put me.

City Year unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service, giving them the skills and opportunities to change the world. 

 

As tutors, mentors and role models, these diverse young leaders make a difference in the lives of children, and transform schools and neighborhoods in 19 U.S. locations and one in Johannesburg, South Africa. Just as important, during their year of service corps members develop civic leadership skills they can use throughout a lifetime of community service.

Together we’re building a citizen service movement that is larger than our organization, our lifetime, and ourselves.

Pretty neat huh?

Books

First of all: My apologies to Jessica because today's post was supposed to feature my bread pudding I made from her recipe. However, due to fast Sunday with Navajo tacos and baking about 4 dozen snickerdoodles I just didn't have time or the appetite. BUT I do have the ingredients and will be making it very soon! I wouldn't want the bread to go bad.

I love books. I really do! Much like my taste in music, my taste is books is extremely eclectic. I like Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Jonathan Safron Foer, Mark Z. Danielewski, J. K. Rowling, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkein, Dan Brown, Stephanie Meyer (guilty pleasure), Thomas Hardy, Louis Sachar, Victor Hugo, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Aeschylus, Homer, Arthur Conan Doyle, the Bronte Sisters, anyways you get the point.

My reading group finally got around to picking our read aloud book for the semester. And the winner is:

I was personally pulling for The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis, but it was ultimately the kids' decision. And the only reason I kind of didn't want to read this one was because I have already read it more times than I care to admit. Despite my unwillingness, I am pretty excited to hopefully recruit a few more Harry Potter fans!

This summer I made it my goal to read Les Miserables, the complete unabridged version. It may have took me the better part of three months, but I did it! I'm sure glad I did, too. Maybe it was a little bit unnecessarily verbose at times, but geez does that man know how to craft words. What really fascinates me is the fact that it was originally written in French, and even the translated English version is so beautiful you would never know it was not originally written in that language. It is not often that a book can make me cry. As a matter of fact, I can't think of any other instance where one has, but this one did. It is a beautiful story, and unlike most extremely long books, definitely worth the time and effort of reading.

That being said, the point of this post is that I am reading A Tale of Two Cities right now (the two are related because of the French Revolution themed plots). Well, to be precise I am rereading A Tale of Two Cities. I read it once my sophomore year of college, and I couldn't for the life of me describe the plot anymore; I'm not ever really sure if I knew what was going on when I read it. Therefore, I have decided to read it again. 

I really do love Dickens. I absolutely hated him when I was forced to read Great Expectations as a 13-year old freshman in high school. However, when I finally picked up another Dickens novel, Oliver Twist, about 5 years later I loved it. Since then I have read Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, Nicholas Nickleby, and A Christmas Carol. I have a running tradition of reading A Christmas Carol every year before Christmas day is over. 

Anyways, books are good! I highly recommend picking one up! I am also full of lots of good recommendations.

Concert and a few other things

I went to see The Used tonight with my roommate Janell. It was probably the best Used concert I have been to (tonight made #4). I thoroughly enjoyed myself, got really sweaty (even some that wasn't mine), got my nose smashed a little, got elbowed in the face, had my head used as some random girl's personal tripod, got cracked in the back of the head by a crowd surfer, and danced and sang to my little heart's content. It only took about 15 oz. of mighty mango fruit juice, another 24 oz. of Smart Water, and a 3 Musketeer to completely recover from the slight dehydration and light beating. Plus Bert sang Blue and Yellow for the first time ever in concert. I was only a few people back from the front so that made it even better. I also have a collection of band memorabilia including set lists, drum sticks, and guitar picks. I never had anything from The Used....until tonight that is:

I found this little beauty on the floor after the concert was over. I may have picked it up and hid it in my pocket from the girl that was possibly looking for it, but hey who's to say whether that's what really happened or not? It also has Quinn's name on the back! Wooooo!

Yeah, it's a little blurry, but you can see how close I was.

My favorite member or the band by far is Quinn Allman. I think he is rather adorable:

I was supposed to go see Brand New last night. They are one of my favorite bands as well. How epic (not to mention a little ironic) a weekend would it have been to see Brand New one night and The Used the very next? Alas, the Brand New concert was postponed due to illness, wrecking my epic weekend in the making.

 Instead of Brand New, last night I ate sushi and went to see Whip It. I recommend them both. 

The Hurricane Roll at Sushi Ya is mmmmmmmm mmmmm good! (even more so that Campbell's Soup!)

I also loved Whip It! Ellen Page did a great job, and it featured Pot Kettle Black by Tilly and the Wall, a rather awesome band with a tap dancer as their main form of percussion. The movie wasn't the best made I have ever seen (it was Drew Barrymore's first attempt at directing), but she did a pretty decent job. Most importantly, I am now a firm believer that everyone should understand how roller derby is played because it is a pretty cool sport!

And she's not looking back!

Back when I was a wee little Pre-Comms major I took News Writing 211. For one of our assignments we had to write a feature on someone in the class. I found the one my friend LaKia wrote about me under my bed a few nights ago. And am now retyping it here for your reading pleasure.

She doesn't look like the average girl that goes to BYU. She doesn't dress like the average girl that goes to BYU. And she definitely doesn't sound like the average girl that goes to BYU.

With a distinctive southern accent, Rachel Finley, 19, is a sophomore majoring in pre-communications, but her heart and soul lies in music.

"I never get tired of listening to music."

Growing up in Maryville, Tenn., a suburb of Knoxville, Finley knew early on in her life that she wanted to make her mark in the music industry.*

"It's something I can do for the rest of my life because I love it so much," said Finley.

Her freshman year at BYU started off as any other. She had the typical first-time away from home jitters. She recalls her first day in the dorms with fondness.

She spent that day sitting in her dorm room, crying.**

She didn't begin to feel comfortable in her new surrounding until she met her roommate, Emma Wirkus, 19, from Cottonwood Heights, Utah.

"Fate brought Emma and I together," Finley proudly exclaims.

I might not have been fate so much  as the housing questionnaire they filled out prior to moving into Deseret Towers in August of 2005.

They both mentioned their love for alternative music, and because of this similar interest they wound up roommates and now best friends.

"Freshman year was weird," Finley said.

Coming from a high school where she was only one of three Latter-day Saint students, Finley found herself becoming overwhelmed at BYU.

Her saving grace became music.

Finley's love of concerts turned her second semester here into a bit of a challenge.

"I would go to concerts almost every week," Finley said.

A look through her room and you can get a sense of the fun she and her friends have had a concerts.

Posters from bands like Hellogoodbye and Saves the Day line her wall, and tacked to the bulletin board in her living room are tickets to future concerts.

In March, she's planning to go see Brand new and then two days later she's going to watch Cute Is What We Aim For, both in Salt Lake City.

Some of her favorite bands are The Shins***, Jack's Mannequin, Brand New, and Circus [Circa if you will] Survive.

The music she listens to also influences the way she dresses.

Don't expect to see her wearing the latest designs from Abercrombie and Fitch. Instead, you're more likely to see her in a t-shirt bearing her favorite band's likeness. In fact, two weeks ago she arrived to her news writing class wearing a pullover sweatshirt from a Brand New concert, only to discover another male student in the class wearing the same thing.****

This semester Finley is trying her hand at music, but instead of from a spectator vantage point, this time it's on the performance end.

She's taking university chorale, she's a member of the BYU 192nd Ward Choir and she's joining***** other ward members in a production of the Disney musical "Newsies" for the BYU 12th Stake "Spring Sing."

With her spending more and more time on the stage, Finley insists, "I'm no good at music." [Which is mostly true.]

That remains to be seen, but she does have aspirations to learn how to play the bass and someday starting her own all-female band.

Her goal, though, is to get into the business side of music.

She hopes to land internships at major record labels to learn the ins and outs of the industry.

She even wants to try her hand at directing music videos.

Being a girl from Tennessee, Finley knew that she would have to branch out in order to make it big someday.

"This was the time to get away," Finley said about her decision to go to BYU.

And she's not looking back.

*I actually wanted to be a doctor that moonlit as a a slushy man.

**I only cried for about 5 minutes after talking on the phone to Shanda that night.

***I didn't actually listen to The Shins back then even though I love them now.

****She didn't finish this part of the story. As a general rule, I hate having the same clothes as other people. I never wore said sweatshirt at BYU again.

*****No I didn't.

I was really happy when I read this. It reminded me how much fun I had my sophomore year.

 Of course it also mentions some not so fun times freshman year. It is true that I got so homesick sometimes freshman year that all I wanted to do was immediately apply to UT or ETSU and hop the next plane home (and I very nearly did several times). It's also true that music was my saving grace. Many nights I drove around with no destination listening to Green Day, My Lost Cause, Chiodos, Etc. at unnecessarily loud levels just to vent some frustration and not be sitting in my dorm room alone. 

Remembering these things only serves to make me realize how far I have come. I cannot even express how glad I am I stuck it out even at some of those seemingly desperate times. My experiences here have shaped me into the person I was always meant to become, and I love the fact that I can call BYU my Alma Matter. I have great memories, awesome friends, a major I enjoy, the best job, and and all together pretty wonderful life. And yeah the hard times were a part of getting here, but isn't that how it's supposed to be?

Eclectic

Just a few thoughts and things to share:

1.) I am a clumsy girl. I made myself bleed not once but twice today because of my sheer stupidity. First, I scratched my elbow so hard with my fingernail in the process of taking off my hoodie that it actually bled, and then again a few hours later I cut my hand with a knife in my hand when I got a sudden terrible itch in my ear (it's a kind of complicated situation).

2.) Nie Nie was on Oprah today. I obviously didn't get to watch it due to my lack of both cable and time. But I watched this clip. Not the best reporting skills, but it doesn't diminish her story. She is amazing.

3.) I made these:

I think they are adorable despite the fact I didn't get a very adorable kind of grade on them. I'm wearing them to bed tonight, and in my opinion they are perfect!

4.) Potential Halloween costume:

I already have the blue wig, dragonfly clip, and yellow jacket. All I need is the boots!

5.) I should not be a science teacher, and no one should have let me be one. I pretty much bored the pants off even my most attentive and cooperative students today with my bumbling attempts to explain how cell phones and circuit boards work.

6.) This time in two nights I will have attended the Brand New concert.

7.) This time in three nights I will have seen The Used.

The end

Marc Chagall

Why Teach for America should rue the day they rejected me:

Ok, maybe that was a bit of an overstatement, but I am pretty darn good at what I do. The kids seem to like me too (this sign was given to me by a girl I made move seats, yelled at just a little bit, and took away her headband after she threw it at another student). I think it says something when even the sometimes difficult students still like me. And even if it doesn't mean anything, it makes me feel good none the less!

We learned about Marc Chagall today. Not being the most informed in the art department, I had never heard of him til I saw a lesson plan based on his work on kinderart (thank heavens for this amazing site). He was a pretty cool guy, and made some amazing art. One of his most famous works is called I and the Village.

A lot of his works are based on the Jewish community in Russia where he grew up. Obviously, he was a painter who expressed his feelings rather than real life in his painting. I mean the man is green!

So with this painting as our inspiration I gave the children the assignment to draw an X across their paper and fill in each triangle with an animal, a person, what they're thinking about, and what they're dreaming about. Here are a few of the products from todays class:

I am deeply grieved to report that poetry week is officially dead! For some reason this year, the powers that be seem to think that we are unable to come up with our own lesson plans. For the next few days we have to read to all the kids as a collective after school group until someone has all the lessons planned for the rest of the semester. Let me just say what entertains kindergarten children does not work for 6th graders. I also spent at least an hour last night looking up songs and lyrics that rhymed so we could listen to music during class today...all for naught! I also wasted quite a bit of paper printing said song lyrics. Alas, I suppose this is just another testament to the fact that life is not fair (insert resigned sigh here).

Autumn in the South and Poetry

I recently blogged about missing my mountains in the fall. To continue in a similar strain, I also really miss the Allardt, Tennessee Annual Pumpkin Festival. This is a lifelong tradition for me, and this year marks the fifth year I have been unable to attend. This tiny festival in an even tinnier town is the epitome of a small town celebration complete with parade, beauty queens, car show, local crafts, home cooked food, a talent show, and face painting. As the name suggests, the main event of the Pumpkin Festival is the pumpkin weigh in. This year's winner:

New Record weighing in at

1,266.1 pounds

To read more about this delightful festival visit their website.

And on a different note; Remember this?

I showed up at work today in a not so uncommon situation of having no lesson planned and about 20 minutes to get one planned if I don't want to wing it with a class full of sometimes difficult 6th graders (definitely don't want that to happen). I went to the library to return some books I had borrowed for last week's lessons. Lo and behold, I spotted four of these books sitting on the shelf, and it was all gravy from there. I wanted to work haikus into my lessons this week, and seeing this book of poetry helped everything fall into place for a week devoted to poetry. I was very happy with the way that worked out, and the kids were pretty happy too (they don't know we're going to be focusing on poetry all week yet). However, I'm going to look at it in an interesting way by pulling in music, rap, presentation style, and a little bit of writing of course.

And to end this post here are some words of wisdom from the great Shel Silverstein:

PUT SOMETHING IN

Draw a crazy picture,

Write a nutty poem, 

Sing a mumble-grumble song,

Whistle through your comb.

Do a loony-goony dance

'Cross the kitchen floor,

Put something silly in the world

That ain't been there before.

Conference and Cooking

"The mist of darkness descends on all the travelers. . . .The successful travelers resist all distractions."

Can I just say how amazing Elder Holland's talk was today? If you missed it or are curious about the importance of the Book of Mormon to my religion please, please listen to this. I really like how he just said it like it is and made no apologies for it. It was the closest thing to a rousing sermon I have ever heard in general conference, and I loved it. It was one of the most vehement defenses of the Book of Mormon I have ever heard. It was definitely the highlight of the session. I loved the story he told about Hyrum and Joseph and the page that Hyrum had marked in the Book of Mormon, and he actually had the original book with him. I had also never heard the story about the brothers sharing their testimonies shortly before they were martyred. I like what he says about incorrect explanations for the origins of the Book of Mormon.

"None of these frankly pathetic answers for this book has ever withstood examination because there is no other answer than the one Joseph gave as its young, unlearned translator."

and

"No wicked man could write this, and no good man would unless it were true."

I often times have trouble keeping my eyes open (which is different than sleeping) when watching conference from the comforts of my couch in PJs with a blanket. I felt absolutely no desire to close my eyes during his talk; it was rousing to say the least.

I also really appreciated President Monson's simple and powerful message to go out and serve.

All of the conference messages can be accessed through www.lds.org

On another completely unrelated note:

I made tartlets today. I was a little worried about the chocolate ganache because I used fat free half and half instead of heavy cream. For awhile I was unsure about whether it would ever set up, but it finally did. They look pretty delicious! (However, I must admit that the ones I made with Jessica this summer looked even better.)

Chocoate Ganache Tartlets

Lemon Curd Tartlets

(with pre-made Phyllo tartlet shells)

**Random thought:

Why are all the laundry mats south of campus closed on Sundays when the on-campus Wyview laundry mat is open? Hummmmm?!