Clogging video~

My teammate Sunny added a video of our performance to her blog! Check it out!

Mental Breakdowns and Ice-skating in clogging shoes!

Well, despite my slight breakdown, Thanksgiving was pretty good! I love hangin out with family! I have some of the best cousins, aunts, and uncles in the world and definately the coolest Grandma ever alive! I finished Wendi's cake and it looked alright! It was definately far from perfect, but the bride loved it and that's all that really matters! We had our first clogging performance of the season. Aside from the extremely slick floor, the counting mix-up, and the crazy security guard who didn't want to let us backstage without a dang stamp, it went very well! I messed up a couple of times, but I think it was a great first performance of our awesome dance! I hear it was quite funny, and my family tells me it was the best one to watch out of the whole show (granted-they may be a little biased)! The pj's were a great idea, and I think we looked super cute! I can't wait to show off the real dance on Wednesday! We have our big studio Christmas show Wednesday at 7pm at Mountain View High School--Everybody should come!

Don't Forget Your Toys

Happy Thanksgiving!

New Pictures

These are a few of the pics we took recently. Some are kind of dark because we ran out of sun!
PS--I finally saw Twilight! I actually really liked it, unlike most other people I know. It wasn't comparable to the book, but I didn't expect it to be. If you're too critical, you won't like it!

Two of the greatest Holidays ever celebrated..

number one: my birthday. haha, just kidding. Its not really one of the greatest holidays ever celebrated but it was definately fun. I went to Nightmare on 13th with Paige, Geoff, Spencer, Janae, and Kristie. We had dinner at The Bakery on 3rd east before going to the huanted house. It is my favorite place ever! They have really yummy sandwiches and the best strawberry-kiwi tarts around! We took two cars to Nightmare on 13th, Paige in Geoff in one, and the rest of us in the other. Paige was supposed to follow us, but didn't. So we get to the haunted house and,...no Paige. She called to ask me what street the haunted house was on, because they were clear to 27th and totally lost. Well, I will give you all one guess as to what street Nightmare on THIRTEENTH is on. lol. Well, Paige and Geoff FINALLY made it and we all went into the Haunted House. The line was probably the best part! If you've never been there, you should go just to see the awesome theatrics in line. The whole thing was fun, but at the end, one of the workers separated Kristie and me from the rest of the group. He made us wait behind for a while as the rest of our group kept going before letting us go. As a result, we were way behind and on our own in the pitch black. It was terrifying, but it was fun! After the nightmare, we drove to Emo's grave (got lost on our way, but eventually made it) and almost got caught trespassing at the cemetery by the cops! The night was super fun, but I have to admit the best part about it was probably the bag full of BLUE TOOTSIE ROLLS that Kris gave me! ONLY blue! It was amazing! lol. If you're totally lost about the significance of blue tootsie rolls, its kind of an inside joke about me. I'm obsessed with the blue ones and I always pick them out of the bag of colored tootsie rolls. So that was my bday!
Second: HALLOWEEN! I absolutely love halloween. I dressed as a geek with my shirt buttoned unevenly, floods, high socks that didn't match, awesome braids on the sides of my head, and toilet paper hanging out of my pants. Paige wore a hilarious 80's outfit. We went to gma's and had yummy stew (baked in a pumpkin) in pumpkin bread bowls and potion (wich was actually punch with dry ice). It was fun. After dinner we went to Saw V. The movie was lame, but i was entertaining to see Geoff's embarassment at being seen in public with the 80's rocker and the geek (he wasn't dressed up. We tried to convince him to be a tree because he's 6' 4", but he didn't go for that)!!!

My Adventurous Weekend and B-day Plans

This weekend has been very fun. It started a little early with Thursday night. We watched survivor and Grey's Anatomy as usual, then rented The Strangers. It was VERY scary! I would not recommend watching it alone. That was fun but Saturday was the best. We went to Boo at the Zoo. It was adorable! We saw a little girl (about four years old) dressed as the girl on Scooby Doo and the costume was perfect. Best costume of the day, hands down. The runners up were the penguin family and the pirate. After the zoo, I ran some errands with Rachelle before heading to dinner at Pei Wei with Bryant and Tyler. If you have never been there and you like Thai food, I highly recommend it. It has decent prices and great food! After dinner we watched Lost Boys, which was actually quite humorous and I loved it. Tyler then took us to "Emo's grave" in the cemetery in the Avenues. It was definately creepy. If you don't know the story, ask and I will tell you! We drove around for quite a while looking for "the other cemetery" that Ty was sure existed, only to discover that the "second cemetery" was just the upper end of the first cemetery! Bryant was the only brave soul (or maybe the rest of us were just the smart ones?)who touched Emo's grave, and he totally lost his shoe while running back to the car which I refused to leave--rolling the windows down was as far as I would go and that took courage lol. I ended up sleeping at Rachelle's, which was a little scary at first (no offense chelle). The couch I slept on was directly below the windows and Bryant had just serenaded us with the Freddy Kruger song before we walked to the apartment( 1,2 Freddy's comin for you....3, 4 better shut the door...5,6 get a crucifix...7,8 better stay up late...9, 10 never sleep again...Creepy eh?). Now the weekend is over and I'm at work feeling sick. I'm extremely nauseous and will not be going to school in the morning if I don't feel better soon, which I better be because we're going to PF Chang's for my birthday tonight! Oh--and we're going to The Bakery in and Nightmare on 13th on my bday (wednesday) if any of you want to join! I promise it will be very entertaining because I am going and I always make a fool of my wimpy self at haunted houses!!!

TAG

Five things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. clogging
2. softball
3. basketball
4. going to mutual activities
5. night games or basketball games every night

*Five things on my to do list today:

1. put laundry away
2. sleeo
3. print out reading assignments for school
4. clean room
5. pay some bills

*Five snacks I enjoy:

1. pineapple and cottage cheese
2. carrots with ranch
3. the homemade bread my mom just made
4. quesadilla my sis makes
5. candy corn (hurray for halloween!)

*Five things I would do if I were a millionaire:

1. pay off all my bills
2. go back to europe and many other places
3. put some in savings to compound interest
4. buy a grand piano
5. donate to Children's surgery international and Camp Hobe

*Five places I've lived:

1. Pleasant Grove
2. Orem
3. Logan
4. London
5. Provo

*Five Jobs I've had:

1. Domino's
2. Hollywood video
3. first choice home health
4. orem nursing and rehab
5. Utah Valley Regional medical center (current)

Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you’ve answered the questions on your blog.

1. Jill
2. Heidi
3. Sunny
4. Emily
5. Rachel

Yay for October!

I'm pretty sure nobody reads this blog, but I figure its more for myself than anybody else so I'm not going to care! I just watched the new and final Twilight move trailer! Its awesome! I am definately disappointed in a few things, but it still looks really good! Robert (as Edward) is even growing on me a little bit! I can't wait for the premiere! Check out the Twilight Trailer!
I went to the Haunted Forest with some friends a few days ago. I thought it was really fun. I love that kind of stuff. The two best parts were in the forest when the chainsaw guys corner you in a mini maze, and in Psycho Manor when we were followed by the little Jigsaw doll thing on his tricycle (from Saw). It was terrifying! I loved it. I can't wait to go to Nightmare on 13th and the Ghost story tour in SLC! I also went to Hee-Haws with the family. It was fun. We went on the trick-or-treat hay ride and made it through the corn maze. I also stupidly left my phone there, but luckily a good samaritan found it, called my mom (the number was on my recent calls list) and I was able to get the phone back! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and I am totally dressing up and celebrating on the 31st!
Other than the Halloween festivities, my life has been the same as usual: homework, homework, work at the hospital, and more homework with a lack of adequate sleep and very little free time. I love my classes and my job, but I miss sleeping in and bein irresponsible! haha. Luckily, its holiday season, and its also midterm!

Update and New Blog

It has been a little while since I last posted! I have been crazy busy with work and school. I love my classes, but they definately keep me occupied! My sister's birthday was a little over a week ago. It was fun! I made a Twilight cake and we went to Teppanyaki's for dinner. That was my first time eating there, and it was really yummy, and definately lots of fun! I must say, our chef was quite attractive! lol.
I got to see Aida at the Hale Center Theatre in Orem with some friends/cousins. It was great! Its still one of my favorites! It is definately worth seeing if you have the chance.
I can't believe September is almost over, but I must admit that I am totally excited for October. It is one of my favorite months, and not just for the obvious reason (my birthday lol). I love Halloween, and the weather this time of year is great too. It has been perfect convertible weather lately. Its not too hot, but not cold either. Perfectly comfortable weather to drive with the top down and I have been living it up as much as I can before awful winter comes along!
FYI: I started a clogging blog. Check it out if you have spare time and meet our amazing teammembers! They are all amazing dancers and incredible people! http://rockymountainunlimited.blogspot.com

Help!--Where Am I?

Ok, so I was going through some pics on my computer the other day, and I came across this one. I have NO CLUE where I am in the pic. Does anyone recognize it? Its kinda funny that I don't remember it at all, and the background is almost creepy when you don't know what it is haha...




This is my response to the book Out of the Dust. Its a great book, you should read it if you haven't already. If you have, you will understand the meaning of this pic. I'm not much of an artist, but I had fun!

Fun News!

We FINALLY found out what our clogging show routine will be. We are dancing to 9 to 5, and I think its going to be hilarious! We get to wear 70's office costumes like the outfits worn in the movie, and I'm totally going all out. I want a wig, and the ugly glasses with the chain around the neck, and the neckscarf...haha. It will be super fun! You will all have to come see it when we begin performing/competing it!

School is still goin pretty good. I missed class thursday and friday because I was feeling pretty crappy, but other than that school has been going great! It has made work better as well! Ever since school started, I have been going to classes monday through friday, and working friday through sunday. Its been really nice to work 3 in a row, then have 4 off. It gives me a nice long break, and by the time I go back to work, I'm actually excited to be there and it makes the job much more enjoyable. I am also in a better mood. I love it!

Yay!

Yay! I finally learned how to make my blog cute! I'm slowly learning all the tricks! I also learned how to put a picture behind my header. I didn't know what pic to put, but I decided I wanted something funny that kind of captures my personality....Did I succeed? haha.
Moving on...I started school and its fantastic. Its a little rough going back to 5 days a week, but I love all my classes. Even the grammar class, but only because the professor is great! Clogging starts again in a few days, and I cannot wait! I'm stoked to have class again (we took the month of August off).

Wow...its been a week already?

I had the opportunity to work in a mental health facility this past week. It made me think deeply about such facilities. Mental illness is a very sad thing. I know we have come a long way in our treatment of such patients, but yet, our treatment still seems somewhat harsh. Some of the caregivers are amazing and truly care about each patient on a personal level. Others do not. There are still many changes to be made!
That is my rant for the week... I have finally gotten completely settled into my new home. Its such an amazing location, and I absolutely love it! It is nice to be a mere five minutes away from work, rather than twenty to thirty. School starts in a few days, and I am actually very excited. I have been bored lately, and I can't wait to have something to do! I'm also extremely excited for some of my classes. There are a couple I am not so excited about though...like Modern English Grammar. Yuck. A whole semester devoted to nothing but grammar. Horrible eh? Oh well. It will be very beneficial in the future! Wish me luck at school!

Packing...

I am definately sick of packing, and I'm almost done! Of course, packing is more fun than the actual moving. Luckily, I have amazing friends who are all willin to help me haul boxes from house to house! I'm totally going to owe them big time. Oh, I guess I should mention for those who don't know that I'm moving to Provo this week. I will be living in a duplex behind Albertson's and 24 hour fitness. Its really old, but totally adorable. It definately has personality, which I love about it! My cousin will be moving next door to me in a couple of weeks, which will be fun!

Other than packing constantly, this week has been pretty uneventful, but I did get to see Mamma Mia a second time! I laughed even harder and fell even more in love with the movie the second time! If you haven't seen it yet, you definately should. It is the ultimate feel good movie.

Well, that's it for this week! I'm off to finish packing!

"Breaking Dawn"

Well, I'm a total crazy nerd and went to the release party for "Breaking Dawn" at Border's, proudly wearing my team Edward T-shirt. It was actually quite fun. As Midnight grew closer things got a little hectic, but its all part of the experience! Kristie and I went at 8am to line up for a wristband to get into the party that started at 9:30 pm that evening. The wristbands each had a number on them,which was your place in line at midnight. I was number 129. My goal was to be in the first 100,which obviously didn't happen, but I was happy not to be number 1600(yes, the line really was that long). It was insane. As we left the store with our shiny new books, we looked back at the winding line in the parking lot that looked like a line for a Disneyland ride! It was intenst.

WARNING---THE REST OF THIS BLOG CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!

I finished a few hours ago and I loved it. I'm a little obsessed with the books and, wanted to know what others thought. So, I googled some discussion boards and read the reactions. Sadly, majority of them are extremely negative. It seems almost everybody hated the book and thought it was a horrible letdown. Personally, I thought it was perfect. There were little details that sucked, like the name Renesmee, and the fact that Renesmee seemed to take all the attention from Edward. Edward was more in the background. People also seemed to really hate the section in Jacob's POV. I loved it! It made me like Jacob, which I didn't think was at all possible. I was completely surprised by the whole pregnancy thing, and I thought it was cool. People are also complaining that Bella didn't really have normal "newborn" tendencies. I expected that. I guessed that her weird ability to block vampire powers would somehow allow her to block her own thirst. Maybe that what it was, maybe it was really just the fact that she planned the whole process out beforehand. Either way, it was what I expected and I loved it. I loved how powerful she was. The first three books all allude to the possibility of Bella becoming extremely powerful. I loved the perfect happy ending. It was a great way to end the book. I actually thought Jake imprinting on Renesmee was cute and funny and a good compromise. I'm glad Bella and Edward had their moments, but that is the one thing I would have changed---MORE BELLA AND EDWARD MOMENTS! I love Edward's parts in the first three books, and I sort of missed his charisma in book 4. The wedding and honeymoon were both perfect. Could not have been better. I think the book was the perfect ending for this amazing series, and I hate that so many people are having such negative reactions. It makes me feel bad for Stephenie. Then again, bad reactions are no reactions. Maybe the fact that so many people hate it, is proof that it really was a good book that gets to its readers!

A New Week!

Its Monday! Well, I guess its technically Tuesday morning now lol. Not much happened for me this week. I had a lot of fun with friends, and lost my puppy. It was sad. We had to sell Hugsy. He wasn't learning and began chewing things up, ruining the walls and mopboards, and returned to his old habit of peeing all over the house. We tried for weeks to make it work, but were unsuccessful. I had my last clogging class of the summer on Tuesday. We are taking August off and won't be starting again until September 4th. I'm already missing it! ;) We are learning a new dance in the category "Traditional Line". It sounds like it would be boring, or cheesy, but is really not. It is one of the funnest dances I have ever done! It is extremely upbeat and the steps are a blast! Maybe I will try uploading a video soon...I've never done it, but there's a first for everything! "Breaking Dawn", the fourth and final book in the Twilight saga, comes out Friday night! Kristie and I are totally going to the release party at Border's! Yes, we're nerds. We know, and we don't care lol. I am interested to see the team Jacob vs. team Edward debate. If anybody would like to join us, you just have to reserve a book at the store (you don't have to actually pay until Friday night) and then pick up your wristband Friday morning. The wristband gets you into the party, and has a number on it, which is your number in line for the book at midnight! Oh, and I'm looking for a cheap apartment to live in, so if anyone knows of any, please let me know!

Powell

Well, I'm back from Lake Powell. I've actually been back for a week now, but I've been slow on the blog front! Every year, my extended family camps out at Lone Rock, Lake Powell for a week. We all come from Texas, California, Utah, and Arizona. Its a huge trip with tons of people, and tons of fun. This year we had a grand total of 3 boats, 4 waverunners, two dirtbikes, two "floating trampolines", 3 tubes,1 wakeboard, 1 kneeboard, 5 pair of skis, countless amounts of "floaties", 10 tents, three trailers, 5 gazebos, 12 cars/trucks, and about 50 European neighbors. (I had to throw in the europeans just for fun. There were tons of them, and they all got stuck in the sand. My dad was the lucky guy who got to pull them all out of the sand. He got offered many beers, but turned them all down. Some of them even gave him cash lol. Watching people get stuck was our entertainment during meals haha.) This year, Powell was a blast, as usual! I actually didn't get sunburned! Of course, we had our usual "tube wars" for hours everyday. For those of you who don't know what that is, we pull two tubes behind the boat instead of just one, and you try to jump onto the other person's tube and knock them off, into the water before they do the same to you. It is super fun...it sounds really dangerous, but we've been doing it for years now, and nobody has ever gotten more than a simple tube rash! I beat my cousin Tim 3-1! He's usually the best at stuff like that. I'm sure it was hilarious for the little kids in the boat watching two adults wrestle on the tubes! We went cliff-diving, as usual, but it wasn't as great this year. The water raised so much that the cliffs we usually go to were completely submerged. As a result, we were forced to find new ones, and they just weren't as perfect as the others. I thought I broke my leg one day, when my brother did a donut on the waverunner, and threw me off the back (we were both on the waverunner, he was driving). As I fell, I slammed my leg on the footrest, which was quite painful, but I recovered by the next morning with nothing but a few bruises! We went on a tour of the damn this year. We've been going to Lake Powell every summer since I was a little kid, and we've never taken the time to actually go inside the damn, so it was pretty interesting. The weather could not have been better. Every year, we encounter one big storm while camping at the Lake. This year, the storm came our first day, which made setting up a little difficult, but it was over quick and never came back! The rest of the week was beautiful! Every year, my favorite part of the trip is campfire. Every night we build a fire and hang out around it for hours. Its fun to see cousins from other states that I don't see very often! My family is amazing! This year, everybody remembered there guitars and fiddles, which made campfire extra fun (my family is a little obsessed with music,especially my Grandpa). The trip was a success, and I can't wait for next year!

Week in Review

Well folks, I'm gettin ready to head to Lake Powell for a week! Here is a quick lowdown on the past week before I head outta town again. I recently returned from Yuba, where I had some fun with my famous belly-boarding, and also acquired a nice fat lip. When I got home, I spent a lot of time painting my sister's bedroom. Three walls are white with blue, green, and yellow polka dots and dragonflies. The fourth wall is blue. It is adorable, but of course, I got stuck doing all of the work. I tired of painting, but It was fun, and it helped having Kris there to finger paint herself for entertainment! I have spent the past two days sleeping and working, but it hasn't been too bad.

Now I'm hoping that the super hideous cold sore I have on my lip (my souvenir from my weekend in Yuba) will go away before I leave for Powell Sunday morning. We'll see. I can't wait for my lip to be a normal size again! Its about 3 times its normal size right now-no joke! Yuba was hot, but really fun. It was nice to get away and relax, and I can't wait to do the same at Powell! It will also be awesome to have ten days off work!

Brit Lit Cake explanation

A few of you have asked what wedding cakes have to do with British Literature, so I guess I should offer an explanation. As part of the requirements for the class, we we had to complete a creative project that took a minimum of ten hours to complete. It could be basically anything that tied into either a piece of literature we studied, or on of the time periods that we studied. I knew I wanted to do something I would enjoy, and that would be worthwhile, but had absolutely no ideas. The Victorian Era was my favorite time period that we studied in class, so I began researching Victorian traditions online. I happened to find a few websites about Victorian Wedding Traditions. One tradition was that the wedding cake had three parts. There was a big intricate wedding cake, much like the ones we have today, and there were two smaller cakes. The first small cake was the bride's, and it was a simple white cake, with white fondant. The second small cake was a dark cake for the Groom. Inside the small cakes, were charms for the bridal party. The charms would each symbolize something such as good luck, the next to fall in love, next to have a baby, and so on. Well, I am currently in the process of teaching myself how to decorate cakes, and I loved the Victorian wedding tradition. So, I decided to make a traditional Victorian wedding cake for my creative project. I only posted pictures of the main, intricate cake, but I made the two smaller cakes as well! One of the websites mentioned that the main cakes were usually decorated with white fondant, floral patterns, and the primary color was often blue. So, that is how my wedding cake tied in to my British Literature class!

In defense of Anne Boleyn, a Heroine

I just finished watching "The Other Boleyn Girl," and I am now furious. The film is quite inaccurate historically and it portrayed Anne as a terrible, manipulative girl. I believe she was a heroine and a martyr. Many historical texts view her in a negative light, simply because most of them were written by her enemies, the same enemies who plotted against her. The film was incorrect with dates and the sequence of events, and many important details were either forgotten or purposelly avoided. In real life, there were some members of court who were not happy with Anne because she lessened their power. They framed her, and had her executed. Obviously, their writings about the Queen will be against her. Anne Boleyn did more for England than any other ruler in such a short time. She forever changed the face of England. Now, to point out some inaccuracies in the film: First, Mary was actually older than Anne and was known as the beautiful one. Anne was the opposite of what society viewed as beautiful at that time. Mary was already a member of the French court when Anne was sent to France, which all happened before entering the court in England. Anne was in France for six or seven years, where she was educated and learned to speak French fluently. She was also exposed to many scholars and philosophers who opened her mind to a world beyond the Catholic Church. She became passionate about protestantism, and carried her passion with her to England. Second, Mary was exiled from the English court after marrying Stafford, who was below her in status. The marrieage made Anne furious. Mary never returned to the court to beg for Anne's life. The onely reconciliation the two sitsers had was when Anne sent Mary some money because she (Mary) was extremely poor, and struggling financially. It is also unknown whether Mary's first son, Henry was actually the son of King Henry VIII. Third, Although it is unknown exactly where it happened, King Henry VIII became enamored with Anne. By this time, Mary had been his mistress but was not any longer. Anne refused to become his mistress. Some say it was because, as in the film, she used her sexuality to gain power and the throne. I, as well as others, believe she did it for moral and intellectual reasons. She knew Kings moved on from mistress to mistress without a second thought, and she was smart enough to avoid such humiliation. She also had morals, and stood by them. I believe she simply had no desire to become a whore. She was headstrong and outspoken in the English court and with the King. Many hated her for it. I think she was brave. Women did not express themselves in those days. They simply did as they were told and followed society's expectations. Anne had tremendous courage and made a stand for her beliefs. Also, it is unkown who proposed the idea of marriage to whom between Anne and the King. The film made it look like it was Anne's plan. Some historical accounts claim that Anne did finally give in (though none claim the King took her by force as implied in the film), and the King was forced to divorce Katherine to save his son (which he believed anne carried) from illegitimacy. Others say that Anne was a virgin when she married the King. I have not read any accounts that say Anne married Percy. They met and fell in love, but both were previously betrothed. It was while waiting for Percy that Anne caught the eye of the King of England. She made the king court her for years, until Percy married someone else. This was when she became more willing to marry the King. Another detail left out in the film was the fact that before Anne was sentenced to death, her marriage to the King was announced void. It was proclaimed that the marriage was null and was therefore invalid and erased. If such was true, how could Anne have possibly committed adultery? The two proclamations counteract each other. The court overlooked such details in their haste to be rid of Anne. It was not shown very well in the film, but in reality, Anne was extremely close to her brother George. She was not able to see him much, especially while in France, and instead resulted to letters. They loved each other, but only in a sibling manner. There are many speculations of incest, though none were backed up with solid proof. The allegations against Anne in court were not well proven either. It was also not shown in the film that while in France, Anne gained a great interest in religious reform. It is possible that she may have shared such thoughts with Henry VIII, which would have led to hatred from Catholic members of the court. The film was correct in the fact that the downfall of Queen Anne Boleyn came about due to a malicious plot, but it was not run by her uncle. Though her uncle did announce Anne's sentence, the plot was led by Cromwell. Anne and George were not the only ones arrested. Several others were accused of adultery with the Queen as well. The film also ommitted Anne's final speech before her execution which is as follows:
"Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, according to law, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I come here only to die, and thus to yield myself humbly to the will of the King, my lord. And if, in life, I did ever offend the King's Grace, surely with my death, I do now atone. I come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that whereof I am accused, as I know full well that aught I say in my defense doth not appertain to you. I pray and beseech you all, good friends, to pray for the life of the King, my sovereign lord and yours, who is one of the best princes on the face of the earth, who has always treated me so well that better could not be, wherefore I submit to death with good will, humbly asking pardon of the world. If any person will meddle with my cause, I require them to judge the best. Thus, I take my leave of the world, and of you, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me."
I'd say that was quite a speech. How could anyone think her evil and malicious after such a speech? I do not know. Anne was a martyr. She was a pawn in many greedy plots by power-hungry fools. Anne's father was one such fool. He ordered Mary to become mistress to the king of France, and later to the King of England. He tried to do the same to Anne.
Lets not forget that she produced the famous Queen Elizabeth, one of the most renowned political leaders in the world. Elizabeth herself commended Anne, and proclaimed a love for her. Anne was hated simply because she had a mind of her own. I do not find such a characteristic a fault, but rather a marvel.

New Car

This is my new car! I know most people think PT Cruisers are hideous or that they look like herses, but I love it! I don't really like regular PT Cruisers, but I absolutely love the convertible! Its my dream car, and its super fun!

Personal Statement to "Clear the Air"

I know I just posted my cake blog yesterday, but you're just going to have to put up with me again today! I was looking at some pictures from London on my friend's facebook page and it all seemed super surreal. Its sometimes hard to believe that just one year ago, I was having the time of my life in London, England! It was the most amazing school semester ever! Each time I look at pictures I remember how much I miss Europe. For those of you who do not know, Kristie and I have decided to move to Germany. It won't be until after I graduate, so we've still got some time in the US. I haven't told very many people, but the reactions have all been interesting. Some people have said basically nothing, others thought it was awesome and acted all excited, and a few were a little upset. some were beyond upset. I just want to let everyone know that I am not moving to Germany on a random whim, nor am I running away from any problems. I am not abandoning my parents or my siblings. I absolutely loved the time I spent abroad, especially in Germany, and Kris and I researched Munich a lot before making the decision to move. When I changed my major to English Education, I just knew it was right. I could feel it. Everybody supported me in that decision, and said that if it felt right, then it probably was and nobody doubted me. Well, Germany FEELS right. We made the decision weeks ago,I switched from Spanish classes, to German classes at school, and we have started looking into our options as well as requirements to live there legally. Ever since the day we officially decided to save up and go for it, I have been waiting for that awful gut feeling, the nagging in the back of my mind, and the second thought. They haven't come. Also, since that day tons of random things have happened pertaining to Germany. I keep running into people who have lived there, and they all have nothing but positive things to say. I have stumbled across awesome programs that help people move abroad, as well as some really neat language learning programs, and it has all just happened. Personally, I'm not going to write it all off as a coincidence. Contrary to some people's thoughts, I am not planning to run away to Germany and marry some guy. If I move there and happen to meet "the one", so be it. I'm not going to ban dating the entire time I'm there (which will be a minimum of one year, hopefully more). I am extremely excited, and I hope my friends and family will be able to trust me and support me in my decision. I know it will be difficult, and I will definately miss people, but I also think it will be worth it. I have some of the most amazing friends I could ask for, and I hope they will still be around when I get back. I won't be leaving for at least a year and a half, and if I do happen to meet someone around here and get married (which some of you have expressed you wish would happen), then there is a good chance my plans will change, but as of right now, I don't see that happening! Until then, I will just have to spend as much time with the people I love as I possibly can! For those of you who have doubts, I hope this helps to clear some of them up. If not, please talk to me about it!

My Current Project

This is the cake I'm currently working on for a project in my British Literature class (ya, I know it sounds odd). It has been time consuming, but I love it! It is exactly what I would want for my own wedding.

Teenagers,shakes, and 80's aerobics!

I was driving down the street with my cousin last week, and we saw a group of teenagers playing a game in which you freeze in some random pose everytime a car passes by as you're walking down the street or hanging out outside. We laughed, and the sight sparked a conversation about high school, and the random things we did with our friends. I discussed the topic with another friend, and we talked about how much we missed the fun of high school, and doing random games such as the freezing game, thinking we were the coolest people on the planet. I mentioned that I never really got bored in high school because my friends and I could always find something to do, even if it was simply taking a trip to walmart to see who could find the most ridiculous outfit. So, last night, my cousin and I were in crazy moods. Anybody who knows us, knows that when we get into our random moods, we are very spontaneous and do whatever comes to mind. We started the night by driving by a house we want to rent in Provo. As we were driving home, we talked about how long it had been since we'd had one of those really yummy shakes from Granny's in Heber...so we drove to Heber. We then went to Kristie's house to pass some time until we concocted our next great plan. We played DDR on the wii, which happens to be one of the best games ever made. We quit when we had worn ourselves out, and sat around the living room talking to the little sis. As we were in there, Kris found an old 80's workout video and we decided it would be fun to do some good ol' aerobics. So we did. It was hilarious! Remember those old excercise shows with the leotards, tights, leg warmers, and sweat bands? Ya, thats the one! We followed the tape for about 45 minutes. We then grabbed Kristie's little sister, and took her for a walk around the block with us so we could play the freeze game. We got really into some of our poses, ranging from Karate Kid to Charlie's Angels. Yes, we did get soaked in the rain. Yes, we were a bit immature. Yes, I did feel a little bit stupid when I heard some guys in one of the cars that drove past us laugh at our poses. Yes, it was one of the funnest nights of my entire life.

here it goes again...

So, in the past I have had many different jobs. I generally get bored easily, and once I'm bored I make changes--sometimes drastic, sometimes simple. Now, that I have finally found a job that has not bored me at all the past year and that I absolutely love, I actually HAVE to find a new one. Ironic eh?
Anyways...this week has been a pretty good one. I had a clogging performance on tuesday. It was the funnest performance I have ever been to. It was in Cedar Hills Park, which is totally gorgeous, and it was such a nice day! Some of my best friends were there, which made it even more fun! I'm still totally stoked to be clogging again! I'm also totally stoked that monday is the last day I have to go to one of my classes, which means that I will no longer be waking up early (at least until August...)!
On Wednesday I got some new pictures from my trip to Europe from a friend and some of them are quite hilarious pictures! They are the pics that were at the top of this blog.
I saw some new pictures of my friend's new baby today, and he is definately one of the most adorable little guys I have ever seen! And that's sayin something considering the fact that I work at a hospital and see hundreds of babies come through the nursery, lol!
Lets see...I don't think anything else has really happened lately...oh wait---I got a new phone! I finally have a camera phone again! yay! I had to drive to Kaysville to pick it up from the girl I was buying it from, so I stopped in Salt Lake on the way home. Kris, Kelsie, and I went to The Bakery (yummiest french bakery in the country), and then over to the British store where I bought some of my favorite treats that I miss very much from England! It was fantastic! I bought some Alpermilch ritter sports, caramel McVities, the red fanta flavor that I drank all the time in London, and a galaxy caramel! All of which were my favorites while I was living over there!

Week in Review

Well, another week has come and gone. I went to clogging nationals friday and saturday. Friday I competed in freestyle. For those of you unfamiliar with the clogging world, freestyle is an individual event. Each dancer performs a 40-count routine (approximately) to whatever music the competition provides. The levels are novice, beginner, intermediate, advanced, championship, and pro. Before I quit clogging the first time, I was competing freestyle in pro. However, I was afraid to do so this time around, and registered for championship, wich was a good thing. My routine was disaster. I panicked on stage and performed a routine that was not in any way similar to the routine I had previously prepared and practiced. I took 3rd place, which is no good! I hope to learn from my mistakes, and do better next year! My freestyle may have been a disappointment, but the team dances went amazingly well! We placed 1st in all three dances, including the one in the pro category! It was exciting! It was also fun to spend the day at lagoon, even thought I got another sunburn! I rode "Wicked" for the first time. It was fun, but terrifying! It literally goes straight up, then straight down, then into the normal roller coaster, including a corkscrew. I was in the front row, and was sure I was plummeting to my death when I saw the ground rushing at me on our way downward! It was fun to be back at nationals, after too many years off! I wish I had stuck with it! I'm hoping to keep working at improve before next year's competitions! I spent the night in a hotel friday night, because I did not want to drive back and forth to Lagoon twice. It was a nice break, but I left my pillow at the hotel! It was my favorite pillow that I sleep with every night! I called today, and they had already thrown it away! Sad story! :)

Hugsy Update

My sister and I got a dog today! I absolutely love him! He is a giant furball and is super fun to cuddle with! He is as lazy as can be, but we love him anyway. I love that he doesn't shed! He is a shitzu and we named him Hugsy after Joey's penguin on friends. My brother calls him Gurgy like the animal on either black cauldron or the sword in the stone-I can't remember wich it is. He could probably use a haircut. He looks really fat, but then when you pet him, there is nothing there! He is ALL fur! He is only four months old, and is already twice his mother's size, but I don't think he'll get much bigger. Buying Hugsy has made my week awesome! I also played mariokart on nintendo Wii this week, which was a blast, as always! I still love school, even if I do have enough reading assignments to last a lifetime!

Some of the Cakes I have Made

This is the latest cake I have made. I made it for my little sister's cake auction at her elementary school. It was supposed to be colorful!

This is one that I just made for fun. I wanted to practice working with fondant and making a flower other than a rose!

The red, green, and white cake below is the one I made for my friend's wedding!

Tattoo!

Ok, so tons of people are either asking about my tattoo or staring at my leg and wondering if its real, but pretending not to notice.
Yes, I have a tattoo on my leg, and yes, it IS real and I love it!

Back in Utah and Lookin' Like a Fried Racoon

Well, I'm bck in Utah...Unfortunately. It was beautiful in California! On thursday, it was around 80 degrees most of the day! I put sunblock on, but only once in the morning. I then proceeded to wear sunglasses all day. I now have a raccoonish tan line around my eyes. I also have tan lines on my shoulders, chest, back, and wrist. I'm also peeling on my nose, forehead, and ears. Its super hot--not. :) Oh well, it was fun and by tomorrow, I will have an awesome tan (hopefully)! The trip was fantastic. We spent three days in Disneyland and one in Sea World. We rode every ride. Space Mountain is still my favorite, but Atlantis definately rivals it! The drive was surprisingly fun as well. We played games and sang along to our CD's. I was sad to come home, but I will hopefully be going back in June!
Now, I'm going to go enjoy my one week off of school and I will post pictures from my trip as soon as I get them uploaded! Oh--and I have my first clogging performance with my new team this Saturday at Thanksgiving Point! I'm totally stoked!

Another Week

Well, I like to write at least one post a week but this week wasn't extremely eventful. Hoever, It was very eventful for many of my friends! One friend bought her GORGEOUS wedding dress, while another went into labor with her first baby!
I went to The Civil War, a musical at Hale Center Theatre, with my friend. It was great! We both loved it. The soundtrack is fantastic! We weren't able to see the famous Merrell Osmond star in the show, but I can't imagine anyone doing a better job than the actor we saw. After the show, I had an amazing conversation with one of my very best friends.
Over the weekend, I watched conference with some more very good friends, including the one I had the conversation with. After conference, we watched a bunch of movies. On saturday, we had a girl's night while the men were at the priesthood session. We watched chick flicks in our pajamas and ate pumpkin pie crisp, which happens to be my all-time favorite dessert! Its super yummy!
I was totally bummed when I woke up this afternoon and saw snow in my window! I'm totally ready for summer. I can't wait to go to Disneyland next week! However, knowing my luck it will probably rain the whole time. Oh well, I love the rain! ;)

Impossible! Make a legal U-turn and return to the nearest road!

Well, I just returned from my short vacation to St. George with my fantastic clogging team! I have to say, every girl on that team is super adorable and I love them all (even though I just met them...)! The weekend was fun and exciting! My team won first placces for their dance in both championship and pro levels, and they even won an overall award! For those of you who do not know what that is, our team was in the top 4 out of 27 teams of all ages! They also contributed to two overall studio awards. I didn't dance in the competition, but I was the camera man...well woman. It was fun to watch all of the dances from each studio. I have missed it so much!
Aside from winning, our team had loads of fun hanging out at the incredible condo one of the girls got for us. We had some very interesting-- but hilarious conversations, laughed so hard we cried at things that probably wouldn't have been funny in any other situation, some of us sat in the hot tub or kicked shoes at the car window, we all giggled at the snoody GPS system, and Robyn even went for a little treasure hunt on the kitchen counter (yes--we are an adult team) lol. The GPS system will forever be an inside joke within the team, as well as blue tootsie rolls.
I wasn't sure I wanted to go at first, but I'm glad I did. It was worth going to get to know the team and learn more about who they all are. Each member has her own incredible experiences and stories to share and everybody brings something unique to the group! They are so talented! I will post pictures as soon as I can find my cord and get them on my computer!

Attitude

I know this is no new concept, but lately I have realized just how huge of a difference one's attitude can make in any and every situation, be it good or bad. I decided to try to be more positive about school, and I have to say--I'm totally excited for this summer semester! I never thought I would be excited about summer school, but I am! Its nice to look forward to school instead of dreading it. It makes it much more bearable! Hopefully, it will make a difference on my transcript because my grades will go up! ;) Life in general seems to be better as well! Yay!

"Going Crazy"

So, I'm sitting at work and I'm going crazy! I'm assigned to do what's called a 1:1. That is where a PCT is assigned to only one patient and they sit in that patient's room for their entire shift, or until relieved by someone else. It can be fun, but mostly it just makes for a really long night. Tonight, I get to sit here in the dark for another 6.25 hours (i've already been here for 6). Its not so bad when I have homework to do, but unfortunately I do not, hence the blog. I also realized their are lots of things that "drive people crazy". Mishaps, petpieves, and many other things. I want to know what makes you all "go crazy"! Feel free to comment!

Admission of the Absurd

So, I know this is going to sound completely absurd and crazy...but in case you don't already know...I am terrified of deer! Everytime I see them while driving, I do everything I can to avoid driving by them. My brother makes fun of me, but I don't care. I'm still terrified. Maybe I had an extremely horrific experience with the "Grandma got Ran Over by a Reindeer" song as a child...Who knows? All I know is that I just about got run over by a deer myself about five minutes ago. I walked out of my front door and toward my car, just as a deer came pouncing around the corner of my house, missing me by not more than an inch! No joke--it really happened, and I about peed my pants (after almost falling down the porch stairs as a result of jumping and screaming hysterically). Seriously...look at the picture above and tell me those eyes aren't evil.

YAY! That's all I can say about this week!

Jilly--No I didn't end up making a cool snow creation, but I did play around in it! It was freezing!
So, this week has been amazing! I am going to tell you all why--First, my friend from Cali came home for a visit and its been tons of fun seeing her again! She is awesome! Second--I heard from my friend who is serving a mission in England for the first time since she left (its only been a week, but still...)!
Third--I joined a clogging team yesterday! Best decision I have made in a long time! I absolutely love it and I have only been to class once so far, lol! It is so exciting and fun to be clogging again! I knew I missed it, but I never realized just how much until I went to class last night. I can't imagine ever quitting again! The test will be whether it all comes back to me or not--hopefully it will be like "riding a bike".
Fourth--I'm SO stoked that the writer's strike is ENDING! That means that in April, I will get to see more Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives! yay!
Oh and ps--Does anyone watch one tree hill? I'm about to kick the stupied nanny,Brooke's mom, Peyton, Lucas, Lindsey, and Hailey! Its crazy!
Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day and a great week! Tell me all about them!

Snow, Snow, and More Snow

We live in Utah where we rarely got "snow days" in school...instead we walked through the piles of white powder on our way to class and dealt with it. So, when they cancel church due to snow, you know its bad. Well, that is exactly what happened in my neighborhood today! CRAZY! I am tired of the snow, and will forever hate driving in it, but I have decided to make the best of the situation. Tomorrow I'm going to go outside and build an enormous snowman to guard my snow fort (which I will also build tomorrow) and my little sister will be my accomplice! :)