Knock-Knock jokes, Asian Style

I really like knock knock jokes. A LOT! But I've discovered that there is one thing that I like more than knock-knock jokes.......and that is knock-knock jokes with an ASIAN. They usually go like this.


Me: "Knock-knock"

Lucienne: "who's there?"

Me: "Chad"

Lucienne "........*whispers* Um.......what do I say next?"

Me: *almost wets myself from laughing so hard"

That's all.

THANKFUL THURSDAYS

Today is Thursday, and today I am thankful for oh so many things:

• Bright red lipstick
• Bright red high heels
• Makeup!
• My pink snuggie! (Seriously, the bomb.)
• The new curtains our landlord put up in our apartment.
• Chelsie, for letting me rearrange every room in our apartment.
• My mom for being as addicted to shoes as I am
• Carrie Underwood
• Knock Knock jokes
• My Asian for always making me laugh (even when she is trying to be completely serious)
• New friends that I've made
• Second chances
• Apostles and the books that they write to help us learn and grow more
• BYU Bookstore, specifically the LDS section.
• JOURNALS!
• 7-layer Bean Dip
• 2 weeks off of school
• ACTF
• Being able to do a show this next semester
• The Disney store, for liking me and wanting to offer me a position, because I'm THAT good!!
• Dancing in the shower.
  
• My family

Just a short list, I know. I am thankful for too many things! Bahaha.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! (Really!)

It's Christmas time! I can't believe this year has gone by as fast as it did. There are so many things that happened this year, just thinking about writing it all down for a quick little "re-cap" makes me a little discouraged. Never fear, something of that nature will come sooner or later. I don't have much time because my family and I are about to start our annual fix of "24", but I wanted to write just a bit about how wonderful today was!


As you can see, that clock says 6:00. Yes, that is what time we wake up Christmas morning to open presents. Don't ask me how that got started, but I ONLY remember opening presents that early. I usually don't have a problem falling asleep or waking up during the night before Christmas, but I do have to keep in mind that I still have a 13 year old brother who was soooo excited last night. (sometimes I wish i was younger again, just to feel like that!)

Usually at 6:00 in the morning, it's like pulling teeth getting everybody out of bed (Even though we all secretly LOVE IT). My parents take FOREVER, and everybody is so groggy. I view Christmas as the only day that I can jump on everybody's bed in the morning to wake them up, and NOT get in the least bit of trouble for it! Unfortunately, that luxury was not given to me today, because BOTH my parents were ALREADY awake and ready to go, and my siblings were just waiting in bed. Talk about disappointing...

Christmas was absolutely wonderful. And not even the gifts. I mean, don't get me wrong, that was all amazing, and I feel so grateful to have such wonderful parents who care so much about us. But just being with the family was FUN. Sometimes (hahaha), we have such a good time together, and today was one of those days. I am going to leave this post for now and just post some pictures of the day. (Which included TWO SEPARATE NAPS for me....) Merry Christmas!


Santa came to visit! Thank goodness, I was worried for a moment...


My mom took this picture. It's blurry because she was wearing her reading glasses and focused the camera according to that.


We always go to the Tree Room in Sundance for our Big dinner of the year. Here are all the "kids".


My amazing parents!


Can you tell we are related? Yeah, me too...

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A WONDERFUL DAY!

HELLo eyeballs...

I have eyeballs from hell. Literally. FROM. HELL. Two summers ago I started having some eye problems. They would burn, then water, then burn, and then I'd get queezy and dizzy, etc. I couldn't look into the light, I would start crying on stage....it was a pretty awful experience. So, the Merrills, (owners of the Playmill, the theater I was at) gave me 3 days off to go to Utah and see some specialists about my eyes. It was nice to have a break from the hard work of the summer, but spending it at doctor's offices was kind of lame. Needless to say, I have 4 cataracts in my left eye. The Doctor said they were small enough that there is a good possibility that they would go away. I got a different brand of contacts (a brand that would give more oxygen to my eyeballs) and was sent on my way. Truth be told, I haven't really had a problem with my eyes since then.

Until yesterday.

Lucienne, my Asian, slept over at my apartment a few nights ago. When we woke up yesterday around 10, I couldn't open my eyes. I mean, I could open them, but they burned and hurt too much to open them, so I chose not to. Lucienne went home, and I stayed in bed with a pillow over my face until 2 in the afternoon. Pretty pathetic, I know. I couldn't look into light. I was getting queezy again, I couldn't see anything, and don't really know why. Driving my car is a nightmare, because I am basically doing it with my eyes closed. As thrilling as it is, I wish it would just go away. So here I am in my apartment, BY MYSELF, with all the lights off, blogging about my miserable experience.

At work last night, I was helping a guest and started crying. I mean, KELLY wasn't crying, but my eyes were. The lady was like "um....are you stressed out? It's ok, you can just keep the change..." It was nice of her to be so concerned, but I did feel a little sheepish and tried to laugh it off. But crying and laughing at the same time doesn't always work the way you would want it to....

So, in short, I would like to write a letter to my eyeballs.

Dear Eyeballs:

I am so thankful for the hard work you do, allowing me to enjoy beautiful colors and sights and experience life the way I have been able to. I know there are some people who don't have the blessing of eyesight, and I am grateful I am not one of them. HOWEVER, this "burning-so-bad-I-can't-get-out-of-bed" thing, and the "I-think-I-will-start-crying-now-because-it-seems-like-an-opportune-moment" thing NEEDS. TO. STOP. If it doesn't, there will be serious consequences.

With love,
Kelly's Brain.

If you have too many girlfriends, you can't remember their names.

This was the lesson I learned today from Ethan Ashby.

Ethan is THE NICEST boy in the whole world. Look at that sweet face. Do you think he could ever do anything wrong? I'm sure Emily would say yes, but every time I see him he is so kind and so happy to be alive! Love this little guy. This is conversation we had today about his "girlfriend", Holly Hatch. *wink* Sorry Em! Too cute!

Yesterday I got to go to my little brother's Soccer game. (again, he's a stud!) It was a great surprise to find my cousin Emily there with her two boys, Ethan and Aiden. Here are some pictures of our little adventure at the soccer game.

Me and Aiden. I know, I'm smiling REALLY big, but these boys were just making me laugh too hard!

Ethan wanted me to do the same silly face as he was doing. I look a little handicapped...

Me and Ethan, just chillin'. You know how we do.

While I was chasing Aiden around so Emily could take pictures of Hootie, Ethan felt it necessary to inform me that he was an evil buddy. Naturally, I took the liberty to record his "evilness". Enjoy Ethan's EVIL laugh.

Gettin' My Disney On

Last night was a late night at work. The Mall thinks its a really good idea to keep itself open until 11 for the holidays. I guess there are such a thing as "last minute shoppers". I hate those people. They make me stay at the mall until the wee hours of the morning.

With that said, I don't have my Christmas shopping done. Yes. I understand the irony of my last paragraph. But I'm not the one who is shopping at 11 at night. No, I do it during the day, like NORMAL PEOPLE.

At work last night, I realized that in order to be the best employee possible, I had to become somebody that I absolutely hate! There is nothing that bothers me more than being harassed by Sales Associates. If I have a question, I. Will. Ask. You. I don't need you hovering over me telling me about your newest sales. Unlike some of the other people, I can read all the signs hanging in the stores. So I have a hard time wanting to smile at people and ask them how they are and what they are doing at the mall because....well, lets connect the dots. It's Christmas. They are shopping for presents. Like most people, they have no idea what they are looking for, but just need to look around to get a few ideas. But so help me, that's my job, and when you walk into the Disney Store, my smiling face will be beaming at you until you walk out of that mall. Truth be told, I feel like that Barbie doll at the end of the "Toy Story" Movie: "Are they all gone? Buh-bye, buh-bye now!......Are they all gone? Oh my cheeks are killing me!"

Hootie is the MAN!

I just need to blog about my little brother.

For those of you who don't know, my little brother is a STUD! Seriously! Is there anything that he can't do? (yes, there is, but very few things!)

Hootie was a miracle child. For the first four years of his life, he was autistic. BUT, being the stud that he is, woke up one day and decided he wasn't going to be autistic anymore. Believe me, we are all glad he made that decision! :) But since then, he has just been excelling at everything ever since. Just to name a few things he's good at, star basketball player, star soccer player, star with the ladies (they all LOVE HIM! He's not a player, he just is best friends with all of them!) he's so dang funny, very witty, great grades in school (except for math, I think that gene is deficient between us) and he's a great little performer. He does everything that I do, but I fear that he will end up being a little bit better than me at everything! Ugh! Come on now! Let me get SOME credit for SOMETHING! :) And the best part is, is that he acts like its not that big of a deal. He's very humble about it all, and we love him.

Anyway, yesterday Hootie had a singing concert with the studio he takes from, and this is one of the songs that he sang. Seriously? What a stud! I am so proud of him! Sorry if I gross you out with how proud I am of him....but, its my blog. Deal with it!

THANKFUL THURSDAYS

So it's Sunday, and its the first chance I've had to get around to my "Thankful Thursday" list. Here are a few things:

I am thankful for:

• Second Chances
• Taylor Swift
• Kristin Wiig, who continually makes me laugh
• my family, who has always been my biggest fan
• My job at the Disney Store
• Finals are OVER
• Molly and Jame, Sean's two dogs.
  
• BIGGEST LOSER. I weep.
• Christmas Lights
• Kung Fu Panda. Skadoosh.
• But most importantly, I am thankful for the movie "UP!". I think I'll blog about it

In my opinion, Pixar has NEVER gone wrong. Every movie they have ever made has been fantastic. I can't even remember all of them, but I do know that I have absolutely loved every one that I have seen. The difference between Pixar movies and other lame disney movies is that Pixar humor is quality humor: it fits both generations. In fact, it makes the younger audiences think a little bit to understand the humor. Movies these days make things so easy for kids to laugh at, that they aren't funny. Sorry, but most of the time, fart jokes just don't cut it. Pixar gives us credit for being smart humans, and allows us to enjoy something without being insulted by the humor they put into it. UP! is a movie that is just like that, and a heart-wrenching one at that. Last night my friend and I were quoting it, and here are my favorite quotes.

• "With my new wilderness GPS System, bo beep beep bah bo...."
• "But its a TALKING DOG!"
• "Kevin's a girl?"
• "Good afternoon, my name is Russell..."
• "Please let me in...."
• "Hi there. "
• "I hid under the porch because I love you"
• "Stop you dogs!"
• "Why is he with that small mailman!"
• "Do you not agree with that which I have just said?"
• "This was his favorite candy bar. Because you sent him away, there is more left for you"
• "Do you dig the whole before? or after?............oh. It's before!"

Seriously? What a classic movie! It's on my Christmas list. I hope Santa delivers!

Tweet Tweet

So on Sunday, my roommates and I were heading to church. It was cold. It was snowy. Hate it. But as we were walking past a tree, something large and heavy fell into the snow.

Frozen.

That's right. A dead, frozen bird.


Bahahahahaha.

Ironic? Absolutely.

Today has been so ironic. There really isn't another word to describe the day that I've had today.

All semester I have gone without getting a parking ticket. And to be honest, I am pretty dang proud of that fact. I had an 8-8:50 class in the morning on MWF, and so I would park in 30 minute parking and just go to class. It worked out great. I would get up at 7:50, get to class, and then come home and shower and get ready for the day until my next class at 12. ALL SEMESTER=not one parking ticket. Also, when I had errands to run between the end of my 12:00 class and my 3:00 class, I would park in 15 minute parking at the Richards Building and sit through my 12:00 class. ALL SEMESTER=not one parking ticket. Today, I had my final acting proficiency (yikes) and parked in the faculty parking lot for 45 minutes while I went to warm up and to my proficiency. TODAY=PARKING TICKET. Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Ugh! And it's not even a school day, it's a READING DAY!


Its just funny how things work out sometimes. I felt so confident about something today, and it didn't work out like I thought it would. The other day, I was so insecure about something, and it actually worked out (it didn't go the way I thought it would, but I'm happy about the way it did go). How does that happen? How can you have such strong feelings about something, and then opposite result happens?

My proficiency went.....well? I don't know. I like to go first, and get it over with so I can focus on other things over the weekend. I usually sign up during the first hour of the first of the two days. Some people are really into this suspicious voo-doo of "you don't want to be first, but you don't want to go right before the judges go on a break, because then they will be cranky. But don't go in the afternoon because then they will be tired from watching actors all day". Blah blah blah blah blah. Yeah, I'm sure there are better times than others, and everybody wants the judges to be in a good mood when they see you, and to laugh at your comedic monologue, and all of that jazz. But the way I see it, is that if you're a good actor, you are a good actor, and your work will show through. So what if they don't laugh. Its 9 in the morning, I wouldn't be laughing either..... I was pretty proud of myself though: at the end of my dramatic piece, I scared one of the judges. She jumped in her seat. I think that's a good sign? *shrugs* whatever.

My roomate is eating something chocolaty and peanut buttery. Yes please.

That reminds me--I sure wish I had some Reeses Peanut Butter Puff cereal. Yes please.

Hmph.

I want to hang out with people right now. Why not? It's a friday. I think I'll do just that.

Thankful THURSDAYS

So I really did start this on a thursday. Yesterday, in fact:

"Today I am thankful for"

That's as far as I got. But the important part was that it was started, and now I am going to finish it.

I am thankful for my several things, but one thing I am most thankful for today is my friends. My friends mean the world to me. It's been a wild ride lately, and somehow, there has always been somebody to lift me up or bring me back down to earth. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. There are too many to name off. So many people are shining examples to me, and I'm sure they have no idea. I am thankful for friends who don't listen to my shennanigans and aren't afraid to slap me silly until my head is on straight again. I am thankful for friends who let me cry in the middle of a restaurant for no apparant reason, and tell me they don't think any differently of me. I am thankful for friends who enjoy the same tv shows that I do. I am thankful for friends who smile when they see me. I am thankful for friends who laugh at my jokes, even when they are far from funny. I am thankful for friends who have never left my side, through the good and the bad. I am thankful for friends who leave surprises for me at my door, just to let me know they were thinking about me and hope that I had a great day. I am thankful for friends who invite me for 2 for 1 Magelby's fresh Breakfast after a scary morning of proficiencies. I am thankful for friends who constantly encourage me to keep going. I am thankful for friends who are just as crazy as I am, and understand what it means to feel "crazy" :)

I am so blessed to have such wonderful company around me. Thank-you.

When I grow up.

And so it begins. Finals.

I have had a relatively easy semester as far as papers and bookwork go. But as far as......well, everything else, it hasn't been an easy semester. Ok, ok. So my finals consist of swordfighting and singing. How hard could it be? Well, really hard.

I get really stressed out during finals. However, I don't think I get stressed out. In fact, I feel like I am relatively normal when it comes to worrying about finals and such. But I bet if you ask anybody who is really close to me, they'll tell you that I am a complete basket case. But I would like to point out that if I am relatively normal when it comes to stressing out during finals, but people think I am crazy, then imagine what those people are like who really DO stress out over finals: spending hours in the library studying, hardly eating, not talking to anybody, and not showering for days at a time. In comparison, I think I am doin' alright.

My friend Kate is supposed to have her baby. A week ago. But today is the day they will induce her. She was supposed to go in yesterday, but I haven't heard from her in two days, which means she doesn't want to talk about it, or she's holding a little baby in her arms right now, and texting me is the least of her worries. I hope she is doing alright though. She's had a tough last couple weeks, just wanting her little son to arrive. Bless her heart, she has endured so much with this little guy. But it will all be worth it, I know, and I can't wait to meet the new addition to her little family. I can't decide if I should try and figure out where she is and come visit, or just give her her space and let her talk to the rest of us when she is ready to share him with the world. Oh I love babies. I love friend's babies. I'm not baby hungry, because I know that my time will come, but I am extremely excited.

Motherhood has always excited me. Growing up, I didn't want that. I didn't want to be the home maker, I didn't want to cook meals, or make crafts, or decorate houses, or drive a mini-van. I wanted to be the dad in the relationship. I wanted to go camping, I wanted to take the kids and play sports with them, I wanted to make money, blah blah blah. But the older I get, and the closer I get to my Heavenly Father, the more I understand what he has in store for me, and the more I want those things. Believe it or not, I can cook. I'm actually a pretty good cook. I love to make crafts. I'm good at it. I don't always have the necessary time, but I know how and I enjoy creating things. I love playing with little kids. I love watching them grow. I mean, I work at the Disney Store for goodness sakes. If that's not as kid friendly as it gets, I don't know what is. I enjoy cleaning, and I enjoy having a clean house, in an apartment that smells good. I enjoy having people over, and making things for them. I love surprising people, especially people that I really love. In fact, its probably my favorite thing. If I wasn't so dang shy, I'm sure I would do a lot more and not be nervous what the other person would think. I really really like doing things for people. I mean, all these things I've had to pick up on my own. My mom and I never really cooked together. She's a great cook in fact. But my dad always made Sunday dinners, and during the week I was never home because of competition, or dance, or basketball, or rehearsal, or whatever you want to call it. And that's o.k. I do wish I had spent more time learning things from my mom because she is one smart lady. But, I'm on my own, and I am observing friends and picking things up right and left. One day, I will be all grown up.

*insert swear word here*

So I have this friend name Carson. Carson likes to give me the smackdown. On a regular basis. Oddly enough, I really like Carson for this very reason. Carson became my friend a year ago because we were in an imnprov class together and I said the word "Jackass" under my breath in a scene or something.

Carson: "Who are you? I don't know you"
Kelly: "Oh, my name is kelly."
Carson: "Oh my gosh, where are you from? Are you from California?"
Kelly: "No, I grew up here, in Orem"
Carson: "REALLY?!? You're from Utah?"
Kelly: "Yeah, why do you think I'm from California"
Carson: "I dunno, you're just....bad. You swear and all..."

I don't swear.

That is an absolute lie. I swear because sometimes its funny. Some people don't like it, and to be perfectly honest, I don't like that its become a habit. I want to make it stop, and swear less. I don't think I have a filthy mouth. But, swear words do happen to pop out sometime. Personal favorites: *to be said with a British accent* Damn. Hell is a nice one. I always think of southern women who say "Ah, hell." That's funny to me. My personal favorite insult word is Bi*#&. But, in my efforts to stop, I won't type it out all the way.

The other night I was talking to some people in the ward ,and there are certain words that I cannot handle. Words that aren't even swear words, or rude. I just hate them, and would rather hear something else. I don't want to write them, but there is one word that I would rather hear someone drop the F-bomb than that word. How strange is that? After living in Florida, the F-bomb just became something you learn to tune out. The first time I heard it I think I stopped what I was doing because I was in absolute shock. But now, as shocking as it still is, I just kind of zone out automatically. *shrugs*

I used to never swear, and I prided myself in it. But after playing basketball in high school, sometimes the words just come out under your breath. I then got myself in the habit of sayin "shoot" instead of anything else, which then turned into a short version which was "Shhh". But....."shh" sounds worse from off court because everybody assumes you are just going to drop the word. So that didn't do me any good either. Then I stopped. Then I went to the Playmill. then I stopped after that. Then I went back to the playmill. And I haven't stopped. Maybe its all the Playmill's fault. Those mountains and western towns just bring it right out of ya!

Back to Carson. Carson always makes me feel really important. He always asks how I'm doing, and usually never believes me when I tell him. Which is usually the right thing to do. :) We are kind of to the point where he will have no problem saying "kelly. Seriously. Stop being stupid" and I'll think "yeah.....you're right...." Today was one such day. We had a nice little chat in the HFAC about life and performing and all that jazz. He doesn't lie to you, or fluff things up for you, but he does a great job of encouraging and putting you back on your feet.

With that said, I went to my Final for Acting Classics, and.....I don't mean to toot my own horn, but.....*toot toot*. I think that is the best that I have ever performed. Everything felt so good. So natural, so real. I love acting. I'm actually kinda good at it! And I love that nerves don't get to me when it comes to acting. Singing, that's another story, but acting is like home base for me. My secret is to not over-prepare. When I over-prepare, everything goes wrong. You just have to find that happy balance between preparation and procrastination. I think I've found mine. And I'm content with it. Not only did I feel really good about it, but countless people came up and said they were really impressed with my work today. Not that it matters what other people think, but......well, it does. So I am very pleased with myself and got a small jolt of confidence for proficiencies on friday.

The wrong notes out of my mouth.

So there's this thing I do. It's called "singing". Looks easy. Sounds easy.

For me? It isn't.

Singing is one of the hardest things I have had to work at when it comes to being a "triple-threat". And you know what the worst part of it is? I'm actually not a bad singer.

In fact, I'm a damn good singer.

Except for when I sing in front of people.....more specifically, people behind a table, who will then talk about me after I walk out of a room.

So why am I so upset at something that I'm actually pretty good at? Well, there's this thing I do. It's called "psyching myself out for no reason". I do it a lot actually. But don't worry, if I could stop doing it, I totally would. In fact, I don't even know when I'm doing it until all the damage is done! Sounds pretty intense, huh.

So lets do a little problem solving, shall we? How can I fix something that I am good at, but not when it matters? Don't do it at all? Wrong. The correct answer would be to keep going! BUT.....I hate that answer, and sometimes, I don't really want to keep going. Sometimes, I'd rather pretend I was a deaf mute who could get on stage and touch people's hearts just because I'm a deaf mute. * shrugs* That wouldn't be so bad, right?

But in all seriousness, nerves have ALWAYS gotten the best of me. During the summer, they don't. I don't know why, but there have been very few times at Playmill where my nerves have come in competition with my talent. But here in Utah? At BYU? I'm a goner. I don't know what the problem is! But I guess I just have to keep working, keep trying, and keep putting one foot in front of the other and love every step.

Well, to be honest, I'm not going to love every step. I'll probably hate most of them. But love the result. A result. *shrugs* whatever.

On a different note, I am swear-word-hungry and have no desire to make anything to eat. I guess I could go buy something, but that is more effort. Is this how anorexic people get skinny? They just get lazy and don't eat? What a horrible lifestyle.

I can't really focus on one thing right now.

Look. Christmas lights.

Moral of the story: Eat food you want to eat.

Love it. Hate it. S.N.O.W.

I don't have church until 1:30 on Sundays. I woke up this morning around 10 to my phone ringing. It was my father. Did I answer it?

Nope.

About an hour later, I woke up again to my phone ringing. It was the leader of the Indexing committee that I am on for my calling. Did I answer it?

Absolutely not.

When I have my mind set to sleeping in, by George, I am sleeping in. Even if my dad left me the sweetest message about hoping I could come home today and how he stopped by my work yesterday to see if I was working, and just making sure I was alive and healthy, I was not about to pick up that phone. I love my dad. I love sleeping just as much. Besides, I always feel funny talking on the phone when I first wake up: there is no hiding the fact that I was sleeping not 10 seconds before. I sound like a man. * shrugs* But, when I did decide to grace the world with my presence, this was what I woke up to.Was I happy about it?

Absolutely not. I've grown up in Utah, and snow is no stranger to me. I grew up playing in snow, eating it, skiing on it, sledding, ice cream, everything. But the problem is that I don't like being cold. I feel so conflicted when it comes to snow. I think it is beautiful, and there is nothing better than snow on Christmas day. But I was talking to Cam, and he said something that I absolutely agree with. Snow is wonderful in December. And that's the only time it should be allowed. January, February, and March are just excuses to be cold, and I strongly DISLIKE it.

Church was wonderful today. Testimony meeting was one of the best I had been to in a long time, and for the first time I bore my testimony and didn't want to throw up. It was actually a great experience. I also was able to get some tickets to the Christmas Devotional in the Conference Center up in Salt Lake City. My roommate Chelsie and I and a few other people in the ward drove up. It was cold, and I was bitter, but I love Christmas and the lights. I didn't get a chance to look at the lights up on Temple Square, but I really really hope to soon. It's probably my favorite thing of this time of year. I can't wait. For some reason it is just so exciting to me to walk around temple square, talking, anything. Hmmm...perhaps that is the ONLY time I don't mind being cold. Yes. Yes that's right.

THANKFUL THURSDAYS

Alright, I am starting a new trend. It's called Thankful Thursdays. Now, I know that it is Saturday today, but I got so excited about it, and I am just going to start today. Every Thursday, it is my goal to write a little post about something that I am really thankful for. A.K.A "Thankful-Thursdays"

A little ironic, but today I am thankful SATURDAYS. What would we do without Saturdays? Now I know that some people are not able to have Saturdays off of school, or work, or whatever we do with our crazy lives. To be honest, I don't have Saturdays off all the time. In fact, I am on call to go to work tonight at the Disney Store, and I am just praying that they don't need me. If I did, I would be working from 7-12 tonight (for you late Christmas shoppers, the University Mall is open later this month!) and as great as the money would be, I would love to continue the way my day is going. After a long busy week of work and school and all the stress that comes with being a young adult, there is nothing better than taking a day off. Unfortunately, Finals are around the corner, so the stress isn't completely gone, but I am excited! Although I meant to wake up and get to Hootie's basketball game, I set my alarm for pm instead of AM and missed it completely. So, I stayed in bed, wrote a few blogs, as you can tell, and have been taking my time today. I am thankful to be able to have a day, aside from Sunday, that I can do what I want, and run errands and get back on top of my life again. This week I have been feeling under the weather, so today was a much needed break. I am thankful for BLANKETS, SLIPPERS, and HARRY POTTER. All crucial parts of my day today!

Laura Seegmiller-Graham: A Powerhouse

Spotlight time!

So I have this friend that I have just been thinking about lately, and I realized how much I want to be like her. Here is a little background on her.

Her name is Laura Seegmiller-Graham. Laura and I met when we lived in Orlando, and have been friends ever since. Actually, there is a group of 8 or 9 of us girls who still keep in touch, and its the best group of people ever. Laura got married over the summer to her husband Michael, and they now live in Orem while she works with troubled teens and goes to school.



There are so many things I admire about Laura, and just feel the need to blog about them. Laura is one of the hardest working people I have ever met. Never once has Laura waited for her life to pick up. Her life has been amazing because she has made it that way. Out of all of us, Laura probably works the most. I remember getting texts from her saying she just finished a 60 hour week at the store she manages, and how she still has to write a paper, etc. Ok, so maybe she is a little crazy, but in an amazing way. She is beautiful. To be honest, I envy her beautiful hair. Someday I will look like her!



But most importantly, I have learned so many things from Laura. Sometimes I feel like she is my mother hen. A few nights ago, I was thinking about Laura and how I should call her and see if she was available to do something. Our friend Kate is preggo and was supposed to have her baby last week, so I was going to go visit her and see if Laura wanted to catch up and come with me. While shopping for some cake-pans, Laura called me and said she had some free time and wanted to catch up with me and my rooomate, Chelsie (also a "Florida Girl"). To make a short story even longer, Kate ended up spending the last few times with her husband that she could before the baby was born, so Laura, Chelsie, my rooommate Meredith and I decided to tighten our belts and head to chili's for old time's sake. Originally it was for some Molten Chocolate Cake....but we all realized how hungry we were once we got there and got a meal too :) It was during this conversation and this evening visit that I realized how much I admired Laura and how much I have learned from her. Here are a few of the important things I learned during that visit:

#. The Lord is what brings us through. If we continually include the Lord in our life, he will absolutely guide us in ways we didn't think possible. Even if its something as small as a math test, or singing in front of class, the Lord is there, and ready to lift us up when we fall. Along with this image, Laura told this story:

A man went to the doctor with his 2 year old son, and found out that his son had a rare disease that would kill him within the next 24 hours. The boy was taken out of his father's arms and quarentined to a room, and nobody was allowed in or out except for the designated nurse. The father kept trying to get into the room to help his son, and the nurses kept pushing him out. Seeing this, the small boy began to call for his dad and cry. The father kept trying to get into the room, but kept being pushed out by the nurses. All he could do was stand with his hands on the glass, looking at his son. His son was crying and wanting to be held, and the father couldn't do anything about it

We are that small boy, crying on the chair. God is out father, and the nurses are the parts of us that are proud and refuse to let the Lord into our lives. So Laura got to thinking, and said that if she were God, or that boy's father, what she would want most is to hold his son. But since he couldn't, the next thing in the world that he would want was for someone else to hold his son, SOMEBODY to comfort and let him know how much he is loved. In this life, we are blessed with people that have been sent by our Father to hold us, and to lift us when we feel alone.

#. The next thing I have learned from Laura is called "First-things-First". It's a pretty simple concept, but as Meredith can testify, it can be very difficult to implement. In this life, we have so many choices to make, and so many people that we can spend our time with. We have responsibilities and obligations and things we want to do and things we don't want to do. However, FIRST THINGS FIRST. School is very important, and should always be on the top part of our priority list, but the people in our lives (our families, our friends, and our loved ones) are just as important, and finding a balance can be the greatest blessing on us. So take that extra time to see if your little brother has a basketball game, or if your neighbor needs a visit. The Lord will guide us in our decisions.

#. The last thing I want to cover is that we need to be willing to pay the price. In marriage, in life, in repentance, we need to be willing to pay the price for us to really learn the lessons we need to learn. Wanting a marriage to work doesn't mean anything if we aren't willing to pay the price. Repentance doesn't work if we truly don't have a change of heart. The only people that knows if we are willing is ourselves and the Lord. Great blessings require great sacrifice, but remember: all things are possible with the Lord.



I love Laura so much. Visiting with her a few nights ago was exactly what I needed, and I feel so incredibly blessed to have her and my other Florida Girlfriends in my life. Women are truly amazing people, and these particularly women will never let me become less than I should be. Thank-you for everything you have been to me Laura. :)

Pick Chures.

Well, since it HAS been a while, here are some pictures (and some videos hopefully!) of the last few months! Tis the Season!


Our cute Christmas tree in my apartment! His name is Charlie.


Me and AJ High School Musical Style!


Some of my favorite people in the world. I miss them so much!


It was so nice to meet up again with Rebecca and Mckinlee. I didn't want to buy a Jamba, so I made my own smoothie and met them there! Don't be jealous. My little homemade Jamba tasted twice as good as theirs did! :)


My car got egged when I first moved into my apartment. Seriously? Seriously.


Old Playmill friends at Addison's show "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". He was fantastic!


A Florida Girl Halloween. Hahaha, oh boy....


A dee dee dee....


A fun trip to the zoo. It was really cold and rainy. But still fun!

Hope you enjoyed them. There are plenty more, just not enough time to put them all up!

Back in Action! (for a few days...)

Wowza, it sure has been a while! But what else is new? I get a new motivation to blog, I blog for a few days, and then I drop off the face of the earth. Are we really surprised here? Just know that I have the best intentions of keeping up, and if I don't? Well, we all saw it coming!

I am in school right now in the Acting program, and I love it! It's hard, and more often than not I don't know what I am doing, but I know that I am happy and I love the people I work with! The director of the program is the teacher of most of my classes, and she is fantastic. Her name is Barta, and I asked her to be my fairy God Mother. She said yes. Of course. I got her the best Christmas Present and can't wait to give it to her.

I recently have been hired at the Disney Store in the University Mall. Don't worry, its just for the holidays. So far, I love it. I mean, its the DISNEY STORE! Sometimes I work a lot, and sometimes I only work a few nights a week. I'm a full time student too, but I still feel like I have so much free time. I'm learning that I don't do well with a lot of free time. I need something to do. The only plus to my schedule this semester is that I feel like I have really been able to focus and improve in most of my classes. I repeat: MOST of my classes....

My roommates and I just rearranged our apartment and put up our Christmas decorations. I didn't know how much I loved decorating and CHRISTMAS TIME until this year. We went to the dollar store and picked up some cute little seasonal things. Our tree is is adorable, and above it hangs three Stockings with Santa's belts on them. Can it get any better? I submit that I cannot.

I know it's been a quick update, but I don't find it necessary to post every aspect of my life. So there is a brief review, and soon there will be more specific posts. Can't wait!