Saturday, February 25, 2012

Congratulations- Blue October & Imogen Heap

Well well, it is officially past mid-term time for my last semester in college! My mind is blown every other day, but mostly i just try to live in the moment (occasionally i find myself living in the past, but that's just how i roll.) and enjoy all the fun around me. Maybe too much fun, seeing as I am practically failing my Art Theory class! Yay! (don't worry mom, i won't FAIL, but i won't get an A either).

Last night I spent three hours out at my ceramic teacher's house with all the other students so we could throw wood into Bro. Briggs' wood kiln every 3 minutes. It was a good time! Lots of yummy meat & food, splitting wood, and smelling like smoke. I honestly love that smell! Just not the next day, but now my hair smells like coconuts not burning logs (i just checked). I am so excited to see how all our pieces that were in there turned out!

There have been some really interesting things happening lately though so I will make a little list and hope it is interesting enough that my (one or two) readers will enjoy it.

Here goes a lotta' somethin'

1. I finished The Help last night and L-O-V-E-D it! I almost cried (again) at the same part that had the tears streaming down my chubby lil' cheeks when I watched the movie over Christmas break with my sisters. I love that we all try to hide it when we cry, and i love (and am terrified by) the fact that my sisters are old enough to be emotionally touched by a story line.

2. (disclaimer: i can't remember if i mentioned this yet...) I have been called as RS President and it has been a great experience and I have seen so much growth not only in my life, but in the lives of the girls I work with & serve.

3. I've been (extremely) slowly trying to learn how to play the guitar, it's on my list of goals for this year and I'm real lucky to have a roommate and a lot of friends who are super talented players to help me. It's really hard for me! But it is something I've always wanted to do.

4. The BFA project is moving a long, that is what I will do after I finish this post. I am working on the write ups, it's hard to write about other people's lives, I just want to do them the justice they deserve. I have been growing so much as a person with this, and for that I will always be grateful. There was definitely inspiration behind this project that I will not take credit for.

AND I got the spot in the Spori building that I wanted to hang my show!! Yes!

5. Here's the best news... I GOT A SUMMER JOB AT BADGER CREEK! I am so so SO excited and I feel so good about it. That means that I will be in Tetonia Idaho from June to mid-August and will get to have all kinds of adventures with tons of new friends and get to serve the youth while I do it. Ever since I heard about Badger from some friends last winter semester, I have felt like it's a place I need to be. Up until I applied on a whim, I had been feeling really lost about where to go after graduation. thoughts of applying for Badger Creek kept popping into my mind and I would push them out thinking that it was too late, but finally one day I just called up the offices and they told me that it was still open. So i got to work filling out all the applications, calling people to ask if they would write letters of recommenation for me and BAM! It was in, the interview went way good. I felt really peaceful while I was there talking with Kyle and Bro. Ashton.

It's going to be a great experience and although graduating still freaks me out, I feel peace about this summer. I am so excited to be part of OYA and to let the hearts of others touch my life. I just hope and pray I can do the same for them.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

university towing

you suck!

this last weekend i left for UT on friday, went straight to my client's house where we packed her up into the esclade (along with her mom and sister) and headed up Cottonwood Canyon for her bridal session. It was a beautiful, clear and sunny day but oh so cold in the shade! Sha'lee was a great sport though in her strapless dress standing in the snow! we had a great time, found a fire station with some great brick and some beautiful bridges. i "had to" climb down into the rocks at the bottom of the river to get some good shots of Sha'lee on the bridge...the rocks i climbed down were covered in about 3 inches of snow. YES! haha too bad i left my gloves in the car. it was great though, i'm really happy with the way her photos turned out. The next day after running around doing some BFA interviews and shoots and an 18 minute power nap i booked it out to Sha'lee and Chad's for their engagement session. We hit up Wheeler Farms. It was great! there were tons of old buildings, barns, trees, animals and bridges to use as backgrounds. we had a lot of fun once we got Chad to loosen up. Boys are so funny that way, they almost always feel awkward in front of the camera, (i feel that way too..but shh don't tell, i'll stick with being behind it for now!). We had a blast and i got to roll around in duck poo! I love my job! it's great not having to worry about anything but getting a great shot!

that night after a fun and yummy Thai dinner with my Grandparents, i went to Provo to stay the night at Hanna and Chris' because i was too tired to drive the 4 hours back to Rexburg. Upon arrival to Hanna's it was dark, about 8:30pm and we had to find somewhere to park my car overnight. We bundled up and set out in search of somewhere that my car wouldn't get towed. We found a street up the hill from her apartment that had a road with tons of cars parked along it, we looked both ways before parking in case there was a sign notifying us of the tow zone, all clear! or so we thought.

after a night of ice cream, catching up and watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail (i fell asleep, i guess i'm not classy enough for that one! haha!) and then some shut eye, Hanna and i set out to get my car so that i could hopefully make it back in time for Break the Fast with my ward. Well....we drive up the street, all the way to the top...my car is nowhere to be found. great...you have to be kidding me. both hanna and i were thinking. we look to the left..and BAM! there it is. the tow zone sign and their phone number.

Yes, they have my car.
No, there is nothing this guy can do about the price to get it back.
20 minutes, is how long till he comes back after un-booting some other unfortunate soul in Orem.

so i get there trying to maintain my composure, it was Sunday after all.....
and then he showed up, i'm getting more and more upset while struggling to maintain my cool, and not let Hanna feel too bad for me. and then he tells me its 175.00...cool. i tried to strike up a deal for advertizing for them...they may need a photographer?

"I'm already married..." he says...i look at him...
"I realize that...i wasn't referring to anything like that..."

what an...idiot. i was beyond mad and may have said...bull crap. sue me.

haha. chalk that one up to experience i guess, it was a great and extremely long/busy weekend in spite of it all and i was grateful to see friends and family for about a nano second. and i'm even more grateful to be back home in Rexburg.








Thursday, February 2, 2012

just a minute from the photo lab,



or maybe a little more than just a minute, i have about two hours left on my shift for the day, then i will set my sails for utah in the morning. i'm pretty excited for my engagements and bridal shoot this weekend down in salt lake area! it will be a fun time, i love photographing in the snow and it's always fun to shoot somewhere new.

i've been really introspective the last few weeks. it's kind of a bad thing and often times a good thing, for me at least. i tend to get lost in my thoughts and feelings, and i've had a hard time getting out this time. i think i will though, my trick is to pretend that i am not feeling lost. the whole "fake it till you make it" theory. it kind of works. so i will just keep practicing, practice makes perfect after all!

so far this week i have done the following:

Monday: went to ceramics and had a Navajo taco party for Brother Briggs' birthday and threw some pots as well. Then I went tanning (sorry skin cancer phobia family members!) and photographed Brother Geddes again since the last time i overexposed his images (Oy!). Then later in the day, I went with our FHE family and another group to Bishop Reynolds' in Ashton. I may or may not have been falling asleep on both the way there and the way home. Car rides at night, i just can't resist some shut eye.
It was really fun to be at bishop's, they are a sweet couple and it was fun to get to know some more people in our RS. I also consumed at least three time's my body weight in pasta, rolls and cake. Bishop's wives always know how to cook so well!

Tuesday: Well on tuesday after working, being exhausted, developing film, meeting with Bishop for calling stuff i hit the gym and enjoyed some quality time with the elliptical machine and "The Help" it was a good one. i love a good book at the gym, it makes doing a lot of time consuming cardio go by so much faster.

Wednesday: I woke up earlier than i usually do so that i could fill out job applications for Badger Creek and AFY, both awesome summer programs that are for the Church's teenagers up here in Idaho. They are extremely competitive but i still feel really strongly that i should (at least) apply for them. I have nothing to lose right? haha. but i do have a lot to gain if i get the j-o-b-(s). i really pray that i will, and if i don't get them, then i guess it's for the best because i need to go somewhere else...right? Then i went to class, work, planned sunday's RS lesson, and worked out. Then i went Country dancing on campus for the second week in a row. i used to go all the time, but it's been a while. i really hate standing on the sides with all the other girls so i usually talk some of my guy friends into coming with me. i need to find some girls who like to country dance though...

Anyways, it was so fun! i love to dance, especially with people who are good! it makes me better.

Today (Thursday): so far i've slept, consumed my 6th Horkley's for the week and being dinking around on the computer and in the photo lab. I have no idea why i feel so lackluster today but i do, my eyes are dropping and i'm kinda restless at the same time. i just feel like homeless in a way since i'm almost half way through my last semester of school and not sure what to do with myself after.

i can't believe how fast time flies and how much it changes as it goes along.
here are a few old photos from two years ago. i've been cruisin' through my hard drive today.

Jackson Hole 2010




i miss my best friend.