Spring Break!

It has been a while since I last posted, but just like last time, not much has happened since then really. But I did have some fun over spring break.

On the first Saturday of spring break, me and my friends Samantha and Aubrey went to St. George. We had fun exploring (well, Samantha was exploring, Aubrey and I were just along for the ride!) St. George and playing games and just talking at Sam's aunt and uncle's house. It was very fun to meet Emily and her adorable little boy! On Sunday we played a violin duet at Sam's great grandpa's ward. It went very well and everyone told us how much they appreciated it. It is so nice to play outside a scholastic setting for people who enjoy the music with no expectations and biases and all those other words that escape me right now.

After playing, we went to Sam's grandpa's birthday party at her great grandparents' house. It was very fun! Sam apologized for her crazy family a few times (though they are much less crazy than mine), but I actually love meeting people's crazy families! It's very fun to me for some reason. On Monday, me and Samantha watched an old orchestra/choir video from HS and played dress up in some old, and at times rather frightening, clothes in her basement.

Later in the week, whatever day it was, I went to St. George with JJ to get some aquarium supplies. It was fun since I enjoy the pet store so much. But on the way home my car broke down (after I went on for several minutes about how much I loved my car, Sadie). After trying to get it to work, failing, having someone stop and help push us off the freeway exit, trying more and failing, JJ called for a tow truck. And I called Sam and she so kindly came to rescue us! When she got there, we still waited 20-30 more minutes for the truck before it got there and we could leave. I felt bad, but I am glad she was willing to pick me up!

That night we had a barbecue, played some games that I was really terrible at, and watched The Goonies. Good times.

On Saturday, I went with my family minus my dad to Red Cliffs hiking. It was quite fun.John is king of the rock!

You can see John and Michelle and Carl and Jesse on the other side of the little stream.

On Sunday, John and I were looking up some things online about his turtles in my room and he went to look at them and came back in my room and sat on my bed. Then he proceeded to tell me how he thought Carl the turtle was dead and starting bawling. It was very sad. So I went to check on the turtle and sure enough, he was dead. I cried because he was so sad. So my mom and I took care of the turtle and changed the water. Then this last Friday John and I and JJ went to St. George and bought a new turtle and 18 feeder fish (which were gone in 24 hours) and a pleco for my aquarium. Here is my nerdy little video of my fish for your enjoyment. It features the snail the needs to find a new new home, Pablo the celestial eyed goldfish, Sir Ulrich the plecostamus, Gus and Gilbert the guppies, Merri and Pippin the black moors, Sargent Pepper and Arcangelo the calico fantails (which have gotten quite big now), and at the end I tried to show Ziggy, who is probably the cutest of the bunch, but it didn't turn out very well.




Well, that's it for today! Have a grand week.

The Best Weekend In a Long Time

Well, this was quite the week! I was pretty busy with getting ready for my recital. On Thursday, I went to school, cleaned the house, made cookies, played at a string quartet for Michael Leavitt's homecoming party, went to a dress rehearsal, and then made the drink for the post-recital reception. It was nuts! Then on Friday, I recruited a friend who went to the store for me, and then we cleaned a little more and cooked a lot more. Then Megan and her friend came and I was so excited! Then we cooked more! Then we ate dinner and then I got dressed for my recital, which was stressful, especially since the dress didn't hold up especially well at the dry cleaner. But it seemed to work fine for the recital. And then I went to the recital hall and brought all the food in with lots of help from my friends and Michelle, and then I warmed up. The recital itself went quite well. My Bach was basically average, my Beethoven started out rought but got better and better as I went along, and my Suk was pretty good. After it was over, it was fun to get flowers from my family as well as some from my studio class, which was a big surprise! I was very excited to get them. Afterwards, I had fun talking to the people who had come to support me. It was amazing to see everyone there. Then I ate some refreshments, took some pictures, cleaned up and left.Chelsea and I posing with our flowers.

After that, me and Megan and Jesse and JJ stole the big Homer doll from an neighbor's house from last year which used to be one of our favorite pasttimes. Then we went to campus and took pictures with him. It was very funny!

Homer riding Old Sorrell.

On Saturday, we were all pretty tired from finishing out fun late and then talking until morning. And then Megan got up early and everybody gradually woke up after her. We then made and ate pancakes for breakfast, then they played a little rock band. Then we went to Wal-Mart to buy things for the dinner John was making for us. Then we went Park Discovery and played, which was pretty fun.

Then we got some ice cream, watched a movie at John's place, at the great stew he made, and then decided to make some dry ice bombs. They didn't explode as well as we had hoped, but it was still pretty fun. Then we went to one of John's friend's houses and played some more rock band, and then because we were so tired, we just went to bed. Jesse and Megan left this morning and I am kind of sad they are gone, but I am very glad they came to visit. It had more fun than I had in a long time.


So, last weekend I came home from watching movies with my friend Samantha to find two dead fish, Mardi and Niccolo. So Monday I went to St. George and bought two new ones, and my brother bought me a snail later. So here are some pictures of my new fish.

Here you can see Frodo the snail, and a little of Sargent Pepper, Merri and Pablo.

Napoleon, Sgt. Pepper, Pablo, Pippin, Arcangelo.

Merri and Pippin, my two new adorable black moors.

Just an update.

Well, it's been a while! A lot has happened since a last blogged, though nothing life changing or even particularly interesting. But I will share it all anyway.

First of all, I got rid of the ick from my fish tank! I am glad it's gone, but it ended up taking four fish with it. Henri, Jascha, Fritz and Antonio. I especially miss Jascha, as does everyone else who knew him. But on the happy side, I have three new fish. Sargent Pepper the very lovely calico fantail, Mardi the telescope-eyed goldfish that looks like he has a mask on, and Napoleon orange and white goldfish. Mardi is constantly moving his mouth and often nips at the tails of the other fish. It's pretty funny sometimes.

Other than that, school has been. . . rough. I didn't feel well for about a week and a half and missed a lot of class. I think it's just because I was so stressed out, so I am hoping that now that my recital preview is over, I will be able to keep up better. So I have lots of catching up to do, but I think I can do it! I also had 7 days of opera rehearsal and performance. It was extremely time consuming! But it had its good moments, like eating chocolate and laughing with my stand partner and other people in the group. And there were the parts of the show that I could actually see and hear and they were hilarious! My favorite lines were probably "That must be a fiery passion" and "how dare you mess with my family affairs!" But that would probably not make sense unless you saw the opera (Mozart's The Magic Flute).

Oh, yes, I passed my recital preview so my junior recital is officially on! So if anybody wants to go, that is February 20 at 7:30 in the Thorley Recital Hall. I would love to see you there!

On that note, my friend Tyson took some nice pictures for my recital posters. Maybe you will see them around.

I have also taken up painting. I am not very good at it, but it is very fun! to see an explanation of my paintings, refer to my December 10 blog, a few end of semester thoughts. I have made 2 paintings so far. They aren't really of anything, just paintings. I will post a picture of the first one.

Me and Michelle have have some fun adventures! Check out her latest blog (http://monkeypoomichelle.blogspot.com/2009/02/hilarious-story.html) for one of them. We really have a blast together!

So yeah, that's about it. Oh, and I am considereing going to NAU in flagstaff to get a masters' degree in suzuki pedagogy. But I am not sure yet.



Have fun!

Changes, classes, movie, and New Years resolutions

Well remember the 8 fish I blogged about last time? Two of them died. Henri the calico and Antonio the fat feeder fish. They got ick which is a nasty parasite that fish get a lot. It doesn't kill all the fish all the time, but it usually does kill some. It's sad. But I get to buy a new one on Thursday so that will be fun! I am not sure why I like them so much honestly but they make me happy somehow.

Well the new semester began. I scraped by last semester with all As and one B somehow. Now I am in French II, Music History II, Stress Management, Symphony, Lessons/Studio, String Ensemble, Recital Attendance and Junior Recital. And institute of course. Yes, I have my junior recital this semester. It's a frightening thought. But it will be fun! It's on February 20th if any of you would like to attend. I'm doing it with Chelsea who is an awesome floutist! It will be great. Aside from that, I am wondering if my stress management class is going to cause me more stress than it helps me manage! Because it is a class full of PE and Exercise Science majors and then there's me, the athletically retarded music major. This is only a problem because we will be trying out some exercises that are supposed to help alleviate stress. Ha. Maybe on my own they would, but not in front of a class of PE majors! It will be quite the adventure.

Anyway, onto the movie part. I have seen Seven Pounds twice and I am pretty much in love with it! I know a lot of people don't like it, but I do. I love the love story in it, and I feel so bad for the poor guy who feels he has done something so bad that he has no worth anymore. So he does the only thing he thinks he can to benefit people and make up for the wrong he has done. I don't want to say too much and spoil it for anyone who might be interested, but I am a big fan, just so you know. And I love the music in it! The first four songs on my playlist are in the movie, and the fifth is one I think fits perfectly.

Well I guess it is time for New Years resolutions. Mine are more new semester resolutions than new years resolutions, but I guess it all works out the same. Here they are:

Memorize 3 scriptures a week (I will be posting them on my blog so if you want to see how I'm doing you can ask me!)

Read the scriptures every night for at least 10 minutes

Study every night from 6:30-9:15

Look for new teaching strategies and always be the best teacher I can

Never miss a class or practice session (after today. This is technically one of my practice hours.)

Attend all church activities I possibly can

Seek out a social life! It's harder now that I live at home and spent all of last semester in a social situation that isn't mine anymore.

Never use my credit card.

Wake up by 6:15 every morning and do some exercises and stretches. (My body gets super tense by the end of the day and this should help.)

Avoid sweets!

I think that about covers it. We will see how I do! Oh, and keep in mind another list of things I want out of life and make sure every situation I am put in brings me closer to that. Sorry, I am not posting that list, but if you really want to know, you can ask and I may or may not answer!

Have a fantastic week!

Fish! And Christmas!

So I don't know how many of you knew this, but I really like fish! I have since a friend of mine by the same name as me introduced me to their awesomeness about ten years ago. So I have kept a betta for a long time and have been pretty good with keeping them alive, until the last year. I had a really awesome red one about a year and a half ago that Michelle was taking care of for me when I moved out and somehow she managed to kill it. It was truly sad. But it's ok Michelle, I still love you! So after that, I didn't have one for a while. But then one day during October general conference of 2007, me and my roommates decided we wanted a fish. It was just one of those awesome spur of the moment things where you get an idea and absolutely nothing can stand in your way of doing that thing that somehow got into your head. I have those moments a lot. But anyway, we went to Wal-Mart and picked us out a fish and after musing over names, (like sushi and moto, because Mandy had recently gotten her mission call to Japan) we settled on Sebastian. So Sebastian became our best friend. We watched him and fed him and talked to him. Megan grew especially attached to him. She would talk to him in the mornings (she woke up ridiculously early to get to work at 6) and study to him. But inevitably, we all had to go home at the end of the semester. So I took Sebastian with me and vowed to try to keep him alive for 1 1/2 years until Mandy came home from her mission. But he got unhealthy and died about 3 months ago. I was quite sad. So many memories attached to little Sebastian.

So after he died I was quick to get another fish to fill the empty fish bowl. I went with mon copain (mais je n'ai plus un copain) and we had fun, as usual, and he was very patient with my indecisiveness, as usual. I picked a fat one that I really liked. I got him home and put water from the basement in the bowl (food storage water. The chlorine will sometimes kill the fish so the water should sit before putting fish in it.) and put in Sebastian Jr. Then I went out on a date and he was dead when I came home. I was very sad. So I went and got another one; Sebastian III. Went through the same process, but this time I watched him more carefully. And he started twitching, just like the one before him had, but I thought it was just the first one. But it was so much of a coincidence to have two do the same thing. So I filled a bowl with tap water and put him in there and he stopped twitching. Then I smelled the water he was in and it smelled like bleach! Yes, my dad had put bleach in the water to try to keep it fresh longer, but he had put WAY too much in. I was quite upset. But it's ok, I waved Sebastian III. But to no avail, he died about a month ago. And then Wal-Mart had no bettas anymore so my bowl sat empty.

But I decided I did not like having an empty bowl so I went to Wal-Mart with a good friend and I got an awesome black fish. He was pretty and big and shiny. But he died the next day. I was beginning to think I was cursed. But fear not, I didn't give up! I am pretty determined when stuff like this happens. So I decided to get serious. The following week (Monday actually) I purchased a 3-gallon tank and 4 fish. And then my little brother gave me the 2 little ones from his turtle tank. So I had 6 fish. But it still had some room so I bought 2 more Tuesday. And the fish lady was nice and gave me a free plant. Maybe because I told her about my black fish and I guess they had a fungus. Anyway, so now I have 8 fish and they are pretty fun.


They are named after violinist composers. There are Pablo and Jascha the celestial (googly) eyed fish. They are funny. Especially Jascha. He can't swim very well and runs into the other fish all the time. Then there's Antonio and Fritz the two little ones John gave me. They are good pals. Then there's Arcangelo and Henri the calico fish (although Henri is mostly white) who just do their thing. And Eugene and Niccolo who almost always stay at the top.

As for Christmas, I am having a great time with my family. I was excited to hear that my grandma is back into activity in the church and is working on getting a temple recommend. It made me very happy because now when I get married, whenever that may be, she will be able to be there. It really did make me so happy to think of that. I am glad that another part of my eternal family will be able to be there with me on that special day. She has also been doing lots of geneology and seems to be really excited about it. It's been fun to see her excited. My aunt is also here and she is just fun to have around.

Anyway, I should go to bed now because I will have to get up early to open presents in the morning. Have a merry Christmas!

A few end-of-semester thoughts

I am almost done! Yay! I totally bombed my music history final, but life goes on. This post is just a few random things I have been thinking about at the end of this semester.

There are so many things I want to do with my life it's absolutely amazing! There is so much I want to do now with my life that I really don't have time for it! And this last semester, I actually got quite sick because I tried to do so much, so I had to cut back a lot. For a while I thought it didn't seem fair that I got sick when I tried to do all the things I wanted to do, but now I realize maybe it happened so I could focus on the things I am supposed to do. And one day I am sure I will realize why those things are right and the other things I wanted, which are all good things, are not for now.

Another thing I have wondered about is why a certain someone was placed in my life. Everything about the situation seemed to perfect and so right and so in line with the things I wanted. However, it didn't work out, and I now I wonder how things would have been if it had worked out. I may have one day found myself in a really difficult situation. Not because of the things people think would have come from it, but because of their struggle with some awful hard things that life threw at them. I saw them slipping and barely holding onto their hope and I tried my very hardest to hold onto them and not let them fall, but it looks like in the end, I didn't have the strength to do it. I had the heart and the will, but not the ability. And I wonder if they had made some different choices if they could have risen above everything and we would have been able to be together. I guess I will never know, but I know that God knows, and that is all I need to know. I know that my friend is in the hands of one who has the desire and ability to help if he will just reach out for that help. Sometimes it's hard to do what's right and it seems like it would be easier to just stop trying. It's like we are paddling upstream sometimes, but we just can't give up. Just think of where you're struggling to get to, and that is enough to keep going.

The next thing I have been thinking about is what a wonderful mother I have. She has always been my best friend. She has always been there for me, and any time I have felt like I couldn't talk to her it was my fault and not because of anything she said or did. She knows me so well and knows exactly how to help me. She knows when to push me, when to leave me alone, and when to walk beside me. Sound like anyone else you have heard of? Even when I have done stupid things she is there to comfort me. And she understands what I was thinking, even if it was completely out there, she understands. Yes, she does sound like someone else I know.

The last thing (at least the last semi-concrete thing) is how excited I am for this adventure that we call life. A couple weeks ago I didn't know what I was going to do and it was devastating. Now, I still don't know what I'm going to do, but it's exciting! I can do whatever I set my mind to, really. There is a world of opportunity open for me to take part in and enjoy and I look forward to seeing which of those opportunities I will be able to take part in. Though somewhere along the way, I do hope to find a good man who will be a good father and teacher and will give me wings to do everything I really want to. Because although I want to see the world and learn all that it has to offer, there are things I want more that I can't do alone. So until that day, I will do everything I can do by myself and enjoy every minute of it.

The very very last thought is this: I am a rather abstract person. So much of the time I cannot describe what I am thinking or feeling in words, but I can think of a specific song or piece that can. Sometimes I wonder if I was giving musical gifts so I could fully express myself, or if I was given the knowledge of the limitation of words so I could be a better musician. Or maybe it's both. Anyway, if you don't understand any of this, don't worry, I do. If I could paint that would be so cool, because maybe more people would really be able to more completely understand what I am thinking if I could paint a picture of it for them. Hm. Maybe I will try it over Christmas break!

Storytime.

Once upon a time there was a girl. This girl had just come to know her worth and she knew who she was and where she was going. And she was happy. But there was a hole in her heart. Not because of anything anybody had done to her. Just because she wasn't complete.

But despite this hole that she sometimes wondered about, she kept doing things she loved and tried to live up to her full potential. While she was doing this, she happened upon a very cute and handsome boy. She was almost instantly smitten. He was nothing she expected, but somehow that made her even happier.

She tried not to get her hopes out, but, as always, she couldn't help herself. She found out some things about him that would have made a lot of girls turn and run away, but not this girl. She knew this boy still deserved to be loved and that he was a boy of great worth and potential, and because she knew this, she was willing to learn about him and see what happened. Then this very cute and handsome boy asked her on a date, but she told herself "he just someone so he could go on a double date with his friend, and I was around, so he called me. It's no big deal." But not-so-deep down inside herself, she hoped it would be a big deal, and another part even deeper down knew it was going to be a big deal. And of course, she tried not to listen to this part of herself, and of course, she failed.

As not much time went on, she saw this very cute and handsome boy more and more often. This happened by chance, not by either of their designs (Well, maybe a little bit by his.). But they certainly made the most of those moments. And then just when she thought she could hold her hopes inside herself no longer, he took her to a movie. He held her hand. He put his arm around her. It felt exactly as she had always wanted it to feel. She was so happy. Soon after, they became inseparable. They had so much fun with each other. He would swing with her and write on the sidewalk with her and watch movies with her and go on walks with her, just like she had always hoped someone would do. They even had fun at Wal-Mart together. No matter what they did, it was fun, and he made her feel beautiful and special.

Now, this very cute and handsome boy was hurting. He had done some things he wished he hadn't and life was very hard for him. But he was trying hard to overcome it all. When he saw this girl, he thought she would never take a second glance at him. But he tried anyway, and was happy with what happened. He said that he had found a wonderful girl who brought him up and made him smile and laugh every day. He said she made him really happy when before he was just going through the motions. He didn't feel like he had to say things that she wanted to hear, he could just be himself and she wouldn't get mad at him for being him and for every little thing he did.

As time went on, she began to learn how much she meant to this very cute and handsome boy. And as his hurt began to be eased and the light in his eyes shone brighter and brighter, the hole in her heart began to be full. In fact, it got to the point that it felt like it had filled a space bigger than the hole had been. The two were very happy, and they talked about getting married. This made them even happier. But she wasn't sure if it was the right, so they kept getting to know each other and have fun together. Then one day when they were watching a movie together, he said "I could hold you forever." And she knew he meant it. And she knew she wanted him to hold her forever. It was perfect.

A little while later, she began to notice that her sweetheart was getting kind of quiet. He would laugh a little less and sometimes looked like his thoughts were in a faraway place. She would ask if he was ok, and he would say he was. So she didn't worry about it too much, and just kept being there for him and helping him however she could and letting him know that she would do anything in her power for him. And she would endure anything to be with him.

But one day, something awful happened to this very cute and handsome boy. That day, she didn't hear from him at all and she was very very worried about him. She called him and he would not answer. She didn't know where he was or what he was doing or if he was ok. She dreaded how this awful thing had affected her very cute and handsome boy. He did make it home later that night and his mom called her when he did. He just said he was ok and he didn't feel like talking.

She saw her sweetheart the next day, and she could tell that he was very troubled, and she cried for him. But he wouldn't tell her what was hurting him, and as the week wore on, she felt him shutting her out of his life. It broke her heart, but she knew now that she was undeniably in love with him, and more than anything, she wanted to make the hurt go away.

So one day she was going to tell him that she wanted him to tell her what was wrong so she could be there for him. But he just said "You shouldn't have to worry about it. It's such a burden. I think you would be happier with someone else."

She was shocked. How could he think this? She had tried to be there for him and stand by him through everything that happened. And she was happy with him through it all. And some of the things he said were a burden she had begun to be very excited for. So how could he say this? She cried for a couple days and still felt so empty inside. She had planned her life around him. And his family. And now she wasn't sure what to do.

But after she got over herself with the help of a few good friends, she knew she would be ok. She would continue doing the things she loved and hope the hole (that was now larger than it had been before him) would be filled later on. And she hoped this very cute and handsome boy would be ok and would try to be happy and not give up no matter how hard life got. But she still worries about him to this day, and sometimes it is still hard because she misses him and hurts for him.

The End. . . for now.