Tomorrow!

Tomorrow involves:

And then at 5:55 PM, this:

And then this:

And them:

(Special thanks to Stephanie's blog for the photo as I don't have a recent one. But I will in 1.5 days!)

And this for 6 days:

I wish it was Tuesday at 2:30 pm already.

Baby Creations

So, a long time ago--okay, it was back before my mission in 2003 when my best friend, Melanie, was getting married. I had very little money, but I wanted to get her a good gift for her wedding. At that time, I was diligently attempting to make birth announcement cross-stitches for each of my nieces and nephews. With extra thread and a book of Precious Moments scenes, I began a tradition that has somewhat been consistent of making a cross-stitch for each of my friends as they get married. (PS--those who never received a cross-stitch, would you let me know? I'll be happy to make you one.) Here's a few examples of what I've done, but they aren't my finish products. I just found the pictures on the internet. Mine always have their names and the date of their marriage. Plus, the characters tend to have the same colored hair as the couple who got married:


So, after I returned from my mission, many of those friends who had gotten married while I was gone, decided to have babies. I'm not against that, it's just that I was tired of cross-stitching. You can only do it so much! So, I decided it was high time that I learned a new skill. And that became crocheting. (I'm sticking with the letter "c" for learning craft skills.) So, each of my friends gets an afghan for the birth of their kid. And usually I try to match the color with the baby's gender, but some people like to be surprised. Well, yesterday, I finished a baby afghan. It's a new pattern and I'm tickled by how good it looks. Granted, the border doesn't really match the rest of the afghan in color, but it's a baby--she'll never know! So here are some pictures of the beautiful blanket. (If I missed anyone's baby, please let me know. I'm HAPPY to make another one. They're easy.)

Hogle Zoo

A few weeks ago, my sister, Dawn, was in town and we met up with my brother Kevin and his family for a trip to the Hogle Zoo. I went to the zoo last year with my friends, Melanie and Montana, and for the first time that I can remember went to San Diego Zoo last May. So, I was coming to Hogle Zoo with new eyes and noticed just how small it is. But it was still fun to hang out with the family for a day. Afterwards, we went to Big Hires for some lunch.

Itching to Travel

One great thing about having a full-time job is that I seem to have money. I know. It's a scary thought. But lately, I've been getting very stir-crazy. I tire of Utah and the mountains (even though it is pretty). I've been thinking a lot of traveling. I've always wanted to travel. From the first time I was in Europe when I was 18--I always wanted to go back. Luckily, I got sent to Spain as a missionary--I saw incredible sites, then, but not enough to quell this desire to see the world. So, I've been plotting and planning about where I would go on a trip. Unfortunately, I would have to a) save enough money for said adventure, b) save up vacation days to take, and c) find someone to go with because I shouldn't do EVERYTHING by myself (and I'm becoming too much of a loner these days). So, I figured I'd share a few places I would LOVE to go.

First off, Paris. How could you NOT want to go there? I've been dreaming of Paris since I decided to take French in high school, rather than Spanish. I dreamed of it as I put in my mission papers. I spoke French--why would I be sent anywhere else? Yeah--I was sent to Spain. I think I've been to practically every country that SURROUNDS France, but never to France. So, that's the first place I would go.

Plus, not only do you get to see such sites as the Eiffel Tower or the Musee D'Orsay, but Giverny, too! Do you not know what Giverny is? It's the home of Claude Monet, famous Impressionist painter. The picture above? Yeah, that's the famous Japanese Bridge that Monet paints in his most famous water lily paintings--that happened in the garden of his home. And I've always wanted to see it.

But then, there is Ireland. I am DYING to see Ireland. Which is weird because I have 3/4th English ancestry. But then again, the other 1/4th is Swiss, and the Swiss are considered neutral. So, yes. Ireland. It's green, and looks so beautiful. Plus, I want to find a leprechaun :)

And lastly, England. I want to see more of London. I only was there for three days, back when I was eighteen. I barely scratched the surface.

I found a neat website that gives itineraries for seeing sites that were in movies--for example, Pride and Prejudice or Miss Potter or sites that were important in the writing of The Chronicles of Narnia. I'm sorely tempted to sign up for one, but I need money and a traveling buddy. Anyone interested?

Writing: Part Two

So at the end of my last post on writing, I had picked out names for my characters and wrote out very detailed sketches. To go into more depth--I even went so far as to describe favorite authors, music, etc of these characters and birth dates. But my greatest problem was determining what would occur in the story.

As I already knew that they were going on a cross-country trip, I went to maps.google.com and looked at the map of the US. I noted all of the places in the US that I had been and what kind of trip I thought the aunt would take. As I had sketched out her life, she had traveled and lived in various places, so it only seemed right that she take a hopscotch view of traveling. I made note of certain cities, then proceeded to write things that could happen in those cities. What would be places that they would go? I knew the niece hadn't traveled widely. That's when I had to decide where the niece was from. (I'm tired of calling her 'the niece'. Her name is Abby in the story). Abby wasn't a naive girl, she just never got to travel very much. So, I picked Arizona. I have little experience there, but enough to be able to describe it. That helped me develop Abby's view of the world a little better.

As I could relate to the aunt (aka Ellie), I had her growing up in Los Angeles (which is NOT San Diego), but at least it was near the geographical region. So, from then on, I had more descriptions of the characters, a map of where the characters were going to go and ideas on what would happen at each stop. I sat down and wrote a one paragraph summary of the story--the major conflict. Then, I fleshed that out further and ideas came to me and I immediately added more side stories in there and began to sketch more characters.

Once I was confident in all of that, I re-wrote Chapter One. Chapter Two just flowed. And the process has continued up to Chapter Six (the last chapter I have written). After I finish a chapter, I immediately begin thinking to the next chapter. I have a notebook in my purse and I jot down ideas and plot out where I'm going to go.

And then, my BIG secret, is that if I have a scene for later on in the story that is just itching for me to write--I write it. So, I have some funny scenes that will not show up for awhile, because I just needed a break. As one author described it--you sometimes have to eat the desserts before dinner.

So, I hope that helps all of you inspiring authors. Especially you, Lindsay! Cheers!

Most Loathed and Dreaded Household Chore

Since I was small, my mother has always made me help around the house. Vacuuming, washing dishes, taking out trash--I did it all (though probably with the least amount of effort--Sorry, Mom!). But I did it. And in the past year, since my brother, Eric, moved away, I have been taking care of my parents' fourplex in Provo. I've learned some useful skills--like how to put together swamp coolers, how to disconnect, and how to fix sprinklers. But my most hated task has been to mow the lawn. Every other week, I go to the apartments and spend an hour mowing the lawn. And I hate it. I now know why my parents had six boys--so they would always have someone to mow their lawn. If only I had some sons.

Writing: Part One

Per Lindsay's request (who is probably the only person who reads this often) and because I have nothing happening during my lunch, I'm going to blog about my writing process for writing my novel. I'm going to be divulging some of my plot, so please don't steal anything! I created it first!

Well, it all began on a boring ride home from work. I take Trax to Sandy and then drive from Sandy to Orem. I don't really talk to anyone, especially when I'm in my car and nobody else is there, so I often think about my life. There's only so many songs on the radio to sing to! In March, I was driving and I was thinking about my 13 year old (about to turn 14) niece. Our relationship was changing. I could complain about boys to her and she actually understood (or at least gave a very good imitation of understanding), we read the same books, etc. So, I started pondering ways that I could relate to her better, what things I would like to do with her as she got older. I decided that it would be fun to one day take a trip with her. But what would that be like?

Then came the kicker--I thought it would be such a fun story to write. About an aunt who takes her niece on a road trip. So, as soon as I got home, I opened up my computer and got into Microsoft Word and wrote down "aunt takes niece on road trip." That was all. From there, I brainstormed these two characters. What did they look like? They had to look very similar because they needed a sisterly dynamic to their relationship. But they were very different. I wrote out long character sketches that I continue to add to as the story progresses. Then, I picked a couple of names. Names that I felt fit the characters. I knew I could always change these name, but because my sketches were so detailed, I figured that I needed names to begin with.

I started writing the first chapter. I just started diving into the story. I knew I wanted to tell it from the niece's point of view because in reality, the niece knows so little about her aunt. She didn't really see her aunt doing much growing up because those years were while she was a baby or a toddler. I felt having some mystery/discovery aspect for the niece was pivotal. So, I wrote out chapter one. It flowed nicely, and I felt I was starting to scratch the surface. There was more I wanted to say, but didn't know how or where.

That's when the trouble began. I realized that I didn't know where I wanted to go. These characters were going on a trip, but where would they stop? How long would they be gone? What would happen along the way? What was the mystery behind the aunt? How is their relationship? What changes occur to one or both?

And I'll answer all of these questions...later. I have to get back to work!

Movie Fetish

I totally have a fetish for movies. I know fetish has a terrible connotation, but it's the best way I know how to describe how I feel about movies. I have a huge dvd collection. This collection ranges from Cary Grant classics (Bringing Up Baby and The Philadelphia Story) to ultimate chick flicks (3 versions of Pride and Prejudice, all of the new BBC Jane Austen collection, etc) to sports movies (Rudy, Remember the Titans, We Are Marshall, Seabiscuit, etc) to action/adventure (National Treasure, Batman Begins, etc.) and plenty of TV shows. (The above picture indicates my four newest additions to my happy family, and probably the last for a little while as I start saving up for a new computer.)

I know I shouldn't have as many movies as I do, but I like watching movies. I enjoy watching them over and over. And I don't mind watching them alone. I think it's my way of coping with not going out a lot.

I haven't made a lot of friends in the past year--with commuting to work every day, being up at 5 AM, going to bed at 9 PM, having two roommates (one who ostracizes everyone from her life, while the other is currently in a long-distance relationship and about to become engaged), and being ridiculously shy (especially for someone who has served a mission and had no fear talking to people about religion)--it's been a long, lonely year. And to cope, I watch movies and work on various projects. I have now cross-stitched and crocheted more in my life. And I realized how much my brain has gone to mush. So, I've been trying to read more books. But as you compare my "Books Read" list to my "Movies Watched" list to your left, you'll see which category is winning. Pathetic, really. I've noticed this recently, and am trying to curb my movie watching days--but when a lot of your friends are getting married and having babies, projects have to be completed before the showers and I can do other things while watching a movie. So, the movies list will grow.

In other news, I've completed six chapters of my novel. My editor is my 14 year old niece, for whom the story is actually written. I sent it off to a guy I knew in high school, because we happened to be talking about it, and he liked it and thought I should finish it and send it to some publishers. So, we'll see what happens. I'm slowly starting to let people read the first four chapters, since those are the most "polished" of the six I have. But I make no guarantees that it's anything good.

And in more "other news"--only 20 more days, 2 hours, and 37 minutes until my summer vacation arrives. I can't wait!

If You Haven't Heard Him Sing...

So, for the first time in a few years, I was actually interested in watching American Idol. I liked the contestants, and fell in love with the voice of 17 year old David Archuleta. Maybe it was the fact that whenever I drove around and was listening to the radio, everything talked about David Archuleta. The whole state was full of excitement for our "home town hero".

Well, if you haven't heard him sing, someone posted this video on youtube where he sings "Be Still My Soul" for a group of troubled teens in La Jolla. It was a fireside given shortly after American Idol ended where he bore his testimony and talked about his family and religion helped him through the show and life. Just watch it. You'll love his voice. It's so powerful.

It's Official

Some time ago (aka on New Years' Eve) I wrote out some goals I have for this year. Some resolutions. Now, I haven't completed with every goal, however yesterday I hit a major milestone.
I have been out of shape a majority of my life it feels like. And because of that, my self-esteem has suffered. I don't tell you this for pity, but rather as a way of explanation. I tried losing weight, but to no avail. I love food too much. Well, on my mission (yes, I hate that phrase but it works here) I lost a lot of weight because:

a) I wasn't eating 3 meals a day--there was no time
b) I didn't have time to make meals, so I either ate scrambled eggs or cereal
c) I walked an average of 17 miles per day
d) I was stressed -- A LOT

That surely explains a lot. Well, when I got home, I gained that weight back over a period of a year. I don't know if it was Mom's amazing home cooking, or just everything, but I could no longer fit in the adorable clothes I had bought on my mission. Well, this year I made the resolution to lose the weight. I've struggled quite a bit. Tried running and that worked for 3 weeks before the weather decided to snow, then rain, and then I had evening appointments--whether it was visiting with friends or staying late at work--it seemed like everything was against me. I dreaded my weekly appointment with my scale.
But yesterday was the amazing day. I stepped on the scale and I was at the lowest number I have been at in a year. I officially have lost 12 pounds since January. And to celebrate, I got myself a treat and then walked 2 miles. This may not be a big deal to anyone else, but it's a huge deal for me. And when I stepped on the scale this morning to verify that I hadn't gone out of my mind--the weight was 0.6 lower than yesterday. Whatever I'm doing, I'm content with continuing in the hopes that in the next 5 months (aka around December) I will be down another 12 pounds. Wouldn't that be a Christmas miracle!