big plans: defined

I had a longer post written here, but it entailed the long process and emotional roller coaster I rode in order to arrive at this "big plan".  I'll save you from all details and keep them for my future grandchildren when they need a lesson about making big life-changing decisions. 

LONG STORY SHORT:  I AM GOING ON A MISSION! 

I started my paperwork at the beginning of March, and will hopefully in a few weeks receive a big white envelope that includes not only a mission call but also the most suspenseful occasion you could imagine - except for maybe a Lakers' playoff game in overtime. 

College grad? Check. 

On to the next adventure! 

why life is rockin' right now

 - enjoying fun things in Utah with my family

{I'm related to the cutest little kids on the planet}

- seeing this beautiful temple during the springtime

"I'm going there someday..."

- knowing what I will do after graduation 

I figured out what I will do for the next little bit. 

A few years ago I created an image in my head of what I would like my graduation day to entail, and it's amazing how close I got {about 99% of what I wanted!} 

√ 1.  a more grown-up look {pierced earrings and bangs help} 

√ 2.  immediate + extended family present for all the celebrations! 

3.  in a serious relationship  {hey, you know- I am happy, and it's all about timing. Everything happens for a reason! : ) } 

√4.  weighing as much {or should I say as little?} as I did in high school.  

I am back to what I weighed my junior year... when I was 17.  It was a long obstacle, and I hope I can keep it up and be even more fit! 

√ 5.  knowing my next big adventure 

I'll tell you soon . . . 

. . . but right now I have to:

 pick up my cap and gown

pay a parking ticket {bahaha} 

buy a BYU basketball/Jimmer T-shirt

go have a dessert party with my lovely friends

oh yea, and graduate from college. 

: )

little finds on and off the web

FILM:
Adam

Snippets of Dead Poet's Society
{Emie was watching it. I need to see it from beginning to end.}

King's Speech.
I saw an edited version at the Academy Theatre last weekend!
The cinematography is wonderful.  Simple, limited, and includes some untraditional framing which I loved.

Modern Family {TV}
Hilarious.


BOOKS:

I read the first book of the Hunger Games series.  It was good! After 40 pages of reading the second, I lost interest. I don't like how picky I have become with the books that captivate my interest.  I think I need to find some good historical books.
Any suggestions?

I love words.
New word: surreptitiously - done in secret because if discovered it would most likely not receive a seal of approval.

SITES:
There is something about reading guys' blogs that makes me so content.  I feel like I have scored secret access into the way they think.  And men, real men, don't normally blog at all, so it's a nice find.

dayswithmyfather.com

A son captures amazing photos and a sad story about his father. 

tomywife.tumblr.com

Little notes of what this man will do for his wife.  Witty, honest, a bit blunt; collectively adorable. I love these:

soon to be graduate

Guess what I am doing in a little over a week? 

Tossing my cap up in the air as a BYU graduate. 

Cool, right?

I haven't been thinking too much about all the excitement until now because of work and various projects and other things, but now I am really looking forward to seeing my friends who are still up there, and other fun BYU things such as: 

Eating at the Skyroom

Seeing the blossoms and pretty flowers on campus

Hopefully running into Cosmo

NOT feeling stressed during finals week, cuz hey! I have no finals!  HA!

Buying a Jimmer T-shirt, or two 

And I'll be in Park City. 

Oh how I love Park City!!! 

quote_me

I have a bit of free time on my hands, and I spend a lot of it on my laptop.  {Surprise surprise!} I like to stumble on stumbleupon.com and recently have started to browse through Pinterest, = overload on beautiful style photographs, design ideas, and anything artistic.  The images that catch my eye are most often quotes with fun typography.  Sometimes I would find an old familiar quote that I have written down in my quote book, but there are many that haven't been illustrated.  

And then I had an idea:  Why don't I make my own? 

Here is the first.  And it's actually not a quote by anyone famous, it's just one of my life mottos that I love.

Hopefully the first of many to come... 

Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration

Did you know that you can watch the film about Joseph Smith online, right now?

It was originally only presented at the theatre in Temple Square and in temples' visitors' centers, but today you can watch it from your own computer!

From the church website: 

"The original 2005 version depicts events in the life of Joseph Smith that help explain the Church's belief in modern prophets and Joseph Smith's role in restoring the Church of Jesus Christ to the earth.

The new version stays true to that original purpose but uses reedited footage from the original film as well as some new footage to create a product that is more understandable for the wider Internet audience. About 40 percent of the film is new material.

The revised Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration is available online at mormonchannel.org/Joseph"

Some of you may know that I took several editing classes from the editors of this film, and worked under them at the Church's Motion Picture Studio in Provo. As a final project for my Advanced Avid Class, we were asked to cut our own "trailers" for this film.  It was a really great experience to watch the film a handful of times and feel the Spirit every time I worked on it.  

I hope you get a chance to watch the new version!  

film log, Jan-Mar 2011

Not a huge fan of this male lead, but he is supposed to be significantly older than her, so I guess that works for the story! 

I have been wanting to watch this ever since I missed my chance at BYU's International Cinema.
It is a British film.  I had a hard time understanding the little boy in the beginning with his thick Scottish accent. Emily Mortimer {from Disney's The Kid!} and Gerald Butler.  It is so sad in some parts, but worth watching!  PG-13 for language. 

 A film about Banksy, the mysterious UK graffiti artist.  This crazy French guy from LA starts filming a bunch of other graffiti artists and finds himself with a connection to film a doc about Banksy.  When I say crazy, I mean far beyond lunatic.  He thinks he is a filmmaker, but really just goes around filming everything compulsively, has no organization, and can't form a concrete story from his hundreds of tapes.  Banksy takes over the doc, and this film is the end result.  Some writers are convinced the whole film is a hoax.  What is NOT a hoax is the prank he pulls at Disneyland - I was really offended when I saw what he did, but I still found the film to be unlike any other story I've ever experienced.
Rated R for language.

I've already mentioned Funny Face, and I watched The Audrey Hepburn Story yesterday.
It caused me to go dress shopping.  Let's just say I did not come home empty handed. That's saying a lot considering my shopping impulses are rare.  {Note to self:  when saving money, do not watch vintage films that contain cute vintage clothing.}







1966, two surfers travel to Africa to take on the waves.
The only thing you hear is the narrator and 60s tunes in the background.
His commentary is pretty funny, though slightly racist and ignorant when speaking of the natives' first ever encounter with surfing.  I was also quite amused by his references to how expensive Africa was at the time, and it blew my mind at how enormously inflation has skyrocketed through the decades.  The narrator was so baffled at the pricey $1 coffee and $1/gallon gas prices in Africa.  We would all love a little bit of that, wouldn't we?
{sans coffee, claro. ; )}