Resolutions

I know this is so cliche... but humor me. 2013 is my year to slim down. This photo above is what I want to look like. I'm so nervous about it! I tried to lose weight in high school a few times, but it never worked and it would just make me bitter.

So, currently I'm at 142 lbs. (and 5' 4'') and my goal weight is 110 lbs. It sounds freaky saying it because the last time I weighed 110 lbs. I think I was in, like, 8th grade. Yea, creepy.

But this girl above looks dang good!

My goal is to eat between 1200-1500 calories a day (depending on if I work out or not) and get a gym membership. I've been counting calories the last two days using an app on my phone called "Fitness Pal." It's awesome because you just type in what you eat, and the app calculates how many calories are in your food and adds up the daily totals. It is eye opening because the calories I eat add up so fast! Day before yesterday, I had eaten 1250 calories before dinner time! yikes. But the app definitely helps me be conscious of what I eat, and I'm less likely to eat a second roll at dinner if I know they're 150 calories a piece (that happened at Texas Roadhouse the other day... a serious bummer).

Fingers crossed I can keep this dang new years goal.

A little something for...

My grandma. One of the loveliest ladies I know. Happy Happy 86th birthday, Phoebe. So very excited to see you in a week!

Also, thanks to my brother Justin for these fabulous photos.

Thanksgiving Recap

The view on backroad to Grantsville. Stunner.

Thanksgiving was fabulous. We headed to Grantsville to spend the night at my in laws, Kathy and Dick's, house.  We were actually eating the meal with my side of the family in Bountiful, but Brent's brothers are real big on playing a football game the morning of Thanksgiving (naturally) so we went there first. I always get a kick at Dick and Kathy's house because they have high school photos of all the kids on a wall downstairs... seriously, a wall full of 8x10 photos of big strapping boys, and then their sweet sister McKell. And here is Brent. I think if his hair was this long now, Dick would cry. He's all about being clean shaven and well trimmed... 

So on Thursday, we headed to Aunt Tenna and Uncle Audie's house in Bountiful. It was a full house! And I was a real chump and didn't bring a thing... no side dish no nothing. Poor choice on my part. Tenna is such a champion, cooking for so many people. You know... kudos to all those who cook a turkey. I saw a few raw ones hanging around this break... gross. Scary. 

And yet... somehow delicious... 

It was an awesome group. I'll go through em for you.So here at the foreground of the photo in the blue shirt, we've got: (from left to right)

Lyla, Tenna's mom

Scott (whom I've never met!), Tenna's nephew

the empty chair was for Haven, Tenna's oldest daughter

CJ, Haven's close friend/boyfriend? not sure exactly there... he's always there for the holidays, but 

      I'm too scared to ask those types of personal questions...

Lauren, in the red shirt, Tenna's daughter

Lyle, Lauren's boyfriend. He was so cute and nice.

Miranda, Tenna and Audies' lil girl, she seriously needs to be put on a treadmill! She's wild.

Audie, my uncle

Tenna, auntie

Sherrie, Grandma Alice, and me (you can't see them... just a bit of my red hair there)

Brent in the classy plaid

John

Mercedes (dude, she was good with the in laws.)

After lunch, Tenna called for family portraits. Uh, I was not prepared for photographs! I was wearing a scraggly long sleeve t-shirt. But, hey, you win some you lose some. 

Here we are outside the house where CJ took the photos. And, doesn't their yard have a great view!?

 This is our shot... scraggly tee and all :)

All my love to family in North Carolina. So excited to be there for the Christmas holiday!

Funny... and yet... Sad

I look at dumb photos instead of doing my homework. Just because they're hilarious is no valid excuse...

Yes, I'll end on that. Also, for your information I am in the library. And yes, I did just open a new tab on the internet to type in a smart sounding website when someone walked by my cubicle... while I may be looking at Pinterest and blogging while "studying" in the library... heaven knows I don't want anyone else to see. 

(P.S. While I meant to type in a smart sounding website, I did accidentally type in Facebook. I am 100% ridiculous.)

And... another confession

So... I was thinking of going to the gym today. However, there is 6 inches or more (!!) of snow outside and I lack the dedication to go to the gym in these conditions. So, I searched on YouTube for workout videos, and came across this little one called "Victoria Secret Supermodel Stiletto Legs Workout."

Naturally I would like the legs of a VS supermodel, so um, I tried it.

I put on heels (the ones I wore for my wedding no less) and did the workout in my kitchen (no, Brent was absolutely not in the house...). I should be too embarrassed to share this... but my mind was blown by how hard it was.

I mean, Yikes. It was so so hard. I seriously need to do this dumb little video every day.

P.S. I only have 3.5 weeks left of school before graduation. It is a real real shame I have no motivation for these last weeks. I need to get motivation... I cannot just coast to the end!

P.P.S If you watch the video... just ignore her super peppy voice at first...

Spin it.

I seriously hate it when I get so wrapped up in all the awesome things my class mates are doing on Facebook, that I forget I don't have to be jealous. Oh hey... my life right now is really cool too.

Just because someone else is really fabulous and doing a lot of cool things, doesn't make me less cool. That phrase is on repeat in my mind.

Wedding Bells...

I adore these photos! John and Mercedes are getting married in December and I get a little jittery thinking about it... I'm excited to go to a wedding after having my own, because now I pay a ton more attention to the details and all the planning that went into it... and enjoy it more, I think.

I'm also pretty pumped because Mercedes asked me to be a bridesmaid!

woot.

She did pick out the cutest bridesmaid dress. I am REQUIRED to buy a cute dress. I'll say yes to that. (from modcloth.com)

Kudos to my sweet brother and sister-in-law to be. I am just so proud for them.

Good things...

Excited for my mom to come to Utah this Saturday. What a sweet lady.

Back to the News

For school this semester, I'm working on four news stories. The first two stories are required to be "feature" stories, meaning not on crime on politics or "hard" news per say, but more fun subjects. My first story is basically following a pumpkin from the patch to the store, the farming process and all. Um... I guess that does sound a little boring... ha... I'm embarrassed.

But anyway, I felt like a fool because when I went to shoot the video on the pumpkin farm, I seriously had to walk 1/2 a mile into the pumpkin field with my camera and tripod! I looked like a real novice. But thankfully, the video turned out :)

And, I was lucky that my little nephew Ethan and his family paint pumpkins each year. That way I could interview him and get some shots of him and cute little Emma painting their stuff. I mean, how cute is his quote at the end?

I'm lookin around for ideas for my next story... any ideas?

I confess

Eek. I miss ballet so much. After I graduate, I secretly want to just work out every day, take open adult ballet classes, lose a ton of weight, and then try out for Salt Lake's ballet company, Ballet West in January 2014. I mean, I know its unrealistic and I know I'm really too old... but I want it. I want it. I want it.

Photo by Paul Goode of Susan Jaffe

Art I'd like to put up in my home

Photo 1: The Thames, London
Photo 4: Dubai Marina, United Arab Emirates

Paris

Andre Kertesz, "Les toits de Paris" 1963

Thank you, Pinterest

NY Times Article

This picture is from a New York Times article about a freelance dancer in New York. She only made $25,000 last year from dancing and somehow meets her $1,200 a month rent. Scary! What a life! It is seriously nutty. Here's the link to the article, if you're curious.

Update

My internship isn't too bad. I take photos, edit em, and put them on Facebook. At least that's a part of it. But it is quite enjoyable. I update the Facebook pages for BYU Synthesis (the jazz group) and  Living Legends (a dance group that does Latin American, Native American, and Polynesian dances-- sounds like a yawn, but its actually way exciting)... so I mean, if you want, you can take a look at them and "like" the pages... but I mean only if you want :)

Photos of BYU Synthesis rehearsal I took

I'm so so excited to graduate in December. I mean homework is really dragging me down... I have to go to class... and then spend all night stressing about my papers while I watch a TV show! (seriously, why am I so lazy?)

Also, I love my Journalism major... but I felt such relief a month or two ago when I realized that I don't HAVE to get a job as a reporter if I want to, I'm not forced. I can branch out a bit... there's no harm in that.

Hope everyone's doing well. Love to all.

If I May..

I made home made biscuits today... and if I may... let me just say, they were seriously awesome. The perfect consistency, so fluffy with just a hint of crunch on the outside. I do think that has to do with Grandma Phoebe's little trick of folding the dough on itself a few times before rolling it out... but seriously they were something else. The ones on the left are my babies and the ones on the right are the photo from the online recipe... (so maybe they look a touch funky... how do I get a flat top??)

Also, I got a tip from one of the comments on the recipe, and it made cutting the butter in a real cinch (especially because I don't have one of those wire cutter things, so I would otherwise have to use the two-fork method). I put the butter in the freezer for a bit, then grated it in on a cheese grater into the flour. It was niiice.

PS school is going fine. The internship is going fine. But they both make me stress... :)

xo to all the family.

Picnic-ing

Since my brother John just moved here to Provo, and is engaged to Mercedes!, our family had a little summer picnic to celebrate. We had it in Granny Alice's backyard, which is so beautiful, with her big yard and big plants- I was in love with all fruit and vegetables she had goin on. She had a pear tree in the backyard (Granny literally shoved pears in my arms to take home... naturally, I didn't resist) a grape vine on her fence (tiny grapes with a bit of a punch to 'em) and corn stalks in the backetty-back.

The weather ended up being way nice as the day went on. We played badminton and a few card games after eating (p.s. Joel grilled some way good hot dogs- and thankfully he humored my requests by toasting me a bun! seriously delicious). Brent was, naturally, a stud. He played endlessly with 5-year-old little Miranda. Aunt Tenna led some rousing political discussions and it was definitely a good get-together before school starts next Monday. 

Heaven knows I need to see my family more often.

Cool, no?

Star projector for your room... $22 from this website

A portrait... using people. By Craig Alan

A water tower Brooklyn. Designed by Tom Fruin.

Lake Retba. A seriously pink lake in Senegal, the color is from a bacteria that grows in the lake. 

As Luck Would Have It

To graduate this December, as planned, I need to get an internship this fall. I've been quite nervous about it, to be honest. The internship takes up quite a bit of time... a minimum of 280 hours over the semester, which equates to about 20 hours per week-- so basically a part time job. A lot of the internships are in Salt Lake (with the major news stations like ABC, Fox, and KSL) which is about an hour drive away.

Anyway, I've been quite lucky. I was pretty persistent with a particular internship here in Provo that fit basically all of my wants and needs. It is here in Provo, and I would work with BYU's Performing Arts Management- interviewing the artists of the school's dance and music groups and making short news stories about them to up their publicity. I mean, its perfect! 

While interviewing for that internship, I got a call quite out of the blue from KSL, one of the big media companies in Salt Lake (I interviewed with them in like, early April, and then didn't hear back from them until three days ago) and was offered an internship with them. Whoa, I felt good. 

I heard back from BYU though, and I knew that was gonna work out for me, so I took it. And then, icing on the cake, the internship will be paid. Wow, God's got my back. 

I hope to make awesome behind-the-scenes videos like this... (Parts 2 & 3 of the video can be found on YouTube)

Rainy cafe in Paris

Its been way hot lately, and dry... in typical Utah fashion. I've been hoping for a cool front lately, maybe with a little rain. Inspired by all these photos around the web...

Provo mountains

San Fran bridge by Theodor Heuss Brucke

Switzerland

A Wicked Birthday

For my birthday, we went on a sweet trip to Salt Lake and had dinner at Benihana's (conveniently right by the theatre...) and then went to Wicked, the musical. Oh, it was so good.

Dinner was like a pre-show show. Its a Japanese steakhouse, and you sit around a huge grill that the chef cooks your food on right in front of you. The chef was doing all kinds of tricks... juggling his spatulas and throwing shrimp tails around. We were sitting with a family with 3 kids under ten, and I think I was more entertained than they were...

Though... as Brent and I learned, the family were definitely regulars to Benihana's (and the guy paid with a $100 bill! whoa. You can see the Dad there in the background of the chef photo). When our chef came to the table, flipping his knives and such, the Dad was like, "Steve! I thought you were off on vacation today!"

Seriously, they like Benihana's and they didn't mess. Ha.

But the food was delicious.

And, Wicked was also fabulous. Good talent, cool scenery, great stuff.

And just take a small look at how dashing Brent looks :)

The Movies

There's a ballet documentary out called First Position. Oh, its good. It follows a few dancers through the Youth American Grand Prix, an American ballet competition. It only came out in a few movie theaters and for only a few days (I just missed it when it came to Salt Lake, gah).

But, I was able to rent it (for a whopping $6.99) on Amazon Prime Instant video, and I seriously was on the edge of my bed! Two of the dancers the movie follows quit regular school and started home school to continue their dancing. Another is from Colombia, and at 17 or 18 is living in Brooklyn away from his family to pursue his career. It is nutty to watch it, dancers are so kooky, and yet fascinating. They obsess and are perfectionists, but they have to be, if they want to be a professional dancer.

Here's the trailer...

DIY

I am so curious to try out these do-it-yourself wall art pieces. They seem easy... though they never are. Ha. But the one above (supposedly anyways :) is framed wallpaper. And instead of a large expensive frame, the person just used trim molding. Simple genius.

And this one... one of those black rubber outside door mats. Its spray painted white, and then sanded for that (ever elusive...) 'rustic' look. 

That stuff looks good. And, yes, I did find these ideas on pinterest

Cabis

I saw this fascinating photo gallery called "Just Here's Fine" (by Victoria Hannan) that documents the life of London taxi drivers. What a rough life.

Politics

I took an online quiz called "I Side With" to see which presidential candidate I most agreed with. 


According to the quiz (which I assume is correct...), I agreed most closely with the politics of Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate! That was a surprise for me! I just assumed I'd agree most with Mitt because he's Mormon like me. 


A libertarian is described succinctly (via a google search I did... ha) as someone who believes in maximum liberty and minimal government. Which, I do agree with...  for the most part anyway.


You can see below who I agreed with most and on what issues. With Mitt there, we weren't as agreeable as I thought. (Side note... Brent took the quiz, and sided with Romney 91%. wowza)

To be honest, I'd never even heard of Mr. Johnson. As a libertarian, he's not in the race to become the Republican candidate, which is the biggie deal right now, and he obviously won't be the Democratic candidate (I think our incumbent Obama called that one)... so I assume that's why he's not a big name since he's not with either of the big two parties. 


So, if I voted for him, would it be a throwaway vote? The chances of him winning are slim (I mean, I didn't even know he was a candidate, I would assume his chances are slim) so even if I voted for him, he'd just lose anyway. But then, if everyone thought that way, nobody would vote at all, and where's the good in that?


So I feel a bit in a sticky situation. Should I vote for him or not? And why does it take this little quiz to make me see who I most agree with? I should be more in the know... but it is sometimes boring to follow debates... just being honest.


If you're curious... Gary's positions include (I got them off his website):
1. Making it easier for immigrants to get visas and residency.
2. Repeal Obama's Healthcare plan. Which, I agree with I think. There are some good parts to the plan, but I don't think making health insurance mandatory is good.. it drives up the prices of insurance premiums because there are more medical bills to cover (at least I think that's right...)
3. Lessen the presence of American military in other countries. With the current state of the US budget, we can't afford to build roads, schools, and hospitals in other countries, as much as we would like to.


If you want to take the quiz... its at www.isidewith.com. Please do... Grandma and family I'd be curious to see who you agree with.

The House

Brent and I live on the second story of a house just a few blocks away from campus. We really love it, so I wanted to show it off a bit! The photo above is outside of our kitchen window. A few weeks ago, the side of the driveway was just covered in roses and it was so dreamy looking! Though unfortunately, the roses have all died now... I think the heat might have did them in.

We only have a swamp cooler in our bedroom, no AC or anything like that. So it can get preeety toasty. But that's really the only shortcoming... unless you count having to bring in the grocery loads up these stairs.. ha

I do adore our kitchen. Its pretty big, and even has a gas stove that cooks like nobody's business. It heats up way fast. The dining room does leave some to be desired... its pretty empty because we have the TV in our bedroom with the swamp cooler. But we do like to have dinner in here when we invite people over.

Eh, I'll post some more later.