Once Upon a Time.......

I was at school.

Walking to the CS building, passing the Career Center.

At a desk sat a boy.

"Ooh." I thought. "That is one fine lookin specimen."

I walked on, feeling slightly happier. I mean, just knowing there are guys that good looking out there is a real comfort.

I go to math. Learn about stuff. Like Simple Interest.

"Haha, I've got Simple Interest. In that HOT GUY sitting at the Career Center." I chuckled inside.

Class was dismissed. I started for the library.

Once again, I was passing the Career Center.

I had stopped thinking about the boy.

THE boy.

But then I saw him again.

He was standing up, with a jacket on. Talking to girls. Gross.

Maybe his shift was ending?

I'm looking for a career. Maybe he can help me find out what my "options" are.....if you know what I mean.

Oh well, like I'd actually have the guts to talk to him anyway.

Wynona Judd's song I saw the light just started playing in my ears. I had my earphones in, jammin to my pod. That's a good song. Classic Country.

I looked at the TV on the wall as I continued walking. CNN was on.

The bottom had catching text that read: OKLAHOMA TORNADO. They were showing footage of destruction and misery.

I wanted to watch that. Because I'm morbid.

I stood for a moment, not really in the middle of the hallway, more to the side.

"I should get to the library." I thought.

I turned.

OH. CRAP.

I pulled out one of my headphones.

"Sorry, what?" I asked innocently.

"Oh I just was asking when that happened." the hot boy asked. THE hot boy. THE hot boy I'd been drooling over just moments ago.

"Oh, sorry, I couldn't hear you." I replied stupidly.

"Yeah, I know, I tried asking you when you had your back turned, but you didn't answer."

OH CRAP!!!! HOW LONG HAD HE BEEN STANDING THERE??????

"Haha. I wasn't trying to ignore you." I instantly regretted my statement, knowing is was LAME.

"Yeah, so when did that happen?" He asked, referring obviously to the footage on the screen.

"Oh, I don't know. Today?"

"Today? Are you sure."

"Not really. It hasn't said, I don't think."

"Oh, alright. See ya."

Then he walked away.

I had a difficult time keeping myself in an upright position for a moment.

Had that hot boy, THE hot boy, just spoken to me?

More importantly, did I really just say all those lame things in that really lame voice??

My whole being was just screaming- NERD!!!

But he had spoken to me. HE spoke to ME!!

And he saw the back of my head, which if I do say so myself, looked very nice today, because I did my hair in these cool braids.

But....I had my headphones in, and I totally didn't hear him the first time. Oh my GOSH, that is so embarrassing. I don't know why. But it IS.

I hope I looked good. I hope he was so stunned by my radiant beauty that he remembers my face and maybe next time I walk past the Career Center and he's sitting at that desk, he will smile at me. Maybe a funny wave. Even a pity wave, that's all I ask for.

I'm picturing it now. It'd be just like a scene in those movies where the main girl is really lame when you first meet her. I'm picturing a Sandra Bullock type character. I'd go up to him, thinking I was clever and funny and say (as I had my earphones in). "Haha, don't try and ask me anything." Then point at my ears. Then everyone in the audience would cringe at the awkward sight. He too, would be cringing. Inside, I would be cringing more than all of you put together because I KNOW it's so ridiculous what I just said. He'd give me a sympathetic smile, hoping I'd leave. I'd maybe throw in a few more forced chuckles to try and imply I really was cool, but so obviously was not. Then I'd turn and walk away. THEN the school would be attacked by evil ninjas and one would take me hostage. "Help me!" I'd scream in a 'damsel in distress' sort of way. Career Center boy would step out from behind the front desk, ready to save the day. "Excuse me Evil Ninja, but I think you should let the lady go." His voice husky and challenging.
Well, I think you know where this is going. Yes, you're correct. The shark gets away, leaving few survivors in his wake. But then he's defeated by a Panda. And the Humbolt squid take over the sea...and eventually....the world. The end.

Until next time. Peace!

Natalie and Logan's Engagements

OK, so today I had the privilege of helping out my cousin, Natalie, by taking a few engagement pics along with her sister. I guess the photographer they hired didn't take any pictures they thought they could use for their invitations. Trisha, my cuz, called me and asked if I could help out. Of course I was more than happy. Any opportunity to take pictures is a happy day for me. Especially when I was able to discover some GREAT locations. I got some fantastic pictures coming away from the shoot. I'm pretty impressed with myself. But I guess it doesn't take that much talent when you have a really good looking couple and really good looking locations. :) I couldn't post all 100+ pictures that I took, so I choose 10 to show you. It was tough, but these are a few of the best from the day.














This last one is so cute. I can't even stand it. ;)

Movie Review: Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief

As a lot of you know, I'm in love with the book series, Percy Jackson and The Olympians. When I learned about.....um maybe 2 years ago that they were making a movie, I was happy and sad about it. When you love a book as much as I love this fantastic Greek mythology based book series, you hate to see someone else take their own ideas and mix them with the author's, creating a mess of weirdness and stick it on the big screen. However, I'm a movie lover. A big movie lover. So, I decided to give it a chance.
I FINALLY got around to seeing it today with Papi, having waited two weeks after it's release. I knew that there were already two things that this movie had going for it before I even entered the theater. 1- They have a GREAT movie poster [see pictured above]. I was actually worried that they were going to re-release the 1st book of the series (Author: Rick Riordan, for anyone interested in checking them out) with the new movie poster as the cover. (They often do this with books, no?) I KNEW that I'd buy it, even though I already own a hardcover, glossy and very beautiful copy with the original cover. However, they did not. (I was kinda disappointed, but my check book is grateful.)
And 2- The main actor, Logan Lerman, is EXACTLY how I pictured Percy Jackson. It's crazy. (At least how I pictured him in books 4-5ish. In the first book he's only 11 years old....and in the movie he's like 16 or something.)
I left the theater kinda bummed. However, during the whole movie I wasn't bummed once. It was actually pretty decent. I was entertained, for sure. As expected, the main actor was great! I really love him. If he weren't like 17 in real life, or I was 17 again, I might have a fangirl crush on him. However, since I'm 7 years his senior, I have "what a cute kid" type feelings for him. (Oh my gosh, I feel disgustingly old right now. Blech!)
Most of the actors I enjoyed very much. Sean Bean plays Zeus! I LOVE Sean Bean. He's such a fun actor, and he always plays his characters so well. Kevin Mckidd plays Poseidon. For those who watch Grey's Anatomy, you'd know him as Dr. Owen Hunt. I don't like him in that show, but I loved him in this. Boy, he is one good looking man. He had a Brit accent in this movie, but in real life he's got an Irish one *swoon*. Great job by Uma Thurman cast as Medusa. She was PERFECT! And wow, they nailed those CGI snakes. Pierce Brosnan, who I'd lost all faith in after seeing the movie Mama Mia!, restored my love for him in this film. Though, in the film his character's part was quite small. (In the books he's a major character) Also, props again to the special affects team for making him look like a real Centaur.
OK, so basically, I loved the characters themselves, however that's not to say they reflected the characters in the book. Most of them didn't, but in the context of the movie, they were very well done. They all had great chemistry, which is something that really glues a movie together, in my opinion.
Now, onto the plot. Here is why I left the theater bummed. THEY COMPLETELY OMITTED THE ENTIRE STORY ARC OF THE FIVE BOOKS!!! What the hell?? How are they even suppose to make movies of the following books if they do that?? It's impossible! They left out at least a dozen extremely important characters, and changed the other half into completely different characters who happened to have the same names. (Except Chiron AKA Pierce Brosnan. They really nailed his character.) I mean, seriously though. They took the SUB STORY of the first book and made a movie of that. SO weird. So weird. I'm just so.....unsettled about it.
I guess in the great scheme of things I can understand why they did what they did. They didn't know how the much the movie would make so they wanted to make it more of a stand alone movie. I understand it , but I don't like it.
Also, in the first book, the main characters are about 11 years old. For the movie they aged them like five years. (Another obvious reason they had to omit the story arc...it would have made no sense at the age they were in the movie.) Again, I understand why. Who wants to watch a bunch of 11 year-old kids do stuff?
There is only one more thing that really irked me. And if you can believe this, it's what irked me the most. The main female character, Annabeth, is BLONDE in the book. Percy mentions it like a trillion times. It totally adds to her character! But of course they couldn't find any blondes to play Annabeth in the movie, I mean, they were wiped out with the dinosaurs right?? So the Annabeth in the movie was brunette. Ugh. Bugs. Plus they left out 90% of her character's qualities, so I guess it doesn't really matter. But still. Grrrr. (Although, the actress was not bad. She's actually in White Collar as Neil's long lost girlfriend, for anyone who watches that! LOVE that show.)
So, if it was possible for me separate my love for the book, and my like for the movie, all would be well with the world. But alas, I can't seem to do that.

If you like fun movies, that are really made for younger audiences (although it was surprisingly NOT immature) and you haven't read the books, check this movie out! Then after you do, go read the books. Because they're amazing. I think I'm going to go read over my favorite parts as soon as I'm done blogging!!

I give it 3 out of 5 stars. :)

*So, this is my first ever movie review. Maybe I'll give you more in the future, but only if you comment on what a fab job I did. ;)*

Love you all! -Peace

Leslee...The Olympics.....and Ferrero Rondnior

So, I was told by Vanae that my last blog post was rather depressing. I apologize for that. I always try and keep things light....and occasionally, freakin hilarious. (Ok, let's be honest, I'm always freakin hilarious.)
So since my birthday I've been trying to come up with something to blog about. Today, Leslee was sitting on the couch and I asked: "Leslee, I need to blog. What should I blog about?!" And she replied: "Um, me! You never blog about me." So the following is what I have to say about that.

[deleted for excessive use of bad language and bloody violence]

Agreed?

On to my next subject. The Olympics. I'm obsessed with them. They've been my life for the past week. I actually did very poorly in my classes the past few weeks because I can't do my homework while watching them. Sure, I could watch them later, but that would take away most of what I love about the Olympics. The sheer excitement of cheering on your country, not knowing who is going to take the top spots! Yelling at the TV as if the Olympians themselves could hear you! So for this year's Olympics, here are some things that I've loved.
-Apollo Ohno. (I want to bare his children.)
-All the USA athletes kicking trash.
-CONTROVERSY!!! Isn't it exciting?? People are so lame, it makes me laugh.
-Ice Skaters making it all look effortless. Jealous.
-Evan Lysacek's performance. Amazing.
-Apollo Ohno. (I want to bare his children.)
-Morgan Freeman narrating all those commercials that make me cry. (Because of their content, or because of his sweet, sweet, silky chocolate voice......I just couldn't say.)
-Athlete Spotlights. Man, they are so heartwarming!
-Apollo Ohno. (I want to bare his children.)
-The fact that the gold medalist (snowboarding) from Australia is LDS. I think that's so cool.
-BOB COSTAS!!! That's right. Bob Freaking Costas. I love him. So much. I could kiss him. But that would be gross. Cuz he's old. (Excuse me, oldER.)

There are so many other things I could list. But I don't want to bore you. I will say one of my favorite things happened last night. The Canadian couple that won gold in Ice Dancing.....holy crap. They were phenomenal. Simply amazing. I want them to be in love. So much. I know that sounds weird, but I would be so sad if they weren't. They were THAT convincing. Here's a link to their Gold Medal winning performance. Watch it. You won't regret it.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/assetid=b3b9fe59-1049-450c-827d-db4328c55050.html#canadians+dance+gold

Ok, so moving on from that. School kinda sucked today. I had a math test that I didn't do so well on. I don't know my score yet, but I know it won't be good. I didn't even get a quarter of my homework done. (For reasons, see previous paragraph.) Then you know, the whole being so intimidated by my Brit Lit class...STILL. Well, I was feeling a little low on my drive home, so what do you do when you're sad? You go to Walmart. I discovered something amazing there today. I discovered Ferrero Rondnior. I've had Ferrero Rocher, and I love them don't get me wrong, but I wanted something not so hazlenutty. I'm a dark chocolate fan. It's like my life source. So when I saw this unfamiliar packaging that said DARK CHOCOLATE....I knew I'd stumbled on something special. And boy, was I right. It's like a little ball of dark chocolate heaven, surrounded by a creamy dark chocolate, then encased in a thin, crunchy wafer, then dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with crunchy dark chocolate bits. (Man, could I go into advertising or WHAT???) Anyway, as you can tell. I like them a lot. But I only ate four. Seeing as how there are eight in a package, I'd say I had a lot of self control!

I had such a great weekend. I spent my Saturday with Vanae and it rocked. We went and got pedicures. It was Vanae's first, and I think she enjoyed it! I was jealous at the self control she had. Whenever they start scrubbing my heel and toes with the file, my leg just starts to flinch uncontrollably! But not Nay, she didn't move a muscle. After that we couldn't leave the mall because we weren't supposed to put our shoes on for a half hour. It was snowing outside and all we had on were those flimsy flip flops they give you. So we shopped for a bit and I got a great shirt for only 7.99!! :D Yeah for bargains, because I usually just ignore logic and buy the expensive stuff.....
After that we went to Nay's and watched a movie and ate lots of junk food. She pretty much rocks.

Wanna know something funny? So in Health class, we had an assignment where we were supposed to make a goal that we were to work on the whole semester. It had to be something to better some aspect of our health. It didn't necessarily have to be eating healthier or exercising more, etc. But it could be mental health..or other stuff like that. But I ended up going for the eating healthier. I am not in the habit of eating fruits and veggies, so my goal was to try and put them into my diet. Here's what's funny. A normal person would think that meant REPLACING the junk food with the good food. Nope, not me. I just ADDED them into my current eating habits. So not only am I eating fruit and veggies, but I'm STILL eating the junk food. So I'm eating MORE all around. Which means I'm not losing any of that fat...I'm just packing it away. I just can't give up my Ferrero....or hostess cupcakes.


Wow, this post is turning out to be a lot longer than I expected. So, I'll end there and continue watching the Ladies' Short Program. :D
}peace{

P.S- Leslee is awesome.

24 Points on My 24th Birthday

• I'm 24, single, and living in Utah County. Gross.
• What's up with those word verification things? The last one I had to type in was hysterho. I'm am curious if this is short for, hysterical ho. Because if it is, I have a new found respect for the people that come up with this stuff.
  
• The Saints won the Superbowl because it was my birthday. It's a fact.
• My calling rocks, and I love the people I get the privilege of working with in the young women leadership. And the girls rock too. :)
• This British Lit class is kicking my butt. I've never been in a room full of such intimidating people. I have yet to say a word in class......I doubt the teacher could even tell you who I was.
  
• The dust covering my dresser and nightstand is about a half inch thick. Good thing I brought down the pledge.
• Speaking of pledge, did I ever tell you about the guy that asked me if I had a best friend named Pledge after I had introduced myself? Props to it being the most original mocking of my name I've heard.
• I am ashamed to say that I love mainstream music. I do. I know it's lame, but I do. Right now I'm obsessed with an Adam Lambert song. I can't even believe I'm admitting that to the world, but darn! That boy can sing.
• Burn Notice is rocking my socks. JD is one good lookin' man.
• I love when TV shows (or even a book series) end just the way you want them too. It's so.....I don't even know what word to use. But it just takes some weight off your shoulders, if only for a little while. It's nice. :)
• Thinking of 24 different things to say is really hard, so I'm using that point as one of my 24 points.
  
• Everything about me is a contradiction. It's ridiculous. The next points will list these contradictions.
• I hate being single, but I don't want to date, or even be social.
• Listen to my ipod on shuffle. It's crazy. One minute, you'll be listening How Great Thou Art or something churchy, the next a Gothic metal song will blow your ears off.
• I disdain all forms of hunting. Yet, I eat meat. Only beef, chicken, and pork. But still, meat is meat.
• I complain about not being fit, yet I don't conjure up the will power to do anything about it.
  
• I hate my job (to all co-workers who read this, please note that I said JOB, I love all of you guys!) But I refuse to go job hunting.
• I say that I hate Vegas, but I want to go there ALL the time. I've gone like three times in one year. And I'm going next month!
• Eh, that's enough contradictions. You get the point.
• This is only point number 20......too bad I'm not turning 20, I'd be done!
• I have really awesome friends. I don't even get why they think I'm so cool. Maybe it's because I'm so hilarious. I guess we'll never know.
• 24 years from now, I'll be 48. Maybe that's when I'll decide to tie the knot.
• That's an interesting expression, "tie the knot". You can think of it in so many different ways. Tie the knot of love that will bind you together forever! Gag. Or, tie the knot of the noose that is about to go around your neck! Yes, that's the one right there. ;)
• I'm totally kidding. I love the idea of being married. I just don't like the road that takes me there. You know, all the crap that comes with finding a guy.

Ha! Done. Peace!

Random Thoughts During Math Class

(As written by me earlier today in math class, now being typed and spell-checked! Phew!)

-I've already learned something by just writing this title with my mechanical pencil. (Can you believe people still use these things? I remember when they first became popular. But they never compared to the Pog!) Anyway, what I learned is that writing in cursive is a lot easier when using a pen. Yeah, that's right, cursive. I try to practice it sometimes, don't judge! I just want to be accepted.

-I wish my math teacher was my grandpa. Not as in a replacement for my current grandpa (haha, that makes it sound like I go through them every week of so), but just, you know, another one. Its just that he is this little old man who, when you see him walking down the hall, looks at his shoes and his face has the expression that he just witnessed someone kick a puppy.
**whoa, I should have been paying attention just now. Whatever the crap he just wrote on the board makes no sense**
Back to the grandpa thing. I want him to be my grandpa so that it would not be inappropriate for me to give him a hug. He looks like he needs one. :(

-Oh my heck. This girl just asked how this applies to life. 1-could a question be any more cliche? 2-Come on woman, you are older than me and even I've learned that math doesn't apply to ANYTHING! **oh, word problem. I've got to pay attention now.**

-The story problem involves the word potassium. Did you know that if you take the T-A-I-U out of potassium, you get the word possum? This of course reminds me of the Simpsons episode Marge VS. The Monorail. "I call the big one Bitey." Classic.

-Wow, that was a crazy-A word problem. As I said, math doesn't apply to anything!

-Now we are taking a short break. While I sit here, let me ask you a question. Why are the ends of my hair so fuzzy? I looked at them very closely and I don't see a single split end, yet I look like I've stuck my finger in an electrical socket. I even flat ironed it this morning. I guess it's chopping time aye??

-Ugh! I can't believe I wrote and solved that whole problem and it's not even on the homework. Come on! That was an entire sheet of paper I just wasted.

-Problem: Bob is heading west at 50 mph. George is heading east at 70 mph. If they start at the same place, how long until they are 500 miles apart?
Answer: Not Applicable. George was pulled over and arrested for drug possession.

-Oh so much to do today. I have to get home and make refreshments for New Beginnings. Speaking of food, I am such a great cook. I would never presume to be as talented as Robi Porter, or even Bobby Flay, but I can fry some good chicken. I made chicken Alfredo last night, and fried chicken the night before. Both times the meal turned out deliciously superb! Although, chicken is the only meat I'm good at cooking. That and dessert. :)

-Problem: Melissa has two dogs, a cat, and three fish. If one of the dogs eats the cat, how many gallons of paint does Melissa need to paint her house?
Answer: She'll figure it out later. Right now she has to go bail George out of jail.

-So now I am in my British Lit class. Two things happened as I walked through the hallway. 1- I think I spotted the boy who was in my English class last semester. I refer to him as "the boy with beautiful eyebrows." I know, who in the world would be attracted to some one's eyebrows?! But I'm telling ya, every time he walked into class I just wanted to run my fingers over them! (oh my, TMI, I apologize. I should have put: Rated M for suggestive material in my post title.)
2-I saw this other boy who had hair longer, smoother, shinier and altogether better looking than mine. I was tempted to stop and ask for some styling and maintenance tips. Don't worry, I resisted the urge and kept on walking.

(That is all I wrote during my boredom at school. Now, on to current topics.)

I discovered Dark Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups today. They are amazing. "The darker the chocolate, the richer the taste," as my good friend Seaweed would say. (Ten points to the first person who can tell me what I'm referring to there.)

Ok, so my Betta is dead. I feel so bad you guys. I didn't mean to murder him. It just happened. You know, there are accidental murders all the time! Here is the story. A week ago I decided to put my beta in the same tank as my tiger barb. Not together though, I bought a tank divider (at least a makeshift one) to separate them. Most people think that bettas are really aggressive, but if you do your research, you will find that they are only aggressive towards other male bettas. Tiger barbs however, are nippers. They'll nip any fin that comes in their way. So this is why I used the divider. However, somehow the tiger barb kept getting to the other side. He never harmed the Betta, but I moved him back to his section anyway. Well, Sunday I left for church and I came home and started dinner (the aforementioned fried chicken) and Ken and Les suddenly came up to me and said: You killed your Betta.
I was like: WHAT THE EF????
So I went downstairs to find both fish on their separate sides of the tank, but my betta's fins were GONE!!! COMPLETELY TORN TO SHREDS!!! Oh my heck, I almost started to cry I was so distraught. And I didn't even like the fish that much, but it was still so sad! He just started to lay there on the gravel, struggling to breath. Ugh, my heart is breaking even thinking about it. So I went to my dad and told him the situation. He told me to flush the poor fish. I told him no, because the betta was not dead. But my dad "convinced" me that the betta would die faster if we flushed him. That way he wouldn't be in pain for long. (I still suspect he was just trying to make me feel better.) I couldn't do it though. I didn't want his blood on my hands!! So I told Pop to do it. So he did. Now my betta is dead....or else mutating in the sewer somewhere, growing into a super fish and planning my torture and demise. Either way I'm sleeping good tonight!

One last thing. The UVU salad bar has THE best honey mustard dressing I've ever tasted. Points to you UVU. Points to you.

For now, Peace!!

Always the Optimist (at least for the most part)

Here's a funny story: I tried to write a poem the other day. I try to write poems often, but they always suck. But my Script Writing professor told me that if I was serious about writing, I needed to be writing 5 pages per day. It doesn't matter what really, just so long as you keep your creative juices in a constant flow. I know, impossible right? Anyway, this particular poem I was trying to write was supposed to be sad and depressing. I don't know if you know this, but the only writing that ever means anything to anyone important (you know, the "man") is always about sad things, about struggles and turmoil and horrible crap like that. Earlier that evening, I heard some sad news that put me in a melancholy mood. When I feel melancholy, that's when I most feel like I may be able to write something intriguing. So I sat and began to write. I wrote about the sad things that Time brings, like death, and winter and so on. Then I ended it on a note that makes you say: Oh yeah, that's GOOD stuff right there. So I closed the book (p.s. thank you Ashley for the journal which is now my Doug's Book of Thoughts, Stories & Poetry) and went about doing other things, like cleaning my room. I kept thinking about what I wrote and after looking at a picture of my cute nephew (Thanks Lu for the calendar!), what I wrote started to bug me. "No, Dusty, it's fine. No one is ever going to read it anyway." I told myself. But I couldn't stop thinking about it. It wasn't finished. What was bothering me, was that I had made Time seem like the bad guy. But Time isn't the bad guy at all, so I had to write a whole other verse. Now I was talking about the wonderful things that Time brings, like Spring and babies. Then I did this cool thing where I took a phrase from the sad verse and wrote it again and it took on a whole other meaning! That's when I knew I was finished. :)
That's the thing though. I can never end things on a sad note. It bugs me too much. All my stories are happy. And that, my friends, is why I shall never become a famous writer. Because no one remembers the story when it's about flowers and butterflies and chocolate cake. They only remember the stories about the time those two people decided to kill themselves over what they thought was "love", or the man who slowly goes crazy and evil, or the little orphan boy who can't have a second helping.
But, always the optimist, I can't leave this blog post on a sad note. And telling myself I'm never going to be a great writer is definitely sad.
So I will end with this: There is hope for me to be a great and famous writer! I mean, eighty years from now when I'm dead and gone, someone will find my book of snippets and thoughts and they'll realize that I WAS amazing the whole time, but it just took a while for people to figure it out.
Hahahahahaha! Then I will laugh at the world from my grave!

Until next time! -Peace