Amazing Day!

So I'm feeling good! Last night was a good night- BBQ/dance party with friends and cousins- check. Good times- check. Good night’s sleep- check! Good dreams- check!

Try again...

No....

Almost there...

GOT IT! Here's a lovely picture of Hillary, Me and Megan at the BBQ/dance party.

Party girls!

So this morning I started the day with sleeping in- it was glorious! After I woke up I made a fruit smoothie and did the dishes from last night. Then I cleaned my room and got dressed (my green dress that I love, whites tights, and brown loafers. Once my room and me were all clean I made the perfect sandwich. Lettuce, mayo, mustard, avocado, cucumbers and black olives- heaven!

Post sandwich I headed over to Weber State to check out the senior art show- it was AWESOME! Did I mention the perfect weather- well the weather was perfect.

I liked the interpretation of these photos into this stringy stuff...I don't think it's a part of the senior show, but it was still cool

I loved this, again I don't think it was part of the senior show- just student work. It's metal and wood.

I loved this show- flowers with mixed media and watercolor stuff.

This last piece totally reminded me of Anna's 3d project that was a ball of barbed wire and wood:

This show was something great to look at! Big red balloons and mixed media collages!

I liked this piece of one of the works:

This collection was flowers with womens legs. I loved the vibe!

After the show I wandered around the art building in search of ideas and visual treats:

The reason I liked this one is because those flowers are 3d added on flowers. I just liked the idea of having part of it pop- literally!

I liked this because I'm taking pictures like this all the time- so I think I should make a collage of them! Maybe paint one even!

After my grand art trip (it’s got me excited to create this summer!) I headed back home to do homework. HA, change of plans. After a little facebook break I headed back out to find some picture frames at the DI. But what’s this?! On my way out I check the mail and I got 2 Netflixes and a book from Anna Reeve Johnson! Nice! I love the book (it’s a sort of art task and adventure book- so look forward to seeing some pictures of my art adventures and tasks!)  BTW, this book is perfect for me right now. This is JUST what I need in my life right now. It may seem silly, but I really do think sometimes God puts thoughts in our heads like, "Hey, Anna, you're not using that book- you should send it to Laura."

Possible glitch in the perfect day? I can’t find the DI! Who cares, turn around and head back to that thrift store I got my sparkly dress at! One frame found- check! Amazing woodcut cards (3 for $.25!)- check! Cat/menopause gift/joke- check! Excess Baggage (my favorite movie lately that I keep watching on Netflix instant play)- check!

What’s next? Go home? No way! How about a turn on 25th? Antique store!? I’m there! Who should I meet? Cool girl with similar glasses and nice hair from elementary math class! She’s an artist too? There’s a gallery upstairs and I get a private viewing?-check! Meander antique store, chat with owner- check! See a Joan Fontaine autographed picture I can’t afford, but would love to have- check! Soak up the ambiance, inspiration and ideas- check!

On to the ice cream! Farr’s ice cream on Washington! Novelty candy and lemon ice cream! CHECK! More cards for only 50 cents! Check!

I love love hexagon tile!

Cool bottlecap tile at Farr's in the bathroom! Always wash your hands after thrifting!

Lemon ice cream to die for!

It’s only 5:24 and it’s been a great day! Moral of the story- go out and find an adventure!

Is it just me, or...

Do you ever want to dye your hair blue and get some tattoos? I DO! I have my whole life...well maybe not the tattoos, that desire comes and goes, but the overall desire to be a little more punk rock? I've always wanted to be a little more...intense...maybe get some piercings...but I've always known that I can't. And it's not just that I can't because it goes against what I've been taught, or the norm (at least my norm)- I really can't. Like a few weeks ago I was trying on clothes at target with my cousin. I picked out a skirt that I knew was too short, and I knew I couldn't get it...but I wanted to try it on because I like my legs and I knew it would be cute! And it was, it was so cute! My cousin said, "So get it," but I knew I couldn't.

On a more base level I can't get the skirt, or the piercings, or the blue hair because I know I would feel uncomfortable at church or FHE, and basically around anyone I hang out with...I'd have to go somewhere where I don't know anybody (and really, how safe is it to go alone, to a strange place, in a hot skirt? Not safe). So basically I couldn’t wear inappropriate clothing around most of my friends because it would make me, and probably them, uncomfortable. And what’s more, when I know the people around me don’t approve of my “crazy” appearance, I feel uncomfortable. Example: About a year ago I put blue chunks in my hair. I loved it, but I felt like I was doing something wrong. Technically you can go to the temple with any color hair you want, but that’s not the point- I (ME), I felt uncomfortable, like everyone was judging me (and I seriously doubt anyone at the temple even noticed, but I was paranoid that I felt awful the whole time (and if you’ve ever been in the temple, you’d know, it’s not a place to feel bad!) What’s more, I was doing baptisms and when I came out of the fount my blue hair dye leaked all over my white outfit! Again, I bet no one else noticed, but I sure did. The next day I bleached it out.

I CAN’T wear hoochie clothes because I know that I would feel uncomfortable with myself. Just like when I went to the temple with my blue hair, I know that I would hear a constant stream of criticism and paranoia in my own head! And that’s just for little things like blue hair and short skirts- at least I can bleach out the blue and take off the skirt. What if one of the times I thought a tattoo would be cool I had gotten one! What happens when I work with elementary school kids? I have to cover it up! What if I got a dolphin when I was younger, and now I hate dolphins! I can’t just take that off like a skirt!

So I can’t dye my hair blue, wear short skirts, pierce my eyebrows or lips, and I definitely get tattoos. It’s not that I won’t or don’t want to, it’s that I can’t. I can’t do something, knowing that it’s going to make me uncomfortable, but most importantly, I can’t do those things that I know will displease God. God made my hair a beautiful light brown red. God put 7 holes in my head, not 15! When I wake up in the morning and sometimes think, “Pssh, I look nasty,” that’s just Satan the great falsifier! Do you really think if you woke up and God was in the kitchen making you breakfast that he’d say, “Laura, thy hair amidst thy head is displeasing to me!” NO. He’d say, “I adore you! You’re beautiful!”

All of those little voices saying “Change yourself! Dye your hair blue!” Are the same voices saying, “Get a nose job! Liposuction!” Now I’m not saying that just because you have blue hair you’re a heathen (or piercings, tattoos, etc). I’m just saying, I know that I’m beautiful the way I am! I don’t need to be a crazy blue haired, inked, booty woman! I am a beautiful, brown haired, retro dress woman, HEAR ME ROAR!
Well…this went a bit longer than I intended…I really just meant to say that sometimes I want to change my appearance in crazy ways…haha. I guess I’ve just finished a session of blog therapy. Enjoy my inner ramblings, spewed all over the internet!
And remember Laura, it starts with a skirt…then it’s blue hair…then it’s a nose ring…then it’s a beer…then I get gonorrhea and DIE!
Have a lovely day :)

POST SCRIPT: In case I didn't make it clear, I don't think my morals hold me back. I think they give me more courage, self esteem and good feelings than any skirt, hair dye or vice could ever give me! People say I'm not free to drink, smoke, say or wear what I want. But guess what!? I'm free to experience everything in life at 100 % because I'm not being skewed by addiction and drunkenness. I’m not trapped with pustules from STD’s. I don’t have to light up just because I’m stressed out. I remember what I did this weekend! I'm free to go without a cigarette anytime I want. I won’t be held back from any respectable job because I have a clean appearance. You might think I'm inhibited, but who's the one being controlled, and who's experiencing life 100%? HA, this all started in my head because I was looking at an old childhood friend's pictures on facebook and I thought, "he has blue hair, tattoos and piercings- and he looks happy! HAHA, facebook...

IRONIC- I love this movie- obviously I haven't got it all figured out, bwahaha!

It's just a little crush...kinda like, it's just a little scorpion in my shoe!

Ever had a crush? Where you think about them all the time and you wish every minute you weren't with them- that you were? Well I have a crush- and frankly, I think I'd rather have a splinter in my eye!
Is it like this for you? Bittersweet? A wonderful burden? One minute I’m out of this world, whistling and skipping down the street, happy- and the next moment I’m stomping my way home shouting “STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! STUPID HAIR! STUPID FACE! STUPID EYES! STUPID CHIN! STUPID EARS! STUPID MAN!” Yeah, such is the life of the single gal/guy.

What about this? I want to tell him everything! I just want to say, “I know I stutter and sound like an idiot around you, but I have good reasons! One, I’ve been sick! Two, you’re so good looking and funny and charming! I can’t think clearly around you!” Or how about, “You know, you have fantastic lips…”etc. What’s more, I want to tell him everything about me! I want him to know about my plans and dreams! Uggh, I guess everyone doesn’t feel this way when they have a crush…just me. I want him to know me. And more importantly, I want to know everything about him! I want him to hold my hand and go on walks with me!

And I’m getting to that point- the point of giving up! I’ve sent some HUGE hints, not even hints- BILLBOARDS! So I guess it’s at that point where the ball is in his court and he’s decided to ignore the ball and play badminton (there’s not ball in badminton!!!). If he doesn’t ask me out soon I’m going to…I’m going to…please, what am I going to do? Nothing. Wallow. Watch Doris Day movies and daydream about my crush until I see him with his arm around some other girl and then I will bawl my eyes out.
Now here’s where some of you might be saying, “Ask him out!” But you’re wrong. Guys say they want girls to ask them out, but they don’t- so don’t even go there.

Oh no, I’m starting to sound a little bit bitter, aren’t I? Haha, that’s okay, I’ve decided that it’s okay if I’m a LITTLE bit up and down- I’m a woman. Oh crushes…love them, hate them.

Melissa Branin

So there's a delightful woman who's an alumni of my undergraduate school, Southern Virginia University, named Melissa Branin, who has entered a video contest on YouTube. The way she wins is if she gets enough views. Melissa is SO talented, and it's an awesome video! So take a second to click on the link and check it out! Here's Melissa singing Everybody by Ingrid Michaelson:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xjE4juv76k

Thanks! And feel free to pass the link on!

Music video mash up

I do intend to blog about more important things, like my dad and life, but for now and today I just want to share a few songs that I love with you. Also I love bacon and I wish I could wear short skirts bc I like my legs- but alas, they are immodest and so I can't...oh well.

My favorite line: the defeaning twang of the rich-white-kid blues


Pretty much anything by Aqualung:




Acoustic version is best:



I must have a remix or something, my version on my itunes is way better:



That's just a few for now. Enjoy.

Fairy Tale time. Hypochondriac's beware, annoyance can kill!

So I have to write a children's story by Tuesday. I had one all planned out and then I went on Amazon and discovered that my story wasn't very original after all and I've decided to just switch up an old classic. I googled "traditional fairy tales" and it led to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Knights_of_the_Fish). There are loads of interesting story synopses, but this one made me laugh based on the last line, so here it is:

An industrious but poor cobbler tried to fish until he was so hungry that he thought he would hang himself if he caught nothing. He caught a beautiful fish. It told him to cook it and then give two pieces to his wife, and bury two more in the garden. He did this. His wife gave birth to twin boys, and two plants sprang up, bearing shields, in the garden.

When the boys were grown, they decided to travel. At a crossroad, they parted ways. One found a city grieving, because every year a maiden had to be offered up to a dragon, and this year the lot had fallen on the princess. He went to see where the princess was, and then left her to fetch a mirror. He told her to cover it with her veil and hide behind it; when the dragon approached, she was to tear the veil off.
She did, and the dragon stared at his rival, identical to him. He threatened it until he finally smashed it to pieces, but as every fragment reflected him, he thought he too had been smashed. While it was still baffled, the knight killed it. The king married him to his daughter.
The princess showed him all over the castle, and he saw a castle of black marble, and was warned that whoever went to it never returned. He set out the next day. When he blew his horn and struck the gate, a hideous old woman finally opened the door. Echoes warned him off. He lifted his helmet, and the woman let him in because he was so handsome. She told him that he would marry her, and he refused. She showed him over the castle and killed him by dropping him through a trap door.
His brother came to the city, and was taken for him. He kept quiet, so he could help his brother, and told the princess that he had to go back to the castle. He demanded to know what happened to his brother, and the echoes told him. He stabbed the witch. She told him that she would not tell him because she was dying; then she told him how to save her life, with plants from the garden. Then she told him the way down, and he found the bodies of his brother and all her other victims, whom he restored with the same magic, and also a cave full of the maidens killed by the dragon, whom he also restored.
The witch was so annoyed that she died, and the castle fell down.
Love that last line, thank you wikipedia.
PS. Any story ideas, send them my way!

Life lessons from movie quotes

Lately I've been watching a lot of movies, and luckily I've picked up a few life lessons along the way.

Here's one from the little sister on 500 Days of Summer, "Just because she likes the same bizzaro crap you do doesn't mean she's your soul mate."

I just love it; I guess I never thought of it before. I've always liked guys because they liked the same things (or I would start liking things because they liked them and then I'd say, "Hey we both like this! wow" NOT WOW.) Obviously I think it's important to have things in common, I mean you're going to spend quite a bit of time with your spouse over the eternities...but I'm not sure it matters as much as I thought. For example, my old bishop is a plain guy as far as I can tell. Casual, likes sports, whatever- just a guy. In contrast his wife is an artist who has a huge personality and dresses super funky (of course I’m basing this all off of shallow observations). It just seems to work for them, like they balance each other out or something. And their relationship got me thinking; I'm the crazy one, so I need someone who's just, a guy. Haha, I don't know, how would I? So yeah, I don't know, I'm not ruling out a crazy, but I've decided to not rule out a...piece of white bread...either. Who knows who my who will be, but I’m not ruling out any certain type or lack of type of who is all. I think what I might be saying is, opposites may attract.

And just for fun, the only episode of Star Trek I've ever seen- AND I LOVE IT! LOVE IT!