Mood Swings and the Story of my Life

*Random thought of the Day: I'm sorry but I can't take Facebook anymore...and I don't even have one.

REASONS NOT to have a Facebook:
1. The Whole "Relationship Status" thing...just confuses people! People seriously FREAK OUT if someone suddenly puts 'It's complicated' as their status, or just put that they are suddenly 'single'. It makes small towns really look like a small town. Get over it people and quit gossiping!

2. People are starting to make facebook accounts...for their rubber chickens. Really? I mean-REALLY?! It's like-GET A HOBBY for goodness sake!

3. Everyone is majorly addicted to Facebook. And I quote, some new famous sayings,

"Do you have a facebook?"

"Of course I do! So does my Mom!"

"Sweet! Let's be facebook friends. I'll add you!"

Seriously...people spend hours into the night chatting with friends and changing their status or whatever. Again...get a new hobby!

4. Back to the obsession thing...people like Christy Dobbs are trying to collect a thousand friends on Facebook. You can only have so many friends.

5. If you really want to try to find old friends, well, get their email or their phone number. I avoid contact with most people from years ago. Once again, you can only have so many friends and unless your still stuck in Show Low for whatever reason, you've probably made new friends elsewhere(:

6. Get a Blog.

THE END. PS-If you are reading this and currently have a Facebook account, my apologies..sorta...you should know that I'm opinionated and the Facebook thing was getting on my nerves so move on and keep all obnoxious comments to yourself. Social networking is over rated....Thanks!

So, I went over 2 weeks without blogging..big deal! Nothing exciting happened til this week haha!
Well, I've also been trying to still catch up from being on tour....not to mention, I ended up being sick for an extra week or so. Sinus Infection...bleh! I started running a fever last week so I went to an urgent care place and got put on perscriptions...which had terrible side effects of giving me major mood swings...RIDICULOUS and ANNOYING. I mean, I was crying over things that I usually blow off...arrggg....But I had to keep taking the pills til they were gone. And life goes on....

Valentine's Day this year was well...ok. I mean, being Single and all is GRRR......Great! Haha..no really-it was alright. Saturday morning, was the wonderful groundbreaking for the Gila Valley Temple, soon to start construction! My a capella choir sang a special number so we got to sit right up front. Neil A. Anderson was the main speaker. He was great! It was a nice ceremony...but....COLD. And not to mention, I was still very sick and sleep deprived. So sadly, I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I would have liked. Oh well. I went home and took a 2 hour nap! That night, Emily and I who(she was sick as well with a cough), went and saw the movie "He's Just Not That Into You" Holy moly....It was HILARIOUS! Pretty much one of those movies that guys and girls can take notes from about relationships. It was so great! Plus it had several of my favorite actors in it...Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck....they were great! After we saw that movie, we went back to Emily's while I ate Ice Cream and some goodies my mom sent, and we watched "10 Things I hate about you". It was fantastic! I was mainly happy because I had a whole bag (plus 2 boxes) of conversation hearts! Seriously-they are my favorite part of Valentine's day every year! (Of course..there was the time I got Josh Groban concert tickets, but thats besides the point!) Anyway........and life continues being single(:

Well, I'm done with The Music Man. Its great because I made some awesome friends with the other assistants! They are so cool! And I grew attatched to a couple of the kids as well(: Music Man was fun, but now I have some extra time back! I'm sure I will fill it up with more studying and such...The Pictures below are Me with the other assistants and some of the kids,including my adorable redhead girls!

On Saturday, my family came! I was SOOOO happy! I missed my mom! Her and Duane and Dallas and Andrea came for the day! So, we took a drive up to Mount Grahm. and had lunch and took some pictures. Emily came with us too.

After that we just hung out at my apartment til I had to be at the play. Then my family came to the play and it was awesome!

*Thanks again Mom for the box of food! You rock my world. Yes I just said that.

*PS-Dallas is officially as tall as me. I don't like it.

Well, other than all that jazz, nothing TOO terribly exciting is going on. I go on YET another choir tour next week, followed by a hoped to be amazing Spring Break! I'm not quite looking forward to tour...mainly because I JUST got caught up in math from the last tour. Yay-another 3 days of school to be missed. Oh well. I have to go and I'll make myself have fun!

Now...I have to go do homework. Have a wonderful rest of the week everyone!
Peace Out.

I'm A Muskrat!

*Random thought of the Day: "Music kisses back the key to the heart, washes away the everyday dust from the soul, drives away the prowling demons".

In the past week, I've learned much about the heart and soul of music. I really don't know where I'd be without my talent of singing and the music I have learned and grown from. Especially here at college. Music is part of my heart and soul and does wash away the fears and hard things in my life. Here's to Eastern Arizona College Tour: February 2009!*

I'm returned....as of 3 Am this morning..bleh! First we leave at 2 in the morning, and then return at 3 AM! So yes, I'm in lack of sleep for the last 5 days from late nights, early mornings and uncomfortable rides on the bus! Yay for me.

Ok, enough complaining. It was SO worth the little sleep! Oh my gosh..Tour was AMAZING, TERRIFIC, AWESOME, FUN, and seriously, Life Changing in a few ways! Not only did our choir become an even closer family, but there were SO many neat experiences that took place. Allow me to give a rundown(;

We left at 2 Wed morning. I got to ride in one of the vans with some buddies, which turned out to be quite entertaining! Kaleb and Ren gave me a hard time the whole way. Punks! Ok, so I gave teased them right back, plus it was EARLY in the morning, and, we all have become great friends now! Derek was in the van with us too, as well as a couple other people. PS-Choir boys have too much love for each other sometimes(:, hence the photo of Derek and Kaleb "cuddling" But we just hung out and talked and laughed and slept the whole way! It was awesome! We arrived in Ephraim, UT late afternoon and prepared to go to Snow College to do an exchange with their choir, and perform that evening for the community. It was great-they had an awesome choir! Unfortunantly, I still had my cough (still have it as I write in fact), so I was dead by the end of the concert. Not feeling well at all. Thanks to Kaleb and Ren, and their wonderful priesthood, I got a blessing and was feeling much better the next day!

Thursday, we headed to Spanish Fork to the American Leadership Academy, which was basically a performing arts high school-very good kids! We did an exchange with them and then headed to the Utah Valley University in Orem. There we did another awesome exchange! Then we went to our hotel in Provo and prepared for our evening performance at the old Provo Tabernacle....which was AWESOME!

Not only were the accoustics absolutely incredible, but we could truly feel the spirit in this performance. Way Way amazing! I also had the chance to see my friend Tommy Montoya who I knew in high school. He is attending BYU and came to the performance. My friend David McCleve also came. It was great to see old friends!

Friday, we went to Lehi High School for another exchange. Pretty cool!

When we arrived back in Provo again, we then had 5 hours of free time. Yup! It was way fun! About 10 of us went over in one of the vans to hang out on BYU campus. It was really great! It was raining, but I had fun hangin out with my friend Josh. And-I got to meet up with my amazing and beautiful cousin Andrea! Ah! I was so excited! I miss her so much! She is also attending BYU and so we met up for a little bit at the bookstore. Yay!

Friday night, we had a really neat exchange with the Brigham Young University Singers. They were really great singers! It was cool to exchange music and meet alot of them. Me, Jenn and Will(the cool redheads) met another cool redhead from their choir and took a picture with him! What can we say-Redheads rule!

After the exchange, we went back to the hotel and I went on a date! Derek had this friend from high school who goes to the Y, and we had met the night before when he came to hang out with Derek. So-the next night (Fri), we doubled with Derek and another girl from choir and went to a nickle arcade! It was pretty fun. And I got to play DDR which made me happy! Then, Robert and I hung out and talked back at the hotel. It was great! I like going on dates!

Saturday, we met up for yet another exchange with the BYU Young Ambassadors. Ok, if you have ever seen them do a show, you know what I'm talking about when I say-FLIPPIN AWESOME! They are SO good. Our show choir within A cappella exchanged with them and then we all went and enjoyed a show they were putting on. It was so good! They are extremely talented! Very good show!
After that, we went to a nearby LDS church building to do our final concert for Simon's ward.(He is a member of the choir and is from Provo). They fed us dinner and then we put on one amazing show. Unfortunantly we were all very drained emotionally and probably physically! Before the concert, we had a really nice talk with Dr. Bishop our director and were able to share feelings about our choir and such. Lots of tears(: Why you may ask? Well, again I say, our choir is like a family.
We have grown SO close this year and even more so on this tour we did. I made friends with people I didn't really talk to as much before. I even made up with someone who I was really upset with before this tour. It was really amazing to feel so close. It scares me to think of NOT being in the A capella choir. It's another home for me when I go to choir each day, and to be around some of my best friends. Truly, through Dr. Bishop, my friends, the music, and the words and meaning behind our songs, we have grown to love each other so much and I know this will be an experience I won't forget.

Sunday morning, we got up early and headed to Salt Lake City to our final, and most wonderful experience of tour. We went to Temple Square and had special permission to go in and watch the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearse and then watch their live performance of "Music and the Spoken Word". It was incredible to hear MoTab sing LIVE! It got even better after the program. We were able to up into the choir loft where MoTab sings, and sing for Mack Wilberg, the director! By the way-this never happens. They don't usually let "random choirs" go up to sing there(: So what an experience that was!!!! Truly incredible! It was a great end to the tour!

Finally, it was time to say goodbye! We headed out of Salt Lake for our long 16 hour drive. I was able to get a little bit of sleep, but not as much as I wanted:( Oh well, I enjoyed hanging out with friends and relaxing.

I'm trying to get back in the hang of things here at school. I'm very tired today and will probably be heading to bed early this fine night.

The Music Man is being performed next week (already!) and so rehearsals are taking place every day this week! Ah-crazy! I think it will be a great show though. It's been kinda fun working with the kids and re-experiencing my favorite musical! I'm sure they will do well!

Anyway, its very late and I'm in dire need of sleep! Have a wonderful week everyone!

Weekend Joy!

*Random Thought of the Day: Forgive and Forget. What does it really mean? I'll tell you this much-I have sure learned a lot about it lately, and surely gained a stronger testimony of forgiveness. Sometimes, someone may really offend or hurt you. And, I'm one who sometimes tends to hold a grudge, which, due to recent events, I decided needs some work. I've learned that it's easier to let go sometimes, ESPECIALLY, if the other person doesn't apologize or simply doesn't care. Ok, so its actually kinda hard, but really-what else can you do? This is why we are told to pray for our enemies and those who despitefully use us. It helps in the forgivness process. A couple of steps though take place with forgiveness. 1)If you have done anything to offend them, repent of that first. It's kinda like being the bigger person. 2) Pray for that person and their forgiveness and pray for them to have a softened heart.

Even if they never do their part of it, as long as YOU have moved on and forgiven THEM, thats your part done and as I've learned, the Lord blesses you for following those commandments and trying to become more like him. Forgive. Then forget it ever happened. Life really does go on that way.*

Hey All! Thought I'd do a quick update...and I mean quick since today is SO completely insane. I would have updated this weekend, had I been able to figure out my picture dilema..don't ask.

So, I gotta tell ya-this past week went by fast, but slowed down at the end! I was very glad when Friday hit and especially when Friday was over! I was sick with a terrible cough and congestion all week(still am). I had a really great weekend though, which is what I'm writing about today!Funny Story:

So, Friday night, I went on a date with a friend of mine and 2 other couples. Our activity involved rocks! We went and gathered a bunch of big rocks and took them over to a hill nearby on the side of some back roads. With the rocks, we spelled out HELP. Why help? I don't know. I reccomended CTR or MARRY ME or something. But the boys decided on Help. So, we spray painted them white so that you can see it with your headlights when you drive up to it at night.

After that, we enjoyed dinner at Denny's.

The next day, I get this call from Stephen, my date. He informs me that him and Jason decided to go see what it looked like during the day. Lo and Behold, 2 cop cars were parked at that hill, taking "evidence" pictures. Jason and Stephen were pretty sure they might get in trouble. So, thank goodness Jason's uncle is a sheriff in town. He called either his Uncle or the Sheriff's office and told them that well, it was us just having some fun on a date. The sheriff's office laughed! I thought it was pretty hilarious myself. They told Jason next time, don't spell HELP. They'd gotten several calls about it that day. My illegal act of the weekend(:

Saturday, I had another date with my friend Tom and also 2 other couples, including my roommate Hannah. We went to this really awesome place called Red Knolls, just outside of Pima. There are a bunch of caves and holes that we explored, after having some lunch! Pictures! Yay!

-Tom and everybody in the caves.

-Me and Tom-hangin out on the rocks!

-Climbing in and out of caves

-Fun Stuff!It was all a great weekend!

And....in about 8 hours from writing this blog, I'm leaving for my choir tour in Utah! YAY! No really, we are leaving at 2 AM! I'm so excited! (not about 2 am but yeah anyway...)I can't even tell you how excited I am! I've been looking forward to this trip forEVER!

So, I need to go pack and I'll definantly have pictures from my trip! Woot!

Have a great rest of the week everyone!

If it works for me, then it works for me-David Archuletta

*Random thought of the Day: Dreams have meaning. Or so I've been told lately, with some of the weird dreams I've had. So I've thought about it.
1-There was the dream about my mom deciding to adopt a child, so no problem-she found some children being sold at Walmart (which was a totally normal thing apparently!) and she bought a new little girl, in which she wanted to change the appearence of due to the child's messed up hair and face. 2-Then there was the dream about my best friend Adam pretending to be in some sort of mafia, that was against his ex-girlfriend. 3-Then the 3rd and final wierd dream, my best friend Cassidi's stepdad just so happened to be Barack Obama. Which actually was pretty cool because he was really nice, had lots of money and sent us on a shopping spree (on scooters), in Europe!

So the analysis' of my dreams??? 1) I'm pretty sure I was just wierded out, or shocked or something, the fact that I'm getting a new stepsister. Yes-my Mom is getting married this summer. (Mom-don't freak out-everyone's going to find out anyway and not from me so I might as well spread the word! Besides, most people that read my blog are family and already know(:) Anyway, so thats that on dream number 1. 2) Adam tends to be distant, or not distant but busy and its so hard to read you Adam haha! But I realize from that dream that he is a smart kid and has plans and goals and I dont' know what I'd do without him. As far as his ex-lets not go there! 3)And then the whole Obama thing....well, it really proves that I'm over the whole fact of him becoming President. In the dream-I really liked him, mainly cuz I had to since he was Cassidi's dad and all. People need to just shut up and quit talking so much crap about him because he is our President and believe it or not-will probably do SOME good! I loved riding on a scooter in Europe too!

Point you ask-think about your dreams when they are deep or strange. Usually there is some wierd meaning that you may be able to use in your life. The End.*

Yay! Its another weekend! T.G.I.F! Thank George It's Friday! And Saturday...and Sunday....

I had a good but busy week. Monday there was no school, which turned out to be a really great day! A guy I sorta know who is attending school here, asked me to go paintballing with him and about 6 others. It was SO much fun! He had never been, and I'd only been once. I even got a battle wound! Got hit on my legs and it left a nice bruise(: Totally worth it though! Plus I was with a cute guy(:

This week, I started getting more exercise! Yup-I'm now in a habit of playing raquetball and running 2-3 times a week...and boy am I feeling great! Sore, but great! I like the fact that i'm accomplishing at least one of my 2009 goals of eating more healthy and getting more exercise!

School is going well though. I'm trying my best and working on my motivation level!

Friday night, I had pretty much a lot of fun! First of all, I went to a Kareoke night at the Institute and guess what-I actually got up there and sang! I first sang The Start of Something New from "High School Musical", with my good buddy Simon who is into HSM as much as I am(:. I also sang with a few choir friends Seasons of Love from "Rent"! It was WAY fun! I have never really done anything like that so it was pretty cool! A friend filmed a bit of my singing on her phone, but were still workin on getting it OFF her phone(: Hopefully I can find a way to put it on here soon!

After hangin out there and socializing, I went on a date with my friend Drew. There were about 8 of us and the boys made crepes for us girls, which were pretty good, considering I don't usually care for crepes much! Then we watched "Red Eye" which was SUPER intense and suspenseful! If you've never seen it-DO! Prepare for violence, but good suspense and great acting! We all had a good time.

Saturday night, after getting several things done, I hit up the EAC basketball game. I really get into those. Especially the fact that we sadly, and surprisingly lost this one :(. Good team, intense game, but tough ending! Better luck next time!

Today is another beautiful Sunday! I taught again in Relief Society. The lesson came from Elder David A. Bednar's talk on Prayer, from Nov conference. It was definantly one of my favorite talks! My lesson I must say, went really well. I truly felt the spirit so strong during it. My testimony of prayer was strengthened a lot. It was great! I really love teaching the gospel.

Anywho, I'm enjoying life right now, more so than usual! I trust in the Lord and that gets me pretty far down the road!

Hope you all have a splendid week! And remember to Pray always!

Gradual..ly getting into the swing of things!

*Random thought of the Day: "If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die." ~William Shakespeare, Twelth Night. Yes I believe my food is music right now! I seem to eat, breathe and sleep music sometimes. I love Shakespeare! Enough said. Another random thought-I got a new cell phone! Its flippin sweet. Yay. The End.*

As in my title-I'm gettin into the swing of things! "Gradual" is of course the name of one of the songs we are furiously working on in choir. It's a hardcore semester...kinda. I am taking on a lot and learning yet more about hard work.

My piano class turned out to be a bit harder than I thought it would be. Mainly because I'm very rusty! I quit taking lessons back in my junior year of high school and haven't done much with the technical/theory stuff since then. Now i'm basically re-learning my scales and skills. It's crazy! I didn't expect to have to be practicing piano as well as voice! BUT, I'm looking at the bright side of it because A)I have to do this class B)I am glad to be picking up my piano skills again and C)It keeps me busy because I honestly don't have anything else going on except school. And I'm ok with that!

Music Man rehearsals with the children's theatre are going well. The kids are crazy! But it brings back memories of doing the show when I did it in high school, and I made a couple new friends. The other "assistants" are college students also and are pretty funny guys! It's fun helping the kids learn their lines and songs and again-brings back the "joyful" memories of learning all my lines in the plays I have taken part in! The show will already be performed about mid February. Very fast coming! But it should be great!

Last night, I got to spend some time with some of my best friends-woot! First, Emily and I went to the apparently popular "Jilibertos". Literally-every college student has been there and anytime I tell someone I hadn't, they are SHOCKED that I haven't had such amazing food. So finally, Emily and I went last night and everyone is right-pretty much AMAZING food! The best mexican food I've ever had! It's real too! And cheap! I will definantly be returning!

After that, Emily and I went grocery shopping and then we went to Derek's and watched "Horton Hears A Who" with a bunch of friends. I'll admit-it was a better movie than I thought it would be! Cute! Good for any ages-especially kids! Plus Steve Carell was one of the voices and he is one of my favorite actors! It was super fun!

And finally, today is Saturday! The day shall be chill because I also have no school on Monday as well-woot! I will be cleaning a bit, doing laundry, homework, practicing and playing raquetball, followed by feeding some friends chicken enchiladas tonight! What a day!

Honestly, there is not too many exciting things going on at the moment! School is hard to get back into, mainly because I'm already tired and just want to sleep all the time! But, I'm learning quite a bit in my classes. I feel most happy in my music classes, even music theory(:! Ask anyone who is around me a lot or talks to me, I am DEFINANTLY a music major. I literally DREAD going to math and anthropology because they are not music classes! But such as life right? In less than 2 weeks, I'll be going on my first choir tour to Utah! I'm thrilled really(: So for now, I just deal with the so called "Requirements of Life". (That should be a title of a book).

Well-thats an update for the week! Thank goodness its a weekend!

Hope you all have a good one!

Signing off......

Once Upon A Time, there was a girl that lived in Thatcher...

*Random thought of the day: This random thought is kinda long I know, but please take time to read it!

The End Is Not Here. Or at least thats what Jack and Suzy Welch in Business Week Magazine said. In specific words, "We know that real pain lies ahead. But we believe that when the pain eases-and it will-the global economy will be stronger and sounder than ever. We just have to get there-and we will..." It's true, this world looks like its going to go into a depression. But if we think confidently, there is no fear. Jack and Suzy Welch also pointed out this: "To get through this crisis, leaders need to talk about reasons for confidence. America is loaded with energy and creativity; it's a culture that exalts entrepreneurs, who drive every recovery....The end is not here. A new beggining awaits." When I read this article (its nice working for the business dept-I can read up on the things going on in this world!). Anyway, as I read this over a few times, I compared it to life in general. Sometimes we have trials and hard things we have to go through. I know I certainly have. But, the pain will ease, and just as this world will one day be ok, we too as individuals, can become strong from it all. For our country, we have our leaders that are supposed to guide us. Though the government and the president may not always be the best people, they are trying right? Then as individual Americans, we have our own leaders and "guidance counselers of life". In my case, its my parents, my college instructors and even my friends who are the best examples! And above all, I have my Savior and Heavenly Father to guide me through the good and bad of life. I've gained more of a testimony of that lately. I went through something kinda difficult over Christmas break, but though it was somewhat small and I'm still getting over it, its amazing the things I've learned from it and the better outlook I have on a lot of things. Above many things, one thing that I believe, is that everything happens for a reason. Though little or big things get in the way sometimes, A new beggining always awaits and I look forward to it!*

Well, school has started! Yay!

But first, let me share some photos of the wonderful experience I had going to see The Lion King! Woot! Yep, our family, along with my best friend Cassidi went and saw it last Saturday at Gammage Theatre! Completely Incredible! We had a lot of fun! The show was awesome and so much amazing talent! I really want to buy the soundtrack! I was impressed with the animals especially and their choreography! What a fun experience. Cass and I had a little fun of our own too! See Pictures(: Also, a few pictures from a couple weeks ago that Cassidi and I took! We like pictures alright?! Gotta document EVERYTHING these days ya know?

Of Course we got our strawberry daquiris at Olive Garden...they had REAL strawberries in them(:

Well, back this whole "school thing"!

Here is my schedule this semester. (take a big breath!)

Mon/Wed/Fri, I start at 8 AM and basically will be going until 7 PM!

Music Theory II

World of Music

Math

Cultural Anthropology

A capella Choir

Class Piano

The reason for going til 7 PM ish is because I also add my work hours in, and my new adventure of helping with the Safford Children's Theatre. Yes. I volunteered myself for that too! They are doing the Music Man in a couple months so, with my experience of singing and acting, I'll be helping the kids do their version of The Music Man! Should be fun I hope!

On Tues/Thurs, I start with Aurel Perception II at 9 and only have that, math, choir, and institute.

I think I will love Tuesdays and Thursdays because of the less busyness. Of course, I still have to add voice lessons somewhere in there! I know-I"M CRAZY! But the thing about it, is that I don't care! I prefer to stay busy and especially right now. I want to learn how to handle excessive busyness, therefore, to learn how to have better control of my stress and patience. I think its good for me. And its not like I have anything else to worry about! As long as I'm having fun and happy right?! Of course right!

It's good to be back in the swing of things. This semester I'm sure holds some good things for me! Including TWO choir tours! Yay! One to Utah and one to Tuscon! Should be awesome!

I'm ready to really get working hard again and really enjoy my life here where I'm supposed to be. Christmas break this year had a few eye-openers and now its time to really spread my wings and fly!

Here are some goals I've set and I also have a goal and some motivation to keep them this year!

*Eat Healthy/Exercise regularly

*Take More Pictures

*Smile at Everyone

*Make a new friend

*Share my testimony more

*Morning AND night scripture study

*Finish a song

*Read important, informational books

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Song of the week: Car Crash-Matt Nathanson