Song of the week...

Thanks to Ashley for introducing me to some of my favorite artists and songs of all time. Including this one. I hope you love it! -

For right now, it's meant to be...I guess

I've come to the conclusion that being a teacher (in church) is following me. Don't get me wrong, I love it. I do learn A LOT by doing it. It's great-I was a gospel doctrine teacher in Idaho and now I'm a relief society teacher here in Simi. Oh goodness...I was scared to death when I got asked to be the gospel doctrine teacher in Rexburg. But it happened. I survived. And here I am. A better and stronger teacher and person having done it. Don't misunderstand, I am not by any means a great teacher. I still have my moments of weakness when I feel totally incompetent and ask,"What were you thinking?" But I basically enjoy it now.  

This is always a good thing.

Two posts in one day?! What is this?

To whom it may concern:

When is it 'whom' and when is it 'who'?

I'm in one of those moods again. "What mood is that?" you may ask. The mood when all I want to do is lay in my bed and listen to music, write in my journal, ponder, suppose, be. It's one of my favorite moods to be in, really. If I had to pick a favorite of all the moods, this would be in the top five, for sure. 

You should try it sometime. Really. I think you'll become a fan. 

Sincerely,

Yours Truly

PS: I recommend trying to be in this mood on a rainy day. 

Song of the week...

...or just song of...however long it is until I post a new one. 

So here's the story...morning glory (haha I'm SO hilarious)

No really, here's the deal: I love this song. I love this artist. He's fabulous!! 

Listen & Love it. Please.

My Baby

I know. Isn't she adorable? 

Since I don't have a real live baby of my own, this is my substitute for the time being. To many of you, this may seem too endearing of a term for an electric keyboard. But as for myself, I couldn't be happier! My very own keyboard! I can take it up to school with me and everything! I'll get to practice piano, practice voice, and annoy my roommates as much as my heart desires! Isn't it wonderful?

The best part: it was absolutely free. (Don't be jealous, Rachel)

Let Me Clear Something Up

Okay, I know my last post sounded really depressing but let me clear something up: I'm not depressed. I promise. Do I feel lonely at times? Yes. Do I feel discouraged? Yes. But I want you all to know (all three or four of you who read this) that I am still hopeful. I know that this is only temporary and I am trying and will continue to try to make the most of it. So don't worry, I am not crying myself to sleep every night. Yay!! Love you all!

(but I do write a pretty convincing story, right? Props to all my high school English teachers.)

And so it goes...

Well, I'm not gunna lie; its been pretty non-eventful in my neck of the woods. 

Once the relatives took off I slipped into a pathetic and prosaic daily routine of sleeping in late, wandering aimlessly around the house, casually looking for a job here and there with no hopes of finding one, occasionally working out (when in the mood), staying up entirely too late watching whatever movies or late night shows happened to be on, and then catching enough sleep to build up the energy in order to restart the whole process in the morning ... or mid-morning. I would be lying if I said I enjoy it.

 I've been a busy person my whole life, whether its by nature or by very strong outer influences (thanks mom and dad) I don't know, but I never seem to have a problem finding something to bide my time with. Whether its work, school, dance, voice, choir, plays, church or being with friends...whatever!-up until about a month ago my life has been jam-packed with activities and events galore! Although it is a hectic and spontaneous way of living and I always felt sleep-deprived (I usually do), I can't say I ever recall feeling bored. There was always some event to be getting ready for. I remember feeling that there is no end to getting ready for events. I would spend, and still do spend, hours and hours preparing for a concert or a play or a recital and saying to myself in the thick of it all, "once I get this over with, I can relax." 

Wishful thinking. 

I would tackle and conquer one major event only to be confronted with 10 more in its place! I could've sworn about a month ago that this lazy, non-dynamic, "care-free" life that I'm living now would be wonderful! Just think of all the time I would have to spend with friends, catch up on good movies, workout, take dance classes, sleep (very important); you know, the big stuff in life. Well, now its come! I have all the free time in the world!...and I have nothing to fill it up with. I could go through all of the "somethings" on my living-it-large list that have now turned into "nothings", but I won't bore you with that. I will say that I miss that feeling of always having something to do, someone to help, something to improve on. I suppose there are things I could do; my laundry, clean my room (to mom and dad: yes I know and I am preparing for the jazz festival)... but it doesn't hold the same satisfaction when you finish it. There's no sense of accomplishment in saying that you've completed a task in which you've helped no one and not seen or spent any quality time with a good friend or family member. Yes, the room is clean, it looks sweet and lovely and actually resembles the dwelling place of an energetic and ambitious young adult rather than a hobo (AKA starving college student). But, there is still a hole that isn't quite full. I miss so many "somethings" that I used to have or are just unavailable to me at the moment. 

I guess what it comes down to is Mrs. Donohue; yes, my 12th grade AP English teacher and the smartest woman I know. I'm pretty sure that she said this sometime, and if she hasn't I'm sure she will someday-there is irony to be found in almost every situation in literature, and in life. The irony in all this is, I find myself more often than not wishing that I could jump over the fence, thinking that the grass must be greener on the other side. When my time is full and I'm constantly running at the speed of light to finish everything, all I want is to have nothing to do. Well I got my wish; I have nothing to do and there are few words to describe how empty it is. I suppose I'll go back to school and occasionally find myself pining for just a day or two of nothing. But until then..

95 days left.

The Three Trees

Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up. The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: " I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I'll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!" The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on it's way to the ocean. " I want to be traveling mighty waters and carrying powerful kings. I'll be the strongest ship in the world! The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town. I don't want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me they'll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world.

Years, passed. The rain came, the sun shone and the little trees grew tall. One day three wood cutters climbed the mountain. The first wood cutter looked at the first tree and said, "This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining ax, the first tree fell. "Now I shall make a beautiful chest, I shall hold wonderful treasure!" the first tree said.

The second wood cutter looked at the second tree and said, "This tree is strong. It's perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining ax, the second tree fell. "Now I shall sail mighty waters!" thought the second tree. " I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!"

The third tree felt her heart sink when the last wood cutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven. But the wood cutter never even looked up. "Any kind of tree will do for me." He muttered. With a swoop of his shining ax, the third tree fell.

The first tree rejoiced when the wood cutter brought her to a carpenter's shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into a feed box for animals. The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold, or treasure. She was coated with saw dust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals. The second tree smiled when the wood cutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty sailing ship was made that day. Instead the once strong tree was hammered and awed into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail to an ocean, or even a river, instead she was taken to a little lake. The third tree was confused when the wood cutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard. "What happened?" The once tall tree wondered. " All I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point to God..."

Many days and nights passed. The three trees nearly forgot their dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feed box. "I wish I could make a cradle for him." Her husband whispered. The mother squeezed his hand and smiled as the starlight shone on the smooth and sturdy wood. " This manger is beautiful." She said. And suddenly the first tree knew he was holding the greatest treasure in the world.

One evening a tired traveler and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveler fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake. Soon a thundering and a thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She new she did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through the wind and the rain. The tired man awoke. He stood up, stretched out his hand, and said, "Peace." The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun. And suddenly the second tree knew he was carrying the king of heaven and earth.

One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten wood pile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man's hand to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth trembled with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God's love had changed everything. It had made the third tree strong. And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God. That was better than being the tallest tree in the world.

Dear family, 

I love you so much; for obvious reasons. Thank you for always being there when times are hard and I need you, and when times are going good. You are fantastic! 

Love, 

Sara-bear

Let Me Be Your Wings

Its like hearing "A Whole New World" for the first time... 

I love it.

Yes, Im a nerd.

I am eh-tarded

Funny story:

Here at BYUI in our lovely dorms we have loft beds. This morning I was really brilliant, and in the process of trying to grab my phone off my desk, I totally fell off my bed. 

Happy Halloweenie!

Its a bird, its a plane, its...

an ipod silhouette dancer??...

...and Tony Stark! 

So funny story, in order to be Iron Man, Jeremy had to stick a plastic wall light to his chest and, obviously, had to dye his hair black and draw on a goatee. When he came over I was pretty impressed at how well he pulled off the look. I still wasn't ready so he sat and played guitar for a few minutes. Well, our dorms are kind of weird in the way that we have no control over the temperature. So sometimes it gets kind of hot. Needless to say, Jeremy started to sweat and his light started to come off of his chest. This resulted in him having to go to different apartments looking for tape to tape his light back on. It was great. Okay so really, that wasn't really a really funny story. But its alright. It was entertaining at the time.

Anyway, Halloween was fun. Very different from being at home. Jeremy and I went to Bethany's play. (Bethany my roommate. Not to be confused with Bethany my sister.) She was fabulous! Its true, I have talented friends. Afterwards we went to Jeremy's apartment with every intention of watching a scary movie, but some of our friends from Vocal Union showed up and we ended up hanging out with them and missing most of the movie. But it was a good time. I loved it. So that is my Halloween story. The End. 

Jeremy!

PS: I have a boyfriend. And he's way cute. 

don't you agree? : )

Glitter and Be Gay

My next goal:

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Huzzah!!!

Today at 7AM I walked into my Music 256 class. 40 minutes later I walked out for the last time with all of the piano proficiency requirements passed off! No more 7AM classes for me! Celebrate! 

In the immortal words of Emperor Kuzco, "I'm so happy!"

: )

You learn something new every day.

What I learned today:

My sister is a very wise soul. & she's not afraid to share what she knows. I need to be more like that.

Love you, Bethany.

I Will Survive

So you all know I am taking like...10 music classes this semester and am hard at work learning the fine art of music theory. I want to share with you my lesson in today's ear training class: never perform in your underwear. 

Unless you are awesome.

Observe.

Retreat!

Well here is my update on the Vocal Union retreat! It was super fun and so gorgeous. We went to the Quick Water Lodge which is somewhere....in Idaho. : ) 

There are twelve of us in the group but only 10 of us could go. We basically just hung out on Friday afternoon. We played a few games before and after dinner. That was pretty entertaining. I don't know if you have ever played the game "I've never..." but its a good way to find out things about people. Everyone sits in a circle and one person stands in the middle and says something they've never done. The people in the circle who HAVE done it stand up and everyone standing (including the person in the middle) has to try and sit somewhere where they didn't sit before. So...that was fun. I found out that a lot of people have been skinny-dipping... pretty much. But BEFORE that, my friend Katie and I just walked around and took pictures of the mountains and trees.

So that night we watched Mr. Bean. Oh my goodness...what a ridiculous movie. It was fun though. Sister and Brother Brower loved it! haha. You know whats weird? Having married people in your choir. Thats gunna take some getting used to. 

Anyway, moving on. So the next morning we had to get up at 7:30...LAME! I wanna sleep in on Saturdays! Oh well...life goes on. But we all got dressed and ready to go to our morningside. Ben, probably the oldest in our choir, led us up to a clearing in the mountain where he led us in the morningside. It was so awesome because not only was the spirit strong, but it was raining, too! It was so rad! 

Well after that we rehearsed for about 2 and half hours. I won't go in to detail about that. BUT, Katie and I got to lead a kind of mini-workshop on how to scat/improv. That was way sweet. I love jazz. It was fun to be in the teaching position and everyone seemed to really enjoy it!

So anyway after that we packed up and headed home. 

It was a good experience. I'm glad I was able to go. 

The Joys of Cleaning

Alright, so its funny story time.

Ok, so, dishes have now become a mounting problem in 287 Ricks Hall. Pretty much, we are all lazy college students and never want to wash anything. I know this might come as a shock to all you at home, but I am kind of the big cleaner here in my dorm. So when the dishes pile up, I'm usually the first to be willing to clean them. So in order to solve this problem, I made a chore chart! Yay! So now everyone has a day when they put away the clean dishes, and a day when they wash the dishes.

Okay, so today my roommate brought over her friend, and while she was here, she started to...voice her opinions about our abundance of dirty dishes while we were all sitting in the living room! We could obviously hear her, hellloooo?! Well, her and my roommate left so, we all decided to brush off her rude comments and go on with life. About 20 minutes later, she returned. So, I um...was feeling kind of brave and said, "so, we were all thinking that...you should do our dishes for us. (pause for effect)..." And just as I was about to pull the whole "haha jk!" she goes, "okay! I was actually going to anyway." and she starts doing the dishes! Score! So basically, some random girl did our dishes and it was joyous to my soul. 

And...PS: I just got off the phone with MmmShlee. I love her to death! And she sent me a video of Elder Laing shaking his fist at me because I haven't sent him his letter yet.