Plans foiled.

Sometimes, I do a good job of planning things. Like tests and such. And then a teacher will decide to mess up those plans a little bit, causing me to stay up til 2:30 AM making flashcards on everything from human development research theories to prenatal development teratogens and child developmental milestones. My favorite. Really fascinating stuff, unless it's 2:30 in the morning and you suddenly have to take a test on it in less than 8 hours. Poop. I just wanna be in my bed with all 5 pillows.


Hooray for 2 choir concerts, a Human Development test, and now a German test all in the next 2 days. Hey, weekend, get here sooner.




If you happen to be up late like me and need something beautiful in your life, watch this. It makes me happy and gives me chills every single time.

Just for Me

I made a list. Why? Because life is boring. Not bad boring, just kind of stagnant. Full of good things but not really going anywhere. No excitement. Not even a lot of stress. Which also means not a lot of growth. Problem. So I made a list. Because I have someone to be and lessons to learn and things to improve.


A couple days ago, I read this:


 10 And now, because of their ^asteadfastness when they do believe in that thing which they do believe, for because of their firmness when they are once enlightened, behold, the Lord shall bless them and prolong their days, notwithstanding their iniquity—


...and the words "steadfastness" and "firmness" particularly stood out. I've been "enlightened" per say, but how am I firm and steadfast? This, along with a letter from my best friend reminding me to enjoy living in the present and not in the future forced me to stop and think about things. Thus the list was born to help me be a better human being in general and find fulfillment in life.


1. meaningful prayer


2. scripture study


3. service


4. take time to think, not daydream


5. study and stay on track with my homework


6. go to bed before midnight


It's been going well, but after a few days, I realized that one of the major things missing in my life are hobbies. Things I do for no other reason than that they satisfy me and feed my soul. I used to spend a lot of time doing stuff like this, almost to the point where I wasn't giving time to the other important things in my life like studying. But for the last little while, I've over-corrected and haven't spent any time doing things I truly love, and my soul has been feeling rather empty because of it.


It hit me the other night as I sat down to play the piano. I don't know why I did it. I used to sit down and play for literally hours at a time, not having to think about anything pressing, just being fed by the music in front of me. So I sat down two nights ago and played. It was like an automatic musical high. I felt lifted, I felt happy, I felt peace, I felt accomplished. And then I did it again last night. And it'll probably happen again tonight. Or maybe I'll pull out my guitar or ukulele that's been under my bed for about 3 weeks since I moved. Or maybe I'll pull down my sketch book from the top of my closet and the charcoal pencils from my drawer. Any thing to keep me grounded in remembering who I am and enjoying living life in the moment.

Summer Project #2: Inner graffiti artist unleashed

quick story. 2 years ago, while I was living at my aunt and uncle's house, they asked me to paint a mural. Yes, a real 6'x20' mural across the wall surrounding their pool. After talking with my uncle, it was decided that the middle 2 sections of the wall would depict the sun setting behind a very specific range of mountains in San Carlos, Mexico. You can see a picture of it here (It's called Tetas de Cabra, and yes, I know that means "goat boobs." I didn't name it.). The section to the right of the sunset would be the beach condos that my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins (just never my family) stay in every Spring Break. And the section on the left would be some sort of cute dolphin scene since it's common for the dolphins to swim up next to the speed boat when they take it out.

Let's get this straight. I don't paint. I've never painted any sort of real picture in my life except the little practices in 7th grade art. Graphite is my preferred medium, and I've never really branched away from it, so doing an entire mural was branching WAY out.

Well, instead of starting on the wall right away, I got distracted with life. I was doing Thoroughly Modern Millie that summer and spent a couple weeks in Austria. When I got back, I pushed it to the back of my mind, too afraid to actually tackle the project.

October rolled around, and I got started. And by "got started" I mean pressure-washed the big cement bricks. After that, I primed the whole wall, and drew out plans for the actual painting.

And then it stayed that way. Weeks turned to months. Months turned into a couple years. By that point, I still wanted to do it, and I knew my aunt and uncle still wanted it, but I was scared to even bring it up, because if I did, I'd be reminding them that I still had not done it. It was a problem.

A few weeks before coming home from BYU, I was playing around with my oil pastels, just doodling out ideas.

sunset draft

condos draft

Suddenly, it dawned on me. 

Spray paint.

 I'd been fretting and nervous about using actual cans of paint. With all the colors and all the blending and layering, that could get messy. And REALLY expensive. I arrived home determined and with a plan.

It even worked out that my aunt and uncle were in New York with their family for a week, so I could work as I pleased and surprise them when they got home.


After day 1, I was this far.

I was a little bit nervous because it just looked like a bunch of crayon scribbles, especially up close. But the more layers and colors I added, the better it looked. The mountains really made the whole thing.

Day 2

I LOVED how it was turning out, but was still really unsure of how to do the other 2 scenes. I felt like it would just look choppy and weird. The rest of the Compound inhabitants agreed. A quick call to my aunt in New York granted permission to do whatever I wanted. I love hearing that. :) So instead of doing 2 other scenes, I just extended the sunset on either side.

bottom coat of blues...

more color layering..."crayon scribble" stage

3-4 days, 22 cans of spray paint, some hallucinations from inhaling fumes, and a freakin' awesome tan later, and TADA!!!!!

I admit, I impressed myself. Who knew, right? I mean, who'd'a thought a nice girl from Mesa would end up a commissioned graffiti artist painting Tetas?! ;) yes, i'm sometimes immature. get over it. :)

Anyone want need a mural done next summer?