It's New Year's Eve day, the very last day of 2009. It's strange to think in many ways and funny how quickly time can go. There have been innumerable changes in my life this year, which I'm sure could be said of everyone and every year. I've learned and grown a lot, I've also done a lot of stupid and or fruitless things. I don't do new year's resolutions, if I every really did, instead I try to continually have new goals that I'm working on and old ones as well. I never really had any life changing new year's resolutions, and probably never really followed through on any that I might have made and so I've tried this instead and it seems to be working fairly well. I wish you good luck with your resolutions if you make them and a happy and safe new year.

Merry Christmas to all, I hope that everyone has had a lovely day and that for those who celebrate Christmas, that the holiday hasn't been all commercialized, that Jesus Christ has entered into your thoughts amidst the presents and the food, etc.

My real purpose for writing may seem like a strange one given the day but regardless of how strange it may or may not seem, I have been thinking about composition today and I thought I'd put some of those thoughts down here. I don't know what the word 'composition' conjures up for you, maybe one of those black and white spotted notebooks or something else but for me composition is first and foremost the way a piece of art is designed or composed. In my various art classes over the years I was taught about composition and that by doing certian things, by planning a drawing or painting out before hand, I could actually make it better. I believe at first I probably was skeptical and probably didn't care to be bothered with something so silly... indeed there are those that have foregone that step entirely. Over the years though and through the classes I have come to better understand composition and to recognize it in works that I admire, even come to realize that the composition is part of why I admire one piece over another. It has been interesting to see how upon scrutinize a certian work or view, etc. could look vastly better if it were flipped around, if this part were over here instead of over there. I have come to see composition as almost the defining characteristic between a nice picture and a work of art. This feels a tad rant-like and I'm sure it is but it's nice to express things that you've been giving thought too.

The Return of the Jedi...book

So as I mentioned I got sucked into a Star Wars book a few weeks ago and today I finished said book, Heir To The Empire by Timothy Zahn. I must say that when I got to the end of the book I felt like saying, "Are you kidding me?" The ending to the book felt increadibly abrupt, very cliff hanger. The book is part of a trilogy and I realize that as such it will be a cliff hanger of sorts but I was expecting a little more resolvement, maybe I'm just out of touch, I haven't read many serise(s?) of late, anyway... So I am going to read the next two books and finish up the trilogy. I do not wish to read any more because quite frankly I'm a bit embaressed about reading Star Wars books and there's also about a million Star Wars books and I don't have the time to be reading them all. So I guess what I'm saying is to not read Star Wars books...unless these things sound appealing to you. I do like Star Wars but I found that I enjoy watching a movie over reading a book, there's a lot of tension in Star Wars plots and when reading a book that tension is just prolonged.

In other news it's been snowing for most of the day and it's very beautiful. It's even more beautiful because it will be cleaning out the nasty smog that's been lurking over the city for days now!

Merry Christmas!

I got to see some of my friends yesterday and it was soooo nice! It's been months since I'd seen any of them and I've missed them. I used to see all of these girls on a regular, if not a daily basis. At home I'm still sort of breaking the ice and warming up to people and it was such a wonderful contrast to be back with people that I'm very comfortable with and who I can laugh (you know the kind, where things are getting funnier all the time) and reminisce with. I miss living with them or in the same complex. I miss the way that my life used to be...and I don't. I don't miss having finals at all, I don't miss homework or tests. Life is all about change I suppose and I tend to resit that, I like to stay where I'm comfortable but that can't always happen. Change has to come.

Irony

Irony by its very nature is funny, sometimes (and quite often if it happens to someone else) it's hillariously funny, other times all you can do is laugh bitterly. There's dramatic irony as well but I believe that doesn't genearlly occour unless you have someone writing or narrating your life... which I suppose is possible and just unknown, a third person narrator or third person omnicient. Irony is often seen out with satire or sarcasm.

A Confession

Star Wars. I'm a fan, that's not really the confession though. So I know quite a bit about Star Wars, I didn't like them when I was little because my little brothers liked Star Wars, so there fore how could it possibly be good? I've had to eat my words on more than one thing like that. I don't remember when I started to warm up to Star Wars, or when I first watched the movies, it probably wasn't until the first of the newer movies came out, I can't remember what it's called now save, Eppisode I, maybe the Phantom Menace? Anyway I got fairly knowledgeable about Star Wars before I ever watched a movie, one of my brothers had a "picture scrapbook" or something like that of the original trilogy and on Sunday's before or after church, to pass the time I would quite often read our comic books or flip through this book about the trilogy. Consequently I know a fair amount about Star Wars.
I have now seen all the Star Wars movies, excluding the cartoons and the Christmas Special. I didn't love the newer movie except for the light saber duals, because of the advances in technology since the original trilogy, the duals are way cooler. I prefer the original movies, I think I've only seen A New Hope once or twice, I find Luke Skywalker incredibly whiny and as A New Hope is primarily focused on him, I skip it. The Empire Strikes Back is my favorite Star Wars movie, witty lines, plenty of action, Yoda... A close second is The Return of the Jedi because there are ewoks in that movie and I don't see how you could not like ewoks.
I'm rambling and further exposing my Star Wars nerdiness. I baby-sat a little boy the other night who's obscessed with Star Wars and it was kind of funny and a little embaressing because I knew a lot more about Star Wars than him.
Getting to the point of this post, I realized as said little boy and I were watching Empire Strikes Back, that Star Wars has a lot of paralels both to liturature and to religion, Christianity specificly. Though Star Wars takes place in a setting that to many seems much cooler than our existance on earth, in essentials our own lives are like unto Star Wars; we all have gifts, we have chances to do good, we can be a jedi of sorts in our own lives. In our lives there's forces both for good and for evil, and like Luke or Anakin etc. we can choose the good or the evil. Yoda's words are very pognient and good advice.
I'm feeling a bit nerdy about my application of Star Wars to life, however I found something that made me feel somewhat better; while baby-sitting the other night I picked up a Star Wars book to read after the little boy went to bed, I figured it would just be a way to pass time Until his parents got home. When his parents got back I was on the last page of the sixth chapter and wanting to find out what happenes. I forgot the name of the book because I didn't really think I'd want to read the whole thing and so in trying to find out the book's title I found this page. I was bewildered at the list of choices but I did eventually find the right book.

I read The Proclimation on the Family today for the lesson we will be having later today and I wanted to share it because I believe in what it says and fully believe that it is true and can really help families.
It's snowing outside and it's so beautiful, I absolutely love watching snow fall, it's such a beautiful sight, especially when there are big fat flakes descending or better still ones that look like small feathers. I am less thrilled to drive in said snow and to be cold, but I don't think I will ever stop loving snow. It is one of the most beautiful things in this world. It's so beautiful and exciting to wake up and see that snow has fallen over night and to see the glorious white beautiful blanketing on the ground. And now it's time for me to head off to church and I'm excited to go. I'm excited at the thought that the tree might be up when I get back and that tonight we will once again light the candles on the advent wreath and read another Christmas book together.
Have a lovely Sunday.

I seem to have fallen off of my theme for the month. It's been a rather busy week, and on top of that I've been working on making my time more productive. I'm not trying to whine, I know I'm far less busy than many people, especially this time of year. I love a lot of things about this time of year however I think it's also very easy to become too busy, and to get overwhelmed. It's important to take a deep breath to calm down and refocus ones'self and perhaps find new perspective about things. Moments of quite and contemplation are important for, to remeber the root of our seasonal holidays, whichever that may be, to think of others or to give thanks for how blessed we are.
I believe tonight's the first night of Hanukkah, so a Happy Hanukkah to any out there who may be celebrating it. I like to celebrate Hanukkah by having latkes, they're quite delicious.
I'm really grateful that I can go to the temple again today, I love the peace and the spirit that I can feel there. I find that going to the temple puts life in perspective for me, things seem more possible after going, some things seem far less important, it's wonderful.

Christmas and citizenship

Last night was the First Presidency Christmas Devotional and if you happened to miss it last night I suggest you watch it, it was wonderful. I have really been enjoying a less comercialized Christmas thus far this year.

The other thing is that we had quite a good lesson yesterday on citizenship. We discussed religion and politics and how the two perhaps should or should not go together. This section in the Doctrine and Covenants lays out the Churches stand point on politics and government. We talked a lot about the fact that in many other countries there is not the same religious freedom that is available in America and also how religious freedom is becoming threatened in America. It's strange and a little sad to realize that with so many freedoms, there is sort of a one way street of the freedom and it's a very important and perplexing matter. Due to the time of year it also came up that people get so offended by being wished a "Merry Christmas" yet in our experience people who didn't celebrate Christmas by being wished Merry Christmas any more than we ourselves would feel wronged in being wished a Happy Hanukkah, etc.
Besides these strange occurrences of our world, we also talked about the fact that most of us were far more familiar with the officers of the Church than we were with the leaders of our government. I think that one of the growing problems we face in America is that so many of us do not take enough interest in our government, do not take enough action in our government. I remember my poly-sci teacher talking about the same sort of thing. The founding fathers designed our government to work on checks and balances but they don't work so well if we the people don't take charge to make those checks and balances. I have been so enamored at the Suffragette movement and how hard those women worked and how much they suffered in order to get that vote, but despite that, I'm ashamed to say that the first election I participated in, and the only one to this point, was the presidential election of 2008. I honored these women yet I didn't use the right that they fought so hard to win.
I think that laziness factors in a lot to why so many of us do not use our rights to make our say heard and to protect the freedoms that we love. It takes a fair amount of doing to stay informed with politics, I find that there is also a lot of unpleasantness to wade through in order to become informed. Voting is also something that you have to go a little bit out of your way to do, there are certian places you have to go to vote and they might be a little out of your way. I am going to resolve, once again, to be a better citizen and be involved with my community and my country. I think a good place to start might be to see about getting registered to vote where I currently live.
I didn't realize that this would be such a long post.

Today's service opportunity is caroling, get a group together and go sing Christmas songs to people you know, or Hanukkah carols ,etc. I had the opportunity to go caroling last night and it was a lot of fun. I didn't know the people we were singing to but it didn't really matter. You can bring people a treat when you carol but it's not required, it's a fun seasonal thing, maybe sing to some people who can't get out much, I bet they'd love it.

To go with today's service idea, some research on the origins of Christmas carols: This site tells about them, so does this one.

Another relativly easy and painless way to serve is to donate food to a food drive or food bank. You would need to do a little research to find the food drives in your area, but one that should be everywhere (at least in America) is the Letter Carriers food drive. So if you can spare a can or box (or more) of non perishable food items, especially those high in protine then you should do so. This is the time of year when food drives are prevelent so find one near you!

As for today's Christmas thing, it's Candy Canes. I think I've heard that they're derived from shepherds crooks but I don't really know if that's true. According to wikipedia, it is. Here is another opinion on the subject.

Advent

I'm thinking that I might cut back on my posting and go to every other day, I am loving doing this but I'm also neglecting things that a bit more important.

Anyway today's service opportunity is one that just about everyone is capable of and that is smiling. It may seem silly and too simple to be a service but it brightens people's days to see a smiling face, it might even brighten yours. If you don't feel like smiling you can fake it 'til you make it. At an old job of mine I was quite often in a bad mood and so at someone's advice I worked on smiling anyway and I found that eventually my fake smile turned into a real one and I felt better about life. So smile!
As for something about Christmas I've been wondering about the origins of advent and advent calendars etc. At our house we've always had advent calenders at Christmas time to count down until Christmas, and I suppose that is really the explanation for them, counting down the days until Christmas. Apparently the idea originated in German, a lot of our Christmas traditions seem to have come from Germany. I leaned a different spin on advent calenders when I took German in 8th grade; I'm used to calenders where you do something different each day to mark the passing of the day, we have one where you put ornaments on a tree and another where we move Mary and Joseph towards Bethlehem. The calender that I made in my German class was a wreath with four candles, starting the Sunday after Thanksgiving you light a candle each Sunday until Christmas. This has been a fun tradition for our family, we light the candles and read Christmas books while they burn.

First service opportunity

I've recently started doing something called 'indexing' as a way to serve. For any who may not have heard of indexing, it's a way of making records available in a digital format so that people can use them for genealogy/family history work. This particular site is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, however people do not have to be members of the church to access the records that they have. When you index you are given a batch of images of records like censuses etc. there will be instructions of what you need to do for each specific batch but you will be reading the records and typing the information you see so that it can made more easily accessible. You have to register to do this and there are various procedures to learn but it's a relatively easy way to serve, there's tutorial for the things you need to do. You can do it at home or where ever you can use a computer, it usually takes about a half an hour, it's a pretty easy way to serve.
As for Christmas traditions, I thought I'd find out more about why we have Christmas trees. I found this site, I don't know how accurate it is but the information is very interesting and is likely at least close to the truth. The general consensus seems to be that the evergreens were a symbol of hope or that life would come again after winters. This site and this one offer some more recent history of Christmas trees.

Watch Chuck

If you watch Chuck or would like too but feel really behind without starting at the beginning, go here and you can watch the first season!

I'm grateful that the power came back on. I'm grateful for the cd of the Mormon Tabernacle Chior and Sissle. I'm grateful for all the Christmas books we have, especially the ones that I've loved since I was just little. I'm grateful to get to see old friends this Saturday. I'm grateful for the amazing cooking of Polynesian women; in my experience you can't starve with Polynesians around, they tend to be so warm and loving and generous. I'm grateful for the Nutcracker ballet. I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to hear a Nobel Prize recipiant speak tonight. I'm grateful that I've thought about what things I'm thankful for this month, it has really helped to put things in perspective and realize how blessed I am.

I'm grateful that I get to go to church today. I'm grateful that I was raised in this church. I'm grateful for the Book of Mormon and for Joseph Smith. I'm grateful for the Christmas season and for the reason we celebrate: Jesus Christ.

I've decided that for the month of December I'm going to focus on service, I'm also going to try and learn more about why we connect certian things with Christmas like trees, candy canes, etc. I'll try and share those here.

I'm grateful that football is not really a part of my life. I'm grateful that I'm not living less than a block away from the big rivalry game. I'm grateful that I get to do something I love for the rest of my life. I'm grateful not to have a "usual" sort of job, with an office and all of that.

I'm grateful for free bagels. I'm grateful for arches 88 being 40% off. I'm grateful for leftover pie. I'm grateful to sleep in my own bed. I'm grateful for wonderful people who love me. I'm grateful for wonderful people that I love.

I'm grateful that we travled safely. I'm glad to be back home again. I'm grateful for family and food. I'm grateful for pie. I'm grateful to sleep in my own bed with my comfortor and blankie. I'm grateful that I could watch movies in the car. I'm grateful that I could see Orian last night. I'm grateful that I got to play with a cute little boy. I'm grateful that I'm going to go to bed soon. I'm grateful that my house is quiteter than my aunt and uncle's house.

I'm grateful that my house is not generally underconstruction. I'm glad that it should be warmer when they put in the new windows. I'm grateful that Thanksgiving is tomorrow and that we can see family and eat delicious food. I'm grateful that I got some work done this morning. I'm grateful for warm clothes and blankets. I'm grateful to whomever invented pie.

I'm grateful for not having to go to the dentist to get a root canal. I'm grateful for how beautiful roses are. I'm grateful for well crafted movies. I'm grateful for amusing children's books. I'm grateful not to have been born in centuries past. I'm grateful for the conference ensign so that I can read the talks again. I'm grateful for the temple and the work that can be done for people there. I'm grateful for the plan of salvation. I'm grateful for beautiful sunsets. I'm grateful for brownies. I'm grateful that Chuck will be back on in January. I'm grateful for sewing machines and seam rippers.

I'm grateful that I could go to church yesterday, I'm grateful for the delicious ward Thanksgiving dinner that we ate after church, it was sooo good! I'm grateful that I went to BYU, not only for the things that I learned but for the person my time there helped me become. I'm grateful that we drove safely in the snow last night and that it's so beautiful this morning. I'm grateful that I no longer wake up at 5:30 am to get to work. I'm grateful that I could see the sun coming up this morning and shining through the snowy landscape. I'm glad not to have a job that involves diciphering people's handwriting.

I'm grateful for the way peanut butter gets all melty on hot toast. I'm grateful for brownies. I'm grateful that it's Sunday.

I'm grateful for a warm fleece blankets and pillows to lie on the couch with while watching pleasnt movies. I'm grateful that I didn't get injured playing volleyball this morning, I'm also grateful that I'm not yet as sore as I expect to be tomorrow. I'm grateful for a beanie to combat cold and wet hair, I'm grateful that my hair is no longer long enough to freeze when wet and outside...it's not a plesant experience. I'm grateful for the stuffed (pasta) shell that I'll get to eat. I'm grateful that the posters are done and delivered and no longer my worry.

I'm grateful that I'm almost done with the posters I said I'd make, I'm grateful that I live so close to a temple, I'm grateful that I have a loving Heavenly Father, I'm glad that in less than a week I will be eating pie! I'm grateful that I'm not a graphic designer. I'm grateful that I was in bed last night and not with thousands of crazed Twilight fans at a movie theater. I'm grateful that I don't have any sort of teaching degree.

I'm grateful that lettering is not something I have to do with any regularity. I'm grateful that I didn't even consider becoming an elementary school teacher. I'm grateful that I studied art, and that I had a miserable English class in 12th grade which helped me decide to switch from majoring in English and minoring in art, to majoring in art and minoring in English...which ended up not happening. I'm also so grateful that I had a wonderful teacher who opened my eyes to so many cool things and what I could do that I'd never dreamed of.

I'm grateful for tracing paper, for So You Think You Can Dance, and for prayer.

I'm grateful for delicious turkey sandwhiches, super long licorice and sitting in front of the heat vent.

I'm grateful for the candy Dots. I'm grateful for good music. I'm grateful that one is not prohibited from reading a book even if they are not in the targeted age range.

Albrecht Durer Correction

Okay, so this is the second time I've heard this story in sacrament meeting and I'd like to put a stop to it because however sentimental a story, it's not true. There is a story that's apparently going around about Albrecht Durer and a work of his. The first time I heard this story was in a talk in sacrament meeting about a year ago, I perked up because Albrecht Durer is one of my favorite artists, but as the speaker went on I realized that the story couldn't be true because it contradicted most of what I've read about him.
The story goes that Albrect Durer the Senior and his wife had 18 children and Albrecht Durer (the artist) and his brother Albert both wanted to be artists but their father couldn't or wouldn't pay for them to go to art school so they flipped a coin or something to that effect to determine who would go to school first and who would work to support the brother in school, they would switch later. Albrecht won the coin toss and went to school and became the talented famous artist. When the time came for him to support his brother in school, his brother's hands were too messed up from working in a coal mine or similarly unpleasant occupation. To honor his brother Durer drew his brother's hands in the piece called "Praying Hands"
That is the story. Now to get to the many reasons why this story isn't true. First and foremost, "Praying Hands" was a sketch for another piece, it was not a tribute to a brother but a study of hands, also those hands do not look like the hands of someone who has supposedly had every bone in the hands broken to me, please remember that someone working in a coal mine (etc.) in the 1500s would not be going to the emergency room and getting modern treatment. Next, I haven't ever heard of anything like this in any of my studies of Durer and frankly it's something that I think art historians would have picked up on. Yet another problem was that I don't know if there even was an art academy in Durer's time, Durer learned by being an apprentice in the workshop of another artist, traveling to Italy etc. Another problem, I don't know that most people even worry about Durer's siblings, they're not as important as him histoicly, he might not have even had a brother Albert. I hope at this point I have sufficiently convinced anyone reading that while this story is very nice and touching, it's not true. If you've just got to have this story you could change it to some fictional artist and then you'd be fine. If you hear it, perhaps you could pass it on to the teller that it's not true. Thank you.
Incidently you really should look into Durer because he was an absolutly amazing artist.

I'm grateful for the absolutely beautiful snow!I'm grateful that I was able to drive safely and without accident when it was snowing yesterday. I'm grateful that I was able to tour the Masonic Temple yesterday, I've been really interested in Masons lately and for years their temple's been a mystery to me, when I was little I thought it was a library because of the sphinxes...I guess I saw a lot of libraries with lions outside of them? If you ever get the chance to tour a Masonic Temple, I highly suggest you take it, it's fascinating, I only wish that I'd brought my camera so that I could show you just how cool it is.
Oh yes, I'm also grateful that it's Sunday and I can go to church, and for the beautiful song O Divine Redeemer.

I'm grateful for how wonderful it is to be warm in bed under the blankets when it's cold outside. I'm grateful that we got our leaves raked before the snow came today.

I am grateful for the cookies that my visiting teacher brought me yesterday. I'm also grateful that the dress I'm making is all cut out now, I do not enjoy cuttting patterns out. I'm grateful that the sun is shining and that I get to go to the temple today.

I'm grateful for electricity and indoor plumbing.

It's Vetren's day and I am grateful that the allies won World War II, I'm grateful that the cold war and the Vietnam war are over. I am grateful for those who've fought for freedom.

I am grateful that I don't have any terrible and/or disturbing injury stories.

Berlin Wall Day

I'm grateful that 20 years ago today, the Berlin wall came down. It was a big deal after decades, a city and a country that had been divided were reunited. The Berlin wall coming down was part of the end of the iron curtin. The movie Goodbye Lennin is a good one to watch to get a better understanding of what things were like in East Berlin right around the time that the wall came down. I remember watching a movie in German class about a family that made a hot air balloon to escape East Germany, it was not a great place, cars were practically made out of cardboard; "Checkpoint Charlie" where people could travel between the east and west, was a place of fear people didn't know if they'd actually make it through. It's so wonderful that German is one united country again, no divisions between the east and the west anymore. The cold war is over.

I'm grateful for all the amazing books that are out there and filled will super cool things to learn. I'm even more grateful for libraries because I have neither the money nor the space for all these cool books. I'm also glad that the new conference Ensign is out.

I'm grateful for friends and laughing.

I'm grateful that it's another beautiful day and that I got to go to the temple and do baptizims for the dead.

a few things

First off, happy Guy Fawkes day, it's a British holiday when Guy Fawks tried to blow up the parliament. To learn more about it you can go here.
Second off, I've been learning about camera obscura which is really cool, you can make a pin hole in something, say a box, and if you cut off the other side and aim the pin hole at something you will see it projected upside down from the open side of the box. I know, you're probably skeptical, I was myself until I actually saw one in action and it really does work, it's so cool. I'm going to try and make one, pictures will follow.
Thirdly I'm grateful that it's a lovely fall day outside and that there's such cool things to learn about, like the camera obscura.

I'm grateful for the founding fathers of America, and for how hard they fought to create a free nation.

I love President Uchtdorf!

I'm grateful for good music and dancing.

gratitude

I've decided, after an inspiring lesson yesterday and with the holidays ahead in mind, that I'm going to write something that I'm grateful for each day. I might also write other things, but that's what I'm going to do.

I'm grateful that the sun is shining today and that it looks to be a beautiful day. I'm also grateful that I have a place to live and food to eat.

November

I don't know about anyone else out there but I am looking foreword to the next big holiday. I would like to remind everyone that there are actually two holidays this month and that it's still almost two months before Christmas. Veteran's day and Thanksgiving are both ahead before black Friday. Christmas is wonderful but there's other things to think about before the commercialism completely takes over.

five year planning

So in school when I took Business Practices For Artists, I was required to make a five year plan to help me accomplish my goals in life. I did a mediocer job but my goals have changed a fair bit since then, when I was contemplating a masters and possibly even a PhD. I've put that goal away, atleast for now, it might come up some time in the future but I am only too happy not to be in school just now. Anyway I have made multiple attempts since graduating to make myself a new five year plan and I just haven't gotten very far. I don't know if you've ever made a five year plan but I find them hard, teadious and that almost anything seems better than working on one. This time though however, I am really going to do it.
This time I've been stopping to really think about what I want to do with my life, I don't want to waste time making goals and plans for things that just seemed like a good idea at the time. I have mountains of research and work ahead of me but slowly I will work my way through all of it. I will make this plan and accomplish my goals and move out of this transitory state between college and life.One of my goals that I'm really excited about is the Rome Prize. I hadn't counted on not being able to apply until I've been working for three years but hey, I suppose that just gives me time to make my work really awesome so that there's no doubt about who should get it. Me!

Snow and cathing up on international cinema

First off: it snowed today!!! And while you may rant and rave and holler, I was excited. I love watching snow fall, I love waking up to snow, I love snowy nights and the way the clouds seem lit up. I love snow. I'm not ready for the full impact of winter yet but I'm enjoying the snow while it's here. Soon enough it will melt and we'll go back to fall for another month or so. It will be alright you snow haters, it's not winter yet.
So I've talked about international cinema before and I bring it up again because I just watched a movie that they played that I didn't see then. Now that I'm back with a wonderful library system (not to down play the Harold B. Lee Library, but movie wise, this one's way better), I'm catching up on movies that I haven't been able to get my hands on before now. I'm watching movies that friends have recommended and movies that I missed when they were playing at International Cinema ( that happened pretty frequently, you needed pretty strong motivation to leave a warm apartment on a dark and chilly winter night to walk to campus to see a movie quite often by yourself). Anyway one semester they did something which I thought was really cool, they showed American movies that had been based off of foreign films and the films that they'd been based off. One week they showed Shall We Dance? and Shall We Dansu?, The Magnificent Seven and The Seven Samurai and possibly something else. I ended up seeing Shall We Dansu? and loving it so much that I walked out on Shall We Dance? Tonight I watched The Magnificent Seven and it was awesome! I just put the Seven Samurai on hold and I hope I can watch that soon.
I've been able to watch movies I missed or that I just wanted to see again. I really like it. It's exciting to go beyond the everyday American movies and to see other movies done another way.
In watching these movies I've noticed that Miramax seems to be connected with a lot of foreign films being made availible over here. I'm sure there are others that do it too but I thought that was interesting. Anyway, I guess I'll let you know as I find foreign films that I love.

Ode to Schluckwerder Marzipan

O marzipan, how I do love thee
soft and sweet almond paste that you are.
When covered in chocolate
a bite is bliss
The gold foil wrapping tells
that you are no ordinary candy.
Your German inscriptions
a sign of your quality and origin.
A serving is said to be half a loaf
(yes loaf!)
but there is still more joy in savoring bites day by day.

Cross Country

Yesterday I got to go cheer on one of my cousins in a cross country race. I didn't realize it but cross country isn't just a hard core sporting event, it can also be a hard core spectator sport. This was my first cross country race, so I don't know if it was typical of most but the race was in a park and meandered through the park with the spectators running up and down hills to cheer on runners as the passed through the middle area of their loops. The runners trained for this race but I did not and so I got a bit worn out doing so. It was fun to be able to see my cousin do something she loves. I have know idea how she did because I misunderstood where the finish was, I also don't really have much concept of how one is supposed to feel in a race of possibly a hundred participants but I say Good Job!

beauty

Do you think about beauty much? What does it mean to you? Is it merely a slim girl advertising something, a muscled man advertising something else? Is it those people in movies? Something you wish you were? A sunset, etc.?
I think about beauty a lot, as an artist it's something that I'm working to create, but maybe you would ask why? Maybe beauty isn't something that matters much to you, or perhaps something that you've become embittered about, or none of the above. I think there is a real need for beauty in our world, and when I say beauty I'm not just referring to physical beauty, that's important but there's so much more. There are the fall colors, flowers in spring, the beauty of a snowfall, and on and on. Beauty is important, think of living in a colorless world, of a world that was bleak and gray, always the same. It sounds depressing right? My friend watched a movie where I think all beauty and creativity were stifled, emotions were regulated by drugs. Thinking of a world like that made me want to cry and wonder what the point of living would be. We need art and beauty, physically need, it has a huge effect on us and I think we quite often take it for granted. I've noticed the power in my own life. A while back I bought this book on Albrecht Durer and his work because I really love his work; I noticed after looking through the book many times, that when I was stressed out (which happened often in college) I felt more calm after looking through the book. This instance may not seem very significant to you but to me it really proves how powerful beauty and art are.

International Cinema

So at BYU they have International Cinema where every week they play foreign films, usually three and it's free to go. Durring my time at BYU I watched several movies from different countries like Germany, Italy, England, someplace in the Middle East, China, Japan. I didn't love all of the movies I saw, but I did enjoy quite a few of them. It's interesting to watch movies from different countries, to see how similar or different their movies are and to get a glimpse at another culture. Last year I was in the Italian Club and they hosted movie nights twice a month so I got to see a lot of Italian movies Such as Ladri di biciclette (The Bicycle Thief(s)), Il Postino (The Postman), and Nuovo cinema Paradiso (The New Paradise Movie Theater). I've been able to see some movies that I never would have seen otherwise and that I love.
It's been fun now that I have access to a really good library system to be able to go back and find movies that I missed or just that I wanted to see again. I'm excited to watch a German movie that I missed called Mostly Martha, one semester they showed American movies that were based on foreign films, If you've seen No Reservations, it's based (so I'm told) on Mostly Martha, I'm going to watch both and see. Another time that semester some friends and I went to see the American movie Shall We Dance? which was based on a Japanese movie called Shall We Dansu/Dance? We watched the Japanese movie first and later walked out of the American version, what we'd come to see, because it wasn't anywhere near as good as the Japanese movie.
I found that when I found foreign films that I really loved, they seemed to be more enjoyable than American movies, they seemed more real and sincere, less commercialized than American movies however this might just be a perception, I doubt I'm qualified to make such a judgment after seeing some movies from several countries, it's probably just a sweeping generalization. I would urge you however to try out foreign films, you might be surprised by them.
Here are some that I like if you're interested:
Dear Frankie - Scottish with British Sign Language
Shall We Dansu/Dance? (I've seen it both ways) - Japanese
Vita e bella/Life Is Beautiful - Italian (This is possibly my favorite movie ever)
Il Postino/The Postman - Italian
Tokyo nagaremono/Tokyo Drifter - Japanese (I found this movie hillarious, a mix of James Bond with lots of go-go boots, but there's a lot about Japanese culture I don't understand and thus didn't get about this movie)
Nuovo cinema Paradiso - Italian
Goodbye Lenin - German
I know there are more but I can't remember what they are at the moment.

Shaping up

I have been slacking off of late, falling off from worthwhile pursuits and feeling pretty blah as a result. I am now ready to get my act together, whip myself into shape. I've started drifting and I don't like it. I don't want to be lost, so I'm working on finding myself again. The specifics on how this will be accomplished are still sketchy at present but they will be solidified. Without school or a more traditional job it's been fairly easy to slip into limbo, but limbo is not getting me to my goals, it is not where I want to be all my life, it's not even really where I want to be now so I believe a review of my goals is in order and then a plan on how to accomplish them. Okay, I think I'm done giving myself a pep talk. Go, fight, win and all that sort of thing.

Strawberry Swing

I thought that this video was really cool.

new books

In this post I was talking about books I was making and now they're done, so here are the pictures.

Incomplete, something is missing. A part of me is drifting out there somewhere, waiting to be discovered or found. "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight..." searching through the stars, pouring over dreams, wondering what I'm trying to find. Reaching out there, stretching, for something just out of reach... what? Something on the melodies of a song, songs great important pieces and strains torn from tortured souls (?) Olly, olly in free! Come out, come out where ever you may be, don't be suborn like babysat children playing hide-and-seek. So close I can taste it, the name on the tip of my tongue, fleeting and gone, whispered on the wind and in the lunch room. Four hundred and ninety eight pieces to a five hundred piece puzzle. Still searching.

Both because pictures are needed to add some varitey and because it's getting to be the season, here are the cool pumpkins my family carved last year...I didn't carve any of these but please note the cool carved zuchini.

Letters From Rifika by Karren Hesse

This book is a children's book...about 10-14 I would think, so perhaps young adult is more accurate, but that doesn't mean that the rest of us can't enjoy it too. This is the story of a young Jewish girl who emigrates with her family to America, it's a very interesting book and I learned more about emigration in the early 1900s by reading it.

Sunday Afternoon Session

the mists of darkness descend on all, but there is an iron rod and we must cling to it
come unto Christ and be perfected in him
the church is true, Joseph and Hyrum drew comfort from it as they were going to their deaths
they died rather than deny their faith
by the power of God and not of man
hearken unto these words and believe in Christ
stewardships are a sacred trust
we are stewards over our minds, bodies, families, etc.
chastity and virtue
I cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance
we can't rationalize to God
he who has repented of sins is forgiven
are your priorities in the right place
we need to teach children that they are accountable for their time and talents
accountable to the poor and the needy
in all our stewardship efforts we follow Jesus Christ
go ye therefore and teach all nations...
lengthen your stride and enlarge your vision
prayers of years past are still being answered, God's time is not our time
read Preach My Gospel
I am with you always, even until the end of the world
for behold the end draweth nigh
the heavens are open
mighty change of heart
we shouldn't get casual or we'll revert back
endure to the end
zeal towards God
bury your weapons of war
are we sufficiently humble? etc.
don't become casual
keep the Holy Ghost as your constant companion
check up on yourself
there's so much at stake
do you find it easy to believe in the word of God?
remember the faith of our fathers
behold I will believe
I will give away all my sins to know thee
an easiness and willingness to believe will bring an out pouring of the spirit upon us
we can now understand the plan of happiness better than at any other time
there was the city of Enoch and they were taken up to heaven and there were the people that were so wicked that they were destroyed by a flood save Noah and his family, it should be obvious which group we want to be in
more discipline= choosing the right because it is right even if it is hard
loyalty and devotion to the father and the son
we should not leave our actions in the hands of enforcers
we would not accept the yoke of Christ, so now we tremble before the yoke of Caesar
they were men who were true at all times with whatsoever they were entrusted...
there must be constant teaching, mostly by example
we need knowledge of truth, of things as they really are
wickedness never was happiness
mere wanting is hardly a guide for moral conduct
we cannot presume that the future will remain as the past
ye cannot cross this great deep, save I prepare you...
I invoke the blessings of heaven upon you
...that we have no more disposition to do evil but to do good continually
we're all in this together

Can't wait for the conference edition of the Ensign to come out.

Sunday Morning Session

We share a desire to be better than we are, as long as we live
we can be like God
we always have room to improve, to be like the savior
I'm trying to be like Jesus... be as a little child
love is the guiding principle to be like Jesus
the family, to learn how to love as he loves
selfishness is the absence of love
pray for the love to ignore weaknesses etc.
the Savior is the perfect example of persisting in love
hold on to them with your faith
feeling the love of the Savior for you
look to be like Jesus
enduring in love to keep his commandments
I want to go back to the past way of viewing the future
the pioneers made beautiful the things around them
we must have a temple in our community
made the roof like a ship
used what they knew and made it work
need a working knowledge of principles and truths
follow the prophet
fundamental skills
becoming builders of the kingdom of God
the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true
let virtue garnish they thoughts unceasingly then shall your confidence wax strong in the sight of God
the 13th article of faith
virtue traits?
'ity' virtues
the world is largely morally bankrupt
perpetuate Christ-like values
need to be a good example
integrity is the mother of many virtues
the light of a disciplined conscience
dignity, honesty, and integrity are more important than revenge and rage
don't let them become the 'lost virtues'
we are expected to act with virtue
they had safety equipment, they just chose not to use it
we learn and grow by overcoming confidence (that's what I wrote but 'conflicts' would seem more appropriate)
Heavenly Father has not left us alone
prayer, scripture, etc. = our safety equipment, it's our choice to use them or not
hold to the iron rod and press forward
they are everything
ask and it shall be given you... we always need to be ready to receive heavenly help
we need firm faith and sincere desire
real intent, really follow through on the inspiration
study it out in your mind...
know and obey the relevant teachings and commandments
established pattern
change from a natural man to a devoted disciple
spiritual discernment
look for things that are uplifting and enduring
faith, hope, charity and love
culture = something that makes things better
...to them will I reveal all my mysteries...
line upon line, precept upon precept
...to him that receiveth I will give more
the eyes of my understanding were opened
living Christ, living church, living prophet
and what did you do for someone today?
by love, serve one another
man's greatest happiness comes from losing himself in the service of others
we spend too much time with the things that don't really matter
inherit the kingdom prepared for you...

Saturday Afternoon Session

love doesn't override commandments
for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son
God's laws are invariable
laws are to help us to advance and become perfect
blessings by obedience to the law
agency means that bad things happen to good people
talk is cheap, we need to back it up with actions
whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth
we need to be united
God loves
God and Jesus are one (just to clarify this doesn't mean that they are one being)
we are created in God's image
if any of you lack wisdom let them ask of God
the way to know of the truth of God is through the Holy Ghost
all things denote there is a God
your testimony will bless you and those around you
seek Heavenly Father
we are not alone
Heavenly Father wants to help us to return back to him
eternal life is to live with our Father and our families ever more
serve God with all your heart, might, mind and strength
the Lord does not expect us to do the impossible
it is not requisite that a man run faster than he has strength
we need to be the best we can be
by grace we are saved after all we can do
I have fought a good fight... I have kept the faith
it's possible to achieve the impossible
once resurrected the body and spirit cannot be parted
if there were angles in the past then why shouldn't there still be angels?
To whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life
salvation is not available on every street corner
we need to be humble and full of love
what is temperance?
why should we be temperate?
moderation, self control, humble, submissive, gentle...
beware pride
be diligent
tempered glass made not to break into sharp, jagged pieces
staying out of debt
preparedness= temperance
temperate in all things
my kindness shall not depart from thee
come unto him
open arms
mercy, safety, love, etc.
an invitation to repent
a loving appeal
mercy and love for the repentant
will ye not now return unto me and repent of your sins?...
take up his cross and follow me
what wouldst thou have me do
do not endeavor to excuse yourself in the least part
Jesus knows how we feel
don't be discouraged
the Lord will forget even if we don't, sometimes we remember as a reminder not to repeat an offense
remember that the Lord has a different time table
repentance changes us and blesses the lives of our families
we can communicate always with Heavenly Father through prayer
we are the children of God
know ye not that ye are the temple of God...
through the atonement we can be washed clean
all good things come from God
pure intelligence can be spoken into the mind
listen to promptings of the spirit
heed them
the Lord has many ways to enlighten us
don't cut yourself off from communication with the Lord
you can always pray
all beings who have bodies have power over those who do not
you must study it out and ask if it be right...
prayer is your personal key to heaven
they will be done
remember that the Lord has a plan
draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you
the Prophet needs our prayers

As my typos have been becoming more frequent I think I'll post today's notes tomorrow.

General Conference Notes

Saturday Morning
five new temples
it's so important to get that temple work done
member missionaries
still praying for areas to be opened up to missionary work
depend upon the spirit to guide you
seek personal inspiration
we live far below our privileges
we need to learn and grow through faith
consistantly strive and it will grow easier
inspiration and power
to go and to do the things wish the lord has commanded
the spirit will bring impressions
what you need to hear
remember to have focus on principles, not how knowledgeable you are
study and pray
confirm your impressions with the Lord
is there more I should know?
respond and... to first impressions
the Lord will not force you to learn
control strong emotions
Satan wants to block spiritual communication
beware being lead carefully down to hell
keep yourself worthy to receive promptings and inspiration by the spirit
let virtue garnish your thoughts
in your heart and in your mind
pure intelligence
light
still and quite
come cast your burdens on the Lord
for my yoke is easy and my burden is light
burdens can also be blessings by humbling us etc.
even as I am, so ye should be
delivered in stages
"when we receive the truth, we will be saved by it..." Joseph F. Smith
teach to inspire
aim high
through the Lord all things are possible
express love and show it
do more of what we know is right and become better
if ye love me keep my commandments
live your testimony
be consistent
beware hypocrisy
how do we become true disciples
don't enforce your own agenda on things
don't get bogged down by little things and forget the more important matters
love is the great commandment
love is the answer and you know that for sure
do we truly understand?
why should we love God? What we love determines what and what we think and do
love defines us
God's love for us is infainant with no strings attached
there is always hope
through the atonement we can be forgiven, repent and come back
search for me with all your heart
demonstrate our love by aligning our lives with him
don't get discouraged
try
have hope
we can always start afresh
listen for his voice
draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you
love changes everything

PS I just saw Elder Cook in passing, how cool is that?

drawing

I decided to switch things up today and draw instead of paint. I haven't done a lot of drawing over the last few years e.g. since my last drawing class. I've sort of fallen out of practice, which led to disappointing results. I'll have to start practicing more, maybe the drawing I started this morning can still be made into a beautiful drawing, even if it's not one now. Maybe from now on I'll alternate days drawing and painting, that way I can keep from getting burnt out on one or the other. I also need to see about starting to practice figure drawing again, I'm hoping to take a month long figure drawing course next summer and I haven't done much figure drawing since the class I had my freshmen year. I meant to take more figure drawing classes but there were a lot of art classes that I would have liked to take and not enough room in my schedule to do so. Figure drawing is challenging both in the need to replicate a person well and in the fact that even the best models move and it's harder to draw something that's moving. An interesting thought, there's not a term for someone who draws, there's painters, printers, sculptors....have you ever heard of a draw-er?

catch up

Life is pretty busy lately, there's a lot going on. I'm excited for General Conference this weekend, the Relief Society meeting last week was really good too. I'm also excited because in about two weeks two of my cousins are getting married to the wonderful people they're engaged too. I've got a couple bookbinding projects that I'm working on and I'm excited about those, I haven't made any books for a while and these books are going to be really cool. I'm still working on my art and I'm applying to have another show. I'm taking another stab at working my way through the completle works of Shakespeare. I'm really excited for fall, there's something that can be really wonderful about cooler weather, it's no longer unbearable to think of turning on the oven just to bake something, so now maybe I can start baking things that I've wanted to make for a while...like pot pie....mmmm. Also due to the cold weather yesterday I decided we needed something warm to eat like soup, so I made some taco soup which turned out quite good. I've got another sewing project that's just waiting to be started. Life holds lot of adventures and each day is a new chance to do something awesome.

Much Ado Abouut Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare is one of my favorite plays, it's very witty and quite funny. I also love it for the movie that Kenneth Branagh made of the play. Reading a play is enjoyable but they're meant to be seen and heard and Branagh does Shakespeare wonderfully. Some of the things I love the most about this play are the witty bantering between Beatrice and Benedick and the comedic blunderings of humble constables Dogberry and Verges. I highly recomend this play.

General Relief Society Meeting

Saturday evening was the Genearal Relief Society Meeting. We got to watch it with grandma and the aunts. If you didn't get a chance to watch the broadcast you can watch it here, there are four languages availible: English, Spanish, Portugese, and ASL. Anyway, here are the notes I took.
-caring for individuals
-relief society is organized after the priesthood
-we need to use our time in inspired way (note: this is straight from what I wrote, it's not edited.)
-get rid of the non essentials
-remember whos we are and what we are to do
-charitable and practical!!!
-visiting teaching is terribly important!
-focus on people rather than percentages
-"never suppress a generous thought."
-righteousness and articulateness
-more concerned with being righteous than being selfish
-mind the gaps
-accomplishments etc.
-there is nothing that can separate you from the love of Christ
-recognize the Lord's approval
-it's not what you can get out, but what you can give
-be a holy woman
-be valiant
-endure to the end
-there is a great legacy
-charity never faileth
-one heart, one mind and one intention: Zion!
-D&C 88
-there is a time and a season for everything
-visiting teaching is a call from the Lord
-the legacy is passed from heart to heart
-we must cherish and watch over one another

going back to emergency preparedness, this blog might be helpful in working to get out of debt etc.

Peaches

"Beautiful peaches, peaches for me." It's peach season, we have some ripe peaches that we've been working on using them. Last night we made peach cobler and I peeled the peaches, peeling a ripe peach is a beautiful thing because they can just be tugged right out of their peels. Peaches are weird, they're fuzzy, it's an odd feeling, touching a peach. Today my mom made peach pie and it smelled so good that I asked to have some as soon as it came out of the oven, it was sooo good. So enjoy peach season, I kow I am.

Dance Dance

I am really wanting to dance, not just by myself but to go to a dance with my friends and just dance like crazy! I watched Footloose today and now I "wanna cut loose, footloose..." I love dancing, from runing like a little crazy child around the living room to the music, to ballet lessons, to square dancing in 3rd grade, to social dancing in 6th grade, to dance in high school... I love dancing. I am not a great dancer but it's so much fun to just dance. One of my favorite classes my last semester of college was the Polynesian dance class I took, and it was amazing and painful, I had no idea how hard it was to hula, it looked so easy. For the guys out there, you should know that girls adore it when you know how to dance, as much as we may or may not like you, the "slow" dance/ the deacon shuffle gets pretty old after once or twice, girls love a guy who can dance and even better, a guy who can lead! So everybody, go out there and dance it up, in your car, at work, on the dance floor, just dance!

Journal of Discourses

I've decided to try my hand at reading the Journal of Discourses, at least in part. It was suggested to me by one of my teachers that a good way to learn more about the church as an institution and as my religion would be to read through the Journal of Discourses one president of the church at a time. The starting place for this is Brigham Young, the journal didn't start until after the saints moved to Utah and by that time Joseph Smith was dead. I started this task earlier in the summer, but got put off it for a while and so before I'd gotten very far the idea came to me that I should be taking notes as I did this so that I could go back and have something to refrence afterwards.
I decided to post my notes from my first attempt, I found I got a lot more out of it than I had the last time I read this particular discourse. I found some really cool stuff and I wanted to share it.
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, Brigham Young
Salvation pg 1-6 delivered in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, January 16, 1853
-just about everyone in their own way is seeking what they believe to be salvation
"The object of a true salvation correctly and minutely understood, changes the course of mankind." pg 2
"How difficult it is to teach the natural man, who comprehends nothing more than that which he sees with the natural eye! How hard it is for him to believe!" pg 2
"If the Lord does not speak from heaven, and touch the eyes of their understanding by His Spirit, who can instruct or guide them to good? who can give them the words of eternal life? It is not in the power of man to do it; but when the Lord gives us His Spirit to a person... they can hear, believe, and be instructed." pg 2-3
Whenever we are disposed to give ourselves perfectly to righteousness, to yield all the powers and faculties of the soul (which is the spirit and the body, and it is there where righteousness dwells); when we are swallowed up in the will of Him who has called us; when we enjoy the peace and the smiles of our Father in Heaven, the things of His Spirit, and all the blessings we are capacitated to receive and improve upon, then are we in Zion, that is Zion." pg 3
"We are the temples of God," pg 3
-we have the opportunity to be Zion, to be temples of the Lord if we could truly love and follow what is set before us, what's holding us back We should be jumping at the opportunity.
"If Elders [or sisters] of Israel use language which is not proper for the lips of a Saint, such Elders [or sisters] are under condemnation, and the wrath of God abides upon them," pg 4
"...but if every heart were set upon doing right, we should have Zion here." pg 4
"...it proves that we can add to our knowledge, wisdom, and strength, and that we can add power to every attribute that God has given us." pg 5
"Let us fill up our days with usefulness, do good to each other and cease from all evil." pg 5
"I wish to impress upon your minds the reality that when the body which is organized for intelligence to dwell in, dies, and returns to it's mother earth, all the feelings, sensibilities, faculties, and powers of the spirit are still alive, they never die, but in the absence of the body are more acute. They are organized for an eternal existence." pg 5
"...we acknowldege the hand of God in all things, all is right, Zion is here, in our own possession." pg 5
-remember to have compassion on others
"I find that I have enough to do to watch myself. It is as much as I can do to get right, deal right and act right." pg 6
"Light cleaves to light, and truth to truth." pg 6
I hope if you enjoy this that you'll try it for yourself, these are the things that really seemed important to me, if you were to read it I'm sure that there would be other things that would jump out at you.

Sou da Bahia

So my cousin and some of his friends made this documentary about art in Brazil and last night we had the opportunity to go and see it. It was really cool to be able to see it, he's been telling us about it for so long, last summer they went to Brazil and filmed. We also got to see an art exhibit that went along with it. You should go here to their blog and check it out.
p.s. this is totally unrelated but if you ever want marzipan, you should not go to See's Candy to get it, they are famous for many things but their marzipan is not one of them and there's a good reason why.

non lo so

Tua Sorella! Non mi piace, perche? Non lo so perche, ma non mi piace, e quanto poplo sono stupido e io anche, perche? ripateto: non lo so, ma mi piace Italiano, e la lingua bella. Anche mi piace mio parlo tua sorella, ecco!

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

I first heard about Mrs. Gaskell when I stumbled across part of a mini serise based on her book Wives and Daughters. After seeing some of the serise I wanted to find out what happened so I read the book. I loved the book and the serise when I got to see all of it. Last spring I was introduced to North and South via the mini serise made of it, I loved it so much that I think I watched it twice in about two days and it's a four hour serise. Anyway I wanted to read the book and see how it matched up with the serise, so after waiting for it on hold all summer I finally got to read it (who would have thought you'd have to wait longer for a book than a movie?). I liked the book, on the whole I think I still prefer the movie better, and I think it was probably easier reading the book having seen the movie and being better able to picture things. I love what a fiercly independent girl Margret is and how she's her own woman, and yet good and kind. I think the movie did a good job of adapting the issues of the book into terms that are more readily accesable to audiences today. It was also a bit harder to read about all the tragedies that occour to Margret and her family, somehow it's sad when it's seen but it takes soo much more to be able to tell how sad things were. I'm glad I read the book, I think I like both the movie and the book to the same degrees that I like the movie and book of Wives and Daughters.

I love getting to do what I do. I love getting to paint at my pleasure. I love that I no longer am hampered by classes and homework and part time job that steal my time, don't get me wrong, I'm glad that I went to school and all that but I did it wrong, art was usually where I could fit it in and my other homework got precedence because those teachers were more demanding, and then I realized how stupid it was. I love that I can work on and explore ideas and interests that I have, creating series' and learning how and what I want. I have loved the freedom to learn my interests and now at my own pace and enthusiasm. I love that I'm sending my work out and joining the art world and I loved it even more when I was accepted into the show I submitted to.
It makes me sad though that my caring and well meaning friends and family are always suggesting jobs I could try, "real jobs". It makes me sad that more people don't study art because they don't believe they can support themselves or a family doing it.

Finances

Emergency preparedness again, this time Finances. This one is very important, especially right now, there are a lot of people who are having a lot of trouble because they had debt before the economy started going down. It is terribly important, esepecially right now, to avoid debt or to work on getting out of it. In unstable financial times a lot of us may need to rethink our finances and spending habits. If you fall into this category or have debt you can go here for suggestions or help.
It's also very important to have a reserve of money built up for unforeseen circumstances, such as job loss, medical emergency, etc.

Be Prepared...

Mostly because I thought of the title and the picture to go with it. However we do need to be getting along with our tour of emergency preparedness so I suppose we'll take a look at planning. As was brought up in stake conference today, or maybe it was last night, in an emergency you either can or you can't, you either know CPR or you don't etc. So planning, you need to know what you and your family are going to do in an emergency. Elder Packer spoke last night about being in Spain as a mission president when 9/11 happened It was interesting to hear a rememberance of that day from outside the states, and how other people were impacted. Elder Packer said that they were at a zone conference when they found out about the events taking palce in New York and they were able to get the missionairies all together and tell them what had happened and how to act. He said that one missionairy asked if he'd spoken to the prophet to find out what they should be doing, Elder Packer told him that he had not, but that as part of his training as a mission president he had been told what to do in an emergency situation. Elder Packer went on to say that even if he had tried to call the prophet to find what he should do, he wouldn't have been able to get through with everyone trying to call and make sure people they knew were all right. It could have been very bad to have a group of missionaires and not to have know what to do with them all in an emergency, but because they had a plan they were all right.
We need to have plans in place and well known, I imagine that most families have a plan for what should happen if there's a fire, things like how to exit and where to meet up and call for help. Planning for a fire is all well and good, but more than that we need to have plans in place to cover every conceivable thing. To make plans consider things like:
Going through your daily routine(s), who is where when? what if someone is not with the rest of the family?
Make meeting spots
Have contact relatives/friends, someone who doesn't live in the same area if something major occurs
What happens if you or your spouse is at work?
Do you have pets? What happens to them?
Does anyone take any medications?
Where are your important papers kept?
Do you know where to go to get help?
Does your community have an emergency plan?
There are resources you can go to such as http://www.ready.gov/, with resources especially for planning. This site has instructions for specific disasters.
Oh, I will just add, that we need to have this information in some form of text copy as the internet will likely not be at our disposal in an emergency. If you're interested in finding more about all of this just start googling these things and you'll have tons of sites at your disposal. I also wanted to add this that I just found, even though I already did food storage.
Remember, we need to prepare now.