Skeet Shooting!

So, this past Saturday I went shooting. It was fun. Very dusty and rather warm...we were in the desert after all. My brother really wanted to go so he bought some clay pigeons and a shooter and we borrowed a gun and headed out. I have some bruise marks on my shoulder from the shot gun, but I hit a pigeon on my second try. That made me happy. We did a little hip shooting to for fun as well. Not accurate at all but I felt like I was in a western.

Here's a picture of me shooting. My bro is in the foreground.

And this is a picture of my friend Mallory learning how to shoot.

The best part, though, is cocking the gun. I like the sound it makes when the empty shell pops out.

Well, that's all...nothing to insightful to tell. I just wanted to show my gun pics:)

I found this on my friend's Travis's blog, but I just had to put a link to the video on mine. This movie clip brought back so many good memories and great times. When I lived in Roman Gardens (more than 4 years ago) I had a wonderfully interesting set of friends. Truly great people. And they made this movie for our ward talent show. It's probably funnier if you know the people personally, but I'm putting the link here for anyone interested. Get ready for Buttercream Symphony!!!

One Awesome Cake

Okay...so I just have to show off a little bit. My brother's birthday was this past Wed. the 13th of June and I made him a birthday cake...but not just any cake...

I made him a lap top because my brother is a computer science major and therefore it was quite fitting. I also put Charlie the Unicorn on the screen which everyone got a big kick out of. If you've never seen Charlie the Unicorn...well, you're not missing much...it's really quite dumb, but when all your friends quote it and you watch it 5 or 6 times, it starts to become real funny.

Anyhow, here are some pictures of the cake and some peeps at my bro's party. Yay! for Birthdays!
Enjoy!
(and don't forget to tell me how awesome I am)
haha

p.s. The windows key was my favorite...you can see it on the slice of cake in pic 5.

So...I have to make a difficult decision very soon. I think I may have made it...but I'm not sure I have the guts to go through with it. Life is hard when you have to choose between good and good. I wish things were black and white at times. And I'm afraid...afraid that my decision may hurt a very dear friend of mine. sigh...


That's all the energy I have to write right now. Time to be at work anyhow. see ya

NICKELCREEK!

So, I went to one of the last shows ever for Nickelcreek last weekend. It was absolutely wonderful. Way better than I expected it to be...and I had expected it to be good:)

The whole night was great. I took a date. We went to dinner and then to the show. It was up in Salt Lake at Abranell Hall. The hall is a beautiful place. I have a couple pictures of it inside. One of me and Matt in front of a Chihuly glass sculpture. And then I have about 256 mb of saved video of the pieces of different songs they performed that night on my camera. I am sooo sad that they are dis-banding. They seem like terrific people and there music is so much fun and uplifting. Maybe I'll have to figure out how to put movie clips here on this blog so that you can watch a few.

Anyhow, time always feels like it's short, and I promised my brother I would take him shopping for new clothes for his new very cool, very important job, so as always, I will have to write more later. Life is offering so much excitement lately that I don't really know where to start. Have a wonderful weekend, my friends.

Arghh...our internet has been down for nearly a week. That was quite depressing. I called our apt. manager but nothing happened...then after repeated calls to MStar...finally, finally, someone came out and fixed the broken switch. Hmm.

Well, this is the first time I've been online since Monday morning, and I fee like my attempts to update often have been thwarted. Right now I only have a moment or so before my date shows up. I'm going to a baseball game tonight. Night two of a three day series against Utah State. GO BYU! I can't wait. I really do love baseball. I don't know why so many people find it so uninteresting. I think it's comfortable and delightful. And I can't wait to kick Utah's butt. No red tonight...we're all BLUE through and through.

See ya'll later.

Here are just some pictures for fun of some of the things I've made recently.













At the moment, however, I am working on my final show.
If I can find a gallery to exhibit my stuff in then I should be having my show the end of July. Graduation is in mid August so it will be before then at least. I'll keep you all updated on that...as it is pretty much the most important aspect of my life right now:)


My ideas for my show pieces are still a bit of a mystery
but when I'm a little farther along I will post some of the pieces on here.


For now...
here's a random assortment for
your viewing pleasure.

Oh my...look who's back.

To my friends,

So, there are three things that I told myself I didn't want to do...cause everyone else was doing them.
1) Join Google
2) Join Facebook
3) Get a Cell phone

And here's where I stand now:
1) Had to join Google to access my blog since blogspot was bought out
2) On edge about this one - I don't want to be on Facebook but all my friends are and I want to see their pictures
3) And if only I had the money

So...all my stubbornness against the ways of the world is slowly slipping away. Soon, I will be just like everyone else...
maybe.

Anyhow, for the moment, by succumbing to Google's dominion I now have access to my blog once again and can re-enter the world of blogging.
I missed you all. I will write more soon. And I promise pictures.

Love,
Me

Hey Friends...it's been awhile and it may be a while longer until I sit down to really write something but I thought I'd add a quick update on the more important moments in my life at this time.

One) I am still looking for work...I got a job at Sears but requires me to stand for 5-6 hours at a time and I need a desk job b/c

Two) I hurt my knee on Thursday July 13th during a soccer game and it's still bothering me...bothering me so much that I went to a doctor. Ends up I tore my ACL and now I have to wear a brace until my surgery...yes, I said surgery. Uck. I don't want to. They'll use my hamstring to reconstruct my ligament but it's alright cause
Three) I get to go home tomorrow to see my family and relax and be happy before the surgery and school starts and work and everything else. We are going to Myrtle Beach and brace or no brace I am swimming in the ocean in three days time. And then we are off to Charleston for a Saturday. What fun.

So, that's my life right now. We'll see where it goes from here.

Oh life…what an experience. There are so many complexities to deal with when: balancing school, work, church, friends, lovers, brothers, sisters, parents, groceries, sleeping, sickness, wellness, exercise, neighbors, visiting, homework, finances, entertainment, bathing, dreaming…
Good thing I don’t have to deal with most of that. No school. No work. A few friends, one brother, no lover and a church calling is about all I have to handle. Not too much to occupy my day with. Of course there is still sleeping, eating, and bathing…but with no schedule to hold to, even those things become random watery moments within the day…not worth mentioning or remembering. Yeah, good thing life is so easy…nothing to order or remember or worry about doing. Endless summer vacation, it’s every young person’s dream, right?

. . .

I think I’m going insane. Ack. I need a life. I need a job. I want to work. And I need something to occupy my thoughts. My dreams are bothering me more and more. I decided today that these incessant dreams about this certain guy (that I mentioned in my previous blogging) is merely my attempt to make life more complicated, exciting, and uneasy…I need that, I think. Since I messed my knee up two weeks ago, I can no longer run or play sports. I cannot exercise beyond stretching and icing my knee. I’ve found myself with no way to get out the pent up emotion and energy within myself. I am not in school this summer. I am looking for work but since my last job fell through, so has every other opportunity. It’s an interesting place to be right now. I am not sad…a little bored, sometimes frustrated, and often unsatisfied…but I’m not depressed. I went through that. That bummed out period when I was unsure how to proceed and what was worth waking up for each day. Now, I’ve found things to do. I read books. I put puzzles together. I try to do genealogy. I put a lot into my church calling. I have long conversations with people. My life is okay…not as exciting or as complex as I would desire, but it’s a life. Now if only I could rid myself of these obnoxious dreams.

It is not unusual for me to dream about people I know. Yet, dreaming about the same person night after night after night is beginning to freak me out a little bit. Haha, I get mad at him sometimes for bothering me so much. Then I have to remind myself that he has no idea that he spends so many nightly hours with me. We play sports together. We go on trips. We live life and laugh and cry and get angry and makeup. It’s a pretty full complex life…and it’s all a dream. Dreams that have been continuing for almost two weeks straight now. Nuts. Right. Completely strange. Well…I don’t know what it’s all about, but I do know that no matter what happens in my waking life…at night…I have to deal with all the complexities of school, work, church, friends, family, sports, exercise, love and hate, tears and joyful smiles…it’s all there. My life may be dragging along in a lethargic attempt but my mind is as sharp as ever and He is a large part of that.

So, my last blog brought about some discussion between my roommates and other select friends of mine about my 'flirting' ability. Apparently, I'm just not that great in that department. Another friend of mine told me, recently, that he "had never been around [me] when [I've] been around someone [I] like...therefore, [he had] no idea how [I] flirt." What a blow this statement was. The truth of the matter is that his roommate has been an interest of mine for quite some time. Talk about a reality check. He basically said, 'You have no flirting skills what so ever!' And except in my own subtle ways, he's right.

Well, now the question is...what do I do about this. I've asked around but I tend to get the same old responses from everyone.
"How can I flirt, tell me, teach me...I implore you!"
So far, no one has told me anything that is of use. "Be more flirty," they say...but they never say how. Guys respond, "You're the girl, not me, shouldn't you know how to be flirty...I never know what a girl is doing anyways." And girls say, "Be yourself...wait for the right guy." Nice but not helpful. And a few others give me the usual, "Be more touchy, single him out, smile and make eye contact." Check, check, and check....next please.

Granted I can not do anything that is not in my nature to do...I don't want to be someone I'm not, but I will however do more and step outside my comfort zone if and when someone gives me some actual advice that is noteworthy.
Noteworthy advice...
Any takers?

This is going to make me sound like such a stupid girl…
But honestly, it’s really bothering me.
I keep dreaming about this guy. I really would rather not dream about him. Sometimes he’s kind to me in the dreams; once he kissed me. I woke up feeling so great. Then once he kissed another girl (a good friend of mine) right in front of me. Sometimes he blows me off in the dreams. Then I wake up feeling disturbed or sad. I do not like this. I don’t know why this particular guy is popping up in my dreams nearly every night or why it should affect my emotions so much one way or the other. I seem to have no control. I don’t like being out of control. I can’t figure out how to stop dreaming about him. If I think about him during the day, I dream about him. If I don’t think about him during the day, I still dream about him. I think the worst is waking up with the depressing feeling of rejection when nothing has really happened. It was just a dream! Why do I feel sick to my stomach about it?! Of course, the disturbing dreams are worse, but I do not long for the good ones either. It goes back to being out of control. Just as I don’t like waking up feeling gloomy…I don’t particularly like the fact that I wake up feeling elated as well because I know it doesn’t really mean anything. Why am I happy? It was just a dream. And then I get upset with myself for having yet another dream about this man. Why is my mind torturing me with such nightly visions of him? Why does he trigger such emotion, good or bad, that seems to stick with me through out my day? I can’t seem to shake this thing. How frustrating!

I want you to imagine that you’re wearing a delightful off-white flirty skirt (okay if you’re a guy that’s a bit of a stretch so just imagine your favorite pair of khakis or something) and you’re feeling pretty good about yourself as you stroll down the supermarket isle. You grab an IZZE…the more nutritious and delectable choice over the common soda to go with your lunch (70% fruit juice, 30% sparkling water, no sugars added, cute glass bottle…). You head to the ten items or less lane to purchase your 99 cent beverage, and as you approach, happy and unaware of any possible dangers, your foot begins to slip ever so slightly out from beneath you. (My guess is the ice cream cooler beside the checkout stand is leaking a bit and a small puddle of water has formed which ever so small is more than a match for your traction-less flip-flop.) As you begin to slip you reach out with your left hand to grab the counter at which time you loose control of your drink of choice, which in an almost slow motion effect, slips from your finger tips and goes crashing to the floor. I think your first thought (after the initial shock, of course) would be one of remorse, embarrassment, and “oops…did I do that”.

Now at this point, I imagine a store clerk would run over to offer assistance…another would probably just stare in disbelief and then ask you if you ‘slipped?’ (Thank you Captain Obvious!) The preliminary shock beginning to wear off, you would then look down to see a puddle of brazing purple red pomegranate juice encircling your feet. You would begin to feel the sticky mess dripping down your knees. Gripping the edge of the counter you would (still not thinking terribly clear) step back to move out of the way of the huge mop heading your direction. In doing so you suddenly notice with some apprehension all the glass about your feet, and then with more alarm you feel the crunch of glass and the tiny sliver pricks in the sole of your foot. Your flip-flop is filled with minute bits of glass, and you are backing up right on top of them! Stop! You pull your sticky dripping glass covered flip-flop off of you foot and dangle it over a paper bag that a store clerk is carefully shoving shards of broken bottle into and shake the glass ever so forcefully from your shoe.

Now thinking more clearly (probably because of the pain of glass in your foot), you take this moment to exam the situation. You are standing on one foot, holding a flip-flop in your right hand and the counter top in your left. A store clerk is at your feet with a paper bag filled now with glass. Another clerk is trying to tear open a paper towel roll as the first clerk assures her that the store will pay for the paper towels if she opens them. Farther away a bagger is still filling bags of groceries while yelling out, “Did you slip?” “Are you okay?” “Did you cut your foot?” “Is that blood?” “We have tweezers if you want to pull the glass out of your foot!” “I don’t understand…did she slip?” “Did she cut her foot?” “Do you want another drink?”

Will she ever be silent, you wonder. Now the whole store is watching. What a fiasco. You decline the tweezers or another drink. You tell them that you just want to pay for what you have and go home. I would imagine, at that point, you would pay your bill, hobble out of the store, and try and decide what has upset you more…the sticky blood and juice mixture drying to your legs and feet or the fact that your favorite flouncy flirty skirt is now tie-dyed! I mean…that’s what I think you would be thinking. It’s not like I’m speaking from experience or anything. I mean I’m just hypothesizing, right. Just a little ol’ funny – made up story…haha…right…ha… umm … ha.
yeah…

This morning I did something that I haven’t done in quite sometime…
I watched the sun rise.

I’m not really sure why I did it. I don’t really know if I even expected it. And I’m still not sure why I was awake. But at approximately 7:25am Mountain Standard Time, I took a class of “homestyle” orange juice, my fuzzy blue slippers, and an oversized BYU hoodie, and I stood outside on my three-step stone stoop in front of my apartment. I just stood there. I don’t know why. I wasn’t looking at anything in particular. I just sipped my orange juice and I stood there watching nothing and everything at the same time.

Then it happened…
the sun peeped over Y Mountain just a little.

The seemingly sudden moment of light caught my attention and for a full three minutes between 7:35 and 7:38 I watched. I watched as the sliver of light turned gradually into a shining ball of glorious radiance. I saw it actually move up from behind the mountain or the mountain moved down to expose the light, which way I’m not sure, but I saw and felt the movement. And as the glory of the sun revealed itself, or was revealed, I found myself beginning to grin. It happened as slowly and as progressively as the sun appeared…bigger and wider and broader until I felt the pinch in my cheeks; I continued to stare. By 7:40 the sun was so bright that I could no longer stare directly at it, and the cool morning air was beginning to dissipate as I felt the warmth seeping through my pajama pants. My orange juice nearly gone, my body warmed in the glow of the morning light, and a strange sense of happiness and wellbeing having filled my mind, I turned and walked back into my apartment.

Five minutes…it only took five minutes…
and life looked happy again.

Small, Medium, or Large

So…I got turned down for another job today. I’m trying to be optimistic about everything but rejection in any form hurts. The rejection wasn’t unfamiliar to me either. It pretty much was the same, right down to the wording and phrasing, of my last couple rejections. Boy, it’s all getting old very quick.

This time it was, “You're a great artist, but we’re looking for someone with a little more graphic design experience." I’ve heard this many times before…quite a few times in the last year. It always begins with, ‘Your artistry is incredible BUT…’ And ends with the basic, ‘We want someone in this or that field…sorry, not yours.’

What it comes down to is that I am a ceramics major. I chose this direction not out of longing to make money but out of a compelling desire to create. Have I chosen wrong? Now I’m faced with that evil and tiresome word…money. I have none, I need some, and I must find someone willing to exchange some form of labor for some crusty wrinkled greenbacks that will inexorably increase the design of my life.

But what can be done? It does not seem to matter how qualified I am for a position, how hard I will work, or what I can show to ascertain and prove my ability to do one heck of a job…because when it comes down to it, there will always be someone else applying for the position that has picked that right major. There are no random job openings for ceramicists so I must look elsewhere, yet, every time I apply for any other art position I get turned down because it's not my field of expertise.

. . .

Maybe I shall join my roommate, sooner rather than later, in scooping ice cream. I mean, that would be fulfilling, right? Shoveling multi-flavored creations into sugar cones and paper bowls just to watch giggly teenagers on first dates and tired mothers appeasing their young ones in exchange for those tired craggy pieces of paper with faces of dead presidents on them that will inevitably increase the subsistence of my life. It would be worth it...right.

For some reason, I just don't think so.

But lets face fact, at some point I may have to stop making decisions about glaze colors: will that be copper magnesium, gerstley borate, or nepheline syenite and think, rather, in terms of, “Yes sir, will that be a small, medium, or large?”

Oh the good ol’ South, my homeland…yes, the land of my birth, is a cornucopia of natural beauty. It was such a delight being home. The weather was terrifically warm and the skies were blue. Daffodils (my favorite flower) were in bloom and my Weeping Willow (my favorite tree) was blowing delicately in the gentle breeze. I say it was a delight being home but a better clarification would be that it was good being in my parents’ home. I have not lived in South Carolina since the summer of 2000. I often go ‘home’ to visit though things feel strangely more foreign with each passing year. My parents’ home, though, will always be familiar…always my home, or at the very least, my home away from home.

The purpose of my trip to South Carolina this time around, however, was not to enjoy the inherent familiarity of home but rather to attend my best friend, Wilbur’s, wedding in Charleston, SC. The wedding was a splendid affair. Everyone was so happy, guest included, and “Amens” were abundant.

Wil was crying before the wedding even began and he had a perma smile etched across his face. After the ceremony we had to leave the chapel and head to the air force base. On the way there I ran into a freak thunderstorm with hail that lasted about 20-30 minutes. It took me forever to find the reception hall with important roads being blocked off for the air show that day and thewaterfall of rain that was beating down on the windshield making it impossible to see much of anything. Eventually I made it to the reception hall. A little wet, and a little tired, but ever so happy to be there and ready to party.

The wedding was not the only thrill of my weekend. Charleston, itself, is filled with many beautiful splendors. My friend Caroline and I toured South Charleston. We took a carriage ride with a horse named Wade, more lovingly known as Swede Wade.

The carriage driver gave us a brief history of the town and pointed out interesting old buildings from the early 1800’s. Caroline and I also toured the Black Market a.k.a. Slave Market which was where the slaves used to do the shopping. Booths run by locals now fill the market with homemade crafts and goodies to lure in tourist and get them to part with their cash. I got into the spirit and bought a cheap postcard, a sweet grass cross with flower, and some very delicious pralines for my mother.

If you head south/east down Market Street you’ll eventually leave the booths behind and run into the harbor where the boats dump their fish, the cruise liners dumps their guests, and tourist dumped their bodies on the benches lining the boardwalk. Caroline and I did just that.

While we were resting three
little boys came along and tried
to get us to give them two
dollars for some roses they were
making out of sweet grass. We
declined and then one little boy
asked if we’d give him two
bucks to do a back flip off the
table. We asked him not to…the
whole visual image of him
splitting his head open on the
concrete came to mind. He did
it anyway. There was no
splitting. The kids then spotted
my camera and wanted to take
pictures with us. So, we came
home with three interesting
shots in the end.

It was such a beautiful day out on the boardwalk that I never wantedto leave. The wind was blowing off the ocean and the air smelled salty. I liked that. Caroline and I were in somewhat of a silly mood so we began taking pictures of ourselves being blown over by the gusty wind.

It tickles me even now to think of that day. (Especially right now when it is snowing outside my Utah apt. window.) But that weekend in Charleston was so much fun. I learned a good many things that day as well, such as, apparently The South Was Right…
Being a SNOB was a good thing in the 1800’s, because it means that you are living Slightly North Of Broad street…not to mention living South Of Broad street (SOB) was also a good location seeing as how it was windier, and they thought the wind would keep the mosquitoes away. Hmm…
And we learned that, as we deemed it, the world’s largest rose blooms on Rutledge street…
All in all a deliciously perfect weekend topped off with visits to the art museums up in D.C. before heading back to Utah. But, I will say, it is nice not to be living out of a suitcase any longer...five nights in five different beds, not my particular favorite. It's good to be home. :)