"Next To Me"

On Tuesday night Katie and I went to the Anberlin, Crash Kings, Civil Twilight concert in Salt Lake which was fantastic. Really, we just went to see Civil Twilight (again. Third time in about four months). We were a little sad when we realized it wouldn't be as intimate as the other two shows we've been to (we've been right in front of the stage the other two times), but we managed to get fairly close to the stage and still had a pretty stellar view.

After Civil Twilight was finished playing, we moved toward the back of the crowd to avoid getting trampled and decided to take a stroll around the venue. And you'll never believe what happened. We saw the three guys from the band just walking around through the crowd totally unnoticed. But we definitely noticed them and we got our picture taken with the fabulously good-looking lead singer, Steve! I think he was shocked that we recognized him and was especially shocked that we knew his name...



As you can see in the picture, I was kind of freaking out. But don't you worry. That's only half of the story. As we were leaving the show, Katie decided she wanted to look at the t-shirts. The guy selling Civil Twilight's shirts had a South African accent (the band is also from South Africa). Naturally we asked him where he was from. Come to find out, he's known the band for about 10 years and is here in the States traveling with them and helping them out on tour. He showed us some pics on his phone of Steve and him partying in Vegas. And now we're Facebook friends. I don't think that the night could have been any more perfect. I don't know how we ended up with such special treatment, but it definitely was a treat!

So, here's a little taste for you of my all-time fave band. They're so fabulous. And they're SO fabulous live. Seriously amazing. I mean, just check out the drummer and the guitarist at the end of this video. It's crazy. You should love them just as much as I do.

A Little Banged Up...

but I think I love it! So, I've been debating returning to my childhood roots of real bangs for about 5-7 years now. And last night I finally decided to just go for it. My friend Bree cut them for me and I have to say that I like them so far! I think it's a different look which is something I need in my life right now. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Fire Burning!

This weekend brought more fun times. Because we are SO obsessed with EFC, we decided to have a counselor-reunion bonfire on Friday night. Plus a few other friends (of mine. Because I'm SO popular).


It was a beautiful night in the canyon for a bonfire. Couldn't have asked for anything better. Heather was a super girl scout and built us a great fire to gather around. It was fun to bring lots of friends together at one event. Personally, I think we should do it again because I love being with other people who love EFY as much as I do and because I love bonfires.

So, yeah. That was the weekend. Minus Conference which was amazing as always. I loved Elder Lawrence's talk about being a courageous parent. Probably because I love teenagers and probably because secretly I can't wait to be the parent of teenagers. Secret's out. I'm a closet baby-hungerer.

The song for this post? Read the post title dummy.

Just Call Me Grandma

So, yesterday was my 22nd birthday! Yes, I said 22. I cannot believe I'm getting so old! I feel like my 16th birthday was just yesterday! But I suppose I need to accept growing up and getting older because it's coming for me whether I like it or not! To celebrate said birthday, I started the day by going to get a pedicure with my roommate, Alex. It was SO glorious! The leg massage was fabulous and they used hot stones to rub on your legs which was really just superb. Last night I went out with some EFY friends to this fabulous Brazilian grill called Tucanos. We celebrated Alison's birthday (which was the 21st) and Stacey's birthday (today, the 23rd). Gotta love New Year's babies! I think I ate enough food to last me an entire week. So. Good. And the best part was, my meal was free simply for being the birthday girl! Doesn't get much better than that right?

After dinner, we went to Heather's adorable pink house where she had super cute decorations and the coolest cake I've ever had in my whole life waiting for us! She was "such a good friend." Alison brought a disturbing-looking unicorn pinata for us to whack at. After a rather large ordeal trying to figure out how to maneuver the pinata, we decided to just throw it like a baseball and hit it with the bat that way. And. It worked. Problem-solving.

Mostly it was just fun to spend the day with friends and have a relaxing day. Birthdays are much less exciting than I remember them being but it's always nice to hear from some old friends and to spend the day with those you love. I couldn't ask for much more (maybe just to be able to be with my family but... we can't have everything right?).

And the song to go along with this blog post is really actually kind of depressing, but I think in some ways it reflects my life. Number one, he talks about how his birthday is tomorrow and he was born 22 years ago (get it? I'm 22). It also reflects how I feel about my life right now. So up in the air. "I'm a plane in the sunset with nowhere to land." But I'll find someplace soon!

Reunions and Goodbyes

Oh the joys of having friends again!! I had almost forgotten what it was like! But on Friday night Lindy and I got some of our old friends from our freshman ward together since we haven't all seen each other in two years! It was a blast to see how much everyone has changed and how everyone is very much the same in some ways. And it's reassuring to know that we can all still be friends.
Of course, it was a little sad since the main reason for our reunion was because Lindy was saying goodbye to everyone before she leaves for her mission in Montreal for 18 months. We're so excited for her and wish her the best of luck but she will certainly be missed!

And to send her off with our best wishes, we got her a cake and sang her a special little tune. Here's the video. Enjoy.



And since this blog post is largely about my dearest Lindiz, I'm going to dedicate a "Good" song to her. Here's hoping you don't have many "Bad Day[s]" on your mission Lindiz!

All My Bags Are Unpacked... I'm Ready to Go

After spending an eventful weekend in Salt Lake before school started this week, I returned home and discovered I still couldn't move into my place. Because I feel much more anxiety ever since I met Alison this summer (she introduced me to the word), I was having severe anxiety about the fact that I was going to have to continue living out of suitcases for the first couple of days of school. A fabulous start to the year. The good news is that I had a bed. So, could be worse.

But tonight, I had space to finally move my stuff into, and I worked hard to get it all organized so that I could rest easy from now on. So, here are some pics of the room for you (including a lovely pic of my roommate Alex). I feel so much better now that I'm all settled and organized again.

You might want to be a real friend and come visit me so you can see the place in person if you didn't come see it last year. We love visitors!

GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLL(s)!!

A new year. A new beginning. New goals. And because it's my last year here in Provo (hopefully), there are lots of things I need to do before I leave! I've decided to share some of them with everyone because they're things that you all can help me out with!!

#1: Attend a Real Salt Lake game.
#2: Visit Temple Square to see the Christmas lights because I haven't been since I came to BYU. What's up with that?
#3: Read at least one book a month to keep myself sane and to give myself some "me-time."
#4: Attend Sundance Film Festival.
#5: Drink more water. I re-discovered how much I like it at EFY.
#6: Keep on keepin' on trying some new things.
#7: Frequently blog to document the exciting tales of my life. (I'm counting on you, Paul, to help me with this one.)

I think that's all of them. I mean, seven goals is a pretty solid amount of goals to set for yourself right? So, help me out friends! I really want to be able to report that I accomplished all of them at the end of the year!

And the song to put an end to this post... doesn't really have much to do with goal-setting, but if I accomplish all of these I know feel like this year could be "Wonderful." (By Gary Go)