For The Love...

I love Valentines Day. I never have boyfriends or anything special, I just love it because everyone is silly and fun and expressing their love for each other. I love love. Everyone does. So why not celebrate it? Last week I realized I probably wasn't going to do much for Valentines day because of work and I live with five girls, etc. So I bought myself some delicious dark Dove chocolates. Mm. My favorite thing about these chocolates are the cheesy sayings I get to read every time I eat one. Like "Share a secret", "Exercise your heart", "Remember your first crush", or, as it says above, "Do something spontaneous". I don't necessarily think Dove Inc. has the greatest advice. Like "The best love in life is chocolate". Talk about advertisement. But, when I ripped open my package of chocolates I decided that the first saying I read, I would do.

Do something spontaneous.

That has been my goal this week. The night I opened that chocolate I came home from work, threw a swimsuit in a bag, hopped on a bus and went to the Contemporary Resort and hot-tubbed with a babish 23 year-old. Valentines night I basically had a girls night and hopped on another bus and watched The Vow. What a beautiful story. Then yesterday I got lost at The Swan and Dolphin resort, watched two handsome men play the guitar, went on a ferry boat across a lake with fireworks above me, walked along a beach bare-footed, ate an ice cream cone with jazz playing in the background standing on a pavilion over-looking a lake. It was stunning. Romantic. And....I'd say pretty spontaneous. I need to have this goal more often... :)

Happy New Years!

I've never really seen the joy in New Years Eve. Every year the same thing happens. You waste a bunch of time trying to party but don't actually drink alcohol (religious beliefs) and you don't like soda. You try to sip a little Martenelli's for the occasion and maybe make a tinfoil hat and blow some streamers. Finally, midnight arrives and you haven't accomplished anything except perhaps stretching your creativity thinking of all the "last things" you are doing that year, like: MY LAST BREATH IN 2011!!!! Or, MY LAST TIME TO BURP. OR QUOTE SCRIPTURE. OR DANCE. OR RUN AROUND IN A CIRCLE. OR PUT SNOW DOWN SOMEONE'S BACK. Of course, these things are all yelled as you accomplish them and made to sound as if it's the most epic thing you've ever done. When really, none of those things matter at all and you just end up tired from over exertion and feel bad for putting snow down someone's back. You always stand outside in the freezing cold when midnight brings in the new year and you scream and yell, trying to out-scream the house next to you while a couple fireworks go off. Then, everyone trudges inside secretly disappointed about that one second of time that the past 6 hours of nothing led up to. Afterwards, you feel like you have to party super hard for the next couple hours to start off the year the right way. Really though, you wake up the next morning tired and emotional for the first day of the year. The last night was a disaster for cops and you prayed the entire day no one would get hurt, you didn't accomplish anything, and you ate too much. Least favorite holiday of the year. Definitely. 

The only this that I like about New Years is goals. A fresh start. A clean slate. A chance to do better. 

Happy New Years!

DISCLAIMER: Non-alcoholic beverage above

A BYU-Idaho Christmas

Ever heard of Brain Stokes Mitchell? Anyone? Prince of Egypt: voice of Jethro? Well...I didn't know who he was until these past couple weeks. But, in Women's Choir we had the opportunity to put on a Christmas Program with him, the Men's choir, and the BYU-Idaho Orchestra! It was incredible. I love Christmas music and the spirit and love it brings.

This is a song we did with Brian Stokes Mitchell but with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir:

Friendly Beasts



Interesting, huh? That's definitely a unique song. But, we did Sleigh Ride and a bunch of classic too. It was such a fun experience. Poinsettias, lights, bells, Christmas trees, thousands of listeners, and the magic of music about Christ. Plus, we warmed up with some hot chocolate afterwards :) Priceless.

Home for the Holidays

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Tuesday night I drove into Utah Valley. Oh, how I miss the mountains. It's definitely 15 degrees warmer here than in Rexburg. But, the thing that makes home magical is the familiarity of family and friends.

You know that saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder". Well, I think that's usually true. Sometimes, it "fonder" can be substituted with "more forgetful". But, the people who really matter in your life, you love more and more when you can't be with them. I love my family. They are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm so grateful for the way I was raised and the values and spirit that are ever-present in my home. It's so interesting to meet people who grew up in different homes across the world who have such a different view on life! I am SO grateful for mine. I missed listening to classic rock and Disney while making pies and rolls with my siblings and having a dance party in the kitchen. I missed hearing Asia show off her "piano skills" and Jenessa giving me big hugs and Devin laughing with me. I missed raking leaves together and jumping in them and being attacked. I miss wrestling on the floor. I missed family chores. I missed watching movies together in the basement with the heat-dish on full blast and everyone falling asleep. I missed goofy family pictures where it's almost impossible to get everyone to have a normal smile. I missed waking up in the mornings to music and cleaning noises going on upstairs. I missed sleeping in my bed. I missed the love that's always in the house...even when it's loud and chaotic. I missed my family.

They are so wonderful.

My friend Kelsey came home with me for Thanksgiving break. It was a blast to share this week with her. Of course, after Thanksgiving dinner everyone fell asleep then watched movies the rest of the day. I literally couldn't move I was so full. Ah, lazy days. So nice. The next day Christmas decorations went up. Ha. Funny how that works.

But, I'm already counting down the days till Christmas break...

I'll get to see my family again :)

Happy Halloween!...or should I say Happy Steining?

My first Halloween away from home was...a completely ordinary day. Sad.

No costumes.
No trick-or-treaters.
No scary music.
We didn't even watch Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin.
We tried. But when we opened up the case it was Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
Sad.

The only eventful happening happened a couple weeks ago.

My roommates and I decided to take a walk and go out to eat somewhere funky. Like Fong's. Who knew on the way home we would be ambushed and stalked be Frankenstein.....



I will never forget the look on Hannah's face. HA.

Who knew we'd become so famous while living in Rexburg, Idaho?! ;)

Happy Steining!

A Winner at Heart

Eh?

It's GREAT huh?!

Ya, I was pretty creative. So, I entered it in my ward pumpkin carving contest. Here were my opposing pumpkins:

And of course....

President Monson?

And the Angel Moroni...

I am definitely at BYU-Idaho. So. 

I didn't win.

 Crazy.

 I know.

Angel Moroni did.

Hmph.

I didn't know Halloween was supposed to be so religious.

At The Pumpkin Patch

Yay! Fall is HERE. And with that, pumpkins. Carving pumpkins is always a major event before Halloween. Each year, you carve a pumpkin, with the intent to be the coolest, most original, cleverest, finest knifework, pumpkin-carving-contest-winning pumpkin EVER! In reality, you go trick-or-treating the next day to find out your pumpkin really isn't all that great. Sad day.

But NOT this year! I have a brilliant plan.

I chose this beauty:

Ohhhhh. Don't you dare sneer! Size does not say anything about the coolness of a pumpkin (plus, I'm a starving student now and could only afford to spend one dollar on my pumpkin this year).

The reason I chose this particular pumpkin (other than the fact it was cheapest) is because of it's unique shape.

An Apple.

Am I right?

Of course.

(scroll down to look at my brilliant carving plan.)

It's going to be the pumpkin of all pumpkins.

I'll report back on Monday. Be excited. Or...

SCARED FOR YOUR LIFE.

That's probably a better Halloween approach.

Hee Hee.

I often go walking

in meadows of clovers. Frolicking joyfully while the sun is setting. With a new wonderful friend. With daisies in my hand.

I gathered an armful for you.

On Saturday, I ran into a screen door and ripped it in half on accident. Embaressing moment of the year: yes. But it gave you a good laugh yesterday.

I'll run into more. If you really want.

I opened my yellow daisy lunch box today. It had strawberries and a brownie and a bagel. Eating food at lunch always makes my day go better.

Thank you.

I did some service yesterday. You taught me to serve people. You taught me to love people too.

I can't wait to be a mom. I'll teach my kids the same thing.

I really don't understand the American Girl dolls and creepy easter chicks for decoration on the kitchen counter... they are slightly embaressing. But they make me laugh.

And they make you, you.

I looked through my baby book. I was a dang cute baby. Thanks for putting that book together so I can see all the things I did as a baby.

Thanks for reading me stories.

Playing cards is always a good pasttime. Or baking cookies together.

Mother, I give you my love with those daisies.

I love meadows, and stories, and baking, and cards, and serving, and laughing, and children, and friends, and daisies.


And I learned how to love them, dear Mother, from you.

A Big Ball of String

Aw. Look at my adorable family. 

This is Easter Sunday. 

Every Easter we have this glorious tradition to find our Easter Egg Baskets.

Not your ordinary hide-and-seek for us. Oh no. We come upstairs to a house full of different colored YARN! Blue, green, yellow, orange, pink, red....you get the jist. All mixed and jumbled together so we can hardly walk. We all line up in the same spot and grab our end of the colored yarn assigned to us then race to roll up our yarn the fastest and find our Easter egg basket first. (I win every year, of course).

This is us at the start line.

We're OFF

I am on a roll. 

And TA-DU! I am FIRST to find my basket!

 This is all great fun. But every year I am left with a extremely large ball of yarn. As you can imagine, this yarn adds up over the years, as this is an annual event. This year I found myself left with balls and balls of yarn.

What is a girl supposed to do with A MEGA BALL OF YARN?

Well...I considered just crocheting my own prom dress. What a novel idea?!

But...Alas! Prom is over.

So I had to figure something else to do.

Then I remembered this wonderful book from my childhood:

Have any of you read this book? Well goodie. Cause it's fantastic!
There's this boy who gets a little sick and uses his big ball of string to live his life entirely from his bed.

Oh, yes.

THIS is what I am going to do with my yarn:

It shouldn't be too hard.

And no worries, I've already got a good start.

But as I am attempting this new lifestyle, there are a few things I should let the public know:

1) If you come over to my house, don't be alarmed if the door opens to greet you and I'm not there. Just follow the yarn to my room if you need to speak to me.
2) I always enjoy new movies and books. It is after all my 8/12ths and 19 days birthday.
3) Food is also welcome. I particularly enjoy creamy broccoli soup from Kneaders.
4) I might not be at school for the next couple days. Goodbye AP reviewing!
5) There's a slight possibility that the cold in my head will be gone on weekends. So calling to play is acceptable.

Before and After

BEFORE
5:15 Made Won-Tons with Anna
6:00 Carlie comes over!
7:00 New Years Party. Hot chocolate and starburst.
7:30 I play with my food and create Harry Potter with Anna. Even signed with red just like Bob Ross!

8:00 I Swing around on this ladder in Brynne's library. I could not feet more like Belle--and life couldn't get better.

9:00 I am once again with Hannah.
10:00 Different New Years Party! Catch Phrase. Grapes.
11:00 Imaginiff...
11:45 Oh oh oh! 2011 is almost upon us. Finish up our "lasts". A few examples:

"Last text in 2010!"

"Last pretend murder in 2010!"

"Last hug in 2010!"

"Last scripture quoted in 2010!"

"Last time being tickled in 2010!"

"Last popping-a-grape in my mouth in 2010!"

"Last make-shift dance party in 2010!"

It seems to go like that each year...

Then. Suspense builds. We scream and yell and countdown and run around in circles and go outside in bare feet and watch our cellphones until we see the long-waited 12:00am... I always feel like I don't really know how to approach a new year. With gratitude: Yes. With remembrance and memories and nostalgia, almost? I don't know. Or maybe excitement and anticipation and looking forward to new adventures to come. Definitely both. I have been looking forward to 2011 ever since I entered Preschool. GRADUATION YEAR. How crazy is that? So. All these thoughts rush into my head the second before the clock turns and a new beginning...begins.

12:00 Then FIREWORKS... 

AFTER
...And screaming and yelling and dancing around in bare feet on the back porch on ice and running around in circles and wishing everyone near-by "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Then we start our "firsts". A few examples:

"First broken necklace in 2011!"

"First picture taken in 2011!"

"First uncorked bottle in 2011!"

"First dog pile in 2011!"

"First received call in 2011!"

"First wink in 2011!"

"First cheesy smile in 2011!"

1:00 The funny thing about these firsts and lasts is that they really probably aren't the first and last. For instance: you know the whole kiss at midnight tradition right when the new year comes? I bet every lovey couple out there thinks they are the first people to kiss in the new year. Special right? But every other couple is doing the same thing! So they probably aren't the first. Or they just tied with a million other couples in one massive kiss-moment around the world! I guess that's kind of cool...

2:00 Anyway. I've always thought New Years Eve was a little anti-climatic (maybe it's because I don't drink?). Stay up all night and then in one second it's over. But it always makes for good times I suppose. And there is one thing about the New Year that is a WONDERFUL tradition. That is goal setting.

2:54 So here I am almost three in the morning; not wanting to go to bed until I have declared my goals. Setting them would be a good place to start...

Here goes.

1) Be more selfless

2) Keep the Spirit with me ALWAYS

3) Get good grades-4.0 would be nice.

4) Be more understanding and sensitive to the feelings of others

5) Sing AMAZINGLY PERFECT at Carnegie Hall

6) Pay off New York and Europe and save for College-be VERY frugal

7) Exercise and be fit

8) At college--stay strong. Embrace change.

9) Make a special effort to be kind to my mom

10) Make someone feel loved every day

I am satisfied. That is a good start.

3:03 Fewf! Goodnight. And Happy New Year :)

A stroke of brilliance.

Annual Gingerbread house making party: best yet.

...Any guesses?

Happy Holidays #3: It's Christmas Time

This week was BIG. Christmas! It was my best friend's birthday, my YW president who I have had for 4 years was released, I sang a duet with Jenessa in the Singles Ward, I got to hear the man who does "The Voice of Disneyland" (AWESOME), it snowed beautiful magical snow, I booked my flight to NEW YORK CITY (so excited), I spent time with family and friends, but also, it was my annual Christmas Piano Recital.

I teach piano, as you know, and this is the one time of year I get to see the fruits of my labor and watch my students whom I love, perform and see their progress and all their hard work pay off. It is probably the most satisfying day of the year. I LOVE it. And I LOVE my students. And I LOVE teaching. It is such a joy.

Christmas Recital 2010

Section I:

It’s A Small World

 Delayna Grahmn

When The Saints Go Marching In

Marcus Grahmn

Bouree and Musette

Garrett Grahmn

Rain

 Bethany Wood

Christofori’s Dream

Emma Wood

Section II:

Jolly Old Saint Nicolas

The Chipmunk Song

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Delayna Grahmn

Here Comes Santa Claus

Silent Night

Christmas Bells

Marcus Grahmn

I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day

The Little Drummer Boy

Up On The Housetop

Garrett Grahmn

Away In A Manger

The First Noel

Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer

Bethany Wood

I Saw Three Ships

Joy To The World

Carol Of The Bells

Emma Wood

Jingle Bells

Shelby Frampton

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

It was a great success!

I love music. It is so powerful and helps you feel the spirit. It is something I have worked hard on and I think it's real cool I can share that and teach other kids my joy of music. I tell them that all the time too! If I can just spread my love for music and piano into their little pure hearts I would be a happy teacher. Very happy indeed.

Next: Christmas!

It was lovely as always. There was gift delivering and card writing, soup eating, christmas tree coloring, scripture reading, It's A Wonderful Life-ing, sleeping over in the basement, bop-it-ing, puzzle making, laughing, grandparent's visiting, present opening, cheering, picture taking, and lots of loving.

I love my family and our traditions. Spending time with them and sharing Christ's birth with them is one of the best days of the year. Here are some highlights:

Santa brought me this beautiful hat!

My whole family got footie pjs

We read the story of Christ's birth and colored Christmas Trees

I gave Asia a Littlest Pet Shop toy she really wanted

Hannah's gift :)

So....I'm totally a girl. I got seven movies! Casablanca, Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Notebook, Toy Story 3, Princess and The Frog, Phantom of The Opera, and Gone With The Wind

I am so blessed!...and spoiled.

But I am grateful for all the gifts I got and gave.

It was a very Merry Christmas.