Carl Bloch

Today I had the opportunity to see the Carl Bloch exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art. It was phenomenal!! I am in an Art History class this semester where we have been learning about altarpieces and depictions of Christ's life and so it was cool to actually get to see them in person. The Museum of Art really is amazing. For $3 you could rent an iPad and earphones, which would allow you to access videos of art curators, general authorities and religion professors who gave commentary on some of the artwork. It also allowed you view panoramic pictures of where each altarpiece originally stood. Really, the whole experience was so great! They have chairs set up in front of the three largest altarpieces so you can sit and think. It was such a neat experience to sit in front of Christ in Gethsemane (above) and listen to Elder Maxwell talk about the Atonement. The other piece I loved was Christus Consolator (below). It shows that Christ's Atonement has the power to heal any kind of sorrow, infirmity, or sin. I would HIGHLY recommend going to this exhibit if you can!

{good music}

LUCY ROSE: night bus

LISSIE:  everywhere i go

OVERTONE: colorblind

EMILIE WELMAN: 9,000 days

ELLIE GOULDING: the writer

SARA BAREILLES: breathe again

There can never be too many gentlemen in the world

Earlier today, my roommate Heather and I needed to make a quick run to Macey's. We got outside and realized that not only was the car covered with five inches of snow, but because it had been sitting outside all during Thanksgiving break, there was also a thick layer of ice covering all the windows. While Heather was looking for the scraper, I started to try to get some of the snow off with my hands. This turned out to be almost completely ineffective as most of the snow ended up in my shoes or up my sleeves. Needless to say, we looked pretty desperate. After a few minutes, I heard someone ask if we needed some help. I turned around and saw a guy standing there with a smile on his face. He asked again if he could do something to help us. By that time Heather had found the brush so we thanked him for his kindness and let him continue on his way. I was so impressed! Now I have to admit, the fact that he just HAPPENED to be good looking might have helped :) It really made me happy though, to realize that I am surrounded by so many genuinely kind people. It's people like the guy mentioned above that make me motivated to try harder to find opportunities to serve. It's something I pray for everyday. I know that that there have been many times in my life where people have been there to serve me when I needed them, whether it be friends, family or complete strangers. I hope that I can always keep myself worthy of the spirit so that I can be an instrument in God's hands when one of His children needs help.

"You sing a sad song, just to turn it around..."

Yesterday was just a bad day. I say that, even though I know that I am blessed in so many ways and really have no reason to be sad. As much as I wish everyday was a day of sunshine, peach-filled crepes and happy endings, part of our progression here on earth depends on the experience we gain from not-so-great days. Bad days always have a way of reminding me of the things I know to be true and teaching me new things I've never thought about. I was thankful yesterday to have the knowledge that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me even when I don't get A's on tests or am just feeling lonely. I am thankful that Jesus Christ understands us more fully and intimately than anyone here on earth. I am thankful for parents that taught me how to become a prayerful person and have enough faith to put all my earthly cares at His feet and accept the answers I receive. I am thankful that the Holy Ghost is always there to give me small reminders of how blessed I really am. I know that days of sadness and frustration are part of the plan and make us stronger and more fit for the kingdom. Thank goodness for phone calls to family members, this talk, EFY music, good friends, the scriptures, and victorious BYU basketball games :)

Becoming Literate

Yesterday, I had a breakthrough. I had been in the library computer lab for hours and realized that I needed to leave the presence of loud obnoxious keyboards and Facebook addicts immediately. I didn't have a class for about 45 minutes, so I decided to take a look in the bookstore. I walked in the door and right away noticed a display featuring one of my favorite books, Tuesdays with Morrie. I turned the corner and saw another display of the most beautiful books I've ever seen. All of the classics that I've ever wanted to read were right in front of my eyes with hardcovers in gorgeous greens and blues. Each book had a different design in a complementary color embossed over the cover and spine. I'm pretty sure I stood there staring for a good 5 minutes before I realized they were in fact real, tangible objects that I could pick up and look at. I picked up a copy of Sense and Sensibility and flipped through the pages. I sat and opened to a random page and started reading. I was soon immersed in the lives of Marianne, Mr. Willoughby and Elinor and was almost late to my class. I hope that I can make this a regular occurrence because it made me so happy. Just holding the book made me happy. Having taken a Bookbinding class my first semester here at BYU, I know how much time and concentration would have gone into creating such a perfect book. Realistically, it was probably made in under a minute by big machines, but I like to picture an old gray-haired man sitting at a work bench under dim lights carefully holding each part of the book like it is a great treasure. I like to imagine that people who truly know the great value of books really do exist. I'm sure they're people like that out there. I hope to be one of them someday. Over the summer, I was able to visit an old book store in Yellowstone Park. They had a variety of new and antique books. I could have been there for hours. There is something almost reverent about holding a book with yellow faded pages and a slightly battered cover and thinking about the people who read this book. That's when I realized that I have a very strong fascination with books. I hope someday to have a large library filled with books. For now, I'll have to just enjoy my time reading in the bookstore.

Elizabeth Worthington Peterson

One of my amazing roommates Elizabeth, had her birthday last week. If you go to BYU, you may recognize her as the girl who wears cool shirts (like the one in the picture) and is sometimes seen with a ukulele sticking out of her backpack. She's that cool! Elizabeth has so many talents and yet she still has a list of things she wants to learn how to do (like yodeling). One of my favorite things to do is lay on the couch and listen to her play the piano and sing. Elizabeth is one of the funniest people you'll ever meet. She is also one of the best story tellers because she acts it out with hand gestures and facial expressions. Elizabeth is rock solid as far as the gospel goes. She is determined to serve a mission and is preparing faithfully to do so. She is always there to listen and comfort me when I've had a bad day or just need to vent. I can't even tell you how many times I've been sad and she's done something goofy to make me laugh. Thanks Elizabeth for being such a great friend and roommate!!

Inspiration

Things that have inspired me today:

     1. Reading my brother's blog post about a real world example of how we can apply our knowledge and understanding of forgiveness.

     2. This talk by President Benson

     3. Smoky breath weather. FINALLY!

     4. Dulche de Leche

     5. People who smile on campus.

The Reflection in the Water: Pres. Uchtdorf

This talk by President Uchtdorf is one of those talks that really makes you want to change the way you think about yourself. He is so powerful when he talks about who we really are. Imagine what would happen if everyone on earth heard this talk? We are SO blessed to have a knowledge of who we really are; children of our Heavenly Father. "This knowledge changes everything. It changes your present. It can change your future. And it can change the world." I really believe this is true! So often we get caught in traps of insecurity and doubt about our looks or our social status or whatever. If only we could always remember that none of those things really matter. As we remember who we are and who we can become, all our doubts will go away. One of my favorite parts of the talk is when he says, "You are no ordinary beings. You are GLORIOUS and ETERNAL." Isn't that the most empowering statement? I love this talk! 

Delightful

Yesterday I hiked the Y with some of my friends and then we came back and made strawberry crepes at my apartment. Crepes are SUPER easy to make, by the way, and you can make all sorts of variations to satisfy everyone. Since we quadrupled the recipe, we had extra batter that I was able to cook tonight for dinner. This time, I added fresh peaches and my mom's homemade strawberry jam and they were simply delightful!! Crepes are the most heavenly food in my opinion. My all-time favorite topping combination is lemon juice and powdered sugar, SO GOOD! Oh, the joys of finally having a kitchen!

Sabine Finkenauer

I have a new favorite artist. Actually I take that back. My sister Laura is my favorite artist, but I have a new SECOND favorite artist and her name is Sabine Finkenauer. I love her geometric shapes, beautiful rich color combinations and overall simplicity. I would LOVE to have one of her paintings in my house someday. Check out more of her art at sabinefinkenauer.com

Feeling Artsy

My good friend Phil left on his mission yesterday :( Before he left, we asked him what he would like to do before his mission. He said that as crazy as it probably sounded, he wanted to do modern art. Fun huh? We got some canvases, paint, brushes, spray paint, and tape and found a very scenic knoll in the gully to create our masterpieces. Chad and Tiff worked as a team and me and Phil did our own. I'm pretty impressed with what everyone came up with. Basically, I love these guys!

Amanda Nordhagen (her birthday was on the 13th)

This is Amanda Nordhagen. We've known each other since 5th grade when I moved into her ward. I had no idea at the time, that she would turn out to be one of my heroes. She is truly the most caring, genuinely kind person you will ever meet. She is always the one to sit by someone who doesn't have friends, or comfort someone who is sad, or stop everyone from gossiping. I have been so blessed to have her as a friend so that I can watch the way she lives her life and try to become more like her. In addition to being perfect, she has about a million talents. Volleyball, basketball, croquet, violin, AMAZINGGGGGGG SINGER, dancing, peach picking, etc. etc. etc. Bottom line: She is amazing and if you don't already know her, you should get to know her soon!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Back to School

Let the countdown begin! I move back to BYU in 3 days! Hopefully I'll have time to take some cool first day of school pictures like these.

* I'm still trying to figure out why the children in the picture in the middle would be running full speed toward the oncoming bus. Maybe it was a "What not to do" picture from a Bus Safety website.

Some day...

Some day I'll have a home of my own that I can decorate however I'd like. Since that day is far far FAR away, I'll have to be content with dreaming of lazy afternoons spent cozied up in a floral armchair reading by the light of a vibrant yellow lamp. Something tells me I'm going to be a little let down when I move into my apartment in a week and see white walls, tan carpet, and neutral furnishings. I'm going to have to think of some clever ways of bringing some color and life into the apartment. Got any ideas?

Abby Robertson

My roommate Abby just had a birthday a little while ago so it's time for her birthday spotlight (just like in primary, except without the song and singing children). My first semester at BYU last fall I decided to room with someone random. I was super nervous how it would turn out until I started emailing Abby a few weeks before school. Even just from a few emails back and forth, I knew that I had really lucked out. We roomed together for two semesters and I learned so much from her! It's amazing what you can observe and pick up on when you live with a person that long. She is such a caring, selfless person. She has more self discipline than anyone I know (she went on LONG runs everyday without fail and was always doing ab workouts or going to the gym. AMAZING!). She is such a hardworking student, which pushed me to study harder. All her hard work paid off though, she just got accepted into the Nursing Program at BYU!! Pretty sure the odds of getting into that major is about 1 in 17382747892983471784894. She is a pro dancer. She is GORGEOUS. Oh, and did I mention she does Triathlons??

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY!!