100th Post!

This weekend was perfect in all of its Fall celebration with my family. My mom was in town so I spent the whole weekend with her at my brother's house with his his wife and 2 adorable children :) I just love these little pumpkin munchkins:

Happy Halloween!! It was a perfect way to welcome the fall to be with my favorite people in the world. There's nothing quite like family. 

P.S. My audition was an awesome experience! I didn't get accepted to the program, but I know better how to be prepared for next time. Special thanks to those who sent good wishes and prayers and love my way!

P.P.S. My blog is officially a year old! Kind of cool and pathetic that my 100th post falls today (pathetic because I feel like I should have way more posts after a whole year, but oh well, nice to have a goal for the coming year!) Thanks for being my faithful readers and caring about my life enough to stop by once in a while!

Thursday Thoughts

Tomorrow is my audition for the Dance major here at BYU, and let me tell you, I'm nervous. Not only because I haven't really done ballet in about 6 months and that's most of the first part of the audition, but because if I make it through the first part, I have to perform a 1 minute solo. Ummmm yikes. I've never choreographed/performed a solo. Ever. So last night's choreography session was a big first. Special, enormous thanks to my awesome cousin Daniel, who is an incredible Modern dancer, for his help with figuring out where I wanted to go with my piece. I'm about 40 seconds in, so the last 20-30 will happen tonight on my own. Wish me luck!

P.S. My Mommy is coming into town tomorrow!!! I haven't seen her since July and I've been pining. I need to remember to not go this long without seeing her again.

In Wonderland

I just love October. I love that it's sunny yet cool, and I get to pull out all my beautiful sweaters and scarves. I have a habit of collecting scarves and sweaters throughout the year, and it makes me so happy when fall finally comes and I can wear them all :) I love the riot of color that erupts all over campus and across the mountains, it makes the whole place feel like the golden enchanted forest from The Twelve Dancing Princesses. I have had such a beautiful day wandering around campus between classes, breathing in the general splendor. 

Speaking of breathing, we had such a fun Contemporary class today! We started and ended the class with some quiet meditation, breathing, and solo exploration of movement, and for the majority of class we did group or partner improvisation, which was so cool! I worked with my friend Kate for the partnered segment, and boy did we create something beautiful. The first part of the exercise was to mirror each other, taking turns with who was leading. Then we got to touch, keeping contact as we moved around and with each other, experimenting with weight and shift and trust, exploring each other's bodies and how they moved together. It's been so long since I've done that exercise with someone, and it was so fun to do it with someone like Kate who is so beautiful and we were able to move so fluidly together. There were even moments when we breathed exactly together. It was so fun. 

When I found this picture, I saved it as Alice In Wonderland. I love the movement of her autumn hair and the fairy tale feel of the scene. It seemed like the perfect fall picture to capture the beauty of the day. 

Let's Just Say...

....not my best day ever. This week has been super stressful, and on top of work and school being crazy, my home life is getting a little crazy too. My roommates insist on keeping the AC on even though it's, hello, October and it's freezing outside, especially in the morning. They think I'm paying for that at the end of the month? Think again ladies, think again. Not just because of this week but just in general, I've been thinking about moving for the winter semester. My coworker Heather is selling her contract for a house just up the street, which would be perfect because I'd still be close to my brother and ward friends, and I've always wanted to live in a house here. So we'll see how that goes. 

I audition for my program next week, which is freaking me out more than a little, but I'm feeling surprisingly good about it--I think it will end up going well. I'm testing in my Contemporary class tomorrow, which includes a composition I did with my friend Tim, who is an adorable little Australian and he makes class so fun :) I'm going blues dancing tonight to hopefully ease some of the tension, then hopefully getting some sleep to get up in time to be at work at 7 (an hour before I'm used to. Yuck.) See you all Saturday afternoon if I'm still alive after working Parents Weekend. I'll be looking forward to a serious cup of hot chocolate, a hot bath, and my new stack of books that I got at the library today:

Bring it on. 

Trying New Things

Last Saturday I tried Bikram yoga for the first time. Remember the beautiful Linsey? She's been doing Bikram since April and has been telling me about it for months! She goes almost every day, and I told her I wanted to come sometime, so Saturday ended up being the day. Bikram yoga is different from regular yoga because you're in a room that's about 105 degrees, so you start sweating before you even move. The poses are slow and beautiful, and by the end you've been stretched and strengthened wonderfully. A lot of people with joint or muscle problems do this type of yoga because the heat helps your muscles loosen and over time it helps your flexibility and strength. This was one of my favorite poses:

You can kind of see here how the class is set up, though there weren't that many people the day I went. It was a really neat experience, and I'm excited to go again soon!

Paris

I'm doing Friday Feelings instead of Thursday Thoughts today, since yesterday turned into a super crazy day. I've been thinking a lot about Paris lately, being captured by these beautiful photographs I've been coming across. I've had this intense urge to run away to a big city like San Francisco or Paris, get a little apartment with huge windows and wood floors where I can wake up whenever I want, languish in the sunlight, paint, write, and generally revel in the art of my own soul. I want some time to take for myself, to not have to worry about living with anyone else or being responsible for anything or anyone but me. 

I know it's an unrealistic fantasy, but it's nice to dream. Work and school have been good, but it's been really overwhelming the last couple weeks, and next week's gonna be even worse. I would give anything to just get away for 6 months or so and embrace my inner artist. 

I've been really grateful this week for my girl friends. I had a lovely girl date with my coworker Heather tonight, and I get another one tomorrow with the beautiful Linsey. I got some slammin' earrings and a beautiful sweater that will keep me cozy as fall truly sets in. In the meantime I'll keep dreaming about Paris...

Special Birthday Dedication

I'd like to dedicate this post to my two best friends: Megan and Erin Dempsey. They're twins that I've known since I moved to Colorado when I was 9, and it's been the best 10 years imaginable because they've been a part of my life. Here's a little blurb about why I love each of them :)

My dearest Megan, you have always understood me in a way that no one else has. We think very much alike and therefore seem to approach things very similarly and can teach each other through our parallel experiences. You bring out my vivacious, outgoing side, the side that can laugh as loudly as I possibly can, even if it means I snort a little bit...but I know you'd never blackmail me with that ;) I've been jealous since we were 9 of your gorgeous long hair, your soulful writing, and your ability to attract every man in the vicinity to worship at your feet. And somehow you managed to single out the right man in your world to rock it and you tear it up together. Thank you for always showing me that I'm worth it and that nothing can stand in my way. Thank you for never giving up on our friendship, even in the years when we weren't as close. Mostly, thank you for being you.

Sweetest Erin, you have been my rock. You have inspired me to get outside my comfort zone, to cut off all my hair, to rock being single even when it seemed like I was the only one I knew who was. You have the most infectious laugh, (which usually instigates the aforementioned snorting) and the cutest quirky smile I've ever seen. You have so much spunk and pizzazz, and so much passion for life. You and John have the sweetest love I've ever witnessed. You appreciate each other so much and you both know how lucky you are to have the other. I admire that kind of trust and deep devotion, and I hope I can achieve that level of understanding and simple love with someone someday. Thank you for always being interested in my life and wanting me in yours. Thank you for appreciating my blog, I can't wait to start reading yours!!!

To both of you, it's been an incredible 10 years, and I can't wait for all that the next 10 will bring. I admire you both so much and am grateful every single day to have you in my life. Hope your birthday's been rockin'! Love to you always, sisters.

P.S. I realized we don't have any recent pictures of the 3 of us together. We need to fix this ASAP.

With the Rain Comes Fall

Well, it's a beautiful day in the BYU neighborhood :) Yesterday was very wet and gray, but I immensely enjoyed running around in the downpour. My day was insane, working from 8 to 2, studying for my Italian midterm for an hour, taking said Italian midterm, then studying Geology for half an hour, taking the Geology midterm in 35 minutes (I got a 90%!!! Not bad for my first test this semester) then running home to touch up my make up and to grab a nicer coat to run out the door for dinner at 6 with my date for the BYU Spectacular! He took me to Olive Garden, which was very nice, and it was great to just sit and chat, which we haven't had a chance to do since our first date because the subsequent dates have been mostly going dancing. Ergo, not much talking. Then we rushed from dinner to make it on time for the Spectacular, which was, in a word, spectacular! The music was flawless and the energy was exhilarating. Danny unfortunately had to study for a test before bed, so he left me with a hug at the Blue Tango where I danced the night away! It was actually a lot more fun to be there without a date this week; I got to dance with almost everyone and just flirt and laugh to my heart's content. I got home around midnight, talked to my sister for a while, then finally laid down and got to sleep. Talk about a crazy, non-stop day!!

Thankfully, I got to sleep in for a bit this morning, and tonight I get to go to the Spectacular again with my dad! I'm so stoked.

Hope you enjoyed my long story :) Happy Official Fall!

Craziness and Poetry

I've been meaning to post for several days now, but it seems like every time I sit down to do it, a million other things happen and suddenly it's midnight (like it is right now) and I have to go to bed. But I'm sucking it up right now because I'm sick of not posting.

For my creative writing class this week we had to write a sonnet, and let me tell you: hardest writing assignment I've had in quite a while. You'd think 14 lines of 10 syllables each wouldn't be that hard, but I spent a good 4 hours writing this little baby. I was inspired by this picture and had a very clear idea in my head of what I wanted my sonnet to feel like and the ideas I wanted to express, so it took that unbelievable amount of time to make it happen. Hope you enjoy.

Sun Streaks

I feel my body, my galaxy, shine.
My limbs thrown wide, my palms out, receiving.
Ecstasy fills me, my breath hardly mine.
Sun touches my skin: warm and relieving.
Breathing, expanding, eyes open, explode.
A roundness hovers, a dome overhead.
Fire licks, consumes this earthly abode.
Consumption breeds new birth, and a skin to be shed.

Now the fire is spent, just ashes remain.
Death of the star given way to dense cloud.
I shake off the mist, as if of light rain.
And lift up my voice, triumphant and proud.

I feel my body, my galaxy, new.
The imprint of sun streaks the Architect drew.