Snowboarding

This weekend was the first time that I have ever gone snowboarding. I went with my roommates, Melissa and Emily, and a couple of our friends from the ward. If I had one comment of advice from everyone it was that I was going to hate it and fall all the time, and that I shouldn't judge snowboarding according to my first time. Well, being a little apprehensive and excited I started my first time snowboarding. I am proud to admit that I defied most odds. I must have some natural talent. According to my friends I did better then all of them on my first day. I went down the "bunny" hill once and by the time that I was half way down I was going pretty far without falling and starting to be able to turn and stop myself. Right after that I went with my friends to the top of the mountain to the harder hills and by my second time down the taller hills I was only falling once or twice. So basically I am a pretty hard core, natural snowboarder. I will give half of the credit to natural "Moon talent" which I am glad to uphold. I had a blast and today the only thing that really hurts are my arms, my legs are perfectly fine. So look at that, I am amazing, if I say so myself!

Ode to an Elephant

Ode to an Elephant
by Laurel Moon
Oh thou that sittest so forlorn
In peak’d white and gray,
Where is the laughter and the mirth
Of gaieties gone past of day.
I see no smile upon thy face,
No hands clasped in glee,
But only stares of emptiness
And a mind devoid of ease.
But there is hope of life to come,
Of joy, of love to be,
So be thou content, oh elephant
To be the possess’d of me.
*****************************
Well, I am proud of my little elephant, in so much so, that I wrote an ode to it. Maybe I went a little overboard, but considering I hand sewed the entire thing and that it took me five hours, I think I have a right to be a little crazy. Yes, this is my elephant from the most recent "New Night" hosted by Anna. It is made entirely of socks and stuffing, held together with embroidery floss. I believe it to be a large conquest in my life, seems I have never hand sewn anything and actually completed it. To be honest, I think it is the cutest little stuffed animal ever, and I hope that Larissa can appreciate that it is an elephant. Overall it was a very entertaining and fun night. We had pizza, these pull-apart cinnamon bread things, and some really cute movies. My roommate, Emily, came along and we had a blast.

Other then this my last week has been very busy. It was mid-terms week and I had 5 tests, a project and a paper all due. Luckily I scheduled my time just right and was able to complete it all with relatively good marks and still do all the things that I wanted to do. I am very proud of myself. Basically this means that I haven't really done much, but I thought that I would at least share my elephant.

Mansfield Park

Today while at work I finally finished Mansfield Park. Larissa, you were right, the movie in no way represents the book, but then again, how often do they. I realized something about myself while reading this book. While in class one day a girl sitting next to me asked me if I liked the book. I, of course, answered in the affirmative and then she asked me why. She was curious to find out because she had just bought a couple of Jane Austen books and was eager to find out about them. When I reflected on this question later, I came to find that I enjoy reading about the character's feelings. I like reading about how their minds work and why they feel certain ways. I found that I could care less what the actual plot is about, as long as the characters are strong and interesting. My favorite parts were the long paragraphs about the character's reflections and perspectives of how other characters change throughout the book. So I guess that what I really like is perspectives, seeing how everyone views everyone else. I mean, if you just read Mansfield Park for no reason, I am sure that you would consider it boring, I mean little actually happens in the book, but if you read it for the emotional impact, it is amazing. This is probably why I love Austen so much, she wrote about relationships between people doing everyday things, nothing extraordinary. (I feel like I am having some type of revelation, and I am sure most people already know this and think I am a little slow on the uptake, but for me this is a big deal!) Basically I love reading more then ever and I am now starting on Sense and Sensibility!

For other news, I found myself a dance partner for Open-Standard Ballroom for Dancesport. I was unable to take any classes in Standard (waltz, tango, quickstep, foxtrot) this semester, so this is exciting for me. It does mean a lot of outside practicing, but to me it is definitely worth it. For those who don't know, Open competition means that I am NOT competing against my class, but other people from across the U.S., but on my level. There are 3 levels, novice, pre-champ and amateur and I would be dancing in novice (possibly pre-champ, there isn't that much difference). The best part is that I might even get to wear one of those sparkly dresses like in the movies. It's pretty cool if I say so myself. I will try to get some pictures or maybe even a video if possible.

Other then that my life keeps trucking on with school, work and some friends. It's all going really well and I am enjoying myself, so everything is great!

Since Christmas

I was thinking today and I decided that I would finally make a blog so that everyone could know exactly what I am doing here in Provo and at school. To start off I am taking 15 credit hours which include Housing the Family, Home and Family Living (can you guess my major), College Algebra, World Music Cultures, Church History from 1805-1844 and Gold Latin Ballroom. All of them are going pretty well for right now. I enjoy the subject matter and my professors are wonderful, funny people--it definitely makes going to class and paying attention easier.

This semester I realized how idle I really am with my time. I always thought that I was so busy, but upon reflection I noticed that a lot of my time was spent doing nothing of importance. I believe I noticed this when I found out how much I love decorating food. I therefore decided that I would start learning new skills and talents that I always wanted know. I started off with knitting, which my roommate Emily taught me, and although it is a little rough and somewhat ugly, it is coming along. When I told a friend of mine in my ward about my new found need-to-change, he offered to teach me guitar. So lately I have been plucking away at the strings and am on my third lesson. I finally decided that I would start all of the scrapbooking that I said I would do. I have a million pictures and am finally starting to get them organized. It is a lot of fun, but also a lot of uphill work. On of the last changes I made in my life was to read more. I mean, I read a lot for school in textbooks, but I am talking about personal books, ones that I want to read. I happen to have a couple of hour breaks in my days, so I have picked out a couple of starter books and already I am loving it.

Other then this I decided to try and improve myself generally. I decided to take qualities of people and characters that I love and try to implement them into my life. A few of these qualities come from our departed prophet Gordon B. Hinckley. I am taking his optimistic outlook on life and his efforts to improve himself and making them my own. The other qualities come from my favorite heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, in which I am trying to be more personable and think of others' feelings before my own and try to make them comfortable by being friendly and encouraging. Overall, I think that I am trying to improve myself for the better and I would like to say that I am seeing results. If anything, I am more happy with myself and I am loving my life and learning new things.

As for random things that I have done since Christmas my roommates, some friends and me went to the Sundance Film Festival and saw an arts film. It was a French film translated "Fear(s) in the Dark." It was a sketch animation in black and white and I must admit it actually scared me. I definitely don't like seeing people's fears visually, it is creepy. But it was an amazing experience and I had a wonderful time. We also went sledding and my roommate Emily hit a snow hill that was a foot and a half high, literally flew through the air and landed on her face. She ended up with a bloody nose and a swollen face. I never realized how dangerous sledding is; there ended up being 18 people in the hospital one night from the same hill with injuries--let that be a lesson to you. Other then that my life is a lot of the same going-ons, but I am enjoying myself and it is all worth it!