Life

Banksy Visits Utah

Don't worry, I didn't know what a Banksy was either until a few days ago. But then the infamous graffiti artist visited Utah and tagged a bunch of buildings in Salt Lake and up at Park City and caught my attention. Turns out he is a world renowned artist from Great Britain and his artwork is all over the world. He visited this corner of the globe this week during the Sundance Film Festival and got the whole state talking. My photography teacher told my class that he is the only artist in the history of forever that has had at least one piece of artwork in every major museum at one given time. And most of those museums didn't even know his artwork was there because he put it up himself. How cool is that? Want to know something even cooler? No one knows who he really is, no one has ever seen him. I do love a good mystery :]

These are some of the things he has done here in Utah.
Here are a couple of other Utah ones...

The rest are from various places around the world.

And my personal fav...

All of these pictures were taken from Banksy's official website

Open arms and open eyes

Sometimes, I feel the fear of,
uncertainty stinging clear.
And I can't help but ask
myself how much I'll let the fear
take the wheel and steer.

It's driven me before, and it seems to a faint,
haunting mass appeal.
But lately I, am beginning to find that I,
should be the one behing the wheel.

Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there,
with open arms and open eyes, yeah.
Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there,
I'll be there....

So if I, decide to waiver my,
chance to be one of, the hive.
Will I, choose water over wine
and hold my own and drive?

It's driven me before, and it seems to be the way,
that everyone else gets around,
But lately I'm, beginning to find that,
When I drive myself my light is found. 

'Drive' by Incubus

Livin' it up in the 801... Fools!

Greetings from SL,UT! aka Salt Lake City, Utah (I like SL,UT better). It has been the BEST WEEK EVER! You want to know why? This is why... 

No more of this!

Or this!

Or this!!

No, your eyes are not deceiving you... that is what I have been breathing in for the past 2 or 3 weeks, I have lost count. It is one of the many reasons why I hate winter... the dreaded iNvErSiOn!! For some reason, Mother Nature decides to torture us poor Utahns every year by trapping all of this gunk in the valley for weeks. Or at least until it snows. 


We had a lovely snow storm earlier this week and it blew out ALL of the smog. Normally I hate snow, but now I can actually see the sky again! I hadn't seen the mountains for so long I had forgotten how tall they were! I took this picture yesterday from my backyard because I was so stinkin excited that I could actually see the mountains!

But wait, it gets better! Today on campus it was actually WARM! Or at least warm for January. It was about 45 degrees Fahrenheit! Can you believe it?! Normally it's like 12 degrees this time of year! I took an extra long walk on campus and breathed like I never had before. Who knew clean air tasted so good? 

Here are pictures I took on the drive home from school. (And yes, I did take these while driving on the freeway. I almost hit an old lady in a Subaru but it was totally worth it!)

This is Mount Olympus! It's the mountain I want to hike to the top of this summer. It's on my list!

Oh hey, I haven't seen the other side of the valley for quite some time!

Mmmm... Makes me want to go skiing!

And so this was the week that I made peace with the snow and ice, breathed a little deeper, laughed a little louder, and realized that life is BEAUTIFUL. Even when the smog of life gets you down, there is always a snow storm ahead to blow it away. I realized that sometimes the beauty of life lies beneath the pain.

Free Rice!

FreeRice.com

I found this website a while back and had totally forgotten about it. I was doing some research on how I could help with the efforts in Haiti and just happened to stumble upon it. It's an amazing website that not only donates rice to struggling countries, but also sharpens your noggin. 

It gives you trivia questions in a variety of subjects: Geography, Spanish, French, math, vocab, chemistry, art, etc. For every question you answer correctly, they donate 10 grains of rice! Right now the majority of the proceeds are going to the people of Haiti. 

Please take some time to check out this website and make a difference in the world. It may not seem like much, but your contribution will change someone's life. 

Refugees

photo

We were born sining prayers to the Earth.

Our songs carried in the wind

and took refuge inside of fire.

They lit from the outside in

as they twisted

and curled.

We let the meaning rest

on the skin of our faces

and sink into our bones.

When our fingertips no longer needed answers,

we silenced our songs with the breath of our lips,

turning the words to gray as they spiraled upwards

to become part of the Sun.

Now we stretch our arms to the sky

longing to hold the Sun in our hands

and let its light break between our fingers.

Mother Earth writes poetry in the lines of our skin

and whispers to the furthest point in our eyes

longing for us to remember.

We forgot how to listen.

Ways in Which to Make Instant Friends

The Breakfast Club

If you have never seen 'The Breakfast Club', then you are deprived and live a sad, pathetic life. Yes, it is harsh, but the truth hurts my friends. The first time I saw this movie was in my high school's literary magazine staff class called 'Runes'. I instantly fell in love with everything about it. Not just because it's a totally awesome, classic 80's movie, but how deep it gets. I love how every character is from a different walk of life and none of them are satisfied with themselves. It's like they all have issues and somehow by getting to know people different then them, they realize their faults and decide to change. 


Lately it seems that I am in the exact same situation that these kids were (minus the Saturday detention and ornery principle). Going from knowing most of the people in my graduating class, to being in college and knowing only a handful of people is a hard change. And unless you know who you are and what you want out of life, it's almost impossible to find where you belong.


So now I lead you into all of the awesome things I have learned about getting to know new people during my first year of college...


1. Make eye contact and smile. Seems simple, but sometimes I'm so busy with life that I completely ignore the people around me. Looking people in the eye and smiling not only shows that person that you are confident, but that you are approachable. Nobody wants to talk to the stone-faced grouch on the train ride home. When people are talking to you, stay focused on their eyes, it lets them know you are interested in what you have to say. There is nothing more annoying than someone who flips out their phone in the middle of a conversation and tunes out everything you are saying.


2. Compliment, compliment, compliment. Flattery can lead you to a lot of places in life. Especially when making friends. Even if you don't know the person, tell them you like their shoes, or their earrings, or the color of their hair or eyes. People like getting compliments, and when you say nice things to someone they automatically remember you as the nice person who made them feel good. Be nice to EVERYONE! We are all human beings, on the same planet, with the same dreams and hopes. Never for a second believe that you or someone else is better than others. I know this sounds cheesy, but we are all in this together, and you never know who may need your kindness. 


3. Go out and do things. Join a club, volunteer, go dancing, sign up for an art class... there are a million things you can do to meet new people. This past week I joined an LDS sorority and I have already made fast friends! Just being associated in the same organization makes connections. And often times when you go out and do the things you love, you will meet people who love just the same things. Instant conversation starters... instant friends!


4. Just BE yourself! Don't worry about what other people may or may not think of you. Who cares about them? So just go out there and be you! True friends are the ones that know you best and still put up with you. 


5. Most importantly, just enjoy the little things in life. Laugh at your mistakes, keep your friends close, make no enemies, and just love life. You only get one after all. Why not make the most of every possible moment? 

January Obsessions

I'm feeling a little stressed right now and I need to do something to keep my mind off of my crazy life. So what better way than to distract myself than with my recent favorite things, right?

Obsession #1 - Pace Bars

Pace Bars

I got my wisdom teeth out approximately on Wednesday and therefore, I have been a slave to all things frozen. Nobody wants puffy chipmunk cheeks. My lovely Aunt Janell is the most amazing person in the world and brought me my favorite kind of popsicles that morning. Pace Bars are more than amazing, there isn't even a word to describe how extraordinary they are. Lucky for me, they are made and sold in Utah so I can eat them whenever I want. They are made out of real fruit juice and don't taste syrupy like most other popsicles. They also make my favorite flavor which they call Tiger's Blood, but I call Strawberry Coconut because that's what the logo for this flavor is. Unfortunately, I couldn't find actual pictures of Pace Bars, and it's almost 2 in the morning so I think it's a fair to say I'm too lazy to take the picture myself.

Obsession #2 - Exotic Coconut lotion and body spray from Bath and Body Works.

Lotion                                                                               Body Spray

 I was at the mall last week and was on my way out when I passed by Bath and Body Works and decided to pop my head in, put on some yummy lotion, and then leave. That's when I saw it... my all time favorite Bath and Body Works flavor which I hadn't seen in the store for months staring me in the face! But wait, it gets even better! Both the lotion and the body spray were only, drum roll please....... $3!!! I might have screamed out loud and gotten several strange looks, but I didn't care. I asked one of the workers why they were so cheap and she told me that they were discontinuing the line *tear* and needed to get rid of everything they had in stock. Needless to say I bought many of the last, precious, perfectly lovely bottles and went home completely satisfied. 

Obsession #3 - Avatar

  

Avatar 

Yes, it is 3 hours long. And yes, I have seen it twice already. And yes, I will probably go see it again. It is just so good! And it's in 3D so it makes it even more awesome! I want to be one of the Navi so I can run through the forest naked and be super tall. Being able to fly on dragons and have a tail wouldn't be too bad either. Not to mention having blue skin with glow-in-the-dark freckles.

Obsession #4 - Amazon.com

Amazon 

I have sold all of my old textbooks on Amazon and have made enough money to cover nearly all of my textbook costs for next semester. Can you see why I'm so excited? I bought one book for like $20 and sold it on Amazon for $70. Amazon buts the 'amaz' in amazing. If you have hundreds of textbooks you are never going to use again laying around your house, I suggest selling them on amazon because it's SO easy and then you will have money to go on a shopping spree or something :]

And the 'Eyes' Have It!

"Look into my eyes and hear what I'm not saying, for my
eyes speak louder than my voice ever will."

photo

20 Things to Do Before I Turn 20

I found the best blog ever last night! It's called 'Yes and Yes' and it is AMAZING! The writer is Sarah Von and I love her writing style and all the little tid-bits and advice in her blog. One of her most recent posts was 31 things she wanted to complete before she turned 31. I wanted to do the same thing because I thought it would make my next year even more amazing. So here's to you Sarah Von! Thanks for the inspiration!

20 before 20

1. Go on a road trip. It doesn't matter where. Last September I went on a road trip to Oregon with Rachel and Jeff; it was SO much fun and we were only gone for 3 days. Sometime over spring break or over summer break, I want to just take a week or so and get out of town. 

2. Go skinny dipping! It's a bit scandalous, but I have always wanted to do it. Maybe on my road trip we can go to Southern Cali and skinny dip in the ocean? That would be epic for sure.




3. Go to a drive-in movie. Sadly, I have never ever done this. And I feel extremely deprived.




4. Take an art class. I want to learn to blow glass... or make jewelery. Taking ceramics again would be fun. I never learned how to throw a pot so that would be a great skill to learn. Something like that. I don't want to take the conventional drawing or painting class. Something more daring. Read about my amazing glass making adventure here!

5. Take a cake decorating class. After watching Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes, I really want to learn how to decorate cakes. I want to learn how to make fondant and gum paste flowers and then I want to make a cake for someone's birthday. 

6. Ride in a hot air balloon. Everyone is going all gaga over skydiving but I have never heard of anyone going on a hot air balloon. It's a bit pricey but it would totally be worth every penny.

7. Go rock climbing. I attempted to do it once when I was little... all my big cousins were in the harnesses going up, but I "wasn't old enough" or "not tall enough" or some lame excuse like that. So I pouted at the base and then decided to be rebellious climbed like 2 feet off the ground before my mom made me get down. Ever since that day, I have wanted to do it for real.

8. Swim in the Great Salt Lake. I have lived in Salt Lake my entire life and have only been on the shore of the lake maybe one or two times. Talk about lame. Yeah, it smells like shiz and is pretty much the grossest  body of water ever (besides Utah Lake. gag.), but I want to swim in it. They say there is so much salt in the water that you don't even have to tread, you can just float off and be lazy.

9. Speaking of the GSL, I want to go to the railroad. There is a set of railroad tracks that go straight through the GSL, cutting it into two halves. The north half has a certain type of algae that makes the water pink, and the southern half has algae that makes it a greenish blue. I want to walk along the railroad tracks and see this phenomenon for myself.
 

10. Hike to the top of Mount Olympus. This was one of my New Year resolutions from last year and I never did it. So this year I WILL do it. 

11. Grow a garden. I haven't decided if it will be a vegetable garden or a flower garden just yet. Maybe I'll do half and half. But what I have decided is that it will be amazing.

12. Learn to make candles and/or soap. This just seems so relaxing and rewarding at the same time. Some things you make just get put on a shelf forever or get thrown away. But you can use candles and soaps everyday and they would also make great gifts. I talked to my mom earlier and she agreed to do this with me which will be uber fun.

13. Sundance it up in Park City. Yes I have lived in Utah my whole life. No I have never taken advantage of the fact that for 2 weeks every year,celebrities and film makers from all over the world come to Park City and I have never gone to visit them. This must change.

14. Get one (or more) of my poems published. This seems a little far stretched, but why not try? Poetry is one of my outlets and I might as well share what I write with others, right?

15. Write a book. Even if I just write it and then print it myself, I want to do it. If it's really good (which is not very likely) I might send it off to a publisher to see if they'll take it.

16. Go horseback riding on the beach. This is every girls dream. I wonder if I can find a long, flowy, white dress to drape over the back of the horse and then have someone film me galloping along the shore? That way I can edit it after and put it in slow motion to make it even more awesome? But it has to be a black horse... dark chestnut will work too I suppose.

17. Go to a midnight movie showing in full costume. I'm thinking the next Harry Potter? I want to be Snape. 


 

 18. Wear University of Utah attire to BYU's campus and count how many dirty looks, insults and physical injuries I sustain. If I can get my hands on a Max Hall shirt, that would be even better.

19. Successfully teach my dog how to fetch. He just doesn't understand the concept of the whole thing, and that pisses me off. He's a stinkin' dog for crying out loud! Don't they come knowing how to fetch?




20. Go paragliding. I always see people up on the mountain doing it, and I want to do it too! Being pulled behind a boat would be awesome as well.

Countdown Clock by Zoodu.com