paper pushers

I cannot focus on writing a paper without a good playlist.
Maybe you can use this playlist for a more summer-y/fun activity.

1. "Sleeping at Last" by Turning Page
2. "Neighbors" by Theophilus London (I mean, what a name!)
3. "Like a Drug" by Hard-Fi
4. "From Now On" by The Features
5. "Cider Sky" by Northern Lights
6. "Cold" by Aqualung and Lucy Schwartz
Michelle! Enough with the Breaking Dawn Soundtrack already!
Fine.
7. "To Darkness" by Mumford and Sons

What do you think about "Both of Us" by B.o.B. ft. T-Swift?  I think I like it.

Peace and blessings, y'all.

4th of July Holiday according to the pictures I took.

Overnight French Toast Casserole w/ creme cheese (click for recipe: it's not the one I found online and used, but I think this other one will be more flavorful, from my experience)

I have never seen anything like this aside from tent protests in bigger cities.  Provo each year camps out the night before the 4th along University Ave.  I mean EVERYONE does this. Families with children, single college kids, high schoolers. It's so they can have good seats for the parade.  I live on University Ave and this is the view outside our window from the morning of the 4th.  We didn't camp out (well, we moved our mattresses to the living room away from the street so we could get some sleep), but we walked out and had a perfectly fine view in the morning.  I don't really understand it, I mean, I did it last year for kicks and had a miserable time getting 2 hours of sleep on the ground like a homeless person, but it's part of the culture.  Like a big community sleepover.

Stephanie Nielson was the Grand Marshal of the parade along w/ her cute family.  She's our local celeb due to her blog and her book (I follow the blog and have read the book, so it was fun to see her in person!).

Tasha-Kimberly-Hilary-Me-Meagan @ dinner @ Deidre's place before fireworks time

fireworks from Stadium of Fire that we watched from by the baseball fields

Annnd you should go see "The Amazing Spider-Man"!!! I loved it!

Happy 5th of July!

being grateful

One of my biggest pet peeves of people is when they think they are entitled to have/be something or when people are ungrateful.  What happened to "thank you?"
Off of that soap box and on to another.
I am so grateful for being born in America.  I'm grateful that I am a woman living in America.  And I hope that you are, too (man or woman), and here is why.  I am currently in a women's culture course for my English capstone and I am loving what insights I've gained.  I have known about the troubles in other countries or cultures, but I haven't read much from a personal point of view.  Right now we are reading Reading Lolita In Tehran, which is about a woman professor who taught at the University there in Tehran.  She relates her life during the Revolution from her perspective as a woman, professor, and lover of literature.  It is written looking back on the times that she spent with a group of women she hand selected from her past courses to participate in a sort of book club where they read and discuss literature that has been banned from their country.  Like Lolita and The Great Gatsby.  It makes me furious and heartbroken at the same time to realize what these women have to go through.  Head coverings used to be worn by choice and religious fervor.  Now they have to wear them because hair is too sensual.  They can't wear pink socks because it is too sensual.  Nail polish. Make-up. Women are beaten, jailed, and killed for participating in these so-called "sexual" practices.
That's not the worst of it.  I am grateful for being a woman in America because I am (almost!) a college-educated woman who wasn't married off when she was 15.  Women were kicked out of professional positions and political offices during this tumultuous time and behind locked doors just because they were women.
I'm so grateful for the men and women who put their lives on the line so that I can have these freedoms and live comfortably in a country that promotes these freedoms.  We owe our lives to them, but they don't want anything in return but knowing that their work is appreciated.
Thank you! God bless you!

Happy Independence Day!

My Experience With Love At BYU

A poem I wrote this morning

A handsome, youthful face
Thin, tall, and tan
You graduated high school WHEN?!?!
Get out of my space.

You want a N...C...M...Oohh boy
I knew that movie was a ploy.
Gotta go. I'm tired. It's...10:30...
Now get your lips away from me!

Found a boy to flirt with in class
If he asked me out, I wouldn't pass.
Towards this date, he sure doesn't seem hurried.
Ring check: thanks for mentioning you're married!

Going on some dates.
Things going right.
"Let's get married tonight"?
This was a mistake.

A man who has some style.
I feel confident when he's near.
Saw him with another...guy?
Clearly not my year.

Smart boys, dumb men,
Dudes who think they're all that.
Guess I'll just be single then.
I better buy some cats.

addiction

http://youtu.be/jAnIfqF-Mu8

I really like this and I am looking forward to checking out her stuff.
Happy Friday, peeps! xoxo

geekin'

I just wanted to say that I worked on a 205-year-old book yesterday and every time I walk out of my internship, I have old book all over my skirts (dust, debris, etc.).  I'm geeking out with this internship.  I like the feel of the old books and the smell in the stacks of old books.  Tomorrow, I might have time to hit up the Dickens' collection.   Sometimes I'm the only one in the stacks for an hour or so.  So it's just me and the books.
On a similar note, here are some things that I found that describe my current life situation:

(I'm reading 3 books at the moment...)

(last night...)

chills

Sometimes when I feel safe and that someone is taking care of me, I get a tingling in the back of my neck and head that feels like a mixture between getting shocked and someone warming-up my neck nerves.  It is one of my favorite feelings.  I can't really explain it other than that I am unconditionally happy when I feel it.  It usually happens someone plays with my hair or reads aloud to me, which is a rare occasion and so this is a rare feeling.
The past couple of days, I have had it happen to me a couple of times.  Once, when I was reading Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and it reminded me of my years in the south.  Those were good days filled with clay, cricks, bare feet and space.  Not to mention trips to Chic-Fil-A :)

Great book--I recommend it!
 

The second time happened just a few minutes ago, while I was working on an assignment in a computer lab.  #1: I felt like a Freshman, again, because I haven't been in this computer lab since I was a Freshman.  I've been getting these moments as I draw closer and closer to graduation. Even though I will be a college graduate, I feel like I will back to square one.  Starting fresh.  New adventures.
#2: I heard an African woman's voice.  The attendant here at the computer lab is African, or at least I think by hearing her accent.  I instantly went back to London 2.5 years ago.  A girl from back home got back from study abroad there and so during Winter semester I saw her pictures pop up on my FB feed.  Yesterday, we were talking about it, so I decided to go through my pictures (for the upteenth time).  So London was in the back of my mind, anyways.  The reason she made me think about London was because of my LDS ward that I attended while I was there.  It was mostly Nigerian immigrants, so I was a minority in my ward. Which I loved.  That was the greatest experience.  They were the greatest people.
I was talking with my friend, Brooke, the other day and we were talking about the importance of friendship and service within the ward.  I kept thinking about that ward and how they were the perfect example of this concept.  Even though they were the ones struggling to make ends meet, they were the ones who made food for us once a month.  (and it was gooodd foooodd that we ate on the tube ride back because we couldn't wait)  And they hugged each other and knew everyone by name and made us feel so welcomed.  And the singing.  It was like a Southern Baptist choir and everyone sang like they meant it.  And I loved that.
So you can understand why I would get the chills every time I hear an African voice with London in the back of my mind.

pict courtesy of Laura

sunset on our way back to the Centre from Church 

samples of the food we would get from the members and munch on the way home