Christmas is around the corner!!! Wait What?!

Christmas is just around the corner and finals are over.
WAIT WHAT?!
I said it, Christmas is only less than 11 days away.  And 2014 is almost over, but before we think about the coming year, let's think about Christmas.

It's just around the corner and it's hard to believe.
The past month has been hard for me, and I'm sure it has for some of you to.
But today I realized I needed to take a breath.
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
In with the good and out with the bad.
Take a breath and think about Christmas, not the Why's and What if's.
Leave those negative thoughts alone, because Christmas is a time of joy and happiness.  It's a time to be with your family and think about the good.  It's also a time to think about Christ and the wonderful gifts he gave us.

This year, I CHALLENGE, each of you to try and think more about the giving than the receiving.  That doesn't mean, don't be excited about the gifts you've gotten, please do, but think about what gifts you are giving.  Do they mean something special? Are they sentimental?

Think about traditions you have.  What traditions have you heard of that you might want to try?  What traditions did you have as a child, that you'd like to try again?

Think about your family.  Sometimes it's hard because they aren't the closest things to your heart or you have trouble with them, but what are the good things in your family?

Think about the smells.  I'm loving this scented candle called Autumn Wreath, and though it's not called Winter Wreath, it was amidst the Christmas candles and it smells divine.  Like cinnamon and apples.  Next to it, a Vanilla Gingerbread is lit.  I've had this for at least five years, and haven't used it much until the recently.  Together they smell incredible!

I love the smell of Christmas trees.  However, my grandma can't handle strong smells, so this year we have a fake Christmas tree, but it looks gorgeous.  To get my smell of Christmas trees, I'll walk by a Christmas Tree place, where they are selling them, or I'll go to my aunts and uncles and friends houses where they have real trees.

I love the smell of baking.  Bake some Chocolate Chip cookies or peppermint bark.  Sadly, my roommate ate all of my dough for my cookies, but I'm going to get some more and make the house smell like Christmas.

The smell of the holidays are some of the things that will lift my spirits.  As do the sight of candles.  I'll even give myself a pamper night and take a bath and calm myself.  Especially with finals last week I needed to find something to relax me and take the stress away for a moment.

What are some of your favorite things about the season?  Let me know.  I want to know.  I love traditions, smells, candles, pamper evenings, and of course sweaters and comfy clothes.  I also love white Christmas', and it looks like it is going to snow on Christmas Day!!! I love to hear everyone's traditions.  

Love you all!
Enjoy your week and enjoy your holidays.  Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, think about something joyful this time of year, whether you celebrate a religious holiday or you just lounge around during the cold days.

Merry Christmas! <3 <3

Costume Contest

Hey everyone! Here is the link to my costume in the Coolest Parties Costume Contest!! Likes, shares, repins, comments and such are taken into account, but it’s not a popularity contest. But it helps! Enjoy looking at the costumes, and reading the write up! Thanks so much!!!

http://ideas.coolest-homemade-costumes.com/2014/11/11/homemade-movie-quality-anna-elsa-costumes-frozen/

Snow White At Disney Parks NEW SNOW WHITE FACT VIDEO!!

 NEW SNOW WHITE FACT VIDEO!!

SNOW WHITE CHARACTERS AND ACTORS

Finally my video on facts about Snow white characters and actors

Thoughts. November. Future. IT'S ALL INTIMIDATING

As I've contemplated my life ahead of me, I've had a hard time deciding what to do.

In my voice lesson today, my voice teacher and I had a serious discussion about what I could do in the future.  I actually walked in while she was talking to my Music Ed director and choir director about another Music Education student.  They were talking about what they thought would be best for her.  I started to think, is High School really what I want to do?  Do I really want to teach choir in a high school setting.  That thought intimidates me.  I don't think I'm ready for anything of that sort.  I don't want to be the young teacher that many high schoolers will push around, so maybe once I graduate, high school might not be for me.  But who knows, it very well could.  I am closer in age right now than I will be when I graduate.  Hopefully that will give me some guidance, but you know, I could start with elementary.  I have no desire to do junior high, but I will if that is the only thing I can get. 

My voice teacher and I also started to talk about what I might want to do in the future... the very near future that is.  Perhaps I want to do NATS.  Perhaps I want to be a performing missionary.  Perhaps I just want to do the church pageant.  Or go to disney and work there.  I DON'T KNOW! 

Right now the future is intimidating.  Is that the way it is for everybody?  I hope so.  I don't want to be the only one :)

Anywho, I also had a hard day in my voice lesson.  I had to think and it started to hurt.  I thought a lot and I was out of breath.  I still feel like I ran a marathon and that was five hours ago... haha :) but I better get started on dinner soon.  So let me just finish up.

I suppose, since it is November, I should start saying the things I am grateful and what I am looking forward to most this month.

1. I am grateful for my friends at school who support and love me.

2. I am grateful for my professors, especially in the music department, who love to help me whenever I need it.

3. I am grateful for my mother, who gave birth to me almost 20 years ago, and who raised me.  I can turn to her whenever I need to.  I call her everyday and love to hear her voice.  I can't wait to see her for thanksgiving.

I AM EXCITED FOR:

-Hot Chocolate

-snow (kinda, just not the cold)

-sweaters

-Apple Cider

-Thanksgiving

-Disney

-Road Trip

-Nights where I can cuddle up in blankets and watch TV or a movie with my roommates

-Love

I am almost done working on my SW video. :D  I am excited and hope you are as well.  I love researching these random disney facts.

Here's one from the video, that is my favorite:

DYKD (Did You Know Disney):

Adrianna Caselotti (the voice of Snow White) was held to a strict contract where she could not be in any movie, play, musical, and anything of that sort ever again, because Walt wanted Snow White's voice to be unique.  But she was a classically trained vocalist.  However, she did have a very small part in The Wizard of Oz.

Halloween and Catching Up

This week has been amazing! I enjoyed Halloween and I hope you did too! I was able to take my darling cousin trick or treating with my roommate.  She is 19 months old and it was so cute.  She went as Olaf the Snowman.  (FYI, she is obsessed with Frozen).  I went as Elsa and my roommate went as Anna.  It was fun to see her try and figure out if I was Elsa or if I was myself.  And then she didn't understand the whole concept of Trick or Treating.  She actually almost tried to knock on a car door.  :D

I know it's been quite a while since I posted, but it's alright.  I'm going to be posting more, I hope.  I'm working on another Snow White Fact Video.  Editing is a pain, but I'm going to work on it.  :)  My next video after that, will come sooner than this length of time.  :)

Hope you are all having a fabulous week.  I know it's been great for me.  As I am LDS, one of my best friends is on her mission and she was able to write to me on Thursday and we communicated back on forth via email and it made me really fabulous!! :D :D






HAND MADE!!! LOVED MAKING THESE COSTUMES!!!
Have a magical day.

Movie on 8 20 14 at 10 03 AM

Thank You Rosie La Puma for nominating me for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  I will be donating as well.  Christine Detweiler, Christina Barbini, Melissa Lopez, Jackie Webb, Colene Turner, Benedict Cumberbatch, and the entire cast and crew of Studio C, you are up next! Oh, and I know I didn't mention you in it, but Chris Smiley, I want you to do it too! You have 24 HOURS!!! Ready?  Set.  Go!!!

RIP Robin Williams

Video I made In memory of Robin Williams.  RIP!

Disney's Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs Facts Part 2

Part Two of my snow White facts.  Enjoy!

Disney's SNOW WHITE Facts Part 1

Please enjoy these random little facts about Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Colene's 19th Birthday

Another video for another friend! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Jackie's Birthday Video

This is a video I made for my friend's birthday last week. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Surprise Valentine's Singing

HAHA <3

William Joseph - Piano Fantasy (Ft. Caroline Campbell)

LOVE WILLIAM JOSEPH! <3 Sorry for all the posts of videos, but I'm sure someone will like them. <3

[Official Video] Valentine - Pentatonix (Jessie Ware & Sampha Cover)

This Is BEAUTIFUL! Happy late Valentine's Day!!

Stars Align - Lindsey Stirling (Original Song)

LOVE HER!!! PLEASE WATCH!!!

Don't Forget Me-We are Not Perfect

As I was sitting in Sacrament Meeting for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints today, I thought about my amazing day yesterday. 

My friend and I went to Salt Lake City and walked around City Creek, the mall, and then walked around the Salt Lake Temple. I grew up in D.C, so it was interesting to hear all of these interesting signs all over this temple. There are signs of Alpha and Omega and many other things. It is a magnificent temple and I'm blessed to have such a remarkable friend to show me all of these amazing facts about this temple. We even went up to the Roof Restaurant and looked out if the domed window. It was breathtaking. It was an amazing day!  I loved it!

As I thought about the day, I decided that I wanted to know more and learn more.

 Lately, I've been missing my family out in Virginia, but I have my family and friends here and I have The Lord. This morning, as I was quickly getting ready for church, I found this tiny book, lodged behind many other books on my bookshelf, and I remembered reading it only once. I knew I needed to read it today, so I did. I want to share some things that are mentioned in this book, and some things I learned.  It is called Forget Me Not, which is based off of a talk President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, had given. 

In it, he mentions a tiny flower that reflects the blue sky. It's s beautiful flower, but most people tend to overlook it because it is so small.  This flower is called forget-me-not. 

 A German tale says that when God was naming all of the flowers, the flower called to him to tell him to not forget it, and so that became its name. As I read this book, I wrote some little comments in the margins, and I'd like to share them.

I've written: We are all tiny flowers that feel overlooked, but we have time and room to grow, and we are not forgotten.

I feel this often. Everyone does, but we need to know that we are not forgotten. 

As the flower said in the tale, I said: Don't Forget Me Lord! For I have much to give!

I am a flower, but He knows everything and everyone;we are not forgotten.

President Uchtdorf goes on to say 5 things to never forget. 5 things, for the 5 petals on the little blue flower. I'll summarize.

1. Don't forget to be patient. Be patient with yourself!

I wrote: Patience is a virtue, and we need to be patient with others, but most importantly, be patient with yourself. Be Patient!

God hasn't forgotten me or you. He sees you, strengths, weaknesses, and all. Try to see everyone through his eyes and recognize that no one is perfect.  Know that our weaknesses can become our strengths! We aren't perfect, no one is perfect, but our Heavenly Father loves us nonetheless. 

2. Know the difference between a good sacrifice and a bad one.

3. Don't forget to be happy. And be happy now.

He relates this to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He related it to the Golden Tickets and how everyone searches for the tickets and thinks their lives and happiness depends on the tickets, but it doesn't. We tend to think that way within our own lives.

We need to "seek after things that are virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy."

We need to notice the blessings and miracles and things we do have, rather than the things we don't have.

Lately, I've been finding things that I thought were gone for good. I had misplaced a piece of jewlry that was very dear to me. I've lost it several times, but I knew this time I would never find it. It made me sad to know I would never see it again. I had put it in my pocket to put on later because I was running late for school. I got to school, and forgot about the little piece of jewlry in my pocket until I got home. I reached into my pocket, and realized that my little jewlry was missing. It was no longer in my pocket, but I knew I had put it there. I started panicking. Tears came to my eyes because I was certain that it had fallen out of my pocket at school, and if that was the case, it was gone for good. I wore it everyday, and I felt almost naked without it on. I searched everywhere at home. I checked the car. I searched everywhere. Finally, I kneeled down in prayer asking for help. I searched again, but it was gone. I took. Deep breath and continued on my day. I was one of those people who thought that finding this jewlry was my golden ticket and I would never be happy again without it, but as the days went by I felt more at peace without it. Three weeks went by. No luck. I had finally finished looking for it at home and school. It was gone. I was fine. It was no longer my golden ticket, but I still wished I could find it. 

This past Friday, I had parked my car next to the melting snow I always park next to and started walking onto the sidewalk, going towards the house. The sun had reflected off the snow and I saw a shining piece of metal buried in the snow. Lo and Behold, it was that precious piece of jewlry! Daily, I had walked and driven over it. But, it hadn't been crushed or destroyed! It was cold and wet, but that was as far as the damage went! I was blessed and grateful. I kneeled down in prayer and thanked my Father in Heaven. It was a blessing and all my fears and worries that occurred that day and week, had disappeared because I knew He has not forgotten me. He loves me.

The happiest people aren't those that find the golden ticket, they search for beauty and worth of souls and everything we see everyday. See the miracles!

4. Don't forget the Gospel and the why.

The gospel is the light in my life. It is a pathway!

He says: "Let us not walk the path of discipleship with our eyes on the ground, thinking only of the tasks and obligations before us. Let us not walk unaware of the beauty of the glorious earthly and spiritual landscapes that surround us."

Seek out the beautiful flowers we tend to overlook. Seek out the forget me nots.

5. Don't Forget that The Lord loves you.

He has not forgotten you, He loves you. We are all His children, and he loves each and everyone of us. 

I'm not quite sure if this was something you all needed to hear, but I was something I needed to hear and I decided to share it. I've been feeling like the small forget me not, but I know I am not forgotten, because he helped me find my ring, my friend gave me at graduation. He helped see the good in life, something I need to do. I will search for the beauty in life and the miracles that occur. I'm grateful for my family, my eduction, my friends, and this Gospel. I love this! I am a diamond in the making, and I hope that everyone can realize that no one is perfect, but we are all loved and not forgotten

He loves us. He is perfecting us. We are not forgotten!

There is beauty all around! And I love my family! These are things I thought of when I started to read the book. I'm so grateful for my family and friends and the Gospel and nature.

Now, Im going to change the subject really quickly before I close. Lately, I've been obsessed with Frozen and I love it. I love this video because it it beautiful and it is just amazing, and I met him, Alex Boye. The voices, the video, the nature, the people are all gorgeous. This made my day when I was having a bad day. This is what made me happy along with my ring this week. So if you can, take the time and watch it:

OH AND THIS IS PRETTY AMAZING TOO!

Love you all! Remember, we are not perfect, but we are not forgotten! <3 

Here is the video of his talk on Forget Me Not