i am spoiled.

my mother.  is a great woman.  she insisted I have some cute new birthday shoes for Italia..

... And I happily obliged.  That woman spoils me.  Love her. 

{thanks mom! happy early birthday to me!}

Also, I pre ordered Nie's book, Heaven is Here.  Gahhh I'm so excited to have something to do on the plane!  {can you tell what's on my mind today!? Study Abroad cannot come soon enough!!}

dislike

1. Blogs that automatically start playing music.  Not only is it mostly obnoxious, it scares me half to death when I'm up alone and the computer starts blaring noises in the form of music that I am not prepared for!

2.  People who can't take the social cues you're done talking to them... You know the ones.  ...when you run into someone you haven't seen in awhile and eventually you don't want to be mean so you say something like "Well, it's been nice talking with you!"  and then they just keep rattling on about something?  ...and then the cycle repeats about 5 times until you feel the need to be really rude and just end the conversation?  Ugh.. I hate being rude.  So people---please just clue in!  Please!

2a: Rude people in general.  Enough said with that.  

3.  {this is not a dislike}  I love Justin Bieber's new haircut.  Holy smokin'.  Also lately he sounds like Jesse McCartney + Chris Brown, does he not?  Either way I still love Justin Bieber!

4.  .Getting the munchies at midnight  Seriously?  Does this happen to anyone else?!  It needs to stop because drinking water and forcing myself to sleep [is working, but] is not fun! 

5.  Freeway construction.  Anyone else fear for their lives every time it goes from 4 to 3 lanes?   Eugh. Gives me slight anxiety.


Okay.  I feel a lot better now. 

What is on your dislike list right now?

You are not forgotten.

Sisters, wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. 

In fact, He loves you with an infinite love.

Just think of it: You are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful, and glorious Being in the universe! You are loved by the King of infinite space and everlasting time!

He who created and knows the stars knows you and your name—you are the daughters of His kingdom.

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf



Love that man.

just purchased on itunes

ohhhmygosh.  i cannot get enough of this song.  i go through phases with songs i love.  i've been in the motown mood for a few months, but now i'm starting to get more into indie-esque music.  agh. love love love.  

and another thing for that matter

There are some amazing women out there.


these women are (to name a handful)




talented


funny


beautiful 


and


smart




ps all the women mentioned are all of those things and much more.  and i am super lucky to call them my friends!  
i know you're jealous. 


happy Wednesday!  

Ps Sorry I've been m.i.a. lately.  life has kind of taken over for the moment, and it's only going to get more busy from here.  Only 6 more weeks and I will be in Italia!  I've still got some posts up my sleeves though, so stay tuned! 


Ciao!

The 17 Secrets

I promise this isn't turning into a dating blog... Although I do have plenty o' thoughts on that subject, believe you me.  I just thought this was interesting and wanted to share it here! 



This is all from  It's not you, it's your technique : Alisa Goodwin Snell
(if you go to the link you can also read the Female Psychology as well.)

17 Secrets of the Male Psychology

1.  Men seek out relationships that make them feel trusted and respected.
2.  Men develop love through sacrifice. (theirs, not yours.)
3.  Men are largely logical about their relationships and commitments; thus, they do not commit easily to things they have not invested in over a period of time.
4.  Men are driven to succeed, face challenges, compete, and conquer.
5.  Men like women who like themselves.
6.  Men love to be heroes.
7.  Men like being appreciated.
8.  Men like femininity.
9.  Men like women who have opinions and assert their needs.
10.  Men pursue women who are approachable and appear to be available.
11. Good men want sex with a woman who feels good about having sex with them and will wait until marriage.
12.  Men need to be needed.
13.  Men are repelled by criticism, nagging, and whining.
14.  A man experiences anxiety in every conversation a woman initiates until she tells him what she wants him to do.
15.  Men bond more through talking about things and doing activities than they do talking about people, problems, feelings, or ideas.
16.  Men adore women who give them love, attention, and affection.
17.  Men are often willing to talk openly and honestly when they feel it will help them or another person to do so.

be a Gal not a Pal

the following is taken from THIS article found on It's not you, it's your technique -- Alisa Goodwin Snell.

To identify if you act like a pal instead of a gal, ask yourself the following:

1. Do I occasionally tilt my head and smile at him from across the room, look away, and then look back again?
   
2. Do I ever cross my legs and gently tap my foot in his direction or slowly play with my hair, jewelry, or a pen when he is near?
3. Do I act feminine when I talk with him (i.e., soften and fluctuate my voice, talk with my hands, tilt my hips, cross my legs, or touch him briefly)?
   
4. Do I let him open my door or accept his offers of help?
   
5. Do I make him feel needed, trusted, and appreciated?
   
6. Do I express to him my feelings, needs, or opinions—and in a manner that demonstrates my faith that he cares?
   
7. Do I leave the conversation early, at a high point, rather than waiting for him to say he has to go?

If you answer yes to any of the above--you're probably acting more like a Gal than a Pal.  Good for you!  It's not that easy for some of us... (myself included)

remember this awkwardness?  Jordz is the ginger version of the Buck! They have the same glasses!! {insert nonstop laughter here}... ahem.

My married friends and I were talking about this.  How does one try to skip the friend zone altogether and just date the guy?..

We came up with a few pointers of our own:

1.  Make sure you flirt only with the guys you like!  The boys you flirt with are the ones who ask you on dates, right?  Right.  This will also (hopefully) solve the problem of all the boys you don't like {yet you are comfortable flirting with} asking you out!
2.  Don't treat the guy you like as you would your girl friend.  Allow the confiding in him and telling him personal things to come naturally...don't just blurt out and say something you'd only tell a close friend right away! 
3.  It's important that if he asks you to do something make sure you understand your roles.  Is it a date, or are you just hanging out?  Just ask him!  {when in doubt--spell it out!}

This was interesting to think about!  I know I get nervous around the men I'm interested in because I'm 12 years old at heart...  But if I ever want anything to happen, I'm going to need to step out of my comfort zone and stop caring so much about whether or not he's interested or not.. ...Who cares, really!  It'll happen when it's supposed to, but it couldn't hurt for me to put forth a little effort.  Ha. 

What do you do in your dating pursuits?  I'm interested to know!

***

it looks like peaches!

(again, my mother's commentary!)

preliminary sketches

It's not quite finished.  I'm still not really happy with it, but this is it so far! This is a 24x36 acrylic on canvas

I love just slapping color down and seeing what pops out.   I feel like my artwork turns out better when it's more intuitive than planned..as shown here!

what is it?...

(this is what my mom asks when ever I show her an art piece of mine)

ha.  I can't explain it.  I was inspired by a cityscape, and it turned into this.

I carved it from alabaster.  Such a beautiful stone.  These photos do not do it justice.  The translucency is absolutely stunning.  Looks like honey!

It's not quite finished; I have to do a lot more sanding to bring out the translucency a bit more, and then mount it.  Once I finish it I'll post pictures of the final product!

I save my weekends for dates.

this weekend i had the opportunity to go to my stake's women's conference.  It was brilliant.  I loved every minute of it.  Sister Julie B. Beck was our keynote speaker.  I won't go in to a lot of detail about that, but just know that she is amazing. 

This post is about one of the block classes I attended.  I didn't want to go to this class at first, but I'm so glad I did! It was awesome. 


Our speaker was Alisa Goodwin Snell, a dating coach here in Utah. 

Here are my Top 5 favorite things I learned from her (or thought was worth telling you about, bahaha):
1.  To get more attention from men, make them feel great.  ..of course!
2.  Be feminine.  Made me think of this: {haha!}

3.   Act like a gal, not a pal.
4.  Let him be the hunter not the hunted.  (Her one-liners killed me!)
5. When in doubt, spell it out.


No, I really did find the class really interesting, not just hilarious and slightly awkward. 

And...not gonna lie, every time a man talks to me from now on for the next few days I'm going to have that song stuck in my head!  Summer Magic is one of my favorites.  Don't worry, I have the song Femininity (above) on my iPod.  Yep. 

my sketchbook as of late

i tend to be really drawn toward two things:  faces, and geometric shapes.. I've been told my artwork looks a lot like Piet Mondrian, and Paul Klee.

this started out as a self portrait and ended as this weird evil-queen-from-snow-white/man/creepy face... hah! 

and bouquets/wedding gowns.  Can't stop drawin' em!

So.. here are some of my latest doodles and thumbnails from my sketchbook.  I will be documenting more of my artwork, so be prepared!