Giving Thanks

Lindsey tagged me... I have to write ten things I am thankful for:
(in no particular order)
1. america
2. chocolate
3. cafe rio and bajio
4. the beach
5. sunshine
6. president hinckley
7. my bed
8. sweats
9. my beautiful family
10. and most of all, my JJ
Thanks for making me grateful Linds! Happy Thanksgiving.
I now tag: Rachel H, Michelle, Juli, Katie, and Rachel B.

Brian Kershisnik

This weekend I got the opportunity to paint with the artist, Brian Kershisnik. I went down to his studio in Kanosh, Utah with my teacher, Fidalis, and another student, Milko. Andrew Ballsteadt, my neighbor and thriving artist, met us there Thursday afternoon. It was an amazing opportunity for me to work with an artist who is making a good living selling his art. His studio was so great. We worked hard stretching canvas, glazing paintings, painting paintings, and preparing surfaces. We were preparing for his show that will be in New York City in a few months. We didn't finish working until 10pm and I was exhausted. The next morning we were at it again, until 5:30pm when we left to come back to Provo. I learned so much from Brian and I am excited to use what I learned to help me prepare for my final show in March.

Halloween and Birthday

Last weekend Jon and I had a blast. We got to celebrate my 22nd birthday with our families and our friends. Mom took me shopping on the morning of my birthday while Jon took a midterm. Thursday night we had dinner with the Crosby's and the Henriksen's at Thanksgiving point. It was so fun to get together with everyone. Friday was the day that Jon planned for my birthday celebrations with just the two of us. We went to the Salt Lake Temple and did our first session at that temple... it was beautiful! We had dinner at a little Italian restaurant downtown and headed up to the U to watch Thriller. It was such a fun day that we spent together! Saturday was a Halloween party at Jen's with my friends from high school. That was definitely the best Halloween party I've been to in a long time! Jon and I were pirates, of course, because of his recent obsession with everything to do with pirates (especially with his new acquisition of gold on his birthday). We had a fun weekend, but the fun continued on Monday. Monday night was the Crosby Halloween party and we got to dress up as pirates, yet again. What a fun weekend! Thanks everyone!

Check out my Slide Show!

The Wedding

Jon's sister, Jessica got married on my Mom's birthday, October 5th. It was a great day to see family and be with Adam and Jess in the temple. We loved hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa Alexander and Doni and Frank. They came over to see our apartment (they were large contributers to our beautiful furniture) and Jon fed them his favorite treat--JELLO. We loved having them here and miss them when we can't see them. Jess and Adam seemed pretty excited to be married, and they looked so great together. Jess is a beauty! We are so happy that they are married now... they are a fun couple. Jon just can't believe that his little sister actually got married... he is a proud brother.

After the wedding reception, we jumped in the car and drove straight to St. George to cheer Juli on in the marathon. She didn't know that we were coming and so it was fun to see her face when she realized we came. Matt and Becca were there with their darling little kids. I just love my nephews, Mitchell and Noah. They are absolutely the sweetest little boys I have ever met. I love my nieces too, Megs and Paige are growing up so fast! Leah wasn't there that weekend, but I missed her, she has such a cute little mini-Michelle personality. We love spending time with our families, they're our best friends.

Peer Pressure

Tuesday night I did something uncharacteristic of me. Juli and Mom would be proud of me, yes, it has to do with running. Well in case you didn't know this about me, I have a hard time running with other people. The last time Jon ran with me I had to take a different route halfway through. I think it has something to do with pace... and ego. Seriously, I get depressed when I can't keep up with my running partner, we all know running is a mental struggle for me in the first place. The other preface to the madness on Tuesday is that I am terrified of night time without my daddy or my JJ to protect me. I ran 3 miles with Rachel and Kelly at 9:30pm around the dark streets of Provo. Foolish, I think, yet it may have been the first step to overcoming one of my crazy phobias.

Do I really belong here?

My first day at school was not what I expected. I started out in a great mood after sleeping through the eight o'clock class that I didn't have for the first time in my college career. I took time picking out a cute outfit and getting ready before I made the trek up to campus. I found myself in a brisk walk, shoving half of a pb&j in my mouth, listening to a little Colbie, and smiling all the way. I was so excited to see my school friends after 5 months of vacation. I think that it was when I sat down in my familiar painting classroom with strangers that my mood began to shift. Or it may have been riding the elevator with my D&C professor whom I had wished to never see again in my lifetime. I thought it was a bad sign when the teacher asked if we had ever taken a drawing class or an oil painting class... Are you serious? This is advanced figure painting, and I'm about to graduate with a painting degree. Class lasted 20 minutes out of the 3 hour allotment. In those 20 minutes, the teacher managed to assign the class a self portrait to be turned in on Thursday. I wouldn't have minded if I hadn't legitimately completed 17 self portraits last semester. Wow. I left the classroom feeling weird. I opened the door outside to the main terrace and found it swarming with zoobies... RM's giving every girl they thought was cute a high five, freshman looking so excited and lost they were about to pop, the usual BYU dorks that are wearing their BYU t-shirts from 1990, and the "pretty girls" wearing high heels with every accessory imaginable. My favorite was a red head walking, well sort of walking, in full church clothes as fast as he could without running, or letting anything escape. I don't know what it was about the first day of school, I guess I'm attributing it to "senor-itis." I can't wait to get that beautiful degree.