An Observation

Just for the heck of it I like to look at my stats sometimes. Ya know, see you all is reading my blog and all that good stuff. I have made a few observations:

#1
Oddly enough, my most read post is about my toes. Why? I posted this thing in November and even this week have had 4 people look at it. Are my toes really that interesting?! Also, said post has no comments. Again, I ask Why? If so many people are reading it, why aren't any of them writing about it? hmmm....

#2
Another observation I made from looking at my stats is that people in Alaska are reading my blog or have read my blog. That's pretty cool. Who are you? Can we please be friends? Are we already friends?

#3
Not only are people in Alaska looking at and reading my blog, but at least one person from the following countries have looked at my blog. This is pretty crazy!
United Kingdom
Germany
Belgium
Canada
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Poland
Spain
Japan
I think it is way cool that people from these countries have looked at my blog! Even if it probably was just a google search. Whatevs.

Well it's nice to see that people around the world are reading about my life, or just passing by on a search for something.

Where do your readers come from? And what do others think is most interesting in your life??

New Blog

Check out my new blog! I'll still keep up with this one for happenings in my life. But the new one has a real purpose! Each week I will dedicate the post to someone who has influenced my life for the good.

So go on, check it out. It could be you that I admire.

Walking with Christ

I'm on the institute council here at EAC and every Monday at our meeting we receive a challenge to do for the week. Last week we had a challenge to imagine that one day of the following week we had Christ walking right beside us the whole day. I got busy that week and simply forgot. I was reminded this week at the meeting and decided that I would definitely do it this week. Today was the day I decided to do it. It was a very neat experience. It really effected my thoughts about other people. I tried harder to see the greatness in everybody and to not to speak ill of anybody (I kind of have a problem with them). It also effected me in the car with the music I was listening to. It was an eye opener for me to see all the things that I could change about myself if I knew that Christ was walking right beside me all day.

On the other hand, there were some real highlights to my day because of this. Like in choir we are singing "My Song in the Night," a song of prayer to our Heavenly Father for help in the midst of darkness and trial. Imagining Christ standing next to me while singing this made it more real and made me more passionate about it. Also, tonight I was singing through some solos preparing for The Messiah that EAC does every year. These songs are all about Christ and his life, hence it is called "The Messiah." It was a touching experience even though I was just practicing these songs to be singing about a man who I had imagined to be with me in person all day.

I know that Christ is always with me and can see ALL my actions and read ALL my thoughts, but sometimes that is forgotten in the busyness of life. Today was a great reminder of what everyday should be like. If you would like to do the same, I challenge you to do so. It is a great way to evaluate your life. I hope that you will be better than me and not have to change much to accommodate the special guest. I also hope that you will have as sweet an experience with it as I did.

All caught up and no where to go!

I'm a nerd. You all should know this. But it is a good thing and I am dealing with the fact quite well if I may say so myself. The most recent evidence of this is that everyday when I go to work (cleaning my dad's office), rather than listening to music like I used to do, as of about a month or more ago I've been listening to MormonRadio. I love it! There are so many amazing programs on it created to uplift - not to mention all the talks and Music and the Spoken Word they play. It makes my work experience 100% better for sure! Anyway, I bring this up because last night as I was cleaning the office, one of my favorite programs came on. It is called "Everything Creative" and talks about everything! Things you wouldn't have even thought would be considered creative. The very first episode I heard was a panel of non-profit organization starters or CEO's. It was so neat to hear their stories and what they go through in the process of making the world a better place for everyone, specifically the less fortunate. Back to the point - Last night's episode was a panel of bloggers. It was so inspiring to hear why they write their blogs and the release it gives them. It made me want to come back to my blog and really write about something meaningful.

So I logged on tonight (which I hadn't done probably since May) and proceeded to catch up on all the blogs I love to follow. That inspired me even more! But really I feel like I don't have much to say that other people would be interested in reading. I need a theme. I've decided that my blog is not going too be worth anything if there is nothing consistent about it.

So here is my plea: Help me come up with a theme for my blog. I'll be thinking of one as well but would love your input! I promise I will include pictures on every blog because I know i enjoy reading blogs with pictures more than I enjoy reading blogs without pictures.

To Thee Best Mom in the World! (aka: my best friend)

I have really lucked out here on this earth. I got the best mom in the world! She was the best even before I came to this earth! She (and my dad) opened every door for Heavenly Father to send me to them. It took a while, but I finally came and I have not regretted coming ever. She loved me and took care of me from the start! I remember going everywhere with her before I was old enough to go to school, and even after I was in school I would go everywhere with her after school. I just loved hanging out with her!

Then I grew up and became a teenager and oddly enough, still loved hanging out with my mom. She became my very best friend. When other friends would come and go, depending only on if you were in a class with them, my mom was a constant friend. High school came and went and she was still my best friend. I would tell her absolutely everything. Every time I would like a new guy, she'd know. Every time I decided to skip class, she would know, because I would tell her. I had no secrets from my mom.

Then I grew up some more and went to college, moving out. Good thing we had choir together everyday! I liked living on my own, but I missed having my mom there to just talk to whenever we both happen to be sitting at the kitchen table. That year we ended up having lunch together every Monday and Friday right before choir. It was my favorite thing! We were able to just catch up and I was able to talk to her and tell her what was going on in my life and even vent to her sometimes.


This last year I moved back home to save money and I could not have picked a better time. My parents got their time to be "empty nesters" and I had had my time to be "on my own" but I was glad to be back home. My mom and I are still best friends and are even closer now that we live under the same roof. We even took some real classes together this year and had fun with that.

My dad just got put in as the new Branch President for the singles branch I attend, meaning my mom will be in there every Sunday with me. I'm very excited to share this new adventure with them this next year.

My mom is so talented and always so willing to serve and help in anyway she possibly can. I hope I grow up to be half the mom she is.

Mom- I love you so much! Thanks for everything!

Graduation!!

So guess what everyone!

I'M GRADUATING FROM EAC IN 2 YEARS with an Associate of Arts (Music)!!!!
(It takes most people 3 years)

Awesome, RIGHT?! I'm so proud of myself. I told myself I would do it and I did it. Graduation is next Friday, May 14, and I can hardly wait! It seems like it was just last year, if even that, that I graduated from high school. Crazy that I already have another graduation so soon. But so exciting at the same time.

I wish I could say along with that great news that I would be moving on with my life and going to a fabulous University where I would be continuing my education and getting my Bachelor of Music Education and graduating with that in 2 or 3 more years, but I cannot.

I told myself all my life that I would not be one of those people that end up at EAC for eternity or 3 years, but yet, here I am... I will be back next year, but at least I'll already have my associates! My plans originally (like since before I graduated high school) was to spend 2 years at EAC and then go on to get my bachelors at NAU like my sister Angela. Well apparently that isn't what was supposed to happen, at least not right now. I was accepted into NAU but not into their School of Music (which, not to toot my own horn, but shocked me and everyone who knows me).

I thought and thought about what I was going to do next year because I didn't apply to any other school because I didn't want to go to any other school. I mean, I have already put $400 into NAU alone and didn't get in, I didn't want to have to spend that kind of money on other schools that I didn't even want to get accepted into. So as I contemplated and talked with my parents, the only answer that came clear was to come back to EAC for one more year and stay with music and institute. So that is what I will be doing. Taking choir, orchestra, and a few institute classes, all the while preparing for a mission! I will also be auditioning for the BYU School of Music (a VERY VERY hard music school to get into, but I figure why not try??)

Who knows what will happen in the next year, but whatever is in store for me, I know that it is the Lord's plan and that all will work out the way it is supposed to.

Go Dodgers!!!

Ok... So I've never really been a super fan of baseball. Like it was the only sport I understood so I liked it, but I never went to a game or anything. Well I got to go to a spring training game a couple weeks ago between the Dodgers and the Angels. I had no idea who to cheer for so I decided to cheer for the Dodgers because we were sitting on their side. Turns out... THEY WON!! 4-0! It was so much fun and I would love to go to more baseball games! I'm an official fan now. :)

The Crew!

Seeeesters!... basically!

Snow!

So let me just start this post by saying that I am loving having my nephews from Florida here. They are adorable and are so much fun and most of all sooo entertaining. Well we took them up the mountain yesterday for them to see snow for the first time in their short little lives and let me tell you... they LOVED it!! If it hadn't started raining/hailing/snowing on us at the end, I am convinced they would have stayed out there longer. Here are some pictures and short video of them and their first snow adventures. And yes, I AM bragging!

They had so much fun making snow angels!

They also were very proud of their snowman!!!

I promise my nephews really do love me! They were just scared from the thunder that was starting. It was the end of the day and it had started raining/snowing/hailing on us.

Celeb

So for all of you who are following me and actually reading my blog, I thank you! I have decided to keep my blog and what better way to start back up than with some GREAT news?!

So I live in the small community and we have this contest called "Gila Valley Idol" - it's kinda like American Idol... but much more selective and soooooooo much harder to get in the finals. OK.. So I may be exagerating just a tad, but still it's kind of a big deal around these parts. Actually it isn't kind of a big deal... it IS a big deal! Well They've been doing it for like 5 or 6 years and I've done it the past 3. I never made it past the preliminaries because of dumb reasons... until this year. Last night actually! I was first to sing and first to get called as a finalist!! I was like freaking out and soo sooo happy. If you want to hear me sing my song you can go HERE. I was in the Pollocks Western Outfitters preliminaries. Just thought I'd share the good news. :)

Have a wonderful day everyone.

Calling All Readers

Ok... Here's the deal everyone. This blog is kind of pointless if I have no readers. I am a faithful reader to all of you so if you read my blog at all please comment on this post. If I don't get any response, say goodbye to this young blog. I will miss it, but really, I only do it for the comments, which seem to be in short supply ALWAYS.

That is all.