Valkyrie.

Oh the joy of $3 movies and crazy roommates!

We went and watched Valkyrie the other night. I would have rather stayed at home and finished my homework, but the need to get out of the house won over in the end.

Valkyrie was good. I was never really educated in the area of the war in Germany or of Hitler. So, this movie was all new to me. I felt so dumb as my roommates all conversed about how things ended and about the world during this time. I guess now I know what to study on in my spare time, not that I have any.

Valkyrie was directed by Bryan Singer -the same man who directed X-Men and Superman Returns -and it is rated PG-13. They said the-mother-cuss-word once. Ugh. And then of course, there was a few blowing-up scenes and a few deaths. Well, actually, there were a lot of deaths. Especially at the end. It is a story of how Colonel von Stauffenberg (aka Tom Cruise) carries out Operation Valkyrie in attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler (aka The Führer).

If you're one of those types that likes history war movies or Tom Cruise then I'd recommend it. If you're one of those "I'm a Die-Hard Chick-Flick Fan" then do yourself a favor and don't watch it. It was no Bride Wars, but it was good.

Bride Wars.

One of the joys of being in Rexburg is that there are about five-ish (give or take a few) movie theaters. Well, two of these theaters are the types that show "old" movies for the price of $3 (and by old I mean 'those movies that aren't on video yet but are no longer in the big theaters' -I find it funny though that 'Twilight' is still there -they typically don't stay that long. Anyway).

Tonight my roommates and I did a spur of the moment thing and went and saw "Bride Wars". I had seen the previews and thought it looked funny, so naturally, I was all for it. It's PG. An hour and a half long (but it seriously seems much longer). It's directed by Gary Winick (he directed "13 going on 30", and "Charlotte's Web" and a few others that I've never heard of) and the stars are Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson. It's a story of two best friends that become rivals when they schedule their weddings on the same day.

In my opinion, it was hilarious! It was one of those rare movies that has a good moral. And it was PG, so that's a plus. As good as it was, I must warn you: even though it was PG, it had it's share of ...imperfections. There was an entire scene (i.e. a Bachelorette Party) that was so totally unnecessary. There was nothing worldly defined as "bad", but this is just my opinion -it was not needed. But aside from this bad stuff (and that's not to say that I'm excusing it) I still very much liked the movie. This is the kind of movie that you take your best friend to and laugh your head off at the funny parts and sigh at all the fun cheesiness of it!

My Eight Things.

Tagged: 8 things
tagged by Melinda Claybrook

Here are the rules:
1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Answer the six "8" items.
3. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

8 Favorite TV Shows:
1. Since moving up here and having crazy roommates -The Bachelor. (I hope Melissa gets Jason!)
2. I don't watch it, by ANY means, but I've heard almost all of it (again -crazy roommates) The Secret Life of an American Teenager.
3. (The above two are really the only ones that are ever on, the rest of the list are those that I use to watch) Funniest Home Videos
4. StarGate
5. StarTrek
6. Smallville
7. Monk (Hilarious!)
8. ??

8 Things I did Yesterday:
1. Homework
2. Went to work at 4AM
3. Went to school and got an awesome grade in English!
4. Made Banana Bread with chocolate chips (its a big hit in my apartment by the way)
5. Contemplated going to the gym but watched Madagascar II instead (which I thought was hilarious by the way).
6. Worked on a video
7. Slept in the next morning (so that wasn't really yesterday...but yeah -I love my day off!)
8. Called my parents

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. August!
2. That wonderful time AFTER midterms
3. Going to the temple next week
4. July 23rd (I'm already stressing!)
5. The release of "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins (I can't wait until September!)
6. When I become an Aunt!
7. Summer! (It's been in the negatives like ALL day!)
8. And always, that big big day when I earn my M. R. S.

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Wingers
2. Rainforest Cafe
3. On the Border
4. El Charo
5. Reeds Dairy (Okay, it's not technically a restaurant, but they've got amazing ice cream!)
6. Wendy's (I think I'm slowly losing my taste for it though...)
7. Checkers
8. ...I'm about to just make one up. Hmm. Subway? -now that I don't work there.

8 Things on My Wish List:
1. Shoes! (more particularly -flats)
2. A stinkin' awesome, stinkin' expensive camera!
3. Bosch Mixer Universal Plus
4. "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
5. More shirts (I've taken to only wearing T's, I think that "freshman fifteen" might slowly be hitting me, which means it times for me to hit the gym!)
6. A plane ticket home! (note: this has nothing to do with school, I just miss Missouri. ...I can't believe I just said that. :P)
7. A new set of scriptures (I'm leaning toward hardcover, but there's such a big variety up here!)
8. Hmm... Oh! BYUI Clothes!

8 People that I tag:
1. Laura Willis
2. Micah West
3. Jordan Willis
4. Hannah Andelin
5. Mary Beth Andelin
6. Kelli Willis
7. Nancyann you should make one! Then I could tag you!
8. And You! Yes You!

It's a Girl Thing.

I was in Kohls, skipping around the isles when it first hit me. I was in Stage when it hit me again as I contemplated very closely the "Unlisted". I was in Pay-less today when it struck me again. Yes. I have discovered that I absolutely LOVE shopping for shoes!

Call me crazy, but I love it!


This is the Champion. The whole reason I went in there. The only pair of "work-out" shoes I have are completely torn of soul! ...I think it's because I never untie my shoes to get them off, I always yank them off by the tip of my toes, wearing the souls out faster then necessary. I love these ones! Very comfortable.


Lower East Side. It was strange. It was like I was draw to them...


Mudd. I LOVE these ones! Actually, I need a pair of flats, it's hard to walk on the ice with heels. (I should serious take a tally of all the times I've fallen!)


Unlisted. As you can see, these ones are very much like those above it. I'm not sure why, but I favor these types (the rounded toe) more than the others.


Xhilaration. Ha! I bought these at Target just after my first pair of high heels got slaughtered by a puppy! It was funny. But I like these ones. (Never mind that these ones are pretty "well-worn")


Predictions. These are probably my favorite so far. Extremely comfortable, extremely cheap (a big whoppin' $5) and brown (I like brown). Oh and I don't even have to tie them!

Okay, not that it matters too much, but I didn't have a female opinion to follow me around (I was stuck with boys!) so, if you would be so kind (regardless of whether or not you're male or female) and let me know what you think, and of how jealous you are of my hot-rockin' shoes, I'd very much appreciate it! So today, I went from having only two pairs of not-church-shoes (with one on its death bed) to having a total of five! (...soon to be four) Wahoo!

Midterms.

They're coming up fast. I have a History Exam to take today and it closes tomorrow night. I have an exam in Math to take on Wednesday (the 18th) and it closes on Thursday. I have an exam in Science to take on Wednesday also and it closes on Thursday. I have a Communications Midterm-paper due on Thursday. I have an English Essay due on Thursday and then that Midterm exam opens up the same day and it closes on the Saturday (thank goodness). I also just finished my Religion Exam (which was due on Wednesday -nothing like getting an exam done early!) and then I have my online midterm as well. So, not that you wanted to hear this or anything, but I felt the need to let out a little of my stress.

I suppose I could also say that, when it comes to taking exams or any test in general, I do horribly. I study really hard and stop when I feel like I've crammed every possible principle or formula in my head -and I always feel very confident. I feel confident when I walk up to the Testing Center. I feel confident when I pick up my exam and #2 pencil (I can never remember to bring my own. Wait -do I even own one??). And I feel confident when I throw my bag off my shoulder and glance around at all the nervous students around me, clicking their pencils, tapping their shoes, wiping the sweat from their brows. ...However, as soon as my rump hits that chair and my eyes turn to that huge stack of papers all shoved together with a single staple -my mind goes blank.

This is what I see when I sit down to take an exam. Click here.

...wish me luck.

What is it?

I found this at work, on the floor this morning as I was sweeping. What do you suppose it is?? I'm leaning towards llama -but I guess it could be a donkey, or horse, or some sort of ...hornless unicorn. What do you think?

Meet Lowg-E.

Lowg-E has become a fixed part of my laptop -ever perched on top; watching my every move. He was the cheapest web-cam I could find. But keep in mind that when you're in a small town with very limited resources, limited items don't usually come very cheap. Lowg-E is a Logitech. His name came about simply from miss-pronunciation on my part, and pointed out by a dear and caring friend. Pshh. Whatever!

I was also told by this dear and caring friend that the easiest way to "web-cam" someone is to download a free program called Skype. Perhaps some of you have heard of it. The program allows you to view your callers and even to send messages. I suppose it's pretty much like MSN. Anyway, I suppose if you had a web-cam and desired to view a friend then Skype is a good choice. I would recommend it to anyone (namely my parents). Well, I guess that's about it...

Age of Empires.

I was listening to some music today and the rhythm reminded me very much of a game I use to play. It was the only game (aside from Mario-Kart) that I ever really got into. I could get lost for hours playings this game! My brothers and I would fight each other or team up together to defeat the enemy. This game to me was like World of Warcraft to the guys up here. It was the best!

I remember playing with my step-mom too. She was always Yellow. Playing with her was so much fun! Trying to teach her the moves and show her the ropes and to watch her jump around in her seat not knowing what to do was the funniest thing. Ahh. Good times. Good times.

In my opinion Age of Empires was a very ...well, I won't go so far as to calling it "Educational", though it did have its share of educational points. For one, it taught the player how to finance their debts. In the game you are allotted a specific amount of money (whether it be gold or silver) and when you ran out you would have to dig for more, or some how earn more. Another thing was that you would have to be in charge of hundreds of people (and sometimes more). You had to make sure they were healthy, working, and all-in-all not being attacked. And the cheats were great! I will never forget the feeling of when your entire village has been destroyed and you have but one player standing and you pull out that last resort -The Car. Oh man, what fun! But I won't bore you further with the details of this game. I just felt like posting about it so that I wouldn't someday forget that it even existed. ...I am such a nerd! Well. Have a nice day!

The 80-Cent Burrito.

It was like a rock. I was so hungry. My stomach had to be filled. So early in the morning and so soon for class, it was out of the question to run home and grab a bite to eat. So, as many students do, I averted to the vending machine. I plucked out my change and found that I had just enough for a bean burrito. It was either that or Sour Patch Kids. This early in the morning I wanted something hot.

I stuck the coins in, one by one. As the machine oscillated, I selected the burrito of my desire and attempted to pull open the window. Only. It wouldn't work. Every time I pulled back the door, it would lock and the machine would rotate again. It was early and I was tired. It is a fact known to man that the human body is cantankerous when operating on only three hours of slumber.

I was getting a little frustrated with the vending machine and I ended up tugging on the door to try to keep it from being stupid. Well, just as I wanted, it opened. I looked inside the window and was surprised to see that I now had access to two open windows instead of just the one. The machine had stopped in the middle of two windows. I pulled out my burrito. I pulled out the extra burrito. I now had a choice. No one would know the difference. No one would ever know that I stole one measly meal. And it wouldn't really be stealing would it? I just happened to get lucky. Right? Besides, I had worked hard that morning. And I was so hungry.

At that very moment, as I held the two burritos with one hand and the door open with my other, the words of Brother Richard C. Edgley came into my head. "Honesty is the basis of a true Christian life. For Latter-day Saints, honesty is an important requirement for entering the Lord’s holy temple... As Latter-day Saints we have a sacred obligation to not only teach the principles of honesty, but also to live them, perhaps with examples as simple as three towels or a 25-cent newspaper. Honesty should be among the most fundamental values that govern our everyday living. When we are true to the sacred principles of honesty and integrity, we are true to our faith, and we are true to ourselves."

Without further ado, I replaced the second burrito back into it's slot and let the window slide shut, putting a barrier between myself and that of simple temptation.

I know my story is plain. I know it's nothing much. But to me, I passed a test. I proved to Heavenly Father, by small and simple means, that I was willing to obey His commandments. Even though it was something as small as a bite to eat, in truth, it was something much more. By my actions today I told my Father in Heaven that I loved Him. May you, when such a time arises, be willing enough to tell our Father that you love Him too "even unto the end."

Snow, Snow, Snow!

Snow. I like snow. But when it snows constantly and ENDLESSLY for DAYS-ON-END it can be very tiresome. Like this morning. I got up, walked out the door, and found a whole foot of snow on EVERYTHING!! ...Only, it's not the kind of snow that usually fills the ground (no seriously, it NEVER melts!) it was ...powdery, and not at all fit for a snowball. Every time I took a step the white power would just woosh! And the roads! Don't even get me started! I have never seen such horrible roads! So, as much as I miss my car, I'm glad I don't have it. And the drivers. Woow! I'd have to say Missouri's drivers are MUCH better than these Idahoan drivers, and that's saying something.

Hmm, what else could I say...? Oh, I bought a web-cam today! Sort of a spur of the moment thing. Well, not really. I actually thought long and hard about it. It was more of a favor to an awesome friend. Anyhow. I got to get going. I have big day ahead of me!