Jimmy Surprises Bieber Fan

California Pizza Kitchen

Upon the arrival of my good friends Marisa and Rich, I was able to go to one of my favorite restaurants, California Pizza Kitchen. I usually do get a pizza-their Thai, Greek, and Chipotle are my favorites-but this time I went for a meal that i had once before. It's a grilled vegetable sandwich on onion and herb focaccia and sedona chicken tortilla soup. It's picture above, but you unfortunately can't really see the goodness of the vegetables. It's delicious....try it!

Inception

Loved it. Most definitely a thinking movie. There was enough action to keep your attention, but not so much that it became what my mom calls a "shoot-em-up movie." I really loved the characters in this movie- they are kind and relateable and there is no real "bad guy". Many cliches were tastefully avoided. I'll admit, it didn't blow my mind in the way that everyone said it would, but it was definitely intellectually engaging. Worth the money most definitely.

Despicable Me

I saw this movie with Peter Olson. I'm so glad he invited me to go with him! it was adorable, but I think it was mostly a chick flick (which I'm usually not totally into). The plot is very weak, but the characters are very lovable- especially Agnes. This made it entertaining....to me. I was laughing way harder than anyone else in the theater though...so take my opinion for what it's worth.

If you have kiddos, definitely worth taking them to see it once it's in the dollar theater. If you don't have kiddos, definitely worth taking yourself to see it once it's on the dollar theater.

Salt Lake University 18th Ward

I woke up at 7 15 this morning...very ahead of schedule for me. It was an exciting day though...my first day in my new ward. I have had to be in new wards relatively few times in my life. I spent four years in the El Camino YSA ward in the Santa Barbara stake (shout out to my SB peeps!) and had grown to be a real part of it. When I left, I remembered people that almost no one else did (Ian, for example, was a regular exception). In that ward I went from 17 and less than a year old in the gospel to 22 and a returned missionary. I was so loved and cared for in that ward. So very cradled.

As most of you know, I have been somewhat transient for the past few months, so I am ready to put my roots down. Here. In the 18th ward.

So...first impressions. I wore a simple black cotton dress that I bought yesterday at Wal-Mart for 12 dollars, a yellowish scarf and green heels. My face and hair was moderately done up. I've become a little bit apathetic towards make-up in my old age.

So I go to the institute at the U to meet my new family. The institute has 4 chapels. 4! I was a bit late, as I lost my orientation inside and didn't know which chapel was the NE one. But I found it and very much enjoyed sacrament meeting.

I met the bishop and had a nice conversation with him. I missed all of Sunday School waiting to speak to him though. I walked into RS with only 20 minutes left. After the block there was a mingle, which I had NO intention of going to. In my experience, singles wards in Utah aren't particularly good at fellowshipping people, and I was not in the mood to deal with trying over and over again to find someone who would actually talk to me. But as I prepared to leave RS, I met a very nice girl who recently moved to the ward from CA as well. She went to the mingle with me and even invited me over for dinner that night. There were 4 other girls from the ward there. I had a great time! Then we went to ward prayer where I met a number of other very kind and potentially fun people.

Now I'm home. I'm excited for this ward. I am going to fit in whether they like it or not.

Daily Affirmations

This girl is the poster child for optimism. We all have something to learn from her.

Boys will be Boys

EFY boys being adorable. Kenyan Anderson on guitar. :)

The Cupcake Cafe

I highly recommend the Cupcake Cafe in Provo to anyone with taste buds. Went there today and enjoyed this delicious grasshopper cupcake.

New Home

I found a place to live in Salt Lake City today. I'll be sharing a house with one other girl. It's adorable. And the best part...it comes with chickens! Pics to follow.

Day in the City

I had some time to kill today so i went downtown to Temple Square to enjoy the atmosphere and take some pictures. These are the fruits. Unfortunately, my camera died after only a few minutes.

EFY 2010 Ephraim

For those of you who have never been to EFY- I'm sorry. You don't know what you're missing. I decided to post just a few photos from the session I worked in Ephraim, UT.

On Wednesday nights the kids make a banner and cheer to represent our group. This is always an interesting time for me, as I am a counselor am supposed to give very limited creative input. Part of me gets so uneasy not being able to help. The other, and more dominant, part of me relishes in being able to just lay on the lawn several yards away and soak up the sun while hoping for the best. The youth made an awesome banner this week. We were The Forgiven. Loved the concept.

We had a rainstorm on Thursday. Typically, most of the youth and all of the counselors stay in church dress for the entire day. However, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a dance party in the rain during free time. It felt good to let the kids be kids and let the counselors...well, be kids too. I was able to take one of the best jumping photos ever. It was a great time.