A little something for your auditory pleasure

Blog worthy moments

As a, possibly, fellow blogger I'm sure you understand or have used the phrase "blog-worthy". I wonder if it's part of the urban dictionary or if it's even in the dictionary. How long does it take for a word to be added to the dictionary? I know "bootylicious" is in the dictionary.

Bootylicious (adj.): slang sexually attractive, esp with a curvaceous buttocks.

No joke that is the definition of bootylicious on dictionary.com. But I digress...what I mean is there are moments in life that are ironic, sad, happy, exciting, hysterical, upsetting, weird ect. and I think to myself...man, that's blog-worthy. Now, sometimes I'm blogging simply for my own catharsis. It's a bit narcissistic, I know, to assume that the anonymous masses out there would actually care about some of my so-called "blog-worthy" moments. BUT blogs are narcissistic in nature and if you can't get behind that then why have you read this far...hhhmmmm?

But I digress yet again, my apologies. The point of all this yammering is last night I had a 100% blog-worthy evening. I went with a couple of people to see the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary concert at Century 16. You know all those previews you see for the Met? Well same concept except this was Les Miserables. Oh my heavens....so so so so SO good!!

At the very end of the concert, after the finale they brought out the original cast. Colm Wilkinson (original Valjean), Alfie Boe (Valjean for the concert) another London cast of Valjean AND John Owen Jones, arguable the best Valjean I've ever heard, all sang a gorgeous four part harmony of "Bring Him Home". It was amazing. The writers, lyricist and the original producer were all there. It was so worth the $15 I paid.

Nick Jonas played Marius and I had to giggle a little...or a lot when he first showed up. So serious and earnest! But I reread the bio info and apparently he played Gavroche in the original Broadway run of the show...go figure!

Shannon and I decided that we'll go to London for the 50th Anniversary concernt because THAT would be amazing!

Too much...?

I have a tendency to want to take on the world and I load my plate up with all kinds of wonderful goodness. I see so many great opportunities and I just can't help but want to be a part of it all. A professor I had is involved with an educational outreach program through Westminster in India. It's a school for young girls that have been orphaned or abandoned by their families...right up my alley, right? I know, that's what I thought too. So I signed my name to the sheet of paper he passed around for those of us that would like more information. We've gotten occasional emails about meetings and such but I haven't been able to make it to one due to class/work conflicts.

I was also sitting in class last week and my professor started talking about all the endorsements Westminster offers. I was already planning on doing the Special Ed (SPED) endorsement which, as it turns out, isn't an endorsement but an additional license (K-12). As I've become more aware of what my reality is going to be as a teacher I thought it was also be a good idea to tack on an ELL (English Language Learners) endorsement...a lot of districts are actually requiring this now or are moving in that direction. My professor also mentioned Westminster offers a Reading endorsement. My brain automatically perks up and says, I can totally do that.

But...it doesn't stop there. Nope, not me. Why stop at only two endorsements and two license? That would just by silly, wouldn't it? Well, I thought so too. Which is why, when my professor told us that after completing one of the endorsements (any one) we'd only be a couple of credits away from a second Master's (MED - Masters in Education).

.......

For those of you who know me really well, you know where this is heading. Two Masters?? Suuuurrrre! Sign me up!

And yesterday in my intro to ELL/SPED class, I thought to myself, "self, wouldn't it be so great if you could speak Spanish...?"

...I don't think I've quite mastered the principles in Elder Oaks' talk

I think the universe may be trying to tell me something...

...on my super cute new memo board I have three coupons for three different shoe stores. I have a $10 off at DSW, $10 off at Famous Footwear and 10% off at zooshoo.com. I have been searching said stores for something to use these discounts with but alas, I haven't found anything that just cries out...BUY ME!....

I'll wait while you all recover from shock....

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Fortunately, they don't expire for a while, so I've got some time to find something adorable!

Hobby Heaven

I'm a huge fan of craft stores...especially around the holidays. I get the craft bug. I can wander around Michaels and Roberts for quite a while, but I typically don't buy too much. I also LOVE home good stores. I love the kitchen/home decor section of Khols. I love Home Goods and the Ross kitchen/home decor section. I love IKEA, Tai Pan Trading and the upstairs at Smith's Market Place and all their decor. I love it. It's cheap...ish, it's cute...what's not to love.

Yesterday Lisa introduced me to the glory of Hobby Lobby. We were driving home from Tai Pan Trading (got ten water goblets for $20!) on our way to Cafe Rio. After a wrong turn and a slight detour we found a newish shopping center with a Cafe Rio and to Lisa's extreme excitement, a Hobby Lobby. Now, Lisa has talked about this store for a very long time. She talks about it the way a little kid talks about a toy store or a candy store. There is one in Layton and every year she goes home for Thanksgiving she comes back with an entire carload of various home decor/crafty items. Okay...maybe it's not an entire carload but it's a ton of stuff.

Let me just say...I have been converted to the wonder and amazingness of Hobby Lobby. Seriously. They were having a huge sale (which apparently is a pretty common occurrence). I got several boxes of Christmas ornaments for $4 and $3. I got a super cute memo/magnetic board for my desk area. I also got a light switch plate...random, perhaps but I have been wanting one since my last apartment. I've also been wanting decorative knobs for my dresser and desk. I love the ones at Anthropologie but I'm not about to pay $12 a knob when I need 11 plus a new handle for my nightstand. I'm not that rich. Hobby Lobby had a huge selection of knobs...however, I already spent quite a but so that'll be next time.

They had fabric, silk flowers, furniture, Christmas decor, sewing, knitting, crocheting supplies, wall art, hooks, clocks, mirrors, frames....seriously. It was amazing! I love Hobby Lobby!

My Vanity project

Many thanks to my dear friend, Ashley Stolworthy, and Lemon Drop Photography. Because every girl deserves to feel beautiful.

Halloween

I wasn't sure what or even if I would going to dress up this Halloween. My ward wasn't doing a Halloween party (we went to a Haunted House instead...bleh). But Wednesday night after getting off of work around 5:00, I decided I wanted to dress up as my childhood nickname namesake. Lisa and I went to Joanne's to gather supplies and I realized how little I know about sewing and fabric. I also realized that two days before Halloween is not a very good time to be heading to the fabric store...it was packed with last minute costume creations. Anyway...here's the final product. I must say, I'm actually pretty proud of myself.

There was lots of glitter involved

Pretty good if you ask me!