spanish eyes.

i love this guy.

two years later, despite a knee injury, he is back and ready for another wimbledon championship.

let's go rafa.

wordplay.

alright  or all right?


that is the question. 


see the dictionary on my dashboard says it's all right, and not alright.
merriam webster online says all right is most frequently used, however; alright is common in journalism, business and fictional writing.
someone on yahoo says alright is a contraction. similar to don't, can't, and won't. 
dictionary.com says alright is becoming more accepted in British English, but still not accepted in American English.
some grammar police say alright is becoming more present in the english language. however, alright should be avoided and only all right should be used.
others believe alright is only becoming acceptable because people don't realize it isn't actually a word.


i don't know who to believe.

starts with one.

one year.

one year is a long time. especially for a blog.

in the past year this blog has seen a lot of changes. and not just in design. 

in the past year this blog read all over has been written all over. 

in the past year this blog has seen me...

living in two countries.

visiting five european countries.

residing in three homes, three separate zip codes.

being a member of four completely different wards.

taking over 2,000 pictures.

adding 1030 songs to my music library. 2.6 days and 8.63 GB of listening pleasure.

watching over 160 new television episodes and over 275 old television episodes.

sending 463 emails.

traveling to three of the united states. 

stepping foot in seven of the united states.

meeting hundreds of new people.

making many best friends. 

learning new words from five languages.

gaining one new family member.

attending at least ten musical performances.

more importantly:

spending time with people i love.

being taught loads of useful information.

learning so much more about myself.

and having more fun than ever. 

so here's to the past year. a good one. full of great times and the best people.

i know my blog can't wait to see what happens next...

then...

now...

i will be there.

on may 6th 2008 i received an email from a stranger. 

a stranger from a place in nevada i'd never heard of.

a stranger i wouldn't meet for three and a half months.

a stranger who liked to decorate and coordinate.

a stranger with tastes similar to mine. 

a stranger i would come to share a 10" x 10" space with. 

a stranger who would come to be one of my best friends.

alyssa lee smith.

(the best first roommate i could ever ask for.) 

even though the first day we met, i was a crying mess.

even though my corner of the room was always a mess.

even though i did my homework into the late hours of the evening.

even though my alarm only work her up.

even though we sometimes didn't get along.

even though i hated on her home town.

even though i made her play with my hair at every given moment.

even though i forced her to tell me every detail of her life.

even though she knows every detail of my life.

she's still one of my absolute favorite people.

you see, there is something that happens when you share such a small place. you become like sisters. 

and it is amazing to me that such different people could be put together, grow together and realize just how similar we really are. 

although it has been over a year since we've lived together we're still the closest of friends and she is still saving my life.

on june 8th 2010 i received a package from a friend.

a package with a bowl full of muddy buddies, one of my favorite treats.

a package sent with love and support from 300 miles away. 

you see even from a different state she knows how make my day.

on june 11th 2010 i received a visit from a best friend.

a lucky visit, a short visit, but a much needed visit.

on an errand for her work she was able to come to salt lake and share a little cheesecake factory lunch with me. see no matter if life is sometimes hard or the weather is sometimes dreary, we know how to have a good time.

so glad i got that email two years ago. heaven knows i wouldn't have been able to make it through freshman year without her. i know for sure i wouldn't be able to make it though life period without her.

love you alyss. thanks again.

pictures of success.

when i got home from my london adventure i decided i needed to do something special with my almost 2,000 pictures. besides just put them on facebook.

so since january i've been working on a photo book at shutterfly containing all my favorite london pictures and memories. 

let me tell you. it has been a pain and a half. 

but now, after

500 pictures.

100 pages.

some money out of my pocket.

hours of effort and patience.

and a little bit of torture.

i have finished. 

the book should be on its way to me by the 19th and i cannot wait.

here are the finished pages.

i can't wait till this beauty arrives at my door.

the truth.

Friedrich Nietzsche once said

the greek philosopher Plato stated

"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything." 

nothing these scholars said has ever made more sense.

music = life 

little girl.

last week, as my sister in law was recovering from her c-section my sister and i were able to steal this cute thing

and bring her up to provo with us for a week of fun (and rest for her mother and baby brother.)

emma and i had a week full of sleepovers and early mornings. lots of jumping on the tramp. some water fights. mcdonald's (unfortunately). listening to lady gaga and beyonce (her favorite). and lots of laughter. 

she's a doll.

i let her use my camera for a few minutes and she took some pretty great pics. including this ever so myspace shot. they learn young i guess.

we would ichat her parents every night so she wasn't so home sick. needless to say eventually photo booth was her new favorite activity.

it was fun being her mother for a week and i was sad when she went back home. but lucky for me, i got another visit just a few days later when my brother came up for his best friends wedding. emma and i spent the day playing on the tramp, in a little kiddie pool and in the sprinklers. after our day in the sun, i dressed her up for the ball with the pretty princess (aka the wedding). 

then she left me once again.

love this girl. and i hate that none of my nieces/nephews live less than 4 hours away. less then a month till they all come back to me!