What do I Want For Christmas?

What do I want for Christmas? Let's see, I want Something the Lord Made (especially), MONK, all the seasons, a new cell phone (because someone evil at school decided it would be funny to steal my cell phone because she was blazing mad at me for hugging her, stupid person), and a new MP3, which the same person stole at around the same time, Harry Potter 5 and 7 the video games, and all the Harry Potter special edition DVDs. I also want that stray dog that walks around our yard. He’s gorgeous. I want to go caving in Carlsbad with The Quack sometime next year on the next trip, and I want new sketching materials and supplies, I want lots of video games, I want to learn a new instrument, namely the bassoon or saxophone, because they are like the coolest instruments ever. I want to learn to speak German and Danish, and I want my whole family and my grandparents, and maybe even go up to Denmark to visit my family up there. They’re so awesome. I want to go ice skating in Utah, and tubing with my church, and take skiing lessons. I want to go to the IMAX up in Utah (it has the good theaters baby, 80 ft. by 80 ft. nice man!!!!! Utah rocks!!!!! Unlike this place), and I want to go to a session at each temple in the Salt Lake City Temple, or any of them that are open. I want Damian, George, Ryan, Paul, Emmett, and that's it, forget Neil and cute little Danny, because they can't really sing. I<3 Ireland!!!!

That's a wrap,

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOSH I'M SO IN LOVE WITH ALAN RICKMAN NOW!!!!

OH MY GOSH I"M SO IN LOVE WITH ALAN RICKMAN NOW!! I decided to do a little more research and I have found out that he is half IRISH!!!!!!! OOOOOOH MYYYYYY GOOOSH!!!!! That is so amazing, and it's super funny because he was born in England, has a British accent, and he is so British in his manner; it's so funny.  I think it's amazing, and if you know me, you know I have a thang for Irish guys; and it helps that to me he is a hotty, and he is a very talented musician.  He plays cello, piano, and he sings like an angel!  I don't care if he's 65, to me he's adorable and amazing, and half the girls my age think the same.  It’s something with teenage girls and romance, or actors that they respect.  I discovered one of his movies called The Song of Lunch, and it's pretty darn good (I watched a little bit of it).  My favorite movie with him that I have already mentioned is Something The Lord Made.  I found another one too, called Bottle Shock, which is based on a true story about wine, and how it was made in France and started being made in California, and I watched the trailer, and it looks so good.  I really want to watch it now!  I really like films based on true stories.  I didn’t realize how many films he’s narrated, or done the voice to a character, or done a TV series.  I think that’s awesome.  He’s also a world class director in my opinion.  Many world renowned directors say the same thing.  My friends tease me all the time.  They say, “He has a porn-mustache” or “he’s hideous.” I just laugh because I know that I think he’s amazing, so who cares what they think?
I LOVE ALAN RICKMAN SO MUCH!

That’s a wrap,
DINGBAT OUT!

The Snow Day

          Finally, for the first time this year, we get a snow day and I don't have to go to school.  The sad thing is, we only got 3 inches or less and they closed the schools down because nobody in New Mexico knows how to drive.  Flower was on the internet on Facebook and found that the Quack had posted on his Facebook saying, "You know you are in New Mexico when the maintenance men in your apartment complex go outside and start clearing the snow on the sidewalks with leaf blowers.  LOL, that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.  

          In Utah people are smart.  They put salt water on their roads before the storm, which is super, super smart because the roads will not freeze.  The salt decreases the freezing point of the ice.  My sister, Flower, told me that apparently all the teachers, Sewards Rat, Shimmy Dude, the Barbour, and the Quack, were on Facebook on the snow day.  (And, by the way, I am changing Flower's nickname to Midget.  Blame the Quack, he refers to her as the Midget.)

          Ben, my brother, went out and shoveled snow.  Not for very long, because he came in exhausted.  He is more a brainiac than an athletic kid.  He is a nerd too.  He takes after me!  The Quack likes my brother Ben.  There was one funny time, when I was talking to Shimmy Dude on Skype, and my brother came up to the camera and I told him to get out of the way.  Shimmy Dude said, "Hi, Sarah's brother.  My name is Nerd."  It was funny.  The only bad part of the snow day is that I could not take my teachers Klejnar (klinah).  That is a Danish cookie that is made in Danish homes during the Holiday season to offer to visitors and neighbors as they drop in on each other’s homes.  If you do not know what Klejnar is, you were born in a cave (hahaha the Quack).

That’s a Wrap!

DINGBAT OUT!!

Standards Night

Every year in December, the Young Women have a Standards Night in my church. The young women come together where the Laurels, Mia Maids, and Beehives come together and share a project that they did over the year that helped them come closer to their Heavenly Father and helped them achieve a goal in their Young Women Personal Progress.  The Beehives are the first group and are ages 12 to 14.  Mia Maids are the group I am in ages 14 to 15.  The Laurels are 16 to 18 years old. 

Standards Night was fun, emotional, and spiritual for me.  It was emotional for my mom because she cried when I talked about the project I did, which made me want to bawl (which I think I did bawl).  It was also spiritual for my friend Brianna McKenney.  It was really cool because it was centered on the girls.  The young women were called up one by one and were given a banner and a tiara for the following values:  Faith, Good Works, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Integrity, Virtue.  My mom picked Faith for me.  I don’t know why, but she did.  I thought she would pick Good Works but she didn’t.  We got our banner and a tiara and we each had a table where we displayed our project.  It was kind of like the State Fair where we had our display.  Everybody could go around and view the displays.  Then we were each asked to talk about our project and what we did and how it brought us closer to Heavenly Father.  (The Sewards Rat will really love my project.)  My project was for Good Works. 

There is this little down syndrome girl in my choir named Belen Heindrich and she is the sweetest little girl you would ever want to meet.  She wants to give me hugs all the time.  Whenever she does something right she comes to me and tells me about it even before she tells her mom.  My Choir Director, Ms. Sue, didn’t know how to communicate with her, just like she really didn’t know how to communicate with me, I am Aspergers and Belen is Down Syndrome.  Belen is like my sister, I love being around her. 

I am in a group called River Voice in my Choir, and it is the higher level singing girls in the choir from Sophomore to Senior year (we have all been singing for about 10 years or longer).  Ms. Sue expressed the desire to want us to have a group of kids that we would take and work with on parts and on the different songs.  I specifically asked for Belen.  It frustrated me a little bit that Ms. Sue didn’t quite know how to communicate with Belen, but because of me, by the time of the concert, Ms. Sue was listening to Belen and she was taking time to dedicate time for Belen.  I think this was because of the example I set and it meant a lot to me.  Because people like Belen hold a special place in my heart because of my disabilities and what I have gone through, I can feel them, sense them, and read them. 

On the day of the concert, Belen’s mom said she asked for me all day long.  It got to the point, when we were at rehearsal she asked Ms. Sue asked if Sarah could take her in the room and work with her to get better.  I found myself being extremely protective of Belen when someone neglects her or treats her different.  (Just ask the Quack, he will tell you it is true.)   That was what my project was about.  It was one of the most amazing times of my life.  I fell in love with this little girl.  I adore her and she has taught me about being humble.  She reminds me of myself when I started in Ralph Woodward’s choir in SLC, in the Salt Lake Children’s Choir.  My mom was always worried about the things I would do.  I see a lot of myself in Belen.  She is a sweetheart and I love her and love being around her.  I feel a special bond with people with disabilities.  It is special.  I hope that never goes away because that is one of the sweetest things in my life. 

That’s a wrap!

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

Me and Belen November 2011

I discovered something sooo cool!

I discovered something so cool in Seminary this morning; something I have never noticed before.  There’s this film called Mr. Krueger's Christmas, and it was produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  However (and I never EVER realized this until today at 6 o'clock in the morning surprisingly!), it has Jimmy Stewart in it!  I mean I was so excited, because he is one of my favorite actors.  He is not Mormon, yet he did a Mormon film.  I thought that was the coolest thing EVER, and my respect for him grew a million times more.  I fell utterly in love with him; he's great.  And he loved music, as I found out later after seminary when I told my mom about it.  She also told me that he only did the movie because our church has the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and it had always been his lifelong dream to conduct the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  The LDS Church must have known this somehow, so they purposely offered the job to him.  In the film, after he's done conducting, the choir starts clapping, and I don't know if that was planned, but it was awesome, and you can tell he is so excited.

He’d had been waiting his whole life to do that, ever since he was a boy, and here he is a 70ish year old man!  I told the Quack and Shimmy Dude this and they thought it was an amazing story.  I don't think they would have guessed that about Jimmy Stewart, and I didn't know about it either.  I think learning that was the highlight of day, because I love music too.

In fact, I want to be in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir someday so I can sing and perform all over the world, and at General Conference!  WOW that would be absolutely AMAZING; the highlight of my life! 

Well, I bet you’re tired of hearing from me,
DINGBAT OUT!

The Mysterious Ticking Noise

I had always known about the "Snape, Snape, Severus Snape" song, but I had never seen it, or even known what it was called.  In Anatomy and Physiology class, my friend, Sara played it on her laptop and I laughed so hard I cried!  The Piercing Spear made us turn it off, but she was being a hypocrite because around the same time she was watching little kids sing.  Her excuse was, "It's little 6-year-olds singing.  They're adorable!"  It was just a study day so it didn't seem like it mattered much that we were watching it; it wasn't like she was teaching or anything.  

I became immediately obsessed with this video and looked it up later on Youtube, only to find that it was called "The Mysterious Ticking Noise," and had over 715 million hits!  I thought it was awesome, so I watched it at least ten more times and learned it.  I also watched Wizard Swears made by the same people.  The funniest stuff I've seen in a really long time!  I showed it to my brother and he thought it was absolutely hilarious!  He especially liked the Dumbledore part.  "Dumbledore!!" high-pitched.  I liked Snape's and Harry's part the best.  I showed it to my parents and they thought it was the stupidest thing they'd ever seen, but that's just because the video was made for teenage ears and eyes.  Not adults.  So anyway, I'm going to go around and show it to my teachers, the Quack and the Shimmy Dude.  They will probably love it.  My brother and I plan on performing it sometime soon.  I absolutely love it.  I'm going to post the video on here for you to see.

Well, that’s all for now,

DINGBAT OUT!

FRACTALS!

I went to Arts Adventures tonight and we saw the fractal show at the Natural History Museum, and it was AWESOME!  The fractals were amazing and I learned a ton about how you can minutely change the formulas causing the fractal turns out completely different, it's amazing.  My favorite one was the fractal that he made that he changed the exponent from 2 to 2.001  It changed the whole composition.  I absolutely loved it, and the music was awesome.  We were in the first row leaning back and looking up, and the music had so much bass that it vibrated all the seats.  When you were in there it was like you were actually moving, it was really cool!  Afterward I felt drained, and I had a headache. I got to meet the man who did it, and he is a PhD that owns the Fractal organization.  He’s a nerd, but a very, very smart one, and surprisingly he has good social skills.  I talked to him and saw his fractal tie and asked him where he got it, and he told me he designed it.  I told him my dad would love one, because he loves Gerry Garcia ties, and that's all he buys.  He told me they were $30 each, so I'm getting dad one or two for Christmas, and maybe for one other person too (I'm not saying who). 

Now I want to go to the website to download the software to make the fractals because it's free!

Fractal Foundation

http://vimeo.com/15133198

OH MAN - COOL STUFF! 

DINGBAT OUT!

The Strength of the LDS Youth

Where do the youth of the church get their strength from?  Where do they receive the courage and will to push through all the crud of the world, and repel the fiery darts of Satan?  How do they do it? Where does this extreme amount of spiritual strength, commitment, and courage come from?  For young women, it comes through the personal progress program.  The personal progress program is a part of the young women's program, in fact, it is the structure.  The personal progress program strengthens us and our testimonies by providing hundreds of experiences that bring us closer to Heavenly Father.  The Personal Progress Program consists of 8 values.  They are faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity, and virtue.  For each value experience there is a project that needs ten hours at the VERY LEAST!  The Personal Progress Program takes at least 180 hours to complete if you do it fast.  It usually takes at least 300-600 hours. The Personal Progress program is the equivalent of an Eagle Scout project for a young man.  These activities increase our relationship with God, and this increases our strength in the Gospel so much. Through our strength, we can be strong enough to resist all temptation.  For example, sex before marriage, drugs, smoking, drinking, etc.  These things are an abomination in my sight. 

Another thing that helps us be strong is a pamphlet released by the church titled For The Strength Of Youth. This book lists many of our values and lists why it is important to stay strong and steadfast to these principals. We are instructed to carry it with us at all times.

That's What I'm Talkin' 'bout!!! 

Then there's stuff for the strength of young men, like duty to God. I don't know very much at all about the Young Men Program, so I'll just put some pictures in:

DINGBAT OUT!!!!

STORM..CELTIC THUNDER!

We were at the Celtic Thunder concert in Salt Lake City where we purchased the Storm DVD and CD.  I watched it on my laptop and found it to be amazing.  Storm is a little story about Irish Settlers and they have a big chest of gold and jewels.  There is a Gypsy King (Ryan Kelly) and he tries to steal the Settler's stuff.  He is the opposing person.  Damian McGinty is the Young Buck, George Donaldson is the Chief, Keith Harkin is the Highwayman, Paul Byrom is the Land Owner's son.  I like that it is choreographed and everything in the story is musical so it is sung.  The dialog is in notes and music.  It is pretty much music.  I love it when Neil plays the Mandolin.  Even though is not very good looking, to me that is, he plays like 15 different instruments.  It is a story of honor, pride, vengeance, romance and lust.  My favorite song is "Hail the Hero, Shadows, and Look at Me." 

I love the percussion and the enthusiasm of the performers, the choreography, dancing, singing, flipping, acrobatics.  The Gypsy men are very ahtletic and are amazing.  The Gypsy men dance very athletically.  I love Damian's deep bass voice!

In the Heritage DVD, Emmett sings Kindred Spirits and I love him more than Damian (which is hard to believe)!  Emmett is my very, very, very, very favorite member of Celtic Thunder ever!  He is hot too!  He sings Opera too which is very sexy if you ask me.


That is all for now! 
DINGBAT OUT! 

Flutes, Flutes The Magical Sound!!!!

I brought my flutes to school today so that I could play them at lunch.  (If you don't know already, I LLLLOOOOVVVVVEEEEE NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTES!)  I brought my flutes to school on Friday because it's not a school day.  I showed up early so I could play for The Shimmy Dude before his meetings started.  He loves to hear people play the Native American flute.  Unfortunately, he doesn't own any, and I don't think he can play, but the Short Man's wife plays, and so does the Quack, and his wife too I think.  Anyway, I showed it to him, and he loved it and asked me if I would walk around at events such as the COL (Celebration Of Learning) and play to set the mood with music.  I brought them again today to show the Quack, and it's amazing, because anything he picks up, he can play, literally.  He's a prodigy.  Anyway, he was super interested, and asked me to play each one for him.  I own three, so I played them all.  Then, and this is so cool, he picked one up, wiped it off, and started playing it. That was cool; to see my teacher play MY flutes right in front of me.  Neato!  Then, in math class, it's funny because The Shimmy Dude plays Native American flute music on his computer, and I just kind of sink when I hear it.  I relax immediately.  But today I didn't notice it.  He loves it when I do that, and I think that's why he plays it.  He was like, "oh, come on!  Sarah."  Then he got my attention, smiled and turned the music up.  Then I was like "ah," and slumped down.  He laughed softly and lovingly.  I love The Shimmy Dude.  We have a special friend relationship and we talk about religion a lot too.  I will post my persuasive essay that I wrote in parts, so you can read it.  It’s based on religion. 

Anyway, this was a great day.  Of course every day is great, but this was a GREAT day!  I love my teachers, and my school!  The only thing is I didn't get to play my flutes at lunch because I forgot I had other requirements, boohoo, but I will play tomorrow.

So long,

DINGBAT OUT!!!!

How Harry Potter should have ended, the youtube video, and how star wars should have ended, the youtube video!!! BOTH ARE HILARIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sitting in World History class with a Sub in the room, and I'm done with my assignment, and the next one's not due until Thursday, so I decide to take a thirty second break from my work (inside joke, LOL!) and I go on to YouTube and look up Severus Snape, who is my favorite character out of them ALL!  I like him even better than Harry.   So.... back to where I was going. I looked up Severus Snape and I found this little animated cartoon titled How Harry Potter Should Have Ended.  Intrigued, I clicked on it.  I swear I laughed so hard it's not even funny, and it's awesome, I mean, Snape comes back to life and then shoots Voldemort in the head with a "muggle" gun and then he goes back in time with Hermione's time turner, and returns to where Dumbledore is in Tom's orphanage and Snape jumps in out of nowhere and kills Tom Riddle.  Then Dumbledore's like "What the heck?  Why did you do that?" and then Snape's like "I just saved your life in the future, but it's a really long story.  I mean no, it's a REALLY LONG STORY, like long enough to fill 7 books, and then Dumbledore says "or 8 movies," and then it's the end.  It’s so funny!  OH MY GOSH, and then there's How Star Wars The Emperor Strikes Back Should Have Ended.  That’s so funny.  I’ll explain this one briefly because I want you to watch it.  It’s HILARIOUS!  The Emperor is telling Darth Vader that Anakin Skywalker has a son, and he freaks out. “I have a son????!!!!” then the emperor says, “no, I Said Anakin has a son, you’re Darth…..” “I can’t believe this, this is so exciting!!!  Hey guess what Storm Troopers, I’m a dad!!!  Guess what asteroids, I’m a dad!!!!  Hey Bounty Hunters, you know I’m gonna be a dad right???”  Now you can watch the end of it.  Here’s the videos

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!!

THE CONCERT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We got to the Maverik Center where Celtic Thunder was performing, and I was so excited I almost passed out!  I was like, "I hope Damian will be here, and Paul."  We were in line for merchandise and I saw the poster they had available of Damian, and I almost fainted!  HE IS SO HOT!  I swear I almost fainted several times.  So while we were waiting I got to talk to this girl that I met named Sarah!  She's a Junior in High school, and she is in love with Damian and Paul, like I am!  She plays the piano too! We’re like sisters, OH MY GOSH!  She’s obsessed with all music, and just as big as a dorky nerdy goofball as I am!  She reminds me a lot of my favorite cousin, Cassie.  We went in the theater after buying out the whole merchandise store (literally), and we took our seats.  The only thing was the show didn't sell out for some reason, so they pushed the stage forward and our view was blocked by a column of speakers. That was really annoying.  We ended up getting up and moving to better seats in the next section over, LOL!  It was awesome.  We were sitting behind this Mormon family that drove all the way down from Rupert, Idaho to see the show.  They were just as crazy as we were.  The girl and I bonded immediately.  Her name was Rebecca, she's fifteen, and she has really high standards!  She loves Keith and Emmett the best. Personally, I love Damian, George, and Paul the best.  My mom likes little Danny, George, and Keith.  So we moved rows and sat by them because they moved to.  When Celtic Thunder came on the stage, I screamed so many times, I almost passed out!  I felt bad though, because the people sitting behind us moved and so did the people sitting in front.  After a moment I could care less.  I screamed louder.  This was the moment I’d been waiting for all my life.  The first song they sang was in Gaelic, Little Danny sang a solo.  He has a very pure high soprano voice.  My favorite part of that song was when Danny, who is still fairly new at performing, got nervous and didn't know where he was, George grabbed him on the shoulder and situated him.  That was the sweetest thing.  George is the nicest man in the world, and I love him so much, and just for that, he's my favorite, even though he's bald. Personally, I think bald guys are sexy.  And also, George is the greatest performer. HE'S A HOOT!  He is always making the audience laugh, and when the crowd was cheering for him, he gave us thumbs up.  He even smiled and winked at me!  I ALMOST DIED!  He’s gotten so much better in the last 4 years, and I am so in love with him!  What is it with me and bald guys, or older guys that I find attractive? I HAVE NO IDEA!  But I'm a teenage girl!  We’re weird!  So anyway, enough talk about sexy George.  

Now on to Keith.  Keith was awesome!  He would throw his pick into the audience after he was done playing a song.  Keith is also an excellent performer.  Neil doesn't have the pizzazz, and Danny is still new.  Emmett on the other hand, he has a voice like an angel, and he sings Opera!  THAT IS SO HOT!  He’s also a BIG fan of Josh Groban!  Emmett's the third hottest of them all.  Here they are (in my opinion) in order of hottest to least hot:  Damian, Paul, Emmett, Keith, Ryan, George, Danny, and Neil (ucky wucky!!). 

So, anyway, the concert was amazing, so I'm going to stop babbling now. 

DINGBAT OUT!

Sitting here, in the Albuquerque airport, bored as all heck!!!!

I'm sitting here in the Albuquerque airport at my terminal, A8.  FUN!  Now we have to wait for 1 hour and a half.  When we got here we learned our flight had gotten delayed, and I thought here we go, it's going to be really tight trying to get to the concert on time because we'll get there at 5:30 pm instead of 4:30 pm.  The concert starts at 7, and by the time we're out it will be 6.  It's going to be hectic but it will be worth it!!!!  Oh, and guess what's so ironic?  We were checking in and there's this Jewish guy (I'm pretty sure he's Jewish), and he looks almost exactly like Jakey!  It's so cool, and he's even on our flight LOL!  The reason I think he's Jewish is because he's got curly hair and a big nose.  Now believe me, I WOULD NOT be saying this if Jakey didn't say it all the time, and he's Jewish, so it's ok.  I am NOT meaning to stereotype.  Then after that incident we went to this restaurant called Los Cuartes and our server looked exactly like Flower, I mean EXACTLY!  She was even as short as her (4 foot 10)!  She even walked like her, it was crazy!  My mom told me she'd take a picture with her Black Berry, but I said no, because that's weird.  So this is the jest of my really weird adventure here at Sunport Airport in Albuquerque.

That's a wrap,

DINGBAT OUT!

CELTIC THUNDER IS AMAZING!

Tomorrow we are going to go on a flight to SLC, UT to see a concert of my favorite band of all time - Celtic Thunder.  They have been around for about 5 years, they are all Irish and started out with five members.  Now there are 8 of them.  The original people were Ryan Kelly, Paul Byrom, Damian McGinty, Keith Harkin, and George Donaldson.  Damian was 14 when he started and is about my age and he is super, super cute and smart.  He gets straight As and he respects his mother, which I think is hot!  Paul is also super, super cute and was 28 when he started with Celtic Thunder and he starting training at the age of 7 to be an operatic singer, which I also think is hot because I want to be an Opera singer, or study Opera.  Keith Harking has an amazing voice and he started at the age of 28.  He is amazing with the guitar.  He loves music, has a high pitched voice for a guy and sometimes sings like a girl as far as the range.  He is not nearly cute, in my opinion, as Damian and Paul.  I will have pictures of them for you to see, since now there are 8 members instead of the original 5.  George is a really cool guy and has an interesting voice. When he started he was 48 and he is bald naturally.  He sings a lot of the folk songs and the sad songs.  Ryan was an Accountant before he joined the group, and he is cute, but not nearly as cute as Damian, Keith or Paul in my opinion.  Ryan was in his 30s or early 40s I believe.
Now, after 5 years, they have added three new people to their group and they are finally coming in concert to Salt Lake City.  They now have a 12 year old boy named Daniel Furlong.  They have a man in his 20s named Emmett Cahill that is to die for!  I think Emmett is better looking than Damian, which is hard to believe, and he has an amazing voice.  They have a new guy named Neil who was with them originally as a musician.  I don't care for him much as I do not care for his voice and I do not think he is that cute.  We are going to the concert tomorrow night and we are going to sit nearly in the front row on the farthest right side of the stage.  I think the view is going to be fantastic.  I think the tour they are doing is either Heritage or Storm.  I am not sure.  I would like to get CDs of Heritage and Storm at the concert.  Now I am going to insert pictures of these amazingly hot men!

George Donaldson

Damian McGinty

Keith Harkin

Neil Byrne

Paul Byrom

Daniel Furlong

Ryan Kelly

Emmett Cahill 

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

OH MY GOSH I'M GONNA BE FAMOUS!

You know how I got to go to D.C. because I was one of the ten selected out of 210 out of 4,700 people to be at the grand opening of an art show that was going to tour my original artwork all over the country right? Well guess what?  I learned, just barely, on Friday when I was at Arts Adventures Teen Night that MY artwork that I was only goofing around to make was bought by a museum in SALT LAKE CITY UTAH!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!!!! I was so overwhelmed and happy and shocked and just plain overloaded that I just fell apart, I mean I was weeping!  I was shaking wildly, my face was bright red and I almost passed out!  I mean I'm 15, 15 and my artwork was bought and is going to have a permanent home in my hometown, Salt Lake City, Utah!  I mean, when does this kind of stuff happen to a 15 year-old???!!!???  I could not be more happy, and I am so thankful to my beloved Heavenly father for the blessings he's bestowed upon me in my life, and now, more than ever, he is helping me accomplish what I want to in my life, and not just in art, in my academics.  I have straight A+s (well, except for the Short) thanks to his help.  He is my father, and I love him so much.  I'm thankful to my parents for giving me the Gospel, and raising me as a Latter-Day-Saint.  What would I be without them?  Nothing.  My parents are a blessing in my life, and I love them more than anyone except perhaps my Father in Heaven.  The support they have offered me in my life is astronomical, and they are always pushing me on.  Sorry I'm being so sentimental, but this is the biggest thing that's ever happened to me. EVER!!!!! THIS COULD MAKE ME FAMOUS!!!!!! 

Anyway, enough ranting and raving on my behalf,

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!!

Tim's Place

This fall break I went to a place called Tim's place with my mom.  This restaurant is unique in a very special way.  It’s owned and run by a kid with Down syndrome named Tim.  Tim is so ADORABLE!!!!  His spirit is so big and sweet.  He has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met.  The philosophy there is special.  I remember we went in and his helpers opened the door for us.  You immediatlely feel right at home.  He shook our hand and walked us to our table.  The greatest thing is at the back of the menu there is his amazing story.  The motto he’s always gone by is:  "If you can dream it, you can do it."  This is so inspiring to me.  When you meet someone who has a sore trial in their life, yet they're accomplishing and doing things any "normal" person can do, it encourages you to work harder and believe in yourself.  It was so funny, we were eating and the music was playing, and he was jammin' out man!!!  It was awesome!!!  It was like he was at home, but of course; the sign in the front says "this is my happy place."  One more unique thing that no other menu has:  FREE TIM HUGS!!!!  This is the best part of Tim's place!!!  He gives the best hugs!! I don't even hug as well as he does, but then again, who does? When I hugged him, I felt his energy, his sweet calm loving happy energy which spreads like a wildfire.  It’s infectious.  My teacher Mr. G. used to say, the energy and mood that you exert affects others around you.  I mean in those few minutes we were there, I felt this special bond between him and me form.  He became my best friend.  I mean I'm almost crying.  That is how much this experience meant to me and how much he means to me.

Well, that's a wrap!!

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

Something The Lord Made, One Of My Favorite Films!!!!

I recently discovered a film that has Alan Rickman in it called Something The Lord Made, and it is an absolutely incredible piece of work.  It is based on a true story about the first heart surgery ever performed by Doctor Alfred Blalock and Doctor Vivienne Thomas.  The events happen in a time period of about 15 years, from 1930 to 1945.  The story begins in Nashville, Tennessee, in a time when African Americans were treated less than whites in society, especially in the South.  Vivienne Thomas, an African American man who was previously working as a carpenter was offered a post as a janitor, that’s right, a janitor for Doctor Blalock.  Doctor Blalock is almost immediately impressed with his desire and interest in the human body and anatomy, so he allows him to start working with him in research.  At the time they met, Doctor Blalock was working on finding cures for shock.  In the movie, you really learn what kind of person Doctor Blalock was.  He was very committed to proving things wrong, and being the first one to accomplish the "impossible" at the time.  I love this man because he has many of the attributes and attitudes that I possess in myself.  If you ask any of my teachers, they will tell you I am always looking for big projects to do; projects that have never been done before.  I don't care how much research and work needs to be done, all I care about is the feeling I get when I accomplish something exceedingly hard, something beyond the complexity and intelligence of my years.  I seek exception.  It also helps too, perhaps, that the role of Doctor Blalock was played by an amazing Actor:  Alan Rickman.  If the character wasn't portrayed amazingly well, it wouldn't have done him justice.  Alan was nominated for Best Actor because of his outstanding performance, and now I see why.  For a Brit, he pulls of an impressive Southern Tennessee accent.  My favorite thing, or attribute the movie so expertly conveys is the unique, genuine and respectful relationship that the Doctor and Vivienne had.  He didn't accept jobs if they didn't accept his friend.  To Doctor Blalock, Vivienne was a regular person, no different from anyone else.  He deeply respected him, and considered him his superior in surgical performance.  In fact, when he was to perform the heart surgery, he personally paged Vivienne to help him and walk him through it because they wouldn’t page a black person.  That kind of trust between a black man and a white man was unseen in that time.  Anyway, the chemistry between Rickman and Mos Def (plays Vivienne Thomas) was irresistible.  The acting of all the cast was top-notch, and the story was incredible, absolutely incredible!!!! 

Well, that's all for now, 

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

I'M SO HAPPY!!!!!

My friend Jake is so nice to me!!!  He's so thoughtful!!!!!  He knows how much I love Alan Rickman and he gave me a picture today that he drew of him.  I mean, he literally drew it for ME!!!!  I thought that was so cool.  I'm tickled pink!!!!!  It doesn't look exactly like him, but for 10 minutes (max) it's quite impressive.  Besides, it's the thought that counts.  I asked him to sign it, and he signed it in his famous signature.  I wish I could put it on here but for some stupid reason I don't have life frame so I can't take pictures!!!  But anyway, it was awesome!!!!  Here, I'll put the picture that he based his drawing on.

Dingbat out!  

IT"S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YYYYYEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY MOVIE TRULY MADLY DEEPLY IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!  AFTER THREE LONG WEEKS, MY BRAND NEW NEVER BEFORE OPENED MOVIE TRULY MADLY DEEPLY IS HERE ALL THE WAY FROM CANADA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  OH MY GOSH, AFTER SEEING A LITTLE BIT OF IT, IT'S REALLY GOOD.  BEFORE I WAS ONLY ABLE TO WATCH LITTLE CLIPS ON YOUTUBE, NEVER ALL OF THE PIECES!  OH MAN, THERE IS ONE SCENE WHERE NINA'S SISTER IS OVER WITH HER SON, HARRY, AND SHE IS HELPING CLEAN NINA'S HOME.  NINA LIVES IN A FLAT THAT IS INFESTED BY RATS, AND HARRY ALMOST EATS SOME OF THE RAT POISONING, AND HIS MOM GETS MAD AT HIM; MOSTLY OUT OF FRIGHT.  THE SCENE IS ALSO SUPER MESSED UP THOUGH, BECAUSE, YOU SEE, NINA'S HUSBAND, JAIMIE PLAYED THE CELLO.  THE CELLO IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING SHE HAS BECAUSE IT IS ONE OF THE ONLY THINGS SHE HAS LEFT OF HIM.  SO WE KNOW THAT NOW RIGHT?  WELL GUESS WHAT?  SHE SITS DOWN WITH HER SISTER AND PUTS HARRY ON HER LAP, AND HER SISTER TELLS NINA THAT HARRY IS TAKING CELLO LESSONS.  SHE SAYS THAT HE NEEDS A CELLO TO HAVE IF HE'S GOING TO STAY WITH IT AND BE SERIOUS, AND THEN SHE DOES THE MOST SCREWED UP THING EEEEEVVVVEEEERRRR!!!!!!!  SHE ASKS IF HARRY CAN HAVE JAMIE'S CELLO.  NINA LOSES IT; I MEAN BIG TIME!!!!!!!!!  I MEAN WHAT A JERK, TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!!!!!!!! REEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLYYYYYYY INSENSITIVE!!!!!! 

THE FUNNY THING IS NINA'S SISTER IS SHOCKED AT HOW SHE REACTED.  NINA WAS SO UPSET!!!  "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST ASKED ME THAT! YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE ASKED!" THE FUNNY THING IS, THAT NIGHT IS THE NIGHT JAMIE COMES BACK, AND THIS MAN WHO WORKS FOR HER AS HER MAINTENANCE MAN, TITUS, WHO IS POLISH, TELLS HER TO GO TO PARIS WITH HIM FOR A WEEK AND MAKE LOVE.  HE ALREADY PURCHASED THE TICKETS, BUT I MEAN HOW CAN SHE GO WITH HIM?  HER HUSBAND'S BACK!!!!!  SHE WOULDN'T HAVE GONE ANYWAY BECAUSE SHE MISSED JAMIE, BUT STILL, I MEAN COME ON!!!!!!!  AWKWARD!!!!!!!!  TITUS IS CRUSHED BECAUSE HE ALREADY PURCHASED THE TICKETS AND HE TELLS HER HE LOVES HER.  HE IS JUST TRYING TO BE NICE, AND HELPFUL, BUT SHE DOESN'T ACCEPT HIS OFFER.  SHE THEN CLOSES THE DOOR ON HIM AND RETURNS TO FIND JAMIE GONE.  SHE GOES TO HER ROOM TO CRY, AND HE SNEAKS UP BEHIND HER, SCARING THE CRAP OUT OF HER!!!! LOL!!!!!  THEN THEY TALK FOR A MINUTE AND KISS.  ANYWAY, THE MOVIE'S REALLY LONG SO I'M GONNA STOP HERE, BUT CHECK IT OUT ON YOUTUBE!!!!!!!!  GREAT MOVIE!!!!!!!!!
SO ANYWAY, THAT'S WRAP,
DINGBAT OUT!!!!!!

Worth By After Daybreak

Ever since my Freshman year I've wanted so badly to sing with the Quack and the Shimmy Dude.  Well this year, I found this amazing song called Worth by one of my favorite bands, After Daybreak.  After Daybreak is a group of 3 Mormon Men from Utah (GO UTAH!!!!!!!), and they have AMAZING voices, and create amazing harmonies.  I was so impressed with this song because the harmonies were so beautiful. I showed the Quack, and he was impressed!  He was like, "wow!  That's beautiful!  Can you get the sheet music?"  It was pretty cool, and that's the song I want to do.  I haven't shown Shimmy Dude yet, but I am 100 percent certain he'll like it.  The Shimmy Dude loves harmonies, and melody, and anything music.  Same with the Quack.  They're both extremely obsessed with Jazz music, and I'm obsessed with 50's music, and 40's music, so we have a lot in common.  Also, all of us love classical music.  So, anyway, to fill you in on the painting, we named more people on our painting in the Stake Center at seminary. There’s one guy who looks like he has a red crest like a rooster so I named him roostie, and there's one woman who has her hands like a robot, so we call her robot woman.  Then there's a baby and his name is Mr. Barbour Jr. and the other baby in the picture is Mr. Barbour Jr. Jr.  LOL!  Anyway, I have the music video of Worth on here for everyone to see.  I just had to share it it's so beautiful.  Anyway, watch it, and enjoy.

That's all for now.

 

DINGBAT OUT!!