why so serious?

I am not un-cultured. Just because I didn't see one of the BEST films all year until seven months after the fact has NO bearing on my cultur...a...bility. (?) Bear with me here.

Well, all of you EARLY birds, (or should I say 'on time' birds) this will be old news to you. But if you consider this amazing masterpiece "old news" already then you OBVIOUSLY didn't appreciate it enough and you should be THANKING me for bringing it to your attention again right before the Oscars tomorrow night. So, I finally watched this. Four. Times. Or something. So, be happy for me. I am officially the LAST human being (excluding my parents) to have seen The. Dark. Knight. Oh, and Heath Ledger is a sick joker. So awesome. 

 

I also saw this. I had heard a lot of mixed reviews from friends - but I couldn't totally ignore the critics and their high endorsements. And honestly, you can never go wrong with Pixar. Anyway, I'm trying this new thing where I actually, like, WATCH the movies that are being shown on the screen rather than doing a Sudoku puzzle or working on some other distracting project. And this is definitely a movie that a viewer has to give a lot to in order to appreciate it. But seriously, just pay attention to this endearing little robot. This is a great movie. I really liked it. :)

p.s. Take note of the release date on the Wall-E poster: June 27? Yeah. My birthday is June 26. Also known as the day that we hopped on an airplane for Tahiti. I missed this by one DAY. *Sigh*

it's funny.

It's funny, sometimes, how the things that are always important to a person are so easy to stop doing. Like... exercising is a huge one. Even if you just skip ONE day you're schedule is totally messed up and you can't get back into the habit. Another big one for me is journal writing. I skip one day and I feel like I need to write an epic novel about EVERYTHING I missed - when in reality you just need to write a couple things down about what you did and then call it good. I can never seem to do that.

 

And apparently that's how it is with me and blogging.

 

I got out of the habit, and so much happened I keep thinking: "Well where do I even START?!" There's so much I COULD talk about... but I just don't know what!!" 

 

Well, this is Lauren saying hi and hello and that she is going to try her best to update this a little more often. Seriously folks.

 

Have a nice day!

hail the conquering hero

I do not accept defeat. I believe in persistence and no matter how many websites I have to go through in order to watch Lost Season Five I will do it. Once I made it onto the fifth or sixth page in my google search (after many, many failed attempts and many death signs yelling at me to go back to America-- I swear it would come to the point that the sign would appear even before I tried to watch anything....) triumph was mine. I stumbled upon a very sympathetic website called {lost-streams.com} that has allowed me to watch the ENTIRE first two episodes of LOST without questioning the American in me!

 

To put it lightly I am a very, very happy person. 

 

I actually haven't watched it yet because regardless of the nice website... our internet still isn't, um, fast. So it's been buffering since 7:30 this morning (It's almost 11:30 now) But I'm patient. I'm very patient. 

 

And I'm a very happy person.

i have high hopes

We were lucky enough to watch the inauguration here in Tahiti - some was dubbed over in French with French commentators, but the rest was in English. It was neat to watch. (And I am in LOVE with {this} performance! So beautiful.) (And I liked all of Michelle Obama's wardrobe.) I am excited for this new change and have high hopes for him as President. :)

letters

To Whom it May Concern at abc.com,

I have been watching a television series of yours, namely LOST, for many years. And in light of the new season premiering this coming Wednesday (the 21st of January) I was much hoping to stick with the story. But that's where I have a little problem, see... I am slightly, um, limited as to what I can watch on TV nowadays... and due to my limitations, I was greatly looking forward to streaming Lost via your free episodes spot on your website. 

 

But no. 

 

Apparently these are only available to "United States residents only." Yes, it is true that I am currently living in French Polynesia, but that does NOT change my citizenship to the United States of America. The only way I can really watch Lost is to buy episodes via iTunes for three bucks apiece - but we all know once you start you simply can't stop so that'd add up to be over fifty dollars which is money that I don't have... When I normally would be watching it for FREE in my LIVING room in America. 

 

I'll admit that I didn't start following on-air until the third season because I didn't realize it's coolness until I borrowed the first two seasons from my sister and maybe that is why you are punishing me. But I really wish that you would look into this problem. I hope to hear from you soon. Sorry for the run-on sentences.

 

Sincerely,

Lauren Smith

 

Dear youtube.com,

Thank you for all of your wonderful contributions. I love you. Thank you even more for allowing me (in Tahiti) to stay caught up with this new season of American Idol by posting videos of selected performances featured in the show. Perhaps you and ABC could arrange a meeting to collab. a little. Forward this on to them, to let them know just how much better you are. Keep up the great work!

 

With love,

Lauren Smith

xoxo

christmas time is here... still?

This post is actually intended to be about something that happened yesterday... but in honor of the fact that Christmas DID happen I thought I'd at least post a FEW pictures of the twenty-fifth.

 

We had a few Elders over for breakfast while two of them used our vonage phone to call home to their folks. And below is our tree with our presents neatly arranged on the table guy.

 

Okay, that's enough that's enough. Christmas was grand - I got some fun things, iTunes credit, an awesome necklace from New Zealand, a few practical things etc. etc. Oh, the whole fam got a LOT of chocolate/candy stuff. 

 

But over here we like to celebrate Christmas going into January, and it looks like we might continue the party into February or March even (depending on when some other packages decide to get here.) And yesterday we got THIS in the mail...

 

Back home in SPRINGVILLE at the ward's Christmas party - they had a little table-guy for cards to missionaries. And I guess that, like, includes us! So we were terribly excited to see a package-guy carrying some darling Christmas cards for us! :) (Full of lots of snow and snowmen and Santa Clauses and other cute Christmas things) It was so exciting to get some fun mail from some awesome people in our ward in Utah. Here's a shout out to all you Springcreek 15th ward members (whoever of you reads my blog anyway - and if you're one of those people who DO keep track of this, pass the shout out along will ya? Thanks, xoxo) and a thank you thank you from some very grateful people far away in Tahiti for sending some love our way. We love you guys! :D

feelin' fine in two thousand and nine

Is it about time I posted? I'd say it's about time I posted. I don't know if I've even looked at my blog throughout all of December. I've just been too busy! Eating... and watching movies... and playing games! Yeah.

 

Well, in case you hadn't noticed 2008 left us, and 2009 is here. I thought I'd post some of my favorite things that came about in two thousand and eight.

 

Favorite Thing I Ate

Normally I could never pin point a specific meal that out-did every other meal that I ate in an entire year... but I happened to be hungry while typing and I was thinking about the delicious meal I had at my sister's where Rich cooked the most divine fajitas one could ever taste... :) My mouth is officially watering. And I don't know if I have eaten anything that can out-top that this past year.

 

Favorite Songs

Any guesses? Yup. Viva La Vida. Of course. It's amazing.

Disturbia - Rihanna. It's just... cool and excitified.

Miss Independent - Ne-yo.

4 Minutes - Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland. WE'VE ONLY GOT FOUR MINUTES TO SAVE THE WORLD! This is the best when driving in the car. Lots of memories with this song :)  

Nine in the Afternoon - Panic at the Disco

Human - The Killers. Amazing new album. Love it :)

Hollywood's Not America - Ferras

Forever - Chris Brown

Spiralling - Keane

Chasing Pavements - Adele

 

Yeah, these are all really mainstream songs that everybody's heard of... and usually my thing is obscure indie songs. But I do both. :)

 

Favorite Music Artists I discovered: (well... more like enjoyed more this year.)

Chairlift

Lykke Li

Lenka

The Hush Sound

Panic Attract

Joshua Radin (thanks meg)

Imogen Heap

Copeland

Tristan Prettyman

Justin Nozuka

The Starting Line

Radiohead

Jason Mraz

Paramore

All Time Low

Oh yeah, and Coldplay. But they weren't a new discovery.

...and many more. :)

 

Favorite Movies I saw in Theaters

This is a toughie... and I'm sure I WOULD say Dark Knight if I had seen that in the theatre but since I haven't... I'd have to say Ironman and Dan in Real Life. Yes, definitely those two. 

 

Favorite Restaurant

Tucanos. Without a doubt. Mmmmm delicious.

 

Best Books I Read

This is hard, because I didn't do too much reading this year. (Something I'm hoping to be different in 2009...) but all in all I'd choose The Book of Mormon. (I finished on Christmas Day!! Wonderful experience.) And I'm almost finished with Little Women which I'm enjoying very much. My favorite short story I read was given to me as a Christmas present from our next door neighbor - The Stones. It's called The Lesson by Carol Lynn Pearson, and it's great. Check it out, it's wonderful. (The link takes you to the version on Google Books.)

 

Favorite TV Shows

Lost. I'm so depressed I can't watch the next season. Of course, The Office. And we really got into Monk this year - Tony Shalhoub is my hero.

 

Favorite Hobbies

Playing the piano, creating arrangements. I love taking piano at the Conservatory, I've learned so much! It's been a really, really neat experience. And my French teacher is awesome.

Finding new music.

Writing.

Watching movies.

Running, playing basketball. (I need to get into that again after ALL I ate over the holidays!!)

 

Some Milestones

I passed Physics.

I took the ACT

I joined the facebook world. 

Oh yeah, we moved to Tahiti.

I went to Prom (my one and only)

As of December I can function somewhat well in another language

I turned 17 years old

I've went to New Zealand (en route to Tahiti)

We found a happy home for our dog Allie

I got good at making cinnamon rolls.... mmmmmmm....

I colored my hair back to brown. Yikes.

 

I have many New Years Resolutions. But I think the one way to "sum" up what i want for this upcoming year is in one word: 

succeed. 

And I hope to do that to the best of my ability. Happy 2009 everybody!

workspace

So right now I am burning a kabajillion CDs for the missionaries. It's the present from my parents - a CD full of pictures. And I sort of got semi-put-in-charge of all of the technical stuff. So that's what I've been doing all morning! And this is my multi-tasking workspace.

 

You will notice in this photo...

=>>Three piles of CDs meaning that I have only one-and-a-half more piles to go! (Ten in each, and we need about 45-ish.)

=>>My charging iPod. Uh, it just needed to be charged.

=>>My carry-with-me-everywhere notebook, with a list of things needed to get done. In green colored pencil. Because that's how I roll.

=>>About ten thousand annoying little wires connected to all of the little contraptions that make internet use possible. So annoying. But oh well.

=>>Le Livre de Mormon/The Book of Mormon. I know it's awful to be multitasking while reading scripture. But I'm a little behind and the goal is to finish by next week.

=>>My cup of ice. Anyone that has known me or spent a full day with me where there is a semi-large cup and an ice machine will know that I am constantly eating ice. Constantly. It's always there. Yup. Take the nugget-ice machines at Heber Valley Girl's camp for example. We used to CONSTANTLY make trips to that. Half of the time just for me. I'm just cool like that.

=>>You can somewhat see the open iTunes window. I was listening to The Postal Service. Because their electronic-ness rocks my socks.

 

What you CAN'T see...

=>>Me. Clearly. But I now have funny hair and I was wearing glasses and hadn't gotten ready at all yet. Not that that REALLY matters but I just didn't want to be in any pictures! So... too bad. Deal.

=>>The other plethora of windows open on the mac. Such as three or four word documents that I was updating with my randomness, Facebook and entertaining myself with these awesome little button things called flair (seriously: so addicting. So many wonderful things in one place! Bah!), my email, my blog (obviously), probably someone elses blog, and I think I was looking at USA Today or something exciting like that. [[yes, it is possible to do that many things at once. try me.]]

=>>My mom. In the kitchen. Cooking. A. Lot. And preparing things for tomorrow. Oh! Yes, what we're doing all of this for is the huge Christmas Zone Conference we have tomorrow that we brought all of the missionaries in for. In which case we have a couple sisters and a mission couple staying at our house. So we were preparing for that.

=>>My dad. (Not unusual, but still factual) He was picking up people at airports, running errands for the mish, at the mission office and other such things.

=>>The mess that I had just cleaned up. Yes!

=>>Prolly a ton of other things that I can't think of right now!

Oh, and p.s. this is officially my 50th post on this blog. How EXCITING! This is me saying YAY!

oh christmas tree.

We may very well be one of the ONLY people with a Christmas tree in Tahiti. Not too many others do I don't think. This was stuffed in the garage of our house and we managed to force it together and throw some of the rad decorations on it that were already here as well. We also brought some of our favorite ornaments from home. One of my very, very favorite family traditions is that we buy a new ornament each year to represent something significant of the year. (i.e. a darling Mr. & Mrs. Claus for when my parents were married, something for when the kids were born, a thing for a new house, moving etc. etc.) This year it was, obviously, moving to Tahiti and the mish. We went shopping for that yesterday and we now have two options for what we're going to use, and that is still under discussion. Hmmm... But anyway, that's me putting up one of the yearlys. 

 

Okay, we thought this was hilarious. We went to Carre Four and they were selling this "snow powder." Since they can't have the real thing I guess that's as close as they're going to get! I was half tempted to buy it. But not really.

 

Gotta love our family felt advent calendar. Every night we sing a Christmas Carol and put up the next corresponding ornament. It's crazy, in years past sometimes we've found our schedules too busy to do this with consistency - but now that it is one of our only Christmas-ey things in our lives we've found ourselves clinging to it. It's been really fun to do as a family, and I've really loved singing the Christmas carols. (Especially since we don't sing them in church until the WEEK before Christmas! How SAD!!!)

 

 

 

We also did a gift exchange in YW/YM. (Which was interesting on my part but it all ended up working out. Stupid language barrier. Can't we just all GET ALONG?!) And this is what one of the guys gave me. (If you're reading this Mike this is what the flower thingie looked like.)

 

Christmas is definitely different without snow, and without family. But we're doing the best to make it our own and have a great Christmas just the same.

a filler.

Sorry I haven't blogged in a really long time. Let me show you a few of the things we've been up to on our island.

 

My mother and I ate poisson cru all by ourselves. Like, we just went into the fridge and got it out and started eating it for lunch. I also made sushi. We're becoming strange people. And notice the large pile of plates in the background, that was us preparing for a large stake presidents dinner.

 

Um, we had Thanksgiving. But, I already talked about that and I really want to get this awkward moment over with while you guys are still wondering why I'm posting about Thanksgiving nearly a month after the fact.

 

This came from a Temple worker dinner-ness that we went to. Great food.

 

We had new missionaries come...

 

...and old ones leave

 

We had toe problems. I bruised mine playing basketball (I think) and my mom dropped something on hers. It's pretty funny. 

 

Oh, and now I'm on vacation from school/seminary. It's grand. Have a great holiday season everabody! 

grammies anyone?

Okay, so the 2008/2009 Grammy Award nominations came out last night! Kinda exciting! And some slightly off the wall-ness. Here are my un-asked for opinions! (You know you're excited....)

 

RECORD OF THE YEAR:

Chasing Pavements - Adele

Viva La Vida - Coldplay

Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis

Paper Planes - M.I.A.

Please Read the Letter - Robert Plant and Allison Krauss 

 

Basically as long as "Viva La Vida" got a nomination I'm happy. I'm slightly surprised (yet not in the least disappointed) that "I Kissed a Girl" missed the cut. I'm also a little surprised that Rihanna's "Disturbia" or possibly "Take a Bow" didn't make it on either. She had a good year. But I was PLEASANTLY surprised that Adele got in a few nominations especially this one for Record of the Year baby! I love that song... :) And "Bleeding Love" has won the hearts of many, and it deserves a slot. As for Allison Krauss... dude she's freaking won TWENTY-ONE grammies! It's only tradition that they go to their favs.

  

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends - Coldplay 

Tha Carter III - Lil Wayne

Year of the Gentleman - Ne-yo 

Raising Sand - Robert Plant and Allison Krauss 

In Rainbows - Radiohead

 

Good Choices. Not gonna lie I enjoyed Radiohead's album. And although I'm not so into Lil Wayne... I've heard a ton of buzz about his album- and he did get the most nominations las night with eight. So that's cool I guess. And Ne-yo's "Year of the Gentleman" is sweet R&B goodness. p.s. Applause for Coldplay again. Woot!

 

SONG OF THE YEAR (songwriters):

American Boy - Estelle and Kanye West 

Chasing Pavements - Adele 

I'm Yours - Jason Mraz 

Love Song - Sara Bareilles 

Viva La Vida - Coldplay

 

Sweet. Good choices. No complaints. Lovin' that Adele is gettin some buzz. And still lovin' that Katy Perry hasn't made it in here. Pretty cool that Sara Bareilles got in there too.

 

BEST NEW ARTIST: 

Adele 

Duffy 

Jonas Brothers 

Lady Antebellum 

Jazmine Sullivan  

 

Okay. THIS was surprising. Where the heck is Leona Lewis? You got her on for Record... yet you can't give her the best new artist? Weirdness of my life. And it was pretty surprising that Katy Perry didn't make it on here again. And PLEASE. The Jonas Brothers? They are not grammy material, give me a break.... Duffy I'll agree with as well as Adele (of course!)

 

Those are the important categories. I won't get into all one-hundred-and-ten... (That's a lot of awards! I wonder who, like, makes 'em!) Anyhoodle, it should be interesting! Who knows if anyone out there cares about the grammies anymore but... I think it's pretty sweetness. Happy Thursday everyone! (I guess now it's best to wish you a happy Friday... since it's Friday in most other places around the world. Oh well.)

we will miss him.

 

Thank you Elder Wirthlin, who died yesterday, for all that you have done for us as members of the church. Thank you for all of your outstanding talks, your strong testimony and wonderful example. We will all miss you. 

i need to stop being surprised and I know it.

I don't know what it is that keeps giving me electric shock when I look at the calendar and it says the first of a new month. I just need to cope with the fact that it is now December and yes, Lauren, you HAVE been in a fairy tale island for almost six months. Deal with it. 

 

I'm actually here to talk about alarm clocks. We had a humorous experience happen this week, so I thought I'd share it. We've had muchos troubles with alarm clocks in this house of ours. And my mom had been using an annoying contraption that made some sort of dying cat sound to wake her up in the mornings. Not pleasant. In Utah, my mom used her clock-radio thing to wake her up every morning. So... we decided to get a few adapters over here so we could hook that up for her to use.

 

Well... it wasn't explained very thoroughly that there are voltage issues when transferring most American appliances. We weren't aware of this before because we have several "American-type" outlets that we'd been using. (for straighteners, hair dryers etc.) Well, we plugged in her beloved clock-radio and POOF. 

 

And then the smell.

 

Yeah, we kind of fried it. Anyway long story short (Too late!) we went and got her a new 1,200 franc (12.00 approximately people...) clock-radio at Carre Four. Brought it home, plugged it in, no explosions, things were fine. We set the alarm for 5:00 am to wake up for seminary schedule the next day. 

 

My mom woke up the next day, came out the living room feeling slightly more tired than usual... to look at the clock and see that it was actually FOUR in the morning... Throughout the day the clock progressively kept getting faster and faster than the actual time. By 8:30 the clock read 1:30 in the afternoon. I mean, I've seen clocks that slow down as they get older... but I've never seen one that speeds up! It's like on hyper speed or somethin'. It's still wiggin me out. But anyway. Has anyone heard of this weird phenomenon before? We're STILL in search for a new alarm clock...

so i'm generic. what're you gonna do about it.

Today is Thanksgiving.

 

(Actually, where I'm at it's just a happy Thursday. I still had to wake up at five for seminary. Go figure, I think that Tahitians would LOVE any chance for a big feast and more vacation time.)

 

And the main reason I'm in here blogging is because we just finished cooking and all of that delicious smell-goodness is just too tempting. So this is merely a distraction so I don't have to keep telling my mom that nothing in the kitchen is worthy for serving so I had better just eat it all....

 

But I just wanted to quickly post a few things that I am grateful for. 

 

1: Air Conditioning. 

 

2: www. I honestly don't know what we would do without the internet. Whether it's converting ounces to grams or emailing relatives I am so grateful for it. It's been such a tremendous blessing to keep in easy contact with family and friends.

 

3: LDS Missionaries. Those in our mission as well as those everywhere.

 

4: Our house keeper, Marguerite. We feel so blessed to have been guided to choose someone with such capability and willingness. She has turned into such an asset, and is such a sweet spirit.

 

5: That we were able to find a turkey for Thanksgiving.

 

6: Music. It brings such joy to life.

 

7: (obviously these are not in order...) My Family. Yes, that's a broad term, but I mean it in the broadest term possible, yet I think of each individual as I type this. (Does that make sense?!) I'm especially grateful for my dad. He is such a strong person and is always working so hard for what he was called to do. Most of the time I can't see how he does it - I swear he's moving at hyper speed he's constantly on the go getting things done. I'm grateful for my mom (aka my missionary companion) She's been such a friend to me as we embark on this journey together, every step of the way. I'm grateful for my siblings, Brooke and Adam, and brother-in-law Rich for seriously being the coolest older sibs ever. (And I'm so grateful for Brooke's adorable children who I miss so stinking much.) I'm grateful for my grandmother, and all of my aunts, uncles and cousins for their prayers, emails and support that they continually give us. And this family business extends to the not-quite-so-related family of the Conrads... cuz I love you guyz and you're practically family:)

 

Obviously I could list more, but today I'll list just a few. Happy Thanksgiving everybody :) Don't go too crazy on Black Friday.

 

p.s. The reason this is being posted at the end of the day rather than when I first typed it is because I was suddenly busy setting the table and cooking some more for our delicious Thanksgiving feast. More tomorrow. Or sometime anyway.

twilight/i am so bipolar

Once upon a time my sister told me to read this awesome book called Twilight. I did so, and loved it. Then all of a sudden everyone and their dog read this book, became engaged to Edward Cullen, and aspired to become a vampire when they grew up. What did I do? Continue to read the books... liking them less and less for reasons that I don't want to get into right now or all of my readers might just stop reading because I'm a hater or something. I'm not a hater, I just didn't want to be sucked into the abyss of 'team edward' and start fantasizing about being in love with someone who thinks I 'smell good' for reasons other than my shampoo... (Don't get me wrong, I dig the whole story line/vampire thing and Meyer's an insane story-teller/good writer. So as much as I whine... secretly I was excited for the next ones to come out.) 

 

(Actually it could be that I complain because I just hate Bella. Sorry, she drives me crazy. But Edward and his pure awesomeness kind of makes up for her un-awesomeness. Most of the time.)

 

For those that are still here I'll stop dissing your favorite book. Promise. And if you are still here (thanks!) I hope you'll still like me and maybe forgive me someday. 

Anyhoodle. As the fairy tale continues... somebody decided to ship this vampire business to Hollywood. The hype was already there when this was initially announced, but I think it finally got to me once Robert Pattinson was chosen as Edward. People started complaining (including me) about his un-Edward qualities only to realize that this kid is actually kind of hot and a good actor so 'let's just fall in love with him anyway!' and other sorts of blah blah blah. The whole teenage girl obsessed-ness was just a little much. So I didn't have high hopes - I thought it'd be just another teen movie. (No pun intended)

 

{PLUS, unless it's Lord of the Rings or Jane Austen goodness... I'm not always mucha fan of books-to-movies. That's kind of a lie, because actually a lot of my favorite movies came from books. It's just that somebody slaughtered the last three Harry Potter books and I've never forgiven them. (But I still want to see the sixth one regardless. Gives me a chance to critique it to death, explain in detail how many things they messed up to people who couldn't care less while boring them to tears with my nonsense. Yeah, I'm weird.) So basically I was expecting Twilight to be similar-ish.}

 

Anyway, my point is: I actually really kinda want to see the movie. I think they picked the right people for Bella/Edward and the clips/trailers I've seen seem to have a limited amount of cheese. (Very good.) And Robert Pattinson IS going to be good regardless of what I first thought. AND I dig the soundtrack. Totally sweet. But, um, guess what else? It kinda comes out tomorrow. And I'm kinda not in a position to see it for, like, six months. I didn't think I'd be unhappy about this (I was in a depression about missing Dark Knight at the time) but I'm actually way bummed! I mean... I could go see it in French... but that might just ruin it for me. So I don't think I'll be doing that.

 

Since 2006, I have gone back and forth from hating to loving twilight in the space of literally 60 seconds. This is a time where I love it. So, you don't have to hate me, okay? But if the movie blows, I might start hating it again. Hopefully that won't be the case. And peace out all of you people who are at the midnight showing. I'm sick with jealousy. Anyway, after you've seen the movie, please leave a comment telling me what you thought! Yay, nay, go, no go, hot, not etc. etc. (And don't worry silly, I already know how it ends!) And if you feel the need to express your extreme distaste for this post and call me names then I give you permission to do so. If you must. 

things i didn't see

Okay, so... I wasn't there. But that doesn't mean you guys wouldn't be interested in a few pictures... even if I'm not in them... jk.

Woah that's my dad about to drive on the wrong side of the car. And the wrong side of the road. That's messed up.

 

Check out this awesome sign outside the missionary apartments. I love how it says 'no drinking' AND 'no alcohol' (In case you were wondering.. they speak English in za Cook Islands.)  

 

Yes! Auckland! This was taken from Mount Victoria - a pretty-ful shot of the city.

 

My parents (I love seeing my dad in a suit!!) with Elder and Sister Clark - public affairs missionaries in New Zealand. (After all the MP stuff was finished)

 

Beautiful sunset #1... (all these next ones were taken at the same place, yet still so unique. Equal in beauty of course)

 

#2...

  

And #3. (Great pictures Mom!)

I'm happy to report that they have came back safely and are back to business as usual. It's nice to have them home, and it looks like they had a wonderful time! 

cabin fever

My parents went to the Cook Islands and New Zealand this week. Without me. Yeah, I can't believe it either. The Lewis' (office missionary couple) stayed with me while the parents were partying in NZ. 

 

What I dig about being home alone is that I can focus. I'm not sure what external force pushes me to get things done (or what pushes me back when not alone...) but things get done! I am a serious list-maker and I've gone through at least a dozen sticky notes with checklists or just random notes to myself of things that need to be accomplished. I like to stay busy, even if busy doesn't get out too far from your house. {speaking of lists... check this out}

 

my week (such as it was) consisted of: 

=>>Organizing. I like all my ducks in a row, and some ducks needed straightening out. I organized all of my computer files, went through miscellaneous papers, cleaned my room, updated documents, continued to organize my iTunes library, arrange and edit pictures etc. etc.

=>>Catching up on my reading of the BOOK OF MORMON. We are reading it as a mission, highlighting everything pertaining to Christ (his names, attributes and words.) The goal is to finish before Christmas. I have already felt so blessed for participating - it's amazing how personal some of the chapters can mean to you. I'm reading it in French (with a little help from my English set) which is another little booster in the language department.

=>>Schoolness. Yes, mom, life wasn't all fun and games while you were gone. I did do homework. Go me.

=>>Playing the Piano. There are few things that I love more than playing the piano in an empty house. It's relaxing and a really good outlet for me. I've been playing the piano for about 12 years and it's been so fun to improve this talent from a new angle with a new teacher at a nearby conservatory. (aka I've had to freshen up on my do-re-mi's)

=>>Listening to music. So that's not really accomplishing anything.... but I still enjoy it! I'm way into David Archuleta's new album that came out this week.

=>>Calling home. I am in love with our VONAGE phone. It's an internet phone that allows us to keep our former Utah number... so we can call home at anytime with just a monthly payment - no long distance charging. I've been so grateful to stay in touch with family and close friends. The sound isn't perfect (it's been compared to 'underwater' 'a tube' 'morse code' and other such nuisances) but it's better than nothing. I've also been able to catch up on some emails so people don't think I've forgotten them. :) Yes.

=>>Watching movies with the Lewis'. Yay!!!

=>>Writing. Believe it or not I've been enjoying catching up on some journal writing, and just writing random things in any of my, like, fifty notebooks. (It just took me a while to transfer the writing from notebooks to internet, eh?)

 

Those are just the things occupying the times I was alone. It's been really fun chilling with the Lewis' and getting to know them better. On Monday we made it around to Tahiti-iti for a good view of the other part of the main island and a fun picnic. *see map below

p.s. If you're wondering why my picture is a lame-o internet map of Tahiti it might be because my parents took our camera to NZ. Astonishing, I know. Why EVER would they want a camera while there - I mean, come on!!

 

We also made it over to the Paul Gauguin museum, and the Botanical Gardens where we felt like we were in Jurassic Park. So cool. (Again: no pics. Sorry guyz) 

 

the no bueno things of the week:

=>>Seminary started again. Oh fun. And the two alarms I set decided to be bipolar on me and NOT go off two of those days. (Sister Lewis I'm REALLY sorry you had to wake me up....)

=>>I have major cabin fever. On one of the days I literally had to go outside and run a lap around the house. 

=>>I've hurt my toe - and it's turning all purpley on me. I'm not happy about this, and it's messing up my basketball business. And it just hurts to walk in general so that's no bueno.

=>>My teacher decided not to come to school. I was actually looking forward to making it back to school and I hardly had it. (The other day my teacher left halfway through class..) 

=>>And my piano teacher was unable to make it to piano also. (Can't you tell I just wanted to get out of the house?!)

=>>Um... I was all alone? I'd catch myself talking to myself every once in a while and think I was going crazy. 

It's good for me to have a week like this every once in a while so I can feel like I've accomplished something. But somehow staying home alone in Tahiti isn't quite as fun as staying home alone in Utah. It's funner to eat cookies and potato chips with a friend. (yeah meg i told you i wanted to call you so we could raid the fridge...)  But... day only lasts so long, and once night rolled around and the Lewis' came home things were great fun and I enjoyed my time with them immensely! Thanks SO MUCH ELDER AND SISTER LEWIS! You guys rock my socks :)

Seriously, I've started this post like thirty times only to think of something else that needed to get done or something or I just got distracted. But now I think I'm finally going to punch the [publish post] button and just let people read my jumbled thoughts. 5...4...3...zero...yeah.

as of late

Things have been really, really busy in the mission lately. Here are few shots of what's been goin' down.

We got two new missionaries... entailing an orientation/luncheon thingie at our house with their new trainers.

A week of Zone Conferences... 

...Pizza?

We had a few Elders popping in for Zone Conferences who are currently serving in Rarotonga, Tubuai and Rurutu (other islands- most missions are city-hoppin. We're an island hoppin kind of group.) Anyway, the night that they stayed in Tahiti before they flew back we had them and the assistants over for pizza and ice cream. We haven't had the greatest luck with pizza here, nothing tastes like what we're used to. But this pizza was absolutely DIVINE. I can assure you we will eat it again.

This week has been really fun. (With still tons to do - my parents head for Cooks/New Zealand tomorrow!) I love any opportunity to spend time with the missionaries and get to know them better. Not to mention a chance to practice my language skills. And, of course, I love any occasion that includes good food ;) 

love of the game.

I love sports. And I love basketball. I love to watch basketball, I love to play basketball, I love to talk about basketball. Now, times each of those 'loves' by fifteen and that may or may not compare to my big brother Adam's love for the game. He taught me everythin I know, after all... ;) 

 

So Adam's buddy, Mark Madsen player on the Minnesota Timberwolves, hooked him up with some freaking SWEET tickets to the T-Wolves/Spurs game last night. {I grew up in Minnesota and my parents lived there for twenty years until we moved to Utah in 2001. Adam still lives there.} And when I say sweet, I'm not talking tenth row - or even third row. I am talking COURT SIDE, next to the TEAM, the place where JACK NICHOLSON and other FAMOUS people sit. On the court. Standing up in three-step-walking-distance of the three point line in the Target center. (The difference between yelling at the refs three feet away from your TV and three feet away from the actual person is a bit different too, eh Adam? jk) So jealous...

 

My mom found this picture on the Star Tribune website.. and if our memories serve us well, we sure thought that that stud over there must be related to us. Once our suspicion was confirmed that Adam was, indeed, wearing a light blue hat we could add a name to the blurry studly image. We were pretty excited. :D

 

I'm insanely jealous, sure. But go Adam! We're stoked that you got to have this unforgettable night! (Too bad the T-wolves couldn't win it... but it was practically perfect in every other way I hear.) 

is it seriously november 1st?!

What I'm happy about:

1: I'm on a two week vacation from school/seminary.

 

2: I totally got a free Coldplay music video on iTunes yesterday. Sure I don't really care about music videos too much (unless it's something old school like Michael Jackson's Beat It or something with sweet dancing like Chris Brown's With You) and sure I already OWN the song... but it was free and it's three minutes featuring Chris Martin. I ain't complaining.

 

3: New Pixar Movies=>> I'm way excited for this one!

 

4: Sneak peek at LOST!

5: I had the opportunity to speak English to people other than parents or missionaries! Our next door neighbors, the Stones, had visitors from Colorado. I helped translate for them a little and I talked their ears off in my native language ;) {hopefully I'll get some pics and more info on another post later}

 

6: Keane. Oh how I love this album.

 

What I'm NOT happy about:

1: I miss autumn leaves and fall colors. 

2: I totally missed out on a FRIDAY NIGHT Halloween. 

3: Actually.. I just kind of missed out on a Halloween!

 

My October 31 was anything but normal. 

It was one of my first Halloweens with agreeable weather. (Although apparently Utah didn't have half bad weather this year either - yet another thing I missed out on.) 

There were no trick-or-treaters in sight. 

And Kosy 106.5 wasn't even there to start playing Christmas music before November had even begun. {I didn't miss that part so much...}

How to spend Halloween in Tahiti:

{based off experiences from people such as myself and my mother}

*buy a pack of snickers and eat them.

*get some shopping errands done, because it is All Saints Day on November 1. most grocery stores are closed.

*cook sugary goodness. we made chocolatey chocolate cookies and peanut butter pie. mmmm

*listen to wicked while cooking. that's.. kind of halloween-y right? 

*drink orangina.

*watch a movie. we watched {this} and {this} (too bad our movie rental place only offers so much... I wanted to watch Hocus Pocus)

*relax. you're on a holiday. sleep in a little. read a good book. 

*play... basketball? nah I'm just teasin. that one was just for me. I happened to have a basketball practice yesterday, so that was part of my halloween. I loved myself so much while i ran off all the junk I ate. That wasn't unpleasant in the LEAST... 

*reminisce about past halloweens in freezing Minnesota weather with winter coats underneath costumes. {yes that's me and best buddies stacie and nellie}{thanx stacie for uploading that on facebook}

 

When I said that I missed out on a Halloween, I didn't really miss out. Halloween didn't go away. I just had to go lookin' a while before I realized that we had to do something ourselves. I guess this is only preparing me for the more 'dear-to-my-heart' holidays that I will have to "give a makeover" and make them something special. Different and memorable.