There is light at the end of this tunnel.

This week has been good. Oh-so busy and occasionally disappointing, but good. 

There was the blizzard that soaked my hair.

There was the chance to meet Mitt Romney I missed because there was a mix-up with rides.

There were the cool names I found while indexing.

There were all the adventures I had with my roommates (most of them without leaving the house), including leaving my milk and eggs at WalMart and watching Saturday Night Live on Hulu until 4 in the morning.

There were the 6 hours I spent in the library on Tuesday preparing for my SuperLit mid-term.

There was the photoshoot/vegetarian stir-fry/movie night with my neighbors.

There was the fact that I'm caught up on my homework now! The end of the semester is in sight! My hair is cooperative! Life really is good.

Nerd is the New Cool.

Remember when I told you about how I love Thursdays? It's not just the case up at school. I usually have Thursdays off, so that's when adventures tend to pop into my life. Last week, that meant Disneyland with the family, followed by the midnight premiere of the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Today* it started with grand plans. Mom and I were going to get up early, clean the house, and go out for lunch before it was time to pick up the boys. 

Instead, we watched the season finale of Glee. When the boys got home, we watched lots of Doctor Who. As we geeked out about it, my brother pointed about how nerdy we can get as a family. It's true. We love British TV and correcting each other's grammar. We like Star Trek, for crying out loud!

2007(?)

But little did they know how much farther down the rabbit hole I was about to go. I was almost embarrassed of how nerdy I was about to get at a friend's house. The whole concept was a little daunting and I didn't know if I could keep up, much less enjoy it. I decided I would at least give it a shot and see if it would grow on me.

And grow it did. Like kudzu. I'm excited (maybe even proud) to tell you that I survived my first D&D session. Yes, that's Dungeons & Dragons. It's right up my alley and you can judge me all you want because I think it's fun.

*I know it says Friday. Mind you, it's still Thursday to me because I'm a night owl.

Weekend Update Thursday

This weekend my mom and I attended BYU Women's Conference. It was a blast. I fell in love with the BYU campus and could definitely see myself going to law school there. (Plus it's cheaper than in-state tuition at UCLA.)

 And they make THESE.

 Photo fail at the Marriot Center before the concert. I may or may not have shouted "I'll marry you!" to Vocal Point about an hour after this was taken. 

I met up with my good friend Lisa at The Cocoa Bean in Provo.

I hurt.

But that's my own fault for being so out of shape and suddenly letting Jillian Michaels kick my but with the 30 Day Shred. Today is Day 3.

I miss my best friend.

And the best roommates ever.

 I got a job this week! 

Well, I technically got my old job back. I started again at Baskin-Robbins last night and it was a blast. I'm grateful to get an income at a place I already know my way around.

And here's Minnie, just for the heck of it.

Okay, I miss her, too. And I miss not being allergic to cats.

There's Always Money In the Banana Stand.

What? You've never seen Arrested Development? Quick, go watch the first season on hulu. But if there's no time for that, the opening credits will sort of tell you what's going on. It's very funny.

But this is just the background for the real story, which could be more vaguely titled "What I Did This Weekend."

My friend Bryan had his birthday party this weekend, and it was Arrested Development-themed. A lot of people came dressed up, and it was a blast. I brought my camera and quickly became the Party Photographer.

Bianca as Lucille and Hannah as Kitty

Tiffany and Bryan as Lindsey and Tobias

Lauren as Rita

The Cake

   The cutoffs are a reference to the show, I promise.

Everybody.

The family.

What I've Been Up To.

I finally have a copy.

My family visited.

"High five!"

 "Handshake."

Noelle and I are wordsmiths.

It's almost finals week and I'm trying really hard to be awake during the day.

Lessons We Learn from Disney Princesses

Lessons based on a conversation with Beth, Noelle, Laura, Summer, and Amanda. Pictures by Annie Leibovitz for Disney.

Pocahontas:

 Listen to your grandma. The right path is not always the easy path. And stop being racist, doggone it!

Belle:

Beauty is on the inside. Read.

Ariel:

Learn from your mistakes.

Snow White:

Kindness is more important than beauty.

Aurora:

Prince Charming can be Prince Charming, no matter what his name. Also, don't be naive.

Jasmine:

Just be yourself. Women are not objects to be won.

Cinderella:

Hard work and kindness will always pay off.

Saturday is a Special Day!

It's the day Lyndsey and I had a photoshoot in downtown Rexburg! Here are my favorites out of the pictures we took of each other.

Saturday was also special because we celebrated Halloween! I was Lady Gaga, and Beth and Chelsea were my backup dancers. Beth made our amazing costumes. 

 (Chelsea does not like having her picture taken.)

Five Words.

Lyndsey and I watched the movie in preparation for this Tuesday. We loved it. The trick is to just take it for what it is--campy and fabulous.

       

 As it turns out, there's a lot more to photography than your average point-and-shoot will lead you to believe. Real photography involves so much control.  You really have to know what you're doing.

My first two assignments had to be film. Shooting film isn't too bad. It's exciting to not know what's going on or how the pictures will look.

      The real pain  comes in the processing. You lock yourself in a small room. Once you arrange your tools, the lights go out. They don't come back on until the film is wound on a small stainless steel spool, and the spool goes into a lightproof container. That's the worst part. If the film isn't wound just right, some of the negatives won't turn out. You won't know until you process the film, which involves all the fun bits of chemistry class.

      Developing is fun, too. The the red lights in the darkroom make the world go black-and-white. It's a fun experiment with light. It's a lovely process.

Digital is fun, too. It allows for more control, but printing isn't as fun. I don't have any of the prints I've turned in back yet, but I've posted the first two digital prints that I'm turning in tomorrow. 

Moments of Elegant Leisure

I have the rest of the summer off. For the first time in a long time, I'm deriving more pleasure from...well, everything. Especially:

photography,

eating,

(aren't I classy?)

dressing up,

I got dressed up for a wedding reception. My mom and I went grocery shopping right after, and I'm told the cute cashier was checking me out. Yeaaaaaah.

and just being with friends.