I'm a 23~year~old carefree, happy person. I am a full~time college student & a part~time Computer Technician.
This is my blog and it is mainly just my life, according to me ~ through my eyes. I love to write about my family, friends, boyfriend, my addiction to Flamin' Hot Cheetos. I love pictures and often incorporate them with my stories. Some of my topics may be random or off~the~wall, but that's just me!
I have two basic rules I live by, and that's do what makes you happy, and living every day to it's fullest, because you never know what tomorrow will bring.
That little balance board is not as innocent as it looks
Friday, May 08, 2009
During my time at SLCC I had a very nice, easy schedule that worked into every part of my life. I was able to work a lot more hours, I was able to find time for friends and family, and I was able to work out for FREE. (Yes, for FREE!!!) I could work out any time of day at the schools gym. I was also lucky enough to have "work out time" fit right into my schedule.
I remember I was looking great, feeling great, everything was great.
When I started up at the University, it was MUCH more hectic. I tried to workout at their free gym too, but it only lasted about a month, because every free moment I had, I was doing homework. I never had time to work out. And I was stressed. And tired. And busy.
I got my Wii for Christmas and I immediately knew the first thing I'd buy to go with my Wii. I've had my Wii Fit for about 4 months now, and I have loved it. At first I was working out just about every day on it, but when this semster really started to pick up (I had 18 credit hours. AND I worked. Seriously, it was the hardest thing I've ever done.) I didn't have time to breathe, let alone work out.
I've gained about 10 pounds since last year, an although I'm still in the "Normal" or "Ideal" range on the BMI results for the Wii Fit, I want to lose the 10 pounds I've gained, and more.
Now that I'm out of school I've been working out each day, instead of just once in a while like I was before. I'm on my 5th day, and I am so sore. I can't believe how much the Wii fit can kick my butt just by doing it every day. At the time you're doing the exercises, it doesn't feel like you're doing anything, but the next day you sure do FEEL it. It's quite an amazing little device, if I do say so myself. I think this is just as good as a personal trainer (ok, maybe not EXACTLY, but you get the idea), because you do 90% of the exercises on the balance board, and it calculates the way you're standing and if you're moving too much, and it shows you and tells you where you should be, so you know you're doing the exercise right. It's pretty awesome.
I've stopped doing the BMI tests because I got sick of it telling me I gained a pound or two. It messes with my head. So I just do the workouts and maybe in a few weeks I'll do the body test to see how much weight I lost. I just don't need it screwing with my motivation. At least I'm doing the damn exercises, right!
So it's been a while since I posted something that wasn't Twilight related.... because honestly, my days are far too long and far too boring for anything remotely interesting to talk about. So Twilight is safe and easy. Not to mention I heart it tons.
I've been busting my butt (seriously, BUSTING it) in school this entire semester. 18 credit hours, plus work, plus practicums equals one extremely over-worked, over-tired, and under-interesting girl.
It's been a living hell. Many tears have been shed.
But luckily I have only ONE Final left and that's on Monday. I have NO school tomorrow, and I can't tell you how amazing that feels. I won't know what to do with myself. I'll get to sleep past 7:00 am (which, believe it or not, that's sleeping in for me... I'm usually up by 5:00 am, if not earlier). I might end up cleaning the entire house because I really won't know what else to do.
I am not quite sure how many weeks I have off because I really don't care just yet, but I know it's around 2... maybe 3. But don't be fooled into thinking I will get to relax and enjoy those few weeks. I have a LOT to do to prepare for Fall semester (not to mention Summer Semester).
But until then, I will be trying to enjoy the little time I have off. Or taking care of things that I have put off for months. I have been needing to get a cavity filled since I found out I had one nearly 7 months ago, but have been so busy haven't had a moment to call to schedule an appointment, let alone actually go in for an appointment. It hasn't bothered me much until these last few weeks. Now it's starting to ache. My car is a mess that I need to clean out, badly. I cleaned it right before Vancouver, but needless to say, when you're in a care for over a week period, it gets messy again. I still have crumpled cookies on my backseat.
I also want to spend more time with friends and family, and do some things that I either haven't done in a while, or have never done before.
Problem is, I'm so used to not having time, I don't know what to do with it.... any suggestions?
Ok, so I've been putting off writing anything since coming up so disappointingly empty handed a few weeks ago, and I was waiting for an opportune moment when I was pretty much over it, but the truth is, I don't think that will happen any time soon. So I figured I'd better post eventually.
When Twilight was being filmed, it wasn't the huge phenomenon that it is now. It was something that had only a cult following. I had been a huge fan of Twilight for some time when they started filming the movie. I hadn't really posted anything here or talked much about it, mostly because I figured no one would know what I was talking about. But I was very much aware of everything Twilight.
Like I said, at the time, no one really knew much about Twilight, so it wasn't super duper hard to find out the right people to talk to and to find out where they'd be filming, hence the reason we got so lucky not only finding out where they would be, but being able to meet a lot of people involved with making the movie. We were welcome onto the set, we were able to talk and meet with the cast and crew. It was very relaxed and kick back, especially because we weren't psychos who went around screaming and trying to violate anyone.
We kept in contact with a few people the time getting on the Twilight set, but Twilight became a HUGE phenomenon and well.... Summit knew they couldn't make it as accessible for fans to find out where filming would happen, and especially to get onto the locations. We were able to find out where some of the shooting was taking place, but because Summit was super hush hush on a lot of details, not to mention they hired a lot of new crew, it was ten times harder to find out anything.
But we decided "what the heck" and went out on a limb anyways. We knew one location for sure, and knew the cast was in Vancouver, had been for a couple of weeks. So we took packed up the car with clothes, Twilight merch, and bread, peanut butter, and honey and left.
Our first stop was in Forks because HELLO! You can't go all the way up to Canada and not stop off in Forks when you're that close. And I have to say, I absolutely loved everything about Forks. It was exactly how I pictured and it was so tranquil. After our eventful day in Forks, we drove to Port Angeles which was also how I pictured it. We got to find Bella Italia, a dress store close by that we believed was the dress store that Bella, Jessica, and Angela went to to find Prom dresses, the book store that Bella almost went into, and they movie theater that is infamous in New Moon. Afterwards we drove up to Bellingham, Seattle which is about an hour outside of Vancouver. We stayed there the night and the next day, crossed the border into CANADA!
At first I was just in shock of how ginormous Vancouver is. There are buildings and people EVERYWHERE. Then I was overcome by the beauty. The bridges, water... everything was beautiful. My favorite part? Everyone there is so fashion foward. Everyone dressed just.like.me. I loved it! If I could just stay there and shopped for days and days, I probably would have. But that's not what we were there for.
We stopped off at a Safe Way (which we don't have in Utah, so I've never seen one before) and tried to figure out a game plan. I realized that I no longer had AT&T service, it had switched to some carrier named Rogers and when I contacted AT&T, they said I had internation rates now, which were $.75 per minute and $.50 per outgoing text message.
Great.
So no phone. We figured out the conversion rate and realized our American dollar was worth about $1.30 Canadian. We exchanged some money for parking and other expenses (thank goodness for Visa debit cards!!!) and then we tried locating a hotel which was an absolute nightmare. Everywhere was super expensive, even after the conversion rate. We drove around for hours and hours trying to find a place that was reasonable. It was getting late. We were tired. We were hungry. We just wanted to go to sleep. We ended up asking one of the super pricey hotel people for help and the suggested going to a hostel.
So we continued to drive around and found a decent place that was still pretty pricey, but knew it was the best we'd find for the night.
The next day we headed to the filming location and found absolutely nothing, except for people cleaning and preparing. We were confused, so we go attempt to get a hold of some people, do some researching, to find out that at the last minute, Summit decided to send the cast to various parts of the country for DVD promotions.
NO one was there. No one would be filming there for a few weeks.
We were bummed.
SUPER bummed.
So we decided to drive to Seattle where we could find an extended stay hotel that was much cheaper, until we could figure out what to do.
We tried contacting everyone we knew (which wasn't a lot of people) and even contact others. All people told us the same thing. They had planned on shooting that week, but plans had changed. No one really knew what was going on. We were running out of money, and fast. We had been living on peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and I was terribly home sick.
So we came home.
Now that Twilight is such a huge phenomenon, it's going to be nearly impossible for anyone to get near the sets, if you're even lucky enough to find them. They have hired huge numbers of bounties to protect the sets and keep people off of them. This was NOTHING how Twilight was. We literally walked right onto the set, no problems. No security, no one had a problem with it. We hung out with the cast and crew. It was totally fine. Now because of how huge it is, it's not going to be like that for anyone and as happy as I am that the film is doing so well, I am a little sad that it's changed so much for us die hard fans that were fans from the beginning.
We were lucky enough to meet Rachelle Lefevre who plays Victoria in Twilight when we got home. One of the places that Summit decided to send an actor was here in Utah, so we were excited about that much. She even gave us a hug when we told her that we had just gotten back from Vancouver, trying to see them all. She was really sweet.
Honestly, at this point, I just want to be able to meet Rob. I want to be able to get a picture to put with my Kristen, Taylor, and Stephenie pictures. I don't really care about trying to find the sets or other actors... I just want to meet Rob. I'm hoping some day I'll be able to because he's the only person left that I want to meet in my life time. I've met all the rest.
So there's the disappointing story of my New Moon road trip. I can't be too bitter, though. I did get to go to Forks. I got to leave the country for the first time ever. I got to see Vancouver and all of it's beauty. I got to know what a loonie and a toonie was. I got a lot of great things from our trip and even though it didn't turn out exactly how I wanted, I still had a great time. It's something I'll never forget.
Then does it surprise you that two days ago, my mom and I packed up the car and headed out to try and get on the set of New Moon? No. Definitely not.
We have already gone through Forks, Washington, gone on their Twilight tour, and it was absolutely amazing. I absolutely love Forks.
We also saw some amazing spots that any Twilighter/ Twi-hard would immediately know, like this one.
We've also gone on a Ferry ride, you know, the kind where you put your car on it and it carries you along? Which was freaking amazing. And it saved us around 2 hours of driving.
We're currently in an awesome town called Bellingham, just outside of the border of Canada, where they are filming New Moon. Vancouver is only an hour away! And we can't wait.
I'll do my best to keep everything updated here.
You can also follow me on Twitter, which I'll be doing much more often. twitter.com/christar. :)
I promised pictures and a story of my experience, so here it goes!
Months and months ago I decided that this would be the year that I would attend Sundance. I got online and tried figuring out the oh-so complicated ways in which a person can purchase packages and tickets. I realized by the complication of trying to get tickets for the movies you want to see and the expensive nature of the packages (hello! It's Sundance!) I would hold out for the open box office and waiting list option. On Saturday the 17th, a few of my friends and I decided to go up to Park City, a few days before any of the movies I wanted to see were playing, so we could just get a feel for what it would be like this year. I've never been to Sundance for the films before, but I have been up to Park City during the film festival many, many times before and each year, it has it's own feel.
Needless to say, it was insane! We could barely walk along the sidewalks because of all the people trying to get into parties or trying to get pictures of celebs. We decided to go into a little restaurant and hang out. My friends all got tipsy (or a little bit more) so we ended up leaving after the restaurant and I being the non-drinker of the group drove everyone home. But it was still fun.
The following week was Film Week and not nearly as crazy as opening weekend. Since it was my first year, we decided to keep it simple and only go to a few movies. I figured once I got the hang of it, the next year I could see lots of movies and have some background knowledge. All the movies we saw were absolutely amazing, including Shrinkwith Kevin Spacey and probably one of my favorite films of all time, Peter and Vandywith Jason Ritter.
Not only did we get to see some absolutely amazing films with incredible actors, we also got to meet some of those amazing actors. I was absolutely ecstatic about being able to meet Kristen Stewart for the 2nd time and she was just as sweet and approachable as the first time I met her. We chatted for a bit and I think I might even like her more than I did before, which I wouldn't think was possible. I truly admire her. She is one of the most genuine and all around nicest people I've ever met.
I look terrible, I know... but how could I not be proud of this picture anyways? It's Kristen Stewart! With ME! She's so gorgeous.
I also got to meet the hilarious and sweet Bill Hader. Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall are two of my favorite movies so it was a real treat being able to meet the funny man in those and other fabulous movies.
I was also lucky enough to meet Kevin Spacey (Ahh!) and Saffron Burrows, but we weren't able to get pictures with them, yet I got pictures of them.
We did, however, get to snap a picture with KeKe Palmer who was amazing in Shrink.
Seriously, I don't know what is up with me looking scared and bug-eyed in every one of these pictures. Maybe that's the face I make when I'm really cold. Because it was freezing.
Sundance was an amazing experience and I had an incredible time. I cannot wait to go back next year.
There is ONE major neat thing about living in Utah and that would be the Sundance Film Festival. I have been fortunate enough this year to actually go to Sundance (and no, not just to try and find the celebrities) (even though I have met a few) and so far it's been a.m.a.z.i.n.g. I have been having such a blast and am so stoked to finish out this week of the festival and to see some pretty amazing films.
I'm super excited.
This has been probably the single most thrilling experience I've been able to live here in Utah. One of the best parts of Sundance so far? Meeting my favorite actress (AGAIN!)
I'll be back here soon (hopefully tonight) with the pics. If not, I have a good excuse. I'm actually attending the Sundance Film Festival.
I know I'm not the only one who gets crazy busy this time of year, but allow me to say that the last month (especially the last two weeks) have been absolutely insane and what has made it insane has almost nothing to do with Christmas and almost everything to do with school.
School at the University has been great all semester. Super busy, but great and I've enjoyed what I was getting from the University and knew how lucky I am to be getting a real, college education. I felt like I could manage everything pretty well, that is... until Finals started approaching. I had final projects, presentations, portfolios, and tests and none of the classes Finals were easy. I learned right away that these Finals were going to be a whole lot different from Finals from the Community College.
It was hard. It was stressful. And then the final two weeks approached and everything got massively worse. I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, and I cried a lot. Friday was the day of my last Final and as soon as it was over, I've literally been Christmas shopping and working as much OT as I possibly can before my vacation started, yesterday.
So I haven't gotten much of a break and don't think I will until this weekend, but school is done for two and a half weeks and that's all that I can really care about at the moment.
Sadly, I haven't had much time to really appreciate the fact that it's Christmas. Saturday was the first time that I really had to let Christmas sink in, but it still feels like Christmas came out of nowhere. I have all my shopping done and have about a fourth of my wrapping done, but I still can't help but think, "Holy crap! Christmas is tomorrow?! How did that happen?"
So in the spirit of Christmas, I thought it would be a great time to reflect on what makes Christmas special to me. Not really the sappy or religious stuff (we know it's really all about you Jesus! Don't worry, we still love you!), but the traditions and memories that make Christmas, CHRISTMAS, for me, to help me feel like it's a little bit more like Christmas.
Every year my mom, brother, and I have a Christmas Eve dinner. We choose to have Christmas Eve dinner over Christmas dinner because we go everywhere on Christmas day, and everyone expects you to sit and pile up a plate of food, so there really isn't a reason to make a Christmas dinner when we just get to enjoy everyone else's. Especially my Grandma's delicious potato salad! It is literally the best potato salad ever made. Seriously. Just ask Shaun. He is the worlds pickiest, yet biggest potato salad lover and he will tell you... Grandma's is the best.
There are certain things that people have to have to make it Christmas. Stockings, a Christmas tree, and snow are just a few. For my family, we absolutely have to listen to Hanson's Christmas album, Snowed In. For the last decade I've listened to that CD every year at Christmas. And no matter what, as soon as I hear those first few chords on the piano to "Merry Christmas, Baby" I am suddenly filled with the overwhelming feeling of Christmas.
When I was younger, my dad's side of the family would have their Christmas party on Christmas Eve. We would all sit in the basement and I would sit in the corner of my favorite brown couch and we'd listen to Christmas music, eat the awesome Christmas food, and open presents from the Grandparents. After the party, my dad would drop me off back at home, and every year he'd give me my one present from him to open on Christmas Eve. The present was always new pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve night. Sometimes the jammies were itchy, but it became a tradition that I loved and looked forward too. About five or six years ago, my grandparents stopped having the party on Christmas Eve and started having it a few days before Christmas. It was around this time that my dad must have felt I outgrew the PJ's for Christmas Eve and stopped giving them to me. Sometimes, I still miss getting them.
As apart of my mom, brother, and I's Christmas Eve dinner, we also have to go see lights Christmas Eve night. We have a Christmas street here in Utah and on that street all the houses extravagantly decorate their houses and each house has a big wooden piece of "The Night Before Christmas" story and a picture that they put on their lawns. As you drive down the street with your headlights off, you get to see the beautiful houses lit up and read one of the most classic Christmas stories of all time. We also have a few other houses we go see lights at. It's really neat.
Every Christmas Eve, we watch A Christmas Story. Every year we always save A Christmas Story for Christmas Eve, and we even sometimes watch it a few times over. Other classics we watch every year include Home Alone (and Home Alone 2), Jingle All the Way, a Christmas Carol, and Christmas Vacation.
My Grandma isn't only the greatest potato salad maker in the world, she's also the best Christmas cookie maker in the world! It's not Christmas without those star, candle, snowman, Christmas tree, and angel shaped Christmas cookies with the frosting and sprinkles on them. She always sends me home with a bowl full of potato salad and a plate filled with Christmas cookies.
Even though my brother and I are pretty much all grown up, we still go to bed so Santa can come and leave our presents and fill our stockings. And we still wake up at the crack of dawn to go downstairs to see what Santa left us. I don't care how old I get, I don't think I'll ever get tired of getting up early to go see what Santa left, even when I have kids of my own, I'll gladly wake up to them jumping on my bed to go see what Santa left them.
Every year I pride myself on being able to find the perfect gift for my loved ones. This year, I definitely found the most amazing gifts for my younger brother. I have been stoked for days about what I got him, because I know he'll love it and even better, he's not expecting it. I am definitely one who believes it's so much more gratifying to give gifts and see the reactions to the ones you love, than receiving them.
Here's hoping that your Christmas is filled with joy and happiness and that whether you are repeating old traditions or starting new ones, that your Christmas is magical.
I'm not gonna lie... I have a problem with Angelina Jolie. I can't help but think she's a husband-stealing biotch, and it's really set a bad taste in my mouth whenever I've seen a preview of one of her new movies. I don't like her.
But lately I've found myself wanting to see some of the movies she's been in. It's been a battle. Do I refrain from seeing her movie so I can say "Up yours!" to he and her man-stealing ways, or do I say, "Forget about her, the movie looks awesome!"
Well because I'm a true Thespian lover (or so I like to believe) I've lately put aside my biases of Angie, and saw two of her latest movies. Wanted was absolutely amazing, especially for us who sit in a cubical with over zealous bosses nagging in our ears, for those of us that work way too hard and get back way too little, and for those of us who leave when it's dark and don't get back home until it's dark... and get to do it every stinkin' day. Wanted really is quite therapeutic. It was for me at least.
But like I said, this is about The Changeling which is a story (for those of you who don't already know) about a single-mother named Christine Collins who returns home from working to find her 9-year-old son is missing. The police are less than helpful in the beginning and after 5 long months she is told they have found her son and return him to her, except the boy who's returned is not her son. When she tries to tell the police about the mistake they try to convince her that it is her son and when she doesn't cooperate, they take serious and inhumane measures to get her to recede, yet she never gives in.
As much as I dislike Angelina Jolie for her husband-stealing ways, I can't deny the fact that she is an amazing actress. She truly brought forth an incredible performance that had you crying, laughing, cheering, and saying "You go girl!" throughout this movie.
While it may not be everyone's cup-of-tea because it's not a traditional story, it is in fact a TRUE story, which I think makes it all the more inspiring. I also think it makes a movie more complex to bring to life, and in the same sense, makes it that much more amazing to see successfully brought to life. I enjoyed it and left the theater with my chest a little higher because of the courage of women like Christine Collins. She never gave up fighting, no matter how hard or hopeless it might have seemed. She is a true hero and I feel honored to be able to see her courageous story.
The Changeling is rated R for some violent and disturbing content, and language. I would recommend this movie to anyone 17 and older. We've all felt moments of despair and hopelessness and I think it helps to look at others who have gone through much worse and kept on going. It let's us all know that we really don't have it so bad and we can keep going.
And also that a mother's love is never-ending, never-changing and self-sacrificing. It's something that I will never appreciate more from my own mother. It's something I have yet to experience, but I know that someday, I will be so lucky.
Tomorrow is election day and all I have to say is... DON'T vote. Because why should you care about health care? Or Education? Or the war? Or the economy? Or gay marriage? Does one vote really count.
Maybe... Maybe not. But I know millions of one votes do count.
I don't care what your stance is on issues like the ones I've listed before. I don't care if you know or agree with mine. All I care about is that I live in a beautiful country that allows me to have my own beliefs and the freedom to act on those beliefs.
I have the right to vote. And that's enough for me. What or who I vote for may not win, but I know that I still had the right to vote. And that regardless, my opinion DOES matter.
You can't bitch about how things turn out if you never tried to do anything about it. So get out there and vote if you haven't already!!!
