I Love To See The Temple

Jenifer and I went to the Logan Temple one day to walk around it and take pictures. But guess what, it was SO cold and so we didn't stay long.

The night before I visited Temple Square with my amazing roomates Jenifer and LeAnne!

You know what? All of them are so pretty. Temples, I mean. And who WOULDN'T want to get married there? They are like CASTLES, which is perfect for a princess like me.

I love to see the Temple

I'm going there someday!

But seriously, I'm SO grateful for temples. There's something about this season that just makes you so much more grateful for things. As we celebrate Christmas this year, we celebrate without my Gramma Savage and without my Uncle Blaine. It's is such a wondeful thing to celebrate our Savior's birth. Because of Him and his glorious sacrifice for us, we all are comforted by the fact that we will see Gramma and Blaine again. Because of temples, and the fact that my Granparents were sealed together for time and all eternity AS WELL as my own parents and Blaine and my Aunt Marleigh, I know this is possible.

Familes Can Be Together Forever BECAUSE of our Savior, Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate on Saturday.

Merry Christmas!

Perfect Two by Auburn

Once upon a time, there was girl named Sarah Anne and she had a roomate named Jenifer. One day, they were watching a movie called "Juno" where there was the most EXCELLENT line:

"YOU ARE THE CHEESE TO MY MACARONI."

Fantastic, right? Anyways, THEN Sarah happenstanced upon the most AMAZING song EVER. And today, she has listened to it at least 20 times. No joke. And here are the fabulous lyrics:

You can be the peanut butter to my jelly

You can be the butterflies I feel in my belly

You can be the captain, and I can be your first mate

You can be the chills that I feel on our first date

You can be the hero, and I can be your sidekick

You can be the tear that I cry if we ever split

You can be the rain from the cloud when it's stormin'

Or you can be the sun when it shines in the mornin'

Don't know how I ever could be without you cause boy you complete me.

And in time I know that we'll both see that we're all we need.

Cause YOU'RE THE APPLE TO MY PIE

YOU'RE THE STRAW TO MY BERRY

YOU'RE THE SMOKE TO MY HIGH

YOU'RE THE ONE I WANT TO MARRY

Cause you're the one for me

And I'm the one for you

And take the both of us

And we're the perfect two

You can be the prince and I can be the princess

You can be the sweet tooth and I can be the dentist

You can be the shoes and I can be the laces

You can be the heart that I spill on the pages

You can be the vodka and I can be the chaser

You can be the pencil, and I can be the paper

You can be as cold as the winter weather,

but I don't care as long as we're together

Don't know how I could ever be without you cause boy you complete me.

And in time I know that we'll both see that we're all we need.

Cause YOU'RE THE APPLE TO MY PIE

YOU'RE THE STRAW TO MY BERRY

YOU'RE THE SMOKE TO MY HIGH

YOU'RE THE ONE I WANT TO MARRY

Cause you're the only one for me

And I'm the only one for you

And take the both of us

And we're the perfect two.

CUTEEEEEEEE! Right? Right? Yes.

Well, my roomate and I think this song is adorable.

And NOW, I think you had better watch it:

This is made by some BYU students . . . including my friend Clara Compare!

Enjoy amigos!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNbRFF1A67Q

First Band Practice of the Clarinoke Girls of Fernando

Lightly Row

Yes. It's true. I have graduated from the flute to the clarinet. And I don't know about you, but I think I sound kind of . . . oh, what's the word . . . AWESOME? Ha. Alright, so MAYBE I've got a ways to go. But I love this learning all the instruments thing! It's a BLAST!

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams

Sometimes, I just feel so inferior.

So here's the story:

I've played violin since I was four years old. That's 15 years. 15 years of not practicing very well. 15 years of loving performing. 15 years of the beautiful 4 stringed instrument that is just a part of my identity. I grew up being known as the girl who plays the violin. In the small town where I grew up, that WAS my identity. And I let it become that way. And I took it for granted.

Because, guess what? I'm not all that great. I let it go to my head that I was one of the only really good violinists in town growing up (so, I didn't know about all the other people . . . I decided that I was the most magnificent and I let people know.) So for 15 years, I have let the fact that I play the violin, and that I play it well make me an arrogant and cocky snob who believed for a while that she was SO spectacular and she didn't even have to try all that hard.

For the past few years, I have gotten away with hardly any practicing. I have shown up to every Utah Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra rehearsal with no outside practice, and here's the thing: I could play nearly everything with not much effort.

So here's what I decided. Today in church we talked about talents. And you know the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson? "That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do, not that the nature of the thing is changed, but that our power to do is increased." Well, might it be possible that I'm only good because I've played for so long? And by "good" I don't mean amazing virtuoso good. I just mean able to play or fake play most everything without even trying. I have learned how to pretend like I'm amazing, and I've spent the last 15 years doing it.

And so, I know things have got to change. I want to be a Music Educator SO dang bad. I just KNOW that's it's what I'm supposed to do with my life. I don't have a plan B. And what it takes is my acceptance into the Music Program here. What it takes is some practice and humility. Because since being here, I've realized that I'm really only a mediocre at best violinist. I'm really terrible compared to all the violinists already IN the music program. And I don't KNOW anything.

On Friday night I watched the USU Symphony Orchestra perform this song. This is a selection from YouTube -- not the one I heard but sounds similarly gorgeous:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y7nJL1hpUU

Within the next few months, I have to undergo some major habit and mind transformations. I need to practice. I need to be humble enough to realize that I am only going to get where I need to go with some serious, serious effort.

15 years. Time to start over.

Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars

"But every time she asks me 'Do I look okay?' I say:

When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change,

Cause you're amazing

JUST THE WAY YOU ARE."

AND IN TRIBUTE OF GIRLS WHO ARE BEAUTIFUL JUST THE WAY THEY ARE:

Alright. This is the epitome of cute. Like for serious.

And it is VERY true the girls are way too critical of themselves -- myself included. We're all very insecure. Moving into an apartment with five other wonderful beautiful girls has made me realize just HOW hard we are on ourselves.

So yes, it's true that we don't like going anywhere AFTER we've washed all our make-up. And yes, it's true that I was late to a class one day cause I HAD to wash my hair. And we change a million times because we're never QUITE satisfied with how we put ourselves together that day. And even the girls we think are absolutely STUNNING are insecure. In fact, sometimes they end up being horribly and ridiculously insecure, with NO reason to be.

But guess what? We are all BEAUTIFUL WONDERFUL RADIANT DAUGHTERS OF GOD.

And NEVER forget that!!

Mary Had a Little Lamb. Classic.

So, if you don't find this INCREDIBLE, I don't know what will impress you.

And yes, I have been playnig the flute for about three weeks now.

AWESOME. I should go pro.