i can see clearly now...

I know it's been awhile. My life has been very crazy in many ways. But things are going great. I have more good days than bad--that hasn't happened since I was about in seventh grade. I am amazed at what the right combination of meds does for my mood. I know I have truly been blessed.

At the start of the semester I only had two roommates, Stephanie and Taylor. We each had our own room, which was so nice. Last week two girls, Briana and Sam, moved in from another apartment, so Stephanie moved back into my room so that they could share a room. Stephanie is great. We have a lot in common: both 23, both English education majors, both juniors who should be seniors, both love cats, both read and love young adult books, both spent a lot of our childhood in Western Washington, both have the same taste in music, both in families of seven...the list goes on. This weekend we drove to Utah together because she was visiting her sister in South Weber.

So far I have made about six trips back to Utah just this semester. I know that seems like a lot...it is a lot. But it has been a lot of fun. I have only attended my campus ward twice this semester, though next weekend will be the third. Like last semester, I meet with my bishop weekly, though, so he knows me very well and knows that I'm going to my singles' branch at home. I went home all but one week in the month of May.

The first weekend was for Andra's wedding. It was so fun! Ashley Thornton flew down from Washington, and she, Stephanie, and I attended all the wedding festivities. We were invited to the pre-wedding family dinner at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The food was delicious, and we felt so special that we were invited to such a special night. The next morning we went to the temple to see Andra come out of the temple. She was absolutely beautiful, and so happy. That evening we went to the reception at her grandma's house. The three of us took turns sitting by "the book." Sarah and Mariah McGough came to the reception, so we were able to get a Colonial 501 reunion picture. It was so fun to catch up.

The next weekend I went home for Mother's Day. I brought my cousins Alex and Marc down from BYU-Idaho with me. Grammy, Gary, and Debi flew in and Rod, Jake, and Luke drove from Boise and stayed at our house. Alex spent his time with Eric, whose wife had a baby the week before. Dan and Tauna also flew in. We spent a lot of time listening to and laughing at Dan's and Gary's stories. They were so great! My mom and her brothers gave Grammy a new set of scriptures for Mother's Day. They each wrote a note in age order in the beginning, leaving a blank page for Teresa. It was very special.

The following weekend Mom and Stephanie flew to Washington for Liliana's first birthday and Rochelle's first ballet recital, so I drove down to spend the weekend with Dad. I ended up not seeing much of him, though, because he was on call and I was sick and in bed most of the time. We did watch Sherlock Holmes together, and another night we ordered pizza.

After a weekend in Rexburg, I went back to Utah for Memorial Day. Mom and Dad went to St. George for the weekend, and Paul spent a lot of time with his girlfriend Kimi, so Stephanie and I spent some time together. I played about a bazillion games of Text Twist on AddictingGames.com and watched quite a few movies. I watched Dear John with Stephanie and our friend Sheena. Steph and I later watched Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging, based off of two books called Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging and On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God. Don't worry, they're not as inappropriate as they sound! Well, I haven't read the second one, but the first one isn't as bad as it sounds. It's actually a hilarious book. The movie was cute. We also watched 17 Again and Earth, which is basically a shorter version of Planet Earth. We previewed it for Stephanie to show in class. It was very interesting. And lastly, I watched the 1950s version of Titanic. It had the dad from the original Cheaper By the Dozen and the maid from Pillow Talk. I was happy to see faces that I knew. I know, me being excited about that makes me a movie-freak, but I like being this way!

Hope you all are doing well! Bye for now!

unsung disney princesses

It's true that recently I have had this fascination with Disney movies. I don't know why that is. I haven't bought a Disney movie in quite some time. Perhaps it is because of the rereleasing of Sleeping Beauty that I have given much thought to this multi-billion dollar company. I give them a lot of credit. They have taken a breather from their sequels and prequels to bring out the "oldie-but-goodies," fondly known as the Disney Classics. It definitely brings in more money when they release the "Special Edition" or, even better, "Platinum Edition"! And there are us suckers out there who buy these editions because we can't stand the thought of living without these movies that we grew up with. I can recall the days of awaiting the release of the next Disney feature on VHS and being more excited to see what the cover looked like than to see the movie again. But yet I can't keep myself from buying these movies.

I have become greatly annoyed by the "Disney Princesses." Who decides which Disney characters get to be princesses? I thought all girls were princesses. Or was that a lie? I don't know. But I do know that there are many Disney "princesses" who don't get the attention they deserve. Don't get me wrong. I love Cinderella and Aurora. Snow White's a little annoying, but she's okay. Ariel is my favorite Disney character of all time. But there are many other characters who should receive the same glory as those who were born into privilege. And so I present the list of "Unsung Disney Princesses." These are women and girls that I think deserve to be princesses just as much as Jasmine and Cinderella. I have listed them to the side. Please review them and think of each one thoughtfully. Give them a little time. Because they are princesses too.

the most dangerous job in the world

Thanks to Elisabeth, I have learned of the most dangerous job in the world, and I have decided that I will do everything in my power to avoid such a treacherous occupation: being a Disney mother. The evidence is so clear. Snow White, Mowgli, Ariel, Chicken Little, Belle, Cinderella, Remy, Olivia, Pocahontas, Arthur (Wart), Aladdin, Kuzco...Their mothers have all disappeared. They have died at some point before the stories even begin. Every one of them. Have they died of illness? Were they murdered? Did they merely run out on their small children? Who's to know? And then we look at some of the other poor Disney characters like Bambi, Koda, Nemo, Todd, and Tarzan--all boys--whose mothers were killed before our very eyes. Slaughtered. Murdered. So much for that "G" rating.

Of course we also have bad mothers who neglect their children. Aurora's mother gives her daughter up. So typical of celebrity mothers. Her daughter is raised by nannies. Hera could have found some way to raise her son, Hercules. She was a goddess, for goodness sake. But no. She passes the buck off to someone else. She doesn't want to be responsible for his failure. Oliver is just left in a box in the rain on the dangerous streets of New York. What kind of mother does that? Then there's Jenny, Oliver's new owner, whose mother is too rich and self-absorbed to even be with her little girl on her birthday. Lewis's mother leaves him in a box in the dead of night. How kind. Drop him off, relieve yourself of all parental obligations. For all we know, she was a prostitute, a kidnapper, a meth addict, a thief, or a teenager. What kind of example is that setting for children, or mothers, for that matter? Boo is missing for who knows how long, and yet her parents don't seem to be too concerned. I'm sure they would have made some kind of appearance had they really cared for her. Perhaps her parents hadn't even given her a name, which is why Sully has to invent one for her. And a girl with that much hair and who has graduated from a crib should be talking. Obviously her parents have neglected her. Mary Darling was too careless in leaving her children with only a dog to keep them safe. And she didn't teach her children not to talk to strangers. At that point, Wendy should have been taught which boys to say no to. One who would take her from her house would not be a good suitor. Mulan's parents expect so much of her that she has no choice but to escape to recover the shame she brought to the family, which was really no shame at all. Cody's mother, who may or may not be a single parent, lets her son run wild in the Outback, where some of the world's dangerous creatures live. She lets him leave without even making sure he has a well-balanced breakfast, and then she doesn't hesitate to let him go off and play with kangaroos, which, incidentally, are incredibly dangerous. When Scar tells Sarabi that her husband and son have been killed, she doesn't bother to go searching for bodies to give them a proper burial. No, she just assumes that Scar is telling the truth. And then, once Simba returns, she encourages him to marry (or at least have children with) his half-sister. Did no one ever notice this before? One lion to a whole den of lionesses. Simba and Nala: different mothers, same father. Incest. While Mrs. Jumbo might have been a good mother, she winds up in jail after defending her baby. A worthy cause, but who is to raise the darling now? Did she not think of that before she lost her temper?

Very few Disney mothers have been somewhat successful in motherhood. Helen Parr, for instance, cares deeply for her children. Despite the dangerous circumstances placed upon her thanks to the stupidity of her husband, she protects her children. Dutchess, a single mother, protects her kittens with her life. Sure, she allows a little riff-raff into their lives, but that's only because the charming O'Malley is her only hope for getting back home. She doesn't abandon her kittens, even when she could have easily ditched them. Andy's mother, though never explicitly mentioned, is probably a single parent. Perhaps she is widowed. Even if she does have a husband, he is definitely a workaholic because he doesn't spend any time with his children. So whether she is single or married, she is left to raise Andy and Molly on her own. She doesn't spoil her children, but she doesn't deny them of the pleasures of childhood, namely occasional pizza nights and birthday parties, and even though she may not have a large budget, she tries to give Andy and Molly a variety of toys that every child should grow up with. Kanga is also definitely a good mother to Roo. The legitimacy of his birth may be in questions, but Kanga always has a close eye on her adventurous little tyke. One might criticize Perdita for not being more careful with her pups. She did, after all, leave them with with a qualified babysitter while she relieved herself. And once she found her children missing, she immediately sought help and then went out in search for her children. Instead of abandoning the homeless eighty-six puppies, she mothers them all without hesitancy. Finally, a self-sacrificing Disney mother.

We bring these movies into our homes, assuming that they'll offer good morals and entertainment. Who ever found entertainment watching a poor mother stranded on an African island get eaten by a cheetah? Where are the good morals in a sixteen-year-old, meth-addicted prostitute having a baby and then dumping him off on the steps of an orphanage without even knocking or ringing the bell? He could have died of pneumonia!

And yet, I am a proud owner of a Disney Movie Club Card.