viva las vegas

My birthday trip to Las Vegas was quite an adventure. We drove to St. George to stay with my uncle and aunt, Larry and Vicki, last Thursday night. It was a long drive, but Stephanie and I sat in the back seat listening to our iPods and sleeping. On Friday we drove to Mesquite for breakfast at a casino, then parted ways with Larry and Vicki and finished our drive to Las Vegas. We first went to a Titanic exhibit. We were given a card at the entrance with a name and information about that person. The exhibit consisted of artifacts that have been recovered as well as displays of what different rooms in the ship looked like. On the walls were posters with information about different people on board. At the end of the exhibit was a list of all who lived and died on the ship, and we were able to match our name and see what list our person was on. My card had the name of a girl in the second class, and she lived. Stephanie's girl was the last remaining Titanic survivor, a girl who had been an infant on the ship. Seeing the artifacts and displays was really interesting. I was glad we went through it.

That night we went to the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur hotel and casino. This event took place in an arena. Different sections of the seats were different countries, each with a corresponding "king." We were in the Ireland section. I wouldn't have had it any other way. The kings came out on horses and had competitions like jousting and sword fighting, and we all cheered for our king. The choreography was incredible. Sparks flew off the swords as they clashed, and the horses were so well trained that when the kings would fall off of them they knew exactly where to go. While the show was going on we ate cornish game hens, broccoli, soup, and bread, all with our hands. It was a great experience. After the show we had our picture taken with the king of Ireland.

Another show that we went to was a magic/cirque du soleil show with Criss Angel. We were pretty excited for it, but were greatly disappointed. The "magic" was poorly executed and there was only one cirque du soleil act in the entire show. I've heard the the Criss Angel TV show is really good, but the live show was a big disappointment.

We spent a lot of time walking around the city. Stephanie and I are on this exercise program, so we took the stairs instead of the many escalators inside and out of the casinos. The individual themes of each of the hotels were cool, and I found it interesting how each casino had a certain clientelle according to the hotel and casino, the theme, and how expensive the games were. We also had the opportunity to drive up to the Las Vegas temple to take pictures.

I found many wonders while we were in Vegas. I was amazed at how the city was littered with glasses that had been discarded. Just about every flat surface outside was covered with glasses and beer bottles. At night men and women stood at every corner snapping their fingers and handing out cards of inappropriately dressed (or rather undressed) women. The streets were filled with these pictures at night so it made walking around difficult. I didn't want to look up at the nasty billboards, but I also didn't want to look down at the disgusting cards.

Not all the wonders were bad. I discovered frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity, a wonderful treat that resembled a chocolate smoothie. Delicious. And I at the Tournament of Kings I learned that I love to eat with my fingers. The water show at the Belagio was incredible. Set to music, the fountain shooted water probably almost one hundred feet into the air. The Mirage had a water show as well. Water and fire shot out of a volcano. It was really cool. After the Super Bowl the sidewalks were filled with drunk men. Men who had never seen each other before were suddenly best friends. They were hilarious.

Happy birthday to me.

off track

I have been pretty busy since I came home for Christmas. Of course, busy is relative. Not all of that time was well spent. When I first came home I rearranged my new bedroom. I am now in the basement bedroom. Talk about feeling like an outcast! :-) I had fun hanging up my own pictures and putting my signature on the drab walls. I want it to feel as much like home for me since I am off track right now and am home from school until April.

Even before the Meadow Park Branch had my records my branch president gave me a calling. I am the compassionate service leader. I feel inadequate to do the calling, but I guess that means that it's just right for me. I am looking forward to getting a chance to serve the other sisters in the Branch. I am also being considered for a job helping mentally retarded adults who live in group homes. I found out about it through one of my friends in the Branch. She is one of the managers. It would mean getting up early enough to be in Centerville at 7 a.m., and it wouldn't be many hours, but on the other hand I think I would feel much more fulfilled doing a job like that as opposed to retail. Although I have considered applying at Barnes and Noble. I'm afraid I would spend my whole paycheck on books. That would be like me.

So far I have enjoyed being home. Stephanie had several "girls' nights" while Mom and Dad were in St. George for the New Year. Stephanie played a Lego Star Wars wii game while I played Sims 3, and we watched all six episodes of Star Wars. It was a far cry from our usual girls' nights of chick flicks, but it was still a lot of fun. I'd never watched the entire saga from beginning to end. It's a good story.

In between sleeping, eating, and watching Phineas & Ferb on the Disney Channel I've been playing cards and listening to music on my computer. I guess this means I need to get a job so I actually accomplish something during the day.

Anya Sees the Gulf of Mexico

Finally I have finished (I think) my poem about this picture of Anya. I've been working on it for several weeks. I think this might be the last draft I make, at least for a while. I hope you enjoy it.

Anya Sees the Gulf of Mexico

Corpus Christi wind whips
her red hair.
Grainy sand rubs
against her feet and hands.

Brown, pink, blue, and green
striped bum
doesn't quite touch
the sand
as she crouches low,
for she doesn't want to get dirty.
Mother says
she must wear pants,
so they compromise
and she wears
her favorite shorts
over them.

Cerulean shovel
matches the sky,
matches the water
that laps up on her feet.

She digs to China,
will sail to the distant country
on the USS Lexington
that sits at bay
across the water
a couple hundred feet.
She'll cuddle
with the pandas,
talk to them,
roll around with them,
gnaw on bamboo with them,
sleep with them.
And when she wakes
she'll venture
back to Corpus Christi
and her family.

Anya sees the Gulf of Mexico.
She soaks in the sun,
imagines,
digs.

after the magic

This is my latest poem. The assignment was to write a non-sentimental poem about Christmas. I tried to stay true to our family's Christmas morning, though I may have exaggerated the negative for the purposes of the assignment. I just want that to be clear so you don't think all I remember is the bad. I basically took a spin on some of my best holiday memories.

After the Magic

Branches hang limp and tired after being cut

from their roots two days after Thanksgiving.

Hundreds of needles blanket the floor,

and the green Sprite bottle that Dad rigged

to water the trunk

sits on the rust-colored carpet.

Sweet smells of pine, frosted cookies, German pancakes, syrup,

and smoke from an old, dirty wood-burning fireplace

are gross smells to tired noses.

Presents have been opened and sit idly on the floor

amid green, red, and gold bows and paper--
Christmas vomit--

that only hours before had been beautifully wrapped

around big and little rectangle boxes and stuffed beneath the tree.

Cabbage Patch dolls, bright pink Barbie cars,

jeweled trolls with blue and orange and green hair,

Legos, Connects, Micro Machines,

makeup, CD players, and New Kids on the Block posters

now lie scattered around the room.

Chocolate oranges cracked against the hard piano bench,

lifesaver books torn apart by sticky fingers,

and seven pairs of bleary eyes look around the room,

one big holiday mess,

and no one can eat breakfast

until the paper has been burned in the fireplace

and the bows have been gathered in garbage bags,

imitations of Santa's bundle,

and saved for next year.

"Don't touch my cars!"

"Give me back my Barbie!"

"We're going to be late to Grammy's house!"

"Come help me set the table!"

"Don't burn those bows!"

"It's my turn to take a shower!"

"You're not helping clean up!"

The holiday magic has been replaced by the whines of children and parents who awoke

three hours before the sun came up.

sd cards & other novelties

Blessed BYU-Idaho gave us a whole week off for Thanksgiving. I definitely needed it. Every time I tried to do homework I fell asleep. (You would too if you had to read Herman Melville!) Needless to say I did not get anything done. That's okay, though. I had a productive day today, and I'll be working my butt off the rest of the week. It will feel good, though, to have actually accomplished something after a week-long absence from accomplishing anything.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. I took two naps! Any day with two naps is incredible. We ate with Heather, Becca, Brandon, Calvin, Larry, Vicki, Barry, Lara, and Mason. Nicole was also there, but I don't consider her a guest anymore. She's there as often as I am. :) We had a wonderful dinner, and went to bed too late for our 2:00 wake-up calls. Okay, I'll be honest. I didn't get up until 2:30. We were out the door by 3:00 Friday morning for our 8-hour shopping trip. I was able to get presents for my nieces and nephews, which was a great accomplishment for me.

On Saturday we decorated for Christmas. And when I say we, I mean Mom and Stephanie. I attempted to do my homework, but I got lost somewhere between Facebook (the devil's most cruel time-waster), the BYU/Utah State football game, and YouTube videos. I did help Stephanie put lights on the downstairs tree while watching the football game--BYU won, if you were wondering--and the two of us put all the ornaments on it on Sunday. The pictures I took for this post are of the upstairs tree, mom's village, and the downstairs tree, respectively.

This brings me to my nifty SD card. My phone has a little chip that you put in an SD card, which goes right in the SD slot on my computer, and I moved all the pictures and videos from my phone to my computer. It's ingenious, really.

Nicole and I drove back to Idaho yesterday. I'm not ready to be back in the loosest sense, but I'm trying to look forward to my nice, long break after the last three weeks of the semester. I can make it! ...Right? I guess we'll see if I can pass my classes and submit my dear Carmen for publishing.

goodbye, farewell, and amen

I finally finished all eleven seasons of M*A*S*H last night. I had already seen many of the episodes on TV, but I bought the entire show on DVD over a year ago and have been watching it little by little. I watched all the episodes in order. Now I'm going to work on the bonus material. I also have the movie, but it's rated R, so I'm opting out of that one. It really is my favorite show.

cloud cover

Here is a poem I wrote awhile ago, but I thought I'd share it since I don't think I've ever shared it before. It's pretty cheesy, but maybe looking at this poem I wrote at the beginning of my college career and comparing it with more recent stuff will show that maybe I have made a little progress in my writing.

Cloud Cover

Oh, how blissful

kisses on the cheeks from clouds.

Are they heaven's tears?

Heavens no!

Kisses that bring life to the green

carpet that covers the earth.

The clouds roll in, stormy they seem.

but they are only bearing the gift of life

to God's creations.

Pooling together, streaming down the streets,

splashing and running.

When will it stop? When will the sun break?

Oh, the beauty of endless clouds.

They will not be defeated so easily.

Here to block the heat of day

from farmers' necks and little girls' cheeks.

Yellow slickers and orange rain pants,

blue umbrellas and red galoshes.

A playground of such brightness

that no sun can create.

Screams of delight as little once prance.

Mothers and teachers welcome the moment

when the outdoor smells are drawn in,

when it's soup and cocoa and homemade bread.

Not heaven's tears.

No, they're kisses instead.