Full of Thanks

I am very grateful that I got to go home for Thanksgiving and that my roommates could come with me.

I am grateful that my car's throttle cord broke the night before I left rather than while on the trip and that it got fixed for a lot less than it could have been and a lot sooner.

I am grateful that I beat the huge snow storm, although it didn't ever hit Provo, it kind of jumped over it.

I am grateful that my family has fun simply by playing games and visiting with each other. We don't have to schedule everything to have fun.

Along with that, I am grateful that I have "dates" with each of my siblings and my dad. Some aren't set in stone as to what we do, but I LOVE the one-on-one time with each of them.

I am grateful that I arranged for my siblings, roommates, and I to go to Club 33 at Disneyland. I had butternut squash bisque, Lamb, and a fancy apple cobbler. My taste buds were in heaven!!!

I am grateful for the jungle cruise ride at Disneyland and my brothers who like to say the punchlines before the cast member can. It definitely drives some of them nuts! INDEED!!

I am grateful that my little bro Ryan served an honorable full-time mission for the church and that he is home now.

I am grateful that I was there to hear Ryan speak in church and talk about the really great missionary experiences he had and the things he learned. He has matured so much and I love him all the more!

I am grateful for Kelly Rummy and that even a rabbit named Jackie Chan likes to play it.

I am grateful for my nephew Tyler Kelly. One of my favorite moments this week was when Amanda, Ryan, and I locked his arms and legs down so we could tickle him. We tricked him to say "go" after he told us to "stop" so we could keep tickling him. The best part was when Amanda trapped him in her arms and he said, "I love you Amanda" to be released, then in turn, Ryan and I did the same thing so he would say "I love you Ryan,"  "I love you Michelle." We did it repeatedly around and around until at one point when Amanda had him trapped again, he started to say "I love you..." but he had to look up to see who was holding him before he could say, "I love you Amanda." It was the funniest thing ever.

I am grateful that my car could get fixed after the check engine light went on half way to CA. As a result, it runs so much better than it did before. It really needed a tune up!

I am grateful that on our return trip, we didn't slide off the road or flip over like some other cars we saw.

I am grateful that my amaryllis flowers didn't die and that I might be able to save my bachelor button flower. :D That's what I get for leaving it for a week without watering it.

I am grateful for Brian Jackson's homemade eggnog.

I am grateful that I got to set up my Christmas village this year because normally I'm not home to do it. My roommate Stephanie helped and so did my roommate Lynnae's little bro Brian.

I am grateful Ryan continued the tradition of putting random toys in my village and making up stories for them. It makes me happy.

Oh, and best of all... I'm grateful that Steven doesn't do drugs, although, he was pretty funny on Thanksgiving day on codine.

Alright, so here are some pictures that I am sure you are dying to see.

Amanda and I

My roommates: Lynnae, Stephanie, Savannah, and Me

Ryan and I... and Yoda.

Ryan, Amanda, Me, and Steven in line for Tower of Terror

Jungle Cruise with my brothers... the best!

Everyone who went to Club 33!

My Siblings and I at Club 33 thanks to my uncle LR!

Butternut squash bisque. It's like a thick soup that tastes like pumpkin. Appetizer at Club 33

Lamb... Mmmmm My Entree at Club 33.

My dessert at Club 33, a fancy apple cobbler.

Amanda and Emily

My Christmas village

Ryan said this was a thief breaking into a house through the chimney and a cop catching him.

Jackie Chan playing Rummy.

HP 7

Yes, Yes... I know that this was a while ago, but here it is. I went to the 12:15 AM showing of the new Harry Potter movie. It was AWESOME. I dressed up as Jenny using my Gryffindor stuff and my friend Crystal dressed up as Belatrix. We had a lot of fun. I am happy to say I had the most legit gear with my scarf and my two wands. One of my wand actually glows at the end of it. Way cool. Yes, I love Harry Potter.

Friday Fun with Grandma

With everyone being so busy, it ended up that no one was able to come to the planned game night at my grandma's house. I still went to visit her and had a really fun time. She really cheered me up. I had a blast talking to Ryan on video chat and can't wait to see him next week! After talking to Ryan, my grandma and I had some fun and here are the results:

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/BydWWy4HR0zolHDNqtIh

They sure got some good moves, don't they?!

Business Opportunity

Last week I showed a few of my co-workers the two Oscar movies I edited for my ward Oscars Night. Right after I showed them, one of my co-workers (Jessica) talked to a neighboring classroom's teacher (Brenda) who is getting married next month and mentioned that she should ask me if I make wedding videos because that is something she (Jessica) really appreciated when she got married. Little did they know that I actually have experience making slide shows and that I have already made one wedding slide show for my brother Kevin.

They called me into the room so Brenda could ask me and I told her I would love to do it for her! She asked for a price... Um, what can you afford...?? In her case, she is working on a small budget, so I'm not too worried about what she will pay me. I almost said don't worry about it, but something inside me said that I need to allow myself to be paid for this.

Then today Brenda told me that she talked to her best friend and current wedding planner (Fae) about me doing Brenda's wedding slideshow/video. Fae was very interested about this because her daughter is getting married next month as well, so she wanted to talk to me about possibly doing her daughter's wedding video as well! I went to talk to her today and afterward I talked to my co-workers and I decided that if I am going to do this, I need to set up prices, etc to tell people.

So, I just finished doing that. I know that there are businesses that charge an arm and a leg for making wedding slide shows and videos, but I don't like that. I just want to help people preserve memories of a special relationship and occasion without adding too much to the crazy wedding expensiveness. I'm not sure how big I want this to be yet, but it is definitely something fun I can do to get a little extra money. So, for now, it my business will just have to be spread by word of mouth.

Ironically, my roommate Savannah is thinking of starting a business to take engagement and wedding pictures for not too much. Maybe we can work together. :D

Ward Oscars Night 2010

Ward Oscars Night was awesome! It was really nice not being in charge of it for the first time in two years. This was the fourth annual Oscars and once again the movies were above par. We watched all 10 movies (5-9 minutes long each) and then as FHE groups we voted. My FHE group's movie, "FHE with Martha Perez" or "Star Wars" won Best Sound. Mostly that is for best sound effects, because they WERE pretty epic. All the movies were really really good this year, so it was hard to choose the best movie. I can't wait to have a copy of all the movies to show my family. After the movie screenings, we had a dance.

Here are some pictures from the night. Multiple people asked if I went some place to get my hair done... nope, it was all me. I am just that awesome. :D

A red carpet experience and a lady in red!

Some of my FHE group that was involved in making the movie.

I love these girls!

Yay for Oscars Night! At the bottom of the sign are the different trophies that people got for their awards. Yes, they came from DI.

I saw the grapes and I just had to take this picture. Good thing my friend Noah is a good sport. :D

Movies, Flowers, and Teddybears

I was up until 3 AM this morning working on two movies that I edited for my ward's Oscars Night this coming Friday. I am super excited for Oscars! I am positive that my FHE group's movie will win something. As for the other movie I edited, it's cool. I had fun editing it because I got to try some new effects that I've never done before. It definitely could win something, too, although my favorite is still my group's video.

This is the first ward Oscars where I am not in charge or doing something to collect the movies or make the DVD for the night. I was in charge of the night for the last two years. I finished editing the movies this morning before work. My FHE group already had a pre-screening of our movie on Monday and the other group will see their's tomorrow night. I love seeing the reactions of people to the movies/slideshows I make, so I'm excited to go to the pre-screening even if it isn't my group's movie.

Today I received my Amaryllis flower planting kit in the mail. I was super excited to plant it because it is such a beautiful flower. A couple minutes after planting it, I got knock-knock ditched. When I opened the door, I saw on the porch a bag with my name on it. I had no idea what it was, but when I opened it, I saw another Amaryllis flower planting kit!!! I thought it was ironic to get it right after I planted the one I ordered online. I know who gave it to me because the only person I talked to about wanting that was a girl in my ward who is really into gardening. It was really nice of her to buy it for me. It definitely made my day.

The other thing that made me smile today was the boy who really loved my teddy bear when I brought it to class the other day. Almost all day, he asked the teacher where "baby bear" was and he kept looking for it all over the classroom. I tried telling him it was at my house, but he only understands Portuguese. :D Fortunately for him, this week at school we are talking about bears and tomorrow we are having a teddy bear picnic and I will bring "baby bear" or Belle back to school.

Toy Story 3

Today at work (preschool) while I was washing some dishes after snack time, one of the kids came up to me with a sad/mad face. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "Toy Story." Okay... He then when on to describe in detail what happens in Toy Story 3. Fortunately, I finally watched it (twice now) so I knew what he was talking about. I was laughing (on the inside of course) because as he told me about it, he kept saying, "And then... and then... and then..." He was so accurate in describing what happened, even down to the movements the characters made and when they said what, that I knew exactly what scenes he was talking about. The funniest moment, which made this story blog worthy, was when he said, "And then Buzz talked in Espanol... and he moved his butt!" Wow. Buzz's Spanish mode and dancing is one of my favorite parts of the movie. This kid speaks both Spanish and English so it was really funny to me that he said it that way. He described the part where they change Buzz's mode to demo by saying that after the mean guys took something out of his back, he wasn't nice to his friends anymore. This whole thing made me realize how much kids really do get when they watch movies. When I told his mom about this, she said he's watched it about five times now... no wonder he has it memorized.

Testimony

I have been so full of gratitude and joy this past week that I can't begin to tell anyone how grateful I am that I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know that it is the only true church on the earth. I know that because I have studied the scriptures and the words of its leaders and prayed about them for myself. The holy ghost has borne witness to my heart and mind that it is true. I know that this church is led by a living prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. I love him. He is the greatest example of Christlike service and love that I know of. I know that Joseph Smith, Jr. is a prophet and that through him, God restored the true church on the earth and restored God's power and authority once, the priesthood, once again.

I know that the Book of Mormon is true. It is another testament of Jesus Christ and confirms and expounds on those things we are taught from the Bible. I love reading it because I feel the spirit of peace and love and understanding of my eternal purpose as I do. It testifies of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and teaches plainly who I am, why I am here, and where I am going. If you haven't already read it, or if you don't already have a testimony of your own, read it and pray about it. God will let you know what you need to know.

I know that God hears and answers my prayers and that He knows and loves me personally. Everyday I am striving to improve my relationship with Him so that I can be more like Him. I know that a fullness of joy is only possible to have when I am obedient and striving my best to be like Christ through giving of myself to serve others.

I LOVE being a member of this church. There is so much about it that gives me great peace and happiness that I can't even begin to tell anyone. I think one of those things is that I know that my family and I can be together forever because of the temple. I also think it is because of the great support system I feel as I can go anywhere in the world and know that I can find people who believe and worship as I do and if I needed anything, they would help me. I have amazing friends and church leaders who help me and continue to teach me more about how to live and be more like the Savior. I am blessed with good health and many other things because I live the word of wisdom. I am also
blessed with many opportunities to serve and grow.

I know that I am a child of God and that He loves me.

My Purrrty Flower

I can't tell you how excited and happy I felt today when I saw my flower blooming! And it's purple!! It is a bachelor button. I got the seeds and the pot from Sis. Parris who was in charge of family support during the Nauvoo Pageant this past summer. She wrote a note on the package of seeds that said that she hoped that it would remind me of Nauvoo and how much my testimony grew. It grew through that experience and it has continued to grow as I've tried my best to apply what I learned and to keep building my testimony. I am growing and blossoming just like this flower. The great thing is that there is definitely more to come. :D

The stone in front of the flower pot and picture is the piece of the original Nauvoo temple that I got my friend while I was there staying with her.

Crazy Week

It was crazy week at my preschool this week, but it's also been a crazy exciting week for me. Here is all that I did:

I met the Backstreet Boys.

I went shopping for a formal dress with these wonderful pseudo-roommates. I resisted the huge temptation to go over my budget to purchase the pink dress I loved so much. Instead, I got one that looks great and was a lot nicer on my wallet. You will have to wait until Oscars night to see it!

I had a real Halloween with the Douglas family who I met while doing the Nauvoo Pageant this past summer. I went trick or treating with them. With Dawn, their mom, I watched the old movie Wait Until Dark, with Audrey Hepburn. Wow, that is a creepy and scary movie for being so old! I had a blast being with them.

Handing out treats for kids. Easton was a monkey for Halloween and I was a cuddle/snuggle bug with monkey sock footed pajamas, a teddy bear in pajamas and a blanket.

This is the right way to get to the goods after Halloween.

Funny Story.

We had crazy hair day at school. On this day, I walked through another classroom to do something a couple times. The first time I walked in, all the kids in that class stared at me in amazement. This is kind of how the conversation went:

"What are you staring at?"

"Your hair!"

"What about my hair? What's wrong with my hair?! I brushed it this morning!"

"It's blue!"

"What?! No it isn't."

"Yes it is!"

I then put on a scared face and looked in the mirror above the sink and screamed when I saw that I really did have blue hair. They laughed and basically said I told you so and I just smiled and left. As I left they said I was a monster.

Later, I went back in and as soon as I opened the door, two girls saw me and started screaming. The teacher looked up wondering why the girls were screaming and as I walked by I said, "It's just me." As I went back to my classroom they were still pretending to be scared of me and said that I was a vampire. That by far was the funniest part.

Hairy Dogs! Hot dogs with uncooked noodles stabbed through them and then boiled.

Provo 7 PM Kids! Yay!! All dressed up for Halloween.

This kid LOVED my teddy bear. He only speaks Portuguese, but even since he's started, he's picked up on a lot of English and is doing so much better than he was. He took care of my teddy bear all day like it was a baby. It was the cutest thing ever. He even put his Iron Man mask on it. I also saw him kiss it. :D

The Bachelor Button Flower I planted and have in my window is blooming!!

The best thing is that there is more craziness to come, such as my friends voting on which they like better, my whole wheat cinnamon rolls or my regular flour ones. MMmmmmm.... It will be delicious either way!