Steph's Stuff

45 Important Words

2011-03-09T11:03:00.002-07:00

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The First Amendment maintains democracy, liberty and all things that make America strong and unique. Digging it!

I'm finally starting to understand accounting!

2011-02-28T01:31:00.003-07:00

I'm working on this, while I dream of this.

(By the way, who knew accounting was this complicated?!)

Looking back to move forward

2010-12-31T11:18:00.031-07:00

Talk about an awesome couple of months! DG president, marriages, trips, skiing, ah, it couldn't get better! Here's a recap of my amazing year.

Let's start in the summer: Delta Gamma National Convention in Denver, Colorado with Katie and Heather, two DG rockstars.

Taking the local blind school bowling!

Masha's wedding, the first of the six to go!

Two days later it was Mama Drea's day!

Then more weddings plus a trip to California and Lil's and Aubree's farewells.

In August I started my senior year of college and you know what that means: RUSH!!!!

BID DAY! Here are 101 of the best girls around.

DG Dodgeball plus Homecoming Week and Songfest!

Did I mention WE WON SONGFEST???

Sigma Chi Bid party, DG Casino Night, DG's at the Drive-In and Derby Days Dodgeball!

Fall Break in Arizona!

Anchor Splash with our awesome DG consultant, Erin! (And yes, that is Shaky Smithson)

HARRY POTTER 7 PREMIERE and the most epic party EVER. EVER!

DG formal, ESPN Gameday, Greek Awards, messing around at the Deeg

Christmastime! Annual DG Christmas dance party, then a trip to Hawaii to relax after a crazy semester.

To wrap up the year I've had a fabulous Christmas break full of skiing, Jazz games, gingerbread house-ing, and a whole lot of doing nothing.

2010 has been one amazing year, that's for sure. I have a feeling, though, that 2011 will only get better. Happy 2011!

Flashbacks

2010-12-05T22:26:00.001-07:00

These foggy Salt Lake days have been reminding me so much of London. What a great city!

Anchored

2010-11-09T21:59:00.006-07:00

Be faithful to yourself, act well on your part, and then when life’s young dream is past, the battles of life fought and won, and the mellow light of evening gathers around your pathway, the scenes enacted here will rise upon your memory like the constellations on the evening sky to cheer and comfort you.

–Anna Boyd Ellington,

one of three of the founders of Delta Gamma

Home

2010-11-03T01:52:00.003-06:00

This makes me want to make music. The first song is all you'll ever need to watch.

Ski Dreams

2010-11-03T01:01:00.006-06:00

For my PR Cases & Campaigns class I'm created a strategic campaign for a local ski company, Bluehouse skis. Seriously, this has been my PR dream so I've been loving the project, but it's been a lot harder and more work than I anticipated. Check out this cool presentation my group and I made for our analysis phase of the project!

Doing all of this ski research has made me want ski season to come soooo badly though! I cannot keep these skis off my mind!! Which ones should I get?

Moment Reagan

Rossi S110

DG

2010-09-05T01:45:00.001-06:00

Sometimes it feels as though nothing exists but this.

I Want One

2010-08-16T01:10:00.004-06:00

This is Microsoft's Courier. Apparently this digital journal prototype has been scrapped by Microsoft,

but boy do I hope that this is where things are heading because this would meet all of my journalling needs.

"the interface appears to be pen-based and centered around drawing and writing, with built-in handwriting recognition and a corresponding web site that allows access to everything entered into the device in a blog-like format complete with comments. We're also hearing that there will be a built-in camera, and there's a headphone jack for media playback. Most interestingly, it looks like the Courier will also serve as Microsoft's e-book device, with a dedicated ecosystem centered around reading."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I DON'T CARE IF IT'S NOT A MAC, SIGN ME UP!

No Complaints Here

2010-07-19T00:35:00.005-06:00

Boating, fishing, wakeboarding, waterskiing, wakesurfing, friends, family. Louie... what more could a girl ask for?

I love Montana.

(Please notice two things: 1) I finally caught a fish and 2) Louie demands to share the front seat of the canoe. He is Alpha Male Pack Leader.)

Hope your summer is great too!

Story of my Summer

2010-07-06T03:24:00.006-06:00

youth had been a habit of hers for so long that she could not part with it.
-rudyard kippling

Wave Your Flag

2010-06-08T13:49:00.001-06:00

I've decided that this year I am going to get into the World Cup. I've played soccer my entire life, but have never been one for watching it. Until this year. This decision may or may not be influenced by how awesome this vid is. Go USA! Beat England this Saturday! (First time they've met on the pitch in 60 years!)

Some End-of-the-Day Letters

2010-06-03T00:58:00.004-06:00

Dear Blog,

Thanks for being here at the end of the day so I can decompress my thoughts.

Dear Readers,

Sorry if you don't care.

Dear Cool Clothes,

I wish you could just magically appear in my closet in awesome combinations and allow me to avoid going shopping and thereby getting depressed because of how mundane I am with clothes. I'd appreciate some help.

Dear Crystal Light,

Time to come out again -- it's summertime!

Dear Sports,

I wish I cared about you as much as I love playing you. Whenever I watch you all I want to do is play you, no matter which one you are.

Dear To Do List,

Shrink why don't you.

Dear Sound of Music,

Thank you for making life better for one and all. People can't help but smile when they talk about you, I've been noticing. And I don't blame them -- you're wonderful.

Dear My Imagination,

I hope you never settle down. I think your one of the most important things a person can have and I appreciate you.

Dear Wedding Invitations,

Just want to let you know that I judge you mercilessly and there are so few of you that pass inspection. Please work on it.

Dear Songs in the Car,

Singing your lyrics by heart with another person bonds two people together quicker than anything else I know. It's impressive to say the least. Keep up the good work.

Recent Reads

2010-06-02T00:59:00.010-06:00

For me summer has always been synonymous with reading. I think this stems from the reading trees my mom had us build way back in elementary where each leaf represented a book we had completed. This summer's tree is looking pretty promising, people.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

One of the most profoundly sad books I've ever read, this narrative follows nine-year-old Oskar as he uncovers a mystery about his father's death in the September 11th attack. Completely depressing, but very interesting.

"Gravity isn't only what makes us fall, it's what makes our muscles strong."

"You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness."

"I took the world into me, rearranged it, and sent it back out as a question: "Do you like me?"

"So many people enter and leave your life! Hundreds of thousands of people! You have to keep the door open so they can come in! But it also means you have to let them go!"

"Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living"

A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

The story of a girl from England traveling through Italy in the early 20th Century and her own discovery of beauty and love in unusual places. The writing was spectacular, the setting was spectacular, the characters were spectacular... loved this book; beautiful in all of its Britishness.

"A delicate pathos perfumed her disconnected remarks, giving them unexpected beauty, just as in the decaying autumn woods there sometimes rise odours reminiscent of spring."

"Mistrust all enterprises that require new clothes."

"Choose a place where you won't do very much harm -- yes, choose a place where you won't do very much harm, and stand in it for all you are worth, facing the sunshine."

"If Miss Honeychurch ever takes to live as she plays, it will be very exciting -- both for us and for her."

"Ah! it was worth while; it was the great joy that they had expected, and countless little joys they had never dreamt."

The Hunger Games & Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Haven't joined the Mockingjay rebellion yet? READ THESE. Even better if you can read them straight through. Literally cannot wait until the third one comes out in August.

"And while I was talking, the idea of actually losing Peeta hit me again and I realized how much I don't want him to die. And it's not about the sponsors. And it's not about what will happen when we get home. And it's not just that I don't want to be alone. It's him. I do not want to lose the boy with the bread."

Any leaves to recommend next?

A Few of My Favorite Things

2010-05-23T15:35:00.022-06:00

So! My family and I went to Europe and it was very fun! We went to the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany.

Here's what I was expecting:

Here's what it actually was:

No, no, don't let frauline fool you, our trip was fabulous. This was at a ski resort in the Alps (The hills were nonetheless very alive). Our trip did, however, include nine straight days of rain and unseasonably cold weather with bitter winds. Our umbrellas were more effective horizontal than vertical. The cold weather did however mean limited crowds and avoiding making my dad hot and agitated, two things you don't want to see Bill.

But anyways... we started our trip delayed because of the volcano. Because we missed our connecting flight we spent the afternoon in Paris where I got to see the Sacre Cour, something I've been wanting to see for a long time.

That night we caught a flight to Prague... and off we go seeing the sights.

Please note that the window I'm standing below is the location of the Defenestration of Prague. Mr. Felt would be so proud.

We definitely had an emphasis on music in our trip. One night we saw The Magic Flute at the Prague Opera in one of those fancy boxes. It was very fun. We also went to a few music museums and Amanda found some very old bassoons.

Our new friend named Ed also showed us around and more or less introduced us to the president of the Czech Republic. For real.

From there we drove through the Czech countryside (an adventure in and of itself) guided by our iPhones and spent the night in a medieval walking-only town called Cesky-Krumlov. It rained there too.

On to Vienna! Not only did it rain, but it was windy.

Amanda and my mom saw both the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna Opera, and pretty much made Amanda's life as the Vienna Phil is apparently the best symphony in Europe.

In Vienna we also toured the Hapsburg palace, the family that ruled the Holy Roman Empire for 600 years, and saw statues of musicians. Did I mention went to very musical cities?

From Vienna we drove to Salzburg, a city famous for many things including being Mozart's birthplace, but most importantly home to THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Yes we took the four hour Sound of Music tour. Yes we sang the soundtrack.

Salzburg was not only beautiful, but apple strudel, gnomes and leiderhosen abounded!

From our adventures in Austria we took the Autobahn (there really aren't speed limits) to Munich, Germany where we ended our trip on kind of a downer and saw the concentration camp at Dachau.

After eating meal after meal of weinerschnitzel (glorified chicken nuggets) it was time to come home. It was an awesome trip for sure, and I had a blast with the Von Trapps, I mean my family.

Hope

2010-05-07T00:27:00.008-06:00

So it's not news that sleeping is a tough thing for me. Last night, as my dreams avoided me once again I was clicking through my links and stumbled upon this:

I'd heard about NieNie (aka Stephanie Nielson from Provo, Utah) here and there but had never actually read her blog. After watching this, I went to her blog and started at her plane crash in August 2008 and read about her "After Crash" life until one year later when she reached her accomplishment and hiked the Y. Pretty amazing. And it happened just down the road from here.

In her blog, she tells her story of pain and hardship; of a constant battle to even stay alive. Stories from the plane crash, the hospital, her children not recognizing her, the rehabilitation, and dealing with looking like an entirely different person. But she also tells a story of hope and of the beauties of motherhood and womanhood. She demonstrates the joys that life can bring even amidst unfair trials by living a faith-led life. It's both beautiful and heartbreaking, but a story that needs to be told. I think that's the beauty of blogs. Heros are made and stories are told just from everyday life. That's pretty cool. Speaking of cool, Mormon Messages are on YouTube and they are surprisingly way awesome. Inspiring without being cheesy. And some of them have way cool filming. For example, 6:50 into the video above is seriously amazing with the type following the kid.

But anyways... Read her story. You won't take your life for granted.

There is in every true woman's heart a spark of heavenly fire,

which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity; but which

kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.

-Washington Irving

Coming Soon

2010-05-05T12:39:00.001-06:00

look forward to one awesome video edited by Lil and I coming your way very soon.

IT'S SUMMMMMMMMER!!!!

2010-05-05T11:06:00.002-06:00

Finals are final and you know what that means... SUMMER!

I LOVE SUMMER!

I can't sleep

2010-05-03T02:55:00.003-06:00

blahhhhhhhh

but look at this cute pic!

BABIES!

PUPPIES!

NO SLEEP!!!

found here

a window to the world

2010-04-29T00:37:00.005-06:00

the power of the internet is truly mind-boggling.

capable of both good and bad equally, its level of influence is undefined.

the power of public opinion has changed because of it.

no longer is the voice of many in the hands of a select few.

now you have a voice -- a voice that can be as big or as small as you desire.

but you have a voice.

you have power.

you have influence.

the question is, what will you do with it?

Add Them to the Queue

2010-04-11T01:40:00.004-06:00

Just stumbled upon this website, Official Best of Fest. These guys watch all of the festival entries and rank the best movies we've never seen. They've even broken them down into categories like "Films to Make You Think" and "Films for Dog Lovers." I'm all about this idea. Can't wait to start ticking these off on Netflix.

Speaking of which, my best movie that you've never seen? It's my all-time favorite movie and if you have seen it you know how great it is, right? It's Audrey Hepburn's first movie, called Roman Holiday. This is a movie I could watch over and over and over again. It's fun, light and charming with a simple story and genuine characters. Kind of like life. The stories that really captivate me aren't the grand, fantastic tales, but rather ones about extraordinary people placed in ordinary circumstances. Or I suppose sometimes it is ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. Either way, there is something beautiful in that.

Some other of my favorites: What's Up Doc, Stranger Than Fiction, the new Pride & Prejudice, The Graduate, Royal Tenembaums, Finding Neverland, Philadelphia Story, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Mrs. Miniver, the last shot on stage in Walk the Line (I just love that), 500 Days of Summer, and more. If you have any favorites I've never seen, let me know!

Did you know I have a video on YouTube with over half a million views?

2010-03-30T01:33:00.006-06:00

I'm not kidding. This was the first video I made at SpyHop Productions my junior year of high school. It was really the first video that I physically edited by myself. At the time I didn't even know what YouTube was and my instructor put it up for me after correcting some of my editing mistakes of course. I remembered it late on Monday night and had to look it up again. Turns out it's actually on a couple of Top 10 lists for Best Remix Trailers as well as being spread over quite a few video websites. So here is Wednesday's Weekly Video: the School of Rock Remix Trailer, the one that started it all.

2010-03-30T00:35:00.013-06:00

My friend Morgan Sorensen ran for senior class president at the U this semester and I told her I wanted to help in any way I could. She definitely took me up on it and I became the marketing director for her campaign. Can you say awesome opportunity?! From the logo on up I designed the posters and t-shirts for all 64 Senate and Assembly Candidates as well as posters for Morgan, John and Chase.

I came close to pulling my hair out a couple of times and it proved to be a challenging experience for sure, but in the end it was all worth it -- I learned so much and got to see my design literally wallpapered across campus and the student body's student bodies. That was definitely the coolest part. There was even an article in The Chronicle praising my designs. Woohoo! Yes I'm tooting my own horn, but if I don't, who will?

Anyways, throughout the long election process the DGs all helped out Morgan in any way we could by making posters for her debate, going to parties, tabling on campus, making our own Morgan t-shirts, and just repping our girl!

In the end, the election was a complete success with the majority of the NOW candidates winning including Morgan, Chase and John. Quoted from The Chronicle: "As a whole, NOW captured 10 of the 15 Senate seats and 43 of the 49 Assembly seats. Morgan Sorensen, the NOW Party’s candidate, edged Tevita Uesi of the ICE Party for ASUU senior class president, claiming 57.4 percent of the 1,503 votes cast."

We all celebrated in Mexico for a week after it was all over.

24 DGs on a cruise in Mexico... could you ask for anything more fun?

It's one of those late night things

2010-03-15T01:21:00.005-06:00

Sorry I haven't been blogging in a while.

I should post more... but it takes way more energy than stalking other peoples' blogs does. So people whose blogs I stalk, keep it up. Like this. And this. And this. Oh, and this too.

But hey, while I've got you here, want to hear what's going on inside my head at 1:23 am? I tweeted this before (yeah, how cool do I sound), but I really think that college students have no idea what we're doing. And isn't it great?! When else can you do absolutely whatever you want (funds and nice parents permitting) and it be totally ok to fail and start all over again. OR on the other hand, do absolutely nothing but take two credit hours and get away with telling people you're a student and to get off your back. As a junior in college I'm finally trying to take this college kid mentality to heart and live it up. Why worry about the future so much? Live in the moment and enjoy, because time is passing and I may have to grow up one day. Or not.

Now that I'm all revved up...

Want to study for my Intro to Quantitative Communication Research midterm for me tomorrow? Believe me, this class is as great as it sounds. And my professor, my middle-aged ornery, global warming-crazed hippy professor, wears leggings with stirrups. Even if learning about the difference between nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio data was the most interesting thing in the world, I still would not be able to look away from her pants strapped to her short legs long enough to focus on the PowerPoint. I mean, could you?

So... will you study for me? K great thanks.

Oh by the way, Spring Break starts in t-minus six days. Not that I'm counting. Or over the moon about the idea of spending a week with 20 of my favorite DGs on a Mexican cruise. SPRING BREAK!!!!!!!!!

So I went on a date on Saturday night. And all in all it was fun. But we saw a play called "Our Town." Ever seen it or heard of it? Yeah, we hadn't either, but I went into it with an open mind. The play had no props, no scenery, just a narrator narrating what we should be seeing. (Just how small of a budget does Pioneer Theatre have?) I tried so hard to see something good in it. So hard. But, by the time the second, yes second, intermission came around and the play reached the point where I had to explain to my date that the actors sitting in chairs looking off into the distance were supposed to be dead townspeople in their graves watching living people have a funeral, I threw in the towel. Luckily we could laugh about it after. But we couldn't get those 2 1/2 hours back.

Anyways, I read this article on Lady Gaga the other day and all I have to say is whether you love her or hate her, you gotta respect her. If you want to talk about genius branding, just look at what Poker Face herself has done. She has gone from Lady who? to the most googled person in 2009 is less than two years, which is downright remarkable! How has she done it? SOCIAL MEDIA. It's the future, people. Start embracing it before it embraces you. She has 2.8 million Twitter followers and 5.2 million Facebook fans. Basically, if Oprah and Lady Gaga joined forces and created an army, we've got trouble. But what makes Gaga cool is that it is by trusting her own style and instinct has led her to where she is today.

Read this article if you need more convincing.

Did I really just post on Lady Gaga?

YES!

In other musical thoughts, have you heard of the band She & Him? If not, get on your Pandora and listen to them now. The band is a collaboration between Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, two singers I quite enjoy. So you would think those individual likes would combine to make one love, right? She & Him comes ever so close (especially with this new fun song), but still seems to miss the mark. The main problem I think is that Zooey shouldn't be carrying the vocal team. Join in, M. Ward. Alleyoop for the dunk! (Ana: I tried so hard to think of a cool basketball reference, but I think this one kind of fell flat. Ah, well.)

In other news, the jury is totally out as to whether or not I want it to be spring yet. In a perfect world it would always be winter in the mountains, low 80s in the valley and the Great Salt Lake would be an ocean. Genius, right? I love skiing so of course I want ski season to be prolonged, but seriously, I've forgotten what it's like to open the door and not have every nerve in my body tighten because it's just that cold. Remember what it's like just to sit outside? I'm forgetting. The problem is that March is the most pre-teen bipolar adolescent month in the whole year. Two days ago it was close to hitting 60. Yesterday we got four inches of snow. Make up your mind already. I guess what it really comes down to is that I know we still have some of the best powder days of the season in store, but I sure won't mind the warm sunshine.

With that, I'm off to sleep. Tomorrow is going to come early, but what's new? Good night the few people that read this who should really be doing your homework.

Skiing the Beav

2010-03-01T00:21:00.005-07:00

Thursday night Abby and I headed up to Beaver Mountain with some friends and we all skied the Beav on Friday.

Great snow, great friends and great skiing made for one of the best ski days I've ever had.

What's more fun than skiing?

2010-03-01T00:07:00.000-07:00

The Golden Rule

2010-02-24T11:30:00.004-07:00

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

- Moses (1525-1405 BC) Lev. 19:18

“What you do not wish upon yourself, do not extend to others.”

- Confucius (551-479 BC)

“What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man.”

- Hillen (50 BC – 10 AD)

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

- Jesus (0-33 AD) in the Gospels: Luke 6:31, Luke 10:27, Matt 7:12

“Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.”

- Muhammed (571-632 AD) Farewell Sermon

Seems to be a common theme throughout religion... I guess it's pretty important. Be nice, people.

A Lesson in Typography

2010-02-23T19:24:00.008-07:00

I have found the class for me. It is four hours long on Thursday nights and it flies by. It's Visual Editing (aka Design) and I love it. We spend the entire class working on layouts - what works, what doesn't work... basically stuff I would be doing on my own time anyways, but with this I get to be dorky and talk about how amazing the counter in the "a" of Helvetica looks with 25 other people and still be cool! Oh yeah, and we watched a documentary entirely on the Helvetica font. And yes, I was obsessed. But I digress. Anyways, probably the main reason why I love this class is my professor, Jim Fisher. If you're a Comm major at the U and haven't taken a class from him yet, take one. I realized just how awesome he is when we were going through the fonts on our computer. Turns out there are forbidden fonts: Papyrus and "The Z Font." Like Voldemort we cannot even utter the name, but I have shown it below. If any professor ever makes a Harry Potter reference in regards to typography he gets an A+ in my book.

Don't you see how amazing Helvetica is?! Like Jim promised, though, this class has ruined me. All I ever notice anymore are the fonts and designs of everything from road signs to textbooks. I, however, couldn't be more stoked. Everything I've been learning in that class has also been super helpful with this project I've been slaving away at for my friends who are running in the student election. More information is forthcoming.

Three Generations

2010-02-23T19:16:00.006-07:00

Yesterday my dad, my grandpa and I all tore up Alta.

I hope I will still be shredding at 77 like my awesome granddad.

From the wheel to 140 characters

2010-02-23T17:34:00.007-07:00

The space between the discovery of fire and the discovery of the wheel was enormous compared to today’s rate of technological growth. Rather than being measured in years, technological advancements in today’s world are being made in a matter of months, weeks and days.

Now, I’m not saying my parents were discovering the wheel, but compared to today, it seems as though new advancements were not as quick to come around in 1965 as they are in 2009.

In my almost 21 years I have seen the change from VHS to DVD to BluRay; the shift from landlines, to massive cell phones, to iPhones; from cds to MP3s; the Internet, even -- I’ve been around for its development.

This leads me to believe that although my dad still cannot grasp onto the idea of Twitter, I think my generation will be much more open and accepting of the changes to come. I cannot image what will be thought up next, but I’d like to think I’m going to be adept and embracing at whatever new developments comes.

WWV: The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination

2010-02-16T23:04:00.006-07:00

Although this video did not come from Club Moreton Productions, it is most definitely worth watching if you've got 20 minutes and 58 seconds. A speech filled with Harry Potter references is Grade A in my book, and J.K. Rowling makes some interesting points that have left me thinking. Rowling failed at life. If she had succeeded at anything else she may not have gone on to write novels and then what would I have read for the past ten years? Rock bottom produced a solid foundation from which she rebuilt. And she doesn't value imagination for the stories it creates, but rather the empathy it enables. Check it out.

Check out the transcript here.

Thanks to Jake for sending this my way.

PS: I just realized that today is only Tuesday. Wrong day for "Wednesday's Weekly Video." Wow this week is screwy. Oh well.

My Girls

2010-02-07T23:10:00.012-07:00

Regina Spektor, Ingrid Michaelson, Adele, Santogold, T. Swift and Maja (pronounced My-yah, go figure) from The Sounds

Currently making some of the best stuff out there, here are the girls that just keep showing up on my iPod.

Girls, welcome our newest member who's been hogging the playlist: Priscilla Ahn.

Watch this and tell me you don't fall in love with her. I bought her entire cd and love it, if you'd like a copy.

Plenty of misconceptions to go around.

2010-02-07T21:40:00.008-07:00

Under the premise of watching a movie about a cellist, my mom ordered Departures from Netflix and had it shipped our way.

I mean come on, it looks like it would be about a cello player. And with the cello being the string equivalent of the bassoon, my sister Amanda was all geared up about it.

The movie starts. Oh, cool, it's a straight up Japanese movie with subtitles and all. And the main character plays the cello. Cello, cool. Five minutes into the movie the symphony is dissolved. No more cello. Unemployed, the main character then mistakenly accepts a job as a "Nokanshi" or "encoffineer": a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life. The rest of the movie was about Japanese burial ceremonies. Death. No cello. Just death.

I loved it.

It was surprisingly very moving and poignant, and it completely drew me in. The soundtrack and cinematography didn't hurt anything either. It was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film a few years back. Perhaps my favorite part of the film was that it exposed me to an aspect of Japanese culture that I am almost entire unaware of. Although death is the subject of great ceremony in Japanese culture, it is also a very taboo subject, something that the movie showed very well and interestingly. Celebrating life while showing reverence for death, this movie teetered on profound.

I recommend this movie. Netflix it. And if you find the soundtrack, Amanda's looking for it cheaper than shipping it over from Japan for $90. After all, it is the cello.

Criticism

2010-02-01T14:12:00.001-07:00

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. - Theodore Roosevelt

Wednesday's Weekly Video: Yes, we made this in college.

2010-01-20T23:30:00.006-07:00

For all those who have not yet seen this work of genius, here you go.

Behold! Helen Killer.

Things That Grind My Gears

2010-01-19T17:20:00.004-07:00

1. The parking attendants at the University of Utah.

2. Times New Roman

3. Not being able to find this anywhere. All I want is a one-piece! You wouldn't think it would be that hard.

If you hear anything about a cool one-piece not made in 1987, let me know!

A Few Words on Sleeping

2010-01-18T02:19:00.011-07:00

I don’t do much of it.

Since I can remember, sleep has never come easily for me. Those close to me can attest to this. I don’t sleep at night. But I do sleep all day. This is a fact that bugs me a lot more than I let on. I’m not quite sure what it so hard about sleeping for me. Wait. I suppose the better question should be, I don’t see what’s so easy about sleeping. I toss and turn, watch movie after movie, read book after book, and hey, let’s just say if stores were open late at night, my to-do lists would virtually disappear.

But that’s not how it is.

Here’s how it is: it’s 2:18, and I’m sitting here typing this, and because it's 2:18 that's probably why it sounds like this. I suppose my mind just came without the “off” switch that so many others seem to have come (blessed) with.

I can't fall asleep most nights.

Leads to very cool blogs though. And very random thoughts like these:

*BEWARE TO THE FAINT OF HEART, THESE THOUGHTS WILL NOT DARE TO BE SENSICAL, LOGICAL OR EVEN SPELLED RIGHT*

you were warned.

to continue:

- Is it just me, or is everyone turning into a photographer these days? There's nothing wrong with it, I'm all about capturing moments visually. It just seems popular. Trend alert. Just remember, a camera does not a photographer make. (not to discourage, merely state a fact) Hey, go shoot em, Tex.

- Just came up with a new blog post (not about ubiquitously budding photographers), but of something different. shall save for later. just a steph.y.i.

- Bought this song because I found it on this way cool blog and I want to be way cool too. I think the song is way cool.

- I'm now thinking about my mom pulling up my blog tomorrow and saying, "2:35 AM, Steph?" Not in an angry way, nor in a disappointed way, but in a we-need-to-get-on-that-new-sleeping-pill-prescription way.

- Still listening to this song and imagining what movie it could soundtrack (because that's what I do with literally almost every song). The strangest thing came to mind: It would be perfect to quietly narrate us lather our toast with nutella in the servery at the Centre in London. For some reason, this song brings to mind the pale blue tint of the high lights reflected off of dreadfully plain tables after a long, cold night, where the only thing provided to warm you is hot nutella toast and hot chocolate packets that make your stomach bubble and your teeth itch. With coats, even sometimes hats, scarves and gloves still on, I remember not being able to get warm nutella toast fast enough. Well, this song fits that. Please excuse my momentarily rambling.

- That leads me to another thought though. I think this is so strange, but songs bring to mind colors. A song doesn't always make me feel a certain way, or think certain things, but almost always I associate colors to songs. Shades of deep purples, blues and greens come to mind with The Format. Deep blue and grey with sparkles of bright oranges and reds with Bon Iver. Just ask me sometime, ok? That may make more sense.

- Gone With the Wind gets sadder as you get older. It gets sadder and more pitiable (I know that's not the word I'm looking for, but hey, it's what I'm putting down). The beautifully tragic break down.

- There were a lot of deaths involving horses in Gone With the Wind. Just another reason to help me nail more boards into my "No Horses Allowed" fence I keep around me at all times.

- Despite all of her other flaws, I admire Scarlet for her fearlessness. She tackled everything with her head held high. That's pretty cool. Gotta write that down. Oh, here we go!

- I miss being on an outdoor competitive soccer team just so I could go at there and run not just to get in shape, hit girls and not feel bad, fall hard onto the grass and fight to get back up, feel how awesome connecting passes together feels, harnessing that first touch, and hearing the ball in the back of a net: either one of the best, or one of the worst sounds. Don't quite know what to do about it.

- Mother Nature, I asked for SNOW not SMOG. Close, but no cigar.

Time for bed now? I don't even want to re-read this post and see the splatters of nonsense. But, well, there they are. Feel as you will.

You know, I don't think I would have written this if I had roommates who stayed up late too. Just a thought. Good night.

Free-Heeling

2010-01-09T20:48:00.005-07:00

This week Masha, Erin and I rented some Telemark skis, went up to Snowbird and this is what happened. Turns out it's as hard as it looks.

It was also the maiden voyage of my new GoPro HD -- the coolest HD, waterproof, wearable, not to mention smallest video camera I've ever seen.

Enjoy the show.

("1901" by Phoenix)

Year's End: 2009 in Review

2009-12-27T23:27:00.003-07:00

January: Moved to London. 27 Palace Court, hello! Stonehenge, Bath, Stourhead.

February: Big snow: the entire city shut down -- 18 inches, people! Wales. Isle of Wight. Stratford-Upon-Avon. Mum comes to visit! Teaching Young Women's at the Mitchum Ward. Valentines Day party.

March: London. Irrreland for St. Patrick's Day. Lake District and Northern England. Nutella addiction peaked. Kitchen duty.

April: London. Paris en la printemps. Come home. DG Initiation. Skiing again.

May: LA with Jake. Relief Society presidency. Internships (ad agency & Local First Utah) and summer school... yuck. Montana with Masha, Dad & Thomas. Amanda's senior recital & graduation.

June: Montana. 20th birthday bash. Boating. Road biking.

July: Montana with the friends. And more Montana. Harry Potter party & premiere! Expelliarmus!

August: Montana with the Moretons. California with the London girls for a wedding (just kidding). School starts (yay!) Amanda moves down to BYU and I become an only child with Louie.

September: Back to DG and loving it! Rush. DGs at the Drive-In with the Anchorman as my date, my tradition. Inst with Aubs. Fishing the Green River with Dad. Football games. Go Utes.

October: School is hard, but I love PR. Rock climbing class = blisters. New little sis, Emily! T-Shirt Master with Vanessa, my first little sis. New York for Fall Break with Lauren, Aubree, Emmy, Taylor and Caruz. Flapjack for Anchor Splash. Checked off a life-goal and saw The Sounds!

November: Initiation. Masha's surprise 21st. DG Formal. Derby Days Dodgeball & Soccer Domination! Sig Formal. Casino Night... check out the outfit. Ski teaching at Alta. Thanksgiving.

December: Busy, busy. Finals. Ski teaching. Wedding videos. Sub for Santa Dance Party. Partying with Erin and Masha. Christmas! California.

2009 has been an amazing and eventful year! It's been a year of travel and adventure; definitely a year unlike any of my past 20! I've seen so many awesome things, met so many awesome people and had so much fun with all of my friends. I've learned that everyday is an adventure; there is beauty everywhere, even in the ordinary; you can make anything fun; and it will all get done... somehow.

Can't wait to see what 2010 will bring.

The Moreton Noel

2009-12-26T18:19:00.011-07:00

Christmas at Club Moreton this year was quite impressive. As Christmas is a holiday that is not just one day, here's what we did to celebrate all December long.

After Amanda came back into town from down south, Louie picked out our Christmas trees for us.

Afterwards as we pulled up to the front door, before we even unloaded the tree, we decided to grab the camera and take our Christmas card picture. Louie was definitely not in the mood. You should have seen it: the four Moretons running like crazy, slipping on ice as we tried to catch our mutt who wanted to play a game of Chase.Finally after we tracked him down with much shaking of the Scooby Snacks box, (yes, we feed our dog Scooby Snacks) we managed to land this pic:

In other celebrations, I planned a Sub for Santa Christmas Dance Party with the DGs and Good in the Hood, a non-profit organization that a bunch of my friends started. I wrote an article about Good in the Hood for my news writing class, and you can check it out here.

The party was a hit. We had almost 300 people packed into the DG house, and by charging $3 at the door we raised over $600. The money helped refugee families have their first Christmas in the U.S. by providing them with much-needed necessities. Amanda helped me drape Christmas lights in the Chapter Room while the other elves decked the rest of the house out to make it look extra festive. We also had a dj and enough Christmas treats to last until next year. It was a combined effort of a lot of people that made it such a success for sure!

I've never seen more people jammed into the Deeg, and probably never will again.

Santa, in the shape of 5" Morgan Sorenson, even stopped by!

Oh, another Christmas thing: for a DG Monday night meeting all of the DGs went ice skating over to the Gallivan Center. These pictures took far more skill and concentration than it appears.

All in all, it's been a great Christmas season. Now off to California to get out of the winter cold for a bit. SLC: 12 degrees. Palm Springs: 68 degrees. Merry Christmas!

No Big Deal

2009-12-19T23:42:00.005-07:00

Ana: "So back in high school, I had a double class period, kind of like Double Potions..."

Molly and I exchange glances, smile, nod our heads and acknowledge the skillfully added Harry Potter reference without saying a word, then turn back to look at Ana who continues her story without noticing...

No wonder we all get along so well.

Wednesday's Weekly Vid: For the Summer State of Mind

2009-12-16T13:38:00.001-07:00

Finals are finally final! Here's a video all about summer, for all of those who have reached the end of the semester. Filmed at my cabin in Montana in 2008, here is MT '08.

Music by MGMT, G. Love & Special Sauce and Sigor Ros.

Business 1050 Commonplace Book Assignment: An Excerpt

2009-12-16T00:46:00.006-07:00

7. Economy from Walden

Henry David Thoreau

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; this is where they should be. Now put the foundation under them”

Thoreau admonishes us to have firm resolve. If we have built these castle-like dreams it is not an improbable or impractical pursuit. The building of our dreams is only the first part, however -- castles in the air serve no purpose. Thoreau tells us to make those dreams a reality and go to work building a “foundation.”

So often are we told that our dreams are too lofty and are therefore impossible. We are told to give up because there is no use in pursuing our goals and ambitions in life that seem beyond reach. To Thoreau, however, impossible is nothing. To Thoreau, impossible is where the future begins.

Jealous of my project? I didn't think so. But Thoreau has struck a chord with me. Think about it, what is now impossible may one day be possible, because all dreams start with the impossible... What are your "castles in the air?"

"If" by Rudyard Kipling

2009-12-15T22:32:00.005-07:00

f you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

The Bible

2009-12-10T00:43:00.001-07:00

Don't have one? Get one.

Wednesday's Weekly Video: The London Trailer

2009-12-09T15:17:00.003-07:00

Here's the trailer for the movie I'm working on right now. This was filmed on my study abroad in London last winter. I originally didn't take my camera over with me and realized my mistake once I got there! My mom was kind enough to bring it over with her when she came to visit about half-way through my adventure. It never left my side from then on. I do want to say that I discovered this song before it was in 500 Days of Summer, when I was in London. Not that it matters, but I just wanted to make that clear! :) Cheers!

What a Cold-Driving-Writing-Flyers-DG-Russian Day

2009-12-07T22:36:00.010-07:00

Today was a good day. It kind of crescendoed in the sense that this morning my outlook on life was bleak as it was so early and so cold, as Monday mornings always seem to be. By the end of the day, however, this Monday turned into an amazing one. Here's the play-by-play:

I thought I was going to be late to school today because, well, I'm always late, but today I knew I would make it on time because saw the Cullen Baseball team Honda. Allow me to explain. I've gotten Foothill Drive down to a science as I drive it at least once every day, if not more. The left lane is usually the quickest, so I usually take that route. I know that I will be on time to class if I see the Twilight Honda (which is usually in the middle lane), and today I did! The pic below was taken the first time I saw this car over two months ago (you can tell I'm a rookie because I'm in the slow lane with her), but I thought it had such a funny sticker that I took a picture. Now I've never read the Twilight books, but in the movie I learned that the Cullen family can only play baseball during thunder storms because when they hit the ball it is so loud it sounds like thunder... or something like that. The sticker says "Hear the Thunder, Cullen Baseball." It always gives me a smile when I see this car because not only is it such a silly sticker, but I know I won't be late!

My news writing class today. You can tell there wasn't much news I was writing.

I then spent the rest of my day running around getting posters and flyers ready for the Sub for Santa Christmas Dance Party at the DG house on December 18th (tell your friends). Printing off the posters at Moreton & Co I not only hung out with my dad, but Mick and Granddaddy too! Talk about a family affair.

After our last DG meeting of the semester, which was a blast, Abby, Masha, Taylor Brody and I went to the Ivory Russian Christmas party. Yeah, still doesn't make sense, but it was fun! Borsch, stroganoff and cabbage abounded as well as silly hats and the usual Ivory entertainment. Ellis had his shirt off, Smeegs was reading Tolstoy in a Russian accent per Chris' request, Clark was taking faraway pics and we were all laughing in the back. I think that paints enough of the picture.

С Рождеством!

2009-12-07T01:15:00.003-07:00

ourage does not always boast. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." -- Anonymous

2009-12-05T18:13:00.005-07:00

othing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Parachutes

2009-12-04T15:10:00.008-07:00

So the design project I just mentioned isn't working out the way I had planned or expected, and I was getting frustrated and stressed. But then I took a step back, looked at the problem from a different angle, opened my mind and all of a sudden things are looking a lot better.

I set deadlines for myself in my mind; restrictions that limit my freedom, time and creativity, and I've realized that those restrictions are unnecessary, bad and actually self-imposed.

What keeps everyone from being creative, from reaching into the depths of their minds to pull out something unique and unusual? Mind blocks? I personally believe that mind blocks are limits placed upon our minds that we put there ourselves. When our traditional thought path is "blocked," we are usually frustrated and discouraged. Often times it's easy to give up and label the situation as a dead end and end up compromising. But perhaps those "blocks" aren't a bad thing. Problems cause us to think in different ways than we were before and maybe help inspire us to create greater solutions. Creativity, man -- it's important.

Until 1968 it was traditional and customary for high jumpers to cross the bar with their bodies parallel to it. This technique was called the Western Roll. A little-known athlete by the name of Dick Fosbury changed that in the 1968 Mexico Olympics. The world record at the time was 5 feet 8 inches. Approaching the bar, he ran towards it and took off, but instead of turning his body towards the bar like all of his other competitors, he turned his back to it, bringing his legs up and flipping over the bar. He jumped higher than any man ever before (7'8") by breaking the tradition and thinking opposite from everyone else. This technique, the Fosbury Flop, is still used today. Here's an example of a man who was faced with a problem, looked at it in a different way and found something incredible. Creativity, man -- it's important.

I think everyone has limitless thought potential -- literally infinite mental capacity. If only we would stop restricting ourselves and allow the incredible to be found. Your mind is like a parachute, it works best when it's opened.

So do things look like they're going down? Stand on your head.

ʎpɐǝɹlɐ dn ƃuıʞool ǝɹɐ sƃuıɥʇ

Crew 22

2009-12-04T14:03:00.009-07:00

I love my pledge class, Crew 22. A group of such legit girls can be found nowhere else! As my last project as DG T-Shirt Master I decided to make a sweatshirt for Crew 22. I just finalized the design today and I hope it turns out!

These guys are seriously all my best friends and I love being a part of the best pledge class out. After three years we're still standing strong, although not 22 strong, but strong nonetheless! Yesterday my grandma showed me a photo of her Kappa pledge class from UCLA. I think 50 years down the road, I'll still have my pledge class photo and be showing to my granddaughter, talking about all of the fun and crazy things I did in college with all of my best friends. Stories worth telling for sure.

Tick Tock

2009-12-02T23:45:00.004-07:00

1,000,000 (million) seconds ago = about a week and a half ago

1,000,000,000 (billion) seconds ago = about 30 years back, mid 1970s

1,000,000,000,000 (trillion) seconds ago = over 30,000 years ago! We're talking cave men.

Crazy.

WWV: Wednesday's Weekly Video

2009-12-02T18:25:00.002-07:00

Welcome to the first installment of Wednesday's Weekly Video, also known as WWV. Here's a wedding video I just finished that was shot by Mr. Jake Larsen, edited by me and narrated by Coldplay.

Enjoy the show.

Wedding Video from Stephanie Moreton on Vimeo.

December 1st

2009-12-01T17:16:00.005-07:00

Today. Today was a good day. Skiing in the afternoon and rock climbing at night.

Alta was bitter cold and the wind whipped icy mist from the snow machines over the peak. It was my first day riding the chairs after many days of hiking. Nothing beats cruising down groomers on a sunny day! Well, except powder. Alta currently has a base of 20". Please, pray for snow other than this:

Today also marks the beginning of Christmas season (for me at least -- there are quite a few people I know that started celebrating the day after Halloween Lauren Rice). But I wait until December. So merry Christmas to one and all!

Dark Meat is My Favorite

2009-11-30T23:42:00.006-07:00

Thanksgiving was at Club Moreton this year and I tell you what, we went all out.

While the grown-ups dined in the dining room, the kids were in the kitchen enjoying the feast.

Notice who is second to the shortest now (if you don't count the lil kids who were most likely playing in the basement when this was taken):

I'm the oldest cousin on both sides of my family, but I just know I am going to be the shortest one of the lot. The thing is that I'm not the short though! 5'5"... Come on! Giant blood runs through my family I suppose. But in the spirit of Thanksgiving, this quote inspires me:

"If you can't be content for what you have received, be thankful for what you have escaped."

I am grateful that I can always find size 7 1/2 shoes to fit my feet that are smaller than all of my taller cousins.

Happy (late) Thanksgiving.

Blog 3.0

2009-11-26T02:59:00.006-07:00

Steph's Stuff is yet another blog to add onto my growing list of blogs. So why start a new one? Partly because I want my grandma to know what I’ve been up to (Hi Nanny!) Partly because I like to look back and see pictures and words about all of my awesome adventures. Partly because writing and summing up my experiences helps me to remember and understand what they mean to me.

But the main reason for Steph's Stuff is that blogging is a lot of fun!

So here’s Steph’s Stuff; in essence, my online and public journal. I’m going to pick up blogging about the present and maybe move backwards (if I get around to it).

Life is good. I want to blog about it.

Fishing With Father

2009-10-18T01:35:00.000-06:00

The weekend after Labor Day Dad and I went on a fishing trip down the Green River. It was so much fun, and not just because I caught more fish than Dad. But that definitely didn't hurt.

Just chilling with our guide who rowed us down the river and helped me learn the technique of fly-fishing.

Turns out I am a natural fisherwoman and was just reeling in the fish. Dad, however, was not having the same luck. Here's the catch of the day, his half of a fish:

Luckily he warmed up and landed this guy:

It was a great trip and hope to do it again!

Steph's Stuff: An Intro

2009-10-18T01:24:00.001-06:00

The inaugural post of a new blog...

Welcome to Steph's Stuff:

a documentation of

what I'm doing, where I'm going and who I'm with!

Enjoy.