Monday, May 18, 2009

Best Friends meet in Boise :)

My first best friend at USU came to visit me this weekend! So fun! On Friday I was up to nothing = watching tv I had recorded, when I got a phone call from Tayna. :) We talked for about 40 minutes about life and that we both didn't have very big plans for the weekend when she suggested she drive up to visit! I was sooo excited! Four hours later she was at my house! We went out to dinner and then came back to my house and talked until midnight.

The next day I had to produce a parade in a nearby city. She came with me and sat in the production truck with us. She thought it was amazing but to me it was just another parade. I've now been here a year and 5 months and this was my year mark of parades. It was pretty stressful because the parade ended 5 minutes too soon. We tried to stretch people putting away their chairs into something interesting. After the parade we headed to my aunt and uncle's nearby and played with my cousins. We baked cookies and grilled hot dogs. We also played evvy-ivy-over and played with the neighbor's golden retriever. He was such a fast dog. We fed my uncle's horses and then came back and said good bye.

Next we headed to the shops! Tayna and I love to go shopping and that we did. We only hit up two stores but I think we got some pretty good sales. Notable buys, I got a new scarf and orange shirt and she got a cute t-shirt jacket and some fun earings.

We came back, ordered pizza and watched a movie. I fell asleep during the movie -- which Tayna normally does. Funny.

Yesterday she came to church with me and then she had to go home. I miss her already. Right now she's looking for a job so I don't know where she'll be in even a month, but wherever she ends up I plan on visiting her. Everyone needs a little bit of spontaneous fun with a friend who understands you completely. :)

I love you Tayna, and hope to see you soon.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Standing up for what you believe in

This story struck me this morning and I knew I had to blog about it to share it.
At the Miss America pageant this year Miss California was asked a very difficult question.

She was asked "Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?"

This was her answer according to the article by Access Hollywood.

"Well I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. Um, we live in a land that you can choose same sex marriage or opposite marriage and, you know what, in my country and in, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman," Miss California Carrie Prejean said to a mix of boos and applause. "No offense to anybody out there. But that's how I was raised and that's how I think that it should be between a man and a woman."

The article goes on to talk about how one of the judges thinks she lost the competion because of her answer to that question.


First off, I don't think it was a "political" question at all. I believe it was a statement of beliefs.
She stood up for her beliefs and did a great thing for all of us who are fighting for the right to keep Marriage solely between a man and a woman. Great job a Carrie! You stood up for your God and mine when you stayed true to your beliefs.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we believe "We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife." -- The Family: A Proclamation to the World.


On NBC's Today Show this morning she said she wouldn't have answered the question any differently, "it's not about being politically correct, for me, it's about being Biblically correct."

Thanks again Carrie! I'm sorry you're not Miss America but I don't think that question should have cost you the crown.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

My Favorite Elphaba: Alexia Khadime


So, If I didn't tell you yet, when I went to Germany I took a weekend trip to England where I saw the broadway show Wicked! It was amazing! And now that I've seen it live, I have fallen in love with England's Wicked cast. I never saw the show in America, so that may be why I'm biased but you should hear this girl sing who played Elphaba.


Her name is Alexia Khadime and she is brilliant at Elphaba. I can't wait to buy her album that she's working on.
She's got to be one of my favorite singers right now.
Check out her new song and video on her website.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

New year, new goals

I haven't posted in a while, not that I didn't want to just because I've been busy working and sleeping and not geting on my computer when I come home from work. But would you blame me? I'm at work for 8-9 hours a day just sitting in front of a computer.

Here's a letter I wrote, to send to missionaires about a month ago, but I never printed it or mailed it to anyone. I'll try to do that sometime this week, but for now it's my new blog post :) Enjoy :)


Dec. 28, 2008

Hey!

I’m sorry I haven’t written you in forever, and considering I write for my living there’s no excuse.
How have you been? What are you up to? I haven’t heard from you in forever!

I’ve been busy, but mostly with work, sleep and trying to cram too much fun into weekends.

I work at NBC NewsChannel 7 in Boise, Idaho I am the morning show producer. That means I write what the anchors read for the 5-7am newscast. I’ve almost been here for a year! I interviewed exactly one year and a week ago. So crazy! If you haven’t heard, yes, I did graduate in journalism—I went to school to learn what I do. Any other questions? Pretty much my life is my job, and then sleep, and food. I feel like a slave sometimes and I want to go back to school – where I was carefree. Maybe I’ll go back in a couple of years. Right now I’m treating my job as my master’s degree. I signed a 3 year contract up here so one year down two to go. I really do like my job, but I miss taking 5 different subjects a semester and learning something totally new every 4 months.

My highlights of my year are few but fun. I tried wakeboarding this summer, I sorta got up. I wanna try that again. I went to Germany this fall. (My cousin and her husband live there. He’s in the military. I figured, free place to stay and a tour guide!) I flew out by myself and met up with my cousins. It was a fabulous adventure. I went to Frankfurt, Germany, a little south west of there and then into France – just on the border. And one weekend there we flew to London, England and saw the Broadway Musical Wicked!. It was so fun! I also rode mountain bikes through the Black Forest, (If you’ve never been “real” mountain biking this is the place to go, it was hard but fun!)

I fly home to Utah to see my family every few weeks – about once every two months. I have cousins up here who live 30 minutes away so I visit them as well. They are super fun! I just spent Christmas with them. They treated me just like one of their kids. It was fantastic!

The day after Christmas my younger –not so little anymore—brothers flew in to visit me! Even though it was supposed to be a quick flight from Utah to Idaho, it took about 6 hours because their plane from Colorado was delayed in the snow. But thankfully they waited for standby and got on the last flight up Friday night.

I showed them the News Studio yesterday, they were impressed. Now my parents are coming up this afternoon—driving in a car to pick them up—and brining me random things I never moved up with – Like my yearbooks and my guitar—I know random –but they are big and heavy.

Well, as the new year is coming I’m looking back at my “year in review” and trying to think of things I didn’t do this year that I want to add to my list of next year.
1. I work the graveyard shift right now and have since I moved here 11pm –9am so that’s number one: get off the graveyard shift.
2. Read more books, I’ve gotten good at renting from the $1 rentals and watching any movie I want, but I really can’t tell you a book that I have read this year –that is sad.
3. I want to learn the guitar. Yes, I own one but I want to actually learn how to play it. I think it’s possible
4. I want to go to NYC! My uncle and aunt live there, he works at the institute building there, I so want to go visit!
5. I want to go up to some sort of mountains once a month. I live in Idaho, I should do more outdoor things now.
6. I want to buy my first car. I really want a jeep kinda thing—any suggestions? Right now I drive my grandparent’s old Cadillac. I love it and it serves me well, but my sister is about to get home from her mission and she needs a car, and I need something else.

I have a lot more goals but I’m not gonna bore you with them now.
Basically, I want to finally feel like I belong here in Idaho—or move on to somewhere that feels like home. Right now I feel like all this is just temporary.

We’ll see where life takes me.
I hope you are doing well on the mission. I need to study preach my gospel more and read more church books.

Have a Happy New Year and I hope all your dreams and goals happen for you this month and year.

Love ya,
Ranae :)

Layne & Betsy's Ranch

TRIP TO FLORIDA

Quints 2008