Guess What...

I'm a legal driver now! Yep, I can drive a car all by myself.

'Nough said.

First Snow

The first snow is finally here! It's so soft and beautiful, and I love it. Of course, that means that now I have to drive in the snow...great...

I'm still fascinated by the season's first snowfall, though. It brings a whole new aspect to the winter season--it brings the winter season to life. It says, "Here comes the holidays, everyone; you can go ahead and start celebrating now!" Anyways, I'm glad it has arrived. Yes, I know it will be cold, and driving in it will not be so fun, and yet my love affair with the snow will continue. It's one of those inexplicable facts of life.

Harry Potter Speaks American

Maddie and I found this hilarious clip while we were waiting to go see Harry Potter last night. I thought it was worthy enough to share.



Yes, I did see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows yesterday (actually, it was this morning). Although I am still very angry that David Yates included partial nudity in the movie, I have to say that the overall movie experience won me over. I have to tell you all, though, that the news article I read (and then wrote a very angry post about) was rather misleading. The dance scene that David Yates referred to was not a nude scene. It was simply a fun dance between Harry and Hermione, and I agree with Yates that the scene was very sweet. The only nudity in the movie was during the scene when Ron destroys the locket horcrux, and the only thing the audience truly saw were Harry and Hermione's bare shoulders. Yes, there was definitely implied nudity--and I am still really, really upset that Yates felt that he needed to go that far with the scene.
The movie, however, was spectacular, and I really enjoyed it. I feel that they are really doing the book justice. Yes, that one make-out scene is disturbing, and I wish they had changed it to be more appropriate for what is essentially a kids movie, but I'm glad I went. I just hope the next one is as fantastic.

A Penny for My Thoughts? Psshh, I'm Upping the Price to $1.25

When I get tired, I can't think straight, and sometimes I can't even see or hear straight. Oddly enough, this is usually when my best and most creative pieces of writing come to life.

Boots and a little bit of make-up are all I need to feel sexy. That and shaved legs.

Sometimes I wish I could be strange and insightful and write things that make people just stop and say, "Whoa." I wish I could change the minds of people all over the world because of a book or poem I wrote. Then I feel insecure, and this tiny, annoying voice in the back of my head says that I will never be more than a Stephenie Meyer wanna-be, which really depresses me.

There are four things that truly bring me out of "the depths of despair": 1) reading one of my favorite books; 2) eating chocolate in any form; 3) having long talks with my mom; 4) playing with a dog.

I've discovered that I really like answering phones. Which means my job=awesome.

Aside from when I'm really tired, I also write my best stuff when I'm really emotional--either super happy, really depressed, or angry.

Many times I wish that I can travel back in time and live in either the 1950s or the late 1800s. I wish I could go back there and truly feel like a lady; I wish I could go back and find the love of my life, kind of like Kate and Leopold, but in reverse. Now, I realize that those time periods aren't all that books and shows like Bewitched make them out to be, but I still carry that secret wish with me at all times.

One day, I'm going to go to Decades (a vintage store in down town Salt Lake) and buy every piece of clothing in there.

Travel is amazing. I love it, and I can't get enough of it. This is why I'm going into the Foreign Services.

I'm afraid that my future fiance will have very little say in our wedding. I have it pretty much all planned out.

I am inordinately excited about the fact that I'm going to Harry Potter World with my family this year for Christmas--I also really, really, REALLY want to participate in a wand ceremony and receive a wand from Olivanders. That would be INCREDIBLE! And yes, I do realize that I am a gigantic nerd.

How is it that I never went through the I-Hate-My-Mother-And-I'm-Going-To-Rebel-In-Any-Way-Possible phase? During my teenage years, my mom became my best friend.

I miss seeing Chelsey, Aaron, Katie, Paul, and Averi. I get to see Heather, Danny, and Brayden pretty much every other day, and that makes me incredibly happy. But I want to see the Jorgenson family too!

My life is awesome. I wouldn't trade it for any other in the entire world.

Must Go Travelling

Travel+Leisure just posted their 2010 "World's Best Hotels" list. I've been flipping through the pictures, and I want to go to all of them! Is anyone up for a trip? Or willing to donate to the "Ashley is poor but wants to see the world" fund?

Here's the link, for anyone interested in browsing through some truly gorgeous hotels.
www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-best-hotels-2010

Warning: Harry Potter is no longer fit for children to see

I just read the saddest news today: in the new Harry Potter movie, coming out next Thursday, there will be two nudity scenes. Neither of these scenes were the book, so the director, David Yates, just added these scenes because he felt like it.

I couldn't believe it when I read it in KSL News. It is so upsetting that David Yates has decided that a movie that is geared toward children should have nude scenes in it. Here's a statement from David Yates about one of the nude scenes: "It's where Hermione and Harry dance together and is not in the book. It's something that we create for the film..." I just don't understand where this is coming from. Later, Yates said that the scene is"tender." What? I'm still trying to figure out how a scene like that could be tender--it feels more like Yates is trying to see how far he can push the envelope in this scene. What messages are they trying to send our children? And what messages are we sending our children if we let them go see this new installment of Harry Potter?

I have been so excited to see this film, but now that I know there are nude scenes, it makes me step back from the movie a little. And I wanted to let everyone know, so that they don't go to the movie theaters as an unsuspecting audience.

Halloween

I promised Chelsey I would take lots of pictures of my adorable 1950s costume that my mom sewed for me for Halloween. I've always loved the clothes from the 1950s and the 1960s, and I've always wanted to own a piece of clothing from those eras. So I thought that Halloween would be the perfect time to get a dress from the 1950s. With Chelsey help, I picked out a pattern and some cute fabric. My mom found a vintage store down in downtown Salt Lake City, and she bought me a couple of really cute hats and a pair of gloves. Hopefully, I get to back to that store one day (Decades) and browse around for some other cute stuff! I thought the dress turned out really well, and the hat and the gloves just made the ensemble. So here it is:

Working Girl 2.0

I officially finished training today! I took my final test and everything, and now I am taking calls completely by myself. It's kind of nerve-wracking, actually. Then again, there's always people who are willing to help me, so it's not so bad.

This week was interesting. I made one girl so happy that she wanted to hug me, and then I made another girl cry. I requested finals and certified a proctor. I helped recruit at least two people to Independent Study, which was awesome. I also got a ton of homework done because the phones were so slow. I'm not a slacker, I promise!

Hopefully, things will continue to go up from here. I get paid today, so for me, this job is the best job ever!