touched by a testimony

fast and testimony meeting always has its interesting moments in my ward. this Sunday was no different. although i could talk about some of the characters and what they had to say, what stood out most to me came from a five year old boy. his dad was assisting him by whispering in his ear, but i know what this little boy had to say really came from his heart. he expressed gratitude for a prophet and said "he is always great for us." he testified of the truth of the scriptures and said "you should believe them." these cute statements are so true and have really made me think. i was able to attend the first presidency Christmas devotional. i too am grateful for a living prophet. he is great for us! he speaks for our Lord, and what could be greater for us than to receive a message from God? the scriptures are true, the events mentioned are reality. this also takes me back to my last post...in the forgotten carols it is mentioned that this tradition of Christmas would have us believe that a baby was born of a virgin, angels came from heaven to announce his birth, this babe would be the Savior of mankind. the scriptures are full of miraculous events that impact thousands and others that change the life of one soul. the stories of the scriptures may seem fantastical, however, when we really believe them...learn for ourselves that they are true, we also realize that these types of miracles can and do take place in our own lives. accepting the miracles from God's words, and more importantly the central message of our Redeemer Jesus Christ, will open our eyes to miracles around us and the most important miracle is the change that takes place in our own souls. so the prophet is great for us and we should believe the scriptures!

the forgotten carols

My family went to The Forgotten Carols on Friday. This is the second time I have seen it and there were parts that I enjoyed even more this time and other things that had a really strong impact on me that didn't before. I was thinking about why this was. The last time I went, even though it was only one year ago, I was in a different stage of life and had a different mindset. In the past year I have made life changing decisions and  found myself facing challenges I never imagined would be mine. The story and the lyrics touched me in a different way. I find it so interesting how media may not change, but its effect on us will. As I went to The Forgotten Carols with another year full of experiences, joys, and trials, the same message influenced me much differently than before. 

Billboards

I did some driving this last week to go visit my family for Thanksgiving and my mom's birthday. My husband was actually behind the wheel and I was in the passenger seat. I was looking at all the billboards and realized how much information is crammed on those things. It is nearly impossible to read all the information on all the billboards! Especially if you are the driver and need to be watching the road. If advertisers want people to pay attention to their billboards they need to have the most outrageous or the simplest to catch the eye of travelers. Try reading all the billboards between Provo and Salt Lake...I just don't think it is possible at freeway speeds.

flow

I think it is so funny how quickly we can become addicted to a new game on our phones or ipods. This last week my mom introduced my husband to the Flow. It is a really simple game of connecting colored dots to their pairs on a grid system. It gets pretty difficult as more is added to the board. This will probably be the big thing for my husband to play on his phone until he finds a new game or passes all the levels. My point is that I find it a little bit funny that we connect ourselves so much to this hand held devices. Even when we run out of levels or get bored of a certain game, we don't put them down...no, we find a new game.

taken 2

i went to Taken 2 last night and it was intense! i feel like it was even more fast paced and dramatic than the first one. there were some really disturbing things that the "bad guys" were doing...it made me a little bit sick to my stomach. anyway, here is the trailer that i watched before. i thought it was really interesting how the music at the end is very different from the chaotic clips being shown. it almost makes it more intense.

hobbit airline safely video

I was recently introduced to this video...it is a legit air line safety video creatively done to keep passengers interested. I think it is genius that they were able to use something big coming out in the media as part of their presentation because no one really actually watches those boring/annoying things. Now people are watching this safety video even when they aren't flying...clever. 

i need my phone...

so i never thought that i was so needy when it came to my phone. i have been trying to not rely on it so much for basically no good reason. i turned it off one night and i was still pulling it out of my pocket every 10 minutest to check the time...then remembered it was off. even when i am not expecting a text, i find myself frequently seeing if i might have received one and didn't  notice. i feel like my phone has a little bit of control over me...and i don't like it.

whale rider

i went to my sisters class with her and they were watching the movie whale rider. it was a really interesting movie and i really enjoyed it. what was most interesting to me was how it showed the culture of the new zealand tribe slowly being influenced by western ideas. there was a kid in lakers jersey....really? i think it is funny that memorabilia from our athletics can be found anywhere in the world. do these small tribe people really know who kobe bryant is?

product placement

i was telling bryce (my husband) about what we discussed in class dealing with product placement. his automatic response was, "they do that with cars all the time." i thought that was interesting because cars are something that i rarely notice in movies/tv/etc. however, bryce really likes cars and knows a lot about them. as a loan officer he also does a lot of car loans. then i thought about things that may jump out at me that might not for other people. i think the style of clothing someone is wearing can influence me to want to get a new outfit. i guess anything can be product placement if it appeals to the viewer and influences their purchasing.

tuning in

I think the radio has become less popular due to advances in streaming music. They have had to come up with interesting ways to keep people tuning in. They have elaborate games with prizes, they tell interesting facts, and update you on the traffic and weather. I am someone that doesn't always have to have music on when I drive, but when I do listen to it, I change the station every time it goes to commercial or just talking...and if I can't find a song I like, I turn off the radio. My husband, on the other hand, is a talk radio junkie. That is his favorite thing to listen to when he drives. He always has some new story or fact to share with me that he heard on the radio. He has his favorite host of the different stations and knows them by name (and voice). I don't really get it. The funny thing is he would rather listen to radio announcers that ESPN commentators when it come to watching BYU. During the football game the other day he listened to it on the radio with headphones with the TV on mute. It is all very strange to me.

"not a single picture in this whole book, how do they expect me to learn?"

this would be what my husband said as he was preparing for test and looking through his text book. i laughed  and then secretly considered my animosity for textbook pages that only contain text. text books can seem to be so overwhelming at times.  it is the break of a table, picture, or graph that keeps me going. i had to read about 100 pages in a text book yesterday...i was so glad there were pictures or i could not have done it!  

favorite book

When I think about the books I read as a child, I am reminded of a quote from the movie You’ve Got Mail. Meg Ryan’s character Kathleen Kelly is sharing her passion of books and reflecting on helping her mother in her bookstore as a child when she says, “…it wasn't that she was just selling books, it was that she was helping people become whoever it was they were going to turn out to be. Because when you read a book as a child it becomes part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does…” Because books can be so real to children, they are an opportunity to experience things they would not it any other way. These experiences are influential to development.

In third grade, my class read The BFG by Roald Dahl. This book stands out as one of my childhood favorite because it was one that connected me to my classmates. We were all reading it together so it became a part of our conversation and play. I remember using some of the unique words from the book like “snozzcumber” with my friends as if they were a part of our normal vocabulary. We would also try to come with our own words to use, similar to those in the book. I specifically remember doing this with one little girl who became my best friend through high school. I have never really considered The BFG having a great impact on my life, but looking back, I think it was a great socializing tool for me as a grade-schooler. 

kitchen design

In my design in the home class this week I presented my empire style kitchen I designed. This class used to only have design projects that  were hand drafted. Now it is really cool because we are using online programs to create the general look, then finding specific pieces through any resource we prefer. Most of my design selections were made online. I found my appliances, tile flooring, concrete flooring, etc. all online. This is just a simple 3D image showing the layout of my kitchen design. This class has changed a lot as technology has advanced. 

conversation TV

Recently my husband and I have watched a lot of the DIY network. It has been really fun. We talk about what we want in our home one day...we don't plan on living in a basement apartment forever. We get inspired by how simple some of the do in yourself projects look. This network has been fun because we discuss things for the future and share our opinions of what the people on the shows are doing. It is different than just watching a regular sitcom show because we actually have conversation during the show that doesn't interrupt it.

modern miracle

What a blessing the technology of today can be! It really is a miracle! I was able to sit in a chapel in Payson, UT and watch the wonderful leaders of our church speak in the General Relief Society Meeting. Woman were able to do this all over the world. This truly is a miracle! The speakers were so inspired and their messages motivating. I had some very personal and important things taught to me in this meeting. I really feel like this conference is off to a great start! I am so excited for this coming weekend! I was able to attend this with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. It was funny to me that we were trying to decide where to watch and we had so many options. This is a dilemma of our day. What a great way for technology to be used. 

have yourself a merry little christmas

I love Christmas music! One day this week I was having a hard time and was stuck at home alone, so I turned on some favorite Christmas songs. What a treat! It just makes me feel so warm and fuzzy inside. I know that it is only September...but when I listen to this music I just feel so happy! It really helped me to have a better day. This is one of my very favorite Christmas songs...

Saved by an iPhone

As I mentioned in my first email I do not have an iPhone. Luckily my husband does. We have turned to the Waze app a couple times this week to make sure we were taking the best route or to avoid getting lost. I am actually doing this post from his iPhone because we are out of town and don't have Internet access other than his phone. Technology can be such a life saver. If you don't have an iPhone, my advice would be to become friends with someone who does.

Connect to the Past

This week my husband and I have both been talking about movies that we liked during childhood. He mentioned that Mountain of The Lord was one of his favorite movies as a kid. This is a movie produced by the Church about the building of the Salt Lake Temple. He said he got it for his birthday once but lost it. I surprised him with the movie and we watched it Tuesday. He was so excited...like a kid again. He was so disappointed when I fell asleep. This little experience just made me consider how much media from childhood influences us throughout life. It is almost like re-experiencing childhood when we are able to watch/listen/etc. again.
This film was also a great way to feel a connection to the early pioneers and increased my appreciation for all the sacrifices they made to build a temple. I am motivated to sacrifice more to serve in the temple because of their examples portrayed in this movie.

who does my media connect me too?

this week my husband and i were driving to the store in his car. as he was going through the radio stations i thought it was funny that a few of his programmed stations are country music. he did not really listen to country music before we dated, but now he listens to it quite a bit. it just made me think about how much of our media is influenced by the people we surround ourselves with. he listens to country because i like it...i think he likes it now too. the best part is that i really don't listen to that much country music. my husband probably listens to a lot more than i do now. i actually made a comment to him a while ago about how much he listens to country now. he said that it is something that makes him feel connected to me and maybe in a while he will go back to what he used to listen to.

This song by Brad Paisley is one that my husband did not know before we were dating. But now it is a very special song to us because it is the one he chose to dance with me to at our wedding reception.  I had nothing to do with that selection, but I am very pleased. 
so do you really like your media choice or is that choice driven by your fondness of another person?

my life and media

i have appreciated the media since my little pony and pound puppies were my choice of entertainment. now i am more attracted to a show or movie that will make me laugh or give me that warm fuzzy feeling. although to the world i may appear to be a "grown up," i would still choose the disney channel over the news any day. what a blessing is to live in today's world were commercials have become optional and it doesn't really matter if you have a blank vhs to be able to catch what you missed while you were out doing something slightly more important. in reality i have this twisted love/hate relationship when it comes to a lot of the media. here are some of the struggles i have...

 the television: once upon a time i grew quite addicted to this box full of entertainment. i could watch csi: new york for hours and laugh at episodes of the office that i had seen multiple times. however, i didn't have this medium for 19 months as i served a mission, and now the television is really a complicated thing in my life. i realized how easily time is wasted in front of a moving picture. too add to that it seems to paralyze my husband from doing anything...even if he would not normally watch re-runs of the pyramid game show from the 70s. it seems to erase from his mind any previous objectives he was working on. i am aware that television has been a weakness of mine in the past, so it is unfortunate that free cable comes with our apartment. however, it is a blessing when i am home alone for hours at a time. being the social person that i am, i enjoy voices talking and movement on the screen...even if i am not really watching at all. 

 the cellphone: i am one that has yet to own a smart phone, but i do not feel any dumber than the person playing words with friends next to me in class...in fact i am probably getting a lot more out of the lecture. moments when i wish i had a smart phone would be (1) when i need to look something up on the internet and don't have access to a computer and (2) when i need a gps to figure out where i am going. i am not opposed the the smartphone at all, in fact i would really not mind having one. what i am opposed to is the time and priority people give it. i can go a couple days without making a phone call or sending a text. i really only contact a few people regularly and it is usually on an as needed basis. i prefer face-to-face communication. it is a lot easier to get the whole meaning and purpose of the message. 

this weekend i went to zions national park, a first for me. i saw this family of four on the shuttle: mom, dad, and two teenage girls. the girls were both on there smart phones staying connected with the world the whole way up the canyon. my thought was along the lines of "i would be annoyed if i took my kids on vacation to a place where they could really enjoy the outdoors and all they wanted to do was play around on their phones." there was a audio description of things so i thought these girls should be listening and looking at the landmarks outside. i wanted to say something about it to my husband, but a few minutes later when the girls wouldn't be able to hear anymore, i turned to him and he was on his iPhone...so i didn't' say anything. 

 Facebook: so i am actually quite happy to admit that i am not a user of the social network Facebook...or twitter or pinterest. again, this relates to the time spent without as a missionary. before my mission i would spend too much time on Facebook, usually avoiding homework. then i came back and tried to log in. over that time, i had forgotten my password and quickly gave up on ever logging in again. i didn't want to let it suck my time away as it had in the past. i am told by many people that i need to get back on. i guess they assume i don't know what i am missing out on. in reality i don't feel like i am missing out. the people that are the most important to me are still aware of what is going on in my life, so i feel fine about it. maybe one day i will get a new account, but it won't be tomorrow. 

...just a few of my thoughts on the media.

blah blah blog

So this is my first attempt EVER to post on a blog of any kind. This blog is coming into existence because of my new class Media, Family and Human Development. Just a quick little post here to see if I have figured out how to do this thing...hopefully this works!