Snow!

It's peaceful. It's magical. It's beautiful.Ladies and gentlemen of the world...it's snow!Tonight, it started snowing. Sometimes it was gently floating, and others it was fluttering along with the wind.Snow! Charming, graceful, falling white puffs. Every year, when the first snow comes, I grab my music player (from cassette tapes, to CD's, to an Ipod now), and I take a walk. I listen to my favorite Christmas album ("A Christmas Story" by Point of Grace) as I watch the snow...

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Emotions Autumnal

Autumn brings out a subdued, nostalgic, and subtle side of me. It's a rarity, for sure, being as that I tend to reside on the crazy, loud, and quirky side. But come the time where leaves turn pretty colors and the temperature grows closer towards freezing, I become quieter. I become less overly-enthused, and more towards appreciative and relaxed.I wonder why this is, much of the time. It's not that I enjoy life less, or that I don't like the autumn. It's just a different phase of the year. I feel a little more sadness, but still mixed in with a...

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O let the sun beat down upon thy face

Life is full of good quotes. It was JFK that said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." FDR uttered the famous words, "a date which will live in infamy." Obama overused the saying "Yes, we can!" (Bob the builder anyone?)But how many times do you stop to admire the great quotes that come out of the media that surrounds us. Song lyrics and film quotes are continually overlooked in favor of Presidential speeches, campaign slogans, and inspirational quotes. So I have compiled a list of some of my favorite...

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Ima Fan Now!

It was fifth grade. I had just gotten my first ever CD player, and was really into Leann Rhimes and Deanna Carter. And that's the last I ever considered myself a country fan.Those of my friends who love country know that I don't, and usually make it a point to play other music while I'm chillin' in their car. But lately, there's one artist that has recently made me cross over again. And that's the ever-so-popular Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift was an artist I hated for two reasons. 1) She was a country singer. (Yes, I dislike country that much.)2)...

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to love or not to love, that is the question

Tennyson wrote, "It is better to have loved and lost than to have not loved at all." What a powerful statement; yet so difficult to embrace. I love to love. I truly believe I am a loving and caring person, and that's something God has blessed me with. However, it's the times when we've lost that we feel Tennyson really wasn't so wise. My dog is in his old age. I have had him for over a decade now. I got him when he was just a wee little pup. I (along with the help of my gracious and patient parents) potty trained him and taught him how to sit,...

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versatility in color

I love the color blue. I apparently love it so much I am writing about it. But the reason why I love it so much has more to do with it's versatility and beauty than just the fact that "it's my favorite color."This has probably been one of the oddest topics I've ever written about, but for some reason it kept coming to me. So here I am, writing to you about how one color has made such an impact. Yes, odd it is, indeed.Blue. It's the color of the ocean, the sky, and so much more...including my bedroom, currently. I recently painted my room blue and...

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She caused him to stumble

Gov. Sanford has been the scrutiny of just about every news source lately. His affair with an Argentine woman was publicly uncovered recently, although others (including his wife) have known about his affair since late last year. While at first my heart broke to see another Republican politician get thrown in the mud, my heart also reached out to him, wanting to give him a second chance. To be completely honest, that's usually how I respond to circumstances such as these. I still haven't gotten over the Clewinsky thing yet, but I'm coming to an...

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A tragedy and a relief.

Michael Jackson. The past 24 hours have been flooded with messages, facebook status', tweets, blogs, and headlines about the King of Pop's death. However, if I'm being completely honest, I was never a huge fan of Michael Jackson. Yes, I definitely enjoyed the old-school Michael Jackson, back when he was that adorable little boy who sang "ABC, 123". Some of his other music has stuck with me just because of its use in movies, such as "Thriller," which has been in countless movies, or "The Way You Make Me Feel," which I knew from "Center Stage." "The...

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Step Up 2 Sinks Down

Being a dancer, I'm drawn to dancing movies. "Step Up" came to theatres almost three years ago now, and although it didn't bring the finesse that my favorite dance movie "CenterStage" had, it held a character of its own. Although I know Step Up 2 has been out for some time now, I finally decided to give it a go. That was my first mistake. The second? Leaving it on after the first ten minutes. The only thing that I enjoyed in this film was the special appearance by Channing Tatum, and that's only because his chiseled features and gorgeous eyes entrance...

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Memories, like the corners of my mind.

You know how you are just going about your normal daily routine, then something, just some little thing, sparks something in your memory?It happened to me today.I saw frilly socks. You know, the cute little socks your mom used to dress you in when you were little? The ones with the ribbon or the bows or the lace on the top, and it folded down?The second I saw those socks my memory was flooded with images of my childhood. The purple and white dress, with all the lace. The really poofy yellow dress. The other purple dress that had sparkly fruit on...

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"being true to yourself never goes out of style"

"Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow." - Langston Hughes I had the blessing and the phenomenal opportunity to see a fantastic musical in St. Paul tonight. My best friend and I had made today as our "get away from (most) school" day. This morning we had a photo shoot together, something we've done for the past few years just for the fun of it. After I was finished with my last class for the semester (woohoo!), and finishing up...

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Hannah from Montana

Quick trivia fact: I used to live in Montana. My name's Hannah. I get called "Hannah Montana" quite often.What people don't know about me, however, is that I secretly love Hannah Montana. Actually, I didn't for quite a while. My younger sister is in that "tween" stage, and of course is in love with Hannah Montana, so needless to say that when I'm home and she's in control of the remote, it usually goes to that show. I found it slightly irritating and annoying. Then over this past Easter weekend, my sister pleaded for me to take her to go see Hannah...

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Imperfect and Loved

Ladies and Gentlemen of the world. There is a revelation I need to share. I am not perfect. Nor are you. Crazy idea isn't it?Before I continue, please just know that I am being honest, which is something I am trying to do more of. Give me some credit for sharing this with you; It's not an easy thing to do.I have grown up shopping bargains and clearance racks. I don't have extra money to spend on shopping a lot. I can't afford a COACH handbag, or Prada sunglasses. Most of my clothes are usually worn until either they don't fit or until they start...

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An article I once wrote...

This is an article I once wrote last fall about the upcoming election, specifically the MN senate race between Franken and Coleman. Since they are still battling out the ballots, I figured I'd post this.After seeing countless attack ads and smear tactics from Al Franken and current Sen. Norm Coleman, you would think the better option would be to pick the independent candidate for Senate, Dean Barkley. However, that’s not nearly the case. This year’s election could potentially bring a time that is more disastrous than Gov. Jesse Ventura’s reign....

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What has the world come to?

Last night, a friend of mine shared with a group of us girls a story. The story was about her brother, and his love for the game of hockey. The story was also about the sickening, gruesome things that happened to him in the locker room. Because I want to protect my friend and her family, I will not share everything here; it is also too graphic to post on a blog.Because he would not participate in these graphic and sickening acts, he was then forced to "reep the consequences" by his fellow teammates. What they did was not okay. If this had happened...

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To tell a story

Normal 0 Mornings. Even just the word “morning” makes me sad. It sounds just like “mourning.” I have never been a morning person, and have truly enjoyed sleeping in past noon when I can. However, the life of a college student is much more demanding, and often before the sun rises I am forced out of bed. But even among my groans and stretches, I get excited every morning when I turn on the TV to the Today Show. I had watched the Today show here and there in years past, but I had never really cared about it. Then about...

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When We Care

Today our hall is getting ready for something the Northwestern Community knows as"Knuha Day". This event promotes eight different organizations that help to better this world.Each hall chooses an organization that they want to represent, then decorates their hall and creates a dance or human video that is later presented to an audience. The hall that puts on the best total presentation gets money to donate to that specific charity/organization of their choice.Our hall chose "To write love on her arms" as our hall charity/organization. For time...

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somtimes communication can sting

For the past school year, I've been in classes that have taught me about communication. How we communicate, how problems arise when communication goes awry, and how we can solve problems through communication.When therapists, phychologists, and even the every day person say, "Communication is key," it's because it's true. But that doesn't mean it stings any less when it takes place.For instance, I am currently on a dance team at our college. I have taken on the role of choreographing, teaching, and perfecting a kick routine in a matter of about...

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Of Racism on our Campus, and in the country.

I never thought I'd write about racism. I've never had too much of an interest, and mostly just thought it was a well worn-out topic on our campus. Yet I am writing about it...here and now, the same day our first African American president was sworn into office.Today over lunch, I had an interesting conversation and debate with a friend about racism on our campus and in the countryBecause of some privacy issues, I will not disclose names, nor the entire background of the story. Here, however, is a quick summary of the background. The night President...

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Of plane crashes and the economy

Today, as I walked in the door coming back from class, I turned on the TV to see what was on. To my surprise, I immediately saw what looked like an airplane slowly sinking in the water. I quickly turned up the volume and sat down, only to watch and listen about the commercial airline that "safe crash landed" in the Hudson River. I was frightened as I listened about the details of what had happened, although I was very thankful there were no deaths being reported.The airplane that had to crash took off from Laguardia. Later on, as I listened to...

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Enrich your Life

When we're young, we were always told "reach for the stars," and "anything's possible." We grow up hearing inspiring stories about how people "made it." But as we grow older, our dreams become less exciting and more practical.When I was young, I wanted to be so many things. A detective or CSI, a ballerina, a concert pianist, or a dolphin trainer. I grew up, and eventually figured out that it would be difficult to be a ballerina (I love chocolate way too much.) I learned that CSI's actually have to deal with blood (which I faint at the thought of.)...

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