General Conference Preparation!

General Conference is this weekend!  It's always my favorite weekends of the year.  We are so blessed in our time and age to be able to hear men of God give us divine inspiration.  Every year I learn so much regarding myself, my personal testimony and church principles.  One way in which I prepare for Conference is by writing out three to five questions that I have been pondering recently.  They have varied from general explanations of church doctrine to personal guidance about important life decision.  Last year I asked the question if I should go on a humanitarian volunteer trip and received my answer clearly in Conference.  I know that if you ask, God will answer through the voice of his servants whether it is the answer you want or not.  I encourage others to have faith and ask specific questions that apply to their lives before you watch or attend General Conference.  Our Heavenly Father is aware of you and your needs and is just waiting to give you revelation regarding you life.    

Phillip Phillips Phever!

I lucked out in being able to go to the Phillip Phillips concert last Wednesday.  What a concert!  I am sad to admit that I was a bandwagoner with him in that I only knew one song of his called "Home" which is all over the radio.  I went into the concert feeling stressed about school, homework and upcoming finals but left feeling the exact opposite.  His music energized me!  I felt optimistic about the upcoming weeks.  Music is a powerful tool that can be used to benefit or detract from your personality. I am usually a pretty positive person but recently I have been a ball of stress.  Phillip Phillips music brought out my inner personality.  I left more relaxed and hopeful about the future.  If you haven't listened to any of his songs look him up on youtube.  He was the winner of American Idol in the 11th season (2012).  One of my favorite songs of his is called "Get Up Get Down."  I included it below so check it out!

 

Les Mis

I recently watched the movie "Les Mis".  I am a musical lover from the classics such as Sound of Music to the more recent like Phantom of the Opera.  I enjoyed the movie portrayal of the amazing play, "Les Mis."  I had recently saw the play version in Cedar City, UT at the Shakespearian Festival.  While the movie was good, it still did not exceed the play.  The singing in the play was a lot better.  In the movies defense, I did think that all of the movie actors did a relatively good job in singing considering the powerful acting they each did.  Overall, I loved the movie but the play was still better!

     

Women Speak Out!

In my Media and Human Development class we watched an intriguing documentary called Miss Representation.  It discussed all of the gender stereotypes about women and how, in consequence, they have influenced women's opportunities in society.  I was astounded by all of this information.  THe documentary gave me a whole new perspective on what it is to be a woman.  One area that particularly stood out to me was how we as women perpetuate the stereotypes about ourselves.  The video explained how women are constantly judged by other women about their appearance.  I realized that I am guilty of this and have now started to change my attitude toward my fellow women.  If you have any passion towards change is society for women please watch this.     

Humor U

I am always amazed at how many fun clubs and activities BYU facilitates on campus.  This past weekend I went with a friend to Humor U.  If you have never been before it is a club where students perform stand-up comedy routines.  The best part about it is all of the jokes are clean.  They even poke at LDS culture which was very entertaining.  The jokes vary from one lady who made jokes about her pregnancy to one man poking fun at how girls think everything is cuter in miniature form.  Overall, I was thoroughly entertained and was impressed at how funny people can still be without using crude humor. 

Downton Abbey

I finally suckered in and gave Downton Abbey a shot.  I am now obsessed.  I love the intense drama and the historical setting.  The only problem now is that netflix only has one season.  I would recommend Downton Abbey to anyone who is a fan of Pride & Prejudice or Sense & Sensibility.  This show has the same general feel as those two movies.

Psych!

I have just started Season 6 of Psych on Netflix.  In high school I was obsessed this show and couldn't wait for the next week to watch it again.  Recently I had been looking for a new show to watch when I realized that I was behind a season in Psych.  I watched the first episode of the sixth season and was hooked once again!  Shawn is so funny in it!  I love the Shawn and Gus banter back and forth.  I also am impressed with how clean the show is.  There are rarely even swear words which I find refreshing.  I would highly recommend Psych to anyone that likes to laugh!

Hint: there are hidden pineapples in each episode (like I Spy) and it's harder than you think!