Those that Influence our Life for Good.

There are some people who when they pass away the entire world mourns. Nelson Mandela was one of those great people. His life influenced so many and he changed the world we live in for good. I don't know how he was able to endure everything that life handed to him, but he did and triumphed over so much. I am personally grateful to have lived in the same world as he did.

Then there are people who have a much smaller circle of those who personally knew them. These are those who when they pass away are mourned, but not by the entire world. Though their life is no less important. Their good influence reaches all who had the privilege of knowing them. Their life makes that circle of family, friends, and acquaintances better because of the life they lived. I believe that while it is smaller numbers who knew them, their impact on the world is no less powerful than those of great historical importance. Each life that is influenced for good in turn continues to pass it on to the people in their life, and so on and so on. Who knows the distance in which a single persons love can travel. I'm sure all of us have had at least one person like this throughout our lifetime.

I had the privilege of knowing one of these great souls. I met Buck Landy and his wife while I was serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ventura, CA. He had so many good qualities; his sense of humor, his generosity, and his ability to make anyone feel special. And that is only naming a few of his best traits. Brother Landy (as I called him) could always make you laugh. And he introduced me to fish tacos from the restaurant Spencer Mackenzie's, which are the best in the world. So that alone leaves me in his debt. Trust me, he would want me to tell everyone how good they are.

Once when I was at the Landy house I mentioned how much I enjoyed See's Candy chocolates. Of course right after I  said that he pulls out an unopened box of See's for us to share. And he sends me home with another box for our apartment. After my mission was over I went back to visit with my fellow missionary friend Riena. Bro. and Sis. Landy always said if we came back to visit they would take us to Disneyland. And they insisted. For two days we enjoyed everything that Disneyland had to offer with them and two of their younger granddaughters. They didn't do any rides or anything like that. But they wanted us to have the best time possible.

Bro. Landy was a grandfather for me while I was so far away from my own family. He was a wonderful example of service, genuine kindness and love. And I hope to treat those I meet the same way he did, at least in some small way. And so even though the amount of people in this world who knew Buck Landy is relatively small in comparison, I have no doubt that his positive influence will reach millions.

Thanks for everything Bro. Landy, I'll see you on the other side!

The last night of my mission at our 'Goodbye Ventura' Party. 

L-R Angelina, me, Shawn, Bro. Landy, Riena, Sis. Landy 

 

In Disneyland with Angelina, Bro. Landy, and Melissa

At Spencer Mackenzie's, home of the infamous fish tacos. One of many fish taco trips with these two. :)

Happy December!

Another month has passed. And so I figured I better post something so I don't fall completely out of the habit. My goal will be to write weekly for the rest of the year. Yes, despite my crazy busy schedule that comes with the end of the year I will at least post something.

I have compiled a couple of pictures to give a brief summary of the awesomeness that has been my life these last few weeks. They may not be in order though, just a heads up.

Right after my last post an Apostle, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, came to my church and spoke. It was so incredible. I have heard him speak during General Conference, which they broadcast from Salt Lake City twice a year. But it was such a joy to be in the same room as him and listen to what he had to say specifically to the people of Edmonton. Of course it could be applied to anyone, but it was cool to think he was talking to us. He spoke about how we can make a difference in peoples lives, even if it may seem like a little thing. Or something that may seem inconsequential, that turns out to be a big deal for them. Serving everyone around us is so important. If you want more information about him or to read some of his past addresses, check out www.lds.org

Jeffrey R. Holland, Member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles


I got to meet this lovely little lady. Miss Rachel Patricia Lamont, my friends Val and Chris's new daughter. I got to visit them in the hospital and then I have seen them a couple times since. She is so cute and so much fun to snuggle! They had me over for Thanksgiving lunch, and it was amazing. I ate so much deliciousness. So much that I didn't even get hungry until 2 the next day. I'd call that a good feast! Thanks Lamont family!

On November 20 it was my third year anniversary of entering the Missionary Training Centre as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was originally supposed to report on October 13, but my US visa had been delayed. Heavenly Father knew what He was doing, because it was exactly what I needed, with the people I needed. Not to mention, I got to be in the same district (class) as my brother. How cool is that?

My friend Alisa's husband won tickets to an Oilers game, and since he isn't a big hockey fan she took me to the game. It was soooo awesome! My first NHL game. Now I feel like a real Canadian. It really was a lot of fun. And the Weasley twins from Harry Potter (James and Oliver Phelps) were there. Which was pretty darn cool. It was an excellent game, the Oilers kicked butt and won 4-1 against the Panthers.

My Dad was in town last weekend. It was really nice being able to spend time with him and my family. My brother Dawson who is attending BYU in Utah also came up this week. Friday I went to the Harry Potter exhibit that just opened at the Telus World of Science. It was awesome! Dawson, my brother, was in town for American Thanksgiving break so he came along with Kaylee and Susan. I had a blast. Lots of cool fun things from the movie.

We had a 2nd Annual Tree Lighting at my house. Last year I had a tree but was lacking decorations due to a mix up. Emily saved the day by bringing three decorations, so it didn't take long to decorate the tree. We also attempted to make turtles, but left them on the stove too long. They turned out to be rock hard. This year we fixed both humorous issues. I had ornaments ready to go. And the turtles were not over cooked, making them soft and chewy and delicious. My friends are wonderful and we had an excellent time. Many sparkles ended up all over my house from our Christmas crafting. It was just a great evening!

Here is a shot I took right after I finished work. The sun was set and it was only 4:30. Its crazy how short these days are. And we still have a couple weeks before the days start getting longer again.

More stuff has happened but I don't have pictures so I am going to skip writing about it. I am going to try and stay more on top of it now. Happy December everyone!

Musicals and a Ball

October has seemed to escape me. I can't believe how it is flying by. A lot of my time was occupied by planning the big Bishop's Ball. We made it 1920's themed and everything came together quite nicely. There was an excellent turn out with many (at least 250) Young Single Adults (YSA) coming out in their best 20's outfits. The decorations were lovely with white Christmas lights all over the gym, and highlights of black, gold, and white. I rented a giant punch fountain and it was awesome! It even lit up. I decided that I want one to have as a nightlight, that would be legit. We had lots of fun snacks, and even had fancy Shirley Temple drinks (virgin of course) in fancy cups. To top it all off there was a candy bar with candies that were popular in the 20's and a photo booth complete with props and Polaroids. I had lots of help from my committee, which was so appreciated. Yay success! I wish I had taken some more pictures, but I didn't until it was dark so they aren't the best quality.

The food and drinks. Lots of fruit, drinks further down, and desserts on the other side.

 The awesome punch fountain and Shirley Temples

 The candy bar

The prop station for the photo booth 

Saturday, the day after, I slept in later than I have in a long long long time. And as crazy busy as I was every single day of September and October, I was equivalently lazy on Saturday. It was glorious! I did hardly anything productive. I watched Shrek the Musical, a DVD of the Broadway show. Which is actually pretty funny. But hey, I love Broadway. I did have to take back the punch fountain to the rental place, sadly forcing me to leave the house. I did debate going in my pj's, for a long time actually. In the end I switched out of my cupcake pj's into yoga pants just in case. But I didn't put in my contacts. So there was still lots of comfort there. I came straight home after dropping it off and resumed my highly unproductive day. I ate a ton of nanimo bars and fruit that was left over from the dance. Thinking about it makes me smile. I did venture out of the house Saturday evening to visit Val and her daughter Macy. Val fed me and we had a lovely visit. I babysat while her and Chris had a date night. But since it was later, I pretty much played with Macy for 20 minutes then it was bed time. So I watched more tv on their couch. Win.

Life has been good. Very very busy. I am still somehow doing three choirs, plus Book of Mormon classes at the Institute of Religion, babysitting various families, working full time, attending church at least three hours every Sunday, and up until Saturday I was planning this giant dance. Heavenly Father definitely answered my prayers by making it all manageable. I know it was with His help. So what have I done for fun you may ask? I have become completely obsessed with listening to Broadway Musical Soundtracks. It is ridiculous how much I love them. And for your reading pleasure/if you choose to look them up and listen to them yourselves, I give you my current favorites list.

Thoroughly Modern Millie

Pretty much in love with this. I got to know the music when I had roommates who were in a production of the show. And I have since become pretty obsessed with all the work of Sutton Foster after seeing her do an amazing tap dance number from a past Tony Awards show on Youtube. So when I realized it was her that originated the role of Millie I just loved it even more. The music is amazing and I cant help singing and dancing along. It makes me happy.

Anything Goes



I happened upon the title song for this musical and its amazing tap dance number on youtube one day. Since then  I have been somewhat unsuccessfully trying to tap dance, because they make it look so darn awesome. Actually, Kaylee and I even signed up for a tap dance class. But it doesn't start until mid November, so until then I will have to get by with studying youtube. ;) I've never seen this show, but the music is awesome, and there are actually quite a few familiar songs. If you want to be inspired to tap dance you can watch this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo6lPifGnGA I honestly don't know how people dance like that and then sing full out. Super humans.

The Drowsy Chaperone



This soundtrack is hilarious! I seriously laugh out loud when listening to it. And it was made by Canadians. Originally as a wedding gift for their friends, it ended up on Broadway. Genius!

Cinderella



As mentioned in previous blogs, I have seen this one. But the soundtrack never gets old. And I love everything about it. So incredibly magical! This show makes me want to learn how to ballroom dance. Maybe that can be next after tap.

Bonnie and Clyde



Not your typical Broadway musical. But the music is still absolutely amazing! Southern and almost folk-y. Bonnie is played by Laura Osnes who is now starring as Cinderella. Very different roles. But seriously don't skip this soundtrack over. Even though the show didn't run for long on Broadway, it is powerful. Who would have thought a musical about two notorious robbers would be so good.

Little Woman



Away from comedies again with Little Woman. It also has Sutton Foster, so of course anything she sings is amazing. And listening to it so much has made me want to reread the book. I just love it. If you were to listen to one song from this, you should listen to Astonishing. It makes me want to do big awesome things.

Wicked

 

It has been a favorite for a long time. The soundtrack is so great. And despite the fact that I've listened to it at least a million times, I don't ever get sick of it. They are having their 10th anniversary performance on Oct. 30 and sometimes I try and win tickets to it. So far no luck. But I think it would be so incredible to be there for it! At least I saw it this summer, better than nothing.

That's all for now. I still listen to others, but these are my top picks right now. Of course Les Mis is my long time favorite, but these are a few of my new discoveries. They make life good and keep me sane. :)

The Epic NYC Post that sort of makes up for my lack of posting all summer.

Wow. I fail at blogging in the summer. At least I made one post. but now that the school year is back in swing hopefully I will resume my weekly posts. This one will be a run down on my incredibly awesome summer. I did write a post talking about half of my trip to California. Really though, I am in a New York mood. So I will probably post about that now. And if you're lucky I will finish CA next time.

New York was AMAZING! Seriously one of my favorite trips ever. Mostly because I have been obsessed with Broadway since I was little. So nine days in NYC with two of my best friends, who love Broadway almost as much as I do was a definite win. We all had the same agenda, which was to see as much New York as humanly possible. Yes, we succeeded. We were up late into the night exploring and then in the morning we woke early and hit the pavement. I am proud to say that we really did see almost everything. My feet thought they were going to die after the first few days, but it was so worth it. Discovering the concrete jungle!

 Yes we had to have breakfast at Tiffanys. We took the bagels we bought from the best bagel shop ever and had the classic experience. If you ever want to feel like a wealthy person then go explore Tiffany's in NY and pretend you can buy anything there.

 This is a top Trump Towers. I didn't see Donald, but if I had I would have told him 'You're Fired". He probably hears that a lot....but I wouldn't have cared.

 We found the Temple. Or at least I did. Kaylee and Susan had a bit more trouble locating it. We were standing right in front of it, and Kaylee pulls out the map to try and find it. The Temple is on the first two floors and the chapel part is on the third floor. After we had been to church we left and Susan mentioned that we should try and find the Temple since it supposedly was close. Don't worry, we showed her where it was.

 This was after they found it...

 Central Park

 Empire State Building Observation Deck. This day involved the most walking, so by this point (11:30pm) we really did think our feet were going to fall off. ps Kaylee is picking the binoculars nose.

 The main entrance.

 All lit up at night.

 The first night we were there we went to 'Once'. My first Broadway show on Broadway. It was wonderful. And I maybe cried. Go see it if you ever get a chance. It is completely different from your typical Broadway show. The actors all play the instruments as well as act and sing. Its so good!

The second show we saw was 'Newsies'. We went to the ticket lottery and they didn't draw our names. :( But it had a silver lining, since we were first in line for standing room tickets Kaylee actually ended up getting a lottery ticket someone didn't want. Then Susan and I both got the best standing tickets. And only $30, a steal of a deal! The show was phenomenal! I had a giddy grin on my face the whole time. Seriously, the dancing and singing and everything was so so so great. Funny story actually, after we had won the tickets we had time to go for dinner. We went to Ellen's Stardust Diner, this great place where the wait staff actually take turns singing the whole time you're eating. Being serenaded by Broadway tunes while stuffing my face turns out to be like one of my favorite things ever. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we didn't realize how little time we had to get to the theatre. When we did clue in it was 7:15 and the show started at 7:30, and we were over 10 city blocks away. We ruled out the subway and took off running full speed. Not an easy task running through Times Square with a billion people everywhere. Luckily Kaylee knew where we were going and we got to the theatre just in time. The door ushers cheered us on as we ran down the street and into the theatre. We were so sweaty and out of breath. We got to our spots and I looked over at a lady handing out programs and asked "How much longer until the show starts?"
She replied "Why? Do you have to go to the bathroom?"
Me "Yes..."
Her "Go now"
And I took off running the wrong way. She lovingly hollered at me that I was going the wrong way and I changed directions. I made it back just in time for the lights to come on and the show started. I love Newsies! I would like one please. So if anyone knows how I can get one, just let me know!

 Post show we went Newsie crazy!

 LOVE!!!

Tuesday of the week was a rainy day. So we hit up a bunch of museums. The Metropolitan Museum of Art was lovely. This picture here was supposed to be Kaylee and I pretending to be the statue closest to me. Kaylee had an epic fail in that goal, but I think I did rather well. My eyes match his almost perfectly!

 Walk Like and Egyptian

We went to try and win Wicked lottery tickets. After our Newsie experience I was feeling pretty good. Until we got to the theatre and saw how many people were also hoping to win the tickets. We did not win. So we were a little bummed, but had decided that we would see a show regardless. Not winning Wicked turned out to be a blessing that night because we ended up going to see Cinderella. I went in not knowing much about it since it wasn't the traditional Disney version. The actual theatre was beautiful with chandeliers and gave off a palace feel.

 The show itself was incredibly magical! I was in awe of everything that was happening right before my eyes. I absolutely loved everything about it. And it definitely became one of my most favorites. So funny and heart warming and delightful.

 The Prince and I. I was thrilled meeting him!

 This guy plays the Raccoon, and is the Prince's understudy. Also awesome.

Us with Cinderella, aka Laura Osnes. She is probably my new favorite actress. She has a video blog that goes behind the scenes of Cinderella which is hilarious. Watch it. You will love it.

We saved Top of the Rock for a beautiful morning so that we could see everything. It was totally worth it. Such a gorgeous view and fun time.

 Birds eye view of Central Park

 Light sensor room. I want one of these in my house one day.

 One of our nice pictures.

 Now bring on the mo-delling pictures.

 Top of the Rock...Stars

Even though we didn't win lottery tickets I was not about to leave New York with out seeing this show. Wicked pretty much changed my life.

 In the lobby

After it ended I almost cried, just because I was so sad it ended.

Us with Katie Rose Clarke the actress who plays Galinda!

 And Lindsay Mendez who plays Elphaba. Her voice is pretty killer. She also has a video blog on broadway.com which is also awesome. Wicked awesome.

 Oh Wicked. How I love you.

Playing at FAO Shwartz toy store.

 This picture was taken outside Rockefeller Center right before the security guard told us we weren't allowed to sit there. We had to stand and eat our bagels.

 I went to an exhibit called "The Art of the Brick" while Kaylee and Susan hit up the Body Worlds exhibit. Pretty much after this all I wanted to do was build lego. If only I had an endless supply. I feel like I could make some cool stuff too. Maybe not quite as cool as this guy though...

 At the end I got to write my name on a piece of lego, and when the exhibit is done the artist is going to take all these pieces and make a new sculpture. I will be immortalized.

 The first three shows I saw in NY

 Times Square!!!

For Susan and Kaylee this was a leisurely bike ride in Central Park. For me it was beautiful but also proved how out of shape I was while attempting to pedal up the hills.

 Papa Bike, Mama Bike, and Baby Bike

 Brooklyn Bridge, view from the cruise we took.

 Liberty. The Lady.

 Susan and Lib.

Thursday night we went to Matilda. Incredible. The kids in this play were amazing. I don't know how they dance and sing so well at such a young age. The little girl who played Matilda was way beyond her years and oh so cute!

 This sign says it all.

 Happy after Matilda.

Coney Island. The real deal.

 What up Coney Island?

 Kaylee was crazy excited to be at the beach. And she voiced her disappointment more than once at not having her swimsuit. In the end that didn't stop her. I'm pretty sure she danced like this the whole time we were at the beach.

 Its almost like they're high fiving!

 This summer I went in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Pretty sweet I'd say. This photograph was captured by the oh so talented Susan, documenting our frolicking in the water. Or actually just above, seeing how our feet aren't even touching the ground. Win.

 Walking the High Line. It was this old rail way above the ground that hadn't been used in decades. They wanted to tear it down but the public appealed and so they turned it into a beautiful garden path that you can walk.

 Complete with art and shrubbery. 

We saw Annie on Friday night, but for some reason I didn't take any pictures. Saturday afternoon we went to Lion King. I had seen it before in Edmonton on tour and it was just as incredible as I imagined it. Such beauty and creativity in everything about that show. This picture of Scar, Rafiki, and I isn't real....they are wax. But it was pretty cool since we had seen it that day and I had my Playbill with me. So it looks real. If I didn'y tell you, then you probably wouldn't have even thought twice about it.

The last show we saw was Phantom of the Opera. 25th Anniversary cast. Beautiful. Magnificent. Fell in love with the Phantom all over again.

Last pic in Times Square. Sunday before we left to the airport.

 Next are a bunch of random pictures that I just don't feel like dragging into order.

 NY Pizza!!

 The NYC Public Library. I want one!

 On the Library steps

 Biking

 Beach

 Peace out NY! I can guarantee it will not be my last time there. I had such an awesome trip and an awesome time with these lovely ladies. We had a blast. And now I need to end this. If anyone actually made it this far, I am impressed. Turns out this is my longest blog yet. Maybe this makes up for all those summer weeks that I skipped.