Ned the Newt, An Original Poem

Ned the Newt

Ned the Newt was quite the snoot

He loved to laugh and linger

Didn't he mind the use of his time?

He didn't, and that's why he faltered

Around he would go

Poking his nose

In places he shouldn't have bothered

He gossiped and teased

With the wind and the breeze

Until he had no friends at all

~ Sarah Stufflebeam

Wide-eyed Wonder, An Original Poem

(Public Domain)

Wide-eyed Wonder

Andrew sits near the window frame to see the night wind blow

The golden leaves, the light spun silk dance merrily to and fro

Above the skies a wizard flies

A banshee laughs with glee

A sprite finds mischief down the moor

A spirit cease to be

Time for bed, Mother said, and tuckered out he came

A white knight hides

A Princess sleeps

A dragon quickly flees

All is gone, safe away, so you can never see

The World outside is calm

Nothing makes a sound

A World of secrets veiled

Nothing to be found

~ Sarah Stufflebeam

The Problem with "What If"

(After a snow storm a couple weeks ago)

The end of the year has me in quite the reflective mood.  I think we all get that way this time of year.  All the things we have done vs. all the things we haven't.  And sometimes that line of thought has us visualizing our life as a whole.  At least that's where I've been.

Paths.  All the paths we could have traveled down.  All the paths that have been avoided either because we were not ready or afraid.

We all have those huge regrets in life.  If you don't, congrats!  That's awesome.  But for the rest of us mere mortals there are those things that hang on us, wrapped around us with whispers of "What If."

What if I knew at an earlier age that I would have loved playing the drums in the marching band?  Silly, right?  But I'm a tap dancer.  I love rhythm.  Hearing rhythms actually calm me when I'm stressed out.  During the four years I was at Monache High School, they marched in both the Macy's Parade and the Rose Parade.  The two biggies!!  I didn't realize back then how rare that was, and during the years I was attending.  Our band had a fantastic drum line.  What if, right?  What if . . .

What if I was more brave towards the opposite sex and not so shy?  Of course the times I were a little more forward led to some embarrassing moments, but still, "what if?"  Would I still be single in Utah Valley?  Being single at 30 in Utah Valley is like being single at 30 during Regency England.  Not easy.  But still, "What if?"  Where would I be?  Who would I be?  Would I have kids?  What if . . .

What if I had the courage to try out for the Young Ambassadors while I was at BYU?  I had the courage to try out for the Classical Voice division of the School of Music, which is one of the hardest programs to get into, and I was blessed enough to make it, but I really wanted to be a Young Ambassador.  I saw them perform while in High School, and that led to endless nights of dreaming and imagining how amazing it would be to perform with them.  But when the time came, when the opportunity arrived, I chickened out.  I didn't even sign up for an addition!  And now I'm left with nothing but a "What if?"

The more I reflect, the more I realize how dangerous the "What if" can be.  There's no changing it.  It sits there mocking and blocking, preventing us from traveling whatever road we now should venture down.  And there's not just one good road, but many, crisscrossing and interlaced.

And what if those "What if's" lead me down the wrong road?  What seemed good could have led me away from something even better.

Who knows?  But it's possible.  There's a couple lines from the David Wilcox song "Hold it Up to the Light" that reads:

"The search for my future has brought me here
This is more than I'd hoped for, but sometimes I fear
That the choice I was made for will someday appear
And I'll be too late for that flight
So hold it up - hold it up to the light"  

    

 "I said God, will you bless this decision?
I'm scared, Is my life at stake?
But I see if you gave me a vision
Would I never have reason to use my faith?"   

The past can't be taken back, but what we do have is the present.  Sure, I've been wanting to learn Japanese for 12 years, piles, literally piles of books in my possession proving this, and yet I still only know a couple phrases.  I could be fluent.  Could, but what would I be think 12 years from now not knowing anymore then at present?  "What ifs" travel in both directions, and our choices now prevent future wonder, powered by wanting to prevent further regret.

I don't know, maybe my life would be better.  But then maybe I'm just where I'm supposed to be.  Regardless, this is where I am now.  I'm working with my brothers instead of having a solo career.  My brother, who got his degree in Gaming and Animation, his focus being 3D modeling, would have never discovered an amazing talent in arranging electronic music.  And it is a God given talent, because he's not trained, relying purely on instinct.  I have the music degree, and yet he's so much better at it then I.   

Regardless of all the "What Ifs" that flood my mind, one thing is sure, those "What ifs" led me here, and here is where I want to be.   

Sarah

When I was a Kid I Thought Star Tours was Real

I know, I know, I promised last week that I wasn't going to talk about Disneyland for a long time, but as I was thinking about Star Tours I remembered something really embarrassing . . . so of course I have to share . . .

I've already stated that Star Tours was my first introduction to Star Wars, finally seeing the films in the 5th grade, but I grew up on Star Trek.  My parents are huge Trekkies, loving the original, so when "Encounter at Farpoint," the first Star Trek: The Next Generation episode aired on September 28, 1987, when I was in kindergarten, my family watched, and we continued to watch every single week until the show ended during my 6th grade year.  That set me up as a Sci-Fi geek for life.  You know what else came out in 1987?  Star Tours.  Living so close to the park (a 3 1/2 hour drive) the ride was an instant hit for my Parents.  Not so for me.

I don't know if they let me ride so young, chances are they did, and I know I did not like it.  Every time I rode I cried, and that lasted for a few years.  And they weren't small tears.  They were "I'm freaking out!" tears.  I think my Dad found it funny, at least I remember him laughing at me a few times, but I was terrified!!  We were going into space!!  We were being attacked!!

I thought it was real.

At home I would lay in bed trying to fathom how such a thing was possible.  How were we really flying to space?  And were there really all those crazy spaceships in the sky?  I never understood how, standing in front of the Star Tours building, I could never see shuttles flying up.  Then I quickly assumed the ships must be cloaked.  Remember, I grew up on Star Trek, and that made sense.

At some point someone finally sat down and explained how the ride worked, and it was probably my Dad taking mercy on me.  A box within a box.  Motors and machines moving the inner box, creating the sensation of flight, and the film aiding the illusion.

Is it any wonder I made it to the first grade still believing in Santa Clause?

Sarah

Many Firsts at Disneyland

 This is my last Disneyland post chronicling my recent trip to the Magic Kingdom.  I've somehow managed to create about seven blog posts out of just that one day visit.  Can you imagine how many posts I'd create if I stayed several days, or a week at Disney World?  The possibilities!  (I've never been to Disney World; someday I'll make it).  I've been to Disneyland so many times over the years I'm well into 30-40+ visits.  I've lost track.  So doing anything new at the park is a wonder, which made this visit all the more special as I got to experience many firsts.  

Starting out my family was Mickey's "Guest of the Park," getting a special badge, free parking, and a special parking spot.  Below are some more, new aspects to Disneyland/California Adventures.

 Star Tours: The Adventure Continues opened Summer 2011 with sparkly 3-D and many ride combinations.  Taken from Wikipedia: "There are eleven random segments of the film (two opening segments, three primary destination segments, three hologram message segments, and three ending destination segments; when combined, they allow 54 different possible ride experiences.) which are presented in the ride."

The Original Star Tours, which opened in 1987 and was my first exposure to Star Wars, was getting a little boring, though I will always remember it was great fondness.  As fun as the new ride is, I miss those robots!  The father and son robot team you hear talking in the line and the ships pilot.  Well, whenever I feel nostalgic I can listen to the original via "Star Wars: An Audio Retrospect" which came with this book I got . . . "I know this is probably your first flight and it's . . . mine too."  That never got old.  Poor Rex got his memory erased after each flight! You can read the original script here.

 California Adventure, at Disneyland, opened World of Color in June 2010.  I had heard so much about this show, seeing videos and watching behind the scenes, that I couldn't wait to finally see the show 2 years after it's opening.  Long time waiting, but it really is amazing.  Tip: make sure the first thing you do when you get to the park is get a World of Color Fast Past.  Fast Past's are typically used for rides, but here they use it for seating sections.  The sooner you get your fast past, the better the section.  You can find it by heading through Condor Flats to the Grizzly area.  Unfortunately my family learned the hard way and got our ticket early afternoon.  The standing area wasn't terrible, but it wasn't fantastic.  The show itself?  Wonderful!  And worth the wait.  Now they need to do this Fast Past section thing with Fanstasmic.

 I wrote two separate blog posts on this, which shows how excited I was with visiting Radiator Springs and riding the ride.  So amazing!  The Radiator Speed Racers is currently my favorite ride, gasp, even over Star Tours . . . until they open Indiana Jones again after refurbishing and small updating.

 I love the Little Mermaid and always wished she had her own ride, and now she has one!  The movie is one of my favorites.  Disney's Golden Age of animation started in 1928, but this film launched the Disney Renaissance in 1989 which lasted till 2000.  I'll never forget going to the theater to see The Little Mermaid.  My family was visiting my grandparents and we went to a nice theater in Riverside CA.  The place was covered in Little Mermaid decorations, and they gave out prizes before our showing.  It was a big deal!!  And the movie changed my life.

 Talking about 1928, California Adventure got a face lift to reflect this golden age of Hollywood.  It was in 1928 when Disney came to Hollywood, and the front of the park was made to reflect that.  I love old California architecture, and I love art deco, so the change is nice.

 Grizzly River Run opened when California Adventure did, but somehow I've never managed to ride it.  That might have something to do with Magic Mountain.  Back in middle-school I went on their rafting ride, first thing, and spent the entire day soaked.  Not fun, but the Grizzly ride was fun, and I didn't get too wet, which is really quite lucky.

 Soarin' Over California is one of my favorites, but my brother Steven hadn't been, so this was his first time.  I would buy potpourri of that pine and orange scent they mist during the ride.  It smells like California. Growing up in Central California . . . it's lucky they didn't do cow smell . . . (Talure County CA reference, which is the County I lived in . . . I heard once there were more cows then people.)

 First time I tried this cake!  There's this amazing, crunchy hazelnut thing going on at the bottom.  Plaza Inn, 'nuff said.

 I was waiting in line for It's a Small World when everything got really dark, all lights going out dark, and suddenly Nutcracker music started playing as colored projections shined on the ride's facade, giving us a little show. So unexpected and cool.

 And it's the first time I've seen Sleeping Beauty's castle look like this.  Enchanting.

Merry Christmas!!

Kingdom Hearts Mickey Pin

Disneyland, New Orleans Square, afternoonish, 11-16-2012:  I was at the Pin Trading store in New Orleans looking through the latest collection.  If anyone's been to Disneyland in the last several years, it's a pretty well known fact that pin trading/collecting is quite popular in the Magic Kingdom.  It's my souvenir of choice.  They're not too cheap, but cheaper then most things, and the pins are small, so you don't have to lug something around all day, considering you choose not to rent a locker, which comes highly recommended.

Anyhoo, so I was looking through the pins when I found a cloaked hooded Mickey, all by himself and clearly out of place, staring at me.  A little giggle started to grow within as excitement bubbled forth.  "Mom!" I quickly shouted, and showed her the little treasure.  She looked it over, not impressed.  "We have to get it for Steven," I said, and she simply asked why.  "Because," I continued, "It's Kingdom Hearts Mickey!" She still looked a little puzzled as she shifted through Cinderella pins.  "It's his favorite game," a said simply.  "If there is one thing, One thing he would want in this park, this is it.  Trust me, he would want it." She debated a little with me, but I continued to insist that Steven would love it, and so it was bought.

I tried to find one for myself, because, honestly, it's a cool pin.  I haven't played the game myself, as it seems to be the way with me these days.  He plays the games (Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Uncharted, etc) and I waltz downstairs to inquire after the plot and watch recently unlocked scenes.  Then I geek over the music.  I love game music. Utada Hikaru has written two great songs for Kingdom Hearts: Hikari and Passion.  Oh, and the Piano Collection to Final Fantasy X and X-2 are simply gorgous.  Steven bought me the CD's and Sheet music while in Japan (well, X-2 is mine, he claims X, but I get shared joy in borrowing.)

I'm off topic!!  

About an hour later my Mom and I joined up with my bros Steven and Robbie.  They were off riding rides (namely Star Tours an extra time) while my Mom and I did "girly stuff."  

Steven was super excited and declared, "You'll never guess what I found!" He pulled out a small white bag, and I knew immediately what was inside.

"It's a Kingdom Heart Mickey pin, isn't it?" I asked, and his face fell a little.

"How did you know?"

"Mom and I got you one," I laughed, and I showed it to him.  Ha!  So now I have a Kingdom Hearts Mickey pin of my own, and my little Disney pin collection continues to grow a little more epic.

 (Copyright Square-Enix.  Found Here)

Shifting Cycles, an Original Poem

(On the way to California)

Shifting Cycles

Maybe it's this feeling

That gentle ache of not knowing

Wishing time could rewind

But knowing it can't

Wishing things could change

Wanting to Change

But trapped

Even that's an illusion

Nature's in constant motion

If the Earth can revolve

So can I

~Sarah Stufflebeam

Disneyland Helped Inspire My Love of Music

  When I was young, pre-kindagarden young, my family lived only 8 miles from Disneyland.  My parents had friends who worked inside the park, so we visited many times during those short years.  At an early age I was introduced to Ragtime music next to the Gibson Girl Ice Cream parlor on Main-street USA, Jazz in New Orleans, and barbershop quartets.  Not to mention all the countless parades (the electrical parade was in its prime back then.)  Then there was the Plaza Inn stage located close to the mouth of the castle leading into Fantasyland.  Schools and groups performed there, and there was a space between the stage and seats where kids would get up and dance.  Next to that stage I did a fair share of dancing as a little tyke.

 One of the joys for me when visiting Disneyland are the surprise performances, especially in New Orleans.  On busy days you can hear Jazz music about every 15-30 minutes, and once they even had tap dancers (which is a soft spot for me, because tap will always by my favorite genre of dance.)  Disneyland helped influence my love of music beyond the popular, and for that I am thankful :0)

My Favorite Activity: Laser Tag

Last night was a night out with the family, and we dominated in laser tag!  

The first time I ever played laser tag was at the Adventure Dome in Circus Circus hotel and casino, Las Vegas.  Back then it was called Grand Slam Canyon, and we went right after it opened in 1993, almost 20 years ago!!!  I feel old . . .  I don't know how many rounds we played; the line was long, but we waited anyway. It was so much fun.  My family was addicted.     

 There weren't any laser tag opportunities in Porterville CA, maybe Bakersfield or Fresno had them, but the Internet was a growing beast back then.  It still is a crazy, growing beast.  When my family moved to Utah in 2001, we were excited to see there were quite a few places here that had laser tag arenas.  It's really exploded these last couple years; practically every type of fun center has a laser tag, and there's a lot of fun centers here.  We're a family/college town, after all. 

 The two games that I played my team won, and I didn't do half bad myself.  This last year my groove was rocked a little, because my shot was off, so I always managed to rank low on the list.  But last night I tried a new strategy.  Usually I stake out an area and stay put, but last night I roamed and sought out enemy territory.  And since it was super busy, the full arena was opened up, so it was fun exploring.  The first game I ranked #9 overall out of 41 players and #5 on the team.  And the second game I got #11 out of 43 players and #2 on the team.  Never got that high before!  My brothers are really good players, so they usually beat me.  And my Dad always seems to place in the top couple places.

Having a whole lot of fun, Sarah :0)

(My shameless plug: There's an amazing activities program here in Utah called the Utah Pass of all Passes.  It's incredible, and if you live in northern Utah and don't have a pass, then you're missing out.  For those interested, it's still $32.00 with tax on citydeals, and at kiosks located at the University Mall in Orem, and South Towne Mall in Sandy.  For a full year I get unlimited games in the largest laser tag arena in Utah, unlimited mini golf, Ice Skating during certain times of the year, shoe rental not free, bowling, once again shoe rental not free, and a whole lot of sports.  Plus they just added a location in Draper called Planet Play that has unlimited mini golf, mini bowling, laser tag, and go-karts for only a $1 each time you visit.  Oh, and unlimited access to the water parks in the summer.  There's this bird place that's free on Mondays that I want to check out.  Rocky Mountain Raceways.  Real Salt Lake Soccer. Etc.  All for $30.  It sounds too good to be true, but it's not.  Get the pass if you live here!  You wont regret it.  It pays for itself and then some.

I only write this because we had two family friends with us last night who didn't have a pass of all passes.  3 games total cost $18.  It adds up, and we felt really bad for them.  My Mom helped them get the Utah passes, so unlimited laser tag for a year!  We're not waiting long to go again)

Overcoming Insecurities

 (My collection of antique books)

Someone told me once to be careful in my actions towards others; that it's best to assume that everyone we meet is fighting a harder battle.  We all have something we're hiding.

For me it's my insecurities towards reading and writing, and it's founded on some experiences I had in the 3rd grade.  I couldn't read, at all, and was in danger of permanently falling in between the cracks.  My Mom sought help, and found out the school had a reading program for 1st graders, but felt 3rd grade was beyond help.  So they weren't going to help me.

My Mom's pretty special.  She's gutsy and doesn't take no for an answer.  A full-blooded Gryffindor.  She spent many, many hours asking questions and getting help, and with the help of my teacher a program was developed, and during reading/writing time I would go with a handful of other students to learn phonics and read Curious George.  I was told it would take many, many years to catch up to grade level, but I worked really hard and was testing at grade level by the middle of my 4th grade year.  Regardless, I still felt stupid.  I have clear memories in the 6th grade doing social study worksheets and not finding the answers.  My friends would point to the paragraph where the answer was found, and still, reading the section repeatedly, the answer remained buried.

By my Freshman year of High School I received one of only two English awards in my class of 600+.  By my Sophomore year I was placed in honors English.  And in my Junior year I took AP Literature.  Still I felt like I didn't know anything.  I decided to attend Porterville College and took the placement test, and out of 50+ testers I was one of three that was allowed to go right into English 101.  You would think that would boost my confidence, right?  I transferred to the College of the Sequoias in Visalia CA, got a 4.0 that semester, transferred to Utah Valley State College and had a 3.98, making the deans list.  Transferred to BYU and got an academic scholarship.   You would think I would be getting a clue, but doubts still overwhelmed, regardless.  Those 3rd grade memories not giving me any ease.

It finally clicked one day, and it sadly happened the semester before I graduated.  I was in Music Literature 304, and we were about to get our blue books back after having taken our first essay tests.  Before that happened our teacher decided to lecture us, telling us he gave very few A's, and that in all his years of teaching he's never had to tell a group of upper division University students how to write a proper essay.  He went through all the points on what he expected, and each point he mentioned I did; I was freaking out.  Then I got my blue book back, and at the top of both essays was an A.  I went home that night dumbfounded and had a good cry.  Why did I doubt?  Why did I allow myself to feel insecure?  Why did I waste all that time with worry!?  Why?

(This was getting passed around on Facebook)

I worry about kids.  I worry that there are many who are falling in between the cracks and are getting lost.  Who are not learning to read, because someone, somewhere, felt they were a lost cause, unable to see that hidden glimmer of potential.  Of greatness.  How many times are we on the verge of something great, but give up when it's within reach, because we've stopped ourselves?  Some voice from the past coming to haunt?  Some bully?  I had an eighth grade teacher tell me once, in private after school, that I was worthless, wasn't going to amount to anything, would never get into a University, and would never earn a scholarship.  I proved her wrong, but that voice could have eaten me whole if I let it.

We're all special.  We all have worth.  We all have something great to give.  And there is no comparing, because we are all unique and individual, with unique talents (not all talents are showy: love, kindness, patients, understanding are talents as well).  I'm glad Leonardo da Vinci isn't Mozart; that Michelangelo isn't Einstein.  No one would want them to be any different.  

And I'm thankful to have people in my life I love.

Sarah  

I've Now Entered the Twitterverse!!

It's happened.  It's finally happened.  I've now joined the masses and have a twitter account.  Then again I haven't joined My Space yet, and don't plan on doing so any time soon . . . 

When twitter first became popular I vowed this would be one social media platform I'd never enter.  All I ever heard about was how many follows this celebrity had vs that celebrity, as if it was a competition, and how obsessed people were with over sharing.  (It's cliche now, but I really don't need to know when someone is using the restroom.)  The site seemed like a kinda joke, and Facebook is where all my friends hang out anyway.  It's still where they all hang out.

Then there is the overwhelming factor on how to understand tweets.  They're like another language!  All those # and @ running amok every which way.  There's no making sense of it.  It's like a special code, one of which I found daunting, so I generally stayed away.

With the help of some friends and a couple websites twitter-speak is making a little more sense.  

My decision to start a twitter account stemmed to my experience with running the Cerulean Jade fan page, which I need to do a better job with, and feeling limited with what I can share there.  With Twitter I can share what I'm working on with Cerulean Jade and Talea Studios, but then also share things that I find interesting, or currently like, or just overall geeking out over.

So if you're interested, you can check out my twitter page at: https://twitter.com/SarahStuffles

As a note, I tried to get the twitter name SarahStufflebeam, but it was too long and ended up SarahStufflebea, and I just know people were going to look at that and think "bean."  Couldn't let that happen!  Stuffles is pretty cute.

Cerulean Jade Update 11-05-2012

(Doing some Green Screen testing for the music video)

The major piece of news is that Steven, my brother Robbie, and I are working on a music video for an original song Steven and I are writing; the song is in the fun electric pop style we've used in "Payphone" and "Someone Like you."  We're still developing music video ideas, but we've been experimenting, and the effects we're working on are really cool.  Naturally I'm a little biased :0)  But I'm excited with what we're working on.  Green screen = many fun opportunities.  Our goal is to have the song released on an EP (with another original song, karaoke tracks, and a couple instrumental songs) no later then the middle of next month.  So much to do in such a short amount of time!!  But it's exciting.

And I'm still working on the Jason Mraz song, "Living in the Moment," on the guitalele.  That's coming soon.

Steven and I learned a lot this week along with my brother Robbie.  We were going to do a movie review series.  We did a trial run with the Tinker Bell movie, and were working on doing Wreck-It Ralph.  The problem was that in order for us to produce a quality Youtube video series, it would take 3-4 days out of the week to put it together; it was taking time away from what was most important to us.  Music and the possibility of making cool videos.  So after a week going down the wrong path, we turned ourselves around.  There's still a possibility of having a movie review show in the future, but at this time it's not right.  Ah!  At least we lost only a week and not more.  But now we're focused and enjoying the work.

Sarah

Witches Night Out at Gardner Village

 Happy Halloween!

I heard years ago how much fun Witches night is at Gardner Village in West Jordan Utah.  I thought it was going to be some small thing, but I was curious, so my sister-in-law Kirsta and I thought a girls night out would be a lot of fun.

 It was so much fun!  And big!  I couldn't believe how many people were there.  Everyone was dressed up, or at least had witches hats; some hats were decorated in the most elaborate, wonderful ways.  My favorite were these three older women dressed up as the three Sleeping Beauty fairies.  That was cool. 

The evening was like spending a night at Hogsmeade!

 Then we wandered into the Christmas Celebrate store and I saw this.

Now I'm ready for Christmas . . . minus the snow.  Okay, one day I'm going to buy this set.  I love the peanuts!

Cerulean Jade Update 10-23-2012

(An old picture of Steven working on Dream Maze)

I hope everyone has had a chance to hear Steven and my cover song "Someone Like You" on Youtube; we're so close to getting 200 views.  I can't remember how fast it took "Payphone" to hit that mark, but Payphone is inching closer to 1,000.  That's exciting!

We've decided that our next major song is going to be original, complete with a snazzy music video.  We're hoping to have two original songs out by the end of the year.  The first, an Electric Pop style song, is a definite.  The second is a more jazz/pop like song I wrote a little while back that just happens to be my Grandma's favorite song I've written.  The second is going to be interesting, because even though there's a jazz influence, we're going to have the base of the arrangement be the guitalele/ukalele.  Thing is, these are new instruments to the both of us!  So I'm working through the chords now.

And to help me get comfortable with the guitalele I'm doing a Jason Mraz cover song to "Living in the Moment."  I picked that song for two reasons: one, it helps me learn the instrument, and two, the lyrics are helping me stay focused!  It's a great song.

Also, Steven, Robbie (my brother who just got home from his mission), and I are going to start a movie review web series!  We're all obsessed with going to, and then analyzing, movies.  My brother Robbie is getting his degree in Digital Media: T.V. and Film from UVU.  Steven got his degree in Digital Media: Gaming and Animation.  So movies are something we're all passionate about.  It's going to be a lot of fun.  

Sarah

Behind the Scenes on "Someone Like You"

Yesterday my brother Steven and I posted a cover of Adele's "Someone Like You" on Youtube. And, in the same fashion as "Payphone," a Maroon 5 cover we did a couple months ago, we put an electronic twist to the arrangement, in good ol' Cerulean Jade style.

Several months ago we considered doing a cover of this song, but changed our minds. In all honesty the song is super depressive. It's a song about a girl who can't move on and is lamenting over a failed romance. Of course, as a girl I understand the sentiment; us women are expert at over analyzing relationships, much to our detriment. And so, when Steven and I were originally working on "Someone Like You" we switched to a more upbeat song. Of course the romantic lamenting is ever present in "Payphone" as well, only it's a little more happy about it.

One day I was talking to my Mom, and she recommended doing a cover of "Someone Like You." After some thought I realized a second go was in order.

From our "Payphone" experience, Steven decided to start working on an electronic track for the arrangement instead of focusing on the piano. The tone automatically changed. Then, as I was working on the characterization, I realized that by singing it differently the song took on a new meaning.

Instead of this song being "I still love you! Notice me!!" it becomes "Yeah, you gave me up. Who says this fling of yours will last." I wanted:

"I hate to turn up out of the blue, uninvited
But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it
I had hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded
That for me, it isn't over."

To not mean the girl is desperate, but instead shows up to taunt. "For me, it isn't over" means "life, for me, will continue to go on. This isn't the end."

"Don't forget me, I begged, I remember you said
Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead"


Turns into "Don't forget me, remember what you lost. You'll end up hurting, not me."

I hope you all have given the new cover a listen, and that you enjoyed it. Stay tuned for more music!

Sarah



Cerulean Jade's latest Cover Song "Someone Like You" is now online!

After much ado, and a whole lot of patients, Adele's "Someone Like You" is now online!  I'm going to talk more about it tomorrow.  Hope you like it :0)

Cerulean Jade Update: 09-29-2012

I took the above picture a couple weeks ago.  It's of the Payphone cover song Steven and I did, and I still find this hilarious.  666 views with 13 likes?  Crazy.

Our next cover song "Someone like you" from Adele is on track.  Steven's finished arranging the chorus and verses, and has the bridge left, which is super close.  Our goal is to record early next week, which means the song will be online by the end of the week, at the latest!!  We've decided the video is going to be super simple, as in I'm going to sing the song in one take with myself singing to the camera.  Good ol' non-complicated cover style.  The effect will be an emotionally raw video, which works well with the song . . . and the fact that it will help us get the song up sooner is a plus!

Steven and I have also discussed putting up the instrumental/karaoke videos of the songs we do.  So we'll soon be getting the instrumentals of our original song "Dream Maze," and cover songs "Payphone" and "Someone like you" up as well, so you can hear Steven's amazing arrangements :0)

More fun stuff in the works!  And our studio is soooooooooo close to finishing!!  Carpet in, electrical almost done, etc.  I can't wait to play with the green screen.

Sarah 

The Wisest Insect

(Image Info)

So a couple days ago I was in the car with my Mom and brother Steven, who was sitting in the back seat.  He made a startled sound.  On his backpack was a large, tan colored praying mantis who had climbed up to let Steven know it was there.  My Mom rolled down the winder, and the mantis flew up, waiting for the window to be completely lowered.  Then it flew out of the window . . . where it hopefully wasn't squashed by a car.

How many times have you found a fly in your car buzzing every which way?  I have many times, and no matter how many of the windows are down, the fly magically manages to bounce off every surface, except where the window is down.  Fly's . . . Mantis, on the other hand, are a little more aware. 

Brigham City Peach City Restaurant

Peach City, in Brigham City Utah, is an old fashioned, 50's dinner.  The parking lot is as such that you can imagine the restaurant served as a drive in at one point, a la Sonic Burger.

We all took turns picking songs for $0.25 each.  I picked "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys, the second most quintessential 80's song from my childhood.  The #1 quintessential 80's song?  "We Built this City" by Starship (who also sang "Sara," a song that haunted me my whole childhood.)  "We Build this City" had already played in the restaurant, so I got to hear my two most favorite 80's tunes. 

Waiting for my food.

A Haddock fish sandwich with waffle cut fries and fry sauce.

The place had a really fun atmosphere.  My only big complaint is the service.  It took them a good ten minutes to get our order, and when a booth opened up nobody cleaned the tables.  Some locals came in and started cleaning another booth, so we followed suit and cleaned our table.  That was weird.  Hopefully it's because the restaurant was packed.  But still, cool times.

Brigham City Temple Open House

Last Wednesday, August 29, 2012, I had the pleasure of attending the Brigham City Utah Temple Open House with my siblings.  With the Latter-Day Saint (aka Mormon) faith being so heavily in the news, it's interesting how often I've heard in recent months how mysterious and secret our temples are.  Our Temples our sacred, and once a temple is dedicated, you need to have what is called a temple recommend to enter (essentially I'm required to pay a full 10% tithe (Genesis 28:22), keep the Word of Wisdom, and live a virtuous, chaste life).

What a lot of people don't realize is that right before the temple is dedicated, the temple has an Open House; during this time the temple is open to the public, regardless of faith.  Anyone can come and see what is inside one of our temples.       

On the bus with my brother Steven, after parking in one of the many parking lots, heading to the temple.  I don't know why being on a charter bus made me feel so happy.  It felt like I was on a field trip. 

What's fun about each temple is figuring out the local theme that has been incorporated in the art.  Brigham city is known as the city of peaches, so throughout the temple, inside and out, there were peach blossoms.  Very beautiful.

This sign made me laugh!  One thing we Mormons are expert at is refreshments!  Seriously, have you been to a meet-n-mingle, ward potluck, or any other event?  There are always refreshments.  And after the tour there were water bottles and plates of yummy cookies.

Michael and Krista enjoying some shade.

There are many temples currently in various announcement/construction phases.  The Brigham City temple is Utah's 14th temple, but there are three more currently being built.  A 2nd temple in Ogden, a 2nd temple in Provo, and Payson's first.  And there are several throughout the United States, but many worldwide including Rome Italy, Sapporo Japan, Paris France, and Peru.  All these temples, before dedication, will have an open house.