The True King

(Frank Dicksee "The Two Crowns", {PD-US})

A poster of this painting hangs on the wall of our living room, right above the piano.  I've spent a great deal of time looking at it, and I didn't immediately notice the figure of Christ on the right, hanging on the cross with a crown of thorns.  This painting, depicting two princess in different states, suddenly explodes with meaning.  One prince is adorned, favored, celebrated after his gallant conquest, the other prince hangs, alone and ignored, while the other prince sees him.  The prince on the white horse, though showered with attention, looks to the true prince.  

The true Savior.

At least that's how I've always seen this painting.  I don't know Frank Dicksee's true intention, but it doesn't matter to me.  Whenever I see this painting I pause and think, remembering that no matter what's happening to me, no matter what's going on in my life, I need to pause and reflect on our Savoir, our Lord Redeemer, and remember the great gift of the Atonement.

Happy Easter.  What a beautiful day this is.

It's almost here!

In less then a week the "Done With Gravity" music video will be online!

Cerulean Jade Update March 27, 2013

 

We're finally able to announce when the music video, Done With Gravity, is being released on Youtube:  April 2, 2013, which is this Tuesday!

I'm so happy, and relieved, by this.  And so thrilled to be sharing this video with you guys very, very soon!

A Star Wars Family is a Happy Family

I saw this last week and was lucky enough to take a picture.  Isn't it awesome?!!  Family car stickers Star Wars style.  And I love the pets, too: Imperial At-At Walker and . . . I guess I'm not geek enough to figure out the last one.  Jawa Sandcrawler?  Nope, the shape's all wrong.  Hate feeling my geekness deflate.  Still really cool.

Spring Fever

("Springtime Bliss" by my Mom Robin Stufflebeam.  You can buy it on Etsy)

"It's spring fever.  That is what the name of it is.  And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"  ~ Mark Twain

I've got spring fever something bad!  The weather has been teasing us something fierce.  It's got quite the sense of humor.  

A couple weeks ago the temperature and air felt so amazing.  Though we're surrounded by beautiful mountains, the weather felt like the beach.  Cool, calm, with a fresh crisp and soft bursts of air.  My favorite.  Then this last week we were attacked by snow and cold temperatures.  Yesterday I visited a freezing Park City and drove through a snow storm in Provo Canyon.  Granted it's still March, and it can snow as late as June, that's happened, but just a hint of warmth and being able to walk around outside without a jacket has got me a bit stir crazy!

A part of this may be the wicked Winter we've just had.  Early last December I heard a news report saying that we were going to have another mild winter.  I was distressed because I wanted to build snowmen this year.  I even wrote on twitter Dec. 4, 2012, "Another mild winter = not being able to recreate Calvin and Hobbes snowmen scenes."  Ha!  Didn't happen.

January was nothing but constant snow, a bought of freezing rain, and flu.  I got sick 3 times that month, fighting the flu, fevers, and ear aches.  And it seemed that bug just kept getting passed around.  Get sick, get another person sick, get well, then get sick again.

Needless to say I want it to warm up so I can frolic outside, bike, and go on hikes!  Then there are a whole bunch of activities, parades, and cultural festivities.  This weekend is the Holi Festival of Colors at the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork Utah.

Bring on the Sunshine and Colors of Spring! 

Oz in 3D and Movies in general

I'm not re-reviewing Oz!  I did that ten days ago.  Last week I finally saw Oz in 3D on the Imax big screen.  See, when I originally reviewed the movie I gave it a 3.75 out of 5 stars, and since then there's been a bit of contention.  My Mom still insists that I was being too harsh with that scoring. 

When the movie was over I asked the rest of my family what they thought of it.  "I'd give it no less then a 4," my Dad said, and my Mom instently exclaimed, "See! It's not less then a 4!  Why did you rate it so low?"  Then my two brothers both stated how they really liked it, giving various reasons.

This debate continued as we walked to the car and then all the way home.

"I gave it a 3.75!  A 3.75!  That's 4 minus .25!  It's not that big of a deal!  Point-Two-Five!"

"You should just say," Steven said, completely amused, "That the movie is a 3.995."

"3.75!"

"I still don't think you should give it less then a 4," my Mom returned.

Reviewing movies is a family sport.

Postcards for the World

I've been in Southern Utah these last couple days on family business.

No matter where I visit I like to seek out postcards and buy a few.  That's thanks to Postcrossing.com, my happy postcard addiction where I send postcards around the World and receive postcards in return.  When I first found out about the program I was nervous, but it's so much fun!  I've received over 70 postcards from over 20 different Countries.  But it's also expensive!  

I'm always on the lookout for a good deal.

So a couple days ago I wandered into a Hallmark store at the Mall.  The owner wanted to get rid of their postcard stock, so she was selling the postcards at the cost of 20 for a dollar!  I couldn't believe it and told the employee that there had to be a mistake.  There wasn't.  A couple days later and I'm the owner of 220 postcards!

Now I just need to buy stamps . . .

Path to Success

I was going through the August 2012 issue of ViVi, a Japanese fashion magazine my sister-in-law got me the other day. 

In the magazine was an article about a singing competition.  I don't read Japanese, I just love their magazines, and they're picture heavy so it's easy to follow along.  (American fashion magazines are inferior, and I subscribe to both Vogue and Marie Claire.)

Anyway, I noticed on one of the gals a shirt with the quote, "Failure is a Part to Success." There's some Engrish going on here, I would word it "Failure is a Path to Success" or "Failure is a Part of Success," but I love this.  There is no success without failure, and success wouldn't mean anything without it.

BYU Beyond Stone-Cold Sober

(A picture of a Picture, but this is me as a BYU graduate)

Everyone knows BYU (Brigham Young University) always gets the top spot as the Stone-Cold Sober school in the Nation.  You can thank our strict honor code for that, but College Magazine now has BYU under two new categories, and it actually gave me quite a laugh, and cringe a little at the same time.  It's true though, even if I fall out of one of the categories.

BYU is ranked #2 as the Best Place to Find a Husband.  I guess it's a kind of merit that I managed to graduate single?  That I put studies and long hours in the Library over . . . yeah.  I tranfered into the school at 21, when most guys get home from their missions.  Maybe I was in the wrong program.  I probably would have met more guys if I spent more time around the computer science building or business school . . . why didn't I do that?  

In the Music Program all the guys that I met were married, and those that weren't married, two guys (I can only remember two guys who were single) were too busy dating 19 year-old's.  I'm not bitter.  And when I transferred I had finished all my general education classes, save a couple.  Nah, I should have spent more time with the French Club.  I actually went to a few meetings.  Could have met a cute guy who spoke French!  Sexy! 

West Point, the U.S. Military Academy, beat us out at #1.  Interesting.  Who doesn't like a man in uniform?  Makes me think of Pride and Prejudice. 

and BYU ranked #4 as most stressful school.  This I believe!!!!  I've attended four colleges: Porterville College, College of the Sequoias, Utah Valley State College (now Utah Valley University), and Brigham Young University.  So I can say I've experienced a bit of an upper education spectrum.  PC, COS, and UVSC were easy fits for me.  I studied hard, the classes were tough, but I was relaxed.  There was an ease in the air.

 

Then I transferred to BYU.  There is stress in the air!  It's true, and you can feel it.  All the students are over achievers with high morals, and freak outs come often.  I'll never forget the time, hanging out with other music students in the HFAC, when one of the voice majors came over eating an ice-cream sundae.  She was going at it, and all our eyes bulged.  She then went on to explain that she just failed a test and needed some solace.  We all had a good laugh then, and suddenly I realized I needed ice-cream too.

 

And we all have that one moment where we crack.  That time came my second year there.  Everyone knows how stressful finals week is.  This one week trumped even that!  5 tests in 4 days amongst a full class schedule, packed with homework, quizzes, and essays.  I didn't think I would survive!  I almost didn't.

 

The testing center is a monstrous room packed with desks going in straight lines and then around the perimeter.  I would like to know the dimensions of that room; I only know I felt overwhelmed each time I entered.  Of course that could be because of the test I was about to take.

 

The testing center is upstairs, and when coming out of the room there is a smaller room where you give your test to someone to scan.  By the time you're down the stairs there's a set of computer screens, and on it you search for your student number to read the score.  This was at the end of the week, having taken other tests I failed.  Then I saw my score: 55%.  I lost it!  On the spot I just started laughing!  And I kept laughing as I walked out of the door, sunset, walking the long trek to my car.  Laughing is good for the soul.

 

MIT ranked #3 and Harvard was #5.  Sandwiched between MIT and Harvard!!!   

At the End of a Rainbow

 

 (Photo Source Info)

I can honestly say I've been at the end of a rainbow.  On Facebook, August 9, 2010, I wrote: A few days ago on the way home from SLC (Salt Lake City) I suddenly found myself at the end of a Rainbow (it was touching the white of my car and extended to the mountain), and no, I didn't find a pot of Gold.  Childhood myth debunked."

I didn't find any skittles either.

Somewhere I once read that it's impossible to be at the end of a rainbow, something to do with light physics. 

It was lightly raining coming home in the passenger seat that day; the sun was bright and clear.  My Mom was driving, and we first noticed a vivid rainbow light up at the base of the mountain, colors sharp.  It was hard not to stare. 

We had just rounded the the Point of the Mountain, as we locals call it (the point where I-15 bends around the mountain, separating Salt Lake Valley from Utah Valley), around the Lehi area when we first noticed the rainbow.  A couple miles later the rainbow contined to grow, moving with us, still touching the mountain, and then all of a sudden the miraculous happened.  The hood of our white car was shining with a beautiful mix of colors.  My Mom and I were in shock.  From our car to the mountain there was a perfect, full arch rainbow.

It's one of those memories I will never forget.  As a child my family would hop in the car during a rainstorm, driving around orange fields in Central California.  All that space, hours of driving, and we could never find ourselves at the end of the rainbow.  Then in August, 2010, the Rainbow came to us without even trying.  Maybe that's why there was no Gold.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  May you find yourself at the end of a  Rainbow :0)