HOLD UP

Today I heard some horrifying news from my sweet husband.

"It is rumored that the director of Catching Fire is seeking out Robert Pattinson to play Finnick Odair."


NOT OK.

let me repeat: THIS IS NOT OK!!!!!

I will be sooooo upset if he plays Finnick. For some strange reason Robert Pattinson always gets cast as the hottest character in every major book series that has come out in the past 6 years. Seriously.

Cedric Diggory- Robert Pattinson

Edward Cullen- Robert Pattinson

And now possibly Finnick Odiar!?!?!?

This was made by my husband. I have the greatest husband ever :)

WHAT THE CRAP PEOPLE!?! I mean, sure maybe he can act a little, but his performance in Twilight was more than underwhelming (granted I only saw the first two, but I can't imagine they got better...) and he played Cedric in the most flat and boring way possible. Sure he's probably great in other stuff. Ok, let him be in other stuff. Stop casting him as the EXTREMELY HOT AND YOU HAVE TO LOVE THEM character. Cause he's just not that. Ok? Ok.

Here are my reasons for not wanting Robert Pattinson to play Finnick Odair (in no particular order):

- Finnick has to be someone who every LOVES or it just doesn't work. If half of the people that go to see the movie don't like Robert Pattinson, then the story doesn't work. 

- He's supposed to be buff, handsome, have bronze hair and sea colored eyes (granted, the last two can be fixed with hair dye and contacts, but still). I don't think Robert Pattinson has ANY of those qualities. 

- I can think of at least 50 guys who fit the description of Finnick better than Robert. 

- His acting in his previous movies has not proved that he is capable of the depth Finnick needs. NEEDS. Finnick is not some emo throughout the story, he has deep emotional issues AND is fun to be around. He has a personality. 

- If they're looking for someone with a fan base, there are PLENTY of young, attractive actors that have big fat fan bases. Just because he has the "most recent" fan base doesn't mean a darn thing.

- He needs to be a hunky Brad Pitt tyepe, not a sick looking skinny kid. 

- He just doesn't fit the type. Flat out. If you get on Pinterest and search "Finnick Odair" Robert Pattinson shows up ONCE, but a lot of other extremely attractive men show up MULTIPLE times. It's obvious that people didn't imagine him as Finnick.

- Finnick has to be someone that everyone (men, women, gay, straight, etc.) WANT to see draped in nothing but a fishnet. Not someone who will make us nauseous if we see him draped in nothing but a fishnet. I mean... they had to air brush his abs on him in Eclipse and even then they looked awful. They can't find someone with decent abs????

Here are just a few pictures of some of the men I think would be more than acceptable to play Finnick:

Alex Pettyfer

Jeremy Sumpter

Armie Hammer

Garret Hedlund

Chris Zylka

I know, I know... Zac Efron? But he's got the abs and the eyes, and he's a good actor. So it's better than Robert Pattinson.

Mat Lanter

If they're looking for someone with a "fan base" how about Matthew Lewis??? He's HOT now! Let's give him a chance to be the hot guy in a movie. 

Thomas McDonell

Chace Crawford

Chris Pine

There are TONS more options... I would be satisfied with any of these options, or one that looks like them. But nooooooo they're thinking about casting this:

EW.

I'm quite a fan of Garret Hedlund myself. Observe:

But, like I said, I will be pleased with any of those fine gentlemen or anyone that looks similar to them. I mean, the least they can do is pick someone with an acceptable six pack...

And I totally wouldn't be mad if this was Annie Cresta:

Don't judge me. A girl can dream........

So, what are your thoughts? Who do YOU think should play Finnick?

Thrift Store Adventures!

As has been my past couple days, my day was filled with scouring every thrift store I could find for things that fit my "vision" for my redesigning/finishing of some of the rooms in my house. Oh, and spending four hours in my car with Caitlin as we drove to the farthest possible part of the Park City-ish area to pick up a bookshelf that I bought from a guy off of KSL. I would tell you more, but that's a whole post on it's own! It was quite an entertaining day, truth be told, even though I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off for most of it. My thrift store adventures of the day were as follows:

1) Savers- I seriously looked like crazy person, putting things in my cart, then deciding against it and putting them back, then putting more things in my cart, then deciding against them and putting them back too. I eventually came out of Savers empty handed. That's ok though, cause I pretty much cleaned out the Layton Savers yesterday, which incidentally has way better stuff and way better prices (consistently) than the Ogden Savers.

2) Tuesday Morning (not really a "thrift" store, but discounted)- I love and hate this store all at the same time. Because things are discounted so much it feels like everything is a good deal, but then you look at the amount of money you'll be spending on the few items you have in your hand and you realize, sometimes it's still too expensive. Especially when I have resolved to now never spending more than $10 on anything (and it better be pretty dang good to even be worth $10.. hahaha). So while I was here I picked out four or five different one panel packages of curtains and then decided against all of them. I had a good time entertaining myself with all of the crazy stuff they have in there though. It's a "Christmas Figurine" collector's heaven. I kid you not.

3) Big Deal Outlet- I am soooo tempted to spend far too much money at this store. Seriously. It's a great place. And there were neon colored converse there today... Don't worry... I resisted temptation. But it was hard. Although I was tempted to buy a little bit of everything they had there, especially the cookies, I resisted and came out with two mason jars for a project for my bathroom. I was really excited cause all of my mason jars are the wrong size and there weren't any at Layton Savers, Ogden Savers, Layton DI, or Ogden DI. I know.... surprising right??? My little mason jars cost me a $1.50 all together. I am very pleased :)

4) Pennies for Pets Thrift Store- No I am not kidding about the name. Though this little store was somewhat junky and didn't have much to offer, I hung around for quite a while. This was because of an adorable kitten that was there. Just wandering around the store! This thrift store takes all of the money that they make and gives it to the animal shelter or to the help of finding animals homes and foster parents and such. That's pretty adorable if you ask me. I guess they had a bunch (and by a bunch I mean 19) kittens just dropped off at the store to be put up for adoption and such and the little one following me around the store was the only one that didn't get adopted or taken into a foster home. I held it and played with it and wanted to take it home SO BAD. Seriously. And though it nearly killed me, I eventually left the store without the kitten, broken hearted. I really was so sad. I still kind of am. I love cats. I thought it in the kitten's best interest to let someone else take it in, though, cause I was afraid Cooper would kill it. Not on purpose of course, Cooper just loves little things that squeak... yeah.....

5)  Doug's Trade Post- I can't believe I have never been in this store before. Honestly, it isn't much to look at on the outside... or the inside... I almost drove right past it without even noticing it...  and there really isn't much of a selection or any items that would draw people in... but the old man that owns the store is a gem. After greeting me when I walked in he sat down in a rocking chair (that was for sale) and dozed off. I wandered around the shop looking at all of the random things he had collected, and probably traded, over the years. He didn't move or make a sound for a good 20 minutes while I looked. I happened upon some cute little glazed ceramic (or something like it) birds that I thought would go beautifully in my bathroom and decided it was time to wake him. I woke him as gently as I could and asked him how much the three birds I had picked out were. He said he'd give me all three for $5! SOLD! When I got up to the counter I realized that there wasn't a register... He had a cash box, and nothing else. I asked if he only accepted cash and checks and he said that was right. I told him I would have to come back for the birds after I had gone to an ATM (duh, I should have cash on me if I'm going thrift shopping. You never know if those old places have electricity or not lol) so that I could pay for them. He handed me the bag that he had carefully wrapped and placed the birds in and said, "You can take them now. Just get me the $5 when you can. I trust you." He then smiled at me, winked, and sat back down in the chair. I thanked him probably around 10 times and promised him even more times than that that I would bring him the money as soon as I could get to an ATM. He did nothing but smile and say, "I'm not worried." I hurried over to the gas station, got some cash, and came back. He had already dosed off by the time I came back and I had to wake him again to give him the money. He gave me a big smile and said, "You didn't have to hurry to get it to me." I told him that it was no problem and thanked him again before leaving. What a sweet man. I am so grateful for people like him. Honestly, I was a little nervous to wake him at first... He looked like he could have been one of those "Carl Fredrickson," "Get off my porch you kids," kind of old guys. But he was nothing of the sort. Not only did he make my day with giving me the birds at such a great price, but he brightened my day by being so kind and by placing trust in me without even knowing me. That is an uncommon, and sadly sometimes foolish, thing to do these days. I am grateful that I was able to keep his trust and fulfill my end of the deal.

All in all, it was a good day of thrift store shopping. I am excited to put all of the finds that I have gathered over the past week together in my house. Pictures to come!

Design on a Budget....

Why does it have to cost so much to make my house cute and a little more livable???

I mean, I'm not asking for much here... all I want is

- a fridge that works
- a kitchen floor that actually looks clean after I scrub it
- not disgusting kitchen walls (decode: I want to paint my kitchen)
- to hang things on my walls without chunks of plaster coming off
- Curtains.... needed in every room but the kitchen. As much as I love the blanket, sheet, jazz flag, and sheers that are serving as curtains at the moment... I would prefer not to look like complete white trash....
- a toilet paper holder
- a bookshelf for my office
- to make the walls in the office not look like someone threw up on them... (again... I just want to paint)
- to be able to put things away instead of having them out all the time (cute storage boxes/baskets/whatever...)
- to paint the unfinished wall in my bedroom
- a couple of shelves here and there to put pictures and stuff on....
- storage shelves for all of our doggy stuff

Ok, so maybe that is a lot to ask... but it's not undoable. I have seen people completely redo their entire house.... Do they just have loads and loads of money?!

I mean, I feel like I am being pretty frugal, picky about prices, DIY-ish, thrifty, and all that jazz.... and it is STILL expensive...

Sigh... First world problems.

You might still be a 7 year old if....

You might still be a 7 year old (at heart) if....

All you REALLY want to do right now is watch a movie out on the lawn with your dog an special someone. 

All you want to eat is banana bread and dry cereal in a zip-lock bag.

You have been running around barefoot the entire week.

You'd rather stab yourself in the eye than clean your room.

You can't stop singing Disney songs.

You're dying for it to rain so you can go splash in the puddles.

You have comic books in your purse.

You are either wearing PJ's that have smiling suns on them or a floral patterned sundress (still barefoot).

The two places you want to go most at this very moment are the Zoo and Disneyland (mostly Disneyland... duh). 

I might still be a 7 year old.... :)

Licking the Spoon

There are some days when I find myself thinking.... "Am I getting all that I can out of today?" Truthfully, I don't know if I can ever truly know the answer to that question, but I do know that there is nothing more satisfying than going to bed at night thinking that I got the best of every situation, found the good in every nook and cranny, and made my lemons into lemonade (or sometimes just enjoyed the delicious lemonade that came pre-made!)

I had some bananas that were a little overripe so I decided to make banana bread today. With milk chocolate chips. YUM. Not exactly within my "healthy eating" plan, but I'll just have a couple pieces and then make Hubby take it to work :) One thing I have tried to stop myself from doing over the years, but decided that it's not worth it to battle with myself over it, is licking the spoon (and depending on how sweet deprived I am, sometimes the entire bowl). In all honesty, I think licking the spoon has become one of my favorite things about baking/cooking/whatever. Taking that minute or two to really lick all of the gooey goodness from the spoon and having nothing else to think about but that is really something special. I know, I sound so dumb right now, but I don't care! 

As I was licking my spoon (or in this case my spatula) I was thinking about how a lot of times we miss the opportunity to "lick the spoon" in our lives. How many wonderful moments, big or small, pass by without us truly savoring them and getting all that we can out of them? Usually the bigger moments we focus on making sure we get all that we can, but what about the small things? What about those moments when the unexpected goodness just pops out of nowhere? Do you take time to enjoy it? Do you lick every last morsel from the spoon? I know that sometimes I don't. 

Picture via mytworoads.com

Thinking back over the past year and almost a half that I have had with my amazing Hubby, all of the "big moments" are truly amazing and I treasure every last one of them... but there are little moments, unexpected moments of goodness, that make me so glad I took time to lick the spoon. Times like cuddling during a rainstorm and listening to the rain, or having a giant restling match/tickle fight on the floor, or laying on our backs while Brandon patiently tries to teach me Spanish, or those gentle moments when we look into each other's eyes and feel the same way we did when we were married in the temple. Or things with my sisters like Chloe coming to me for comfort after a bad day and sitting on my lap and letting me cuddle her (something she hasn't done in a VERY long time), sitting on the couch and listening to amazing Caitlin sing and play her guitar, or laughing so hard I cry with Caitlin and my Mom at 2:00 in the morning as we're helping Caitlin finish some homework. None of those moments were planned. None of them were expected. But they are some of the most precious moments to me in the world. 

There are opportunities everywhere, everyday, in which we are given the opportunity to lick the spoon, to slow down and enjoy something small. Those moments pass so quickly, but the simple, pure joy they bring is some of the sweetest stuff you'll ever get your hands on.

Decisions Decisions

Ok friends- I'm getting new head shots done and I am struggling with how I should do my hair. I know, sounds so trivial, but it kinda isn't. I want my head shot to be the best version of me, the most marketable version of me, a professional version of me, and the most me version of me. Does that make sense? So here it goes:

WHAT IS YOUR VOTE? Naturally Curly? Or Curling Iron Curly?

NATURALLY CURLY

CURLING IRON CURLY

So? What is your vote??? 

Gotta get it out.

Ok, so I'm generally not a negative person. I mean, everyone has their moments of negativity, but I generally try to not let it filter out into the world. But sometimes, you just gotta get it out. I just have to get rid of this, express how I am feeling and my frustrations and let them go. So, if you are not wanting to get a blast of "slightly less perky than usual" then I will be in no way offended if you just stop reading right now.

Here it goes:

- I feel fat and I hate it. I just can't seem to make myself go to the gym, even though I need to and I want to. I just hate feeling like this, and even though I have made progress and am still trying and working hard, I feel like it is taking forever (cause it is) and that I'm just back to where I started when I initially wanted to lose weight before I got married (because I am).

- I have an extremely thin counter part in South Pacific with whom I have to share some costumes. I love her so freaking much. She is amazing. But it is a little hard for me to see the costumes on her, and then see them on me... Particularly our pink party dress... Definitely cuter on her... Cause she doesn't have to squeeze herself into it like a sausage.

- Eating healthy is expensive. Gah! All I want is to buy things that God put on this earth for us to eat for a relatively decent price. Make me pay a lot for the processed foods. At least I understand that.

- I constantly have serious bloating and stuff. I have stomach issues and that is the reason why, but there is nothing really that I can do for it. Which sucks.

- If one more person says "Are you pregnant?" or "You're probably pregnant" or "Are you sure you're not pregnant?" I will punch them. I'm not kidding. STOP IT.

- My throat has kind of been hurting. Perfect timing, no? My show opens in a week and my throat is hurting. Yayyy.....

- Sometimes I feel like I am a horrible person. And this post is definitely convincing everyone in the world that I am a great person... right? Ha.

- I feel as if I have absolutely no will power these days. To do anything. School. Homework. Going to the gym. Eating healthy (Food is so powerful.... I love it so much... everything about it... uhhhg. I'm weird).

- My brain is so full of stuff that I don't know which thing I should be focusing on. And it's kind of like I can't make a schedule for it because they are all things that can't really be put to a schedule.... Does that make any sense? Probably not.

- I can not wait for this week to be over. I am just praying that I will pass my German test... I am not built for foreign languages. AT ALL.

- Taxes are due next week.... and of course we decided to put it off till the very last possible minute. I severely dislike some aspects of being a grownup... Seriously. Like, bills? And taxes? Really?

- Also, I need to find a job (I know, join the club). How is it that life costs so much? Living couldn't have been this expensive back in the day... But I guess it was, just in a different way. Or something.

Ok, well... now that I have severely increased the amount of negativity in the world, I will apologize and add some positivity to the world as well.

- I love spring time. The flowers in my yard have started to bud and bloom and it makes me so happy every time I look at them. Our pear and nectarine trees have blossoms on them and they are so beautiful and happy too. I also don't mind the fact that it has been bouncing between gorgeously sunny and warm days and slightly cloudy rainy seattle-esque days. I love both of those kinds of days. Especially when the latter one only comes around every now and then. It makes it more enjoyable.

- I have a great husband. He is the light of my life. Seriously, I have no idea what I would do without him. I just am so glad that he puts up with me.

- I am learning so much at school. About myself, about what I am capable of, about using what I have been given.

- There is a peace that comes with deciding to go for everything you have always wanted. There is something so soothing about not letting yourself give up on your dreams, about believing that they can really happen. And there is something empowering about believing you can do it, no matter what anyone else says. Yes it is going to be hard work, but everything worth having has always taken a lot of hard work.

- I love South Pacific. Seriously. I love it. I love the people, I love the show, I love the music, I love the characters, I love the director, I love the venue, I love my costumes, I LOVE EVERYTHING about it. I just wish that I could present myself (physically) on stage the way I want to. But never mind that! This is positive!

- I have discovered the joy of spinach smoothies. Sounds disgusting I know, but spinach kind of takes the flavor of whatever you blend it up with, so you can't even taste it when it's blended up with some strawberries and greek yogurt! And it's packed with nutrients! I really love them, and am planning to make some more :)

- Sleep is so good. Though I haven't been getting much of it lately, the semester is almost over, and I will be able to SLEEP! YAAAAY!

- I love my sister. She is the best girlfriend I will ever have. She is such a good listener and always knows what to say to make me feel better. That is a skill :) I have never known such a sincerely kind and beautiful person, inside and out. She means so much to me, and if I could make every dream she has come true, I would do it in a heartbeat. But I know she has the talent, will, and strength to get where she wants to go. And when she gets there, I will always be there to back her up. I love her so much.

- I am so blessed. Seriously. There are so many things that I am so extremely grateful for and blessed with. I just need to remember that and continue to live this amazing life I have been given to the fullest.