6 degrees of seperation

I've been on this kick lately of 6 degrees of Separation. It usually happens when I meet someone famous.

So just by knowing me -- you too can be connected:

Kevin Bacon. I should probably start here. If you can get connected to him - you are connected to Hollywood. So they say. Well, I met Kenny Loggins when he performed at my work. Kenny wrote and sang the title song for Footloose and Kevin was the lead in the film, only 2 steps. And since Kevin Bacon was in a Few Good Men with Tom Cruise - I'm 3 steps away from him. The list goes on.

How about Zac Efron? Well, I met a man who's nephew played Zac's dad on High School Musical. 3 steps.

Michael Jackson -- I've gotten it down to 6 steps... I know Rick Robinson, who's former dance partner is on Dancing with the Stars, who danced with Joey McIntyre, who was in New Kids on the Block with Donnie Wahlberg, who is in a film with Rosario Dawson, who acted in Men in Black II with Michael Jackson. Pretty sweet - eh?!

I'm really just kidding with all of this. It is cool to meet famous people, and even more fun to utilize www.imdb.com to find random trivia.

Now if only I could be 1 degree from Michael Buble... ;) I love his new song "Haven't Met You Yet." If you haven't had a chance to listen to it - DO!!! Michael - if you read this "I know that it will all work out... I just haven't met you yet!"

Its been a While...

My computer crashed this summer taking all of my amor with it. But my awesome little brother built me a new one. Now, I just need to get back into the routine of writing and facebooking. Apparently I don't write very often.

So to catch everyone on my life...

Today I took family pictures for a friend. It was so pretty in the canyon. I texted some friends so I could go and take more pictures because it is going to be a fabulous weekend before we jump into winter. Oh - I hope that it isn't a long winter...

Not much else going on. Just keep on keeping on.

Freaky Flies, pt. 2

I just wanted to give everyone out there an update on the Freaky Fly situation at my house. They were here. I killed many. The flies left. And then they came back. I was really grateful for the Red Fly Swatter of Doom, until I whacked a fly so hard that it broke in a couple of places. It is not that great for whacking flies anymore. I bought more from Walmart -- Apparently they are fine with killing flies and offered me a wide variety of killing options. I chose the yellow one.

It may sound gross, but I have taken a liking to killing flies mid-air. I never knew that was possible until I was swinging around and found that my new fly swatter had a fly attached. It kind of looked like those witches you see at Halloween with their arms and legs flattened against the house or pole like structure. I have taken a habit to killing this way and let me tell you why - you don't have to wait till they land AND it kills them on the first whack. Unlike other times when it just stuns them for a second and you are shocked to see them bugging you after only a few minutes.

I wonder if there is a society of fly lovers that are going to write petitions against my killing flies and this blog? Wouldn't that be awesome?! Would it be called The Society for the Protection Musca Domestica or SPMD for short? Or how about the American Coalition for Protecting the American House Fly (ACPAHF - Aaaack Paf)? Oh, I crack me up!

For now, life will go on. "One way or another I'm gonna find ya/ I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha" (For those that would like to sing along with me... It's a Blondie song!)

Freaky Flies and the Red Fly Swatter of Doom

I woke up this morning with a kamikaze fly dive bombing my head. It was enough to scare the living daylights out of me. What is with flies and my apartment? They seemed to come out of nowhere. My roommates and I have cleaned the house from top to bottom with no avail. I don't know why they seem to come back or why they like my apartment so much. I mean, I like it- but that doesn't give the flies a right to like it too. I've gotten really good at snapping towels at them, kind of like a men's locker room (only I've never been in one - so kind of like the men's locker room in a movie...) I killed 5 of them yesterday with a flick of my wrist.

When my wrist started hurting, Denae and I went to Target to find some traps that would get them to carry poison to their lair and kill them all off... But I guess Target doesn't believe in the mass murder of annoying flies because all I could find was some ant killer and a red fly swatter. Since the problem wasn't with ants, I chose the Red Fly Swatter of Doom. When I got home later that night, I let Rachel, my roommate, and Tyler, her boyfriend, have the first go at it in the kitchen. They only killed one. (I think they were doing more than just attempting to kill flies... gross).

After watching a strange movie with Rachel and Tyler, I went up to my room, fly swatter in hand. That seemed to keep them away. I think it was the bright red color. (Or they may have been frightened at the sight of me haphazardly waving the fly swatter around like Harry Potter when he learns how to use his wand for the first time.) I fell asleep with The Red Fly Swatter of Doom in my hand. It must have fallen out in the middle of the night - because that is when they started dive bombing my head. I hid as best as I could under the covers, but I really don't like my head covered when I am sleeping. When I thought it was safe, I peered out -- the coast was clear... or so I thought. Moments later there was another attack. I guess he was still upset that I took out his comrades-in-wings earlier that day. The battle to sleep was lost.

When the sun finally popped out from behind the mountains and poured light into my room, I found the fly swatter and proceeded to carry it with me the rest of the morning. That seemed to keep them away. The ones that couldn't resist following me got what they had coming to them. But there seems to be one that has out smarted me. He keeps landing on me to let me know that he hasn't forgotten about me. I find it very annoying. He lands on my laptop as if to mock me "Naner Naner - you can't catch me..." Is it wrong, but I just want him dead??

The smaller battle for my sanity may be lost for now - but the war is not over, for I still wield the Red Fly Swatter of Doom. I shall prevail!

Me and Donny...

I co-wrote a blog entry that went onto my work's blog... I thought it might be a nice addition to mine - since it was all about me... I edited down. If you want to see the whole post or other posts from my work, the address is coveycenter.blogspot.com There are some really good ones!

The "Coolest Dad in the World" award goes to Donny Osmond for flying in yesterday afternoon for 20 minutes to watch his son's sound check for that evening's Mormon Times Showcase Concert Competition and immediately flying back out for a Las Vegas performance. It was the good luck charm that Brandon needed to win the $5,000 grand prize.
During sound check, Donny was the devoted dad and afterward he gave his well wishes to the technical crew. Actually, he came up behind Jenni, our star-struck scheduling coordinator and startled her when he grabbed her shoulders, asking her to take good care of his son. Jenni shook her head and immediately sent out a dozen text messages to a handful of star-obsessed friends and family who enjoy a good laugh: "Donny Osmond touched me!"

Disclaimer: Jenni thrives off of sarcasm and will do anything to make others laugh.

The Blowing Wind...

Something is in the air - the wind is blowing hard... (I wanted this to be separate from my other post because it takes a different turn...) and I am laughing harder...

I woke up this morning to a dust storm outside my bedroom window. (I don't know what is worse, being able to drink the air with the humidity, or eat it with the dust?!) The wind was sure blowing. A good day off in my opinion- perfect for shopping and straightening around the house.
I decided to be lazy this morning. Bryan had my car so he could run errands, so I relaxed and had a good morning. I planned out our day as Bryan too had the day off. We decided to spend time together. (For those that don't know, Bryan is my younger brother - not to confuse anyone - he is NOT my hot boyfriend -- but if you know of anyone who wants to be my hot boyfriend, I am taking applications...!)
So the plan was to go to the restaurant where my roommate is the cook and have lunch then head up to Ikea. Maybe I should explain the reasoning behind the trip to Ikea...
I live in this apartment that is fully furnished and it isn't super nice furniture. It doesn't need to be - rent is cheap and I am not here all that often. I made a comment to my landlady that all this apartment needed was a fresh coat of paint in the living room and kitchen to make it look nicer. I told her that I made plans to cover the couches in the living room (couches that we affectionately called "Christmas on the Reservation" - they were kind of a Native American "Print" that was red and green) as they were showing some wear and were not that great to look at. She told me not to go to all of that trouble because she was looking for new couches for our living room. She hadn't found any in our price range - but she had been looking for about a month. I knew she was coming by either this week or next to drop off some paperwork so I thought - "If I buy the covers for the couch and get them on there before she gets here - maybe I can convince her not to buy new furniture." Although the Christmas on the Reservation couches were not pleasing to look at - they were sure comfortable - perfect for sitting AND napping (not necessarily at the same time, but you get the gist).
So that is why I went to Ikea. I figured that I could buy about 5 twin flat sheets and cover the couches for under $30. I came home from Ikea put the sheets in the washer and dryer. While they were drying I went up to Salt Lake. I left at 7:15 p.m. At 8:54 p.m. I received a text from my roommate, Ashlee, telling me that our landlady was dropping off our new couches. I kid you not. I am driving back with my roommate Aubrey and we are just laughing our heads off. I have tears rolling down my face and Aubrey is trying to get a handle on driving (mind you it is still super windy) while laughing. It could only happen to me. My timing stinks!
Well - not all was lost. These couches as well a bit worn out (its a really long story) so I have prevailed - or should I say the sheets have prevailed and I will definitely be covering them tomorrow! Oh, and the blue rug that I also bought looks great in the living room. I gotta stop shopping at Ikea. Its a good thing that I don't own my own home... I love that store way too much...

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

I had a really cool experience tonight - actually it was more of a string of cool experiences that made for an awesome night. I was invited along with my old roommate by another one of our old roommates to come up to Salt Lake City and go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. You need tickets to get inside - and our friend that lived in Salt Lake had obtained 10 of them and had invited us Utah County people along. It was about a 20 min drive so Aubrey and I carpooled up. When we were about 5 min. away I got a message from our friend saying she got stuck at work and couldn't meet us up there. The problem was that she had the tickets with her... Thank heaven for Blackberries...Each group had to show a piece of paper with the reservation information on it. Using my handy-dandy Blackberry, I was able to get the information that was on the tickets... Well, Aubs and I walked up and when they asked for our paper - I handed the man my phone. "Well, this works - come on in" he told us. That convinced Aubrey right then and there that she too, could not live without a Blackberry!

When you first get to the temple grounds - they escort you into a tent where you watch a video about temples and the history of the area where this particular temple is located. Well, Salt Lake City and the surrounding area (including Provo) has had REALLY AWFUL wind all day. It wasn't much better up on the hills of the Oquirrh Mountains. As we were sitting in the tent waiting for the video to start (and during the video as well) the wind howled around us, shaking the tent. We heard things falling over outside the tent - and I was afraid we were off to Munchkin Land or the Land of Oz very shortly... But we made it through and then walked into the temple in one piece. Once inside the temple - it was still, still and peaceful.

Now to my favorite part of the night. The open house is a way for everyone to see the temple before it is dedicated. Once it is dedicated, only worthy members can enter and walk through the temple. It really is a walking tour of the building and they show you what the temple looks like. You walk through without an escort until the end where you end up at the sealing room. The sealing room is where couples are married, not death do you part, but for time and all eternity and families are linked together forever. It is one of the most wonderful places in the whole building. They have you come into a sealing room and sit down and a married couple explains and shares their testimony about what the temple means to them. When Aubrey and I sat down with our group - the wife was crying. Then she explained her tears... 39 years ago today, she and her husband were married and sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. Part of group that we were sitting with contained all 6 of their children and their spouses as well as all 21 of their grandchildren... and they didn't even know they were coming! Their children had surprised them with the best gift - (some of their children traveled as far away as Nebraska) the entire family together on their anniversary in the place where families sealed together. How cool is that?! It was very hard to keep back the tears that formed on my eyes.

It was an awesome experience. I love going to the temple and feeling the love that our Heavenly Father has for all of us. That moment in the sealing room will stick with me for a long time. I am very grateful to a friend for making the reservations, and an awesome phone for helping us get in.

Laughing to myself

As part of my responsibilities at work, I have added the title of producer. That's right, I am producing the Miss Provo (a local pageant for Miss Utah and Miss America...) 2009 Scholarship Pageant. It makes me laugh just thinking about it. Usually I can't keep a straight face when I tell people what I do for a living..."it's nice work if you can get it..." I have to say, I really do enjoy my job. There are days when I feel like the only thing keeping my brain intact is my skull, but what job doesn't have that? I guess I should get back to watching Miss Congeniality... Its the little things that keep me laughing :)

Virtual Gallery

Because many of my friends and family cannot make it to my gallery show, I decided to put it on my blog so that everyone can see my portion of the show. Enjoy. I call this portion of the show "Dancing Through Life."

5 Women and a Plethora of Photographs - The ones that didn't make it.

I Am...

Am I a blogger? I don't know. We shall see... I created this blog because I discovered that I like writing posts for fun things at work. I hope that I can have fun with this one as well as promote my photography, my art.

I have a new art show. My first and hopefully only art show. It was stressful to put together. (And I wasn't the only one in the room. I got together with 4 other photographers to display our works.) I have watched other artists put their shows in the gallery. It looked easy. That is why I thought "Heck. Why don't I put together an art show?" As I watched the artists put their work up I would mock their artistic mood swings as they set everything. That must have been the hard part - "I won't be like that, so it will be easier for me. " Then the unexpected happened. One of my favorite photos had to be pulled from the show because it was too big and didn't fit. Before I knew it, I became one of those artists that I had always mocked. Am I an artist? Sometimes!

This blog is called "Confessions of a Diva" because I couldn't think of a better title for me. Many years ago one of my roommates gave me the confidence I needed one day by saying "You're a diva, you can do anything." I have taken that statement to heart. So when I struggle with doing something that is hard or take a leap of faith - I say to myself "I am a diva, I can do anything." So, am I a diva? You betcha.

I hope you enjoy the photos and the occassional confessions of a diva.