Graduation: Contrast

Here's Michael's happy graduation day in 2008. Sunny and warm and not sick! =) So proud of him!

Craziest Week of My Life

I had a lot going on during the Fall 2010 semester and it definitely went out with a bang. On December 14th (Tuesday), it was my 26th birthday. I was coming off a horrible 2-week cold (ALL DURING FINALS!!!!!) and I felt like I wasn't getting over it.

My friend Amanda threw her annual Christmas party on the night of my birthday. I was feeling totally blah... like, food was grossing me out. And that is bizarre. So I sucked it up and went to the party and ended up feeling better and having a good time. Here are a few pics:

Amanda was super sweet and got me a birthday cake which I didn't feel like eating. Uhhh. Weird.

The next day was Wednesday the 15th, and I was still feeling sick and really nauseated. I couldn't believe how horrible I felt and how I didn't want to eat anything! What kind of cold was this anyhow? So I got to thinking about how I could possibly be pregnant. This was a whole new kind of sick. I went to the grocery store and stood around looking at pregnancy tests until another lady with a toddler on her hip grabbed a box. I figured she knew about pregnancy tests, and followed her lead. (Those things are expensive, by the way!)

I will spare you the pictures of the pee sticks (I actually didn't take any pictures of them... that kinda grosses me out), but I took 3 of them and they were definitely all positive. After taking them, I looked at my miserable self blubbering in the mirror and said, "I don't know what to think about this!" It was really quite comical and I started laughing/crying. haha.

Then I called Michael and was still crying and sputtering. "I...I...I... th-think I'm pregnant. CRY CRY CRY." Of course Michael was very sweet and happy and trying to make me feel better. I was miserable and really didn't know what to think. Kind of confusing.

That night, I picked up my parents from the airport and tried not to barf the whole drive there and back. When we got home, I straight up told my parents that I thought I was pregnant. I felt like they needed to know why I was sooooo sick without actually being sick.

AND THEN...

I graduated from ASU the next morning. It was a pretty rough day. I had to be there at 8:30 in the morning, and it was raining and I was pale and sick. ACK. My parents, Michael and my friend Sarah came to the morning festivities. We went to lunch at Mimi's Cafe and they brought us breakfast menus because it was like 10:30 a.m. I saw the pictures of eggs on the menu and just about threw up right there! I choked down a muffin and a bowl of French onion soup. Michael's parents joined us for the Herberger Institute graduation later that day.

Here are the pictures. I look sooo pale. haha.

Senior Recital!!!

I performed my senior recital on November 29th, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in Katzin Concert Hall at ASU. So many people came to support me. It was such a great feeling to perform for friends and loved ones and to finally have it over! It was a lot of hard work.

Here are the links to the videos that Michael uploaded to YouTube:

Part 1 -Donizetti and Puccini

Part 2 -Schubert

Part 3 - Chausson

Part 4 - Howells #1-3

Part 5 -Howells #4-5

Here's the photo of all the family that was there plus my accompanist Mauricio (in the teal shirt!)

And here's the headshot that Michael took of me. I used it for Les Miserables and for all of my recital posters. I've never had a headshot taken and I think this one turned out great!

Les Miserables

Michael and I had the opportunity to perform in our stake's production of Les Miserables. It was a lot of fun, despite my crazy schedule trying to finish my last semester at ASU. The performances were on November 4th and 5th, 2010 at Gilbert High School.

Michael was "student #2" (it looked like "studcat #2" in the program--haha). I had the role of Cosette. Lots of fun! Here are some pictures:

Me, Michael, Melissa, Max, and Malachi after the show.

The whole cast on stage. Can you find me and Michael?

Mom (Fantine AKA Stephanie) and Me (Cosette)

Dasha, Me, and Kristina.

Pam (MIL), me, Michael, and Trent (FIL) after the show.

The Silver Creek Ward REPRESENT!

Me and Sienna--one of my cute laurels.

Rehearsal at a nearby church building.

The love triangle: Cosette (Me), Marius (Jeff), and Eponine (Alyssa)

Real husband, me, fake husband!

Back in the Saddle

Soooo....

Even though my last blog was about my brother, my life did not end when he got home from his mission. HA!

A lot of stuff has happened in the last few years. Maybe I will get caught up with it and maybe I won't. Either way, I'm hoping to get get this blog back and running to show off the cute little baby that I will be having in about 6 weeks! Get ready for the debut of Captain Awesome!