I dont really know what to say...

     Yesterday morning at 7:05 am Priest Hunt, a retired priest from my church, passed away. His daughters and sister were on the phone with my dad almost through the whole night, I listened in for most of it, he was being moved to the ICU but I thought he would be okay, I thought he would pull through. I knew he had to pull through. But he didn’t. I was shocked when I woke up the next morning to hear the bad news. It makes me think back to the last time I saw him, there’s a lot of ‘I wish’s’ I wish I took the time to shake his hand one last time, I wish I spoke to him more that last Sunday morning, I wish…

     He was a professional opera singer and he would sing ever once in a while with the piano or flute in accompaniment, man he had a voice that carried, he was good, real good. He reminded me of Abraham Lincoln, tall skinny and he had the same face, I always had a liking towards him and his talents even though I didn’t know him for very long.

     I suppose he went at a good time, service for the departed in in two weeks, i'm going to play a selection on the violin just for him, and this Sunday there’s a huge district service in Phoenix that I will be attending, the Bishop, District Apostle,  along with every Apostle in the country will be there, so prayers from them would be good.

     I'll be traveling to the service with my fellow youth member because my parents are in Vegas, they will meet me in Phoenix. I always enjoy trips to Phoenix, it’s a mini vacation, even if its only a day and a half, the ‘half’ day being primarily service. Last time I went to Phoenix with my family my dad actually took me to the aquarium, just him and me! Ill admit I was a little surprised he offered to take me, especially it being just the two of us, I can’t remember the last time it was just the two of us. It was so much fun! There probably wont be any time for things like that this time around, but good things often happen on trips to Phoenix ☺

(aw, that's funny, I ended this entry with a smile)

Finished my book

Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read this book as requirement for part of my art class; I found it a surprisingly easy read. It talks of the challenges todays artists face, it addresses every negative aspect that comes with being an artists, and makes you relies, whether your an artist or not, that you as an individual are full of self doubt. The author uses plenty of helpful examples to prove his point that people (artists especially) are consistently telling themselves their not good enough, some one else’s art is always better, and then the artists are made to believe there frauds. There art isn’t even art. This is not true of course. I found it surprising that David explained the stages and emotion of doubt, failure, and trial and error with such accuracy and detail, David brings you into a realization of yourself, gives you ways to manipulate your brain to seeing your strengths (we all have them believe it or not), and he encourages you all the way to make art. There are definitely lessons to be learned here.

The only reason I did not give this book five stars was because I really had to force my self to finish it. There are plenty of books I would of rather been reading, "Art and Fear" as well written as it is, becomes repetitive in some areas and more than once a chapter was just plain boring. I highly recommend this book to any artist; photographer, sculptor, painter, sower, quilter, basket weaver, and every craft in-between doer, if you’re a master or beginner at your craft, read the book.

Hopes renewed

     I don’t know why, or how it happened, but my family found out I wanted to be an EMT. My dad laughed then told me that the only reason people become EMT’s is because their not smart enough to get a real degree. He honestly doesn’t think It’s the right choice for me. He said if I were to pursue it I would have to get my major in something else. He still wants me in web design….

     But two days later I talked to him as Priest Rix and not Dad, and he was much more helpful

     I talked with my dad about being an EMT and unlike last week when I talked to him about it, he was all for it. He must have been thinking about the decision on his own time. He said if anything it’s a great fall back. And that’s true. And that if I want to be an EMT I should strive to be the best. I only need to take two classes to get my license, but I should take ALL eight of the classes to be a specialized EMT. He also told me to use being an EMT not as a career, but a stepping-stone. If I get my EMT license, I can go down many other paths. He suggested search and rescue; I would start out in a voluntary group and be an EMT at the same time. Maybe someday get a dog and be a paid search and rescuer. I can also go for my pilot’s license if I like. And if I really want to go further he said I should join the National Guard, be a field medic or trauma medic, he said that’s the best. That’s right, National Guard! Its like hundreds light bulbs going off in my head all at once, I thought the only way for my dad to allow me to serve my country was to get into the academy, but now my dad said he would let me join the National Guard, how beautiful is that plan? Its everything I want. And I'm not done, while in school for being an EMT I'm going to get my degree in digital art/web design at the same time, because if anything I can make websites in my spare time (ha ha spare time, what’s spare time?) My dad owns five companies and he said if I get good he would hire me to do all of them and he would pay me thousands. I didn’t know web designers get paid thousands for simply designing and coding a webpage… I’ve been designing layouts for years…

     Anyway, the National Guard would offer a retirement program for me and all the benefits. I can also choose to work annually, two weeks a year, or monthly, two days and one weekend a month. This would let me serve and work as an EMT at the same time and only be called out in case of huge disaster or for my scheduled workdays.  

     The path isn’t set in stone, and more options may become available to me through the next couple years, but I think I'm going to go for it. Yes, I'm going for it. 

My Birthday!

     It’s been a good day; my Birthday fell on a Saturday this year that made it better ☺ Another thing that made my day better was all the cards I received! They really meant a lot to me, thank you so much!

Special thanks to:

Tyana from Creating Footprints for a beautiful card <3
Malanda (I think…) she didn’t give me her blog, but her card was super cute, made me laugh too!
April from Marine Parents Blog for a beautiful card and a gift card to my favorite Etsy shop!
Dana from A look into the Kroh's nest for pretty card with a wonderful bible verse written in it, I really appreciated it <3
Chavonne didn’t give me her blog either, but I appreciate the card!
Emily from Practically Pink for the lacy green card <3
And
Erin, Harriet, Petunia, and Meatball, from Popcorn, Pugs, & Peonies your card was adorable! And the glitter! Oh the glitter XD


      For my special day I went on a two hour horse back ride through the dessert, rode to the highest point in Saguaro National Park and watched most of the sun set from there. The whether was beautiful (for once) and after, we had a barbeque in the cottonwood grove. An absolute wonderful day ☺

im waring that darn basketball shirt again lol

Thank you all again for the Birthday wishes and cards, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate them all!

Made myself a new layout!

Stayed up late last night adding the finishing touches to my new layout :)

The coding for blogger is slightly confusing me, and trying to include the widgets in code was a challenge, i haven't figured out how to add widgets to the bottom of the page... but I got the side bar stuff down

The theme was heavily based off another blog I saw, but mine is still completely original, I used all my own stock photos and coded mine with a larger side bar, main body, and more over all awesomeness.

I chose rough wood for the background because i like the down to earth feeling it gave, I added a vintage map for my love of travel, and an American flag for my love of my country, to the left you will find a few ancient coins that represents my love for history, and of course the jeep logo to the right because i love my jeep :D the main body was made to look chaotic, busy, and messy, much like my real desk (he-he...) so I added bits of scrap paper, lined paper, and package paper. In the center of the header you will see a small blank space, I couldn't decide what to put there, so I left it as is, I kind of like it because it allows you to see the wood underneath, but if i change my mind something can be easily added.

Another thing was that Blogger requires you to have either a logo/banner or title for for your blog, but I built my banner into the background so I didnt need a logo, banner, or title. Oops. I fixed this by uploading a transparent image for the banner, it's there, can you see it? lol

Maybe one day I'll put an EMT logo in the blank space, or an service Academy logo. Im not putting Pima's logo there though...

You have to know when to stop…

As I’ve said before, its Academy application season again. Today I spent my entire four-hour study period writing over ten thousand words trying to perfect essay 1 of 5 for my application to the Coast Guard academy. I didn’t get any where (well, I got ten thousand words, but trust me, there not going anywhere). So I decided to go on to the U.S. military school forum to seek advice and examples. Big mistake. I came to the realization that I’m super under qualified. In fact, I’m so under qualified my application will most likely just amuse the nomination committee. It probably amused them last year too. So is there really any point in me even trying? About 2,800 students apply every year and only 400 are selected, this number includes those who are guaranteed admission from the prep school. You have to be the best of the best… and that’s only for Coast Guard, the Naval is like the immortal best of the best of the top 2% of the worlds smartest people ever in existence.  
< /exaggerated text of frustration>

I don’t know why, but every day being an EMT sounds better and better. Next semester I’m going to approach my parents with the ideal. Its not like I can just change my mind once I start… if I start. My dad wants me to be a digital artist/web designer, and I enjoy doing that stuff, but I despise desk jobs. I’ve contacted one of my friend from my youth group who is an EMT I’m going to talk to her about the pros and cons and what its like. She seems to enjoy her job, she admits that there are hard days and easy days and in the end they balance each other out, but isn’t every job like that?

I’m going to try and apply again this year; this feeling should only be a stage of the process. I kind of remember feeling this way last year at about this time, I need to ignore it. I’m going to send in all my information and just see how it goes. If it’s meant to be, it will happen, and if its not meant to be, well… it is what it is.

Finished my book

Khan: Empire of Silver: A Novel of the Khan Empire by Conn Iggulden

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


great sequel to the previous three books, i was a bit worried that book 4 wouldn't be as good as the others due to death of the main character in book 3 but i was pleasantly surprised with the content of book 4.

Iggulden keeps his quality of writing top notch with epic battles, politics, imagery, well developed characters, and a good solid pace. excellent read. Khan has found a place on my list of favorite books ever :)

up next on my list is "The Forgotten Legion" by Ben Kane. I chose this book because he (Ben Kane) appeared on Conn Iggulden's forum, and he seemed to be a bit popular, so I thought I would give his books a try. I checked out his website, he has a series based on ancient Rome (my favorite) and a new series coming out about Hannibal, so I chose the first book in his Rome series, I’ll see how I like it. After reading Conn’s ‘Emperor’ series based on ancient Rome, this book will have high standards to stand up to.