CSI Night Watching

 

I was bored last night, and my fiance was out of town.  So what did I do?  I had an awesome night to myself while watching Netflix and reading a novel.  Perfect, chill Friday night!  I really like watching CSI shows, and I've never seen the NY season episodes.  So that's what I watched.  Keep in mind this was around 10:00 pm.  After watching it, I seriously scared myself sick!  I couldn't even shower without getting paranoid that someone was in my apartment ready to kill me when I got out!  I was so freaked out!  It's the first time one of these CSI shows have scared me that bad.  Goodness, that's the last time I watch that show so late...

My Devine Devotion

In honor of the blog lecture we had today, I want to feature one of my favorite blogs of all time!  I'm sure some of you have heard of Brad and Hailey Devine.  I discovered them a few years back when Hailey released this video of Brad coming home from his mission:

 

http://vimeo.com/31673669

 

Aren't they adorable?!  And I related even more to Hailey then because my missionary was in Brazil.  I just fell in love with this couple and their life!  Then they got engaged:

 

http://vimeo.com/33248704

 

Then married!

 

http://vimeo.com/43582451

 

Those videos still make me so happy!  Now both Hailey and Brad travel the world making videos for different companies and agencies around the world.  Best job ever!  And Hailey has a blog where she does giveaways and featured posts (just like Stacy Risenmay from class).  And now they're having a baby!!  If you haven't seen her blog before, then check it out now!  And you'll get the Devine devotion, just like me! :)

 

http://www.somethingdevineblog.com/

Welcome Baby

I've been incredibly blessed to work with the Welcome Baby program at United Way for my internship this semester.  It's such an amazing program, and I wanted to share a little bit about what we do to help first-time parents in Utah County.

It's essentially a free home visitation program.  A family can register for the visits or can be referred through a number of different ways.  We send a trained volunteer to their home and teach them about infant development, post pregnancy issues, parenting concerns, and anything else a first-time parent would have questions about!  We also have free weekly playgroups with other families in the community which allows parents and children to interact and build friendships.  We also teach free monthly parenting classes at the Health Department which are phenomenal.

We work really closely with the Help Me Grow program at United Way as well, and I love keeping updated with their blog to review what I can do for my future children to help promote their development.

If you or any of your friends might be interested in getting home visits along with learning about different resources and activities for their baby, check out the Welcome Baby website and see if it's something you'd like to do.  Like I said, it's an amazing program and I've seen it benefit so many parents' lives and increase their confidence as a parent.

Photoshop is FINALLY caught!!

I realize that this is essentially the same post as Dr. Coyne's, but I saw this article earlier today and really wanted to share it as well!  Apparently, there were a few mishaps on the Target website regarding Photoshop.  And after JUST having our lecture in class about sexualization of women and thin ideal body image, reading this article drove me crazy!!

 

First off, here's one of the sloppiest Photoshop jobs I've ever seen.  Take a look at her right armpit and her crotch.  Ridiculous!!

 

And here's another:

 

 

And the close-up of her crotch.  Oh, and look at her hip:

 

 

Seriously?!  Ugh this makes me really mad!  Girls compare their bodies to these fake legs and obsess with having an unrealistic, perfect body.  So frustrating!  I agree with Dr. Coyne, I'm just glad the media is making a big fuss about these images and making them known.



Best "Frozen" Cover Yet

Ok, so I guess this really isn't considered a cover.  They're just lip syncing.  But still, this is my favorite "Frozen" performance I've seen!  It's adorable!  Usually when people do "Frozen" covers, they sing "Let It Go."  But here's a cute couple singing to "Love is an Open Door."  It's probably the cutest song in the movie!  My roommate showed me this video over the weekend, and it's just perfect!  Enjoy!

 



Thin Ideal Awareness

So here I am, lounging on my Love Sac and doing my media chapter reading while watching the WCC tournament final with BYU and Gonzaga.  Such a good time, right?  When out of the blue, two girls in their skanky bikinis show up on my TV screen!  It turns out it was a Corona commercial.  But it was one of the most sexualized commercials I've ever seen of women and the thin ideal.  I was shocked, so I immediately wanted to write about it haha!  I know I focused my last post on Miss Representation, but I just want to reiterate the importance of being aware of this sexualization of men and women.  It's literally everywhere.  I'm glad that this class and the past few lectures have increased my awareness of this issue.

Thoughts after "Miss Representation"

After watching "Miss Representation" in class on Wednesday, I came home and actually looked up some more information about the video and its director/narrator.  For the most part, it got positive reviews.  The video won several awards as well, which I thought was great!  I even looked up some general conference talked addressing the topic of misrepresenting women.  And I found this amazing talk by Jeffrey R. Holland.  It's called "To Young Women."  Starting at 8:05, his talk is directly relevant to the material presenting in the "Miss Representation" video.  Listen to the last half of Elder Holland's talk:

 

 

What'd you think?  Isn't he incredible?!  He speaks so plainly and simply.  I have a testimony of the divine worth and nature of women in God's plan.  We are all different, but that's what helps the kingdom of God grow and reach the whole earth!  Women can be a powerful and useful tool in God's hands.  We are definitely nurturers as well as leaders and examples in the Church.

 

Oh, and Happy International Women's Day!

Rainy Mood

I really loved our music lecture back in the beginning of February.  One of my favorite findings Dr. Coyne shared was that listening to ANY music or noise is better than silence.  I think this is so true.  This semester, I've started taking my midterms in the music room in the testing center.  And I feel a lot less stressed and anxious while I'm taking it.  It's amazing.  And I've always done my homework to Classical music or rain noise.  I can't study in silence.  Pandora is great!  I have a "Classical Music" radio and a "Solo Piano" radio that are really nice.  Then I have a website that I love where I play my rain noise:

 

http://www.rainymood.com/

 

If any of you are anything like me and like to study to music or rain noise, check these stations and the website out!