5th novel down!

i finished another novel today! sarah's key

it was a good novel. it was different than the others i have read. it took place in two point of views. it was not annoying but it was a bit weird. i do not mind that kind of writing, but i was more interested in the girls story, her side. but that is not the way the book was meant, being that the two stories would collide into one, which is exactly what happened. i loved the history. i learned something i never knew about. i never knew about july 1942 and the Vel D'hiv, the roundup of all the Jews in Paris, France. it is sad to think about, how the french police took all those Jews and treated them so awful. 4,000 children torn from their parents, then sent to their deaths at Auschwitz. the overall book was very informing, and i have learned something new.

i went with my grandmother vdg today to barnes & noble and found two new novels to read. i have never heard of them before but they seem interesting. one is 'mermaids in the basement' and the other is 'crimson portrait'. i will begin the mermaids in the basement first. i will start today during my break at work! i work the concession stand today, from 4-11:30pm. i am nervous yikes! i did pretty well yesterday on my training, but that was only for 2 hours, not 7.5!! hahaha. i cannot be afraid. i got this! but anyways, the books, i am excited to read them. i most admit i am really liking to read. i have read 5 novels already this summer:1. a walk to remember 2. the scarlet pimpernel 3. the help 4. if i stay and 5. sarah's key. and i still have over a month of the summer left! who knows how many novels i can get in!!! i bet i could read 10 before school starts. but that just depends on how dedicated i am to the book, which means it really has to grab my attention and be really good! i have started a book, i started about a week ago, " mans search for meanin' or something like that. it is about a man who lived during the holocaust and his time in the concentration camps. it is not a bad book, very powerful, but i can only read so much at a time. it is deep and it makes you think. i do highly suggest it though!

out of the books i need to read, i hear the 'hunger games' is a great novel. everyone in my family has read it and they love it. i will check it out. i also am thinking of finally reading the harry potter novels! hahaha. i have only read the first 3 and that was way back in elementary, when they first came out. i have not read them since. the movies are done being made, the last one came out today!! how sad, over 8 years and they are finished. it is kind of relieving and sad at the same time. i am not a harry potter fan, but still. i am thinking now that all the CRAZE is over i will check them out. typical me though. hahaha i did and still do not want to be categorized as one of those weirdo's. once something becomes popular, i drop it. but i can still read the books. nothing to be ashamed of there! they are good and very fun i hear. i will have to start all over though, even though i already know the first book pretty well, there is no harm in starting over, pick up on all the little details!

i am listening to rossini's 'staber mater' that UA's symphonic orchestra, symphonic and arizona choir did fall 2010. it was so much fun and i love listening to it! that has so far been my favorite part of symphonic choir. nothing compares to that experience and the beauty of the work, not even singing at carnige hall! 2 of the soloists were from UA. Seth Kersishnik, who was the bass. he originally is a tenor, an AMAZING tenor, but working to be a baritone/bass now. he is still marvelous. and Robin Rockwell. she is mezzo-soprano. i hear she is studying now at ASU for her doctors. she is amazing as well. i do not remember the tenor or soprano, all i remember was they were siblings! that was impressive. i wish my siblings sang and were into this kind of music. oh wells! i love this! and not to mention my laundry is going and the aroma is amazing. i got new fabric softener, snuggle (my favorite) and the bamboo scent is exotic! my clothes are going to smell great for work today!

angels and extremes

i thought it was a catchy title!anywho, i am going to tucson today to try and find an apartment. my mom finally said she will go with me and i am so excited. lately my mother and i do not get along so great, but i am hoping to be open minded today and have fun! she always went with me to look for apartments and traveled with me during auditions and all. i am hoping to make more good memories this way :)
i hope i find something cheap and close and nice. please please please

this is my buddy brandon and i my first year at the UA. his too! this is in my first apartment. good times.


i ate reese's puffs...for breakfast! haha it was delicious too. the cereal actually is not as good as people would think it to be. it is nothing super special. special k is still by far my favorite cereal.

this picture just make me smile every time i see it! i love my nephew kolter, my only brown eyed spunk of nature :)

last night i started getting trained for working the concession station at the movies. OMG! i am so nervous. it is going to take some getting used to. there are so many steps. i mean, it is not like it is super hard, there is just so much information to remember. and you always have someone WaTcHiNg you. you are never alone. and if you get something wrong, you can in troubs. yikes. so there are 6 StEpS to great customer service. you would think that the customer ordering what they order is all they want. whether it is or not, the employee has to try and upsell something or suggest something else for the customer to buy. okay, what? :) again, there is a 6 StEp system.
1. SmiLe 2.gReEt the customer. " hello welcome to....how may i help you?" 3. upsell drinks AND popcorn; say the customer orders a small popcorn and a medium drink. " for the popcorn may i interest you in a large, it comes with a free refill. and the drink may i interest you in a loyalty cup? you get $1 refillS for the rest of the year." 4. suggestive sell. so the customer only wants popcorn and a drink so the employee would suggest only 2 things from the candy/hot bar to the customer. " would you like any redvines or nachos today?" 5. thank the customer. "thank you and have a great day" 6. wipe counter. a clean counter is very important.

these are a lot of things that we HAVE to do with every customer. then there are the "hidden steps" such as call people to your line, mark refills, if use credit card ask if they would like a receipt, count back change/read total back to them. all these things you do. i tried it yesterday for a little while. i had 2 customers and let me tell you it is harder than it looks. i pretty much froze. " you wanted a what?" haha it was funny. i did not completely butcher it, but i did not do all the steps. and since i do not know my way around the concession stand or the buttons on the register real well, i looked retarded. with all these steps it seems like it takes for ever to fill the orders, but it is the system and it is the most reliable one so everything is taken care of. i am not really fast and it will take a bit to catch on. but i got this....eeek.

another novel

today is sunday (well monday morning now) and after finishing 'the help' i decided i needed to read another book. i do not know what it is but i find reading refreshing right now. it is quite relaxing and it helps me to use my brain in another manner i am not used to. it unlocks my imagination and i love it. i can almost picture myself in the book!


i decided to tackle the novel " if i stay " by gayle forman. it is a different book i will be honest. i read it all day today, finishing it just moments ago. i am glad i read it. i do not know why i chose to read this book, but something about it seemed interesting. i was looking through books in my mothers closet and i came across this one. it was very surprising to see all the books in my mothers closet. it was almost like it was her 'secret stash', her 'treasures'. i found it quite amusing to be looking through them all. in my parents kitchen they have a bookshelf full of books, so many books it is crazy. half of them are religious books. and though they are very intellectual, i can never find myself to read them, i have no interest. maybe because i usually hate to read. but perhaps the more i read, the more i will find the patience to read them and learn more of my religion and the history that came before me.

when my mother found i was reading this book, she told me it was hard for her to read. and i understand why. almost 7 years ago my older brother kess was killed in a car accident and i can only imagine what she felt when she read this book. fiction or non fiction, to lose a loved one or hear of it happening is plain grief. but as i read this book, i got more out of it in the musical account. i am a classical musician myself. i find joy and love in the classical nature of music more than my siblings and friends do. and this book helped me realize how much i appreciate music and the love and devotion i have for it. how truly blessed i am to have music in my life, something that can draw me closer to myself as well as to ones i love. and through music true love and life are portrayed. it was inspiring.

Great Novel

i decided i needed to start reading again. i have so much spare time and i do not know what to do with it. what is better than reading to get the mind and imagination going?! :)
i decided to tackle the novel " the help" by kathryn stockett. i HIGHLY recommend this novel. it is so well done. i bought it on wednesday night, the 6th of july and i finished it this afternoon, the 8th of july. it was a fantastic novel that kept my attention the whole way, till the last word. i never wanted to put it down! even now i am thinking about it.
i figured i would read this novel because i saw the movie poster for it. it looked fairly interesting and i thought maybe i should the book the movie is based off of, before i see the movie for once. and that is what i did. i barely had any money, but i i took the only money i had to go and purchase this novel. and i think it was great buy. i plan to read it again in a couple months.i am also super looking forward to the movie coming out. i hope they follow the story line and they do not butcher it too bad. it is way too good for them to ruin it!

just some photos

these are some of my nephews up at our cabin! so cute they are. their names are (from left to right): holden, hudson, tank, kolter, and hunter.













This is my brother kurt! He is serving a mission in Tokyo, Japan. You can visit his blog at eldervandegraaff.blogspot.com

This is my nephew Hastings, but everyone calls him Bubba, bubba beef cakes!












nothing really fancy but i just wanted to add some fun photos of the family! there will be more to come i am sure!

summer delight

it is summer howdy doo!
i have been getting a wonderful tan i am so excited! my skin smells of sunscreen and it is nice and smooth
i am loving this!
it is going by so fast though! before i know it is going to be time to go back to school. NOOOOO
i just found out my cousin in utah is engaged. congrats to her!
my other cousin is having twins, my sister is back in her house after being evacuated because of the fire, i finally have received a job for the summer, i started watching bones and it is by far my favorite television series!
i started and finished season one. now all i have to do is find season two since it is not on netflix. i am going crazy because the last episode of season one was a cliffhanger! it just ended when it was so intense. i cannot wait any longer to see the next season.
i need to find it asap and it is quite difficult for me, very much so also because i am poor! haha.
i am going to see midnight in paris right now with the mother.
au revoir.

Hey Yall!

Hey! I have a blog! hahaha! I totally forgot that...oops.

what to say? I am supposed to be studying for diction since i have a quizlette tomorrow but i am obviously distracted. :)

it is april! how exciting that summer will be here and school will be finished! that really is so awesome because i am so ready to get out of tucson and the university of arizona. there is nothing here for me anyways. the only reason i am here is for my voice professor, faye robinson, who is amazing! but other than that, i will check out of here in a heart beat. the people, the school, the city, everything is just crap. but oh well, i am here so i might as well smile and wave!!!!! although that is doing nothing for my sanity!!!!!
oh yea, the penguins from madagascar, epic!

i am listening to lady gaga's "born this way" and i just love this song! over the course of 3 weeks this song has really worn on me and i have to say i am liking the beat. lady gaga by far right now in my life is my favorite artist. she is an individual who is not afraid to be someone different and can i just say her music is fantastisch? her style is a bit, abstract and obscure, but hey, you go girl!
oh it totally reminds me of what happened at work today!! this song came on the radio today and me being me, i started singing and dancing since there were no customers to serve. the chef, who is a great guy, told me to stop singing for like 2 minutes and i did not get it. he was laughing i thought it was a joke! it turns out there was a person fixing the silverware who, i am assuming, is transgender?! that is what the chef said! i mean i have seen this person before and i was curious if they were a female or not, but i just came to the conclusion they were a guy. anyways they are who they are for they were born that way! hahaha. no wonder the chef was laughing. he thought it was so funny. i guess it does give a slight chuckle if you think about it!
good times at 3 cheeses and a noodle.....good times.