It's Friday!

Let's celebrate with some random things I like.

Josh Groban.

Josh Groban and his AWESOME leather jacket.

Porsche. These are Cayman S.

Lime Green.

"Dance Me To The End Of Love" painted by Jack Vettriano

Dark Chocolate.

Roger Federer and tennis.

Doctor Who

NCIS

Calla Lilies.

"Black" tulips. I love them so much. ... But I just like any tulip.

Books.

And currently right now I am in love with this guy in this role...

Benedict Cumberbatch as the Baddie/Awesome Guy in Star Trek: Into Darkness.

Seriously... If you have not seen the new Star Trek. GO! Now! The whole movie is fantastic!

Resolutions: Random Update

I was randomly looking back on my resolutions for the year. And one of them I've definitely given up on. Number Five: Take photos. I did that for a couple of months but not everyday. And then when I tried catching up I felt like I slipped more behind. And I thought, "This isn't worth the hassle or the stress." So I stopped taking the everyday photo.

But I've been good on the other goals so far. I've paid my tithing every month. And I've tried to be on FOJG more often. And I've even started getting rid of stuff in my room. The other day I moved my clothes around a bit and got rid of a bag full of clothes. And a couple pair of shoes that I wore maybe once or twice. But they are too big so I don't wear them often.

Countdown to Josh Groban Concert

So you know that I got Josh Groban tickets...

The other day I added a countdown to my sidebar. And I LOVE it! The website I made it from was SO simple and I can change the colors and everything.

Woah. That's trippy. lol.

153 days!

Pinspiration: Drawer Dividers

I've been wanting to make drawer dividers for my bathroom for a while now. I wouldn't mind have fancy, clear, store bought ones someday but I wanted the drawer dividers now not later when I have money.

So I made my own.

I looked on Pinterest for some ideas. And I came across this post with dividers using balsa wood. I really liked them.

Inspiration: post on Pinterest, Original source here

So I got to work building my own.

I started by measuring the drawer that I wanted the dividers for. It's a 3"x10"x18" drawer. Then I went to Hobby Lobby and bought three strips of 3/23"x3"x24" balsa wood.

Here's my before shot. The drawer works as it is but I mostly wanted my makeup more accessible and out of that flowery case.

Before ...

And here it is after. I really like how it turned out. I can reach everything without moving other things that are on top. It still looks kind of crazy but it'll work so much better.

... After.

We'll see how much I like it after using it for a few days.

as always ... click the picture to see it bigger.

The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The summary in the front of the book is pretty good without giving to much away...

Trying to make sense of horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel -- a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

Or even the summary at the back of the book right before the discussion questions...

Liesel Meminger is only nine years old when she is taken to live with the Hubermanns, a foster family, on Himmel Street in Molching, Germany, in the late 1930s. She arrives with few possessions, but among them is The Grave Digger's Handbook, a book she stole from her brother's burial place. During the years that Liesel lives with the Hubermanns, Hitler becomes more powerful, life on Himmel Street becomes more fearful, and Liesel becomes a full-fledged book thief. She rescues book from Nazi book-burnings and steals from the library of the mayor. Liesel is illiterate when she steals her first book, but Hans Hubermann uses her prized books to teach her to read. This is a story of courage, friendship, love, survival, death, and grief. This is Liesel's life on Himmel Street, told from Death's point of view.

I really liked this book. As said in the little snippets, Death is the narrator of this story. The author, Markus Zusak, is a great story-teller himself. And I found myself compelled to read as much as I could in one sitting. Death was funny at times but mostly he just told what needed to be told. I could envision the story as it was told to me. I saw a little girl being adopted by her foster parents. I saw Liesel's dreams and nightmares. I saw the carnage that the War brought upon their country. I saw the colors and the words.

I almost cried at times. Having Death narrate World War II was heartbreaking. The ending wasn't one I was expecting but it fit so perfectly. Liesel's story needed to end the way it did. And in the end I respect the story so much more. It's real and heartbreaking. In the end I did shed a tear or two.

I highly recommend this book. I loved every page of it. It made me cry. It made me smile. It made me think. I like a book that makes me think.

"Death and Liesel" by FluorineSpark via DeviantArt

Thoughts That I have and Josh Groban

These past few weeks have been somewhat chaotic.

Eric and Carly are getting married in just over a week. And that's been happy-stressful. I'm a bridesmaid in the wedding party. Our dresses aren't getting here on time so we're going with completely different dresses. Grandma Higgins is going to make mine. I bought a pattern and fabric last night and I think I'll really like the dress. Right now I can't quite visualize it because I'm just so tired. lol.

With the wedding Mom and Amber and I threw Carly a bridal shower a couple of weeks ago. I was in charge of decorating and my idea wasn't coming together handmade. But I bought some decorations and it turned out way cute. I was very happy with how they turned out. I'll have to find some pictures of it all and post them.

Beyond the wedding stuff I've been working a lot. We had our last big event before the summer months. Supercross was on April 27 and it was super busy. We've had a few new people come to work with us. Some I get along with just fine. Other annoy me sometime. But I still get along with them.

There are some fun little camping trip vacations planned throughout the summer with the family. Mom and Dad are going to Alaska for one of Dad's conference things. They are taking extra time around the conference. So total they'll be gone 10 days. They are going in the first part of June. So they'll miss my actual 25th birthday on the 7th But that's okay. We'll celebrate when they get back. I don't have any personal vacations planned but we'll see what turns up later.

Since Josh Groban has a new CD out I knew that a tour was coming but on Monday (May 6th) they announced the actual North American tour dates. Yes. Josh Groban is coming to Salt Lake City. The problem was that I only had that night to decide if I was going and how many tickets to get. The Friends of Josh Groban (FOJG) presale started at 10am on Tuesday (May 7). I ended up buying three tickets. Mom and Carly are coming to the concert with me. I ended up getting really good seats. We're on row three in a really great section. It's right next to the stage on the floor. I'm really excited to see Josh Groban in concert. It's been years since I've been to a big arena concert. The last concert I went to in SLC was back in 2007. That's six years ago. The London concert (which was smaller and still tons of fun) was three years ago in 2010. Both concerts super fun but I miss seeing him live. I didn't go to the bigger concert for the Illuminations CD tour back 2011. And I was sad. So I decided I'm going to every single one for as long as I can possibly afford it. lol. Josh Groban puts on a fabulous concert.

I think that's all I had on my mind for now.

Have a great day!