I'm a Mormon

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To find out more about what I believe, visit mormon.org

Detroit

Okay, we all know I have a deep love for Taylor Swift's music. Read here, here, here, and here and you'll see why. I came across this video today and it again made me think she's about the greatest country singer to grace the planet. She's on her U.S. tour right now, and in every city she visits she pays homage to musicians that have come from that city by covering a couple of their songs. In Detroit, she covered Eminem and Uncle Kracker. Isn't she just the greatest?

Well this is the story all about how...

This might be the best video I've ever seen. I love you, Jimmy.

Welcome Summer. I've been waiting for you.

Okay folks, summer is here. And we know what that means. Summer music. And my need to create a playlist for every aspect of my life kicks in especially hard here. Call me pathetic, but I have an inability to drive without music. And when my little Batmobile has the sunroof open and all its little windows down so the warm breeze can come on through and whip my hair back and forth, I crave music. So without further ado, I introduce you to some of my favorite songs that SCREAM Summer 2011. I've been waiting for this.

1. Hotel California by The Eagles. Classic. Makes me think of a warm summer night at home

2. Summertime by Kenny Chesney. Obviously

3. California Girls by The Beach Boys. I take pride in this song

4. I Woke Up in a Car by Something Corporate. Makes me want to roadtrip across America. Who's with me?

5. In This Diary by The Ataris. I get into a huge Ataris phase in the summer

6. Summer Wind was Always Our Song by The Ataris

7. Boys of Summer by The Ataris. See? No joke

8. More than a Feeling by Boston. Sappy EFY memories

9. Good Life by One Republic. Listen to this and tell me your problems didn't go away after

10. E.T. by Katy Perry. I know, I know. But still

11. One Day by Matisyahu. Perfect for Provo Canyon drives

12. Summer Girls by LFO. How could this NOT make a summer playlist?

13. Free Fallin' by Tom Petty. Somehow this song makes it into every playlist I make. And for good reason

14. Jaded by Aerosmith. I just love it

15. Mean by Taylor Swift. So sassy

16. King of Anything by Sara Bareilles. Also sassy

17. Miles Apart by Yellowcard. Also more memories

18. Good Morning by Chamillionaire. Haters gonna hate

19. Grace Kelly by Mika. It's just fun

20. And finally...Thunder by Boys Like Girls. Because summer thunderstorms in Utah are the best

So there you have it. My actual playlist has 208 songs, but these are my top faves. And I would be here forever if I listed them all. But there's some Fleetwood Mac, more T. Swift and Katy Perry, and Blink 182. So this just means you'll have to pay me a visit if you want the rest.

Blackbird

via

"I climbed the stairs to my apartment, lay down in my new bed and turned off the light. I waited to start crying or worrying, since that's what usually happened to me with the lights off, but I actually felt OK. I felt fine. I felt the early symptoms of contentment. My weary body asked my weary mind, 'Was this all you needed, then?' There was no response. I was already fast asleep." Liz Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

Hi friends. This is how I'm feeling today. I did something kind of brave and kind of scary and kind of necessary, and after I did it, I felt this wave of relief wash over me. And stress vanished. It was something I knew I had been needing to do for a little while, but I was scared. So I told myself, nope, this is it. I'm doing it. And I did.

So starting today, I'm at a point where I can say, "What do you want, Alexa?" Spring term ends this week, and I decided not to take summer classes. This little weary body needs a break. So what do I want to do? I want to learn Spanish. I want to run a half marathon. I want to take a road trip to somewhere I've never been. I want a job. I want to buy myself fresh flowers every week. And nothing is there to hold me back from doing those things. I've let go of what's been weighing me down, and it feels so liberating!

Two more things before I go. My great friend Megan shared this scripture with me after a long discussion about why things happen the way they do:

"Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth." Mormon 9:21

And last, the title of this post refers to this song. It's one of my favorites by the Beatles, and it describes a little bit how I'm feeling. Good night!

Home

Well, I made it! My Winter 2011 semester is over. And now I'm waiting in the airport to head home to California for a few days before I come right back and start classes for Spring term. Will it ever end? Anywho, in honor of me being so ridiculously excited to go home, I'm giving you two of my favorite songs that have to do with going home. Enjoy lovelies!

It Happened.

Today I wore my favorite wedge heels on campus for the first time. I thought I was all cool and everything and I was totally strutting my stuff like the model that sometimes I pretend I am. And then it happened. The front of my shoe hit a crack on the pavement in front of the JFSB and down I went. Like the kind of falling you see in a movie. SLLLLLOOOOWWWW motion. It was great. I hit the pavement, jumped back up, looked around, and started laughing. And then I continued to make my way home. It was once I walked into my apartment that I noticed my left knee was killing me. I rolled my pants up and saw blood streaming down my leg. Guess I fell harder than I thought I did!

Also, I love this blog. I don't know this girl, but I discovered her last night, and I am obsessed with her clothes. Today I even put a spin on one of her outfits.

And, to finish off, enjoy this little gem that I discovered yesterday.

Also, I read online yesterday that Salt Lake City is the 3rd most vain city in the country. I knew it! We just won't mention that my favorite city in the world, San Francisco, came in number 2.

Killin' It with Kisses

Florence and the Machine had it right. I'm kicking those dog days out of here. I feel like life is giving me lemons to make lemonade, and I get really excited about it, but then those lemons turn out to be sour. Not so good for lemonade. So what's a girl to do?

I've been thinking about this on this 2AM Thursday morning. I'm exhausted, but can't seem to sleep. The earplugs and eye mask are not working at the moment, although they usually knock me right out. So that only means one thing: it's time to write! About what, who knows? My Women's Lit professor told us that sometimes, when we don't think we know what to write about, our best thoughts spill out anyway. So maybe I should try that and see what happens. If none of this makes sense, I'm sorry. 2AM Alexa is usually a little bit loopy.

Today started out as a great day. Cute outfit, good hair, warm weather, the whole shebang. However, it slowly but surely fell apart. That killer job I applied for? Oh yeah, they loved my resumé, thought I was perfectly qualified, and knew I would do a great job, but they filled the position yesterday, before they even got around to looking at my resumé. A couple of other things fell apart, too. It seems totally appropriate that, as I was driving home from campus and near tears, the clouds opened up and my newly-washed car was poured on.

I of course listened to my favorite talk by President Uchtdorf, "Continue in Patience." This talk has gotten me through so much, especially when I feel like I've been patient for long enough. My favorite quote from this talk is: "There is an important concept here: patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!"

So that's the solution. I've got to keep going. I'm going to let those dog days of feeling like nothing is going well for me die. Florence puts it so well: "Happiness hit her like a bullet in the back." I need to keep actively waiting for whatever it is that's coming for me, because I want to feel that bullet! (That sounds awful but let's think figuratively here).

So there's my word vomit for the night. Hopefully this means that I can sleep! Good night, my lovely readers. And to finish with a great picture for the day. It makes me want to garden:

Adam Young Has My Heart

My friend Liese showed this to me, and because I have an obsession with both Taylor Swift and Owl City, this made my day. Adam Young, if you don't marry Taylor, please marry me! We would have cute kids, yeah?

Adam's Valentine Day Gift

Lessons in Life Are Gonna Show You in Time

I feel like I've fallen off a few horses lately, and this week my daddy told me not to cry. :) So I dedicate this song to him and to those cowgirls who feel like life won't ever get better. When you fall, just get back up again.

Adventures

I've taken a bit of a blogging hiatus this month. I'm not sure why. Maybe school has a lot to do with it, maybe I'm just lazy. Yesterday I got back to Provo after a great week at home in California with my family. Getting there was a bit of a hassle, because I flew out the night of a blizzard, and this is what the airport looked like:

And then when I finally arrived in Sacramento at 12:35 am, I found out Delta had left my luggage back in Salt Lake. Awesome! It felt like a scene out of "Meet the Parents!" But being home was so great. We had a delicious turkey dinner, watched the parade as a family, and played PS3. Who knew my dad liked a video game? I'm so excited to go back in 3 weeks. Hopefully it isn't the adventure I went through to get there last week. As fun as it was, sitting in the airport for 8 and a half hours isn't my exact idea of a great way to spend a day!

Life right now is kind of feeling like a Carrie Underwood song. I'm not sure what I'm really doing and I'm not sure of the direction in my life right now, but I'm just going with it to see what happens.

"Play On"

Whatcha gonna do when the show is over?
Whatcha gonna sing when the song ends, yeah?
How you gonna cope when there is no closure?
Where you gonna reach when the goal gets higher?
How you gonna make it through when you think you lost your chance?

Play on when you're losing the game
Play on 'cause you're gonna make mistakes
It's always worth the sacrifice
Even when you think you're wrong
So play on, play on

Even when the floodgates swing wide open
Never let current take you down, no
Even when you're not sure where you're going
Swimming through a mess and you can't get out
Just going through the motions and trying not to drown

Play on when you're losing the game
Play on 'cause you're gonna make mistakes
It's always worth the sacrifice

Even when you think you're wrong
So play on, play on

Even through a storm on the darkest night
Don't you ever give up the fight
Even when you feel you're all alone
Play on, play on

Play on when you're losing the game
Play on 'cause you're gonna make mistakes
It's always worth the sacrifice
Even when you think you're wrong
So play on, play on

Play on
Ooh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na

Baby Blue Eyes

This last week I went with my roommate Ashley to the Hanson concert. Remember them (Mmbop, long hair, circa third grade)? Anyway, it was really good! They're all grown up now, and their songs are great, their hair is amazing (much better than 13 years ago), and it was fun! But I really liked the band that opened for them, A Rocket to the Moon. Because I'm on this music kick right now, here are a couple of their songs, my personal favorite being the one called "Baby Blue Eyes." Enjoy!

"Like We Used To" video

Can't Be Moved

Yet another song that I love. I just think the idea behind it is cute. Is it pathetic that the video almost made me cry? I feel for you Danny O'Donoghue. Maybe someday I'll meet you on that corner. :)

Sweet

Every girl should have this song sung to her by a guy. It's my new favorite.

Music

I really identify with music. What I listen to usually reflects how I'm feeling at the moment. And because I've been feeling kind of down lately, I put together a playlist of songs that help me know it's going to be okay. So I thought I would share them with you if you're having a bad day, week, or month, too.

1. Dream by Michael Buble

2. Keep Breathing by Ingrid Michealson

3. Stand by Rascal Flatts

4. Everything'll Be Alright by Joshua Radin

5. Breathe by Taylor Swift

6. Someday We'll Know by Mandy Moore/Switchfoot

7. Lullabye (Rockabye) by Shawn Mullins

8. You've Got a Friend by James Taylor

9. Hand in My Pocket by Alanis Morisette

10. You Learn by Alanis Morisette

11. No One by Aly & A.J.

12. Let It Be by The Beatles

13. Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles

14. Three Little Birds by Bob Marley

15. Letter to Me by Brad Paisley

16. Ever Ever After by Carrie Underwood

17. Don't Stop by Fleetwood Mac

18. Defying Gravity from Wicked

19. Free Falling by John Mayer

20. Don't Stop Believing by Journey

21. Don't You Know You're Beautiful by Kellie Pickler

22. Looking Forward to Looking Back by Mandy Moore

23. Somewhere Over the Rainbow

These sure make me feel better.

Dance

I had a revelation tonight. Sometimes impromptu dance parties when you're all by yourself unpacking can be the best thing ever. Especially because today I'm celebrating my ascension into adulthood. Yes, by age I entered into adulthood 3 years ago, but I did some hard things today that made me feel grown up. More on that later. Until then I'm going to dance my heart out to some B.o.B. "Magic." Great song. :)

Masterpiece.

Yesterday I was driving to Provo, and since it was Sunday, I was listening to some Church music. I was listening Julie de Azevedo, and her song "Masterpiece" came on. I've heard it before, but yesterday the lyrics really struck me, so I thought I would share them.

"Masterpiece"

Simple clay in a potter's hand,

an empty page and an author's pen,

an artist's brush to a canvas white,

and a work of art comes to life.

Marble raw, but the sculptor sees

the masterpiece that lies beneath,

though rough and marred the master's touch

can change this life into his work of love.

So every day I pray

He'll write his will upon my heart,

mold my soul to his design,

adding color, depth, and light,

polishing until I shine, shine, shine.

All my heart is in his hands,

he's painting the life he'd have me lead,

through refining floods and flames,

smoothing edges and the seams.

And in time, time, time,

oh this simple life will be,

a masterpiece.

Snowy peaks, water colored skies,

His works of beauty fill my eyes,

but he sees nothing more beautiful

than a heart submissive to his will.

I want to know his will,

So every day I pray

He'll write his will upon my heart,

mold my soul to his design,

adding color, depth, and light,

polishing until I shine, shine, shine.

All my heart is in his hands,

he's painting the life he'd have me lead,

through refining floods and flames,

smoothing edges and the seams.

And in time, time, time,

oh this simple life will be,

a masterpiece.

My Master's masterpiece.