Ok, I waited way too long to post this. It's like to the point where I can't remember much. My memory is terrible. But maybe that's a good thing for you. You won't have to read a long boring post :)
Super-Short version: Thanksgiving at Grandma Coco’s, Christmas Eve at the Porter’s, talked to Blake on Christmas morning, went home, and got my presents from Santa.
Long version: click the link below.
For Thanksgiving, my large extended family gathered at my great-grandma Coco’s house. My grandma and great-aunt made all the yummy food. My auntie Ingy’s husband, Aaron made a visually and tastefully (I know there is a better word for that) appealing cucumber salad along with some artfully arranged crudités and homemade dips. We teased him for being so crafty but he is an artiste! (Sorry, that sentence didn’t really need an exclamation mark but I feel the word ‘artiste’ is incomplete without it).
Um, not much more to say except everything was delish, we stayed there way too late watching “Wall-E” (such a cute movie) and I had to work the next day. I was a zombie. Who knew Thanksgiving could be so exhausting? I don’t even want to think about what it would do to me if I had to actually prepare food of some sort.
Christmas was great. The Porters were super sweet and invited me to their family Christmas party on Christmas Eve. I worked that day but got off a bit early so I headed over. They gave me the Mama Mia soundtrack and a gift card to Barnes & Noble. Thank you! I listen to the CD all the time (and my dad likes it too – I put it in his car to listen to while driving)
I made them Pizelle cookies the night before. I should have taken pictures. They are really fun cookies and a holiday tradition for my family. It was my first time making them so I was nervous ‘cause baking isn’t in my skill set. Normally when I try to make something, you can expect disaster, but fortunately everything went smoothly. I ended up with enough cookies to give a jar to the senior and junior Porters and the Dicksons – yay! I was even so crafty and eco-friendly to reuse some almond roca jars to put them in. I just washed them out, wrapped some Christmas wrapping paper around them and voila! It was great; I wore an apron and everything ha ha. I can’t wait to embrace my inner domestic goddess; she came out a little that night lol.
Christmas Eve at my house consisted of the children getting their pajamas! They are super cute. We all coordinated of course. Except for my brother; he had dinosaurs on his and the girls were decked out in pink. My uncle ‘Buff’ stopped by bringing Uncle’s (Uncle Wes but he just goes by Uncle) delicious Christmas breakfast stuff. I don’t know what to call it. It’s like eggs and sausage in a cake pan that we eat with salsa and sour cream – yum! I think my inner domestic goddess should ask him for the recipe.
The next day was Christmas of course. And I got to talk to my missionary! Seriously, that was the best part of the Holidays. Honestly, I was very nervous before hand. I felt apprehensive, wondered what we would talk about, and I don’t know lol, just had this irrational nervousness in my tummy. But that all subsided as I got ready to go over to the Porter’s. I was so proud of myself. I only cried a bit when I first said hello. And then I gained composure but was kind of shy for a while, ha ha. We tried all talking to him on speaker phone, John, Melinda, Ryan, and Davey came over, but that didn’t work so well so we ended up taking turns. I waited patiently till the end for my turn and it was worth it.
I don’t even remember what we talked about besides the Twilight movie and Watchmen. We talked about some of his investigators and random things. I talked to his companion for a while but I couldn’t understand him very well. Ha ha, well he asked “What species of cookie did you send?” And I was like unable to recognize the word ‘species’ in that context so I asked what a couple times and looked retarded lol and then he gave the phone back to Blake. It was just so great to talk to him. It made me very happy. I have this weird thing in my head that it’s like I don’t really know him anymore because all our contact and communication is so abstracted. Lol, I know it’s dumb but anyways, it kind of took that feeling away to have an actual conversation with him. He was almost exactly the same and I’m sure he thought I was too.
I went back home to open presents. I am in no family pictures this year. Sad, I know but the phone talk with Blake soothes my injured ego. I got a singer sewing machine, with all the necessary accessories, which I am very excited to use. Once again, my domestic goddess is appearing. I actually pride myself on my sewing skills unlike cooking/baking. (Although I did make this good quiche one time, but my little sisters and twin sister’s boyfriend didn’t like it so that was discouraging. But they are all tasteless twits so there!) Anyways, amongst other small gifts in my stocking, I got a capo for my borrowed guitar. Woot! I was playing “Shankill Butchers” and “Yankee Bayonet” all day. Luckily my sisters weren’t terribly annoyed.
And Blake is soo amazing. He gave me a gift card to Massage Envy for a three month membership! I get three free massages - one each month and then if I want another massage I get the member price. He spoils me like it ain’t no thing ;). It makes my gift to him seem lame-o.
He is so cute though, and loves my little gifts anyway. I sent him a tie (a really cool red and blue paisley one) and CD with hymns played on guitar. When I bought it the people at Deseret Book were going crazy giving me suggestions ha ha, I think they were all excited ‘cause I told them it was for a missionary. I also put in a small pedicure kit and Burt’s Bees chapstick. My dad and I made butter cookies too, with the cookie press that Blake and I bought once. Well, he bought it but it was my idea. It was hard work squeezing those cookies out of the press. My hand cramped up a bit. O and to top off the present, I included a multitude of cut out paper snowflakes, reminiscent of the time I decorated his room ELF-style while he was gone to a halo tourney and to give him some snow for Christmas.
Well that was the good times of the Holidays. I’ll work on my New Year’s Eve update.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Thanksgiving/Christmas Update
Saturday, January 3, 2009
So This Is the New Year
Ever since I discovered the beauty of Death Cab for Cutie (currently one of my favorite bands, in contention with The Decemberists and Brand New), the New Year always makes me think of their song "The New Year" who's opening line I have chosen as the title for my post today :) It's a great song; you should check it out.
Anyways, I should really catch up with some Thanksgiving and Christmas stuff but I just wanted to get my resolutions written down and share them so you can hold me to them in 2009. We can catch up later. (This kind of mentality is what gets you piles of papers and a messy room and last minute project all-nighters and all sorts of things that resolutions normally vow to fix, but I will ignore that thought for now. I already vowed I wouldn't procrastinate so that is not one of my resolutions, and I am happy to say I have been doing very well with that aside from my blogging, but now I'm rambling. Ok, back to the point.)
My New Years resolutions:
- Go to a class at my school gym at least once a week. It doesn't matter which class, just that I go to one.
- Dress up each day that I go to my internship or work (pretty much Monday through Friday). I will need to go shopping for some professional looking clothes for this one. I only own a couple slacks and my skirts/dresses aren't exactly business style. I am just sick of feeling like a bum when I wear jeans to work. My boss doesn't seem to care but it makes me feel less professional.
- Keep my room clean. If it gets messy during the week, clean it up on Sunday.
- Write Blake regularly. I was getting very bad at this; we're talking a letter a month. Well, more like a large compilation of the letters I wrote but didn't send, all sent together at the end of the month ha ha. I need to invest in some envelopes and stamps I can keep at my desk so I don't have to go to the post office every time I want to send something.
- One word for this one: budget.
I'll post all about my holidays later. For now, Thanksgiving was pretty good, Christmas was great, and New Years Eve was characterized by an emotional breakdown ha ha, don't worry, you'll get all the details later.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
I am addicted
I just spent hours on end reading "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels". I am in love with this story, and now addicted to thepioneerwoman.com . It is ten times better than Twilight and it's a true story! Ah, my heart is melting. I can't wait till her next entry is posted. This is the perfect drug for the void of romance in my life ha ha.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
The Twilight Before Christmas
OMG I nearly pee'd my pants laughing! This is a flawless parody of the "Twilight" movie with a Christmas twist lol
Thursday, December 18, 2008
It's "final"ly over :-P
ha ha, ok the title is a little too much cheese, I know.
But yay! My last final was today at 12. I turned in my final group website for my intro to web design class. Let's just say it was a learning experience lol but we actually ended up with a decent product. I am rather optimistic and think we will get an A. It was a little rough getting there though. I got a feel good email from one of my partners thanking me for the extra time I put in meeting with our professor and fixing some details that went crazy.
Lol here is the email :)
The Jesus thing is in reference to something in the email I sent our group. I said, "Jeff, I resurrected your baby! I am Jesus lol. ok that was a little sacreligous (sp?) but come on, tell me that isn't great news."Ali I just want to thank you for everything you did. Without you meeting with Ru and fixing our entire website, we probably would of had shit. And for bringing my baby back from the dead, thank you oh mighty Jesus. haha dont worry about being sacreligios because we all say bad things sometimes haha.
Thanks again
So I'm all feeling good for being a good group member :) cause usually I'm one of the group slackers ha ha, but I feel like I was a leader on this one (woot go me!).
Well, now I get to relax haleluja. And to add to the excitement of finals being over, this weekend is going to be awesome! I'm going ice skating tonight and playing Magic: The Gathering which is always stimulating. I have a couple of weddings to attend: one on Friday and one on Saturday. I seriously love weddings - like I could be the girl on "27 Dresses" except that I'm not that involved in them, I just love them. Added bonus: there will be dancing at one of them! Yay! I love dancing at weddings! And I am also finally going Christmas shopping on Saturday and doing girly stuff with my good friend.
The stress is finally over! (Until January 7th that is...)
Monday, December 15, 2008
Just letting off some steam
Oh man, I cannot wait till finals are officially over. I am prett much done now, just have to turn in a final project on Thursday.
I had a final today that I was late for, we just had to turn in a paper but I'm afraid I may have missed out on some participation points. I was really stupid and waited till the night before to write it. I swear, never again. That was the shittiest paper I have ever written. It was terrible, too short, and an hour late. So I just had to say that I will never relive this experience! Procratination, my long time friend, we are through!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Final paper for HON 300
As our final for my Elections class, we had to write a 10 ish page paper on a topic of our choice, dealing with presidential elections. One of my professors (who I went and talked to about my subject before I wrote my paper) left a comment on my paper when he graded it that said something like "I wasn't excited when you told me about your topic but you have actually managed to do a good job." Ha ha, it made me happy. I got an 'A'. And below, for your reading pleasure, my paper:
(this is just the first paragraph, to read the whole thing, click the "read more" link)
"The Politics and Messages of Women’s Fashion in Presidential Campaigns"
What you wear can say a lot about yourself and your political campaign. Fashion conveys a story of who we are and where we are going. You are probably familiar with the phrase, ‘the clothes make the man’. Today you can find politically charged tee-shirts with bold messages emblazed across the chest or back. But clothes don’t have to have an explicit message written in a large font to give a message to the world. Politicians use fashion to express a variety of messages. This paper explores some of the messages sent via fashion that we’ve seen in past presidential elections and delves deeper into the messages we’ve received in 2008, specifically from women who took part in the campaigns.
Although fashion has not been as prominent or publicized in past elections, there are a few examples where it has played a minor, but lasting part. There are two examples that I’ll share. One from each major party: Patricia Nixon’s infamous Republican coat, and Bill Clinton donning shades to play the saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show. In each case, fashion was used to convey a message to the American people.
The story of the Republican coat: In 1952 Republican vice presidential running mate, Richard Nixon was accused of living in a style greatly exceeding his income. Many Republicans were outraged and urged Eisenhower to remove him from the ticket. Nixon responded to the smear in a televised speech. In this speech, which is commonly known as the “Checkers” speech, Nixon explained all his personal finances to the public. His wife, Patricia sat nearby as he proclaimed, “Pat doesn’t have a mink coat. But she does have a respectable Republican cloth coat, and I always tell her she would look good in anything” (Nixon). Nixon sent a message to America that he led a fiscally conservative and responsible life. He used this example of his wife’s simple fashion to demonstrate this idea. The speech apparently worked, no doubt the imagery of Pat’s coat playing a part in its success and the Republicans won with a large margin.
Fast forward to June of 1992, when during his presidential campaign, Bill Clinton made a surprise appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show. He wore dark sunglasses and played “Heartbreak Hotel” much to the delight of the American populous. Before his guest appearance, he was trailing in the polls. It is suggested that his performance captivated Americans and turned the race in his favor, which he won that November (usefultrivia.com). People responded not only to his artistic ability as a musician but to his fashion sense as well. These examples demonstrate that Americans respond to fashion in subtle but lasting ways.
The American focus on the appearance of our leaders is nothing new, but we have been paying more attention recently. Arianna Huffington puts it well on page 1 in her article “The Politics of Fashion” published in Harper’s Bazaar. She says:Ever since JFK took the country by storm, with Jackie and her glamorous Oleg Cassini-designed wardrobe by his side, personal style has been an important component of a candidate’s appeal. But the celebritization [sic] of politics has reached new heights.
She goes on to discuss the Clinton campaign’s early focus on Al Gore’s weight (If he starts losing it, it could be a sign he intends to run). She also cites the media’s scramble over photographs of Obama in a swim suit, Nancy Pelosi’s love affair with Armani and Tahitian pearls, and Chris Matthew’s “gushing” reviews of Mitt Romney’s good looks (Huffington 1).
Huffington fleshes out the idea that we like our leaders to have style, be well groomed, even have little sex appeal, but we don’t necessarily want to know the price they pay to get it. We want the steak, but don’t care to hear about the slaughterhouse. She cites John Edward’s $400 haircut, and mentions Condoleezza Rice’s purchase of wildly expensive Ferragamo shoes while people were still dying in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We want our leaders to look the part, but also want them to be selfless, caring, and devoted to the American well-being (Huffington 3). That is why mastery of presidential fashion (and discretion concerning the price to get it) is a must if a candidate wants to win our hearts and our votes.
Fashion is important for all politicians, but it is especially important for women involved in politics we focus more on what women wear and what their fashion reveals about them. Lilly Goren writes on the Encyclopedia Britannica Blog:Female candidates and female elected office holders have a much more complicated relationship with clothing because of society’s more complicated expectations of and demands on women in general as regards to physical presentation (Goren).
I believe her comments also apply to wives of high profile elected officials, i.e. the First Lady and first ladies-to-be. Our focus on women’s appearance and comparative disregard of men’s may seem sexist but that is another discussion. For now, it is the way of our society. Goren speculates that perhaps this is because there is not much to discuss concerning men’s sartorial choices. They wear dark suits in blue or black. The variance goes little farther than the specific cut meant to flatter the shape of the man. (One exception is Vice President Al Gore’s “makeover in hues of brown”) (Goren). The thing no one can deny is that women in politics are under more scrutiny than their male counterparts when it comes to fashion. Since the fashion spotlight is brighter on women, they have to be careful about how they dress and what message they are sending.
Presidential Election 2008 has captivated fashion buffs and filled pages in style magazines. Most likely this has to do with the increased presence of women on the campaign trail. There is always ample supply of style critiques and praise for first ladies and first ladies-to-be but as Teri Agins of the Wall Street Journal put it on NPR’s broadcast “What is She Wearing? Fashion Laws Of Politics”, “In this particular [election] year, you have all these women [at the forefront] who are really interested in fashion” (Hill). Major players in this election’s “political fashion game” included Cindy McCain, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Sarah Palin (Hill). Each woman had a unique style and a unique message to go along with it.
Also on NPR, Marjorie Margolies, a former congresswoman from Pennsylvania who now is president of Women’s Campaign International had this advice for women in politics: “Most people remember what you wear and your tone over what you say” (Hill). Maybe Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama already were keyed into this tip when they had their photo shoots for Vogue. Cindy appeared bare-foot in jeans, lounging near a beach in the June issue. Fashion critics say her look was chosen to give her a more relaxed, universal appeal and to lessen her image as the “Stepford Wife.” Robert Givhan writes, “If there is one word the picture seems to be aggressively striving to evoke, it would be ‘relaxed’”. A word in stark contrast to the images we saw on the campaign of a stiffly polished Mrs. McCain. Givhan continues, “McCain appears to be working to shatter a public image of the pretty -- but starched – accessory” (Givhan “Letting Her Hair Down”). Cindy’s photos exude relaxation and comfort, something we didn’t really see from her or her husband on the campaign trail. (Think of Cindy in a conservative two-piece and tight chignon). Her appearance in Vogue seems to be an effort to soften her image, and her husbands as well.
Michelle Obama, in contrast went for a more formal look. She donned a classic black dress and pearl earrings reminiscent of Jackie O. in the September issue. Perhaps the perceivable link to Jackie plays off the media’s correlation between John F. Kennedy and Barack. The photographs are controlled and formal. The image published here is that she is traditional and classic. Robert Givhan says of Obama’s shoot, “The implied message is unmistakable… I am Camelot with a tan” (Givhan “Letting Her Hair Down”). Michelle’s photograph says everything her husband’s campaign hoped would resonate with the American people; that Obama is not a stranger or an exotic superstar; he is American, just like you. Michelle’s fashion throughout the campaign seemed to reinforce this as style blogs and magazines online and in print raged about her ability to wear designer pieces by Oscar de la Renta as comfortably as off-the-rack bargains from J.Crew.
Both potential first ladies, as well as potential Vice President Sarah Palin appeared in Vogue. Hillary Clinton was offered a photo shoot for the top fashion magazine but declined “for fear of appearing ‘too glamorous’ and ‘too elitist’” according to Joshua Stein of Gawker (Stein). Hillary did agree, however to be the focus of a four-page spread in Us Weekly. In the article she volunteers her fashion faux pas from the past with commentary. The spread includes a range of fashion don’ts Hillary committed from a carpet like coat (her comment: “I’m a big believer in recycling – even carpets!”) to a polka dot dress that “should be arrested” (Aspan). Perhaps with the Us article she hoped to show her humorous side and improve her likeability. I wonder if she had agreed to do a Vogue shoot, what image it would have portrayed. The Us article gives little insight to her new ideal image.
Since Hillary has been in the public eye for quite some time now, we are able to take a closer look at her fashion choices and what they imply than we are able with some of the newer female political faces. Hillary’s style came under public assessment when her husband ran and was elected President of the United States. As First Lady, Hillary “wore clothes that were feminine and stately” (Givhan “Hillary Clinton’s Tentative Dip”). Her style was very conservative yet elegant. When Hillary ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate in New York, she traded her high-necked and long-sleeved yet feminine wardrobe for an array of black pantsuits. Her fashion mimicked the fashion of male candidates she ran against. Lilly Goren elaborates on this change:Clinton, in effect, transformed herself from First Lady to serious Senate candidate in part by moving from a variety of clothing choices (including the ball gowns that First Ladies wear on the occasions of state dinners and other formal events) to the constancy of a conservative suit on the campaign trail. Women often have to make choices of this kind in order to project a certain image, especially when running for office. Clinton needed to consciously alter the way voters saw her, from President Bill Clinton’s wife (First Lady) to a potential senator from New York (Goren).
By altering her fashion, Clinton altered the way she was viewed by the public. She switched uniforms from that of the dutiful and refined first lady to one of a competent, efficient, qualified Senator.
When Clinton declared her presidential candidacy for 2008, we again had the opportunity to see how her fashion and message would change. She traded in black pantsuits for brightly colored ones. Some suits were even paired with a skirt instead of slacks. She moved away from the conservative cuts to more fashion forward cuts as well. While she distanced herself from the male candidates who still wore dark suits, she maintained a high level of conservativism appropriate to the office in contest (aside from the public’s obsession with the revelation of some cleavage in the Senate.) (Goren).
Clinton’s switch to color and more fashionable cuts in her choice of pantsuits could indicate a couple of things about her candidacy and the changing political atmosphere. The first is that women are gaining more freedom to express their style when running for office and operating in high profile government offices. Nancy Pelosi and Condoleezza Rice share a love of fashion and own their fair share of designer suits, shoes, and jewelry. The second is that Clinton was more willing to show her femininity while running for president than for her Senate seat in 2000. Her fashion move may have reflected a willingness to portray herself as the woman candidate and allow her sex to be a defining characteristic of her candidacy. Even if Hillary didn’t come out and say her sex was a qualification that should invite you to vote for her, I think the public may have entertained this idea, just as Barack Obama’s race may have been a factor in some of the votes he received.
On the subject of candidacy and women, who could forget Sarah Palin? When McCain surprised the nation with his VP running mate pick, we couldn’t help but notice Sarah’s unique fashion. America couldn’t take her eyes off her rimless glasses and asked where she got her hair done. Fashion blogs described how to achieve the Palin look for less. We loved her sexy red pumps that she wore with her classic black ensemble. Sarah Palin fabulously feminine in her skirts and heals. And I suspect this is just what the McCain campaign wanted you us to see. Palin was redefining feminism with her fashion and her staunch pro-life stance.
Palin’s political fashion wasn’t all rosy, however. Republican campaign contributors raised their eyebrows high when it was reported that the Republican National Committee (RNC) dished out $150,000 for a Palin family makeover. Gone are the days of Nixon’s cloth Republican coat apparently. The RNC spent thousands to update not only Sarah’s wardrobe but also purchased make up and hair products and services. Some of the money also went to update the looks of her husband and children. Right wing conservatives who hold close the value of fiscal conservatism certainly were unhappy about the shopping spree but stylists and campaign managers argue that updating Sarah Palin’s image was important enough for the expenditure.
Stylists say the Palin family makeover was worth it. Image is everything. Lauren Rothman, Washington stylist reported to Politico, “She is dressing appropriately for the job she is going after” (politico.com). Colleen Abrie, an image consultant from the San Francisco Bay Area agreed, “It is a good thing she has all that Armani, she needs all the points in her favor that she can get. If you are looking the part, you are halfway there” (politico.com). Politico sums up the challenges that the RNC faced while trying to create an image for Sarah in “the early days of the McCain-Palin ticket:How do you introduce a virtual unkown – a self-proclaimed “hockey mom” – as both a down-to-earth girl-next-door and a “maverick” prepared to become the leader of the free world? (politico.com)
The stylists interviewed in this article agree that the challenge was well met. Palin, they say, does not appear to be wearing particularly expensive clothing. She has a look that most middle class American women could at least mimic but she also conveys authority and competency post-makeover (politico.com). It’s a fact that the way a person dresses changes the impression they make. Without the proper clothes and accessories, would Sarah be taken seriously on a global level? The stylists and campaign managers would most likely say no. The public in general might even criticize her lack of fashion sense if she were not dressed for the part. Her wardrobe pre-RNC spree was sufficient for her role of Governor of Alaska but didn’t fit the bill for Vice President of the United States of America.
On the other side of the argument, one might ask what happened to the cloth Republican coat. When did fashion trump Republican values? Or assert that Michelle Obama presented herself well without using Democratic campaign monies or overspending. Lilly Goren concedes in her article, “Fashion, Politics and Gender (The Real Story Behind the Palin Wardrobe Controversy)” that:There are certainly areas where this wardrobe makeover can be critiqued given the presentation that Palin is making of herself and her family in the campaign. Most middle-class mothers of five don’t regularly shop at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue (Goren).
And she has a very good point. Palin was trying to position herself as a “hockey mom.” Hockey mom’s don’t shop on Fifth Avenue or spend nearly $5,000 on hair and make up in one month. This kind of spending also draws negative attention when the McCain-Palin battle cry focused on wasteful governmental spending and much needed reform. Her fashion may have looked the part of hockey mom meets maverick governmental reformer but when we found out the cost, we got conflicting messages about McCain’s campaign.
Fashion sends a message. Women in politics especially need to be aware of what their style says about them, and the candidate they support. (In Hillary’s case that was herself.) In analyzing the final candidates, I have found that the women involved sent messages with their fashion that mimicked their respective campaigns overall.
On the Republican side of the ticket, Cindy McCain and Sarah Palin sent conflicting messages with their fashion while we were also a little unclear what exactly McCain was selling. Eventually McCain settled on the ‘maverick’ campaign but the message was a little muddled and we received a variety of messages from beginning to end. The array of messages we received from the republican ladies’ fashion was similarly confusing. Cindy McCain confused us when she stood stiff and plastic-like behind John then appeared in Vogue, relaxed and peaceful. Palin positioned herself as the maverick hockey mom but lost credibility with her infamous shopping spree.
On the other hand, throughout the campaign, the Obama message has been the same: Obama will bring change and hope. His campaign also reassured us that he was ready for the office. And that despite what some might think, he was and is like us, raised in the heartland with American values. Michelle’s style consistently supported this message. With her careful modernization of the first lady look and formal shoot in Vogue she told the public that she is forward thinking, relates to the middle class, and that she and Obama were ready for the White House.
