Timeline-2011

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Here is a (not so) quick but quickest overview of my 2011. If you want to know it all, just read my entire blog. Good luck!

February 11th: (which happens to be my brothers birthday) was when I started this blog! A very important event I'd say.

March 19: (no post) Stake Cinderella Ball

March 3rd: The beginning of Into the Archives. Over there under "Labels" is a tag called ITA. Click on that.

April 11th: I got the ultimate haircut of the decade! Actually I'm serious. I might not get my hair cut that short for at least 10 years. It could happen though. I'll have to see...

Mid-Mayish: I got my goodreads account. Yup that was a great idea! I'd sugest you get one if you haven't already.

May: Passed my first year of early morning seminary. Well OK maybe I did more then just pass seeing as I got the Stake Presidents award and all.

February-March-April-May: I LOVED track yet again! (That's 3 years of running yo!)

May 23rd: I turned 15.

Very end of May: Track awards ceremony.

June 10 & 11th: Stake YW 4th year high adventure-thingy.

June 2-5th: Can you say Chicago?

June 20-24th: I rocked Stake YW girls camp as a 4th year...without a voice the entire time. More info if you read that post.

June 29: (no post) I went to the local amusement park for the first time (never having been on a roller coaster) and seriously had a blast! I had no idea how my body would react to roller coasters because my dad loves then and my mom doesn't so there was a 50/50 chance whether I'd survive through the day. Well...it stayed 50/50. I was feeling sick over half the time but I couldn't help it! I LOVED the big rides! My favorite was the Patriot. A crazy loop-de-loop-really-fast ride.

My least favorite? The Boomerang. After just once I was really sick and it happened to be right before lunch...which I didn't eat. After an hour of groaning and laying on a bench I got up and ate 2 cups of ice cream and was magically better! Who would have guessed?

During a break we had fun with everyone's phones:

 When it got dark it was almost better than day light! The place looked like Christmas in June.

We were seriously there all day. About 10am-10pm. Turns out that is about the right time. Sick enough to want to go home but still satisfied that I had gone on all the rides I wanted to.

July 7-9th: Rode on school buses. AKA had a nice stake youth conference.

August 5-6th: Partied in Nauvoo with my "other ward".

August 9: (No post) Stake Seminary kickoff. (Seminary already?) We didn't do much but play on the playground...which turned out to be really fun!

October 13th: I started a blog that I post on daily. Mostly videos...but a few other things too. helloyoutube.blogspot.com

October 31: (no post) Seminary Halloween costume party. Everyone dressed up as someone or something from the Old testament. A few of them were a little stretched...

Happy 11/11/11!

December 27: I got my YW Recognition Award

December 25: Christmas Day

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

2012 is going to be awesome! (unless we all die of course :D )

Video of the Year

Check out the new video I have been working on:

youtube.com/user/HalesterProductions

The Yeti Took Over

And...this picture pretty much sums up my Christmas!

 Well at least the presents...

Hope you had a great Christmas! I sure did. Well you've already seen (a couple posts ago) I was festive enough for church. If you would like to see how my day went just visit the family blog. But now, I will explain the above picture.

First the hat.

I was at a friends house about a month ago and fell in love with her sock monkey hat. I asked if I could borrow it for a week but she said no. So I borrowed her little sisters panda hat instead. (I promise, I did ask her sister and she said yes) I totally wore it the whole week and then gave it back mourningly. Then I asked Santa for a cool hat like that one. He asked me where to get it (since I guess they don't make them in the N. Pole) and so I looked up "Wool Pilot Animal Caps" on the internet. Bingo! I found the hat I wanted right away. Not a dog or an owl or even a moose. Nope! I needed a Yeti hat (though the cookie monster hat came in second...) Mr. Yeti and I have been inseparable since Sunday. No really. I'm serious! I've taken it off to take showers and during prayers. That's pretty much it.

(Now my YW president is threatening to pierce it's horns and give it bright pink earrings....ick!)

And then there is the iPod touch.

I didn't really get it on Christmas day and it wasn't exactly a Christmas present in the normal way. Christmas money from the grandparents does come in handy though. So I got an mp3 player but I decided to sell it (since I already have an mp3 player anyway) so I could use that money, my Christmas money and some of my own savings to buy an iPod that I knew I would use more. So I'd say it's a Christmas present from a few different people and I'm pretty happy with it.

Into the Archives 44-Activity Day Girls

12/29/2011

In Primary (children 3-11) there is a program for girls 8-11 called Activity Day Girls. In 2006 or 2007 my mom was called as the ADG leader. I can't remember what we were doing, but we were doing a project that involved taking pictures of each of us.

Although over half of these girls aren't in the ward anymore, they are all still part of our group. Here are the pictures from 2007 and a more recent one of them now that we are all in YW.

Me

Sadie

McKenzie

Jasmyne

Atlanta

Emma & Mary (Unfortunately I can't find a recent picture of Emma)

 

 Ainsley

Who Coined the Phrase, 'Coined the Phrase?'

When you are bored, just search for "interesting questions". There are some classic ones that are boring. Then there are sites like this one:

www.crazythoughts.com

Some are intriguing, some are a little weird and some are more like jokes.
Here are some examples:
A "Duh" moment: Why is there a disclaimer on the Allstate Auto Insurance commercials that says "Not available in all states"? 

Joke: If pro and con are opposites, wouldn't the opposite of progress be congress? 

Just Checking: In the song Yankee Doodle, is he calling the horse or the feather "macaroni"? 

Tricky One: What do you do when you see an endangered animal that is eating an endangered plant? 

One I've always wondered: How can something be "new" and "improved"? if it's new, what was it improving on? 

Pun: If a kid refuses to sleep during nap time, are they guilty of resisting a rest? 

Contradictory: Why does caregiver and caretaker mean the same thing? 

Another one I've wondered: Why do we sing "Rock a bye baby" to lull a baby to sleep when the song is about putting your baby in a tree and letting the wind crash the cradle on the ground? What about most other nursery rhymes for that matter?

Yet another one I've wondered: If parents say, "Never take candy from strangers" then why do we celebrate Halloween?  



And here are some other ones if you don't end up checking that site out.
Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

How come toy hippos are always blue, or purple, when real hippos are brown?  

Why do they say a football team is the 'world champion' when they don't play anybody outside the US?

If a bunch of cats jump on top of each other, is it still called a dog pile?

On Gilligan's Island, how did Ginger have so many different outfits when they were only going on a 3 hour tour?

Doesn't a lightning rod on top of church show a lack of faith?

Even if you don't know the answer to these questions, its still fun to think about them.    

The Day I Wore Pajamas to Church

At first glance you might think I'm just wearing some festive clothes for church....

Look again. At second inspection maybe I look slightly...off?

Yup! Its Christmas day and you should dress up even more for church because of that right? {Uh-huh.} SO I did! Yes. Yes. Those are PJ pants. Oh and that red shirt is the shirt that goes with the pants...which means that I wore my PJs to church. (Not to mention the socks. Mismatched no less.)

OK maybe that was more of a rebel move more than anything but it made people laugh so I'm willing to make a crazy fool of myself sometimes if it makes someones day.

I hope you had a great Christmas too!!!

Winter Break

This is what I'm doing over winter break:

I'm making a short movie!
 Visit the Channel:
youtube.com/user/HalesterProductions/featured

Into the Archives 43-Christmas 2003

12/22/2011

Christmas 2003 is the second Christmas I remember from my own memory (2000 being the first...its weird how my memory skips the 2 years in between).

One of my favorite toys I got was a Tinker-bear. I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking here...

 Oh but I loved her. (I think she came form Aunt Kari and Uncle Allen)

 A big marble run still loved by the whole family. (From the Reinsteins, I'm pretty sure.)

 And my first real porcelain doll from grandma and grandpa Webster.

And then there was the food machine...but that must be saved for a post of its own!

Fact-New Shirt Part 2

You can never have too many KH shirts....

Thank you McCann family! This shirt is AW-E-SOME! Its a FAAACCCT!

(this quote is from episode 4)

YW Recognition Award

OK so that last post was actually to lead up to this one...
On Wednesday December 7th 2011 I got my YW Recognition Award! 

It was during our YW in Excellence which is a program at the end of the year where everyone can show off what they have accomplished in Personal Progress that year. I was the last person to get up and talk about what I had done. I didn't have much to show off so I just gave all that highlights of the last few years doing the PP program. Then I got my necklace. And yeah I don't really know what else there is to say but...I'M DONE!

Alright, so I know you are just dieing to know what I did in PP. 
Here is an overview:
Of course I did the 3 required experiences in each value.
Faith (White)
Electives: #s 4, 5 & 7.
Project: Read 2 books on faith.
1) A Rational Theology (7 hours)
2) Change Your Questions-Change Your Life (4 hours)
Total hours spent: 11
Passed off on: May 15, 2011

Divine Nature (Blue)

Electives: #s 5, 6 & 7.
Project: Read and do all the projects in the D&C Seminary Student Manual. 
Hours spent: Over 20 is my best guess
Passed off on: March 31, 2011

Individual Worth (Red)

Electives: #s 4, 5 & 7.
Project: Plan and carry out PBLO Evening of Achievement. (A talent show like program for my school group.)
Hours spent: Over 10
Passed off on: November 30, 2010

Knowledge (Green)

Electives: #s 4, 5 & 6.
Project: Learn a few hymns on the piano. 
(Definitely not my favorite) 
Hours spent: About 15
Passed off: October 14, 2011

Choice and Accountability (Orange)
Electives: #s 5, 6 & 7.
Project: Get more out of General Conference (Oct 2010).
1) Watch GC
2) Take notes
3) Re-read talks
4) Memorize a scripture someone quoted (Isaiah 53:3-5)
Hours spent: About 10
Passed off on: December 12, 2010

Good Works (Yellow)

Electives: #s 5, 6 & 7.
Project: Make a slideshow movie with pictures/videos from YW activities 2010. 
Hours spent: 21
Passed off on: January 30, 2011

Integrity (Purple)

Electives: #s 4, 5 & 6.
Project: Choir. Attend all practices and performances of the Mormon Chorale, spring 2010.
Hours spent: Uhhhh lot! (A 2 hour practice every week for about 3 months plus around 5 performances in a season...eh...I don't want to do the math.)
Passed off on: May 15, 2010


Virtue (Gold)
 This value is a little different. I did all 4 required and read the Book of Mormon for the project, which is also required.
Hours spent: It's hard to know for sure, but it could have been upwards of 100 hours.
Passed off on: October 9, 2010 

The one thing I learned: it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  I think that's true with most projects though. If you just start you will find it's not as bad as you expected it to be. Maybe that's why I am attempting to start Personal Progress over again...

Am I crazy?

 

The YW Program

So you hear me talk about YW (aka the young women's program) all the time. But if you are not familiar with the program you may be left guessing at what I'm talking about. I guess I should help you with that.

History

This program was started in 1863. Ultimately Brigham Young, the second President and prophet of the church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), felt that the teenaged girls of the church needed a program especially for them.

It has had a few different names throughout the years.

1869 — Young Ladies’ Department of the Cooperative Retrenchment Association
1875 — Young Ladies’ National Mutual Improvement Association
1904 — Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association
1934 — Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Association

1974 — Young Women

This is our theme that we recite every week at church to remind us of our goals in life:

 "We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” [Mosiah 18:9] as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are:

Faith

Divine Nature

Individual Worth

Knowledge

Choice and Accountability

Good Works

Integrity

and Virtue

We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation."


 The Young Women motto is “stand for truth and righteousness.” 
The Young Women logo is a torch surrounded by the Young Women motto. The torch represents the light of Christ, inviting all to “come unto Christ” (Moroni 10:32). It invites all young women to make a commitment to hold up their light by being an example and remaining worthy to make and keep sacred covenants and receive the ordinances of the temple.
 

“Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations” (D&C 115:5).

Classes

We are divided up into classes by age group to more personalize our experience, though we still interact with all the girls about as much as we are separated into classes.

Beehive, ages 12 and 13

The beehive was a symbol of harmony, cooperation, and work for the early pioneers of the Church. Beehive was also the first name by which young women were known. Beehives today learn to work together in cooperation and harmony as they strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ and prepare to stand for truth and righteousness. This is a time to “arise and shine forth” (D&C 115:5).

Mia Maid, ages 14 and 15

The name Mia Maid refers historically to the Mutual Improvement Association, which adopted the emblem of the rose as a symbol of love, faith, and purity. Mia Maids today learn about love, faith, and purity as they strengthen their testimony and accept and act upon the Young Women values.

Laurel, ages 16 and 17

For centuries the laurel wreath has been a crown woven from the leaves of the laurel tree. It is given to someone who finishes a significant achievement as a symbol of honor and accomplishment. Laurels today are finishing their preparation to make and keep sacred covenants and receive the ordinances of the temple.

When you enter a new class you receive a certificate of advancement. (picture below)

Personal Progress

Within YW's is the Personal Progress program. It is somewhat equivalent to the Boy Scout program and the big award, YW Recognition Award, is like the Eagle Scout Award. The Personal Progress program uses the eight Young Women values (the ones used in the theme) to help you understand more fully who you are. This is all the stuff that comes with it:

First is the booklet and journal that guides you through the program. Basically, there are projects for each of the 8 values. 3 required experiences, 3 elective experiences and one big project that takes a minimum of 10 hours. Times all that by 8 and you can get your award! You must also:

• Attend sacrament meeting regularly (where possible).
• Live the standards in For the Strength of Youth.
• Keep a personal journal.
• Attend seminary or participate in independent study (where available).
• Read the Book of Mormon regularly.
• Record your testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ.

As you pass off each value you get a ribbon bookmark for your scriptures.

Award

The award is a necklace that looks like this (they come in silver too):

 

If you look closely, you can find all 3 of the class symbols along with the temple, which is our ultimate goal. Many people ask if the stone in the middle of the rose is your birthstone. Nope. It's always a ruby. It come's from the scripture Proverbs 31:10

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies."

 But that's not all. You can also get bee charms. The Honor Bee charm was historically given to young women who were willing to do more than was required. All you have to do is read the Book of Mormon cover to cover and put in 40 hours of service and you get a bee charm!

Phew. That was a lot of information. But if you still want more go to:

personalprogress.lds.org

  There you can see what all the projects are etc.

Kid History-New Shirt

If you haven't see Kid History by now I consider you a sinner. Just kidding. 

But if you haven't, you should just YouTube it. Like...right now.

Now if you haven't seen their merchandise then you are also missing out:

www.zazzle.com/kidhistory/

A few weeks ago I received my first KH shirt! Thank you Jen!

(quote from episode 6)

Photography by my nutty brother KEW.

AND if you haven't already seen it a few times, episode 7 is here!