On finishing up

NOTE: We're back to the basics of blog design. I've decided to stop giving in to pressure from the blog world about having the most aesthetically pleasing blog ever. I'm thrilled with others' sense of style, but for me and my house, I'm just gonna write. It's why I started the damn thing anyway.

I guess this was a party. There was music. There was dancing. There were games and prizes. (Although, since this night, I've been to Jack Pingel's first birthday party, and a Scentsy party. But there are no pictures of that.)

I've never actually been drunk. It's not something I'm interested in, either. But one time, we watched "Clueless" and had shotglasses of Diet Coke, and anytime someone said "Whatever" in the movie, we would take a shot. This is what happens when Mormons get hopped up on Diet Coke.

Everyone should be a theatre education major.

I think the last "school trip" I went on was to Great America my sophomore year of high school (where we got rained out and were sent to the nearest IMAX theatre to watch "No Strings Attached" in concert as compensation). So this isn't a "school trip" picture. But it's a "work trip" picture, and I posted it, because it was a trip I went on with people I know from work AND school. One time, the Playmill cast went on a Caribbean cruise. This is a photo from it.

I like to act. This is me as Mrs. Webb in "Our Town" at BYU-Idaho, winter of 2005.

This is me. I'm standing up in this picture.

This is Rexburg. Home sweet home since Fall of 2004. There are too many Republicans and not enough trees, but this place grows on you.

This is Brandilyn. Once upon a time, she was a baby. Here's proof.

I've spent the last two years repeatedly trying to get my hair to do this again.

This is a dark and grainy picture, but this is the night the power went out at the Playmill in 2007. We sang and did improv for an hour before sending everyone home. And it was really really fun.

This is a picture from the previously mentioned "Celestial Weekend," winter of 2009. There was a lot of love and joy this weekend.

I got married last summer. And it was magnificent.

I guess this is now what I ate yesterday. But it was a splurge at the grocery store that I have not regretted one bit.

This is my husband of four months. I married him because I couldn't stop staring at his forearms, or his eyes, or his smile, and I decided it would be much less awkward for me to continue doing so if he was my spouse.

This picture could have been any number of things. But I chose this one because A) y'all hear about my husband all the time, and B) I love these people, and I loved this summer, and I love nature. This is me, Carrie, and Meredith, summer of 2006, during my first Playmill summer. Carrie came up to visit Meredith and I and a few other friends, and we took her to the "Secret Spot," a little gravel island in the middle of a river, off a logging road near Lake Hebgen. We spent one glorious afternoon sitting in the sun, reading our scriptures, writing in our journals, and enjoying God's beautiful creations and one another's company. I'm so grateful for wonderful friends, and to be living so near so many incredible natural wonders.


30-day photo challenge = COMPLETE.

Halfway mark

day 15. a photo of you and someone you love

This is Beckah. We're sisters. And I love her.

Family...isn't it about time?

day 14. a photo of one of your favourite family members

Are you KIDDING me? I have to pick ONE favourite family member?!

I couldn't do it with my immediate family, so I had to broaden my horizons a little.

This is my cousin Aimery. He has a beard and a great sense of humor, he speaks French, and he has been one of my favorite cousins since I was like 2. And he still is. (And I promise he's not an inmate or a terrorist or a refugee. Even though in this picture, he kind of looks like all of those things.)

A friend is someone who sees right through you...

...and still enjoys the view.

Today is day 13. a photo of your best friend(s)

And again, I'm a big fan of that (s) up there. I have been blessed with so many wonderful friends throughout my life. A handful of friends from high school have helped make me who I am today. (Brette Marie, Amanda, and Kristen, in particular.) But since arriving at college, through serendipitous/divine means, I have had the opportunity to be friends with some pretty incredible people. Like these ones:

I've known most of these people for quite a few years now. We've been through all kinds of adventures...impromptu roadtrips, broken engagements, weddings, moving, graduating, flunking out, mission calls, and homecomings. I love these people.

The 5-2's: Beckah, Nellie, and Jenny Mae, who all lived in the Hawmps starting in 2006, and one of whom I've known since she was 2 days old, and loved her since she was 3 days old. Saraphim, one of the most caring people I've ever met, who took me under her wing. Annie and Allison, with whom I have shared countless nights of laughter and confiding. Kathleen and Jesse, a dear former roommate and the big brother I never had growing up (even though he did watch me grow up). Meredith, who I was intimidated by for a solid two years, and Jordan, with whom I have shared countless long drives and long talks. Carrie, who I've known since Acting I in 2004, and her husband Scott, who are together the greatest friends and neighbors a newly married couple could ask for. And of course, my newest but definitely one of the dearest best friends, my husband Jacob.

We have all gone separate ways, some for a time, only to return, and others on longer journeys. We're more spread out now...from England to Oregon to New York to California. There was one weekend a year or two ago, when everyone ended up in Rexburg for a weekend visit, and as we sat around and talked after Church, quietly conversing and simply enjoying one another's company, Sarah Jagger turned to me and said "This is what I imagine the Celestial kingdom is like...surrounded by people you love, who love you back. And if it's not like this, I don't want to go there."

Amen, Sister Jagger. Amen.

Babies, films, selves

day 10. a photo of you as a baby

I think I look particularly German in this picture. Which makes sense, since I'm pretty German.

day 11. a photo of your favourite film(s)
(That little "s" in parentheses up there made me so happy...asking me to choose just one is torture. And I know I said I'm only posting one picture per category on matter of principle, but this category gave me permission to post multiple ones, so I did.)

From left to right, top to bottom (but not in order of preference...):
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Bandits
Lost in Translation
Wonderboys
Wonderman
Moonstruck
Cabaret
Dan in Real Life
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
The Birdcage (if I absolutely HAD to pick just one, this one would probably be it...)
Little Miss Sunshine
East of Eden

day 12. a photo of you

 BA HA HA!

Just kidding! I just found this picture while I was looking for a shot of Moonstruck, and it was too hilarious not to post. Here's a REAL picture of me. (Even though that's what MOST of these pictures in this silly challenge are.)

I like to think that I've spent most of college being college-student-esque enough to do crazy things, but not so crazy that the results are more permanent than memories and photographic evidence. (Did that make sense? Like, I don't have a criminal record or anything from things I've done in college, just pictures of me on a fridge with lipstick and Elton John sunglasses and a comb and fireman pants...)

Whittakers are coming, dontcha know it!

day 9. a photo of your family

First of all, I feel that I have many "families."
- extended family
- in-laws
- close friends
- theatre comrades
- etc

But for this photo, I decided to post a picture of my "roots," so to speak. (At least, some of them.) These are the Whittakers.

There are a lot of favorite things about this picture, but I still can't get over how Beckah seems to be "awkward-handing" the ENTIRE photo. This was taken about 3 years ago. I also think it's a good example of how no-one in my family seems to look alike. Granted, we're not all biologically related. But biological relation is still kind of arbitrary to who looks like who. Just for fun, take a moment and try to guess who's blood-related to who. (Although, I guess most of you readers already know. But this will be fun for those who don't, I guess.)
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Think you got it?

The red-haired woman in the back is my step-mom. Her two biological daughters are Isha, the brunette with curly-ish hair on the far left, and Melissa, the red-head on the far right who's threatening to shoot me. The man is my biological father. The brunette in the middle (whose arms are taking over the picture) is his other daughter, my sister.

As we've gotten older, Beckah and I have grown to look more alike, but our coloring is so different, that a lot of people don't seem to notice. I look a TON like my mom, and Beckah takes after Dad a little bit more. Isha and Mel are kind of the same way...they don't look a ton alike. Melissa looks more like Mary (my step-mom), and Isha looks more like her dad. 

Anyway, that's just one of my "families." But I love 'em. =)

Oh I'm Still Alive

day 8. a photo of your favourite band/musician

There are a lot of favourite musicians of whom I could have posted a picture. But I decided to post this one because I love them a lot lately. And always. And it's a great picture.

Wonderful Pearl Jam. Aren't they awesome?

Rahul

day 7. a photo of someone you love

Of course, the first person I thought of was my husband. But you guys hear about that ALL the time, and PLUS there are other photos coming later that he'll be in.

(Also, this project is super difficult for me...I always think of like, eight photos to post. On matter of principle, I'm refusing to post more than one picture per category.)

SO, I decided to post a picture of someone I love, but have never met. "Love" in this context means admire, appreciate, respect...no romantic business here.

This guy is one of Bollywood's biggest stars. And he's pretty awesome. Go look him up. He's cheesy and intelligent. And he built up a six-pack for "Om Shanti Om." At age like, 42.

Awkwardness is the uniting human experience

day 6. a photo that makes you laugh

I love this picture so much. Because it's two of my favorite people, in what is famously one of the awkwardest photos in the history of BYU-Idaho. This was 80's day at "Crazy For You" rehearsal. That explains the outfits. But we still don't know why Jenny is grabbing Beckah's uterus.

Braiiiinnnnssss....

Remember when Rexburg experienced an Apocalypse of the Undead? That was awesome.

It's been in the works for a few months...the original vision was a flash mob, but since that didn't benefit Rexburg's business owners, we had to get an event permit instead. (Because heaven forbid the city should allow us to just do something fun, and the city is famous for shutting down any gathering that doesn't have a permit.) Some may say we sold out a little bit, but it was so much fun that I don't really care.

I went to DI and got costumes for Jacob and I, then took a steak knife and black paint to them. We looked up tutorials on zombie make-up, and come Thursday evening, we became undead.

Jacob - Doctor Zombie
Liz - Business Executive Zombie
Anna - Prom Queen Zombie
Carrie - The Prissy Zombie
Scott - Average White American Male Zombie (or the "Got Off Work Ten Minutes Before Zombie")

There were stations set up throughout town to assist people in zombie-fying. The really tall guy and the really short girl are the Johanssens, whom I adore.

And at five o'clock on the dot, we began our march down Main Street.

It was incredible. We attacked a rooftop with spectators. (Who turned out to be my old roommate Mallory, her fiancee Matt and some other friends.)

We attacked the front door of our friend Brandilyn's boutique "Panache," along with several other front doors and windows of businesses on Main Street (which was luckily met with thumbs up and camera flashes, rather than calls to the cops). I won an award for "Best Zombie Walk" and my trophy was a mutilated Barbie. (Which is now proudly on display in the Script Library. And my abs were sore for two days.)

There were Zombie brides, Zombie contact lenses, Zombie burn victims, and Zombie infants...

There was Zombie dancing...

And, of course, Zombie romance.

And of course, we attacked and rocked a car that held my friend Melanie and her boyfriend, who didn't know there was a Zombie Apocalypse, and who got into playing "victims." But those pictures are a little too graphic for the internet, I'm afraid...

Until next year, fellow Undead!

Oh, and even though there are plenty on this blog already, here's
day 5. a photo of you

"Gonna rise up, find my direction magnetically." --Eddie Vedder

day 4. a photo of the last place you went on holiday

Remember that time my husband and I went on an impromptu road trip to the Oregon Coast? That was the last place I went on holiday. And it was amazing.

We thank thee, O God

Day 3. a photo that makes you happy.

This is the late Gordon B. Hinckley, who was the prophet and president of the Church from 1995 to 2008. He is the "prophet of my youth"...the man who was leading the Church when my testimony truly took root and began growing. Aside from being a wonderful man and incredible representative of Christ, who did so much for the Church, he also had a great sense of humor. And, as the above picture makes clear, he was pretty classy. His smile was the one of the most endearing and contagious I have ever seen. I think this photo captured that well.

Day 2

Day 2: a photo of yourself a year ago

We were made for each other. Don't you think?

Thirty-thousand words

Hi everyone! A blog entry on the Zombie Apocalypse will be forthcoming, but in the meantime, I wanted to get this project started. 

Because I like this idea. They say a picture's worth a thousand words (or something like that), so I commence this little photo project inspired by friend Julie's blog. Thirty days and thirty pictures. So here's Day One:

day 1. your facebook profile photo

(I feel like my skin looks overly-purple in this, but I'm a brunette at the moment! That's fun.)