Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Acclimatizing

So AZ isn't so bad. We open the windows and night and have fresh air. Hallelujah! We have some friends too. I'm not so keen on constantly saying I want to leave the 6 month summers anymore now that I have some friends to call my very own. :) There's also something to be said for knowing an area too. I have to say some of my acclimatizing has to do with the Children's Museum, preschool, gymnastics, my gym, and various stores like Trader Joe's where I feel like everyone knows my name. Maybe AZ is growing on me after all...

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Affirmation link

I found this very interesting, and enlightening.

Letter from Joseph Dallin to Richard Wilkins

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Come and see the Prego dance!

Hi friends and family,

As you know, I am a dancer. A modern dancer to be exact, and my first (and last) pregnant performance is coming in just a few days at ASU.

This weekend is the run of "Common Ground", an Emerging Artist ASU modern dance performance. My good friend from back at BYU, Sara Malan-McDonald, has choreographed beautiful work for us to see. I can only get a certain number of tickets for the student price of $7, so let me know if you want a cheaper ticket and I'll try to hook you up. Otherwise, you can check out this link for ticket information: http://herbergercollege.asu.edu/calendar/eventOne.php?ID=1324%3C.

Somehow I have ended up in a lot of the program: I'm the facilitator for the movement experience at the beginning of the concert. I helped choreograph the first piece called "Push/Pull". I'm also in Sara's solo project in all my pregnant glory. You should all come and see if I can keep my balance. There are performances Friday evening, Saturday evening, and Sunday afternoon. Please support the local arts!

Below is the email I got from Sara explaining a little more about the concert and it's choreographers. They have all worked so hard. I hope to see some of you there! Feel free to email me with any questions or write a comment here on the blog.
K
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Dear Friends and Family,

I am very proud to invite you to Emerging Artist 1, October 24th- 26th presented by ASU Herberger College Dance's MFA students, Sara Malan-McDonald and Holly Wooldridge. Sara Malan-McDonald and Holly Wooldridge find common ground in their thesis projects as they question: who gets to dance, how do we frame dance and how do we experience contemporary dance?

Holly Wooldridge explores the dancer's experience in relationship to Antonio Damasio's ideas on consciousness in two unique and kinetic pieces: The Feeling of What Happens, set to the music of French composer Francis Dhomont, is an intimate journey that explores the complexity of human consciousness. Light, a key component in the piece, serves as a metaphor for a heightened level of awareness. It sculpts our focus, confronts the performers, and defines the space we all inhabit. You Are Here was created in collaboration with nine members of the Mesa Center for the Arts Off Center Dance Company in a site-specific piece set in a long hallway outside the Dance Studio Theatre. As the nine dancers manipulate their way in, out and through the space, they transform it from a boring campus hallway into an energetic, colorful space that shrinks and expands with the directional tug and pull of movement.

Sara Malan-McDonald strongly believes that everyone has a story and each story deserves telling. She explores and encourages storytelling through movement in two collaborative dance works: Push / Pull is a collaborative, inter generational dance project exploring relationships of power in the classroom and studio. This highly physical and emotional work offers an insider's view of performers' experiences in the roles of teacher and student and encourages audience members to examine alternatives to an authoritarian teaching model. A Place of Crossing, choreographed by Mary Fitzgerald, is a physical exploration of Sara's personal spiritual journey. Accompanied by a chorus of individuals who have been present at places of crossing throughout her life, Sara wrestles with making sense of her life at this time of change. Watch for gestures inspired by Buddhist and Christian iconography.

For more information regarding the process of my thesis project I encourage you to visit my blog: http://saramfa.blogspot.com/
Tickets can be purchased online, via phone or at the door.
www.herbergercollege.asu.edu/tickets
480.965.6447

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

No on Prop 8, No on Prop 102

So many Mormons are publicly and actively supporting Prop 8 in California (and Prop 102 here in Arizona) that people may assume that I support these Props just by being Mormon.

I want people to know that some of us are also on the other side. I'm against Prop 8. I just wanted to state it publicly here. I urge you to give money to the No on Prop 8 campaign if you are able, even if you do not live in California. Or just put up a sign in your yard. Or just privately vote and make a difference. They can use your help.

Please also visit MormonsForMarriage to see some of the reasons I have for being against Prop 8. And to see a list of how many donations there are from Mormons to the Yes on Prop 8 campaign, see this link, then look for the "Pages" sidebar and click on "Mormons for Proposition 8 Donors". The spreadsheet it pulls up tracks the money given by Mormons to push Prop 8 through. This massive donation dollar amount in support of Prop 8 is why I feel so strongly about getting some donations to the other side to even it out. See the links below to contribute to No on Prop 8.

The message below is a plea from a friend in California right now. There are useful links at the bottom if you are interested.
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Dear Friends,

In just three weeks, California voters will decide whether to change the California Constitution to single out gay and lesbian couples and eliminate their fundamental right to marry. I believe this is inconsistent with Mormon values and in this final hour I urge you to do what you can to defeat Proposition 8.

So many of us from LDS backgrounds value our own Constitutional protections and believe strongly that the Constitution should protect freedoms, not take them away. Regardless of how any one person or faith feels about marriage for same-sex couples, we know that it is wrong to use the Constitution to treat a group of people unfairly.

The truth is that passing Prop 8 would hurt gay and lesbian couples – our family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors – and devalue their relationships and their lives. Coming from Mormon backgrounds, we believe in the importance of families and want all families to be treated equally and fairly, which includes having the right to marry the person you love.

As you may already know, proponents of Prop 8 have a significant fundraising advantage and are currently blanketing the airwaves with advertisements that contain misinformation designed to scare voters into voting Yes on Prop 8. Despite what the Yes on 8 Campaign would have us believe, the vote on Prop 8 is not about what children are taught in school, whether churches will lose their tax-exempt status, or whether people of faith may define marriage however they choose. The proposition mentions none of these things. The vote is about whether the State of California should take away the right of a group of people to get married and enjoy the dignity and respect that comes with marriage. Doing this would be profoundly wrong.

I call on all people from LDS backgrounds – active members and former members alike, those in California, Utah, and across the country – to make a personal sacrifice and donate to the No on 8 Campaign. You may do so at the following URL:

http://www.actblue.com/page/mormonsagainst8

If you haven't donated yet, please do so; if you already have, please consider doing so again. And please enlist your friends and family by forwarding this message to 10 people.

For those who would like to volunteer to call undecided voters in these final weeks, please contact the No on 8 Campaign to learn how to sign up. You may volunteer at phone banks across California, or you may also phone bank remotely from your home anywhere across the country. Go to this URL to sign up:

http://www.noonprop8.com/action/phone-bank

Thank you for helping to defend the fundamental right to marry for all Californians. Contribute as much as you can today and remember to VOTE NO ON PROP 8!!

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Jolly Happy Fun Time

I discovered a wonderful thing today. Well two, actually: 1. The mailed coupon you actually use (like for a museum). 2. The Children's Museum of Phoenix.

M spent 2 hours completely happy and distracted and most importantly, NOT bored. This is important because I've been a pregnant worthless slug for a while now. And there is no preschool this week. I'm pretty sure I'm the most boring mom ever. But not today! Today I was super-cool-mom just by driving somewhere, sitting in an air conditioned building, and occasionally saying "wow!" The museum is so great! It's very hands on, has lots of things to do involving running around, has a craft room (free!), and has strategically placed chairs for those of us with swollen feet and a tendency for feeling faint.

So, y'all should go try it out. I liked it so much I bought a membership for a year. M and I both will be happier for it.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Pajama Party

Well, M was up at about 1:30 this morning yelling for his water because he wanted to put it up his nose. This is because it's been really dry here in AZ and he's getting over a cold. Plus, sometimes we squirt saline drops up his nose so he thought his water sippy would do the trick. He is a strange child. In fact, he asks for those drops sometimes which I find amazing considering how loud he screamed as a baby when we did that to him. Oh man!

He rolled around trying to fall asleep for another 3 hours. This was after he had a humidifier, nose drops, more water, a potty break, vitamins, allergy medicine, and a stern talking-to by his father.

I figured since I was up anyways I would watch the monitor and surf the information superhighway. Then I watched Sex and the City and Conan. And then he finally fell asleep and so did I. With my five pillows. I'm not kidding. Four to be propped up on and one to hold. It's ridiculous. And I have 3 more months to go of weird loose bones while sleeping. I'm just glad it's my favorite time of the year! Perhaps this will distract me from all pregnancy woes.

P.S. In honor of the first day of October I'm making the pumpkin cookies I like so well today, with M.