Mormon Prom

Last night was the big night. I will just give a brief overview of the night. First the Hollister girls were supposed to meet up at Anna's house to do hair. However, only two of us showed up on time. Eventually we all migrated over to Morgan Hill to meet up with our other friends at Dawn's house. However, Dawn had a dentist appointment, so the Hollister girls (and two boys) ate lunch at In-N-Out. After that, we went to the bowling ally where I met my date for the first time. We bowled and I got third place out of four. The girls and the guys split up to go get "spiffed up" (Annie). Anna did five girls' hair in about a half hour and they all looked amazing. I did my own hair. Everyone met up at Nico's house and his mom led us to an area in town where she took pictures. After pictures, we headed to prom. We had great dinner (too bad I wasn't that hungry). I just about danced my feet off (despite the fact that I hate dancing). There was an after-prom party, but I was so pooped. So I went home instead.

My date was nice and super talkative, the decorations were breathtaking, the music was loud, my feet were killing me, it was super hot, the food was delicious, everyone was wearing either purple, pink or blue (with an occasional red or green), Angela and Anna's dates hardly talked and were pretty awkward (sorry guys), Cassie's date followed me around a lot (he was interested in the fact that I was a tom-boy), they played all the line dancing songs (and I knew all of them except for Hoedown Throwdown), my cheap purple bracelet broke, I was soooooo tired half the time, my dress prevented me from moving my arms above my shoulders, we had adventerous "slow" dances (including tangoing, swing dancing, tag, and crashing into everybody we knew), and I was "sweatin' like a sinner in curch" (TPATF). Long story short... I had a great time.

Smiley Faces and Ha's

This post is a shout out to my favorite little sister, Afton. As mentioned in my last post, I have a date for mormon prom. The plan was to go miniature golfing then to the prom. However, last night that changed. My friends and their dates lead a VERY long and VERY confusing conversation on Facebook about our plans. After almost two days, they finally came to a decision; a decision that had completely altered our original plans. However, by this time I had already told my date, Mario, our original plan. Luckily I had added him as a friend on Facebook, so I just sent him a message informing him of our completely new plan.

Later that night, I was on Facebook again and Mario started an instant message with me. He just had a few questions to ask about the new plan. I was on the downstairs computer and not my laptop so Afton and Mom decided they would read our conversation and tease me. Anyways, Afton decided to give me tips on how to not "sound too serious". Here's the conversation to the best of my memory.

ME: (instant message) "This whole thing is so confusing. I've been completely lost :P"

MARIO: (instant message) "Yeah I'm pretty confused too."

ME: (instant message) "At least you're not the one getting 53 messages per day and that's no exaggeration"

MARIO: (instant message) "Yeah, I'm not so fortunate"

AFTON: "You sound too serious"

ME: "I don't sound like anything, I'm typing."

AFTON: "You need to add LOL or a smiley face to the end of it!"

ME: "I added a face sticking it's tongue out right there" (see my first message)

AFTON: "Yeah, but that's... blah"

ME: "Oh my gosh, Aft!"

AFTON: "Respond!"

ME: "What am I supposed to say to 'I'm not so fortunate'?"

AFTON: "Put hahaha"

ME: (begins typing) "Hahahahahahaha--"

AFTON: "That's too many ha's! You sound retarded!"

ME: (retypes) "Hahaha!!!!!"

AFTON: "No! That's too many exclamations!"

ME: (instant message) "Hahaha!" (pauses then adds) ":)"

So, if you need an expert on how to talk to someone on instant messaging, just give Afton a call. :) ;) :D :P ;P XD Hahaha!

Big Decision- My Book

I have finally finished my book, Shaken Forever- Banner of the Lord's Army. I have been working on this since January 2, 2010 and finished today June 24, 2010. It is 207 pages long, 11 times new roman font, double-spaced. It is unedited at 63,130 words. It is shorter than I anticipated, but I am going to start on its sequel.

I sent the preface and the first three chapter in to Deseret Books on May 11. So I will give more updates on whether it was accepted, if I get a release date, etc. Cross your fingers for me. I am preparing myself for rejection, just so I'm not disappointed, but it will still be exciting if it gets accepted.

Here is the letter I sent to the publisher:

In the book of Alma in the Book of Mormon, we learn about Captain Moroni, the chief captain over the entire Nephite army. We read about his new ways of thinking and planning concerning the ways of war. I chose to write about Captain Moroni because the prophet Mormon wrote a very praiseworthy scripture on him: “Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." (Alma 48:17). I believe that this praise depicts Captain Moroni as a very worthy role model for today’s readers.
In the following manuscript, I have fictionalized the stories contained in Alma 43-52. Captain Moroni is an opinionated, yet brave and wise young man who has served in the army since he was only 15 years old. Orphaned just a couple years previous to the start of the novel, he has nothing to do, but put all his focus on his duties as a soldier. However, he is made a captain over the army residing in the Land Jershon, where the Anti-Nephi-Lehis are staying. He meets and eventually marries his wife (who later becomes another major character in the story) while there. When he is only 25 years old, he is chosen to become the chief captain over the entire Nephite army. While he raises a small family, he fights in countless battles. These including the battle on the River Sidon (Alma 43- 44) and the raising of the Title of Liberty (Alma 46). The main antagonist is Amalickiah.
As a sub-plot we also follow Helaman, the son of Alma the Younger as he establishes the church throughout the land. We follow him as he is prepared to become the new high priest over the land and to be given possession of the brass plates.
Moroni’s wife goes through struggles of her own as her husband is constantly away from home, leaving her alone to raise her children. We follow her journey towards total humility as she puts all her trust in the Lord to protect and guide her husband.
I’m pleased to present part one of Shaken Forever- The Banner of the Lord’s Army, a story of faith, trust in the Lord, and fighting for what is right. I will begin working on a sequel for it, about Moroni’s battles with Ammoron after Amalickiah’s death. The manuscript is complete at an estimate of 80,000 words, with the chapter notes still in progress. There may be a change in the number after I finish editing the ending.
I look forward to hearing from you.

My Dress

Who would have thought that I would ever go to a dance voluntarily? If anyone thought that, I wasn't one of them. But here I am, making final preparations for Mormon Prom. I at first was hostile towards it. However, as I listened in on my friend's plans to ask certain boys (that they didn't even know) to go to prom, I found myself slowly desiring to join them. After they had all asked their boys, I finally told them that I wanted to go with them, to which they were pleasantly shocked to hear.

As prom was only about 3 weeks away from the day of my decision, I immediately went home and began to look at modest dresses online. I found a few I really liked, but most were $200 or more. Mom told me that she would only pay $100 for a dress and that I would have to pay for the rest. After hearing this, I went and looked at all the dresses I liked. I deleted all the ones over $200, leaving me with only one. The one I was left with was not exactly my favorite. It seemed a little too simple (though I am all about simple) and plain. Plus it had a square neck line that I have never been partial to. Not wanting the dress very much, I began searching regular prom dresses, hoping to find a sleeveless one I liked and just buy a jacket or shawl or something to go over it. I found a blue one with spaghetti straps that was cheap and fairly likeable. I showed it to Mom. I could tell that she did not like it very much at all. She kept sending me subtle hints that it was not a good idea to buy it. I persisted and set up the checkout for my mom to order. However, Afton came in and asked if I was buying the purple one. When I said no, she asked why. I told her about the price and such. Afton being Afton, openly told me not to get the blue dress and get the purple. Finally after more thought, I consented into buying the purple one. They did not have my size, only the size smaller. I ordered it, hoping maybe it wouldn't be too tight.

After about a week, I began to get worried that it would not arrive on time. All my friends were receiving theirs and talking about them. I was stressing about to Mom after school. After my rant, I went and played the piano to calm myself. After around 10 or 15 minutes of playing, the doorbell rang. My dress had arrived!! Naturally I immediately ran upstairs to try it on. It fit perfectly. I observed that it covered all my "self-concious spots" well and was very flattering (not to brag :P) even the square neckline was great. Plus it fit Afton almost just as well!! Her first comment: "Kelsi lost some weight!" Gee thanks, Aft. XD

Within the next hour, I got a phone call and was asked to prom. What a coinkidink! I feel bad now, but I was actually more excited about the dress than the date, but Brady made up for all my lack of excitement (he even made me tell the dogs and the fireplace that I had a date). Well, wish me luck as I go off to find jewelry and shoes.