Christian Kane

Lately I've picked up a show called "Angel."  It's about a vampire with a soul (David Boreanaz) who atones for his previous lifestyle by saving people in L.A.  Honestly, I just picked it up because it stars David, who also plays Agent Booth in "Bones," which I've been watching for about a year now.  But, then I kept watching it because it's actually really funny.  Its kind of cheesy, but I think it's hilarious.  And the character development is pretty decent, too.

Anyway, there's this lawyer that's sort of Angel's antagonist.  His name is Lindsey McDonnell.  I didn't think much of him in the beginning, but then he started to grow on me when they started actually developing his character, and showing more sides of him.  Then, he showed up in one episode with his truck, which was a '56 chevy!  Okay, so my respect points went up a LOT just from that...  Then, he started yelling at Angel, and I noticed a slight southern accent to his voice.  It's easy to hide in everyday speech, but once you start getting emotional, it just comes out.  Maybe not to the point of drawling, but you can hear it.  I love watching "Supernatural" and picking out small moments when Jensen and Jared slip just a tad and I can hear their roots poking through!

Lindsey McDonnell

A couple of episodes later, he played his guitar and sang in a karaoke bar.  Not only was it country, it was beautiful!  Simply beautiful.  His voice was perfect, his playing was amazing...  Wow.  I was blown away.  That inspired me to research him, so I did...  And you know what?  He was young Hub on Secondhand Lions!!

Young Hub McCann

And, you know, I always sort of had a thing for him.  I can't believe I didn't recognize him!  As many times as I've seen that movie...  Tyler Christopher showed up for like two minutes and I recognized him right off the bat.  Maybe it's because I've been watching "General Hospital" for years, but still...

I did more research, and found out he's from Dallas!  Alright, so that explains the accent. :)  Right now ("Angel" was from '99 to '05), Christian is involved in a show called "Leverage."  That also made my jaw drop because I can't tell you how many times I've flipped the channels onto that show, and I never recognized him.  But, to be fair, his hair is way long, and he's got facial hair.

So, he's still cute this way, but...  He's definitely cuter with the short hair.  And, after watching a couple of clips of "Leverage," I think that might be a show I could watch.  So...  I just might check it out!

I also found out that he's been signed with some famous record people, so he's going to be coming out with a CD later this year!  Which is pretty awesome.  He's already released six songs, and five of them are really great!  (One of them says the F word in the chorus.  Boo.)  I love his voice.  I really, really do.  I'm sooo excited about this CD!  Wow.

Here's a little preview of his music.  Listen and fall in love. :)  The more I listen to him, the more I think he reminds me of Keith Urban.  Haha.  Except he's better.

I bring you this picture in an effort to show to you his amazing blue eyes.  Personally, I think he looks so much better with short hair and a clean face.  But, you know... that's just my opinion.

I'm definitely going to be buying his music!  I've been lacking in good country lately...

Oh, and did I mention that he and Jensen Ackles are best friends and that there's a video on YouTube of them singing "Luchenbach, Texas" together?  I would just die of happiness if they actually recorded that song.

Provo Sunset

When I first moved to Provo, Utah to go to BYU, I found every reason I could possibly find to hate Utah.

It's a twenty-four hour drive away from home.  My family isn't here.  I can't see the sunset.  It's cold for several hours in the morning before the sun rises above the mountains.

It snows a lot, and then it stays forever and ever.  It gets so cold I feel like the hairs in my nose become icicles.  The mountains everywhere make it clausterphobic, and I can't see the sky like I can at home.

It's dry, and my asthma acts up.  The altitude gets to me every time I walk up stairs and find myself huffing and puffing when I finally get there.  It smells funny when it rains.

I'm so far away from my best friends.  I can't hop in my car and be there in five, seven, or fifteen minutes (depending on the best friend).  I can't hug her when she's depressed, and I can't knock on her door when I need to eat a bag of m&ms and laugh to get my mind off of whatever's bothering me.

I can't drive down the road and park my car next to the swings where we had so many conversations.  I can't just walk out into my driveway where we had our first kiss.

Eventually, I started to get over it.  I still have his jacket, my memories, and a letter that comes once a week, every week.

I have skype, texting, Facebook, phone calls, and every medium in the world to get ahold of my friends.  Maybe it isn't always the longest conversation, but we keep in touch, and I still love them.

The weather's actually pretty nice sometimes.  It cools down a lot when it rains, and the nights are really pleasant.  And, you know, snow's not so bad.  You get used to it, and no matter how long it stays, Spring always comes.  It also gives me an excuse to wear my favorite article of clothing: jackets.

It's way far away from home, but I'm not stuck here.  I get to see my family at least twice a year, if not more.  And I will not live in Provo for the rest of my life.  Also, I do have family here.  It's not my siblings and nephews and nieces and parents, but I do have a wonderful aunt and lots and lots of fantastic cousins.

I just have to learn to appreciate things when I have them.  Not much lasts forever.  So, I'm going to make the most of it.

I love that I can get a lot of photography here that I didn't get at home.  I love the giant campus library, with its nooks and crannies and resourcefulness.  I love the beautiful spots on campus where I can just sit and adore.  I love the coolness of the rain.  I love riding my bike downhill and feeling my hair flit lazily behind me and the cool wind in my face.

Hello, Provo.  I feel like I'm seeing you for the first time.

Vampire Diaries Writing

Boy, have I been writing like a maniac lately or what.

I'm part of an art community called deviantArt.  It's a place where you can submit art, photography, writing, etc. and receive critique, or just appreciation.  I'm part of a group on this site dedicated to (yes, I'm a fangirl) "The Vampire Diaries."  They're having a competition right now that has a written category, so I decided to enter.

I've entered a piece about one of the main characters, named Damon Salvatore.  He's sort of the bad boy that's actually good.  You can find that one here, if you're interesting in reading it. This is the one that I'm most proud of.  I really, really like it, and I've gotten a lot of feedback for it!

I also wrote one about Jenna Sommers, the aunt and guardian of the main character.  That one is here. I do really like this one, but not as much as I like Damon's.

And today, I wrote one about Tyler Lockwood. Until now, he's been a very minor character. But this next season, we're going to be seeing a lot more of him, seeing as he's a werewolf... ;) Here is the piece I wrote about him after he finds out about the death of his father.

I've also been doing a lot of writing on my story.  :D  That's super exciting for me.  Buuuuut I'm not going to tell you much about it.  Why?  Ohh... I have my reasons!

Thanks for reading!
Krista

Go to Arches National Park

My mom brought me back up to school after my Spring semester home.  We had a blast!  We laughed a lot, and even managed to not kill each other.  She trusted my driving a whole lot more, and even slept in the car some.  On the second day up, we stopped at Arches National Park.  The only one I hiked up to was the double arch, which was absolutely breath-taking.

You know, I really love the fact that my mom is so supportive of my photography.  She stopped numerous times for me to take a picture, drove with her window open, waited for me for an hour, and so much more.  She really is amazing.

I used to be absolutely obsessed with rocks.  I still love them.  When I was little, I wanted to be an archaeologist or a geologist.

Mom thought this one was really cool.  I think it's called "Balanced Rock."

The double arch!!!  Isn't it magnificent?

In the arch looking up.

Petrified sand dunes.  Cool.

The delicate arch!  I did have to hike a little ways to get to a viewing point to see this one.  Ugh.  That was when I realized...  I'm *so* not in shape.

NOT a very photogenic day for me.  So this is the best you're gonna get. :)

What adventure would be complete without the perfect sunset at the end?

Arches really was great.  But the adventure didn't end there!  Oh no.  We still had to get to Provo through the mountains that night.  After the sun went down, in construction, without the lines painted on the road.  Mom absolutely refused to let me drive, so I had to settle for telling her when the road curved, and watching for deer.  She was terrified, and rightly so.  It was not a good driving situation.

But we pulled through. :)

Thanks for the adventure, mom.  Love you!

Go Skiing/Snowboarding

For a joint birthday celebration, Julie and I went to Sundance!  She'd never been skiing or snowboarding before, and opted for two pieces of wood strapped to her feet as opposed to one.  I, on the other hand, have done the civilized sport several times, and chose a much more reckless route: snowboarding!  I've always wanted to try it, and this past March, I got the chance!

Matching! (sort of) Socks!

Ugh.  I hate disposables.  Luckily, Julie brought her small fantastic camera. :)

I probably spent more time on my bum than on the board.

View from the lift.

Top of the mountain!  LOVE this picture. :)

Lookit!  I look like I know what I'm doing!  This was toward the end of our run, so I definitely had learned some things...

All I need now is that Jamaican hat with the dreads from Johnny Tsunami.

Julie actually got pretty good.  Not bad for her first day!  Not bad at all!

And here you thought *I* was the photographer.  Julie's pretty awesome.

At the end of the day, we sat in the trunk of my car with our lunch boxes (Julie's was actually a box!), munching on healthy (an not so healthy) goodness and freezing our little toes off.

Julie also took this really cool picture which we're both in love with on the way up there.  Is this the best tunnel picture you've ever seen or what?

Julie in action!

The girl got me to wear pink.  Gracious.

Those pants were SO BIG I had to walk around like a gangster.  I had suspenders...?  Right, well.... umm... you know.  It just felt right.

Best hat ever?  Maybe.  Best winter hat ever?  YES.

And thus we ended with me sitting on the floor with a cup of hot chocolate and a bag of marshmallows because I was absolutely too tired to stand up.  Haha.

I spent a LOT of time falling on my face (which hurts a lot more than I thought it would), falling on my bum, and falling in every direction you could possibly imagine... with a board strapped to my feet.  Julie fell a lot too, which was slightly comforting.  I definitely loved the experience and would definitely do it again.

Except, next time, I'm going to buy lots and lots of icyhot patches ahead of time. :)

Julie and I had such a wonderful time together.  And, for once, I have more pictures of me than anyone else from an event.  That's kind of cool.

What shall our next adventure hold?