2012 Summer Olympics is coming!!

I'm so excited for the 2012 Summer Olympics and have been watching the Olympic Trials the last few days.  I am so inspired already by the athletes stories, I've cried several times already and I can't wait for it all to start on July 27th!

Sundance 2012

I can not believe this week has come to an end!  So much thought and planning has gone in to this year of Sundance and I had a great time!  Okay, so I am going to be brief right now and simply recap this year's Sundance events for you.  However, check out the Hen Movie Blog in the near future for some in depth movie reviews from this year's festival.

To recap...

1. I saw 5 films at 4 different theaters, in 3 days, in 2 cities, with 1 new snazzy coat!
1. Bachelorette - Super funny
2. How to Survive a Plague - Inspiring
3. Liberal Arts - Lovely
4. The Words - Slightly Disappointing
5. Predisposed - Surprisingly Great
2. I cried in 2 films.  No ugly cries though!
3. I was inspired to action!
4. I was inspired to read more, to listen to classical music, to write my script and to start planning next year's trip.

Here are some pics from this year's Sundance Film Festival...

We ate at Roosters Brewing Company in Ogden prior to Bachelorette.

YUMMY!

Peery's Egyptian Theater in Ogden

Instagram - Organ playing prior to the filming of Bachelorette.

Instagram - Waiting for How to Survive a Plague to begin.

We ate at Barbacoa right before the showing of Liberal Arts.

Sundance Film Festival 2012 - Screen just prior to Liberal Arts.

Instagram - Waking up Sunday morning with two more films to watch.

Instagram - Breakfast at the Little America Hotel.  YUM!

Instagram - Little America lobby, aren't chandeliers so romantic?

Instagram - Waiting for Predisposed to start, admiring me pretty hand stamp.

The streets were lined with Sundance banners.

Willard and his gal pal outside of the Rose Wagner.

Volunteer ushering us in to see The Words at the Rose Wagner.

Waiting in line outside of the Tower Theater for Predisposed.

Beautiful mural on an otherwise forgettable house.

Thank you Melanie for getting all of my tickets.  I promise to be more on top of things next year!  Thank you Melanie and Peggy for being such great movie buddies!  Thank you Peggy for being a great travel companion.  Thank you Lua, Justin, Sione and Lorien for taking care of Mr. Daniel so that I could enjoy my time at Sundance this year.  Thank you Fia for letting me borrow your camera.  Thank you Melanie, Peggy, Cheryl, Laura and Grady for a weeks worth of intelligent, creative and enlightening movie dialogue! 

Can't wait until next year!

Johnny Cash Project

I hadn't heard about this, until my friend Tim sent this video.  Amazing!!  Artists from all over the world were asked to sketch a frame.  These frames would be pieced together and become a music video, to honor Johnny Cash.  The song was for "Ain't No Grave".  The video shares the story behind the project and then a minute and a half into the video, you can watch the completed project.  I am really inspired by the art work all of those individuals gave.

Treat Yourself To Something Sweet

I recently started another blog...I KNOW!  Another blog!  I'm nuts!  No, I just LOVE blogging.  The blog is called the Live My Life Project!  It started as something simple, a chance for Daniel and I to record and challenge ourselves to live every day of this summer to the fullest.  It was a chance for me to find my focus again and strive to be a better person, a better Mom and a better employee.  I feel like my focus has been so stretched between work, school and my family that I got lost.  (Read about our Purpose here.)  The blog then turned into a way to learn from the people around me, how do they live their lives to the fullest?  So each day comes with a challenge!  There will be mini-interviews, giveaways, motivating thoughts and inspiring stories.

Yesterday's challenge was to Find God in an aspect of your day.  It was a lovely day!  Today's challenge was to Treat Yourself!  Daniel and I decided we would go somewhere we had never been before...Yogurtland in Orem.  YUM!  It's a lot like Farr's Ice Cream, almost exactly like Farr's.  It was a fun atmosphere and the desserts were delish!  Plus if you work for IHC, you get a 10% discount...holla!

 

We had such a fun night!  We enjoyed every bite of our ice cream, talked about our day, laughed at the lady sitting near us with the CRAZY laugh and vowed to do more nights like this throughout the summer.  Swing by the blog, tell us what you think, follow us and share with us ways you have chosen to Live Your Life to the Fullest!!!!

Oh...I've also been introduced to Pinterest!  Ahhh, I love it!  If you are on there...find me!

I "heart" Adele's 21

It's sometimes hard for me to list off a favorite artist.  There are so many different songs, albums and artists that I enjoy to listen to.  But if you were to ask me, which female artist is my favorite, I'd have to go with Adele.  Her first album 19 became an anthem album for me.  Songs like Chasing Pavements, Cold Shoulder and her remake of Make You Feel My Love touched a chord within my heart.  I loved the album right from the start.

Adele is now coming out with her sophomore album 21 and it is amazing!  I found a link to listen to the entire album a little early, it won't be released until February 22nd.  Click here though if you would like to listen to the album.  She is coming to Salt Lake in May, tickets are only $25 and I am going!  The songs are full of emotion, deep love, regret and a passion that mesmerizes from the first moment you hear it.  Songs like; He Won't Go, Rolling in the Deep, Someone Like You, and Set Fire to the Rain are some of my new favorites.  She is a refreshing breath of air in an industry that seems intent on spitting out one Disney pop princess after another.

 Here is the video to Rolling in the Deep, enjoy!

Sundance 2011: The Ledge

After the ASCAP Music Cafe, Melanie and I headed down to the Rose Wagner Theater in Salt Lake City for "The Ledge" starring Terrance Howard, Liv Tyler and Christopher Gorham.  The film is about a detective that finds out that his two kids are not really his, after discovering that he's sterile.  This detective is called out to talk a jumper off a ledge, shortly after getting the news.  The character development in this film is phenomenal, you really get to know the characters and are able to see such vulnerability in each person.

It was moving, again, I was crying.  Such a fantastic film and the Q & A afterwards with the films writer/director was also moving.  I can't believe what a bawl baby I was.  But this film is actually coming out in theaters this year, so keep an eye out for "The Ledge."  Here are some pics from a Q & A with the actors and director, compliments of Wire Image.

Such amazing performances!!!

Sundance 2011: Sing Your Song

This was one of my favorite moments at Sundance EVER!  Yes, it was cooler than seeing Ben Affleck and Tommy Lee Jones!  The day started out with the movie "Sing Your Song", it was a documentary about the life of Harry Belafonte.  First off, you all know how much I love music and dancing so HELLO, this movie was going to be fun.  It was so much more than music and dancing though.  It was about how one person REALLY can make a difference in the world if they just allow themselves.  

I was so moved by how this man made it a point to fight for others rights, he used his platform of "celebrity" to fight for Civil Rights, Women's Rights, Native American's and the list goes on.  He cared enough to do something and at the end of the film, he looked into the camera and said,

"Now I ask you, what are you going to do?"  

Whoa!  What difference will I make in this world?  It's inspiring and in a way made me feel lazy.  I should be out there doing more with my "free time", teaching Daniel the importance of giving, and making a difference in the world around me.  

His daughter and producer of the film Gina Belafonte stood up for Q & A's and introduced a special guest, her father Harry Belafonte.  I couldn't help myself, I started crying.  I was in the presence of a man who helped move mountains.  I won't lie though, I felt a little silly crying in the audience, it helped me to know I wasn't the ONLY one!  :)  Please go see the film, you won't be sorry you did.  Here are some pictures of Harry, his daughter and his wife.  Plus an old music video of Harry!

Movie: Man on Wire

I watched this amazing documentary about Phillipe Petit, the man who broke into the World Trade Center Towers, rigged a high wire and walked across the two towers.  What an amazing film, I really was spell bound and in awe.  I hope you guys take the time to watch it.  If you have Netflix, you can watch it instantly!

Trust

trust / trʌst / [truhst]
–noun
1. reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.
2. confident expectation of something; hope.
 
I love this photo, it's called Friendship & Trust.  Someone recently said that, "It takes years to build trust and only seconds to destroy it."  Man oh man, have I let a number of individuals down in my lifetime.  People who should be able to trust me, I fear, have been let down.  
 
This getting older business...being able to recognize your flaws and feeling an intense desire to repair them is exhausting!  
 
Sidney Jourard, author of the Transparent Self, said that there are three ways we are seen.
~ The way others see us.
~ They way we see ourselves.
~ And finally there is the real you.  (Some would say that it's the way God or a higher power sees you.)
These perceptions share things in common, yet there are parts of you that only you can see, there are parts of you that only others can see and there are parts of yourself that are undiscovered.  The goal in life is to become one perception; what you see is what you get.  I feel like I am constantly discovering new things about myself.  However, it's only been recently that I've really taken to heart what others may think of me and how important it is to take that information and grow from it.  
 
One issue I desperately need to work on is being trustworthy.  It's not like I am this awful, dishonest being.  But there are times when I share more than I should, when I don't keep my word and when I don't meet the expectations set on me.  When someone has to say, "You can't tell anyone.  Really Ela!!  You can't say a word."  Or when I am counted on to remember a birthday, but I forget and give a lame excuse as to why.  You realize there is a problem and it needs to be fixed.  No more excuses.  The only thing you can do is change. 
 
I realize that at this point sorry just isn't going to cut it.  I realize that I am going to have to work hard, possibly for years, to regain lost trust.  Boy!!!  Am I thankful for people who love me despite all my flaws.  It's because of them that I don't drive off a cliff.  (Lol, one of my good friends from Jersey once said to a group of us, as she was driving, that she sometimes gets the urge to just swerve the car off the road.  Haha, you should have seen our faces of terror.  LOL, funny.)
 
Anyways, sorry for the rant!
 
*Picture taken by Shiv Photography.

Published: Funaki Asisi

Oh my goodness, I can't get over what an inspiration my little brother is! 

He inspires me to not settle for mediocre. 

He inspires me to follow my dreams and to not let anything stand in my way! 

He inspires me to recognize my situation as what it truly is, a fleeting trial, that may be insignificant to what someone else is going through. 

He inspires me to persevere when things get hard! 

I am so proud of him and I can't wait to see Utah State beat BYU tonight!

Click HERE to read the article published in the Herald Journal, about my brother #76!

Picture taken by Braden Wolfe.

Feeling Blessed

Do you ever have the feeling like God has in some way let you know that you are doing what you are supposed to be doing.  That although things aren't perfect, you have found yourself on the right path for your life at that particular moment?  I'm probably not making sense...but I can't help but share my joy in the fact that I have had that feeling all week.  Things are definitely not perfect, but I'm where I'm supposed to be and it feels good.  Anyways, just thought I would share.

Also, I wanted to share some of my favorite posts lately:

• My BFF Allison now has a blog!!  Check out her lovely engagement photos HERE! 
• Hither & Thither recently visted Vermont and now I can hardly contain my desire to visit!  Check out their travelogue HERE.
• The Pioneer Woman's recent photography assignment is LOVE.  I honestly was in tears over how LOVEly these photos were.  Head on over to feel the LOVE!
• I desperately want this bag!!!  I do have a birthday coming up, I should just buy it as a gift!  Hmmm...the lining is RED!  Sold!!

Encouragement

en·cour·age·ment   
/ɛnˈkɜrɪdʒmənt, -ˈkʌr-/ [en-kur-ij-muhnt, -kuhr-]  –noun

1. the act of encouraging.

2. the state of being encouraged.

3. something that encourages: Praise is the greatest encouragement.