Random Reports

Well, I like learning! I often hear words, names, or subjects that I don't know about. I hate feeling ignorant. SO, I am constantly looking up words that I read, or names that I hear that I am unfamiliar with. I was thinking that someone out there may like to read some of the things that I research. Today's for example is Billie Holiday. She is obviously before my time, but I have heard her name and known that she was a singer (but that's about it). She has a beautiful song on "The Notebook" soundtrack. That got me interested in checking out a CD of hers from the library (another plug for the fantastic library!!). She has a wonderful voice and great songs! Here is some information about her:

Billie Holiday Biography (originally Eleanora Fagan, nickname Lady Day )
Singer, jazz vocalist. Born Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Details about her childhood are murky, but it is believed that she spent a lot of time living with relatives and later moved to New York with her mother Sadie. In 1930s, Holiday began singing in local clubs and renamed herself “Billie” after the film star Billie Dove. Producer John Hammond reportedly discovered her while she was performing in a Harlem jazz club in 1933. That year, Hammond helped land Holiday recording work with bandleader Benny Goodman. She also met saxophonist Lester Young around this time and he was the one who gave her the nickname “Lady Day." The two would be friends and musical cohorts for many years.
Known for her distinctive phrasing and soulful, soft, yet strong voice, Holiday went on to record with jazz pianist Teddy Wilson and his orchestra in 1935. She also worked with the Count Basie Orchestra in the late 1930s. Holiday recorded two of her most well-regarded songs during this period: her own composition “God Bless the Child” (1939) and “Strange Fruit” (1939), a powerful story about the lynching of African Americans in the South. She signed with Decca Records in 1944 and scores an R&B hit the next year with “Lover Man.”
While she was becoming more famous and successful in her professional life, Holiday’s personal life began to deteriorate in the 1940s. She had problems with drugs and alcohol and was arrested several times on narcotics-related charges. She even spent a year in a federal rehabilitation center, but she was unable to end her substance abuse. By the end of the decade, her hard living was taking a toll on her voice.
Despite her personal problems, Holiday continued to tour and record in the 1950s. She also shared her life story with the world around this time. Her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues (1956), was written in collaboration by William Dufty. Only a few years later, Holiday’s addictions got the best of her. She died in a New York City hospital on July 17, 1959, from alcohol- and drug-related complications.
Considered one of the best jazz vocalists of all time, Holiday has been an influence on many other performers who have followed in her footsteps. Her autobiography was made into the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues with famed singer Diana Ross playing the part of Holiday, which helped renew interest in Holiday’s recordings.

I'M FINISHED!

1 week and 521 pages later I have finished Jane Eyre! I LOVE this book. I am not going to lie, the language was hard to understand! But once I got into it I thoroughly enjoyed it! Here are some new words that I learned from reading this book (which I had to look up of course:)
phlegmatic--self-possessed, calm, or composed
oculist--An optometrist
indefatigable--incapable of being tired out; not yielding to fatigue; untiring
victualage--food; provisions; victuals
languid--lacking in spirit or interest; listless; indifferent
lachrymose--suggestive of or tending to cause tears; mournful
ferocity--a ferocious quality or state; savage fierceness

Here are just a couple of my favorite lines from the book:
"To be your wife is, for me, to be as happy as I can be on earth."

"...but my heart swells with gratitude to the beneficent God of this earth just now. He sees not as man sees, but far clearer: judges not as man judges, but far more wisely"

"In spirit, I believe we must have met."

"I thank my Maker, that, in the midst of judgment, he has remembered mercy. I humbly entreat my Redeemer to give me strength to lead henceforth a purer life than I have done hitherto!"

"I have as much soul as you,--and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you."

"I offer you my hand, my heart, and a share of all my possessions."

"I love you as my own flesh."

"I ask you to pass through life at my side--to be my second self, and best earthly companion."

YOU GOTTA LOVE IT! if you have read this book, I would love to hear your opinion!

We're going to Iowa (for a visit)!

Nic has been accepted to the University of Iowa Law School! It is the highest rank school that we applied to (#24 in the country). Nic and I were able to meet with some representatives from Iowa (one of which is the Bishop of the Married Student Ward:) at a Law Fair this past fall. We were impressed with them and with the way that they answered our questions. We have decided that we should visit the school and see what we think of it. We are going to go the second week in March. I will be sure and post pictures of our trip and let you know what we think. Oddly enough, we are flying out the same day and time as Nic's brother who is leaving on his LDS Mission to Africa! So we will get to walk him to his gate and tell him goodbye there!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESS!

It's my baby sister's Birthday! I have to stop calling her a teenager now! Happy Birthday Jess, I love you!

I love my hubby!

What a fun night Nic and I had! We went with our best friends up to the Maddox in Brigham City and spent the night talking and laughing. The food and company was awesome!

As we were driving back home we were listening to my favorite, Faith Hill. As I was listening to her song "I'm the Lucky One" I couldn't help but think that the chorus perfectly describes how I feel when I am with Nic:

'cause you're mine
That's all i need to know
The sunshine's everywhere we go
It's so right cause i've got you to hold
Every night yeah
I'm the lucky one
I'm the lucky one

I just feel so blessed to have him in my life. As we are starting to make these decisions of where we will be going to law school I find myself feeling scared and nervous, but all I really need is him. As long as I think about that I feel ok.

Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice, North & South....

Where have I been? I am the biggest fan of Romance movies, yet I have been in the dark all of these years as to the greatest Chick Flicks of all time! My poor husband has endured about 5 of these movies in the past 2 weeks! I really want to spend most of this Blog entry on telling you that Jane Eyre is the greatest movie of all time, but I have to chalk up some points for the others that I have been watching. Before now, I had never seen Pride & Prejudice (the real 5 hour one) and I totally love that movie. I got it for Christmas and I will be sure to watch it several more times. My sister talked to me about North & South, and although it has its sad parts it has a neat ending. I emailed most of you reading this blog about the Jane Austen Series on Masterpiece Theatre. They are every Sunday night on KUED http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/. We have watched Persuasion & Northanger Abbey already and are looking forward to the rest.

Ok...JANE EYRE!
Have you seen this movie? It is honestly one of the best movies I have ever seen! It is so addicting too! Something about it makes you just want to watch it over and over again! I have already worn out my sister-in-law's copy of this movie (don't worry I have my own copy ordered and it will be here in 2 days)!

I didn't know anything about the story of Jane Eyre (except for the Friends episode about it :). I can't wait to read the book! The story is so unpredictable, fascinating, and interesting! The acting in this movie is so amazing (yes, you have to watch the Masterpiece Theatre version). If you want to borrow this movie from me you are most welcome to! I would love to hear your opinion about Jane Eyre, Jane Austen Book/Movies, or any other books/movies in this genre that you would recommend!

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

I hope that some of you were able to have Monday off for the Holiday! Here are some facts about Martin Luther King Jr.:
• Birth records incorrectly list his first name as Michael.
• King graduated high school at age 15 and got his Ph.D. in theology when he was just 25.
• The campaign for a federal holiday honoring King began with Stevie Wonder’s 1980 hit song “Happy Birthday.” The holiday was first celebrated in 1986.

Wonderful Saturday

I love Saturdays! I especially love them now that Nic does not work on Saturdays and that he doesn't have homework on Saturdays (I realize that this is only a very temporary situation, but I am going to enjoy this while I have it :)!
Nic and I teach Merit Badge Classes on Saturday mornings 8-10am. It is a nice way for us to make extra money and its actually kind of fun. I teach Personal Management & Communications and Nic teaches Emergency Preparedness and Citizenship in the Nation. I love the Communications class because the boys get to give speeches on whatever they want and I actually learn a lot from listening to them (Did you know that Emmett Smith took his High School to their first State Championship, Bob Marley's mother had him when she was 15 years old, 40% of patients at the U of U burn unit are children). I think its fun to work with this age of kids (11-17) because most of them are really involved with sports and other activities and are outgoing and a lot of fun.
I just love Saturdays because it is so nice to clean your house and get your shopping done so that you can have a nice and relaxing Sunday. Today we actually ran into our good friends Anna & Mason while we were grocery shopping! Speaking of friends..I need to wish my dear friend Jamie a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We are exactly a month apart!

I hope that you all have a great weekend! I am looking forward to having Monday off for the Holiday! Happy Martin Luther King day (I LOVE working for a bank :)

2 Down, 4 to go!

As most of you know, Nic is in the process of applying to Law School. He applied to 6 Law Schools and has been accepted to 2 of them already: Baylor (Waco, TX) and Missouri! April is the deadline, so we will keep you posted on what we hear from the rest. We won't make our final decision until then.

More good news...Nic got a new job! He started applying right after graduation in December and actually got the job that he wanted as a Legal Assistant. He feels that this will be a great opportunity to get exposure to the Legal field.

So, that's it for today! Happy Day at the Mills house! We feel truly blessed! Thank you to everyone who has been praying for Nic in both of these areas!

GO JAZZ GO!

My Brother was nice enough to take me to the Jazz game on Monday-WE WON! 98 to 87! This is actually only the second NBA game I have been to. It was a lot of fun!

First Article of Faith

The Bishop asked Nic and I to speak next Sunday in church. We have been asked to speak on the First Article of Faith; We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in his son Jesus Christ , and in the Holy Ghost. I feel like that is kind of a hard topic. I think I will focus on the Godhead but don't have much more of an idea than that......ANY SUGGESTIONS?

Bear River Wrestling Tournament

Last weekend Nic and I were able to drive up to Tremonton to watch our brother Benj wrestle in the Bear River Tournament. I have never been to Tremonton, but I was in love with that little town! I think it would be a great place to live! Anyway, Benj did awesome and placed 2nd. Here are some scenery pictures of our drive up there along with some pictures of him wrestling.

Nic was able to coach Benj in the finals.

Bronchitis and Broken Hands....OH MY!

Well Nic and I have had the lovely opportunity to battle Bronchitis the past few weeks. We think we went through the worst of it this week. We have some lovely cough syrup with codeine that helped knock us out at night so we don't wake each other up with all of the COUGH, GASP, SNIFFLE, SNEEZE sounds effects.

My mom called me with some bad news yesterday...my amazing little brother has broken his hand. You may not think that a broken hand is the end of the world, but to a Senior, 2 time State Champion wrestler it is! He broke it during wrestling practice while wrestling with one of the coaches. He needs surgery on it and from what I know he is meeting with a hand surgeon today. They are hopeful that he may be able to get the surgery he needs, and although he will be in a lot of pain, be able to wrestle at Region & State. Please keep him in your prayers!

Well enough of the Miss Debbie Downer today! LOL, I just heard one of my friends use that phrase Debbie Downer and I think its hilarious! On to some good news! Nic and I are over an LDS Marrieds Committee/Class at a local university. We had our first class of the semester yesterday and had an amazing turn out--58 people! Last semester we had around 30 people who would come on a regular basis so we are really excited about this! We are in the process of planning our huge Valentines Dinner & Dance. We are having it semi-formal which I think the ladies are all excited about. We figured there are not a lot of opportunities for young married couples to get dressed up and have a fun night out. We will have a catered dinner and nice entertainment so I am getting super excited! All you married (or engaged) couples out there are invited, just let me know if you want more information!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WENDY!

I just wanted to wish my little sister a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love you Wend! I hope you have a great day!

I LOVE THE LIBRARY!

Ok, if you don't love the library then we are not friends! I am so in love with the library. Every time I go, I can't get over that everything is free! It is the best!

After I photograph the Eagles I get on a Bird of Prey/Bald Eagle kick. I checked out about 10 books & a couple videos. Let me share a couple Bald Eagle facts with you:

• Did you know that a Bald Eagle can spot an average sized rabbit 1 mile away! (I guess that means I need to keep Hershey inside her cage!)



• The largest Bald Eagle nest ever found weighed 2 tons, was 20ft deep and 9ft across (the average size is 5ft across and 3ft deep).



• The Bald Eagle is the only Eagle that is native to North America.



• Half of the world's 70,000 Bald Eagles live in Alaska.



• Bald Eagles live in every US State except Hawaii.



• Bald Eagles are monogamous and mate for life.

And just to throw in a few more for your enjoyment, here are some non Bald Eagle facts:

• A BEE HAS 5,000 NOSTRILS. IT CAN SMELL AN APPLE TREE THAT’S TWO MILES AWAY.



• HEADS UP! MORE AMERICANS DIE IN JANUARY THAN IN ANY OTHER MONTH.



• TSUNAMIS TRAVEL AS FAST AS JET PLANES.

Amazing Grace

Have you seen Amazing Grace? YOU HAVE TO! It's so rare that you watch a movie that is clean, inspiring, motivating, educational AND GOOD! I was not aware of the history surrounding the hymn of Amazing Grace. What an amazing story. William Wilberforce's motivation and determination is so inspiring. I really can't tell you how neat I thought it was to see such a good movie--rent it!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!