Blog about Blogging

Kind of ironic right? 

I decided to blog about blogging.  

weird. 

Anyway I love blogging.  I love reading blogs, I love writing blogs and I think it brings out a side to people that may or may not always be seen or heard.  

In this generation I feel people are far more comfortable writing something that shares their thoughts and opinions about something rather than talking out loud about those things.  

I mean we are a generation of texting, emailing, blogging, posting, tweeting...etc. 

We are taught to learn how to write out our thoughts and feelings onto paper or into technology. 

I think for the introverted people who are more shy an quiet, this is an amazing thing for them because they get the opportunity to show their humor or what they like to talk about and a bit of their personality; wheras in person that may not be so comfortable for them to share. 

I, on the other hand am pretty out going all the time.  But having a place to also type out my feelings and what is racking through my brain is really refreshing.  

I enjoy typing all of it out and having the words flow like they would in a conversation.  

I also love reading other people's thoughts and getting to know a bit about their personality through how they write their blog and how they tell stories. 

Blogs can definitely tell a lot about a person and I enjoy getting to know someone through this form of media.  

With all that said, if you are the same way, feel free to follow yet another blog that I have had for a year or so now that my husband and I both contribute to. 

Filled with lots of random stories or videos or experiments.  

It's a good time and it's something we both enjoy doing and enjoy people's responses! 

Enjoy :) 

http://www.lovemehuntedly.com/

The addiction

So I'm not sure how many, if any, of you read the post I wrote a few weeks ago entitled 'wedding bells and cell phones'.  

If you haven't, maybe skim through as it brings up some similar points Dr. Coyne made in class about cell phones.  

I personally love cell phones! I love being able to contact whoever whenever I want or to keep myself entertained if I am bored.  It is definitely a comfort thing to have nearby. 

However when I don't have it, it is a bit refreshing.  It is the ultimate 'alone time' to get my thoughts together and to have just some time to myself.  

When we are 'alone' we are often consumed checking facebook and instagram and seeing what everyone else is doing.  

Which is not wrong.  But it's not 'alone' time. 

I used to be the type that used to really stress out about my phone if it wasn't within reach or if I didn't know where it was, or if people wouldn't answer my calls or texts immediately.  

However leading up to my wedding and even when I got engaged, I really realized how reliant I was and decided I didn't want to rely on such a tiny piece of technology. 

Again, I'm not saying cell phones are bad by any means.  However I didn't want to be such a slave to it and have my day ruined if I forgot it.  

Once I came to this realization and changed the way I lived, I felt more free and open.  I became that person that drives people crazy because (unless i'm teaching dance and need my phone for music) I almost never have my phone with me. 

When I am at home, I spend time with my husband catching up with him, or when we are visiting family we are actually visiting family.  

Every single day I go through the "where on earth is my phone" thing because I set it somewhere, not thinking about it and hours later I don't even know where it is.  

It is nice not having it attached to my hip all the time and I enjoy not always using it. I have made way more memories in the last year or so than I ever would have been able to make with my face in my phone looking at other memories people are sharing.  

Just my thoughts and experiences with cell phones! If you want a more in depth and good read about my thoughts on cell phones on  your wedding day go back and read my post from a few weeks ago and share your thoughts! 

Lord of the Rings and LDS views

Okay so I'm not expert on this subject matter by any means... 

However it has been on TV lately and my husband decided he wanted to watch them all.  

I wasn't even watching all of it very actively and i'm not the biggest fan by any means mostly because I just don't get it, but what I did watch I noticed some similarities to LDS beliefs.  

Here are some of the similarities I realized and they may not be relevant at all, but I was trying to engage myself in the 4 hour movie.  

1. Gandalf (spelling?) relates to Jesus Christ in some ways.  He dies as Gandalf the 'grey' and then soon comes back to life or 'resurrected' as Gandalf the 'white'.  He is always doing things for the benefit of the people and trying to get rid of any kind of evil he can.  Granted I don't think our Savior would make half of the decisions that Gandalf made in regards to getting rid of evil but some similarities there right? 

2. Frodo and Sam and the other two little elves are just normal people going through the trials of life and trying to get rid of evil and attain a happy and perfect world.  The ring in their possession is temptation.  It has an effect on everyone, it is small and seemingly simple, but tempts us to do wrong and if we follow it for too long, we end up like Smeegle and completely lost ourselves.  

3. When Smeegle gets rid of the effects of Golum and tells him to go away and gets rid of his split personality is symbolic of him trying to come back to the things he knows to be right and although his sins had lasting effects, he is trying to change and taking a stand to do what is right.  

4. All of the Orks and bad things are pretty obviously symbolic of Hell.. I mean look at them.. sheesh that's scary.  

5. They are on a constant journey to a land (don't know the name) where they can ultimately destroy the ring (or destroy evil in the world).  Their journey is the life on earth and the destroying of the ring is somewhat similar and symbolic of the judgment we go through before we enter the glories of heaven, or not.. ha 

6. Leggalus and the other elves are I feel like symbolic of the 3 nephites that are still around.  They can make better decisions more easily, they are very clean and heaven-like people and they fight for good.  

Anywho.. any of you Lord of the Ring experts can correct me or add their two cents but in my brief moments of watching, those are the similarities I saw and got enjoyment out of.  :)

Erika J. 

Gaining an education from Media

Alright so I haven't necessarily 'gained my education' through media necessarily but I do think it is still something that can be very educational.  

My husband and I started Grey's Anatomy about a month ago

and we have completely sold our every night to watching at least 2 episodes.  

So addicted. 

However aside from it being highly entertaining and a crazy addicting television show, I am actually gaining some medical knowledge 

"some" is the key word.  not saying i'm ready to perform surgery on anyone just yet...

Now unfortunately I can't remember details of this specific example very well but I had a family member over to our house the other day and something health related came up as a topic of discussion and a question was asked

this is a horrible story... I know... bare with my lack of memory for a bit 

I was able to recall something I had heard on Grey's anatomy and knew the answer to whatever medical related question was being asked! 

So aside from the lack of memory and details, it's kind of funny the things we learn from media

whether they are true or not

again, not saying whatever Grey's Anatomy says is the 'end all' but I do think they keep it fairly anatomically and medically accurate and someone can learn very basic things if they actively watch. 

That is all 

Erika J. 

Wedding Bells and Cell Phones

So I’ve been noticing something happening a lot lately…

There seems to be one or two or twenty every single weekend…

It’s definitely the season

Can you guess yet?

WEDDINGS!

Tis the season for wedding bells and love!

This is the time of year when anyone and everyone seems to be getting married.

Am I right?

Well I’ve been noticing something else that is a bit disappointing that I thought I would share my feelings on….

Cell phones…

Now, social media is one thing…

I understand the desire to share our lives on social media with our friends and family and those who are genuinely interested in what we are up to…

Hey I’m a victim myself,

I love posting pictures and looking at what other people are up to just as much as the next person.

However something has been bothering me lately. And it’s pictures posted, statuses updated, and activity on social media…

ON YOUR WEDDING DAY.

Maybe this is just my feelings, and if it is, simply accept my words as opinion only, and be done with it. However I personally believe your wedding day should be a time for you to BE WITH your family and friends, and most importantly your new SPOUSE, rather than your nose in your phone worrying about everyone else.

You should be absorbing the BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE.

Most people aim to get married only once right?

Granted, once you’ve done it, part of you always wants to have another one and get all dressed up again so you can relive it… (Unless that’s just me…)

But the primary goal is to get married once.

If that is the case,

THEN EXPERIENCE YOUR WEDDING.

TRY to soak in the fastest 24 hours of your life that you will want to remember forever.

I have never noticed it much until this particular wedding season that people have become so engulfed in their phones that they can’t even enjoy their wedding day, or honeymoon without posting pictures.

I understand wanting to share your happiness and these monumental moments with social media. However my feelings are the following:

1. The people that are AT your wedding are closest to you anyway. The people that aren’t there either weren’t invited so it shouldn’t matter if they see, or they had conflicts. If you had family or friends that were unable to attend, then they can most definitely wait until you are in a time and place when your new husband/wife isn’t consuming all your time. It’s not their day; it’s yours. Your spouse SHOULD be consuming all your time. Getting married is the best feeling in the world. It is a moment that most people look forward to their entire lives. I feel like people should take a day, disregard everyone else in the world with the exception of your spouse.
2. Most people know you are getting married on that day. You don’t need to post pictures to remind them…. If you sent them an invite or have invites on Facebook… then your job is done and your focus should be on your special day and your significant other
3. Other people that are attending your wedding are posting pictures anyway. If you have people that were unable to attend that you are anxious to show your wedding to, OTHER PEOPLE ARE POSTING. You know darn well that when someone gets married, family and closest friends are posting snapchats, instagrams, and facebook photos ALL DAY LONG. There you go, it’s taken care of!
4. Pay attention to your spouse. Phones are a way to distract us from the current situation we are in, and drive our brain to focus on other people and their life. Why on earth would you want to take any moment away from your wedding day? It only happens once… (Hopefully) and it should be a time when your phone is the least important thing you possess.

Dallin and I are human. We have phones, are on them often and love to post pictures on social media. However on our wedding day I don’t even remember if we had our phones with us at all that day. Why?

BECAUSE NOTHING ELSE MATTERED.

The only thing that mattered was that we had just gotten married. Family and friends came to the temple to support, and I was officially sealed to the man of my dreams for time and all eternity. My phone was the least important object I owned. I wanted to spend every second absorbing this day and paying attention to my husband because it was already going by faster than I wanted it to.

On our honeymoon as well, the only reason we even BROUGHT our phones was for alarms, and a camera. The only time we pulled it out to even use it was for the “fun” lady-doctor medical situations (:

**All you newly wed women will understand what I mean**

Other than those reasons, we spent our whole honeymoon spending every minute with one another.

I am not saying I am a perfect example by any means for how/when phones should be used, however I do feel that AT LEAST on your wedding day and honeymoon, people could forget about their phones…

No one else in the world should matter but the person you are with. What is the need for social media at that time?

It makes me sad when people are posting pictures and already changing their name and relationship statuses on Facebook the day of the wedding, or while on the honeymoon. I know it is an exciting thing, but it is just that much time that a person wasted, worrying about what other people think, instead of just disregarding everything in the world minus the one thing that truly matters.

Again, these are simply my thoughts and feelings as I have been watching so many friends and loved ones get married.

I feel sorry for those who post things ON their wedding day because I want them to soak up their special day and disregard social media for ONE DAY or even ONE WEEK.

Weddings go by fast.

They are planned for months and sometimes years and it is all over in what seems to be an instant…

It should be a day where you are completely selfish and worry only about your spouse and the best day of your life.

We are a generation of technological slaves…

And I have noticed it a little bit and been a victim myself, however it has never bothered me so much as it has recently.

Put your phone AWAY

ENJOY your wedding

FORGET about what other people think

And most importantly:

FOCUS on the beginning of an incredible journey and the start to a new life with the one you love.

Movie Genres and our Marriage

So one of the things that I have had to adjust and learn to change after getting married is the type of movies that I watch. 

Not that I used to watch bad movies or anything.  

But my taste is just SO very different from my sweet husband.  

He is a thrill seeker and loves thrill and adventure and suspense and crime and..... what I like to label as the "boy" movies.  

My movies however, I like to watch movies that get me emotionally invested or just bust up laughing. 

I was thinking about this the other day and realized that my husband doesn't really like romantic movies because they DO get him emotionally involved and they end up making him mad if they don't end happy. 

I don't love watching the suspenseful thriller movies because they stress me out. 

Although we have different tastes, the movies themselves are doing their job, we just have different opinions on the emotions we like to feel. 

Super random and possibly irrelevant post.  

Just a funny realization I came to.  

Erika J. 

Vid-Angel

Okay so we always talk about how the ratings on tv shows and movies have become very different from how they used to be. 

PG-13 is more like rated R and R is more like XXX and what not. 

My husband and I are avid movie watchers and with every new trailer coming out, the very end is the most disappointing part when it's concluded with the big old "R". 

I would always talk about how directors could make twice the amount of money if they provided 'clean' versions of their movies and then attract twice the amount of viewers. 

Well little did I know there was a website for that! 

If any of you haven't heard of vid-angel it is brilliant.  It provides hundreds of movies and gives you the options on what you want to filter out whether it's sexual content, violence, or language which are typically the primary reasons for ratings to go awol.  

You pay $20 at first and then when you return the movie it gives you $19 back so ultimately each movie is just $1.  

It's an excellent idea.  

Our movie options have just doubled in size and I couldn't be happier about it! 

Anyway, short post for a self explanatory website that will change your movie watching forever! 

Enjoy :) 

Erika H.