Sad, Sad Day

This post is about a month late, but that doesn't make it any less of a sad post.

About a month ago, Sherwood posted a blog about how they just can't make the band work anymore. The members are all over the country with their own families now, and trying to make more music was just too hard to coordinate. Which is all understandable.

But this means Sherwood is no more.

Anyone who has known me the past few years knows that I am a huge Sherwood fan. I've been to six of their shows. My living room is adorned with signed and framed memorabilia. I have three t-shirts and a hoodie. I have multiple photo albums dedicated to Sherwood shows on Facebook. I have introduced many people to the awesomeness that is Sherwood's music. So it stands to reason that this news saddened me greatly.

I had been eagerly awaiting news of the new album that Sherwood had been working on. I had been hoping to hear that there would be a summer tour to promote the new album. It has been a year and a half since I've been to a Sherwood concert, and I was feeling the loss. But now, neither of those things will happen. Sherwood has broken up, and I will never again have the thrill of a new album from one of my very favorite bands. My last hope is that they will put together one last farewell tour.

Despite my sadness, I want to thank Sherwood for three awesome albums and six incredible shows. Some of the most fun I've had recently has been at Sherwood concerts. I loved singing until my voice was gone and jumping up and down like a maniac. I loved getting to go up on stage and sing backup for a song. I loved getting t-shirts and CDs signed. I loved talking to the guys in the band.

My first Sherwood show in October of 2008 was only the second concert I had ever gone to. Since then, I have been to somewhere in the neighborhood of ten more. They helped me discover the joy of seeing my favorite bands live. I never knew that going to concerts would be my favorite thing to do, but Sherwood helped me realize that.

So thank you, Sherwood. You're awesome, and you will always and forever be one of my favorite bands.

And now, links to all the blog posts I've written about Sherwood, just to chronicle just how deep my love of them went. (You're not obligated to look at all of them. There are kind of a lot.)

The concert where I sang backup.
Concert number five.
The one at Studio 600.
The post where I anticipate the show at Studio 600.
Music videos are super awesome.
The one where I'm in their video.
The first of two concerts in a month.

And for your viewing pleasure, the music video for "You Are."

My Apartment Is Awesome

This is what happens when the roommates are left to their own devices on a weeknight.



Vocals/piano: Lindy
Sweet moves: Cora
Camera work: Brittany

Look, it's me!

Day Forty-Four: A picture of yourself.

Well, friends, this is the last post of my random 44-day blog challenge. And here is a picture of myself. Super exciting, right? Oh yeah. This has been a fun challenge, though. I've enjoyed writing all these random posts. I do apologize for how many times I've backdated my posts—you might want to go back through and make sure you caught everything on the days I was writing four posts at once. Here's hoping I can keep up the blogging at least semi-regularly from now on.

November

Day Forty-Three: The month you were happiest this year and why.

I've been thinking about this one a lot, trying to figure out which month of the last year I was happiest. It was pretty hard to decide, but the month I kept coming back to was November. For those who know how much crap went down in November, this may seem odd, but I'll explain myself, I promise.

So much happened in November. So, so much. A huge portion of it was not good, and it was the start of a few months of some crazy drama and stress. But at the same time, there was so much good. In the midst of trial, the Lord blessed me. I have never felt so loved as I did that month. I had so many friends step forward and help me out when they didn't have to. I attended the temple more often, and I felt that power in my life. 

November was also when I thought things with Der Junge had real promise. I'm not saying that my happiness is dependent on whether a guy is paying attention to me; I'm just saying that it helped peak my happiness, for sure. It was nice to know that someone seemed to have some kind of interest in me. I spent quite a bit of time with him, including the events at the Cocoa Bean. 

There was also quite a bit of social interaction in November. We threw parties and hung out with a lot of people. I had a lot of fun. It was a full month, with plenty of ups and downs, but there was so much good to hold on to. I have incredible people in my life, and pretty much all of November was a testament to that.

I was the only wanted one.

Day Forty-Two: Talk about your siblings.

My siblings are kind of awesome. I am the youngest of five, though I've only known three of my siblings in this life. Here's a little bit about each of them.

Ben

Ben and his family.

Ben is my oldest brother. He's a goober. I love hanging out with him because he's always cracking jokes and using goofy voices and accents. It's fun to watch him play with his kids and see how much he loves each of them. I feel like my relationship with Ben has gotten stronger since I've been an adult, simply because he always seemed so much older, so as a kid it was sometimes hard to relate to him. It's kind of fun to see how relationships change as you get older. Ben is always willing to help me with anything I need, whether it be computer issues or advice about something that's bugging me. 

Bobby

Bobby was born a little over 11 months after Ben. Crazy, right? My mom had two kids at 20. I still don't know how her body handled that. This may sound a little cheesy, but I like to think of Bobby as my guardian angel, in a way. He was hit and killed by a car when he was 19 months old, so I never knew him in this life. But I knew him in the premortal life, and the love I have for him is just as real as the love I have for my living siblings. I have felt Bobby's presence in my life, and I know that he is interested in what I am doing. Family ties aren't just for this life. They are eternal, and no matter what, Bob will always be my big brother.

Chelly

Chelly and her two beautiful girls. (I probably should have chosen a picture with her husband in it too, but I love this picture too much not to use it.)

Chelly is my only sister (by blood, anyway). Growing up, Chelly always made me feel wanted and loved. I was always included in things she was doing, even if I was an awkward 14-year-old and she was hanging out with her college-aged friends. Anytime I was feeling down on myself, which happened more often than it should have, Chelly did her best to bring me back up. We never really fought growing up, which is probably thanks to the five-year age gap. As we have gotten older, our relationship has only strengthened. I consider Chelly to be one of my very best friends. I can talk to her about anything, and I know I will get good, honest advice when I need it. She is also hilarious, which makes her that much more fun to be around.

Matt

Matt and his adorable family.

Matt is the sibling I fought with the most. He is the closest in age to me, though there are still four years between us. We just always managed to find something to argue about. But then he would bribe me into going shopping with him by buying me food. Matt is a dork. I always like spending time with him because he's easy to talk to, and he gives good advice. He is incredibly protective of me and always has been, so he likes to know my business. Which is fine because that's how he shows me that he loves me. He's always willing to help me out with whatever I need, and he's always available to talk to when I need it. Like Chelly and Ben, Matt is also pretty dang funny. 

I love my siblings so much, and I'm so grateful that I have such a good relationship with all of them. I don't see them as often as I would like to, but I know that they are always there if I need something. My relationship with all of them has only strengthened as we have gotten older, and I love that. I love that we can call each other friends now as well as siblings. We may still get in some arguments, but I don't think that aspect of sibling rivalry ever goes away. And regardless of any arguments we might have, I never question their love for me or my love for them. I couldn't ask for a better family than the one I have.

I Belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Day Forty-One: Your religious beliefs.

I know most people who read my blog are probably of the same faith as I am, but I'll do a little outline of my religious beliefs anyway. The blog challenge's wish is my command, after all.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The members are sometimes also known as Mormons because we believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. We believe that in 1820, 14-year-old Joseph Smith went into a grove of trees to pray about which church to join. As an answer to his prayer, God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith and told him that he should join none of them, for none of them had the full truth of the Gospel. Throughout the next ten years, Joseph Smith received revelations, obtained and translated the golden plates that contained the Book of Mormon, and restored the true church upon the earth once again.

We believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior and the Redeemer of the world. This is the most important aspect of the Gospel. Christ is the center of it all. He was sent to earth by our Father in Heaven to atone for our sins in the garden of Gethsemane. He was to die on the cross and then be resurrected three days later so that all men might conquer death. Because of Christ's atonement, everyone can repent and turn unto Him, and thus receive eternal life. Christ is the great Mediator, and it is through His grace that we are saved, but only after we do all that we can do in this life to follow Him. 

God the Father is my Father. I am His child, and I am therefore of divine worth. He loves me. He knows who I am. He wants me to return to Him. He has a plan for me, and as long as I remain faithful, He will guide me through that plan and I will gain all that He has in store for me. 

I believe that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct and separate individuals. They are one in that they all share the same purpose, but they are physically separate beings. In that aspect, Mormons very much differ from traditional Christianity.

As a Mormon, I also believe in personal revelation. God speaks to me through the gift of the Holy Ghost. I have felt that power in my life multiple times. Through this same power, Heavenly Father speaks to modern-day prophets, who are called in this day and age to guide the modern Church through these turbulent times. 

There is so much more that I believe in as a Latter-day Saint. There are temple ordinances, the power of the priesthood, eternal families, the three kingdoms of heaven, resurrection, so much more to the Atonement, tithing and fast offerings, and so on. I could write pages and pages about what exactly I believe, but I simply don't have time. If anyone who doesn't understand my beliefs already comes across this blog, go to mormon.org. All the information you need is there. 

Another thing that I want everyone to know: I believe with my whole heart that I belong to the true church. Jesus Christ is my Savior. He died for me, for my individual sins and sorrows and infirmities, which means He is the only person who can fully and completely understand everything I go through. He is the one who knows best how to succor me and comfort me and help me. He is the best friend I could ever have, and I can't tell you how incredibly grateful I am for the knowledge I have of Him, and most especially for the personal relationship I have developed with Him. I love Him, and I love His Gospel.

Pretty straightforward, I think.

Day Forty: 10 ways to win your heart.

I'm really not a very difficult person to figure out. This list will probably emphasize that point really well.

1. Musical talents will always take the number-one spot here. Singing to me while playing the guitar/piano/other awesome musical instrument is the absolute fastest way to my heart.
2. Humor generally takes number two. If a guy makes me laugh, I am much more likely to fall for him.
3. A man who is a worthy priesthood holder who does what he is asked to do by serving and magnifying his calling is very attractive.
4. Seeing a guy play with kids melts my heart, no doubt about it.
5. A guy who forces himself through my walls is a winner. My walls aren't particularly difficult to tear down, but if a guy makes the effort, it says a whole lot about him.
6. If a guy notices that something is wrong (whether I'm just having a bad day or I really need someone's help) without being nudged, I will take notice. Someone who goes out of his way to make sure I'm okay is someone I want to spend time with.
7. My family has a very particular sense of humor, and if he can hold his own with them, it means he's a good one.
8. I love good, deep conversation. When I have a conversation with a guy that is about more than sports or movies, and that flows well without awkwardness, I'm in seventh heaven.
9. I am a little bit of a sucker for guys who are kind of nerdy. Not scary nerdy—just a little nerdy. I like seeing guys with quirks, who like things that aren't completely mainstream or that are a little dorky. It's fun.
10. I need a man who is completely trustworthy. Any man who wins my trust (or has it inherently) is a good man.