"Kate's Mission Call"

Roommie Kate got her mission call!

Whoo, so proud of her!

{"Pa' Bailar - Siempre Quiero Mas (feat. Julieta Venegas)" © Bajofondo}

"Because I Have Been a Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief"

My motto, since I was thirteen-years-old, has been: 

"Look for the good in life, look for the good in others."

This song has always touched me,
and the clip The Church released warmed my heart.
May we all try to step into someone's shoes every now and again.

{"Parable of the Good Samaritan" video © The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints}

"Impromptu FHE"

I am, what this area would call, a Mother.

Every Monday, with the Father in our group, 

I gather together apartments for Family Home Evening. 

Well, today being a holiday, 

that did not happen.

Instead, I spent my Monday evening playing with the Knorrs. 

They make mighty fine singing partners. 

Come Thou Fount (w/Kristenfer)

"Veni, Veni & I Wonder As I Wander"

Two Christmas songs! 
I wanted to prove to myself that I could still sing, with a cold.
{But now my body is dead.}
The first song, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"
in Latin and Japanese:

Veni, Veni by ashleyserena

Veni, veni, Emmanuel

Captivum solve Israel

Qui gemit in exilio

Privatus Dei Filio

Hisashiku machinichi
Shu yo, toku kitarite
Mitami no nawame wo
Toki hanachi tamae!

Shu yo, Shu yo
Mitami wo
Sukuwase tamaeya!

Ashita no hoshi naru
Shu yo, toku kitarite
O-guraki kono yo ni
Mihikari wo tamae!

Shu yo, Shu yo
Mitami wo
Sukuwase tamaeya!

Second, a straight run-thru a cappella version,
sung in 4 different keys,
of one of my favorites, "I Wonder As I Wander":

I Wonder As I Wander (A Cappella) by ashleyserena

I wonder as I wander out under the sky 
How Jesus, the Savior, did come for to die 
For poor ornery people like you and like I 
I wonder as I wander... 
Out under the sky



May we all take a breath, as we prepare for the holidays,
and reflect when the Lord touched our lives, this year,
or sent His angels to hold us. 

{"Veni, Veni" MP3 Download HERE}

{"I Wonder As I Wander (A Cappella)" MP3 Download HERE}

{images via WeHeartIt & Tumblr}

"Seven Devils"

They say you can fight with your inner demons, 
or learn to live with them.
My faith teaches me to exorcise the devil in my head,
and my own strong sense of justice demands it.

We will always have trials,
but it is how we face them, and what weapons we use
that defines who we really are.

As of right now,
I'm still figuring out what kind of warrior I am.
Perhaps the reason some of us are taught to turn to God,
is because we do an awful job sewing ourselves back together
with our shaky, unexperienced hands.





"Seven Devils"
Florence + The Machine


Holy water cannot help you now
A thousand armies couldn't keep me out
I don't want your money
I don't want your crowd
See, I have to burn your kingdom down


Holy water cannot help you now
See, I've had to burn your kingdom down
And no rivers and no lakes can put the fire out
I'm gonna raise the stakes
I'm gonna smoke you out


Seven devils all around you
Seven devils in my house
See, they were there when I woke up this morning
And I'll be dead before the day is done


Seven devils all around you
Seven devils in your house
See, I was dead when I woke up this morning
And I'll be dead before the day is done
Before the day is done


And now all your love will be exorcised
And we will find you saying it's to be harmonized
And it's an even sum
It's a melody
It's a battle cry
It's a symphony


Seven devils all around you
Seven devils in my house
See, they were there when I woke up this morning
And I'll be dead before the day is done


Seven devils all around you
Seven devils in your house
See, I was dead when I woke up this morning
And I'll be dead before the day is done
Before the day is done
Before the day is done
Before the day is done


You keep me alive
'Til I tear the walls
'Til I slave your hearts
And they take your souls
And what have we done?
Can it be undone?
In the evil's heart
In the evil's soul


Seven devils all around you
Seven devils in your house
See, I was dead when I woke up this morning
I'll be dead before the day is done
Before the day is done

{images via Tumblr & Aleksandra}

"Cherry Blossom Incense Burning"

Akemi-mama gave me 

cherry blossom incense sticks 

and a burning dish from her shoppe.

I wanted to use the first stick 

to welcome in the new semester.

( ｡⌒o⌒｡)人(｡⌒-⌒｡ )

Though sacred smoke 

is supposed to be applied to your body 

on Buddhist temple grounds, 

Kate & I had our own thurification event 

full of giggles and happy meditation.

Though we practice a different religion, 

learning about another's beliefs 

helps crack open their heart to you a little better.

{♪ "Sakura" is a traditional Japanese folk song.}

"Talent Stitched in All Our Souls"

What a fantastic concert of LDS talent.

Kevin's roommate, Ben, is a member of Vocal Point,
so we got free access to the Shadow Mountain {Deseret Book} concert
at Women's Conference.
First time I've ever had floor seats in the Marriott Center.

Kirby Heyborne MCd.

David Osmond made us wish someone would write a song for us,
like the one he wrote for his sweet wife.

Jenny Oaks Baker hypnotized our ears.

Hilary Weeks danced with our hearts {in the rain}.

Josh Wright made us fall in love with Debussy all over again.
And maybe fall a little in love with Josh himself.

April Meservy lifted our spirits past the Marriott Center ceiling.

Cherie Call gave us confidence that the little things matter most.

Vocal Point made us all wish they'd ask for our numbers.

I'm always astounded at the amount of talent
the Lord has placed in us all.
Some stand out more than others,
but we all have traces of the Grand Master's talents
stitched in our souls.

*If you would like extended videos of this concert, e-mail me!

"Angels Sing the Earth's Story"

"Healing springs from the womb of time." -Michael Tippet

My father and I

went to the Utah Symphony & Chorus' performance of
A Child of Our Time.
The music was so bone-chilling, so heart-warming,
it moved me to wonder
if the choirs of Heaven sing our world's story.

Can you imagine the Kingdom of the Almighty
eternally serenaded by the most captivating voices,
the golden journal of our Earth
penned in song?
The wars, the friendships,
the moments when we let Christ in our doors...

Maybe our departed loved ones
sing about us.
Maybe our guardian angels record our personal stories
with their voices.

Just a little thought.

"Green Hill",
my rendition of There is a Green Hill Far Away,
is my tribute to this Sunday's celebration.
Happy Easter, everyone!

{photos via Maee, Ralucsernatoni, Aparatka, Felicia}

"The Improv Sisters of Stratford Court"

 "A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs:It's jolted by every pebble on the road." -Henry Ward Beecher 

We are all, in our little Court of Stratford,
very talented jesters women.
But, rather than a vocal piece or piano concerto,
we chose to do something altogether:
an improv game.

To play "Late for Work", you need:

one late person

one boss

one or two (or more) prompters/employees.

The "late" person leaves the room

{or, in my case, deafens themselves with music}

while everyone else decides THREE reasons why they're late.

The late person then returns,

and tries to explain to the boss why they're late

guessing the reasons from the prompters.

Basically, it's a repackaged game of Charades.

I chose to be the late person, 'cuz Kate & Amy rock at prompting,

and Kami's a fun boss to play off.

I do so love my little Stratford Court.

{Photos courtesy of Kevin Cangelosi, video by Jacob Adamson}

"Sunday Sketches"

Well, started on Sunday, anyways.

I'm learning how to use COLORZ.

And doing homework sometimes.

Someone brought up, in Church, an interesting thought:
What did the Lord do on His day of rest?
Happy President's Day, darlings!

{"Cho", "Shiroi", "Tanimeko" © Petrichor, Ashley S. Harmon}

"Making Lemonade"

"When life gets you down, you know whatcha gotta do? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming..." -Dory (Finding Nemo)

We had ourselves a little

Iron Chef competition.

We called our bishop and got a keyword:

lemons.

Jay & Amy made a lemon meringue pie.

Josh & Kate made a lemon cookie drizzle.

Sam & I made zesty lemon cookies.

Kevin & Kami made crumbly lemon pie.

Around nine o' clock,

the bishop and his wife drove over

and tasted each of our treats.

We expected to get 1st and 2nd placings,

but instead,

we each got our own awards:

"Creative Creation", "Bread of Life", and so forth.

I give a gold star to Kevin

for arranging this citrusy date,

and for giving us all 

a reason to smile together.

{♪ "First Day of My Life" via Bright Eyes}

"Sugar Cookie Dates"

The boys in our ward stuffed their ties in a purse,

and asked the girls to choose one.

Whoever's tie you plucked out

was your date.

Clever, clever.

{We're doing the same thing with the girls' heels next time. Y'know, Cinderella.}

{Alex, Kevin, Doug, Ben, Paul <--my date}

So yesterday, it being Martin Luther King Day,

we had no school.

Perfect chance for a big ol' group date.

Kevin asked me to cut a Texas boot cookie for him,

which Doug kept trying to destroy.

But we managed to save it until the time of eating.

Walmart Smiley

Japanese Star

Sweet Kami

and her Pollock chocolate sugar cookie. 

Here's a little game:

10 Points of Awesome to whoever comes up with a good caption for this.

{♪ "Valentino" via Diane Birch}

"Time to Say Goodbye"

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." -Dr. Seuss

This is a compilation of
my goodbyes.
{I said goodbye to my Chocolate apartment too, but there aren't any pictures of that.}

Goodbye to the Kawamoto family.

I'll always have a home in Japan
because of you, Akemi.

You feed me just as many goodies as my mama does.
...Boy, it sure seems like I'm always eating, here in Japan.

Oh, guess I am.

Goodbye, Kakogawa Ward.
You showed me the same Gospel I grew up with
from a refreshing perspective.

Goodbye, my Aussie gals.

You sent me messages
asking me how my classes went,
warning me about weather changes,
inviting me out to explore Japan with you.
Lauren, Kat, Vera,
I'm coming for Christmas one year.
Be ready.

The "Ghost Trees",
so rightfully named by Lauren.

The spirits of fallen samurai
wander amongst the shadows
of the illuminated Arashiyama bamboo forest...
Or maybe it's just the stray cats.

I'm going to step forward,
gathering all that I learned from
studying abroad,
and become the wonderful person
I dream to be.

My little life

will become a big one.

You're in my heart forever, 日本.

For now,

Sayonara, Japan. 

{♪ "Departure at Dawn" via Cecil Corbel}