Sunlight Through the Clouds

Where does one even begin after a 16 month hiatus? Well, my friends, I guess I'll just begin here.

This last year was one for the books. 

When my friend Kassie got engaged to her boyfriend Dane, I had to find a new place to live. I really wanted to get my own place, but I spent all of my savings on a signed Tony Hawk collectors edition skateboard (which was TOTALLY worth the dough), so I ended up moving back down south to share a room with a friend of a friend in Times Square {pictured below}. 

From the first day I got there, I knew the peeps there weren't really my scene, you know? Like, no one shopped at Hot Topic or owned any cool band merch. Whatever. I liked my roommate. She shared my passion for all things LOTR and Dungeons and Dragons, and even introduced me to the beautiful world of WOW and COD {aka World of Warcraft and Call of Duty}. 

Unfortunately she was kind of a hoarder. Our entire front room was filled with all things dog: at least 10 bags of dog food (the majority open and spilling onto the floor), dog toys, dog leashes, dog posters, dog sweaters, dog kennels, dog brushes, dog everything. I didn't really mind, I mean we didn't actually have a dog, but my roommate just wanted to be prepared in case we ever came across a stray. I get that. I was a boy scout when I was little, so I know the importance of being prepared. And yes, boy scouts, not girl scouts. My mom dropped me off at the wrong house on the first day, and I went for 5 years without anyone in the troop realizing I was a girl. It was strangely rewarding for me. I was Mulan in real life, but that's beside the point. 

All of the dog shiz blocked the front door, so if I wanted to leave, I had to go through my bedroom window and down the fire escape (from the 5th floor). After doing that 3 times in order to get to work at Jake's Archery (America's Bowhunting Headquarters since 1962), I finally convinced my boss to let me track inventory from home. I stayed in inside for days at a time and quickly developed bed sores all over my body. I started losing interest anything outside our condo walls and even gave up my job and 40% discount at Jake's so I could dedicate all of my time to destroying 12 year olds on COD. My life was at an all time low. But I couldn't stop. I couldn't change.

Then one day, I saw sunlight through the clouds (in COD on level 7). The animation felt so real. The brightenss overcame me. I soon realized my roommate had just turned on the light for the first time in months. It felt warm. Comforting. Familiar. I wanted more of it. And even though it pained me to say it, I knew I had to leave. I packed up my bags that very day and slid down the fire escape without looking back. 

As I rode my horse to my parent's farm in Draper, I didn't know what lay ahead of me. I didn't even know if they'd let me move back in. But got the  feeling that world was my oyster, and that it would all work out somehow. I'm still on that horse, mustering the courage to knock on my parents front door. Please keep me in your prayers, hoping that they'll have a little compassion.

Thanks for listening to my story. Ta ta for now.

xoxox, 

Pepper. 

A Hair Story

Hello readers! It’s me, Pepper, and I’m finally back on the blog! Apologies that is has been so long since I last blogged (I’ve been pretty tied up with my day job as described here).

So I’ve given a lot of thought as to what this post should be about given that I haven’t blogged in such a long time. Should I update you on my love life? My graduation from Stevens Henager (and free laptop)? My silver medal that I won in a rollerblading competition? My trip to NYC? Well after watching a truly inspiring episode of A Baby Story on TLC (my favorite network after BET), I’ve finally decided to blog about my hair. For some reason I find myself blogging about my hair a lot, but I think that is because I like to try new things (a few of you might remember the post I did a few years ago about the time I got bangs). It could also be because I have a passion for hair, so much that I even considered dropping out of SH and going to Paul Mitchell in Provo.

Anyway, my story starts on a beautiful summer day. I was lying out on my trampoline in my cute suit from Lime Ricki when I thought, “Hmm, maybe I should try something new with my hair?” Lucky for me I had a stack of magazines with me on the tramp so I started flipping through them to find ideas. I found a variety of colors and styles, but so many of them were “too Vogue,” “too Amanda Bynes,” or “too Anne Hathaway.” Discouraged and fed up, I turned to my Samsung flip phone and sent a blast to my gurlz asking for ideas. Just as the golden hour (see Kerry Soper if you don’t know what the golden hour is) was approaching my phone made the “driod” sound which meant I had a text. It was at that moment that I flipped open my phone and saw the hair that I HAD to have (see below for reference).

I have to give full credit to my gurl PA as she was the one that sent me the above pic. I scheduled a haircut for the next available appointment and ladies, let’s just say that I look G-O-O-D! I know that you are probably dying to see a picture of me with the new hairdo, but you will have to wait until my next post (hint: video tutorial).

In closing, I just want to leave you with the wise words spoken my one of by heros and political role models…

“If I want to knock a story off the front page, I just change my hairstyle.”

-Hillary Rodham Clinton

A L.O.T.R. Kind of Day!

      So I woke up at 8:00am today and was getting ready to head to my job at UTA when I got a call from my Supervisor telling me that they didn't need me today and to not come in. Apparently, the white van that I am licensed and trained to drive broke down last night and so it is in the shop. This made me a little frustrated because I love driving the van because I have a crush on one of the regular passengers ;(. Guess I will just have to spray on a little extra Escada when I go to work tomorrow to make up for the flirting that I didn't get in today.
      Anyway, I was already up and out of bed so I decided that I should grab my yellow/orange fleece blanket and head to the couch for a much need Lord of the Rings marathon. Now back to the movies and my popcorn (compliments of my roommate from school)!
      And remember, "There is only one Lord of the Ring, only one who can bend it to his will. And he does not share power." 

I'M BACK.

The hiatus is done. 

I'm rededicating myself to this blog and to all of my readers. You're what gets me out of bed in the morning. You're what inspired me to pick up the phone and dial 1-800-GO-JENNY. 

I lost 97 lbs.

But I gained 107% more confidence.

Look out, world. Pepper's back, and she's better than ever.

More to come.

xoxo

P

Pepper Goes To Prom

     Every girl dreams of the day that they will be asked to Prom. After all, when else do you get to pick out a beautiful gown (or in this case a suit and hat) and then spend a magical night with a handsome boy (or in this case a girl named Nola)? Not very often. But lucky for Pepper, she got all of this and more. While she was excited about the dashing suit, she was like overjoyed about the hat because it meant that she could like get away with not getting her hair done let alone need to wash it. She could just like throw on the hat to cover up grease, kinks, and even the dandruff and wah-lah--a fashionable and affordable hair solution. 

     Pepper was also happy because Prom this year was on a Friday, which provided the perfect excuse to listen to her new favorite song "Friday" while she got ready, was in the car with her date, and last but certainly not least, at the actual Prom. Coincidence? I think not. 

     Overall, the Prom was like so perfect and like so magical. Pepper was so excited that there was an excellent turnout this year for Prom. It was a memory she never wants to forget, so like hopefully Nola gets their pictures (Nola splurged and got Picture Package A-43, which comes with a poster size picture of the two of them as well 75 wallets), to Pepper soon so that she can like scrapbook the Prom as well as post some to this blog. Oh and the poster size picture will most likely replace the Bieber poster that is above her bed--so cute huh? As for the wallets, Nola plans to send them out with her 75 graduation announcements--also cute huh? Honestly, everything about the Prom was like so perfect.

My Newest Passion

Many people that know me don't know that I have this deep passion for photography.

Ideally, I would like to be a Sports Photographer; it would be my dream come true. But it's a hard field to get into (photography as a whole is hard to get into) so I'll take whatever jobs I can get.

I decided that I was going to go for it. Get my degree in something related to Photography, and just do it.

I've changed my major about a thousand and a half times.

Then I decided I was just going to go after photo.

I went and talked to the art advisor at BYU and discovered that the art department is about commercializing your art; they're more about just doing art to express yourself.

I don't want to express myself. I want to make money.

So, I was told to do Mass Communication...the Media Sequence.

I'll learn photography skills, web design, etc.

So, that's what I'm doing. Officially. Now.

I'm also minoring in both SFL and Business, but that's irrelevant.

Anyway, I like to take pictures of whatever I can, and whenever I can. At the moment, I don't I have the camera I would like, but I've been donating plasma so hopefully I'll have it come spring.

So, I've just been using other cameras that I can get my hands on.

These are some of the pictures I took with Whitney's camera this week.

I did some minor editing, as some were slightly off kilter. I just felt like posting them really.

Hopefully you like them.

Rah Rah Sis Boom Bah

Unfortunately I didn't get to go to the Jimmer game last week...But I did get to go to the Fulham game to cheer on the team with some of my best friends. Love my peeps.