Why I Think Carrie is so Incredibly Wonderful

Hello friends. I am freaking out over here. You know why? (You probably do, but I'll tell you anyways) Because today I am....

SEEING CARRIE UNDERWOOD IN CONCERT!!!!!

Sorry for the large capitalization but I'm so so excited! Oh my gosh. I'm just so happy to realize that this day that I've been waiting for for over two years (since the last concert) is here. The thing about Carrie Underwood concerts is that they are amazing and are always the best days of my life. Whenever I go to another concert, I can't help but wish it was Carrie Underwood up there singing because her concerts make me so happy. No matter what, nothing can ruin a concert day for me because they are just the best.

I'm sorry I missed the last few countdown days, but I will probably posting about Carrie for a few days after the concert so don't worry. I figured though, that a lot of people probably wonder why I like Carrie Underwood so much. I mean, yes, I will admit that I am pretty obsessed. And probably one of the reasons I'm obsessed is just the fact that I'm a person that tends to get obsessed with anything I like a lot--Harry Potter, purple, etc. I promise there are a lot of things on that list, I just can't think of them all right now because I'm too obsessed with Carrie Underwood at the moment. Anyways, here are my top 5 reasons for why I like Carrie Underwood so much (and why you should like her too hehe).

5. Carrie Underwood is a girl just like me. Before American Idol happened, she lived in a small town. She had dreams of being a singer, but when she went to college she had to kind of give up on that and be practical. She had normal jobs, like waiting tables at a pizzeria and working at a zoo (well that's not too normal, but you get my drift) and she was going to graduate with a degree in mass communications with an emphasis in journalism. And when she was about 22, probably in the stage of life I'm in right now, getting ready to graduate and get a real job, she decided to try out for American Idol and then her world changed. But through all of that, and seven years later, she's still that small-town girl. She's super down to earth, I can tell when she's at her concerts and through her twitter texts that even though she's absolutely gorgeous and that she's rich and can get glammed up, she's still normal. She's still that girl that loves getting dressed up and has fun doing music videos like "Before He Cheats" or "Good Girl." She's a girl who's had her heart broken a a lot but eventually found her prince charming. And that's one of the reasons it's so easy for me to love Carrie Underwood, because she's a girl just like me, and she's a girl who happened to get lucky enough to really live her dream.

Carrie and her husband Mike at Disneyland! (source)

4. Carrie Underwood is such a good person. Like no joke, she's a saint. For one thing, she loves animals. I couldn't find it, but there is a quote of her saying that if she had to give up singing, it would be hard, but she could do it, but she could never ever give up animals. She's been a vegan for a long time and she totally supports animal rights and has supported and started a number of charities on behalf of them. One year she was scheduled to perform at Cheyenne's Frontier Days (which my family usually goes to every year because my dad's side of the fam is all in Cheyenne) but canceled because she heard about the animal cruelty that went on at the rodeos. Last week she saved a chipmunk from her yard because her dog Ace was going to eat it, she took the chipmunk to the vet, and then released it where it would be safe. Who does that?! That's right, Carrie Underwood. Last year she also saved two dogs who were on the side of the freeway and found good homes for them. Not only is Carrie Underwood kind to animals, but she is also very clean in the fact that she never ever swears, and I respect that so much, as I never swear either. She doesn't swear in any of her songs and you can scour the internet and you won't find any quotes or articles of her swearing in them. Carrie is also really really nice to all of her fans and anyone she meets, and is very religious and has a great relationship with God. She credits all her success to God, which I admire so much. I love that I never have to be embarrassed for liking Carrie Underwood because she's always such a good person.

3. Her music and her voice is amazing. Obviously I love her music, but Carrie has beautiful vocals too. Everywhere I hear her sing, she sounds amazing! And the crazy thing is that she is even more amazing live. There isn't much more to explain because you have to hear it to believe it. I was going to share this song on Sunday, but since I didn't, I'll share it now. Get ready, because you will probably cry--that's how amazing this performance is:



2. Carrie Underwood's music is good for any day and any situation. No matter what, I will always be in the mood to listen to Carrie Underwood music. You know how everyone always says, "there's an app for that?" Well I think people should start saying, "there's a Carrie Underwood song for that." :) Feeling down? There's a CU song for that. Try, "So Small," "Jesus Take the Wheel," "Good in Goodbye," or "Wheel of the World." Feeling happy? How about, "Crazy Dreams," "Ever Ever After," or "All American Girl." Hate a boy? Listen to "Before He Cheats," "Undo It," or "Songs Like This." Feeling inspired? Listen to half of her songs because a lot of them are inspiring. But it's totally true. There's a Carrie Underwood song for that. I promise.

1. The number one reason why I like Carrie Underwood? Her music makes me happy. So so so very happy! Maybe it's because I've liked her for so long or maybe it's just because she's a happy person. For whatever reason, when I listen to Carrie Underwood music and it automatically lifts me up. I think about going to her concert and whatever seemed so sad doesn't anymore. I can only imagine what kind of happiness meeting her in person would bring. All I know is that I truthfully have never been happier than when I am at a Carrie Underwood concert. I feel like the happiness inside me is going to explode, and I cannot wait to feel that tonight. So that's it...I love Carrie Underwood because she makes me happy, and there is probably no better reason than that. I. Am. So. Excited!!!!!

And to give you all a song...here is Blown Away, my current favorite song of hers that I can't stop listening to. I can't wait to hear her sing this tonight at the concert because she is going to blow me away. :) I will tell you all about it tomorrow, don't worry!!!

4 Days :)

Don't worry, I didn't forget about the countdown! Today has been crazy busy and oh so fun. This morning and afternoon we watched general conference (changes in missionary ages anyone? ahhh, it's crazy and super exciting!!) which was really great. I always look forward to the first week in October and April! In between sessions we opened my birthday presents (more on that later) and after the afternoon session we left to go eat my birthday dinner so we could get done before the priesthood session. During the priesthood session we took a little DI trip and I didn't buy anything--definitely a first for me! After that we picked up my dad and brother and we went out with the whole family--relatives included--to Leatherby's to eat the best ice cream and hot fudge you could ever have. And now I'm back. I told you it was crazy! And now I will talk about Carrie Underwood.

Today for just a fun, lighthearted song I'll share "All American Girl." Honestly, it doesn't really have any special meaning to me, other than the fact that it's a girly song and I'm a total girly-girl so it's perfect for me. This is another one of my favorite songs by Carrie--probably in the top five--and I just really love it. The music video is cute too so I'll post that. Enjoy, and look forward to a really really really amazing Carrie song tomorrow :)

5 Days...EEE!!!

I can't believe I am seeing Carrie Underwood LIVE in 5 days! It's so surreal to me. I am so so so excited! I wish I could just share the excitement that I feel with everyone around me so they could understand haha.

One of the reasons I really love Carrie Underwood's music is because it is totally relatable (apparently this isn't a word? but using it anyways) to my life. I think almost every song I listen to of hers I'm like "yes! that's so me!" or "she knew exactly what I was feeling and put it in a song!" For any instance in my life, good or bad, I can find a Carrie Underwood song for it and I'll feel better.

There's been one area of my life that has always been hard for me and that is...boys. It's not that it's hard for me to talk to them or to like them to even find boys that like me. It's just my love life in general that has been a pretty big trial in my life since I've been sixteen years old to now (and what I'm writing is totally serious..I'm just saying that because I could see people taking this as a joke, which it totally isn't! Sometimes funny, but true, and often hard). I've still never been in a serious relationship, or really any relationship for that matter, and I say this hoping that you won't judge me or anything, but I'm a 21 year-old girl and have still never been kissed. And honestly, that's a super hard thing to deal with. It's embarrassing, and every single day of my life I ask myself if there is something wrong with me. There probably is something wrong with me, but I don't really know what it is. In all truthfulness, I feel like I've had really bad luck with guys. I seem to attract all the boys I'm not attracted to--some of them are weirdos and some of them are nice but I just know it's never going to happen. I find lots of guys I think are cute and actually there have been quite a few that have liked me back, but for one reason or another, they stop calling, they find another girl, they have commitment issues, or they just decide they're not interested. It's the worst, and every guy I cry over I find myself thinking the same thing...that I'm done trying, that I'm done hoping, because it never really works out.

So whenever this happens, to try and get a smile out of me...I listen to this song: "The More Boys I Meet"

And for the boys that break my heart and make me cry? This song, "Undo It" is for them:

(and see those people at the concert? That's gonna be me on Wednesday!!!)

Because of all these heartbreaks and it never working out for me I think it's gotten really hard for me to let myself get close to people. There are definitely other reasons and experiences I’ve had that are too personal to share on here that contribute, but this is a big factor. I wasn't even a person to get super close to people before, but I don't think any of this has helped. I don’t let myself get my hopes up when a new guy comes along, because I’m already expecting him to drop me before anything can even happen. This is a terrible attitude, but right now I feel like I've kind of given up on guys because I just don't want to deal with any of it anymore. But I think, and hope, that when the right guy does come along, it will work out, and I will be able to open up and trust again. And when that happens, I’m going to listen to “Quitter” over and over again. I love this song so much, and I think it totally describes me. It’s my second most played song in my music library, so let that show you how much I love it.


Enjoy three more of my favorite Carrie songs and hearing all about why I'm still single haha. Until tomorrow! :)

My Birthday...and 6 days to Carrie!

Woohoo! Today is October 4 which means it's my birthday, which means I'm officially 21 years old! Yay! So far I've had a pretty great birthday. It's been chill, my roommates made me breakfast this morning--they really are the best!--and then I went to some class and watched some Friends, my most favorite tv show (currently on season 3!). The only bad part about my birthday is that I'm still sick from the cold I've had all week. I woke up this morning with a pretty nasty cough that carried over from yesterday but it's much better now that it's a little later in the day (definitely still there though).

To continue with the Carrie Underwood concert countdown (we'll call it CUCC for short), today's song is "Nobody Ever Told You," from Carrie's latest album (and probably one of my favorites) "Blown Away."

"Nobody Ever Told You" probably comes in second or ties with "Crazy Dreams" in my all time favorite CU songs. It's a song every single girl (and woman) should hear probably every single day of your life. I like this song because it's sweet, simple, and straight to the point. On my hard days, whenever I feel like I look terrible or like I'm just worthless, I play this song, and it really calms me. As a girl, sometimes you just need some to tell you what nobody ever told you, that you're beautiful, not just on the outside but on the inside too. And Carrie tells that to every girl in this song. :)


I posted the original version, but there's also a very good live version here. Personally, I think Carrie sounds even better singing live, which is crazy because the recorded songs are already amazing! I just didn't post the live one because it had more of a rock feel to it and I like the lightness of this song. Also, below is a video of Carrie talking about "Nobody Ever Told You." She explains it better than I ever could...enjoy!

ONE WEEK TO CARRIE!

In one week from today, all my dreams will come true (well almost all of them). Because in one week from today I am.....SEEING CARRIE UNDERWOOD IN CONCERT!!!!!!
(I'm giving you the warning now, but over the course of the next week or two, due to pre and post-concert excitement, you may be seeing a lot of capitalization, probably more than you are used to. You have been warned.)

This will be my third Carrie concert and it will be the best one! Why? Because she gets better every time, because I'm going with my mom again, because we have FLOOR SEATS, and because there are more new songs! Okay, yeah it's going to be awesome.

In order to attempt (notice I said "attempt", not "succeed to attempt") to bridle my excitement. I'm going to be posting every day with one of my favorite songs of Carrie Underwood's, leading up to the day of the concert, which is next Wednesday, October 10 (it will be the best day of my life, I'm certain of that). If you're not a Carrie Underwood fan (leave. just leave now) or or not an amazing music fan, then you should probably unfollow my blog for the next week because there is going to be some serious fandom going on right now. Sorry about that. Unless you'd like to find me a boyfriend I can love and obsess over, I will continue obsessing over Carrie Underwood (just a girl crush, don't worry).

Today I'll be letting you hear probably my all-time favorite CU song (although that could be questioned now that her new album came out, because I really like "Nobody Ever Told You"), "Crazy Dreams."

I like this song because honestly, who isn't a crazy dreamer? Who out of all of us isn't a little nerdy at heart? We all are! This song is my favorite because it inspires me and it's the song that describes me most. It's a great song, and even though it wasn't ever the most popular or came out as a single, it's my favorite. And I think that's all the description it needs. So without further ado, from Carrie's second album, Carnival Ride, here is "Crazy Dreams."


What is your favorite Carrie Underwood song? Or, the question probably more of you will answer...who is your favorite artist and what is your favorite song by them? Let's all share our favorite music here! :)

15 Days to the End of the World

So basically in 15 days, the last Harry Potter movie comes out! This is exciting and happy, but also sad, because it means my favorite book series really is done. I cannot express how much I love Harry Potter in one post, so I've decided that the next 15 days will be a tribute to the wonderful books themselves and what I love about them. I'm gonna try to post every day about this because i LOVE Harry Potter and I want to give it one last shout out (though I will never stop reading the books!).

I'm reading the series again for the 11th time and today I just finished the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (I'm trying to finish the whole series before the movie comes out). It is so cool being able to read the whole story, and if you are an HPN (Harry Potter Nerd), which I am, then you can notice the little foreshadowings that Rowling puts in the book. Also, the book is hilarious in some parts.

For those who can’t remember or haven’t read the book or even seen the movie (why are you my friend if you haven’t done any of those things?), here’s a quick recap: Eleven year-old Harry Potter, whose parents died trying to protect him from the super evil wizard Lord Voldemort, and who also somehow survived the killing curse that Lord Voldemort put upon him as a child, has grown up with his “muggle” (non-magic) aunt, uncle, and cousin, who treat him like dirt all the time. Harry finds out he is a wizard and enters the magical world. He goes to school at Hogwarts and makes friends with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, with Albus Dumbledore as the school’s headmaster. Harry makes enemies and learns lots of magic stuff. He and his friends find out bits and pieces about the Sorcerer’s Stone, and in the end try to save it from getting into the hands of Lord Voldemort. He succeeds but Voldemort’s “spirit” or whatever you want to call it is still out there and is going to keep trying to find its way to a body or a way to come back to life fully so that he can take over the wizarding world.

Now some funny lines from the book...

"Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise--unless of course it involved punching somebody."

"Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work."

"...it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do." -Hagrid, talking about Dudley

"It was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick."

"Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Harry felt she had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground."

"I hope you're pleased with yourselves.  We could have all been killed--or worse, expelled." -Hermione

"Hermione was refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus."

"There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them."

(Harry, talking about Snape) "What's wrong with his leg?

(Ron) "Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him."

"Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten..."

(Ron) "You could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is. It'd be safe to ask them."

(Hermione) "Very safe, as they're both dentists."

"...[Hermione] was dashing back, an enormous old book in her arms.

'I never thought to look in here!' she whispered excitedly. 'I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading.'

'Light?' said Ron."

"'So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?' said Hermione in alarm.

'It'll be gone by next Tuesday,' said Ron."

(funniest line ever..to me anyways) "'So light a fire!' Harry choked.

'Yes--of course--but there's no wood!' Hermione cried, wringing her hands.

'HAVE YOU GONE MAD?' Ron bellowed. 'ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?'

'Oh right!' said Hermione."

"What happened down in the dungeons...is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat....Madam Pomfrey, however, thought it might not be very hygenic, and confiscated it." -Dumbledore

"They had hoped that Goyle, who was almost as stupid as he was mean, might be thrown out, but he had passed, too. It was a shame, but as Ron said, you couldn't have everything in life." (Ron always seems to be the funny one)

And some notable, inspiring quotes...

"However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not know if what it shows is real or even possible....It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that."

"The truth...it is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution." -Dumbledore

"If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign...to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever." (that is just written so beautifully) –Dumbledore

“There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.” –Dumbledore (he says all the wise quotes apparently)

And these little foreshadowings...

"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it." -Ron, talking about Hermione (not necessarily a foreshadowing but its funny because they start out hating each other and then end up falling in love)

Harry has a dream about Professor Quirell's turban talking to him and telling him he should be in Slytherin, which is a foreshadowing for the end of the book, because Voldemort is actually being hidden by Quirell's turban.

"He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enought to help. It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could..." (totally makes sense once read the end of the 5th book!) –Harry

There is more for all of those, I know, but I didn’t get to underline them as I went in the book so I was just skimming through finding all of these. I’ll be better with the second one. (And sorry it was so long!)

I will always hold the first book dear to my heart, because it is the book that started it all. It always puts a smile on face reading about all the different magical things introduced, like Gringotts Bank, broomsticks, wands, Diagon Alley, etc. It’s the shortest book out of all the seven, but it is so special because it is the first one. No one, especially J.K. Rowling knew how huge this book series would become. I love it SO much.

MTV is doing this thing where they’re finding the ultimate Harry Potter character. Cool right? To vote just go here:

And I’ll end with this..the trailer from the first movie. J

(images from here)

Countdowns

191 days until Christmas

109 days to my 19th birthday

73 days left of summer=73 days of fun :)

21 days to my family's vacation to CALI

16 days to Stadium of Fire (aka Carrie Underwood!!!)

1 day until the weekend

0 days for me to happy :)