Live Laugh Love

Arianna Pesci

Copyright 2012 Arianna Pesci

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in review, without permission in writing from the author/publisher.

Printed in USA

Live Laugh Love

Contents
Well hello there 1 Obsession 2 Still going strong 3 Let me just say 3 Dove Chocolate 4 20 years ago today 5 Harry freaking Potter 6 London 8 Im back 8 The first weekend 9 Forever 21 10

well hello there

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

o I caved, and I made a blog. Id like to add that I did have a blog when I was in 9th grade, it was on xanga, and at the time I was living overseas with my family so you would think it would be interesting, but it was basically just about who likes who and the annoyance of braces. My blog title, now some of you (or most) might be thinking how unoriginal can you get? live, laugh, love...like we havent seen that before from millions of preteen girls or on the title of millions of others blogs. I would just like to say that I came up with this phrase...no Im kidding but I have always loved it. I mean anyone who knows me knows that my favorite thing to do is laugh! I also have so much love for just about everything, my family especially, and all of the friends I have made around the world. Id say the only thing missing from my title is reading, but Live.Laugh.Love.Literature. Just didnt flow. So Im hoping I can share some things with you here and you wont find them too boring!! So to recap, weve moved again...this time to Knoxville, TN for my dads new job at a company called Scripps Network Interactive! Which he is absolutely loving by the way! Some of my favorite things about the house so far are the wrap around porch, the ceiling fans in every bedroom, the fact that everyone gets their own full bathroom, oh yes and the swimming pool! I feel that our family will not be able to buy a house after this that does not include a swimming pool. We have been in the pool everyday since we got here. It certainly came in handy yesterday as we faced the hottest day of the year...with 100% humidity! So I had a completely different picture in my head of what Tennessee was going to look like, it is actually quite beautiful! Were about 2 minutes from this gorgeous lake that I wish I remembered the name of! Our dad wants to get two wave runners for the lake and our mom wants to get kayaks...well see who wins this one. The neighborhood is apparently one of the best in all of knoxville, it has a club house as well with another pool and tennis and basketball courts. We havent really met a lot of our neighbors yet but Olivia is constantly peeking outside to see if there are any cute boys next door. I am missing Ohio, but this feels more like an extended vacation for me before I fly back to Utah for school! Plus Ohio is only 4 1/2 hours away so there will be road trips in my future!

Obsession
Friday, August 6, 2010

o I have an obsession, and its been growing for many years now. It is my obsession with series. Book series. I would have to say that it started with Harry Potter (because that is just the kind of nerd that I am). From there it went to the Twilight series (before they were movies) Then City of Bones (Ashes and Glass) and then A Great and Terrible Beauty and the other books that follow that. At the begging of the summer I read the Hunger Games and Catching Fire and I cannot wait for Mockingjay to come out in a few weeks! I read the Bride Quartet books, then I shamefully read the Pretty Little Liars series, which is like 8 books of drama after drama, but I cant help it, I love a good mystery! I should add that besides the city of bones trilogy, I read all of these this summer, along with some other stupid trilogies that were so mindless I am too embarrassed to even mention them here. And Ive read some of these series multiple times and I have not gotten bored with them yet. What is my problem? Ive been pondering this question more and more as I have begun to reread all of the Harry Potters. Id like to say that I am only reading these again because I have yet to find a public library here in Knoxville, but I know thats not really the case! I think my problem is that I become too attached to the characters. Not in an Im obsessed, I need to marry Edward Cullen way but more in a whats next for them kind of way. Its almost as if Im not satisfied with just one story for them, I want to read more now that Ive gotten to know them. Does that make sense? Anyways Im not sure I will get over this illness I have and Im not sure I want to. I mean why should anyone else care if I am rereading them? In fact I am going to keep on reading them

Still Going Strong

Sunday, August 8, 2010
Happy 23rd wedding anniversary to N.J. and MaryAnne! What good-looking parents I have!

Let me just say

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

aking up early in the morning to go lay out by the pool with a good book is quite possibly my favorite thing to do in the whole world! There is nothing more relaxing! I use to dream about days like this when I was still in Ohio and I would sit out on my deck hoping to get some sun while I read, and it would just get so unbelievably hot and there was nothing I could do but go back inside. Now I can jump in my pool! Do I sound a little bratty? Or spoiled? Because I think I might be. Sorry, sorry!! Im just really excited!! And hopefully Im getting really tan!! You should also know that this is one of my only activities here in Knoxville because I do not have friends here, there isnt even anyone at church who is my age! But I am quite content to spend the day alone by my pool! However if you would like to join me in my state of bliss please feel free!

Dove Chocolate
Sunday, September 5, 2010

do not know when I put it there, but today in Sunday school I found an old Dove Chocolate wrapper in my scriptures that I had saved. For those of you who dont know, there is usually a quote on the inside of most Dove chocolates. I usually find these quotes or sayings a little humorous but I dont usually save them. The one that I did however said this:

Laugh until your heart overflows

After reading this I decided that it is one of my all time favorite quotes! Laughter is one of the fundamental things I need in my life to survive! I love that all of my roommates can make me laugh, I love that weve been laughing 24/7 while Jens friends have been in town and I love that my whole family can make me laugh! Every single sibling of mine is hilarious in his or her own way and we have so many inside jokes together that a single word can bring us to tears from laughter. I think children laugh way more than adults do and this is a problem that I hope never happens in my life! Besides, laugh lines are beautiful!

20 Years Ago Today

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

wenty years ago I was born in the city of Orem, Utah! I was the smallest baby out of the five children, but one of the biggest babies around the one-year mark! To give you a little mental image (because all of the pictures of me at this age are no where to be found) I was the baby version of the Michelin tire man! My arms and legs were roll after roll after roll. My parents once told me that I was so fat as a baby that it looked like someone stomped on my butt with golf shoes! Yes it is a pleasant image for everyone! SO here are some pictures of me at a cuter age! So now I am officially no longer a teenager! I have entered my twenties and I am no longer an adolescent! So I am officially twenty years old. My roommates made an amazing dinner for me last night, I officially love them! (Can I use the word officially enough?) It seems weird that weve only been living together for a week and a half. Theyre awesome!! And tonight I am going out to dinner with some of my alltime favoritesssss for my birthday! I am very excited! My roommates were making fun of me because I took a very long time making my wish in my head before blowing out my candles. Apparently I make very calculated wishes. I think it is because I am careful what I wish for. I know that sounds so cheesy but Im superstitious in that everything I have wished for has come true. So cross your fingers that my wish comes true this year! Cant tell you what it is though! Anyways I hope your September 8th is as fabulous as mine!

Harry Freaking Potter

Thursday, November 18, 2010

t is the night we all have been waiting for...Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1. It is the beginning of the end. I feel especially sentimental because I have grown up with Harry Potter. The first book came out in the U.S. right before my 8th birthday. And the first film was released when I was 11. In elementary school we used to have scholastic book fairs where you would bring in money and go with your class to the library where you could buy some new books. I would usually end up spending all of my money on a Lisa Frank folder or a flower bookmark instead of actually buying books. (I guess my nerdyness developed over time). I remember seeing posters of a new book called Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone the week before the scholastic book fair. The cover had a boy flying on a broomstick with a unicorn in the background...and I thought, this is sooo not my type of book. My type of book back then was still picture books mind you. My mother told me not to buy this book at the fair (not because it was witchcraft and sorcery) but because my grandparents were going to buy it for my sister and me. Though I did not say it then (because I was a perfect child) I thought, no worries there mom, I would not waste my money on that book. Instead I wasted my money on one of those diaries that had a lock and a key and there was no way anyone could get into it without the key. Right. I dont think it was until the third book came out which was actually my birthday, September 8, 1999 that I began to start reading the Harry Potter books. Being of the older and more mature age of 9 I thought I could handle these books. In actuality Im pretty sure my mom read the first one to me and Rosanna read the second one to me because my slow reading was too frustrating for her. By the time the fourth book came out we were already at the obsessed stage (along with the rest of the world) of dressing up to go to the midnight release of the book at Barnes and Noble. After that it was a fight every time there was a new book as to who got to read it first (with Rosanna usually winning because she could read the fastest). The release of the movies only heightened the obsession with my generation especially because we were technically in the same year as Harry and the gang in the movies up until the fifth movie when filming began to take longer on the later films. We have watched these actors grow up with us, and it is amazing how well theyve handled their stardom. They have not had negative press nor have they been sucked into Hollywood drama. They have been perfect role models for us to grow up with. I think it is safe to say that this Harry Potter obsession is a healthy one. No other series (book or film) has had this great of an impact on society. The choices made with regards to casting has been one of the smartest moves in the past decade and the messages the books give are positive and uplifting, for the most part. So I hope everyone enjoys this next movie and for the book lovers, try not to pick apart any decisions the director has made with regards to the addition or subtraction of any scenes from the novels, it will be hard for me to resist as well but some things work better than others on the big screen. It will be a sad day this summer as we watch the final installment of the Harry Potter films but its funny to see how far the books and movies have come since 1998 and 2001. Im just glad I gave the books a chance because I have loved them ever since.

London
Thursday, February 3, 2011

am going back to Europe and I am over the moon about it!! In the fall I will be going to London for study abroad with my school!! It is the most exciting news Ive gotten in a long time! I dont leave until August, and thats far away...thats the only bad part! Here is where I will be living for four months in the fall! This is the BYU London Centre. Two adjoined Victorian townhouses just off Kensington Gardens. I am getting giddy just looking at this picture! I am very excited if you couldnt tell! It is still far away so Ill update again when I learn more! Gahh Im just so excited!

Im Back
Tuesday, August 30,

am back to London. I am back to school and I am back to blogging. I took a little break if you didnt realize, but I plan on updating you on some highlights of the summer...eventually. But this post calls for a recap of my first day in London (although it feels like its been 3 days since I left Tennessee). After picking up some last minute things at target my mom brought me to the airport and we both flashed our pearly whites and the airline agent (who was a very young guy to be working at the airport) let me check my 49.5 pound and 55 pound bags without an extra fee for the weight!! Thank goodness! The real trouble started in Detroit when I was supposed to meet my friend Maggie and we would get on the flight to London together. Instead her flight was delayed and I asked the lady at the desk if we could wait 5 minutes for their flight and she said that would be fine. So I get on the flight waiting for Maggie and the plane door shuts and that was that. So there I am sitting next to a smelly old man, too uncomfortable to sleep or even sit still for 5 minutes. I did not

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enjoy that. When I got off the plane I kind of followed this American family just in case I didnt know what I was doing. But it turns out I knew more than them so we all went through customs together (which took an hour and a half) Im not sure why so many people were flying into London at the same time. Once I picked up my bags I realized I have to get and pay for a taxi by myself to get to the BYU center because Maggie is not with me. I was really being dramatic in my mind because it was actually completely fine (except for the 65 pound charge for the 4550 minute ride ughoo). After I brought all my bags up the 55 stairs and into my room Laurels mom and dad took some of us girls out for some breakfast/lunch and the minute I sat down all of the energy drained from my body and the jet lag really started to get to me. I couldnt take a nap when I got back though because I still had to unpack and a couple of us girls went to the nearest tube station to buy oyster cards for the week. Which are just unlimited tube/bus passes for the week. And then here is where the real kicker was for all of us. We headed out on a walk from palace court through Hyde Park and Kensington gardens and green park and over to Buckingham palace and big ben. And right in front of those most photographed lions in front of the national gallery.

The First Weekend

Sunday, September 4, 2011

thought we had the week pretty free for ourselves, but to have all of Saturday just to explore the city was absolutely amazing! We did not sleep in on Saturday, instead we left the center by 8:30ish and headed down the road for some morning smoothies. (There are no meals offered on Saturday in the center). However that smoothie was not very filling and that constant hunger feeling was settling in nicely. Our minds quickly left our stomachs once we hit Portobello market though. It was fantastic! We walked almost all the way down the market, bartering our way through purchases and keeping an eye on some things we will definitely come back for! We heard a really cool band playing on the street, the Ryan OReily band. Were all huge fans. We might see them play again in some pub this weekend. Next stop: lunch. Probably the highlight of our day because for the first time since we have been here, we were genuinely full! We went to a place called proper burger or something like that and it was hot and delicious! After lunch we decided to go see if there were any concessions for any shows later that night. So we got the address of the Savoy on the strand where legally blonde the musical is playing and got a good deal on tickets for that night. The next stop after buying the tickets obviously had to be getting something pink to wear to the show. So we went back to Oxford Street and our fav store Primark. When we got home I skyped with my dad and brother and sister for a little bit and then we all got ready for the show!

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And that was my second time seeing legally blonde the musical but I LOVED it! I could see where they added in some British humor and it just made it even funnier! The only places really open after the show were McDonalds and pizza hut...but this pizza hut was like a nice sit down restaurant with serves and everything. I mean not the best food in the world but definitely not the worst (see last post for example of one of the worst). The bus took a little while to get home after that because of all the traffic and the tubes stopping that late at night but when we got home, we crashed. We were all split up earlier in the week to go to different wards and branches in the stake. I am with 4 other girls and we left for church around 7:30 am to be there by 9am. We had to switch tubes and walk for a bit but it definitely wasnt as long of a trip as we thought it would be. The chapel was little and with chairs instead of benches but it seemed to fill up nicely. Roughly around 70 people today but the RS president told us there should be around 100 members. About 3/4 of the ward are African or Africans who grew up in the UK most of their lives, like our RS President, and the last 1/4 is mostly Asian and only a few British families. When we walked in those who were there came up and introduced themselves and some gave us hugs and they knew we were here from BYU so they were very excited when we said wed be here until December. We got a lot of oh the Bishop will definitely put you to work. There didnt seem to be a lot of youth but there were a lot of primary kids, making a lot of noise through the meeting. They were definitely adorable though. The Bishop wasnt there today so next week he will give us callings. Im really excited; I think they definitely need our help.

Forever 21
Friday, September 9, 2011

decided my birthday needed its own post. So after breakfast we met for a little while to talk about what we would be doing at the British museum that day. We had some time to kill so we went shopping, returned some stuff to Primark (the store is not as awesome as we once thought) and we went shopping at H&M and got some DCs from McDonalds for fuel for the day. At the top of the British museum there is this separate room filled with thousands of works of art that arent finished or journal entries and studies from artists. Only 10 of us could go in at a time and we were only allowed to bring in a sketchbook and a pencil into the room. Just walking into that room was amazing. There were thousands of leather binders lining the walls, with ladders to get to the high places (always wanted a library like that since Id seen beauty and the beast). Our art professor selected the pieces we would be seeing and booked this room

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like 3 months in advance. They were all covered at first because theyre light sensitive but other than that they were propped up on a table with just a sheet of plexiglass in front of them. we could get as close to the drawings without actually touching them. There were drawings from Michelangelo, Raphael, Rubens, Rembrandt, Pierre Paul PrudHon Baldassae Penzzi, Jean Francois Millet, Andrea Del Verrochio, Van Gogh and Durer. The Van Gogh piece was a landscape he made when he moved to the south of France and was waiting for some art supplies from his brother. The Michelangelo pieces included a study of Adam from the Sistine chapel. You could see areas where he messed up and didnt get it right the first time, where he redid the angles and direction of the legs or arms of the model. You could tell that he had sat there for hours trying to get it right and the muscles perfect. This was probably his fourth attempt or so making the chapel his fifth. Besides the Adam drawing, my very two favorites were Verrocchios drawing of a woman, probably meant to be Venus or some nymph. It was just her head in the drawing but I loved the soft and dark lines in her hair and face and how many times he reworked the eyes and face. My other favorite was Michelangelos only surviving portrait drawing. He had many other portrait paintings but this is the last drawing. And he would only draw people he felt were really beautiful or close to him. This was a portrait of his friend who was also his student. You could see where it endured some damage over time. I loved this special gallery we got to see. I walked out of it almost emotional. It was like we got to see these things that we see as sacred to the art world from these artists a lot of us look up to. I was on a high after that! Best birthday present ever! After the museum we went home and did some more homework and writing and thought about going out to dinner for my birthday is dinner was unappetizing again but alas, it was the very best meal we have had. And it was just chicken with little baby corn and salad! Heaven! We are definitely requesting that meal again, because she cooks a different meal every single night unless we request a favorite. She also made cheesecake (were not sure if this was for my birthday or not because she has never made dessert) and everyone sang, it was cute but that always embarrasses me. Then for the win, we went out to Covent Garden for Vogues Fashion Night Out. AMAZING! A lot of the shops were giving away some free stuff and you could enter drawings to win shopping sprees. Then in the market plaza there was this mini fashion show set up and a photo booth you could go in and it would print your picture on the cover of vogue. They also had a booth set up for people to get their hair, nails and make up done. This lady did my nails with this really cool print thing and this guy curled my hair (although it fell flat in like 20 minutes, figures). It was so much fun and a great way to end my birthday, that and skyping with my parentals when we got back!! What a great day, I should turn 21 every day.

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