"People who read the tabloids deserve to be lied to”- Jerry Seinfeld

I’m not ashamed to say that celebrity gossip magazines are a form of media I indulge in on a regular basis, but after a while even a news hungry girl like me gets a little tired of some of the stuff they put out there, so as a result I have compiled a list of things I’m totally sick of hearing about!



May I present to you. . . . . .



Emily’s Top 5 magazine headlines she could go the rest of her life without reading!



1. Skinny Girls defending their weight-

Weight issues in Hollywood are old as it is, but more lately due to paparazzi being everywhere, unflattering photos surface all the time, such is the case with the likes of Jennifer Love Hewitt, Tyra Banks, and now Chloe Kardashian. Some crazy face takes a look at less then perfect pictures of them in swimsuits or their wedding dress and has the audacity to call them fat, and then they get the cover of People magazine defending themselves!

I looked it up and according to the American Obesity Association over 64% of America is overweight. So let me ask you something if a huge majority of the people who read these magazines have a weight problem, why on earth do they want to read about normal women defending their size!!!! Let me break it down for you, a persons fatness is determined by how many x’s are in their shirt size, and whether or not they have more then one chin! Not, if they have cellulite, or look less then perfect in white!


It’s not news when you already know they aren’t fat!



2. Jon and Kate Plus Eight

Kate is a bit of a nag and Jon sort of stopped caring, and I would venture to say having their personal lives put out there for everyone to see probably got to them, so let’s give them a break and stop giving a stupid play by play of every mistake they make! I was as surprised as anyone when the original announcement was made, but over half of the marriages in America end in divorce, so this should not be a huge shock anymore!

3. Brad and Angelina separating-

Sometimes I think it’s these darn gossip magazines that break people up. . . . For example! Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey were happy as clams, until slowly but surely stories kept creeping up about how unhappy they were and they’d defend themselves but sure enough after enough poking and prodding, they eventually called it quits . . . why, probable because they got so worn out from having to defend themselves all the time and things got too hard!

Well let’s not let the same thing happen to Brad and Angelina, they have like 35 kids for heavens sake!

On another note, I think it should be against the law for people to divorce after having or adopting more then 4 kids! Have you ever tried tending to more then 4 children all by yourself, that’s rough! When you decide to have kids, especially a ton of them, I think it no longer becomes about what you need or if you are “Happy”. I say you kind of lose all rights to be selfish when you bring children into your home, and especially when you go on a child shopping spree around the world. Come on Brangelina stay together for the children, you started the collection of little ones together, and you should end it that way!

4. Anything involving Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt-

These people are obnoxious and serve no purpose, other then raising my blood pressure! If you don’t know who they are, good, let it stay that way. . . .They have done nothing to deserve the little fame they do have.

5. Celebrities hitting up Rehab-

Let’s face it kids, this kind of story is older then dirt! Who doesn’t go to rehab these days? I almost contemplated getting a substance abuse problem myself for the sole purpose of hitting up a Betty Ford because I mean . . . if that’s where the stars are hanging out . . . you get the picture!

Dear OK, Star, US Weekly, and People,

Let it be noted, said stories are driving me crazy! Please give me less of them! Thank you for your consideration!

Your Biggest Fan,
Emily West

Peace Out!!!!

". . . . Heading for the nineties, living in the Wild Wild West, The Wild Wild West!"- Escape Club

I'm here to tell you people that dreams do come true!!!!


Why do I declare this to you now. . . . . let me explain. . . . .


Last year I tried to get our single adult ward to let me plan a Western themed party mainly due to the fact that I wanted some activity involving a Mechanical Bull, it had been something I hadn't ever tried and especially something our ward had not attempted, and I had found memories of this great place in Idaho Falls called "North Forty" where they had an arcade, a sweet Karaoke set up, a bar complete with Sarsaparillas and of course a Mechanical Bull! That place closed shortly after my Idaho friends and I discovered it, which was a sad day, so in order to recreate the Magic of that place I tried to convince the ward to let me plan a party, but that was shot down due to liability and all that mumbo Jumbo!. . . . . but never fear I was givin' a second chance to try my idea out once I was elected Programming Director at Big Bend, I was met with some skepticism. . . . but after enough prawding I got Kim on board and before I knew it we had a Back To School Western BBQ planned and ready. . . complete with a Bull and a bunch of other cool stuff!

Karaoke got shot down because we figured it be too difficult to get people to participate, so instead my good buddy JeriAnn Lincoln and her father who just so happen to play the good old Country Western tunes so they got hired to play, and we were set for entertainment, sarsaparillas got shot down because no one knows what they are, but we did have an amazing BBQ sauce fountain and delightful steak and chicken skewers to eat along with corn on the cob and baked beans. . . so as you can see I wasn't too upset! I was really just pleased I got my way and we were able to get our mechanical bull on!


Ok enough writing let's get to the pictures!



Rhoan with his stick horse stead!



Here's CJ with a tip of the hat as well and that's Carmen in the green doing a great job of supervising the inflatables!

Here is Makenzie Morrison cowboying it up!

Here's some lovely ladies from the Volleyball team rustlin' up some grub!

Here's Jeff eating with his mouth full like the polite one he is!

We found an Old Time Photo vendor who came with full costumes and props to really help us get in the spirit of things!

here's Carmen and Ginna trying on stuff without permission. . . . yeah that went over well!

Here's a little shot of me at the saloon right after I robbed the local bank!

Jeff and Ivory Ranstrom and Makenzie Morrison and I manned the hippity Hoppity Horse race course, but we didn't have a lot of patrons so we just sat and ate and watched people make fools of themselves on the bull. . . . that was until. . . .

This little girl showed up and I challenged here to a duel. . . . let's see what happens. . . .

Oh yeah don't you worry we had a calf ropin' event. . . most people weren't very successful especially jeff as you can tell by his face!

or this guy. . . . but bless his heart, he kept tryin' and tryin, and tryin' and seriously just kept tryin' ,it was glorious to observe!

Now for the moment you've all been waiting for. . . . . . IT'S BULL RIDIN' TIME!

Makenzie's all like "Let's do this"!

Ginna Fontaine, arm up and ready to whirl!

Nice dismount!

Mr. Ranstom ready to show the bull who's boss!

woah. . . steady. . . . . steady

and he doesn't last!

Charles Nun even gave it a shot, but by the looks of it, was thwarted as well!

You know my blog just wouldn't be my blog without unflattering shots of myself, posted for the world to see. . . .so here you are. . . .and enjoy!

The mounting of the bull was slightly difficult due to the fact that I am not only short. . . . but also chubby

but I made it by golly! First attempt was rough, I tried about 5 or 6 times with no dice, luckily my good buddy ginna offered me a boost, and then I was ready to GO!

Didn't last long though. . . . and down I went, quite gracefully if I do say so myself!

Morrison was kind enough to get footage of my 2nd attempt on the bull. . . .

I know, I know. . . . I just really have a body built for this kinda stuff!!!!

So back to the original statement about dreams. . . . . . To all you Kids out there, I'm living proof that if you bug enough people, eventually your wishes are granted. . . . and that's the truth!

So Dream Big or go home, those are my pearls of wisdom for the day!

Peace out!

". . . .After the Boys of summer have gone!"- Don Henley

Wow! It's September 1st! which for some reason to me means summer is over! Now, it's still hot outside, I don't start school for another 3 weeks, and according to my calendar September 21st is the legitimate final day of summer, but when ever August is officially over, I feel the need to break out my bulky grey sweater, start stalking up on pencils and glue, or run out side and jump into a pile of leaves. You are still so far away Autumn equinox, and yet in my head you are already here!

My plans for the summer consisted of making as much money as possible and getting a wicked tan lounging by Grandma Earl's pool. . . . like everyday!

. . . . .I accomplished none of these things!

But it wasn't a total loss. . . I wouldn't say my summer was uneventful, it had some ups and downs but all in all I tried new thing, made memories with good friends, and maybe learned a life lesson or two!

I now present to you "Summer 2009". . . in pictures!

School got out the middle of June and a week after All the new ASB Officers headed up to Leavenworth for a little retreat, to start planning for the up and coming school year, kicked things off by going rafting, and if you remember from the pictures I posted before, it was an enjoyable experience for me. We stayed at Trailhead Lodge and was glorious!

We did get a lot of planning done, we also got a lot of eating done, in fact that was pretty much all

we did, eat. . . . plan. . . .eat. . . . plan. . . .eat. . . . plan. . . .Hot Tub. . . .sleep! I loved it!

Here's the whole gang together starting from left to right we got our Pub Man CJ Hatch, El Presidente Rhoan Ashby, Me "The Programming Director", Secretary Rhen Ashby (soon to be Forrestor) VP Jeff Ranstrom, and our Treasurer Devin Peterson!

This is my official ASB Shot for our poster!

Angie's B-day followed shortly after and I was lucky enough two check two things off the life list

One being to finally see "Rent" on the stage! All my buddies and I fell in love with the movie when we saw it in the dollar theatre in Rexburg, and I couldn't wait to see it on the big stage. Man it did not disappoint, and the best part ever was it featured two guys that originated the lead roles when it first came out. . . Mr. Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp reprising their roles as Roger and Mark. Needless to say I was in Heaven!!!

Number two was I got a picture with these Fabulous ladies!!!!

I have a love for Drag Queens that I can't explain, maybe it's the sequins and the shoes. . . I don't know!

Also we had spa time which was a joyous occasion for all. . . you know what else is joyous the great hair day Michelle and I are having in this shot! PSYCH!

Random Pic Michelle took of me!

I lost a job


I got a job!

4th of July I went Jet Skiing for the first time!

Angie's Uncle Jeff and Aunt Becky invited us over for the holiday and they let me cruise around on this nifty toy. . . it was super fun. . . . even Angie and I tag teamed it. . . .which doesn't make us look like lesbians at all so don't even worry about it!

The Moment I had been waiting for almost a year went down mid July.

One of my Besties from High School and College Lacey Martin came to ML for her Grandmother's 90th Birthday along with her little sister Cassie and I was able to spend everyday with her while she was here and it was so Awesome! It's like we fell right back into our usual groove, and it was just like old times! This was probably the highlight of my summer, wait I take that back it WAS the highlight of my summer! Here's a few shots from the random things we did.

G-Ma's B-day at Craig and Kathleen Duvall's

The Scenic View near Vantage

Riding real horses at the Wild Horse Monument!

Taking in the sunset at the Stake Center after FHE

Cassie and Lacey Martin, Me, then Jill and Anne Baker!

One of my favorite summer activities is the Laser Light Show at the Grand Coulee Dam, the show has been the same since 1981, but every time I hear Neil Diamonds "America" come across the speakers and images of people migrating west flash over the water. . . .well a tear comes to my eye!

This is Qiana's BFF Clinton and I playing some cards waiting for it to get dark!

That's totally the Dam behind me!

No worries kids, I did get some pool time in here and there. On an occasional Saturday Angie, Baby, and I could be found chillin' out maxin' relaxin all cool!

"Q" loved the pool and it was way fun playing with her in the water!

I got attacked by this little monster. . . fortunately Angie came to my rescue!

I also hit up a couple Pool Party's at the Baker Residence. . . that was super!

I spent a good chunk of my summer with the Quincy crew, which was always a good time! My buddy Kelly Hodges is a Pro at making things fun, and this summer I owe a lot of good memories to him!

Sam Reynolds, Jocelyn Hodges, Me, and Eric Hull takin' in yet another beautiful sunset over the lake!

Mr. Hodges, Sam, and I hitting up Moses Pointe Stake House for the greatest dessert ever, the Half Baked Cookie!

I vowed I wouldn't, but attempted Paint Ball one more time, and this time I'm dead serious, i will not do this again, because you know what hurts even worse then getting hit in the butt. . . oh yeah that's getting hit in the boob! Thanks Kelly! nice shot!

after many attempts, I finally got to go boating with my Q-Town possie, and it was as intense as I thought it would be, I totally got rocked, and my innards were not excited about what I was doing to them! Good times none the less!

Here's my crew on the lovely Columbia River! We got Joce, Dustin Peterson aka Pete, Christina Cox, Adam Ottley, Jill Piercy, and of course "The Hodge" himself

Me and Joce getting ready to roll! I'm totally lookin' forward to what is about to happen, can you tell?

Joce and Kelly being adventurous and jumping off the boat full speed! Totally safe!

This is my favorite picture of Kelly EVER! The life jacket was super cold!

Captain Ottley steering the ship!

Kelly asked me to tag along as he ran to Seattle for some errands and we had a nice bonding moment sharing our favorite jams on our ipods and just talking about life, we stopped in Kittitas and took in this little tourist attraction!

There are hundreds of these windmills and they cost millions of dollars and give us mediocre amounts of power, so I was told by my tourist guide Kelly! On clear days they make for an incredible shot of the Columbia Basin though, that was our main purpose for stopping by.

Not so clear, but oh well

I don't think my life would be complete without an opportunity to dress up. Angie and her brother Jared put together an Amazing Race activity for her family reunion and asked me if I could help out, I got stationed at the Japanese Gardens so naturally I dressed up as a Geisha to really add some authenticity to the game. Any who, I'd like to say I've never had so many funny looks, but that wouldn't be true, so maybe top five would be more appropriate!

Then to top things off I hit up the Grant County Fair for my favorite events. the Demo Derby and the Rodeo, all of which did not disappoint! and this year my Mom let me time cars in the anouncers booth during the actual demolition part of the derby, so yeah that was a pretty big deal!

This summer was full of adventures some bad, some good, but either way I have nothing to complain about, I had plenty of good times, and that's all I can ask for!

I am so excited for the fall, I really love my new ASB Job, mainly because I get to plan fun activities, and I can't wait to see what this next year has in store!

Hope your summer was Super Sweet!

Peace out!