Awful.

MAN I AM AWFUL AT BLOGGING LATELY! 

:(

And the sad thing is...I love blogging.

Anyway I guess an update is in need.

Lately.

• Still love my job! I have the greatest boss ever, she works with my schedule, makes every day exciting, and she's a good friend! My job rocks!
• Cecilee is now a graduate and just got a scholarship to play soccer in Kansas. "There's no place like home." I'm SOOOO excited for her but I don't want her to leave. I just try not to think about the fact that I won't see her every day :( well I'm tearing up so I'm gonna stop at that.
• I'm not good yet. BUT I have always loved photography so I'm trying to learn to be good so that people will want me to do some work for them one day! :) But it's a lot of fun and I can honestly say that I love doing it!
• I'm addicted to the Bachelorette. Who's going home next week?? I say Arie haha.
• I had a rerun of the whole college crap again, but this time I cried less and was much calmer. I only freaked for 2 hours as opposed to 2 weeks last time.
• I still dance all the time and I LOVE IT! I teach two cheer classes and a hip hop class and I love all the kids so much! It's soooooo much fun!
• I'm trying to learn how to jazz dance. I'm taking jazz with a bunch of 10 year olds but I don't care. It's more fun that way, they think I'm good when really I'm awful, it's great! :)
• I'm the "Community Service and Humanitarian Chair" in my YSA ward. So if you have any fun service projects or ideas please feel free to share.
• I still have the world's greatest boyfriends and feel so blessed to have him in my life. Love you Jeff!
• I've been more grateful for my family and friends after a tragedy took place with an amazing family. You never know when your time here on Earth is over so that's why we need to make the most of everything we do. Especially the relationships we have in this life, we need to make the most of them and let every single person know they are loved! :) If you were looking for a goal, make that the goal for the day and let me know how it goes!
• Another season of Dixie Chix is over, but this time we didn't have the championship title. But oh well, it was still a fun season!
• I LOVE TO SHOP! It's kind of a crime lately. Within the last two weeks I've gotten...prepare yourself...4 pair of pants (3 were colored skinnies which I desperately needed), 1 pair of shorts, 4 cardigans, 2 cute casual t-shirts, 2 dressy covers, 2 other random shirts, 1 dress, 1 pair of shoes, a bracelet, and a bag. I might have missed some but let's just pretend we don't know. BUT the good news is...everything was on sale, and Jeff bought a few of the things, so really it wasn't that much. HAHA. Don't judge me. I'm not shopping for like 3 months now so it all balances out! P.S. updated my fashion blog...check it out here!
• Everything Else!!!! Since the last time I blogged I've been to Oceanside, California and had a wonderful time. I've been to the "So you think you can dance" camp they had here in St. George and learned choreography from Twitch, Allison, and Ivan, all are incredible dancers. (This is bad to admit but I had no idea who any of them were when I went to the camp, woops.) I went to a City and Colour and Avett Brothers concert and had an awesome time up in Salt Lake! City Creek Mall is legit, I went to temple square for the first time and it was gorgeous, and I've discovered I love downtown SLC! I've seen Alladin once and Hairspray twice and loved both of them, definitely worth seeing. And last but not least...I get happier every day! :)

Well that's it for the update! Hopefully I can get back into the routine of blogging. But until next time, count your blessing, love your family, smile at absolutely everyone you pass, tell someone you love them every day, say your prayers, listen to good music, eat at least one not so healthy thing every day, and just be happy! :)

Here's a few pictures to go along with the updates...

 My first attempt at photography. Cec is gorgeous so it was easy.

 Cec's graduation!

 Another attempt at photography. :) Aren't they the cutest??

 Oceanside, California. LOVE.

 Best boyfriend ever and I in Oceanside!

 My wonderful family! I'm so grateful that families are forever!

 Us sad about the end of the season. Well most of us. HAHA.

 Is there something wrong with this picture? HAHA. I was busting up forever so I had to share it. Hopefully this leaves you with a good laugh!

I'M ALIVE!

Hello...My name is Cambria Irene Horlacher. Irene is a family name on both sides, in case you were wondering. I'm the oldest of four and the oldest grandchild on both sides. I'm kind of a diva sometimes (don't tell Jeff I admitted to it) but of course I get it from my mom. I love to dance, shop, try on clothes, watch movies of every kind (but mostly chick flicks haha), I love dessert, I sing every chance I get although I'm terrible at it, I never paint my finger nails, I love to laugh, I absolutely adore my family and boyfriend, I just finished the Book of Mormon and I'm passionate about the LDS church, I rarely sleep because I'm so busy all the time, and I am alive. Hahaha. 

I thought an introduction was suitable, seeing how it's been FOREVER since I've blogged. And oh how I have missed it. I rarely have free time but when I have free time it's usually spent with Jeff or my family, but I'm here blogging so what does that tell you? I'll give you a hint...Jeff is working, My mom is working, Dad is sleeping, Cec is working, and Trev and Syd are with their friends (I'm not cool enough) but I don't mind cause that means I get to blog! FINALLY! But I don't even know where to start. AH!

Well I got a new, super nice, beautiful camera! It's a Canon something something?? I can't remember the name and I'm too lazy to go grab it and look. Anyway, it's gorgeous and my gorgeous boyfriend surprised me with it for Valentines Day. I guess he got tired of me talking about getting a super nice camera. He's the sweetest! :) So I have been playing around with it, trying to take cool pictures. So if you have any tips please do share.

My new job...well I guess it's not so new anymore haha. BUT I LOVE IT! I love not having to live paycheck to paycheck. I make plenty doing something that I'm growing to love more and more. I do something completely different every day. The only down is I am never home, between my "new" job and working at Pizza Factory and teaching cheer and dancing!

I set a goal to read the Book of Mormon before General Conference and guess what...I did it! I started it about a month before General Conference, and since I have no time I listened to it all day at work and then read at night. I can't even begin to describe what an experience it is to read the Book of Mormon and praying to know it's true. I've done it before but every time it gets more and more powerful and my testimony gets more and more solid. I wish I had faith like Nephi, sincerity of Alma, Strength of Moroni, Dedication like the sons of Mosiah, humility of the father of Limhi, obedience of the Nephites after seeing Christ, a missionary like the 3 nephites, and the endurance of Mormon and Moroni, along with all the amazing people and stories in the book. I was reminded that it truly was written for us today. I know that it is true that a man can get closer to God through the Book of Mormon by abiding by it's precepts and I am truly grateful for it! And I know that by finishing it before Conference I was able to learn so much more from Conference for me. :) Hey, I told you I was passionate. 

  

 Dance is insane!!! These next few months are going to be insane. But one of my friends that I dance with lost her dad about a week ago, and we are doing a benefit concert for their family this upcoming April 23rd! Please come! :) It's entrance by donation. Anyway, that experience really made me more appreciative of the people I have in my life and it lit a fire to show everyone a little more that I love them. I don't know if I'm succeeding, but I am sure trying! 

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST...I'M ENGAGED!!!!! :) April fools. Haha. I missed April fools cause I was so engrossed in Conference so there was my little joke. Laugh. It's healthy for you.

Well that's about all I can take for right now. Reminder to not get behind cause it's exhausting to try to catch up. But I'm gonna end with a quote that I heard today that I loved! It was said by President Thomas S. Monson, "...seek heavenly guidance one day at a time. Life by the yard is hard; by the inch it’s a cinch. Each of us can be true for just one day—and then one more and then one more after that—until we’ve lived a lifetime guided by the Spirit, a lifetime close to the Lord, a lifetime of good deeds and righteousness."

Answers.

Here are the answers to my Valentines story! Remember the answers are the gifts I gave...

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Raebmac, but everyone called her Rae. She was truly a sweetart, if you know what I mean. Princess Rae was in a hopeless state, she felt like she was looking for a lost symbol that she was never going to find. People were confused as to why she could be so down, she had everything; she had a beautiful crown, she was popular in all the land, she was talented physically and spiritually, she was beautiful, and she came from the greatest family but is seemed she always looking for s’more. Just as her heart was at the saddest it had ever been an Allycat came to her and demanded she follow her that very second. Princess Rae had been school mates with this Allycat, they weren’t good friends so it was weird that Ally would show up at this time but Princess Rae decided she would follow her just this once. Little did Princess Rae know that Ally had alterior motives to showing up at her time of need, Allycat wanted to use the Princess’s looks and popularity to get what she wanted. However, that was not what God had in store in the great milkyway galaxy. At the place Ally had taken the Princess there was a big hunky prince named Sekacyffej, or as his friends called him Seka. When Seka and Princess Rae first laid eyes on one another their hearts seemed to skittle together as one for just a second. The Allycat noticed this and was furious, she wanted Seka all to herself and she instantly started to regret bringing the Princess along. So she decided she needed to stay connected to Prince Seka the whole night. This disappointed Princess Rae but she didn’t expect anything amazing to come from this one night, she was just glad she was doing something to keep her heart from being sad and alone. At the nights end Princess Rae began her journey home alone, feeling hopeless again, knowing she would never see Prince Seka again. However, Prince Seka saw a special light in  Princess Rae that he didn’t want to pass up. The next day she received an invitation to be a frequent viewer of Prince Seka’s facebook account. Princess Rae was overjoyed and even a little flattered at his inquirey, but in the back of her mind knew that Allycat wouldn’t approve. Seka invited Rae to many events he was involved in, and time after time Rae refused, afraid of ruining what he and Ally had, or what Ally had led her to believe they had. One day Princess Rae decided to ask him why he kept asking her to these events when he had a princess of his own, Ally. Prince Seka just about choked of shock, he refused any relation with Ally and assured Rae that she had nothing to worry about, Ally wanted him but he had no desire to pursue her. In fact, he hadn’t even seen her again after that night. After much reassurance was given he was finally able to twix Princess Rae into going out with him. He instantly won her heart with his sweet music and lyrics, and his dreams of becoming a great and mighty physicians assistant, and his desire to take her on adventures with him, such as traveling around the world in 80 days.  He warned her that there will probably be many sour patches on this journey with him but that no matter what he would always love her with his whole heart and never hold anything back from her. She was touched by his love and knew that nothing would come between them. Not even bridewars, those are the worst kind of wars after all, or so the stories have said. They loved each other with their whole hearts, and they grew more and more in love every day. People would say the best thing about their love was that they were continually becoming greater together, moving forward with hope, faith, and charity. Eventually they lived happily ever after, I say eventually because of course it took time, and nothing great ever comes without opposition. But the point of the story is that they did live happily ever after, forever and ever…The End!

Happily Ever After.

So it's a little late, but better late than never! :)

For Valentine's day I made up a fairy tale with mine and Jeff's little story, BUT I used fill in the blank with my gifts. So go ahead and give it a try before I give you the answers.
Of course roles were dramatized to make the story more fairy taleish and more interesting! Haha :)
Have fun!

 Our very first picture together!

Word (Gift) Bank:  Lost Symbol, Sweetart, Milkyway, S'more, Skittles, Big Hunk, Bridewars, Aroundthe World in 80 Days, Music & Lyrics, Sour Patches, Light, Physicians Assistant, and Twix.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Raebmac, but everyone called her Rae. She was truly a    , if you know what I mean. Princess Rae was in a hopeless state, she felt like she was looking for a                that she was never going to find. People were confused as to why she could be so down, she had everything; she had a beautiful crown, she was popular in all the land, she was talented physically and spiritually, she was beautiful, and she came from the greatest family but is seemed she always looking for             . Just as her heart was at the saddest it had ever been an Allycat came to her and demanded she follow her that very second. Princess Rae had been school mates with this Allycat, they weren’t good friends so it was weird that Ally would show up at this time but Princess Rae decided she would follow her just this once. Little did Princess Rae know that Ally had alterior motives to showing up at her time of need, Allycat wanted to use the Princess’s looks and popularity to get what she wanted. However, that was not what God had in store in the great                  galaxy,                  . At the place Ally had taken the Princess there was a                    prince named Sekacyffej, or as his friends called him Seka. When Seka and Princess Rae first laid eyes on one another their hearts seemed to                together as one for just a second. The Allycat noticed this and was furious, she wanted Seka all to herself and she instantly started to regret bringing the Princess along. So she decided she needed to stay connected to Prince Seka the whole night. This disappointed Princess Rae but she didn’t expect anything amazing to come from this one night, she was just glad she was doing something to keep her heart from being sad and alone. At the nights end Princess Rae began her journey home alone, feeling hopeless again, knowing she would never see Prince Seka again. However, Prince Seka saw a special               in  Princess Rae that he didn’t want to pass up. The next day she received an invitation to be a frequent viewer of Prince Seka’s facebook account. Princess Rae was overjoyed and even a little flattered at his inquirey, but in the back of her mind knew that Allycat wouldn’t approve. Seka invited Rae to many events he was involved in, and time after time Rae refused, afraid of ruining what he and Ally had, or what Ally had led her to believe they had. One day Princess Rae decided to ask him why he kept asking her to these events when he had a princess of his own, Ally. Prince Seka just about choked of shock, he refused any relation with Ally and assured Rae that she had nothing to worry about, Ally wanted him but he had no desire to pursue her. In fact, he hadn’t even seen her again after that night. After much reassurance was given he was finally able        to    Princess Rae into going out with him. He instantly won her heart with his sweet                     , and his dreams of becoming a great and mighty                         , and his desire to take her on adventures with him, such as traveling                                     .  He warned her that there will probably be many                 on this journey with him but that no matter what he would always love her with his whole heart and never hold anything back from her. She was touched by his love and knew that nothing would come between them. Not even                , those are the worst kind of wars after all, or so the stories have said. They loved each other with their whole hearts, and they grew more and more in love every day. People would say the best thing about their love was that they were continually becoming greater together, moving forward with hope, faith, and charity. Eventually they lived happily ever after, I say eventually because of course it took time, and nothing great ever comes without opposition. But the point of the story is that they did live happily ever after, forever and ever…The End!

Laughter is Music to the Soul.

Photobooth Fun!

It was so cute cause my Grandparents hadn't ever seen this before so it was fun to play around with it with them! We all laughed until we cried! 

Memories like that are truly priceless.

 She looks like a cartoon, but we all couldn't put our finger on it. Any ideas?

 Don't tell my grandma I put this one up...She would kill me! :) HAHA

 Cec, that's a great look!

 It doesn't get much better than that! HAHAHA

I love this picture of us, I think it really shows off our personalities LOL!

 It's Jeff the frog.

 Really, look at Jeff in this one! What in the world?

I love laughing! 

I think the world needs more of it.

Hopefully these silly pictures made you smile at least.

We all have something in our life worth smile or laughing about.

Don't forget to take the time to find it each day!! :)

IDK.

I don't even know where to begin. 

I feel like I've been out of the blogging world for so long that I don't know where to begin. 

Okay, so it's only been like 2 or 3 weeks, but it feel like longer.

So the title of this post...IDK (I don't know) describes how I feel about where to begin with blogging and maybe a little bit about life. Haha.

Let's start with a brief catch up.

I love my new job! I've learned so many new things already and I'm always doing new things.

It pays me good :) enough said.

I still work at the good ol' PFE.

I love the people I work with and I love it there, I just don't love the whole go from one job to the next thing.

I love teaching cheer, and I feel like I get a little better at it every time.

I love dancing every chance I get.

The more I dance the more I realize the therapy it does for my body and soul.

Remind me to never stop!

I leave my house at 9 almost every day and don't get home til 9:30 at the soonest.

I try really hard to show the loved ones in my life that they are loved by me.

I'm constantly on the go, BUT I'm happy!

So that's all that matters :)

Well I don't know what else to say right now...but stay tuned for the catch up post on the life changing fireside, Valentines day, Vegas day trip, and a few other things from my heart. I wish I had the energy to write it all right now, but I don't haha so love you all and goodnight! :)

This is how we do it...

  I know I've said it before...but I LOVE KALAMITY! This was an amazing article done on something I hold dear to my heart, my Kalamity Fam Bam and the Vault. If you've heard me talk about Kalamity and didn't really understand why I was so passionate about it, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read this and maybe you can grasp just a little view of why I love it so much! Go ahead a leave feedback if you feel so inspired to :)

-Enjoy

Kalamity: Service In Motion | Alive! Utah South

aliveutah.com

By: Linne Marsh

Photos courtesy of Kalamity Dance or Linne Marsh

It’s 9:30 at night. The Vault dance studio is thick with the humidity of the previous Hip Hop class. As the lingering students exit the studio, 15 women remain. After a quick meeting, the music is on, and they are moving in perfect rhythm to the beat. This isn’t your average group of dancers; this is Kalamity, a unique service-centered dance crew. When calamity strikes, Kalamity uses their talent to raise awareness for families in need.

Let’s Start at the Beginning

Tia Ah Quin Stokes, professional dancer and founder of Kalamity, moved back to Southern Utah from Southern California four years ago. Upon her return she was sad to discover St. George offered no dance classes for adults. While teaching a seminar at USA (United Spirit Association), she met a couple girls from St. George, and they got together and started dancing as a way to have fun. This was the humble beginning for Kalamity. It was originally founded as a way to get adults dancing and sharing their passion for movement, but tragedy struck when Tiffany, one of the crew members, was diagnosed with cancer for the second time. Tia decided to put together a concert and raise money for Tiffany’s medical bills. It was this experience that solidified Kalamity’s purpose: the members of the crew would dedicate every step, move, and beat to raise money for real life calamity.

The Cause

Each year Kalamity is invited to perform for multiple causes throughout the community and state, but they select only one cause as their overall focus for a year. It is an especially difficult task to choose one cause because many people would benefit from Kalamity’s help. Tia confesses, “I know there are a lot of people with problems, but we want to make sure it’s a family that isn’t well known and trying to do things on their own—somebody who really needs it.” Last year Kalamity focused on raising funds for Jeanette Bracken, a single mother of six kids suffering from Polycystic Kidney Disease. From July 2011 through December 2011, Kalamity and The Vault dance studio helped raise 8,600 dollars to be put toward the cost of her transplant surgery.
This year Kalamity is raising awareness for “Mighty” Meg. Meg is the mother to two girls and the wife of a loving husband, Josh. They are an eternally optimistic family, but she suffers from a rare cancer called Chondrosarcoma. It is a debilitating, painful disease that often forces her to remain in bed, but she continues to be hopeful about her situation. On the family blog, Josh posted,
“Meg is strong. She won't complain. She has never taken the stance of, ‘Why Me’. Although we don't understand why some of us have to endure such things as cancer, we don't question God and his role in our lives. We do believe in miracles. We do believe there is a miracle out there for Meg. We don't know what that miracle looks like, but we believe it is there.”
I had the unique experience to sit in on the meeting when Meg’s cousin came and introduced the story to Kalamity. As she told Meg’s story, the spirit of the room changed. Almost every person had tears forming. They were truly moved by Meg’s story and decided then and there that she would be their focus for 2012.

Spreading the Word

In the beginning, it was difficult to gain awareness for their cause because people in St. George had to overcome a stigma with hip hop dancing, but now Kalamity is a cool way to serve the community. In fact, this is the first year they’ve had local companies volunteer as sponsors for the cause. And Kalamity’s mission is spread over social networking websites, like Facebook and the Kalamity blog, but the main source of advertising continues to be word of mouth, and The Vault has a lot of dancers who spread the word. Tia says “It’s not just Kalamity. The whole studio gets involved. The cause becomes the center of the studio. It’s all we talk about. After the performances, I even have some of my young dancers running up to their parents and saying, ‘I met Jeanette Bracken today!’ Like she’s a celebrity.” And to the students she is because the idea of serving others is a founding principal for the studio. Because of the influence of Kalamity, children and adults attending Vault classes learn more than just how to dance; they learn compassion and service. And because of Kalamity and The Vault’s excitement about the cause, more people in southern Utah are taking the opportunity to help families in our community.

The Crew

It takes a very special type of dancer and person to sacrifice as much as these women do, but for them it’s more than dancing; it’s a way of life. All the members make at least a year commitment to Kalamity, but many volunteer more. Most of the members have been a part of the team for at least a year and half, and a few have been on since the very beginning (4 years!). They travel the state performing shows, collecting donations, and raising awareness for specific causes throughout the year. These women not only sacrifice time with family and occasionally school and work, but they also willingly pay for costumes, travel, and everything else for performances out of their own pocket. One hundred percent of what they earn goes to “Mighty” Meg.
The 2012 Kalamity crew is currently an all-female team comprised of Tia Stokes, Alexa Ford, Latisha Springer, Erin Burk, Erin Hafen, Becky Hanley, Shay Garcia, Cambria Horlacher, Sami Maw, Josy Alldredge , Lauren Reber, Amber Tirey, Ashley Blake, Jen Olsen, and Sam Wolsleger.. The group ranges in ages from 18 to 29, 8 are married, 6 have kids, and 2 are pregnant. Tia jokes, “There are no exceptions. We all dance pregnant. We dance until we’re 9 months, pop out a kid, and get right back a week later.” And in some cases this is true.

When I asked them what some of their most memorable moments were, I was met with silence. Eventually a couple girls volunteered some stories, but it’s difficult for the team to choose poignant moments from the past because everything they do is important. Tia says, “We have a lot of [important] moments—everything from performing to fundraising. People don’t realize it’s a lifestyle. Once you become a part of it, it’s like an addiction.” She openly admits that she wouldn’t be the dancer she is today without the amazing blessings associated with Kalamity, and Kalamity attributes most, if not all, of their success to a higher power. They may not all be part of the same religious organization, but they agree that someone or something more powerful than them guides the team as they dedicate time, energy, and movement to the cause and they are truly eager and excited to raise awareness for “Mighty” Meg and her family.
Check out these gals' moves and find out why you always see them wearing converse tennis shoes.

Performance Schedule

Kalamity plans only one performance during the first week of December to benefit their cause, but they end up performing much more. Last year they participated in 6 large performances, including Break the Silence in Salt Lake City, a benefit show in Kanab, and other local events. So far this year they have traveled to Las Vegas and performed with other local dance companies at St. George Heritage Days for the 150th birthday celebration.
Their upcoming plans include a performance at the SUU 8th Annual Step Show on February 24th in the SUU Auditorium, and a Humanitarian Aid trip to Mexico, where they will participate in various projects and hopefully sneak in a dance performance or two. In addition to performances, Kalamity heads multiple fundraisers throughout the year. For more information about Kalamity’s upcoming fundraisers and performances check their website:

http://www.thevaultdance.com/kalamity.php

Or Visit them on Facebook.