Christmas 2008

This was a very enjoyable Christmas. While we didn't have a lot of money, we still had an enjoyable time. I think that it helped us to focus on the real meaning of Christmas. The gifts to each other were mostly set aside and we were able to spend time with those we love.

On Christmas Eve, we spent time with the Lewis family. We had dinner, gift time, and games. Mike got a cool tool bag, I got a wire Eiffel Tower, and we both got a 72 hour kit. Very cool. I learned that I am horrible at Rock Band if you have me on the mike, but great if you have me on the drums! I enjoyed the drums very much. It was good times!

We woke Christmas morning to wrap some gifts up and made our way to the Proctor home. We enjoyed some family time there and got some more gifts. I got a new scarf, some cozy Christmas socks, earrings, and a magnetic organizer. Mike got a movie, a gift card (which he is VERY excited about,) and a little pocket screw driver set. We then made our way to visit grandparents.

First stop was at Grandma Winnie's home. Mark, Cameron, and Mike shoveled Grandma out. She had quite the snow accumulation from the last day or two and they made quick work at it. I discovered that you cannot quickly zip up a toddler's coat, you may pinch his neck skin, which doesn't feel very good, and he cries, and you feel bad. :( Aunt Nettie, Uncle Jim, Emily, Lindsey, Brandon, and Hannah also showed up. We gathered around and Grandma handed out her gifts. She was very generous. Mike got a screw driver set and I got a book, some things to put in plants, and a little jar.

After this, we headed over the Grandpa Jack's house, where we had fun visiting and also seeing Uncle Steve, Aunt Kathy, and Grandpa. We had a blast spinning Blakers around on a chair and watching him tumble as he tried to walk afterwards. His poor little eyes couldn't stay straight, but it was fun! We also had fun watching Miles chase after a ball that would move on its own. Right when he would get up to where it was, it would roll right past him in the other direction. It was definitely fun!

We ended up at the Skinner home where we enjoyed some ham, Grandma Proctor's potato salad, some orange fluff (yummmmm!) and homemade rolls. Blake and I made a leggo house and there was some fun going on with the new Wii that Santa brought the Skinner's. We couldn't get Mike to play Guitar Hero, but he rocked on the bowling, winning by about 30. He loves bowling and it makes him miss the real thing.

We got home from our Christmas Day to see this on our doorstep.

Christmas Light Overload

This is a house we found in West Jordan. It was a little overload on the lights. I made Mike turn around so that we could take pictures. It had many, many lights on the front lawn. It had snow flake lights that flashed and rotated. It had a candy cane light on top of the roof that would blink on and off. It was very busy, very bright, and I am sure that the family that lives here enjoyed it.

Please enjoy!

Temple Square 2008

On Sunday, Mike and I decided to make a trip up to Salt Lake, continuing the tradition that we had started last year. We toured the grounds of the Salt Lake Temple, which was very beautiful. It had snowed and snow covered the ground (and fell upon you from the Tabernacle roof.) The snow added to the beauty and just made it seem like Christmas. It didn't even seem to be too cold, although I did have thermals and a good coat on. Be prepared is what I always say!

Those that clear the snow away had obviously used a 4-wheeler, or something like this, to move the snow away from the front of the church office buildings. The snow was piled up at the East end of the property. I decided it would be fun to climb up on top, you know, be Queen of the Mountain. I kicked the snow to make a toe hold to climb up and it was FROZEN SOLID! I am pretty sure that I almost broke my toe! Don't just kick snow, make sure that it is soft before hand. Lessons learned the hard way.

Here are some of the pictures that we took, please enjoy them.

Remember the reason for the Season!
Mike's favorite nativity featured at Temple Square.

Word Choice

I am experimenting with word choice. I want to see if you can figure out what I am talking about. (This will be an example of bad word choice.)

This evening, after the decline of the sun, I opened the refrigerator in my cookroom. I was trying to arrive at a conclusion on what to concoct for repast. I had an avacado that needed to be used. I predetermined that I would create a repast for royalty out of my insubstantial offerings. I concocted some pasta. Whilst that boiled, I dissected my avacado. I also sectioned some cheese into little cubes. I grated a carrot. I united these elements together into a crock. Over the uppermost section, I poured Italian dressing. This established the most awe-inspiring, delectable salad. I would galvanize all to try it.

Now in English.

Tonight, I was trying to decide what to make for dinner. I saw that I had an avacado that needed to be used. Hmmm....an idea was forming. I cooked some pasta, cubed some cheese, cut the avacado and shredded a carrot. I combined this all together and poured Italian dressing over the top. It chilled while I was at round table and it was delicious! You should all try it some time! Simple, easy and inexpensive. Of course, Mike wouldn't try it. He missed out.

FINISHED!!

Mike has been feeling slightly ignored these last couple of weeks.

It doesn't help that he is home most of the time while I am at work and/or school.

He puts up with my piles of papers. They are all over. Really, a pile for each project.

He really put up with us going to the library for 3 hours while I compiled my portfolio for my Methods class, even though he kept shushing me as I 3-hole punched all my papers. (Who knew that a hole punch could be so loud?)

Mostly, Mike has put up with the new face he says I have grown, it is silver and has an apple on it.

But, his patience has paid off.

My unit plan was finished Saturday. My Teacher Work Sample was finished on Monday. My portfolio was put together by Monday night. I started my 10 page paper on Tuesday night (I probably shouldn't admit that until after I get the grade) and finished it at midnight last night. In between all of this, I read The Rover, which is a very interesting play if anyone would like to borrow it.

I learned that I could get some good thoughts down on a paper. If anybody wants a secret...Outline, and Introduce. Then, introduce each paragraph as a supporting to your introduction, throw in a quote, discuss the quote. If you do this in depth, you can get a long paper in no time. Oh the joy and the secrets I have learned in my college career.

I even took a final today. It was early. It was so blessedly easy, I enjoyed it. It was open note and I just had to find the information on the notes. I love those 1 credit classes where they feel they have to give a final, but make it so easy. Enjoyable.

I sadly went to my last methods class. I am going to miss methods. It is one of my favorite classes. Mostly because of Kay. It is also the class where I get to learn all the little methods and tips and secrets to teaching. I will really miss this class. But, I am SO EXCITED to put everything that I learned into practice starting in January at AF High! Lookout Cavemen, here I come!

Now, looking back on my college semester, I have three finals left. After all of the rush of big projects and papers that are due in the end of the semester, the finals always seem anti-climatic. This semester though, I will remember them. They are the last finals I will be taking. Forever. Unless I decide to get a Masters. I have to convince Mike of that first. Maybe one day. It may be awhile. I think I need a break from going to school. I would like to teach school first.

Yes, this has been a very chaotic last couple of weeks. Yes, I am so glad that they are coming to an end. Yes, I will miss going to school and seeing all the people that I have come to know (all my favorite friends.) Yes, I am excited to leave and enter the real world. Sorry, I am.

A new favorite!

For weeks, I have been hearing about this store called, Sunflower Market. I have heard that they sell produce for record lows and that it is very cost efficient to go there. I have heard about this place from my mom and sister and then recently, a friend from work. I decided I would have to check it out.

My, my, my, I was pleasantly surprised! They had Pears 2 lbs for $1, bags of carrots 4 for $5, Avocados 3 for $1 and grapes at .88 cents a pound! I loved it! I felt that I could splurge on fresh fruit and veggies that aren't going to cost an arm and a leg! Mike and I left with 3 loaded bags of fresh fruit and vegetables for only $12. If we had gone anywhere else, this would have been so much more expensive.

For those of you who don't know where this wonderful treasure is, it is in the old Ultimate Electronic building, on the corner of State Street and University Pkwy in Orem. It is in the same shopping center as America's Best. Definitely, stop by and check it out. Yummm...I think I may go eat a pear!

Update

This past week has been very busy. There were a lot of things that happened, both fun and not so fun. Here is a summary.

We had Thanksgiving. Now this was fun! We went to dinner with the Proctor side. Instead of a home styled Thanksgiving Dinner, we went to Chuck-a-Rama. I have never been out to eat for Thanksgiving before, and I must say, it was a little different. We got to spend lots of time playing with the boys while we waited to be seated, including me teaching Blake a song about how Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat. There was definitely a large variety of food to eat and I went home extremely full.

My sister Jennie came into town for the weekend, which was a blast! We don't get to see each other very often, because she lives far away :(, but it was fun to see her this weekend. My family has a tradition of going to black Friday together. For whatever reason, the last two years, instead of us all going to the same store together, it has gotten broken up. We all seemed to go to different stores this year, and then we met up later in the day. I ended up taking my mom around. I must say, we hit 4 stores before 7 am, how great is that! Thanks mom for choosing stores that weren't swarming with tons of people!

We enjoyed many activities with my sister and her family (and our whole family combined.) We went to build a bear and watched all the kids get new buddies and or outfits. We went to the movie Bolt, which is funny! I loved the hamster! We had pizza and played Monopoly. I wouldn't suggest playing with a 6 year old who quickly loses interest and only plays because he is told when he stops playing the game, he has to go to bed because it is way past his bedtime. However, same 6 year old makes some awesome trades on properties, and if you are lucky, you win by having more than 10 million more than anybody else. Hmmm...wish that was real money.

I had the opportunity to meat my cooperating teacher yesterday. I will be teaching 10th and 11th grade English and I get to choose what I teach. I am sooooo excited! My unit that I am writing on Tess of the D'Urbervilles will get to be used!

I also had the opportunity to do my teacher work sample. This is where I go into a classroom and observe 1 day and teach 2 consecutive days. I have to do some type of pre-assessment and post assessment to gauge how the students learned what I taught. It was so much fun! I went into a 9th grade class and taught vocabulary words found in A Christmas Carol. Who would think that vocabulary could be fun? The students had fun with the activities that we did, and they were great for me. I did learn that I definitely need practice in bringing a class back from group work, but I will get there.

If anyone knows of any work out there, please pass it on. Mike was laid off from his job last week and has been applying to try to quickly find work again. It really brings home all the news reports about how bad our economy is when it happens in your own household. I am just grateful that we only have Mike and I to worry about right now, and Jake, but he is pretty laid back and goes with the flow.

There is a quick update on our happenings for the last little bit. We hope that everybody else had the most enjoyable Thanksgivings out there (try to beat ours...we have awesome families!) We now get the opportunity to turn our thoughts to our Savior as we remember He is the reason that we celebrate this season.

Here I come...

I just got my student teaching assignment today, I am excited!

I am nervous.

Wow, it makes it that much more real.

I am student teaching.

I am really student teaching!

This coming January.

That is in 7 weeks!

I am assigned to American Fork High School.

Lets go become cavemen!

Primary Program

Today was our ward's Primary program. This is a day that I missed when I was in singles wards. It started differently. Mike & I walked into sacrament meeting about 5 minutes early, and there were no seats, except on the front row. All the primary kids were sitting in their classes in the overflow and the rest of the chapel was just packed. So, the back row joes became the front row joes.

When the program started, I kept expecting the kids to come up to the front of the chapel to sit on the stand, but they didn't. Instead, the music director came up, had the kids rise and they started singing, Armies of Heleman. "OK," I thoght, "this is a little different. I have never been in a program before where the kids all sit behind the congregation." Then, all of a sudden, the kids started filing to the front of the room and up onto the stand, all the while singing. I cannot even tell you how powerful this was. I, being the boob that I am, started crying. I just kept thinking that these kids are the future, both of the world and our church. Here they are, marching and singing, a strong army for our Heavenly Father.

The kids in the program were just adorable. I loved the younger kids who got up and had forgotten their parts and kept leaning over to be reminded. I loved it when they remembered their parts, and stated so surely their simple testimonies of the gospel, the Temple, and the prophet. I loved when they sang Scripture Power and were so enthusiastic about thrusting their scriptures into the air as they sang of the power the scriptures hold inside.

Seriously, I love the Primary program. I love the refreshing, simple testimonies that are born. I especially love watching these cute children as they sing and get up to waive at their parents and families that are there watching them.

Student Teaching

Today, the School of Education at UVU handed out their student teaching assignments for those student teaching in January. At least, they handed them out for all but about 15 people, who they are still trying to place. Isn't it ironic that I am one of those 15 people that still doesn't have a placement? Kind of anti-climatic. I was so excited and nervous and then let down. I still have to wait. Hopefully, I will have my assignment within the next 2-3 weeks. Man, I still have to wait. Patience is a virtue, one that I obviously still need to learn.

Fall Fun

Yesterday, Mike & I began the monumental task of starting to rake up the leaves on our lawn. Gotta love those trees at this time of year. Mike actually cheated this year, using the blower that is part of his shop vac he got for Christmas. I stuck for the good ol' fashioned rake (until I got a hold of the blower, that is :)) While we were raking, we invited our niece & nephew over to play in a pile (that we could mostly guarantee as 'bomb' free) while they were over at my parents. The day included some little munchkin filling my shoes up with leaves (he thought it was funny, especially when Uncle Mike showed him how to really shove the leaves into the toes) and another little munchkin taking charge of the blower. It was a fun day. Here is some of the fun they had. On a side note, today, it doesn't look like we spent any time raking leaves yesterday...blah.

Oh my...

All I gotta say is that she better have a great sense of humor!

October

This year, instead of just the deer hunt, Mike & I also had the privilege of enjoying the Elk hunt. We went up into the mountains and about 20 minutes after we got the tent set up, it started raining, which it continued to do all weekend long. Wonderful for us, right? It got cold! On the other hand, it was absolutely beautiful. The trees were in their majestic fall colors. While we didn't get anything except elder berries, we got to enjoy the fall colors. Here are some of the favorites from the Elk Hunt. Mike on the hunt! Jake is normally afraid of the water, unless he is hunting water skeeters!Bocci Ball!Aren't the mountains beautiful?You have got to love these colors! More beautiful colors, but notice the aspen coming out of the pine tree!

A couple of weeks later, we again loaded up all of our gear and went to the mountains. This time, in search of deer. Instead of rain (or snow like we got last year,) we got beautiful weather! It did get cold at night, but we stayed very warm (thanks Mark for stoking the fire all night long!) I stayed through Sunday for the hunt, and then on Monday, I got this call, "Becky, you better find a freezer, because I got a deer!" I didn't believe Mike. First, I questioned that he got a deer (or even saw one as we didn't see hardly any bucks through the weekend, unless you count those in the backs of peoples trucks. Then, I questioned the "I got" for "You mean your dad got?" Mike's mom had to get on the phone to confirm that yes, indeed, Mike is the one that got a deer. Yeah Mike! Here are some shots.

Mike & his dad dragging the deer out of the woods. I guess this could be the proverbial hunter shot?

The best though, was when I learned that I got to be the one to take it to the butcher. Can we just say, butcher places stink! Just that smell of raw meat, kinda gross! Then, as I have never had the experience before of having a deer (or any animal for that matter) just chopped, let us just say that it was an interesting experience. Now, I get the opportunity to be introduced to deer meat, and as Mike, his mom, and his dad are all betting that I won't like it, I may just have to eat it with a smile (and really hope that it do find it tasty!)

Tagged, Again?

OK, I had a few minutes to spare yesterday, (really I didn't, I was avoiding homework) so I decided to blog stalk. In the process, I discovered that I had been tagged by somebody else. If I don't get a comment, I don't know...sorry.

This one is called: It is who I am...

I am...completely obsessed with being organized when working on group projects.
I Want....to know where I am going to be doing my student teaching.
I Have....a TON of homework (boring huh?)
I Wish...I could be as organized with the rest of my life as I am with group projects.
I Hate...fish. The French had it right when they say fish is POISEN!
I Fear...the unkown.
I Hear....work chatter.
I Search...for small items that I seem to lose all the time.
I Wonder...if I will ever have any freetime to just relax and not have any lists in my mind of things to accomplish.
I Always...end up leaving my house late and end up being late to the first thing of the day. Lame.
I Usually...speed on the freeway.
I Am Not...normally a downer person.
I Dance...and people laugh.
I Sing...not very well.
I Never...get enough sleep.
I Rarely...feel that I am all caught up.
I Cry...at just about everything, even commercials on T.V.
I am Not Always...punctual.
I Lose...my mind often.
I'm Confused...by the concept attainment model (for lesson plans.)
I Need...a vacation! Deer hunt anyone?
I Should...be caught up in homework, but I am not.
I Dream...of being done with school.

I tag Molly (she is sorely in need of an updated post), and Leanne. Anyone else that would like to do it is more than welcome!

Praxis Results!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, there are a lot of exclamation points for a reason! I received an e-mail yesterday telling me that I could log on to the Praxis website to view the score of the big test. I did, and it wasn't there. Disappointing, isn't it. I figured that we weren't supposed to find out until today, so I would wait. I logged on again, and it wasn't there.

What? Why do they tell us to do something and than not have the information there? So I called them. Smart, huh? I didn't want to pay the $30 to find out my results over the phone, (really, who does this as they already pay an arm and a leg to take the test?) so I waited for a representative who informed me that the test results would be available after 5 PM Eastern Time. OK, makes sense. (Not Really) The results will be available after most peoples working day is over.

Just so you know, they weren't available right at 5 PM Eastern Time, but they are now! I PASSED!!! Mike will probably think that I am silly that I am so excited, but I was really worried. There is a total of 200 available and I needed 168 to pass for UVU and the State of Utah Education system and I got 186! Yippee! There is a stress out of my mind. Whew, I know that I don't have to do the dreaded retake! Celebration!

Handbag Planet

To celebrate the October 15th launch of our website, we're giving away 24 Handbags in 24 Hours

Handbag Planet is almost here. To celebrate the October 15, 2008 launch, we are giving away a free handbag every hour for 24 hours on the day of the launch. Our high fashion, trendy handbags are inspired by popular designer brands and priced between $30 and $80.

After signing-up in one easy step below, you can select the handbag you would like to win. There's absolutely no catch - this means no shipping/handling fees or credit card required. Yes, it's really that simple!

Go to this website to enter! http://www.handbagplanet.com/

I have been TAGGED! (Thanks Nicole!)

I guess I can't complain about being tagged as it has been a LONG time since I have been tagged (or actually did it.) Here goes:

1 - I have been to more countries in the world than states in the United States. Seriously, Mike wonders why I don't see more of my own backyard, but I think that I have him convinced it would be super fun to go outside of the US at some point in time.

2 - I cannot bend my left pinkie finger. It is even shorter then its companion on my right hand. The reason? Don't ever fight for the right to cut something with a sharp knife with your older and wiser 4 year old sister. (I was 3 at the time and don't remember it getting almost cut off.)

3 - I used to play the violin. I can't say that I was ever good at it (a lack of practicing has something to do with that) and would probably cause people to cover their ears and run screaming if I tried to play anything today.

4 - I love, Love, LOVE Photography. OK, this isn't so random to most of you who know me, but I love creating, looking, admiring etc. One day, I feel like I will have the time to make the time to actually create something artsy again.

5 - I am a certifiable book worm. I love books and have been known to read a book in less than 24 hours (if it is especially good.)

6 - I say random things all the time. These things come to mind and usually leave my mouth without much (if any) thought. This causes much laughter and enjoyment for those around me. In my defense, my sister is the same way. Her friend even named this phenomenon, it is called Jennieisms.

7 - I am a freak about my grades. I think that I put too much thought into them and love to get A's.

I tag, Jennie, Amanda, Rosie, Lindsey, Amber, Mindy, and Miranda!

I have been remiss

On September 27th, I received the wonderful opportunity to go to Women's Conference in person, and I have not yet written about it! It is amazing how time flies.

I had the opportunity to get tickets through my stake, but didn't need to as Rosie also got some tickets. Rosie, Kimber and I all made the trek up to Salt Lake City to enjoy this wonderful experience. I have to admit, I am not the most faithful Women's Conference attender, which is much to my detriment, because I always learn when I do attend. I absolutely could not pass up the opportunity to attend in person rather than watching it via satellite.

As many women converged on Salt Lake City to attend Women's Conference, it took a little bit of time to park and make our way to the conference center, but it was well worth it. Our tickets were for the balcony area, which is where I get to sit anytime I have been to the Conference Center; however, as the three of us were making our way to the stairs to start up, one of the ushers stopped us. He said, "Oh no, don't go up there, go sit in on the main floor."

Are you serious? That is cool! We were late enough that when we walked in, President Monson, our prophet, was in the process of taking his seat, so everybody was standing. Unfortunately, because we were trying to get our seats also, we could not stop and enjoy this portion. We made our way the the side and found some seats that were much closer than we had anticipated.

The speakers were amazing. We were reminded that, although the Relief Society is doing amazing things, we are just getting started. We have this amazing responsibility that we cannot forget, to help bring the world comfort and to help spread the knowledge of the gospel. The talk though, that had the most impact on me was President Uchtdorf. He reminded us, in a very simple way, that we are not perfect and we should not expect perfection in all our doings. How amazing is this? He also reminded us that if we make it our goal to spread sunshine to those around us, we cannot help but be happy also. These are some great reminders, "Scatter Sunshine."

I know it has been a couple of weeks, and I don't have my notes with me right now that I took, but these are the impressions that I remember and that I came away with. I am so thankful that we have leaders that can help guide us, to push us to be better, but to teach us not to be too harsh on ourselves.

Oops!

You know those experiences you have where you unintentionally, but without a doubt, totally embarrass somebody? At the same time, this unintentional embarrassment causes enjoyment for all involved? I was involved in one of those today.

When you get into the English Major and Education Classes, there are many people that you have met and you just keep getting classes with. Because of this, you develop friendships and you often talk as you leave class. Today, a group of us were chatting as we left our Methods II class. As we were talking, a fellow student that we all had expected to be in these classes with us came walking down the hall. We corralled him to find out how he had been, what had happened to him etc. If you imagine, there is a group of five girls quizzing one guy. While we are standing in this group, two guys come walking down the LA corridor (this is the big hall that eventually leads out to the parking lot) passing out these fliers. One of the guys specifically walks up to one girl in this group that we have formed, gives her a flier and walks off. Nicole and I both turn to this girl and said something to the tune of, "That is what you get for being HOT!" Whether it was louder because we both said it together, or because this guy was totally in tune, he heard us. Much to A's (I told her that I would only refer to her by her first initial) embarrassment, he turns around, and in response, shouts out, "Yeah, that is what you get for being HOT!"

In response to guy #1, guy #2 turns around and comes back to us. He told us that he was offended that we would think they would only hand out fliers to hot girls and handed each of us a flier in turn. While guy #2 was doing this, guy #1 was trying to hit on A to 'hook' up.

After these two guys left, we had a little laugh and then both Nicole and I apologized to A for bringing this attention to her. I should note that Nicole and I are both married and in no way cared if these guys thought we were hot or not, but it definitely brought out some unintended laughter when they two guys reacted to our comment (the comment that we thought the guys were too far away to hear) in the way that they did! So, many thanks to A (I know that you are stalking this blog) for helping us find a laugh and for being such a good sport about the whole thing.

Because of this experience, I now have a flier to attend:

THROWDOWN
ELITE
SHOWDOWN II
"THE RETURN"
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 26TH 2008

If any of you are interested in actually attending this, let me know, because I have a flier and can tell you all about it. The event is determining the 'throwdown lightweight championship title" in case that means anything to anyone out there, and it includes five whole rounds of title fights!

Lagoon!

Last night, Nu Skin threw all their employees a grand ol' party, and we went up to Lagoon! It was a blast! When Mike & I got there, there didn't seem to be anyone at all, but it was also OK because there were hardly any lines.

I went first to Wicked. If you haven't ridden it, you should. It shoots you up and then drops you, and then you twist and turn. It is a blast! I learned that Mike, after riding on the ride last year, absolutely refused to ride it, so I went on this ride alone. He missed out. He did consent to ride Spider though, after not riding it last year, and he cussed the whole time. Strangely, after cussing and screaming the whole ride, at the end, he turned to me and said, "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." There is nothing more fun than seeing your manly man freak out on rides!

He refused to go on Colossus, The Rocket (which strangely I wanted to ride again after a freaky experience a couple of years ago of the harness opening on me), Wicked, The Spider (after the first ride) and the Samarai. After riding Wicked alone, I decided not to ride any other rides alone (it just isn't as fun as when you get the manly man to ride with you and you get to laugh at him).

We mistakenly went on a few water rides (what were we thinking?) and got wet. First was the Log Plume ride. We had my friends son, Brandon, with us. Brandon and I sat in the back and Mike sat in the front. Mike got the wettest and it was great!. We then went on Rattlesnake Rapids. Mike and Brandon got the wettest, but then we went again. Oh, what were we thinking? All three of us were dripping when we got off. I could probably have shampooed my hair it was so wet! And then it got cold...brrrrrr....

Mike loves the Bat (I really had to convince him to go on it though) and then we went on some of the old school rides. Go Tidal Wave! Go Tilt-a-whirl! Go the ride by the Colossus that throws you to the outer edge (the music one.)

Here are some of the pictures that we took. We are sorry that they are so bad, but they were taken on the camera phone, but enjoy! I am also throwing in some pictures from the past, like me riding my bike etc.

This is us as we are waiting to get on the Tilt-a-whirl.

This is us as we are waiting for the Tilt-a-whirl ride to start!
This is Mike's new look, isn't it great?
This is me riding my bike, one of my first rides and I was bright red and tired! I know that I look a bit freaky in this picture...I was trying to look happy, but was really exhausted and I just look scary.
This is Mike's new grill (if we ever get another grill.)

More Random Pictures

Here are some more random pictures. These are pictures from the time I spent in London & Paris.

Some Random Pictures

Here are some random pictures that I want to share with you. I took these within the last year.

Update

I figured that I would give a quick update on our lives. Mike is back to working nights for a couple of weeks, which means that we are now in the mode of seeing each other in passing. It has given me a chance to get all the homework done that I didn't do last week due to my studying for the Praxis, but I would rather see him.

I cut my hair! Finally, I am over the ponytails that got way too easy to wear over the summer with the bike riding. The ponytails just seemed to be way too easy to wear as school started again and life seemed to get busier. I will post some pictures of my new do soon, I promise!

I took the Praxis on Saturday. I am so glad that is over (hopefully) and I can put it out of my mind now. I just now have to wait 4 weeks for the results. This is something that I don't understand, why does it take so long? It was a multiple choice test with the answers being put on a scan-tron, they just have to put it through the scan reader, so why does it take so long? I am constantly being reminded that patience is a virtue, so, I will wait for the results, and pray that I did good enough that I pass on the first try. It is an expensive test and I do not wish to retake it. For those of you who don't know what the Praxis is, it is the test that you have to take that shows you know your content knowledge in order to teach. At UVU, they require that you take it (and pass) before you graduate, and they prefer you take it before you student teach.

That reminds me, I turned in my student teaching application! How could I forget this update? I will find out in November where I will be assigned to teach. I am nervous and keep asking myself, "Am I prepared?" or "Am I ready for this?" I hope to be placed in Alpine, but, could be placed in another district. The end just keeps getting closer and it is exciting and nerve-racking at the same time.

I think that this is all of the updates that I have right now. I will let you all know when I get the Praxis results.

Deep thought of the Day

I have been chided recently about not updating my blog, so here are two posts in one day. Aren't you excited?

My posts may start to be far and few between as I have just started back to school and my load seems to be great this semester. However, I will try to keep you updated on the happenings of the Proctors.

In one of my classes, we were talking about the many misconceptions students will walk into your classroom with and how it is your job as a teacher to correct those. (I do apologize that I am writing this as if you all are, or will be teachers.) My teacher than shared a misconception that she had had for many years. I found it to be profound.

When you think of the word 'nothing' what do you think of? Until yesterday, I would have said, nothing, zero, zilch. To say nothing means that it is empty. Isn't that what we are taught from when we are small?

Did you know that in Sanskrit (some eastern language, I believe you will find it in India,) their word for nothing does not have the same meaning as our word for nothing? Their word for nothing means "the potential for what can be." Isn't that amazing? It is like looking at an empty canvas, there is nothing there, but think what so many artists have created out of nothing? I definitely think that I like this idea of nothing much more than our traditional idea of nothing.

Just a little thought to get you all thinking. Hope you enjoy!

Oh yes I did!

For those of you who know me, you know that fish is not my favorite food. In fact, I would rate it down there at the bottom. For those of you who know Mike, you know that he LOVES to fish. I don't mind going fishing, but when I do go, I generally take my camera and photograph up and down the stream or lake while Mike (or his parents) do the fishing. I do not generally go out of my way to schedule or set up these fishing expeditions, that is, until Tuesday.

I decided to take my Wolf Scouts fishing. Yep, that's right, me, setting up the fishing time & place, finding enough poles (good thing I married into a fishing family) for the boys that would be going and asking Mike to make sure to be there to do the actual teaching of fishing.

We left my house on Tuesday with 2 cars, 3 adults (Mike, my co-den leader, Haruko, and I) and 5 boys. We headed up to Vivian Park, got the poles ready and let the boys cast off. I learned that I can't tie a hook worth beans, when in an effort to help get the boys fishing more quickly, I tied 2 hooks, which promptly fell off into the water the minute the boys cast them. I also learned that sometimes, when you go fishing with an 8 year old (or 5,) some lines get mysteriously tangled that the only option is to cut them. Let us just say rats nest of line.

It was a lot of fun, and even though there were a total of zero fish caught, my scouts had a blast & loved teasing Mike when he had a goof of a cast when trying to help one boy who couldn't seem to cast his line more than a foot. "Nice cast Brother Proctor!" I had to try not to laugh too hard! I kept it to an internal chuckle. :)

Things I Love

I have decided that it is better to leave my iPod at home when I ride my bike. There are a couple of reasons for this, the first being that I really should be listening for the cars behind me and second, I have a tendency to listen to it way too loud and am worried about being more deaf than I am currently. This leaves me quite a lot of time to think. I have been thinking lately about things that I totally love and things that I totally enjoy. I thought that I would share them with you.

I just want to put a warning in here, some of these things may definitely put a check mark by my name in your book as being WEIRD, but since most of you already know this, I am not too worried.

I love, absolutely, the smell of fresh laundry. I especially love it if it was washed using Tide (my absolute Favorite.) I have been known to shut myself into a laundry room, just to take a couple of deep, refreshing breaths. I have been known to smell people (trust me, only people that I am 100% comfortable with!) and tell them that I love the way their clothes smell. I probably shouldn't have told you all this, but it will warn you in case I ever 'smell' you. Laundry isn't the only thing that I smell, I also smell books, money and other 'weird' things like this.

I have discovered that I love the way leaves sound as they crunch under a bike tire. As I am riding I will go out of my way to crunch a leaf. It leaves me feeling slightly disappointed when it is doesn't crunch, but very satisfied when it does.

I love working with the wolves. My boys are hilarious and make me laugh (I have to admit that often, I try to hide my laughter,) and at the same time, they are very sweet. I love when they see me at church and excitedly wave at me, "Hi Sister Proctor!" Although my calling was extremely overwhelming in the beginning, it is now one that I absolutely love!

I love Photography. I could be perfectly content walking around taking pictures all day long. In fact, that would be an ideal day. I love sitting down and thinking of ways to represent things that I have seen or read. It helps to stretch my mind. I am a bit upset though that the picture I took to represent The Giver happens to be very similar to the picture found on all the Twilight books! I worked hard on that picture, took a lot of different ones, different angles etc to find the one that I loved and then to have a similar picture made famous. Oh, well, what can we do?

I love my dog, Jake. Sometimes, I wonder if he will be the death of me, like the other morning when we woke up to discover that he had pulled all the carpet out of one of my bathroom rugs leaving a white rubber hole in the center. However, where else can you find such devotion. I can't wait until all the apricots are out of our tree so we don't keep having an 'orange spotted' beagle.

I love Mike. He makes me very happy. He helps me to laugh at myself (such as the above paragraph on my obsession with smelling laundry.) He encourages me and supports me in things that I want to do. He is so good with his hands and is very mechanically minded (which is wonderful since I am absolutely NOT.) I have not taken my car to get the oil changed since I met Mike, he does it for me. He fixes things for me and tuned up my bike so that I could ride it back and forth to work. He does a lot for me and I love him for it. I don't think that I got too cheesy in this paragraph, did I?

Well, now that you all know how weird I really am, please join me in laughing at myself. I also encourage ya'll (don't laugh too hard Amanda!) to think about some of the things you love.

Pay it Forward

I finally got my Pay it Forward done! You will have to now watch Amanda's, Rosie's, & Amber's blogs to get another chance for Pay it Forward!

Pay it Forward

My friend Miranda did this really fun thing called Pay it Forward. It works like this, I responded to her blog post and I got a really cool present (a CD to upload to my iPod to inspire me while I ride my bike to work and some yummy tasting recipes.) Now, I get to Pay it Forward. For the first 3 people that comment on this post about the Pay it Forward will get a fun little treat from me. Exciting, huh? You don't know what it will be (I am not even sure yet, but it will be something fun!) and then you get do the same on your blog. So, have fun and let me know!

Also, if anyone would be interested in some Amish Friendship bread starter (recipe included) please let me know. I had some starter given to me and every 10 days, I will have 3 additional ones to share. So let me know if you want some!

The Bike

On my way to work, I started thinking about statistics. I am not normally a statistics type person, but I wanted to figure these out.

I have ridden my bike now for 3 weeks. I hit that mark yesterday. Wow...I thought it was longer, but guess not. In those 3 weeks, I have ridden 204 miles (no wonder my quads are constantly tired) and 27 1/2 hours.

I have almost been hit by cars 5 times. The best is when I see them and stop, but they don't see me until I am already stopped. They get really scared and look like they are going to have a heart attack...drivers jumping in their seats...hahaha.

Mike is back on days (YIPEE!!) and so he no longer meets me at my work on Friday evening to pick me up to go out, I get to ride home. No big deal, the ride isn't as torterous as it used to be. In the first week, the 9 miles home about killed me. Now I have broken it up into sections. "OK, I just need to get to the BYU playing fields." "OK, now I just need to get to the next light." "Will's Pit stop is the next...that is where most drivers pay attention the least." "I made it to Will's Pit Stop, now to Borders (there is this really nice shady spot to sit and cool down in right past Borders. It is nice.)" "Now it is the Orem Hill (which by the way I don't have to walk up anymore) and then it is downhill the rest of the way to home." These are some of the thoughts that run through my head while I pedal away. If anyone wants to come join me, go for it! I would suggest though that you don't listen to BarJ Wranglers on your iPod...they just aren't that motivating to pedal too...

Fourth of July

For the first time ever, (except my mission,) I didn't get to see the fireworks for the fourth of July. I survived, however; if only because I was surrounded by amazing people having the time of my life.

The Proctor's went to Gooseberry for the weekend. It was a blast and good to get away. Plus, on the fourth when everybody else was dealing with 102 degrees, we had 80ish. Hmmm....who had the better deal?

Mike caught the SMALLEST fish of the weekend while Tait got the biggest. Way to go Tait! I saw fly fishing for the first time ever. It is way cool to watch and Dad Proctor was getting a fish every hit...like 5 in that many minutes. Jake proved how afraid of water he is when Dad Proctor pushed him in. He got stuck on an island in the middle. Mike had to wade in and push in the stream again to get him to shore!

Enjoy the pictures!

Happy Anniversary!

Today, June 30, 2008, commemorates the one year anniversary that Mike & I have been married. This year has been packed full of fun, excitement, and even some hard times, but I have loved it. I just wanted to share some of our highlights of this past year.

Just a few short weeks after Mike and I got married, we lost Mike's Grandma, Rosemary Proctor. While I had just recently met and gotten to know her, she quickly won a place in my heart. While losing her was hard, it really brought home how lucky we are to have the gospel in our lives. It reaffirmed our testimonies of the eternal nature of the Plan of Salvation that our Heavenly Father has created for us.

A month after we got married, we were able to join Rosie & Mark in the Temple as they were sealed for all time and eternity as their own family unit. It was amazing to be able to join in such a sacred event so short after our own sealing. It helped to remind me some of the things that were said in our sealing (it was such a crazy day, I didn't remember much, except that Mike was supposed to give me money for pizza).

We had a new nephew join the family, who is the cutest little guy ever! This little guy has the brightest eyes, and while he looks so much like his brother's he is developing into his own personality. You should check out some of his great looks here.

I enjoyed my first deer hunt ever. I learned that no matter what Mike says, he doesn't really mean it when he says his turn is next to get out of the warm bed to put wood in the fire BEFORE it goes out...he can't leave the warmth of the bed. This leaves me to get out and put the wood on the fire and then gives me a reason to really snuggle close to get warm again. While it snowed and was cold, I had a blast on the deer hunt and am looking forward to this October and my second hunt!

Mike and I had a tough winter, but we survived. School was tough & Mike's work was tough. I had some crazy wicked classes that required a ton of work and Mike had many days where he didn't work but we made it through. But, at the end of it, I got accepted to the Education program and Mike survived to the good weather.

Currently, I just finished up summer classes and Mike is working graveyards. I leave for work at 8 am and get home around 7:30 pm (slightly a longer day because I ride my bike. An hour there and an hour and a 1/2 home) and Mike leaves for work around 5:45ish PM and gets home anywhere from 5 AM - 8 AM. This leaves us not a lot of time to see each other but we live for the weekends! Recognizing that we were going to live it up on Saturday, the day we decided to celebrate our anniversary. We didn't plan very well. Mike had Webelos Woods (day camp with the Webelos) and I had to work. But, we when we finally saw each other, it was fun.

We went Applebee's and it was delicious! As we walked into the restaurant, I told the manager and the hostess that it was our anniversary. Well, that was a good move because the manager was awesome. The manager came to our table and talked to us (we think that it made the waiter a little nervous but he soon recognized that we weren't complaining about him) and came to wish us a happy anniversary. He asked if we wanted a desert and Mike was all over that. He then brought it out and told us that he gave us a little discount on our meal. Yeah, a little, it was a 50% discount. Let me tell you, on top of some great food, a good time with my husband and some fun conversation, we had an amazing celebration!

I have to say that I am so glad that Mike came into my life. He may tease me for being 'cheesy,' but I love him and am glad that he is my husband. Not only did I get a great husband, but I get to be a part of the great Proctor family. Another thing that is great is that Mike makes the time to go camping (which I love but didn't do too often before!) I am excited because that is what we are doing this weekend. See you all and I look forward to another great year with the man that I love.

Riding the Bike

I have decided to start riding my bike to work. There are a couple of reasons for this.

1-I feel that I have to make some protest against the ridiculous price ($4 gallon) of gas.

2-I have been telling myself for a couple of years that I should ride my bike to work when I am not in school so that I can get in shape, and I finally decided that the time was right.

As Thursday was my first day school free, I decided that this was one of the best days to start. I buckled on my helmet and jumped on my bike and took off. I have to be perfectly honest that within the first mile, I was very tempted to turn around, get my car and drive to work. There was only one thing that stopped me, the fact that I had opened my BIG mouth and told everybody at work that I was going to ride my bike. Right around the Cascade Golf course, it got really easy as it all started going downhill. Whew, if it stayed this way, than I could definitely ride my bike more often (let's just not think about the way home yet.)

I made it to work in a wonderful 55 minutes. Not bad for traveling 9 miles, huh?

The way home, that was quite another story. I got to Will's Pit Stop and had to get off my bike. I really felt that my legs were going to fall off. Have you ever had that feeling? It isn't fun. I eventually got on my bike again as I rationalized that if I walked the rest of the way home it would take me much longer than the 2 hours that I had figured. See, when you are going uphill, it will probably take twice as long, right? I finally made it though! In just under an hour and a half! As I have continued, I am getting a little faster and today, I only got off to walk up the stupid Orem hill rather than 3 times before that. Pretty good, huh?

As I have started riding around Provo/Orem, I have learned some things that I would like to share.

1-Cars do not pay attention to bikes. Beware and keep your eyes wide open if you are the one on the bike!
2-The worst cars/vehicles to drive by you on the road is the UTA Bus. They blow the hottest air on you. (Not really fun when you are dying of the heat anyway.)
3-When a bug smacks into your face when you are going downhill really fast, it is a little gross. Actually, really more than a little gross, it was really gross!
4-There are some parts of Orem and Provo that smell really good (especially by the country club on University Ave right around dinner time, can we say yummmm???)
5-There are also some parts of Orem and Provo that smell really bad.
6-Riding downhill is really a lot of fun!
7-Your behind hurts more on the way home because it is all uphill and you end up sitting on the seat more...can we say ouch?
8-You really start hating the bicyclists whiz past you as you are struggling up the lowest grade hill. But you REALLY hate the runners that are going faster than you!
9-There is a nice spot by the office buildings just north of Borders that makes a great place to stop and stretch and drink some nice water.

The most important thing that i have learned?

10-A ride down the canyon with my buddy Tait looks and sounds really awesome about the time I reach the mouth of Provo Canyon!

King Arthur

I had to redo my King Arthur movie. Here is the version that I did in Photo Story 3. Just a note on the side, do you know what I get to do tonight? I get to choose any book I want and read it! I can do that for the rest of the summer!!! Yippee!! Maybe I may tackle the Twilight series...hmmmm...any thoughts on that?

YEAH!!!!!!!

A couple of weeks ago, I learned about a type of loan available for those in the education program. It is the Terrel H. Bell Teaching Incentive Loan Program. The great thing about this loan is that they count it as a scholarship. See, if you get the loan for 1 year, and you teach in the state of Utah for 1 year, than you don't have to pay it back. They even give you 3 years to get a job after you graduate, which is amazing! I was told to go ahead and apply, but that UVU didn't get any money for this loan last year, but it is always worth a try, right? I decided it was worth a try, and even though I found out about this 2 days before the deadline, I decided to go for it. I put in the application, and then, to be honest, I promptly forgot all about it.

I got home from work today and there was a letter from UVU. I was wondering what they would be sending me a letter for and was very excited when I opened it to read, The College is pleased to offer you a incentive loan for the year 2008-2009. Yeah!!! I got the scholarship that they only count as a loan if I don't end up teaching. I can't tell you how excited I am! Really, I am totally stoked to the point that I am even excited about writing my 6 page research paper on the Psychology of Motivation for students.

What I have been doing lately

For any of you ever considering taking 4 summer classes in college, all at the same time, I would suggest you don't. Not unless you want to be swamped with homework and assignments as they squish a normal 14 weeks of learning into 7 weeks.

In addition to being in school (still, but almost over!) Mike has been working nights this week and the next few. It leads to short times each day in seeing each other. On Tuesday, I begged to get off work an hour early only to see Mike for 30 minutes. It is hard, but we will make the most of our weekends, that is for sure.

I wanted to show you what I have been doing in one of my classes. I had to make a movie and chose to make it on King Arthur. Here you go! When school is over, I will come back and tell you guys more of what is going on in our life, I promise.

Mountain Man Rendezvous

Last weekend, Mike & I joined Rosie, Mark, Mom, Dad and many of Mark's family to go to the Fremont Mountain Man Rendezvous near Richfield. I had never been to a rendezvous before and it was fun! There were two areas for camping, one pre 1840 (the canvas tents and the tepees) and one tin tepee (modern day anything.) It was a little chilly (during the night) a lot of fun and a nice relaxing break from life.

I was amazed at how many people were wandering around in their gear. Little kids in pioneer garb, adults walking around with wolf heads on their heads, all mountain man. I love having a 'spy mode' camera. Just pop on my telephoto and people don't know that I am taking pictures. There was black powder rifle shooting, thanks to Mark's dad, anybody in our group that wanted to participate could. Mike did a really good job at aiming for the clouds in the sky, which happened to not be visible! Chase did a really good job at shooting branches off trees instead of hitting the targets that those branches were holding.

In the afternoon, we went over the the Fremont Indian Museum. We got to see the remains found in the archaeological digs. I love looking at things like that, I know, I am kinda weird. We ended up running out of time to do the Celestial Walk that Mark says anybody going to that area needs to go on, but that is what next year is for, right? We even got to go down into a replica of the Fremont dwelling, which is a pit dug into the ground. I had to remember that these Indians were much shorter than I was, I couldn't stand up straight.

The Parrot that Caused the Tetnis Shot

Have you ever had to have a Tetnis shot? I have, they really aren't very much fun. I had to get another one tonight. It all started with scouts. We are trying to get a count of how many scouts will be able to go to day camp, so when one of the mothers came to pick up her son, I ran to her car to talk to her about that. She had this huge parrot sitting on her chest. The conversation went something like this:

"You have a parrot?"
"Yep."
"Can I hold him? Can he come out of your car? Will he fly away?"
"Oh no, you can hold him!"

As I am then reaching my hand into her car to try to hold the parrot, she says, "Oh, he bites," just has his sharp little beak clamps down on my left index finger. Pain. That is what I was feeling, as I am trying not to say anything that shouldn't be said in front of my scout and his little finger, so I respond by saying, "Oh yes, he sure bites." While I am thinking that maybe she could have said, "Well, he bites, but if you want to risk it, than you may hold him," I was suddenly trying to not to let any foul (no pun intended) language out of my mouth.

It hurt. Really bad.

I was then left standing at her car, with a throbbing finger, trying to finish my conversation about day camp, trying to hurry so that I can give into my pain.

Finally, the conversation finishes and I am able to walk back up to my house, where I start shaking my finger (as you all know, this technique is very useful in just shaking the pain right out) and finally twisting my face into the grimace of pain that I had felt. Haruko (my co-den leader) and Mike immediately started to ask what was wrong. My finger had two nicks in the top which were showing as bright purple. After going in and washing the bird beak germs off my finger, I put some anti-biotic ointment on and a band-aid. Is it ironic that we talked about and demonstrated first aid in cubs, only to practice the first aid on myself shortly there after?

At this point, my finger was still throbbing, but the main pain had dissipated. I went over to my parents to see if Mike could borrow my dad's wood burner, and thinking that I could get a chuckle out of my mom, told her I had been bit by a bird! She immediately asked me when my last Tetnis shot was, (before my mission) and then informed that I may need another one. I then called the doctor's office and they confirmed that yes, I did need another Tetnis shot.

Lovely, I get bit by a bird and now I need to get a Tetnis shot. Could this be like the first Tetnis shot that I remember getting where it caused a concussion? (If you wish to know this story, please let me know and I will show how these two items can correlate.) Mike and I made the trip down to the doctor's office, where I had to listen to Mike's jokes, and got my shot. It was over and done with rather quickly. I must admit that I am glad I am not the man who got brought in with a dislocated pelvis from being thrown from his horse. I will take the bird bite any day over that. Besides, how many people can say they got bit by a bird and had to get a Tetnis shot because of it?

President Monson

Mike & I truly appreciate President Monson's wit and humor and we continue to be excited about the opportunity to have him as our prophet. For those of you who haven't seen this, we thought you may enjoy it, as it fully showcases the wit and humor that President Monson is famous for. Please enjoy!

Girl's Night Out

With the end of a semester, there are always huge projects due, and for some reason, they all are due at the same time. This is something that any college student can attest to. So, this is the week that I have everything due and I have been working hard to get it done. I have finished my unit plan which had to include 5 lessons and an assessment, I have finished a 4 page philosophy of teaching and I have been working on a 5-6 page paper and a 10 page paper. The 10 pager is what has been causing me the most stress.

Knowing how much work I have to do this week, I was a bit apprehensive when Rosie invited me to go hang out with the girls. I first said yes but than I started to think about how much I still have left to do and got a little stressed. I finally made a compromise, I would see how much of my 10 page paper I could get finished before the time came when the girls were going out. If I felt that I got far enough (more than the 1 page I had finished Monday night) than I would go. At 5 PM, I had 7 pages (and 4 lines!) done and felt that I could afford to take a break from writing so off I went.

Rosie and Erica picked me up and we met Amanda in Lehi and we went up to Sweet Tomatos. This is one of Rosie's favorite places to go, but I have never been there before. It is a salad buffet type of place and it was good. They had the theme of lemon week or month (not exactly sure which) and they had a very delicious green salad with a lemon dressing. Yummm....They had a lemon cake, lemon muffins etc. But they also had a ton of soup options (I would suggest the chili, it is very good.) It was fun and good to get away from the stress of getting everything done, sitting around and just talking and laughing.

I was able to get up this morning and finish my paper. Whew, that is done (not really, I still need people to proof it for me) and now I just have my 5 pager and studying for a couple of finals. Funny how you get things done and you think you are really done until you remember all the other things you have to do. Next Thursday...that is when I will really be done, at least until the following Wednesday when it starts all over again.

So, thanks Rosie, Erica and Amanda for a fun night out and a chance to put it all out of my mind for a bit.

Orientation Meetings

Don't you love it when you are told that in order to do something, you need to attend a 2 hour, mandatory orientation? This is what I was told I had to do before registering for any education classes. Of course, there was only one time for the orientation, and it happened to be right smack in the middle of my work schedule. So, what do I do? I found some awesome people to take part of my shift and I went to this orientation. Well, it wasn't the 2 hours they said it was going to be. It was only 40 minutes. So then I have some free time before taking the truck in for a recall on the brake lights and I still can't register right away for my classes. I have to wait until they process the paperwork that we turned in showing that we submitted the request for background checks and what-not. Ah the waiting game, I have been playing it for 3 weeks already so what is another 3 hours, right?

On the bright side, it is looking like I can apply for my student teaching by August 8 (which means that I also have to take the Praxis exam this summer) and then be done next April, student teaching and everything! Oh how nice it is when the end is in sight!

Book Tag

Rosie tagged me.

Here it is:

Pick up the nearest book.
Turn to page 123
Post the fifth sentence
Tag 5 friends.

For the reader, the work is what is not something objective, existing independently of any experience of it, but is the experience of the reader.

Sorry all, the book that happened to be closest was my literary theory book for my literary criticism class. I will look forward to the day when I can pick up books that I want to read and that don't make my brain smoke!

I tag: Jennie, Caitlyn, Miranda, Lindsey & Rachel!

Secondary Education

Happy, happy day! Today I got some eagerly anticipated news. On Friday, I interviewed to get into the Secondary Education program at UVU. It was a little odd, it was a group interview and while I felt that it went good, I wasn't exactly sure what to think. We were told that we would hear back in about a week. Even though I knew it would be about a week, I eagerly checked my e-mail everyday and today it paid off. This is what I found in my in-box:

On behalf of the Admissions and Retention Committee, I am pleased to inform you of your acceptance to the Secondary Education program!

I screamed! Mike asked why I was so worried (he is wonderful in that he has no doubts at all!) and we celebrated! The end of school is in site, what a wonderful feeling!

Zion National Park Fun

This past weekend, Mike & I took a trip to Zion National Park. It was a much needed relaxer after a tough winter. We journeyed down with Karen & Kevin. The real reason for going was so that Karen could participate in a 10k in Ivins (part of St. George). We had decided that due to the late hour of arriving, to spend the night in Mesquite and then get Karen to St. George by 7:50 AM. We got to the hotel around midnight Utah time, set the alarm, bunkered down and really slept well. We woke up to Karen realizing that we had 10 minutes to get to St. George to meet her brother. It all turned out OK though. We made it the St. George in record time, they had too many runners and so the buses didn't all leave by the 8:30 deadline and Karen did awesome on her run!

We made it to Zion around 2 and found the perfect camp site. We set up our tent and then headed over to the visitor center. The original plan had been to hike Angel's Landing, however due to the late hour, we decided to hold off on that hike until the next day. We did the Emeral Pools hike (which is very beautiful) and the Weeping Rock hike. It was a beautiful day and only got a little chilly every now and then.

We got back to camp and were able to watch about 10 deer in the field right next to us eating. It was fun to sit there and watch them. They were really close and didn't get spooked at all. We then had some 'dang' good chili (Bear Creek, yummmmmmmm) and bunkered down to bed.

Sunday morning, we woke up to snow. Out the window went Angel's Landing. No way was I going to do that hike in bad weather (for those not familiar with it, there are portions you are walking on a precipice holding onto a chain...not for the faint of heart). We decided to do the River Walk, which isn't really a hike but more of a walk. It was beautiful. We would definately suggest anybody do do this 'hike' while in Zion. We then did the Lookout hike. This is a very fun hike, Karen and Kevin neglected to inform us that there is a portion where you are walking under the cliff on a bridge with a huge drop below you. However, we would suggest to make sure when you do this hike to make sure you aren't hiking in a cloud. Instead of the beautiful overlook, we just saw CLOUD. It was fun though and I even got hot enough that I shed all of my winter gear.

Overall, it was a very fun trip and Mike is counting the days until we can go again. I definately put the veto on June or July though, can you imagine 100+ degree weather to do hikes? No thank you. I will take the snow any day over that!

The Futility of things...

Have you ever sat down to do something, actually did it for a couple of hours and felt that you wasted your time? Welcome to my life when it comes to writing research papers. In my Modern British Literature class, I have to write a 10-15 page (don't you love the parameters of that?) research paper showing how 3 or more of the books or short stories we have read this semester tie together. Much as I love finding connecting themes in different styles and types of literature (please note the sarcasm here), doing it for 3 or more works and in at least 10 pages is excrutiating.

I decided that I would love to write my paper on the post-colonialism aspect of E.M. Forster's novel "A Passage to India." For those who have not read this, it is a really good novel, but it made me very angry at the way the Indian's in the novel are treated; basically as sub-class citizens. Post-colonialism is a type of literary theory where you look at novels, or any work, written by the 'white man' from the eye's of the citizens of any of the English colonies, or by reading any work written by these same citizens. Doing this for one novel is hard enough, but then to know that I have to incorporate more into it? For crying out loud...

Well, I have some research time today (thanks to my wonderful teacher who thinks that we need a full week of spring break and so she scheduled research time for our class today) and so I came home to research for this other class. I have been sitting at my computer for 2 hours searching for any articles about post colonialism, E.M. Forster, Jean Rhys, Virginia Wolfe, George Orwell or H.G. Wells. These are the authors of the stories that I am tying together. They all, in some way or another, either through story or character have some tie to India or the English colonies. I have had absolutely no luck. So, what do I do? I turn to my blog and write a post about my frustrations.

For any of you who have had English classes and have any ideas or suggestions that could possibly, in some way or form, help me out, it would be absolutely wonderful! If you are just looking for something to read and want the names of the novels by the above authors, I can help you out there. I would give a voice or warning though that Virginia Wolfe was not exactly an enjoyable read. Her novel, 'Mrs. Dalloway' contains absolutely no chapters and is very disjointed (cunningly of course) in how it is put together. When I asked my professor if all of her works were written like this, he said yes, which added to the enjoyment of reading her. I think in my mind it just confirms that I may have to be hard pressed to pick any of her works up again...no matter that there are many people that absolutely love her work.