Peace Out, 2013

2013 was quite a year. It flew by faster than any other year so far. It seems like time is moving faster and faster. Hopefully 2014 slows down a bit. As is tradition, here is a quick recap of this past year and all the wonderful things that happened:

- Nearly froze to death in the frigid single digit temps we had all of January.

- Took a few days off of work to watch Emmett so Kelsey could fly to Chicago for Riley's boot camp graduation.

- Turned 29. 

- Finally got to see my cousin Wes when he got home from his mission.

- Spent Spring Break in St. George with my mom, dad, and Skyler. 

- Finally visited Zion National Park.

- Had a crazy sewing bug, so I made an entire quilt in one weekend.

- Ate my weight (and maybe more) in fresh peas from the garden. I seriously live for June every year.

- Studied my brains out for and took the Praxis II.

- Passed said test and officially upgraded my teaching license to a level 2 license. 

- Finally joined the iPhone world. I LOVE it.

- Spent two weeks in July teaching a program for gifted and talented elementary school kids. And I became very grateful that I chose secondary education as my field.

- Our family was finally all together again when Riley came home from Navy training.

- Spent the first week of August in Denver helping my friend Jill with her kids after she had hip surgery.

-Finally went camping for the first time in ten years. It was magical.

- Started my FIFTH year of teaching. Still can't believe I'm that far in already.

- Spent four days in California with my family. My cousin Eric got married, so a bunch of us headed down to celebrate. 

- Finally got to go inside the San Diego Temple. Oh. My. Gorgeous.

- Took another day or two off work to play with Emmett again so Kelsey and Riley could venture to Denver for a Sox game.

- Made it to 2 BYU football games.

- Discovered that all my time in the sun has started to cause damage. I had the first of what I'm sure will be many precancerous moles removed.

- Watched my incredibly talented students put on Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

- Celebrated with my family the day Nicole and Chaz finally got to adopt a sweet baby girl.

- Ate waaaaayyy too much food on Thanksgiving.

- Took a chance on a dating app. Said chance paid off. :) I was lucky enough to meet Nate, and I'm learning what it takes to do a long distance relationship. Wish me luck, folks. :)

- Learned how to time the basketball games at school. Nearly messed things up quite royally.

- Spent Christmas Eve sick as could be--- complete with a fever, chills, and general feeling of death.

- Spent more time than I can count with my family and friends, realized just how richly I have been blessed, and have learned more about my capabilities and who I am than ever before. 

I can only imagine that 2014 is going to be even better than 2013 was. I'm excited for what is in store for me. It'll be a good year.... even if I am turning 30 in March. :)

Bucket List

With my 30th birthday a short five months away, I've been thinking of things I'd like to accomplish in the next ten years of my life. My twenties were full of some good stuff, and I'm thinking my thirties ought to be equally as great! Turning 30 isn't something I'm really looking forward to, but I figure if I have a list of awesome things to do, it might make it a tad easier! :)

1- Get a passport.
2- Use said passport to travel internationally. Europe or New Zealand would suffice.
3- Go to Harry Potter world.
4- Do something BIG for my 30th birthday-- Disneyland or some other equally fabulous trip.
5- Pay off my student loans.
6- Learn to play the piano.
7- Visit Washington, DC.
9- Go on a Church history tour.
10- Visit every temple in Utah.
11- Ride a zip line.
12- Ride the Alpine Slide.
13- Go snowboarding or skiing.
14- Visit New York. Walk through Central Park.
15- See Wicked. or Les Mis. Or Newsies. Or all three. Really, any Broadway play would do.
16. Visit Hawaii.
17. Buy a home.
18. Visit Arches National Park.
19. Read the books on my never-ending list of books to read.
20. Visit the Oregon coast.

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Sometimes it's the little things.

I'm sitting here in a very thrilling teaching conference. And instead of listening to the award speeches, I thought I'd write a little post. (Because I can only take so much of the teacher jokes/humor...)

I was in the computer lab with my kiddos one day a few weeks ago, and I had this moment as I was gathering essays where I was like, "Oh my heck. How did I get here? How did I get to this point in my life where I am teaching 260 teenagers and actually loving it?!" And then I just smiled knowing that I'm where I should be. My kids are the best and I love what I do. And then it got me thinking about all the small things that make life wonderful. You know, things like:

* Fresh popcorn from the hot air popper.
* Time with Mia and Emmett.
* Skyler asking me to become a merit badge counselor so I could help him with the reading merit badge. Even though there are almost 18 years between us, a love for reading is something we have in common. I love it, and it makes me smile.
* Finally having a heater that works. Yay for a warm house!
* Girl's night out with my favorite ladies.
* Hugs.
* Making new friends.
* Reading. I have been flying through books lately.
* Valentine's Day decorations.
* Temperatures above 20 degrees. It practically feels like summer!
* Good converstaion.
* Making things. Being crafty.
* Diet coke.

It's been a goal of mine to notice the small moments that make life so much better. You know... kind of make the most of each day and live it to its fullest kind of stuff.

9/11

I'm sitting here thinking about what happened eleven years ago. Our country was changed forever. My life was changed forever. I was a senior in high school, and I remember hearing the news while I was getting ready that morning. My grandma came in and told me to come watch the news for a minute. At first, it seemed like a crazy crash. And then the second plane hit. And the reality set in. How could someone do that to us? How could someone knowingly take so many lives and change so many families? How could someone be so selfish that they didn't care about another living soul? My seventeen year old brain couldn't grasp it. I knew there was evil in the world, but I just couldn't understand how someone could be that evil. When I got to school that morning, all of my teachers had the news playing on their tvs. That's all we did all day. The events kept replaying in my mind. And now, as a teacher, I understand why they did that. History was taking place, and we needed to be aware of what was going on. I remember sitting in seminary, where my teacher canceled his lesson so we could sing hymns and have a mini-testimony meeting. I cried. My dad was a pilot, and I was just thankful he was safe. I didn't know at that point how the events of that September morning would change my family's life forever.

As a teacher, I feel that it is important that my students understand the devastation that came that day. I think they need to know how much it changed our country-- for better and for worse. They need to be aware that their lives are different because of what happened. My seventh graders this year were one when it happened. One. I don't know if they will ever fully understand just how powerful that day was. But I sure hope they do.

And I hope that we never forget the sacrifices that were made on that day to save lives, to save families, and to bring a nation together. I know I never will. I can't, because how can you forget something so powerful?

A teacher I work with shared this video with our faculty. I had never heard this story before, but it was a beautiful reminder of the amazing people that stepped forward when it was needed most. There really are good people in the world.

Some random ramblings as my summer ends.

Get ready for a blog post completely lacking in cohesiveness. 

I don't know if summer went as quickly for you as it did for me, but holy moley, it flew by. School starts next week. Next week, people! Sometimes when I think that, I get a knot in my belly that tells me that I don't know if I am ready to tackle the task of teaching/managing 250 junior highers. But, ready or not, school is coming. Gulp. I am anxious, though, to see my students again and hear their great comments and stories.

Thankfully, my days with the boot are nearing their end. Supposedly, my foot is on the mend and I don't have to wear the boot full time anymore. If you do ever see someone you don't personally know who is in a boot, may I advise you to not say to them, "Oh man. That doesn't look fun at all."? I lost count of the number of strangers who would stop me and tell me that.

What am I supposed to do now that the Olympics are over?

Speaking of the Olympics--- in my next life, I would like to be an Olympic athlete. The sport is still yet to be determined, but I think it'd be pretty cool. Mostly I'd love to stand on the podium and hear the national anthem played.

This commercial makes me laugh. Every. Single. Time.

Lately, I have discovered that TLC has many classy shows on. And they are very creative with what they name said shows. For example, I have recently seen "America's Worst Tattoos", "My Teen is Pregnant, and so am I", "High School Moms", and "Extreme Cheapskates" just to name a few. America is full of some neat people, I tell ya. (*I promise I am productive and that I don't watch TV all the time... when I have watched TV, these shows have just happened to be on*)

I have a recent obsession with rainbow sherbet. Oh. That stuff is like heaven. I cannot get enough of it. 

Well, that's all folks!

A Few Letters...

Dear Fall Break,

I am so glad you are next week. Two days of no plans and sleeping in sound like pure bliss. You couldn't have come at a more perfect time.


Dear Students in Mrs. L's B1 and B2,

If I sub your class again, please don't swear at me again and say mean things. Please do your work when I ask you to. Please don't throw things and try to get away with all manner of naughty behaviors and make me have to call in the vice principal. It makes me grumpy when you do things like you did to me today. So not fun.


Dear Logan,

Next time you want to make pumpkin bread, read the labels. Don't get canned pumpkin pie mix next time. Good ole' plain canned pumpkin is what you want. Silly Loges.


Dear David Archie,

You bring me joy and happiness. You music makes me smile.



Dear Peanut Butter M&Ms (and other treats),

Why must you be so tasty and tempting? Really. You're not doing friendly things to my waistline.


Dear Fall Rain Storms,

You are awesome. I love listening to you pound on the windows and the roof. Yet another thing that brings me joy.


Love,
Loges