my new blog

I decided to start another blog so that I could go into detail about my artistic endeavors. Honestly, I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner, because now I will always photograph my work and put it on display for my audience.

Check it out here.

Anyway, I've decided to take a summer hiatus from this blog so that I can better develop the content for the new one, but I'll be back soon with stories to share!

Stay tuned for Hawaiian vacation photos and pictures of Washington DC.

Adios Amiga!

My middle school Spanish teacher retired this year, and I was able to attend an open house in her honor.

I first met Señora Aveytua in August of 2002. For the life of me, I cannot remember which class period it was, but I want to say it was 4th period.

Anyway, she taught from the Paso o Paso textbook, and we'd start class everyday with a Spanish song. See, we'd get a new song every week or so. She'd hand out the lyrics, go over the Spanish to English vocabulary, and then we'd sing. Some of the songs that we sang were Guantanamera, Amigo Felix, El Chico del Apartamento Cinco Doce, Despues de Ti, and Estoy Aqui.

I'd never taken a language class before, and I was so happy that I had a teacher that made it so fun. It was by far one of my favorite classes of all time. Had she taught high school level Spanish, I would have taken it all throughout high school instead of just another two years.

I wish that she would video record all of her lessons so that I could still learn from her online. Since I'm starting work at Parkview in two weeks, I realized that I will have the chance to actually use my Spanish again. Time to brush up using Duolingo!

Pam Aveytua, Anna and Connie Wyckoff, and me

Happy Retirement, Señora Aveytua! Hope you have many more adventures!

I had the strangest dream

I had such a weird dream last night.

I was driving on the freeway and had to take a sharp but rounded turn. My car spun out of control and I ended up facing the wrong direction of the traffic. A car sped toward me, and I knew it wouldn't stop in time.

I braced myself and closed my eyes. Suddenly, in the moment of impact, I felt the world melt away. I began to see my life flash before my eyes.

Then I woke up.

Weird, right?

Ward Dinner at Nibley Park

It was Ward Conference today, which meant that last night was our ward dinner. Our dinner turned out to be an outdoor picnic/BBQ at park off of 500 East and 2100 South.

We were supposed to bring a cultural dish, so I decided to make fried matzoh. My Bubby taught me how to make it when I was a kid, but I couldn't remember the recipe to save my life. Lucky for me, I have Pinterest as a phenomenal resource and was able to find a decent recipe within seconds.

I spent Saturday afternoon making fried matzoh for the dinner, and baking cookies for the linger longer after the meeting block today. I made cake mix cookies, using a white cake mix, cocoa powder, egg whites, and applesauce. They were especially fudgy and incredibly addictive, it took all my willpower to stop after only eating two of them. Next time I might drizzle the dough balls with peanut butter to see if I can make them even more decadent.

I wish I had taken some pics of the party, but I got distracted whilst mingling (and my phone battery was running low). Overall, it was a pretty great dinner (I had a hamburger and some yummy pretzel brownies).

"It all sounds so adventurous"

One of my favorite feel-good movies is "A Little Princess." I especially love the part when Sara is telling a story to her friends, and Ermengarde says "It all sounds so adventurous!"

My life has never felt adventurous. I'm pretty routine. Sam, on the other hand, is far more daring and willing to take risks than I am.

I recently accepted a job offer from the Salt Lake City School District, and that decision has really shaken things up. Due to the nature of my contract, I have a few weeks off in the summer. Even though I have tons of trainings scheduled before August, I have a lovely chunk of free time.

I wondered what I would do with that time, especially since I was so accustomed a being so busy.

We have a Hawaiian vacation coming up, and I'm very much looking forward to it. I've never really traveled, but I've always wanted to. Travel, write, paint, binge-watch Gilmore Girls, these were the things I wanted to do. But I wondered, would it be enough?

Mom and Grandpa came by for a visit last weekend, and we FaceTimed with the Dunns. Gosh, I really do miss them, the distance is killing me. So, obviously I was ecstatic when Uncle D asked me and Grandpa to come visit.

Long story short, Grandpa isn't up for it, but Sam and I talked about it and he encouraged me to go visit anyway. I crunched the numbers, looked at the calendar, and booked my ticket for a two week visit. We haven't told the kids yet because I want to surprise them.

Again, I never really travel, and now I have two incredible trips happening this summer. I also have two fantastic concerts that I'm attending: David Archuleta with my mom after Hawaii, and The Piano Guys with Sam for our one year anniversary!

I can't believe I have my Master's degree, that I'm starting a great new job, and I am actually able to have my own little summer adventure. Sam and I have only been apart two days since we got married, so I'm hoping it won't be too unbearable to be apart for two weeks.

My visit with the kids will consist of me joining them in Ocean City at a beach house, and then staying with them the few days beforehand and afterwards.

I can't believe mine and Sam's one year anniversary is coming up! What a crazy year, jam-packed with reading, writing, and a whole bunch of other activities that have come up.

It really does sound so adventurous!

Big Decisions

I haven't really had to make hard choices in my life.

Big choices, for sure!

But not necessarily hard choices.

Let me back up for a minute. As the school year came to a close, I knew I was ready for a change. I had some job opportunities come up, and two offers followed thereafter. One was the logical next step for me in higher education, the other was the same step up, but in public education.

It was my moment of truth.

I'd spent the last two years learning about how to be a community leader and writing a massive thesis about the importance of well-rounded, quality public education. I'd also spent the last two years "paying my dues" by performing grunt work tasks in higher education. To an unbiased third party, it would seem as if there were no bad choices.

True.

But while there were no bad choices, I needed to make the best choice for me. The higher ed position was a dream job for the old me. The old me, who was single and super ambitious, was chomping at the bit to prove that I could succeed in this arena.

Present me is more complicated. Present me is married, joyous about eventual motherhood, and aware of the kinds of sacrifices for each option.

This decision was one of biggest and most challenging things I've ever encountered.

I thought about finances, fulfillment, and my well-being.

I thought about which of these options would fit in best with my family plans.

I thought about what other people might think if I chose the side-step opportunity instead of the step-up. I also considered the kinds of judgments I knew a choice like this would warrant from various people within my support system.

I talked to my mentors.

I talked to my parents (both sets).

I prayed.

I cried (although we are chalking this up to it being a highly emotional in general).

I thought about what my Bubby would say if she were still alive. In case you were wondering, if she were alive, she'd say "go where you'll make the most impact."

I knew where I needed to go. I knew that leaving higher education would sustain my goals in the long run. I knew that there would be room to grow, opportunities to shine, chances to serve a community that truly needed me.

Fulfillment was a huge part of my choice. I've felt like I've been running on a hamster wheel for awhile now, and I'm starting to feel burnt out. I've spent the last year worrying about many different things, and while I know new worries will come with this change, I'm happy to let go of some of that anxiety.

I guess what I'm getting at in this post is that I spent way too much time worrying about what people would think if I made the switch from one arena to another. Would people think I was taking the easy way out? Did this mean that I was admitting I couldn't handle higher education or that it defeated me? Was I selling myself short? Was I simply settling?

The answer is simple. I'm empowering myself because I am making the right choice for me and my family. I will remind myself every day that what I have to say and how I feel is more important that what other people might think of my choice.

Taking this position in public education will be an ideal environment for me, additionally, the schedule works better for me as an individual. My day will start earlier, which means it will end earlier. To me, that equates to more daylight to run errands and to do my personal enrichment hobbies (like painting, writing, Zumba, and more time to cook).

More details to come.

Post-Graduation

I have been a hooded Master for a week now, but my stress level stuck around until Tuesday. Why, you ask? Because I still had to print my thesis and submit it to the library in order to get a grade.

Good news, Truman was ready to go, everything was signed, and all I had to do was print.

Bad news, the special thesis paper that he needed to be printed on had to be ordered and hadn't arrived yet as of Monday. This wasn't concerning to me until my instructor emailed me and said unless I submitted my printed and digital copy to the library by Wednesday morning, I would not get my grade.

I spent most of Tuesday refreshing the tracking page via FedEx. Every 20 minutes. It was getting to me. Lucky for me, it arrived during lunch, and I picked it up and printed like a madwoman.

It gets better!

When I carried my five copies over to the library, I was informed that no one was around to run my card to pay for my extra copies to be bound. Since the school doesn't take Visa at the Cashiers window, I faced a dilemma. I knew that the most important thing was to submit the copy required for my class, which I did. I gave the desk my extension number and asked them to call me when someone would be able to run my card. About an hour later, they called and we took care of everything.

What a headache! But at least it is all over.

Grades were also available today. I kind of forgot to check before I shut off my laptop at home, so I checked once I got to work.

My budgeting class that gave me so many issues wasn't so bad! I ended up getting a B+, which is better than the B- I would have been willing to settle for.

I aced the capstone, but I already knew that :)

It's all over! I can't believe I have free time again.

Time to paint.

Commencement 2016

I originally wasn't planning on going to general commencement. Seriously, I only agreed after some heavy convincing from my cohort. My mind had been made up, until flickers of potential regret became noticeable.

At this point, I'm not sure if I will ever pursue a PhD, and if I don't that means this commencement will be my very last. So, just in case I don't go for yet another advanced degree, I'm covering my bases.

Anyway, kudos to the family for sitting through the longer than 2-and-a-half hour ceremony just for me.

My sweet husband, I think he likes me ;)

The infamous hood, all the stress of writing a thesis for this.