Trip to Washington

This past weekend I had the marvelous opportunity to go to Washington DC. My family came from NY and I went with my friend Ben (the mullet guy). I came up with the idea of packing a cooler, figuring we could save some money on food that way. By the time I was done buying lunch materials and snacky foods though, I had spent $60 on two people for 4 days. Hmmmm.... well, at least we would eat more healthy-like. So we packed up and headed out on Wednesday afternoon at about 4:30. Our plan was to stop in Durham at a campground for Wednesday night, spend some time visiting some sites around Durham on Thursday and then drive up to Washington DC Thursday evening. But when we got to the entrance of the campground on Wednesday night at about 11pm, the gates were closed and locked! Apparently they lock them at 8pm. Well, that thought had never even occurred to me and having no other feasible option, we made the rest of the drive to DC that night. We arrived at the campground there around 3:45am. I knew from the website that this campground had 24-hour self check-in, and you leave your payment in a drop-box. We found a campsite, and then began to set up the tents in the dark. We got the first tent set up with no problem but the second tent had the wrong sized poles or something because it looked a bit droopy.
Oh well, what do you do? So we each crawled into our own tents; I got the nice dome tent and Ben took the partially collapsed one, and I finally got to sleep around 4:30.

The next day we slept in until about 9:30 and then got ready and went to the nearest Metro Station where we took the Metro into downtown Washington DC.
We started at the Washington Monument, then headed over to the Lincoln.
In between them you will find the relatively new World War II Memorial, which has a beautiful fountain and granite panels representing each of the war ships used by the United States during the war. We then headed up to the Lincoln Monument which was about 20 degrees cooler than the rest of the mall.






We rested there for a while and then walked forever and a day down to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. My feet were aching at this point so we decided to watch a movie in the planetarium about space collisions. It was pretty cool to watch, especially after having just studied astronomy with my students. Ben really wanted to eat dinner somewhere in the city, so we picked a stop on the Metro with some hotels nearby figuring that they might have restaurants there. We saw restaurant called Bravo Bravo and the menu posted outside looked pretty good so we decided to go in. You had to descend some stairs to get to this basement bar, but once we got down there and looked around, we decided it was probably a pretty laid-back place to hang out. Instead of normal tables and chairs, there were couches and tables which were slightly lower so you could lounge while eating. We were much disappointed however, when the host came striding up and informed us that they do not serve dinner. They were only serving drinks and there were free ourderves (sp?). Well, we were not so much interested in free appetizers which didn't really look that appetizing at all, so we left and found an Indian restaurant where we ate instead. Ben had never had Indian food so I was happy that he was willing to try it and that he liked it! Personally I consider Indian food one of my all-time favorites. I need to learn how to cook it I think ...


Friday we had intended to go to Mount Vernon but we got a slow start due to some logistical problems and so by the time we got there, the parking was all full. No, not a spot! We drove down the road about a mile and a quarter and there was a little park there along the banks of the Potomac. There was actually a trail that dumped you right into the parking lot at Mount Vernon. We had seen it when we were looking for a spot there. So I had this genius idea to walk the mile and a quarter back to Mount Vernon. Well, it was a nice walk but having walked to much the day before, I was getting pretty tired of walking. We only had a couple of hours at Mount Vernon, but we got the see the house and the tombs and we watched a cool video in the museum. It was a pretty neat interactive theater where the seats vibrated when the cannons were going off and they actually blow snow at you during one part of the movie. After we left Mount Vernon we drove to Fairfax where we met one of my mission companions for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was yummy! We then drove on to Manassas where we were staying with my parents at the Residence Inn. It was so good to see my family! I miss them.



Saturday the weather was a little gloomy, but we drove down the street to Manassas Battlefield, site of both battles of Bull Run. We had a very pleasant time on the guided tour. The guide seemed to know a lot about the battles and drew a very comprehensive picture for us of how the battle went. It was pretty cool. We then drove around to some of the other sites but everyone was pretty much too tired to walk around. We did get out and look at the infamous stone bridge, however. The ground near the banks of the river was covered in bluebells. It was gorgeous! When we got back to the hotel I took a nap since my feet hurt like the dickens and I was just plain exhausted. Late in the afternoon we headed down into DC again, this time parking and walking to the Jefferson Memorial. We then got to walk along the banks of the Potomac at sunset and I've rarely seen anything so beautiful. The weather was perfect!


Sunday morning we loaded up and headed out, stopping after about 45 minutes to attend a Sacrament Meeting. We then continued our journey, stopping only for gas and arrived home around 9pm. It was a long day and a long trip. I was so not ready to go back to work on Monday morning but back I went. Suffice it to say I had a wonderful vacation and wish that Spring Break and my vacation could have lasted longer!

Lane shift ahead. Please drive slow.

I wonder if most people would recognize the error in that phrase. So, let's make it a contest. Leave your answer in the comments!

In all seriousness, I was driving down the road today and when I saw that sign I had a coughing fit and nearly drove off the road. I have to admit though, living in Georgia has seriously affected my ability to properly speak and write English. Well, it's partially that and it's partially the fact that I spent a year and a half of my life speaking Russian instead of English. I find myself mixing up their, they're and there, which is something that I have never before done in my life. I also suspect that I'm becoming senile in my old age. I'm not as young and quick-minded as I once was, that's for sure ...

I went to a Braves game last night. It was enormous good fun, especially since we were sitting in the 7th row! AND, considering we were right behind the visitor's dugout, they had removed the first 5 rows so it was more like 2nd row. It was so great!

Oh it's time, in fact it's way overdue!

It's April! And I got engaged yesterday. Why do you think I've been too busy to blog these last two weeks? Made you look ... April Fools! I'm not engaged, although it was one of the pranks I was considering for this blessed holiday. I'm not much of a prankster. I just don't think it's as fun if I can't be there to see the reactions. Not to mention I don't want anyone to really go crazy and lose sleep over it or anything.

Teaching has been an adventure, as it always is. Next week is Spring Break and so the kids are going CRAZY! Of course, they pretty much think they don't have to work any more. I've never seen such lazy children in my life. Surely I was not this lazy when I was in 6th grade! I don't know how much longer I will be with these kids. Technically the teacher is supposed to come back on April 14th, but she may stay out another 6 weeks on the Family Medical Leave Act. I guess we'll see. That would take us to the end of the year. I think the kids might riot if their teacher doesn't come back. Half the time they say, "I don't want my teacher to come back" and the other half of the time they desperately want their teacher to come back. Usually it's when they are mad at me that they want their teacher back. They're so funny. All in all I love the kids, but they do drive me nuts sometimes. I'm still learning how to deal with them. I feel so blessed to be a teacher though. It's a great working environment.

Still can't believe it's already April. The weather is beautiful but the allergens are out in full force. I never had allergies until I moved here! And now suddenly I'm sneezing all the time during allergy season. That's the only bad thing about Spring ...

Fifty-first post

I've had this blog for how long and I only have 50 posts? My life must be really busy ... but strangely I don't have anything to blog about ...

This week has been kinda crazy. We had a teacher work day on Monday so I only saw the kids for 4 days, but 4 days was enough! I was so emotionally exhausted by Friday evening. This week we have another 4-day week as well, with Good Friday being this coming Friday. Let me tell you I'm looking forward to that! So do I still want to be a teacher you are asking? Yes, I am still planning on it. I figure I really have to give it at least a couple of years before I decide against it. I really do enjoy teaching, the kids can just be difficult to deal with sometimes. I LOVE my co-workers. Teachers really are amazing people. They really do care about the kids and want them to learn.

So you may be wondering how we fared out here with all the tornadoes last night. Well, everything is just fine where we are. We haven't had any tornadoes right around us. There was at least one that touched down in downtown Atlanta last night and it did quite significant damage there. Then there was another that touched down north of here today. It completely demolished an older couple's house. The wife did not survive and the husband is in critical condition at the hospital. It's so heartbreaking to see the pile of lumber and know that it used to be a house and also to think about all that family is going through. It makes me feel so lucky and so blessed to have all that I have and to be safe right now.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, my friend finally cut all his hair. So, no more mullet.

The Mullitia

I have a friend who in an act of rebellion decided to grow his hair long and grow a full beard after he left BYU. A couple of weeks ago he shaved most of his beard off and he left a really bushy goatee. I've been bugging him to cut his hair because I personally think it looks really awful. Last week he decided to experiment with corn rows:


Well, he decided that he would let me cut his hair if I would first give him a mullet. So tonight I cut him a disgustingly lovely mullet:

I'm not sure how long he's planning on keeping the mullet for. Not long ... I hope ... I can't believe this was EVER a cool hairstyle.

I got this recipe from my aunt at my sister's bridal shower. It was a sort-of game where we had to guess the missing ingredients. So I just found it the other day and since we had a fryer chicken in the freezer I decided to see if I could modify it slightly to go in the crock pot. This is what I came up with:

Viennese Chicken

Cook together in large pan:
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 minced onion

When the onion is yellow add:
2 T. Canola oil or Extra Virgin Olive Oil would probably work well too
1 green pepper, chopped
6 mushrooms, chopped

When vegetables are all sauteed, dump those in a crock pot along with:
1 roasting chicken, cut into pieces
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
1 can tomato soup
1 Cup water
Salt, Paprika, and I added some Pampered Chef Greek Seasoning, but I think anything with garlic and something that goes well with poultry would probably work well here. You might have to get a little creative with the spices.

Cook on high 4-5 hours or so. About 30 minutes before you take it out, mix together:
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 Cup Sour Cream

Stir into the chicken and sauce.

Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.

It turned out pretty tasty although I think with the skin on the chicken it was a little greasy. Maybe next time I wouldn't add the chicken broth from the can. If you need extra moisture, I think a little extra water with a little salt would probably work just fine. The tomato soup isn't in the original recipe, but I added it for flavor and moisture. I might consider using chicken breast next time to make it lower in fat. Let me know if you try it!

It's amazing ...

I got a full 8 hours of sleep last night for the first time in ... forever and it's really amazing how energized you feel in the morning after a nights sleep like that! Or maybe that's just because it's so atypical for me. When I was in college I made absolutely sure I got 8 hours of sleep every night. I had a very tedious job which involved quickly looking back and forth between two computer screens, so I had to be fully awake for that. I found that if I didn't get 8 hours of sleep I couldn't function very well at my job. Not to mention reading textbooks ... ugh. But now that I'm out of college I've stopped sleeping 8 hours a night. For some reason it's easier to function on less than 8 hours now.

On Saturday our singles branch went and helped out a build for Habitat for Humanity. We along with several other small groups actually finished 6 houses that day. Most of our work involved laying sod. It was VERY dirty work. When they called us for lunch, the best I could do was get my fingers clean with 2 baby wipes! I was still filthy. The Outback Steakhouse catered lunch. After lunch we finished up with the landscaping and then Habitat, along with Clark Howard who is a prominent radio talk show host here in Atlanta, dedicated the 6 houses. It was neat to see all the people who had helped and then see the families who would be living in these new houses at a fraction of the cost of buying a comparable home. Some pictures:

We WERE raking, but we stopped to pose for the camera.

Sod line ...

All the folks who came out to help.

One of the houses we finished. Yeah, we laid ALL that sod you see.

Clean Floor!

I HAVE to post on February 29th, of course! It only happens once every four years. Not that I particularly like February 29th, as it lengthens an already very long month. January and February are by far the longest months of the year, I've concluded.

I swept and mopped my floors last night. I won't tell you when the last time was, but I will tell you it wasn't recent. It's such a daunting task; having to move all the furniture and not to mention that the linoleum in our house covers quite a large surface. I have to mop the kitchen,

the laundry area,

and the main living room area.

It's so much! But I must admit, it's so nice to have a clean floor again.

Sunday, Sunday ...

It's Sunday again, and the second time in two days that I'm blogging! Sometimes I think my life is so boring, but maybe I need to just take some time each day to sit down and reflect. In general I think there has been a lack of reflection in my life lately, so I've made an inner commitment to do more of it. I talked to my best friend on the phone last night for an hour and a half and I realized that close, personal friendships are very lacking in my life right now. For a long time I had Joe, but then he left and I haven't really filled the void. Not that I particularly want to, but it has kind-of turned me into a very boring person. Sometimes I just feel like there's no one to really relate to and share all my inner feelings with. Well, more like the only people I want to share those things with are, for the most part, miles and miles away. I am grateful for my brother and sister-in-law who are nearby, whom I feel very close to and feel like I can share most things with. Still, there's something about having a best girl friend that just can't be beat. Someone you can talk to all the time and go places and have girls' nights with ... I love my roommates and everything, but they just can't be that for me. I miss my best friend Kylene!!!

That said, I love Sunday, but I'll be glad when I have my own place. Personally, I find very little use for a television, other than watching the occasional movie. But when it comes to Sunday, I hate that the TV is on ALL AFTERNOON. I realize that for some people, TV is relaxing and an emotional stress reliever, but for me, my stress level increases 10-fold when no matter where I go in the house I can hear the stupid TV, and especially on Sunday when I want to be doing Sunday things but I'm forced to go into my room and turn on quiet music so I won't hear the TV. Okay, so I'm done venting ... We had really good talks this Sunday in sacrament meeting. Two of my very good friends in the branch are getting married soon: one in April and one in May. They are both very recent converts and they both gave very excellent, well-thought-out talks. I really appreciate when people take the time to think through their talks and try to tell us what's in their hearts and heads instead of just regurgitating the conference talk they've been assigned to pull their topic from. I also appreciate hearing personal experiences more than just scripture after scripture after scripture. Somehow it seems to mean a lot more when I see how a particular topic relates to someone else. Then I start relating it to my own life and the Spirit speaks to me. This is a skill that I have not mastered yet. I used to be quite good at giving talks, I think, but I shy away from bearing my testimony and I haven't given a talk in a while. I think part of the issue goes back to what I said earlier; that I haven't spent much time in reflection lately. So, I think I need to go and reflect now ...

Finally got my hair cut

I have not had a haircut for 8 months, and finally I went today and got it cut because it was driving me nuts! Turns out that one of the reasons why it has been looking so bad is that the top layer of my hair grows faster than the bottom layers. I was very nervous to get it cut considering some of the butch jobs I've had in the past 2 years, but when I got in and sat down and expressed my concerns, the lady started speaking my language and I knew I had found a kindred hair spirit! One of my biggest frustrations is the fact that I've had good layers and I've had horrible layers, and I never seem to know what I'm going to get! Apparently, there are different ways to do layers, but a lot of people just cut layers all the same way, no matter what kind of hair you have. It seems to me that I've been getting the wrong kind of layers for a while. And I think the stylists kept cutting those layers just because that's the way they were. I'm so happy with the way it has turned out! I can tell from the way that it's drying that it's going to be a GOOD haircut.

In other news, teaching is going well. It's definitely a challenge. The biggest challenge is getting all the kids to be quiet so I can get done what I need to do during class. It's fun to torture the kids with consequences though. I don't arbitrarily assign consequences of course, but when they deserve it, they get it!! Yesterday they were being really loud in homeroom at the end of the day while waiting for bus call, so when they announced the buses I made the kids wait for a minute and then walk slowly behind me out to the buses. The were chomping at the bit to get out of school ha ha ha. It was funny. Sometimes the kids can be really sweet, but a lot of the time we just call them our little monsters.

Yesterday was my roommate's birthday, and so as a birthday present to her I got up a little early and made breakfast for her. I was going to do the whole pancake, eggs and sausage thing, but then I thought maybe it would be nice to do something different so I decided to make crepes instead! My last year that I was in Utah my roomates made crepes for me on my birthday. It was the first time I'd had crepes and I just fell in love with them. Actually, they have something similar in Ukraine. Russian pancakes are pretty much identical to crepes, although they put very different things in them. In Ukraine and Russia you put meat and mushrooms, cheese, cabbage and anything you want inside a crepe. They even make ones with bananas and chocolate syrup. I used to love getting crepes over there ... mmmmmm ... I once thought of opening a similar restaurant which had the same basic concept--well, not a restaurant, but more like a little stand. I still think it would be fun, but there seems to not be nearly enough time in this life to do everything we want. Or maybe I'm just really bad at organizing my time ...

Teaching!

I'm teaching! I haven't been hired as a full-time teacher, but I have a long-term subbing position for a teacher who has gone out on maternity leave. Because she has to be on bed rest for the last month of her pregnancy, it's going to end up being about a 2 1/2 month assignment! It's a lot of fun. I love getting paid a little more, and knowing that I have a job to go to every day. I'm enjoying the teachers on my team and I enjoy most of the children, most of the time. There are a few that are going to drive me bananas, but I'm working to get them under control. The other thing I love about this assignment is that I get to teach science! It's earth science, which I didn't think would be so exciting, but I'm actually really enjoying it.

In other news ... well, is there other news? Joe is doing well in California. He is enjoying being a missionary. He has his own struggles, but he is managing. I still write to him every week, and I typically get a response, although there is not too much detail in there. Oh well, that just means that he is being a focused missionary ;-)

I'll just say one more thing. I'm disgusted at the way this election year is shaping up. I was so impressed with Romney; not only his values, which I share, but his track record as well. I'm disgusted with McCain and Huckabee who have torpedoed Romney and his bid for the presidency. So, McCain will never have my vote. If it comes down to McCain and Obama, I'll vote for Obama. If it's McCain and Hillary, I'm abstaining! Nuf said!

A time to weep ... a time to rejoice

This last week I lost one of my very closest friends here in Georgia. I don't remember when I met Daniel, it seems like he was always just around. But I do remember when we started to become very close, and that was around the end of October of last year. He was having a very difficult time in his life and my roommate Tamra reached out to him in his moment of need and brought him into our lives. Since that day, you could find Daniel at our house nearly every evening and most Saturdays as well. He filled a need in our lives, a need that we had to feel needed. Knowing that Daniel was available at any time to give us a Priesthood blessing if we needed, was a great comfort to us as well. We in turn gave him hope and encouragement, something he desperately needed in his search for inner peace and direction.

I loved to be with Daniel. He had a passion and energy for life that I have rarely seen. Whenever he was here at our house he simply could not resist climbing all the banisters and onto the roof and hanging from every possible beam. He was small, but he was strong, and frequently complained that he was going to lose his 8-pack because we fed him too many cookies. Daniel and I spent many cumulative hours together at Wal-Mart, where we discussed everything from work and family to the Gospel and our futures. I think we probably went to Wal-Mart more in 1 month than most people go in a year. Some of our best conversations were held while wandering the aisles of Wal-Mart, looking for nothing in particular. Daniel was so giving and was so excited to do anything to please anyone. Most of all, he loved the Gospel and frequently talked about how glad he was that he had found the true church of Jesus Christ.

Fairly soon after he started hanging out with us (my roommates and I), Daniel began to get excited about going on a mission, and some days there was nothing else that he could talk about. I could feel the excitement within him and yet I knew his struggles, so I prayed that he would be able to bring his inner demons under control to the point that he would be able to fulfill his dream of going on a mission. But I think sometimes, as humans, we hang on to those things and habits that we know in the end could destroy us simply because they are familiar to us and familiarity breeds comfort, for better or for worse. And that describes what happened in the end, to my friend Daniel Shell. The last few days of his life were difficult ones, having injured himself physically and then being injured emotionally by someone he cared very deeply for. I know he thought he had found the best solution for everyone when he took his own life last Thursday.

When I got the news, I was in shock. I had lately been worried about him, because I had seen the signs of the inner demons beginning to resurface, but he had closed himself off from my comfort and advice. Not only mine, but everyone's. In his mind, he had a task to accomplish and he was going to do it; and not you, nor I, nor anyone could stop him. As I watched him head down this dangerous path, I could not do anything but pray, as I knew it would end in tragedy. Little did I think it would end so soon, or so tragically. And so it was, that when I heard the news, while outwardly I remained composed, inwardly I wept. I wept for the good man who had left this earth far too early. I wept for his family who would find it difficult to forgive. I wept for his friends, most of whom never knew Daniel as well as I or my roommates knew him and would not understand. And I wept for myself, as I had just lost a great friend and playmate.

In the midst of sadness, however, I find reason to rejoice. I believe in God and I believe that while he is just, he is also merciful. I know that my friend is not gone forever and that I will see him again. I believe that Daniel is now free from suffering and that God is keeping close tabs on him. I also believe that Daniel has the opportunity to share the Gospel that he loved so much with others who left this earth never having heard the good news. I'm sure that when President Hinckley passed from this life on Sunday evening, Daniel was right there at the gates, ecstatic to meet this great prophet. (Or, more likely, Daniel was climbing on the gates to have a better view). And so, given what I know, I rejoice. I rejoice that God sent his Son to break the bands of death and to give us hope of living with Him again. I rejoice in the presence of the Holy Ghost which has given me such great comfort these past few days. Lastly, and most of all, I rejoice in the knowledge that my friend is at peace, and that someday, hopefully later rather than sooner, when I leave this frail existence, he will greet me with the same big hug and bright smile as he always did when he was alive.

In loving memory of Daniel Lee Shell (1986-2008)

Red light ... Green light!

Do you remember playing that game in elementary school (and perhaps after if you were a big nerd like me)? Sometimes that's how I feel like my life is going. Go go go go go, and then stop and wait for a while. Strange how even when it's go go going, it seems to be at a standstill ... Deep thoughts ...

Since my last blog, I've started subbing! I've pretty much had two full weeks of it! In fact, I've only had two weeks of it which is weird because I feel like I've been subbing my whole life. It's strange, but I feel very comfortable in the school and in the classroom. I suppose it's probably because I always did very well in school, so I'm really in my element when I'm in the public school. I do enjoy teaching too, when I get the chance. I wish that more teachers would leave teaching opportunities instead of just time-fillers when they have a sub. Last Friday I was in a band classroom and the teacher had me put the children through a 50-minute, very boring video on Beethoven. Well, I could sure tell you just about anything you wanted to know about Beethoven, and it was slightly interesting to me, but not so much to middle-schoolers. So of course they're chatting through the whole thing and paying only as much attention as they need. And of course they're supposed to be filling out a worksheet while they watch it and of course I'm spoon-feeding them the answers as we go along because after all, it's middle school and that's what you do in middle school. The point is, I think teachers think they are doing subs a favor when they give them a video for the kids to watch. Right ... As if it wasn't hard enough to maintain crowd control as a sub anyway. But put on a boring video so they have nothing to do but fool around and chat with each other. *Sigh* Well, I'm learning lots about being a teacher from this ...

I've come to the conclusion that ellipses are my favorite form of punctuation ... Perhaps it's because of the way I live my life--always thinking about something ... rarely coming to conclusions ...

Okay, okay, I'll stop with the ellipses ... someday ...

The End of Another Week

And 2008 is upon us! I still think it was just yesterday when everyone was buzzing about Y2K and then the year changed and nothing catastrophic happened after all! I guess computers were smarter than we thought.

No substitute calls this week, although there were only 2 possible days. I believe Gwinnett County begins hiring for new teachers in the middle of January so, we'll see what happens then. In the meantime, I'm just trying to figure what to do in the meantime ...

New Year's Eve was great this year! Some friends and I went to a party at another friends house. They have a pretty big house and there were probably 50 people there or so. They have a game room with ping-pong, pool and foosball, so that's where I spent most of my time, beating everyone at ping-pong. Well, everyone except my friend Brooke. She beat me twice ;-) They also had a bonfire going outside and fireworks as well. I had a blast just hanging out with my roommates and other friends. Here's some pics.

The roommates

Daniel LOVES all this attention from the girls

Me beating Daniel at ping-pong

So all the rumors are true. I have a northern accent. We were having a discussion last night about the words "don" and "dawn", which to me, are quite distinct from one another and I say them differently. So, I did a little bit of research this morning and found this quiz which I took. And yes, I am an inland northerner.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North   You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
North Central
The South
The West
Boston
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Merry After Christmas!

It's almost the New Year! My parents go home tomorrow morning :-( They have been here for a week already. We've had a lot of fun since they've been here though. We've spent a lot of time just hanging out with the fam this Christmas. Yesterday my mom, brother Matthew and I went down to Warm Springs, GA to the cottage of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It's known as the Little White House, and it was really neat to tour around and learn about one of our nation's presidents. We also got to see the pools where he used to swim for rehabilitation from Polio. The pools stay about 88 degrees year-round due to the warm springs for which the town is named.

I received an external hard drive for Christmas. I don't think my parents knew how much I needed one! I've been running out of memory on my 30G hard drive for a while now and I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Now I've got 60G more to work with. I'm going to start by backing up all my pictures and my music! I'm so excited!

Altogether it's been a good Christmas. I wish that things in my life could be more resolved with respect to a job, but somehow the Lord always provides, and I need to strengthen my faith that He will continue to do so. Best wishes for the New Year!

Uh ... can't think of a title

Well it's mid-December! I can't believe that the time is going so quickly. In one week my family will arrive for Christmas! I'm so excited that they are coming! I LOVE getting my whole family together, and it happens so rarely. Unfortunately we won't have the whole family together this Christmas either, but I'll take what I can get!

I had the most amazing experience this week. I was able to go to the Atlanta North Mission Conference and sing some Christmas songs for their program. My good friend Brooke and I sang 2 duets. I really miss singing; it's something I don't do nearly often enough. The coolest part though was just being there with the missionaries and feeling the spirit of missionary work. The energy in the room was palpable! I thought equally of my mission and of Joe who is now serving in California. How grateful I am that I went on a mission, and how grateful I am for Joe who is currently serving!

I did get an email from Joe this week. He is liking California and he has a good trainer who works hard with him. He's in a biking area right now, and I guess he is riding a rickety old bike that keeps breaking down, but nevertheless, life is good for him.

The second highlight of me week was Austin bringing the kids over on Thursday afternoon. I got off work at around 2, and Austin had called saying they had the car and they had a few minutes to stop by if I was available. Well of course I was! So they came over and I even enticed Emily to walk for the first time and on video even by standing her up 5 feet or so from a battery-operated singing-walking chicken. She was so intrigued by the chicken that she just took off and walked the 7 steps to the chicken! It was so cool and Austin was so excited. Emily's just lucky she has such a smart aunt ;-)

Well, hopefully I'll post again soon. Happy happy holidays!

The GACE

I received my unofficial scores for the GACE exam by email on Monday. At first I couldn't figure out the email because of the format, but when I saw "Status: Passed" I freaked out! I was so excited. It didn't tell me what my score was or anything, I had to wait for the official score which I received in the mail today. They don't even give you a percentage there either. It just gives you a scaled score out of 4, with a 4 being "Most or all of the questions answered correctly". I got a 4 on all the multiple choice questions for the "Earth Science", "Life Science", "Physical Science" and "Characteristics of Science" sections. There were also two essay questions, one on "Physical Science" and one on "Characteristics of Science". I got a 4 on the "Physical Science" one and a 3 on the "Characteristics of Science" one. So yes, I passed with flying colors! And I was so worried ...

A little survey

My friend sent this to me and I responded with my answers. I thought it would be fun to post them here and invite you all to post your answers on your own blogs!!

1.What time is it
5:19 P.M.
2.What's your name
Tabitha
3.What are you most afraid of
Falling
4.What is the most recent movie that you have seen
The Christmas List, but if you mean in the theater, it was the Mr. Bean’s Holiday
5. Place of birth
Rochester, NY
6.Favorite food
Pizza or fajitas, it’s a toss-up
6. What's your natural hair color
Brown
7. Ever been a Neat Freak
Yeah, I like things to be tidy
8.Ever been skinny dipping
I plan to sometime in my life
9.Love someone so much it made you cry
Ah … yes … and I still do.
10.Been in a car accident
Fender bender
11.Croutons or bacon bits
Croutons
12.Favorite day of the week
Don’t have one right now
13.Favorite restaurant
Anywhere I can get pizza or fajitas
14.Favorite Flower
I’m not picky, depends on who is giving them to me I guess
15.Favorite sport to watch
Any sport my friends are playing, especially if Joe’s playing
16.Favorite drink
Water, water and more water
17.Favorite ice cream
Chocolate, I think, or vanilla with chocolate and caramel in it
18.Warner Brothers/Disney
Disney I guess
19.Ever been on a ship
I don’t think so … I’ve been on lots of boats though!
20.What color is your bedroom carpet
Greenish
21.How many times did you fail your driver's test
None
23.What do you do when you are bored
Play games, surf the net
24.Bedtime
Midnight-ish
25.Who will respond to this e-mail the quickest
Yeah, I’m not sending this as an email! But I’d love for people to respond on their own blogs!
26. Who will least likely respond
Good question
27.Who is the person that you are most curious to see their responses
All of them!
28.Favorite TV shows
I watch TV randomly. I think most of what’s on TV nowadays is trash
29.Last person you went to dinner with
Tamra and Daniel!
30. Park or Zoo
Park, definitely!
31.What are your favorite colors
I really like all colors put together, but currently my very favorite color is pink
32.How many tattoos do you have
None
33.How many pets do you have
One, a cat: Kisya
34.Which came first, the chicken or the egg
The chicken, and then I ate it
35. What do you want to do before you die?
Raise a family
36. Have you ever been to Hawaii
No
37 .Have you been to countries outside the U.S.
Yes, Canada, England and Ukraine
38.How many people are you sending this e-mail
None
39.Time this survey ended
5:36 P.M. (I got distracted)

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving came and went so quickly this year! I made a turkey with all the trimmings and it was so fabulous. Tamra, Angela and I stayed here and Angela's family came over as well. We had so much food, it was amazing!! And nearly everything that I made turned out well. I was a slightly less than completely satisfied with the stuffing, but ... you can't be 100% 100% of the time.

Us with our Thanksgiving feast

I've been so lazy this whole vacation. It's been nice to have a real vacation. Despite the fact that I have been not been employed full-time for 4 months now, this vacation is the first time I've been able to relax without feeling guilty because I have been working a lot lately. It's nice to feel like I deserve a break.

This next week is going to be very interesting! I get my test results back on Monday, and I'm working Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Then I have my sub workshop on Friday! I'm excited to start substitute teaching! I believe that's what will really open doors for me with respect to getting a teaching job.

We've been decorating our house for Christmas! My roommates and I think we're really hilarious at midnight and we say all sorts of really random things. I took a video last night and I laugh my head off every time I watch it. I've embedded it above for your entertainment. Our house is starting to look really cool with all these decorations. I'm so excited for Christmas this year!

A bad hair year

I had to laugh when my mother emailed me and asked me for some pictures of myself to put on the family Christmas card this year. I went through and found a few pictures which I then sent, only to have her respond shortly after that with a request for more pictures specifically with my hair down! Well, this year has been a terrible hear for my hair. It really started in the Spring of 2006 when my hair got so long that I went and had it cut. I've never had such a TERRIBLE haricut in my life. Every haircut since then has been an effort to repair that horrible haircut of a year and a half ago. Finally I decided that the only way to have good hair again was to let it grow out and then have it cut just for a little style. And I'm going to save up and go back to the guy that cut my hair in June (who did a fabulous job by the way). I haven't had it cut since then, I've just been letting it grow out, and only recently have I felt like I could wear my hair down again! So, sadly, 90% of my pictures from this year are with my hair pulled back in a pony-tail! And finding a picture I actually liked amongst the remaining 10% was, alas, not successful. So, yesterday afternoon, I let my hair down and my I had my roommate take some pictures of me outside. One of the pictures you will see at the top of my blog. I am just so pleased that my hair is finally growing out again!!

Today was my last day with my roommate's Pre-K class. I can't even begin to describe the fun I have had these last 2 weeks with these kids!! It hardly felt like a job at all! I was like, what? I get paid to be here and to have fun with kids all day?? It was so rewarding and I learned so many things. I have a 5-day weekend and then I will go in next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but I will be with other kids. We took a picture today of me with all the kids (my hair is pulled back, of course).

Oh goodness!

(Me with my beautiful roommates on Halloween--That's me the cat-Meow!!)

It's been a long time since I blogged! I knew it had been, but I was trying to get the energy to write something really good. Well, I'm sick again. I think working at the preschool has exposed me to all sorts of new bugs. Hopefully I'll build up a gigantic immunity and I won't get sick at all this winter!!! (Wishful thinking!)

I can't believe it's only 8:30 pm. This whole daylight savings time really throws me off. Since the change, it gets to be 6pm and I think it's bedtime because it's dark outside. I remember similarly on my mission going home at 4pm in the winter time for dinner and it would be getting dark then. Imagine how much I wanted to go back out and work in the cold and dark! Nevertheless, I did. I've taken little naps every afternoon this week too, because I just get exhausting running after kids all day. At the beginning, my feet hurt because I was used to being lethargic all day. Now I'm used to standing up and so they don't hurt any more. I also burn more calories standing up, hooray ;-) Something else that's nice is that I get 2 healthy meals a day: breakfast and lunch, and I don't have to buy it myself. That's a definite benefit of working at a daycare/preschool. Granted, the school lunches aren't anything to write home about, but if it gets me through the day and I'm not spending extra money to go out for lunch, I'm a-ok!! I don't know if this is true in all states, but in Georgia the pre-K is funded by the state. Well, funded by the lottery, anyway. So, it's free for all kids. I could really see it being beneficial as long as you can get and keep good teachers. My roommate's class (where I spend most of my time there), is very smart, and very lucky to have such a good teacher. Most of them are 4 years old and they are recognizing and writing the letters. About half of the 20 kids can write their names legibly at this point of the school year. I know that I went into Kindergarten being able to read, but I know that wasn't the case with most of the kids I went to school with. In my Kindergarten class there were only 2 kids who could read, myself and another boy. He actually read better than I, which I remember made me mad. I was academically competetive, even back then.

I did take my big test on Saturday the 3rd. I got very ill the day before. I was throwing up and everything--it was awful. But I received a priesthood blessing and while I went to that test the next day with a headache and a tender stomach, I never felt nauseous and I was able to succesfully complete the test. The scores will be reported at the end of November. I believe I passed, but I'm not going to say for sure because you just never know, do you? I remember feeling very nervous about my answers to the 2 short essay questions. Well, if it's the Lord's will, then I passed, didn't I? Two days later, on Monday, I received a call from Gwinnett county saying that I had been approved to be on the substitute list and that I could attend a sub workshop on the 30th of November. Timewise it's far away, but I have a guaranteed job until Thanksgiving, and then I should be able to substitute teach in the public schools starting in December. I went to a job fair last Saturday and was able to leave my resume with 4 or 5 different middle schools. When I spoke with their representatives, their advice was pretty much always the same: "Get into long-term substituting". I know that substitute teaching will open doors for me. While it's difficult financially, I have faith in the Lord and I'm continuing to pay my tithing. I'm not the type of person that enjoys a really drawn-out means to an end, but the Lord recently has been teaching me this sort of patience. Spending at least 4 months in an effort to become a teacher (most of it just waiting for the next step) is not on my list of the most efficient paths ever. But, I know that the experiences I am having now are helping me to prepare and that they are necessary. In the Lord's own time shall all blessings be realized ...

Crazy Daze

I can't believe how fast this last week and a half has gone by. It was birthday week here at my house last week. One roommate had a birthday on Monday the 22nd, mine was the 23rd, and my other roommate's was Friday the 26th! We decided to go out once to celebrate, which actually ended up being on my birthday. It took forever to agree on a restaurant that would suit all three of the birthday girls, but we finally decided on Dave & Busters which can get pricy, but we all love it. If you've never been to Dave & Busters, it's like a grown-up Chuck-E-Cheese's, and they have more than just pizza. They have Chili's-style (really good--in fact better than Chili's) food, and a really large gaming area with all sorts of games that big kids like to play. It's really fun and you could spend a fortune there. You put money on a card in the form of points and then you go around and swipe it to play each game which costs a certain amount of points. I'm sure that if you actually knew how much you were spending on the games you would never play half of them. Oh well, ignorance is bliss I guess.

My mom was in town the weekend before last. We had so much fun hanging out with Austin and Jonathan and the kids! I think one of my favorite things that we did was go to the Babyland Cabbage Patch hospital where you can see a Cabbage Patch baby being born. Scooter had such a fun time and it was so cute to watch him! We also went to Helen which was fun and difficult because there were so many people and the shops were so small that it was hard to find places to take the kids. We had a blast anyway though, and it was just so much fun to spend time with my family. There is nothing in this world that I love more!

I took my big test yesterday, the one I have been studying 2 months for. Some of it I felt very unprepared for, a lot of it I recalled perfectly, and some questions I had to think very hard. I felt completely unprepared for one of the essay questions and had to really dig back into my memory about 8 years to college inorganic chemisty. I doubt I got full credit on it, but with any luck I didn't miss too many points. Altogether I think I passed it. I would be very surprised and disappointed if I didn't. Well, we shall see!

I was sick as a dog on Friday ... so unbelievably sick. I don't know if I got food poisoning or what, but it was horrible! It was so awful that at one point, I didn't have the energy to even sit down for more than 5 minutes. I had to go and lay down for several minutes and I didn't have the energy to talk much either. We had a huge branch activity on Friday night that I had to let someone else take over because I just couldn't do it. I received a blessing that afternoon because I knew had that test on Saturday that I couldn't miss. I was promised that I would be able to take the test and that my illness would only minimally affect me. At the current moment I still have a partial headache that won't go away, but other than that I feel pretty well. And I was able to take my test on Saturday, which I was so grateful for!

I had received several letters from Joe so far. He is doing really well. He actually sent me a picture with him in it yesterday. I was shocked but grateful! His hair looks so funny cut so short. Hee hee! His birthday is a week from tomorrow, the 5th of November. He is requesting more letters from anyone and everyone so here is his address until the 28th of November.

Elder Joseph Michael Norris
California Los Angeles Mission
MTC Box #261 11/28
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84604

Have a fabulous day!

The best picture

My Uncle Bob took this picture in August when Joe and I drove to NY and went camping with my family. It's my favorite picture of Joe and I. Enjoy!

What a quiet, peaceful, beautiful morning

Fall is here. The weather is getting so cool and crisp! I don't love cold weather, but there is something so relieving about each season as it arrives: the coolness of the fall, the cold of the winter, the spring breezes, and the summer heat; each one bringing with its new climate new opportunity for adventure!

These last few days have been very interesting and wonderful. I registered with another temp agency which seems like it may have some more possibilities than the other one I registered with. They called me on Friday with an offer for a job, but it was $12/hour working in downtown Atlanta, 25 miles from my house--in rush hour traffic?? I don't think so! I'd spend so much of that in gas! And an hour and a half commute? Never again. I'd rather go work at Sam's Club!

Friday I went to work at the Pre-School where my roommate works. Her teaching assistant was out of town, and they were desperate for someone to come so they hired me for a day. It was SOOOO much fun! They kids were so cute and so smart! I taught one girl named Stephanie how to catch a ball. She was so excited that she could do it! The kids all had to be my friend and were telling me how much they loved me after only a couple of hours. Kids are so much fun, aren't they?

Friday night some friends and I went camping. It wasn't actually last minute, we planned several days in advance!! When we arrived at the planned destination however, they told us they had no available campsites!! But they did tell us about another campground which had availability and it ended up being cheaper. All 5 of us got onto one campsite which was right on Lake Lanier, and it had a small bluff where we pitched our tents. They had small tent pads, but we didn't want to be so squished. When we got there the sun was setting and it was so beautiful that we decided to set up the tents later in the dark and go take a walk on the beach and enjoy the sunset.


The sunset was so pretty over the lake!! We also decided to see if we could get a good group picture. After several tries, this is what we ended up with:


The next morning I was able to get a picture of the lovely setup of our campsite:


We had so much fun! It was such a nice break to go camping, even for one night. It got cold, but we all managed to stay warm in our beds. I love camping. I just love being in the outdoors! Some of my fondest memories are of camping.

And last piece of news, but certainly not least, I got a letter from Joe yesterday! He is doing very well. He LOVES the MTC. He says he doesn't have a lot of people writing him so I'm supposed to keep it up! I felt a little bad then since I didn't write him at all this week as I was taking a break. I can't believe he's already been gone for 2 1/2 weeks! It's such a short amount of time, but it feels like he's been gone forever. I love him so much, and of course I miss him, but he is exactly where he needs to be right now, and so am I.

My cat is crazy

I was downstairs earlier this evening and suddenly I heard the frantic scratching of claws. I looked up and saw the cat dangling from the landing at the top of the winding staircase. I don't know what she had been doing, but she had grossly miscalculated of the distance between here and there. If it weren't for some quick claw-work, she might have taken a nasty fall onto the railing which wouldn't have been pretty.

I've been working a little bit lately. I worked Friday, Monday, and today all day. It was the same job I worked 3 days at last month as well. Pay is dismal, but it kept me busy. I received my Pampered Chef kit last week so I'm getting started with that soon.

Joe still hasn't written to me. I'm sure he'll write eventually. I've written him 3 letters already, but it's just too much to keep writing when he doesn't respond so I think I'll take a break for a while. I want to be supportive, but I can't give him all of my energy. I need to take care of myself first. I have a lot I'm trying to accomplish in my life right now.

Whew!

A whole week gone by nearly since my last post. I can't believe how busy I've been this last week, even though I don't have a job! I need a job, but things just aren't coming together like I had hoped. I'm thinking I may have to reevaluate my strategy.

We have a new roommate moving in next week! One of our good friends, Marisha, is moving in to the other room downstairs. My other roommate had put a bunch of her stuff into that room for storage, so we cleaned it out a few days ago. There was a large table in there which we moved up to my room. I've had the space in my room for a desk ever since the very beginning, but I never was able to get a desk. So, I decided to improvise and use this big table. I'm doing some work from home for a lady who runs an electrolysis clinic; just some marketing and general office help. It helps having a desk so that I can go in my room and not be distracted. I'm also working on studying for this exam that I'm taking on October 27th. I'm going through the book that I bought and I think I'll be ready for the test! I think the scores get reported around the end of November, so after that my certification requirements will be fulfilled and my teaching application will be complete! Then, I can apply for a job should one come up! I'm so excited to be a teacher! I've wanted this for a very long time.

I haven't heard from Joe yet, so I don't know how he's doing. I still miss him, of course, but it's getting easier. I'm getting a package together to send to him. I hope I'll hear from him this week!

Well, I'd better sign off for now. I have a lot to do today!

Feeling better!

My eyes are dropping as I attempt to write this blog. You may be wondering to yourself why I've suddenly started blogging every day! Well, I've concluded that I'm so used to talking to Joe, that I would always tell him about my day. Now that he's gone ... I've started to tell the whole blogosphere how my day went! I still think, "Oh that was funny! I need to text Joe!" And then I realize, he doesn't have his cell phone with him any more!

I'm feeling so much better! I think my sinus infection is going away! Hoorah!

So today I decided to fix everything in the house that was broken. There wasn't a lot, mostly it was broken light bulbs that you needed to stepstool to reach. There was also a broken recliner which required a new screw which I managed to procure from Wal-Mart. I also got a stepstool so I could change said light bulbs, finally. Then, I decided to sweep and mop the floors which is quite an endeavor, let me tell you! Not only is the kitchen linoleum, but the living room as well. So of course when I was finished mopping it, I decided I needed to wax it as well. Now it's all shiny and beautiful!!! While I was sweeping, my roommate picked up around the house, and my other roommate did the dishes later so now the house is so clean, it makes me so happy! I don't think I could be any happier or I would just burst! If I was any more tired though I would be dead asleep so ...

Sooo tired ...

A picture of me with my friend Karen when I used to work at the MTC in the cafeteria.

I can't believe it's only been 2 days since Joe left. Well, technically one and a half. But it's been 2 days since I've seen him. Two years is starting to seem like an eternity! It already feels like he's been gone for weeks. Ah well.

I'm still fighting this sinus infection. I'm POSITIVE I have a sinus infection. I've got the horrible headache and the occasional pressure changes in my sinuses to prove it! I received a priesthood blessing tonight so hopefully I'll be on the mend soon.

I'm studied a bit more tonight for this test I'm taking at the end of October. It's actually kind-of interesting to be reading about physical science, like the planets and geology and stuff which are all things that I haven't studied since probably 9th grade in high school, which was ... uh ... a couple of eons ago. And of course, back then Pluto was still a planet. Now it is a "celestial body". Whatever.

Anyway, I'm falling asleep ... signing off for now ...

Soooooo tired...

It has been such a good day! Can I just say that this is actually easier than I thought it would be? Of course I miss Joe, but I'm so happy! I appreciate all your prayers and comments. I know that the Lord is giving me a lot of strength right now.

I am starting to do some work from home this week. I will be working with a lady who owns and runs an electrolysis and microderm abrasion clinic. It's a one-woman show and she really needs someone with some computer savvy and creative juices to help her get done some of the little tasks. I'm excited because I can work from home on my own schedule and that helps me to be a little more organized. I also got my substitute teaching application squared away today which means that it just has to get approval from the board and then I can attend a substitute teaching workshop and then I can substitute teach! I don't know if I mentioned this, but I'm hopefully going to be doing Pampered Chef as well. Just need to find 4 people to do my first 4 shows! Any takers?

Well, it's late, I'm yawning and I hope this Theraflu is kicking in. I need to get some good sleep tonight. I'm pretty confident that I have a sinus infection. Lovely ... no insurance ... Ah well. We'll just Therflu it out of my system. My roommate says it works like a charm!

It finally came ...

I never really believed that this day would actually come, but it has arrived. Joe is a missionary and he's leaving early tomorrow morning for Utah! I actually got to see him tonight after he was set apart as a missionary, which I had thought would be weird, but in reality it wasn't that weird. It actually calmed me quite a bit. He tried to shake my hand, but I refused. Anything less than a hug just isn't worth the trouble!! I'm feeling okay right now, but I'm worried about trying to go to sleep. When left to my own thoughts who KNOWS what could happen. Anyway, I would really appreciate all your prayers right now during this difficult time, if you could. The Lord has blessed me with a lot of strength because I know all this that I have did not come from inside me!! Without the Lord I am nothing, I know this now more clearly than ever. I'm also grateful for the perspective I have as a returned missionary; it helps a LOT. I just need to remember to look on the bright side of things, and despite the many shadows and dark areas, there always is a bright side! Like I have two whole years to do everything I've always wanted to do like get my teaching certification, lose weight, buy a house, learn Spanish fluently, etc. etc. ... and I can do all this without distraction, right??!! ;-)

Isn't my niece adorable??


What a day, what a day. I worked 3 days this week! I’m excited because that means that my unemployment insurance will last longer. I was helping this mom and pop business to double-check some accounting and calculations and stuff like that. They were really pleased with me; they said it didn’t usually work out so well for them. Well, that’s what you get when you’re a college graduate I guess. You’re smarter than the average nut? Anyway, it paid $8/hour which was incredibly painful, but it’s about what unemployment pays too (haha). Somehow I’m going to be able to pay all my bills next month, right?

Joe and I were supposed to go up to Athens to play ultimate frisbee tonight. I have gone up with him a couple of times before but I never played, I took walks around the lake there at UGA, and also spectated. (Is that a word?) But, since it was drizzling up there, they cancelled it. Luckily we found out before we had even gotten up the street. Joe came over to my house and was ripping CDs onto the computer to put onto his MP3 player. It’s weird going back to being just friends with him. I just want to pull him into my arms and hold him, but I know we need to get used to not doing that. Ahhhh … I might sneak in one more snuggle before he leaves … is that horrible? Anway, I’m feeling very at peace with this whole thing. At least he’s not emotionally shutting me out like he did last weekend. Well, that was more a reaction to my hormonal clinginess I think. I’m trying to be better with all relationships. I read this book called The DNA of Relationships which is a fantastic book. I would highly highly recommend it to anyone, especially married people or those in committed relationships. I didn’t realize until I read this book how difficult I could be at times, or how I was letting myself react so badly to Joe pushing my fear buttons. Often my reactions were the exact things that would push his fear buttons and so we ended up in this sort-of “fear dance” as the author calls it. Anyway, it gave me a wonderful new perspective on relationships and things.

So, I am not working tomorrow and I have an ENORMOUS “to-do” list, so, I’d better get some rest so I can get started on all those lovely things tomorrow. Toodle-loo!

Hottlanta!

Fall is coming

It's cooling down significantly. This morning is was much cooler outside than inside the house, so I opened the double doors to the screened-in porch and set the fan to blow the cool air into the house. It did drop the temperature down a degree so I guess it was effective!

I can't believe it's already after labor day. Joe reports to the MTC in 3 weeks. Every once in a while the reality of that hits me and I get very anxious thinking about what life will be like without him for the next 2 years. I know I'll get used to it, but it's the uncertaintly of it all that really gets me. If I knew that when he came home we would be together, I could calmly wait (for the most part). But not knowing what will happen causes me to get very nervous about it when I think about it. So, I try not to. Instead, I am just enjoying the last few days that we have together, and remembering all the fun we have had up to this point.

I've been in Georgia for a year now. That time has also flown by so quickly! It's hard to believe that 1 year ago I was also looking for a job, but I was going in a different direction than I had previously intended to go. It's funny how life changes so much. Now I find myself unemployed again, and thinking that maybe it's finally time to go in the direction I should've gone from the get-go! I've always wanted to be a teacher, so here goes. I'm not going to let anything distract me this time, as I have so many of the other times. I have a plan, but I'm not going to share it just yet. I'll wait until I'm further down the road.

Joe received his temple endowment last Tuesday, and so we've spent the better part of the last week in the temple. We went 4 times from Tuesday to Saturday, and then Monday (Labor Day) was our stake temple day. I have really enjoyed the added portion of the Lord's Spirit that I have felt in my life as a result of going to the temple so many times in one week. It was almost like I was on my mission again.

I'm excited for fall. It's probably my favorite time of the year. It's the time of the year when things are winding down, and yet gearing up all at the same time. It's my birthday in October of course, and I also love the changing of the leaves and the anticipation of some of the best holidays of the year. The weather is cooler and everyone seems to begin taking longer breaths. I just hope that soon I can find employment and get back on my feet.

Back from the twilight zone

These last four weeks have been altogether incredibly relaxing, incredibly depressing, and incredibly interesting. It's been almost a month now since I was let go from my job and I've spent a lot of time evaluating my life and trying to figure out what is the next step. My teaching application is stalled at the county. The government is oh so efficient at processing anything, so there never was much hope for that right now. So, I've decided that in the meantime, and perhaps for a longer term, I will look for another interesting job. I've put in several applications at various places. I had an interview on Monday for a position with another environmental/engineering consulting firm, but I haven't heard back from them yet. I have another interview today for an administrative assistant/tutor position at a college prep academy. That should be interesting and I think it might be a good match for me. It would certainly combine several of my greatest interests: teaching and organization. If I'm lucky, I might get to tutor some science as well. Hopefully something will come up soon, because if not, I am surely going to run out of money. I am collecting unemployment, thankfully, but that only covers so much.





Last week I had the marvelous opportunity to go home to NY. I LOVE NY, especially at this time of year. Quite frankly, once I got there, I didn't want to leave. It was all very last minute, and very much a surprise to my mom and dad. Joe and I were sitting in my living room the Sunday before last, and I was mentioning how I had some books that I needed to get from NY at some point, but that I would have to drive up there to get them. Joe said, "let's go!" My initial reaction was ... yeah right, but when I thought about it some more, I decided, why not?? So we left at midnight Sunday night, drove alternately until 4am, stopped for an hour and a half so we could both sleep, and then continued. We got to my house at around 4pm, and of course my mother was not there. She showed up a couple of hours later and we were able to surprise her then. My father and brothers were up camping in the Adirondacks last week, so we decided that we would drive up there and surprise them as well. Tuesday we packed up and left when my mom got home from work at 1pm. Of course when we got up there to the campground, my dad was not there; he was on his day fishing trip with the guys. But we got to see everyone else, and then dad showed up around 7, before it got dark anyway. He was really surprised to see us. It was a great surprise. We spent the night and most of the next day there and it was just wonderful. I love camping and couldn't have been more pleased that we got to go, even for just a day. We left Wednesday around 5 and drove back home. Thursday morning, Joe and I went up to Palmyra. It was so good to go to Palmyra again! We went to the Grandin building, which we had not been able to see while we were there in April. When we walked in to the Grandin building, I recognized one of the sister missionaries there. We had been in the same ward right after I returned from my mission, and I had been her visiting teacher. She recognized me too of course, but I was very surprised to hear her say that she had just been thinking about me not too long ago. She told me that (unbeknownst to me) I had been a big influence on her. It was so special to hear that! The Lord has told me before in no uncertain terms that my life will be a light to many, but sometimes I forget the potential that I have for influencing others for good. After we left the Grandin building, we went to the bookstore, then to the temple, and then we went and watched the Joseph Smith movie in the visitor's center. In my opinion, that is the best movie the church has done. It is SO well done and I believe that the directors and the actors were inspired to portray their characters in the most appropriate light. I especially appreciate the characterization of Emma Smith. Poor Emma gets a really bad rap for not following the Saints to Utah. But she was steadfast in her support of the prophet while he was alive and I don't think any of us can imagine the trials she was called upon to bear. I have a great respect for Emma Smith, especially after seeing that inspired movie.





We left NY on Friday morning and I was so not ready to go. I think I was depressed to be back for the better part of 5 days. But, I know the Lord still has a work left for me here and I will fulfill it. Let's just hope I find a job soon ...