Painting for Grandma

A year ago Grandma O asked me to paint a picture of barn that is near her house in Springville. It only took me a year to get around to it! (sorry grandma) I like this painting because that is the same mountain I can see from Diamond Fork Jr. High where I teach.

Classroom Dynamics

Something that I've learned since becoming a teacher is that you can't judge a teacher based on one class. Some of my classes go so well... and others do not. The mix of personalities in a classroom really makes a difference. So if there is a teacher you hate, take a look around. It might be more than just the teacher's fault.

Timpanogos Temple

I had some requests to post this on my blog, so here it is. This was my summer art project and wedding gift for my cousin Max. I had so much fun painting it. I copied a photograph I found on lds.org and was worried about doing the sky and mountains, but it turned out great! Thanks to Grandma O to helping me pay for the framing!

Miss Sheranian

Here is a picture of me on my first day of school. My roommates were so cute and said I needed to take a picture. Now it's been four weeks since school started, and everything has gone well. I really, really enjoyed the first three weeks. Last week was kind of hard. . . but what do you expect from a bunch of 13 year olds?

Teaching part time is perfect for me, because part-time teaching really means 6-8 hours of work day even though I'm only contracted to work 4-5. So, I'm still very busy working 35 hours a week for this job, plus I started with Eleutian thisweek (teaching Korean kids two nights a week).

And I try to squeeze in a couple hours doing writing/editing. I finally am wrapping up that debtor education course I've been working on for almost 1.5 years. The course is written and under final edit. I just have to write some supplemental materials.

Amazingly, I still feel like I have lots of free time. I run with Lia on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday and go to Institute on Tuesday and Family Home Evening on Monday. . . and hang out with my new roommates in between.

On the down side, I've already gotten sick twice. That cycle needs to stop! I was my hands a lot, but germs seem inescapable at a Jr. High School!!!

These Is My Words

The book club I'm a part of decided, mostly on a whim, to read this novel by Nancy E. Turner. I didn't know anything about the book besides the subtitle, but it turned out to be one of the best books I have read in a very, very long time. Never have I read a novel that taught me so much about life, death, pain, love, marriage, and motherhood. I came away wanting to write more beautifully in my own journal and to live stronger and better. And how could I not love a book with a heroine named Sarah? This is a MUST READ! The love story puts Twilight to shame!

Dinner Group

This summer my roommate Annelies, who is a dietetics major, suggested that we start a dinner group. So we asked around in our ward and formed a nice little group of 3 guys and 5 girls-- that is now 2 guys and 6 girls. Although, a little low on men, this dinner group has been fabulous! We eat together 4 days a week and only have to cook once every 2 weeks. Some highlights have been homemade manicotti, pulled pork sandwiches, enchilada soup, gingerbread waffles, and last night's Hawaiian themed meal. I really enjoy cooking once every 2 weeks. And it's much more fun to cook for a group than just for yourself. Plus, it's a great opportunity to  try new recipes that I know I love, but have never made myself.... like last night's special, Teri Chicken. I think next time, I'm going to make California Roll Sushi! Yum! And then I want to try Chicken Tikka Masala. But both of these are complicated-- and especially with the sushi, difficult to feed 8 people. Do you have any easy, yummy recipes that feed 8?

Sitting in Utah While Teaching in Korea!

For the last month I have been teaching for Eleutian Technology. I co-teach an English class with Jeong Hyunjin (a Korean English teacher) using a program that is similar to Skpe. It is so much fun!

Gangsta Rollin'

So the other day, some friends were over at our house deciding what to do and one suggested Gangsta Rollin'. I'd never heard of it myself, but I guess it consists of riding around the neighborhood on bikes, scooters, or skate boards acting like gangstas in a very un-gangsta sort of way. They needed a boom box though, so I let them borrow mine--an antique from my 12th or 13th birthday, if I remember correctly.

They would need batteries of course, but lo and behold, there were 6 DD Energizer batteries already in place-- from about 10 years ago at family camp! And they still worked!! I didn't actually go on the roll, but I was so amused by the whole ordeal, I had to take a picture (which I hope they don't mind I'm posing here). Honestly, I don't know what to say. It's so bizarre, I'm now speechless.

Smells So Good You Could Eat It!

One thing I love about summer is the roses. A velvety, sweet rose feels so good on my face, I almost want to take a bite! Don't worry, I didn't do it. But I do know you can buy edible flowers to decorate wedding cakes with. And rose oil is supposed to be pretty healthy. They even make supplements from rose hips. So maybe it's not such a crazy idea after all.

P.S. I have 4 blogs on my dashboard and accidentally posted this on the wrong one-- a shared teaching blog with English majors at BYU. Luckily, I caught the mistake quickly! That could have been bad!!

Update

For any of you who care to hear about my life and for some reason may not already know this information, here's the quick update:

• I got a job teaching 8th grade English part-time at Diamond Fork Jr. High in Spanish Fork, UT
• I'm working for a company called Eleutian teaching English to Korean students over the internet.
  
• I'm also working as a technical writer again--still trying to finish up that personal finance course!
• This spring I learned to geocache with my friend Brian and we've found about 20 caches around Provo. (On Friday we went on the Provo river trail and now I have 25 mosquito bites on my legs!)
  
• I got called to be 1st counselor in the Relief Society Presidency in my ward, which I'm really enjoying.
  
• After running a 5k I lost motivation to run, but hope to regain it this week. (The picture is of me on a hike to Stuart falls the same day as the race.)
  
• I'm in a book club with a bunch of really great people.
• After training with Nebo District for 3 days, I'm very excited to become a professional teacher!
• This summer I hope to hike to the top of Y Mountain and Timp and go to Timp caves and maybe even swing another camping trip!
  
• I feel myself changing, growing, and moving forward.
  
• I love my roommates, my friends, my family, my ward, my town, my life!