Bread Pizza?

Directions:
Chop some onion.
Chop some green peper.
Chop a few mushrooms.
Slice some sausage (hot dogs in reality).
Spread ketchup on a slice of bread.
Put all the ingredients on top.
Scatter chopped cheese on the top.
Microwave for 7 minutes.
And what do you get? A Korean English class delicacy! (gag)

Snow Canyon Half

Finishing the Snow Canyon Half Marathon was probably one of the most surprising accomplishments of my life. I never thought I would run a half marathon-- let alone WANT to run one. And I doubt I would have done it on my own.

In fact, when my roommate Annika (the one in orange) told me about the race, I thought, "No way." But when she mentioned it again, this incredible feeling came over me: you can do it! And I committed before I could stop myself.

Training was hard. I looked up a schedule online: three 4 miles runs, two days of cross training, one long run, one rest day. Every week. I didn't follow the schedule exactly, but I did run about 4 times a week. And I did four long runs before the race (6 miles, 6 miles, 7 miles, and 9.5 miles). Some days, I thought, "Why am I doing this?" My mom wondered the same thing. I told her that I felt like Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. One part of me really wanted to do it and the other part did not.

The truth is, I didn't really realize much I wanted to run it, until I thought I couldn't. On the Tuesday before the race, I hurt my foot. I'm not really sure how, but it was bad enough that I limped around Wednesday and Thursday. I was so upset about it, I refused to even talk about whether or not I would run the race. But I thought I probably wouldn't be able to. On Friday, I decided I would go down to St. George prepared to run and just see. After talking to Georgia and Becca I thought I probably wouldn't do it. I didn't want to injure myself. One race is not worth months of injury.

It wasn't until 10 o'clock Friday night that I decided what I would do. I went for a grandma run up and down the street in front of Annelies's grandma's house where we were staying. And my foot felt okay. I decided that I would talk to the race officials in the morning, and ask them what they thought. But really in the back of my mind I knew I had to start that race. There was no way I could get this far without at least trying.

So the next morning, we woke up at 6 am, ate breakfast, drank tons of water and gatorade, and stretched out. At 7:30 we left for the high school, which was conveniently only 4 blocks away. I talked to the race officials, and they said that if I couldn't finish the race, they could pick me up at an aid station in a golf cart. Sounded good to me. So, we got on the bus that drove us to the starting line.

Driving 13 miles is not a good feeling when you know you will be running the whole thing back. But we tried not to think about that. And to be honest, at that point, I still kind of thought I wouldn't have to worry about it. Ha!

When we got to the top, there was a 1/4 mile long line for the port-a-potties and we all had to GO! So it was only as the gun went off that I made it to the start. No time to think, just time to start. Annika ran the first mile with me--down, down, down hill. And my foot felt okay, so I told her she could take off. And she did-- and finished 30 minutes before me! Yeah Anni!

The second mile was good too, and so was the third. By the first aid station, I knew I could finish the race. The two miles uphill were even fine because I was focused on looking for Julianne, Annika, and Allison who were ahead of me coming back down the other direction. I got to high-five all three!

It was the best run of my life: red cliffs, blue sky, and lots of endorphins! I crossed the finish line happy and strong at 2:31:27.

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.