December Love List

• Christmas time
• graduation
• Rexburg
• seeing the lights in Salt Lake
• spontaneously bursting out into song with Bailey
• Christmas shopping; finding excellent gifts
• walking around Barnes and Noble
• family Parties
• Christmas music 
• having breakfast
• hot showers
• sleeping in my own bed
• soup
• good grades
• the red and white lights on our fence
• holding hands
• sledding
• snow storms (when I don't have to drive in them)
• milk steamers
• preparing for Africa
• To Kill A Mockingbird (I got the DVD for Christmas! but I love the book as well)
• a clean room
• no homework
• oranges
• fires in the fireplace
• skiing
• slippers
• watching Lyv on Christmas 
• my amazing family
• getting mail
• sending mail
• the smell of Christmas trees
• seeing cousins
• sleeping in
• my light up globe

I love how potatoes are such a big deal

• I love the way the faucets in our bathtub and in our kitchen sink are backwards, so cold is hot and hot is cold. (And sometimes I forget to tell people so they end up washing their hair or their dishes in freezing cold water).  
• I love the way President Clark never fails to say, "It's another great day at BYU-Idaho."  
  
• I love making friends with people at the library because they have about 473.29 pages printing and they are standing in line ahead of you.  
  
• I love tutoring students and hearing about their lives amidst the grammar and the reading skills.  
  
• I love walking through the Spori and sometimes seeing Laura's art on the wall.  
  
• I love praying before class and sometimes singing hymns; it makes having Relief Society in a classroom not seem so strange.  
  
• I love "Photosynthesis Friday" and when the print-making and pottery students sell stuff in the MC.  
• I love the walk to the Hinckley building.  
  
• I love seeing Rexburg sunsets from the Taylor quad, and every time saying to myself, "Idaho is pretty."
  
• I love coming home to supportive roommates who are crazy and brilliant and like me the way I am.  
  
• I love being able to do projects in the media lab on the 3rd floor of the library because they have gluesticks.  
  
• I love the 57th ward and when the bishop uses hand motions to teach gospel principles.  I love sitting in meetings in which I laugh until my sides hurt, and where I still feel like I can help people.  
• I love visiting the Snowview apartments and the Sunrise apartments to find friends and scintillating conversation.  
  
• I love the math lab, where people like you--even if you struggle with every single problem.  
  
• I love how it is okay to eat peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner.  
  
• I love having room to invite people over.  
  
• I love how FHE is always awkward.  Every time.  
  
• I love making ice cream runs on Thursday nights, and that we now know that Arctic Circle has the best twist cones (and McDonald's are nasty).  
  
• I love when I'm at the library late and I hear music play over the loud speaker, along with "The McKay Library will be closing in 5 minutes" in a plethora of languages.  
  
• I love sitting in the "heater corner" to warm up.
• I love Broulims because it feels like a neighborhood grocery store.  Actually it is.  
• I love driving around and seeing stars and fields everywhere.  
• I love sitting downstairs and moving around because the non-existent wireless connection is touchy.
• I love listening to music with Lars in the morning while we get ready.  
• I love wondering if it's just "cold" or if it is "frigid" outside.  
• I love BYU-Idaho.  I have had so many good times/life experiences/hard times/learning experiences here.  I have felt comfortable here.  I have felt at home.  

Tomorrow is graduation!  I just picked up my cap and gown so I can iron it before tomorrow.  My parents are driving up, and we will get to hear President Clark and President Uchtdorf speak.  It's exciting and melancholy, as I have said before.  I like it here.  

Long live Idaho.  

and I say, God bless it

I was still lying in bed when my dad called this morning.  While I was talking to him, I got up and walked around my room.  I couldn't help but look out the window, and to my happiness I found SNOW!  It's late this year in Rexburg, but it has finally arrived, and with it, some real Christmas cheer.  Now it feels like Christmas time.  I think it's a way of helping me through this hard week.  

But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round-- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that-- as good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.  And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!  -From Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol

Merry Christmas, everyone.

I held so many people in my suitcase heart

 Finals week has already taken on an entire new meaning this semester; it is a little more final than 

usual.  Final devotional.  Final days at the RC.  Final relief society lesson.  Final day in third grade.  Final weeks with laurakayciamyandeveryoneelseintheworld.  

It is such a contradiction: hurry quick! do this and this and this and this.  fast!  before it is all over!  but slow down!  slow. slow. slow.  don't end yet.

I'll miss these people, this place, this life. this part of life. 

 I don't know if it's the right 

time to be nostalgic, but I am anyway.  

Isn't it funny how there are always so many "lasts" before there are innumerable "firsts"?

 I'm student teaching!  In January.  In sixth grade.  I'm going to Africa!  In 

May.  First time.  I'm living at home!  With Bay.  First time (in a while).  Lots of new things.  new ward, new school, new people.  

It is really thrilling! 

But still, I'm just blue right now. 

thanks to you

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  

I know that I've said this before, but I feel lucky to have such wonderful people in my life--you are my greatest blessings.  

We are off to Arizona today!  It has been excellent to be home for a few days, but I am excited for this little vacation.  I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday full of turkey, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, family, naps, pie, and shopping.  

we'll put on the day and we'll wear it till the night comes

This week in life: 

Finished my 13 Colonies unit.  Gave a post-assessment today.  My students learned!  I'm not sure why I am surprised, because that was the whole point of teaching and becoming a teacher and the basis of my philosophy of education-- right?  But it was rewarding to see them be enthused and do well on the summative assessment.  I'm a teacher (almost)!  

I get to go home not tomorrow but the next day.  I'm thrilled to see my niece, watch Bay swim, solve the world's problems over dinner with Bryttin, hang out and discuss life with my parents, and not do homework for a few days.  And then we are going to Arizona for the holiday, so I'll get to see Bret and Erica, bake pie, party with the grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins, and enjoy some desert sunshine.

Homework is taking over my life.  Yes oh yes.  I have many things due very soon.  Plus, I have to quickly teach myself to play the recorder so I can take a performance final on Friday morning.  I need to do lots of reading.  And writing.  I need to post my resume.  I need to start/finish writing my Teacher Work Sample.  I need to get ahead (if that is even possible?!).  

I'll be graduating soon.  Need to make the announcements and send them.  

Tomorrow is my Grandpa's birthday!  He is the greatest. grandpa. ever.  

Wish I had more time to play the guitar.  By the way, come to my holiday benefit concert!  See here for details.  

Lots of things and people to be thankful for.  Need to seriously write some thank you notes.  

Today, I am grateful for: apple juice, third graders, cars, my computer, my parents, prayer, blankets, sunshine, socks, phone calls.  

I'm bushed.

Just took my second praxis test: "Principles of Learning and Teaching."  

Now I feel like this: 

hey check it out hey hey

I have an additional blog. (It's about AFRICA).  

a twist on November's Love List

In light of the Thanksgiving season, it's a gratitude list:

I'm thankful for

• school: college and third grade.  my students, and being a student.
• my family: they are the best.  BRFB (and J).
• my roommates: laura, kayci, and amy.  we have a good feeling in our house all the time.  also, we laugh often.
• broccoli: makes me feel healthy when I eat it.  plus, it's tasty.
• friends: so worthwhile.
• sleep: I know how to burn the candle at both ends, but I love it when I don't have to.
• the gospel: tender mercies, feeling magnified in my calling, learning from others.  seeing Christ in my life.
• warm coats: Rexburg got cold all of a sudden.
• chapstick: I don't think I could live without it.
• Saturdays: getting stuff done.
• music: guitars, singing, listening.
• books: there are many on my "to read" list.
• my cell phone: (weird, I know). but seriously, I am so grateful to have a way to communicate.
• holidays: make people happy. 
• my niece: requires no explanation.
• nice people

you could probably kiss me if you like

October is rushing to an end, among other things.  On my mind: 

Today I went to the store, but my favorite Jonathon apples were nowhere to be found.  I had to settle for Jonagold.  

I think I am going to be a witch on Friday for real Halloween, which means a grand total of 3 costumes this year.  Yes, oh yes.  I'm also making homemade chicken noodle soup, which should be tasty.   

Third grade is where it's at.  I start a unit next week, which I'm not quite prepared for yet, but I will be.  Saturday is the day I've set aside to get everything squared away for that and, thanks to Mom, I've got a good start.  Teaching brings me so much joy; I love how inquisitive, kind, quick to learn, good-natured, curious, and sincerely funny my students are.  Please, don't make me ever leave.

Did some visiting teaching this week.  Oh how I love the gospel, relief society, my ward, my calling.  People are wonderful, and working with such incredible people is a privilege.  I hope they realize that their goodness doesn't go unnoticed.  Lately, I feel magnified; I feel humbled.  Every day I learn so many things.  

I think I'll miss this place.  Graduation is really going to happen.  (I know, because I ordered my cap and gown).  It's not the right time to be sad, so I'm trying not to be.  There's much to be done before then.  

Ozzy Osbourne just came on my shuffle, and if that's not hilarious then I don't know what is.  

Penny for your thoughts?

if you need me, call me. no matter where you are.

Today I am making a quick trip home to see Bailey in her school play.  Bailey is so fantastic.  Here are some reasons why: 

• she loves to swim, and she's awesome at it.
• she is a wonderful cook.  
• she is hilarious.
• she is gorgeous.
• she likes good music.
• she is an amazing singer.
• she has a knack for writing.
• she is excellent at science experiments.
• she is a very loyal friend (and sister).

Can't wait to see you, Bay!  Good luck.

AFRICA

Some news: I am going to Africa!  The story: 

Over the seven-week break this summer, I was having that "what-am-I-going-to-do-after-graduation" discussion with my mom.  I expressed that I did not just want to sit around and work a dead-end job before I start teaching in the fall.  We discussed some options, and I began looking for an adventure.  

A few weeks later, I was reading in our little community newspaper, The Holladay-Cottonwood Journal, about how the cast and crew of "Signing Time" (sign language videos for kids) went to Africa to meet and serve the Deaf community of students in Ghana.  They went with a program called Signs of Hope International.  I casually looked up the listed website.  

I watched the video and thought about it.  I read the testimonials and thought about it.  I looked at the pictures and thought about it.  I printed out a mission application and thought about it.

Needless to say, I applied.  The application process was interesting (and a little stressful: I still don't know my blood type).  They called for a phone interview.  I waited.  And hoped.  

Then, on Wednesday, they called to tell me I had been accepted!  And now I am going to Africa in May to teach in a primary school for the Deaf.  Thrilling!  Frightening!  Exciting!  And let me say this: Heavenly Father answers prayers. 

Now all I have to worry about is money and malaria.  Africa!  Drums. Baboons. Teaching. Students.  Sign Language.  I am just amazed.  

October Love List

• "Simply Apple" apple juice
• heaters
• pumpkin-cream cheese muffins
• Halloween
• live music
• Kayci's pumpkin lights around our window
• General Conference
• crunchy leaves
• when people say my name
• third grade
• naps
• the 50 lap relay
• coats
• brown cow yogurt with Dad's granola
• crisp jonathon apples
• Joni Mitchell songs
• books, not necessarily textbooks
• BYU-Idaho
• costume planning
• playing guitars; learning new songs
• pears
• naps
• Devotional
• texts from my Grandpa
• feeling "cozy"
• planning/hosting/attending classy parites
• lists
• post-its
• Relief Society
• art, music, concerts: culture
• receiving mail, or email
• when people whistle on their way to class

Laura Watts: friend, photographer, roommate (and giraffe trainer)

This is Laura. 

This is also Laura.  

Laura is my roommate.  She is good at many things, including (but not limited to): 

• sleeping while my lamp is on
• being a fellow hippee
• designing stuff
• having awesome short hair that I wish I could have
• enjoying $1 twist cones
• telling stories about childhood ambitions
• and, taking incredible pictures

Seriously.  Just look at these:   

I like her.

several thrills

OCTOBER was a beautiful month...when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry-trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths.  

Anne revelled in the world of color about her...

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.  It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it?  Look at these maple branches.  Don't they give you a thrill--several thrills?"  from LM Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables

October is upon us again, and is proving to be a beautiful month full of: 

changing leaves

apples

pumpkins

also: 

Kaite's birthday

Halloween

apple beer

sweaters

General Conference

muffins

I think I take after my mother in my deep-rooted love for October.

quite possibly the nicest thing

The students are lining up for afternoon recess, and I am doing some monitoring.  For no apparent reason, Tyler, with his big glasses and kind disposition, comes and gives me a heartfelt hug around the waist.  "Thanks, Tyler," I say.  Taking a step back, Tyler blinks, smiles, and then looks at me and says sincerely, 

"You know what?  I think you'll be a great teacher."  

And now my confidence is restored.

September Love List

• making pie, then having friends over to eat it
• BYU-Idaho. seriously.  
• crisp autumn weather
• when people I don't even know say hello as we cross paths
• phone calls
• books
• elementary schools
• sharing "highs and lows" nightly
• flexible work hours
• clocks
• comfortable shoes
• doing homework at the library
• running into people I know while doing homework at the library
• sweaters
• plums
• worthwhile conversations
• feeling helpful, or like I have made a difference
• new words or phrases that periodically enter my vocabulary
• the weepies (hear everything, but especially: can't go back now)
• getting organized
• playing guitars
• eating dinner
• journaling
• Idaho sunsets
• chapstick
• brown cow yogurt

four score...

Well, Hilary likes to play online tag and I'm it. 

four jobs I have had:

1. Lifetree Pain Clinic

2. AdvancedMD Software

3. PM Medical Billing

4. BYU-Idaho Reading Center

four movies I have seen more than once: 

1. IQ

2. Batman Begins

3. It's a Wonderful Life

4. Disney's Robin Hood

four places I have lived: 

1. Holladay, Utah

2. Cedar City, Utah

3. London, England

4. Rexburg, Idaho

four TV shows I watch: 

1. the Olympics

2. the News

3. whatever Bailey is watching

4. Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

four places I have been: 

1. Salzburg, Austria

2. New England

3. Seattle

4. New York City

four people who text me regularly: 

1. Bailey

2. Roommates

3. Jes May

4. Hil and Kaite

four of my favorite foods: 

1. homemade ice cream

2. grilled chicken

3. jonathan apples

4. pie

four places I would like to visit: 

1. Africa 

2. Switzerland

3. South America 

4. Ireland

four things I am looking forward to in the coming year: 

1. graduating from college, becoming a real teacher

2. watching my niece grow up

3. seeing old friends

4. maybe going somewhere amazing (like Ghana?)

four people I am tagging: 

1. Bailey

2. Bryttin

3. Laura

4. Coryn 

I'm all about this:

It's the answer to most everything.  Really, my top 2 rules in life.

Also, a very sweet poster.  Found it here.

it's the most wonderful time of the year

Time for shiny apples and sack lunches and sharp pencils and new shoes.  I love school!  The smell of brand new notebooks and unmarked textbooks.  The butcher paper bulletin boards.  The cream of wheat breakfast on the first day.  

In just one short semester, I will be a teacher.  I've been collecting things for my classroom.  My mom keeps buying me wonderful books.  I've been filing away lesson plans and unit strategies.  I bought some black slacks so that I can look professional.  Bailey promises to find me a "teacher sweater" when I graduate.  (You know, those hideous ones that are interactive and themed?)

And even though the prospect of being responsible for the education of numerous young students overwhelms me completely, I recently came upon this excerpt which captures beautifully one aspect of what I have heard called "a noble profession": 

The main reason I became a teacher is that I like being the first one to introduce kids to words and music and books and people and numbers and concepts and ideas that they have never heard about or thought about before.  I like being the first one to tell them about Long John Silver and negative numbers and Beethoven and alliteration and "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" and similes and right angles and Ebenezer Scrooge.... Just think about what you know today.  You read.  You write.  You work with numbers.  You solve problems.  We take all of these things for granted.  But of course you haven't always read.  You haven't always known how to write.  You weren't born knowing how to subtract 199 from 600.  Someone showed you.  There was a moment when you moved from not knowing to knowing, from not understanding to understanding.  That's why I became a teacher.  --Phillip Done

August Love List

• picking peaches from our tree in the backyard
• walking down the school supplies aisle
• the OLYMPICS
• pleasure reading
• my niece, Lyv
• concerts in the park
• watching Bryttin watch Good Things Utah
• singing with my sisters and my dad
  
• Ikea
• camping and hiking with "the camping families"
• multi-grain cheerios
• my bedroom
• The View from Saturday
• being busy
• broiled zucchini
• bagels
• simply lemonade (or limeade)
• haircuts
• chocolate milk
• flip flops
• scooter club
• my red cowboy boots
  

dentists

I recently visited the dentist.  I hate going to the dentist.  Let me clarify: I do not hate the dentist; in fact, I really like him.  (He hums while poking around in my mouth).  I just hate going to the dentist, mostly because they always tell me that I have inherited weak enamel and that I need to floss more and that I have to get some cavities filled or some crowns put on and how I should consider whitening.  I hope that my children do not inherit my terrible teeth.  

Even so, whenever I go to the dentist, I think of this amusing Bill Cosby sketch:

 {enjoy}

Bonjour!

So, my sister and I are really into stealing stuff from each others blogs... here is the latest: 

(As Bailey would say, "Bonjour Belle, au revoir Brynn!")

You Are Belle!

Intelligent and kind. Your beauty goes much further than your apperance. Also, you make judgements of people based on their personality and not their looks. Attaining all the knowledge that you can is one of your major goals in life, but you are also a person who can make things happen.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

July Love List

• being Home
• fireworks
• melon
• warm nights
• making people laugh
• live music/going to concerts
• playing guitar
• trips to Hebgen
• no more math (!)
  
• the Flag
• making plans for my future classroom
• gardens
• mornings
• Bailey
• reuniting with old friends
• getting organized
• homemade ice cream
• singing in the shower
• my red bed
• riding motorcycles
• campfires at the sand dunes
• old movies
• haircuts
• going on walks
• new music
• constellations

my mind is not here

my mind is everywhere else
last week of the semester
passed that stinking math test (finally)
only 4 more tests and a presentation to go
plus the praxis, but I'm trying not to worry about it
next comes 7 weeks of doing things
whatever I feel like doing
get to sleep in my own bed in my own room
get to see John Mayer live in 9 days
get to go camping with the fam
get to finish Anne of Green Gables
and perhaps start something new
get to finish projects
get to do laundry for free
get to be somewhere that is not Idaho
get to go shopping
get to have air conditioning
get to do some singing and recording
get to write some letters that are way overdue
get to see people who I have not seen for a long time
maybe look for a job
maybe not

miss our makeshift porch
and rexburg in the summer
and my students
and my roommates
and the relief society
and my school friends and life

but so ready ready ready for a summer break
can't get my mind to be here

07-07-07

I remember what I was doing one year ago.
As the brilliant Mark Twain said, "If you hate London, you hate life." Too true.
One year ago, I was in London.
On a beautiful Saturday, which also happened to be a lucky day--as it was 07/07/07, I traipsed up and down Portobello Road looking for something fantastic to purchase and wrap up and take home and display in my house/apartment/room forever more to remind me of gallivanting around the beautiful English cities, countrysides, and so forth.
Luckily, I heard this old British chap passionately discussing one of my own passions out in front of his charming little shop. I remember he smelled a little funny. I remember he was wearing large thick glasses. I remember his lovely accent. I remember his bushy eyebrows. And I remember falling in love with the vintage clock (that he was gushing to another unsuspecting shopper about) at first glance. Needless to say, I purchased it.

This is the store where I bought that clock.

One year ago today I bought a fantastic 1953 vintage mantel clock. Oh how I love London. And if you want to know what time it is, I will be happy to oblige.

thoughts

today is the last day of june, which means tomorrow is july.
I don't know where it went.
need to pass a math test even though I already passed the class
and that gives me anxiety.
math is one of the only things that really gives me anxiety.
math and mosquito bites.
the Fourth of July starts on thursday.
best holiday and much needed weekend.
and I get to see my family-- haven't been home since april. alas.

I like nilla wafers and cold milk.

June Love List

• fireworks
• playing guitars on the front porch
• my roommates
• phone calls from Bailey
• campfires
• laughter
• giving campus tours
• singing in the car
• finishing books, then starting new ones
• windows and doors open in the evening
• popsicles- especially orange dream bars
  
• sour patch kids
• emails from my Dad
• pictures of my niece
• visits from long lost friends
• hiking
• driving to Hebgen
• the SUN
• gardens
• snoasis!
• finishing projects
• summerish music
• weekends
• barbecuing
  
• pink toenails
• watermelon
• father's day
• Hebgen
  
• people
  

this place I know

I've been thinking lately about places:


This is Mount Olympus. I love all mountains-- but to me, this one means home. I love the view of it from my kitchen window, and to drive along its side on Wasatch Boulevard. Sometimes I miss this when I am displaced in Idaho.



You don't know me completely until you have visited Hebgen. This place has healed, molded, created, and represented me indefinitely. Quite possibly my favorite place.



I would be amiss if I did not mention London, or 27 Palace Court, or the people and experiences and life that changed me during my time there. London made an imprint on my character.


Other places I love:
Snowview #4 (and #10)
New England
New York City
Seattle
San Fransisco
Bountiful
Cedar City
Yellowstone
Rexburg
4051 MorningStar Drive
Green River
Millcreek Canyon
Solitude
The basement bedroom
The Hinckley building
Mom's backyard

May Love List

• warm evenings
• sitting on the front porch
• chocolate milk
• spring rainstorms
• hiking
• planning (friendly) pranks
• a daily routine
• roommate dinners
• flying kites
• bubbles
• bubble gum
• playing guitar
• Hebgen
• long weekends
• homemade salsa
• talking to my siblings on the phone
• daylight savings
• listening to music in the morning
• my little car
• clothespins
  

the Beginning

From Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury:

Grandfather smiled in his sleep.
Feeling the smile and wondering why it was there, he awoke. He lay quietly listening, and the smile was explained.
For he heard a sound which was far more important than birds or the rustle of new leaves. Once each year he woke this way and lay waiting for the sound which meant that summer had officially begun. And it began on a morning such as this when a boarder, a nephew, a cousin, a son or a grandson came out on the lawn below and moved in consecutively smaller quadrangles north and east and south and west with a clatter of rotating metal through the sweet summer grass.
...God bless the lawn mower, he thought. Who was the fool who made January first New Year's Day? No, they should set a man to watch the grasses across a million Illinois, Ohio, and Iowa lawns, and on that morning when it was long enough for cutting, instead of rachets and horns and yelling, there should be a great swelling symphony of lawn mowers reaping fresh grass upon the prairie lands. Instead of confetti and serpentine, people should throw grass spray at each other on the one day each year that really represents the Beginning!

(They mowed the lawns on campus on Tuesday, and this is how it made me feel).

April Love List

• homemade cookies
• baseball (it's just so American)
• school
• phone calls
• stake conference
• sunny days
• books
• the David O. McKay library
• meeting new people
• getting to know people
  
• my mom
• Alison's spring mixes
• mornings
• organic yogurt
• feeling lucky
• pictures of my niece
• making plans
• sitting on the front porch
• Sunday naps
• yoga
• kites
• sidewalk chalk
• the Reading Center
• mountains

I'm a bit late this month... sorry.

each year inside the next one

From "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros:

What they don't understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you're eleven, you're also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. And when you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you don't. You open your eyes and everything's just like yesterday, only it's today. And you don't feel eleven at all. You feel like you're still ten. And you are—underneath the year that makes you eleven.

Like some days you might say something stupid, and that's the part of you that's still ten. Or maybe some days you might need to sit on your mama's lap because you're scared, and that's the part of you that's five. And maybe one day when you're all grown up maybe you will need to cry like if you're three, and that's okay. That's what I tell Mama when she's sad and needs to cry. Maybe she's feeling three.

Because the way you grow old is kind of like an onion or like the rings inside a tree trunk or like my little wooden dolls that fit one inside the other, each year inside the next one. That's how being eleven years old is.

You don't feel eleven. Not right away. It takes a few days, weeks even, sometimes even months before you say Eleven when they ask you. And you don't feel smart eleven, not until you're almost twelve. That's the way it is.

That's the way it is with twenty-one, too.

hello there

The following is the result of excellent people who know languages other than English that were willing to help me out with a Geography project tonight:

LANGUAGE- WORD FOR "HELLO"
Spanish- Hola
French- Bonjour
German- Guten tag
Mandarin- Ni Hao
Italian - Buongiorno
Arabic - Salam Alaikum
Portuguese- Ola`
Tagolag - Kumusta Kayo
Sabuano - Kumusta Ka
Japanese - Konnichiwa
Taiwanese- Li Ho
Cantonese - Lei Hao
Thai - Sawa Dee Kaa
Hawaiian- Aloha
Samoan - Malo
Tongan- Talofa
Hindi - Namaskar
Russian- Drasvuytsey
Albanian- C'kemi
Swedish- Hej
Dutch - Hoi
Norwegian- Hei
Greek - Geia Sou
Icelandic- Hallo
Slovenian- Zivjo
Turkish- Merhaba


I'm not sure if these are all correct (or spelled correctly...) but it sort of puts the world in perspective, right?

March Love List

• strawberries
• the window open at night
• daylight savings
• peanut butter
• pie
• flats
• first grade at Burton Elementary
• vacuumed floors
• clocks
• playing guitar
• cardigans
• e-mail
• bagels
• laughing with my roommates
• my desk lamp
• old photos
• making plans
• good conversation
• not having to wear a coat
• pencils with erasers
• lemonade
• finishing projects
• counting down to the last day of the semester
• crocuses
• cereal for breakfast with fresh fruit
• visits from family
• the e-cards that my grandpa always sends to me
• Student Ambassadors
• the Anthropologie catalog
• people I meet at the Math Lab
• successful pot roast
• quilts
• showers in the morning
  

THE TOP TEN PROJECT

I love books.
I think I always have.
I remember memorizing the words to Little Mouse, the Red, Ripe Strawberry, and the Big, Hungry Bear long before I truly learned how to read. And my mom read aloud to us classics like The Wizard of Oz and The Secret Garden. My second grade teacher read to us everyday after lunch recess--books like Charlotte's Web and Ramona Quimby that not only entertain, but teach as well. Then in high school I had a stream of phenomenal teachers who encouraged risky books. It took me a while to get used to the idea that some books are not written to be liked, but rather to be respected. Over the years, I'm sure we all have books that have had an intense impact on us, whether they be large books with vivid pictures or paperback novels.

The PROJECT: Name your top ten. The ten most influential books to you, personally. (And no fair listing the scriptures--we all love them...)

Here is what I came up with (for the moment, at least):
1. Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. This is a book that inspires me every time I read it. I love the illustrations and the message.
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I never read this book in high school, though I always wanted to. During my freshman year of college I finally got around to reading it, and was moved by Lee's skill in writing. The character of Scout is so innocently complex- brilliant.
3. The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare. I actually read this for the first time in a children's literature course I took last year. Though it is not a church book whatsoever, it really gave me a new perspective on Jesus Christ. I suggest it to everyone now.
4. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. To be honest, I hated this book while I was reading it. Looking back, though, this book was the beginning of a completely new chapter in my literary growth. I appreciate it now.
5. Bloomability by Sharon Creech. One of my all-time favorite authors, despite her juvenile target audience. This book is one I can go back to anytime and learn something new every time I read it.
6. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. This is NOT a sci-fi exploration, though it is by Ray Bradbury. I love this book for the way it captures so many vivid scenes. The imagery and experiences are some that everyone can relate to.
7. Small and Simple Things by Marjorie Hinckley. I want to be like her when I grow up.
8. Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk by David Elkind. I would never have read this if it weren't for Sister McManus and Ed Psych. It really contributed to my philosophy of education.
9. Magical Hands by (I can't remember). This book is sort of a family "epic." It reminds me of my Dad. Not to mention the illustrations are excellent.
10. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. This book eased me, who tends to prefer American Lit, into British Literature. Though I am still partial to American writing, I now definitely have a soft spot for the "mother country."

There are still plenty of books that I have not read that might end up on this list as soon as I get to them. A few titles I hope to read in the near future include:
Man's Search for Meaning
Anne of Green Gables
Little Women
Mere Christianity
Utopia
Jesus the Christ
Catcher in the Rye

Please respond to this post with your top ten picks.

ps. Britt- thanks for the use of your photo

happy LEAP day

Days like today only come around every four years. So I was thinking I should make a time capsule to open on the next leap day. If I could, I might include:

• Something from outside. I wish I could save one of the mammoth icicles hanging just outside my window. I've been searching for a poem called "Icicles" that I read in high school; it gives images like "beards of light" that expertly describe the way the icicles look midday when the sun comes out. I guess I could just put the poem in, rather than the icicle itself.
  
• Something from my room. Maybe those crazy sunglasses that I took from Alison's car. Every time I see them I laugh. Or maybe one of the pictures from my wall. Or maybe one of those textbooks from last semester that I couldn't sell back.
  
• Something from a trip. Sometimes I miss London so much I can't even breathe, but it is primarily the people that I miss and the being there- which would be hard to include in a time capsule. I've been on some other excellent trips, though. Maybe I'll include something from New York, like a postcard from the Guggenheim. I still have my boarding passes from my most recent trip to Arizona, so those could be a possibility. There are many things in my travel journal from various places that would also be good candidates. Plus, there is always the option of including something from dear old Rexburg (because living in this place sometimes feels like a trip).
  
• Something from Hebgen. My cabin on Hebgen Lake in Montana is my favorite place on this earth, quite possibly.
  
• Something from my roommates. I think I would want to remember this part of my life in four years, and there are three specific people who are a very big part of it right now.
  
• Something from home. This category provides so many options. I wish I could take a recording of Bailey and put it in there, because she is fuuuunny. Or something crafty from my mom. Or one of my dad's guitar songs.
  
• Something from school. I don't think I have ever before been so into school. I think including an assignment or some other school-ish thing will be necessary. I like it (usually).
  

That would be a pretty good representation of my life this leap year. And every year. But especially leap year.

funny thing, that sunshine

For the most part, I like winter. I like how the night looks when it is snowing. I like wearing mittens. I like the feeling of swooshing down the mountain on a pair of skis. Yes, I like wintry things.

Even so, I just cannot get enough of that golden goodness that is the SUN. When it is a sunshiny day (like today), I feel like everyone is in a good mood, the daylight lasts longer, the icicles drip drip drip creating beautiful designs as they lengthen, and I forget about things that probably should be on my mind. Sunshine makes me want to eat Nutella sandwiches, go on hikes, fly kites, take the long way to class, and put off doing homework. During the day I think about pleasure reading and free time and writing the letters I've been composing in my mind for weeks.

It reminds me of that Beatles song: Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting. Little darling, it seems like years since its been clear. Here comes the sun, here comes the sun. It's alright.

Sun. Sun. Sun.
Here it comes.

a song I like

the repetitious patterns and smooth melody of this song are soothing on a stressful day.

February Love List:

• sleeping in
• Student Ambassadors
• dedicated teachers
• mini spooners
• talking to Bailey, who makes me laugh
• good hair days
• snow flurries
  
• fruit leather
• making plans
• wisdom from my dad
• snail mail
• long conversations with old friends
• laughing until my cheeks hurt
• good poetry
• long johns
• the "sailor boy" poster Sarah and I stole from the Snow building
• Tuesdays at the testing center, where there are many interesting people
  
• the word tuesday
  
• teaching ideas from my mom
• daydreaming of Hebgen
• remembering London
• cold water
• satisfying music; new mixes from friends
• free time
• BYU-Idaho
• European yogurt
• things worth looking forward to
• sweaters and blouses
• e-mail updates from friends and family
• Burt's Bee's chapstick
• clocks
• the library at night-- it's so quiet
• obscure holidays
• postcards

to be continued...

ENGL 313: Advanced Writing for Elementary Education Majors

One of the greatest things about being an "El Ed" Major is that many of my general education classes are specific to the program and have titles that broadcast that fact: Physical Science for Elementary Education Majors, Geography for Elementary Education Majors, Mathematical Reasoning for Elementary Education Majors, and of course, Advanced Writing for Elementary Education Majors.

I have had advanced writing classes before. Difficult writing classes that emphasize deep ideas, flawless rhetoric, beautiful presentation, and organized, well written thoughts. My first two weeks in Advanced Writing for Elementary Education Majors I expected critical thinking writing assignments, but instead we have:

a. Written a "letter of introduction" to our professor, and;

b. Talked about different types of journals.

Not that I am complaining! I have more than enough on my plate to keep me busy and have discovered how to burn the candle at both ends. Which leads me to my main point. The assignment was to begin a new type of journal, something you have never done before. I have kept a personal journal, a scripture journal, a gratitude journal, a travel journal--but I have never before kept an "e-journal." So, let me be the first to welcome you to this little spot of cyber-space ground. Cheers.