My New Blog

Hello to all who still come here! 

As you have noticed, I have not posted on this blog since 2010.  I had decided to use only Facebook to update family and friends on our personal life.  So become my friend on Facebook!

In other news, I have started a new website: www.sarahjclift.com.  This website is my "author" website.  I wrote a book and have decided to pursue publishing, and this website includes a blog that tracks my progress.  I have also set up "professional" profiles on these websites:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SarahJClift
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SarahJennetteClift
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sarahjclift/

Like/Follow me on these sites!

Eventually, I will shut down this blog, but I will keep it open for a few months to everyone knows about the change.

So if you keep a link to this blog on your blog, change that link to: http://www.sarahjclift.com/blog/ (links directly to blog).

See you soon at the new place!

2010 Apple Hill

 Mari's fourth trip to Apple Hill and Alice's first!  See more pictures at my Facebook album:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=545990&id=858510031&l=974b2e1674

Great-Great-Grandmother

 My mom and I had the pleasure of taking my two daughters to visit their great-great-grandmother.  She's my mother's father's mother and she is 92 years old.  Despite her age, she's as sharp as a tack.  Although I haven't seen her since last year (and she's met my husband maybe twice), she always asks about Aaron and how the insurance business is going for him.  I love it.  We enjoyed the few days we visited her.  Mari and Alice loved playing with her!  I am grateful for Grandma West, for her example and to still have her be a part of my life.  For more pictures from our trip, visit my Facebook album:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=545969&id=858510031&l=4e7309fab9

Sparklers

Mari's favorite part of 4th of July is the sparklers!

We sat a little too close...

New York

Aaron and I visited New York for a week in May. We took Alice with us because I'm still nursing her, but we left Mari with my parents. This was the first time Aaron and I have ever been on a plane together, and we've known each other for over 5 years! Check out all the pictures on my facebook album.

Here's a summary of our favorite times from the week, and things you ought to do if you visit New York:

Top of the Rock - For a fantastic view of Manhattan.

Central Park - We visited the Alice in Wonderland Statue in honor of Alice.

Gramercy Tavern - A restaurant where the New Yorkers go. We asked our friends Lyle and Ciara, who live there, to take us to a place that would give us a true New York experience. I wish we had a place like this in Sacramento! Their food was excellent! Here's what I had: Appetizer - calamari and carrot salad, Entree - duck confit with lentils and sweet potatoes, Dessert - pumpkin whoopie pie. The portions were perfect. I finished everything on my plate. They have excellent service, too. The waiters silently go about their business and don't bother you.

Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island

Walk over Brooklyn Bridge

Grimaldi's Pizzeria - BEST Pizza in New York!

World Trade Center Site

Tiffany & Co. - Yes, Aaron has spoiled me this year. I'm not asking for anything for Christmas!

Sienna, Ruby, Bessie...take your pick!

Aaron loves me. Earlier this year, we were trying to figure out how we were going to go on all the trips we had planned this year. We had two cars: a '96 Sentra and a '01 Corolla. We weren't confident that either of them would survive a long car trip, and neither had good A/Cs. Plus, with our growing family, we could not fit all the stuff needed for trips. So after much research and searching, we found her! She is an '08 Toyota Sienna with 8 seats! She is beautiful. I think it's about time people stop bashing on minivans. They are economical: not gas-guzzlers and so easy to maneuver.

Momma like.

Graduation!

In April, I made the trip with my family to Utah so I could walk in my graduation. I came to BYU as a freshman in August 2003 and left April 2006 as a junior, married, and three months pregnant. But I was grateful that BYU offered a program for people in my situation: the Bachelor of General Studies program. You can finish what you started at BYU through Independent Study. Because I live in California and have two little girls at home, this was the perfect option for me. If you have at least 30 credits worth of residence hours at BYU, you are eligible. You have to wait two years after leaving BYU to apply for the program then you have eight years to complete it. I had 72 resident hours before I left, so that made it easier for me to complete the program in two years. So four years after I left BYU, I graduated!

The program offers eight different emphases: American Studies, English and American Literature, Family History, Family Life, History, Management, Psychology, and Writing. Before I left BYU, I was studying English language and editing, so I chose the writing emphasis.

I loved all the classes I took through Independent Study. My favorite was the creative nonfiction writing class where I learned how to write essays.

What will I do with my degree now? What I've already been doing, but with more direction. I love writing, and I am currently sending out essays to literary journals. Books are probably on the horizon, but for now I'm focusing on my essays.

I'm grateful for my family for their support of my endeavor. My husband was always encouraging (and he still is) and my parents were always willing to watch my girls while I worked on homework.

I have to admit that I'm a little sad my undergrad degree is finished. I loved school: the reading assignments, the tests, the homework. Once I became a mother, I became a better student. The added responsibility of motherhood inspired me to be more responsible in other areas of my life. For now, I do not plan on pursuing a master's degree, but I know the opportunity is there if I do want to take it.

If you would like to learn more about BYU's Bachelor of General Studies program, I am happy to answer any questions!

See all the pictures at my Facebook Album