Yesterday was an especially rough teaching day. My students were poorly behaved. I swear I asked them to put their phones away like 20 times. They also are so lazy and it’s like pulling teeth to get them to do ANYTHING! Ah!

So today when I got to school and found this in my mailbox, it brought tears to my eyes:

I need to focus on reaching “the one” more. I’m so proud of this student and what he’s accomplished this year. I can’t believe that my free pizza offer meant so much to him! 🙂

I thought I’d share a few of my favorite hair styling products. I’m a product junkie since I worked in a salon in high school and want to go to hair school sometime soon!!

Shampoo & Conditioners

For the SMOOTHEST blowout ever… first use this shampoo and conditioner combo: Oribe for Beautiful Color. Yes, it’s very expensive and quite an investment. However, I will say that you only use a quarter-sized amount from each, so the bottles should last a VERY long time. Plus, I don’t want  smooth blowout every day, usually it’s like one night a week. So, I think it’s definitely worth the cost to have this amazing product at home for when you want that salon look without having to pay for a blowout. Also, did I mention the smell? It’s amazing.

 

 

Now, if you’re looking for some deep conditioning and to really care for your hair, I recommend Davines. I first discovered this stuff when I lived with Ashley back in 2008. She had the tomato conditioner and it smelled SO good. She also said it would be great for my hair. I just recently re-purchased this item and I’m so glad I did. I bought the mini-sizes since the stuff is REALLY moisturizing and I don’t need to use it too often.  I think it was $20 for both in the small size.

 

 

Styling Products

For a smooth blowout, I would use the Oribe Royal Blowout Spray. It makes your hair dry faster and really is great at creating a frizz-free look. I make sure to comb my hair with my wet brush and then section it with clips. I then spray the hair (not more than once each section) to coat the hair and comb through. I will then individually blow dry the sections with my 1 1/2″ round brush.

I also use Aveda’s Style Prep Smoother and Glossing Straightener for a blowout. I combine those two in my palm, mix up, and distribute from my mid-shaft through the ends. I like to spray my roots with B&B’s thickening spray. You’ve gotta be careful with that spray though, if you use too much or distribute it down the shaft of the hair, it could ruin your blowout. I like using the thickening spray because it makes my blow outs last longer as it doesn’t let oil on my roots for awhile. Worth it!

I always, ALWAYS use a hair spray to seal in a good blowout. I’ve used Kenra’s, Redken’s 28, and lots of other sprays. I’m not as picky with these as it just needs to lock in my bounce and curl. Otherwise, with this humidity, I’d be a head full of frizz!

 

Claudia Bushman came to DC this weekend as part of the Exponent II speaker series. It was terrific!

There she is!

Here are some of my notes from her talk:

-A woman’s role should not have any gender attached to it

-Joseph Smith stated in the first Relief Society meeting (can be found in the Joseph Smith papers) that sisters should bless the sick, their own children, and each other

-She’s been telling her Bishopric that women need to be integrated into the Priesthood- they should have a “high priestesses” group that’s similar to the EQ’s High Priest group

-A friend of hers, who is a Stake Relief Society President in Virginia, said that 60% of the women are depressed and 100% are lonely

-Church leaders in the highest places are looking into which Church practices are doctrinally based and which are cultural

-We should think how to express our religious feelings in exact words – with belief – with edge – with art

-The polygamous wives of the first SEVEN Church President’s are lost – they are not mentioned anywhere in Church materials

-Brigham Young once said to a daughter: “Daughter, use all thy gifts”

-I wanted to pursue a PhD so that I could be so busy with other things and not be caught up with household chores, many of which I enjoyed

One of the best parts about the night was being with Shannon and Aunt Becky! I love them so

I LOVE this time of year here in DC. The air is warm and the cherry blossoms come out for a few weeks! I always make us go downtown and take  bike ride or a long walk to see them every year…they’re just so pretty! Also, it has great memories with my dear love, Nate. We first came out here in 2011 before we graduated from UMN and I went to a job fair and he networked. Neither of us knew when we’d end up here…let alone be together 4 years later. Boy am I glad that we kept it going long-distance while I was in VB and he was living with the Linford’s.  I didn’t move to DC until that December and he moved in September of that year. Somehow, 4 years have passed and we’re both still here! And in love! Here’s some pics from each year:

 

2011:

2012:

 

 

2013:

 

 

 

2014:

Gorgeous Saturday- Greg was in town and took this picture. 🙂

Love them both!

Grace safely delivered her second baby boy! Look how beautiful and calm she looks. Can’t wait to meet him.

Busch is always a good choice

They have these delicious pretzel bites in Germany now… Soo good!!

Had so much fun with Greg this week… So glad he was home from Mn!!

I mowed the lawn before I left on Friday. Cole and Pepper were outside with me. Cole was obsessed with this stick– constantly bringing it to me wanting me to throw it. Cute!

…. Williamsburg now has a Jimmy John’s!

Greg flew out of DC on Saturday, so he drove up with me on Friday. We went to a chilly Nats game that night. Man, I love my brother.

Greg and the Capitol

The Gophers made it to the final four tournament for hockey… They call it the “Frozen Four.”

This year the tourney was held in Philly! Nate treated us to tickets and we drove up for the semifinal game on a Thursday afternoon after work.

The snapchat of the papaya I got for our road trip snacks. Can’t stand the stuff, but Nate likes it!

Look at the beautiful rink and players!

We were so excited for the game. Nate was nervous the whole drive up. Thank goodness we beat NDSU! In the last .06 seconds. Amazing feeling to win like that!

We then drove home pumped with adrenaline from the win. Nate let me sleep for an hour and I got home around 3am.

We drove back up on Saturday and sadly the Gophers lost. 😦 boooooooo

It was a great celebration of being U grads. Loved representing Minnesota!

A few weeks ago, my mom’s sister passed away. She had been suffering with liver cancer for the past year.

I was able to visit her many times with my mom. The funeral service was a special time to celebrate her life and to see family again.

My mom with Carla two weeks before she died. We heard her say “I’m ready to go.” She was ready to be out of pain.

My mom and her best friend while growing up, Pam. They were giggling like schoolgirls at the viewing. It was nice seeing her again.

My cousin Dodi, aunt Minta and her daughters

My aunt Glynette! She’s old enough to be my grandma (30 years older than my mom). When I introduced her to Nate, she said “Finally, you found one! I thought this was never going to happen.” Thanks, aunt G.

Cousin Rosie, Mom, Becky, and Mary Ellen

 

Tonight I was reading a Reddit AMA (ask me anything) from Richard Bushman. He is one of my spiritual heroes. He has published amazing work about Mormon prophets and history. My favorite part from Richard’s AMA is below. I love how he phrases things. I love that he lives his life and believes in the Gospel of Jesus Christ as what was restored by Joseph Smith.

So what it comes down to is that I believe in the founding events. I think of them as the foundation of my faith. But they are the foundation, and I do not live in the cellar. I live in the rooms built on these events, the way of life, the attitudes, the institutions, the relationships, the experiences they support. This is what I meant when I spoke to Anselm Min, the Catholic theologian at Claremont Graduate School where Claudia and I taught for three years. Anselm took me to lunch soon after we arrived at Claremont and bluntly asked me how I could believe in Joseph Smith. My immediate response was that when I lived in the Mormon way I became the kind of man I wanted to be. Those words summed up a lot—my sense of having God’s spirit when I needed it, the salutary discipline of Mormon life, the friendships and commonalities of a Mormon ward, the requirement of unselfish service, the valuation of family, the tempering of pride and fear—a host of things. Like many people, I wrestle with demons. I frequently feel inadequate to my responsibilities. At the same time, I know I can be better, and when I live the Mormon way, I am lifted up. I see things more clearly. I can figure out how I really feel. I know how to relate to my wife and children and colleagues. I am temperate, incisive, generous, and focused. On bad days, Claudia and I often say we are out of sync with the universe. Over the many years I have been in the Church, I find that following the Mormon path puts me back in sync. I don’t use the word “know” a lot, but I do know I am a better person for being a Mormon. 

Went to Philly for a concert last night. Was a total blasssssst! So glad that tix prices came down into the affordable range… Yup 3rd row on section 111. Yeah!!!

Before the concert we explored in the Fishtown neighborhood. Up-and-coming/NE Minne kind of vibe (not Uptown).

Record shop- he’s in HEAVEN:

And so am I… Livin’ la vida loca…

It snowed again sunday night/Monday morning (school was cancelled for me.. Yay!) so things worked out perfectly. I’ll spare you another pic of my car buried in snow… Previous posts do it justice.

I picked us up some Jimmy John’s for lunch (this was on the floor beneath the toilet).

Little band called Arcade Fire rocked it out. Pretty fun stuff to dance to!

Philly pier

And here’s us before going in the WF ctr! I bought red lipstick before to rock out in my party dress! Fun to get dressed up once in awhile.

Until next time!!! Safe wishes to all of you. 🙂

Monday and Tuesday- School cancelled

Wednesday- 2 hour delay

We had another storm that began early Monday morning. I got the cancellation email Sunday night.. So that was really nice.

On Monday, I was determined to take lunch to Nate. In a previous storm, I ventured downtown and brought him a delicious sub from the Italian Store. The Versa took it slowly through the unplowed roads and we made it to the store to find that it was closed! No! I was so disappointed.

I continued on my journey to meet him downtown for lunch. This is the snowy Gw parkway (borders the Potomac).

Look at the beautiful snowy White House!

Thankfully, the snow melted and we were able to return to work on Wednesday.

On Thursday, I was able to go to a live taping of a Slate podcast. It was held in a beautiful synagogue downtown DC. The discussion of the current crisis in the Ukraine was fascinating!

And to end the post, here’s Nate working on his suspicious project:

It was a great week!