Three to four years in five minutes

After driving around in the snow this morning and discovering that the place (where I thought for sure I would find a small gift for Cody) didn't have it, I came home and began procrastination rituals.  What am I procrastinating?  Cleaning my house (because we didn't do that Saturday; instead we saw the Desolation of Smaug), grading, planning for school, class roles for Primary, working on Janeen's potatoes for dinner, and possibly making a buche de Noel (but I'm hoping to do that tonight with Cody).

During my successful procrastination, I listened to The Nutcracker, ate a banana and a candy sled, and made name tags for all the children in Primary.  Then I decided I would look up some information on the Internet which inevitably makes me sad. I thought maybe this time it wouldn't, but it did.  After trying to cheer myself by reading happy things and having that not work, I started wasting my life on Facebook. But this time it wasn't a waste.

I became sucked into looking at pictures and after five minutes I realized that I was looking at pictures from 3 1/2 years ago.  Man alive! I thought (and I'm not joking, I really thought that) I am so blessed and lucky to have had so many opportunities the past three to four years of my life.  So here is a photo tribute to the experiences, but more importantly, the people that helped make my life so much better these past three years.

October 2009: After a life-changing hike with Lori Lund (Miller, now) and Kasey Butler. I didn't realize that long-term effects that this hike would have on my life but I frequently think about the things we talked about and the lessons we learned on that hike.  I needed my friends at this hard time in my life and they were there for me.

December 2009: at Lindsey's Ugly Sweater Party. I wish I had a better copy of the lower picture, but I think it's lost to cyberspace. Lindsey has been my friend through thick and thin, close and far, writing and phone calls. 

December 2009: Doing "See no evil,  hear no evil, speak no evil" with Ben and Jacob.  My brothers probably don't realize how much they make my day brighter, but they do.  

April 2010: My first full day in France. Sometimes that doesn't even seem real.  I learned a lot about myself when I was there. It was a good soul-cleansing and goal fulfilling trip.

May 2010: I got to spend 6 weeks in France. WHAT!? How many people get to do that? 

October 2010: This was a great group of roommates. Funny to think that we're all (except Biva) married.  I love this picture because we actually look like we could be tall or average-height people. And we are so not.

February 2011: I loved working with these ladies at Freshman Academy/Mentoring, especially traveling to Atlanta, Georgia to present at the First-Year Experience Conference.

April 2011: My partner in crime, Amanda Leifson.  So so so glad that we went to DC as a graduation present to myself.

May 2011: Verdon & Amberlee Walker gave me hope that I would find someone to love and love me back.  Verdon was one of my best friends for two years and I'm so glad that he's pursing his goals with Amberlee at his side.

August 2011: Taking engagement pictures.  Cody has changed my life and brought more happiness and laughter into my life than I deserve, but that I need.  Crazy that it has been two years.

January 2012: Parents. What would I do without them?

June 2013: My nephew, Westley.  That child is the reason I've seen my sister and brother-in-law so much the past year and a half (just kidding, sort of...haha).  I love this kid so much!

Even though life is hard, so hard, sometimes, at least I have good people around me who love me and whom I love.  I don't feel like the most faith-filled person right now, but I know I'm being supported by the faith of those stronger than I am right now. Thank you.

and Merry Christmas!

Gratitude

I feel like I'm always trying to find things for which to be grateful.  I know November is a natural time for Americans to think about gratitude because of Thanksgiving. I'm sure that other months are months of "Thanksgiving" in other cultures.

Here's a short list. I hope to add some longer posts about specific things that I am grateful for in the coming weeks:

1. the Gospel of Jesus Christ
2. my husband, Cody
3. the restored church of Jesus Christ (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
4. family
5. prophets, seers, and revelators today
6. books
7. library cards
8. chocolate
9. friends
10. letters
11. my mom and dad, specifically
12. Lindsey, specifically
13. carpools
14. airplanes
15. cameras
16. notebooks and pens
17. literacy
18. music
19. patient people
20. knowledge
21. Shakespeare
22. Dr. Seuss
23. Yo Yo Ma
24. blue things
25. warm blankets
26. colors
27. food
28. being able to cook
29. running water
30. indoor plumbing
31. indoor heating and cooling
32. a car
33. my job
34. Cody's job
35. that I live in the United States 
36. that I grew up in middle-class America so that I'm blessed with opportunities beyond many in the world
37. our local and national leaders
38. good people that have the desire to run for/be president/Senate/House of Representatives/Governor/etc. and who mostly are all just trying to do their best, so that I don't ever have to feel like I need to
39. scientists
40. iPods
41. running shoes
42. socks
43. my nephew who is the cutest
44. my brothers and sisters (counting in-laws, too)
45. American history
46. having gone to BYU and taken so many different classes
47. prayer
48. perspective
49. fall
50. that I'm not allergic to any foods or medicines

Almost a month...

Well, this has been the longest hiatus with posting on my blog for the past six months. It's kind of weird to think that seven months ago I started that special diet to see if any of the food I was eating was a trigger for headaches. It's even more weird to think that five months ago I wrote my first blog post from DC (followed by many, many more). And then school started and my blogging took a backseat to figuring out how to be a third grade teacher, how to be a teacher, and how to balance my work life, personal life, and church life.

Maybe life will slow down, but probably not.

Today has been kind of a hard day. I've been really worried about someone that I care about so much all day. I'm not sure exactly what is going on with her and her life, but I know that it isn't what was planned and if it happened to me I would be crying buckets all day.  Like I said, I don't know exactly what is going on, but the worrying and praying and trying to be hopeful for her all day, has been a growing feeling throughout the day.  I wish I could do more for her than just think about her and pray for her, but I can't.  I've made myself available to talk but probably everyone wants to talk to her right now and that can get old and annoying.  Thankfully I know she has a great family that is supporting her right now and that Heavenly Father is right there with her giving her the strength she needs to make any tough decisions.

...

Other than today though, I've had a good week.  I voted on Tuesday for mayor and a city-council Member. I love feeling and knowing that I am participating in the great American experiment when I vote, even when it is in "small" elections like for mayor. These are our leaders that impact the exact place where we live! Why wouldn't we vote for "lesser" positions like mayor and city-council?

Proof! I have the "I voted!" sticker

Last week was Halloween and Cody and I dressed up as Wreck-it-Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz.

I'm starting to get into the groove of third grade, but I do still miss teaching fifth grade social studies. I'm trying to follow Jane Eyre's advice when she becomes the teacher to those poor, country-folk--to put aside her fine accomplishments because she knows they will keep.  I know that my love for American History will keep. I'll still find ways to incorporate it a little bit in my class (still not the same!), but that knowledge and that love will "keep."

Also, I got my first flu shot (that I can remember; I maybe got one when I was a baby) today. I figured I should just bite the bullet, get it and not try to test my luck that I won't get it this year. I've been blessed with extraordinarily good health, but I don't want to let getting sick mess up my Thanksgiving or Christmas plans (after that? Sure why not? haha).

A small Bollywood problem

So I think I have a problem...

During my students' library time today the only thing I wanted to listen to in my room as I got ready for them to return and for French Club after school, was:

And I played it as my French Club students came in. And after French Club as I was cleaning up.

Now I'm listening to:

I hope that Cody and I can get Jodhaa Akbar at some point. I really like this movie. We're also hoping to buy Lagaan sometime, as well.  Cody likes that movie better. It has awesome music too, so I'm fine with it.

Arlington National Cemetery & National Zoo

Yesterday on our last Friday in DC for this summer, Cody and I went and visited the Arlington National Cemetery.  We visited JFK's gravesite and the tomb of the unknown soldier.  We even got lucky and arrived at the outdoor amphitheatre two minutes before a changing of the guard ceremony, so we were able see that too.

Cody at JFK's grave with a part of the cemetery in the background

Cody thought this was cool, "He was an interesting man" was his comment as he snapped the picture

Outdoor amphitheatre at the tomb of the unknown soldier

Guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier

Funeral procession

Then today we were able to spend a few hours at the National Zoo with our friends the Days.  They had been to the zoo twice already this summer, so they were our personal tour guides as we wandered the zoo.  My personal favorites: Amazonia and the orangutan.  Cody's favorites: the lions, gorillas, and the snapping turtle.

Male lion just chillin'

Inside the Amazonia building

Tortoise

Tortoise

Orangutan--they have this cool structure connecting the Orangutan Room with the Think Tank (another room where the orangutans hang out). They are able to climb on it between 11am-2pm daily.

Snapping turtle

DC Aquarium visit

On Friday Cody and I went to visit the Aquarium here in DC.  It's housed in a rather odd venue--the basement of the Commerce building.  It also wasn't as big as we were anticipating. However, that being said, we did see a lot of cool aquatic life and some snakes (definitely not as cool as all the fish and the American alligators though).  Cody's favorite were the American alligators.  My favorite was probably the turtles that were giving each other a piggy-back ride.

One in two million lobster are blue. Here's a blue one!

An American alligator

Cody thinking with an American alligator in size perspective next to him on the other side of the glass.

Adventures with Meg

I guess the real adventure started on Friday when Cody and I returned from his Washington Seminar briefing at CAP (Center for American Progress) and decided that we wouldn't leave our apartment for the rest of the night since it was stinkin' hot and crazy humid and we would be out all day on Saturday visiting places.  Several times that evening as I sat on the couch and thought, "I'm sort of...bored," and then voiced that opinion, Cody would remind me that we would be out all day on Saturday getting hot and humid and shouldn't we enjoy the AC like we planned on doing?

We enjoyed the AC. We (okay, probably just I) didn't enjoy as much being stuck up in our apartment on Friday night.

However, we made up for it by like 100 times on Saturday.  Our day started around 9am when Meg Barber, one of Cody's best friends from BYU, showed up at the Barlow Center with her backpack to be stored in our apartment while we wandered around DC all day.

Stop One: The White House.  We first walked by the back of it, but Meg wanted a picture of the more famous front, so to the front we walked.  Cody actually hadn't walked to the front either, so it was a new experience for him, as well.  We couldn't get as close as one usually can because the road was blocked off for-who-knows-why (the only thing I could see was that the sprinklers were on), so we trudged a little bit further, walked across the grass and got a really far off picture of the front of the White House.

Meg and the White House from a long ways away

Stop Two: The Capitol Building. We didn't take a tour, but we did walk all the way up the Mall to get to the Capitol.  We were pretty tired and hot by the time we got to the building; however, we were able to get some pictures taken.

Cody, me, and Meg with the Capitol in the back

Meg and I standing outside the LOC

Stop Three: Library of Congress.  This wasn't on Meg's original list of things to see in DC but since it was right behind the Capitol and right next to the Supreme Court Building (both of which were on her list), we stopped and explored.  I was able to share some of the knowledge I had gleaned during my tour a month ago.  Cody and Meg ended up liking the LOC a lot more than they thought they would. Score for me for suggesting it.

Me and Meg with the LOC in the background

Stop Four: Supreme Court.  They are doing construction on the facade so it has a large photo of the Supreme Court building on a big piece of cloth. It was also closed, so no-go on going inside.

Supreme Court buildling

Stop Five: We the Pizza.  This was Cody and my second visit to this delightful restaurant, and Meg's first visit.  We each got the lunch special of two slices of pizza and a home-made soda.  Meg loved her soda; she even went so far as to say it was her favorite part about the restaurant and that for forever all sodas will be falling short of the We the Pizza standard.

Cody and me eating at We the Pizza

Stop Six: American History Museum.  We wandered around more this time than last time when Cody and I crashed on a bench, though I did use some of the time that they were looking at the Philadelphia exhibit (which I'd already seen) to read Jane Eyre.  After going through and looking at everything, Cody and I came to the same conclusion that we are rather disappointed with the American History museum in that it doesn't really have a ton of stuff there, like some of the other places we've or I've gone to visit.

Stop Seven: Barlow Center.  We came back, took off our shoes, sat down, drank water, and rested.  It was a great idea.

Stop Eight: Bobby's Burger Palace.  We were really looking forward to getting milkshakes here again, but I guess they'd just run out of milkshake ingredients.  While the burgers were delicious, we missed out on not getting a milkshake.

Stop Nine: Lincoln Memorial.  This was my first time on this trip actually going up and looking around in the memorial.  There were sprinklers going on in the front at the base of the stairs that anyone could enjoy; Meg took part in that novelty.

Meg playing in the sprinklers

Stop Ten: MLK Jr. Memorial & FDR Memorial & looking across the tidal basin at the Jefferson Memorial:  Since all of these memorials are on the circumference of the tidal basin, we were able to walk through the MLK and FDR memorials, but the Jefferson memorial was too far away for us to get to and get back on time for Meg to catch her bus.  We took some pictures, enjoyed the serenity of one of my favorite places in DC, and then walked back.

Cody, me, and Meg by the tidal basin at the end of our long, fun day

It was a really fun, action-packed, touristy day.  We loved spending time with Meg, even and especially because of her excitement, stories, and wassal-ing.

Meg "wassal-ing" like Bilbo in The Hobbit

Botany, Art, and Native Americans

This week my big adventures have included visiting the Botanic Garden and Conservatory, the Hirshhorn Gallery, and the Museum of the American Indian.  On Monday when I visited the Botanic Garden, it was also the day that the famous titan arum was starting to bloom, and apparently, it is still blooming, four days later.  However momentous an occasion, I'm really grateful I didn't have to walk around the conservatory with the aroma of onions and rotting flesh.  It was interesting as I walked through the Conservatory to feel the different temperatures and levels of humidity as I went from one simulated area of the world to another.

In the Jungle area of the Conservatory

In the walkway from the Jungle to the Southern landscapes part of the Conservatory

Tradescantia pallida, "Purple Heart", spiderwort; found in the Southern Landscapes area of the Conservatory

An orchid; found in the endangered-orchids part of the Conservatory

Close up of one orchid

The Hawaii section of the Conservatory

One of my personal favorites--in the Ancient Plants section--I love the dinosaur!

After spending some time inside the Conservatory, I made my way outside to the Regional Garden.  At the Botanic Garden they pride themselves on their use of natural methods of fertilization and getting rid of pests, rather than using chemicals and pesticides.  They try to make it very plain that you can garden and have a beautiful garden, without having to use chemicals that harm the environment.

Flower Fountain outside the Conservatory, going into the Regional Garden area

Giant dragonfly

A nice swampy area

American White Water-Lily

Later in the week, after doing research on Tuesday and Wednesday, I was able to venture forth again.  This time I visited the Hirshhorn Gallery--not just the garden this time--and was able to see some more of the modern art in DC. 

Venus of the Rags, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Italian, 1967

 This piece made me laugh!  I love that Venus is trying to find some clothes to put on!  And isn't that what every laundry room looks like? I think it's a great take on a "classic" piece.

Wall Drawing #1113: On a wall, a triangle within a rectangle, each with broken bands of color, Sol LeWitt, American, 2003, acrylic

 I think I just have this thing with color. There was an exhibit called "There and Back" that I took four photos of because it shows the progression of one color to another. However, with this piece, I love the vibrancy of the colors, the rigidity of the lines, the way it seems 2-D and 3-D simultaneously, and the different lengths of the color bands. I just really enjoyed this piece, besides the fact that it is HUGE--it fills an entire wall.

1950-M No.1, Clifford Still, American, 1950

 Another example of my crazy love for blue. It looks sooooo much lovelier in real life. The contrast between the blues is more subtle.  I just love blue.

Sanctuary, Gerhard Richter, German, 1988, oil on linen 

 This was an fascinating piece to look at. It looks kind of crazy in a photograph, but in real life it is actually more crazy.  It seems like there is very vivid underpainting of color--the greens, blues, oranges--and then this thicker, almost still liquid looking overpainting of the reds, darker orange, black and brown. And then over that there is still another layer of blackish-white and redish-orange specks.  The brush strokes are very deliberate and thought out--except at the far right where the artist is able to make it look like the paint is dissolving into nothing. It is sooo cool! I really, really enjoyed looking at this painting.

Untitled (Dog), Peter Coffin, American 2012, Mixed Media

 This is apparently the world's largest canine. What I couldn't get a picture of was of my hands-down favorite piece in the entire gallery. It's also by Peter Coffin in the Here & There exhibit. It is called Untitled and it is an animated projection on paintings from the Hirshhorn collection.  In the handout I got it reads, "Where does the brain 'ping' when looking at art? Sound, music, and superimpositions 'animate' works in the collection, encouraging new ways to consider them."  I loved this work!  There were 11 or 12 framed canvas paintings hanging on the wall in a darkened room. There was a projector aimed at each wall/painting that would superimpose images onto these paintings, with music and noises to accompany it. It was done masterfully with colors seeming to jump up out of their place on the painting and move about the canvas and onto the wall, or to have a shape painting have the colors and shapes react in response to a classical piece of music playing.  It was engaging, surprising, and insightful.  I wish I could somehow share it with all of you, but I can't.

My next visit was to the Museum of the American Indian.  I first viewed a film on the fourth floor that talked about and showed the relationship that Native Americans have with the Earth and how it is a part of their culture, livelihood, and art.  I walked through some of the exhibits and finished off by eating in the cafeteria.

Sculpture in one of the alcoves in the Museum of the American Indian

Navajo taco