The Life of the Lone Loganer

Day 4

2011-12-18T10:54:00.009-07:00

During Day 4 we completed three hikes. They were all very beautiful and it was nice to get out of the raft and move around. The scenery continued to be beautiful throughout this day and I really enjoyed being able to hike into different spots and see things I wouldn't have been able to see from the river.

The day before I left on my rafting trip I learned that my teaching job was being cut. There were several opportunities on this trip to think about my life and what I was going to do with it. This day, Day 4, was one of those days that I pondered my life's big questions.

Hike #3: We hiked to a waterfall and a lot of the group swam around and cooled off.

The waterfall at Hike #3

Ken swam under this waterfall

Hike #4: We hiked up to a waterfall area called Elves Chasm. The group played in the water some more. This hike had a little more two it than the last one and not everyone joined us on this hike. Our guide, Dave, warned us that there would be a "momentum step" a.k.a. a big step that would require a high leg lift and some exertion to successfully continue.

The terrain we hiked to reach Elves Chasm

Elves Chasm

Tom (standing) and DJ (sitting) hiked up behind the waterfall

The Momentum Step

Ken swam under this waterfall as well

Hike #5: This one was much less of a hike and much more of a walk. The canyon walls were pretty cool and we saw some good scenery. Dave gave us some time to find ourselves a spot to sit down and "take it all in". I'm pretty sure he just wanted some time to hide out and take a nap.

Evelyn, me, and Tammy at the beginning of Hike #5

Scenery above from our hike below

We spotted a lizard on this hike

Upon reaching this canyon wall our hike had ended

"Take it all in" time

We finished off the day with some beautiful scenery before setting up camp. This camp site had really small tent areas so Tammy and I slept in our tent that night. This was the night that I thought I was surely going to bake from the inside out. I've never been so hot in all my life. There were moments that I thought I might be sent into a panic due to the heat. I found myself needing to suppress thoughts like "What if I die because I'm so warm?" or "Will my body ever cool off?" or "I feel stuck, trapped! There's no breeze, nothing to cool me off even a little." Tammy and I really struggled with falling asleep that night because we were both so overheated. We did have some pretty good conversations though and that I really enjoyed.

Scenery from Day 4

Reflections

I ended this day with a lengthy journal entry: "The river had some amazing rapids today...At one point this morning I did..sit up front and got very wet. Luckily, I was able to change into dry clothes at lunch. The sun was out today and I really enjoyed being able to soak up a few rays. It also gave me a good opportunity to talk to Skinny Dave [one of the guides] about some things.

"Dave graduated from college and traveled all over Mexico, part of Chile, and part of Argentina. I was really impressed with his stories and all he's done. I kept thinking What is the value of seeing things and learning about other people? Then he talked about volunteering in an orphanage for three months in Mexico, going to raft in Mexico, and meeting Ernesto [our third guide] who gets to work in the U.S. for 6 months. He [Dave] did/does things to contribute to the world and to society. And then I thought about comparing and contrasting my purpose in life and being able to fulfill that purpose with seeking a family or seeking traveling/serving adventures. I talked to Dave about [health] insurance and wanting to settle down. He never had insurance, but he always had some money set aside for emergencies. He never worried about settling down because he always figured he'd be out and meet someone doing the same things he does/was doing. He's dating a girl he's known for four years. I liked listening to Dave's stories and hearing his motivation. He cares about other people. He wants to meet, learn, and help other people. He thought about joining the Peace Corps but two years isn't long enough. (I think it's a long time) He said it gives you just enough time to build a rapport with the people and then you have to move on. I really loved talking to him!

"I have a hard time seeing how Dave's life plan fits into the Gospel. But it gives me a lot to think about, things to consider, and gusto/motivation to think outside the box. I do feel like the opportunity to have that conversation was an answer to prayers; inspired, and an amazing blessing.

"The river water is still pretty dirty but I needed to bathe. I lost all pride and bathed naked. It wasn't as weird as I thought it would be, but colder than I expected it to be. The guides were on the boat and had...a view of where I was, but I didn't care. I still squatted so they wouldn't see [much] and my thighs were burning by the time I was done. I had to keep reminding myself to breathe because the water was so cold. It was worth it. My hair feels stiff and disgusting but it's clean [somewhat]. We ate french toast and fruit for breakfast; BLTs for lunch; pasta, garlic bread, and salad for dinner yesterday. SO DELICIOUS!"

Day 3

2011-11-13T11:05:00.001-07:00

When we woke up on Day 3, the water was more of a reddish color due to run off from other creeks and parts of the canyon. It was interesting to see that the color of the water could quickly change over night. The Colorado is a huge,long river filled with lots of water and it still amazes me to think that so much water could easily be influenced by runoff from other places. Before we entered "The Gorge" we passed the Little Colorado. Because of the differences in color of each river, you could see where they merged and came together.

The Little Colorado joining The Colorado

If you look closely, you can see water spots where the colors are still merging

It was on this day that we took our second hike. This one was not nearly as difficult as Hike #1 and for this I was very grateful. We hiked up to some more ruins and a beautiful view of the river we'd already traveled and the route ahead.

The Ruins

Ken, me, and Evelyn from the viewpoint of Hike #2

The view below

Where the river would take us despues de our hike.

The view of what we'd previously floated.

At this point we got back on the river and headed onward. This day would be made up of high canyon walls and lots of rain.

Beautiful rock formations composed the scenery above

I'll let you use your imagination to determine
what this particular formation looks like

The skies were quite foreboding all day long

Winding our way closer to the Gorge

The canyon walls are starting to get higher and
the distance between them is starting to narrow

At this point we heard, "Everyone in the back get on the ground."
Apparently there were some huge rapids ahead and
the ground of the boat was the safest place to be.

A glimpse of what we were heading into

The pictures really don't do the rapids justice

The walls of the Gorge were tall and black and due to the rain, completely soaked. It rained all day and as we traversed through the Gorge we saw multiple waterfalls running down the edge of the cliffs. The Gorge was one of my favorite scenes on this trip. I can't say it was one of my favorite days, the rain tended to dampen my spirits (pun totally intended), but the scenery was unique and we wouldn't see anything like it for the remainder of the trip.

A couple of the waterfalls spotted on the canyon walls.

We took somewhat of a rest stop at Phantom Ranch. This is about midway point through the canyon on our river trip. If one were to float half the river, he would put in here and float the remainder or float to this point and go home. When you hear of people riding donkeys down the Grand Canyon, this is where they end up. There's some civilization in this area but really it's the only point of civilization on this trek.

Ken and Tammy at the bridge at Phantom Ranch.

Civilization meant a flush toilet!!!

I was very excited to set up camp that evening. The rain had finally stopped and the lightened my spirits quite a bit. The temperatures were a little cooler and the rain was threatening to come again, so Tammy and I slept in our tent that night. Aside from the first night of being forced into our tents due to sand blasting, this would be our first of two full nights in a tent. This was definitely the least miserable tenting experience.

I ended Day 3 with a journal entry: "Benji was blessed today and I missed it. That's the second blessing I've missed...

"It poured rain today and it was very difficult for me to maintain a positive attitude. Luckily, I have Ken's amazing attitude on the same boat which helped me turn things around. I've really enjoyed getting to know our guides and our boat-mates. I enjoy meeting new people and conversing with them. This has been, and will continue to be, an incredibly trip-a day of pouring rain and all."

Day 2

2011-08-14T18:13:00.007-06:00

On July 31, we woke up, ate breakfast, and got back on the river. I don't think it was an easy first night for any of my fellow rafters. Between getting used to sleeping on thin mats, the wind/blowing sand, and the rain it was difficult for most of us to get a good night's rest. The morning was a little cooler than I originally expected and although I was terribly excited to get back on the river, I do remember thinking that if everything night was going to be that difficult and if I was going to feel that awful every morning then it was really going to be a long week. Luckily, things started looking up.

Early morning mist on the river

Tammy and Evelyn-It was a chilly morning

Our first stop that morning was to a little cave where we tossed a Frisbee and talked with our guides about the canyon. Ken saw this as an opportune time to get a little bit of shut-eye since the night before was so rough.

The cave where we tossed a Frisbee and talked with our guides

Ken taking a nap

We floated on throughout the day. There were lost of fun rapids and I took all of them up front. It made for a cold ride, for a it took quite some time to feel the heat from the sun, but it was well worth it.

The morning mist covering the cliff-tops

Waiting for some good rapids-Ken and me (and Tom's back)

Some of the cool, naturally created rock formations

Skinny Dave getting some experience manning the raft

Once we made it to our campsite, we unloaded the boat, set up camp, and headed out on our first hike. We hiked up to (it felt like a straight-up climb and I told myself that if every hike was going to be like this, I wouldn't be going on every hike; fortunately, that wasn't the way it turned out to be).

View from Hike #1-If you look closely, you can see the darker shade of the creek
merging with the lighter shades of the Colorado River

The hike provided beautiful views and our destination was up to some granaries. If I remember correctly, the natives would store their food in places like this in order to protect it. It was a difficult hike but it was a good opportunity to get to know some of the people on our raft.

The granaries

The ruins of what used to be a granary

Inside one of the granaries

Evelyn and me

Views from our destination

I ended Day 2 with a journal entry: "Today was a really fun day! The food has been absolutely wonderful! We had delicious chicken salad wraps for lunch; salmon, couscous, and spinach salad for dinner; eggs (cooked to order) fruit, and bagels; roast beef sandwiches (with a PB & J option) and chips for lunch; and hamburgers/brats and cole slaw for dinner with carrot cake for dessert. It's been so good!

"We spent quite a bit of time on the river and it's been amazing. Evelyn, Ken, and I went on a hike. It was tough but it was a beautiful view! Ken headed back down before Evelyn and I so she and I had an awesome conversation about activity in the Gospel, the priesthood, and receiving the endowment. I've really been enjoying this time with Ken and Evelyn. I really do look up to them so much."

Day 1

2011-08-07T17:08:00.005-06:00

A little over a year ago, July 30th to be precise, I embarked on an 8-day rafting adventure on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

On July 29th I traveled to Phoenix where I met up with my uncle, Ken, and together we drove to Flagstaff to meet my aunt, Evelyn, and her friend, Tammy. We checked into our hotel and met up with nine strangers that would be joining us on this trip.

The morning of July 30th started rather early. We feasted on a hotel breakfast, packed our dry bags and boarded the bus that would take us to starting point of our float, which was just above Lee's Ferry.

The View from the bridge over Lee's Ferry

We slowly made our way through the beginning of the canyon and around noon we pulled over for a nice lunch of chicken salad wraps (they were so good!) I felt that this was an opportune time to take my first picture of the raft we'd be on for the following seven days.

I don't remember the name of the raft or if we even gave it one

Evelyn is in the green, Ken in the middle, and Tammy in the purple
On the boat are our three guides-Ernesto, Dave, and Dave

When I saw that this was our boat I was a little confused in the beginning. I thought certainly this was the kind of thing one could easily be thrown off of amidst raging rapids, but alas we didn't lose one soul to the water and any point during our eight day trip. This was a motorized raft which meant we never actually had to do any paddling. We sat on top of those blue boxes and there were hand holds to cling to during the rough parts. The water was incredibly cold but I found it to be such a thrill sitting on the end and facing the rapids head on.

We journeyed for a couple more hours after lunch and then pulled over to our camp spot. I learned throughout the week that our rafting company doesn't have set camp spots. There are spots all along the river throughout the canyon (these spots all seem to have names that everyone knows) and as you pass other companies and other rafters you ask where everyone is staying and based on their responses you pick one of the remaining campsites. We came upon our stop, unloaded our boat, set up camp, and were instructed on bathroom use.

Our first camp site

We initially chose to sleep outside but due to high winds (leading to a free micro-derm abrasion experience due to blowing sand) and eventually some rain, Tammy and I ended up in our tent that first night. I was very grateful that they encouraged us to set up tents even if we chose to sleep outside. It made for great changing shelter and it was nice to have a Plan B for inclement weather.

The Living Room

Once everyone set up their individual camps we congregated together to chat and get to know each other better. From the above picture you can see the kitchen in the background, which our guides set up at every campsite and made us breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Before we got too settled, our head guide, Dave, gave us a tour of the bathroom where he talked about the rules and courtesies regarding the "Groover". From this little oration I remember a few things: 1) when the toilet paper can is not visible then the bathroom is occupied and you must wait by the water station until you see someone making their way back from the bathroom. 2) there's only so much room to pack toilet paper so when going #2 please refrain from making a catcher's mitt.

The Bathroom

The "Groover"-for solid waste only

The Pee Bucket-for liquid waste
You guessed it, if one had the need to go #1 AND #2
you were supposed to take care of business on one bucket
and quickly transfer to the next.

Reloading the Groover back onto the boat.
This became a morning ritual, watching our guides carry that
loaded box onto the raft where it would be stowed away
in an unknown compartment.

I ended Day 1 with a journal entry:

"We started our rafting trip today. There are 13 people on our boat and 3 guides. It's been a lot of fun so far and I hope the fun continues.
"At the beginning of the trip you could see the bottom of the river. Then the silty water started to work it's way in. You could see the transition. It was crazy!"

The Banana

2011-07-10T18:07:00.003-06:00

The banana is one of my favorite fruits-it's easy to eat, it doesn't get stuck in your teeth, and it requires absolutely no preparation. I enjoy one almost daily. Most of the time I enjoy them plain but sometimes I like to add some Nutella or peanut butter for added flavor. I'm not usually too picky about the ripeness; I'll eat a banana that's still a little green and maybe a little crunchier than normal (the only way Mom chooses to consume a plain banana), or until it's a little brown and spotty. Usually I try to give the spotty ones a try before discarding them and I can usually make it about 3/4 of the way before the gag reflex kicks in. Once the reflex kicks in, there's no finishing that banana and it must be thrown away.

I've been teased for my banana-consumption style and I'm not quite sure why. I think it makes a lot of sense. To me, a banana is an on-the-go food. This means you can take care of the garbage portion before leaving and not have to worry about any clean up. So I peel my bananas completely (I attribute this habit to Dad, for this is the only way I remember ever seeing him eat a banana) and try to only get my fingertips gooey. Once the banana is gone then I wipe the remainder on my pants. Once I feel banana gunk on my pants then I know it's time for them to be laundered. What is so weird about this method? I don't have to worry about throwing a peel away or throwing a peel out the window, and I get a reminder to do my laundry!

The correct form of banana consumption

Since I try to consume a banana a day, I tend to buy a bunch (usually 5-6) each week at the store. Some weeks the bananas are riper than usual and won't last me an entire week, so they reach the brown stage faster than I can consume them all. Some days I forget to take a banana to work with me (if I don't eat them around breakfast time then I forget they're there and they don't get eaten once I get home from work) so they don't all get eaten before they reach a point of no longer being consumable in their natural state. That's when I throw them in the freezer and tell myself I'll make banana bread some day.

Well, Lacee and I reached a point where our freezer became so full of rotten bananas that we joked about banana bread being our form of food storage. As long as we have the ingredients to make banana bread then we'll be good to go. Our freezer reached the point where the shelves on the door could no longer contain our rotten bananas and were starting to spill over into the main portion of the freezer. So today I decided to make some banana bread. I pulled out 8 bananas this morning in order to make 2 loaves and there are still about 20 bananas left (about enough to make five more loaves).

Our remaining food storage

Well, time to go remove my second loaf from the oven and enjoy a slice or two from the first loaf. I dare you to try my method of banana consumption. Let me know how that goes for you, for once you start there'll be no turning back. You'll be hooked!

The Game

2011-06-19T23:23:00.004-06:00

The fifth and final installment of a short series about singledom.

Life has taught me that all dating experiences are simply little games we play to try to meet our match. You often hear the dating process referred to as the "dating game". Well, I don't like this game. I don't know how to play it and I don't really care to learn. I think we, as humans, are above these silly little games but I feel like we don't try to rise above it because it's all we've ever known. There are many rules to these games and several strategies for playing. And the most frustrating part about all of it is that everyone plays by different rules and every one seems to know different tactics that are magic and will always work regardless of the situation.

Por ejemplo:

1. Touch a boy's elbow three times and you'll land yourself a date-but it's gotta be the elbow (I'm not sure why the elbow and I'm not sure why three is the magic number, it's just what I've heard)

2. After a good date, text the boy a few minutes after you get inside and remind him that you had a wonderful time on said date (personally, I think this one seems a little over-bearing)

3. Once you get a girl's number you must wait three days before giving her a call, so as not to seem too eager. (I disagree with this one. Why put off something that could turn out to be an amazing thing? As Harry says, "I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.")

4. Be mysterious, don't open up too soon or too quickly. You must leave an element of mystery so that he'll want to ask you out again (actually, if he's not gonna be interested in me I'd like to know right off so what you see is what you get)

5. Break the touch barrier to ensure your date that you're really interested (What if he has a large personal bubble? Or you really like to touch people and you really touch everyone whether you're interested or not? Or what if you just don't like to touch people?)

6. If he said he'd call again then don't contact him, he'll contact you (I see some validity to this rule, actually, but I think there are always exceptions)

7. No dating people in the ward because if it doesn't work out it gets awkward and messy (I think this is incredibly limiting)

8. You can't date roommates (a little more validity to this one than ward dating, but I still believe there are exceptions)

9. Don't date people you work with (again, limiting yourself; so what if things get a little awkward? On the other hand if things end up working out aren't you ending up with a pretty great thing?)

10. Don't text your date after you get inside; wait until the next day (doesn't this break Rule #2 AND #6?)

To these rules and all the others out there, I echo Ted Mosby:

"Well, I'm sick of all the rules! There's too many of them! The Hot/Crazy Scale, the Lemon Law, the Platinum Rule...If everyone in the world followed every one of your rules, the human race would cease to exist. Yes, chances are Stella and I are not going to live happily ever after. The overwhelming odds have it ending bad. And when that happens, it'll be for one of a million possible reasons. But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna try. And when it does fail, so help me God, it's not gonna be because of some rule."
("How I Met Your Mother"-Season 3 Episode 11)

The tricky thing about the dating game is everyone is different; every social encounter and interaction is different. There is no one way to play the game. There is no one way to score a date and meet your match. So throw the rules out the window. Stop playing games and start using your words.

The Meat Market

2011-03-12T14:20:00.004-07:00

The fourth in a short series about singledom.

Before proceeding to read, watch this video clip (it's only 20 seconds):

The Meat Market is a common method used to help rid The Diseased of their ailment. What are these Meat Markets I speak of? Well the LDS (Latter-Day Saint) YSA (Young Single Adult) Wards, of course! What is that you say? You don't see how meat markets and singles wards can be likened one to another? Well, allow me to thrust my theory upon you.

Let's start with a little activity involving parallels.

Meat Markets

Singles Wards

A wide variety of meats offered in one building
Offerings/delicacies are put on display

Vendor approves all sales

Vendor and employees make suggestions about different cuts and ways to prepare selections
Offer sale prices and advertisements

A wide variety of people present in one building
A picture is taken of each individual and compiled into what is formally referenced as the “Ward Directory” (commonly known as the “Ward Menu”)
Bishop approves marriages and engagements
Bishop and counselors suggest prospects one should consider

Encourage attendance at Ward Prayer, FHE, and other ward activities

Aha! You see, my theory is not so far-fetched after all!

Now, how does the movie clip tie into my theory? Well you see, meat markets offer a variety of meats, even the rare kinds that most people have never heard of. Haggis, specifically, is the one referenced in the clip. Which leads me to my next point...

The Haggis Theory

Over the last six plus years of attending singles wards I've thought about the similarities between meat markets and my experiences. It was about two years ago when this theory first came to me. I started attending a new ward and after a couple of Sundays a good friend asked me how my ward was. Assuming he was asking about the functionality and referencing the strength of the ward I told him it seemed to be a good ward and I thought it'd be an okay year. His follow up question was, "How are the guys? Any cute ones? Any that you're going to pursue or that you'd like to get to know better?" I gave him a baffled look and thought to myself Ummmm, I don't attend church to check out men. I might attend ward activities for those very reasons, but I haven't attended any of those yet. I attend church to worship. I tried to verbalize those very thoughts but my friend thought me to be crazy. He was convinced that I was lying and was simply trying to pretend that I don't scope out the men at church.

Days later I was thinking, as I often do, about his comments. It hit me like Colette "playfully" hits me when we're joking around (which is actually AWFULLY hard). Singles wards are meat markets. Up until September 2010, singles would wander from ward to ward scoping out the "meat" and deciding which ward had the best to offer. Granted, not everyone was this way. There were quite a few who attended the ward in which they were supposed to, but an alarming number of people felt the need to "shop" for what it was they desired.

The more I continued to think, as I often do, about this theory, the more nicely everything fell into play:

You have ground beef; easy to get, can be used in a variety of situations, and decently cheap. That's not me. In order to qualify as ground beef I would need to use my eyes to take off your clothes, laugh at everything you say, flirt shamelessly, maybe even "give you some", and not expect to hear from you again.

You have chicken; also easy to get, a popular favorite, but a little more expensive. Usually chicken requires a little more maintenance. It needs sauce or marinade or something else to make it good. In order to qualify as chicken I would need to shrink 2-3 inches, lose 100 pounds, dye my hair platinum blond, lose quite a few brain cells, laugh hysterically at everything you say, and play games that torture you and leave you with an element of mystery.

You have steak; not as easy to get, most people like steak but aren't always willing to pay to get it, and is more expensive. In order to qualify as steak I would need to know how to flirt yet know when to stop so as not to lead you on, when on campus I'd carry my scriptures outside of my backpack, sign up for two Institute classes and maybe even join IWA (Institute Women's Association).

And then you have haggis; which is really uncommon and not deemed a favorite by most people. It's a rare Scottish delicacy which is "based on a dare". In order to qualify for haggis I don't know how to flirt, I laugh at the wrong times, I've got a little extra around the edges, I'm independent and opinionated, and I don't play games that lead to heartache or any element of mystery.

Although I don't love being a part of a meat market, I do understand that to not be part of one would limit my options and experiences to a degree in which I don't want to consider. Haggis wouldn't survive in a private market; it must be marketed in a place where people can look at, inquire about, and maybe even sample.

Being haggis is great. I like knowing that I'm a rarity and that I don't quite fit the traditional mold. For I understand that some one, some day will choose to take a chance on haggis; will choose to step out of his comfort zone and try something he's never tried before. Power to the haggis!

Until someone can come up with something better to cure the Diseased (good try, Online Dating), it looks like the Meat Market is the best stop for the cure-all.

The Blind Date "Cure"

2011-02-01T12:11:00.006-07:00

The third in a short series about singledom.

Oh the blind date. What a common tactic used to try and cure the diseased. I know that if I really hated blind dates that much I could easily say no to them. No one's forcing me to go on them. But I figure I don't really go on any other dates so why limit myself to nothing when I can at least have some dating experience (even if they are some of the worst dates I've ever been on).

I know a surprising number of people who have decided that blind dates are no longer going to be a part of their dating experiences. Or who have never allowed blind dates to ever be a part of their dating experiences. To these people I say: Too bad, for you never know...

Now, I've never been on a blind date that turned into a relationship let alone a second date even. But I know people that are married now that met their spouses on a blind date. So although I've had some awful blind dates-just to give you a sampling, I've been on 3 blind dates (yup THREE, count them 1, 2, 3) where part of his family has accompanied us/been part of our date-I'm just not ready to throw in the towel. So instead of turning them down I figure I can assist the Cured by introducing a few guidelines to consider when choosing blind dates for your diseased friends.

A Guide to Planning a Blind Date:

Questions to ask yourself before setting up anyone on a blind date...

1. Are both parties geographically close together? If she lives in Utah and he lives in Texas and they really hit it off then you just made life that much more difficult.

2. Do both parties at least have something in common? If you answer this question with "They're both single" then it's an automatic NO GO.

3. Do both parties at least SEEM to be the type of guy/girl my friend would date? So they're both great people with high standards and so much to offer but she's a high maintenance city girl who knows all about her favorite movie stars and he's a computer hacking, World of Warcraft (or whatever it's called) obsessed gamer. NO GO.

4. How did the idea of both parties getting together come to mind? Were you searching your mental catalog for potential dates for your single friend? NO GO. Did the thought/impression come to your mind that these two people should meet? MOVE FORWARD.

5. Do you think as highly of the "match" as you do your friend? Please don't set up your most awesome friend with a much less-awesome acquaintance.

6. How well do you know the person with which you're setting up your friend? "He's my brother's wife's best friend's ex-boyfriend." If you don't know both parties directly it's a NO GO.

Horrible reasons for setting up anyone on a blind date...

1. You know that your friend would be so much happier if s/he were married because you're married and you can't imagine any greater happiness.

2. You have a diseased friend who, in your opinion, just doesn't date enough.

3. Your single friend is an amazing person and you want so badly for the world to get to know him/her.

4. They're both single.

The 5 Step most efficient/least awkward/best way to set up anyone on a blind date...

1. Ask your friend if s/he is willing to go on a blind date.

2. Ask the match you've been considering if s/he is willing to go on a blind date.

3. Give the male (ALWAYS THE MALE, REGARDLESS OF WHO YOU KNOW BEST) the female's phone number.

4. Refuse to double with them.

5. Let nature take it's course. You no longer have any responsibility or need to take action. Stay out of it (unless one or both parties chooses to give you a report on what happened.)

Anyone got any blind dates for me?

My Apologies

2011-01-19T16:38:00.005-07:00

It's been brought to my attention that my previous post may have come on a little strong. My apologies. My intentions were not to make you second guess everything you've ever said to a Diseased one; but I realize that my word choice and my tone sounded quite accusatory. I've gone back and changed "Why this sucks" to "Why this may not provide comfort". I hope to be able to come across a little more light-hearted in future posts.

The Uncomfortable Comfort Cliches

2011-01-17T14:18:00.007-07:00

The second in a short series about singledom.

(I just want to reiterate that I'm not looking for sympathy, I'm not angry, and I'm not trying to send a message to "certain people". I'm simply throwing my opinion and point of view out there in the hopes that something will stick; and those who deem themselves guilty parties might make some changes.
I'm not unhappy with my single status; I'm tired of people being unhappy for me and my single status.)

It'll happen when you least expect it.You'll find someone someday.The timing just isn't right.Stop looking.It always happens when you stop looking.Don't worry about it!Start doing the things you enjoy!Put yourself out there.Someday you'll find someone who thinks you're great!Just get out there and have fun!Don't worry, you'll be next!He's out there, I know it.

Has anyone had any experiences with these awful words of "comfort" at some point in time? I'm convinced that the Healed (a.k.a. married folk) truly believe these lines make the Diseased feel better. Let me be the first to tell you that sometimes these tidbits of "wisdom" can actually make us feel worse. There's nothing quite like being told to stop worrying about something that you're not even worrying about. Or on the other hand, to stop looking for something that you want so badly (that's like telling a kid to stop thinking about Christmas when you put him/her to bed on Christmas Eve).

I'm definitely not the only one who has experienced this frustration. A few months ago (actually almost a year ago), Lacee was looking at the headlines on the MSN homepage and found this article entitled "19 Things You Should Never Say to a Single Person".

I'll share my top five (in no particular order) least favorite cliches (the ones in italics are from the article, the rest are from my own experience), my theory as to the strategy-or what the Healer meant-of this comment, as well as my theory as to why these comments suck.

1. "But you're so pretty! Why don't you have a boyfriend?" This one is a close relative to "But you are such a great catch! Why hasn't anyone snatched you right up, yet?"

Strategy: To help you feel better about yourself and truly see what a great person you are. And maybe even to put down or insult members of the opposite sex for not taking notice of you.

Why this may not provide comfort: If I knew the answer to that question then I'd make some changes and problem solved! And trying to turn the problem on the other gender really doesn't work. Half the population doesn't have the same problem of simply "not noticing" us. We may be diseased but we're not stupid; it can't really be every other man's/woman's fault. And possibly, some Diseased are choosing not to have a boyfriend/girlfriend right now.

2. "He just wasn't the right one." Obviously! But why?!

Strategy: To help you get over the fact that it's over and there's no going back. To help you understand why it didn't work out the way you'd hoped.

Why this may not provide comfort: From our perspective, it looked like a great relationship and a perfect fit! We're confused and completely puzzled as to why something that looked so good just wasn't "right". We're not looking for comfort, we're looking for answers. And obviously you don't have any. So don't say anything.

3. "Put yourself out there." I'm so sick of this one! What does it even mean?

Strategy: To make sure you haven't exhausted all of your resources and that you're not limiting yourself.

Why this may not provide comfort: Again, what does it even mean? Are you referring to online dating? Do we need to attend every single event in the area? What are you wanting us to do? Stand in the middle of the grocery store and yell, "I'm single! Come talk to me! I'm a great catch. Anyone would be lucky to have me and the last person I dated just wasn't right for me!" This statement, more than any other statement, causes me to feel not only diseased but TERMINALLY ill. This snippet of assuagement alludes to a deranged reality where I have become a hermit inside my apartment-I take only online classes, I have food delivered to my door, I don't turn my lights on, and my only access to the outside world is my phone and Internet. Get real people!

4. "Just be grateful that you can sleep in and don't have to worry about kids waking you up in the middle of the night." Excuse me?

Strategy: Helping you see that there are upsides to being single, that being diseased is not "all bad", and that when you are healed it won't always be candy and roses.

Why this may not provide comfort: That's quite an assumption that you just made there with that statement. Although some single people may wish to be single forever-they don't want to be tied down, they don't want the responsibilities, they don't have a desire to reproduce, etc.-all singles don't necessarily feel that way. Maybe some of us actually choose to sleep in because waking up alone, in a quiet apartment where the only children are visitors is a harsh reality that they would like to put off for as long as possible. Maybe some of us actually feel pained to crawl into a large bed again-alone-and not know when/if they'll have an opportunity to share this bed with someone let alone have kids in this life. Forgive us if we just don't find comfort in your complaints.

5. "Maybe you have really high standards." Possibly, but I'm already feeling down and out. Don't make me feel worse!

Strategy: Healers are trying to offer insight and direction where they think there might be a problem. They're genuinely looking to help you find a cure.

Why this may not provide comfort: When they hear this statement, Diseased people look at Healed people and think "Seriously?" If we're having a conversation about me being single, do I sound happy about it or sad about it? If I feel sad about it does it seem helpful to point this out in that moment? Probably not. And not only that but you found what you were looking for. Why can't I? Do I suddenly need to lower my standards or expectations because the pool of men/women is thinning out?

Closing argument: If you don't have TRUE words of wisdom or REAL comfort to offer, just don't say anything. If we're crying then hug us. If we're angry then let us rant. If we act like it's not a problem then don't treat it like it's a problem. If we're happy then be happy with us. If we're content when you think we shouldn't be then bite your tongue and keep your mouth shut. We're left feeling uncomfortable when you choose to utter comfort cliches.

The Cure?

2011-01-11T21:09:00.003-07:00

Oh, look! Someone who thinks he's found the cure! (Seriously, this guy put an ad in The Statesman-Utah State's school paper-I just discovered it today.)

The Disease

2011-01-10T12:55:00.004-07:00

The first in a short series about singledom.

(I've been contemplating this series for a while now and have finally decided to write it out instead of simply think about it. However, I feel like I cannot move forward without a disclaimer: My intention is not for these posts to come across as cynical or to chastise those who consider themselves guilty of the infractions described.)

Annabelle Vandersloot is a member of the Notable Widows of Papen County. When Olive Snook discovers their little hobby dealing with dioramas the following conversation ensues...

Olive: How can I get involved?
Annabelle: Are you a widow?
Olive: No.
Annabelle: Oh.
Olive: Unfortunately, I'm single.
Annaballe: Oh...Sorry

Later in the episode, Olive gives Annabelle some much desired information and Annabell responds...

Annabelle: Ms. Snook I almost forgot. I told the Notable Widows your story and it made us realize how very blessed we are. 'Tis better to have loved and lost than to be you.

(An excerpt from the script of the wonderful series, "Pushing Daisies".)

The disease? Singledom.

The cure? Everyone thinks they have one. There are plenty of cliches (Part 2) people use to "comfort"the Diseased. Some believe that blind dates (Part 3) are the answer. The Diseased are even thrown into a meat market (Part 4) to try and overcome this horrible "condition". Others claim that if you could just play "The Game" (Part 5) right then you'll be cured and living happily.

But the truth is, there isn't a cure. Because it's not a disease. It's simply a state of being. And being single doesn't make us worse off than the "fortunate ones" or married folk. It's hard living in a world where people equate happiness with being in a relationship. The Dixie Chicks phrased it this way: "Oh it's plain to see you'd rescue me from my loneliness so called unhappiness."

Being single doesn't make me less of a human or a lesser part of society. It doesn't mean there is something wrong with me and it doesn't mean that I have a problem that someone else needs to swoop in and solve.

It's time to move away from the mentality of "fixing" the singles. Remove yourselves from the self-assigned mission to make all the singles as happy as you are by finding them someone to be with for eternity. Let the singles figure it out on their own; unless of course they ask for your help. The key word being ASK.

How do you make these changes and remove the "diseased" label?

1. Don't treat us like we're sick. We're not suffering from cancer or some other true ailment. When you see us you don't need to cry for us or mourn for us or tell us how sorry you are about our situation. I'm sure cancer patients don't enjoy being asked about their treatment all the time so don't ask us if we're dating or if there is someone "special" in our lives. If there's news that is noteworthy and that we care to share, we'll make it known.

2. Don't give us special allowances, but don't deny us the same opportunities and benefits you'd give to the married ones either. Perfect example: "Dan in Real Life". Dan is given the "special" room. He gets to sleep on a crappy single bed in the laundry room while his brother who is currently in a relationship (yet required to sleep in a different room than his girlfriend) gets a real room with a big bed.

I'm single and I'm happy. Am I always happy being single? No. Are you always happy being married? If we were to ask George Bailey he would respond with "Why do we have to have all these kids?!" Is one better than the other? It's debatable. I think being single and being married each have their pros and cons.

The real question though is this, are we able to attain the highest level of salvation without being married? No. But that's our problem, not yours. Let us work out our own salvation while you worry about yours. And exhale a sigh of relief knowing that you no longer need to find a cure.

My Homemade Christmas

2010-12-30T11:14:00.007-07:00

I mentioned in my previous post that I decided to make most of my Christmas gift this year. I spent quite a bit of time putting all of these things together so I'd like to show them off, in all of their gloriousness.

For some friends I made a variety of picture frames:

I never new that Popsicle sticks and tongue depressors could be so useful. Lacee and I worked as a team to put these frames together. The directions we found online were for really small pictures so we decided to take those directions and adapt them. It was a little difficult at first but eventually we were successful!

This one was our first. We didn't intend to write "Buddies"
but things didn't go as planned so we had to adapt.

These ones were for our little friends (Justin's-from the Mow Crew-kids)

I made this one for Carly, a fellow teacher at LRA.

Lacee and I decided to get really crazy and make a photo collage for Andrew and Russell.
Then we used tongue depressors to frame it. Pretty darn awesome!

For my nephews I decided to make snow globes:

These creations took loads of Epoxy. I had never met Epoxy before this project but we became very well acquainted. The most frustrating thing is that my practice snow globe turned out better than any of the ones I gave away.

These are the bases of the snow globes.
I gave the Epoxy plenty of time to dry; but when Quinn and Elliott
opened their snow globes their letters we're floating around.
Bummer...

The finished snow globes before they were unwrapped.
I had issues with Taylor's and Braxton's snow globes so they didn't get to be a part of this picture.
Theirs turned out pretty good but only after lots of soaking in rubbing alcohol
to help dissolve all of the dried Epoxy.

My nieces got pull toys:

I was very nervous about attempting this pull toy project. I found the idea on Martha Stewart's (ick) website. They looked incredible and I just wasn't sure I had the talent or ability for that. But then I remembered that I firmly believe in "Go big or go home" so I went big. It started rather simply with a paper pattern that you trace onto cardboard, cut out, and glue together.

My traced, cutted, and glued cardboard.

Step 2-1,000 (or however many steps it takes to reach your desired level of thickness) is applying paper mache to the cardboard.

My first layer. I was feeling a little overwhelmed at this point.

The completed paper mache squirrel.
(for some reason I didn't take a picture of the elephant)

While the paper mache was drying I painted my bases, wheels, and wheel caps.

Post paper macheing, I coated the animals with Creative Paper Clay.
(another item I met and became acquainted with)

This clay stuff takes a long time to dry. So I worked on my bases. Luckily Justin (mow crew) was willing to help me saw to the desired dimensions and drill the necessary holes.

My completed bases, all ready for completed animals.

I painted my elephant gray and my squirrel brown.

I decided to add some spots, eyes, and eye lashes.

After some assistance with drilling more holes (thanks, Dad!) I was able to attach my hardened animals to their respective bases. I also attached strings so that they could officially be pull toys and not just animals on boards.

The finished product.

Cassie received a storage suitcase:

A few years ago I received a free subscription to Good Housekeeping. I remember seeing this idea. You take an old suitcase and put legs on it. It becomes a convenient looking storage case! I had to spend quite a bit of time on Good Housekeeping's website in order to find the directions; but I found them and-VOILA!

The legs I attached (well, really my dad attached them-I stood around and helped a little bit),
painted, and sanded.

The closed case. The opened case.

And the finished product on display!

Lucky for me, all this work wasn't in vain. I was super-duper excited to give my gifts and my gifts were well received. Three weeks before Christmas just isn't quite enough time to do all of these things. So I think I'll start researching projects a little earlier in the year for I do believe that a homemade Christmas is the way to go.

Finding Christ in Christmas

2010-12-17T21:48:00.003-07:00

Over the past few years I've noticed something when it comes to myself and the Christmas season. About this time of year I become impatient with all things Christmas and I can't help but think, "There's seriously ONE more week until Christmas?! This stuff just can't end soon enough!" I begin to feel a little bah-hum-buggy and by Christmas morning opening gifts and saying "Merry Christmas" are merely formalities. The Christmas songs have lost their jingle, the lighted trees and houses have lost their luster, the snow is no longer welcome, and I'm ready to move on.

However, this doesn't seem to be the case this year. Here are my theories as to why I feel differently:

1. I put up my Christmas decorations in December, not the day after Thanksgiving. I was able to put them up at my leisure and not feel rushed into bringing Christmas into my home. I guess you could say that I was inviting Christmas at my will instead of forcing it into my home based on tradition.

2. I'm going homemade this year. Instead of going from store to store, looking at ideas of what to get people, and fretting about making the right decision, I scoped the Internet for ideas (don't get me wrong, I spent HOURS searching the web, but I didn't have to deal with people and that makes all the difference). I'm more excited about giving gifts this year than I've been in a long time. I haven't had to deal with traffic, long lines, or cranky people. I make a list, I map my route, and off I go. I've been quite successful and quite efficient, if I do say so myself. The less time I've spent with the crowds, the more I've enjoyed preparing for Christmas.

3. I didn't allow myself to listen to Christmas music until December began. There are only so many Christmas songs out there. Of those songs there are only so few that are decent enough to listen to. If I start listening to Christmas music too early then I get sick of it. Not this year!

By the way, the only Christmas music worth listening to is...
1. The Carpenters
2. Nat King Cole
3. Burl Ives
4. Andy Williams
5. Johnny Mathis
6. Frank Sinatra
7. Dean Martin
8. Josh Groban (but even this one has its limits)

4. I tried to focus on the Atonement. Over the past week I've been wondering what people mean when they refer to the "Christmas Spirit". What is this spirit people speak of and how does it differ from the Holy Ghost, which I have the privilege of feeling every day? Our final lesson in Institute this semester (Doctrines of the Gospel, Part 1) was on the Atonement. As I've spent the last two weeks thinking about the Atonement and studying the effects of the Atonement, I have noticed a difference in the way I look at Christmas. I think I've always looked at Christmas simply as the birth of the Savior, for those are the stories we always read; but I needed to take it further-for me. The Atonement lesson caused me to think and reminded me of something my dad said a few years ago: "Christmas is the birth of a life of sacrifice."

Jesus Christ was born with a purpose. He was born with a cause. He was born with a mission. He was born to teach me how to live. He was born to save me. He is my Savior. Without His birth there would be no way to return to live with my Heavenly Father. There would be no way to find comfort and peace as I struggle through the loneliness trials have to offer. There would be no way to keep pressing forward without the enabling powers through His grace. Christmas is a time not only to celebrate the birth of Christ, but the life of Christ.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Wreath

2010-12-02T17:02:00.004-07:00

Yesterday I started decorating my apartment for Christmas. I decided that I needed a little more greenery so I headed off to Hobby Lobby. I also decided to look for a wreath. Lucky me, Hobby Lobby was having a nice sale on all of their Christmas decor. I found the greenery I wanted plus some berries. Looking at the wreaths though I decided they were too expensive. The cheapest one was $39.99 (original price) but actually 50% off. I couldn't decide if twenty bucks was worth it. I found the naked wreaths and thought "Hmmm, I could probably make my own and with everything on sale I could do it for cheaper." And what a success! My own creation for under fifteen dollars. Now that's a deal. And quite the accomplishment (for me, at least).

Merry Christmas Wreath

Gratitude-Day #7

2010-11-27T15:02:00.002-07:00

The Final Five:

1. Chinese food from New Hong Kong

2. Dishwashers & Microwaves

3. An Education & A Degree

4. A Modern-Day Prophet (President Thomas S. Monson)

5. All the life skills my mother has taught me

Gratitude-Day #6

2010-11-26T18:44:00.003-07:00

Here's five of the last ten...

1. Heavenly Father's love

2. Diet Coke and Dr. Pepper

3. The Gift of the Holy Ghost

4. The Internet & Cell Phones

5. Sleep

Gratitude-Day #5

2010-11-25T23:52:00.002-07:00

And the next five are...

1. YouTube

2. My Grandparents

3. Movies

4. Nieces and Nephews

5. Thought provoking conversations with my dad

Gratitude-Day #4

2010-11-24T21:35:00.002-07:00

And the list goes on...

1. Safe arrival in Idaho Falls

2. My parents' warm house

3. The Sandwich Tree

4. Fudge-Covered Mint Oreos

5. My knowledge of the Gospel

Gratitude-Day #3

2010-11-23T19:11:00.002-07:00

And the Gratitude Daily 5 continues with:

1. My Apartment

2. Tums

3. Steve

4. The Book of Mormon

5. A Functioning Washer and Dryer

Gratitude-Day #2

2010-11-22T22:42:00.002-07:00

And to continue my list, 5 more things I'm grateful for:

1. Hot Showers

2. Prayer

3. High School Musicals (actual musicals put on by high schools; not to be confused with Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens)

4. Cassie

5. My Car

Gratitude-Day #1

2010-11-21T23:15:00.002-07:00

Tonight at Ward Prayer Lacee issued a challenge to everyone to take some time each day this week to write down five things you're grateful for. I'm taking on that challenge. So, 5 things I'm grateful for:

1. The Atonement

2. The Temple

3. My Family

4. Lacee

5. Ability to play the piano

Wear the Ring

2010-11-17T21:15:00.002-07:00

Riddle me this: Why do so many males choose to not wear their wedding ring?

We all remember "The Red Bull Disaster", right? Well, I was simply hours away from repeating that experience-to some extent.

I'm currently working for Parks and Recreation in Logan and we happen to meet in the same large warehouse as all the other departments-Light & Power, Water, Streets, etc.-and last week I happened to notice a rather handsome man in the Street Department-let's call him Handsome. I decided to keep an eye on him, mostly because he was good on the eyes but also to see if there was any way I could tell whether or not he was married. He didn't wear a ring (surprise surprise) so that wasn't to be of any help.

Yesterday I confessed to my good friend, Steve, that there's a Street Department guy I've been wondering about. Today I clued him in on who Handsome was. Steve didn't know whether or not Handsome was married. I don't want to be checking out someone else's husband so Steve said he'd look into it.

On my drive home today I gave myself a little pep talk. (I tend to do that fairly often because if I don't, I will think myself out of a lot of opportunities or allow my mind to carry me to a realm that no longer resembles anything close to potential reality) "This dude is probably married so don't even start thinking about what you could say to him if you find out he's single." By the time I got home (not even 10 minutes after leaving work) I had decided there was nothing to be done about it. Steve will find out, my curiosities will be satisfied, and we'll all move on.

By the time I got out of the shower (probably 20 minutes later) I had decided that if there was an opportune time (like this morning when Handsome and I both arrived at the same time and he held the door open for me) I'd just flat out ask him if he was married. I figured I got nothing to lose-my last day is Friday. So the guy says he's married, I finish my job with Parks and Rec, and I never see him again. I could totally do this! I've been bold before. It's rare but it has been known to happen. So I had it all planned out, I was prepped and ready. I had the kahones, I had the opening line, I just needed the situation. And then Steve called me up.

Steve: "You are not going to believe what I found out!"

Me: Maybe the guy's gay or in the process of a divorce or has like six months left to live or something. "Okay, what'd you learn?"

Steve: "Well he's married."

Me: Okay, minor sting-not a big deal. You prepped yourself for that one. "Ok...?" Maybe his marriage is going down the pooper and he'll be single soon? Where is this going?!

Steve: "You know the blond lady that works at the landfill?"

And then Steve proceeded to describe this lady who apparently looks much older than Handsome and Steve just can't believe that Handsome is married to someone who looks that old because Handsome looks so darn young! Well, that's crazy because obviously I think Handsome deserves a better looking woman than that but this isn't the big deal he made it sound like it was.

Steve: "So then I learn that Handsome's wife may look old compared to him, but in reality he looks much younger than he really is."

Jalayne: "So how old IS this guy?"

Steve: "Well, ya ready for this? He has a 17 year-old daughter."

After the "You've got to be kidding me!" I was speechless. Not only does this man not wear a wedding ring to let the world know he's taken, he looks like he could be 27 when really he's probably almost 40! Handsome has a daughter that's a mere 7 years younger than me! I wasn't prepared for that one. I wondered if Steve got information about the wrong guy but 'tis not so. Handsome is not only taken but WAY out of the age range of date-ability.

So then Steve and I got to talking and wondering why so many men don't wear a wedding ring. He thinks it's dumb and I completely agree. We started thinking about the other guys we work with and realized that most of them don't wear their wedding ring. We're going to survey the situation tomorrow and see how everyone responds.

I decided that it would really bother me if my husband didn't wear his ring on a regular basis. There are exceptions-playing sports, working out-but I'd want him to wear it just about every other time. Not just to ease my mind and lessen the chances of some bold chick hitting on my man, but because I know how annoying it is for single girls to scope out guys in a crowd, spot someone attractive, notice the absence of a ring, and still not know whether the guy has a wife or not.

So here's my plea to all ringless, yet married men out there: Just wear the ring if for no other reason than simple common courtesy! Think of all those singletons out there working to build up the courage to come talk to you only to be shot down because you actually have a wife. Save us the pep talk it takes to build the courage, the effort of the actual conversation, and the embarrassment that will undoubtedly ensue. You don't like jewelry? You lost your ring? It's a safety hazard? Draw one on there every morning.

A taken finger means a taken man.

On behalf of all singleton women: Help us out-wear the ring!

Life as I've Known It

2010-11-08T09:17:00.029-07:00

My lack of blogging hasn't been due to being busy. I'm not pregnant, I'm not planning a wedding, I'm not even busy dating someone. I've simply not had the desire to blog. But today I find myself with a lack of things to do to keep me busy (Logan City did not need my presence or abilities today due to crummy weather). So allow me to highlight my experiences over the last eight months.

March:

Remember "The List"? Well, I've now crossed off #13. I've walked "The Strip" in Las Vegas. First thing I've crossed off that list so it felt pretty good.

Yes, that is me doing a head stand in Las Vegas. Aunt Diane, aren't you proud?

April:

I finished making my payments for my rafting trip that was coming up in August. I also started preparing to move.

May:

My roommate, Andrea, got married.

Lacee, Russell, Andrea, and Me

Lacee and I moved to an awesome new apartment. (No more living in the Crap House! YAY!!) Our apartment is part of a little apartment community on the west side of town. I love living away from the college scene and feeling like I live somewhere a little more established. We had to furnish it ourselves, and believe you me, it's awesome! We each have our own room and our own bathroom. It's almost an ideal living situation. It'd be completely ideal if I shared this apartment with a husband (no offense Lacee).

We can thank DI for the chairs and my parents for the table.

We can thank DI for the coffee table and my grandparents for the couch.

Oh, and with moving into this awesome apartment, Lacee and I moved into an AWESOME ward where people actually attended church to worship and not just to socialize and hang out! Sure, the ward was full of late-twenty-somethings and early-thirty-somethings but they were there to worship! It was such a relief. We were growing weary of the 18-22 year olds texting and talking all through every church meeting. It was one of the best moves I've made since living in Logan.

June:

I welcomed a new nephew into this thing we call earth life. I now have 5 nephews and 2 nieces.

Me and Baby Benji

July:

Former roommates, Andrea and Russell (he was just kind of a roommate), resided in Maryland over the summer. Lacee and I made a spur-of-the-moment-decision to go visit them.

Lacee, Andrea, and Me at the Washington Monument; Lacee, me, and Andre at the Lincoln Memorial; Andrea, Me, and Lacee at the Capitol Building

We drove up to Hershey, PA and enjoyed the theme park, Hershey Park.
Me, Lacee, Andrea, Glen (Russell's cousin), and Russell

And I enjoyed one of the best roller coasters I've ever been on.

On July 28th I was packed and ready to head down to South Jordan where I would spend the night so Ashley could take me to the airport the following day. On my way out the door of LRA, my principal asked to see me in his office where I found out that due to budget cuts I would be losing my job. I left the school in a daze. I called my parents, called my siblings, questioned whether or not I should continue with my plans to leave town, and ultimately decided that some time away would be nice.

On July 30th I started my rafting journey on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. I spent 8 days on a raft and 7 nights camping with 13 complete strangers. I had the time of my life and of just about everything I've done and seen, that experience tops the charts.

Me at Deer Creek Falls; Ken and Me on the raft; View from our hike up to the granaries

The family I wanted to become a part of; Canyon Scenery; My Rafting Family (Our 3 guides are in front)

August:

My rafting trip carried me into August. Upon my returned I broke the news to my students, cleaned out my classroom, and started up work again with Logan City where I returned to two of my true loves: mowing and weed whacking.

September:

Since my job change I have had to cut back on some of the things I enjoyed doing. Of the things I had to cut back on, the one I miss the most is traveling. I feel like I always had my next trip planned, my next adventure in the works; but that is to be no more...for now. I spent the month of September eating fried food (my favorite!) at various state and county fairs.

October:

I attempted to rally a group together to go on a sky diving adventure with me. I had been saving the money for the last two years and nothing was going to stop my this year. It was to the point where I had about 6 people semi-committed to going with me. One by one they all began to drop out until there were 3 of us. One discovered there was a weight limit and he was no longer able to come. Then there were 2 of us. The other one never told me what time he wanted to go. He never responded to my queries, so I gave up on him. It wasn't really anything I want to do alone but after all the planning my heart was set and my mind wouldn't change. I had the money and Ogden was only a 40 minute drive away. Who knew when I'd have this chance again? So I went sky diving. Cross #10 off "The List"!

At the beginning of the month I applied for Anasazi, a wilderness program in Arizona. I had a phone interview with them a couple of weeks ago and was offered an opportunity to experience a two-week training. It would kind of be a trial period to see if this was something I really wanted to do. For some reason, a reason which I'm not completely sure, I didn't feel great about going. So I didn't go.

On October 30th I went through the Logan Temple and received my endowment. I'm now experiencing life with garments. I always felt like this would be the easiest transition for me but I'm finding it to be the most difficult. Oh well. Great things take sacrifice.

November:

This is my last week working for Logan City. I'm officially ready to substitute anywhere in Cache Valley and I am hoping to be able to fill every day of every week for the new few months with substitute teaching. We'll see how it pans out. Maybe next month I'll find that I need to get myself a second job. Who knows? I sure don't.

So the last few months have brought twists and turns. I felt like I was bucked off the horse in July. It took me a while but I feel like I'm back on the horse and we're both just sitting there. I've got the reins, I just don't quite know which direction to lead the horse. I tried the Anasazi route, didn't feel good about it, and back to Square 1. Not a fun place to be but sometimes that's life. I'm thinking about getting a health endorsement, but that means more school-which isn't enticing-but we'll see if that direction feels good anyway. Such freedom is exciting and quite adventurous. I'm kind of getting tired of all this adventure!

Things that Haven't Changed:

1. I'm still diseased a.k.a. single (that's for another post)

2. I'm still wish I could mow and weed whack year round in Logan

3. Chocolate cake is still my favorite breakfast

4. I still keep my room as neat and tidy as someone with OCD.

5. My ward boundaries have changed since mine and Lacee's move but the attitude of "Be sure you go to church and attend every activity to make sure you find someone to marry!" is still ever present.

6. Ward prayer is still at the bottom of my list of favorite things about singles wards-but lucky me! Lacee and I are the Ward Prayer Coordinators.

7. I still hate winter but I'm really looking forward to snow mobiling season.

8. I still enjoy a $1.00 large Diet Coke from McDonald's every morning.

9. Clark is still on a mission in Rome and I still really miss him.

10. I still love playing 2-touch football and wish more people wanted to play with me.

So I guess you could say that over the course of the last eight months, this has been life as I've known it.

Uninvitations

2010-03-07T20:25:00.007-07:00

Back in the day, when I was in high school, I ran around with a large group of friends. This large group consisted of smaller groups that were tight knit and sometimes a little exclusive. These smaller groups planned little outings, to which I wasn't invited, and they had a wonderful time. How did I know I wasn't invited? Because while I was in the same room they would talk about plans and discuss things to pack and things they would do on this wonderful adventure I wasn't to be a part of. Was I offended? A couple of times, yes. Did I wish I was invited? On some of the trips, yes. Even if I had been invited and was given permission to go would I still have gone? Probably not. Do I harbor ill feelings towards these people today? NOT AT ALL! How can I harbor ill feelings when I learned something from these experiences?

Let me share my words of wisdom. First of all, just because you associate with someone or people who make plans doesn't entitle you to an invitation to be a part of those plans. If someone you know has made plans to do something and you're not invited-don't sweat it. So what? You weren't invited. Who cares why? Maybe there isn't even a reason you weren't invited. Maybe you just weren't. Don't get all bent up about it. Life is too short to worry about such trivial things. If not being invited puts your panties in a twist then make some plans of your own to fill the "good time" you think you'll be missing out on. But under no circumstances should you invite yourself. Let me say this again just to make sure that you're not reading so quickly that you missed out on one of the main points of this wisdom: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU INVITE YOURSELF.

If someone is planning a trip and you're not invited it could simply be an oversight. And if he/she talks to you about the trip and realizes you weren't invited and wants you to be there, he/she will extend an invite. If that invite is not extended you should STILL NOT INVITE YOURSELF. You don't know what the plans are. You don't know who is going to be there-maybe he/she planned a trip with someone you can't stand to be around. You don't know the financial situation. You don't know the time frame. Maybe he/she considered inviting you but decided that he/she couldn't because of obligations he/she knows you have. Maybe he/she thought he/she was being thoughtful by not tempting you with an invitation to distract you from the responsibilities life requires. The fact is, you don't know. So don't assume.

Assumption leads to hurt feelings. "He/she didn't invite me to go camping this summer! I guess we aren't as good of friends as I thought!" Assumption leads to drama "He/she didn't invite me because his/her best friend hates me and I don't even know what I did! He/she is going to have to choose. It's either the best friend or me!" Assumption leads to drastic measures "Well, if I wasn't invited to his/her party then I'm going to plan a cruise and invite everyone but him/her."

Last of all, assumption leads to offense. We learned from Elder Bednar in the October 2006 General Conference talk "And Nothing Shall Offend Them" that being offended is a choice...

"When we believe or say we have been offended, we usually mean we feel insulted, mistreated, snubbed, or disrespected. And certainly clumsy, embarrassing, unprincipled, and mean-spirited things do occur in our interactions with other people that would allow us to take offense. However, it ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else."

Someone doesn't not invite you to something to hurt you, disturb you, or to cause distress. So get over your non-invite and don't give it a second thought.

Remember these three things:

1. Just because you associate with people who make plans doesn't mean you're entitled to invitation

2. Under no circumstances do you invite yourself to something you weren't originally invited to

3. CHOOSE not to be offended

The List

2010-02-02T17:14:00.003-07:00

It all started the first Sunday of the year when I decided to write a list of all the things I wantto do this year. They aren't goals that will make me a better person, just new adventures that I want to accomplish and thought, "Why not this year?" So I made that list and then started thinking of other things I wanted to do but wouldn't be able to fit into this year. I wanted to be able to remember what those things were so I started making a list. I didn't list these things in any particular order, just as they came to mind. And before I knew it I was at number seventeen and thought, "Okay, I'll try and get to twenty." By that time I only had five lines left on the page so I thought "Alright, I'll fill the page." And now I have myself a little bucket list.

Things I Want to Do Before I Die...

1. ride in a hot air balloon

2. take a trip to the Outback in Australia

3. go back to New Zealand

4. ride in a helicopter

5. ride a horse on the beach

6. see "Rigoletto" in Italy

7. visit all 50 states

8. design/create a cake with fondant

9. drive a semi-truck

10. go skydiving

11. join the Peace Corps

12. sleep in a sleep car on a passenger train

13. go to Vegas and walk the strip

14. do an amusement part tour back east

15. go hunting at least once

16. go to Greece

17. walk the beaches of Normandy

18. take a picture of the Swiss Alps

19. go back to Gettysburg

20. snow mobile through Yellowstone National Park

21. learn how to use the foot pedals on the organ

22. drive a stick shift without assistance

23. read the Book of Mormon in one month or less

24. drive a convertible

25. be in a taping of "The Price is Right"

So from that list...

Things I Want to Do This Year:

1. go skydiving (any takers? seriously? I'm not kidding so don't mess with me)

2. sleep in a sleep car on a passenger train (hopefully to a state I haven't been to before)

3. possibly get letters of recommendation for the Peace Corps (this depends on timing)

Things I Want to Do This Year That Aren't On My "Bucket List":

1. visit Colette in Wisconsin again

2. move (I really don't like my current house)

3. go on a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon (which has been planned but not yet paid for)

4. buy my own snow mobile helmet with goggles (visors are AWFUL)

Anti-Closure

2010-01-20T17:14:00.002-07:00

Lately I've had issues with the endings of movies. Specifically chick flicks. They all end the same way. They always end up together. It's the traditional pattern for a Hollywood chick flick. Haven't we gotten to the point where we don't even need the last three minutes of the movie? Don't we know they end up together? Can't we just use our imagination and end it ourselves?

Let me give you some examples...and don't worry I won't be ruining anything if you haven't seen the movie yet because you already know they are going to end up together. It's Hollywood.

Notting Hill: William Thacker finds Anna Scott at the press conference and tells her he's reconsidered her offer of love-"I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her." She then tells the reporters that she's going to stay in the U.K. indefinitely. Movie DONE! We don't need to see them going to awards ceremonies together and ending up on a bench in a park. She said she was going to stay indefinitely so we know they are going to get together. Use a little imagination and come up with your own ending!

Serendipity: Sarah and Jonathan find each other at the skating rink in Central Park. They embrace, they kiss, they cry. You really think they AREN'T going to end up together? They've spent the entire movie trying to find each other. Seeing them drink champagne in the department store is unnecessary.

Leap Year: Declan asked Anna "If the fire alarm went off and you had 60 seconds to grab something before running out, what would you take?" She didn't have an answer at the moment. Further into the movie she pulls the fire alarm during her engagement party and realizes she doesn't own anything she'd want to take with her. OBVIOUSLY she has a realization that she's engaged to the wrong guy and has to go back to Dublin to reunite with Declan. Why do we need to watch her return to Dublin and tell Declan that she really wants to be with him? We already know, thanks to the Chick Flick Formula, that they are going to be together. The movie should have ended at the fire alarm.

Now allow me to present a couple of examples with endings that I approve of...

My Best Friend's Wedding: Jules thinks she's in love with her best friend so she tries to stop the wedding. It doesn't work out and her best friend ends up marrying someone else anyway. Some may find this ending a little depressing because Jules ends up with no one but a gay friend (literally). Hollywood did it right with ending it right there. We don't need to see her end up with the man of her dreams a few years down the road. We get to use our imaginations! Maybe she ends up an old maid because she has issues with the "ucky love stuff". Maybe she gets over these issues because she meets the man of her dreams. Who knows? Who cares? The point is cheesy closure just isn't necessary.

Groundhog Day: It's finally February 3rd and Phil wakes up with Rita. There's no cheesy marriage proposal, there's no "1 year later", it's just "Let's live here!" and DONE. PERFECT ENDING! Now (if I desire to think about the movie AFTER it's over) I can picture them getting married or moving into their new house in Punxsutawny, PA, etc. The possibilities are endless because Hollywood didn't tell me what happened.

What is comes down to is this: I don't need closure when it comes to a chick flick. I know they are going to be together and I know they are going to be happy. Cheesy proposals, corny lines referencing something earlier in the movie ("Let's bet on it."), and weddings of supporting characters are superfluous. Hollywood should save themselves a little money and save me a little time by just cutting out the last couple of minutes.

So let's practice this no-closure-use-your-imagination thing: I'm 23, as single as single gets, graduated from college, working a full-time teaching position, counting the Sundays until I can move out of this ward...

The History of the Cardboard Regatta

2009-10-18T13:46:00.013-06:00

Three summers ago I experienced my first Cardboard Regatta. We had at least two weeks to put our boats together. Our only resources were cardboard, duct tape, and the engineers in our ward. We came up with some pretty good stuff! Our first summer we only had one boat to race against and we won, without a doubt.

Cardboard Regatta 2007
48th Ward

My first cardboard boat

Getting ready to launch. My boat was the far one.

Paddling in for the win.

We had another regatta just a year later with the same ward, same resources. This boat was built even sturdier. We didn't have another ward to race against so we raced against some fellow wardies in an inflatable raft.

Cardboard Regatta 2008
48th Ward

Our sturdy structure

Ready to launch

Paddling to the other side

This year we had duct tape and cardboard. No engineers and not nearly as much time. We were split into four groups and were expected to construct a cardboard boat within a couple of hours. We were without engineers in our group and so we were left to our own experience, which was limited. I didn't have anything to do with the designs of the boats from the last two years and I couldn't even remember what they had looked like. We sure didn't come up with much.

Cardboard Regatta 2009
16th Ward

Our poorly designed boat/raft.
We did layer the bottom with LOTS of cardboard but it still didn't do much for us.

For some strange reason (probably because people are nice), Andrea and I had been receiving lots of compliments on our boat (more like a raft) and were feeling pretty confident about this race.

Our original plan for the win: I would paddle and she would be the motor.

Our plan quickly failed.

We resorted to my pulling the front while doing the side stroke and Andrea still being the motor.

When I could finally touch, we just pulled the boat to shore.

Needless to say, we came in last. But we finished! So I hyperventilated half of my way across first dam. Not only was my body working harder than normal, but I was trying to breathe in freezing cold water. My lungs were definitely not pleased with me. I wanted to quit but Andrea wouldn't have it! We actually came up with a great gospel parallel but that's for another day.

My favorite part is that as we were leaving the house before the race Andrea asked if we were going to get wet. "No!" I said, almost insulted. "We'll be totally fine. I've done this for two years and stayed completely dry." Whoops!

Completely soaked

The moral of the story: have engineers in your group and give yourselves a little more than a couple of hours to complete your project. Oh, and a motivator like Andrea.

Life After College

2009-10-17T10:21:00.007-06:00

After completing and incredible student teaching experience in Hamilton, New Zealand, I graduated from Utah State University in May. Upon my return to the States, after experiencing a glimpse of paradise, I expected everything to be bliss. I'd graduate from college, find myself a job-in Logan (I was adamant about a Logan job)- and everything would work out wonderfully. Instead I was bombarded with real life. I shouldn't ever have expectations like that. I mean really...who do I think I am to have things work out so easily?

The supportive parents-Thanks for the help with tuition and New Zealand!

The supportive grandparents-Thanks for the help with tuition!

The supportive sibs

I graduated and moved to a different house and started working for Logan City. Things were going smoothly until I started going home a lot. It felt like all of my conversations with my parents were about my future. "What are you going to do about insurance? Where are you going to look for a job? You know you need to keep your options open and you shouldn't limit yourself to Logan." I could almost quote these conversations word for word on my way TO Idaho Falls, before they even happened. I just wasn't that worried about it all. With my luck, I wouldn't find a teaching position but Logan City would offer me a full time job in the fall and I'd be happy with a job I loved and benefits to take care of me.

Suddenly it was June and I had partially filled out two applications and checked job openings about ten times. "Things will just happen. I don't need to worry. I'll get a job. I don't think I need all of this effort." This was a scare mentality now that I think about it. Again, who am I to think I'm so invincible? I was happily mowing for Logan City when I received a voicemail one day from the principal. "Hi. This is the principal from Logan River Academy. I got your name and phone number from the University. I hear you're looking for a PE position and we'd like you to come in for an interview."

I was in shock! I didn't fill out an application. PE jobs are nonexistent in this valley. HE found ME. So I called him back. And I got an interview. And I felt good about the interview. And then I remember him saying that it's a year round school and he would need me to start as soon as possible. And then I got a second interview. And then I hoped I didn't the job. And then I did get offered the job. And then I was in emotional turmoil. And I cried and worried. A lot. I didn't want to quit my current job. I liked the idea of mowing lawns better than molding minds. If I screwed up while mowing, the grass would fix itself and it would all be okay. If I screwed up a child, well that's not an easy fix. But I jumped in with both feet and I took the job.

So now I teach all the health classes and all the PE classes. And I love it. It's definitely not mowing lawns, but it provides some good laughs and some great experiences. There is life after college!

My students are a little rough around the edges. Some have been to detention centers. Some of them were court ordered to LRA. Most were woken up in the middle of the night by an escort, with or without handcuffs, that said "You're leaving, and you're leaving now." And off they went to begin a new era in a treatment center. And here I am, educating them during their treatment. I have a lot of students who had drug problems, I have a couple of students that have OCD, some students with anger management issues, and some students with all of the above. Most of them are boys, some of them are girls. But just like every other high school student, they have an excuse to not change into PE clothes and to not participate in class.

This job has its challenges, for sure. But this job also has insurance, and a salary, and experience that I couldn't get anywhere else. And so I'm not mowing and I'm not outside everyday, but I'm happy. And not every college graduate can claim as much.

Keep Your Head Down

2009-09-09T07:55:00.005-06:00

I only have a few minutes so instead of blogging about my wonderful weekend I'll just share a thought. I went golfing on Saturday with my brothers. It's a new thing I'm trying to pick up and the first lesson I've learned is that golf is an inconsistent sport. If you're looking for some consistency in life and you want to try something new, don't try golf. You'll feel like your skills are superb one day and you'll start throwing clubs the next. The second lesson I learned is the point of this blog. Maybe it's far fetched, but I like it.

We were on the third hole. It was a short hole and the last one was really bad so I thought, "Great. This is my chance to do pretty well. I can make it to the green in just a few strokes." I swung and it was crap. I swung again and it was crap. Justin said "You can't pick up your head. If you pick up your head, the whole thing goes to pot." I responded with, "You just can't anticipate great things in this game can you?" I then took that line and turned it into something more and applied it to my life because thinking is what I do.

Sometimes in life we need to look up and see the whole picture or the entire golf course. We need to see everything before us and look at the possibilities that lie ahead and have an eternal perspective. Then we need to look at the hole we're currently on, or the stage of life that we're currently in and evaluate what needs to be done there. At each hole there are tasks to perform to get us to our goal for that stage of life, which can be likened unto each shot we take to get closer to the hole. Here's the most frustrating part. We get so excited about reaching our ultimate goal that we pull our heads up to look at the results when really we need to keep our heads down to finish the task at hand. Even when you pick up your head the task gets completed; but if you don't follow through all the way with the best that you know how it might take even longer to reach your goal.

The moral of my story is this: Don't anticipate great things. Expect great things because they definitely can and will happen, but don't anticipate them. Anticipation is distracting. Focus on the task at hand, follow through, and look how much closer you are to the ultimate goal. Then take a look at the big picture and measure your progress.

So get out there and enjoy the rest of the golf season before the cold comes. Just remember to keep your head down.

Mahmeeseetuh

2009-09-02T07:26:00.002-06:00

Mamacita,

Just wanted to give you a shout out and thank you for all you've done. I want you to know how grateful I am that you were born 23 years ago :) and how grateful I am that of all the babies in the nursery Grandma and Grandpa picked you. Without you I'd probably still be on earth somewhere with some family but I would look different, I would be different, and my family would be different...and I'm glad that's not the way it is. So thanks Mom for choosing Dad and having me and being amazing. Your example has led the way for me through the years. I appreciate your enthusiasm for life. I just want to highlight one particular thing today in your honor: she plans her work and works her plan. She accomplishes the things she sets her mind to and always follows through with what she says she's gonna do. What a wonderful lady.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Follow-Up

2009-09-01T08:08:00.003-06:00

For those who were curious about how my blind date turned out...it turned out the same way they always do. We had a good time and he said he'd call again sometime. But don't worry, I didn't get my hopes up. I've learned that boys aren't truthful at the doorstep. Instead of being honest and not saying anything at all they get word vomit and say things they don't mean like "I'll call you again sometime." So it was another date that turned out the same way as all the rest; but I'll not be deterred from giving anything a shot. Anyone care to throw another one my direction?

The New Do

2009-08-25T19:23:00.002-06:00

For my birthday, Baker gave me a gift certificate to visit her hairstylist (a hint maybe?) I've been getting my hair cut at dollar places and I haven't been pleased. So today I decided to put my certificate to work and get some work done by a professional in a real salon. This is the first hair cut I've liked since I decided to go short, and I've had three or four.

Now if you'll excuse me, me and my sexy new self are going to dinner and mini-golf with a stranger.

Birthday Boy

2009-06-29T08:33:00.003-06:00

I want to wish Justin a happy birthday today! He's a great person with so much to offer. Let me list some of the things I like most about Justin...

1. He's passionate about the things he talks about whether it's sports, legal stuff, religion, etc. I admire his passion for things.

2. He's easy to talk to. Sometimes I wonder how much he actually listens to me since I tend to ramble sometimes; but listening or not he's easy to talk to because he doesn't jump to conclusions or pick sides. I can say the kinds of things that I might not feel comfortable saying to other people. Example: if we're debating an issue and we disagree, I feel like I can be as bold and blunt as I want because he listens to me and doesn't take offense easily.

3. Justin is really good at listening to both sides. He definitely has his opinions and so do I, but instead of getting into a huge debate we listen to each others' arguments and take them for what they're worth. There might not be any convincing each other, but we listen to each other.

4. He's an incredible dad. His boys' eyes light up when he walks in the room. He wrestles with them, bathes them, reads them stories and I really admire him as a father. I hope I can marry a man who will father my children as well as he fathers his own.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JUSTIN!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T15:21:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to wish Dad a Happy Father's Day!

Birthday Girl

2009-06-02T17:30:00.003-06:00

Happy birthday to my dear older sister. I think it's weird that I am old enough to have a sister that is twenty five years old! She's a fabulous person and although we had our arguments growing up, we get along quite swell now. On this day, I would like to share with her some of the memories I have of her past birthdays.

1. Kim had the chicken pox on her birthday one year. It was so sad. It didn't matter what present she opened next because she still felt miserable.

2. Once Kim opened all of her birthday presents, my birthday list was complete. I always wanted whatever she got and since my birthday was a little over a month later, I never had to wait long to mimic her little girl desires. (ex. She asked for Moon Shoes one year so I did, too. She asked for Whoppers on just about every birthday and even though I didn't like them that much, I asked for them too because she did.)

3. She got to celebrate her birthday alone last year since Chris was worried about which end to stick over the toilet. And because a good number of us had been flattened with a case of salmonella she didn't have anyone else to celebrate with.

And that's all I got. Thanks, Kim for being so great! I hope you had a wonderful birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KIM!

Dad's Birthday

2009-05-31T14:54:00.003-06:00

Happy birthday to my wonderful dad! He has taught me much over the years. Lots of the things I have learned from him come from the mistakes I've made and the lessons he's pointed out.

Here's a list of random tidbits about Dad:

1. He's quick with advice and knowledgeable about life.

2. He can help ease the pains a broken heart suffers.

3. He makes the most delicious chocolate cake I've ever had.

4. He grills a tenderloin steak better than any steak house I've attended.

5. Dad can do an amazing "Whoo-pa!" on the trampoline.

6. Dad has a fear of lightning.

7. He loves being the caretaker of his yard.

8. When he genuinely laughs at something, his whole face lights up and his eyes actually glow.

9. Dad prefers dark chocolate.

10. Dad will never go to Disneyland/world again.

This is the man who loves me unconditionally and who is unconditionally loved by me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!

Twin Birthdays

2009-05-30T09:00:00.003-06:00

Taylor and Braxton two years ago

Today was Taylor's and Braxton's 2nd birthday. They have recently relocated to the Salt Lake area which is quite nice because then I get to see them more often. We celebrated their lives with a BBQ and playing around in the grass. I think the boys were officially worn out by the time everyone left.

Braxton is very ticklish and if you catch him at the right moment, this kid will let you tickle him and play with him for quite a while. But this one is also very independent and if he doesn't want to play with you, he will for sure let you know. When this one allows it, I love tickling his little collar bones and tossing him in the air.

Taylor loves having a play mate and since I will do just about anything with him, he is no longer afraid of me! When they still live in Spokane, I used to have to reacquaint myself with him every day so that he would play with me. Luckily, that is no longer the case. My head is huge when I say goodbye to him because he laughs at just about everything I do.

Taylor and Braxton now

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLOR AND BRAXTON!

Hamilton's Fraser High School

2009-04-18T20:13:00.004-06:00

Welcome to Hamilton's Fraser High School

The Main Office

It is compulsory for the students at Fraser High to wear uniforms-I am glad I didn't ever
attend a school with uniforms.

I have included some pictures of the whole school, but in reality I spent all of my time in the PE Department staff room, on the turf or fields, and in the gyms. I went to the main staff room most mornings for Staff Briefing but I really didn't experience a whole lot of the school until I wandered around a took pictures during my last week.

I think this is one of the math buildings. I think they have tried to categorize the buildings and put all of the math in one area and all of the science in another, etc.

Quad/Patio area where the students sat for lunch and during morning tea

And now on to my little world

The facilities here are amazing! They have four gyms (one complete with a rock climbing wall and equipment for gymnastics i.e. mini trampolines, mats, climbing ropes, etc.)

The school has two huge fields for the students to use

This is just one of them

There is also a large, fenced in turf the students use for field hockey, touch, netball, and tennis

This is where I spent all of my time (when I wasn't in class)

There are desks and drawers that go all around the room and each staff member has their own little space. The PE department staff is made up of twelve teachers and they were all fabulous to work with.

This is who is spent all of time my with (when I wasn't in class)

Candace Barker

Candace started teaching at Fraser about a year ago. She was always so nice and easy to talk to. She always asked me what my plans were for the weekend, remembered them, and asked me how they went the following Monday.

Michelle Tupper

Don't let this picture fool you. Michelle is actually 6'5" and solidly built. She moved to New Zealand from South Africa a while ago and is currently an official New Zealand citizen. She's a wicked netball player and prides herself in connecting with her students. Once she found out I was Mormon she tried to tone down her strong choice of words. I appreciated her efforts even though it only lasted for a day or so. Her intentions were thoughtful...

Keryn Barr

Keryn introduced me to Outdoor Education. She did a great job with showing me the ropes of the program and answering my questions. She's traveled all over the world (and when I say all over I mean all over, with the exception of the US and South America). She grew up in Hamilton and actually attended Fraser High. She's planning a trip to the US in the next year or so and I am hoping she will stop through wherever I am to see me.

Emma Grogan

Emma and I worked together in Sports Science. She gave me incredible feedback and was so willing to adapt her plans to help me out. She grew up in Christchurch and moved to Hamilton for a job. She started at Fraser as a reliever and eventually landed a full time position. As a going away present, she passed on the most awesome Baby Teacher/Reliever Survival Kit that was given to her when she started teaching. She was a great reference.

I really enjoyed my time at Fraser and I really enjoyed working with these people. We're having a little party tomorrow and it will be pretty difficult to say goodbye. I didn't mesh well with any of the teachers in Logan so saying goodbye wasn't difficult at all; it was more like saying good riddance. But this. This one will not be easy...

Love At First Sight

2009-04-17T17:42:00.026-06:00

I'm in love and I don't care who knows it! I didn't believe in love at first sight before, but I sure believe in it now. I didn't need to spend more than five seconds standing there before I knew that I was in love. It just happened. I wasn't expecting it. I was expecting a fun, little holiday down under and instead I came back with a fluttering heart and sweaty palms. I want to go back. I want to stay there. I don't know how to explain it. There's just something about it! People say it happens when you least expect it. They're 100% correct. It finally happened. And now it's all I want to do, it's all I want to see. I just can't get enough! My heart yearns to go back to Sydney, Australia.

It all started when I arrived at the Auckland airport at 3:45am Monday morning. I stood in line to check in and discovered that I needed a visa (even though I was only going to be there for a few days). I had no idea! I started to panic a little bit. "What if I don't get one? What am I supposed to do? I paid for these tickets and now I can't use them?!" I rushed over to the customer service counter trying to remain calm. Two minutes and $30NZ later I had a visa to Australia that didn't expire for one year!

I boarded the plane with so much excitement I thought my heart would burst. The flight was only three hours so I sat back and enjoyed "Yes Man" and an episode of "The Simpsons". Before I knew it, I had arrived. I tried to book myself a rental car but the fates were against me. I arrived at the airport with no hotel reservations, no car reservations, and no contacts in the entire country. Scared? I wasn't at all. I found a wall filled with hotel advertisements and free phones to make reservations. So I started calling places and I found a hotel/hostel for $69NZ, breakfast included! "Single room, shared bath" DONE I got the directions and I was on my way.

I boarded a train that took me to Circular Quay (that name didn't mean anything to me either until I got on the ferry) where I bought a Day Tripper (unlimited bus, train, and ferry rides all day for only $17AU) and headed to my accommodations. It was when I was on the ferry that I fell in love.

I looked to my right and I saw this

I looked to my left and I saw this

I looked all around me and I knew this was it.

I wouldn't ever want to leave. I alighted my ferry in Kirribilli and found my hotel without any troubles.

The Glenferrie Lodge

I settled into my little room...

...found the unisex bathroom with four toilets and three showers and thought, "This is a first for me." No problem! There were locks on the doors and it wasn't like I was going to be showering with a man. So no worries! I went back to my room, grabbed some stuff, and headed out on the town.

Australian money (which I didn't have a whole lot of)

The Sydney Tower during the day

The Sydney Tower at night

First things first, the Sydney Opera House. What a magnificent structure! I didn't pay for a tour because I was striving for cheap (hence the tiny hotel room and unisex bathroom) so I gave myself a tour. I stopped stranger after stranger to take some pictures for me (that is one of the downsides of traveling alone; self portraits can only capture so much scenery).

I actually TOUCHED the Opera House!

After I had my fill of the amazing place and realized that I had just fulfilled a little dream of mine (I have always wanted to see the Opera House in real life) I started meandering down the streets, trying to get to the Harbor Bridge. I happened upon a few street vendors instead and wandered around for a while. Once I found the bridge I toyed with the idea of paying to walk across the top. I discovered that walking over the top of the metal arch would cost more than my accommodations for three nights and decided that I wanted to keep my right arm and leg, so I settled for walking along the foot path. Good thing I settled for the foot path because I received a free hug from a nice smelling, yet not so good looking, young man who was offering free hugs that day.

Sydney Harbor Bridge

Beginning my walk

A view or two

Some of the incredible structure

Once across the bridge, my stomach began to growl so I found myself a little cafe where I enjoyed some chips, a chicken bacon avocado burger, and a diet coke. After filling myself with fuel I headed down the street where I sat on a bench on the harbor and proceeded to read my book, "To Sir, With Love" that I had bought from a used bookstore in Hamilton just days before. I had already accomplished two of the main things I wanted to do while in Australia and I wasn't quite sure what do to next. So I hopped on a bus. It didn't matter where the bus took me because I didn't have to pay extra for it. I just rode around the city and looked at everything there was to see. The route ended at a little harbor.

I used the toilet at the little harbor and discovered this:

I didn't know syringe deposit boxes existed!

I took the bus back to a grocery store and bought myself some food for dinner and lunch the next day. It started to pour rain so on the way back to my hotel but I quickly stopped at an information booth to gather some information for my plans the next day. Information in hand, I headed back to my hotel and was in bed, lights out, and asleep by 9:00.

I woke up Tuesday morning trying to decide what to do with myself. I wanted to go to the Blue Mountains but the weather wasn't supposed to be good and I was tired and I didn't know exactly where I was going or what I was doing. After much deliberation I thought, "Stuff it! I'm in Australia, every one's really nice. I'll get it figured out." So off to the Blue Mountains I went. I boarded a train to Katoomba and a couple hours later I hopped on the Explorer Bus which took me from site to site, all around the park. I hopped off here and did some walking and then I hopped on there and did some more walking.

I didn't have to hike to this waterfall, that was kind of nice

That's the Australian bush right behind me

Spectacular views from Lady Carrington Lookout

I saw this tree that looked naked and I thought it was interesting that it didn't have any bark

A neat-o flower. It took me a million tries to get this picture right

The Three Sisters

Julie is on the left (she's the tallest), I am in the middle (middle child, middle height, fattest),
Kim is on the right (she's the shortest)

Me and the Three Sisters

You may look at this picture and think "Wow! I wonder how many times she had to pose to get it just right?" Well, I will have you know that this was my first attempt at a picture with me and the Three Sisters.
Impressive, eh?

Another waterfall I didn't have to hike to

I hadn't taken an ugly photo for a while and my face needed to stretch

I am blocking the waterfall; that wasn't on purpose

As much as I don't enjoy tramping, I decided to go for a little one anyway

I actually chose to hike to this waterfall

Bridal Veil Falls

Here's another naked tree that did have bark, it's just slowly stripping off somehow

A look out point

I crossed this bridge. Can you tell how far down I would have fallen?

A panoramic view from the lookout

This is the falls from where my hike led. Quite a disappointment

You can see the disappointment etched on my face. If you look closely, you can see the falls to the right of my chin. LAME

By the end of the day, my feet ached and I was ready to be back at my hotel. I pulled back into Sydney at night. What a sight to behold!

The sky was cloud covered and every now and then a flash of lightning would light up the sky. I found my way back to my hotel just before the rain began to pour. I slept quite soundly in my little dorm room.

The following morning I decided to head to the showers in just a towel (trying to keep my clothes dry and off of the floor was too much of a chore) and as I walked into the bathroom I almost ran into an older Indian man who was only in a towel, too. I felt pretty awkward. Come to think of it, I don't know why because we had towels on. We were naked under our towels but how is that different from being naked under your clothes every day? I thought about it as I washed my hair and I just couldn't seem to draw any conclusions.

I packed up my stuff, checked out, and moved on to find my other hotel, the one I booked before I left New Zealand. This hotel was a little more expensive ($80AU) and breakfast was included, but it was lame. This hotel was situated above a pub and it was more of a bed and breakfast. Luckily I was able to drop my stuff off before actual check in time so that I didn't have to carry it around the city with me. I purchased another Day Tripper and took a train to Carlingford to take some pictures of the Sydney Temple. When my train arrived in Carlingford, I wasn't quite sure where to go. I knew what street it was on but I didn't know where that street was located. I walked over to the Chemist (pharmicist) and asked for directions to Mosely Street. He had no idea where that street was or which direction I should walk. I tried another tactic. "Do you know where the Mormon Temple is?" "Oh yes! Yes. Just up the street. Walk up the hill and down the hill and you'll see it. You can't miss it. It's quite a walk...at least 1.2ks." 1.2ks? Not a problem! That's less than a mile so I wasn't worried in the least.

I headed in the direction in which he pointed and before I knew it I had ascended the hill and Moroni was visible.

The temple was beautiful! For one reason or another, all of the elders were there. I said hi and asked one of them to take a picture, and that was the extent of our interaction.

I was excited to use the bathroom and fill my water bottle at the visit center but much to my dismay I learned that Sydney doesn't have a visitor center. So I walked around the distribution center instead. For future reference, they don't have bathrooms or drinking fountains at the distribution center.

I went back to my hotel to check in and settle in. The room was small, but it had a fireplace!

And I shared a bathroom again but there weren't any awkward encounters this time around.

I acquainted myself with my room and tried to decide what to do next. I still hadn't seen Bondi Beach so that was my next adventure. I decided that I couldn't be bothered with changing and once I got to the beach there wouldn't be anyone to watch my stuff anyway so I skipped the togs and headed to Bondi fully clothed.

What a beach! The place was absolutely covered with people. Sun bathers, families, surfers, body boarders, lifeguards, etc.

I picked a spot and read in the sand while I sipped my Diet Coke from Hungry Jack (Burger King).

As the sun got lower in the sky I decided to walk from end to end. On one end I found a little kiddie pool that gets filled when the tide is high and becomes exposed when the tide is low.

The Kiddie Pool

I climbed around the rocks...

...and then made my way back the other direction via the surf.

Consequences of the sunset

I walked past a few people playing this game. I can't remember what they called it. Bat ball or Beach ball or Sand ball...something like that.

I returned to my hotel after dark, not feeling nervous at all. I ate dinner at my hotel and decided I wasn't ready to go to bed. So I hit up the Sydney Aquarium. (Thank goodness they're open late because I wanted to do something and going to pubs alone just isn't my scene)

I wandered around and was a little disappointed. I didn't have to pay full price because the Day Tripper gave me a little discount. I did see a platypus so that was pretty cool.

The backside of the platypus. It was a lot smaller than I expected it to be!

Nemo, Marlin, and Dorey

A really ugly animal that I can't remember the name of and can't be bothered looking it up. It was their new exhibit though. Pretty cool I guess...

They had a few underwater tubes to walk through and I saw lots of sea life. It was similar to what they have on "Jaws 3", but I didn't think it was as cool as I remember it being on "Jaws 3"

A sea turtle

A shark

A sting ray

Some other swimmers

They had some glass to walk on that allowed you to see the water below. Things like this make me nervous...

I learned that the best way to tell the difference between an alligator and a crocodile is by their teeth. Crocodiles' teeth turn upwards and downwards and you can see in this picture that the animals teeth go up and down outside its mouth. Alligator's teeth fit inside its mouth. So this is a crocodile

After my fill of the aquarium I slowly returned to my pub/bed and breakfast. As I walked across the Pyrmont Bridge, I realized that I wanted to freeze time. I looked at the city around me and remembered that I am not a city gal, but realized that I had fallen in love with this place. As spoiled as it sounds, I was not looking forward to going back to New Zealand.

At the airport the next morning, the ticket agent asked for proof that I would have a way out of New Zealand. I didn't take that information with me! Was it possible that my wish had been granted and I would get stuck in Australia? Nope. She directed me to the customer service counter where they were able to print off my itinerary for Wednesday. With proof in hand, I boarded my plane and headed "home".

I was amazed that I never once felt lonely or sad that I was by myself. Sure there were times that I thought, "If only there was someone here to take my picture..." but for the most part, I was perfectly content to wander the street of Sydney alone. I have never really wanted to live in a city, but I would live in Sydney in a heart beat. Like I said before, I don't know how to explain it. I just love it. I was impressed with small things like how great their public transportation system is. I thought Kirribilli was a really cute part of town. The Opera House sends off some kind of magic that drew me in right away. Everyone I talked to was incredibly friendly and helpful. I'm going back someday. I will go back to Australia in the future. I will make it back for some reason. Hmmm...actually...I wonder how much they pay teachers in Sydney...

Raglan and the Extreme

2009-04-16T17:33:00.015-06:00

During my last week of student teaching, Darnie took McKenzie and I to Raglan so that we could enjoy the beauty of the coast. I have been to quite a few different places in New Zealand, but Raglan is by far my favorite place. I wish we could have spent more time there. I was enthralled with how calm the water looked for as far as my eyes could see. There wasn't anything in the distance except water; no islands, no buildings, etc. We pulled up to the hill top as the sun was setting behind the clouds, which cast some perfect colors on the sea.

While McKenzie and I walked along the beach, Darnie went into town for fish n chips. The sand was a dark sand, unlike the light colored sand you usually see when you stroll along the beach. During the day the sand gets exceptionally hot because of its dark coloring. The color didn't change the way the sand felt between my toes. It was such an enjoyable little stroll.

Upon Darnie's return, we learnt that along with the fish n chips she also purchased a fried Moro bar for us to share. A Moro bar is a candy bar native to New Zealand. It is chocolaty and caramely and nougaty. Fry it up and you have a delicious treat.

Enjoying our deep friend chocolate

I am so glad I was able to experience the beauty of Raglan. This is a hot surfing spot for many people. Last Wednesday I actually shook hands with a world famous surfer who lives in Raglan and frequents that very beach. He goes by the name of DK. I learnt that he has surfed all over the world but one of his favorite places to surf is Banzai Pipeline in Oahu (which I have also been to) because that's where he gets to ride some of the biggest waves.

Me and McKenzie

Last week was my final week of student teaching. I finished teaching on Thursday and I felt as free as a bird. No more studying, no more tests, no more classes, no more university responsibilities (with the exception of my closing seminar). Evelyn (my aunt) and her friend Beth decided to spend their spring break in New Zealand. They traveled along 90 Mile Beach for their first part of the trip and then met up with me in Hamilton on my last day of teaching. In celebration of my completion of student teaching, we enjoyed a delicious homemade lasagna with the Polley family. Friday morning we headed off to Rotorua to go...ZORBING! This was my goal while in New Zealand. I wanted to do lots of things while there but the thing that absolutely HAD to be done before I left was zorbing.

Zorbing began in New Zealand and currently it is the only place in the world where you can do it. However, I learnt that they are opening a zorbing place in Tennessee so those of you that want to go but are low on the funds to get to New Zealand, head to Tennessee instead.

Zorbing is basically rolling down a hill in a large, inflated, plastic ball. Some people prefer to go dry, meaning they are strapped inside the ball as it rolls down and they go upside down and everything. This just sounded sickening to my stomach and I had heard that going wet was much more fun. So I went the wet route. I suited up (kept the socks on because 1-wearing socks with your swimming suit is totally sexy and 2-they recommended that you keep them on) and got excited.

This is a zorb

Taking my zorb (without me) to the top of the hill

Excited and ready to go

Taking me (without my zorb) to the top of the hill

Once to the top, they put water (blessed warm water) inside the ball and I dove right in (literally dove; they said I had to dive in with a running start and according to Evelyn and Beth I had a really good dive)

If you look closely, you can see that I am standing up inside

The man unlocked the gate and told me to start walking forward. So I did. And down the hill I went.

The ball rolled and I sloshed around inside the water (there are many ways to liken this experience with being a fetus) I sloshed around in the fluids...

You can see me inside! It's like an ultrasound!

And sloshed some more

My head is near the exit, perfect birthing position, right?

I never went upside down, just moved around a lot but I still managed to feel a little dizzy.

Ready to greet the world

This part is different; it's not safe to come out feet first when actually in labor

But it's the same in the sense that once you're out, all of the water comes rushing out with you

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

It's a girl!

On Saturday we hadn't had enough excitement so we went luging! I hadn't ever been luging before and I quite enjoyed this experience. A gondola took us up the mountain. These kinds of things always make me nervous because we're so high off the ground and the cable could snap at any moment! (Yet flying in an air plane even higher in the air doesn't concern me a bit! Strange...) We made it safely to the top though and picked out our sexy helmets which we were required to wear for the luging and the lift rides back up (basically the next two hours).

Inside our gondola

Our sexy helmets

Waiting for our luges

After taking the scenic route (which is required for every one's first ride) we took the lift back up and were able to see the tracks and people coming down

I waited up top so that I could take some pictures of Evelyn and Beth. I also took a few scenery pictures while I waited.

The second time around, Evelyn decided to be brave and take the intermediate track

And Beth decided to keep on the scenic track

After our second run, Evelyn rode up the lift alone. Brave soul

When we reached the bottom of the hill, we loaded our luges on the conveyor belt, hopped on the lift, and headed up for more!

Beth coming down the scenic track

Evelyn coming down the intermediate track

After our third run, I felt brave enough to ride up the lift by myself. (I just don't like how unstable those things are!)

I even got brave enough to take a cool picture!

Evelyn and I both ended up on the advanced track for our last ride while Beth continued on the sceneic track. The advanced track was pretty fun and if I were to go again, I would skip the intermediate and go right to the advanced! I have a need for speed and there are more hills on the advanced track which provides a lot more speed.

After luging we went to the Kiwi House and took a little tour.

We got to see some kiwis in a natural habitat. We also heard a kiwi's mating call, which according to our tour guide doesn't happen often; she's only heard it a few times. Lucky us! It was a fun little tour. Kiwis are interesting birds with really no point in life. The female lays eggs, the male incubates them, the female goes somewhere else to lay more eggs, the male incubates them. Neither the male nor the female help the baby kiwis learn how to provide and live; they just supposed to know. They spend their lives eating, mating, laying eggs, and incubating. Yet for some reason, New Zealand feels the need to preserve this unique animal and that's where the Kiwi House (where we took our tour) comes into play. It was a very interesting tour.

We stayed with the Polley's on Saturday night and then drove to Aukland on Sunday. It was an interesting Easter Sunday because we didn't go to church. Everyone in New Zealand was watching General Conference so we wouldn't have had typical Easter services anyway. We shopped, took pictures on the pier, ate lunch, and found our hotel out by the airport.

We parked at Sky City which is right next to the Sky Tower which is a lot like the Space Needle in Seattle. We opted to not go to the top but Evelyn and I toyed with the idea of bungying from the top. As it turns out, they don't offer bungy jumping services, they only allow jumping services. There's nothing bungy about it. You jump and you free fall and then slowly land on a target. It was ridiculously expensive so we opted out and watched instead.

Here she comes...and BOOM she's landed

The Aukland Sky Tower

I stayed with Beth and Evelyn in a little hotel until about 3:30am when they took me to the airport for my flight to Australia...

Fishing on the Ocean

2009-04-16T04:17:00.006-06:00

The day after the Waitomo trip I went to Whangamata with the girls from my program. Linda, McKell, and McKenzie (all girls from my program) are either staying with people or know people who have beach houses in Whangamata and they kindly took us to stay for the weekend. Keith and Yvonne (Linda's host parents) were kind enough to supply a bed for both Brooke and myself.

On our way to the beach we stopped at a giant bottle of Lemon & Paeroa, commonly known as L&P, a New Zealand fizzy drink (soda). It has a unique flavor that I can't describe, but it's a soda I definitely enjoy.

Keith dropped us off at the beach so we could take a few pictures before settling in

We walked over to the house and took a small tour of Keith and Yvonne's place

And then went to a local pub for some fish and chips (which were quite disappointing, but the company was great)

Myself, Candace, Brooke, (the blond behind Candace), Linda (the one behind Brooke), Yvonne (across from Linda), McKenzie, Averil (McKell's host mum), and McKell (across from me)

After a restful night's sleep, Brooke and I went for a walk along the beach. We had a great time trying not to get too wet and taking some fun pictures. The clouds moved rather quickly and cast some beautiful light on the water. It was a gorgeous walk along the beach, that's for sure.

Myself and Brooke

Couple of cool shots

We found some sand that caused us to sink a little bit. We had quite a lot of fun playing in that bit of the beach.

Notice that the water is half-way up Brooke's legs and I don't have any ankles.

Keith volunteered to take us fishing...ON THE OCEAN! I hadn't ever been fishing on the ocean before and I was quite excited for this experience. I knew that fishing boats were small and that the ocean was big and the weather wasn't superb so the water would be rough, but even after knowing all of that I don't think I knew what it was really going to be like.

A not-so-great shot of Keith's fishing boat

At first, I was quite nervous because the ocean is so big and you can feel absolutely everything on such a small boat. I was also nervous because Keith didn't offer any of us life jackets and I am just not accustomed to boating without one. I got over the no-life-jacket-thing and eventually felt comfortable skimming over the top of the ocean's swells. We drove around for a little bit. Keith drove us past this island which is hollow and on good days, when the weather is pleasant, some people will kayak out to this island, tie up their kayaks, and go inside where there's a little beach.

The hollow island

After going a little farther out, we put down our anchor and started fishing.

I learned that you don't use worms for bait when you go fishing in the ocean. You use a fish!

At one point, I even got brave enough to bait my own hook! It was odd touching the raw fish but I much preferred it to using a worm. Within the first five minutes I caught the one and only catch of the day! I don't have a picture of it on my camera; the picture is on McKell's camera and we haven't exchanged pictures yet, but trust me. It happened. It was small and orange/salmon colored and it was sharp! I touched it and stabbed my hand. It was a pretty ugly fish but it was an exciting moment for me!

We took the boat out farther but the swells were just too much for good fishing so we headed back to the harbor to fish in calmer water without any success. It sure was a fun experience, though. Keith was so good and patient with all of us. We learned that when Keith says "Are you hanging on?" he really means it. It isn't just an expression; it's a real warning. There were a couple of times that he asked and we were like "Yeah. Sure." And he took off and we all got rocked! (but not off the boat which is good because we weren't wearing life jackets)

After I was feeling more calm on the boat

About halfway through I was feeling quite sea sick, but I dealt with it because I was having so much fun! There were a couple of times that I just wanted to up-chuck over the side of the boat but it never happened. After we got back to land my stomach eventually settled and we had a delicious lunch before heading off to town for a little shopping.

That night we had a dinner party at one of the beach houses. The girls in my program all thought it would be a great idea to go skinny dipping in the ocean in New Zealand! They all got really excited and giggly and headed to the bathroom to grab towels and strip down. I declined the invitation. (If you knew me you would know that I prefer to keep my clothes on whenever possible)

While the girls were gone, I went into the bathroom and stole their clothes. I ran up the stairs and asked the remaining host mums what I should do with them. "Hide them! Hide them!" So I did. I scattered their clothes all over the second floor. A few behind one door, some behind another. I threw a few bras and a couple pairs of pants behind a couple of chairs, etc. It didn't matter whose clothes were whose, they all got hid and they all got separated. It was great fun. The best part was when they all came back inside screaming for their clothes and I didn't get any of the blame-the host mums did! Fabulous! Absolutely fabulous!

McKenzie, Darnie, and I drove back to Hamilton for church the following day. It was weird to think that everyone back home was watching General Conference and we were participating in the normal Fast Sunday routine. New Zealanders get to watch Conference the weekend after it actually happens because of the time difference. Crazy, eh? I still haven't seen it because I was traveling with Aunt Evelyn over the weekend. I hope it was great!

FYI: the time difference has changed a couple of times during my time in New Zealand. It started out that I was one day ahead but four hours behind so if it was 2:00pm on Wednesday in Hamilton, then it was 6:00pm on Tuesday in Logan. And then everyone in Logan had daylight savings time (it's spring there so "spring forward") so the time difference turned to five hours. So if it was 2:00pm on Wednesday in Hamilton, then it was 7:00pm on Tuesday in Logan. And then I had daylight savings time in Hamilton (it's fall here so "fall back") so the time difference is now six hours. So right now it is 11:15pm on Thursday and everyone in Logan is sleeping because it's 5:15am on Thursday.

It'll be nice to get home and make phone calls whenever I want instead of having to do some math first.

Super Quest in Waitomo

2009-04-08T13:04:00.006-06:00

My final trip with Outdoor Education was with the Year 11s and it was my favorite! We traveled to Waitomo, home of the famous glow worm caves, and participated in a couple of different activities. There were about 28 students and so they were split into four groups and four teachers took control of the four groups. I really liked it this way because then I was actually in charge of eight students and there wasn't anyone looking over my shoulder. It was just me and my students. I had more confidence and more fun than I have had during any other part of my student teaching experience.

The Group

Our first activity was the Super Quest. The students had to use a treasure map to find certain locations and perform a task to receive a clue. The first task was to get in line on the log in alphabetical order according to first names and they could only touch the ground eight times. My group was quite successful.

We got done really fast and actually caught up to the group that started an hour before us. We let them finish their second task and move on before we jumped to the second task, which was to get five inner tubes over the wooden pole and then back off again. I was surprised with how quickly they did this. They just threw the tubes over the top and then threw the tubes up and over. Other groups have tried this but it takes too long and they resort to a different strategy. Man, my group was good!

Our third task was to cross the river without getting wet. In the process of crossing, the map fell out of a student's pocket and into the river, to be lost forever. I thought that with being the teacher and everything there would be a different way for me to cross, but false. I had to put two feet on one side of the inner tube, lean over the rope and put my hand on the other side of the tube, and shimmy across. Once I reached the other side the tube slipped out and my bum almost got wet. One of my students came to my rescue and helped pull me over to the ladder where I was successful in reaching dry land.

After making it safely across the river, we came to a little cave. The task was for all of the students to fit inside. Being claustrophobic, I opted out of this and took pictures.

Going in one by one

Most of the students were inside when our guide confessed that the cave was full of wetters. I didn't know what these were and he told me they were like giant crickets. I don't do bugs so I definitely wasn't going to make an attempt at going inside the cave.

A wetter

This picture isn't blown up, they really are big bugs!

I wish you could have seen the look on this boy's face as he went inside, saw a wetter, and came back out. He was absolutely terrified! So with much hesitation, he was the last one in and barely went inside. As soon as our guide gave him the all clear, he jumped out pretty quickly.

Trying to be brave

Our next few clues led us to a cave where we only had the light of a candle to lead the ten of us through. It was really hard to see anything but we made it safely to a cairn which held the key to the treasure chest.

Descending into the cave

View from the entrance to the cave

We took our key, listened to the next clue, and headed off to find the hidden treasure. When we got there, the students quickly found the chest and we all enjoyed some chocolate and sparkling grape juice. The students had a wonderful time.

Listening to our guide, Sir Wiz, talk about team work and our Super Quest experience.

We finished our trip by rafting through a cave filled with glow worms. It was an incredible experience! It is called black water rafting and I did it a few weeks before with the girls from my program. This trip was more fun for various reasons. It's hard to explain without hand motions and I don't have any pictures yet so ask me about it when I get home!

Waikato River Trip

2009-04-06T23:40:00.002-06:00

Last Wednesday I was lucky enough to accompany Year 10 Outdoor Education on a river trip down the Waikato River. We started outside of Hamilton, by the airport, and ended up in the middle of the city. We floated through downtown and under five bridges. It was a beautiful trip.

Before the students got in the boats, Keryn talked to all of the students about safety and how to paddle, etc. The boats we used were made by people at Fraser High a long time ago and no one has ever fallen out of them. They are flat bottom boats so it takes a little bit more effort to tip them than a canoe or a kayak. After we carried the boats down to the river, the boys boarded their boat. Instead of keeping the weight evenly distributed, they all climbed in on one side. Sure enough they tipped the boat. The first boat to tip in Keryn's eight years (or more) of experience with teaching outdoor education. I don't know if the students did it on purpose but it was dumb of them either way. They had to take their shirts off and paddle down the river in bright yellow rain jackets. One kid was too big for the rain jackets so he had to wear his wet t-shirt for the 14 kilometers of river the students crossed.

When Keryn gave paddling instructions, she told everyone that usually the girls are in the front and the boys are in the back because the girls seem to grasp the concept of togetherness better than the boys. Sure enough, that's the way it happened. Until we stopped for lunch, the boys were way in the back. It didn't matter what we said to them, they just could not grasp a hold of the concept of paddling together and breaking right and left, etc. It was absolutely ridiculous. After lunch, Matt (Mr. Robinson) paddled with them so that we could get to our destination before nightfall.

Since Matt helped the boys out they did quite well and the boat with all girls fell behind. It was like food in their stomachs caused their brains to stop functioning.

The boat with a mixed group (one boy and five girls) stayed ahead of the game and didn't need any special instruction.

This is Keryn striving to remain calm although she was terribly annoyed with the boys and their lack of skills.

Being a teacher, I got to ride in the teachers' boat and we didn't have to paddle. We had a motor. After we had been on the river for a while, Matt offered me the chance to steer. It was quite different from anything else I've ever done. Move the stick left and the boat goes right and vice verse. I enjoyed my first experience with steering the boat, but being the speeder I am I struggled with going slowly and staying with the paddling students.

It was a fun trip but not my favorite trip of the three that I went on with Outdoor Education. I really liked the tramp but the trip to Waitomo was my favorite. I'll tell you about that one tomorrow...

Mr. Quinn is Turning One

2009-04-06T02:20:00.000-06:00

Quinn and myself just a little over one year ago

Today my darling little nephew, who looks so much like his mother, is turning one. It's amazing how quickly babies grow up. When he was a little bit younger, he was quite a fussy wee one. Kim was extremely patient with him. On a good day, I would get to hold the little guy for a few minutes before he realized I wasn't his mom. I thought he would be a difficult one forever. False.

Now this little one is all smiles

HAPPY BIRTHDAY QUINN!

Sorry I couldn't be there, Little Guy!

Mt. Maunganui and Disappointment

2009-04-06T01:06:00.000-06:00

Mt. Maunganui

The day after the two-day tramp, I went to Mt. Maunganui with McKenzie and her host mum, Darnie. We had a rockin' good time together. Darnie has been so good to take the two of us around the north island.

Representing my Aggies at Mt. Maunganui

We did quite a bit of shopping before heading to the beach. On our way to go shopping we were about to walk past a construction site. A large crane was lifting an enormous bin of scraps up to a high rise hotel. Right as we were about to walk under Darnie said, "How crazy would it be if that were to suddenly fall?" As soon as she finished that sentence, one of the clips on the chains snapped loose from the bin creating a terrible noise. The three of us screamed a little bit and waited for the bin to land on the building before walking below. Pretty crazy.

We wandered in and out of quite a few stores and found some wonderful things. My favorite purchase of the day was a new pair of Roxy board shorts on sale for FORTY-NINE NEW ZEALAND DOLLARS! That's a steal because that's only twenty-five American dollars, for a pair of Roxy board shorts! I was pretty excited about it.

My favorite purchase

After shopping and lunch at a local pizzeria, we headed to the beach. It was a gorgeous morning as we wandered from store to store but by the time we put our suits on, it had clouded over a little bit. McKenzie and I were the brave ones who changed into our suits while Darnie sat fully clothed on the beach.

Me, McKenzie, and Darnie

Darnie was kind enough to take a few pictures for us. Needless to say, the water was pretty cold. I wanted to be daring and go all the way under, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. We only got wet up to our waists.

Our initial reactions

The water was cold enough that we each did a little dance as the water got higher on our bodies

McKenzie posing with Mt. Maunganui in the background

It was a beautiful beach

After our little swim we got delicious ice cream in homemade waffle cones and headed back to Hamilton to quickly shower for the Hot Air Balloon Night Glow.

What is the Night Glow? Every April in Hamilton they have a hot air balloon festival. I don't know a whole lot about it but I do know that throughout the week you can see lots of air balloons floating through the sky on your way to school. One particular day, the sky was quite full and I was able to snap a few shots before I had to leave.

On the last day of the festival, they light up the balloons at night. It's a really big deal and tons of people show up. I would say it's about as big as the fireworks show in Idaho Falls on the Fourth of July. So we rushed back from Mt. Maunganui so that we would have time to shower and get cleaned up. We raced into town, found a parking space, and ran to the field only to discover that we missed the light up. We thought the light up was at 8:30 but they ended up doing it earlier. So we missed the night glow and we walked back to the car very disappointed.

I have never been in a hot air balloon before and all week I was hoping I would get the chance. It didn't happen so I have added a hot air balloon ride to my list of things I want to do someday.

My Friend's Birthday

2009-04-05T15:37:00.004-06:00

Ashley turns 26 today. She's more than a sister-in-law, she's more like my sister, she's also one of my best friends. I love spending time with Ashley. We've always had fun going to movies together and eating together and shopping together. I always find loads of things to buy when I am with her.

Justin actually refers to her as "my friend". If I call Justin's phone and our conversation ends he'll ask, "Do you want to talk to your friend?" I will answer in the affirmative and he'll pass the phone over and say, "Your friend wants to talk to you." And then Ashley comes on with "Hello my friend!" So it's official. We're more than sisters-in-law, we're friends.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FRIEND!!!

Outdoor Education

2009-04-02T01:43:00.008-06:00

Hamilton's Fraser High School has this really awesome class called Outdoor Education. The students sign up for this class as Year 10s and take it for the rest of high school. They start off doing small trips and build up to larger trips. Each trip requires a trip plan that the students prepare and each trip is outdoors where the students get a chance to work on team building, leadership, and other fun things like that.

One of the classes I have been working with is a Year 12 Outdoor Education class and as part of their unit they have to plan, in great detail, a two-day backpacking trip. They started preparing their plans just before I arrived in New Zealand and carried out their plans last Thursday and Friday. They planned to hike through Tongariro National Park, home of the three sister volcanoes.

Mount Ngarahoe-the only mountain of the three that looks like a stereotypical volcano

The students had to figure out how much it cost to pay for a campsite, van rentals, etc. The students had to make gear lists, plan meals, etc. Each student took a turn being a leader: a tent leader, a meal leader, etc. The students decided the departure time, they researched the map and their mileage and calculated how long it would take to get from one place to another. The students turned in their trip plans and were graded on the paperwork as well as how well they performed as leaders throughout their trip. This group didn't do so hot.

We met at the school at 6:00am and waited around for the students to tell the teachers when to leave. (The students were completely in charge, the teachers were simply the drivers but the students had a hard time grasping a hold of this concept. For example, "Miss, when are we gonna leave?") Once it finally clicked with the students that they were in charge we headed out. We made a potty/morning tea/buy lunch for the day stop and then finished our drive to the National Park. The students were dropped off at the trail head and left to hike by themselves.

Since I am no longer a student, I got to take the easy route with the other teachers. We sat around in the sun for about an hour while the students hiked with packs on their backs. We then drove around the Tongariro National Park, parked the vans, and hiked one hour to a hut. We set up camp in our hut and went to meet the students at the camp site.

Now when I say hut, you must realize that this wasn't some dinky little straw hut. This was a fairly good sized cabin thingy with many bunk beds, fresh water, and four gas stove tops.

This is where I slept. I had one of my cooperating teachers on my left side and a stranger on my right. We shared that hut with about 27 strangers. It was an interesting experience but not the weirdest thing I've ever done.

I shared a pillow with a stranger on a midnight bus ride to Seville, I think that tops this hut experience on the weirdness scale

This was the view as I walked outside my hut

Mt. Ruapehu

After we had things set up in our hut, we went to meet the students at their campsite. They are exhausted (they hiked for at least 5.5 hours) and most of them were really sun burnt.

They played in the creek for a little while

And then we watched them set up their tents. It was hilarious. None of these students had set up these tents before (poor leadership skills-a good leader is always prepared) so they struggled a little bit.

The girls beat the boys in getting their tents set up and after a little help from one of the girls, the boys were finally successful.

After a delicious meal it got dark rather quickly and the hut didn't have electricity. So we headed to bed around 8:30. That was the earliest I had gone to bed since my first night in Hamilton (and I blame that on jet lag).

The following morning we cooked ourselves some bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast. It was amazingly delicious and those lucky students got to fend for themselves out in the cold morning air. We packed everything up, left our packs at the hut, and hiked up the ridge line so the students could see everything they hiked through.

Halfway to the top, the students were chapped to discover this view

After much grumbling from the students, Keryn (one of my cooperating teachers) insisted the students finish hiking. "No way! We can't see anything anyway!" the students shouted. "Ten more minutes and you'll be at the top and the mist will clear and you'll be able to see it all." was Keryn's reply. Completely doubting the wise words of Keryn, the students headed to the top. Amazingly enough, once we reached the top an incredible thing happened...

...the mist slowly began to clear away and bit by bit you could see everything!

The group in front of Mount Ruapehu

We hiked back to the hut, sat around until the students took the lead and decided to head to the vans (the leadership skills of this group were really poor; my cooperating teachers weren't the least bit impressed). We reached the vans and I completed my first back packing trip in my twenty-two (almost twenty-three) years of life.

My pack and me

After the tramp, we drove to Taupo and spent some time in the hot springs. It felt incredible. I mean, I know I worked really hard hiking my two hours and everything, but it really did feel so good to just soak for a little bit.

Lake Taupo-the bluest yet clearest lake I've ever seen

After our soak, we had dinner at McDonald's (FYI: Big Macs in New Zealand taste the same as they do in the United States) and then took a short drive to Huka Falls. Let's just say B-E-A-U-TIFUL!

Huka Falls

The start of the Waikato River, which is the river that flows through Hamilton and is the longest river in New Zealand

Maybe I don't remember other waterfalls that I've been to, but I was really amazed at how blue this water was. The water at Mesa Falls in Idaho is really clear and beautiful and so are the waterfalls in Yellowstone National Park. But the water at Huka Falls was a brilliant blue that I just don't remember seeing anywhere else. These pictures don't do the shades of blue justice, but trust me-they were incredible!

If we're driving along the road and there's a waterfall, I don't mind stop. What I do mind is hiking to waterfalls; mainly because I don't like hiking but also because waterfalls don't really strike my fancy. Waterfalls are like cathedrals: once you've seen three or four, you've basically seen them all. I don't need to see waterfall after waterfall but what waterfalls actually are never ceases to amaze me. Waterfalls are ginormous amounts of water spilling over a ledge into a massive amount of water below. Gallons and gallons and tons and tons of water pour over the edges every day and it never shuts off. The water just keeps flowing and flowing in massive amounts and I think it is absolutely mind boggling. Where does all of this water come from and how does it never shut off? Even when no one is looking, the water is still flowing off the edge. Incredible. Absolutely incredible.

I really like the idea of an Outdoor Education class. This is an idea I will take back to the states and use as a suggestion for curriculum in my future places of employment. I think it is a great way to teach and exercise leadership skills as well as basic safety skills in the great outdoors, which is a part of every one's life.

I really did carry a pack through Tongariro National Park in New Zealand even if it was only for a total of two hours. I enjoyed the trip but it didn't change my mind about hiking/tramping: I still hate it!

Hamilton's Uni

2009-04-01T02:01:00.005-06:00

First off, an interesting difference between here and home: in the United States, I go to college. In New Zealand, I go to uni (short for university). If I say "my college back home" everyone thinks I am talking about high school because sometimes New Zealanders refer to high school as "college". At first it was weird to tell people I go to uni but now it's starting to not sound so weird.

My host mum, Robyn, works with coaching elite athletes and other coaches. The organization she works for also hosts leadership conferences for adults as well as high school students. Last week, Robyn invited me to assist with a leadership conference held at the University of Waikato in Hamilton. The conference was for students participating in student government. The students came from different high schools/colleges within the Waikato Region (like a county). My job was to take a camera from seminar to seminar and take pictures of the students and speakers and activities. It was really fun. During a little bit of down time, I decided to walk around campus and do a little exploring.

This is campus

I think the lake adds some beauty from a distance but up close it is actually quite dirty

There were some ducks taking a sleep (New Zealanders don't use the phrase "nap" they call it "a sleep") and I noticed they were standing on one leg. I didn't know they do that!

A uni isn't a proper uni if there isn't some construction going on

The equivalent of Old Main

They don't name their buildings; they letter them

This is where Justin would be spending all of his time

The Law School

And this is where I would spend minimal amounts of time

The Library

I prefer the TSC to this Student Union Center

This building doesn't look amazing but I am sure the facilities are incredible

When I left Logan, the Fieldhouse had at least eight treadmills (out of about twenty) out of service. I didn't go inside but I was very curious as to how this facility compared to the Fieldhouse.

Another observation I made was that all of the student housing was in one area of campus and it was referred to as the "Student Village" whereas at USU the housing is spread through different areas of campus.

It was kind of weird to walk around someone else's uni and not have a clue where anything was located. Part of me misses campus life, but in reality I won't be sad when I'm done with it. Speaking of which, six more days of teaching and then my uni obligations (aside from a closing seminar on April 23rd) are finished!

Swimming Sports

2009-03-30T02:37:00.004-06:00

Last Monday was Swimming Sports. Remember Athletics Day? Well this was similar (not so much with the nakedness although I did spot quite a few bikinis) in the sense that they don't have a swim team; students sign up for certain events and go participate. They get an entire day off of school to spend time sitting in the sun and swimming in a pool.

It's such a big event that the entire PE department leaves school for the day in order to monitor the students and activities. What do they do with all of their classes? They hire three relievers (substitutes/temps) and send all of the remaining students to the hall to watch a movie. So being a temporary part of the PE department I got to spend my day sitting by the pool, drinking Starbucks Hot Chocolate (which is too bitter for my liking), eating a free lunch, and making sure students didn't go up the stairs and escape into the big, wide world. (This was the day my rash came back; it's because I sat in the sun all day. Tough day, I know.)

Catching some rays with Candace and Michelle

In order to keep students from signing up and then just sitting around, they check students for togs (swimsuits) before they get on the bus. The students must participate in at least one event and keep their behavior under control or else they are sent back to school (no joke; they had a van ready and waiting for students causing a ruckus). They held a doggy paddle race and a running under water race so that none of the students had an excuse not to participate.

Students lining up and getting ready for the underwater sprint

And they're off!

Fellow PE Staff: Candace and Michelle

The final event was a relay race and the teachers participated in this one. Apparently they win every year.

Ready to race

Michelle diving in to start the relay

Vaughn starting off the third leg

If you look closely, you'll notice that Keryn is wearing flippers

This is the most fit PE staff I have ever come across. One of them just made it onto the New Zealand triathlon team, another one tried out, another one is training for a half marathon, etc. Needless to say, they won by a long shot.

After the students loaded the buses and headed back to school, the staff walked over to the CBD Corner Pub for a "debriefing". Everyone ordered their beers and fancy drinks while I sipped my Diet Coke. It was really a pointless debriefing, however drinks were on the school and everyone loves their alcohol after a hard day's work. I think I'll stick with my Diet Coke.

New Zealand Sports

2009-03-29T01:10:00.005-06:00

Last Saturday night I went to my first rugby game. I didn't sit next to anyone who understands the game so I used my limited knowledge of the sport to understand the game. It wasn't an All Blacks game (they aren't in season right now) but it was still a good game. I have learned that a lot of cities have their own rugby teams (Hamilton's team is the Chiefs) and at the end of the cities' seasons they pick the best players to make up the All Blacks team.

This is what they call a scrum
(I hate this word because the first word that pops into my head when I hear scrum is scrotum)

The scrum is a big part of the game, but I can't remember why...

This is my favorite part. When the ball goes out of bounds (I am just making this up, but it sounds pretty good to me) they have to throw the ball back in; but they can't throw it to a teammate, they have to throw it really high in the air. In order to get the ball, they grab one of their players and hold them high in the air so that they can get possession first.

In rugby, you can kick the ball whenever you want; you don't have to wait for someone to score a goal. They played two forty minute halves with a ten minute half time and the clock never stops running so you know the game is going to last an hour and a half and the last five minutes of the game is going to be five minutes and not a half hour. I like that part. I think football could change its rules to match that. Another thing that I like about Rugby is that the WHOLE team is incredibly fit. (The men in New Zealand wear short shorts, they have NO shame, and you can tell who plays rugby because their quads are AMAZING; I have learned that some short shorts are okay, like on rugby players because I really enjoy their tan thighs, which usually aren't hairy, they're very muscly, and you get the point...) In football you have incredibly fit receivers because they do a lot of running, but in order to play defense in football you just have to be incredibly large (notice I didn't say large with muscles, I just said large) and so you don't really have to be fit to be on a football team. (That was a major generalization and Justin will probably attack me for that one)

It's a different game and I think if someone explained things to me as the game went on, I would have enjoyed it a little more. I prefer football but I think that's because I understand the game. It is fun to look for the plays and strategies and to watch the long passes in football. In rugby, I just see really strong men grabbing and touching each other more than they do in wrestling (hard to believe, I know) ending up in a doggy pile in which the ball disappears until you see it suddenly pooped out and shot across the field. It's more of a male bonding game than football...

Monday night I got to go see a couple of the PE staff play Netball. I have asked people before how to play netball and I have had the same responses, "It's like basketball without a backboard and without dribbling." Oh right. No problem. Let's just say...FALSE

I showed up and Emma (a staff member who's injured and can't play) gave me a thirty second run down of the game. It went something like this, "Each player has their own position and that position allows them in certain areas of the court. For instance some people can play in the first third and the second third, some people can play in every third except the goalie circle, some people can only play in one third. You can't dribble, you have to pass. Every time a shot is made, the ball starts in the middle again." Easy peasy, right? Again...FALSE

After this little rundown I thought "No problem. I will just go sit down on this bench and watch it all go." Thirty seconds into the game and I have heard three whistle blows. Within the first five minutes I swear I heard twenty to thirty whistle blows. I could not figure out what was going on. They don't stop the clock with every whistle blow (thank goodness) and I don't understand the arm motions so I couldn't figure it out. After the first quarter, I noticed Keryn, another staff member, had shown up to watch the game. "Keryn. You gotta help me. I don't understand what's going on. Why do they blow the whistle so much?"

Turns out Netball is a non-contact sport and every time contact is made they either lose possession of the ball, get a free pass, or get a free shot. That was one minor detail Emma forgot to share in her thirty second run down of the game.

When I got home, I explained my confusions to Robyn, my host mum, and she said "Yeah, netball is a sissy sport. They aren't allowed to touch each other." Again, an interesting game. I think netball to basketball would be an awesome transfer of skills because you have extremely accurate shooting (you don't use a backboard), your passing skills are really good (because you can't dribble) and when you go to play basketball you won't travel because you can't run with the ball in netball either. But basketball to netball would be hard because you would forget that you can't dribble and probably make lots of contact and miss every shot because in basketball you're taught to use the backboard.

On Tuesday I get to teach my Year 9 class touch skills. Touch is like rugby but you don't tackle, you touch. And some of the rules on different. So I get to do lots of studying up tomorrow so that I can figure out how to play. Let's just say that I will be relying 100% on my students for demonstrations...

It's Ba-ack

2009-03-22T22:10:00.003-06:00

So it looks like this rash of mine is going to be an annual thing.

A Disgustingly Expensive Shower

2009-03-20T13:30:00.002-06:00

I crawled out of bed this morning to get in the shower and realized that I forgot to grab a new bar of soap and I ran out yesterday. I looked frantically around and all I could find that resembled soap was shampoo. I didn't even have face wash and I needed to wash my face so badly. A greasy face equals lots of pimples, right? So I washed with shampoo because I really had no other choice. So I had a full body wash with shampoo. That is one expensive body wash.

While I was washing my legs I saw two antennas poke out from behind the shower caddy. "That canNOT be good!" I thought. Before I knew it, a little cockroach came crawling out from behind. Now if you knew me you would know that I don't do bugs, spiders, or things that crawl. I was calm enough to know that this didn't constitute a real emergency so screaming bloody murder while standing naked in the shower wasn't an option. I did the first thing I could think of and I formed a bowl with my hands, filled it with water from the shower, and tried to drop it on the nasty thing. After soaking it enough that it wasn't dead but wet enough that it couldn't crawl as fast, I tried to go back to my shower routine. But the moaning and wondering and irregular breathing wasn't going away and I knew I wouldn't feel good about finishing my shower and leaving the room with a live cockroach crawling around somewhere. So as the cockroach gained enough courage to begin to climb the caddy again, I weighed my options and somewhere inside I found enough courage to take my shampoo bottle and knock the disgusting bug to the floor. I watched the bug flow down the drain and I started breathing normally once again.

Now the cockroach is gone but with my luck I will now break out because of the chemicals in the shampoo that I used to wash my face.

167 Years

2009-03-19T02:44:00.006-06:00

Myself, McKenzie, and Brooke headed out to Church College tonight for a birthday celebration in honor of the Relief Society's 167 years of organization.

The enrichment committee put together a wonderful carnival with several booths. We enjoyed a variety of fun games while getting to know some of the girls in the YSA ward. Everyone has been really nice and helpful. McKenzie and I have gone to church a couple of times and have gone to a few activities and we're both impressed with how friendly everyone is. The carnival tonight was great.

We had a hula-hoop contest, which I won!

We raced to see who could eat a cookie-on-a-string the fastest. After I put my blind fold on, I realized that all of the cookies in front of me were too high so I had to find another one. It was pretty tricky...McKenzie was the winner of this contest.

I wasn't expecting a picture after I finished

We bobbed for apples. Well, Brooke and McKenzie bobbed for apples (I don't usually participate in this activity-okay okay-I've never participated in this activity) Brooke was victorious in this event.

We shot little drops of paint through a plastic gun

We fished for suckers (Brooke won and McKenzie caught one but my efforts were futile)

Brooke and McKenzie got their faces painted (this is also an activity in which I don't participate-it qualifies as dressing up and I don't do that)

McKenzie and I enjoyed a hot dog with tomato sauce (not ketchup; ketchup here is really expensive so everyone uses tomato sauce and let me tell you what, it most certainly doesn't taste the same)

I've never seen a strand of wieners in real life, I thought it was just a made-up thing you see in the movies. But nope, they really exist.

A St. Patty's Day Not to Hate

2009-03-18T03:15:00.006-06:00

The last few St. Patrick's Days have not been very exciting for me. I actually hated a couple of them because of the stupid parades that ruined my plans. The first time was Spring Break 2005 when I went to New York with Mom and my sisters. We were walking along Fifth Avenue because we really just wanted to look at the stores and step into Saks Fifth Avenue, just once. But alas, it was not to be for it was St. Patrick's Day (or what I lovingly refer to as Snake Chasers Day) and little did I know that New York City throws a MONDO parade and it's absolutely impossible to get through. That was horrible experience number one.

Horrible experience number two wasn't quite so bad. It was a couple of years later and I was spending Spring Break in Spokane with Ashley. We wanted to head downtown and see the giant red wagon and walk along the river, but whaddaya know: it's Snake Chaser's Day yet again and Spokane is having a parade blocking all roads leading to the giant red wagon. We shook our fists and went to the mall instead.

It turns out that St. Patty's Day just isn't a big deal in New Zealand. I guess they don't have enough Irish immigrants. People definitely use it as an excuse to get sloshed but there are no parties, the students don't worry about wearing green, and there are NO PARADES!

This year McKenzie, myself, and Alicia...

...decided to head downtown to spend our evening with the crowds in a local Irish pub.

We had a marvelous time (smoking isn't allowed in pubs so it really was quite marvelous). Alicia and I ordered Diet Coke while McKenzie drank pineapple juice. We took a few pictures and enjoyed watching the green mobs drink their alcohol (which wasn't died green).

Since we wanted to do more than drink, we each ordered cheeseburgers. When the burgers arrived we were all amazed at their size. McKenzie and Alicia strove for manners as they cut their burgers in half. I figured I was dining with a few drunks anyway who wouldn't know the difference so I threw my manners out the window.

The menu said these burger came with salad and fries. Little did we know that the salad came ON the burger, not next to it.

This salad was complete with lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, onions, and beets! I found it very strange. I've never had a burger with beets before. Normally I like beets, but the flavor of them was too strong and it was taking away from the rest of the meal so I had to remove them. Something interesting: these burgers weren't big slabs of juicy ground meet, it looked like a slice of roast beef. I enjoyed my burger, but it just wasn't meaty enough for me.

After finishing our meals we decided we wanted to people watch for a while so I headed over to the counter to order myself another Diet Coke. I never though I would see the day when I stood at a bar waiting to order a drink.

After a sufficient amount of people watching, we sober ones meandered down the street. We discovered a used book store (that sells cheap piano music so I bought myself some so that I have something else to entertain myself with when I am at home with my host family) and a MEXICAN RESTAURANT! We went inside and checked it out. The man told us that he doesn't sell alcohol so we'll have to bring our own. I guess he couldn't tell that his lack of vending alcohol would have zero effect on our desire to eat at his place. Mexican food just isn't available here in New Zealand and I am pretty sad about it. We're going to go try this place on Friday.

So it shaped up to be a great St. Patrick's Day. Good thing it's not a big deal down here because if my plans got foiled for another parade I think I'd turn to drinking. Hey, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

A Glimpse of the Schedule

2009-03-17T15:47:00.001-06:00

Let me introduce you to the school schedule.

(Sorry that this is a picture of my computer screen. I could not find any other way to insert it.)

They have six classes total, but they only go to five classes every day. They only have four classes on Wednesday because they have an assembly every week, and they get out early on Wednesdays. There aren't hallways. There are separate buildings for each subject and even those aren't linked with hallways. These students definitely get an opportunity to soak up some Vitamin D on a daily basis.

I teach four classes. I teach V, W, X, and Z. (V is Sports Science; W is Outdoor Education; X is Year 11 Phys. Ed; Z is Year 9 Phys Ed) Because of the way the schedule is organized some days I teach four classes and other days I only teach three. One thing I do like is that classes are exactly fifty minutes; none of the 62 minute stuff with 7 minute passing periods. Fifty minutes of class, five minutes to get to class. Everything ends at an even time.

Interval lasts for twenty-five minutes and lunch lasts for fifty. There isn't a cafeteria; students get food from The Canteen and they eat outside. When it rains (not just sprinkling, but really raining), everybody brings umbrellas; lunch is shortened and everyone gets out early.

Maybe this isn't unique to New Zealand but it's different for me. It has been an interesting schedule to get used to, but I am starting to like it. Every day is a little bit different which adds an element of excitement!

A Maori Cultural Experience

2009-03-16T01:31:00.009-06:00

Saturday afternoon we headed to Rotorua for a Maori cultural experience. Rotorua in New Zealand is like Yellowstone in Wyoming (without the organization). They've built a town around the hot pots and boiling water. Every now and then something moves and there's a big pop and life goes on. We saw maybe three or four DANGER signs and they were about 6"x6". It smells worse than Yellowstone and I think it's more active than Yellowstone. Can you imagine building a town on Yellowstone National Park? I mean really, these Maoris literally built homes around the hot pots. They use pipes to heat their homes in the winter. They've built little shacks around these hot pots and use the heat for their own purposes. I just can't imagine the United States being okay with something like that.

This is some body's backyard

And this was just a few feet away (you can see the steam, but you can't really see the bubbles)

When we got to town, we stopped at Maori church and took a few pictures. The woodwork was amazing.

After we took this picture we found out it was one of their gods...we felt kind of bad after that

We also took some pictures by the lake; Rotorua means two lakes.

After driving around town it was time to head to the dinner show/cultural experience. We hopped on another bus which took us to a "realistic Maori village". Our bus driver gave our group a tribe name (Kiwi) and we selected a chief-Chief Michael from Canada. Once we got there, we experienced a traditional Maori greeting with lots of bulging eyes and big tongues. They do this little drill to try to scare off those coming to the village.

The Maori tribe then offers a leaf or some gift for the visitors to accept

The chief of a visiting tribe slowly approaches the gift and accepts it

After the gift has been accepted, the visitors are then free to enter the village. We walked around and looked at the different set ups and listened to the Maori people talk about their roles in the community.

After this presentation we were led to a little auditorium for dancing and celebration.

After all of this it was finally time to eat dinner (which really wasn't anything spectacular; I would have been just as content, if not more so, with a McDonald's hamburger). The bus ride home was the highlight for me. The driver made note of the fact that there were representatives from six different countries on our bus and part of the Maori experience is to share a song from you tribe (or your country or where you come from). At this point I was feeling pretty restless and fidgety. Our chief went to the front of the bus and called a representative from each country to come up to the microphone and sing a song. When he shouted "USA!" Linda and I jumped up and headed to the front. We proceeded to serenade our fellow passengers with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game".

Linda, me, and McKenzie enjoying our bus ride home

It was a fun trip. The cultural experience was a lot like what you get at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii and having just done that, I felt like this was pretty redundant. It was a first time experience for most everyone else though so ROCK ON!