Random Thoughts

Sorry, no flying squirrels today, that will take longer than I have this morning.

Family, if I read your blog and you read mine, does that count as keeping in touch?

I love general conference weekend! Wahoo! I'm sorry, I loved the relaxed feel of listening to conference in my pj's. That has become somewhat of a "no, no" but I still like it!

I like that I don't have to do any church callings on Conference weekend.

I got my hair cut and colored yesterday. My salon is pricey, but they do such an amazing job. I feel like it is worth the price to get a really good job. Yesterday, I also got 2 weaves - dark blue. Kind of a shock, but I love it!

I think Molly may be the best dog I ever had.

I've been telling Amy's marathon/ port-a-potty incident all week. It's 4th quarter and my students are running out of energy for the school year - especially the seniors. We sing at graduation, so they can't quit yet.

Next Wednesday we get on a bus to drive all night to Disneyland for choir tour! I hope I get all the paperwork done by then. Once we get on the bus, the rest is up to the chaperons and the tour company.

I think I'll take an ASL class in May and June. I'm also thinking about taking a Chinese class this fall. I really want to learn other languages!

I had one of the best massages of my life on Saturday!

If I were rich, I would hire someone to come clean my bathrooms and wash/ vacuum my floors every week.

I need to find some time and energy to put some of my story ideas on paper!

For my birthday, I want pictures (5 x 7s) of my children and grandchildren for my office and/or bedroom.

I LOVE cuddling my grandchildren and I miss them.

I pray for my family every day. I pray that they will be safe and protected, that they will know how much I love them, and that they will gain a strong testimony of Jesus Christ. Really, that's all I need.

I love you all! I enjoy spending time with each one of you! I know that Jesus Christ lives and that He loves us and knows us personally.

Georgia: Magnolias, Turtles and Dogwood

When I was around 5 years old we moved from Farmington Utah to Warner Robbins Georgia. I remember asking my mom if I would have to learn a new language and she told me no. She was wrong, by the way, but that is a different story. At this time, Anne was already married, Kurtis and Linda were at college (I think Kurtis was at college, but he might have been on his mission) and Doug, Devn and I were at home.

My dad loved to explore and go out in the wild areas. He loved to watch birds, learn about nature and often took my brothers camping. (Hunting too when they lived in Utah.) I remember one day daddy, Doug, Devn and I went out in the "wilds" of Georgia. I honestly have no idea where we went but we parked the car on the road and got our and walked. I think we stopped to look at a large magnolia tree, then we wandered deeper into the woods and looked around. I remember that there was a stream and we found turtles. Some were large snapping turtles and I think my brothers took a stick and made the turtle snap at it. Not tormenting it, but to watch it snap at the stick. By large I really mean the turtle was about the size of a small dinner plate. But of course, that was large to me.


Daddy found a smaller turtle which was NOT a snapping turtle and we took it home to be my pet. I wasn't very good at taking care of the turtle, it was about 2 inches in diameter and quite friendly. I kept it inside for a while, but I would take it outside to play and I lost it. Later I remember finding it in the yard and I played with it for a while and then put it back. I don't remember ever seeing it again. It was fun for a while, but I lost interest quickly.

So back to our outing, we walked around a little more and looked at the woods. Daddy grew up in Colorado and Doug and Devn in Utah, so the woods in Georgia were quite amazing to us, well to them, I didn't really understand the difference. When we were done, we walked back to the car. We stopped at the magnolia tree and daddy found a large blossom that we took home to mother. I believe that particular tree had white blossoms on it. I remember that mother put it in a large soup bowl of water and it lasted for several days. It was beautiful and smelled wonderful.

Speaking of flowers, I remember that Georgia had many Dogwood trees. There were new to us and quite beautiful. Of course, there were many beautiful flowers in Georgia that we didn't have in Utah. These trees grow abundantly there. They aren't as fragrant as magnolias, nor are the blossoms as big, but there is a legend about these trees that I think is kind of cool. The legend is that the wood of this tree was used to make Jesus' cross. The tree was so sad that is was used for this that it never again grew big enough for its wood to be used in this way. Also, if you look at the blossom you can see that it is in the shape of a cross and that the tip of each blossom has a sort of cut hole with pink around it. This is to symbolize the blood that Jesus shed for us. Like I said, cool!

Next up - flying squirrels!

Frustration?!!

The good news - I went running this morning.

The bad news - I set my interval timer all wrong. First the sound was off, then it started over, then I set a rest interval accidentally and I was supposed to up my running time and shorten my walking time. I ran and walked the right number of intervals - I think, but not the right lengths - I'm pretty sure. All messed up.

The bad news - I almost quit half way through because I was tired and frustrated.

The good news- I didn't!

More good news - I think I ran enough that I can feel happy about my run. I'm finding I don't really enjoy running - but I am so proud of myself that I ran. I bring it up in conversations all day long. "Yes, I went running at 5 am this morning...." amazing how cogent that is to every conversation. So, yes, I'm proud of myself - even though I realize in the world of running I'm a little tiny shrimp in a very large ocean - at least I am now in the ocean.

Have a great day all of you wonderful people!

Mom

Run Away!

One of the bad thing about blogging is that you can't hear the tone of voice in which I said/ thought the title. So you have to imagine that you read it as if you were telling someone playing a game to "run away" before they get caught.

So, Ansje had a birthday the beginning of March and I thought it would be fun to go to Mesquite and do one of their spa/golf deals - you get to choose one or the other not both. Of course, you know which one I'm thinking about..... Anyway, we finally both have a weekend free and it seems that the whole world is going to Mesquite and/or St. George. I think we booked the last hotel room in St. George. I couldn't find anything in Mesquite, but I know St. George better so that's probably why I was more successful there. We haven't had much time together lately. I've been a cave dweller for the darkest part of the winter. Working, going home and vegging because it's dark and cold outside and I don't feel like doing anything. Lots of the working part. And Ansje has been spending a lot of time with Kristin. She really missed Kristin when she was on her mission and they have had so much fun doing things together after she got home. Now Kristin is engaged to a nice young man, Dan and there is lots of wedding stuff to do. So, we haven't seen each other much lately.

Yesterday, after a crazy day at work, doing boring Accreditation stuff (that's the hoops that schools have to jump through to make it so your diploma is worth something) and trying to get my end of the quarter grades done (always a day of craziness) we left cold, cold Salt Lake County and drove to St. George. We stopped at one of our favorite restaurants in Springville, The Cracker Barrel and ate a wonderful dinner. Our waitress was probably in her late 60s and you could tell she has worked hard every day of her life. She looked like she probably milked the cows, collected the eggs and fed the pigs before coming to work. A genuine farm women. Or at least that's how she looked to us.

Anyway, we drove on to St. George and here we'll stay and play for the weekend. Of course, I was feeling bad that we didn't get a spa package so I found a place to go get a message. I haven't had one in over a year and I miss it. So we will do that this morning. We don't have any definite plans for the rest of our time, but we bought a puzzle and started that last night.

So, hurray for running away! Monday will be the beginning of the last quarter of the year. At the beginning of the school year it always seems like it's going to last FOREVER, but here at the end of 3rd quarter it seems to have sped by. We're already planning for next year and before we know it, summer will be here. YEAH!!! So I'm making my summer plans, visit Amy, visit her again with Molly. Go to England and see Mark and Stephanie. Fit in an ASL class in May and June. Play a little. I'm never going to get rich as a school teacher, but at least I get my summer off! Everyone needs some play time in their life!

Love to you all!

Just a few observations!

So, yes, I'm proud of myself. I have now finished my first week of running on the Couch potato to 5 k plan. Now, while I can't say I enjoy running, I do enjoy how proud I am of myself when I finish running.

Picture me: it's 5 am, still dark outside, I'm running around and around the park in the neighborhood, because I'm too chicken to run any where else because it's dark and the park is well lit and surrounded by homes. Molly and I head out, my i phone in my pocked with my interval app ready to go. I'm wearing the wonderful shoes that I got from Vaughn and Amy (that fit really well and are incredibly comfortable - Thank You!) It is windy enough today that trash cans are moving around on the curb side. I have my hands pulled up into the sleeves of my coat and I wish that my hat covered my ears more. My pants are long, but definitely not wind proof. I have the retractable dog leash in my right hand and it's a little tricky to get up in my sleeve. My dog is definitely ADHD, she is distracted by every little thing. Does pulling the dog away from all of her distractions count as exercise? It's got to be easier than pushing Amy's boys around. There is a little hill, the park is not completely level. Why do all the running intervals end up including the hill?

But the important thing is I did it. Three days in a row. Not a great accomplishment, but a start. Just another start. I have started so many exercise programs.

I don't think I will ever be a runner like Amy or Stephanie. But maybe I can be more healthy and have more stamina. It's a little scary when I start thinking, "well, if I'm going to run, I should buy......." No, new stuff until I've done it for a month. But, I need a better hat and it would be nice to have pants that were wind proof. I have to tell myself no.

Question - do you run heel to toe like you walk or do you run toe - heel? It's like I can't remember "how" to run, something I've done without thought so many times. Also, Amy, how do you find time to think and ponder while you are running? I'm just thinking when is this running part going to end so I can walk again.

Thanks to Amy, Stephanie and Scott for teaching me that I can run too!

I Blame Amy!

Ok, so this blog is a little different than my others. And yes, it is Amy's fault! As a mom I hope that I have taught my children many good things, but they also teach me things. Amy has been teaching me how to dress. So here are a couple of pictures of me in my Sunday clothes.

This is a new skirt that I got at Ann Taylor. I wish it wasn't wrinkled in this picture, but it is a really nice skirt. (It is a good thing I took this picture before church because I spilled bubble fluid all down the front during nursery. Yes, I know I shouldn't have worn it to nursery, but if I only wear things appropriate for nursery I never get to wear anything fun!)
















I also bought this dress at Ann Taylor. I like it a lot! Isn't it great that I have such a wonderful scarf to go with it? These sleeves are the type that when I life my arms my garments show. Also, I think the scar adds a little pattern to an other wise plain dress.


And just because I can, here is a picture of Molly and I that I took this morning.

And in other news that I blame on Amy, I actually went running yesterday morning. I'm following this plan that she suggested from www.coolrunning.com (I'm sorry I don't know how to do links!) It is called from Couch Potato to 5k, one of many such plans available on the internet. I am posting my morning's exercise so that I have to report my running. Anyway, here is what I did yesterday morning (at 5:30 am thank you very much!) Molly went with me, so she got some exercise too! I'm proud to say that a couple of times she actually had to run too!

Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds
of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

I'm only need to run 3 days a week, so the plan is to go again tomorrow morning. Wahoo! It should be a little easier now that the weather is getting better.

So, Amy, thanks for having such a good influence on your mom!

Chicago & Inspiration

Almost 3 years ago, I was in the shower thinking and it came to me that I should go to Lacey to get reacquainted with Tyler so that I could be more help to Amy when her new baby was born. It was just one of those crazy things that I just knew I should do. So I did. It worked out well and meant that I got to be there when Henry was born.

A few weeks ago, I got that same kind of feeling about coming to Chicago for the American Choral Directors Conference. I hadn't planned on going, I didn't have anyone to go with and Chicago in march didn't sound particularly appealing. But, suddenly I had that feeling that I should go.

So, here I am, going to this conference and I'm wondering why I had such a feeling. I wish it was something as obvious as Henry's birth, but it isn't. I've attended several concerts and a couple of classes, done a little shopping in the exhibit hall, but nothing earth shaking. However, I think this message is more subtle. This message is all about remembering how much I love music and how much more work I have to do where I am.

I've watched some amazing High School choirs. I think to myself, "how do I get my choirs to this level of musicality?" Can I do it? Do I have what it takes? I don't know. I don't know if I have the energy to put into the program. I don't know if I have the organization. But I think I can go further than I've gone.

I've pondered whether I should change jobs for next year. I've thought about it a lot. There are so many places that would be more fun to live than Utah. I mean, I love Utah in a lot of ways, but it isn't my idea of "the perfect place to live."

I'm a dreamer and I've always enjoyed the opportunities that might lie just around the corner. It would be so cool to live in China or Africa. It would be so much fun to teach at a private school where the music program is actually valued. I want to learn more languages and see more of the world. There are so many cool things to do, why should I stay where I am?

I actually came to a decision last week to stay where I am. I'm not done here yet. There are things that I have started that I need to see through. Program, ideas, that I need to make sure are more stable than they are now. Things that would disappear if I leave. I've got good colleagues, I've got a supportive principal and some supportive parents. I am making a difference in some lives of my students. This isn't the most exciting decision I can make, but I think it is the right one.

So, Chicago was to energize me and to remind me that what I am doing is a good thing. Just a little reminder to keep on going and stay on course. And the conference is a lot of fun, I don't really mind doing things on my own and the weather hasn't been too bad.