A Little of This and a Little of That

This post should probably be like 8 different ones, but it's not... It should have also been posted a good month+ ago, but it wasn't.  Oops! Fair warning: given.

I'm always amazing how fast time passes when you're busy.  For six years (yes, count them... six) I have been anticipating graduation and now that the day has come and gone I can hardly believe that life has panned out the way it is.  Today while getting my Praxis scores (just a test that says I was smart enough to take the classes to become a teacher... no biggie.  Haha!) from the School of Ed at UVU, I saw a bulletin board-thingie for graduate students and free GRE prep classes.  Got me thinkin, maybe I'll start a masters program if I don't find a job for this fall.  It's goofy that I've been out of school of approximately two weeks and already I'm seriously thinking about going back.  Ha!  Never thought that day would come, especially this quickly.

On a lighter note, I moved to Provo.  I live in an apartment with four other girls and am loving the experience!  However there are a few things I miss; noise in the morning (our apt is like a tomb all morning... maybe I'll get used to it), my mom's cooking, having a washer/dryer unit, and my family.  All in all life is good.  I've joined a dinner group, which equates to instant friends (right??) and tomorrow we're going on a hike up the canyon.  I'm crazy excited to be up the canyon with new and potential friends.

Other exciting news!  I'm an aunt again!!!  This is number eight for us, and he is ADORABLE!  (As are all of my nieces and nephews... trust me when I say this is unbiased.)  I get to see him in the flesh and hold him in approximately three weeks... but who's counting?

I've come to know (again) that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is where true happiness can be found. The other day I was having kind of a bum day and since I got off work early I went to the temple.  As I was sitting in a pew I started reading in the most recent Ensign (from the most recent General Conference) and found myself more or less bawling tears of joy right there in the temple.  There were only about 5 other people there, yet I didn't feel embarassed at all; just joy and peace.  Ahh!  I love when Heavenly Father blesses me with wake up calls and allows me to repent and come closer to Him.  The reality is, we all need them, and He is just waiting for us to humble ourselves so we can grow and improve.

Well, this is Brittish Knees peacing out!

Things I Love

It's important to share the things you love.  I'm sure that someone way more articulate that me has said it very flowerly and pretty, but well... that's not me.  So here we go!:

• Grapes!  I had them for lunch and they made my tastebuds smile
• Girl Scout Samoa cookies that are made by Western Family!  Bless the person who thought of that!  Carmel, chocolate, coconut and a cookie were MADE to be married together!  Mmmm! :)
• Finding housing.  Happy day!  
• Graduating
• Not really having plans for my future.  I probably shouldn't admit that out loud, but the unknown is a little bit exciting... and repulsive at this moment.
• Traveling.  I've been doing a little reading as of late about various places; Mexico, France, Equador... okay so I've been reading missionary letters, but it's all the same.  I want to go somewhere.
• Spring.  I have a burning desire to be wearing cargo shorts and chacos.  I love those sandals.  Pitty they look goofy with skinny jeans or I would be wearing them right now.
• Good music: Jack Johnson, Truman, Thompson Square, Mo Tab, ahh!  Love it!
• Smiling children.  Currently my wallpaper at work is of some niñas I worked with in Mexico.  They smile at me everyday.  I miss those chillins.
• Letters.  Why don't people write letters anymore?  Maybe I'll bring it back... make it cool again.  Everyone loves getting mail.  Why don't we write other people then?  Hello?!?  What goes around comes around.  That's it!  I'm writing someone today... don't you hope it's you?
• String cheese.  Maybe I should just say food - good food - free good food.  Wait, nope, it doesn't even have to be free.  Just good.  Yum! 
• Being done with finals.  I hate to rub it in the week that classes end but I am completly finished with school... forever unless I get additional certificates or a masters degree.
• A good book.  I'm talking really good.  Maybe I'll read The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. 
  

D-Day and More!

It's coming!  It's finally, really, freakishly coming!!!!  The due date for my project is drawing ever closer!!  In fact, it's in two days, four hours and approximately 30 minutes... but who's counting?  Wanna know the best part?!?!?  I'm hoping to be totally 100% done with it today!! Yeah me!  After seriously countless hours I will be a college graduate.  It's gonna be official my friends.  Huz-freakin-zah!

Other awesome things that have happened today:

• I got an oober random text from an old... wait... former roommate (she's not older than me. hehe.) who is moving back to Provo!  Happy day!
• I'm indulging in way too many funeral potatoes that one should eat in a single setting & looking forward to the hot cocoa later this after noon to celebrate conquering a best of a project!
• I'm going to spend approximately 2.5 hours at the BYU library this evening.  :)
• Am wearing a long sleeved shirt and a sweater, I sorta love winter clothes but hate that it's cold outside.  Yeah... we've got a love-hate relationship
• I got a ROCKIN parking spot today and accidentally honked at the man who was un-occupying that spot.  Oops!
• I realized that I can pick up my robes for graduation to-mor-row!! 
• I (well my family) got an email from my little brother who is serving a mission for our church in Mexico.  I sure do miss that kid!  But love him like a zillion times more for the sacrifices he is making.
• This one hasn't happened today... but it will.  I am going to indulge in gas station hot cocoa.  Mmmmm... It's the only way to go.

Anywho, as you can see.  Today has/is going to be a good day.  I hope yours turns out to be just as, if not more lovely.

Peace out Comrades!

-Brittish Knees

P.S. How does one go about getting cool fonts for blog posts?  Keep in mind I'm HTML illiterate. Thanks! :)

Cheese Crackers & Peanut Butter

No one should have to live on those Cheese & PB Sandwich crackers - albeit they are so delicious.  Alas, today I am. This morning all happened so fast and I neglected getting something for lunch to put on the rest of my make up and brushing my teeth (the appropriate thing to do, in my mind).  After zipping up to the airport to drop off family, checking out an apartment (that is approximately 8 minutes from campus - brownie points in my mind!), and hunting through a parking lot for a spot I tripped on my way into work and realized... no lunch.  Huzzah...  So I did what any self respecting, poor almost college grad would do and went to the break room to find something to eat.  Bless.

The Things That Make Me Smile

Today I came to a conclusion:  if you aren't happy with where you are in life, it's your own dag-gum fault!  Thus I'm finding things that happened to me today - or recently - that make me happy.

• Fruit snacks: I absolutely LOVE fruit snacks.  Maybe that is the real reason I've gone into Elementary Education... okay, probably not but sometimes I think the commonality with my students makes a difference.
• Spell check:  There are several words in the English language I can NEVER spell correctly.  One is 'definitely' and the other is 'absolutely'.  Slightly embarrassing, but it's so true.  I love the spell check feature.  It saves me from a lot of frustration.
• Sassy flip flops:  You see, I probably should have been born Mexican (although I am incredibly grateful that I wasn't) because I thrive in the heat.  Someday I desire to live where it snows maybe once or twice... all year.  I can come home to get my fill of the freezing, fluffy, white stuff.  Oh, I love the heat because I can wear my sassy flip flops.  (Yes, today it is approximately 46 degrees and I am wearing them with a skirt.  I'm boycotting winter.)
• Waking up to an empty house:  Okay so maybe I wouldn't love this everyday, but it was nice this morning.  No one told me to get out of bed, I was just awake when my body was ready for it.  Ahh...  Love that!
• Delicious food:  I may or may not be eating lunch and enjoying left overs that my mom made several days ago.  :)  There isn't a whole love better in my mind that food that makes your taste buds "dance and sing!" 
• A Known Future:  No, I have no idea what I'll be doing in a year... okay so I have SOME sort of idea, but my plans are still fluid.  However the though of a known future is still something that makes me smile.  Someday...
• MISSIONARIES:  Oh gosh!  How come this is so far down on my list?  Why did I not think of this sooner???  Regardless, missionaries are one of my all time favorite things.  Since my little brother and best friend are serving missions for my Church it makes me all the more excited to talk about them and what they are doing.  AGH!  I love missionaries!!!
• Being a student:  As goofy as it sounds, I'm kinda sad to be graduating.  I sort love being a student - in a sick sort of way.  I love going to class and even doing awful homework assignments.  It's be strange to not have that anymore.  This is one of the parts of having a career that I'm not necessarily looking forward to. (Oh, 'necessarily' is another word I struggle to spell, although I did it correctly this time. :) )  Maybe THAT is why I'm really going into teaching... then I can still sorta be a student and go to school.  Who knows...
• Traveling!!:  Oh my goodness!  I can't even effectively express my love for going to and seeing new places.  There is something so exhilarating about gallivanting off to a relatively unknown place.   Someday I'll be able to more of it, but for now I'll relish in my past adventures.
• CHICK FLICKS!:  No explanation needed.

Well my friends,  I'm sure you're done reading about all the strange and wonderful things that I love.  I encourage you to look for the things in your life that make you happy - even the small things like fruit snacks. :)  Have a great day and thanks for reading!

Brittish Knees

When the Teacher Becomes the Pupil

Today I was working on my resume (yeah, I know... she has an active resume!  It's weird to me too.) and I decided to take a break and read some of my friend's blogs.  Okay, so mostly I only read the ones with very clever blog titles.  Today the only ones I read were girlfriends who are on missions.  I'm pretty much the worst letter writer but I'm grateful they faithfully write home and that their families post them, because I find a whole bunch of strength in them... always.  It's amazing.

Today I learned a couple of things.  First, if you are doing what the Lord needs you to be doing, then everything will turn out okay.  This has brought so much comfort and peace to my heart as I've been rightfully stressing about a zillion things in my life right now; my current job, a future job, dating, housing for the summer and the rest of my life, school, graduation, post-graduation, my spiritual standing, what I should be doing with my life and possibly what I'm doing wrong, and I'm sure other things but can't think of them.  It's been kind of a crazy last few months, to say the least.  It was comforting to read Marci's email and be reminded of the truly important things:  the Lord's will.  She has always been such a strength and inspiration to me in just about everything.  I sure do love that girl!

Second thing I learned, humor is the best way to deal with just about anything.  I'm not talking humor like hurtful humor, but sincerely funny humor.  Look for the little things in your life that are worth laughing about.  I'm convinced they are everywhere.  Merritt's emils/blogs are just about the funniest thing I've ever read.  Don't get me wrong, she also includes the spiritual things too (at which I don't laugh about), but she has an amazing talent in taking the unfavorable (like cramming 11 sister missionaries in one small apartment for the night) and finding the silver lining of it.  She's such an example to me of... well about a million-zillion personality traits  I wish I had, but specifically finding the good in every situation.  She was like that even while we were in Mexico, even when she was sick.  Boy oh boy!  I have great examples. 

#3 Cool thing I learned this week:  sometimes life doesn't turn out the way you want to so that you'll do things that should be of a higher priority.  Now, let me expound:  my brother is serving a mission for our church.  He's been gone... uhh... about 5 weeks??... I think.  (Don't judge me.)  Since he left I think I've wrote him a total of an embarrassingly few times, and this last week he finally wrote me a letter, which is kinda what I was waiting for.  In it he pretty much chastized me for being a poor writer and asked if I was dead.  (Don't worry, the answer to that is clearly 'no.')  During the time that I'd originally planned on spending otherwise (with a friend in SLC), I went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple (as I was already up in the SLC valley) and started reading my scriptures and ended up writing my brother.  I'd put his letter in my notebook - which I always keep in my purse and it was so amazing to re-read it again.  He is such a strength in my life - he always has been.  I wish I could be more like him. I may have cried a little.  I think student teaching the last few weeks prior to his leaving and for several weeks afterwards has been a bit bittersweet for me.  Bitter because I wasn't able to spend as much time as I would have liked to with Shaunie, but also sweet because I know that the pain of having him gone doesn't hurt as badly because I've been enthralled in something else.  Ugh!  I miss that kid like crazy!  He is one of my best friends and is the person I took just about everything to.  Gosh! It's funny how quickly the flood gates can turn on.

Moral of the story:  I am one lucky girl.  I've been incredibly blessed and have so much to be thankful for.  Life is stressful and crazy and sometimes it just flat out bites; but it's all gonna be okay if I'm doing my best to do what the Lord wants me to do.  (Make sense?  Good!)  He really is in control - through the good, bad, and ugly.  I know that putting faith in Him makes the ugly somehow seem beautiful.

-Brittish Knees

One of the Many Priceless First Grade One Line-ers

Today when I went to go pick up my class of first graders from lunch one of my girls said something that a) took me off guard and b) made me laugh.  She said,

"Miss Christian, you need a husband!"  

At first I was shocked and a little taken back, so I asked her why.  She proceeded to tell me that it was from a TV show and ... haha... she heard one of my other... haha!!... kids who I would never picture quoting such a line, but did.  It was hilarious.  I proceeded to tell the two of them that they were goofy girls and kinda chuckled.

Bahaha!  The honesty, irony and love of first graders is priceless. :)