Shiny New Toys

Boy howdy, this week has been crazy! J It has been a fantastic adventure, however. Two big things happened. First, my glasses finally came in on Tuesday, after 9 days of knowing I needed them. Getting used to them has been well, interesting, to say the least. My eyes are constantly doing weird things attempting to make up for my previous eye problems, and then having to readjust because the glasses fix that. And yes, for all of you contacts wearers, I’m sorry, I just can’t handle poking things into my eyes on a daily basis. So, for now, by the end of the day, my eyes are tired and hurt a little, but, they’ll stop that in about another week. The good news is, I can see better, especially while driving, and the glasses are quite cute, if I do say so myself! The best part has been having all of my students and friends say, “Wow. You don’t look like you! You can’t be Miss Herring! You’re just not Miss Herring anymore!” I even had one girl tell me I couldn’t take my glasses off because then I still didn’t look like Miss Herring. It’s been quite humorous!

The second and bigger piece of news is that I moved this week. Yes, I know that nobody knows, but I couldn’t help it. This brand new condo in Heber just kind of fell into my lap last weekend, and after fasting on Sunday, I jumped at the opportunity! It is a beautiful three bedroom, two bathroom condo in a newly developed neighborhood; right behind the new high school my school district is building. It’s a nice, quiet location, and I’ve heard the single’s ward is great. I actually have several friends in the ward, but, due to my new calling, I’m going to stay in the 35^th ward over the summer. I love lots of things about my new place, but here are a few highlights:

1 – I get to move with my current roommate Kristin! We get along really well, and so there’s no new-roommate drama, which will be nice.

2 – No more commute for me – ok, I have actually loved the commute the last 2 years. In my opinion, Provo canyon is one of the most beautiful places on earth, but it still makes more sense for me to commute a couple times a week, rather than every day!

3 – There’s a WINDOW SEAT in my bedroom! I have always wanted a window seat since I was little, and now I have one! AND it faces MOUNT TIMPANOGAS, my FAVORITE mountain! I’m only a little excited about that, as you can see!

4 – I have my own bathroom!

5 – We get to have an office/music/toy room! We’re still trying to come up with a cool name for that room – so far all we’ve got is “The Den”. Send your votes via comment!

6 – There is a FIREPLACE that works!

7 – The landlord is super nice, plus, I’m finally done with student housing and management companies – HALLELUJAH!

8 – Brand new appliances in the kitchen and comfy carpet

9 – There are two parking places – no fighting for spots, and one is even covered!

10 – There’s plenty of space for hide and seek! ;-)

Oh, AND, I was able to furnish my entire condo for less than I anticipated. Yes my friends, DI, thrift stores, Wal-Mart, Costco, Family Dollar and friends furnished me! J

My top ten favorite steals:

1- Vintage red table – free – Thanks Kristen! And Brian and Stacey for moving it!

2- Bed frame - $40 – Costco – this thing goes from twin – king. I can use it for eternity! :)

3- Banana chair - $5 – DI – So comfy!

4- Fold-out couch that is even comfortable to sit on - $50 – DI

5- Queen mattress and box spring - $30 – Heber Thrift Store

6- Queen memory foam mattress pad - $35 – Wal-Mart

7- Queen bed sheet/comforter sets - $60 – DI and Family Dollar

Favorite funny moments from this week:

1 – Splitting my pants hopping into Stacey’s truck at DI

2 – Wearing said pants for a whole day after I thought I had thrown them away.

3 – realizing I had thrown another perfectly nice pair of pants away unwittingly

4 – Freak out session with Kristin on Wednesday when the condo was officially ours.

5 – Moving in the rain and snow, intelligent, I know – yes, friends. We are 4 days away from May and it is still snowing here.

All in all, the week has been splendid! I could never have done it, this fast, or at all actually, without the help of some friends that I totally owe big time! Ben, Scott, Tyler and James – thanks for helping on Friday! Brian, Stacey, Tyler, Carter, Lauren, Spencer and Ben – thanks for making 3 trips to Provo for me and for helping me unload everything all week, and for being as excited for me as I am for myself. This will be a fun year (at least)!

Picture highlights (please note, most of the walls are in desperate need of decoration, but that’s this week’s endeavor):

All My Secrets Revealed

So, in my 7 years as a single adult, I have only had to speak in church once – and that was because my uncle was in the bishopric and it was his ploy to get me to attend the single’s ward – it didn’t work. Well, this Wednesday, while on my way to Walker’s with Stacey for a pre-canyon-drive snack, I got a call from a member of my bishopric. Since I’ve rarely received such a phone call, I was caught unawares, and Stacey, who could only hear my half of the conversation, knew what I was getting into before I did! I did get to choose my topic (from choices), however, and I was excited!

I had previously agreed to play the piano in sacrament meeting for my friend who is the new Music Council Chair. And, as one of the Relief Society Secretaries in our ward, I played the piano in our combined Relief Society meeting this morning too! One of the funniest parts was when the Bishop walked up to me before sacrament meeting and said, “I didn’t know you played the piano!” So, all of my well-kept secrets were revealed and showcased today! It’s funny, though; I was literally shaking the whole time I was speaking. Why is speaking in front of a single’s ward more intimidating than teaching 22 – 30 second graders and dealing with their scary parents everyday, or giving presentations in faculty meetings?! I really don’t understand it! ;-)

PS, If you want to read my oh-so-awesome (if I do say so myself) talk about The Restoration and Blessings of the Melchizedek Priesthood, it’s on my family blog.

Therapeutic Driving

Finally an update, and a blog barf! 5 glorious entries for you! Enjoy!

So, today was a not-so fun day at work. Ok, actually, it was a Monday-style day, only on a Tuesday. I had a run-in with the resident bullies (I’m getting really tired of being the scapegoat for everything – rooms not being open, scores being turned in late, heck, even the rain!), and then a couple of my students, one in particular, were totally off the wall today. Oh, and then my projector wouldn’t work… Yeah, so, I was frustrated, and grouchy, and SO in need of a break – and we’ve only been back for two days!

It’s kind of sad, actually, that I’ve started my end of school countdown (32 days), because I came back to school this week very excited about some of the things that I’m going to be doing in my classroom the rest of this year. But, I ran into some fun-suckers, that ruined that, at least temporarily, today.

So, on a bit of a whim, I decided to go on another drive – I stopped at Walker's, grabbed candy, water, dinner, a map, and headed out. I chose to go to Duchesne (pronounced Doo-shane), then Price, then back to Provo via Spanish Fork Canyon and other canyons and country roads. Even being alone and in the rain, it was pretty fun.

Between Heber and Duchesne, I saw some herons or egrets in the SNOW, and a field of deer! I’d really like to go back to Aspen Grove campground this summer, when it’s a bit warmer down there. It looked cool, and it is in a beautiful area. I took one detour toward Strawberry Pinnacle for some wildlife viewing opportunities. I only saw 3 deer that decided to cross the road in front of me – twice! Starvation Reservoir is also BEAUTIFUL! One of my favorite things, however, was Ashley National Forest. I loved it!!! It was absolutely gorgeous and reminded me of Colorado and Yellowstone simultaneously. I’d love to camp there sometime too!

Random fact of the day – if you are ever in need of a shortcut from Highway 191 to Highway 6, you can take Emma Park Road if it’s open. I didn’t actually take it, but, it looked cool. Not sure if it would shave off time, or just be a scenic route. Either way, it’s worth a jaunt.

Signs of Industry – saw several oil rigs., and drove right underneath (yes, underneath) the energy plant in the middle of Spanish Fork Canyon just outside of Price. Oh, and, of course, the Spanish Fork windmills, which somehow always remind me of the Wishbone version of Don Quijote, and make me smile – even in the dark!

All in all, the 150 mile, 3 ½ hour drive was TOTALLY worth it! I feel much better, and I got to see ELK! Two small herds of them, actually, in Ashley National Forest. Such fun! If you ever have a bad day, I highly recommend driving as a healing process.

Pet Sitting Adventures

So, while my friends are on vacation, I've been house/pet sitting for them. It's been a joy! There are 14 hamsters (mommy, daddy, and 12 baby hamsters), 1 gerbil, and 1 turtle. All pets are doing quite well, though, we've had some fun!

My sister and I had been checking on them every couple days (which is all they generally need), but, since we were in the neighborhood, we decided to stop in two days in a row. It turned out that was a very good thing! Wicket, the daddy hamster, had made a jail break! Talk about nerve-wracking! So, we started turning the house upside down. I tried to remember where my friends had found him the first time he got out - and sure enough, Wicket had apparently decided he missed his owners, and decided to sleep in the corner of their bathtub! He was quite docile, and sleepy when I picked him up and brought him back downstairs. We re-taped his cage, and he seemed happy to be back with his water and food, yet, ready for another adventure as he kept nosing around the lid of his cage!!!


It has also been really fun to watch the babies grow. They are so LITTLE!!! They are learning valuable lessons in sharing too! :D

Exploring Canyons with Chelsea

So, the Saturday before Chelsea left, we spent a few hours at the Clark Planetarium (one of my favorite places in the world!) and then went on a jaunt through Emigration Canyon, then Lambs Canyon (not as exciting as anticipated), and then down through Parley's and Provo Canyon. As my friend Steve would say, it was a full circle canyon drive. I LOVE canyon drives!

In case you didn't know, Emigration Canyon is one of the canyons that the early pioneers came through. Pretty cool.

Signs of Spring

One of my students did a science presentation on the signs of spring. So, over spring break, as I was traipsing around (mostly during Chelsea's senior pictures), I took pictures of the signs of spring that I noticed.

The First Picnic of Spring

So, a couple weeks ago, the Saturday before Spring Break, I got to go on a picnic with the Ailshie's! We had fun playing in the snow at the top of a very muddy mountain. It was fun to go bouncing around in the truck in the mud, and then even sled in the sunshine. Here are some pictures from our adventure!

The sled run

Ben gets a ride up the hill! :)

The beautiful view outside a very muddy window.

Don't Knock It 'Til You Try It

Ok, so, I was always one of those high-minded avid fantasy readers that was overly critical of the Twilight series, and swore I would never read them - and it never appealed to me...

Until one fateful day, I finished the Inkheart series (shameless plug here, I LOVED it! Read it!), and could not get into anything else. Reading is about as big a passion for me as teaching, music, bookbinding, and astronomy, so, it nearly killed me not to have anything to read that I craved! I'm sure I was slightly whiny one night when I mentioned my dilemma to my friend Stacey, and she suggested I try Twilight. I'm also sure that some glimmer of disgust initially crossed my expression. To be perfectly honest, I loathe it when people bash the Harry Potter series and other such fantasies when they've never tried them at all. I'm not a fan of book censorship, especially when based in ignorance, so, for the sake of my own nonhypocritical reputation, I decided that I had better at least try the first one, and borrowed it from Stacey.

I could not put the thing down! I finished the Twilight in six days, New Moon in five, Eclipse in four and Breaking Dawn in two. That puts me finishing the entire series in just under 3 weeks - a personal record for series reading, though, I'm sure nowhere near a world record!

Now, I've never been much of a literary genius - I love to write, but only from personal experience, no fiction for me. I'm no expert in plot, character development, or any other literary elements either, though I can explain such things to my students, at least at a 2nd grade level. But I do consider myself capable of passing judgment on books I read - at least for myself. So, here's my one attempt at a critique.

I like Stephenie Meyer's writing style. As a reader, I need something that captures my attention, and leaves me wanting more. If you stop at the end of a chapter, you're never lacking in that area. There's always a cliffhanger. If you plan to put the book down, you'd better plan on stopping mid-chapter.

I liked the twists and turns of the story line, and thus, I suppose, the plot itself. It may not have particular depth, but, as a reader, I need more surface-level books that I can enjoy without having to think too deeply about them. I love Jane Austen, but, getting around the language and also the lengthy descriptions of seemingly minute details is not what I'm looking for right now, although I've been through that phase before.

I also can relate with Bella. Perhaps it is because I happen to be a girl rather prone to overreaction and overanalyzation, and more than capable of the occasional, and even frequent swoon. It was interesting to read descriptions of some feelings, particularly in the first couple of books, that I had experienced, but never been able to adequately express in words. Besides that, if someone else can write it and gain a fanbase of millions, that tells me that I'm not insane, abnormal, nor alone in my overreacting and overanalyzing tendencies. I love things that bring people together!

Edward. ::SWOON:: Let's face it here - We all want someone as passionately adoring and protective as Edward. Forget the fact that I always imagined him (even after watching the movie several times), with some sort of accent. ::swoon:: I sort of have this thing for selfless, and protective guys, and desperately wish there were more of them in the world. Stephenie Meyer happened to capture that ideal perfectly in Edward. I can even appreciate his mood swings - it makes him real. We don't always have to be on our best behavior, especially around people we love.

Vampires. Ok, I have to admit, that my initial aversion was due to the vampire story line. However, surprisingly, while it was obviously a big part of the story, there were so many bigger, more realistic themes - love, family, fiendship, loyalty - that the vampire bit didn't bother me like I expected. It didn't even cause nightmares. Somehow, in the context of the book, Stephenie Meyer even made the possibility of vampires plausible - as werewolves, dragons, centaurs, and pheonixes are in Harry Potter. I sort of like the idea of hidden magical world that can coexist peacefully with ours. :)

Now to the movie. I have to admit that I was impressed with how closely the filmakers stuck to the book. I liked it a lot! Almost all of the characters were exactly as I imagined them, minus a few. However, I do have a few wishes - 1) Let Robert Pattinson speak with his accent, at least a little. It'd be adorable. Edward's from London anyway! 2) Enough of the "we're in pain around each other and can't even speak normally" crap. It was a little overdone. He's supposed to blend in right? And, aside from her original frustration, she loved him from the beginning. While reading, I never imagined them being in physical pain everytime they interacted, and it was so awkwardly portrayed in the film that it literally looked like they were in physical pain. 3) This one is the final one, and goes along with #2. Play down the dark, burdensome awkwardness, and play up the sarcastic humor. That was my favorite part of the Edward/Bella relationship in the books, and it's almost missing entirely from the movie. For heaven sake, let them laugh!

So, the moral of the story is - don't knock it 'til you try it! It's actually a good series. You may just like it!

And for all you cynics out there, no, this general rule does not apply to drugs or alcohol. Please knock those before you try them! ;-)