mmm chocolate.

k, well not really "mmm chocolate."

[not really my love. but for some reason elementary teachers are obsessed with chocolate. i've received 2 chocolate bars {like BIG chocolate bars} this week from my cfa [that's byu el ed terms for "the lady that comes and observes me and tells me all of the things i am doing good and some things i need to work on". love her.]. and they just want to give you chocolate all the time. i think i got like 6 chocolate bars last semester. and 2 + who knows how many more to come. not to mention, it's teacher appreciation week (which i am loving: um, who doesn't like free lunch and/or breakfast everyday? or a sweet shoppe in the faculty room {even though i didn't partake of any of it, it was still super cute}? or a cute lunch box? or any of the other goodies? not to mention the gifts from the students {which will come next year when i'm actually the teacher, but the notes are fun}. ok enough of this teacher business. pretty much it's the best. the pay? um no, definitely not the best. but the students are to die for. k, really done this time]

the real reason for "mmm chocolate."

this little guy...

yeah, mmm chocolate.

the other day on my run, this man was selling some puppies on the grass on the side of the road. and it was a red light, a long one. so i walked over to take a look. 7.5 week old chessie lab retriever mixes. basically looked like a baby bucky with chocolate fur. SO cute. i just about died. and i said, "i'm not really in the market for a puppy but i had to take a look!" to which he said, "that's alright! it's good to just play around with them and hold them." and i said, "oh yes, i miss my dog. especially when he looked like this [nearly 9.5 years ago!]."

other life updates:

i'm in denial.

denial with how many lesson plans i need to do.

+ assignments.

luckily most are "kill-two-birds-with-one-stone" assignments that i will just need to reflect on afterward.

and i love reflections: what did i do? how did it go? what went well? what can i improve? praise/polish?

can't really put a grade on that, now can you?

anyway.

because i am in denial, i am procrastinating. and i didn't run yesterday because i was at school/class until nearly 6.30pm. and had so much to do. and was exhausted. and today i didn't run because, well, i just want to go to bed early {like 10 is my goal} tonight and i didn't want to change and go out and get sweaty. and it's a recovery week and i thought just saturday's long run was a recovery but it's not, it's the whole week and i ran 11 on tuesday instead of 6 so i think i made up for it, don't you? [don't answer that.] and i really need to go to the grocery store so i can have food to eat [i'm out of eggs and yogurt. which means, no breakfast!].

furthermore...because i am in denial, i am extremely chatty.

i talked to erin for a little bit.

then my mom [needed to make up for 3 days of chats].

then erin is going to call me back with a decision.

then i need to call my landlady.

and i just keep writing.

so now i will stop.

but let's be honest. if any of you [whoever you are, wherever you are. you know, i'd really like to know who you are. if you are there. because, i think if you read this and know me, i should maybe know you. so please, introduce yourself.] ahem, as i was saying before i was so rudely interrupted by my own thoughts, if any of you even made it this far, then kudos to you! you're a gem. a diamond in the rough. [speaking of diamonds in the rough: my school is doing an aladdin play next week. i'm so excited.]

P&L

[that's short for peace & love. i abbreviate most everything. gn= good night. gl= good luck. and many more.]

welcome...

(1)

...to a year in my running shoes

{yes that is the same pair [nike+ zoom air victory] in 3 colors.}

starting a year ago on the left,

and changed about every 3 months.

[the price we pay for good shoes --injury prevention.]

{oh, and of course i bought them all on sale. and sadly they are sold out of my size so i will have to find a new pair within the next 3 months.}

(2)

...to a semester, or 2, in worksheets and papers.

i organized my desk yesterday {i finally feel complete} and tossed that huge pile + about 200-250 additional papers. i feel good.

(3)

...my newly decorated new room!

and i finally hung my lanterns! and there will be ribbon draped between but i just need to go get that ribbon still.

{katie and i are making a j.crew return in SLC{maybe we'll hit up murray instead--a little closer} / ikea-i-need-a-mirror-in-my-room! / joanns-katie-is-making-curtains-for-our-living-room run this saturday. i think i will get some ribbon then.

(4)

...to my never ending list of crafts/decorating/projects i want to do. these beauts were in a little boutique in hb and are still on the list. i want to make them soooo bad. and i think i will. in colors that match my lanterns. we'll have to see how that will look... and no, i will most definitely not be making a butterfly. erin is so freaked out by them and has convinced me that they are pretty wild insects. you don't know where they're going!

(5)

...back to 2nd grade!

i went back to my little 2nd grade classroom today! and i got the warmest welcome from all the students--lots of hugs. i absolutely loooove it! and to think that in about 4 months i will be the teacher. crrrazy! i am so so so so so excited (that is something my 2nd graders always write in their journals).

the sunday morning post, 25th ed.

today's post is more of a week wrap-up.

monday: last 2 finals, both of which i had prepped for before so it was pretty much a show up and do it. also, definitely SPRING here in provo.

tuesday: online class. done. [minus the final which will take forever. must finish asap.]

wednesday: i don't even remember. temple with airin in the morning. gurus with my math buddies for lunch. shopping with lyndi [who just finished the jr. core {aka the most grueling year of her school life} in the accounting program. celebration!] for marissa's wedding gifts & bachelorette party necessities & wedding apparel for ourselves. marissa's bachelorette party. the last hurrah: roommate sleepover [w/mattressess] in the living room.

thursday: run. pack. apt was a disaster: marissa moving out, wedding boxes all over, dana cleaning refrigerator, couches in dining area, mattressess in living room, my kitchen stuff everywhere. it was great. cutting fruit & veggies for the wedding.

friday: WEDDING! but first, woke up at 4.30am to run my 20 miles [on approximately 4.5 hours of sleep, i don't recommend it. ever.] {also, if you're wondering, it went extremely well. no pain. no soreness. just felt worked.}. draper temple to see the bride and groom at the temple after being sealed & some pictures. luncheon. little nap [lyndi would not get out of bed because she was "grumpy". i had to bribe her with a milkshake. mission accomplished.] reception prep. reception = dance party & jeff split his pants, whoops! but thank you jeff, it was quite entertaining. marissa and ty are MARRIED! theeeen i spent 1.5 hours cleaning the bathroom. then i packed a tiny bit. then i finally let my body rest.

saturday: mooooooving day. packed. cleaned. cleaned the boys kitchen & front room with lyndi and alissa. targer & lunch with katie and her mom [thanks kim!]. unloaded 2 cars packed full of my stuff [where did it all come from!?] to the 3rd floor. trekked back and forth from katie's old apt to our new one. did i mention we are in the 3rd floor? i think we made a total of about 20 trips each. luckily some fine young men helped otherwise it would have been like 35 trips each. unpacked [some of it]. gurus with katie [thanks again kim!]. sunflower market + picked up all of my food from my old place :(. unpacked the kitchen with katie. laundry [2 weeks worth. ew.]. unpacked some more of my room. laundry in dryer = BED. i crashed as soon as i hit the pillow.

now for some pictures.

[which you may have skipped right to!]

marissa was a BEAUTIFUL bride. like gorgeous.

and i don't have any pictures. dana b. does. and the photographer does. will get those asap.

so here's one of their engagements.

yesterday morning dana sent me this.

d: doog dog dog dog dooooogggg!

h: he looks like a beached whale

d: disguised as a dog...

5 hours later...

d: dog on the ground

dog on the ground

legs curled up

ears all flopped

smile on the face

crashed on the ground

crashed on the ground

and 1.5 hours after that.

d: bathtime. the after

the current state of my room {95% better than 18 hours ago}. 11am sunday. maybe i should unpack the non-closet clothes.

have a fabulous sabbath.

my favorite day of the week!

i've wasted the last 30 minutes of my life

so i thought i'd throw in another 5.

today is significant because:

1. on this day one year ago, i had my first hamburger in 3 years. was it worth it? no. but the in n out protein style {aka bunless, lettuce wrapped} hamburger i had 8 months later on new years eve proved that it was because i absolutely abhor white bread products [as i have mentioned somewhere on here before], such as hamburger buns.

2. i took my last 2 finals today. so that was 3 friday, 1 saturday, 2 monday. cohort 1: check.

3. i start spring term {aka 10 credits which is equivalent to 20 in a normal semester} in one week. farewell little social life i had. hello 8 hours of class mondays, 2nd grade classroom tuesday-fridays, and setting up my own little 2nd grade classroom. {suggestions for room themes and set up ideas are welcome}

4. i have this odd feeling of hunger right now, but i'm not hungry. i'm just thirsty.

5. it's like 75 or 80 degrees. hallelujah.

6. i drove everywhere today with my windows rolled down.

7. i listened to bob marley all day today when i drove with my windows down. reminds me of driving to the beach {when i didn't ride my bike}. which makes me miss ca summers.

8. i have to finish this entire online class by thursday. [not to mention the increased amount of miles i am running this week + packing and moving saturday + marissa's wedding friday + shopping for marissa's wedding + deep cleaning of the apartment + life. mover's wanted.]

which marks the end of this ever-so-enlightening post.

the sunday morning post, 24th ed.

today's post is brought to you by my phone.

part a:

pictures.

my trip to target (saturday, 17 april, 5pm)

i saw these.

um, yum?

let's just focus in on the goodness

i guess the chocolate one would be like nutella but with peanut butter instead of hazelnuts.

prior to my liking peanut butter [1.5 years ago], i only liked peanut butter when it was mixed with chocolate. well that's a lie. because i didn't like reese's. but i did like muddy buddies.

this is like a dream come true, i think..

then i saw this

what?

my $0.97 vaseline has succumbed to inflation.

NOOOO!

part b:

funny text messages i've received.

saturday, 17 april; mom.

[m] dad saved the life of a lizard from a crow today.

friday, 16 april; erin.

[e] is it weird that i wish i had magic powers to turn my apple i brought into a cut up apple with some peanut butter?

[h] is it weird that i can?

[e] What? No fair.

wednesday, 14 april; lyndi {library}.

[L] homeboy sitting across from me has been staring at you.

[h] hopefully it's because homeboy and i had anatomy lab together. homegirl aint feelin it.

[L] oh you looked at naked bodies together. cute.

tuesday, 15 april; dana.

[h] you girls should come up to provo in july sometime to help me set up my classroom!!!

[d] omg road trip!!!

part c:

this has nothing to do with my phone.

1. marissa and ty are getting married in 5 days.

2. i'm moving in with katie in 6 days.

3. i take my last 2 finals tomorrow, neither of which i have to study for--just prep for about 10 minutes.

4. my marathon is in less than 2 months.

4.5. i ran a lot yesterday. is it ok that i'm proud of myself. i did it. and i lived. and i felt so good yesterday and woke up feeling great today.

have a fabulous sabbath.

mine was so good last sunday.

and this sunday will be even better.

i love finals because....

[you] wait, did i really just read that? did she really just write that?

[me] yes, and yes.

my 2nd home during finals

[lyndi's 1st home. and 2nd home the rest of the semester]

i just got off the phone with erin and i told her about my odd obsession with finals

my reasons?

1. i feel insanely productive. because i am so productive.

2. i'm at the library or in study groups all day.

3. i actually buy food [jamba juice & string cheese from the vending machine] on campus.

4. i get a little crazy. like brain hurt crazy.

5. i'm tired. and so is everyone else. and no one sleeps [except i think 6 hours is stellar considering the cirumstances.]

6. people are sleeping everywhere [library desks / bathroom lounges, halls of buildings, grass, etc.]. and walking around like zombies {see #5}

7. it's a tough week but then it's over. [for 4 months, or in the case of spring term starting in 9 days, for 2 months.]

but what i really love right now...

is spring.

it's here.

thank you, mother nature.

and thank you mr. sun.

your presence is welcome.

and we so enjoy all of the beautiful tulips and daffodils everywhere!

[because we {as in i} so enjoy flowers. so so so much.]

[yes, this was a free foto.]

strawberries

love, love, love

strawberries.

so much that i ate too many and had a horrendous allergic reaction (hives) to them in 7th grade. that was a horrible year--no strawberries. then i tried them the next year and the body said they were once again welcome. hallelujah.

and mom has to put a cap on the amount of strawberries i eat when i'm at home.

sorry, mom.

so i bring to you a little video.

just click here.

it's only 1 minute and 45 seconds

and will change your life forever.

it's not to deter you from eating strawberries, no i would never do that, rather to deter you from eating unwashed [or unproperly washed] strawberries.

enjoy.

the sunday morning post, 23rd ed.

*ad: looking for a place to live? in Huntington Beach? 2 miles from the beach? check this out. Erin and Sara are moving [closer to the beach--downtown, yessss!]*

the week wrap-up

(one)

my best friend came to town for the weekend.

we didn't take any pictures. what a shame.

so here's one of us from 2008 at an Angel's game--me wearing g.ma's hat {she's pretty obsessed with the A's, another reason to love her.}

(two)

last weekend was one of my two favorite weekend's of the year.

General Conference!

and erin and i got to go!

i snaked us some tickets outside the conference center sunday morning.

it's always SO good to be there.

click to watch it.

i'll be watching it again this week--a little everyday.

and downloading it to the podski to listen to in the car [my favorite]

can't get enough.

words from living Apostles and Prophets,

like President Thomas S. Monson [below]

I know he is the Lord's Prophet on the Earth today. The word of the Lord is revealed to us through him, which is why we love General Conference so much.

(three)

General Conference

was on Easter.

made both all the better.

and we had a lovely Easter dinner.

and we had some Easter festivities, aka an Egg-stravaganza.

and we dyed eggs

and made rice krispy treat eggs.

and then we balanced Easter eggs.

quite the feat.

meanwhile...

Dana took these amazing pictures

at Aunt Julie's house where the fam + Sara went for dinner.

and to celebrate g.ma's bday.

remember the gift we got her?

and they had an Easter egg hunt.

(four)

i found these on j.crew sale the other day.

but they are out of my price range.

by a lot.

well actually, everything is out of my price range.

one more year, right momma!?

but, as usually, donations are always accepted.

(five)

this was a super busy week.

last day of classes is tomorrow! then finals start friday!

anyway, i wasn't able to make it to the temple until friday evening.

and i walked out to this.

{from my phone}

(six)

lyndi and i stopped by Honk's {$1 store)

friday night for some work gloves

and we just decided to go up and down every isle.

and i got these cool popsicle things.

and lyndi got a squirt gun.

(seven)

President Ward has been at the MTC in Provo lately and is leaving Wednesday for Panama to be a mission president there.

this man [and his nephew] is high adventure.

so 6.30 am Saturday morning we rolled out of bed and met him at Rock Canyon for a hike.

and he led us to this SUPER STEEP mountain. covered in rocks.

and we hiked up it. and with each step we would slip down a little.

and then we "skied" / slid down.

it was SO fun.

will be doing it again soon.

and the view was SO beautiful.

utah is a BEAUTIFUL place.

sometimes i can't handle how beautiful it is.

all of God's creations.

it was the best.

(eight)

then we went to our stake service project at 8.30am.

it was so fun. i absolutely love service projects.

our group was cutting sticks in a ditch and cleaning out the trash.

and we carried all of the sticks out.

and here's lyndi with one of many loads of sticks.

(nine)

and saturday night, dana, corrie, lyndi and i went to rock canyon park [which is pretty much a big bowl] and dana played her guitar and we sang and we lied on our backs and looked at the stars and chatted and it was perfect.

and lyndi brought her squirt gun [enough said about that].

and i didn't feel like walking down the hill so i just rolled down on the grass.

it was so fun.

and the weather was PERFECT yesterday--65! and it will be today (supposed to be like 70!)

and it was sunny. and it's just SPRING time!

and everyone is out running and going for bike rides and walks.

{and my long run was so enjoyable yesterday for that reason.}

and playing outside at night and having fun and i loooooove the spring time!

it's nice having seasons here in utah.

unlike ca. {but then again, there's no beach here. oh how i miss it.}

[man i can talk a lot. or write, i guess. both. i just have so much to say. it's nice to get some of it out.]

have a fabulous Sabbath, my favorite day of the week.

and a fabulous week.