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The end.

2011-12-16T18:57:00.000-07:00

The semester is done. It was a bad one as far as grades go, but I don't regret the classes I took. I love what I have learned.

World Religions - I gained an appreciation for all religions and understand more of the eastern culture that accompanies many of those religions. I love seeing God's hand in the beliefs and lives of all of His children. I know better how to represent my own faith tradition because I now know how it compares to others.
Korean History - I love thinking about how little I knew of Korea compared to what I now know after my modern Korean history class. It's cool to go from total ignorance to at least some understanding. I'll spare you the details though because I could go on forever about that class.
History of Science - I love the perspective I've gotten from my history of science class. It has been really cool to map out the evolution of thought and argumentation in everything from the systems in the cosmos to the workings of human brain. It's crazy to think of the intellectual development that we inherit just by being socialized into our culture at this time. It's incredible to then realize that what we know is very little to everything that God knows. It's even more incredible to think of our own potential to become omniscient through God's plan.
World Geography - I loved the professor's stories. I could probably still fill out the various map quizzes for as long as my short-term memory holds out. Yet, I don't feel like I've learned many new ideas. I did like the professor's perspective on the Israeli-Palestinean conflict, though, very interesting.

My grades will be bad, though. I'm getting burned out on school. It was easier to be motivated for school when I worked somewhere that didn't satisfy my career desires. It has been harder to stay focused on school this semester since I'm already doing what I want to do. But I know that school is important and I will finish it!

On the positive side, I have learned sooo much at Summit. I learn so much every single day. Today I said goodbye to two of my students. They were happy goodbyes since one girl gets to go live with her little brother and the other guy has straightened up enough to go home to his family. I'm going to miss them. I'm also working with another teacher to track down one of our students that was relocated. We're going to see if we can visit him together.

Every day I pray that I can make some difference in my students' lives, and it is so amazing how Heavenly Father just fills me with love for them all. They can swear at me, hit on me, flip me off, ignore me, hug me, listen to me, or completely blow me off, but I really care for all of them. Some of them are really genuine and others are really good manipulators, but I still love them. I have grown so much, I am definitely not the person I was before this job. The only downside is that I am completely desensitized to swearing. I don't use profanity myself, but I hate that I hear it so casually.

Family, Isn't It About...

2011-11-04T16:28:00.001-06:00

Time. Family Time!
I'm lucky to have my family live so close. I get to see them a lot. I also have the chance to be a part of a few pseudo-families trying to fill the needs when blood relations aren't readily available. So here are some of my family updates.

- The Wood Family -

October included general conference in Holden, Mom's birthday, a cabin trip with Sierra and Harper, cheering Mom on at the Provo halloween half marathon, the Wood family halloween dinner, a traditional halloween visit to Grandpa and Grandma Burnett, and plenty of family dinners and afternoons doing laundry at the parents' house. Lots of fun!

- The College Family -

Some of my roommates and friends have little or no family in Utah, so we build up little networks of pseudo-families to help fill the need. A roommate needed help recovering from ACL surgery and needs rides to work, school, and physical therapy. A friend needs someone to vent at. Another friend needs someone to go get treats with and unload their frustrations. One of my roommates is in a family science class and needed to do a family tradition and write a paper about it, so all 6 of us roommates went out to eat and celebrated all our birthdays at once. The family tradition was everyone saying what they loved about the birthday person, so we took turns telling what we loved about each other. Great tradition! Mostly college students can get wrapped up in work and school and the loneliness sets in. Even though they call, facebook, or skype their family, it really helps to have a support network nearby to call on when life is hard.

- The Summit Family -

Where to even begin? For many of the students, they see their teachers and classmates more hours in the day than their foster or proctor families, and certainly more than their actual families. The learning at Summit doesn't start and end with standard curriculum. Some impromptu lessons this month? Let me see... interviewing skills, accountability, substance abuse, respect for women, mending relationships, proper theatre etiquette (at Thriller), valuing other people for who they are (at school campout, music class concert), and how to have fun (Chess tournament, Halloween faculty flashmob, Halloweiner roast). My students also like to ask me about what my life is like. I think the most attentive and behaved they ever were was when they asked me about what my life plans are and what I value in a relationship. It's like they are starving to know what a healthy, well-adjusted life is, even though their attitudes usually prevent the lesson from sinking in.

Sometimes the lesson works the other way. Today my students taught me about family. Tony walked into class, buried his head in his hoodie, and was silent for the first part of class. Lorenzo pops up out of his chair like usual (I swear I'm going to duct tape that kid down). He goes over to Tony and asks him why he's sad on his birthday. Tony mumbles out that he misses his family. Lorenzo then takes up a quick cash collection and gets a note from me to go to the vending machine. He comes back with chocolate for Tony and leads the class in the birthday song. Then he tells Tony that he'll be his family and gives him a big hug. It's really sad to see what happens when families fail and kids end up in the system, but sometimes we have small moments of success like this one.

I also love the faculty I work with. When I need teaching advice they are full of good ideas that work! Then there are the school's counselors and administrators who psychoanalyze my life and give me dating advice, whether I want it or not. Haha, I love them too. One of the school activities coming up that I'm looking forward to is a Girls' Night Out. All the girl students are invited and asked to bring a father figure with them. I don't know what's planned, but I'm sure it'll be good since the invitation asked the father figures to wear pink, haha!

I'm so lucky to have my family, my college family, and my Summit family!

My Music Moods

2011-09-22T13:11:00.000-06:00

A picture is worth 1,000 words, but I don't currently have a camera. SO a moving picture with lyrics and music must be worth much more. Here are some current favorites.

Penguin: Christina Perri

Someone Like You: Adele

(Also Set Fire to the Rain, Make You Feel My Love, and Turning Tables all by Adele)

Hold Me: Jamie Grace

Did You Know?

2011-09-14T23:19:00.000-06:00

It only takes an 9.5 minute walk from my front door to my M-W-F classes, but 17 minutes to my T-Th classes.

It is possible to spend all day hiccuping, even in the silent library and between sentences while giving FHE tours at the BYU Museum of Peoples and Cultures.

It can take up to 3 visits and loads of phone calls to accomplish a 15 minute paperwork and fingerprinting process with Alpine School District. I love my home district, but it can be messed up sometimes.

It is possible to win in the game of roommate roulette. I went into a 6 girl apartment without knowing the girls, and I love them all!

It is also possible to love all your classes! I have Comparative World Religions, Modern Korean History, History of Science, and World Geography.

Did you know that God puts people in our life who genuinely care? I have the best bishop, the kindest principle/boss, the most positive co-workers, and supportive roommates and friends.

Sometimes I wonder why I was even hired to teach math, especially to my type of students, so I asked the ones who hired me. The principle said he liked my coaching experience and my positive attitude. The assistant principle said I've got that "It" that you can't teach a teacher. The supervising math teacher said she knew I could think on my feet and really care about my students. After a rough class I have to remind myself of those things. After a good class I am just walking on cloud 9 and start believing what they said.

It's also very possible to take on more than you can handle, or not handle your stress properly and develop stomach pains and complete loss of appetite and nausea and find yourself threatening to get emotional over the stupidest things. However, just when things were building to an unforeseen breaking point my friends, roommates, boss, and bishop all happened to want to talk to me about life. Solid counsel and healthier stress management has led to a return of appetite, easing of the stomach pains, and a more level-headed me - all in one week!

Hike to the Summit

2011-08-24T20:29:00.000-06:00

After only 2 days of classes so far, I LOVE MY JOB!!!
I love the students. I do have to remind them to keep their language clean and respectful. I also have a new rule "No War Stories." Gang affiliations and bragging about criminal pasts are not part of our math curriculum and don't make for a positive learning environment. The shocker is that they actually listen to me! That may wear off as we get further into the year, but for now there's some respect in there.

Favorite snippets:

One kid asked me before class, "If you go to BYU does that mean you're religious?" "Yep!" His response was "Hmmmm that's cool."

After a seriously good discussion about why swearing is offensive another kid said, "Why do I care if 'society' doesn't like that word? Society doesn't like me. I'm a criminal." He said this with that proud bad boy attitude, emphasizing that he's a dangerous criminal. "Well, welcome to Summit where we don't just like you, but we love you and there's nothing you can do about it. We care too much to let you fail." [I can't be given credit for those words, they're something of a motto for all the staff.]

On Wednesdays we are supposed to push reading, no matter our subject. I was surprised that these kids have done some good reading already. It's usually because anyone will read if they're bored at D.T. or a restrictive foster home. We discussed some quotes about reading, and it was a really good discussion. Like really good. They even had some good book suggestions for me.

I know that things will get really hard, but I instantly love all my students, even the real punks. To be honest, some of them are really awesome and have real character potential.

I feel like our school emblem perfectly describes the challenges of faculty and students in overcoming huge obstacles to succeed:

Interesting Inservice

2011-08-19T21:19:00.002-06:00

Last week I got a position teaching math part-time at Summit High School.
I'm still in shock that I got it; here's why: over 60 people applied for my type of position, including certified teachers and a district employee of the year. Out of those 60 only 4 were hired, including me.

I'm only teaching algebra so that's manageable, right? Well I'm also floored that I got the job because this isn't just any high school. My students are wards of the state in group homes, foster care, and proctor care. Not all wards of the state in Utah County come to us though, just the ones with disorders, learning disabilities, attitude problems, or sex offenses. Wow, um no big deal, I can do it, right? Aaauugh!

Fun Facts I learned at Inservice:

Don't have blue or red pens, notebooks, or school supplies. A shipment of personal whiteboards had to be sent back because of the color association with the bloods and the crips. If it's an offensive color, the students refuse to touch it.
Be very careful helping students with, say, a bloody nose because chances are they have AIDS.
I learned when and how to use an epi pen. It's not just for anaphylaxis. If my students are asthmatic they won't have inhalers because they can't afford it. If it's a serious attack an epi pen shot can keep them breathing until they can get to a hospital.
I am supposed to pay attention to which students are consecutively sick. If a student is always sick then we have to call their proctor/guardian to make sure their health needs aren't being neglected.
I'm supposed to integrate technology with the school's sets of Ipads and Macbooks, but I can't assign internet or computer-based homework. These kids don't have computers or internet.
No Parent-Teacher Conferences. Issues are to be taken to case-workers, proctor parents, or foster parents.
Kids raised in gangs, abusive homes, or such like that don't just give out respect. I have to earn their respect before they'll even listen to me.
The hardest thing about Summit, that I've been warned about, is caring too much that it swallows up my life.

Many of my students will end up in prison, very few will graduate, and a very select few will go to college. That's encouraging. The school is tiny, but I've never seen such dedicated faculty. I mean, really, these people I work with are phenomenal. Just think of those tear-jerking inspiring teacher movies, those are the people I work with! They seriously love these kids. Sometimes they are the closest thing to family for them. That bond is shared between staff members too, instead of a faculty room we have "the family room." I'm terrified that my students will eat me alive, but I know that every staff member has my back, if not they wouldn't be working at Summit. I'm so grateful to have gotten this job. Like my new principle said, "If you can teach here, you can teach anywhere." My next blog post will probably be me venting about how overwhelmed I am once things get underway. Please be patient with me if that's the case, and if you have any suggestions I'd love them!

Un Partido de Futbol

2011-07-15T14:03:00.000-06:00

Since we have a lot of Hispanic friends, we have been watching some of the Copa America soccer tournament. Colombian Chris wanted us to witness a game with his very patriotic mama so we made an evening of it. First was eating Arepas Colombianas from a vendor in Sandy and latin dancing in the parking lot while waiting for the food.

It was fun to use Spanish again! Chris told us we had to wear Colombian colors of red, blue, or yellow. I just used the shirt from the freedom run even though it looked like it was from Chile. The game was really rough and intense between Argentina and Colombia, but it ended 0-0. Apparently this was good for Colombia and bad for Argentina.

The Freedom Run

2011-07-15T13:47:00.000-06:00

The Wood Family 5k runners this year were Mama, Jake, Me, Rebecca, and Andrea. Long-legged Becca had the fastest time for our family. Jake pulled off another "I think I'll run it in my normal clothes and shoes. Why not?" Mom ran it like the trooper she is and did well in her division. Corry woke up sick that morning and couldn't come. Andrea and I had run the course 2 days before to get used to the uphill finish. During the practice run I had to pull her along. During the real race she pulled me along. Since Andrea was my running buddy, I only have pictures of us.

The little gazelle with her iPod.

Before the run.

Finishers! The 5k was surprisingly fun. Friends and neighbors and pre-parade watchers cheer you along. Occasionally there would be music blasting along the parade/run route. Lots of fun!

Summer So Far

2011-06-22T18:29:00.000-06:00

Lacrosse with Becca, of course. I'm also working to put together a Utah Valley Girls Lacrosse community network to start and maintain junior league teams to feed into all the high school teams, to get Utah Lacrosse Association clinics in the public school P.E. classes, and to get all of the Utah Valley teams on the same page as far as communication and growth is concerned. I've had really good response so far, exciting! American Fork, Lone Peak, Orem, and Timpanogos are all on board so far!

Hanging out.

Work.

Orem Summerfest with Kayla.

Playing with this kid and Garrett and Evelyn.

Hiking.

The snow tunnel below Stewart Falls.

We're going in there? Please don't collapse in the warm melty weather...

More of Stewart Falls.

Andrea and Lila at the Carillon Bells Concert.

This is how the little boys enjoyed the Carillon Bells Concert.

Sometimes I just love all the random things that the Orem/Provo/BYU area has to offer.

Evelyn and her big gorgeous eyes!

Bean Museum yet again, just because Lila had never been before. It doesn't matter how many times I've been; it's still classic.

Benjamin and Garrett planted their plastic cows in their little garden plot. It's a different sort of dairy farm.

Decisions, Decisions

2011-06-13T23:54:00.001-06:00

I don't like making life-changing choices. Right now I'm thinking about whether to serve a mission or not. That means I'd have to take Fall semester off to work to pay for it. Taking Fall semester off and then deferring for a mission means postponing school, which means I'll be in school forever. When I get back everyone my age will be done with school and moving on with their lives. That sounds selfish though, I want to be a missionary, and I want to make sure it's for the right reasons. I also need to know that I can afford it because I still want to maintain my goal of graduating with no debt. So far, so good. I still don't know what to do though. There's also the small matter of the fact that my mother would like more grandchildren. She informed me that "the Spirit better knock you over the head before you decide." Choices, choices.

Hello World

2011-04-22T13:44:00.000-06:00

It's been awhile.

School
School was not so bueno this semester. Even though I was only taking 9 credits, I spread myself too thin on other things and didn't give my education the attention it deserves. Why am I so irresponsible?!

Work
We started new quality teams at work, and I have been one of the team leads of the scripting team. I love the extra responsibility, but sometimes I bring work concerns home which isn't my favorite. I also am on a company-wide service committee. It's good yet scary, because it pushes me out of my comfort zone to coordinate with other businesses and organizations for a big day of service in July.

Coaching
Coaching the lacrosse team has been a blast. Our win-loss record is 7-2, so we've had a good season thus far. Yesterday we had one of BYU's former defenders work with the team. The girls' defensive fieldwork looks so much better! Now we need to jumpstart our offensive plays. Tonight is our team barbecue and retreat, and I'm almost afraid to sleep over with the team. I just know someone will try to pull a prank on Coach Maggie and me. I just know it.

Museum Tours
My favorite tour at the museum so far was for Alpine School District's literacy program. None of the kids (or their parents) spoke any English. It was an adventure trying to explain the exhibit: "Anthropologists say... Oh blast, that word is too big." I also loved working with the families, boy scouts, activity day groups and students that come through the museum.

P.S. - Our new exhibit on Mayan textiles opens on Tuesday, wahoo!

Whoa. That's Crazy.

2011-03-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

Even though I have grown up in the era of fast-changing technology, sometimes it makes me stop and say, "Whoa. That's crazy."

This morning in Spanish class, my friend asked me if I heard about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan that just happened. At the time I thought it was crazy that we already knew about it halfway around the world. Then I checked msn.com for the story. They already had not just photos and video footage, but interactive tools and maps, with links connecting to anything you could want to know about it. I mean that's expected of online news sources, but still that is crazy to think about the photographers, reporters, editors, web designers, programmers, and management that worked to give me credible information so quickly.

One of the side stories on msn.com just blew my mind - Google's crisis response page. Holy cow. It includes updated government alarms and warnings, bulletins and message boards, transportation information, power-outage information, and get this - a person finder! The idea isn't totally new, but it's nuts to see technology in action like that.

Just so you know, as of the time of this post, the Church reports that in 5 of the 6 missions in Japan every missionary is safe and accounted for. The last mission they are waiting to here from is near the epicenter where communication systems are down.

To me it seems like the best application for the speed of information that the internet gives us is so we can respond faster and better in order to save lives and aid in the recovery of infrastructures, which also keeps governments and economies stable, which makes the world a safer place.

I expect that the next wave of information will be ways that we can help. So let's help.

Spring Fever

2011-02-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

All it took was a few days with tropical 40 degree weather, and now all I can think about is kite-flying, walks up the canyon, picnics at the park, frisbee games, and my favorite flowers - tulips and daffodils.

(Here is also one of my favorite Wordsworth poems about Daffodils)

What is really going to get me is when Macey's puts out the cheap plastic kites, big rubber balls, bottles of soapy bubbles, and the rainbow-colored jump-ropes in their the seasonal section. And once they put out their Easter stuff, I'm totally done for.

I can't wait until Spring!!!

January Happenings

2011-01-29T10:45:00.001-07:00

So it's about time I post, with or without pictures.

Hmmm. Where to begin?

Let's see, I am only taking 9 credits this semester since I am working about 30 hours per week.

As far as school goes, I love my Spanish class, now that I switched into the right level. I especially love that class because my teacher is a fellow Orem girls lacrosse player and is friends with some of my favorite people!
My Doctrine and Covenants professor was a missionary back east when my mom's family lived in New York. I think my grandpa was a counselor in the mission presidency so he got to know the Burnett's and was thrilled to see the grandkid of Reid Burnett in his class.
My Utah history class is definitely a favorite. The professor is incredibly good. He has the fun job of dealing with a topic that is absolutely loaded with biases at BYU. Although, a majority of the students who go into that class have a narrow opinion of Utah. For those of us from around here it is a bit disheartening. Personally, I like my state. It's home. It's beautiful. I love how much geographic variety there is. I can even make it through the winter when I remember how much I love the summer. And I happen to love the people here.

So what have I done this January?
I finally watched all 3 Bourne movies. I was reluctantly converted to watching Avatar: The Last Airbender. I started coaching the Timpanogos girls lacrosse team. It's been fun to be Becca's coach. She's going to be a great player, especially since she has an amazing attitude at practice. I helped put on my best friend's bridal shower. The best part is that we brought together our old ring of girls from the good old days at Canyon View Jr. High. It was so good to see them all! And of course we had loads of fun at The Soup Kitchen (our apartment). Our place has an uncanny ability of attracting people. Whether it's for sharing dinner, watching movies, P90X, morning scripture study, impromptu game nights, homework help, or ukulele jam sessions, our door is always open and our couches are usually full. You would think that it would be annoying sometimes, but it makes our apartment a home.

Well that is all, so ta ta for now!

Christmas of Course

2010-12-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all of the thoughtful presents!
In honor of the Christmas pajama tradition started by Grandma Wood, Mom got us all t-shirts to open on Christmas Eve. I so kindly got pictures of everyone before they got ready on Christmas morning.

The highlights of the morning included skyping to see Steph, Joseph, and the little ones open their presents in Alabama. Garrett loved the "Digger Dog" from his Grandma Wood. Benjamin was the master wrapping ripper, in his own words: "Come on, come on, come on!"

Later we skyped again because Steph wanted to see my reaction to my parents' gift. I was afraid to disappoint them with an "Oh thank you. That's so sweet." But have no fear, I didn't even have to play up my shock and surprise. My mom and dad had seen that former President Bush was coming for the book signing at the Sandy Cosco. They saw it on the news the night before, so they made instant arrangements and had my mom leave immediately to go wait outside in the cold for 13 hours, buy the book, shake his hand, and absolutely make my Christmas with a signed copy. I'm so jealous of her meeting him, but I couldn't have gotten work off anyway. I'm pretty sure I have the best parents ever.

This Post is for Steph

2010-12-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

Check out the video below my posts. It's an animation of a beautifully choreographed dance, created by an animator and a choreographer at BYU.

Friends.Theives.Finals.

2010-12-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

Some of the girls that came to my birthday bash.

Brittany, Lindsey, and Sarah.

Yes they made my cake look like the flag.

Zach, Keith, and David M.

We love these guys!

This guy kidnapped my teddy bear and held it for ransom.

Yes, we paid the ransom.

Our nativity is lacking a baby Jesus, but I have Ben the bear back!

Bowling night at ward home evening.

The dear, sweet girl next to me heard that David stole my teddy bear...

So she stole my two jumbo teddy bears, demanding a candy ransom.

Broomball with the guys!

We play this way too much, but it's so much fun. And we dominate.

Ice skating at Peaks Arena for a ward activity.

Between broomball and ice skating, we spend a lot of time at the ice rink.

Friends at yet another ward activity to see the lights on Temple Square.

And now I must study for my last three finals.

Ugh.

This is me procrastinating and blogging instead.

A Bit of a Blur

2010-11-15T15:36:00.000-07:00

I would like to update you all on what's up, but I really can't remember. The days and weeks sort of run together. I know that Halloween was fun. We went to a few dance parties. I took Andrea and some of her friends around their neighborhood. School has been life-consuming, but great at the same time. I wrote my very first lesson plan in place of a paper for my world history class. That was really fun. I much prefer lesson plans to papers! Teresa and I have found ourselves in an awesome ward. There is always something going on, but I need to exercise a little more restraint so my grades will be better. I also haven't been getting all of the sleep I need, but that is all my own fault. My goal this week is to be in bed at 10 pm every weekday. It is so hard, but I am determined.

So yesterday I visited my parents' ward because it was Andrea's last primary program. She did marvelous! It was fun to see all my favorite kids again. My friend Melissa asked me to help teach her primary class since her fellow teacher wasn't there. It was so fun to teach in primary again! I love my calling now, but primary is a special place. Right now I'm a home evening group leader or an FHE Mom. My ward divided the groups up huge, so there are about 40 people in my group. We usually get about 10 to 15 people at any given activity. I'm not very good at planning ahead, so it takes all my creativity to come up with activities.

Here's a picture of the group having a Rain Gutter Sundae.

Tonight we are going to make nativities and then we'll enjoy Tim Tam Slams.

Tender Mercies

2010-10-11T16:51:00.000-06:00

Every once in a while something comes along to remind me how fragile and painful life can be. What amazes me is when Heavenly Father tests me just to my breaking point and then surrounds me with love and blessings. Right now I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with that love.

So back in May I went to the dentist and left with some intense tooth pain that was especially sensitive to temperature, but the pain slowly eased and just became an occasional annoyance. Then last week the pain came back full force. I promised myself that I would make an appointment when the dental office opened up after the weekend. But oh what a weekend that was. Friday night we had a ward camp out, with cold weather that did quite a number on the nerves in my mouth. Saturday I slept basically all day to avoid the hurting. Sunday started okay, but by night-time I had reached my limit. I had used up every level of my pain tolerance. I was incredibly frustrated that one stupid tooth could make it so I couldn't even function.

Are you wondering where the tender mercies come in? Well let me tell you. On the drive back from camping I was able to lose myself in singing with a car full of friends, singing so hard that I couldn't remember the toothache/headache/earache. Then, even though I slept it off all day Saturday I was still able to sleep that night, which was a miracle. And Sunday? Sunday was amazing. We had the most memorable ward conference at church. I was able to feel the Spirit all three hours, hearing the exact words that I needed to hear. That night the Stake Presidency put on a fireside-style ward prayer. It was an amazing meeting that left me brimming with peace and joy.

Later, after we had hung out with some ward friends, I had reached my limit and was sorta sobbing like a baby on the floor. Luckily I have roommates that are so caring and naturally nurturing. They asked some guys in the ward to give me a priesthood blessing. Thanks to that blessing I actually slept last night and handled a lot more pain than I could have on my own. It turns out that I have to have a root canal, but I don't really care. Somehow this weekend was strengthening and I am now so grateful for loving roommates, inspired church speakers, worthy priesthood holders, my grandfatherly dentist, my dad who is so generously covering the bill, and last but not least - I am so grateful for Lortab!

Yep. That's My Major

2010-09-29T17:55:00.000-06:00

It amazes me sometimes that Heavenly Father leads us through choices so gradually that we don't see it happening. When I was in junior high, I had no idea what I wanted to with my life. My grades weren't the best, so I was surprised when I was invited to one of those award assemblies. It turned out that Mr. Crow, my history teacher, gave me an award for excellence in his class. The award wasn't a big deal; most kids got them, but the biggest compliment was after the assembly. I happened to run into him - he told me that someday I would make an awesome history teacher. I thanked him, but didn't seriously think about it.

Fast forward a few years to junior year of high school. I still didn't have any life plans, which really frustrated me. That year I was taking the required U.S. history class and it started to dawn on me that I enjoyed history a little too much. This became all too apparent when I was putting the finishing touches on my personal history paper for the class. I was setting up the table of contents and was shocked to realize that I had typed almost 70 pages and enjoyed every minute of it.

After taking AP U.S. history during my last year of high school, I finally realized that for some reason Heavenly Father gave me a passion for history. Maybe it's a side effect of the hearts of the children turning to their fathers (Malachi 4:6).

It's funny because now it seems so obvious. Like, here's your sign! For example, you know you're a history nerd when:

You explain the ins and outs of the Articles of Confederation over lunch to help a work friend with an assignment.
You volunteer at a museum for the sheer fun of it
Your family gives you books about the Civil War for Christmas
You help your roommate's friend study for a midterm while falling asleep. When she asks you about Islam you reply, "Well it all started when..."
You enjoy endless rounds of the game "Which Obscure Person in History Has Their Name Taped on My Back?" (20 questions style) at a history department social
You find videos like this absolutely entertaining

You've Got Mail

2010-09-12T00:08:00.000-06:00

My all-time favorite movie that I could watch over and over is You've Got Mail with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. The music is classic. The characters are perfect. The quotes are memorable. I was thinking about my favorite quote and looked it up on IMDb - the Internet Movie Database.

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address."

So, using my favorite quotes from my favorite movie, here is an overdue update of what's up.

"People are always saying that change is a good thing. But all they're really saying is that something you didn't want to happen at all, has happened."
Here are the changes for me that I wasn't so fond of - new (used) car, new ward, new school year, new morning shift at work.

"I have you to thank for it. For the first time in my life, when confronted with a horrible, insensitive person, I knew exactly what I wanted to say and I said it."
This is why I like Teresa as a roommate. She's not horrible or anything, it's just that I can be totally honest with her.

"I'm going to get some eucalyptus candles 'cause it makes my apartment smell moss-ay!"
Haha. I just love this quote.

"Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave?"
I'm thinking of coaching lacrosse in the Spring and I'm also training to be a docent at the BYU Museum of Peoples and Cultures. Both are volunteer positions, but I think it's time I start getting some new experiences.

"You think this machine is your friend but it's not."
My computer hates me sometimes.

"When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does."
And no reading can ever compare textbook reading. Ugh.

"You poor, sad, multimillionaire. I feel so sorry for you."
Haha. I love being a broke college student. Frugality takes on a whole new meaning.

"Do you ever feel you've become the worst version of yourself? That a Pandora's box of all the secret, hateful parts - your arrogance, your spite, your condescension - has sprung open? Someone upsets you and instead of smiling and walking away, you zing them? "Hello, it's Mr Nasty." I'm sure you have no idea what I'm talking about."
Yeah, this only happens around my family. Why do I feel obligated to zing them?

"The odd thing about this form of communication is that you're more likely to talk about nothing than something. But I just want to say that all this nothing has meant more to me than so many somethings."
This is how I feel about reading my cousins' blogs. It's nice to stay connected and know what's going on with everybody.

My Poor Car

2010-08-05T13:40:00.000-06:00

My car is basically done for.
All the king's horses, and all the kings men, aren't going to pull this Humpty Dumpty back together again.

It'll be sad when it eventually gets hauled to the wrecker. I mean this car is a veteran. It went through our neighbors and their son Mark. Then Mark left on his mission, and my dad bought it to be passed from Steph to Corry to Jake to Teresa to me. It has been one of those classic, undependable teenage cars. Really, if you think about all of the parts we've replaced on it, it's basically brand new.

Not to get all sentimental about a hunk of metal, but so much of my teenage life was lived in that car. The trunk was always filled with lacrosse stuff and goalie gear. The backseat was like a second clothes closet. On the rear-view mirror I put up two solid promises that came out of fortune cookies. "You will soon achieve perfection," and "You will reach the highest level of intelligence." I'm gonna miss looking up at those before changing lanes.

The funniest thing is that much of my meager progress in high school came from a habit of praying before I turned the ignition. The thing is, I am a terrible driver and am not afraid to admit it. When I first got the car keys I thought I would be the death of some poor pedestrian, so I started praying before pulling out. That one habit made all the difference in high school.

Here is my car after Melissa got to it on my 18th birthday.

Here is a lovely view from my window after some kind person practiced aiming their BB gun while I was at the church.

Teenage cars, like childhood friends, are hard to let go of.

Well I just had the Scariest Adventure

2010-07-28T23:20:00.004-06:00

As I sat here at my desk, ringing the water out of my hair, my friend Megan popped up on Facebook chat. She asked me what was up. This was my reply. Well I edited it, a bit.

I have been riding my bike between Orem and Provo for work since my car is dead...

Tonight I procrastinated until after dark to ride back home to my apartment. I was wearing black which wasn't smart, so the whole way across Orem I was being extra cautious. Then I reached the hill between 800 E. in Orem to that shopping plaza below, in Provo. There were NO lights alongside that section of university parkway. I found myself riding into a black abyss being hit by high-power, invisible sprinklers.

So I cried out a desperate "WHY?!" to the universe after getting a face full of water. I immediately felt foolish for hollering like that. But Oh well. I'm alone, right? Nobody heard me...

Just then I pulled alongside two other bikers, as my yell was still dying out of the air.

They laughed and exchanged the sort of pleasantries that made me realize that these folks were the scary type of hobos on bikes, smoking who knows what.

So I was nice but rode on ahead.

However, I couldn't really ride on ahead because I really couldn't see. I had to stop because the passing headlights were blinding me over the dividing wall, making the trail pitch black.

So then these nice scary hobos let me ride in the beam of the flashlights attached to their bikes. Because they were smart enough to have flashlights attached to their bikes, and they informed me that a person could be ticketed by the Provo Police for not having one. This was news to me, but I see the wisdom in it.

They offered to ride with me to my apartment, but I declined and declined and declined and declined. They weren't being pushy; I just get the feeling that whatever was wafting through the air from the end of their smoke was confusing them a little. The conversation was a little redundant and repetitive and redundant again.

Well my new friends and I parted ways, then I continued on to my comfortable, dry apartment and to a satisfying "The End."

Bridal Veil Falls

2010-07-20T11:57:00.000-06:00

In Honor of the Holiday

2010-07-04T23:50:00.001-06:00

I could share some of my thoughts on patriotism, the American War for Independence, appreciation for military, or even just the importance of learning our history. However, I think that might bore you to tears, so I'll just share this wonderfully enlightening video.

Too Late to Apologize: A Declaration

What Cute Kids!

2010-06-22T19:43:00.000-06:00

Mama's Apron Debut

2010-06-09T21:36:00.001-06:00

Have you heard the rumors of my mom's aprons? Well they are adorable and their debut will be soon. Lucky you, you get a sneak preview. These are a few of my pictures of Benjamin modeling the boy version of her aprons.

Books, Babies, and Brilliant Music

2010-06-04T23:45:00.004-06:00

I know I am enjoying Summer when I find myself reading these words, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." For those of you who aren't fans of Jane Austen, this is the opening line to Pride and Prejudice. Every year I have to revisit my favorites: Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility. Am I just such a girl or what? One year for my birthday, my dear Mother bought the complete works for me so I wouldn't have to borrow Steph's copy anymore. Instead of getting the same one that Steph has, she bought me this huge book that is bright red, heavier than a small child, and as ornate as an old family Bible. Thus it has been dubbed "The Jane Austen Bible." It's an absolute treasure, but too embarassing to actually read it in public.

Last night Andrea, Rebecca, and Teresa all joined me in a Sister Party at my apartment. This morning we got a call from Stephanie with the results of her ultrasound. She put Benjamin on speaker phone so he could tell us whether the baby will be a boy or girl. His message - "She's a boy." Haha, nice. She's actually a girl.

On the 29th, back in May, I went with my parents and friends to see Foreigner, Kansas, and Styx. Here are my disjointed thoughts:

Amazing. Incredible.
I can't even begin to share all of my favorite songs, but I just about died when Kansas performed Dust in the Wind. At that point I was only 10 feet from the stage. It was beautiful.
Foreigner was fantastic. A lot higher energy than Kansas and so so entertaining. The lead vocalist just decided to climb up the side of the lighting supports and was right above us. If he had fallen we would've been crushed - that's how close we were!
Styx! They really know how to put on a show. Come Sail Away couldn't have been better, and Lady was perfect, just perfect.

Ugh, there's so much more that's been going on, but I don't have the pictures...sorry!

The Best Stories

2010-05-14T00:46:00.001-06:00

The best stories are the ones that are true and also teach us truths. Right now I am reading a book that I got for my birthday back in December - Behind the Iron Curtain: Recollections of Latter-Day Saints in East Germany, 1945-1989.
The stories are just amazing. What makes them more amazing is that they aren't works of fiction. They will probably never make a major Hollywood feature, but they offer a glimpse into the lives of one group of people who went through trials and were blessed for their faith.

For example, during the bombing of Dresden, Germany by Allied forces, at the end of World War II, many people fled to a nearby river to escape the burning city. An LDS family was running through the chaos, trying to stay together. The mother and her daughters fell behind and came to a fork in the road. On one hand was an open and wide street that looked like a better option than the cramped streets that her husband had chose. After a moment's frantic indecision, a daughter said, "Let's follow Dad. He has the priesthood." So they did. When they reached their destination they saw a sobbing elderly woman, their neighbor. She told them that her husband had run down that wide, innocent-looking street. Unknown to them, the street was covered by liquid phosphorous from a bomb. The woman's husband was burned alive, and so would have the mother and daughters if it weren't for that moment's pause and the daughter's determination to follow her dad and the priesthood. Amid the tragedy and destruction of the bombing, there are stories like this one small act of faith that saved lives. These are the kind of stories that remind us how raw and fragile life is, but they also remind us that Heavenly Father is in charge.

Exciting Times

2010-05-06T14:11:00.000-06:00

So, living at my parents' house had been frustrating because I had absolutely no social life. Well basically no social life. Also, my Dad asked that I stay in the family ward for a year, so there were not many peers at church either. Everyone said that would change when I moved out...and it's so true! I love it! I don't even have to make plans; they just happen.

My new ward is really welcoming, although I wasn't exactly into the whole Star Wars party on the roof thing. Who knew that "May the 4th Be With You" was a holiday? (I even saw Jiffy Lube's scrolling marquee that said "Lube...I am your father.")

But better than that...

I Am Excited For

Roommate Bonding w/Bones

Institute Party

History Block Party

(yep, that's right)

Bi-Stake Dance

Mother's Day

Steph and the Boys Coming

THE WEDDING

Finally getting my cell phone

and...

WARM WEATHER!

Do You Feel Validated?

2010-05-03T13:50:00.002-06:00

I love this YouTube video! It makes me happy.

< Insert Title Here >

2010-05-01T18:52:00.000-06:00

I moved into my apartment on Monday.
I am now adjusted to feeding myself and all that good stuff. (I've only eaten Ramen noodles twice)
I am pretty sure that just about everything is only around the corner from our apartment building - Taco Bell, McDonald's, Arby's, Yozone, Macey's, Rite Aid, and every other restaurant or store that I could ever need.
So on Friday, our ward had a spring opening social and guess who was there...Harper!
Not only am I rooming with Melissa, who has been my friend since we were born, but now I have a cousin in the ward. Well, he'll be there until he leaves for Singapore just after Jake's wedding.
I think everyone's going after the wedding. Jake and Kylee will be in Logan. Corry will be leaving to Arizona. Then Steph and the boys will return to Alabama.

Almost There, So Close!

2010-04-14T14:16:00.001-06:00

I am so close to be done with the school for the summer and start packing up my stuff to move out.
- 12 days until I move out
- 7 days until school's done
- 5 more finals
- 2 more primary lessons
- 1 trip to drop off the stake athletic stuff
- 1 trip to the dentist : (

And then
- Job hunt for a second part-time job
- Getting back in shape for hiking season
- Running again, I got in a bad lazy habit back in fall semester
- Starting my summer reading list
- HAVING FUN IN THE SUN!

Also I'll be enjoying these movies that I won from the History Channel on a blog comment contest. I'm such a nerd - I'm so excited to watch them and have them in my little collection!

From Grandma's Bookcase

2010-04-05T23:43:00.002-06:00

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Wood's place this weekend reminded me of how much I love their collection of books. Here are some favorites (that I can remember) from Grandma's house:

Picture Books: story of Poppy Seed, Miss Rumphius, Little Black Sambo, The Christmas Miracle of Johnathon Toomey, the riddle and joke books, the Cookie Monster book, the red ball book, the puppy that went to the circus, the little well-worn board books of all sorts of childhood classics, and especially all of the beautiful Christmas picture books.
Other Books: the classic Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, the countless horse books like Flicka and The Snow Pony, The Bobbsey Twins, Under the Blood Red Sun, the Great Illustrated Classics versions of Around the World in 80 Days and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and a whole lot more that I can't think of right now.
The Best Book Ever: Corrie ten Boom's autobiography

Thanks for sharing the books Grandma!

Picnic-ing

2010-03-28T23:02:00.003-06:00

Picnic pics with Andrea and her friend Darcie.

Topaz Trip

2010-03-23T00:28:00.004-06:00

On Saturday I went on a trip to Delta to visit the Japanese internment camp, Topaz.
When the camp was shut down the buildings were sold off and torn out, but the trash - now called "artifiacts" - remains along with a small monument.
Let's play "I Spy" among the sagebrush: the foundation to a recreation hall, thousands of rusty nails and countless glass shards, burnt remains, terra cotta pots, a stove, one of many safety-pins and do-dads, and two interesting rock finds.

These are homemade inkwells carved out of rocks. Above is the ornate one displayed in the museum. To the left is an unfinished one found by a guy in our group. It was taken back to the museum.
Above the fancy inkwell is another decorative rock, I think. It looks like a pile of rocks, but it's actually hollowed out plaster and lava rocks from the mountains in the distance, with a sheet of glass embedded in between. The only use we could imagine for it was decoration. It's interesting to see that although the internees were denied their rights, their property, and were relocated to the middle of nowhere, they still found creative outlets - even if it involved collecting rocks. There were some spots where you could see somebody had whole piles of trilobites, interesting rocks, and minerals. They did have more than just rocks though; there is a lot of artwork that came out of Topaz. In fact, BYU had a display of it and the Springville art museum will be showing it too this summer. The most sobering part of the trip wasn't reading off the statistics or hearing the stories, but when we were walking around, the curator found the arm of a doll. It's hard to imagine the rows and rows of barracks now gone, but old bits of toys somehow made it more real.

So, what do you think?

My Addictions

2010-03-13T20:52:00.000-07:00

Confession time...I am addicted.

Completely addicted.

Totally addicted.

Shamefully addicted.

Random

2010-03-10T20:54:00.005-07:00

You know I'm actually sick of the word 'random', but it is the only thing that describes this post, and looking up synonyms for random is useless. No other word works quite like it.

Anyway--here you go:

First, I had an epiphany. Why in the world am I going to school, working to pay for school, and staying up all night doing homework if sometimes I'm afraid that I'll never get to use my degree?! I have no time, no money, no sleep, and plenty of stress, and for what? So I can get married and have children (which I do want, don't worry) and then never actually teach history someday? I was lamenting this with my BFF Jill--yes I have an "idk my bff Jill"--when we realized that moms have no time, no money, no sleep, and for what, or who? Well the answer is obvious, and I gained a little perspective. It's still a little frustrating, but such is life, and I've never heard of anybody regretting education.

Second, check out this awesome portrayal of early September of 1776 for the Continental Army. The design, coloring, and half of the drawing was by yours truly, but I had to have Rebecca draw some of the faces.

Third, I have been thinking about something terribly sad. A guy from back in junior high, 8th grade English to be exact, committed suicide last weekend. He jumped out the window of his apartment in Los Angeles. I feel that with crime shows on TV and the news and intense movies, we talk about and view death and suicide quite a lot, but hearing about this has put a gray cloud over my week. It made me think about what I remember about Michael, sitting next to me in Ms. Aland's class. It made me think about later in high school when Mr. Tanner drilled into us that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. It made me think about Ms. Kelley telling about students that she was able to help before they made that mistake and those who she wasn't able help. I thought about how many times me and my friends joke about "throwing ourselves off the top of the swkt" (Kimball Tower). I feel bad about that because life is precious and I forget that too easily. When Jeff passed away Teresa was motivated to start living some of her dreams, so she made arrangements to take care of a horse like she has always wanted. Hearing about Michael makes me want to fight the urge to get overwhelmed and down on myself. It makes me want to appreciate every single day, whether it's gray or sunny.

Fourth and last, on a lighter note, I thoroughly enjoyed going to the BYU Creamery and Bean Museum with Grandma, Aunt Debbie, Tristan, Teresa, Andrea, Elizabeth, Nathaniel, and Marinda. I love spending time with my awesome cousins!

So those are my random thoughts. What are your random thoughts?

Rain or Shine

2010-03-03T14:08:00.002-07:00

A bit of both today,
Spring is on it's way.
Hooray!

March Resolutions

2010-03-01T16:20:00.006-07:00

Obviously, I missed New Years resolutions.
Instead of committing myself to some goals for as long as they last, I am just going to take it one week at a time.

This week I will

actually follow through on my homework to-do lists

because I'm way behind

go on a week-long media fast to clear my head

my weaknesses will be music and hulu.com

attend the temple with Melissa on Thursday
read the Book of Mormon for more than school or just with my family
get my computer fixed!

And hopefully, I'll get my camera back from Teresa soon so I can take my own pictures once again.

Just For Fun

2010-02-21T22:36:00.050-07:00

These funny thoughts were passed on to me from a friend, who got them from the guy that wrote them. They make me chuckle. I'll share a few, just for fun.

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

Nothing is worse than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in... (10 second lapse)… ummm... Goonies"

What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dangit!) but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

Sleep Mastery

2010-02-09T22:20:00.000-07:00

I have always had issues with getting up in the morning. Well who doesn't? But sometimes I can be the heaviest sleeper. Back when I used to share a room with my sisters, I could have whole conversations without coming back to consciousness. I have to keep my alarm clock across the room and turned up loud to get me awake before I turn it off in my sleep.

This morning I hit a new low. It was bad. I blame my heater blanket.

I was half awake and half asleep and that's all I remember until I was flying out of my bed and going out the door in a matter of three minutes.

Tonight Rebecca told me what I had said as I rushed out:
"Oh my gosh I almost just subconsciously convinced myself to not go to school!!!"

Haha. I can totally imagine that coming out of my mouth when my brain wasn't functioning yet.
The Heather that controls me when I fall asleep must be very irresponsible because there is no way this Heather could pull that off.

When upon life's billows...

2010-02-05T19:39:00.005-07:00

I'm feeling a little tempest-tossed, so I'm gonna count some blessings.

Thank you sky for the sweet-smelling rain today. Thank you dear cousin Sierra for the cold slice o' pizza in class. Thank you car radio for allowing me the pleasure of rockin' out. Thank you boss for letting me shorten my shift for schoolwork. Thank you dad for letting me move into my nice big room again, instead of staying in the hole-in-the-wall with that awful orange carpet. Thank you to all the women and young women that came to stake basketball. A little friendly smack-talk and fellowship makes this church calling lots of fun. Thank you to my primary class kids for the smiles, laughs, and lessons you teach me. Thank you to professors and teachers who are so friendly and make my classes interesting.

Seriously, thanks.

Oh, and thank you to my family for filling up every corner of my life.

So,
while moving my stuff to my old room I discovered a few things. First, I have too many books. When I move out, I'm going to have to find a way to stash them all away somewhere. Second, I have a lot more clothes than I thought. Why is it then, that I never seem to have anything to wear? Third, this girl needs new shoes!

Bye Bye Little Boys

2010-01-26T10:58:00.001-07:00

Warning-Long Post

A year ago our house felt pretty empty, with only four of us kids left at home. For our family that's empty. Then Joseph went off to military training and in moved Stephanie, Benjamin, and Garrett. The boys have grown and changed so much since they've been here. Benjamin used to avoid talking as much as possible. He could talk then, but now he hardly stops talking. Garrett can now blow raspberries and enjoys playing pat-a-cake. This morning we hugged and kissed them goodbye. I'm going to miss the little guys' hugs. Our house is going to be so empty without them. Thank goodness for web-cams because Alabama is just too far away.

I'm feeling a little nostalgic so here are some pictures of them that I took...

Benjamin was born while Becca and I were at girls camp. Our leader's cell phone rang and we heard the good news. We started laughing and crying in front of everyone.

We got to know Benjamin while babysitting him after school when Steph taught dance classes.

Benjamin's first snow angel

Benjamin's first birthday-he used to hate the birthday song.

When Garrett was born, Benjamin slept over at our house. This is him meeting Garrett for the first time.

Baby Garrett and Steph at the 4th of July parade in Provo

Baby Garrett wearing his bear suit at BYU's Homecoming parade

Benjamin pondering his choices mid-tantrum

When I took pictures for them at the Provo temple, Benjamin wouldn't come back and sit still for another family picture. So Joseph tackled him and we brought the family to him.

I feel like we just sent off another missionary. When both Corry and Jake were home, I thought we would be done sending people far away. I know people do this all the time, but I already miss them.

Cinquain For History 220

2010-01-25T00:40:00.001-07:00

When Worlds Collide

By Heather Wood

Food

Beneficial, Essential

Spreading, Feeding, Nourishing

Corn, Beans, and Wheat

Sustenance

Disease

Harmful, Deadly

Aching, Vomiting, Writhing

Smallpox, Typhus, and Cholera

Death

Religion

Inspired, Deceived

Coercing, Submitting, Avowing

Christian in Name Only

Belief

Culture

Foreign, Unfamiliar

Thinking, Sculpting, Creating

Different Way of Life

Traditions

Conflict

Impassioned, Desperate

Forcing, Killing, Pillaging

Fighting for the Land

Carnage

This is fun.

Creativity + History = Best Homework Assignments!

I can't wait until we create soundtracks for the Revolutionary War.

Wood Family Photo Shoot

2010-01-21T12:06:00.002-07:00

The Whole Family with an Addition: Kylee!

Sisters!

Siblings!

Mom and Pops

Family History and Me

2010-01-13T00:18:00.008-07:00

If Teresa can post about purse shopping, then I can write about this awesome story... don't hate, it's called the spirit of Elijah, remember?

While working on a history paper, I pulled out my Grandpa Burnett's personal history and found my favorite story... (the history nerd in me thoroughly enjoyed it)

"Heather Flower"

In the early 1600s on Long Island, New York, lived the young Native American princess Cantoneras, translated as "Heather Flower". She was the daughter of Wyandanch, Grand Sachem of the prominent Montauk tribe. On the day of her wedding, Chief Niniget of the Narragansetts killed her would-be husband and kidnapped her, taking her across Long Island Sound. Her distressed father turned to his personal friend Lionel Gardner, the Puritan "Father of Long Island". Gardner used his influence to rescue her from the rivaling tribe. With the loss of her Native American groom, she married a Dutchman named Cornelius Jansen Van Texel, becoming my ninth great grandmother. Her son Jan moved the family to what is known as Sleepy Hollow, New York. Her granddaughter, was the pretty Katrina Van Tassel of Washington Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Um, Wow?

I summarized it, so it's condensed but intense.

When I was little I just liked that I was related to an Native American princess that shared the name of Heather, but her story is crazy. Kidnapped on your wedding day? Rescued by a powerful Englishman? Marrying someone from not just a different culture, but practically another world as you!? And then having your granddaughter immortalized in American literature! Wow.

*I'm feeling a very Disney Mulan moment here: Haha, um ancestors...a little help here? Pretty please?

Adventures at the Wilk

2010-01-04T00:38:00.002-07:00

Tonight I'm having the usual night-before-school-starts jitters. I. Can't. Sleep. So I am pondering about my last semester and what an adjustment it was to go to BYU. My school is a special place. I love it! Although, in just my first semester I have seen some 'special' things.

For example, the Wilkinson Student Center, what a special place.

The following are true occurrences at the Wilk-

One day, Uncle Sam waltzed through at lunch, in full get-up. He was met with an uproar of applause. He raised his hands to accept the cheers and walked on through with no explanation.

Another time, a table full of girls started singing and harmonizing "Lean on me, when you're not strong. I'll be your friend. I'll help you carry on..." They started out soft and then got louder and stood up, singing into an amp. We couldn't help but sway to the beat, hold up invisible lighters, and sing along.

Once, I needed to find a copy of the New York Times for a class. I know they are provided somewhere on campus, but I didn't feel like asking around. Me and my friends walked into the Wilk, took the first empty table, and there it was... a complete copy of the New York Times that someone left, just for me! A miracle!

Then there was that time when female wrestling was trying to recruit by doing demonstrations of their skills. That was horribly uncomfortable to sit next to! Especially when the male instructor joined in. Eww! I'm sure they are skilled and work hard, but I'm also sure the moves were against the Honor Code. Definitely against the Honor Code.

Once a guy hopped on his chair and yelled, "I can't take it anymore! Does anyone want to just get married?! I'm sick of playing games!" He actually got a few raised hands and responses from girls. But seriously?

Most of the time that I spent at the Wilk was at lunch with Jill, Caitlyn, and Trent. We took our lunch very seriously, meaning YouTube, SNL clips, and explosive laughter. This is tricky when half the people there are trying to study and eat at the same time. Solution: only sit by people with headphones in and nobody gets hurt, or glared at.

Once our group of four sat and listened to a student wearing a fur-ball hat announce from on top of a table that anyone wishing to collect food for the needy could sign up, and as incentive they could take a llama around with them as they collected. A llama? It was called "Care-a-llama". I wonder who thought that one up.

Last, but most definitely not least. Girls aren't safe sitting alone, or even in a group of three, as we soon found out. One day, Trent left Jill, Caitlyn, and me at our table. Not even two minutes later comes the creepsta. "Hey ladies, can I sit here? What are your names? How has your day been? Etc." I couldn't tell if he was just socially awkward or seriously creepy, but it was really uncomfortable. This is where Jill looks at her shoes because she just had a bad encounter at her work that started like this, Caitlyn just looks at Jill, and I feel obligated to at least make small talk with the guy. It's times like these when I wish I could be mean to strangers, but I can't. Luckily, he inhaled his food and left. Phew.

Just some samples of BYU stories. I'm sure there are funnier ones that you've heard of, but this was only semester one.

Ugly Sweater Contest !!!

2009-12-22T20:49:00.003-07:00

Tomorrow at work we're having an ugly sweater contest. Pretty sure I have a chance at winning this thing, because that vest thing is beastly ugly and the mustard colored tee is perfect! We'll just have to see. I'm cringing at how these pictures clash with my blog, but oh well.

(Forgive my face in this last picture, no idea what happened there.)

Sunk Costs

2009-12-19T01:25:00.001-07:00

The economic term for payment, time, effort, or any other cost that has already been spent and can't be taken back. The point is that 'sunk costs are irrelevant'. Finals? Done. Semester one? Completed. Result? We'll see. I just need to remember that sunk costs can't determine my decisions. The feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think of two specific tests won't change how it really will turn out. Not going to cry over spilled milk. I'm thinking about the positive, three of my tests that I totally aced, amazing nice people that I call friends, and Christmas break!

So life has felt like this:

This is what the next two weeks will be:

Plans for the break are as follows:

Cleaning my room because it has been neglected forever
A growing To-Do list of odd projects
A growing list of good movies and chick flicks to watch with Jill and Caitlyn

(We're up to 26 movies. Wow.)

Hanging out with the siblings

and most importantly

SLEEP

A Day in the Life of Me

2009-12-16T18:32:00.003-07:00

Sleep.

It shouldn't define my day, but it does. Although sometimes whether or not I'm tired has no correlation with the amount of sleep I get. I swear it's weird. Last night for example, I fell asleep at 1:30 a.m. and awoke at 6:30 and then snatched another 20 minutes. I feel great!

Food.

Today was horribly unhealthy, but delicious. Leftover Cafe Rio, raspberry fruit salad, vanilla cocoa, dinner rolls, and free chips from Phil. No real meals, just snacks.

Babysitting.

Almost everyday includes a little bit of my nephews. My mom is also watching a neighbor girl when the girl's not at kindergarten. I love my mom, but she always volunteers to help and then one of us kids pitches in. Steph is my witness to this. Steph told me that she could tell who did the real babysitting because Benjamin said mine and Becca's and Andrea's names long before he ever mastered 'Gramma'. Good thing the kids are adorable.

Studying.

What else is new.

Work.

Yay for money, awesome co-workers, coloring contests, and the chance to do homework. Oh and don't worry, while I'm there I do register and confirm people for conferences too. After all, I do get paid for it.

The Testing Center.

So excited for this one.

Study Group.

Studying groups that start at 10:30 p.m. aren't that productive, but scheduling is near impossible at any other time.

Now I'm clocking out. Goodbye.

19 Years Old, to the day

2009-12-11T17:35:00.001-07:00

Or at least it was a girl 19 years ago at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. Yup, that's right. One more year and I'll be a fifth of a century.

To celebrate, last night I went with Corry, his twin friends, Melissa, Melissa's guy, Megan, Caitlyn, and Sarah to Salt Lake to see the lights, then we saw part of the Motab's concert that was broadcast in the tabernacle. We had an adventure on Trax. We got on, we rode, and then the door wouldn't open to let us off. There we were, all intelligent college students and we couldn't get off, even though we rode Trax earlier. Wow. Next was yummy food at Applebee's. I love that they have a weight watcher's menu! It makes tallying it up so much easier, and it's guilt-free!

Today has been great, especially because of the awesome people I work with that remembered my birthday. People are so thoughtful!

Well tonight will be the family dinner and I'm sure it will be delicious. At our house, whoever has the birthday chooses the food, so it's the one time a year when the veggies won't be drowned in butter and salt, and the home-bottled grape juice won't have added sugar. I also have been wanting to try a diet soda cake that cuts the calories in half! I hear it's really moist and delicious. My mom suggested going out to eat. Either she doesn't want to cook or the family doesn't want to eat food that is good for you. Oh well. We'll see.

G-Rat and B-Man

2009-12-02T13:01:00.004-07:00

Benjamin and Garrett.

The trouble-maker and the chewing monster, and of course I mean that affectionately.

Garrett's walker makes him mobile, which is a scary thought.

Within a 5 minute span of time he chewed on:

The hand towel hung on the oven door
The tablecloth (which almost pulled Benjamin's lunch down)
The little lighted Christmas tree (yikes!)
The phone cord (which almost pulled the phone onto his head)
My pant leg as I fixed the phone cord

Benjamin has also discovered the use of Garrett's walker as a sort of scooter.

With one foot on the walker and one on the ground, he propels around the house.

Can I Just Say Wow?!

2009-11-20T09:50:00.001-07:00

Yes, I posted yesterday, but this is blog worthy. Last night I was in my pj's listening to music, when my friend called to see if I wanted to use her extra ticket to go to New Moon with her for the midnight showing. Was I planning on going? No. Did I suddenly get excited? Yes. Was the movie worth getting 3 hrs. of sleep? Yes.

Can I just say props to Chris Weitz, the director?! That movie was so well done. The awkward characters from the first movie actually got to develop a little! But the style was still similar to the first movie, so the two still go together. I'm not even super into Twilight and I loved it. It made me want to read Breaking Dawn, even though I promised myself I wouldn't. It was that good. There were ridiculous parts of course, but they were really just hilarious.

For a better review of the movie see BusyBeeLauren's blog.

Thursday is the New Friday

2009-11-19T09:44:00.003-07:00

On Thursday, once my weekly Econ homework and essay is turned in, the world is so much brighter! Also nothing is ever due on Fridays, for me at least. So no late night cramming! Yaya! And I get 2 whole hours between school and work! It's like I get to turn Thursday into Friday, so I can actually enjoy myself on Fridays. I'm liking this.

Triskaidekaphobia

2009-11-13T23:45:00.005-07:00

Triskaidekaphobia definition. (simply the fear of 13)

Why are people afraid of 13, especially on a Friday? I don't know. Regardless of the date today, my day was amazing!

-It's a Friday!

-I learned 2 of my finals won't overlap!

-I had amazing classes today!

-I left my jacket in the history TA office, froze on the way to music class, realized I left it, went back later, found it still there, and consequently ran into someone in the TA office who absolutely made my day!

I would call that good luck!

Not a Fan of Cold Weather

2009-11-09T23:57:00.001-07:00

I get depressed every winter. No long sunny days. Lack of vegetation. So here's to the memories of warmer and greener days...

Halloween Was

2009-11-02T13:11:00.005-07:00

Visiting the Burnett Grandparents, which is now a tradition

Accompanying Becca the pumpkin, Andrea the fairy, and Melissa the chicken in the pursuit of candy.

Partying with Wendy, Peter, and Tiger Lilly

Meeting Jack Sparrow at a pirate party. (I didn't get a picture with him-boohoo) But it was the coolest; I'm sure if we washed his make-up off, we would have found Johnny Depp.

Today I'm Loving...

2009-10-29T00:09:00.002-06:00

Ward parties, when everyone shows up in ridiculous costumes

Tums, which I am popping like candy, thanks to a stress-induced ulcer

Warm gloves in the day

Heater blankets at night

Good friends that know you and still love you

And... leaving the testing center after getting a compliment from the score monitor

Made My Day

2009-10-22T10:09:00.002-06:00

Benjamin's morning chatter..."Heavver, some teerios?"

The gorgeous mountains on the way to school.

Taking the scenic route to class.

Fall leaves everywhere!

C is for Challange

2009-10-20T23:32:00.011-06:00

Some people work well under pressure. I'm not one of those people. My sanity is a delicate balance between enough activity to prevent bored depression and enough down time, think time, and cathartic entertainment to prevent stress overload. As I was just laying on my bed, waiting for sleep to come but relishing the chance to meditate on stuff, I was scanning the pictures in my room and saw the mvp plaque from lacrosse. I remember all the times that I stressed about dying at conditioning practices, the frustrations of first learning to function with a lacrosse stick, and trying to work homework in around practice. I remember junior year, making first cuts for varsity, then having my hopes dashed in the final selection. I remember deciding to try playing goalie, the sheer terror of standing in front of that speeding little rubber ball. I remember practice after practice, fighting my natural reaction instincts in order to improve my goalie skills. I remember counting 18 total bruises at one time (big, black, and blue). I remember the elation and pressure of making it onto varsity as a goalie. I never felt like I was as good as everyone else, I never felt like I deserved my spot on varsity. Senior year, Coach Kristen thought that I belonged there; she named me most valuable player.

I don't feel like I belong at BYU. My schedule is just too hard. Everyone seems so much smarter. And yet Dr. Kearl, the professor of my dreaded Econ class, had me stand up for applause for a killer good essay. Yup, so confused. If I could become mvp on the field, (which is so not me) then maybe I can do it in the classroom too. Maybe.

B is for Becca

2009-10-17T23:54:00.001-06:00

What kind of jerk sister mentions one little sister and not the other? Well not me...Rebecca and I had a fun night tonight. I took her along with me to visit some friends to watch the football game. It was great, great fun!

A is for Andrea

2009-10-17T23:39:00.002-06:00

You have all probably heard the saying "Sleep, social life, and good grades, pick 2 and welcome to college."

When my older siblings hit that point, I always just adjusted to them never being home. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, I regret some of the things I am missing out on: like my little sister Andrea.

Once upon a time, 5-ish years ago, Andrea's best friend was gone for a whole summer so I decided to entertain her and keep her busy by teaching her how to read. Ever since that summer, we have made a habit of spending time together, even when I tell her to go away. Since I am gone/busy for 12 hours a day, we never really see each other. And I miss it. I even miss helping her with her homework and battling the "I'm bored" syndrome. I miss her and I haven't even moved away yet.

Scariest Thing on Campus

2009-10-15T12:29:00.001-06:00

Need I say more?

Actually, yes I do.

Which is scarier, the fact that they are needed or that they need to be posted every 10 feet on the south end of campus? What's worse is that the sign itself is in an unofficial-looking (creepy) font and that half of the signs end in "..." Dot dot dot? Do they want my imagination to run wild? Aaah!

My Economic Crisis

2009-10-13T17:03:00.001-06:00

No, I'm not struggling financially, but I hit a new low today on my Econ 110 test. The result? D. I don't do D's. Ever. I am so confused, not confused about the material, but my score! I had the usual jitters, but I knew the material. Go ahead, ask me about opportunity cost, property rights, non-coincident wants, profit maximization, elasticity of demand, long run vs. short run decisions, and all about supply and demand. I could tell you all about it, but somehow that didn't convert to a good, or even decent, score. WHY DID I TAKE ECON FROM KEARL?! I heard he has a reputation for being hard, but I didn't understand just how hard. Now I know. My mom's advice? "Don't beat yourself up. It's not your fault." Thanks. If it isn't my fault, than whose is it? Maybe it's bad luck. Haha. Maybe that killer storm that shook the house and lit up my room late last night was a bad omen and there was nothing I could do about it. Hmmm...

Making Connections

2009-10-10T01:58:00.001-06:00

You know everyone seems to be blogging. Maybe I should be too. I finally decided to start because I had an amazing day at work. Between calls I read from my family's and friends' blogs and it felt like I got to catch up with them a little, even if we didn't talk. I'm thinking that I'll give it a go.