Thoughts from the Library

Yup... it's that time of year. The time of year where school work is at its peak the brain in on overload! The ironic part of it all is that it is also that time of year where there are endless social event, dance parties, ugly sweater parties, tree decorating parties, cookie decorating parties, concerts, and pretty much any other distraction you can think of! And yet here I am sitting in the library... trying to write a paper.

Bff Brittany just left, which made me think my productivity would increase... but since I am here writing on my blog (something I rarely do), I'm assuming that wasn't the case. So here are some random thoughts while I sit here trying to re-focus on the real task at hand (my paper on principles of learning).

• First off, kudos to the girl that wore her onesie pajamas to the library and is sitting Indian style in the chair. I am jealous of your comfort.
• I have decided that I am like a "moth to the flame" as my friend Britt so kindly described... I know that whenever I eat Taco Bell for dinner I feel gross afterwards, and yet ever time I'm hungry and walking by the Cougar Eat I think "Taco Bell sounds good right now." How do I so easily fill my head with such lies? I should know better by now. And then the result is that I gripe about it for the rest of the day... like I'm doing now :)
• It is also difficult I decided to motivate myself to write papers, when the device on which I need to type my paper also happens to be the biggest distraction of all in itself! Even if I make a point not to get on facebook, there is also some other random thing I find myself googling about.
• Thank you BYU for placing a Christmas tree up here on the 5th floor. It does make the place feel more cozy.
• Thank you random girl that is sitting across from me for sharing you chocolate advent calendar with me. It was a great little pick me up!
• Thank you other girl sitting at my table who decided to bring a crystal pitcher with her to help her refill her water bottle when it gets empty. Classy touch.

Ok... I think I'm ready to start tackling my paper again.  Basically, I just love people and could watch them all day! Oh the things that one sees in the library! And oh the stress and joys of finals week!

Year in a Nutshell

Ok... so it's been a very long time since I've posted about my life. And if fact, one of the last entries talked all about my summer... in 2009! So here we go... life since then in a nutshell.

• Moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. No job, but after my summer working EFY, staying here just felt right.
• Started volunteering as an early morning seminary teacher at Jordan High School.
• Found a job teaching 5th and 6th grade orchestra at an elementary school in Provo.
• Started two other orchestra programs at elementary schools in West Jordan and Riverton.
• Got a job being a substitute teacher on my days off from my other jobs.
• Started a private piano and violin studio.
• October road trip with the extended family to Newport, Cali.
• Had a blast living my life in both Salt Lake and Provo. Not a huge fan of the drive though.
• November road trip with two dear friends back to Arizona and New Mexico.
• December 2009 I turned 25! Milestone, I know!
• Crazy road trip with my brother Jonny in a giant snow storm back to New Mexico. It really did take like 20 hours to get home going 30 miles an hour almost the whole way there.
• January 2nd decided to randomly pack my belongings and move from SLC to Provo. Quick (literally made in a day) decision, but it just felt right. Moved in with the most amazing roommates ever!
• Last minute decision to turn in a graduate school application to BYU.
• Got hired as a student teacher for the CES seminary program.  Started also teaching 2 periods at Brighten High School during the day along with all of my other schools and jobs.
• Got accepted into grad school at BYU.
• Beginning of summer road trip with the bff to Cali to see Glee Live! Did it also include Disneyland, H&M shopping, and the beach? Heck yes!
• Stopped teaching seminary on Friday (summer finally had arrived) and started my job with EFY the next Monday.
• Worked for EFY (I still just love it so much!)... 1 week in Montpillier, ID, 3 weeks in Logan, 4 weeks in Ogden, 1 week in Provo, 2 weeks in Nauvoo! 11 straight weeks total! That's right baby!
• July 29th picked Whit up from the airport in Salt Lake! She was finally home from Italy! Joyous reunion!
• Flew to New Mexico from Nauvoo to be with the fam.  Stayed for a few days, bought a new car, and then drove home to Provo.
• Got re-hired as a seminary student teacher at Alta High School in the fall.
• Decided to resign from the seminary program in order to better focus on grad school. (not an easy decision).
• Had a few days to unpack my belongings and chilled for a weekend in Park City.
• Started school as a BYU student getting a Master's in Music Education!

Well there it is... the last year of my life in a total nutshell.  Obviously I left out a lot of details.  It really was a great year filled with fun, friends, family, lots of road trips, heart break, self discovery, growth, and everything else that life throws at you. But looking back I wouldn't change anything about it. I lived, I loved, and I learned!

So this is what happens when you get a full nights rest...

Have you ever just had one of those amazing days where you accomplished everything on your lengthy "to do" and then some? I must admit, it rarely happens to me so this feeling of pure joy is quite rare for me. To be honest, I think it has a lot to do with the fact I actually slept for a full 7 hours last night (which is a good deal more as far as sleep goes than the normal 5 hours I get most nights). I guess I will go ahead and just share a little of what I actually accomplished today.

• 7:30 am- woke up in Provo and ate breakfast (normally I wake up at 4:45 and teach early morning seminary, but today I had the day off)
  
• 8:30 am- arrived at Marie's house (in Salt Lake) where I babysit her 4 year old, 2 year old, and the 4 month old twins (while the children were napping I even emailed my sister Whitney who's still on her mission and who has her Preparation Day tomorrow)
  
• 1:30 pm- I arrived home and cooked a pot of soup that will hopefully last me the rest of the week
• 2:00 pm- wrote the 2nd essay needed for my graduate school application which is due at the end of the month
• 3:30 pm- start my letter of intention which is also part of my grad school application
  
• 4:00 pm- taught violin lesson (in Riverton)
  
• 4:45 pm- picked up my computer (from Sandy) It crashed over break and thank goodness my uncle was able to help me repair it
• 5:15 pm- did my reading assignments for my Institute class
• 6:30 pm- arrived at my Institute class (which is the 2nd pre-service class for future seminary teachers in case you're curious)
• 8:00 pm- arrive at my aunt's house to babysit my little cousins while they go to the U of U basketball game
• 8:30 pm- write out my seminary lesson plans for the next 2 days
• 9:00 pm- complete all grading of my seminary students from this last term
• 9:30 pm- complete the "additional information and work experience" portion of my graduate app
• 10:00 pm- have time left over that I don't know what to do with so I decide to blog about it!

Seriously though, this NEVER happens to me! All I had hoped to accomplish today was write the 2nd essay needed for my application. Everything else up on that list was a total bonus! (which I can now proudly cross off my "to do" lists from other days :) And somewhere in all of that I even had time to fit in an episode of Hannah Montana. I guess the point of this story is... sleep is good! The end!