Bittersweet Weekend

This past weekend was a bizarre one to be sure. It started out with some slightly scary news. I was sitting in my last class before my weekends begin when I got a text saying that my nephew's body went into a panic when he went in for a heart cath. His oxygen stats went down to the 40s and the doctors put him in an induced coma where he would stay until surgery on Tuesday.
Well, after that news came great news. A month ago I took my Praxis test for teaching. I had had a terrible night's sleep and had to be to the testing center at 7:30am. When I got there, right on time, I realized I had forgotten my calculator. Well, I knew for a fact that behind some of those locked doors were stacks of calculators. Was I allowed to use one? No. Panic!! I am AWFUL at math and I forgot the stinking calculator. Well, if I left the center I wouldn't be admitted back in so I had no choice but to go it alone. When it was my turn to be checked in, The Witch decided it was me she would torture. She asked if I had a cell phone with me. I said yes and it's turned off. She said get rid of it. Where am I supposed to put my phone? She doesn't care, just get rid of it. I go hide my phone behind a garbage can. I come back. She checks my purse. She then tells me I don't look like the picture on my driver's license. What would you like me to do about it? Nothing, she supposes. I'm sure you get the idea...she consistently picked on me like this until the test started at which point in time she sat down right next to me and stayed there the entire two hours. Well, I felt horrible after the test. I was exhausted, calculatorless, and being watched like a hawk. Since that point, I was been in a bad mood waiting to get my test scores and was positive that I would have to pay to take it all over again. Friday night when I checked the mail there was a big, stiff envelope from the Praxis people. I was too terrified to open it so Mr. Mitchell did. Inside was a big folder with EXCELLENT written across it. I received a certificate for scoring in the top 15% of anyone who has taken the Praxis. WOOOOOOOO!!!!!! What a relief! ... ... ...I'm still upset I forgot my calculator.

The goodness continued when Mr. Mitchell began the Valentine's celebrations on Saturday afternoon. He was pretty cute about it. He brought home a couple of items and claimed they were non-Valentine's gifts, but I knew better. He didn't want to give in to the commercialism but he wanted me to know that I was worth it. What a sweetie! We also got a Valentine's package from my parents.

(Yes, there is a garlic press with our Valentine's goodies. If you want to know why, ask Mr. Mitchell.)
On Sunday we were having dinner with friends when I received news from my mom that my cousin had been killed in a car accident and that my uncle was handling the news very poorly. He wasn't talking to anybody and my parents didn't know much so I tried to find more information online about the accident. I found it upsetting that they never got her age right (as in they printed a different age in every article) in any of the articles I found online. (It doesn't really matter in this case, but what other information do they print incorrectly?)
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51240123-76/car-ravine-driver-holdaway.html.csp
If you believe in prayer, please pray for my uncle.
On Monday things picked up with a wonderful Valentine's Day for Mr. Mitchell and me complete with Olive Garden. On Tuesday my nephew had his heart surgery and is now doing awesome.

I know this post was really wordy, if you read all of it I hope that you can see in there that Mr. Mitchell and I are happy and doing well and are thankful for Heavenly Father's love.

Book Thoughts

For this semester I made it one of my goals to do some leisure reading. I tend to push leisure reading to the side during school because once I've read out of textbooks for 3+ hours I just don't want to read anymore. I have missed reading what I want to read however and thus the goal was created. Since I managed to read a few books during the month of January I wanted to share my thoughts on them.

The first book I read was The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. I was a little hesitant about jumping into this one because the movie I watched based on her last book was filled with political commentary which I felt was inappropriate in a children's movie. I decided that since I hadn't actually read the book I should give this one a chance. I'm glad I did. It was a cute little story about a China rabbit (like a China doll, the ethnicity of the rabbit is not Chinese)who had to go on a long journey to learn how to love because he was a pompous tool who didn't appreciate the love he was receiving. It's a children's chapter book so it was a fast read.

The next book I read was The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Go ahead and laugh. I did indeed read a book by Dr. Lauara - it was a gift from my mother-in-law. I felt that sometimes she was a little repetitive in her advice or her reasoning for offering advice and I got a little tired of feeling picked on (because she was constantly calling out flaws of wives), but I would not discourage someone from reading this book if they had a desire to. She encourages God-centered, give-and-take, selfless relationships, and I can't recall any advice she gave that I disagreed with.

The last book I read was Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. Please keep in mind that I have not seen the movie so this was a completely new story for me unmarred by the hand of Hollywood. I was amazed at how not sexually graphic the book was. I was somewhat convinced before I started reading that I would have to stop because it would probably be inappropriate. Arthur Golden took a topic that could be used as an excuse to write a pornographic book and instead wrote a book that shares history and a compelling story. I'm not saying that the book is completely clean of sex-related material seeing as how the book is about a geisha, but it is carefully done. Overall I enjoyed the book despite the fact that I really disliked the ending.

The last thing I read that I would like to share was the January Ensign. There were a few articles that I really liked but there was one that seemed to be written for me: Make Yours a Great Life by Elder Paul V. Johnson. He talks about how our futures are determined by our faith, choices, and efforts and he discusses being of good cheer even though the world is in turmoil and not living in your past. I found it very uplifting and would recommend it.

Thanks for listening even though I'm no expert on great literature. My current read is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and I don't know yet what I'll read next. I am (almost) always open to suggestions.

P.S. What is the world's fascination with zombies? I found this picture while looking for Dr. Laura's book.

Sometimes I Get Bored...

I have made a new friend and we tend to get bored. We enjoy writing stories...the kind where we each take three lines and then fold the paper over so the next person can only see the last line. We created an awesome story today that actually seemed to flow despite the fact we had no idea where the person before us wanted the story to go. The italicized lines are my part of the story and the regular font lines are Collette's. I would now like to share this gem.

Collette was sitting in her Instructional
Strategies & Assessment class feeling incredibly
bored. She decided she needed to entertain
the entire class. Having complete confidence in how
cool she was, she got up and started to dance.
But then her uterus started to hurt, she bent over
to attempt a hand stand (for that is the cure-
all for uterus pains) but her pants ripped.
In embarrassment, Collete ran out the door.
As she ran to the bathroom she heard everyone
laughing behind her. When suddenly out from a dark corner
came a hooded shadowy figure. It dove at Collette
and tackled her to the ground. After a quick and slightly
awkward skirmish Collette got to her feet and found
the hooded figure had fixed her pants. "Who are you?"
The shadowed face turned away, gathered his things,
and bolted away. Collette realized the escape effort
and stuck her foot out. The figure fell, the hood uncovering
Daniel Radcliffe, a.k.a. Harry Potter. Either his career
was at an all-time low or he truly believed he
was a wizard. Either way, he was better entertainment.
Her uterus now healed she grabbed his hand
and pulled him to the classroom. Keeping him outside
the door she walked in and started dancing. Slowly the wizard entered
doing the worm. One by one the students realized
it was Daniel Radcliffe. Some screamed and clapped
in excitement and some shot spit wads. The dance duo
ended when the teacher grabbed her sword from
its invisible sheath and pointed the blade in
the wizard's face. She threatened to slit his throat.
Daniel Radcliffe didn't like this idea so he ran
away to tackle and entertain someone else. Collette
went back to class and resigned herself to boredom.

What can I say? Class was pointless today.

Disgruntled & Discouraged: Please Pity Me

I am decidedly disgruntled and discouraged. I am in such an expensive major and it is really starting to get to me. This is a picture of my $630 worth of textbooks for the semester. (Believe it or not, this is not the most I have spent in one semester on books in this double major, rather, this is a normal amount.)

Mr. Mitchell and I do not have a currently functioning printer so I have to print everything on campus at .07 cents a page for black and white and who knows how much for color. This is how much I had printed off after my first four days of classes. I could take an updated picture of the binder but I might break down.

We haven't even finished our second week of school and I have already had to pay for binding, laminating, cardstock, and posterboard.
On top of that, I am in a very unorganized district. I used to be in the Jordan district which was on top of everything. Because getting married put me off of my graduation track I had to switch to the Alpine district which has recently experienced some changes which apparently translates to: Everything has been flushed down the toilet and you'll have to swim down the bend to get what you need - don't expect any help from us.
On top of that, the McKay School of Education is majorly revamping their program and that begins in the fall which means it won't affect me. That apparently translates to: Everybody that was in the program before, especially dual majors such as myself, are going to get erroneous and/or pointless information because people can't differentiate between the old and the new program.
On top of that, my student teaching application is due Tuesday morning and the one person left to sign my ridiculous 15 pages of crap has decided to go on vacation until Tuesday.
On top of that, my Praxis test is Saturday (which also cost us a ridiculous amount of money to sign up for because BYU stopped paying for it last year) and I have hardly had a chance to study for it. To buy a study guide costs quite a bit of money so I decided to check one out from the school. I could only keep it for 48 hours and now that it's the week of the test that is no longer an option.
On top of that, I can't find a job to help pay for all of these expenses. I applied for 12 jobs last semester and didn't get a single one because of my outrageous school schedule. I have applied for two jobs so far this semester and didn't get them because I don't have the necessary qualifications.
I apologize for being so whiney and pathetic. Now that I have vented into the world of the internet I will move on and become cheerful once more.
... ... ... ... ...this is one reason Paul hates blogs.

Happy Christmas Things

I have decided there are two, possibly three, types of pictures: There are the kind that are simply documenting history, the kind that are art, and the kind that are a hybrid of the two. Please keep in mind that most of the following pictures are simply documenting history and some are attempts at hybrids. When in doubt, assume the picture was taken strictly for documenting.
This picture was technically taken in late November at my birthday dinner but I loved the Christmas lights. Can you tell that I'm freezing?

The view out our bedroom window one wintery December morning.

Our first Christmas! The Christmas tree was donated to us by an older couple in our ward. Mr. Mitchell had to make the tree stand because the tree was so skinny and all the stands available for purchase were too large. I spent days finding us perfect stockings (that hang above the window instead of a fireplace) that complement each other but aren't too "matchy-matchy" and I forgot them when we left for Christmas. :( We were very happy with our first Christmas decorations.


On our way to visit my sister and her family we stopped at Temple Square to see the lights.


My younger brother is currently serving a mission in Merida, Mexico. On Christmas Eve we got to talk to him for an hour. Yay! I cried - I miss the kid a lot.


Mr. Mitchell had me open a gift on Christmas Eve because he was sooo excited to give it to me. (It was adorable.) My family has a tradition that each year we get a new keepsake ornament from Hallmark. I wanted to keep that tradition but Mr. Mitchell and I are poor college students and decided against it. Instead, he actually made us a 'First Christmas' ornament out of wood. Talk about a keepsake ornament. That's what I got to open on Christmas Eve. (Yes, I am in footie pajamas. No, I am not ashamed.)

We spent Christmas morning with my parents. Mr. Mitchell bought me a hat and 'hobo' gloves, which I adore. I bought him a luxurious robe and a Calvin & Hobbs book.


We spent the next few days with some of Mr. Mitchell's family. At his grandparents house we made gingerbread houses. Mine was supposed to be Rapunzel's tower (inspired by Tangled) but turned into more of a clock tower with a random dude hanging out at the bottom.


We finished the journey back at my parents' house for an annual family Christmas party where we got to see some more of my family. (Missing: Chris & Tiffany and children; Jayme & Steve and children; Britton & Tena and children; Garrison)


We had a good Christmas and are now both home sick. Sweet.

That Christmas Feeling

One of my favorite things about Christmas is that 'magic' feeling that is undeniable in any human being that has a heart. During finals, however, that magic feeling seems to disappear. Students stop showering and huddle in corners talking to themselves while eating their finger nails. Everything becomes self-centered and all service and generous thoughts are suppressed. Nobody notices Christmas lights or stars because they're looking at the ground as they cruise from test to test. So, what is the point of my writing this? I'm so happy that finals are done and that I came out of the funk before they were done that I want to share my happy, magic Christmas thoughts with the world.
Yesterday morning I was still in a funk about finals and had to go take one that I was dreading. By the time I finished my final the world was a better place. I got a 92% which means I'll get an A in that class and it kicked me out of the gruesome world of finals and into the wonderful world of Christmas. Paul had driven me to my final so I had to walk back to the apartment but it was so great! As I walked back I was able to take a leisurely stroll, look people in the eyes as I passed them and say 'hello,' enjoy the snow glistening and sparkling and laughing at all the silly snowmen, heard people whistling Christmas carols as they scraped off their car windows, and felt lighthearted and happy even though I still had another final to take today. Paul came home from work early and we got to hang out for hours just being lazy and enjoying each other's company. We then went to a Christmas dinner with some friends which was so fabulously scrumptious and beautiful that I couldn't get back into the finals funk even if I tried. Paul gave a wonderful thought on Christmas and how excited we are to have our first Christmas together even though it will be very simple. Christ's birth was a simple affair even though it was one of the most magnificent things to ever happen to this earth and for us, so, we are more than happy to have a simple Christmas.
I love, love, love Christmas and the kindness and happiness that it brings to people. Try to do something Christmasy and find people to serve and let that magic get to you. It's perfect. Merry Christmas!

Pictures

So, supposedly there has been a request for pictures. I don't know how true this statement is but since I'm trusting and gullible I will appease. I have decided to share some pictures from our Honeymoon because they make me really, really happy. We were too busy playing to take many pictures so there weren't lots for me to choose from, but I hope you enjoy the ones I selected.
Here are my sweet butt cheeks at the beach:

A beautiful sunset at Long Beach:

Mr. Mitchell staring down the waves:

Conferring with Mr. Toad:

Starting a secret club with Tigger:

It's actually my castle, I just let the world think it's Sleeping Beauty's:

One of our dinners at the Blue Bayou...yummmmmmmmmmmmm:

California Adventure wishes it was Disneyland, although we do love its roller coaster:

Since they had stopped making mickey groom ears the year before, Paul decided to play Rastafarian to my bride:

Lastly, the traditional Disneyland photo by the Mickey flowers and train station:


Well, I hoped you savored our delectable pictures and enjoyed basking in our awesomeness. We had such a good time and are happy to be sharing it with you.