The Pressure

This is my theme song for school right now.  One thing I didn't expect was how bad I would be at handling stress.  I've worked full time and had times that were high stress but not like going through graduate school for a PhD.  The constant deadlines, the big league names and high stakes.  The money.  The fears.  The competition.  The mean people that try to rise the ladder.  The brilliant people that make you feel always lacking.  Wanting to quit a lot.  Finding ways to stay motivated.  It is soooo much harder than any of the other degrees which is probably why not many people do it. Listen to the lyrics.  They help me as I constantly have to defend my research, decisions, and choices.

Year in Review 2014

Year in Review Challenge

Here are the assignments:

December 1 Trip. What was your best trip in 2014? We went to California to see my sister's family and had a blast at the beach, seeing all the small towns near where they live, taking over the Officer's Club and dancing to the jukebox, spending hours at the beach and going to Legoland.  We can't wait to go back!  

December 2 Restaurant moment. Share the best restaurant experience you had this year. Who was there? What made it amazing? What taste stands out in your mind?

There was this one pizza place I went to this summer that had a tomato alfredo pasta dish with a skillet cookie and ice cream on top.  I was in love and plan on going back to that restaurant.

December 3 Article. What's an article that you read that blew you away? That you shared with all your friends. I read this year about the interlinked conspiracy theories of the PIXAR movies.  It was fun to imagine.  

December 4 Book. What book - fiction or non - touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies?
My favorite book this year is Princesses Don't Wear Black by Shannon Hale.  I wish I would have thought to write it first.

December 5 Night out. Did you have a night out with friends or a loved one?  What was the highlight of the night?
Doug took me and my brother and sister in law to see Jim Gaffigan, the comedian, when he came to Utah.  We started by going out to dinner at Brio which was amazing.  I still dream about the bruschetta.  Then we had great seats at the show and laughed until we cried.  

December 6 Workshop or conference. Was there a conference or workshop you attended that was especially beneficial? Where was it? What did you learn?
I presented again at the Utah Council of the International Reading Association about the influence of speaking and listening Common Core Standards on literacy.  It was a good conference with some excellent keynote speakers this year.  

December 7 Blog find of the year. That gem of a blog you can't believe you didn't know about until this year. I've joined Instagram and Twitter this year and discovered the whole30 movement with healthy recipes and supportive weightloss stories.  

December 8 Moment of peace. An hour or a day or a week of solitude. What was the quality of your breath? The state of your mind? How did you get there?
My moment of peace happens in the temple.  I got to go a few times this year and can regroup.  I also love road trips because it really clears my mind when we are driving and are far away from home.  

December 9 Challenge. Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the best challenge of the year for you?
The biggest challenge for me this year was supporting Doug through eight months of unemployment.  It is so stressful to keep a household running when things are tight.  When he got a job, an older couple in our ward came up and said, "So, I guess the lean times are over."  That pretty much sums it up.  

December 10 Album of the year.
I'm in love with the PIXAR instrumental soundtracks ever since we saw the Utah Symphony perform them all.  I can't decide if I love the instrumentals from Ratatouille more, Incredibles more, or Toy Story.

December 11 The best place. 
The best place I visited this year was the beach in California.  If I could have a beach house I would.  The ocean invigorates me. When I'm a millionaire, I'll have my own place on the water.  

December 12 New food.

I've been trying all sorts of cultural foods and my favorite was when I was up at school in Logan and I ate at an El Salvador restaurant.  It was the first time I'd tried that food and it was awesome! I also love Indian food now, and want to try more Mediterranean.

December 13 What's the best change you made to the place you live?We haven't fixed all the broken things yet but did manage to get a garden in and keep the lawn looking nice all summer.  Oh...getting the A/C fixed was a big deal too.

December 14 Rush. When did you get your best rush of the year?I get a rush at the beginning of a movie at the movie theater.  We don't go very often, but when we do, the show is worth it and it's exciting.  "Lights A-Dimmin!"  

December 15 Best packaging. 
This question just reminds me that we wrap all our birthday gifts in towels because it's easier and I'm not patient enough to wrap things nicely.  

December 16 Tea of the year. I don't drink tea of any sort.

December 17 Word or phrase. A word that encapsulates your year. "2014 was _____."A challenge

December 18 Shop. Online or offline, where did you spend most of your mad money this year?
On amazon for books and textbooks.  

December 19 Car ride. What did you see? How did it smell? Did you eat anything as you drove there? Who were you with?
The car rides I've enjoyed have been for family night to check on the status of the temples being built by my house.  

December 20 New person. 
A new person I met this year would have to be some of the big name reading researchers at some of the conferences I've helped with or attended like David Pearson, Timothy Shanahan, Doug Fisher and Maureen McLaughlin.  They have multiple books, are engaged in the field of reading and were friendly and encouraging in my PhD work.  The problem with being around brilliant people a lot is that you feel more stupid than ever.  

December 21 Project. What did you start this year that you're proud of?
I finished and published my grandmother's history on the day of her 100th birthday.  It took seven years to transcribe.  

December 22 Startup. What's a business that you found this year that you love? Who thought it up? What makes it special?
I was introduced to Jamberry this year which I love for my toes.  They make me happy and I wish I had a lot more.  

December 23 Web tool. It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn't live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience.
I can only think that I am grateful for my laptop and for shops that fix them.  My laptop got spilled on while on vacation and MacTraders in SLC saved all my doctoral work.  Phew!

December 24 Learning experience. What was a lesson you learned this year that changed you?
To trust in God and He will take care of the details. 

December 25 Gift. What's a gift you gave yourself this year that has kept on giving?
A fun double-sided waffle  iron for breakfasts at our house.  

December 26 Insight or aha! moment. What was your epiphany of the year?
My insight this year became a motto of sorts... "Just ask."  I have used that in my school work when wanting a class to open up, or in my jobs for more opportunities, and so on.  I may come off pushy but I hope it looks more like I'm taking initiative.  

December 27 Social web moment. Did you meet someone you used to only know from her blog? 
I like to follow a lot of blogs and really enjoy one about a family in Arizona who is living in China right now.  

December 28 Stationery. When you touch the paper, your heart melts. The ink flows from the pen. What was your stationery find of the year?
I used to love stationery for my birthday or Christmas.  I miss that.  I do love to pick out cards for events though.  

December 29 Laugh. What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?
Jim Gaffigan

December 30 Ad. What advertisement made you think this year? I saw a Nike ad about running that I loved.  See  HERE

December 31 Resolution you wish you'd stuck with. (You know, there's always next year...)

More healthy lifestyle and ways to deal with stress.

Christmas Time

Here's a run down of some of our holiday preparations.  First of all we made a Christmas tree for family night with all of the traditions and expectations that we had for the holiday season.  On the ornaments, we wrote the activity we hoped to do.  Then as we got to them, we'd color them in.  It was really fun and I think I liked it better than the countdown we usually do because it went past Christmas to New Years and so the after Christmas let-down wasn't so bad with more things to look forward to.  I also liked that some of our ornaments/activities were simple and free like "sleep by the Christmas tree" and "make toffee."

Some of the things we did were:

SPEND TIME WITH COUSINS.  We had a ball decorating gingerbread houses and having a waffle party one day at their house (both of which were also on our tree ornament activities list). 

Then one day we went sledding and out to Denny's with them.  My kids think Denny's is the coolest place because their kid menus have pictures and they have good milkshakes.  Plus, they can order breakfast, lunch or dinner no matter what time it is.  It's crazy!

We tried to build a snowman but the snow was too powdery.  

We had lots of Christmas movies with popcorn...

Bowls of homemade soups and chili.

Reading Christmas books...

Singing Christmas songs at the top of our lungs.  Apparently Let it Go is now one of our songs...

Christmas hats...

Dancing with Santa...

Decorating the Christmas tree... This year Doug was down and so we had to do it ourselves. I think I need to update my ornaments though.  

A few outings included the Living Nativity with live animals and all.  It was quite a production by the Huntsman Cancer Society.  

Two trips to temple square lights.  One with the youth and one with our family.  

I bought two new decorations this year which both broke within the first week and I returned them.  "We just can't have nice thangs" as Jeff Foxworthy says.  

They did enjoy them for a few days though.  Here is Olaf who talks and sings.  Louis thought it was his baby. The  second toy was a jack in the box that broke...

We also got a quick visit with Grandpa who was in town for a day which was not enough but good to see him.

Broken

This fall has had some crisis management going on.  First earlier in October, Haleigh fell in PE and deeply bruised her knee cap.  It tooks two weeks just for the purple bruise to appear.  Luckily the Xrays showed no breaks.  

Not so much for Louis.  He fell off the trampoline and broke his elbow.  After a week in a sling till the swelling went down, he was put in a shoulder to wrist cast for 4 weeks.  He has to go through physical therapy to straighten out his arm now.  The pictures show the progress with the range of motion with his arm.  It was pretty bent with only those 4 weeks in a cast.  

His favorite exercise...scratching his bum.

Then, Doug fell down the stairs carrying a desk to the basement and tore something up in his knee.  He's on crutches and a wheelchair with an MRI soon to determine surgery or not.  

On top of all that...there have been sick kid after sick kid with flu, colds, stomach aches, and a variety of other weird viruses and secondary viruses.  I absolutely hate taking them to the doctor to be told..."It's a virus" and getting sent home.  Here's a glimpse at all the sick recuperating people and the others taking care of each other.  

Waiting in the doctors office forever!

I found this interesting website to help too about coughs...HERE