What’s the difference between a nine-month pregnant woman and a model?

Nothing, if the pregnant woman’s husband knows what’s good for him.

Haha just a little pregnancy humor for my readers out there. (Yes, all 3 of you.) Evan does know what's good for him and compliments my growing figure, even after a few bowls of ice cream on my part. Here are some pictures of our little boy! I'm so excited we are going to have a boy. I have 2 older brothers and Evan is the oldest in his family so I thought it would be fun to have a boy first so one day he could be the big older, protective brother of our other children. Ha, other children. I'm already thinking of having more even though I haven't had one. I obviously haven't been 9 months and 1 week pregnant before. Enjoy the pics of our cute little bundle of boy!
















Profile picture...
cute nose!

Foot!

I considered blurring certain parts of this
picture as to not embarrass our little boy.
But then I remembered I don't know how to
do that...so oh well!

bump-de-bump

I couldn't think of anything cute with the word "bump" in it for the title, so the title of this post is lame. Oh well. Here are a few pictures of my ever-growing tummy! I'm totally embracing this time in my life. When else will it be cute to gain weight? Never. I think I'll indulge in a little ice cream as soon as I upload these pictures. I can just blame my weight gain on the baby, right? In all honesty, I eat a lot better now than I did pre-pregnancy, so I don't feel bad about a little ice cream every now or day. (Hahah get it? Everyday!) Anyway, enjoy (Mom! These are mostly for you since I chose to abandon the east coast. I do feel incredibly guilty for not being closer to share this experience with you. I'm working on a time machine of sorts because flying is just too expensive...and scary.)

5 months...and counting!

Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing

It's been way toooooooo long since I have posted anything on here, and it's way toooooooooo late for me to write a long, witty blog post about how exciting my life is now. So I'll just give you the highlights. I am teaching 4th grade in American Fork and enjoying it very much. I finally have my own classroom! Although I am exhausted at 3:30 each day, I am glad I have the chance to use what I learned (and paid for) during my years at BYU. I'll have to start making a list of the hilarious things my students say. The most recent innocent, yet gut-busting comment came during social studies. We were talking about the different forms of government that have been in place in Utah from Native Americans to the government we have today. As we discussed how the pioneers moved West and settled in what is now Salt Lake City, I told the students that they named the area where they lived Deseret. I then asked if any students knew what the word Deseret means. After several attempts at guessing the right answer, I called on one student who was enthusiastically raising his hand. We'll call him Jimmy. The exchange went as follows:

Me: Jimmy, do you think you know what Deseret means?
Jimmy: Ummmm, does it mean bookstore?
Me: Ha! Hey, that's a great guess! Are you thinking about Deseret Book?
Jimmy: Ya.
Me: Well it doesn't mean bookstore, but good thinking!

Hilarious. I probably would have guessed the same thing if I hadn't learned what Deseret means from wikipedia...I mean The Book of Mormon. I really like having fun with my students and am getting excited for Halloween. I've told them I am really going to try to scare them and they are convinced I can't. We'll have to see about that!

In more personal and exciting news...Evan and I are having a baby! Our baby, who will probably not actually have a name even after it is born because we cannot agree on a moniker we both like, is due March 17th! The first trimester was pretty easy. I threw up once and could handle the nausea. At the end of my first trimester, the nausea got a lot worse and I had ZERO energy. I would come home from school and fall asleep at 7 pm. I am almost 5 months along and feel like I have more energy, but have been having bouts of vomiting the past few days. Gross, but it isn't terrible. I mean, I don't like refunding my breakfast right after I eat it, but I usually feel better afterwards. We find out if we are having a boy or a girl at the end of October. We are beyond excited to start our family!

So life is busy and kinda stressful, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I like being busy and contributing monetarily to our family, especially now that we know we'll be adding another mouth to feed soon. Hope this was a good enough update because mother and baby are ready for bed!

P.S. Any name suggestions are appreciated!

Why I Love Broccoli

Ok, I'll admit it...my last post was slightly depressing. So I thought it would be most appropriate to blog about something that makes me happy; something that makes my heart skip a beat: broccoli. That's right, beautiful green broccoli. Ok so I exaggerate a little when I say it makes my heart skip a beat (that would actually be chocolate) but I seriously have a lot of affection for this veggie! Let me tell you why:
1. Broccoli looks like a miniature tree. When I eat it, I can pretend I'm a giant and that I'm so big that I can pop these little trees in my mouth to munch on.

2. Broccoli is green. And I always hear people saying, "Go green!" these days so hey, I'm goin' green with broccoli.

3. Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable. What is that, you ask? I have no idea, but it sounds like it could kick some major butt when it comes to viruses and diseases. (kick-butt definition)

4. Broccoli is so healthy for you, it is sometimes called a "miracle food". How many of you are gonna turn down a miracle? No one? Ya, that's what I thought.

5. I love the way broccoli tastes. I know that may be weird to some people, but I think it tastes delicious. Sometimes I even get cravings for it. I get cravings for cheeseburgers and fries more often, but when I get a hankerin' for some miniature trees, I just gotta satisfy it. And I definitely don't feel bad about that.

Although I am betrothed to broccoli, there is one thing I could do without: funky broccoli breath. But other than that, I love me some broccoli! Maybe tomorrow I'll tell you why I love corn!

fRuStRaTiOnS!

Right now there are lots of other things I need to be doing (exercising, making dinner, planning sharing time, planning my lesson) but one of the reasons I have a blog is to vent when I'm frustrated, whether anyone reads about it or not. And right now I am frustrated to the max.

This is how I usually look while at my computer...ask Evan.

I am frustrated that my husband, a very qualified, hard working college graduate cannot seem to find a job. I am frustrated that after many late nights, exhaustion-induced tears, lesson plans, great evaluations and references, and good interviews I have not been offered a teaching job. I know, I know, you're probably saying "join the club, lady!" As I receive email after email telling me that "the position has been filled, but please feel free to apply for other openings as they become available" I want to scream. I can't figure out why I'm not good enough. I can't figure out why after doing what I thought I was supposed to do I may not get a chance to practice what I've learned. Life has no guarantees, you say? Well you are 110% correct. But as much as I keep thinking "I just wish someone would give me a chance" I know I'm not the only person in the world dealing with this situation. Take, for example, the young man who came to my door just a few moments ago. He was trying to convince my husband to buy a $40 bottle of "miracle" cleaner. He seemed pretty down and out as he kept repeating that he only had 2 bottles left and really needed to sell them. Usually door-to-door salespeople bother me, but as I listened to Anthony relentlessly pitching this product to my husband I couldn't help but think, "Wow, you are in the exact same boat as I am. We both just want someone to give us a chance. We both keep getting turned down even though we are trying to be honest, hard workers." Do I think his $40 miracle cleaner works? No. Has he ever used it? Probably not. But I couldn't help but be frustrated as my husband had to turn him away. I would have done the same thing as Evan. We can't afford to be laying down $40 for cleaning fluid. And I'm sure Anthony, who has probably been out all day being turned down at every door, doesn't want to hear that we understand his problems as we sit in our air conditioned apartment. I don't know where Anthony lives, but it was just another reminder of how unfair life can be. Well I guess in the temporal sense life is usually unfair. And since I cannot currently remember my existence before this life, I sometimes have a hard time accepting the dichotomy of this temporal estate. But I've been taught and believe that in an eternal sense it is 100% fair. And that we will be blessed for the faith and good works we demonstrate on this earth. So as for right now I'll keep applying for jobs and hoping that someone will see that I am worth hiring. And if no one sees that worth then I'll pick something else to do and be just as happy. I hope Anthony keeps trying really hard too. One day when I have $40 to spend on cleaner I will gladly buy it from him.

We did it!

So even though Evan and I really finished college 4 months ago, it wasn't really official until we dressed up like this:
After 5 years of studying, exam taking, numerous papers, and several pointless assignments we got to show off our intelligence by wearing mu-mus and cardboard hats. Yes, we are that intellectually inclined. I think our costumes scream "Look Ma! I gradumatated!" more than "Ah yes, I did attend university for several years and received my Baccalaureate degree after arduous study and testing." But I guess people smarter than myself decided this is what educated people are supposed to look like. At first I was excited to wear the mu-mu, I mean gown. I thought because it was so big maybe I would look skinny in it. As evidenced by the pictures associated with this post, the gown only makes me look bigger, more house-esque if you will. But I guess people who tend to wear mu-mus, being larger in physical dimensions than others, don't usually look skinnier in said mu-mu. I'm not sure why I thought I'd be any different.
We attended both commencement (the big one with all graduates) and my convocation (the smaller one with only education graduates). Both ceremonies were good, not that I would attend another one of my own free will. The only thing that would have made them better would have been if we were handed a wad of cash and a card telling us where we would be getting jobs. Wow, that would be nice!
There haven't been any real changes in our employment situation. We are both waiting to hear about jobs. We are also considering selling all of our possessions and moving to a beach in Mexico. But with the whole swine flu/won't get it if you eat pork/wash your hands 5,000 times a day thing going on down there I think we'll stay put for now. I did stumble across these quotes and found comfort in them so I thought I'd add a little optimism to this post. Here goes:

"God's ways of educating our desires are, of course, always the most perfect... and what is God's way? Everywhere in nature we are taught the lessons of patience and waiting. We want things a long time before we get them, and the fact that we wanted them a long time makes them all the more precious when they come." ~Joseph F. Smith

"The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude." ~Joseph B. Wirthlin, Come What May and Love It.

So I guess patience is the name of the game. Evan told me one time that I'm a patient person. He's obviously never heard the conversations I have in my head.

*Not pictured: Evan's parents (I'll get those pictures soon!)

long time no post

Ya ya I know. It's been a century or two since I last posted anything on here. So I thought I'd dust off the ol' blog and vent a little. Nothing too terribly exciting has happened in my life, so I'm turning to political stuff to blog about now. I'm not sure if this is really going to be about politics as much as it is going to be about opinions and when it's ok to have one...according to some people.

As some of you know, Evan and I do not currently have television capabilities so we watch shows and get our news from the Internet. So I heard about the whole Miss California "controversy" via the information super highway. I read about how during the question portion of the competition Miss CA was asked the following question by Perez Hilton, an openly gay celebrity gossip blogger: "Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?" Miss CA's response was, "Well I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land that you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage, and you know what, in my country, and in my family I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised and that's how I think it should be between a man and a woman. Thank you." Hilton immediately took to his blog to post that Miss CA was a dumb (insert obscenity here) for answering the question the way she did and saying she was the only person in Miss USA history to ever be booed. After watching the video I actually heard more applause for her answer than boos. It was obvious by her saying, "No offense to anyone out there" that she may have heard people booing, but I heard more applause than anything. While Hilton obviously does not agree with Miss CA's opinion on same-sex marriage, he obviously was not interested in her honest opinion even though that is what he asked for in the question. (Do you think every state should follow suit?) And he even asked that she explain herself. (Why or why not?) From the way he formed his question it seems like he wanted her to answer honestly and give an explanation. But that is not what he really wanted. He states on his blog that he really wanted her to answer in a more politically correct and less alienating way by saying that the forefathers of this country set up a government where the states make decisions for themselves. But had she answered this way, she wouldn't really be answering his question at all.

Some may say that in a competition such as Miss USA you cannot answer questions like you normally would (isn't that called lying?). You have to answer in a way as to not offend anyone. What I find so frustrating is that Miss CA is now being berated by some people who have access to media outlets for answering the question honestly. I think it took guts for Miss CA to answer the way that she did. She easily could have given the typical "world peace" answer that beauty pageants are often made fun of for. Instead, she chose to express her opinion, and if I remember correctly we have something called freedom of speech in America. Just like Mr. Perez Hilton is allowed to express his views and opinions, so are the rest of us. I guess some people feel it's ok for other people to have an opinion as long as it's the same as theirs. Now, does that really make any sense...at all?!

And while we are on this topic: I also find it frustrating when people who do not agree with other's opinions accuse those people of being narrow-minded. Doesn't the very fact that they are calling someone narrow-minded for having an opposing view make them narrow-minded? I don't think people who agree with same-sex marriage are narrow-minded. I think they have an opinion. And that's ok.