a blended life

POST ALERT: This is for me, not you. You don't have to read it. Two years ago I made a goal to read all the Newberry winners (young adult books). I figured I should get in touch with some of this literature since I've decided to teach teenagers in Resource (what was I thinking?). Anyway, here is a brief update on how that's been going. It's been going slower than planned cuz I can't stop reading other stuff too. Main conclusion: There are too many good books and not enough time in my life to read them all. Anyway, here are the ones I've read and the year that they won the Newberry Medal: Dead End in Norvelt (2012) Moon Over Manifest (2011) When You Reach Me (2010) The Graveyard Book (2009) Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices From a Medieval Village (2008) ***BORING*** The Higher Power of Lucky (2007) Criss Cross (2006) Kira Kira (2005) The Tale of Despereaux (2004) ***BORING*** Crispin: The Cross Of Lead (2003) A Single Shard (2002) A Year Down Yo...

I've lost my mojo. Can't seem to find it anywhere. And no, mom, it's not with my car keys (which I've also lost several times this month. Usually found locked inside the car--but the story where the police came and broke into my car so I could get the key out can wait for another day). Maybe it's because I don't wanna take 10 credits of silly school this summer. Maybe it's because I've only had 4 Oreos today. And one Creamie. And some fries. Or it might be that my friend next door moved to Las Vegas and didn't take me with her. Or my uncle's divorce will be final this week. A marriage that was supposed to be ideal--is there such a thing? Anyway, I'm in a bit of a fog, so I'm posting some happy fun pictures of randomness. My friend came from Mississippi. I miss her so much. Move back!!! Why do so many of my friends live out of state right now?! Leah got braces. Poor, pathetic little girl now looks too old for her age an...

It was probably the best Mother's Day ever. I couldn't have planned another better one if I tried. I don't expect them to all be as good in the future, but I'm so grateful for a good one. My girls were so excited to celebrate and kept giving me hugs and kisses. There is a lot of love in our little family :). Jacob and Karina came out for dinner. I love having them around. My kids look up to them and I wish we saw more of each other, but lives are busy and I'll take what I can get. The power of an aunt an uncle are so strong. My dad made a delicious bbq meal and we ate on the deck and watched the chickens flit around. Idyllic! I taught two lessons in church-- one for the 16-18 year olds for Sunday School (a lesson about Abinadi in the Book of Mormon--love that guy!), then I taught the Young Women. We talked about how women can have a positive influence on the world even though they may not be mothers. We talked about examples of women that have touched our lives wh...

Or "You Can Tell A Lot About Someone By What She Blogs About". Let's all have a handful of bridge mix in honor of this blog's 4th anniversary. This also marks the longest I have continually kept a record of my life--which is an amazing statistic for me. I feel like a should have a contest or a poll or some kind of blogg-y thing to celebrate our time together, but that just wouldn't be like me. Here's what we looked like four years ago, living in Tin Can Alley (translate--the trailer park on USU campus that has been demolished): She was super cute, she just cried all the time:  Introducing the most unflattering picture I could find of myself. The messy house is a key feature. Put on your sunglasses-those legs will blind you. The famous pink dress (which I pitched in a dumpster in the middle of the night, after it had been worn and shredded and pooped in for months). If I would have predicted my life four years from that first ...