Recess is my favorite

Today, like most days, I played four square at recess.

Unlike most days, today we used a slightly-flat, old soccer ball. We had to hit it higher to make it fair. But that turned it into a game in and of itself. We played slow-motion four-square.

"I just like [recess]. [Recess]'s my favorite."

"Make work your favorite. That's your favorite, okay? Work is your new favorite."

Thank goodness recess is part of work.

If you want to find out what other women from all over the world did today,

stop by communal global.

With wind like this, I'd plant windmills, too

I don't mean to misrepresent Iowa with this photo.

Christine tells us all the time that Iowa is more than farming.

She grew up in the city.

I went on an extended weekend trip to Iowa with my friend (and coworker...that's how we met), Christine. She's from Cedar Rapids. Her friend, Carla, was getting married.

We took two days off work, and started driving Thursday night. She didn't think we'd drive straight through. She and her twin sister were both surprised when we got to a suburb of Des Moines in the earlier afternoon on Friday.

It is definitely spring in Iowa. Everything was in bloom. It was absolutely gorgeous! I would like to celebrate every spring from now on in Iowa.

Christine's sisters and friends were a delight to meet. I had a ton of fun at the wedding.

After the wedding, we headed to a karaoke bar at my suggestion. We sang a few songs. (Which means I have now karaoked in 6 United States.) While I was singing, a boy came over and asked Christine if I was single. She tried to lie and say no, but he could tell she was lying. She told him that I'd be going home to Utah the next day, so it probably wouldn't be worth his time.

I loved the windmills. I loved shopping at the country store in Amish country. The food was great. The people were sure nice. I'd go again.

I think I'll go for a walk outside now

We had a good rain yesterday evening and night.

This morning, the air was clear and fresh and the world was new, so I headed out for a walk.

I only took a few steps at a time, because there were ever so many worms to save!

These are just a few of my new friends that I could tell weren't ready to dry out and die.

At least not yet.

I'll be digging these friends back up soon, because I have a good feeling they'll bait me some beautiful fish.

This post is inspired by Communal Global. Do you want to see what the world looks like to other people? Check out the site and see daily pictures from amazing women all over the world.

SWF looking for her Settling Soul Mate

My sister, Casey, lived with me over the summer. Neither of us had jobs, so we watched/streamed quite a bit of tv and movies. She would often quote 30 Rock or tell me about an episode. I've always liked Tina Fey, but she took a special place in my heart during her political days. But when I watched a couple episodes of 30 Rock when it first hit the air, I wasn't hooked. I wasn't impressed. But I was also a lot less funny then.

Fortunately, I found myself with a little time one day and started watching again. Now 30 Rock is a weekly treat.

Watch this episode.

Time out. I have a feeling you didn't really watch it.

Fine. At least skip to 11:06. (If I knew how to deeplink Hulu, I would.)

"The Universe wants us to settle for one another. There has to be a reason this keeps happening to us, Liz. I think that fate is telling us this is the best we're ever going to get. We're each other's settling soul mates."

"Settling soul mates? That is grim. And I've played Monopoly alone."

"Well, I know it's not ideal. But we both benefit. I could open jars and kill bugs for you, and you could make me look less gay at work functions."

"...Why fight this? Grow old with me, Liz? In separate bedrooms."

I found my settling soul mate not too long ago.

I have made a lot of awesome friends in Tooele. Two of my favorite friends are a couple of guys who are roommates. I spend a lot of time at their house. Since I live alone and don't have family here, I've made them my family. It's the place I go when I want to be with people without having to entertain or be entertained. Nothing is required. We just chill. I like that arrangement.

On my drive back to Tooele after Christmas break, I got a few texts in a row from one of these boys. It started out with "I know you like me." I immediately responded with "You know I like ____." (Explicitness only occurs in my journal and not on a public blog.) And he did know. I've talked to him about it before.

He didn't stop. He kept telling me how much I liked him (yes, you read that correctly) and suggested we start dating. His rationale? "We get along just fine, and you don't let me walk all over you."

We get along just fine.

Yeah. That's exactly the relationship I'm looking for.

Never once did he tell me he liked me, or that he liked spending time with me, or that I made him laugh, or that I made him want to be a better person, or that he missed me while I was gone.

Nope. None of that.

I guess if I let my loneliness control my life, then we'd be growing old in separate bedrooms by now.

We meet

I finally met her!

I drove home Sunday night with hopes of spending time with my niece during spring break. So far, it has been time well spent.

I met Emma on Sunday night and never want to leave.

I knew from the pictures that she was small, but I didn't realize that she was so tiny! She felt so fragile in my arms. Maybe fragile isn't the right word, because she is very strong like her father. I was intimidated, because she was so delicate.

I was fortunate enough to spend the entire day with her on Monday. I got to accompany my brother at the doctor's office for her two-week checkup. It was fun to watch my brother show her off to a few friends of his that worked at the hospital. His buddy's wife was holding her, doting on her remarkable beauty, when she looked up at my brother and said, "Wipe that grin off your face!" He can't help it. He is so proud of her and loves her so much.

My brother is the most adorable father ever! That morning when I was at his house watching Emma while he got ready, he walked into the room and remarked how beautiful she was. He said, "I've seen her a million times, but she still takes my breath away."

After Emma's appointment, we headed back to our parents' house. I changed and fed Emma and let her sleep in my arms for hours. I had no desire to do anything or be anywhere else.

I was glad when Emma pooped on the car ride home, because that meant I got to spend more time with her. I carried her into Will's house, changed her, and started feeding her. The hour that it took her to eat was my favorite hour of the day. By this time, I was no longer nervous to hold her tiny body and the time spent together was so peaceful and perfect.

I love Emma and can't wait to see her again today!

To my niece

Dear Emma,

I can hardly contain my joy! I am so happy you are here in this world and that I get to be a part of your life.

You are born to such a wonderful father. Your father, my brother, is one of the most loving, gentle, and dearest people in the world. He is the best older brother a girl could've ever asked for. He cared for me. He guided me. He protected me. He taught me so many wonderful things. He has been there for me when no one else has. He has blessed my life in more ways than I could ever express.

Now it is your turn to experience the greatness that he has within him. He will love you and cherish you all your days. He already does. He will teach you the things you need to know. He will guide you through life's journey. He will give of himself freely. You already hold a special place in his heart. You will get to know the tenderness that is his heart. He will love you with the deepest and most sincere love.

Although I haven't met you yet, I love you, Emma. I, too, will teach you, guide you, and cherish you. I will be there for you like my brother has been there for me. I will do as he taught me; I will protect you.

I cannot wait to hold you, my precious niece. I will shower you with all the love I have.

I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing you with health and strength. You are so beautiful. I am so blessed to have you in my life.

Love always,

Aunt Katie

From the happiest aunt in the world

She's born!

Emma Jeane Gause

Born Monday, March 15, 2010

12:06pm

St. George, UT

6 lbs 14 oz

19 inches

She's showing you that she has the strength to face this world.

Proud Grandma!

Sleeping beautifully!

Emma will be loved and protected by a father who cherishes her.

Together

Homeless

I've recently started volunteering at the Family File desk at the Salt Lake Temple which has led to an immersion in Family History.

When my mom propositioned going to Florida again for Christmas, I only agreed if I could get more information from my grandfather in Mississippi about his family. Many generations are assembled on both sides of my father's family and on my maternal grandmother's maternal side, but I didn't have much information about my maternal grandfather's family.

I had no idea the gold mine that was available to me. My grandfather took me to a small cemetery near his home where a few generations of his family was buried. I took 93 pictures of headstones. I spent the last couple days inputting information and linking my family together on new.familysearch.org. (I even input information for a family that isn't even related to me...at least that I haven't found yet...and provided the missing link needed to populate several generations. It was so exciting to serve someone I didn't even know!)

It has been a fascinating adventure.

However, as I listened to my grandfather, I realized that he had spent almost his entire life in the same area. He served in the army which took him out of Mississippi and he spent a little time in a couple towns near his hometown, but he had lived there his entire life. His parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents had also lived there their whole lives.

When I looked back at the family history that was already there for me on my father's side and my maternal grandmother's maternal side, these families were also born and raised in the same places their entire lives and for generations.

All of these families lived down South--Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina--which makes me wonder why I live in the West. I don't have any roots here.

Identifying this family history should make me feel more connected. Instead it has made me feel homeless. I don't know where my home is. I know where my parents live. I know where I graduated high school. I know where I started kindergarten. I know where I went to my first dance. I know where I learned to walk. All of these places are different. I don't know where to call home.

As the cheesey cliche goes, home is where the heart is. I believe that. Every place I've lived has been my home. Right now Tooele is my home. I have friends who treat me like family. I have people who care about me and treat me right. Tooele feels like home. However, I could easily leave after this school year in search of a new home.

That leaves me with the same feeling: homeless.

A mighty change of heart

I must be experiencing a might change of heart.
It's snowing right now. I opened the blinds so that I could enjoy it. I can barely see the field across the street from my school, but I'm loving it. It is so peaceful. I even considered walking outside to let the flakes fall on my face. Alas, I must stay inside so that I don't lose my job.
Speaking of work...

Blogging is a dying breed

I've noticed that blogging seems to be a thing of the past. Very few of my friends post on a regular basis. Even the national blogs I follow don't update as frequently in my Google Reader. I know it's lost its charm in my life. I have turned to instant feedback in the form of facebook status updates. I can use one status update to fulfill my creative need. I can be clever in just a few words. And thanks to texting, I've learned to sum up my life in 160 characters or less.

I no longer have the desire to take 10-15 minutes to tap out a story or two on the ol' blog. I feel like Doogie Howser. I use short and insightful status updates to record my life.

Friends forever

You light up my life

It was just after midnight. I was sitting on my couch using my laptop to prepare some things for school. All of the sudden, there was a bright light outside my window. The light resembled that of fire, but there was no way a fire that large could flare up that fast. Within moments, it was gone. A few minutes later, I heard a low rumbling sound much like the roar of an engine and my floor vibrated slowly. Admittedly, I was scared. I didn't know what caused the light or the noise. Of course, I turned to facebook for comfort. I posted, "There is something strange happening in my backyard. I don't know if I dare look outside."

Moments later, my sister, Casey, posted that she had just seen the most amazing meteor in her entire life on her drive home. She said, "It looked like Superman shot across the sky. It was so bright; I was blinking the image for several minutes."

I was a little jealous of Casey, having spent almost an hour the night before in the bitter cold watching for meteors as brilliant as the one Casey just reported seeing. I commented on her post, "I hope you made the ultimate wish."

I, never knowing what caused the strange light in my backyard, went to sleep.

The next morning, I checked facebook as part of my morning routine. A friend of mine, Brian, who works as a reporter for The Spectrum, commented on my post saying, "You aren't the only one to report such an incident." He left the link for the newscast on KSL.

I watched the newscast and got really excited. That bright light I saw was in fact the light from the meteor Casey had seen while driving in Salt Lake. I was thrilled. I couldn't wait to get to school to talk to others about it.

I hadn't missed out (entirely) on the greatest astronomical event of my life.

Three months in review

I can't even remember the last time I clicked on my Blogger bookmark. My last post was in mid-August. I miss blogging. I miss writing in my journal. So many things have happened, but I haven't taken the time to stop to record them. I'll have to refer back to my facebook status updates to try and remember the noteworthy things that have happened in my life recently to begin recording them. Until then, I'll generate a list of some important points. I can't promise that they'll be chronological, nor will I promise that they will make sense to everyone.

I stayed home sick today from work. I have a cold, although part of me wishes it was swine flu. I still don't believe that disease exists (despite the number of confirmed cases in Tooele County).
Speaking of Tooele County, I'm officially a resident.

I didn't vote this year which makes me very sad. It's the first election I've ever missed in all my voting years. I never took the time to familiarize myself with the candidates and proposals for this county. I didn't want to go to the polls uneducated and pick the name that sounded the best. I was ashamed that I neglected my patriotic duty to be informed and to share my voice.

I really like Tooele. Or at least I did until it started to snow.

My car broke. The transmission gave out. That wasn't the only thing wrong with it. It would've cost more to fix than it's worth. It was a blessing in disguise. Well, actually it wasn't even disguised all that well. I was certain to die in the car I used to drive if I were to have driven it in the snow.

That means I bought a new (to me) car. It's number one selling point for me was traction control. I told myself if I ever lived in the snow again then I wanted a car with traction control. I was sold on that feature years ago when I lived in Provo and dated a boy who drove a car with traction control. I was never scared when I drove his car, but I was always scared when I drove my car.

So far, I love my car.

Second only to traction control is my other favorite feature. It has a tape deck. That's right. I can listen to cassette tapes any time I want in my car. The only problem is, I don't have any cassette tapes. So I'm adding that to my Christmas List. As a matter of fact, it's the only thing on my Christmas List (since the last item was satisfied a little over a month ago). I want a mix tape from each and every one of you. PLEASE. And make this wish come true faster than my wish for a Snuggie.

Speaking of Snuggies, I got one! YAY! My life is complete now. My younger sister, Casey, got one for me. I'm using it right now. To show my appreciation for her wonderful gift, I created this photo album of me enjoying my Snuggie. View the album here. You'll be ever so grateful you did. (Of course, I have to thank Casey again for taking the pictures for this gratitude photo album.)

I'm the in the Relief Society Presidency of my ward. I was a little, make that a lot, intimidated by the calling. I've never felt like I was the woman that I imagined all members of Relief Society Presidencies to be. As always, the Lord has helped me to grow into my calling. This calling has been the source of great happiness and countless blessings these past couple months. I look forward with great anticipation to the tremendous blessings that will continue to occur in my life as I serve diligently.

I really like my ward. It's smaller than I would like, but there are new people and visitors every week. We'll be busting at the seams before you know it.

I've made some really great friends in my ward as well. I have something to do every night of the week. We go on amazing adventures. Click here, here, here, here, and here for some photos of the great things we do.

I like teaching. Teaching is fun. The rest of my job isn't as fun. Well, I take the back. The social part of my job is fun. I have made some really good friends in my colleagues. One of the other fifth grade teachers has become one of my favorite friends. We went to St. George together during UEA and hiked in Zion and caught a couple shows. We went to The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) at the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City and to Aida at Tuacahn.
Gosh, I miss St. George. I almost drove there last night. I just didn't want to drive back today. Oh, well. Thanksgiving will be here in a week-ish. I can hardly wait.

My students are amazing. They are adorable. They are smart. They work really hard. They make me giggle all the time. I had a student say to me the other day, "You laugh more than anyone I know." I took that as the highest compliment. I like them, and they like me. They like me so much, that they want me to have the finer things in life...including a dreamy boyfriend. They invented a boyfriend for me a couple weeks ago named Chad Hotpants. He has been the source of many a conversation since then. I even had a student bring in a picture from a magazine of Chad Hotpants. He clipped out the cartoon of a man climbing a ladder with the seat of his pants on fire. Hahahaha! They had a heyday the one time I ever let them write on the white board. Enjoy these photos of their graffiti.

Well, this post is entirely too long. I'll have to save some other random information for another day, but I wanted to get these posts under way so that I could post a few days worth of "I'm thankful for..." posts. I really enjoyed that last year.

An adventure at Bear Lake

What does an alfalfa field have to do with my adventure to Bear Lake?
Everything.

My adventure started with this status update.
Having scored an invite, I was set to go. I didn't bother with finding out any more details than what time my sister, Casey, and I should meet them.
It turns out this was a singles stake activity. Our link to the stake was Karl, but he didn't even know what ward he was in or the names of his Bishopric. (He's new to the ward.)
Having waited for Nic to get off work, we didn't get to Bear Lake until after dinner had been scheduled to be served, so we stopped at a pizza joint.
We arrived at the stake campsite just in time for the rest of a concert.

Wanting to leave the crowded campsite behind to enjoy a peaceful night under the stars, we went in search of a place to camp on the shore. Karl told us that a former Bishop of his owned some property up on the Idaho side that had beach access. He assured us that it would be okay for us to stay there.
We trusted him.
We pulled off the road onto an alfalfa farm. He promised us that a short hike would lead to the beach.
We trusted him.
We piled all our stuff on our backs and started walking through the field. Before we knew it, we hit muddy, marshy patches. We kept going, because Karl insisted that the beach was just ahead.
We trusted him.
At one dry point, we set our stuff down and sent Karl through the next wet patch. Our trust in him was fading. He soon reached a barbed wire fence.
We decided to set up camp right there.
Nic brought a tent which he shared with Michelle. Casey and I didn't have a tent, but had planned to sleep under the stars anyway. Karl brought a tent but didn't want to use it.
Michelle had borrowed a tarp which turned out to be ginormous. How big was it? Large enough for three tacos and a tent. (You had to be there, although I will attempt to explain in just a bit.)




The forecast had stated a chance of rain showers in the area. Those of us who were sleeping under the stars staged our sleeping quarters so that we could roll the tarp over us if it started to rain. Sometime, someone called this tarp covering a taco. From then on, we referred to covering ourselves with the tarp tacoing in.
Less than an hour after falling asleep, I awoke, because I was certain that someone was walking on our tarp. It turns out I was crazy, but it still proved beneficial.
The stars were no longer visible and the air was moist. It was ready to rain. My sister woke up to me making some noise. She asked me what I was doing. I casually stated that I was going to taco in, because I suspected it would rain any minute. Nic and Michelle hadn't yet fallen asleep and erupted in laughter at the use of the new phrase. Karl awoke to their laughter; he tacoed in as well.
The rain did come. Although never a heavy rain, it was a consistent rain. The tarp amplified the drips of the small raindrops keeping me from falling into a deep sleep.
Morning soon came to our excitement. We all desperately wanted to see where we had spent the night.
(This photo was not staged. These were the real expressions on their faces shortly after waking up and looking around.)

We packed in a hurry, because we didn't want confrontation with a farmer. (I still can't believe it. We camped in the middle of a recently harvested alfalfa field. Ahhh hahahahaha!)
Below is one of the wet, marshy areas we trudged through because we trusted Karl.

The rain continued throughout the morning. Finally, we decided to pack up and head home. We didn't want to wait to see if the rain would stop so that we could go out on the lake.

Since neither Michelle, Casey, nor I had ever been to Bear Lake, we were determined to make it to the shore. We stopped near the stake campsite to view the lake. Not knowing that we could've accessed the beach much easier down the road, we three girls started trudging through the mud and river reeds to get to the water. Nic hollered at us after we had already gone halfway to tell us there was an easier way. However, we were committed (and no longer foreign to getting our pants soaked and muddy). We enjoyed the little bit of the lake we got to experience.


Although different than I ever would've imagined, my adventure at Bear Lake was wonderful...wonderfully memorable. I can't wait until next time when I can enjoy it like any normal person would.