This year's birthday celebration started a bit early - in September. Jamie Stephens and I always get together for our birthdays. We went to the movie on September 30. We saw "Dear Evan Hansen" and had a great time, as always. She gave me the CUTEST bat pillow. It's so dang fun. I have it on my bed and it makes me smile. Jamie and I met when we both moved to 1520 North Circle in 2000. Even after she moved, we kept in touch. She went through a divorce and got remarried. I went through a divorce. We've sent kids on missions. Kids have gotten married. She's the BEST.
General Conference, as usual, was great. I really liked the talk about 1% Better. Pick some aspect of the gospel and try to do it 1% better. It really spoke to me. I try to do 100% and that's impossible and unsustainable. 1% adds up. After a year of trying 1% more each day. someone will be 37 times better at a task. Baby steps do make a difference.
On my actual birthday, I got to teach my favorite classes. On Tuesdays I have my 215 discussion and my 340 lab. Jenny came at the end of 215 and we all had cake. There was enough cake to share with my 340 students. One student, Allie, gave me flowers and chocolate. I've had her in class before and she is very thoughtful. I put the flowers on my dresser and they brought a smile to my face for days. Dad took me and Melia to dinner. Mom was out of town. We went to Strap Tank, a local microbrewery that has great sandwiches. I really enjoyed my brisket sandwich. Kamiko and Bekki said they are going to buy me dinner at Disneyland for my birthday and Melia said she's going to buy me a treat. Allie bought me a really cute flannel shirt from Madewell. We sure love that she works there. She uses that discount to bless all of us. The sister I minister to, Claudia, brought me some cut chocolates. Starlyn gave me some wonderful cleaning supplies, and Karen and Grant Schultz brought me some chocolates too.
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| My wonderful shoes |
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| Birthday selfie on my way to work |
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| Cake with Alyssa Arnold (food buyer), Misha Bean (TA), Hallie (TA), Julia Lee (TA), Starlyn, Andrew Sykes, Jenny Sykes, Chase Crockett, me in one of my new dresses and my new shoes |
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| Delicious and cute chocolates from Claudia |
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| Starlyn gave me these cleaning supplies and this cute tray to keep them cute and contained |
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| Flowers from Allie |
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| One of my new dresses |
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A lunch to celebrate my birthday and Kim Blight's birthday, hosted by Wendy Lee and Debbie Larsen. We've been enjoying birthday lunches since we carpooled our boys to junior high
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| Kim Cassetti sent me a very thoughtful gift from "home" |
I also treated myself to a couple of new dresses and some new shoes. I'd been needing to get rid of some dresses that don't fit me anymore. I found some cute dresses at Seagull Book and bought some adorable shoes at Madewell. I went to Madewell to look into a coat and Allie told me I get $25 off during my birthday month. I also get a teacher discount, so I bought some shoes I've had my eyes on. I've worn them a lot. In fact, today I thought "how did I live without these shoes? They are the perfect fall/spring shoe."
On Monday, October 11, I went to our monthly lunch with my "Walking Friends," Kim Blight, RaDawn Mehr, and Sherie Ritchie. Sandy Hewlett couldn't make it. I love those women so much. I cried a bit at lunch when I told them they are the part of my "old life" that I miss the most. I think I'll join the gym again to find a new love for exercise and to maybe find some exercise friends down here. I then met Melissa Willey, a friend from BYU and AF days, for dinner. She's recently divorced, too, and we had a great visit. Her kids are about the same age as mine. She's doing quite well. Her divorce was also best for all involved. Later that night, Maria, John, and Abby Trump came to stay with us. It was so fun to have them here, to have them see my new place. They are such good friends. I always see them when I go to Kristen's. It was nice to host them. They were with Sidney in Cedar City and a storm warning was issued, so they left Cedar City earlier than planned and spent the night at my house. We had a great visit. Maria so kindly venmoed me $30 to treat myself.
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| Me and Abby Trump in our pajamas. She's a unicorn |
Tuesday, October 12, was what would have been our 30th anniversary. After a great day of teaching my favorites, I treated myself to a movie. I went to see the new James Bond movie, "No Time to Die." Loved it. I love going to the movies. I wasn't sad at all. In fact, I'm in a really good place. While I never thought I'd be divorced, I realize I'm better today than I was 2 or 3 years ago. It's like a weight is lifted. Do I want to get remarried? I'd like to. I'm open to a healthy relationship with a straight, mature man. I won't settle, that's for sure. Time will tell. I'm in no hurry. I'm enjoying my job, my income, my freedom, my time with my kids, my friendships, etc.
I've been working long hours at work. I've also found time to go to the temple. I've been fortunate to schedule 1 endowment and 1 initiatory session each month. It's difficult to find sessions that work with my schedule, but I've found them. It's wonderful to be in the temple. Oh, they announced a temple for LaPaz during conference. YAY. 3rd temple for Bolivia. I have a student in my class who served in Bolivia. It's fun to talk missions with Caylor.
I also did something I've been wanting to do... I contacted the Center for Teaching and Learning and had an evaluator come to my class to observe and evaluate. She came on Tuesday, the 12, and we had a meeting on Friday, the 15. Looks like I'm connecting with my students and that they like my class. I did get some ideas on how I can improve things. My students want to make some beverages. I'm going to ask them what they want to make. I'm also going to start class with having them share what they've been making at home. The students want to make more advanced things, but some things that we're making are specifically designed for our FCS majors. This class was built for our majors, to prepare them to teach advanced baking and pastry classes. I was also reminded that I should move around the room more, even though I'm stuck at the podium for Zoom and PowerPoint purposes. I'm going to work the room more, something I talk to my student teachers a lot. I can do better. I appreciate the chance to be evaluated.
