December!

It was a good month. 

I started by letting go of control and going to Las Vegas for a national conference for ACTE (an organization for career and technical educators). I missed the last day in class with 110 and left Starlyn and my TAs to also cover 215 lab. I've never missed class for a trip like this. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but it was a growing experience for me.  I rode down with Natalie. We got there Tuesday night. I had her drop me off at my hotel, The Strat, which was a mile away from the conference venue. Natalie signed up early enough to get a room at the conference venue hotel. I'll do that next time. I was so stressed in September that I couldn't commit to the conference. I didn't decide until November to go. There was a Walgreen's down the street from where I stayed and I grabbed food there if Natalie and I didn't have plans to go out to eat. I walked to and from my hotel to the conference venue each day. I was too cheap to get an Uber, plus I wanted to walk since I'd be stuck sitting all day in classes. 

This cute group of 14 students make up my SFL 215 class, Advanced Food Preparation

This young man, Jacob Toone, roommate to our TA, Thomas, made 215 so fun. He really engaged with all his classmates and kept us entertained and thinking. A great kid. 

Natalie thought she had some meetings on Wednesday, but she didn't, so we spent the day walking along the strip. We grabbed a burger at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant. Maria Trump had told me it was good and Natalie has always wanted to eat at a Gordon Ramsay place, so it was a logical choice. Because the conference was in Vegas, a lot of Utah FCS teachers were there. It was fun to connect with everyone. I attended some classes and met some people. I have to be honest that the Utah CTE conference is better. The Utah affiliate really does a great job. I'll go again next year, though. It's important to get involved and to meet other educators, especially to meet people outside of Utah. I met a really nice lady from Arkansas. I told her I'll keep her informed about the temple open house in Bentonville so she can go inside. She knows members of the church and has a family member that is a convert. I was gone Tuesday night - Saturday night. 

My new friend, an FCS teacher from Arkansas

We kept interviewing candidates for study abroad in every spare minute we had. We have to narrow it down to 22 students. We will interview 57 students. Some who really stood out at the beginning won't even make the cut because there are so many great students who applied. At least there are some freshman who can wait and apply in 2 years. Melia applied and will go with us. 

We also interviewed for an adjunct faculty member to teach SFL 340, Family Meal Management. We hired my old roommate Pam Rock. She'll be great. I had lunch with her on the 19th and got her trained. We have a zoom meeting this week, where we'll cover more items. We also interviewed for a CFA position. This is when a nearby school district gives us a seasoned teacher on loan. BYU pays the district their salary and the teacher keeps all benefits with the district. We narrowed it down to 2 exceptional people. Natalie will make the offer and we'll see who accepts. 

Before the semester ended, I helped teach our methods students about their giant assessment they have to complete in the winter. I also went with Natalie to take Christmas presents to Carol Ellsworth, one of my professors. I go with her when she has to take stuff to Ruth Brasher, too. I also had a great lab with 215. I have loved that class more and more each semester. The students are a lot of fun. They sent me pictures of them in lab when I was gone in Vegas just to let me know that they were doing well. 

We had our annual Book Gang Christmas Breakfast with gift exchange on Saturday, December 10. We had a great turnout and really had a nice time. I had missed a few recent meetings due to work. It was good to see everyone. I took a rechargeable candle lighter, which I have and LOVE. Kim Blight ended up with it. I got frozen cookie dough from Rosemary, which really came in handy when I had to take cookies to a funeral. 

Table set for Santa Lucia

My advent calendar has some new additions - a mini Stonehenge (#5), a mini coffee pot from Dubai from Annie (#8). I also have a mini Eiffel Tower. I want to fill it with trinkets from travels.

Book Gang

Kamiko and Mel came over on Sunday, December 11, to celebrate Santa Lucia with breakfast for dinner. We had scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, oranges, and pastries. Of course, Bekki was invited, but she wasn't feeling well, so she stayed home. We sent a plate home with Kamiko. The kids stayed and we watched "White Christmas." Kamiko couldn't get over Bing Crosby's blue eyes. He also said he's going to dress as Danny Kay in his choreography number for Halloween. LOL. After "White Christmas" we watched "Arthur's Perfect Christmas" from PBS. Kamiko always loved Arthur and we have a tradition of watching that. Then we watched "The Toy who Saved Christmas" which is a veggie tales movie. That one stunk, but Mel has fond memories of watching it as a kid. We laughed. It was a fun afternoon/evening. 

Mel talked me into buying a Christmas quilt she found on Facebook Marketplace. It cost $20. We made stockings out of it. We ended up with 7 stockings. I sent one to Allie with candy in it since she won't be home for Christmas due to her new job. Mel meticulously made the perfect pattern and they turned out great. They are identical on one side, but different on the other, so we have options. 

So proud of Allie. She is now a flight attendant for Republic. This is a picture of her training class. They worked so hard to earn their wings. 

Annie Oswald and I on one of our many mall walks. We bought children's books and art supplies. 

My friend Adrienne gave me this print. It's a depiction of our Heavenly Father, the creator. I love it. She specifically picked it out for me. It's going in my office. 

Starlyn lucked out with tickets to the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert and shared with me. We left her house at 4:00 pm on Friday, December 16, got to Salt Lake around 5:00, got dinner and hung out until it was time to go to the conference center. It was a beautiful concert. The guest artist is Filipina and she sang a Filipino Christmas song. I wished the kids had been there. She sang it again for Music and the Spoken Word and I recorded it for the kids. I've shown Kamiko and Mel. I'll show Allie next time she's in town. We know very little about Filipino culture and heritage. It makes sense since Keenan's birth father was abusive and left their lives when Keenan was only 2 years old. It does leave a gaping hole for my kiddos. 

I spent time here and there working on projects that I need to finish before January 9, when we go back to school. Both Online and Blended versions of SFL 110 with the new textbook, new lectures, new quizzes and exams are ready to go. SFL 340, with more complex quiz questions, is ready to go. I moved SFL 215 to Canvas as my learning management system. I also worked on the article I have been asked to write for the alumni magazine. I also took some days OFF and didn't think about work at all. I need to recharge. 

Mel came to my place the Monday before Christmas, thinking she had Covid, so she stayed in her room. She tested and did have it. That's 2 Christmas breaks in a row for Melia and Covid. She stayed put, I took her food. She was done with isolation on Friday and we went to the movie and saw "Puss in Boots" with Kamiko and Bekki. I think I was the only parent in the theater with children over the age of 10. We had a blast. It was a cute movie. We wanted to see "Avatar" but Mel didn't think she could sit through a 3+ hour movie without coughing a lot. After the movie, Mel went to dinner with her dad and I stuck around with Kamiko and Bekki. We got dinner at Cafe Rio and hung out. It was fun. On Saturday, I went walking with Annie Oswald in the warmth and protection of the mall. Then I made cinnamon rolls. I took some to the Brau's house for all of them. Mel and I got Chinese takeout, then we worked on the stockings. We joked that we made them for us and our future spouses. We made 7. There's an extra in case Allie is every polyamorous. Hehehe. Just kidding. 

Mel and I got decked out for Christmas church

Lovely breakfast after church

Christmas smiles

We went to my ward on Sunday morning. Kamiko and Bekki came over on Sunday afternoon. Sunday night, Mel left and went to visit my mom and dad, then went to Kobi's house, then to Keenan's. I fixed a feast on Monday for the kids. We had turkey and all the trimmings. It was fun. Mel really spoiled me on Christmas. She got me all of my favorites - Diet Dr. Pepper, caramel M&M's, Swedish Fish, Scooby Doo cookies, Mentos, and bath salts. It was really sweet of her. I gave each of the kids money. We weren't going to exchange gifts because of the trip to Florida in the summer, but I still did a little something. The holidays are so fun. 

Some people call the week between Christmas and the New Year "The Bermuda Triangle" because time just gets lost. It's been a relaxing week for me with writing the article, reading a book, listening to a self help book that I loved. It's called "You Are a Badass." I've been mulling around finishing my basement and have been troubleshooting the mice in my basement. There are fewer and fewer, so I think we're getting there. I've gone walking most days, even in light snow. It's been very relaxing. My house is so quiet, but I don't mind. I've watched a lot of Hallmark movies. 

I was going to play games with Starlyn and Lee on New Year's Eve, but she ended up with Covid, so I was home, in my pajamas, finishing my 2022 photo book. I make one each year and now I wonder why I do it. Does anyone really care about my life? I don't mean that in a macabre way. I'm just wondering why I spend hours making it...will anyone ever look at my books? Oh well, my books, along with this blog that nobody reads, are my way of journaling. My neighbor Lynn Maughan hates New Year's Eve as much as I do. When I was at the grocery store, I saw mini bottles of sparking juice. I bought one for me and one for her and Michael. I also had a piece of toast around 10:00. It was my "toast" to the new year. After 2020, I'm hesitant to get too excited about any new year. I am happy and healthy, but I don't get too hyped. I'm realistic. 

That balloon art says 2023. It was on our last walk of 2022 in the mall. Me, Annie, Kim Blight, and Corinne. 

Toasting in the New Year

I'm working on my cozy look and feel. Gonna light more candles in 2023.

Got to see my dear friend, Rhea Overson Whittaker from Texas days. She has since moved to North Carolina, then to Virginia. so nice to see her. She is a gem.