Miracles in Family and Consumer Sciences

I know we've had Family and Consumer Sciences miracles during this pandemic. Take, for example, the fact that our director worked tirelessly over the last 2 years (as a brand new director) to get many of our classes developed for BYU Online. My class, our consumerism class, and 2 clothing classes that I know of are online. It was a pretty seamless transition for me to take my face to face students to remote learning since I've been teaching 49 students remotely all semester. 

I will be teaching a new prep, SFL 340, starting spring. Now all instruction at BYU this spring will also be done remotely. Guess what class had already been approved to be developed for BYU Online? Yep, 340. So, as I prepare to teach, I'm working with the instructional designer and we're getting it done at break neck speed. It will be refined during the fall for a better run in the winter.

Our student teachers and interns have a HUGE project they must complete to certify. It's called the Teacher Work Sample. The project relies heavily upon student data, student work samples, and basically a regular classroom setting. This winter, for some reason, our director felt impressed to really push our students to get this assignment done by early March, even though it's wasn't technically due in the BYU system until the end of March. It would have been nearly impossible for the interns and student teachers to complete that assignment once the public schools in which they're working closed. Even the director of BYU's Education Preparation Program said how lucky our students are that we pushed them to get it done. 

Finally, our majors all take Instructional Psychology and Technology classes that they feel are a waste of time. In those classes, they learn how to set up a class for online learning, what methods work well with online learning, and how to use a learning management system. Well, our students have been an invaluable resource to their mentor teachers (many of whom are a bit older and not familiar with technology). They've been putting content online and teaching their mentor teachers how to do it. It's been amazing to watch.

Pictured here are our student teachers and their university supervisors. What a way to end the semester.

I think Natalie's name should possibly be changed to Esther. 

This is What Covid-19 Looks Like

I found this post online interesting, so I'm copying it here, then I'll describe my day grocery shopping.

Gas price at Sam's Club $1.99/gallon
Public Schools - closed until at least April 30. We're all expecting no more in-class school for the rest of the year.
Colleges - all remote learning, too.
Self-distancing measures on the rise.
Tape on the floors at stores to help distance shoppers 6 feet from each other.
Limited number of people inside stores, therefore, lineups outside the store doors, especially Costco.
Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed. I don't know why the soda shops are still open.
Parks, trails locked up. Zion National Park closed today.
Entire sports seasons cancelled.
There was no March Madness for college basketball.
Concerts, tours, festivals, and events are cancelled.
Disney parks closed.
Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings, and even funerals cancelled or done via Zoom, where people watch from their phone or laptop.
Churches are closed
Temples are closed
No gatherings of more than 50 people, then 20, and now 10.
Don't socialize with anyone outside your home. Melia and I have met up for dinner and we eat in our cars, with the windows rolled down and talk.
Children's outdoor play parks are closed.
We are to distance ourselves from each other.
Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for front-line workers. 4 of my sisters are sewing masks and caps for medical personnel.
Panic buying. There is a shortage of toilet paper, kleenex, clorox wipes, bottled water, hand sanitizer
Government closes nation's borders to all non-essential travel
Fines are established for breaking the rules.
Gyms and libraries are closed.
Stores have shorter business hours to allow for time to sanitize, clean, and restock.
Stadiums and recreation facilities open up for the overflow of Covid-19 patients
Press conferences daily from President Trump include updates on new cases, recoveries, deaths
Government incentives to stay home
Roads aren't crowded
We wash our hands a lot, a lot, a lot and we try to avoid touching our face and/or our eyes
Factories have stopped making their usual products and are now making masks, ventilators, etc.
People wearing masks and gloves outside
Essential service workers are in danger
The pandemic was declared in the US on March 11, 2020.

Life is precious. Don't take things we dearly love for granted.

Today was a Friday. I got up before 7:00 am and did a High Fitness routine with Metta as teacher. Metta was at a dance studio in Lehi and 85 people were logged in on their computers. It was a good workout. I'm grateful for people doing this. I also go on walks. Even if I walk with a friend, we stay 6 feet apart from each other.

I showered and went to the grocery store. Reams didn't open until 9, but Smith's was open. As I entered, a worker indicated that the cart handles had been wiped down. I didn't wear a mask, but I think I'll start doing that. I roamed the store, getting what I needed, making a point to not touch anything I didn't plan to buy. I needed zucchini but a young woman was standing by the zucchini for a minute or two. I had to wait until she moved before I went closer and got mine. 6 feet apart. The store kept having an announcement over the PA system that reminded us to be mindful. I bought a lot of extra staple items because I don't plan to go back for at least another week. There was a limit of 1 box of kleenex per customer. There were no clorox wipes, which I've been looking for for a couple of weeks now. I may just go get some at work and replace them when they become available in the stores again. I got about 12 frozen dinners, chicken, ground beef, frozen vegetables, canned fruit, milk, and some cookies. You gotta have balance.

When I went to check out, I did self-checkout. I wanted to separate my items in bags according to where the items went when I got back to mom's. If the item isn't perishable and we don't need it right away, it goes in a certain bag and will go to the garage for 3 days before it goes into the house. Other items that are perishable or that we need soon come in the house, but get wiped down with clorox wipes before being put away. Things that went in the garage were bottles of bleach, kleenex, apples, English muffins, onions, mints, and gum. Things that went in the house to get wiped off were cheese, milk, canned goods for tonight's dinner, bananas, and a diet Dr. Pepper. I keep clorox wipes in my car so I can wipe down my steering wheel and other things as needed. So, it's a process to grocery shop.

From Smith's, I went to JoAnn fabric store to see if I could buy interfacing or elastic. Jenny needed some for masks. Her store is totally out. I was able to get 5 yards of interfacing and 2 packages of elastic. The store wasn't open yet, so I ran to Macey's grocery store to see if they had cilantro (yes) and clorox wipes (no). I also got more kleenex and some candy for me for conference bingo tomorrow.

Went back to JoAnn Fabrics and got the interfacing and elastic. Those cutting tables are wide and even with me standing on one side of it and the employee standing on the other side, she asked me to step back. I had not realized the yellow X on the floor was where I was supposed to stand. Oops. While at JoAnn's I had my headphones in and watched my TA Ashley get married in Texas. They were going to get married in the temple here, but that got changed. Their bishop performed the marriage and we all watched via the zoom app. I cried a little because it was so sweet. Then I went to the bank to get temporary checks printed. I went to the door and it was locked. What? There was a note that the lobby was closed. I went to the drive through and the lady was able to help me. I finally was heading home after 2.5 hours. On a normal day, it would have taken a little over an hour.

Then mom and I went through the process of sanitizing items that came into the house and leaving other items in the garage.

Kids are having fun with sidewalk chalk lately. Usually it's colorful and uplifting. I liked this sentiment. You tell 'em, kid!

Jenny made face masks for us. I feel like I'm wearing a muzzle. It's supposed to go from the nose to cover the chin. Wow. That's coverage. 

This one was posted from Leisy Miller, Annie Oswald's daughter, who lives in Northern Italy where they've been confined to their yard for weeks now. 

Bekki and Kamiko with Dottie in a photo shoot. Evidently they've been playing a lot of Monopoly, too. 

Until the DeVuyst kids understood that they couldn't get near Grandma Dana, I would visit them and stay in the driveway while they waved from the window. Now we can visit in the yard. The kids keep their distance...for the most part. 

Allison had her birthday during all of this. Mom and I went over with a banner and stood on her lawn with it to wish her a happy birthday. 

110, 215, 340

Those are the course numbers of the cooking classes I'll be teaching at BYU starting fall 2020.

I have been at BYU since 2000. Even when I wasn't teaching on campus, I was teaching through BYU's Independent Study. I've primarily taught SFL 110, Food Preparation in the Home. I've also been helping with student teachers and interns for the last few years, as needed.

Well, Natalie Hancock, our director, got the approval to bring back SFL 215, Advanced Food Preparation, in the fall. I'll be developing and teaching it. Marci Smith taught it years ago. It was pulled due to cost. I'll be developing a less TA prep driven class. In other words, my class won't require our TA's to do hours of preparation for each lab. It will be heavy on baking and pastries since the state of Utah is rolling out a high school level class for baking and pastries and our teachers need to be prepared to teach it.

Nikki Sue Larkin, who has been teaching 340 for about 8 years, is leaving. It's sad to see her go. She's a fantastic woman and great co-worker, but the change is good for her family. That leaves a need for someone to teach 340 starting spring. I told Natalie I was confident I could do it. I've been looking at all of Nikki Sue's materials. I attended class a couple of times, until classes all went to remote learning due to the pandemic. I have a month to get ready to now teach it remotely. The great news is that 340 was authorized last semester to be written for online education, so starting tomorrow, I'll be working with an instructional designer to get the online version of 340 ready to pilot in spring. 110 is already online, so we're ready for that. I'm just re-writing some wording on some assignments. We feel that the translation from on campus class to online didn't come across too well in a few assignments. I'll go into work tomorrow to do that. I can go to work easily, as nobody is there, so there is no risk of contact.

I've been taking cooking classes to get some more skills. Jenny joined me in a French pastry class at Sur la Table. I also took a braising class. I purchased an online cake class that a friend of mine put together and I'm signed up for a Thai cooking class. It's supposed to be this week, but I'm pretty sure it's cancelled.

Recipe testing: roasted chicken thighs for fats and oils to teach them about the flavor in dark meat.

A Greek lemon soup that uses tempered eggs to thicken the soup. 

Microwave cake

Sunday, March 29, 2020

For the 3rd week in a row, we've had church at home. Due to the global pandemic, temples are closed, there are no church meetings, and everyone is maintaining 6 feet distance from each other IF we go in public.

It really is a crazy time. Last October in General Conference, President Nelson announced that this conference would be memorable, as we would be commemorating 200 years since Joseph Smith's Marvelous Experience (did you know that's what the first vision was referred to in the early publications of the church?). He said "general conference next April will not only be memorable; it will be unforgettable."

TRUTH

General Conference will be held in a room in the Conference Center, with only the speakers and those offering prayers for the actual session in attendance. The choir will not perform, as we are asked to keep gatherings to fewer than 10 people. I wonder if there were great plans for a unique conference that have been switched up. It will still be unique. I'm looking forward to the messages.

To be totally honest, yesterday and this morning have been difficult for me. Getting divorced, moving into my parent's basement, and being quarantined due to a global pandemic isn't quite what I anticipated for 2020. Allison DeVuyst and I went on a long walk yesterday and I told her I didn't understand why the end of the world had to be awful. Why couldn't it be happy? BUT, I've watched and read some very uplifting messages of hope that help me realize this is a great time to look at my patriarchal blessing and see the gifts I've been given to help me at this time. I can also look for ways to grow and learn. This is a historic time. People will talk for years about the pandemic. It would be pretty pathetic if all I could remember about it is wallowing in the negative about it.

As a worldwide church, we fasted and prayed for this pandemic to end and for all those affected. It was a good fast. Mom and dad and I had the sacrament in the living room. We discussed Come Follow Me. Later, I chatted with the girls via FaceTime and I shared parts of an address given by Pope Francis and we read parts of Come Follow Me.

I've especially been touched as I read an address given by Pope Francis in an empty St. Peter's Square. He likened what is happening in the world to the tempest experienced by Jesus and his disciples, when they were afraid they were going to die. This is the only account we have of Jesus sleeping and he was sleeping in the stern of the boat, the part that sinks first. Here are some of my favorite parts of the Pope's historical address:

"We find ourselves afraid and lost. Like the disciples in the Gospel we were caught off guard by an unexpected, turbulent storm (referring to the tempest in Mark 4). We have realized that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important and needed, all of us called to row together, each of us in need of comforting the other. On this boat… are all of us. Just like those disciples, who spoke anxiously with one voice, saying “We are perishing” (v. 38), so we too have realized that we cannot go on thinking of ourselves, but only together can we do this."

"Like the disciples, we will experience that with him on board there will be no shipwreck. Because this is God’s strength: turning to the good everything that happens to us, even the bad things. He brings serenity into our storms, because with God life never dies."

"Lord, you are calling to us, calling us to faith. Which is not so much believing that you exist, but coming to you and trusting in you. This Lent your call reverberates urgently: “Be converted!”, “Return to me with all your heart” (Joel 2:12). You are calling on us to seize this time of trial as a time of choosing. It is not the time of your judgement, but of our judgement: a time to choose what matters and what passes away, a time to separate what is necessary from what is not. It is a time to get our lives back on track with regard to you, Lord, and to others."

"In the midst of isolation when we are suffering from a lack of tenderness and chances to meet up, and we experience the loss of so many things, let us once again listen to the proclamation that saves us: he is risen and is living by our side. The Lord asks us from his cross to rediscover the life that awaits us, to look towards those who look to us, to strengthen, recognize and foster the grace that lives within us. Let us not quench the wavering flame that never falters, and let us allow hope to be rekindled."

"Dear brothers and sisters, from this place that tells of Peter’s rock-solid faith, I would like this evening to entrust all of you to the Lord, through the intercession of Mary, Health of the People and Star of the stormy Sea. From this colonnade that embraces Rome and the whole world, may God’s blessing come down upon you as a consoling embrace. Lord, may you bless the world, give health to our bodies and comfort our hearts. You ask us not to be afraid. Yet our faith is weak and we are fearful. But you, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm. Tell us again: “Do not be afraid” (Mt 28:5). And we, together with Peter, “cast all our anxieties onto you, for you care about us” (cf. 1 Pet 5:7)."

There was more...lots more. Look up the Urbi et Orbi address given about coronavirus and you can find the whole text. Urbi et Orbi is a papal address and apostolic blessing usually given only at Christmas and Easter. This is so special that he would take time to write and deliver this message of hope.

"If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report, we seek after these things." Thanks, Pope Francis.

I also learned that RESTORATION is messy. Think of restoring furniture. The Garden of Eden was the beginning of this earth and it was perfect. The whole history of the world has been messy since then. It will take a lot of mess before it's over. Then it will be like the Garden of Eden again.

Moving AGAIN...

Late January...time to sell our cute townhome that we had finished less than a year ago. The half bath with the apricot wallpaper, Mel's basement "studio apartment," and neighbors that we were getting to know.

Melia really turned the basement into a space that worked for her

It was a beautiful bathroom down there

Living Room on main level

An entryway should always reflect your personality. This Sweden map is just perfect + orange pillows

That cute half bath that's the envy of everyone

dining area

kitchen

guest bathroom

Guest room

Master bathroom

Master bedroom

Exterior. I loved the look of our place!

We called Lissa Lott, best realtor and friend. We got that house cleaned and listed in no time. We hadn't even been in it a year, so that was pretty simple. The listing went live on a Monday night. On Tuesday we had 3 showings and 2 over asking price offers. We took the slightly better offer. My gut told me to take the other one. I found out later that Lissa felt the same way.

The first buyers bailed. Lissa quickly reached out to the other party and they jumped at the chance to get under contract. It was a nice young couple. Allison, our niece, has since met her. She said she cried when they found out they lost the bid, then were so excited when they got under contract. They had been renting in a horrible place with horrible neighbors. This was the place for them.

In less than ONE MONTH, we had sold the house. I had moved into mom and dad's basement with the help of Jamie and Bob Stephens, Starlyn and Lee Hjorth, KC Cook, Keenan, Emily Smith my neighbor, and others. I had been in mom and dad's basement just a year ago and here I was again. Allie has been there since August when the school year started and the cat and I were back.

I was very grateful that we sold to a family who loves the place. Keenan moved out a week after I did, on February 29. I went over later that day to clean. Veronica Santos and Jalayne Cowlie came to help me clean. It got done quickly. That was it.

I have also miraculously found a place where I'll be living. My sister Jenny and I had a weekend getaway that she suggested. She met me on Friday after work and we were to go to a hotel in Riverton for Friday night. Then I had to go to a conference on Saturday to receive an award. She was going to accompany me.

I had been looking at real estate listings and was finding places that looked good. I saw houses, townhomes, etc. I even walked through a place with Mel, but it didn't seem right. I kept looking. Of all the crazy things, when I widened my search a townhome in Mapleton showed up. It's a NEW construction. It was listed as a 3 bathroom/1 bedroom. That's why it didn't show up in any of my searches. I asked my realtor if we could go check it out. Lissa made an appointment for us on the Friday Jen and I were getting together. We went straight from BYU to the townhome in Mapleton to meet with Lissa.

The place is in Harvest Park (the name of my junior high school), a planned community, with lovely single family homes. They're building 19 buildings right across the street from an elementary school. Because they are so new, I got in on a great price and an additional $6,000 off. I also got a great unit with a great location. I will have green space across the street from me, not more townhomes. I will have a nice dormer window in my master bedroom. The other 2 bedrooms have a beautiful view of Maple Mountain and others that Lee Hjorth will have to identify for me. He knows all the ranges here.

I'm in the 2nd building that will be done and I got the Nebo (the name of my uncle Jon's animal clinic) floor plan. The Nebo is the smallest, therefore the cheapest and there was a Nebo available in the building. It's about the same size as the townhome we just moved from. It won't have a finished basement, but I won't need that. I signed a contract and put money down. The rest of mine and Jenny's getaway was crazy. We grabbed food to eat quickly and got to the hotel. We relaxed and enjoyed just hanging out. Jenny said "this is great. No matter what I buy this weekend, if Scott asks about it, I can always say 'well, Dana bought a house.'"

Because the entryway is kinda long and narrow, they gave me a door with frosted glass at no extra charge so I get some natural light

So many things I love about my floor plan...a coat closet and a laundry room. I've never had either. 

The whole development: 19 buildings

I'm 303 B Notice that I don't have a townhome in front of me or behind me. There is green space out my front door. 

The finishes I picked with the help of Jenny, Lissa, and Starlyn. We went in late February. I gave them all a St. Patrick's Day dishtowel as a little memento. I love holiday dishtowels. 

I just love that Allie's closet will have lots of place to hang clothes and store things.

Since then, I've gone with Jenny, Lissa, and Starlyn to pick out my finishes: carpet, flooring, paint color, and any upgrades. I am getting quartz counters in the kitchen and master bathroom. I'm also getting an additional outlet in the master bath and a peep hole in the front door.

Now that I'm living in Mapleton, I walk to my place often to check it out. The building that is a month ahead of mine has a Nebo floor plan with the drywall up. I took Starlyn and Lee Hjorth to see it today. Mine is framed and I have a walk through on Thursday to check everything before the walls go up. Things in the world are crazy with the coronavirus and I'm hopeful I can still buy my place. I have faith that it'll work out. If I'm not supposed to get it, something will happen to stop it. In the meantime, building continues.

The Lord has really guided me in all of this, from selling our house to finding a place for me and the girls. Allie will move with me. Mel has moved to Provo and plans to stay there, but my place will be 5 minutes from Allie's job at Diamond Fork, so she's excited to live with me. She'll have a garage door opener and a spot in the garage. It's gonna be great. I really enjoy time spent with that girl. She has been informed she HAS to keep her space clean.

10 things I love about my new place:

1. Dormer window and high ceiling in master bedroom (and the huge bathroom and walk-in closet)
2. Coat closet (I've never had one in my own house)
3. Proper laundry room (haven't had one since our tiny home in Pleasant Grove when Kamiko was a baby)
4. It's in Harvest Park and in Karen and Grant Schultz's ward
5. It faces southeast, so snow removal should be reasonable
6. It has GREAT views from the upstairs windows
7. Nice pantry
8. Two-toned paint (Jenny, Starlyn, Lissa, and I picked a light gray called crushed ice)
9. Shorter drive to BYU
10. I'm fortunate enough to be able to purchase it MYSELF.

Allison and James DeVuyst Move into Our Neighborhood and Changes for Us

All growing up, I shared a room with my sister Jenny. She and I fell asleep telling each other everything. I did tell her about the prompting I had in church. I also told her about the thoughts I had while reading the Book of Mormon at Disneyland.

Allison and James DeVuyst, my niece and her husband, and their 2 kiddos got the chance to move to our neighborhood. They were so close to our place that you could see their house from our street. We were gonna have so much fun. BUT, I knew I wasn't gonna be in my house for long. I knew what was coming. There was no second guessing the voice I heard. It also didn't say "think about divorce" or "consider divorce someday," but it said "now is the time to get divorced." That's not even grammar I use so I know it wasn't me talking to myself.

The Saturday that Allison and James moved in, we watched their kids and I made dinner. I asked Allison to not linger after dinner because I had to talk to Keenan. I told her about the prompting. I also had a sense that it was time. That was the day. I wasn't going to wait. I was going to follow. She totally understood. Their move took a long time, so they actually ended up just picking up their kids and dinner and heading home. They didn't even eat with us.

It was Saturday, January 25, the day before Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter accident. After we ate dinner, I asked Keenan if we could talk for a minute. I told him I felt we had tried our marriage every way, that we had read the books and gone to therapy, etc. I told him I thought it was time to get divorced. He stood up, grabbed a piece of paper and wrote DIVORCE on it. Then he asked me "ok, now what do we do?" I had two thoughts about that: 1. wow, does he have any emotion about this? and 2. It looks like I'll have to navigate us through this too.

It was amicable. We decided to list the townhome ASAP. We would split the equity and our 401K. We talked about who wanted what furniture, etc. Then Keenan disclosed some personal stuff that I really don't want to go into here. It proved to be a huge relief. I didn't have to worry about reconciling or the pressure to do so. I knew why I'd been prompted to pursue a divorce. Keenan was finally honest about his life and his goals and desires. He'd been hiding a lot. He hadn't been himself. It was time for him to be himself. He'll figure out life in his own way. That's what Mel told me and I agree.

We told the kids on Sunday. None of them were surprised. They were supportive. They understood. They kinda knew it was just a matter of time.

Love Better Club

I was approached by a student on campus to see if I was interested in being a faculty advisor for a new club on campus: Love Better.

The club's purpose is to educate students about healthy and unhealthy relationships and how to recognize each and get out of a bad one if needed.

I can't be an advisor, but I went to their first meeting. I had told my students about it and two sisters showed up. That was nice. They had a decent turnout. I enjoy participating in more things on campus than I have in the past. With the kids launched, it's easy for me to stick around campus and do stuff like that. They had 2 counselors from Counseling and Psychological Services at the meeting. One of them said something that really stuck me: "If you find yourself in a relationship and you're in a role other than partner, that's not a good sign." Well, if that didn't describe how I've felt for a long time, I don't know what does. One student made a comment that basically said it's important to see an unhealthy relationship while you're dating because once you're married...I didn't hear the rest. I just wanted to yell...NO, EVEN IF YOU'RE MARRIED. IF IT'S UNHEALTHY, GET OUT!

When I got home, Keenan asked me what I learned at the meeting and I told him about that comment. He was quiet. Understandable. It'd been almost a year and a half of him being underemployed. It had been since October that I'd been asking him to find a second job. It had been weeks since I'd passed job leads to him. I just couldn't do it anymore. I had to see how he managed life without me directing his moves. Turns out it didn't go very well. Not much movement happened at all.

Allie and me on a hike. We decided to wear our matching t shirts