OK, It's Been a While

I was telling Bekki today that I used to be really good about journaling here, and that I've let that go. Now I see that it's been almost a year since I last wrote. Wow. Why?

I'm not quite sure. Maybe it's the void from losing dad. Maybe it's the overwhelm with life. Maybe it's that I don't think there are any important updates. Maybe it's because I don't think anyone will ever read this. 

I probably should get back into the habit of documenting my boring life. I've got the movie "Oklahoma" on in the background and I've got 2 hours 20 minutes to attempt to catch up. 

First of all, let me write some highlights:

1. September 2024 - finished my 3 years in UAFCS. I was president elect, president, then past president. The conference in Logan was great! Natalie and I presented on what it takes and what it looks like to attend an international conference. Our students presented on best practices. Both sessions were well attended. I spent a session or two in the halls, talking with Natalie and Nicole. The best part of conferences is hanging out with friends. I also like getting a hotel room, paid by work. 

2. October 2024 - turned 58. It feels weird to be approaching 60. I also have a fairly new tradition of taking sugar cookies, frosting, and sprinkles to young families to celebrate Kelly and Ben's son Zachary, who died 5 months in utero. Oh, speaking of babies, Allie had a miscarriage in August, but got pregnant right away, so there we prepped for a grand baby. Allie's dear friend Taryn's mom, Crystal Arel, passed away after battling cancer for a few years. It was heartbreaking. Crystal was a nurturing mom to many. 

Lacey and Cody Carter, Brent and Katy Carter's kids decorate cookies

3. November 2024 - took Mel to Disneyland. I have my annual pass and it seemed like a great idea to go together. Spent time with Sarah and Cameron and a great day at the park. Cameron started our trip with a "surprise activity." We got in the car and he wouldn't disclose where we were going. Even Sarah didn't know. He had scheduled a test drive of a Tesla Cyber Truck. that was a blast. I tried mole sauce for the first time, and loved it. At least, I loved expensive mole. I spent $35 on parking to try to ride the new Tiana ride. I got a timed entrance, but was running out of time before we had to head to the airport. I asked a very nice cast member, who walked me through the line, and to the entrance so I could ride. That ride gets you VERY wet. I'm glad I got to go on it, though. It was open only for pass holders. I forgot to grab the free poster, but Maria Trump had an extra one, which she gave me. I've framed it, and it's in my kitchen. Karen was in town for Thanksgiving. She invited me and mom to the Crockett pie night. Imagine my surprise when I realized it was a pie making night, not a pie eating night. We left after a couple of hours. I had a good laugh about it, because most pie nights I've heard of are for eating. It is a good idea, but I told Karen that the event was falsely advertised. 

The nice cast member who got me on the ride

I'm so excited to ride!

Enchiladas Divorciadas - mole and green chile

Our surprise activity

Crockett Pie Night

Sooo wet, even with a poncho and flip flops

4. December 2024 - finished the semester and went to California to help babysit Derek and Rachel's kids while they went to Japan for Comic-Con. Kristen went first. We overlapped for a couple of days, then I was solo. Watching those kids is no joke. Maria Trump, my friend who has a young adult daughter with autism have had some good laughs about my experience. At first, I was surprised by the lack of structure and that Charlie eats his meals alone in Derek and Rachel's room. It took me only a couple of days to give up, and just let him do what he wanted. Kids with special needs are a lot of work. He likes two burritos for breakfast - one for each hand. I would get up, take care of breakfast for all the kids, get them ready for school, take them to school, etc. It wasn't until my last day that I learned that Charlie usually shows up at school with his uneaten burritos. Wow, that would have saved me some daily hassles. Raine was in a community theater production of "A Christmas Carol." Kristen saw it one night, and I went another night. She did great. The whole production was great, getting me in the Christmas mood. Kris and I bought bags of "Elf" cookies for everyone, and watched the movie with the kids. Since I was already down there, I got together with Maria and Amy and we went to Disneyland. We really enjoyed our passes this year. Maria's daughters Sierra and Sydney joined us with the understanding that they couldn't "act like sisters." They had to behave. LOL. It was great. I also spent time with Sarah and Cameron. Allie and I flew to Cabot, Arkansas, for Crystal's service. We stayed with Jess Hewlett and her husband. They live outside of Little Rock. We also spent some time in Little Rock, seeing the capital, Little Rock Central High School, the monument to the Little Rock Nine, and got some good food and shopped a bit. We got the Steven's Special, which is an iconic rice, chicken, and queso dish. We had our delicious Christmas dinner of roast beef, potatoes, carrots, Yorkshire Pudding, and Sticky Toffee Pudding. Mel and I fell in love with that meal in London. The kids were so thoughtful with their gifts. Kamiko gave me a little blue glass bird, a nod to "Arthur's Perfect Christmas" that we watch every year. Mel gave me a peanut Christmas tree ornament and a beautiful Karl Larsson calendar. I had surprised Mel with a reindeer peanut JellyCat that made her cry when it arrived. She was so excited about it. Bekki gave me some beautiful handmade candles for next year's advent. I can't wait to use them. She's very thoughtful. I committed to lighting my candles and enjoying the warmth of that little bit of winter light. 

I was willing to sit in front. Never again. Soooo wet. 

Kamiko, Mel, Bekki, me, and mom

Raine, Charlie, Kristen, Milo

Milo, me, Raine, and Charlie

Riley, Jessica, Lane, Allie, and me

Arkansas State Capitol all decked out for Christmas

The Arkansas Nine

My blue bird

Me, Sierra, Maria, Syd, Amy

Dinner group moms do Disney...again!

5. January 2025 - took mom to visit dad's grave. I haven't taken her there many times, but I like to give her quiet time there. I usually walk around the cemetery a bit. Started the process to get my roof replaced. It had defective shingles. Projects like this are difficult for me to do, and I wish I had a husband to help, but I'm getting more and more independent. I feel like I'm getting emotionally stronger and healthier with time. We're gearing up for study abroad...constant emails to coordinate 6 weeks' worth of appointments. It's A LOT! I'm sure this will be my last study abroad. It's too much for me to juggle. Allie came into town and she picked out fabric for me to make flannel blankets for her little BOY. His name will be Thomas Ren McClendon, going by Tomo. We love him already. 

Smiles all around when the driver buys drinks 

6. February 2025 - UACTE conference in St. George. I had to drive a van of students there and back. Natalie and I presented on what it looks like to attend an international conference. Our students presented again. We have 15 student teachers, which must be some kind of record. Natalie, Nicole, Pam Rock, and I are running ragged trying to observe and mentor all of them. They're doing great, though. I was asked in December to present the SFL Faith in Learning lecture on February 14. I think it went well. A lot of students (SFLSA and FCSE) came. Starlyn and Natalie came too. I do like sharing my testimony and the miracles I've seen in my life. I feel very blessed. Then Natalie, some students, and I went out for pedicures and burgers on Valentine's night. I was the advisor for SFLSA and the mentor for the FCS ambassadors. It's been a very busy year for mentoring. VERY BUSY! We tried many, many ways to spread the word about FCS. Some were successful...some not so successful, but we kept trying. The SFLSA presidency and I were invited to attend the BYU basketball game as guests of President Reese. I got to bring a plus one. Kamiko came, and we had a blast. We had VIP tags, awesome seats, snack bags, etc. We had a great time. Some of the students had never been to a basketball game before. We joked that they really peaked with their first game in the Marriott Center and that it would be downhill from there. 

Me, Ruby, Ashley, Abby, Kourtney, and Natalie

Ethan, Michael, Lizzy, me, board members, Emily, and Emma 

7. March 2025 - Trip to Disneyland with Maria Trump to enjoy the Food and Wine Festival. We tried lots of fun treats, including some gourmet macaroni and cheeses and spam and rice. We were there on a big adventurer day. It was an unofficial day for fans of Jungle Cruise and Indiana Jones to gather, dress up, and have a scavenger hunt. It was fun to see their creativity. Maria and I agreed that it would be fun to go on Jungle Cruise with a bunch of them. Allie and Tommy came into town and Allison, Mel, and I threw a baby shower for them. Friends and family were so supportive to come and help celebrate our new baby who's coming in May. My house can handle a lot of people. It was a bit crowded, but we made it work. It is what it is. Keenan was going to come, but didn't come at the last minute. He chose to fly to Indianapolis for her shower there. Some of Allie's former students came, which was really cute. Then, because everyone was in town, and it was springtime, we had our annual Easter egg hunt. Always so much fun. Shauna Crockett got married, and I had fun seeing Karen and family for that event. 

Mel, Allie, and Allison

Mom and dad

8. April 2025 - Time to wrap up the school year and get ready for study abroad. Taught my advanced class how to cook a nice steak on the stove, and they were successful. Natalie, Amber, Chad, and I helped at grad night. I got to greet many SFLSA students, FCSE majors, and give Summer, Connor Crockett's girlfriend, a hug. I also went to graduation, and was able to give her a hug when she walked across the stage to receive her diploma for a degree in Geography. Kamiko, Bekki, and Jerry sold their house in Vineyard and moved into my basement for a few weeks until closing on a new place. The Brau's basement is housing Jameson and his cats, so they couldn't go there. I'm happy to help them. I take Jerry on walks. I was on my way to a meeting on campus when a school bus sideswiped me. I saw them taking the turn too tightly, honked my horn, and just watched them keep driving. I heard a crunch! WHAT!? It was raining. A security kid came and helped and called campus police. In the end, my car was totaled and I got $3,000. Not bad, considering the car is 20 years old. I decided to not repair it, but keep driving it until it died. They placed dad's grave marker in the Holden Cemetery, and I took mom down there to see it. Bought a new-to-me Bernina sewing machine. My Pfaff is from 1988. I got a really nice machine that had been used at BYU. I'm excited to do some projects. I'll take a class when I get back from study abroad. 

Mel got a machine, too. We're here with Dr. Dawna Baugh

Look at that sewing view

SFLSA presidency and advisors. Amber Williams, Emma Lambert, Kourtney Glenn, Emily Dana, Ethan Lloyd, and me

I love this cooking class

Summer is graduating

The school bus went along the entire driver's side

Graduation bound

Spring walking buddy

Look at all of those April graduates in FCSE

Get Ready for Year 25

This year marks the beginning of my 25th year teaching at BYU. Wow, I was 32 when I started. Annie Oswald teased that I was 4 when I started. 

BYU did some crazy schedule changes and classes started on a Wednesday instead of a Tuesday. As a result, I lost my Tuesday lecture time with my advanced class. I thought I had thought it through and planned well how to cover everything in 3 hours. I had to do intro to course, expectations, talk eggs, then have a lab that included an extra recipe. Well...I forgot to account for the 1.5 hours it takes to make Pavlova. YIKES! I finished talking with less than 1.5 hours left. We had to hurry and get the pavlova in the oven. A couple of groups had to start over because they added the sugar too soon to the egg whites. We finally got all the pavlovas in the oven and worked on Eggs Benedict. We only went about 10 minutes over. I apologized profusely for not planning well. Many of them want to teach foods, so I asked them what I could have done differently. They mentioned that I should have gotten them in the kitchen soon, and we could have talked while the pavlova baked. BINGO! That's what I should have done. That's what I will do in the winter. I've already changed my notes and rearranged the order of my slides. 

Whew, we made it. 110 went well. The students worked hard to get their muffins and smoothies done. I told them I needed them to work fast. I told them that junior high students make muffins in 45 minute labs, and that I needed them to work like junior high students. 

I got good news that my department voted for me to go further in the tenure process. I submitted my file in late July and they discussed my accomplishments and contributions in faculty meeting on September 5. Erin Holmes, our director, told me that my file was approved. Now it goes to the college, then to the AVPs office. I won't find out until May if I get tenure. BUT, if I don't hear from the college or the AVPs by May, that is a good sign. It means they don't have questions, that there aren't any red flags. Natalie found out when we were on study abroad, and I'll probably find out on study abroad.

Speaking of study abroad, we've met to create the tentative plan and budget for study abroad. We plan to take the kids to London, Paris, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Florence, Venice, and Milan. It's an ambitious 6 weeks. 

I was very busy with SFLSA. We were really busy putting out fires. We found that we didn't have access to the instagram. We didn't have access to the t-shirt design that they did last year. We didn't have access to so many things. Unfortunately, I got very little training. I've made calls, sent emails, and visited with people on campus. Our registration wasn't working. Our website wasn't up-to-date. Well, after a lot of work and stress and some tears, I got everything done. I hope. We had some recruitment booths for Freshman orientation and have our opening social this Wednesday. It's a very ambitious start of the school year. Whew. 

I'm also a mentor to our 2 national FCS Ambassadors, Ashley and Kourtney. We also have a local ambassador, Abby Richardson. Their job is to raise awareness about the FCSE major and to recruit students to the major. They will focus their efforts not only on campus, but also in the high schools. 

SFLSA presidency members, Kourtney Gleen, Emily Dana, and Ethan Lloyd

Me and Ashley Berges (FCS Ambassador and study abroad student) and Bruce Cui (study abroad student)

Me with our FCS Ambassadors, Ashley Berges and Kourtney Glenn

Me with SFLSA Presidency, Ethan Lloyd, Kourtney Glenn, Emma Lambert, and Emily Dana. These kids work so hard to make things work and help students find a place to belong.

I'm also trying to get to the bottom of some health issues - sleep apnea, insomnia, and hormone imbalance. It's been a very overwhelming couple of weeks. I'm very grateful for Natalie's support. 

Indiana State Fair - Winners Drink Milk

Allie's shirt

Allie was very busy and overwhelmed and there is a direct flight from SLC to IND, so I went to see my girl. I got upgraded to Delta Comfort+ both ways. I helped her with yard work, we went to Costco and Aldi. I cleaned the whole house, and we did some cooking. 

Tommy recently bought an old house that's just a couple of miles from downtown Indy, and it's beautiful. There is lovely woodwork. He said he didn't want me cleaning while I was their guest. Allie said "she said she was coming to clean and you have to let her clean." I told him that I can't just sit, so I was happy to do it.  

That's downtown Indy in the background

We also had fun! Allie and I went on walks, got yummy cookies, and went to the Indiana State Fair. The kids had already been there twice and Tommy suggested they take me. Allie's favorite is the tram. It's a tractor-pulled wagon that allows many people to sit and be driven from one point to another. It goes in a loop and is a hop-on/hop-off around the fair. Allie also loves the milk bar. For $.75, you get a cup of milk or chocolate milk. Evidently, the winner of the Indy 500 drinks milk after the race, so it's a staple at the fair. We had so much fun. We saw quilts and ate food. We didn't go on any rides. We also saw table scapes, which cracked us up. People actually submit their idea for a beautifully themed and set table. Tommy got a giant bag of kettle corn, a favorite of his. 

These are spiral-cut potatoes, fried and topped with cheese, sour cream, and chives

On the tram - me, Allie, and Tommy

Enjoying the animals

My shirt

Just before we left, we passed a booth with t-shirts. They really had some awesome shirts. I bought us each a t-shirt. I sent a picture to family, and Derek said he wanted the shirt that I got for Allie, so she drove me back to the fair later in the day and I grabbed it for Derek. 

Tommy's sister, Diari, lives in the house. She's a sharp young lady. I enjoyed visiting with her. Tommy's really good friend, also Tommy, came over one night. He's really nice. I only stayed 2 nights, but it was great. I got one of the last seats on the flight back to SLC. I'm really glad I went. 

Allie is currently waiting for her final check ride with the FAA for her private pilot's license, so she's traveling a bit. She's in Hawaii now, and says she's coming to Utah. I sure hope she comes. I love spending time with her. 

Can you believe this is my girl?