The Goose Is Getting Fat

Christmas Eve was full of last minute errands. My Mom and Dad arrived the night before. I was wrapping stocking stuffers, finishing presents, and writing the treasure hunt. We had a lovely dinner of roast beef, rosemary potatoes and rosemary bread as well as green beans. Erin and Debbie joined us. We read the traditional scripture versus from the Bible and then Dad read "The Cajun Night Before Christmas," a favorite. We ended with watching "Elf." Christmas excitement was in the air!

Christmas!!! (I am not the graphic designer as you can tell)

Meredith spent the night and we woke her up with the song "Winter Wonderland." We made Cinnamon rolls, eggs, and cheese grits. We wore our Christmas Jammies.

Afterwards we opened stocking presents. Santa gave my mom a sign that could be hung on a door that said "Cancer touched my breast so I kicked its butt!" She loved it!

We went to church and then came back for exciting present opening. Somehow Andrew and I ended up with lots!

Here is our Christmas booty and our new bed decorations. The dark pillow is hand made by Erin.

Andrew decided to ignore the budget we decided on for Christmas. Christmas ended with a treasure hunt that took us around Provo and ended at Debbie's house.

I got some sexy, brown boots that have a swashbuckling mode. I love how they fade to dark at the tips.

The rest of the week yielded a movie pretty much every night including Yellow Submarine, 17 Miracles, Annie Hall, Psycho, Silence of the Lambs, and He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (the french film Andrew and I saw together the night I told him my feelings about wanting to date him).

The day after Christmas was Christmas day for Andrew's family. We all gathered at Debbie's and ate a big Christmas brunch (I made Grits and cinnamon rolls again). We played Curses (one of our favorite games) and then we opened presents. Debbie was a bit tired afterwards.

Tuesday Mom and Dad took us up to The Garden Restaurant at the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building where there is a gorgeous view of the temple.

Andrew and I saw Temple Square all lit up.

Wednesday we did errands. We returned things and got Andrew's suits dry cleaned as well as bought a crock pot. Mom and Dad generously gave us those things as presents. I love them!

Surprisingly we never received a big crock pot as a wedding gift. That night Dad made Pumpkin Chili which was delightful and Debra Lowe joined us and made a white bean sausage soup recipe that was equally delightful.

Thursday we all saw the second Sherlock Holmes movie. I like Meredith beaucoup!

Friday was finally a day to ourselves. Andrew and I had to clean the house and then we could just relax. We had dinner at Red Lobster and then got ice cream. We ended up working out 4 days in a row. Andrew made the goal to lose 2 inches on his belly so he can buy something new at H&M. New clothes motivate him. I finally figured it out...... I hope! This semester was hard for him to find time to exercise and the new semester starts soon.

This is the goal for the finished product. The perfect physique in our opinions. Oh Brad.

Friday night Josh and Candie's family came in from St. George and stayed at our tiny apt while we slept over at Debbie's. We all headed up to SLC on Saturday. We met up with Joy and had lunch and then Dad, Andrew, and I went to check out the Church of the Madeleine. It was different from the European Cathedrals that I frequented in France. The colors were very Mexican and obviously fresher since this one was only 100 years old.

We also walked up to visit the Capitol building.

We arrived at the Conference Theater and listened to the pre-show devotional before Savior of the World. Joy and Meredith were able to bear their testimonies about the show. The performance was beautiful. Afterwards we ate a traditional seafood dinner for Christmas Eve at a seafood restaurant.

It was an ideal vacation because we didn't over plan and just went with the flow, plus we didn't have to travel anywhere far away. It was a bit difficult hosting Christmas at our tiny apt. It got cramped with more than 5 people there at once. I did my best to cook, clean, and be a host in our humble abode for two and I believe it turned out nicely.

The happy couple. Oh how I LOVE Andrew Colin Beck!

Pre- Christmas Fun

Last week Laura and Barry were in town for Meredith's play so we spent a bit of time with them.

We went to a Christmas party for Andrew's work last week. It was a nice dinner and we got wonderful gifts. We played Jenga with Sean and Hannah which ended with Jenga falling into the candle centerpiece.

Afterwards we all watched the film "Midnight in Paris." I loved it because I love Paris and French and the Humanities. It was different and an original idea. I honestly did not want the movie to end.

Thursday we went to Georgianna and joined the Florence family in gingerbread house decorating and singing Christmas carols around the piano. We got to see Aurora and Jeff during their break from their national touring show. Our gingerbread house had a sweet, colorful roof.

Mandy's Wedding

Last week we headed off to L.A. for Andrew's cousin Mandy's wedding. We went with Debbie and stayed in St. George with Josh's family. We showed Debbie the awesome community we would love to live in one day and also the Tuacahn. Such a beautiful place!

We arrived in Camarillo for dinner at P.F. Changs and were driven mad by the traffic in Southern California. I almost killed everyone in sight. We were so fortunate to be able to stay in a huge and beautiful home of a friend of the Florences. It was up in the hills and we had a beautiful view of the valley as we ate breakfast in the sunny weather.

We also had a great Bachelorette party planned by the one and only Erin Beck. It was sentimental and and symbolic as we ceremonially allowed Mandy to let go of her past loves and grasp onto her forever loving, British husband.

The temple ceremony was an intimate gathering of loved ones and so lovely.

We ate a Cafe Rio luncheon at the Florence home and spent time with wonderful family.

It was short and sweet and we spent about as much time driving in the car as we spent in California, but we wouldn't have missed this momentous occasion for such a close friend.

Being One With The Earth

During our Thanksgiving vacation we stayed with Mckay and LaRee's family who eat healthily/healthy/healthful/ I don't know how to say it. I have changed my perspective about what I should be putting in my body and I just feel like I could do a way better job at this. It is challenging to make this change but it is so important. I have thought about doing this for a while but I hadn't quite convinced myself or gotten the guts to just commit and change myself. My mom has been trying to tell me about eating more organically and she recently sent me this bible of rich information on how to eat well. It includes recipes. I don't need to go into detail about how many crazy things we put into our body and how our food has been altered since the days of growing up on the farms, but I am quite surprised at the way our food is altered to be cheaper or taste better. The documentary "Food Inc" did a good job of informing me of that.

Andrew and I want to lose weight, have more energy, and feel good, so we are committing to eating more organic foods, veggies, fruits, and trying green smoothies, etc. I also want to have good eating habits so that my children will crave healthy food. Tonight we ate a huge salad with spinach, bell peppers, avocado, broccoli, cheese, and tomatoes. It sure beats the usual cream based, fattening recipes I recently made. I still have to learn about cooking healthy main meals. My current list of ideas includes brown rice, lentil soup, and Dave's Killer Bread. I need help and so I am searching the internet as well as reading the huge book my mom gave me. What resources are there for eating healthy?

On top of this we are committing to work out at least 5 days a week. December is the perfect month to make this transition from whenever we have time to daily workouts. Half of the month will be a lot less busy so that we can make it a habit.

On another note, I have recently gotten sick of hiding away my jewelry in a container that I never notice. I decided I needed to make a jewelry rack so that I actually wear jewelry semi-regularly. We already have a visible scarf holder that is packed and those get worn quite often.

On Andrew's run tonight he grabbed lots of random branches. I found one with a nice curve in it and proceeded to nail some fabric to it. I added more nails for hanging stuff. I placed it on some nails in the wall and there it lays. I hang my necklaces, bracelets, and belts on the nails and then I poke a hole into the fabric to hang my earrings on it.

I felt great about using the earth's resources to create something for free and fueling my body with healthy food. I feel like I am in control of my life more or something. I can't really explain it.

Gobble Gobble Time in California

First of all, Andrew got an iPhone 4S and his life is way better and looks cooler. Siri helps him organize his life and I don't have to remind him to do stuff that much. I will get one next month:) The pictures on this post were all taken with the iPhone camera+Instagram.

THANKSGIVING Vacation!!!!

We left Tuesday night on a long car ride to Sacramento, CA to stay at the Mckay and LaRee Florence home with all of Andrew's family. We drove with Jenny and her kids. There were times when we thought we would die but we finally arrived at 5 a.m. We left that night because there was talk of a storm coming through on Wednesday that we didn't want to hit.

We went on a trip to DI and I got some great new clothes, jewelry, and shoes. Andrew bought these sweet old man shoes.

Unfortunately, I asked Andrew how such cool shoes get to DI and he informed me that old people die and people bring their stuff here. That is how we find the jewels of DI. I was creeped out but glad to know that those shoes, which were probably some very nice old man's favorite pair, would be given lots of tender loving care by Andrew.

Thanksgiving day I made rolls and we watched the worst movie ever created, "Battlefield Earth" with Hank and Erin. Seriously though, that movie is horrible.

For breakfast, Andrew went and gathered eggs from the chicken coop outside.

There were 35 family members at the Florence home and we had an amazing feast filled with mashed potatoes, stuffing, ham, turkey, veggies, salads, yams, and plenty of diverse pies. We finished off the night by going to see "The Muppett Movie" with the kids and Hank and Erin. It was very delightful and nostalgic.

This morning we did a Turkey Trot that Erin and Jeff wonderfully organized. Everybody was on a team of two and we did a run around the park, then wheelbarrow, skipping, jumping jacks, running backward, carrying your partner upside down, and crab walking. We lost and are out of shape. The end.

We still have the rest of today and tomorrow with family. It is so fun to see Erin and we wish we lived closer to her. Everyone will be together for Christmas and I actually get to see all of my family during December too. What a treat!

I am grateful for loving and supportive family and a blessed life. I am so happy to be me. Life is great and I owe all of my happiness to God who has blessed me immeasurably.

Thermies

Winter is approaching and it is getting dang cold! When I moved here from Florida my Freshman year, my wise mother bought me some thermal underwear. I was like, "Pssshhh, it can't get that cold here!" Oh was I wrong. I have not used them that much because in the past I have been very resistant to taking off my flip flops and dressing warmly. Over my 5 years here, I have slowly given in. This week I found the thermals and I am addicted. I wear them all the time and I am warmer! Go figure. I really wish I didn't live in the cold where it snows, but we will move eventually.

Today I was telling Andrew that I was sad he didn't have some thermies of his own. He reminded me that the Dwarf tights he bought for Halloween (see below post) are like thermies. They make him do a little dance where he taps his toes and sings a little tune. He has never had a peice of clothing that makes him do that. He love his thermies too.

Here I am having just woken up (that's why I look like a super model) and wearing my 2nd best friend right now, plus wool socks. What happened to being able to sleep naked?!

So there it is! We are a thermal underwear family. That's the price you pay for living in a place that gets super cold. Yay! But not really...

Oh, last week Andrew cut off part of his finger in class. It is pretty cool looking now.

A Fairy Tale Halloween

Two days before Halloween Andrew and I decided to be Snow White and a dwarf, Doc to be exact. I have always wanted to be her ever since I was her as an 8 year old child. Andrew convinced me that I could make it happen in 2 days. I quickly called Debbie and she agreed to help me. She found all of the materials for the dress and like an experienced mom, whipped up a great costume. I helped with all of the glue gun stuff and ripping seams and such. She was happy to do it since it had been so many years since she had made one. Right before our Halloween party, Andrew stopped by a local Halloween shop to buy a white beard and some man tights. Do you know how much he spent? $38!!! Can you believe how much those stores hike up the prices during this season?

Next year we are going to be an Oompa Loompa and Willy Wonka. Andrew is growing his hair out just for the occasion. This has been his dream to be one of his favorite movie characters. Now that we know a year in advance, we can be on the look out for items to complete our costume and we won't be caught at the Halloween store in October paying an arm and a leg.

Halloween was Andrew's favorite holiday growing up, along with all the other kids who were deemed different. His mom recorded a whole day of halloween programs from the Disney channel and Andrew would pop that in and watch it semi-frequently during the year. Thanks to his Mom' seamstressing he has been a crash test dummy, bat, skeleton, Hobgoblin, and of course a witch, not a wizard. He grew up without a Dad and he had a bit of gender role confusion because his mom and sister dressed up up like that. Nonetheless, he made a spectacular witch. For make believe, not on Halloween, he was Willy Wonka, a pirate, Dracula, and Death. Many times Andrew would dress up like the Grimm Reaper with a black cloak and hood shrowding his face. He would sit on the pillars outside his house and beckon the passing cars to come inside. This is how much he loved dressing up and playing make believe. He actually wishes he had time to do that today.

Here is our costume!

Taking Care Of My Body At Aveda

Today Meredith and I went to the Aveda Institute which is in Provo. She is strongly considering being a student and studying esthiology there. Everything smells so incredible in that place.

We got the most amazing and relaxing, complimentary facials that felt like a whole body experience. They massaged our arms and feet as well. It was all about me and my skin care needs. They answered all my questions and it was fantastic. It is a school so you can get a very reduced price on all the services they offer there. The company focuses on the pure and organic components of whole body wellness and I love that. I bought a daily face care kit as well as a curl product for my hair and a tinted moisturizing foundation and powder. I am so excited about all of it and can't wait to begin taking better care of my skin. Before, I never moisturized and hardly put foundation and powder on. Make up can feel heavy and I don't like the idea of putting crazy stuff on my skin. I want it to feel light and natural. I want to glow!!

If you are a student anywhere you can get a 5$ haircut. They give you a choice of aroma to use throughout the experience. They massage your scalp and wash your hair as well as give a mini facial. It is checked by 3 people so that you are satisfied. Such a great service for such a small cost.

The Most Attractive Love Letter

This evening I found a beautifully wrapped present and a beautiful love letter on my bed. Husband Bear loves to design for things he is passionate about, so why not design a letter describing his deepest love for me? His letter was so beautifully written and made me cry. I wish I could be as funny as he is when I write serious things. I wish I could frame the letter because it is so tender and beautifully designed. Instead we are hanging it in our living room with the other design stuff that inspires us.

The gift?! Well, Andrew bought me some awesome new shoes!

It is nice to get a gift every once in awhile. Giving gifts is not our primary or secondary love language, so this is quite a treat. Time is my love language, then touch. His is words of affirmation and then touch. We've got the touch thing down but I am always working on the words of affirmation and being more needy. That is actually why I have this blog. I write my feelings much better than remembering to say them. Whenever he wants, Andrew gets to read about how much I love him and what I am thinking.

Opposites Attract

Last weekend we had a lovely conference weekend with friends. Aaron Krall, a friend of Andrew's, stayed over and did F.H.E. with us and Debra Lowe. We watched Ghostbusters afterwards.

This past weekend we drove down to St. George for my nephew, Seth's, baptism. We got to see Joy and Quin's family and of course Josh and Candie. I love being with family and it was so fun to spend time with Candie's family. We ate pizza and talked and sang. Andrew and I realized how beautiful Ivins is and put it on our list of places where we could eventually settle down. We rode down with Meredith and as usual we created new inside jokes and helped her figure out her life some more.

It was so nice for Andrew and me to just be able to focus on each other for a bit. We were able to figure out our brain types. Andrew is an ENFP and I am an ISTJ. For those of you who are not familiar with this test, that means we are complete opposites when it comes to how we get our energy, process information, make decisions, etc. I guess we complete each other. I am so glad we are understanding of our differences. It takes hard work to make a successful marriage and I am so in love with my husband, especially because he is different from me. It makes our lives more interesting. I keep him organized and he helps me have more fun.

Our first buy from....wait for it....wait for it..... Anthropologie!

When we got married a year and 9 and a half months ago, we bought bedding. We have realized that our taste, well mostly Andrew's which has rubbed off on me, has changed. Our old bedding was from Target and was ruined after its first ride in the washing machine. The color bled out. We just gave it all to DI at the beginning of the Summer and have been sleeping with a blanket.

Now that Fall is approaching and we need something more substantial, plus we finally had money to pay for it, we decided to go on a hunt for new bedding. After searching online for hours we chose this gorgeous quilt and Euro shams, new 300 count white sheets, and a scallop edged bedskirt. We LOVE it! It goes so well with our Urban Outfitters tapestry and new bed frame we bought at Ikea when we bought furniture for our living room (see our previous blog entry What're ya kiddin' me? We got ourselves an apartment here!) Wish we had curtains but not enough to do anything about it/spend more money. In this picture notice the chinese lantern hanging from the fan and the Mac products on and near the side table (that's just how we roll.)

This is our new poster from Ikea that my Graphic Designer husband had to have, as well as a travel size Ukulele/ Guitar (we honestly don't know which one it is) that we mounted on the wall.

In this picture notice the lovely Parisian picture above our dresser that my mother in-law Debbie gave me as a graduation picture. It's small but I love it.

Before Anthropologie bedding came into our life, our room was pathetic. Now I am so excited to actually make the bed in the morning and hang out in this room.

A Big Pet Peeve

People who speak English,

First of all, I hope the poster above makes you cringe when you read it. Will people ever stop using "your" and "you're" incorrectly? Today I saw "your hot" written on a car with car chalk and it just pushed my tolerance for this ubiquitous mistake over the edge.

If you went through 5th grade then you should be able to use these homonyms correctly. In fact, I think I might fight the school system in favor of a "No graduation until you can demonstrate the difference between these homonyms and promise that you will never use them incorrectly" standard. It is not hard. You use "your" when you talk about possession (ex: I love your new car). You use "you're" as a contraction for when you want to say "you are" (ex: You're hot). The End!

If a person makes this mistake, I automatically have less respect for their intelligence. It would probably be kindest if I assume that they are ignorant of the rule, BUT I am not perfect. Please be vigilant and try to correct or inform people that do not follow this grammar rule. PLEASE!

Side note: I sound like Lynne Truss, the author of "Eats, Shoots and Leaves." The lady does fight for a good cause.

Interesting Substitute Teacher Experiences

I had an interesting last couple of days subbing and I wanted to write about them.

I was at a school for severely disabled high schoolers the other day. I had worked with this demographic before and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it this time but it was also a lot scarier. I could not be a teacher or aide in these classes because it would break my heart every day. One boy with autism attacked another student and the aide had to try and pull him off. She screamed at him to stop and hit him before she finally got him loose and cornered him up against the wall while restraining his arms and still yelling at him that what he did was wrong. It was intense and I was scared to be around him for a while, especially since it was such a small thing that set him off. He attacked the aide one more time and I just thought how hard it would be to be his mother who has a couple of severely handicapped children like this.

There was another girl in there who was schizophrenic. I was thinking afterwards about how she should probably be at a mental hospital instead, right? Anyway, she had an episode where she was screaming at this invisible being and getting extremely mad for quite a while. It was scary because she screamed at me once too. I was not in my element so naturally all of this was uncomfortable.

But, as always, there was a sweetness and innocence in every single person's eyes that touched me. Their handicaps are not who they really are and they will be made perfect and live with God after they die. They are such special spirits and I enjoyed seeing their true feelings (whether it was love, frustration, anger, etc.). That was a good reminder that I should be more like that (but have more control) as well as remember that I am so blessed with a sound mind and a healthy body.

I also substituted in a fourth grade class and as always was worn out from substituting for elementary school. They do not understand that things will go differently with a sub. They ask way too many unnecessary questions and all at the same time. Tattle-telling is inevitable and this time there was a girl obsessed with the idea that Bloody Mary was trying to kill her. My reply to that was that B.M. (as the kids called it, lol) did not like school work so if she did hers then B.M. wouldn't bother her. What did she want me to say? Oh, I will go get my B.M. repellent or maybe we should go in a room with mirrors, turn off the lights, and say her name 3 times so she will leave. I can't believe that kids still believe in her. I remember going on a hunt for her when I was a kid.

I dealt with my first huge verbal fight where the boys were extremely mad at each other, crying, and saying horribly mean things which included, "I would rather kill myself than be his friend" and, "I'm going to beat him up really badly." I was sure that their friendship was over after they were sent to the office to work it out. An hour and a half later they came back into class as giddy as a meadowlark and best friends again. That would never happen if they were girls.

Lastly, I had a girl who tried to suck up to me so she could get on the good student list, which got a big prize when the teacher returned. I had not taught them anything all morning because I administered a test, took them to P.E. and took them to get pictures taken. After lunch she wrote me a note that was absolutely hilarious and soooo fake (emotionally). I hardly knew this girl and this is the note:

Dear Mrs. Beak,

You are such a great teacher. I love you so so much. I would not know what in the world I would do without you.

From,

(Student)

P.S. When will Mrs. (Real Teacher) be back?

What Are My Hobbies?!

I need to remember the things that are my hobbies AND DO THEM. I just remembered after playing volleyball with my friends that I love sports, especially volleyball and soccer, and I claim them as hobbies yet I don't do them that much anymore. I don't have a group that plays weekly and I'm not on a team so I don't play. I used to play intramural soccer at BYU :( I also love performing but don't do that either, another group activity. The closest I come is singing in ward choir. The other thing is that if I want to be in a great show, I have to audition against BYU performance majors whose life is the stage and I am way out of practice. Anyway, I just miss doing the things that I did so much in high school. Now all I do is watch movies, shows, or read and work out. Those are all individual hobbies, if you can call watching movies or shows a hobby. Granted, it takes more effort to do sports and performing but I miss them and should put that effort in. Can anybody help me?

I just found a new hobby. I am really jealous of the cooking skills that my friends have. I want to be a better cook and try new recipes. My problem is that I figure if I buy some obscure ingredient, I will never use it again and it is expensive to buy tons of new ingredients. I cook like this: Put some frozen chicken cordon blue in the oven, boil pasta and slap some store bought sauce on it, then defrost the frozen corn. That isn't real cooking and I want to be more legit. Tonight I realized that I can make homemade bread. Yes that is cornmeal for the texturization of the bottom of the bread.

What is my favorite food in the entire world? Bread and cheese. Figures, I'm a French teacher. Why don't I buy a ton of flour and yeast and make something that I will eat all the time? This is where I am starting on my journey to expand my cooking horizons. Thanks to our Relief Society cooking/baking group, I am having this epiphany. You might be saying, "Duh Ashley. Everyone makes their own bread," but I am a late bloomer in the "take effort to actually make good food" realm. For some reason I had it in my mind that you needed a bread maker to make bread. This is exciting! I can make my favorite food often and in my own kitchen.

Surprise Visit From Family

Last Friday we went to a rooftop concert in downtown Provo. We were there with Aurora and Jeff and had a delightful dinner beforehand (well actually the Mexican food made me feel sick). They are leaving for New York and will be starting their adventures on the big stage. We also spent time with Cody and Amy Fehlberg. We ran into Shanti too. It was a big party but we were disappointed with the main event. We went to support Imagine Dragons since Andrew loves Dan, but we realized that they are not writing music like theyused to and we just were not fans of the music.

Joy's family drove up for the weekend and we had SOOOO much fun just being with them. On Saturday we took them on a tour of our work places, then we ate at J Dawgs and did a tour of BYU. They reminisced about the olden days as students here and then we took them on a tour of Andrew's home that he grew up in. We went to dinner at the delectible California Pizza Kitchen and then headed over to see Meredith's apartment. That is when we met Meredith's boyfriend, Rick. We like him, and we do not always like the guys she goes with. He is pretty neat. We came back and played "Balderdash Beyond," our favorite game,

and then topped the night off with some ice cream. Macey's ice cream counter had closed for the night so we were sad. We bought drumsticks instead.

We ate them out by our car and told Tian to do his best model pose. He doesn't understand sultry yet.

Our Sunday was packed with church stuff but after church we had sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits with waffles. Me love! We headed up to Salt Lake to visit the gravesite of Quin's mother, Rowena. We saw former President Hinckley's gravesite too. We took a tour of the conference center and rooftop. After we parted and said goodbye to them, Rick, Mer and us went to a nearby park called Memory Grove Park. It is a gorgeous park and it reminded me of how much I appreciate them. That was one of my favorite parts of Paris. There were parks everywhere and they were just there for beauty, not for sports but rather for leisure walking.

School Starts

School has started for Andrew at BYU and for me as a teacher. Andrew loves his classes which are mostly Graphic Design classes within the BFA. He loves the BFA because he has the best teachers in the program and he gets to take classes in the coolest looking rooms. The walls are made of steel and they attach designs on them with magnets. Pretty sweet.

Tonight all the Juniors who just got in are going to Salt Lake for class and they get to have dinner together and watch an artistic movie. Apparently they are all going to NYC in February. We have to start saving for him to go on that trip. That's really fun for him though! Vada is doing really well; keeping busy and making money.

My first day of classes went really well. I gave everyone a syllabus and talked about how to succeed in a language class. The best part was the nutella and bread we partook of. I teach 4 girls who are in French 2, and one who is French 3, but they are all in the same class. The other class is made up of 14 kids in French 1. I am excited to get back to teaching what I love and create lessons that I love. I have good kids and they seem to enjoy class. I made them laugh when we practiced doing a French "r" sound by purring like a cat from the back of the throat. I make them do things that might be uncomfortable and I love it. I have a lot of free time still. Substituting is not picking up so I am reading a lot and I definitely have time to work out everyday. I feel bad that Andrew is working about 30 hours/ week and he is taking 14 credits. By the time he gets home he is exhausted and just wants to be with me, not work out. He is trying to work out as much as he can so he can lose weight, but I am way more interesting than exercise. Here is a picture of the school I work at.

French Teaching Job

This past week I accepted a job teaching High School French about 8 hours a week at a local charter school in Provo. I am so glad that the job is close and that I get to use my skills in teaching French. The school is called Walden School for Liberal Arts and it is very granola and laid back. There are couches in the classes! I will be sharing a room with a teacher and the school doesn't know if I will even have a projector to use so I can show power points or videos. It would be ideal if we had textbooks and workbooks as well as small white boards and markers but I don't even know if we will have those things. And I thought it was hard being a teacher in a public school.

I will continue substituting unless another opportunity to teach part-time comes my way. So far this makes 3 part-time jobs that I possess. I am also working for a local tutoring business after the school hours. How much I work for that depends on the demand for tutors in English, study skills, reading, or even French (that would be a miracle). Oh how I long for a full-time teaching job with a salary and benefits. One job where I can focus all of my energy and know that I go there everyday.

The Demolition Derby

Saturday night, we attended the Demolition Derby with Debbie and Jenny's family. I had never ben to one of those and it was awesome! There were tons of dilapidated cars that kept running into each other and tried to make the other cars stop working. There were engine fires, rolled over cars, and lost tires. It was quite entertaining and very hick-like. There was also a motocrossed show where motorcyclists jumped these ramps. One guy didn't land his jump but he was totally fine. It takes courage to participate in that stuff.

There is No End and No Beginning

The big thing on my mind this week was a funeral. A friend in the ward, who has only been married a year like many in our ward, had complications with her pregnancy and delivered her baby boy 4 months premature. They are such a strong and amazing couple. She fought hard to keep from delivering but it was the will of the Lord that this happened. Her baby lived for two hours and they were able to hold him and give him a name and baby blessing. This would be such a hard thing to go through. It broke my heart to hear the news of their loss. I was able to help organize a luncheon for the family after the funeral. It gives me such joy to be able to serve and help people when they honestly could not do it themselves. It is so important that we give service to our fellow man. I felt like I was being a conduit for the Lord's love for this family. The funeral was absolutely beautiful and I was reminded of how amazing the plan of salvation is and how precious that knowledge is. That child was so special that he did not have to prove himself through the trials of mortality. He will be exalted with Heavenly Father. His family will see him again and this suffering mother can take comfort in the fact that she will be able to raise him in a perfected environment. So many comforting words were spoken and there was so much love and support for the family. The church is so well organized and the principles taught bring hope to a dreary world.

I had another job interview this week, since none of my previous ones have gone to fruition. The future is still unknown but I am trying my best to use my skills and expand my skill set. I need challenges in my life to help me progress professionally. I need something stimulating for my brain.

Andrew and I have started reading "Lord of the Flies" together. We enjoy reading and this is Andrew's favorite book from high school reads. We read all the "Hunger Game" series together and before that it was "Eclipse," but we couldn't finish "Breaking Dawn" because it was just rediculous. I am reading "The Help" on my own and am quite enjoying it.

Our friends Cassi and Drew just returned from a year in China. It was so fun to catch up a bit with them. We forgot how much we like them. We got them gourmet cupcakes since they have been eating boring and wierd food for the past year.

Oh, I started taking prenatal vitamins because you should start taking them atleast a year before you get pregnant. It makes your body all prepared with the stuff that makes your child healthy. I don't know if it is really necessary because a billion people don't take them and their babies turn out fine after having been birthed by the mother personally in the middle of a jungle in Laos. I on the other hand have been exposed to crazy things in the American food that I eat and there are tons of chemical that I injest. If anyone is more likely to have miscarriages and complications during pregnancy, it is the American woman. I also have fears about birthing a child with some complication that will need to be dealt with during his/ her lifetime. After seeing what happened to my friend in the ward recently, it is scary to know that things could go wrong with someone who thought she was perfectly healthy. Vitamins are good for you anyway and these make your nails grow really fast.

Big Changes

Well today was an emotionally crazy day for both of us.

I realized I did not receive the job that I interviewed for a couple of weeks ago. It was the last French teaching job I had seen and sent in an application for. I would have LOVED to teach there but they offered it to a girl who graduated with me. Now I am starting to accept that I will not be teaching for a year and if I apply next year there will be just as many applicants and I will not have furthered my experience in teaching French. I don't know what to do with my life right now. I guess I could try for any job in the world right now since I have no real goals for the next year. I can continue substituting but I don't really feel like I'm using my teaching skills all that often, plus I went to college so I don't get paid only $10/hour. It is not a steady job and sometimes it is really boring. I will keep it if I have no other option. I have sent in some applications for tutoring jobs. That might pay more but I'm not going to be helping kids with French which is what really makes me happy. There are other aspects of teaching that might be available like a teacher's aide or something. I just feel like I am not being given the opportunity to use this awesome skillset that God has given me and that I have worked hard to get better at. It is so frustrating and it makes me sad. I want to have a job with benefits and be busy. Does that mean I need to look elsewhere? Maybe God is trying to tell me to leave my professional goals behind and focus on starting a family. I had it all worked out so that I could teach for at least two years, Andrew would graduate, and then we would start a family. I want more time with just Andrew and I really want a big girl job. Uggghhh! I know that things don't always work out like you think. I am just trying to come to terms with reality and how it is not meeting my expectations at all. I will then come to peace with this and do what I feel shall come next on the "Adventures of Ashley."

Andrew has been working on the idea of expanding Vada. He did not know how to make it happen but he has too much demand and not enough resources to supply that demand. A once in a lifetime opportunity has arrived where he is teaming up with his coworker Russell who will run the business and finance part of their creative studio. Russell's Dad will be investing the money to help the business get going. All of Andrew's biggest fears about expanding his business have been calmed by getting other people involved to help him. It is really amazing and really scary for him! I have all the faith in him that he can make this take off and really happen. Like I have said before, he is such a good people person and knows how to make his visions a reality. Vada will become an LLC, he will hire more designers, programmers, illustrators, etc, they will be renting out space and creating a studio for the team to work in: All the works! This is going to be legitimate and Andrew is going to do so well. It is a little bit too much for him to emotionally handle because it seems too good to be true and he has never dealt with so much money before. I am proud of him for going out there and doing this. I know he will rock it!

Lake Powell Trip

Our ward had the lovely opportunity to go to Lake Powell this past weekend. We rode down with the Felsteds and shared great stories with great friends. We arrived and put all our things on the houseboat. There were a billion spiders on the marina! We slept outside under the stars. The next morning we had french toast and then headed out on the smaller boat to discover the canyons. The rock was red and the water was so nice. We went through a canyon and swam. Many people did some cliff diving. It was so fun to get to know more couples in the ward. We did a lot of laughing. Sister Harward got a group of people to take a floating table into the lake and play the card game BS. We had little spiritual messages each night and had great meals. We all pitched in to clean the boat but our car stayed behind to help bishop move the boat under cover. Sadly the motor or something was dead and they had to tow it. We waited around for quite a bit and when we did get on the road, we took a wrong turn and ended up driving an hour and a half longer. All in all, it was such a blast to live on a boat for a couple of days and play in the beautiful canyon.