I read with every broken heart we should become more adventurous

I will forever love Rilo Kiley, Mason Jennings, and Josh Ritter. I feel like I could listen to them forever. I love when a certain lyric stands out, such as this line (which constitutes my blog title), from the Rilo Kiley song, More Adventurous. Oh Jenny Lewis, you are so wise.

Something I was reflecting on today is how people can kind of disappear out of your life. And how much you have to make the effort to keep someone there, and it's easy to let people slip away. Yet the ease in people slipping away can also help with the healing.

My heart is not broken at the moment; don't worry. I keep learning from each experience. Learning how to be who I'm supposed to be.

Biggest exciting news of the moment: I bought a ski pass to Sundance.

Biggest exciting news of the quarter (I have not posted since August):

1. I was engaged on facebook (cruel prank by some friends). Quite a reaction from my adoring fans.

2. I went to New York City to play, and I played hard.

Serendipity for pricey desserts with my bro, sister-in-law, and friend from Provo/Boise who randomly was also in Manhattan the same week as me. Oh Jetblue $160 SLC to NYC fares...
face down pictures: Columbia University, NYC. I still want to go to school there some day.
my fake engagement on the facebook and the explosion of reactions.

oh yeah, and I'm in grad school and teaching part time at the hippie charter school. Things are going pretty well with both of them. Heavily disenchanted at times from grad school, but most days I am glad I am still here.

working on being patient and letting the beauty of life unfold.

Well, I just realized I haven't blogged since DECEMBER. And it is nearly September. I am ridiculous. Or busy. Or something. Anyway...here is a photo taken by cousin Jennie that epitomizes Lake Powell. Here we are, about to embark on another round of TUBE WARS. Tube wars: two giant tubes pulled behind a powerful boat, 10-15 people, try to rip each other off the tube, no scratching, no pulling life jackets, no kicking, everything else is fair game. Aunt Elaine is in the background with the jet ski. She corrals the people who were mercilessly ripped off the tube. It is what we do in the family. Fight, commiserate, love, do it again.

Updates on life: I am feeling a bit stressed. Today is my wait what is going on this semester day. I am doing 3 big things and 3 side projects, but tend to ebb and flow into all big things or somewhat all big things.

3 big things: 1. GRAD SCHOOL! at the BYU (Provo for life), so it doesn't feel real still, though I started summer term. It is a program in Teacher Education. It is a part-time grad program for full-time teachers. What I plan on doing with it? Make education better in America. Too many kids hate school and drop out. Prison is preventative with more educational opportunities. What if schools were focused on students and student learning rather than bureaucracies, pensions, and politics? omg!

2. Teaching part-time at Walden (the hippie charter school in Provo). All of my classmates teach full-time, but I wasn't able to land a full-time job, but I am happy (I think) with the situation. I went to Turkey back in the day with this charter school, so I really like the school. It is Walden, School for the Liberal Arts, where it's more of a hands on education, Montessori K-12. Our first week of school was backpacking in the Uintas. I was the group leader for 10 high school boys (aged 14-18). They knew I grew up with 5 brothers and could handle it. It went better than I thought it would. About 9 miles altogether hiking in and out, so not too rough.

3. Being a research assistant at the BYU for 2 professors in the education department. They are also training me so I can teach an undergraduate class next spring term, maybs winter semester.

All of this starts this week.

3 minor things:

1. Gardening! I have been gardening all summer and it has been a dream. I work with about 20 people in a garden in west Provo. It is beautiful. Tomatoes and squash are our main commodities at present.

2. Provo Bike Committee! (bikeprovo.org) A little more productive than critical mass, we are working to have better relations between bikes and cars and Provo is on its way to becoming a more bike friendly and safer city. I am carless, so it has been nice commuting this summer around Provo. Walden is about 3 miles away, and with the ol' Peugeot, I am set for life.

3. The Upside (upsideprovo.com) I'm working to open a restaurant with some friends. Still not a tangible place yet, but we are on our way.

Plus friends, family, church, life. Things are always crazy town, but I think I like it that way. I find ways to be peaceful and hopeful in the everyday. Sun comes up and we start again.

So this is Christmas...

My last roommate just left for home. Here I am. In Provo Utar. Not at home, celebrating Christmas. Oh no. Secular Orem is making me teach tomorrow and Tuesday. The kids don't want to be there. I don't want to be there. 

Well here we are. 

This photo is of my olive wood nativity set I bought in Jerusalem. The alpaca is a nice addition. One of my roommates did the strategic placing of it.

Here are a few Christmas musings I have had as I have read the Bible and Book of Mormon refocusing again on Jesus Christ and His infinite sacrifice. And what He can do. 

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

"I promise that if we unclutter our lives a little bit and in sincerity and humility seek the pure and gentle Christ with our hearts, we will see Him, we will find Him—on Christmas and throughout the year.

It is all too easy to get too busy to think about the spiritual aspects of ourselves. As we seek Christ, we will become more whole. Modern life is trying to teach us to keep our spiritual and secular lives very separate, very compartmentalized. But that is not what will make us most happy. Yes, we may feel more in control. Yet that is not what it is all about. 

I keep remembering again and again, Christ is about love. He teaches how to treat and love others. How to forgive. Give the gift of forgiveness this Christmastime. Reevaluate where you stand with your Heavenly Father as well as those around you. Give and accept service; that is how I am coming to Christ and understanding how to love others. Through trusting and loving others.

Isaiah 9:6

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”

Merry Christmas.

Updates All Around

Again, adoring fans, my apologies. A quick update in the life of me. Shalom. Salaam. Still teaching high school. According to a school countdown, 14 days til Christmas break. No separation of church and state at my Utah high school (Christmas music blasted through the halls, Christmas decorations EVERYWHERE), yet our Christmas break does not begin until December 22nd. Sick. Luckily, I've spent a lot of time with the family. On November 21st, my brother Eric married his wife Audrey in Denver, CO. I now have a sister. I was a bridesmaid. The Saturday before that, November 14th, I went to the Mason Jennings concert with many of my friends. And, luck be a lady, I met Mason. He was just wandering around during the opening band. And I was a brave girl and said hi. And told him I like his music. So many good things. Thanksgiving was nice. Made and ate several epic pies. My family also acknowledged that my 3 years as a vegetarian (marked this November season) is not a fad, but a lifestyle change. Yet they still have the ad ripped out of a magazine for the beef industry: We love vegetarians: more meat for us. Update on school: it is getting so much better. I've come to terms that I can't be the most perfect teacher, and that everyone else is expecting less of me than I am of myself, and I am enjoying it more and being more confident and I'm getting praises from administration. One of my happiest updates: I am dating someone wonderful. His name is Mike. Our first kiss was in the Great Salt Lake after the Bob Dylan concert back in October. 2 more great things: 1. We have a Christmas tree. And it smells divine. 2. The next 2.5 days I will be in Salt Lake City being the co-advisor for RHSMUN (regional high school model united nations). So, back to my modeling days. Yet now I'm the advisor. Crazy town. 

Well here we are

To all my adoring fans:

I apologize for the long lapse in my blobbing. I have been crazy busy.

Feel bad: I am doing my student internship (I teach high school all day, every day, to surly Orem city youth for half pay teacher's salary), I am Relief Society president of my student ward (my church group, I'm in charge of all the lady folk), I am finishing up my research so I can bring glory, fame, and honor to myself, BYU, and my professors I was research assistanting for, and trying to be normal and have fun with my hoodrat friends. Luckily I'm not dating anyone; baby, you ain't got the time. Ha. 

=

le crazy life.

But, life is good. 

we went camping for the 8th year at my happy place, Ohanapecosh, Mt. Rainier, Washington

free Iron and Wine concert in Salt Lake City. Met Samuel Beam, the singer, before the show. He was out taking a smoke a few blocks from the concert. 

roadtripped to Madison, Wisconsin to visit my friend Whitney. Riding a tandem on the bike path.

Lake Powell with the family. I went for 4 days, then started teaching school the next day. 

yes I tagged that stop sign

Summer was a success.

New York City, You're So Pretty

So, it's been a while since my last post. Not sure if anyone's checking it anymore. But my latest adventure was modeling in New York City. And when I say modeling, I really mean Model UN. I went with the BYU team, and I was in the Ethiopian delegation. I missed a week of school, but it was absolutely worth it. We had a few days to play, and play I did. I saw the Broadway show In the Heights, hung out with my dear Jerusalem Center friend Todd Richardson, saw Mates of State (the band), wandered the streets, went to museums, and ate delicious foods. During the conference, it was great, because I'm not die-hard Model UN-y, so I didn't take it too seriously, and made more friends and less stress that way.

The best thing I did: During the last day of the conference is voting, and a typical voting procedure is those for it, raise your placards. Those against, raise your placards. Super fast. But someone has the potential to motion for a roll-call vote. And that is when each country is called, individually, by name, and asked their voting position. So it would take 6,000 years to go through one vote. So during a caucus (break), I walked by a microphone and said, "If anyone requests a roll-call vote, I will find you." That's how I get things done. 

Critical Mass

Critical Mass: Provo. 

This is a photo from our night ride in November. Critical Mass is typically found in large cities, such as San Francisco and Seattle. However, there is a bike following in Provo that also merits the bikers to the streets. There are some hipster bike kids in my ward who live down the street who started it. I was first invited in September, and the numbers have grown every month. We get together the first Friday of the month to rally together, exert some bike rights, and hang out and be cool. My ride is my late grandfather's blue 80s Schwinn cruiser. Look out.