An appliance to match

I've been meaning to do a post about this since around the end of November. We finally got an appliance that matches [the decade] of our apartment! [Or is closer than anything else we own, anyway.] Thanks mom and dad, for this blender. =) It works just swell.

Notice our lovely oven. :)

A pleading letter

I am very passionate about the following topic I am going to discuss, but I am going to try to be calm and make sense.


Dear people-who-are-on-their-computers-phones-or-iPads-who-aren't-typing-notes-in-class,

You are distracting to the students around you. Even when you try to be sly, it is easy to tell when you are not typing up notes during a lecture. When you stare super focused at your device, you're clearly not paying attention in class. Professors, teachers, and speakers spend a lot of time preparing lectures. They spend their lives studying the subject(s) they teach and have a goal to teach you and to help you learn what they have been able to learn. They commit a large part of their time to figuring out how to best communicate to you, and you shun them by ignoring them and not giving them your attention.

I understand how easy it is to not be taking notes on your computer. To surfing the internet, checking your email, sending emails, looking at facebook, reading articles, playing solitaire and whatever else. I have been guilty of doing a couple of these things in the past on a couple of occasions, but I regret it and have determined not to do it ever again. Remove the temptation if you have to. Notebooks cost a matter of a few dollars, and could help you to show more respect, and not distract others.

You can justify your non-class related actions all you want. Keeping yourself awake or whatever. However, you cannot justify away the distraction you are to everyone around you, and the inattentiveness you show to a teacher.

How would you feel, if you were standing in front of a group of people, large or small, and only 5% of them were actually looking at you and seemed to care about what you were saying? Wouldn't that bother you? Wouldn't that make you feel sad? Wouldn't you begin to wonder if you should continue to bother trying to communicate to groups of people?

Thank goodness for the teachers and professors in the world. Thank goodness there are people willing to take the time to teach others and to spread their knowledge. Thank goodness they care enough about others to promote learning by dedicating their lives to understanding how to teach people.

No, teachers are not perfect, and no, we may not like every single teacher we have had or will have. But that does not make it okay to be rude and inconsiderate. They still deserve respect and consideration, as do your classmates. If you need to take care of something ACTUALLY REALLY IMPORTANT and time-sensitive, do so as quickly as you can. And if you can't do it quickly, step out swiftly and respectfully.

Please and thank you,
A student who cares about learning and has been frustrated by distractions many times

Letters with questions to no one

Dear spring (the season),
I love you and I miss you like crazy. Could you please come soon?
Love,
A California girl who is sick of being cold


Dear midterms,
Do you have an end?
No love,
A sleepy student


Dear Bookstore,
Really? A work shift starting at 6:30am on a Saturday?
Confused lack of understanding,
A wife who wanted to sleep in tomorrow


Dear life,
Must you really get harder in the future? How will I manage you?
Sincerely,
A lover of living


Dear creepers trying to break into Wymount apartments,
In the words of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: STOP IT.
Again- no love,
A slightly paranoid woman


Dear girl typing to no one,
Go to sleep.
...

Valentine's Day

I was very glad that unlike last year, I did not have to stay on campus most all of the day to take a test and then study and do homework and stuff until 11pm. I DO, however, have to take a test tomorrow, which I still have to study a lot for, but oh well.

Here are pictures of some of the highlights of my day.

Mmmm. Papa Murphey's Hawaiian Pizza is super tasty.

Thank you, hubby!!

My three deserts: home-dipped chocolate-covered strawberry, a slice of homemade cheesecake (the crust was not homemade- I didn't have enough time), and a tiny piece of chocolate walnut fudge.

And yes. Food does mean a lot to me.

Oh, the wisdom of my husband

So last night, Bry very randomly asked me about the spelling of a city near my hometown, in this manner:

"So, if you switch the 'h' and 'w' in 'Hayward', does it become Way-hard?"

Yes, Bry. It does.

Canada

Bry and I enjoyed the majority of our 3-week Christmas break from school in another country!! Bry's homeland of Canada. It was SUPER cold our first week (around zero degrees Fahrenheit, give OR take a few degrees), however it made the second week seem glorious (some temperatures around 20 F). We stayed inside most of the time, anyway, so it was great.

Bry and I definitely felt we had needed the break from school work and on-campus jobs. We got in a lot of time with family and being able to talk with them in person which always beats over-the-phone. We also got in some reading for fun which we have little time for during semesters.

Below are some pictures from our trip, including some highlights. The first picture I would say is just a picture, not necessarily a highlight (since we just drove through Idaho), although it was exciting getting out of State. 

 

 

This is the only sign I got a picture of on long road trip. I'm glad it turned out this well considering my camera was on food setting...

Holiday Eggnog

aka Milk of Chicken

To the left is one side of the carton, in English.

To the right is the other side of the carton, in French.

The literal French translation amuses me, though.

Oh Canada.
And French.

Look! Canada Dry actually in Canada! I'm pretty sure they have more flavors in Canada than in the States, but I could be wrong.

We got to go through the new and beautiful Calgary temple. :)

I was wearing two large coats because it was like zero degrees or so, and although I felt like the Michelin man, I was warm.

This was the only non-fuzzy picture of the Cardston temple my camera managed to take. It was gorgeous inside. I love the dark wood inside and color.

Kitties on the Laycock farm (a small fraction of the actual number of them).

A closer photo of us was taken, but I think my face looks weird in it, so I posted this one instead even though you can't see our faces very well. Whatever. But look! Proof I'm in Canada, and at the Laycock's farm. And it was colder outside than it appears. Do not be deceived by the sunlight.

When we got back to Calgary, we went to Peters'. Yum.

Delicious milkshakes. Good burgers, and non-greasy onion rings.

Downtown Calgary.

Partially-frozen river.
Did I mention it was cold?

Matching Canada hoodies! :)

6-month-iversary (3 weeks late)

So I've had this post all typed up and ready to go other than uploading the pictures at the bottom. And then I discovered blogger didn't want me to upload photos, but now I have. So here it is- late. But whatever.

To commemorate this day, we decided to list six things we love about being married:

1. Feeling comfortable being ourselves with each other.
2. Having a dependable partner with whom to face life's challenges.
3. Being able to have open, honest communication.
4. Learning to enjoy everyday tasks together (i.e. cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping).
5. Helping each other overcome shortcomings.
6. Laughing together at the silly things we do.

Bry and I have discovered we love fried eggs. :) This is also reminiscent of a burger I had in Spain.

A tradition passed along. :)