Oh YouTube....

Is anyone else curious to know why Peter is always at the park? Is he like twelve or something?

It's Been a Loooooong Time

Wow, so much has happened since I last posted!! Between the craziness of Christmas, a move, two new jobs, a dog and new school semester I haven't found time to update my blog. But here we go!:


Late last December Blake was offered a job. It's the same line of work (property management) as his current job at the Branbury, but we both felt like there would not only be more immediate pay, but more future opportunities for him. The only hitch is we would have to move. So the first week in January we packed up our stuff and left Spanish Villa in Orem for Farmgate apartments in Herriman. The company Blake now works for has many apartment communities in the Salt Lake valley, but since Farmgate is where Blake is working (and since it's brand new!) we decided to move there. For those of you who are unfamiliar with where Herriman is located, it's to the west of South Jordan and east of Bingham Copper Mine. The property happens to be located about a mile outside of Daybreak (which is the road we take to get there) and next door to the new Herriman High School. Here's a few pics of our new home!

We have AMAZING views from our back balcony...

I realized after I took these pictures that I didn't take any of our family room or kitchen! Oh well, it's a taste of our new home anyway! :)


So, with us now living in Herriman, it became pertinent that I transferred to a different America First branch for my job. The hour drive to Springville simply wasn't cutting it. After a couple weeks, and a few job opportunities, I decided to take a position in the Draper branch as the branch receptionist. I've fully enjoyed my time there and have pleasantly found that there is plenty to do to keep me occupied. The raise was also very helpful! :) 

We also adopted a dog! His name is Denny. He's a six-year-old Manchester Terrier with a sweet disposition. He's an excellent companion, potty trained, and pretty mellow. He does like to bark when people knock (as those of you who have come to visit us know!), but luckily he's learning quickly NOT to do that, and his barks aren't too yappy in nature. For the most part he's a big sweet heart. Above is a picture of him wondering what the heck I'm doing, taking pictures outside!


The only other thing I can think of that is very interesting is for Valentines day Blake and I went to Little American for an overnight get away. While out there we made a trip to the Apple store and finally made the decision to switch from T-Mobile to AT&T. We now have brand new iPhone 4s. It only made sense. We bought into the whole Apple mania a long time ago ;). 

Park City

So the company Blake works for has a really awesome Christmas party every year. This year it was in Park City. The company pays for a delicious, gourmet dinner, and this year also paid for us to stay a night at the Marriott right off historic Main. The party itself was fun (the open bar made things extra interesting), and the next morning we went to a really good diner called The Eating Establishment. The town itself was SO quite, I've never been up there with so few tourists. Anyhow, these are a few pictures I shot.

Haha, these are both really classic Blake expressions. He even has pictures from when he was little where he's giving the camera these exact expressions!

Look how quaint.

Um....yum....

My eyes look weird, but then again, my right eye is always more tiered than my left...strange....

Why is it the camera always wants to focus on the backgorund and blur me?...thanks a lot, camera.

In the Name of Cinnamon

These were SO yummy and SO easy. I made them last Sunday morning. I'll post the recipe soon.

Christmas Tree Hunting

This is my family's new favorite tradition, Christmas Tree Hunting! For some ridiculously cheap price, like ten bucks, you can buy a Christmas tree tag to go cut down your own tree. Here's some pics from this years Christmas Tree hunt.

We're like little ducks, walking up the mountain single file...This is the tree my parents ended up cutting down....

I get this expression too often....

Our little baby tree. Are we compensating for something?...

This is a really ugly picture my sister snapped when I was trying to explain to her how to zoom/focus the camera... for some reason I like.

The end.

Langston Hughes

This happy looking dude is Langston Hughes. A fantastic African-American poet who lived from 1906-1967. He's very assecible. Anyone could read his poetry, and appreciate/understand it. The most common theme dealt with in his poetry is racism and the African-American identity. I recently read all of his written poetry and fully enjoyed every moment. poets.org has an awesome recording of Hughes reading his poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" which is one of my favorites.

I, Too, Sing American (probably his most popular poem)

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

If you're interested in expanding your knowlege of poets/poetry, Hughes would be an awesome start.

Homework

Have you ever woken up at six in the morning just dying to do homework? Me neither, that's why I'm wondering if I'm sick or something.

This morning I got up, suddenly anxious/excited to write my ten page critical analysis of the recent Tim Burton film Alice in Wonderland. It was a weird emotion...particularly weird because I've already written the paper once but decided last night that I wanted to re-write it. I've felt anxiety plenty of times in regards to homework but never excitement. Maybe this whole "secondary ed" program is rubbing off on me...

What was even weirder is that I wrote the entire thing in one sitting. I already had a bibliography and a few pages of "loose notes" (b/c that's what my professor wanted). Even so, usually it takes a couple tries for me to get it all out, but this time it just flowed. Which leads me to believe that the more you write, the easier it is. Or maybe I should always do a bibliography/"loose notes"/write a cruddy version of the paper I want to write first.

Why am I always so surprised when I actually learn something from school?...

Anyhow, I've also been thinking about the phrase "homework". I don't know about all y'all, but doing homework at home is like trying to read a book while skate boarding. It just doesn't work. There's too many distractions. I think when I'm a teacher I'll call it supplemental-work, or busy-work, or maybe work-you-don't-want-to-do-but-have-to-do-if-you-want-to-pass.

That is all.