How I Spent My Winter Vacation

I know I severely neglected my blog last year, especially over the past month. I am slowing working to get the most important things up, though honestly, not much has been going on. That is not to say that life has been slow at all, it has been quite the opposite! But writing about grading papers/relief society visits/laundry/cleaning/etc. just doesn't sound very exciting! So though life has been very busy (and good!) I haven't found a whole lot of inspiration for blogging.

I really, really love Christmas break! By the time Christmas comes along I am ready for a break, and I feel like 2 weeks is the perfect amount of time for a good break without going nuts. And by the time school starts again, I am ready to go!

I ended up getting strep throat the week before school got out. It had been years since I had strep, and it was MISERABLE. I spent most of the first week of the break sleeping, reading, and letting my body recover. It was nice to have the time that I was really able to do so!

During the break I read four books. Yes, four books in 12 days. My name is Katie and I am a bookaholic. My stack of "to read" had gotten so big, I had to get to the ones that I have been craving for a while.

The first book I read was Crossed by Ally Condie. I was so excited to finally get my hands on this book. I had been waiting for what seemed like forever (really, only 10 months, but still!) I loved the first in the series (Matched) A LOT! Sadly, I do not feel the same way about Crossed. I found it quite dull, and I was really exasperated with the characters. As Lacey said, it is the epitome of a middle book (there is another one coming out later this year). I will still read the third one, though it is not likely that I will look forward to it with the same anticipation that I did Crossed.

After Crossed I wanted a book that I could really sink my teeth into and enjoy! I hoped that Pretties could do that for me. It is also a middle book, one in a series that I have wanted to read for years. I finally read Uglies a few months ago, and really enjoyed it. I found Pretties just as enjoyable as the first! A very fun and thought provoking book!

After finishing Pretties I knew it was time to move onto the book my book club is reading for January. I knew if I didn't read it over the break it wouldn't get finished! I was not super excited for the book. Though I do not dislike nonfiction it is not usually what I go to for leisure reading. That being said, I was surprised how much I liked this book! Though my heart broke for the little girl and the injustice she faced, I could not put this book down! I love learning about Chinese culture, which added to my enjoyment of the book. A surprisingly enjoyable read!

Enna Burning started out slow for me. I wasn't sure I was going to like it, and honestly didn't for the first third of the book. It took longer for me to get into than other Shannon Hale books that I have read, though when I reached the last third I literally could not put it down. In fact, I will probably go back tonight and read the last third again!

So really, that is what I did over the break. I spent lots of time with family, enjoyed days without stress and pressure, and finally got around to doing something that I have needed to do for a year.

See that envelope? The one I am holding upside down? It holds the manuscript for the book I wrote LAST December. Over the break I FINALLY got it ready to send to a publisher! For some reason it has really scared me, so I hadn't done anything yet. You are only suppose to send manuscripts to one publisher at a time, so I carefully picked the one I wanted to try first, pulled everything together, and it got mailed off (thanks Dad)! It usually takes months and months and months to hear back, but keep your fingers crossed! I know the chances of the first publisher I send it to picking it up are really small, but never hurts to hope!

All in all, a perfect way to spend winter break!

Ringing in the New Year!

New Year's Eve is one of my favorite days. I never do anything over the top exciting or different, I just love our traditional family celebration. It was small this year - just my parents, Grandma, Joi, Lacey & Steve & the girls, and me. Even so, we had a GREAT time!

Sisters:

Sisters:

We had our traditional finger food feast. It is my favorite meal of the year, and as far as I am concerned has absolutely no calories. At least none that I care about on that day! My favorites are always the pot stickers and the bacon wrapped water chestnuts. So yummy!

Ivy helped us to make some jello jigglers. We didn't know if they would be set up in time, but luckily they were! After putting them in a serving bowl Ivy grabbed the whole thing and plopped it onto her plate. Which was darling - until she realized that they really weren't just hers! She did share, and got a lot for her as well :-)

After dinner we sat around and chatted, then played the game Di Xit. Which was very different, and I really enjoyed!

At midnight we ran outside, hit pans with giant spoons, and enjoyed fireworks. It was a lovely way to bring in 2012.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Ode to 2011

Holy cow, can you believe that 2011 is already ending? How does time pass so quickly! As I have been thinking about the past year I have been remembering some of my favorite memories. So I decided to end the year I would take a walk down memory lane. Some memories have pictures. Some don't. Here goes!

Coming home to find this on my door on Valentines day. Best. Valentines. Day. Ever.

The newest member of my household, Moose. (yes, I really like my couch enough that it made my top things of 2011 list)

Finally seeing the play Wicked!

My Great Skydiving Adventure!

Being blessed with two new nieces (both as darling as can be!)

Yellowstone Trip with the family.

And even more specifically, the bike ride/hike in Yellowstone that was my favorite part of the whole trip!

School scheduling working out so that I could go to Education Week with my Mom.

The first annual Mud Run. So much dirty fun!

Tuacahn Theater & St. George Trip.

Successfully completing my second year teaching.

Starting my third year and finally feeling like I am figuring things out!

Being Nominated for Teacher of the year.

Working as the ward Relief Society President. And honestly being able to say that it has been such a huge blessing in my life!

Making new friends.

Learning LOTS!

Making many happy memories :-)

Best book I read this year:

This was a tough one, because I have read many, many good ones over the past 12 months. It came down to Divergent and The Goose Girl. In the end, it had to be Divergent. I was so impressed with this book!

(one of the) Best Discovery of 2011:

HEAVEN!

Best Movie of 2011:

Okay, I know that HTTYD actually came out in 2010, but I didn't see it until this year, so I am still going to count it. I thought it was so creative, funny, and well done! Plus, 2011 wasn't a great movie year in my opinion. Though this does have to make the list:

I did enjoy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2. I thought it was very well done, and tied the series together nicely.

It hasn't been a perfect year, there have been some bumps and mishaps along the way, but all in all 2011 was very kind to me!

Goodbye, 2011!

Post - Christmas SLC Trip

Today I took a quick trip to Salt Lake to celebrate my adopted aunt Joi's birthday. It was glorious fun! I went with my mom, my dad, and Joi (who has become a new member of the family over the past year). We drove down to Ogden, and then hopped on the Frontrunner. I always enjoy riding Frontrunner. I have been a fan of trains for a long time, and have dreamed of living in a city where you could commute to work on a train or subway! Maybe one day. Until then, I'll have to settle for riding the front runner once a year or so!

After we arrived in Salt Lake I was introduced to my newest love:

P.F Chang's! Oh my goodness! How have I never gone here before? I have heard of the restaurant, but never been overly curious because Chinese food isn't my very favorite thing. What I didn't realize is that this is Americanized Chinese at it's very best! I did not try a single thing that I did not LOVE (and I tried A LOT of things!) My very favorite being these:

Lettuce wraps! I LOVED these. The layers of flavor were amazing. The crisp lettuce made them refreshing and light. I could eat these all the time. I am glad there is not a P.F. Chang's closer, or I would probably spend way too much money there!

After P.F. Chang's we wandered around Boarder's for a while as I contemplated Nook Accessories. We then headed to Temple Square.

I am always a fan of Temple Square. I think it is beautiful, especially at night. Adding Christmas lights to temple square only enhances the magic!

I forgot to change my camera back to a normal setting before we took this picture. I can't decide if it is cool or creepy:

Whichever it is, I decided we needed a more normal looking picture. So I fixed the setting and we tried again!

It was an abnormally warm December night, and since it was after Christmas there were less people (even though it was still crowded) which made for ideal wandering-around-temple-square conditions!

We then hopped back on the Frontrunner and headed home. What a way to end the holiday season!

Christmas 2011

Our Christmas in Pictures:

The older girls blew out candles on a birthday cake for Jesus...

... while the babies kept the adults entertained with their big smiles.

The Nativity story was read, and the little girls worked on their sticker pictures to follow along.

We were so happy when Joi made it to the end of the festivities, and she opened her Christmas presents with us that night.

We went to church in Providence at my parents ward, and attended what I am sure was the best ward Christmas program EVER!!! Their choir was so talented, and the Spirit so strong. It left me wishing that Christmas was always on Sunday! Could there be any better way to celebrate Christ's birth than by attending church and renewing our covenants there?

After church we all changed back into our pajamas and had our traditional Christmas brunch. Mom had a sock matching game prepared that everyone ended up with new socks from, and then we opened stocking and presents. Good times were had by all. :)

Even though the pictures are all of the little girls, the adults had a great time too. One of my favorite moments was watching Mom and Dad opening their presents from Grandma (a Kindle Fire and an Ipad, respectively) and seeing the looks of shock on their faces... priceless! Even Stella had a great time.

After presents Karl and Liz's family left for SLC and the rest of us vegged in PJ's for the rest of the day. We read. We napped. We played games. We watched movies. We ate lots of yummy food. And both of the girls got to spend some quality time playing with Pop Pop. It was lovely. :)

That night we got to spread a little Christmas Joi...

It was a perfectly lovely way to spend the holidays!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Thankfully, Santa can not always come through!

On Saturday Liz asked me what I had asked Santa for Christmas. I jokingly (okay, maybe only half ;-) replied "A Boyfriend!"

After thinking about it for a while, I decided that this actually would NOT be a very good idea. Because no matter how good looking, charming, or great he may have been, if a strange man had been in my house when I woke up on Sunday, it would NOT have been pretty!

Who would have thought that Santa not pulling through with a Christmas present would be a good thing!

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!