I've got homework...But it is so nice outside

I planned on getting way ahead on my homework this weekend, but it was too nice outside and so I didn't. Outside trumped, because who knows how many more days we will have like this and the leaves were amazing. Amy and I went walking on the Provo Canyon Trail to Bridle Dale Falls.

And then I had a date with Benjamin. He drove.

 

Look at those cute teeth.

We laughed, and laughed....

 

...and laughed...

 

...and laughed until he fell over from laughing.

It was a super fun night!!!

Enter to Learn. Go Forth to Serve.

I've been in school six weeks, and it has flown by. I am loving it. Even with Economics. Sometimes it still is a little weird surreal. I never thought I would actually go to school at BYU and that I would be a Cougar. The faculty of the MPA program really work to make it the best experience. Part of that is the unity in the program. Some departments, like law, are very competitive. Not the MPA program. Everyone is there to help each other. And we have a lot of fun together. We have a lounge and if you want to study in there, don't plan on getting a lot done. 

We have been divided into groups and a lot of our assignments are done in these groups. I absolutely love my group, Wii Fit and I feel that I will be successful in the program because of my group.

The classes I am taking are:

• Organizational Behavior (Team work and interpersonal skills. Fantastic discussions._
• Economics Decision Making for Managers (We've already had a midterm in this class.)
• Administration Environment (We learn about different pubic administrations. I haven't quiet figured out what I am going to take from this class yet.)
• Communication in Public Administration (Writing and presentation skills.)
• Decision Analysis for Administrators (I'm learning a lot of great Excel Skills in this class. Beyond the basic Excel skills.)

This is my room. Its a little corner of my aunt's basement. I really like it, and the price is unbeatable. My aunt is nice enough to let me live with her for free. This is such a huge blessing. I don't know how I would survive paying rent and tuition. I have also learned the smaller my room is, the cleaner I keep it. I think this is the cleanest room I've ever had. Its great!!!

She lives to the east of campus, up the mountain behind the temple.

Great view of the valley. You can see all the way to mountains on the other side of Utah Lake and to Payson. I like to ride my bike. Going to school is fantastic. I can get there probably just as fast as I do driving, because its down hill and I don't have to worry about parking. But going back home can be a kick in the pants. I feel proud of myself when I get all the way without stopping.

Things have changed since I was last in school two years ago. One thing that is different is everyone has a lap top in class to take notes. Although you can often find people doing things other than taking notes. I had a laptop but I felt it was kind of big and heavy to carry around to classes, so I got this little thing. I call her Gigdet and she is absolutely perfect for classes. I put the glass there so you can see how small she is. And she functions just like a normal laptop.

Funny story: Everyone has a laptop in class and one day the professor asked us to pull out a paper and pencil and everyone began scrambling, looking for pencil and paper. Not everyone had one. It was entertaining.

I am kind of bummed that BYU doesn't always have the regular devotionals every Tuesday like BYU-Idaho. They do have them, but some Tuesdays they have a forum or a performance instead. Devos were something I enjoyed every week at BYU-Idaho.

I am glad I am school. Even with the hefty price. I feel like this is where I am supposed to be now. It has been challenging, too. And I sometimes think about what I had to give up to be here but I know that things will be good in the end.

Reasons to love Autumn

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin pancakes
Pumpkin Smoothie
Pumpkin roll
Pumpkin squares (cake) with cream cheese frosting...
...mmm mmm good.

It tastes like Autumn.

5 years ago today...

I was traveling home from Brazil. I like to use this day as a landmark in my year, like a birthday or New Years day, to look back and reflect and look forward and plan. It's fortunate that it happens right around conference time because that gives me additional items to reflect on and apply to my life. It's a good time of year to just reflect and think with general conference and the changing of season. I have a lot to reflect on and consider right now with the sudden changes that have happened in my life. It's great!!! 

I've been turned around so many times I have no idea which way I am facing...

So this summer I was the worst at posting blogs. But that is not entirely my fault. There were a lot of turn arounds in my life this summer and every time I started a new post it was out of date and inaccurate before I got it posted. Here is one example below. I started this about a month ago and I believe it was the very next day that my life changed again and what I had written here became inaccurate. I do not have a good job. And I am not going to school in Salt Lake.  I am just going to post what I have below, even though I typed it a month ago. So as you are reading this put yourself in the past about a month. And I will have another update with what has gone on since then coming soon.

SUMMER 2009 FLYING BY

This last week I was walking around Temple Square and I saw leaves falling from the trees. And they have started to put lights up. NOOOOO! I'm not ready for summer to be over. Although this has been a full and a half summer.

First of all it was my 10 year high school reunion. Wow!! I can't believe 10 years have gone by. This is definitely on of those things that you don't think will actually happen and then all of sudden its here. Its been a full 10 years and a lot has happened. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to the reunion because last minute I headed to Washington DC for a job interview for a position in the white house.

However, the very week before that (DC) happened I found out I was accepted to BYU EMPA program which I was pretty excited about. The day after I this news, I was contacted by a department of the White House  Organization inquiring if I would be interested in being considered for a position that had just opened up...and could I come in for an interview. I had sent them a resume last year when I was looking for a job but nothing was available. I wasn’t looking for a new job but I told them “Sure.” (Why not, right?) I can handle a little get away trip. So I took a day off and went to DC and made a weekend trip out of it. I felt good about the interview. And they told me that they were impressed with and that I was definitely a strong candidate. But they also told me that the 4 other people they had interviewed were also very strong candidates. So I was flattered but not guaranteed anything. I had a fun little weekend in DC, too.

For awhile there I was feeling a little stuck in my life with an unsatisfying job and no alternative options. Now I had two possible outcomes. One, working in DC, which I would absolutely love. I’ve loved DC since I was a kid and went there to visit my grandparents. And Hello, the WHITE HOUSE. It would be an awesome experience. And on the other hand if that didn’t work out there was Grad school which would also be great. I felt like I was in a win-win situation. No matter what happened, things would be great. 

Well I didn't end up getting the position at the White House. I am really ok with that because I have a good job and I will be going to school in the EMPA program at Salt Lake.

Back to present day. So you see (BYU Salt Lake, White House, BYU Salt Lake, and now BYU Provo--Peru and another trip to DC in between--which I still need to post) This has been a very busy summer and my life has changed a lot many times. Every time I get settled on a plan it gets thrown out the window. Fortunately I am flexible and I am good at making whatever comes my way work. Who needs a plan anyway! School is going good and I am enjoying it. I still get a little nervous about not having an income and the financial cost this is going to be when I am done. But I keep reminding myself that it is an investment and will be worth it in the end.

~Cheers

This morning...

Began like any other Monday morning. Woke up, got ready, rode the bus to work. Little did I know that this would be my last morning riding the bus, climbing the stairs to the second floor, clocking in, checking my email. Little did I know that I would be cleaning out my desk and leaving for the last time. This morning I had a plan that I was prepared for. But that all changed when I got a call from BYU offering me a opening in their full time MPA program. Oh and by the way it starts tomorrow. "OMG" (I'm not a big fan of that saying but it seemed to fit.) After a quick discussion with my parents and weighing the pros and cons in my head I decided to go for it. So I am now officially unemployed. (The loss of my regular paycheck was a little twinge in my stomach.) But I am officially a student at BYU in the MPA program. And I feel really good about that. More details to come later. I need to get to bed. This is going to be a big week.

Peru pictures are FINALLY HERE!!

Our adventure began in the Amazons. We flew from Lima to Puerto Maldonado. We were picked up at the airport, that had a total of 2 gates. We left our suitcases at the agency's offices are traveled by bus to a dock and then by boat on a river for an hour to our hotel. This was one sweet hotel. There was no electricity except for the lobby; at night they used kerosene lamps. And our rooms opened to the jungle and we watched monkeys from our rooms. At night we slept with nets over our beds like a canopy. We went on hikes through the rain forest, talked to a medicine man, and just relaxed.  Sleeping in the jungle when it was raining was so relaxing.





 
Cuzco was once the Inca capital of the world and it was fabulous. Shopping fantastic. People fun. A taxi ride across cost only a dollar. We visited the Inca ruins around the city and drove through the Sacred Valley.

After an hour and a half train ride from Cuzco we get to Aguas Calientes. The mountains around Machu Picchu were amazing.






From Aguas Calientes we hike up Putucusi (literally straight up) and got an awesome view of Machu Picchu.






Machu Picchu was fantastic. The only thing I would've changed about the whole trip is to have more time here.





































  These are the Floating of Islands in Lake Titicaca. They are literally man-made out of the reeds. Many generations ago when there were conflicts between Peru and Columbia there were people that didn't want to be associate with either and so they built their own islands in the middle of the lake. And people still build and continue to live on these islands.
I loved everything about this trip. The adventure was fabulous. Peru has so much to offer and it was so great being in South America again.
One more adventure checked off the list. On to the next!!