School's Out for Summer!

The title of this post is so unoriginal. I know. Plus it's by Alice Cooper. But I've had a that song running through my head ever since last Friday (the BYU Marching Band version, of course). Last week I was feeling two things: exhaustion and satisfaction (plus cold/flu-like symptoms- so I guess that makes three things). Here are a few highlights:

*Final projects for my World History classes: I had them interview people about more recent (Cold War Era) events. I was a little nervous about how it would turn out, but the students who actually did it had some fascinating interviews. Among these were a student who knew someone who went to Vietnam to film footage, and a foreign-exchange student from China whose dad is a professor and had students marching in Tiananmen Square.

*Yearbook signing: I wonder a lot if I am making any sort of impact on students' lives, so it was nice to have so many students come back and ask me to sign their yearbooks, and to have them write such nice things in mine.

*Westlake's first graduation: I counted, and it was something like the 15th graduation ceremony that I have attended in the Marriott Center (I have a lot of siblings and in-laws that graduated from BYU, not to mention all of their high school graduations also held in the Marriott Center). It was a great ceremony, and I was very proud of my students that graduated. I got to wear a gold robe and a hood that matched my degree and my university (I thought you had to have at least a master's degree). It made me feel special.

And for your enjoyment, here are pictures of my empty classroom:

A Tribute to my Mom

Thursday I was sitting by the tennis courts at Timpanogos High School, hungry and cold. I was planning on grabbing something to eat on my way to coach the divisional tennis tournament, but I left the school later than I had hoped to, so I wasn't able to stop on my way down. I was so hungry, and my mom was so close, that I decided to call her to see if she might have a chance to drop something off for me. I felt a little sheepish calling her (I am 25 years old), but I decided to do it anyway.

As I got on the phone with my mom, she told me that she had to take Matt (23-year-old, married) to work, and then to pick her mom up to go to a dinner, but if she had time, she would drop something by. A little while later, I saw my mom walking up with a cup of tomato basil soup and a delicious roll. It was perfect.

I chuckled a little because it was like my brother and I were back in high school. But then I was so grateful that she was willing to go out of her way to help me. As an adult, your relationship with your mom changes (as it should), but your mom is still your mom no matter how old you get. It was a great Mother's Day moment this week that reminded me why my mom is so wonderful.

I love you, Mom. You're the best. Happy Mother's Day!

In case you were wondering about the outcome of WWII...

What do you call a perfect spring day?

I absolutely love the spring. The past few days have been glorious. They have included three picnics, a long walk, a bike ride up the canyon, tennis, blossoms on the trees against the snow-capped mountains, green in the foothills, and a lot of sunshine.

Doug and I were discussing what adjective you could give the perfect spring day. Autumn has the word crisp that perfectly encapsulates everything about a great autumn day-- and you only really use it to describe the fall. The best word we could come up with for spring is fresh. A fresh spring day. It may not be as commonly used as crisp is for autumn, but I think it captures the essence of what makes a spring day wonderful: the freshness of the flowers, the sunshine, the newness of life. Can anyone think of a better adjective? Also, what adjectives best describe ideal summer and winter days?

Taxes

As is custom, I did my taxes on April 15. I was giddy about getting a large refund. Then I had two revelations:

*This was money that I earned, and the government is just giving it back to me. It's not like some special gift or something.

*By waiting until April 15, the government was earning interest on my money, not me. Next year I'm filing my taxes in February (unless, of course, I'm not getting a refund).

Identity theft is not a joke, Jen!

I have been thinking about this clip from The Office this weekend since someone was parading around California spending my hard-earned money.



At the very least, I hope they wore mustard yellow (my new favorite color) said something like, "Question: Who is the best BYU basketball player ever?", "Fact: Cougars love capitalism. Cougars. Capitalism. Classical music."

Thankfully, Visa reimburses you for unauthorized transactions from you account, and the credit union was more than helpful. I still can't understand though, how ANYONE could have the audacity to steal someone's credit card number. You have to be pretty darn self-absorbed not to think about the effect that it could have on someone else's life. I mean, for all they knew I was some single mother with starving children. I guess most criminals don't think about other people, or they wouldn't be criminals. Unbelievable.

My life is "completo"

Any of you looking for a great new restaurant in Provo, go to Pantrucas Chilean Restaurant. Doug and I went last night and it was DEEE-lish! I had a completo italiano, a hot dog covered in tomato, guacamole and mayo. Plus, I had a beef empanada and some yummy mango juice. The owners were so sweet, and it was so fun to talk to them in Spanish. It was absolutely delightful!

Happy Pi Day!

Another winner from Google:

Happy Pi Day! I'll post pictures later of the lovely banana cream pie that is in the fridge.

Happy Birthday, Vivaldi. Love, Google.

This is one of my favorite Google logos ever. It's in honor of Vivaldi's 332nd birthday.

The Final Score

I was at stake conference last weekend, and a member of the stake presidency said something like, "In the end, we know that the score is going to be God- a whole lot of points, Satan- a few." I turned to my roommate and said, "That's because God has Jimmer on his team."

So maybe it's not kosher to repeat something clever I said, but it doesn't happen that often. Did I mention that I love BYU basketball?