UNLV Here I Come!

Due to a promotion I got at Dixie State College to go from being an adjunct instructor to a part-time professor, I am now able to begin my Ph D at UNLV!!! I am so excited about it I can hardly sleep at night! Of course, it is going to be a big commitment and a little pricey, plus, I'll have to commute to Vegas once a week, but I'm still super excited. It has always been my dream to get my Doctorate degree so I can someday teach as a full-time English professor, though I never thought I'd be doing it this early.

I'm so grateful for the opportunities I've been given to work in a career I love and really push myself academically. Many of you know that I've been hoping to be a mom for several years now, but since I've been diagnosed with endometriosis and fertility treatments haven't worked out, I've decided to push myself in other ways and find out what Heavenly Father wants me to do with my life right now. Though we still have a lot of fertility treatments to try and there is plenty of hope, I know that it might be a while. Lucky for me, Heavenly Father has opened up one opportunity after another for me to better myself in other ways. I'm so grateful!

Wish me luck in my school work at this big university with the literature Big Wigs!

It's Time for a BIG Update!

So...I've been a bad blogger lately--a really bad blogger. I find that the longer I take to post, the more out of the loop I feel. So I decided to break the cycle and just start posting again. :) Here is an update of what has been going on with Shaye and me over the past few months:

Our New House!!!

We moved into our brand new home at the end of April and are LOVING it! Our home is in the Tonaquint area. We love it because it is so quiet, but only about a 5 minute drive to downtown. It's also fun because we have all kinds of bike trails nearby and beautiful views of Pine Valley Mountain, Zions (far off in the distance) and Snow Canyon. We feel so blessed to have gotten into the home when we did. We have awesome neighbors and are in an awesome ward! We couldn't be happier.

I will post more pictures inside when I get it more decorated and take some blog-worthy pictures.

Fun With Friends

In high school my friends, Marci in particular, sang a song that I've never forgotten. "Good friends, everyone needs good friends--the kind you can talk to..." Though this song is rather cheesy, (it's from "For the Strength of Youth" by Janice Kapp Perry,) it's so true. I'm grateful for GREAT friends.

Over the past few months Aleesha Fife (now Marshall) got married to a wonderful guy. Her wedding was gorgeous and it was a perfect opportunity for the "Morningside Clique" to get together and catch up.

Another fun thing that happened is that my bestie roommate Laralyn came to visit me in St. George. She has since had her baby, Kaylee Rayne, who is ADORABLE!

Also, I sang at the Renaissance Fair with Candace Thompson and Krista Wasden. It was super fun! I felt like I was five again walking around in my medieval dress. (Yes, I did aspire to be Guinevere as a child.) The fair was super fun to sing at, except when we tried to sing a difficult Latin song "O Fortuna" and totally started laughing in the middle. :)

Sudden Valley, WA

I never thought I could be so addicted to a place that involves hiking and small Scandanavian port towns--but I am! Ever since I've known Shaye I've heard all about Sudden Valley from his family. Until we went last year, I had no idea what I was in for. It is BEAUTIFUL! We went again a few weeks ago and I loved it even more! First of all, it is always 60 or 70 degrees there. Second of all, we get to spend quality time with Skyler and Jamie, who are a blast. Thirdly, it is about 3 hours away from Forks, WA. (This is where the dorky Twilight fan in me comes out.)

I haven't exactly been to Forks, but being so close to it and being in such a similar landscape makes me think about the books. I even start to believe the characters are real when I'm up there. (Man, now I really sound dorky!)

We're lucky to have a great vacation spot where we can stay with family for free and buy $28.00 tickets out of Vegas to get there. Can you believe that?? Seriously, if you want a fun cheap trip book a flight last minute with Allegiant and you can go all kinds of cool places for super cheap!

Well that's all for my massive update. I'll be sure to stay on top of it better. Hope you're all well. XOXO

Guilty Pleasures

Here are a list of few things that I indulge in:
Orange Peel's bubble teas (strictly herbal)! There's kind of expensive, so I don't get them all that often, but they are so yummy!

I love this lip gloss! Its so tasty and has just the right amount of stickiness. :)

This ice cream is the best EVER! (It's branded Dreyer's here, though.) It was on sale at Harmon's for $2.50 last week! Yum!

Adam Lambert is, without a doubt, the best contestant American Idol has ever seen. (And I'm not just giving into the hype, I really think it!)

Okay, okay...so I know I'm an English professor, so I really shouldn't be into Twilight, but I totally LOVE it--the books and the movie!

We love Cali!

We just got back from a quick, but fun trip to California. We had SUCH a great time and I've felt so rejuvenated! :) Here are some pictures from our little escape (with a bunch of Shaye's nieces and nephews.) :D

I swear Disneyland never loses its magic. I go back here and I remember what it felt like to be six and really believe I was a princess. Disneyland gives me such good vibes. I think good old Walt was inspired.

We went to my favorite restaurant which is located inside of "Pirates of the Carribbean." Its super pricey (but not if you split a plate), but soooo amazing. I always get the Monte Cristo sandwich.

A gorgeous, windy day in Newport. Shaye lurves to boogie board. He could do it all day. I, in the meantime, lie on the beach and solve the world's problems.

Thank goodness for vacations!

Big Love Controversy

I remember a few years back hearing about the HBO series "Big Love," a story about an FLDS family who practices polygamy and lives in Utah. I was understandably upset. Though there are a small amount of people who practice polygamy like the characters do in the show, it is so misleading about what life in Utah is really like. While I think many informed people would know that we Mormons abolished polygamy in the 1800s, many ignorant people might be further confused by the series.



Today when I heard that "Big Love" is showing detailed temple ceremonies in its next episode, my heart dropped. How could hollywood trivialize something so sacred? I was really upset by it, but then I read the official statement from the church, which you can find here, http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma
It amazes me how calm the church is about this intrusion on sacredness. The church has said that they do not support any boycotting of the program and know that the Lord's work will go forth regardless of improper media coverage. I love that our leaders do not fear man and know that the truth defends itself. In this crazy world it is such a comforting feeling.

Mimi Makes Me Smile

A few days before Christmas we got Mimi, a little Yorkshire Terrier. Though I knew she'd be fun when we got her, I've loved her even more than I thought I would. Strangely, I find myself to be one of those tacky dog people. I don't want to go anywhere without her. Shaye jokes with me because I'm worried about leaving her with my parents for a few days during Spring Break when we are going out of town. She's not nearly as fun as a baby would be, but she's really sweet and pretty darn cute too. Here are some pictures of little Mimi.

Here she is with her pretty bow...she pulls them out within minutes. :)

Haha, she loves to be held like a baby. Shaye and I joke about putting a bonnet on her and bringing her to church. (She is a Mormon after all!) :D

Tacky dog people or not, we love our little dog! :)

MLK Day!

Today I took part in a reading of some of my colleagues and my favorite African American authors in tribute of Martin Luther King Jr. It really got me thinking about what a wonderful country we live in. Though we have some terrible things in our past, like slavery and oppression, we have come so far from these stigmas.

As my colleagues read Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Bell Hooks, and Toni Morrison, I felt so much sadness for the suffering of the underprivileged; but at the same time so much gratitude to those like MLK who have helped us get where we are today! I hope that I can always be a facilitator of peace and tolerance in my words and actions and stand up for what's right like he did.