Thank you SOOOO much...

...for my beautiful passport cover, Megan! I love it so much that it is going to be the 'gnome' of my trip. Check back later to see the adventures Tweets has been on!

The waiting...and waiting...and waiting game.

Blogging often takes longer then I anticipate - you know the bit where you have all these pictures and stories to write about but you keep putting it off until you have more time, and then you find yourself with time but it's not the right time because you're not feeling it...Well, no more excuses. I am officially out of work for the next few months (don't panic, I'm a teacher if you didn't know) and waiting for my vacation to start in a few days and the waiting is killing me - I can't even read a book with confidence! But if I leave the house I spend money = less money to spend on vacation. So here is some catch-up blogging, mostly to entertain myself, of things I've done to entertain myself!

QUINCEANERA- I attended one of these festivities at the beginning of May for a student who I taught and was advisor to this year. For those who aren't aware, it is a traditional Mexican/Latin American 15th birthday celebration for girls. It's basically a religious coming-out part which looks and feels a lot like a wedding for one - the Catholic service, carrying bouquets, attendants, the cake, the reception, the dresses, the toasting, changing the shoes (instead of a garter),special dances for the father and daughter and the attendants, the party until all hours of the morning...




SOUTHERN UTAH ENTERTAINMENT - When I first moved to Cedar City so many years ago to attend college, I had no idea what young people in small-town America did for entertainment. And now, all these years later (and after having participated in some of these activities myself) I feel like my high school days were cheated somehow. Shooting paint cans and food in cans, blowing stuff up, shooting at large items, and lighting large objects on fire are just a few of the things I have done since moving here. And when your friends have old furniture, you still light it up, even when you are way to old to know better.




ENTERTAINERS IN SOUTHERN UTAH - Brian Regan, a comedian, came to perform at Tuachan. Tuachan is this AMAZING outdoor amphitheater in St. George, and Brian Regan is an amazing - and clean! - comedian who is a favorite on David Letterman and Comedy Central.



REMINISCING WITH FRIENDS - I'm glad Megan and Chris bought a house(and had birthdays). It gave them a reason to have a party, cook good food, and have a night of music and entertainment. Their house is so perfect and in the cutest neighborhood that it actually, for the first time, has made me start thinking about getting a house of my own. A long LONG way off, but if I could find one as cute as theirs I might take the leap someday sooner then I've been thinking. But their house is filled with something that you can't buy and makes you want to be around for more than just a weekend...



...and these are just a few of many amazing chalk drawings from a festival in downtown Bountiful that Megan took me to see on our Sunday walk. I felt almost like I was in that scene from Mary Poppins!




THE BIRTHDAY OF ONE SO SWEET - My niece Rori turned one yesterday. She is such a sweet girl and though I've saved the blogging on the whole story for her mother, I couldn't resist a shout out to one of three reasons being an aunt brings me so much joy.

Three more days to go. And this is done. Now what?

At this time next week...

The anit-brag book

Blogging is an interesting world to step in to. It is most often used as a public brag book, though you will find the occasional serious subject matter, political commentary, and book reviews. When I don't blog, it's usually because I don't really feel I have anything to brag about. It doesn't mean things aren't going on, nor does it mean that there aren't a million things going on in my life or head - funny and not so funny. Sometimes I try so hard to think of meaningful things to commentate on that I have a brain meltdown and have a complete block of anything to say. Other times, which has more recently been the case, I don't feel like I have much that's positive to say so instead of saying anything that's not nice, I don't say anything at all. And in this way I have stripped the blog of its intended purpose.

A blog is a way of sharing information and communicating with others - the good, the better, the best, and the downright ugly muggly. We don't all have good days. In fact, we all probably have more mediocre, bad, and boring ones. But my personal relationship with blogging has turned into this creature of persuading others that my life is so fun and exciting...because that is what I predominately share. But I am here to admit that my life is filled with insecurities, sadness, and often overwhelming feelings of inadiquacy. I don't presume to say that brag-book moments are shared for some sneaky or deceptive reason, nor that we should discontinue doing so as these are the moments that make life worth living and they should be shared with those we care about to celebrate life with us. I share pictures and stories for the same positive reasons that all who share these do. But there is also a side that I don't share, and any honest reporter of integrity (because isn't that what all who blog are? Reporters of their lives?) shows an unbiased willingness to show all sides of a story.

So there. I've said it. My life is not as charmed as I'd like others to believe, and for the past few months I have felt sad, lonely, tired and confused more than I've felt anything else. I don't know why I feel this need to stop hiding behind my blog, but I do. We are entering summer, the braggiest season of them all, and I will be more guilty than most this go-around. But life is a lot more than the brag book, and instead of pretending that's all that is worth talking about, here is my declaration of the normalcy of my life.