Starting the Year Off Right - Road Trippin'

This winter, my travel itch was buggin'. I really wanted to go on a road trip, and I wanted to go somewhere warm because the Indiana winter was too much for me already (Ha. I had no idea what we were in for). My best road trip partner is Jaime, but I'd already been to all the states around her so flying to Utah to start a road trip wasn't worth it. Instead, I flew her out here as her birthday gift (with some bonus miles I had stored up) and we drove down to Louisiana, the only state in the south I hadn't been to. We drove down through Kentucky and Tennessee down to Birmingham, Alabama where we spent the first night.

Just across the Tennessee/Alabama border there's a huge rocket at a roadside rest stop. My aunt and uncle had told us about it so we already had our eyes peeled, but it's not likely we could've missed it. It was probably ten stories high.

The placards were a bit confusing so I never really could decide if this particular rocket had ever actually been to space, but it was still really cool!

If you know me at all or have read my blog for a while, you know I love hotels. I'm content with a crappy hotel, but I love fancy ones even more. On this trip, I discovered my best friend: Hotwire.com. They put up last-minute deals and you can get really cheap rooms the day you need them or in advance. Because of this website, we were able to stay in nice hotels (nice for us, at least. We typically stay in one- or two-star hotels) for totally reasonable prices. The first night in Birmingham we splurged and went four-star downtown. It was gorgeous, but I decided that it's not worth it. We had to pay for parking, there was no free breakfast (or anything for that matter), and it wasn't really that much nicer. The rest of the time we stayed in three-star hotels and most of the time they were just as nice with free parking and free breakfast.

We spent a lot of time watching HGTV and the Food Network that first night in Birmingham. We got in after dark and I wasn't feel very well so we didn't go do anything or eat anywhere. We had plenty of time on our hands to watch Chopped and HGTV's Dream Home.

The next morning, we went to visit the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, which was the site of a terrible bombing in the early 1960s. The bombing killed four teenaged girls. The church was the home of a lot of the important events of the Civil Rights Movement in the area. The history was interesting and it opened my eyes to the terrible things that have happened right here in our own country that we often forget about.

The sanctuary inside was really beautiful, especially the stained glass.

That day we drove down to New Orleans, our final destination. My favorite part of New Orleans was all the water. There are tons of bridges, and some of the freeway on/off ramps are just floating in water (well, not floating, but they're not very close to the land). I loved coming into the city and seeing water everywhere. It's easy to see how it would be a dangerous place to be during a hurricane.

The first night we went to the famous French Quarter. We visited Jackson Square first and enjoyed the lights along the Mississippi River.

We found Bourbon Street, but I was really not impressed. The architecture was really cool, but the overall atmosphere was really trashy and I didn't feel very good being there. Maybe it's better during the day.

We stopped at a restaurant on Bourbon Street and had the best meal of our trip. We tried oysters (not so good) and stuffed catfish with a crawfish sauce and a side of jambalaya. It was SO good. We still talk about it. We also allowed ourselves to be talked into some fried cheesecake which had a delicious lemon sauce.

And in true Louisiana fashion, they had a giant alligator hanging on the wall.

 

The next morning, we drove a bit south to Destrehan, Louisiana to River Road which is right along the Mississippi River and is dotted with plantations. We visited the Destrehan Plantation. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and we had a great time trying to imagine the place in its prime. Unfortunately, it was not warm (45 degrees was not exactly what I was imagining when I chose a warm spot) so we didn't spend a whole lot of time exploring the grounds after the tour.

Bridge over the mighty Mississippi.

We stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant and had the most amazing shrimp and crawfish pasta. I could definitely live in New Orleans for the food, though I'd probably be a lot fatter than I am now.

That afternoon we went on a swamp tour of a local bayou. We were hoping to see some wildlife, including a dancing alligator like the one they advertised. Unfortunately, most animals don't like to be out when it's 45 degrees outside. The only alligator we saw was a tiny little one whose head was on a log. We had to stop the boat and the tour guide had to literally give us step-by-step instructions on how to find the alligator's head among the brush. For some reason, it's not quite as exhilarating when the alligator head could have easily been mistaken for a rock on a log.

 

If you're thinking, "Hey, this picture is upside down," you're wrong. That alligator skin was hanging from the ceiling of the gift shop. A perfect ceiling decoration for any home.





We boarded this beautiful boat with our guide (whose name I can't remember) to float around the Louisiana Bayou looking at a whole bunch of nothing in barely-above-freezing temperatures. I'm glad we went, but I definitely think this would be a much more enjoyable experience in the Spring or Summer. Maybe I'll go back someday.

 

Our tour guide was fabulous. He knew so much about the bayou, the animals, the area, everything. He hadn't been formally educated, but he was amazing at his job. I recorded this video to record his Cajun accent which was so cool. I'm not sure if it'll work or not.

There wasn't a whole lot of wildlife out, but we did see these raccoons whom our tour guide had named. They recognized his voice and perked up and came over to the water when he called them. Then he threw them some marshmallows. I've never thought raccoons were cute, but these little guys were pretty adorable. I guess they're cuter when they're not going through your trash.

The best part of the trip was when he went over to this box in the corner of the boat and pulled out a tiny little alligator. It was his pet alligator named Allie who he's raising in his house. INSIDE his house. Crazy. He let us pass her around and hold her, which was super crazy and cool.

No, I didn't apply a layer of self-tanner between these two pictures. I'm not sure why I look so much darker in the second one. But maybe you didn't even notice the color of my skin because I'm HOLDING AN ALLIGATOR!

 

 
That evening we drove across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway which is the second-longest bridge over water in the world - 24 miles!

 

That's us after already having been on the bridge for over ten minutes.



We drove through to Mississippi that night before stopping for the night. The next day we drove to Nashville, Tennessee and made it into town just in time to see the end of the Colts come-from-behind win in the playoffs. That was a pleasant surprise!

 

We drove downtown to Broadway, which is the main strip of Nashville where they have bar after bar with live music. I seriously have never seen so many bands playing at once. I tried to get a picture of the lights and feeling of the area, but my camera was not cooperating. So I'll post the pictures I took, then I'll find an internet picture to show you what it really looks like. :)

And this is what it really looks like. 

 

We found a candy store that was the most amazing place I'd ever seen. There was candy everywhere and everything we tried was delicious.

These. Were. Real. We didn't try them.

We walked all the way down to the river. I don't know what it is, but I'm just a water and bridge nut. I think they're gorgeous, and a city that surrounds a river is my favorite.

Our plan was to drive back to Indiana the next day (Sunday) because I had to be at work on Monday and Jaime's flight left early Monday morning, but a huge snow storm moved in and we were stuck in Louisville. We could have tried to go farther, but we wouldn't have gotten very far so we stayed in Louisville and watched our friend Juan Pablo on the Bachelor.

We tried to go home again the next day, but the freeway was closed just past Columbus, Indiana. Fortunately, my parents live in Columbus so we stopped at their house and stayed the night. My brother Jacob had also gotten snowed in there so my dad made popcorn and we all played games. It was a fun surprise night with my family!

We finally made it back to Indianapolis the next night, but not without difficulty. Interstate 65 was still closed so we had to go around and come up on the east side of Indy on Interstate 74. That freeway was open, but it was still pretty covered in snow so it was slow-going. They cancelled school again the next day so we settled in and watched the next episode of the Bachelor.

In all, I think Indianapolis got about a foot of snow and they cancelled school for five days. So we were supposed to go back to school on Monday, but didn't go back until the next Monday. Jaime was also supposed to fly out that Monday morning, but she had several cancelled flights and she didn't leave until Wednesday night. It was so fun to have her here for a few extra days, though if we'd known, we could've stayed in New Orleans and visited more sites! I always love having her here, though, and she was able to visit with the rest of my family which was fun. They consider her part of the family now.

It's been about a month since this trip, and I'm already craving another road trip. Jaime and I were just talking about this and we decided we should probably just become truckers together so we can be on the road all the time. It's the best way to travel! Next on the agenda: New England.

Christmas Break

The best thing about being a teacher (aside from the huge paycheck) is having so many breaks. Our Christmas break was 2 weeks, but it turned into 3 when we had a huge snowstorm and subzero temperatures the week we were supposed to be back. In fact, I'm home for another snow day as I'm writing this. This winter has been crazy. Over the break, though, I enjoyed spending time with family and friends.

My friend Amy had a birthday so we went to get sushi, and they gave us a huge plate of fried bananas!

Emerson's Christmas gift from me was a movie date. We went to see "Frozen" and ate lunch at Jimmy John's. She's so cute and fun to be around. She's been working on her Michael Jackson moves.

 I didn't think she'd be able to eat that whole sandwich by herself, but she finished it like a champ.

Christmas 2013

My goodness. I didn't even realize how far behind I was on blogging! I have so many pictures to put up here. We'll start with Christmas.

 

But first, a Thanksgiving story. For Thanksgiving, Isaac said he was going to make sugar cream pies for dessert. He didn't. Everyone was extremely upset. Apparently, sugar cream pie is not something you promise and then don't come through on in our family. You will never be forgiven. But really. I wouldn't be surprised if we bring that up every Thanksgiving going forward.

 

In an effort to ensure that didn't happen again for Christmas, I volunteered to make the sugar cream pies, because I'm reliable. Everyone knows that. My mom had taken it upon herself to make all of Christmas Eve dinner so I went down the day before to help her. My first crusts turned out so-so but then I put them in the oven and forgot about them and they turned out so, so burned. So I had to make new ones, which looked much better anyway so it's all good. Then I didn't have enough filling so I had to make another batch of that. So essentially, I made these pies twice. I'm not very good with sprinkling spices, though, as you can see in the top pie. I went a bit overboard with the cinnamon but it was still delicious.

 

Isaac and Dominika, Jacob and Nalon, our family friend Laura, and I all stayed at my parents' house so we were stashed all over the house for sleeping. Isaac, Micah, and I shared a bathroom for brushing our teeth which I'm sure has never happened before. I don't think Isaac and Micah have shared a house since she was a wee child.

 

Micah and I were in charge of setting the table for dinner. Read: I set the table for dinner. I think Holden helped me. Or maybe Nalon. I can't remember. It looks beautiful, though, right? My mom has gorgeous Christmas dishes that we always use for our family Christmas Eve dinner, which is when our whole family gets together. This year we were joined by the Sister Missionaries and our friend Laura. Dominika's brother Kyler also joined us, but he's practically family.

Tessa always dresses her kids up nicely for this dinner. Campbell is always quick to make herself look as not-nice as possible, though.

Grandkids! Next year there will be a little baby to add to this group. :)

The Sisters with Micah and Dad

Kids table! I have great memories of being at the kids table for Thanksgiving dinner at my grandparents' house. I loved it! I'm not sure if all of these guys love it, though.

Tessa and her kids. Campbell is usually such a poser. I'm not sure what was going on with her.

After dinner we had a short Christmas program. Nalon and Holden sang a song...that I now can't remember. This is what I get for waiting so long to blog about it.

Cooper and Campbell sang a song they'd learned at preschool. Micah, Dominika, and I all sang and my dad shared an inspiring message about Christ. I love this little tradition that we have. It's a nice way to remind us of the reason we celebrate Christmas before all the presents start.

On Christmas Eve we open presents with whomever won't be there on Christmas day, which was just Tessa's family this year.

 Dad's cordial cherries. He gets them every year. I think I like them mostly just because they remind me of him.

Thomas was in San Francisco for BYU's bowl game, so we connected the computer to the TV and had him there via Google+.

There's the cheeseball. Here she's showing off the new blanket that my mom made her. It's her favorite color: rainbow.

A family of three, soon to be four.

Sisters. (I really can't say that without thinking of the SNL skit with the four sisters and one of them has a giant head and tiny arms. What was that called?)

These two amaze me every day. Their example of love and Christ-like service has been the greatest force for good in my life.

And now she's showing off her new Christmas jammies.

Christmas morning. Where would little boys be without their dads to put together their Lego sets for them?

I instituted a new photo tradition on Christmas morning. Wear your presents. Here's what we got.

That evening we went out to visit my Grandma Shoaf and other family members who were there. I'm so grateful that every time I'm there (which, admittedly, is not very often) there are tons of people there. I think it's very rare that she's alone which I think is good since my Grandpa passed away last year. She has raised a lot of family members who love and care about her.

When we got back that night, we played Headbandz with Nalon before he went to bed, then Dad, Mom, Micah, and I played Ticket to Ride.

We still had more in us, though, so Micah, my mom, and I made sugar cookies. We sang and danced around while we made them. It was really fun. We listened to a CD of Christmas songs done by some famous artists (mostly from the 80s and 90s) and I couldn't get over how few of them Micah knew. It's not that surprising, I guess, that she didn't recognize a lot of their voices, but she wouldn't even recognize the name when I would tell her! People like Luther Vandross...and I can't remember the others. But famous names that she should have at least heard of!

Then she stole my phone and did this to herself.

I was in charge of rolling out the dough and cutting out the shapes. It took me a few tries to get it right, but I think they turned out well.

Christmas at my parents' house is magical. I love being there with my family. It never gets old.

Resolutions 2014

January is here and I'm ready to achieve! I've made resolutions my serious business the last few years, making improvements to the system each year. I started a few years ago with goals in four different categories, thanks to my friend, Carla: physical, mental, spiritual, and social. Last year I added a few more goals, tweaked the categories a bit,and attached a scripture to each goal, helping me remember that my progress in this life is always spiritual, even when it seems temporal to me. I also organized them into a fabulous chart where I could track my progress throughout the year and hung it by my door so I'd think about them often. Checking off these goals was one my greatest joys during the last year. It's the same feeling I get when paying bills (at least the ones that have a dwindling balance). I just really like making progress.

This year, I'm so excited about goals that I may have gotten a bit carried away. I have fifteen. I've been writing down ideas over the last few weeks and then I planned to narrow them, but I just really like them all. Before you get too impressed, though, just realize that some of these goals are small things other people may not consider a resolution. They're just things I want to accomplish, not life-altering resolutions.

Spiritual
1. Read the Sunday School lesson before church on Sunday and email Pres. Myers my thoughts. This is actually a goal given to us by our Branch President, and I'm more than happy to oblige! I did well with this last year, but I've tweaked my tracking system this year to make sure I really do get each one. "Therefore, prepare they heart to receive and obey the instructions which I am about to give unto you." D&C 132:3.
2. Go to the temple at least once every other month and study something about the temple the week before I go. I also did well with the temple attendance last year, but this year I want to make sure I get the study in before I go. “…Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Isaiah 2:3
3. Work on family history at least 2 hours every month. This was a pretty overwhelming goal for me when I set it, but I started this month and got completely addicted. I think I worked for about 10 hours in 2 days over Winter Break. It's hard to stop! It's exciting, though, that tomorrow when I go to the temple, I and both of my parents will have family names to do because I found them! “For we without them cannot be made perfect. Neither can they without us be made perfect.” D&C 128:18
4. Index 1000 names by the end of the year. I'm really excited about this one, because I don't think it will be hard at all but I've realized how important it is. As I started doing my own family history, I was so grateful to be able to search records to find names, and I'm grateful for those who made those records searchable. I've also been frustrated when hitting a dead end because there just aren't enough records available. We have so much more work to do.“…let us present in his holy temple…a book containing the record of our dead…” D&C 128:245
5. Accompany the missionaries to a lesson once a month. I started doing this last year, but haven't for a while. As a missionary, I was always so grateful to members for giving their time to come teach with us, and it will also help me to become more personally involved with those who are investigating the church in our branch. “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Matthew 28:19
6. Extend at least one missionary invitation each month—to meet with the missionaries, come to church, come to institute, come to an activity, read Book of Mormon, etc.  Last year my focus was giving away The Book of Mormon, but this year I'd like to focus on personalizing my invitations so that I'm able to help those around me feel the Spirit in the way that will be most effective for them. For some, that may be a Book of Mormon but for others, they may need a safe place to get to know people. “And if it so be that you should labor all your days…and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!” D&C 18:15

7. Study with PMG each week. I've been meaning to do this for the last little while, but I always forget. If it's on my resolutions page, I won't forget. See how that works? It's all about keeping it in front of my face. And getting to check it off. If I get to check it off some kind of list, I'm much more likely to do it. :) “Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word.” D&C 11:21

8. Study the General Conference edition of the Ensign at least once all the way through after each conference.  This is also something I try to do anyway, but often forget about. I purchased the General Conference CDs this year so I've been listening to them in my car which has been awesome. I know I'll get even more out of it, though, if I read and study the talks, too. “…whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.” 1 Nephi 15:24

Physical

9. Work out twice a week. This feels like a puny goal to me, but it will increase my current workout efforts by 200%. Read: I don't work out at all right now. “Cease to be idle.”   D&C 88:124

Financial

10. Pay off all my debt, except for a new car loan. I'm SUPER excited about this one. As I mentioned before, pay day is my favorite day, not because I can go buy lots of stuff, but because I get to pay my bills. I LOVE seeing those balances go down. I've got just a few more small things I'm paying off this year, then I'll be debt free! I'm planning on buying a new(er) car this year, though, so that will put me back into debt, but that's a debt I can live with if it's the only one I have. “…they should deliver themselves from bondage.” Mosiah 22:1

Social

11. Write Thomas each week. My little brother is leaving for a full-time mission in Hawai'i this month. He'll be gone for 2 years, and his only way to communicate with us is by email and mail once a week. When I was a missionary, I loved getting letters and emails, even if they weren't very long. I don't pretend to have a lot of news to share with Thomas that he won't already hear from my mom, but I can at least send him a quick email about something I've learned in my scripture study that week or a funny story from school. “Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.” Galatians 6:6

12. Perform some kind of service every month. According to the General Authorities, people who lose themselves in service are happier. I'm interested in being happier, so I think I'll give it a go. “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.” Mosiah 2:17

13. 100% Visiting Teaching each month. This goal also came from our Branch President for this year. I've been pretty spotty about visiting teaching since moving to Indiana (It's a lot easier in Provo when your whole ward lives in the same building). I know there are people who need love and support in my city, though, and I have made a covenant to find them. “When thou art converted, strengthen they brethren.” Luke 22:32

Personal

14. Learn 4 new hymns on the piano. I took piano lessons for like 5 years when I was younger. There's just no reason I can't play more songs, other than that I never practice anymore. “…that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord’s storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church.” D&C 82:18

15. Perform in church once per quarter and somewhere other than church at least once this year.  This is one I've struggled with the last few years. I love singing, always have, and I love performing. After my mission, though, I got rejected a few years in a row from the music program at my university and I think my confidence took a hit. I rarely sing anymore, even at church, and I haven't done any kind of acting or theater since high school. Most of the time, though, when I'm watching a live performance it awakens inside of me this familiar longing to be on stage. I miss it. I'm not sure how I'll manage that performance somewhere else in the community, but if you know of anything around Indy, please let me know. This one will be a challenge. “Neglect not the gift that is in thee…” 1 Tim 4:14

Wish me luck! I'd love to hear about your goals for this year!

Resolutions Review: 2013

Last year I set 8 goals for myself. I made a fancy little chart and put it on the wall by my door so I could see it every day. I also created boxes to cross off as I accomplished the goals, which I REALLY liked. I make a to-do list every day and I'm unashamed to put such things as "shower" on it, just because I like crossing things off a list. So having a visual way to chart my progress has worked really well for me, and I have loved crossing things off this list. It also helps me keep track of what my goals are and how I'm doing in progress to achieving them.

In an effort to keep myself accountable, here's how I did:
Spiritual
1. Give away one Book of Mormon per month. Success! Sort of. I missed 2 months, but I did make up for it by giving 2 away the next month. So I did give 12 books away. This one was definitely one of the biggest challenges for me, but it helped me change my mindset about missionary work and make it something measurable so I couldn't excuse myself by vaguely assuming I'd done my part. It also helped me realize that missionary work doesn't always have to be a grand, revelation-driven experience. It definitely can be, and in some cases should be, but for me it helped to realize that I could give a Book of Mormon to someone even if I hadn't had some huge spiritual revelation about it. I could just give it to someone because I wanted to. Everyone needs it, so it's never a bad idea to give one away. I had several impressive experiences with this, though, in which I was up to the last day or two of the month with no one in mind and someone would literally come up to me asking for a Book of Mormon. I gained a testimony that when we seek the Lord's guidance in setting goals for doing our part in His work, He will help us achieve them.

2. Read the Sunday School and Relief Society lessons before church on Sunday. Partial Success. I did great with this for Sunday School, since I'm still teaching Gospel Doctrine. Not so great for Relief Society, though, sometimes because I didn't know what the lesson was and sometimes because I just forgot.

3. Go to the temple at least once every other month, and study something about the temple the entire week before I go. Partial Success. I exceeded my goal for temple attendance, going 9 times, rather than my goal of 6. I failed, however, in my study. I'm going to work on that for next year.

Physical
4. Drop 10 pounds. Failure. Bad. Rather than lose 10, I just went ahead and gained 15. NBD. That'll just give me plenty to work with this coming year!

Financial
5. Pay off my credit card. Success! Plus some! I paid off both of my credit cards AND my car!

Social
6. Do something social with people my age at least once a month. Success! I did a much better job at being social this year, thanks to a few friends at the YSA branch who helped me change my mindset about social situations. I'm still not the most social, but I have improved and I've made a few really good friends in the process, although several of them have since gotten married or moved away...

7. Write a letter every month. Success! This was an interesting goal, because some months it felt very forced - I was just searching for someone to write to. But other months, this goal created an opportunity for me to express feelings or gratitude I might not have thought to do otherwise.

Mental
8. Keep a gratitude journal. Success! As an added bonus, I've realized that this journal has actually become a shortened version of a daily journal and I've been surprised at how detailed it gets sometimes. About midway through the year I started recording a miracle of the day, in addition to the 3 things I'm grateful for, and that has created a valuable opportunity to recognize the Lord's hand in my life and record a significant event each day. I will definitely be continuing this.

Overall, I had 100% success in 5 of my 8 goals, partial success in 2 others, and only failure in 1. I've decided to repeat a few of these with some tweaks to help ensure better success next year. I've loved keeping track of my progress, and I feel confident in the changes I've made this year!