2nd Graders!

2nd GRADERS!

k guy were gonna have a mostly pictures and short recordings blog post if'n I can get this to work. Fingers crossed!

Here's my second graders!

Genny is corn syrup coated in sugar sweet but she can be the biggest distraction in the entire class. She loves being the center of my attention. She gives me a hug and a kiss everyday at lunch and dinner. I love her... even whilst screaming at her.

Eva: I absolutely lover her. She is so good at speaking English and doing anything that I ask her to do. She always has the most tokens at the end of the day. She's kinda shy but she's warming up to me!

Alison: is getter nicer and nicer. She won't say much but she behaves very well. She can be a bit of a stinker as evidence by her photo ;)

Doug: is such a sweetheart! When I was trying to figure out what his name was all the other kids were telling me his name was Duck (quack, quack). It took me forever to hear him whispering that his name was Doug. The other kids tease him and it makes me soo mad! He's one of my favorites!

Tina: she's my second in command and sometimes forgets that I'm in charge. I love her. If I'm ever overwhelmed with crazy kids all I have to do is ask her to get everyone else in line and she starts yelling and chewing the other kids out in Chinese. We're not supposed to allow Chinese but... She's the smallest but the fieriest and all the other kids are terrified of her :)

Reese: has the cutest smile! On his good days I love him! On his not so good days (which are numerous) he's giggly, won't pay attention, and a bit of a class clown.

Brian:  he was one of my biggest trouble makers and pain in the butts. Ever. Then I tried making him a class leader and it worked so well! He's a sweet boy, and he tries to be good. Most days.

Scott and Ron

Scott: He's such a class clown. I end up yelling at him more than I would like. He, Brian, and Reese are NEVER allowed to sit by each other. But he is very cute. Sigh...

Ron: is such a sweet and well behaved kid. He's kind of shy and quiet, but he's one of my favorites. He really likes tokens and praise. Can I just bring my favorites home?

Step Two

Since you've sent in your two references and application you've been obsessively stalking your email waiting, waiting, waiting. Did you get in? Eventually you start to just avoid your email, telling yourself it's unhealthy to be this attached to your computer. Although really you're just trying to let ILP have a little more time to email you, and you figure if you avoid your email maybe the next time you check it, you will finally have the long awaited email waiting for you in your inbox. And then before you know it, it's there and suddenly you don't know if you really want to open it.

And then when you do it says:

Dear Ashley,

 

We are happy to inform you that you have been accepted to participate in the ILP program during the Fall 2013 Semester. We congratulate you on being qualified to volunteer during a semester abroad!

 

Please call or email the office as soon as you can to tell us that you have seen this email.

 

Now if you're anything like me this email is followed by much screaming, squealing, and happy dancing! When I first got my email I was home alone and in a happy productive mood which  roughly translates to I was blasting my iTunes at a deafening volume off my laptop while washing the dishes. So sopping suds everywhere I was skipping a song and refreshing my email occasionally- checking my email when unexpectedly there it was. Trying not to drip water all over my laptop but being too excited to grab the dry hand towel that was on the other side of the kitchen I managed to open the email. Then screaming over the music I full on danced (like no one was watching) around my kitchen to my blasting music.

 

Feeling a wee bit disappointed that there was no one in my house to experience the moment with me, I took to all available forms of communication and told everyone! Needless to say I was very excited. Well, for a view brief glorious moments I thought that all I would have to do now was go to some sort of training and show up at the airport on the right day. Never have I ever been so wrong.

 

The next email I received the following day carried a link to an e-document that I would need to call the office and schedule a time to go through it with my ILP representative. This e-document is essentially an overview of what's about to come and a legal document where you agree to follow and abide by the rules, was ten or twelve pages long. You also say if you have medical issues (sigh). So once again I filled out additional information. Then the darndest thing happened. I went to submit my e-document and it refused it and whipped it clean. Three times. It got to a point where I had memorized all of the boxes I had to check and all of the places I had to put my electronic signatures. Eventually I got so frustrated I called my representative and she was puzzled too, until finally we figured it out together. A week later.

 

While all this happening, I was also trying to figure out how to get a passport. So the first thing I did was Google how to get an American Passport. This is the link for the webpage that takes you through getting a passport for the first time, renewing your passport, or even replacing a stolen one. http://travel.state.gov/passport/ So, for any one who is wanting to get a passport for the first time, and if you qualify as an adult I have some information for you!

 

Okay well, first off you will have to fill out a passport application, this application you can turn in online or at a government building in the passport department. When you turn it in you will need to bring a Birth Certificate, a valid Drivers License, a passport photo that meets the requirements and $135. first time passport and what you'll need & Passport Fees Now when I went in to turn in my application I had to turn in my application I had to use a check to pay my $135. And when they take your application and check, they will also take your birth certificate and staple it to the application to send in with the passport. The government will mail your passport and birth certificate in separate letters back to you in about a month or so. Passport Processing Times When it comes to the passport photos you can get them at multiple places for different prices. I would suggest Costco- you get 4 for about $6. Oh, and when you get the passport you do, indeed, sign you signature in pen along the line.

 

Step Two breakdown: 

1. Get accepted
2. Fill out and submit e-doc. packet- fill out additional steps if you need to.
3. Start getting your passport for step three (if you don't already have one) 

So, after all this I thought I was done. I wasn't. There was another packet coming. But that's Step Three.
 

Testing: one, two, three. Can anybody hear me?

Sorry for the long leave of absence, there's been a lot going on. To start it all off, one of my closest cousins and best friend Lexi got to come up from Arizona and stay with me for two weeks! I was so excited when I first found out that I think I screamed in pure joy. Although I'm not entirely sure, it was such a big blur of euphoric excitedness. Well anyways, the week before she arrived passed in a blur and then suddenly *poof* she was here! So I quickly put together an itinerary for the two weeks.

Monday: Sleep

Tuesday: hangout

Wednesday: Lagoon

Thursday: Seven Peaks

Friday: The Musical Tarzan

Saturday: Summer Fest & Fireworks

Sunday: Father's Day

Monday: BYU Art Museum

Tuesday: Bridal Veil Falls

Wednesday: Anthropologie Party

Thursday: Dropbox, The Host

Friday: Home again, home again, jiggity jig

Lex arrived late Monday night, which was also Tami's (my superb step-mom) birthday! (HAPPY BIRFDAY TAMI!) So, late that night after Tami's birthday party I went and picked up Lexi from her grandparents' house who live near my dad's home. We loaded up her luggage and went to my mom's house, because I had work the next day. During the times when I had to work Lex would hang out with Little One, Madisen. Otherwise we were joined at the hip! There are some people that somehow missed being your sister so God merely worked them into your life some other way, and Lexi and I are that way.

Well, anyways, it was wonderful. Tuesday we just caught up and hung out. Then Wednesday we went to Lagoon with some friends of mine. The only problem was, that morning my friend texted me saying they wanted to go to Lagoona Beach while we were there and I have been avoiding swimming this summer because I'm not allowed to go swimming the first six weeks after piercing my ears and my swimsuit is rather pathetic and I have been avoiding replacing it. (I'm a cheapskate, what can I say) So that morning Lexi and I ran to the store and I got a new swimsuit. Lagoon was great and I came back sun kissed. As it turns out Lexi and I are both terrified of the Ferris wheel, so we successfully avoided going on it.  (Thank goodness!)

Thursday, I took Calee, Calee's friend Sammy, and Lexi to the water park Seven Peaks. It was a little windy but sunny. However Lexi is a little desert salamander and it was far too cool for her so we spent a lot of time floating around the lazy river on a double tube. Friday I realized that I had sunburned my sunburn and I looked like a lobster back. After I finished working Friday morning, Lexi and I went and bought tickets to the outdoor musical Tarzan. Well, we got there a little late, *achem* since I never do anything by just barely getting by, by the skin of my teeth, but we got great seats! It was so good! I got to see my friends who were in the play and those who were there watching the play. At one point I ran into my friends Laura and Jon, and Jon said, "I thought you were a broad." I thought he was saying he didn't recognize me and thought I was just some weird broad talking to them, then I realized… oh he meant abroad- in China. Oops.

Saturday I woke up feeling exceedingly nauseated, so instead of taking Lex to the carnival I asked Maddie to. Then after work I caught up with everyone and we went to the High School to watch the Fireworks. Sunday was Father's Day, and as excited as I was about it, I felt distinctly uneasy. Lexi's (18) dad, Kendal, passed away earlier this year and it has been painful beyond words to say goodbye. Sometimes the memories reduce you to tears faster than you can brace for the onslaught of pain. I was worried because I didn't want to be insensitive to Lex. So late Saturday night we bought a keg of root beer and decided Lex would share my Dad. So here's to a great Daddy that is so wonderful I wouldn't trade him for any other dad in the world; who is a perfect surrogate Dad, to Lexi and others.

Monday Lexi, Adam, and I went to the BYU Art museum, mostly because I love museums. They are so beautiful, calming, and feel me with a sense of wellbeing and fulfillment. Tuesday I laughed myself silly as I tried to entice Lexi try to play in the water at Bridal Veil Falls. My desert Flower was not as well adapted to stomping through freezing fresh snow water as I am. (By the way, I absolutely *LOVE* playing in cold fresh water anything- rivers, waterfalls, lakes, etc.) So Calee, Lex, and I climbed up and down the waterfall without getting wet until we got to the flat bottom once more when Calee slipped and sat down in a foot of water. Wednesday night we went to my work party where my favorite brand of clothes called Anthropologie were half off. I bought a jumpsuit, and we played 'Dress up Lex' and ended up getting her three adorable shirts. Thursday I set Lexi up with Dropdox, so we could share music, and then we went to see 'The Host'. Considering how atrociously bad the twilight book to movie was I had very low expectations for The Host, so I was floored by how it was actually really quite good. At 8:30 the next morning I dropped Lexi back off at her Grandmas house, where her mom was, for a family reunion.

So now for the part that relates back to the title of my post: I recently found out that when in China I won't be able to access BlogSpot so I'm attempting to post this through my email since this is what I will have to do whilst abroad. So this is testing, one, two, three. Can anybody hear me?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPeEMNo26_Q

Quilting, Cleaning, & Chicken Dancing

Alrighty then, here we go! So the beginning of this week started with the overwhelming feeling of claustrophobia. I looked around my room and decided that I wanted absolutely everything out. I just wanted it all gone. So, I started thoroughly cleaning out my room. I even pulled the huge pillow off my sphere chair and vacuumed it. (I'm certain this is probably not how the designers intended the pillow to be cleaned, but hey it worked) As I was trying to find a spot in my dresser for some of my High School tee-shirts, I couldn't help but be struck by the ridiculousness of the situation. Here I was trying to fit shirts into my dresser that I never wear. I couldn't justify throwing them away because of  how hard I had worked to earn some of them, so I decided to do something with them so I wouldn't have to keep them in my room. Then the thought struck me. I would turn them into a quilt!

So without stopping to think everything through, I turned on Titian AE (witch I was watching with my three little cousins- all of them boys and very much so into anything aliens) and started cutting up shirts. My little eight year old sister walked into the room and asked horror struck what I was doing to my shirts. "I'm fixing them, can't you tell?" I responded. She then proceeded to tell me that she was going to go tell mom. The next day was Sunday I spent a good hour on my computer looking up fabric stores around my house that had decent prices. I had made a quilt before so I was preparing myself mentally for the reality of the price of finishing the quilt. To my great surprise however a fabric store near my house was having a Memorial Day sale on fabric the next day for about $2.50 a yard. However they were closing early because it was Memorial Day and would be closing an hour after my shift ended at work. So I ran to get fabric the next day right after I got out of work and was out of the fabric store before they closed!

Thus my quilting adventure begins. I'm currently still cutting all the shirt pieces down to the same size, but I'm trying to get this done uber quick. Because I know that if I drag out the process too long, I'm going to get bored of it and most likely not finish it. So, a few points of advice for anyone who is reading this and decides they want to turn a few of their old shirts into a new blanket. (So, do as I say not as I have done)

• wash & dry the shirts you want do use
• Iron the shirts
• cut the shirts in half. Along both of the side seams and along the sleeve

• Then cut all the shirts into squares; they should all be the same length and height
• you then have two options
• you can sew all the pieces together and that will be the front of your quilt
• Or you can do a checker board pattern with material sewn in-between all of the shirt fronts.
• you then add the backing material with the batting material sandwiched in between.
• if you have a quilting machine you can then use that to do the quilting, or you can do the quilting by hand, or add yarn ties in the quilt to hold the batting in place. (in my opinion none of these are actually quintessential so if you don't want to do them- hey it's your quilt)
• Then TA-DA! You're all done!

So those are my two major goals for the month. I want to get rid of absolutely everything in my room that I am not currently using. I want my room to be so immaculately organized that the gods of order smile down upon me. I will also try to put aside my slothful funk I've been in and crank out an amazing quilt. Though it isn't entirely my fault that I haven't been able to get it done yet; granted most of it is just me procrastinating, but I have a good reason for part of it! It was graduation week for Little One (my little sister)!

I was honestly so worried about Madisen graduating that I started having my old nightmares about me not graduating. Maddie had been working part time, finishing High School, battling senioritis, completing four make-up packets of East Shore High School packets (darn 9th grade English), and going to all of the senior class activities. With two days left till she walked in the graduation ceremony and got her diploma she took her final test passed with an 86% (I think) and that was that. Madisen was now officially qualified to graduate! She had done it; all that was left to do was concentrating on not tripping while walking through the 'O' during the ceremony.

The day before she graduated, however, was Babes (this is my nickname for my baby sister Calee) Scera Park's elementary Dance Festival. For anyone who doesn't know what this is, let me explain. Where my family lives in Utah, all the elementary at the end of the school year put on a dance performance. Usually it is outside on a football field, but Calee's was held at the Orem Shell Theatre this year, and all of the audience was seated on white plastic lawn chairs on a raked grassy amphitheater. Grade by Grade all the kids come onto the stage and do a dance choreographed to a song and all the kids dance in a costume their teachers have picked. A common theme is music through the ages, where they start with 50's music and work their way up to contemporary music. In between the numbers they have a little pre-recorded audio track talking about what the school and the surrounding area were like during that time era. It is absolutely darling to watch and it's fun to listen to all the groovy music. If you look around you can see lots of the adults and even some of the kids happily singing along.

Well, at Babes elementary Dance Festival during one of the intermediate parts they had a small group of kids and teachers go up on the stage and invite the audience to do the chicken dance with them. I, being in the best of moods, figured what the hey! So up I popped! It was time to celebrate! Summer was here, Madisen was going to make it, and I was in a slightly malicious humor that day. Looking down I realized to my astonishment that Madisen had not followed my lead and stood up to dance also. Quite to the contrary, she had sunken deeper into her white lawn chair and seemed to be hoping no one noticed me. Well. She was going to celebrate and partake in the light-hearted happy atmosphere of the day, even if I had to forcibly evict her from her chair. So leaning down I pulled Maddie to her feet and....

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200108610458320&l=2287539166711690267

(click the video for to see Madisen and I Chicken Dancing)

In under 24 hours

So, how many stupid and potentially highly dangerous decisions can a girl make in under twenty-four hours? Two apparently. What could I have done that would be that bad? We'll start with the first decision, the dangerous one. However before I tell you what it was, let me tell you the prelude story to this decision. About a week ago was my little sisters 18th birthday and she is on this kick lately about doing all these things in preparation for her 'new' life as an adult. She hasn't quite realized that growing up can be quite bothersome, with all of it's new responsibilities and such. This isn't necessarily a problem for me, because I get to experience a bunch of new things Madisen considers to be 'rites of passage'. These rites of passage have been harmless and entertaining. Up till now.

Who in their right mind ever thought shooting a cylinder of metal through one's body, was fun and beautiful should be taken out and placed in front of the firing squad. I don't care that women and different cultures have been doing this for eons. Just because it is tradition doesn't make it any less painful. And for those of you who say, "It's a fashion statement! It's how I choose to express myself!" doesn't mean you should do it! There was a new fashion trend in Japan that I like to refer to as the doughnut forehead.

I repeat, just because something is trendy does not mean you should do it. And just as cringe worthy as this is, so is ear piercing. Yes, I have finally done it and got my ears pierced. But guys seriously though, they use an 'ear piercing gun' to put a metal rod through your ear! Who thinks, 'Hmm, this sounds like fun- we should try it' ? My little sister. That's who. We were walking through Wall-Mart and Madisen decides it that right then is the perfect time to get our ears pierced. So there I was, after watching my younger sister get her ears pierced, holding her hand with one of my hands and my nephew Triston's hand with my other hand. Three, two, one...

I felt the metal go through my ear. Not pleasant! Then trying to sleep with these stupid blasted earing in my ears was like trying to sleep with curlers in your hair. It's uncomfortable and you never quite fall asleep. Sleeping on my side like usual, definitely did not happen last night... grumble, mumble, mumble. Needless to say, I hate earrings right now. I will let you all know if that ever changes.

Then less than twenty-four hours later, I commit another act; partially out of curiosity, partially determination to push my comfort zone and partially excited rashness. Which if you don't know, I have a tendency to do most things rashly, on impulse, only to question myself later. Well, later has come and I am now wondering what in the world I was thinking. I signed up for a flight lesson on the twenty-seventh. Where I will spend most of the day learning about piloting stuff, I suppose, and then conclude the adventure by co-piloting the plane with an experienced pilot.

Now at first I was like- right on! That sounds so cool! My Grandpa Pearce was a pilot and Dad flew his plane, maybe it's in my blood too. That would be so awesome to learn how to fly a plane! Thus I dished out the money and signed up. Only now am I remembering my great fear of heights and falling/crashing to my death. I do not want to go down in a blaze of glory. Besides later that day, I have to be at my best friend Sarah's wedding reception. And for the maid of Honor not to show up to her besties wedding because she died earlier that day learning how to fly a plane is just tacky. I mean, who would want to take the focus away from the bride on her big day?

Step One

So after deciding to go for my dreams I had to figure out the best way to do that. So I started surfing the web trying to decide what I wanted to do. Eventually I got it narrowed down to about four options. The first two were European tours. *squeal of excitedness* The other two were volunteer programs. When I was deciding between these four options two components really helped me decide. The first was the cost. I know, I know, how lame and responsible is that? But ultimately I could spend two weeks in Europe for the same price as spending about a month as a volunteer. Then I stumbled upon the International Language Program, otherwise known as ILP. http://www.ilp.org/

With this program I could spend four to five months in the Russian/Ukraine mission, the China mission, the Thailand mission, the Lithuanian mission, or the Mexican Mission.http://www.ilp.org/travel/ for the same price as a European tour. However, what sealed the deal was this- I would be getting to teach English to elementary aged kids! For those of you who don't know, I absolutely love the English language! I want to be an Author! (Though we could do without all these nonsensical rules about spelling. Spelling phonetically is perfectly acceptable, right?) So that was that.

But did I act on my decision right away? No way! My biggest problem in this life is that I am a professional procrastinator through and through. So after staring at ILP's website for about a month I finally just closed my eyes and went for it. Witch was a huge leap of faith for me. At the time I had very little faith that I was ever meant for anything good, and that I would most likely not get in. I was 90% percent sure that I wouldn't get in. But my soul longed to hope against hope for that slim 10% chance that I was good enough. The idea of being rejected by the program scared me so thoroughly that it wasn't until I read somewhere on their website that the majority of applicants who applied were accepted that I finally got up the nerve to apply.

Okay, so onto the part that applies to the name of this post; the first step to applying to ILP.

Step 1:

1. Fill out the application. You can do this online, or print it out and submit it at their office. Since I am absolutely, horrifically bad at filling out applications, (Without fail I always mess up and have to use white-out) I chose to do this online. http://www.ilp.org/onlineapplication/
2. You will need TWO references. An academic reference from someone who has been your teacher in the last two years, and a character. This reference they would prefer to be someone in religious position higher than you, like an ecclesiastical endorsement. If you are not religious however that's not a problem. They will accept a reference form someone who knows you and is over you- a respected leader in your community. Like your boss at work. You will need a) their name b) their phone number c) their email address d) other information such as what did they teach and at what school etc. ILP will send you an email to fill out. These took me a long time to do because I wanted to choose the perfect people to be my references. I figured if I chose the perfect references it would up my chances to get into the program. Academic reference link:http://www.ilp.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Academic-Reference.pdf      Character reference link: http://www.ilp.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Character-Reference.pdf
3. An interview. This will be done over a phone call or you can do the interview face to face at their office. This part freaked me out and I was so nervous I honestly don't remember most of the phone call. I do remember the lady who was conducting my interview sounding amused by how nervous I was and I remember one of the questions was, "What will be the hardest part for you being in this program?" I remember answering, "Probably being homesick. My family has always been the most important thing to me." To my family- I love you guys and will miss you. Please stay in touch while I'm in China through this blog! :)
4. Additional steps. Not everyone has to do these, but sometimes if you are like me, you will, because if there is an easy way to do it, you're not gonna realize it till it's too late. Just kidding. My additional step I had to complete was going to get a special medical clearance. So I have a two medical conditions the first is called Vasovagal Syncope, and the second is that my body doesn't produce enough salt. Essentially because my body does not create enough salt, I have a hard time retaining water and thus get dehydrated easily and can pass out. The Vasovagal Syncope is a little harder to describe but the short hand version is this: when my body is under too much stress my brain sends signals to my heart and body to shut down to protect its self. These two are the nasty duo of my life and last spring I had a pretty bad attack that wound up making me go get tests at the hospital. Everything was fine, but due to visiting the hospital I had to get a special medical clearance from the Doc. saying that I was good to go to another country with ILP. No biggie, just a hassle.
5. The worst step of all- waiting. Now you will have to wait to see if you get in. ILP will usually inform you by the Friday after you get everything submitted via email if you have successfully gotten in or not. Followed by a phone call from ILP to verify that you did indeed get their email.

New Dream

A while back I was forced to seriously reevaluate where I believed my life was headed. In one fail swoop all my dreams disappeared and as much as I wanted to, I realized I wouldn't be able to get them back. So, I was forced back to square one and I had to ask myself, 'what do I enjoy doing?', 'what are my passions?', and 'What is my new dream?'

I realized that I had never lost my old passions, I had simply been putting them by the wayside for so long I had forgotten they were there, and that is something I vow never to do again. My top dreams were the same ones that they had been for a long time. I want to be an author with books so renowned they are more beloved than Harry Potter. I want to give someone a constant friend through my books when they desperately need them, the way I was given a friend through books when I needed them.

I want to travel and experience different cultures. I love traveling and always have. I love everything about them; Mythology, tradition, cuisine, history, holidays, architecture, and languages. I love experiencing new things and having everything being a new adventure. I've always believed that you should try everything at least once and those that you don't like at least once more - Every time. And if you ever have an opportunity to try something you find absolutely terrifying close your eyes, hold your breath, and go for it.

So here I am. Closing my eyes. Holding my breath. And going for it.