Hey, it's been awhile...

Since being on academic hiatus...

Life! It's SOOO busy...

Ok, I don't really know how to pick up blogging again. It's not something I was wild about doing. I keep a journal and I have certain romantic notions about putting pen to a page. Like one day, my greatgreatgreat grandkids will say, "she actually touched this page." I guess I could save my keyboard, too. Anyway, blogging started to become a chore, really. Another "to do" on my lllooonnnggg list of "to do's" and as you'll soon learn, I needed to trim down my life. I don't know if I should back-track to LAST AUGUST and try to remember all the things we have done over the last year and THEN try to come up with clever captions for all my pictures and THEN try to journal what each of the cleverly captioned pictures are all about. So, I will figure that out later. For now, I want to focus on moving forward. Call it my Tuesday Resolution.

Last year, was one of the hardest in my life. It was deeply, emotionally, hard. Which, for me, is something a lot bigger and a lot harder to cope with. It was, in a word, humbling. That humiliating type of humbling that comes from getting what you deserve, and then trying to pick up the pieces after everything seems like it shattered. It was more than "biting off more than you can chew," it was denying that I am a human-being that has limitations and what's even worse, it was denying that my husband and my children are also human-beings with limitations. Needless to say, I was forced to my knees. And like I said, I deserved it. But I also needed it.

Some of you may be surprised to read that last year was such a toughie. I'm the type of girl that sort of keepseverythinginuntilitallboilsoverandhasameltdownoverpizzaatIHRSA, (lucky for me I have family that forgives Madi, Joey, Page, Lisa...), but as I have come to know what I've got, and what I'm not, and who I am (Thanks, Jason Mraz), I've also learned that I really, really want is to be more honest. I want to be more vulnerable. I also want to be happy. To have peace. To reconcile myself to who I was and who I am and create someone even better. To do these things, is to accept that I am not perfect, and I am not supposed to be. There is only one person who is, and I'm trying to get to know Him better. So, here's to Tuesday resolutions, growing older and wiser (you know you are, Kalie), and letting myself change.

MR

The Rice Pad

The antics never end over here at the Rice Pad. My last blog post from a year ago chronicled how the twins were just starting to talk. Well, now they are the talkingest dang monkies around. Not only are they talking, but they have all sorts of new tricks. Here's some improvements from last year:
*They finally (!!!) will sit and watch "a show." I could never, ever, EVER, get them to sit and watch anything on the TV, but now they love to watch "CuriousGeorgeMonkey" and Yo Gabba Gabba. Honestly, it is a lifesaver.
*They love to try and take pictures of mom (as seen above)
*The love to ride bikes and play baseball and go to the swimming pool
*They hate being in "trouble." If I say "you are in trouble," they get these big puppy-dog eyes and say "no, Mommy! No!"
*Like I said, they talk all the time but Benji and Wilson love to sing as well. They currently love Take Me Out to the Ball Game; the DoReMi song from the Sound of Music, You are My Sunshine, and Fun.'s We Are Young. They were also obsessed with Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire for awhile there.
*They love their family. They love LaLa and Uncle Jake and Noni and Papa and Grammy and Pompa and TyTy. They pray for Max EVERY night. Every time they see a little girl they ask me if it is Maggie. They love all their boy cousins, SO MUCH. They just love people.
*They say prayers, talk about MELT MY HEART
*They call me Megan half the time and Mommy the other...I have no idea why
*Favorite sayings: "What da heck?"; "Watch a show?"; "I wuv you, mommy"; "Megan!"; "Nook" (milk); "Who was dat?" (they ask whenever I get off the phone.

These two little monsters are the light of my life.

Europe 2012

There is nowhere I love more than Europe. I told Tyler when we lived there in 2008, I could come back every year of my life and would never be tired of visiting these countries. Well it took four years, but I finally was able to return. We went on a Mediterranean cruise with the Rice family and Tyler and I spent one week in Paris for our five year anniversary. I am so lucky, for our first year anniversary we spent the summer in Spain, and for five years I got an antique ring and a week in Paris. J'adore!

 The cutest gelatto shop in Paris

 In all honesty, I think Tyler loves Paris more than anyone.

 Versailles

 One of the best mornings of my entire life, was spent biking the grounds of Versailles

 Tyler gave me an antique ring under the Eiffel Tower

 This was where I spent most of time last time I was in Paris, sick as ever

 Barcelona!! We seriously love Spain SO MUCH

 In Provence with my GrandMere

 Another one of my (newest) favorite places, Monaco

 Long train ride to Florence was totally worth it!

 Another one of the greatest days was the day we rented scooters in Florence and drove into Tuscany. Liz took most of the pictures that day, but it was the BEST day of our entire cruise. We ate the most delicious Italian food, and drove through a country that literally smelled like a flower shop. A day I will never forget.

 I'm so happy I've been to Rome before, because I felt like our day trip to Rome was sort of a Las Vegas version of Rome.

 Instead of seeing Naples or Pompeii, we rented a van to drive us along the Amalfi Coast. Tyler and I quickly decided this is somewhere we will definitely return to. This place is indescribable. 

These last two pics are Rome and Nice, but I hate blogger so much I am not going to try and rearrage them.

Pseudo Graduation

Because I was a TA, I lessened my course load so I wouldn't be totally overwhelmed (which happened anyway). So even though I technically still have two classes left to complete, I wanted to walk with all of my friends from my class. So here is my pseudo graduation in which I "receive" my Master's in British and American Literature.

 My life's work

The stole of my gratitude. 

Oh, Teacher!

This year I was awarded a Teaching Assistantship from the Writing Department at the University of Utah. I taught two semesters of freshman composition (Writing 2010). I was really excited for the appointment because it is very competitive for MA students to receive a TA post, and it covered my tuition as well as paying me a stipend. I was also excited for the resume boost and of course the opportunity to actually teach. This became the main source of contention in my life (see my latest post). It was A LOT of work. A LOT of time away from my family. A LOT of stress. In my second semester, I taught two classes, was taking two graduate seminars, as well as had to take my MA exams to receive my degree. I also panicked because I thought for a long time that I didn't even like teaching. Seven years into a degree that is only worth something so long as I teach. It turns out it is Rhet/Comp that I don't love to teach. Best stick with Literature. Looking back, I'm glad to have the experience and I know it will help me in my future career endeavors, but it was a rough year, for sure! Plus dirty freshmen kept getting me sick!

Easter 2012

We had TWO great Easter parties this year. The twins became so enthralled with Easter egg hunts that for weeks after Easter they would make me hide the (empty) eggs around the house so they could hunt for them. They didn't care that the eggs were empty. The fun is in the chase! My parents hid over 100 eggs for them to find and since the Brownies live in New Orleans, these two had that hunt all to themselves. And you'll notice they got haircuts. Blame LaLa and TyTy for that. 

New Year

I love New Year's, I love that we have a time of year set aside to self-evaluate and decide how to improve ourselves. I have some new thoughts on goals and resolutions that I will save for a later post, but I think there is nothing better than the hope of new goals and a new year. Cheers!