Take two...

So, I got home from work this afternoon and started to pen a rather heated, albeit totally warranted, rant. I still think it has merit and I may finish and post it at a later date, but after spending my evening at a church activity and then with Scott, I think there is something much more important I need to share...

Note...you are under no obligation to continue as what follows could be deemed, by a select few, to be smarmy, cheesy or overly Hallmarky (yes, I made it an adjective, deal with it).

I feel so incredibly fortunate and blessed to be loved by Scott. We both have our quirks and scars, but I don't think I could ever find a man that is so naturally giving and loving. His first inclination is to love and support. He's intelligent, funny, and handsome to boot! He's not perfect and I'm most definitely not perfect, but he's perfect for me.

Turns out that I have a tendency to get caught up in my job (wonder of wonders, right?) and I need to do better and prioritize my life. I also have a tendency to pull back when I come up against difficult situations. It's almost like emotional triaging. All the extra "stuff" gets shut down and I detach. I'm starting to realize that I can actually lean into him. It's sort of strange for me to have someone that will always put me first and I, in turn, will always put him first. It's taking some getting used to, but I thank the good Lord for bringing this man into my life, and giving me the good sense to grab onto him when I had the chance!

Does this match...?

Growing up I was forever asking Annie this question. When I was little I had very...distinct sense of fashion. We have photographic evidence.

Exhibit A

This was my favorite outfit. I think it made my parents cringe every time I pulled it out of the closet. It is still the topic of family jokes almost 25 years later. In fact, while shopping at Kid-to-Kid with my sister, my mother found a very similar outfit for a toddler and bought it as a joke for my future daughter. I have no idea if she still has it or not. I was a slightly spazzy child and my sense of style matched that. Usually my mom picked out clothes, but for whatever reason, she agreed to purchase this particular outfit.

Anyway...as I grew up, the bright colors and peplum skirts and shirts drifted away and I was forever asking "Does this match...?" or "Does this look good...?" As an adult I've figured out how to match my own clothes, thank heavens. However, I still get anxiety when buying clothes for special occasions. I just can't make the decision myself. I drag someone along with me to ask "Does this look good...?" 

You're probably wondering why I'm even talking about this. Well, in a few months I'll be getting married and there is no more important dress in a girl's life than her wedding dress. Thankfully, that's been taken care of. But now it's what do the bridesmaids wear? Do I even want bridesmaids? What about the rest of the family? Flower girls? What about the men? Do I want them all in matching shoes? Matching ties? Holy crap! Make it stop!! I had a difficult enough time finding a dress for Lisa's wedding and it really didn't matter what I wore! Now I apparently have the final say on what a whole host of people are going to be wearing?! Wha...?? I know what I would like...in general terms but the moment someone offers a differing opinion I'm suddenly in a spiral of fashion self-doubt.

I do know that I don't want a mishmash of people trying to match but not really pulling it off. I just want the whole thing to look nice. The clothing is causing me major anxiety, though. It's silly, isn't it? Of all the things to stress over, I'm worried about what my potential, possibly not even happening bridesmaids may or may not be wearing. 

Bless, Scott...really. 

Yin Yang...

Tonight I am super grateful that I have a wonderful fiancee that wants to be better and makes me want to be better. In the face of my ridiculous rants he simply smiles and listens patiently. That's all.

He's basically my favorite...

More adventures in teaching!

I took my advisory class on a field trip to visit Westminster College. Our school has introduced a new 'program' (really, it's more like a philosophy) called No Excuses University. Among other things, we are trying to talk more about getting ready for college and planning for college. As part of that, each advisory represents a different college or university. Being a recent Westminster Alum, of course, I called dibs on Westminster. We were lucky enough to get funding through GEARUP and got to take a group of about 45 students to learn more about Westminster. It was a pretty good day and I think the students enjoyed themselves. There was a brief incident on the bus about five minutes from school, but other than that, it was a pretty good day.

This is Ms. Buie gangsta style...as requested by my students.

the love of my life

The Central Book Exchange parking lot sale:

which led to a long-considered, organization of our bookshelves:

A weekend in Midway and a fun used book store resulted in these:

It's starting to become a storage problem....

Out and About

Today was Central Book Exchange's anual parking lot sale. Hardbacks were $4 and paperbacks $2. My bounty...

I also decided to make a wreath for our front door. After burning myself multiple times with the hot glue gun and poking myself with the needle repeatedly, this is the final result.

I also need to brag a bit...

My grades posted last Thursday. I am officially done with my graduate program. I also got an email today saying I have been recommended for my Teaching License. All I have to do is go online, take the ethics review and pay for my license. Woot! In honor of all that, I asked Annie to take some graduation photos. I didn't want to do the school grad announcements, so I'm going to put something together on Shutterfly. Now, I know it's probably a little (or a lot) egotistical or narcissitic or something but here are a few of my favorites.

My sister is such a talented photographer! I'm a little jealous of her talent...

There's no place like home...

Here are some more pictures of my trip to California. Good times.

This is the "travel weary" shot. We had just gotten to Jan and Kay's place.

Walking on the Beach

Seal Beach Pier-can't really see it, sorry

Rebecca, master of the 101!

Classic Sara face!

Yet another classic Sara shot!

I had a really good time in California. I couldn't tell if Rebecca had a good time or not. For the most part I think she did but I could tell she was bored toward the end. I think the highlight of her trip was the H&M in Pasadena. We got some pretty cute stuff and we saw Rachel Bilson (OC Fame) shopping, for those of you who care. I realized how much I miss Scripps and California and the friends that I made there. I love my friends here but it's a different interaction than I have with my friends from school. We're so serious here. Even when we're joking around and "goofing" off, it's not the same as with my Scripps friends. I'm not sure why that is. Possible because my Scripps friends are younger? I'm the youngest of my friends in Utah by at least 3 years. I dunno. It's amazing how you can be gone from somewhere for over a year and then you go back and it still feels like home - like you never even left. I was driving around Long Beach with Jan and Kay and it was seriously like I had never even left. Anyway...I had a GREAT time and I'm going to try to get out there again in the next couple of months.

Home Sweet Home

I went to California last week and I had such a great time! Much to talk about, many pictures taken. I don't have time to really do a full recap right now (supposed to be working, see?) but here are some pictures that may tide you over for a bit. Enjoy!

Lookin' good Sara!

Seal Beach at sunset. This picture looked better on the camera

Photo shoot in Margaret Fowler Garden

windy down at Seal Beach

My City

I was re-reading my travel journal from this summer when I was in London. Oh how I miss it! It's my city. I'm going to live there. I'm going to go apply to the University of London for the fall of 2008.

Here are some pictures of my city.

My favorite building in the City...Big Ben, which is actually the name of the bell itself and not the tower.

Very Harry Potter-esque, no?

I've never been to New York and I know it's supposed to be the city that never sleeps but London was pretty great at night too. We would leave whatever musical we had just seen around 10:30 or so and the streets were still packed...granted, I'm comparing it to Utah but it was still a ton of fun.

And last, but certainly not least, my favorite place in the city....St. James Park. I loved to go and just sit on a park bench...people watch, listen to music, read a book, feed the ducks. It was so quiet. I loved it!

SO moral of the story...? I'm moving to London.