April 28, 2008 by Melanee.

Two weekends ago I needed a grandkid fix, so I packed up me and the dog, dusted off the EZPass, and left for New Jersey Friday night to see them. The trip took 4 1/2 hours to get there, which normally takes 3 and 1/4 hours. The traffic was pretty packed. I even took the Saw Mill River Parkway and cut off a lot of the traffic on 287/87 towards Tappen Zee Bridge.

Anya was very glad to see me and I was just as glad to see her. Kevin was sleeping since I arrived at 8:30 pm. Kevin was so much fun to be with during the rest of the weekend. Anya, Kevin and I read books and played and had naps together through the weekend. Leah set up a really wonderful early Mother’s day gift which all the girls had a part in. Leah, Ed, Anya and Kevin took be out to PF Changs which is my favorite fancy Asian restaurant. We dressed up in our best clothing and ate some really wonderful food. Lettuce wraps, ginger chicken, honey shrimp, Mongolian beef and to top it off The Great Tower of Chocolate (really good chocolate cake) Yummy!!

That night Leah’s friend and visiting teacher, Alice, came to give me a treatment. She is a certified reflexologist. I have never had this procedure done, but I would highly recommend it. I don’t like getting massages, but boy anyone can work on the feet any day they want. It was so relaxing. I was very tired after the procedure. Alice told me that I may need to detoxify my body if I feel tired afterward because she says it usually should invigorate you. I can understand that after having all that Asian food and other food that I really shouldn’t be eating. With all the stress I have been under for the past years have not helped either.
What she was saying really made sense to me and I hope to be in tune to what my body needs and take better care of it. Even though I have tried to take better care all along, but I can always improve.
My weekend was the best. Thanks girls for my Mother’s Day gift. I loved it.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

April 28, 2008 by Marlene.

Well I have moved into my first apartment of my college career. In fact, I didn’t have much of a choice since they basically kicked us out of the dorms and the doors to get back in automatically locked at 10 am. Luckily someone’s dad thought to tie the door to the outside railing so we could at least get all of our stuff out.
I moved in with my friend Heather Starr who I know from Girls’ Camp back in the day. She and I hauled all my stuff from my room across the parking lot and street then up 3 flights of stairs to our room. It was definitely an adventure but we did it in 3 trips together and Heather took an extra trip while I was finalizing things.
I’m so excited to be in an apartment. In the dorms the boys couldn’t be upstairs at all except for Sundays and Wed from 7-9 which isn’t even long enough to watch most movies!! Now they can come and go as they please as long as they don’t go into our room area place because that could easily become sketchy and totally against the Honor Code.
So right now I’m sending you this on my old laptop which luckily picks up the wireless internet in the complex because unfortunately my new one has not come in yet. The shipping got delayed so I have to wait another week or so to get it. Oi. At least the old one functions pretty well and is much more portable than the desktop that Taylor and Tracy so lovingly let me borrow. Thank you for that. So the countdown continues.
Speaking of countdowns…It’s a little strange to see my sister all married and having babies and stuff while I’m totally single and that’s probably not going change for quite some time. I think the weirdest part is that I grew up with these girls fighting and making up and working together to make each other better but we were so young then. In my mind they’re all frozen in the age of when they left the house, maybe add a year or two. I guess it all just takes some getting used to, and plus I love having nieces and nephews. Not that I’m biased or anything but I think they are the stinkingest cutest kids around!
Anyway I’m going to be going grocery shopping sometime soon since unfortunately I don’t have a dining plan anymore to use at the Cannon Center or the vending machines. I hope I can actually be healthier and go back to my original weight and if not then I guess I’ll just have to get used to my new body.
Off I go into the college world! Classes start tomorrow, we shall see how that goes.

~Marlene

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

April 25, 2008 by Ashley.

I’ve been postponed writing a post because I wanted to put up a little video, but I figured I would just post the video later and write one now. I wanted to show everyone another lovely picture of me. As you can see I’m a lot bigger than I was in my last picture – and feeling it too.

Things have been pretty good lately. The doctor says I’m right on track and the baby’s healthy.
She’s still really active, but it has decreased a little just because I think it’s getting really cramped in there! Also, lately she’s been getting hiccups a lot, which has been driving me crazy! At first I didn’t even know what they were – it was like she was kicking really softly and rhythmically. But then I found out they were most likely hiccups. It’s kind of like a muscle twitch in my lower stomach/pelvis that just won’t stop and I can’t do anything about. How can you stop somebody else’s hiccups?!

I’m getting more excited about seeing her though. I love when I can feel her foot (or what I think may be a foot) and then I kind of catch it in between my fingers and I can move it back and forth in my stomach until she finally pulls it out of the way. It’s then that I think it’ll be so cute so see her real feel!

My due date seems to be coming closer and closer. I can’t believe I only have 5 weeks left. I’m excited to not be pregnant and get to meet her face to face, but at the same time I still have SO much to do and need more time to feel prepared and ready.

Pat and I have decided to try and have as natural a birth as possible. Specifically we’ve been studying the Bradley method that basically teaches relaxation. The premise is that if you can relax yourself completely enough, your body will be able to work most effectively and that labor could actually be a positive experience. So we’ve been practicing relaxation techniques and all that. It’s just hard in that I’ve never felt a contraction before so I’m hoping I can keep myself relaxed when they actually come. We’ll see how that goes!

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

April 24, 2008 by Mallory.

I was just going to connect them to my other post, but I figure they may be more looked at if I make a new post. So here are the posters that my students made. Enjoy!

give old clothes to others
stop litterin
use reusable cups
turn off electricity and learn about the earth
Recycle Cell phones
Plant seeds

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

April 23, 2008 by Mallory.

I learned how much everyone loved hearing about my funny teacher moments, so I thought I would share another one I heard today. Here in Tennessee, it is starting to get hot. It was 85 degrees today. So when we were outside some of my students were standing near/on/on the wrong side of the rope that marks the boundaries (which just so happened to be in the shade). So I called out to them and told them to come to me. I didn’t know they were there because of the shade, I thought they were there just to be on the rope. One of my students then told me/whined to me “Mrs. Fackrell! You don’t understand! White people get red, but black people just get blacker!” I just burst out laughing, I couldn’t help myself. So there ya go. You learn something new everyday.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

April 22, 2008 by Mallory.

Happy Earth Day everyone! Today, I talked with my students about things that we can do to help the earth, so I thought I would share some of those things with you:

Pick up litter
Turn off electric appliances when they are not in use.
Recycle
Give old clothes to other people (so that new resources don’t have to be used for new clothes as much)
Use recycled paper
Use reusable cups instead of plastic bottles and paper cups (DON’T USE STYROFOAM! IT IS TOXIC TO OUR ENVIRONMENT!)
Walk or ride a bike more
Carpool or take the bus
Recycle computers and cell phones (they have a toxic chemical in them that is bad for the environment if just thrown away.)
Eat organic foods
Buy cashews and figs and other rainforest foods (If we buy products from the rainforest, they won’t chop down the trees as much.
If you need to buy things in cardboard, make sure it is recycled cardboard (look for the symbol!)
Email/write a letter to congress about making laws to make the environment better
Read and learn as much as you can about the environment.
Turn off the lights and open the windows during the day for more natural light.
Change your light bulbs to the more energy efficient bulbs.

Here are just a few ideas of what you can do to help make this planet a little better! Everything counts! Go green! (I have some pictures of the posters that my students made, but I will post them as soon as I have all of them.)

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

April 18, 2008 by Marlene.

OK Now that I have questions to answer here’s more about my BYU experience.
I try to keep my room clean but my roommate has some difficulty with that as well and whenever our room is messy she doesn’t really want anyone to come and visit. So whenever her side is messy then it’s not entirely worth it to keep my side immaculate. Whenever guys are coming for visiting hours we clean up pretty well though, except that’s rarely the case.
The time I come back from my dates varies depending on how well the date is going. I’ve come back as early as 9ish and as late as around 3. Usually it’s around midnight or 1 ish but it all depends.
I do my laundry either whenever my clothes start taking over my room or when I don’t have any more clean underwear. So basically the same amount as when I got home but since I have less of a selection to choose from then it’s a little more often, but not much. But since my laundry basket is also my hamper I put away my clean clothes much faster since they’re usually piled on top of my bed, taking up all my sleeping space.
I don’t know anyone well that has gotten proposed to but here is a story that I remember. My RA basically got proposed to outside of the temple unofficially at first. She was sitting on the grounds with her boyfriend and he said “we need to talk about this” and she refused but through some pushing and convincing he said “We’re going to get married” and she said “I know” and then they later officiall proposed later infront of a bunch of missionaries outside the temple. They all clapped.
There are more but I can’t remember the whole thing so it would be disjointed if I told it.
The food is just fine here. I mean it’s not your homecooking loveliness but it’s good. There’s a good selection to choose from even if you have a dining plan. You can go to the Cannon Center which is a buffet with fruit and salad and whatever else they’re serving that day. Sometimes you need to be careful in what combination salads you eat because they like to be creative but as long as you stay away from the macaroni salad with grapes and bacon and pinnapple in it then you’re good. Also there’s the Cougareat where you can get Taco Bell, Subway, there’s a pizza and calzone place, Tomasittos with pasta and chicken stuff or there are salads and sandwiches. If none of that suits your fancy then you can have a smoothie from Jamba Juice. Those are basically light meals in and of themselves. Nothing to worry about with the food. Plus there are so many good restaurants around that you can buy from if you dont’ mind spending money that’s not on your plan.
For the studying, it all depends on the class. I’m taking a math class where I have to study hours and hours to get it, but I’m not a math person. For psychology I study with my friend for 30 min to an hour before and get like A’s-as long as you pay attention in class. I never was one to study too too much but I do fine. For American Heritage you study as much as you possibly can and you’ll probably get between a 70-90, but the curve makes it so that a 60 something is a B so the tests are meant to be hard. I don’t get it but hey, it’s just how it goes. I think the main key is to just make sure you go to classes and do the work. No one comes after you for not doing the work and the reading is entirely up to you but both are beneficial if you want to actually learn the material. Most people study during the day (like 9-5) then go and have fun at night.
Speaking of studying I have a study group soon so I better go. If there’s anything else you want to know, just let me know and I’d be glad to help you in your quest for knowledge.

~Marlene

Posted in Our Life | No Comments »

April 17, 2008 by Marlene.

I have finally returned to the blog after a period of time where I fell off the face of the earth. No worries, I’m doing well.
We’re in the homestretch of the BYU winter semester so finals are in full gear, kinda. Actually yesterday and today are reading days so we have 2 days off so we have time to study and such…yeah. about that.
I have been doing well. I have gone on a couple dates but not nearly as many as the typical BYU student would go on. It’s nice to be out with the fellahs but no, I am not engaged yet so don’t hold your breath. I did have a couple admirers but I think they’ve moved on long ago or will be leaving and will move on. I’m not too concerned about it.
I’ve been doing pretty well in my classes. I’m pretty sure that I’m going to get an A in a couple of my classes, but it’s hard to tell because my teachers don’t post everything so what is posted isn’t my actual grade.
I think the most exciting news recently is I bought a laptop replace my painfully slow technological contraptions. Pat helped me pick which computer to choose and which features I should get and I bought it all with my own money. I don’t think you understand how liberating having a new computer will be. AH! So excited.
I basically have an unofficial roommate because I spend so much time in my neighbors’ room. We are really close and have very similar personalities in some senses and very different personalities in other ways. I guess it’s a balance. For the spring I’m moving in with my friend from the Hartford Stake which I’m really excited about. I’m not sure exactly what else you may want to know so feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer.

~Marlene

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

April 14, 2008 by Melanee.

I had a challenge today, but I overcame it. Yesterday the main sump pump stopped working. So, today a trip to Home Depot–purchase a pump. Come home. Put the reading glasses on. Say to myself, Okay Kev tell me what to do. Closely look at how the old pump was installed. Read the instructions. Assemble the floater, clamp it to pipe Kev rigged. Take the old tube off the broken pump. Reinstall the tube on the new one. Put the pump in the water. Plug it in and TA DA! It works!
I stood back asked Kev if he was proud of me. I think he was.

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

April 10, 2008 by Melanee.

If you need some inspiration please go to Randy Pausch’s web site. I have been following him since he was featured on the “Person of the Week” spotlight on ABC news with Charles Gibson. When they stated he had stage IV pancreatic cancer my ears perked.
He gave his last lecture that was put on U-Tube and has had 2,000,000 hits so far. It has been inspiring a lot of people.
I saw Diane Sawyer’s special about Randy and his family last night. He has lots of qualities like Kevin. He teaches computer classes at Carnige Mellon. I really related to his wife and what she has to do to get through the journey.
I know when it’s Randy’s time to go —He and Kev will be fast friends because computer geeks really get along. Their personalities will really blend well. (Kids at heart and having fun while you are doing it)
I would encourage you to listen to his lecture and I plan on buying his book.
He has really done a lot for Pancreatic Cancer awareness and I am truly grateful for that.
My prayers are for Randy and his family that he will have his time lengthened to be with his family.
He web site is:
www.cs.cmu.edu/~Pausch

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »