Conversation of the Day

So, today I had to go to the hospital to get a rhogam injection since I am RH negative (my blood type is O-). When the nurse called me back to the room where she was going to do the injection, she began to explain the procedure. This was our conversation, from my ears' perspective.

Nurse: S-tha-njecshun-ll-go right-n-yr-ine.

Me: um. okay.

Nurse: You're with Doctor Rogers?

Me: Yes.

Nurse: Since this is blood-related, if you have any serious pain later this evening, go to the emergency room. The chances of that happening are very rare.

Me: Okay.

long period of silence while Nurse prepares injection and paperwork

Me: Um, where does the injection go, again?

Nurse: (enunciating clearly this time) In your hiney.


Well, why didn't you say so the first time?


P.S. As of today, I am 27 weeks. This is the last week of my second trimester and I'm not sure if I should be sad that the "best" trimester is almost over or glad that the pregnancy is getting closer to its end.

26 Weeks

It's really weird, because some days people look at me like I'm about to burst any day, and others, they tell me I'm tiny for how far along I am. I'll let you decide for yourselves...

(though in this picture, I think I tend to look more "huge" than "tiny"...)

Poemas de amor...

For Valentines day, I read Spanish love poetry to my Spanish II students, and then had them write their own love poems. Some of them were just too good not to share. (And when I say "good", I mean...well, I'll just let you figure out what I mean.)

note: original spelling, punctuation, accentuation, etc. has been preserved.

Let's start off with a classic.

Roses are rojo
Violets are azul
I want you to have my corazon
and my corazon wants you too

(When I asked this student if his poem was written in Spanish, he thought about it for a minutes, and then said, "Oh! I guess not. I guess I wrote it in Spanglish")

And now for a couple of "what the?" poems.

Yo quiero ser conmigo.
Tu y yo por aqui.
Me gusta tu.
Yo quiero ver conmigo.

and

tu terminar vida
y felicidad para ahora
pero soon tu real!

An opposite- of-love poem...

Tu eres feo.
Te tiras peos.
Te odio.

This one just makes me smile.

Mi amor, mi amor para tu es muy Grande!
Te amo mas que las estrayas!
Yo digo "me casa es su casa!"
Si mi amor, si.

This one was...not bad.

Tus ojos azules
Son las estrellas en mi cielo
y mi amor para ti
es la luz de la luna
buena noche, lindo.

And this one was cute...though we might need to work on the number and gender thing...

Cuando yo miro tu, yo miro un perfecto chica.
Con perfecto ojos
Con perfecto pelo
Con perfecto labios
Cuando yo miro tu, yo miro un perfecto cerebro
Con perfecto ideas
Con perfecto creencias
Cuando yo miro tu, yo miro un perfecto actitud
Con perfecto encanto
Con perfecto aclamar
Cuando yo miro tu,
yo miro un perfecto,
tu.

And finally...

Yo odio tu pelo
No me gustan tus ojos,
No me encanta tu boca,
Me das asco,
pero yo tengo un problemo
no puedo vivir sin ti.


I swear I teach them correct grammar, spelling, accentuation, etc. Obviously we need more practice.

Rocky VI?

THE CITY OF (brotherly) LOVE

I am officially in love with Philadelphia. Maybe because we went for Valentine's day, or maybe just because it totally exceeded my expectations. While there are many who have traveled much more than I have, with London, Madrid, Paris, Dublin, Rome and Milan under my belt, I certainly wouldn't call myself a stranger to large European cities. And Philly turned out to be just as cool (except for maybe not actually being located in Europe). The architecture, the history, the monuments and fountains, the long straight parkway with roundabouts. If you can't afford Europe, go to Philly. I liked it better than New York. (Though we're headed to NYC again in April, so we'll see if it moves up in rank then...)

Here are some highlights of our trip.

Cheesesteak at Tony Luke's
Since you can't go to Philly without eating cheesesteak, we started our trip with dinner. Some friends recommended this place, and it did not disappoint. Delicious (though probably not too nutritious...)

(one of the stranger photos I have ever taken of Jon, but proof that we were there)

Boat House Row
These are a bunch of rowing clubs that are lit up along the Schuylkill River (after spending three days there, and hearing it said several times, I'm still not sure how to pronounce it). Lit up so that you can boat at night and not run into the shore, I guess. Either way, really beautiful.

Hop-on, Hop-off Trolley Tour
We decided to do this tour, and it was definitely a good choice. The transportation was easy and reliable, and the guides were great, plus, you could spend as much time as you wanted doing whatever...I usually hate tours because I like to be more independent, and this was a perfect combination.
The Liberty Bell
Cool to see, and free! We learned a lot about the history of the bell, how it came to be cracked, etc.

Independence Hall
Probably my favorite stop. This is an amazing place. Here we are in the room where the Declaration of Independence AND the constitution came about and were ratified. Jon and I recently watched BYU's "A More Perfect Union", and it really helped me appreciate what went on here.
Benjamin Franklin's Grave
Pretty neat to see where he is buried. What an amazing man!
Benjamin Franklin Parkway
This was one part of the city that really reminded me of Europe. This road was designed after the Champs-Élysées in Paris. It is lined with flags from different countries of the world, and lots of the city's main attractions run along it. This photo doesn't do it justice, but it really is beautiful. Incidentally, our hotel was at 1776 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. Kinda fun. Reading Station Market
This one I do know how to pronounce, and it's not like it looks. It's RED-ing (like the color) as opposed to READ-ing (like the verb). Anyway, it was another favorite. It is an indoor market with all kinds of reataurants, shops, etc. It actually reminded me a lot of the central market in San Jose, CR, except cleaner. Anyway, this candy stand was one of my faves, and the produce is totally gorgeous. We had lunch here, and also grabbed desert (a giant chocolate-chip cookie drenched in chocolate...it was incredible and we may go back to Philly just to get another one). Incidentally, if you remember the scene in National Treasure where they are hiding from the bad guys behind the meat counter, that was here.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art
First of all, the building itself is beautiful, secondly, the steps are famous, because they are the steps Rocky ran up in the movie (I have personally never seen said movie, but apparently it's a big deal), and third, they have an amazing collection of art, and really interesting displays.

This statue of Rock is right outside the museum, and, according to one of our trolley guides, is (second to the Liberty Bell) the most visited attraction in Philadelphia. This seems true, considering we had to stand in line to take this picture. I don't know if that fact is really funny, or just really sad. Either way.
We got to see one of my favorite all-time paintings, and lots of other great Van Gogh's and Monets, which made me really happy. The museum is HUGE though, and has a great collection all around.
South Street
We took some time to walk the South Street and check out the shops and restaurants. Some of what we saw was a little racy for my taste, but it was a fun atmosphere, and I got some really good white hot chocolate. Jon decided that he liked his caramel hot apple cider better, after about drinking half of my drink, but I only needed a sip of his to know where my allegiances lie. We also went into a cool hat shop and tried on some fun hats.

There's more, but I wouldn't want to bore you (or make you jealous). It was truly a fantastic trip, and I hope to return!! I give Philly a HIGH recommendation!

Show some love!

I spent a good many years feeling indifferent to or having a mild distaste for Valentine's Day. This shouldn't be too big a surprise considering the number of years I spent the holiday that has affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) been nicknamed "Singles Awareness Day", well, single. I understand the distaste that many have for the holiday as well as the commercialism that tends to accompany it. However, I would like to share an experience that I think might shed a new light on the day. Call it the effect of my rose-colored glasses if you will, but I prefer it to doom and gloom.

A couple years ago (before I was dating Jon) as Valentine's Day approached, I decided to stop boycotting, or simply ignoring the holiday. I was definitely single, without even a prospect, and for the Provo crowd, I was starting to get up there in the age range. Very scary. ;) But, I thought to myself, Valentine's Day is about love. While I wasn't "in love", there were definitely a lot of people I loved! So I decided to make Valentines for my loved ones, starting with my very own family- the people who lived under the same roof as me. I hand-painted some cards and wrote notes to my family members telling them how much I loved them, and the qualities they had that I admired. It was one of the happiest Valentines Days I have ever had because I realized how much love I really had in my life.

Last year on Valentines Day, Jon and I were dating, and it was also wonderful. I'm looking forward to this year's version of the holiday this weekend, which we plan to spend in Philadelphia exploring some new territory while we're still baby-free. However, no-matter your "relationship status", show some love this Valentine's Day! We all know that we need more of it in this world, and I know from personal experience that a little love can make what has been called by some "the most depressing day of the year" happy and wonderful.

This year I'm showing the love with sugar cookies. I gave them to the Young Women at mutual, and to my students at school. I would send some your way, but most of you are too far, so a picture will have to suffice.

Happy Valentine's Weekend! And show some love!

And in case you want to completely disregard my advise, here is a wonderfully bitter "unrequited love" poem I happened upon as I was browsing some Spanish love poetry to read to my students...

Rimas LIII

por Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

Volverán las oscuras golondrinas

en tu balcón sus nidos a colgar,

y otra vez con el ala a sus cristales

jugando llamarán;

pero aquellas que el vuelo refrenaban,

tu hermosura y mi dicha al contemplar;

aquéllas que aprendieron nuestros nombres,

ésas... ¡no volverán!

Volverán las tupidas madreselvas

de tu jardín las tapias a escalar,

y otra vez a la tarde, aun más hermosas,

sus flores se abrirán;

pero aquéllas cuajadas de rocío,

cuyas gotas mirábamos temblar

y caer, como lágrimas del día...

ésas... ¡no volverán!

Volverán del amor en tus oídos

las palabras ardientes a sonar;

tu corazón, de su profundo sueño

tal vez se desperterá;

pero mudo y absorto de rodillas,

como se adora a Dios ante su altar,

como yo te he querido...desengáñate:

¡así no te querrán!

The Golden Age of College

This morning I was digging through some boxes looking for something, and inevitably found something else. (In case you were interested I did eventually find what I was looking for.)

The something else that I found was a small photo album. I think it's one I took with me on my mission. Many of the pictures included there were from my sophomore year at BYU, which, in many ways, was the "Golden Age" of college for me. I had been accepted to the major of my choice, I had wonderful roommates (we chose each other) and we even cooked dinner and ate together most nights. I was dating just the right amount...enough to have fun and feel cool, and not so much as to invite unneeded drama into my life. Most of the boys who had previously caused unneeded drama were far away at other schools or in other countries. Life was good.

To me, it was the year of true friendship, as my roommates and I supported each other through all kinds of experiences. (Most of my roommates were not so lucky as to avoid boy drama...in fact, three of the six of us met their husbands that year!)

There were also other friends- old and new- who had a great influence on my life that year and with whom many memories were made.

Looking through the little photo album brought back all kinds of memories, and I thought I would take advantage of our scanner and the opportunity to share some of those memories with you...


We'll start with this one of the Michigan girls. Steph, Amy, Sarah & Lisa. All of us grew up together in the same ward with the exception of Lisa who was in our stake. The summer before sophomore year we all hung out a ton, and it was one of the best summers ever. I miss all of these girls...Steph in Seattle, Amy in Texas, Lisa in West Virginia. And here I am in Maryland, 5 hours away at the closest.



The sophomore crew at Los Hermanos for a roommate date. Angela, Alisha, Lisa, Chelle, Sarah, Amanda. Good food and good times.



WOW. This one is from a road trip Chelle, Lisa, Alisha and I took to Mesa, AZ for our friend Ashley's wedding. Unfortunately, this photo was taken after Ashley left the reception, but I love the faces from freshman ward appearing here...Melanie, Sarah, Lisa, Kristy, Chelle, Brenna, Alisha, Cassie, and Janae below. Amazing girls.


We made these pillows at an enrichment activity. It was a long process, but I have used that pillow a ton over the years. The back is smudged with mascara and it even has a singed corner where a heater in my room tried to light me on fire during the night a couple years ago. But that's another story. I currently use this pillow to support my belly or back while I try to stay sleeping on my side all night. Do you still have yours Lisa?



Sophomore year was also when my "little" brother Joseph entered the MTC. Incidentally, it was the same time my husband Jon was in the MTC. Funny. Anyway, I love the dork dot, and Grandma Bangerter's beautiful smile in this pic. Little did I know at the time how much time I would end up spending at that amazing place!



Sophomore year=2002 SLC Olympics. I won the gold! Or at least I might have fooled you if it weren't for that huge glare on the cardboard cutout. Oh well. It was pretty awesome to be around for the whole thing.



This is one of my favorite pics. It's actually two pictures that I scanned together to create what I call a "Roomie Panorama". I think we took this one shortly before the year ended as we were getting ready to go our seperate ways. In some ways, this photo turned out to be prophetic. From right to left, we are (almost) sitting in the order in which we were married (all six of us finally bit the bullet and went through with it). Alisha first to John Peterson, then Lisa to Bill Fredericks, Amanda next to Mike Borden (these were the three who met their husbands in our sophomore ward). Then post-mission, Angela married Aaron Robinson. After that we have a little mix-up, because I got married to Jon in May and Chelle married Nick Dunnaway in August. But it was pretty close. And to think that all those years I was just waiting for Chelle to get married so that I could. Oh well... (Incidentally, none of us were yet engaged when this picture was taken.)

Spring term of sophomore year I headed off to London for a big adventure. I was lucky enough to have Rachel Margetts (now Parkin) as a roommate. We had had classes together since freshman year, and were already good friends. This is a shot of us outside of I can't quite remember which museum...anyone know? Anyway, I love this picture. It sort of embodies the whole experience.




In August (I think August, right? Or was it early September..) Lisa got married in the Winter Quarters temple. Chelle and I (among others) were lucky enough to be there. I love this pic taken of us on the lawn at the temple while we were waiting for them to come out.



This one is classic, and was the first one to grab my attention when I saw the photo album. Lisa as the beautiful bride, and me as a bridesmaid for the first time (I was a bridesmaid three times, for the record, but managed to become a bride myself anyway). I made that dress myself, in one day. (Mine, not Lisa's).


Technically this was not sophomore year, but I didn't go back to school that fall, so it sort of blends together. This was taken at the Detroit temple the first time I went through before my mission. Luckily, Lisa and Bill were in town for their Michigan Reception, so they got to be there.

Whew! That was kind of a long walk down memory lane, but fun for me if not for you. Thanks for reading.

Oh, by the way...

This week I hit 24 weeks...
That's all I have to say about that.

25 Things- An Extension of Facebook

I'm finally caving, and I'll do it here on my blog. 25 random things about me...

1- I am 3/4 Mexican and I don't care what anyone else says about it.
2- I am afraid of sharks and deep water.
3- I am an idealist and a romantic. Always have been.
4- I had my appendix out in Mexico, and thought it was a completely awesome experience.
5- I own 48 pairs of shoes. (But I never feel like I have enough.)
6- I have a love/hate relationship with my job as a High School Spanish Teacher.
7- I LOVE enchiladas. They are probably my favorite food ever.
8- My sisters are my best friends. And my other best friends are like my sisters.
9- I only dated my husband for 3 months before we got engaged...something I swore I would never do. But it was right then and it's still right now. He's the best guy I know.
10- I love to talk and I sometimes have to remind myself to listen. I'm working on it.
11- I would love to run my own business out of my home someday. Just what that business will be is yet to be determined.
12- Ever since going to college, I get teary at the thought of being a mother and raising a family.
13- My hair is wet right now and I need to go blow dry it before leaving for work.
14- I miss my family so so so much.
15- I talk to my mom and sister on the phone pretty much every day. If I ever miss one, I feel weird.
16- I'm not really an animal person (though my heart goes out to them if they are sad or in need) and I never want to have pets. Too much extra work and worry.
17- I would love to teach at a college level someday.
18- I lived in Brazil from the age of 12-15. I loved it, and didn't want to come back to the U.S.
19- Lately I eat cold cereal 2-3 times a day. (For breakfast and snacks...not all three meals.)
20- When I was little, I truly believed that a witch lived in my closet, and I would run as fast as I could to my bed, which I imagined was a "safe zone".
21- My favorite job ever was teaching Spanish at the MTC. I miss it.
22- I never want to live in California. Don't ask me why.
23- I really like blogging.
24- My dream is to live internationally (don't really care where) with my family.
25- I never seriously contemplated adopting until I experienced pregnancy. But now that the worst is over, I mostly feel grateful that pregnancy is possible for me.