After graduating from GWU four years ago, I told myself that I'd go back and get my Ph.D.....someday. I figured I'd have more babies and raise a family and then, when I was good and old and wrinkled, I'd wander back into academia to finally finish that dream of mine. Despite my passion for history, I have still often doubted my ability to actually do a Ph.D. Some part of that is just the sheer exhaustion at the thought of how much work it would require and another small part was that niggling bit of doubt that said I wasn't actually smart enough.
Last week, I was sitting in my office, contemplating life, when I remembered an unopened letter of reference sitting in my research files. I had asked one of my favorite professors to write me a letter of recommendation for a lecturer position at a community college in Hawaii right after I graduated. My professor kindly agreed and sent me several sealed and signed copies. I never did apply for that position--chickened out, I think--and those letters of recommendation have just sat in my graduate folders for years and years. I was often curious about what they said, but I thought they were better left where they were. Another professor had written me a recommendation, which I had read, and it was very standard and uninspiring. Though I knew the other professor to be very supportive of his students' work, I figured his recommendation would be similarly banal.
I had let that letter sit, unopened and unread, for four years, and always resisted the urge to read it. But suddenly curiosity got the better of me. I couldn't wait any longer. So I opened it and read it.
And I was amazed.
It was heartfelt and effulgent in its praise of my skills, my intelligence, aptitude, and research abilities. It blew me away. (I would really love to quote the whole thing here, but that would just be narcissistic.)
Suddenly, so many of my doubts and fears have washed away. I know I can do a Ph.D. I know I can excel. I know I have what it takes. But I also know that I don't want to wait much longer. Where I used to be content with the idea of waiting 10, even 15 years to return to school, that timeline has shortened drastically. And that letter of recommendation was just the fire I needed to get me seriously thinking about it again.
Now, I know there are a lot of factors at play here and it would be completely unrealistic of me to go back to school until David has been able to establish himself in his own career. But finance work can be done almost anywhere and the programs I've begun looking into are within easy distance of many of the locations where David could potentially work for the company of his choice. And where I was once okay with the thought of doing a Ph.D. at any old school, my aspirations have grown much higher so that my top choices are now Harvard, Yale, and the University of Delaware.
I know it's a complete long shot and it's still several years away. But the idea is just so exciting to me right now that I can't help but share. In the meantime, I'm keeping that letter of recommendation close by to re-read whenever I need a little inspiration and a reminder that I'm actually capable of doing some remarkable things.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
My Favorite Ear
I never thought about favoring one ear over another, but I totally do....and unfortunately, my favorite ear is [was] my left ear. David rightly pointed out that that probably stems from the fact that I'm left handed. I answer my phone with my left hand and automatically hold it up to my left ear. David sleeps on my left side, so I use my left ear to hear him when we talk before bedtime. I tend to sleep on my right side, so my left ear is the one that is exposed to listen for baby cries during the night. Take away my ability to hear out of my left ear and it makes for an interesting world. Since I have this [hopefully temporary] insight into the world of the hearing-impaired, I thought I'd share a few observations:
Deafness does not mean silence. Maybe that's true for people who are completely and 100% deaf. But what deafness really means is noise; indiscernible, crackling, buzzing strings of static noise. When your ear can't hear sounds and words in their proper way, your ear produces noise anyway. There's always a constant roar of white noise in my ear....which makes hearing out of my right ear more difficult, because I have to filter out the static to understand the words people are saying to me. Crowded spaces are the absolute worst because my ear cannot filter out one noise from the other. I took Zara to Story Time at the Provo Library this week and it was 25 minutes of pure auditory torture. Though the storytellers wore microphones, I only heard about 50% of what they said, because every toddler shriek, every baby cry resonated just as loudly in my ear as did the main speakers. Normally, those background noises are filtered out, but hearing loss prevents that from happening as successfully as it should. It can be an extremely disorienting experience.
Volume is not always the solution to communication. Generally, I can hear people fine if they speak in their normal "indoor voice;" the real trouble is speed and enunciation. Speaking a little louder certainly helps, but I find that speaking clearly and deliberately makes the biggest difference.
Listening is a skill which not many people possess. I know this because I have not always been a great listener. I am a woman, therefore I multi-task. And listening was a job to be done in tandem with some other task: washing the dishes, folding the laundry, reading a book. But when you have only one ear to hear, you stop to listen. Mostly, because you're just grateful that you still can, but because listening--truly listening--involves more than just hearing. It involves looking. It involves contact. I find that I understand what is being said to me so much better when I actually watch a person speak to me. It's not just about hearing them better either. Sure, it helps to watch their mouth as they talk, but when I can truly connect with a person, I understand not just their words, but their tone, their body language, their emotions.
The good news is that I do feel that my hearing has improved somewhat in the last week. It's not as drastic a change as I had hoped for, but I can at least hear words out of my left ear now, and not just muffled Charlie Brown sounds. Sometimes I don't even notice the constant static in my ear, but other times it's beyond frustrating. The first week of my hearing loss, I slept really really well. (And thankfully Zara did too because I probably wouldn't have heard her even if she had woken up in the middle of the night.) A muffled world brings a great quietness at night which I found very comforting to sleep in. But the medication I've been taking since Monday causes insomnia so the last few nights have not gone well. (But I am getting a lot of reading done in the wee hours of the morning.)
The other perk or downside (take your pick) is that I did have to completely wean Zara of breastfeeding this week. I'd already weaned her of her daytime and pre-bedtime feedings, but I was still nursing her if she woke up in the middle of the night (for comfort) or first thing in the morning. I knew it really wasn't necessary to continue to nurse her, but since I was still willing and Zara was still interested, I just kept doing it. Even though my medication may not harm her, I really didn't want to take a chance because it does pass through the breast milk. She hasn't had breast milk since Tuesday and I'm pleased to say that she's doing just fine. Yesterday was the first day that she really seemed aggravated that she couldn't have any, but she seems to be content with lots of hugs and a sippy cup full of juice. I really didn't think Zara would ever willingly wean herself, so I'm grateful that she's taken this so well. There are all sorts of small miracles at work. I'm still holding out hope that there's a big one in store for my hearing as well.
Deafness does not mean silence. Maybe that's true for people who are completely and 100% deaf. But what deafness really means is noise; indiscernible, crackling, buzzing strings of static noise. When your ear can't hear sounds and words in their proper way, your ear produces noise anyway. There's always a constant roar of white noise in my ear....which makes hearing out of my right ear more difficult, because I have to filter out the static to understand the words people are saying to me. Crowded spaces are the absolute worst because my ear cannot filter out one noise from the other. I took Zara to Story Time at the Provo Library this week and it was 25 minutes of pure auditory torture. Though the storytellers wore microphones, I only heard about 50% of what they said, because every toddler shriek, every baby cry resonated just as loudly in my ear as did the main speakers. Normally, those background noises are filtered out, but hearing loss prevents that from happening as successfully as it should. It can be an extremely disorienting experience.
Volume is not always the solution to communication. Generally, I can hear people fine if they speak in their normal "indoor voice;" the real trouble is speed and enunciation. Speaking a little louder certainly helps, but I find that speaking clearly and deliberately makes the biggest difference.
Listening is a skill which not many people possess. I know this because I have not always been a great listener. I am a woman, therefore I multi-task. And listening was a job to be done in tandem with some other task: washing the dishes, folding the laundry, reading a book. But when you have only one ear to hear, you stop to listen. Mostly, because you're just grateful that you still can, but because listening--truly listening--involves more than just hearing. It involves looking. It involves contact. I find that I understand what is being said to me so much better when I actually watch a person speak to me. It's not just about hearing them better either. Sure, it helps to watch their mouth as they talk, but when I can truly connect with a person, I understand not just their words, but their tone, their body language, their emotions.
The good news is that I do feel that my hearing has improved somewhat in the last week. It's not as drastic a change as I had hoped for, but I can at least hear words out of my left ear now, and not just muffled Charlie Brown sounds. Sometimes I don't even notice the constant static in my ear, but other times it's beyond frustrating. The first week of my hearing loss, I slept really really well. (And thankfully Zara did too because I probably wouldn't have heard her even if she had woken up in the middle of the night.) A muffled world brings a great quietness at night which I found very comforting to sleep in. But the medication I've been taking since Monday causes insomnia so the last few nights have not gone well. (But I am getting a lot of reading done in the wee hours of the morning.)
The other perk or downside (take your pick) is that I did have to completely wean Zara of breastfeeding this week. I'd already weaned her of her daytime and pre-bedtime feedings, but I was still nursing her if she woke up in the middle of the night (for comfort) or first thing in the morning. I knew it really wasn't necessary to continue to nurse her, but since I was still willing and Zara was still interested, I just kept doing it. Even though my medication may not harm her, I really didn't want to take a chance because it does pass through the breast milk. She hasn't had breast milk since Tuesday and I'm pleased to say that she's doing just fine. Yesterday was the first day that she really seemed aggravated that she couldn't have any, but she seems to be content with lots of hugs and a sippy cup full of juice. I really didn't think Zara would ever willingly wean herself, so I'm grateful that she's taken this so well. There are all sorts of small miracles at work. I'm still holding out hope that there's a big one in store for my hearing as well.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.
I had the doctor repeat those words to me several times today. That sensorineural part kept tripping me up.
And I'm a little hard of hearing these days.
What started out last Sunday as an unpleasant (though somewhat amusing) case of vertigo and a constant ringing in my left ear has led to a diagnosis of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss. Meaning that I have suffered a severe loss of hearing in my left inner ear which may or may not be permanent.
At my initial visit to my family practice doctor last Monday, they cleaned out my ear, predicted that it was just a combination of wax build-up and/or fluid which would clear up on its own and sent me on my way. I had no reason to believe otherwise: I had not experienced any trauma to my ear, had not attended any loud concerts (sadly, it's been WAY too long since my last concert), and don't make a habit of working on loud construction projects. I had no reason to believe that my ringing was anything serious.
But by Thursday, when the ringing was still present and my hearing had not improved, I called my doctor for a follow-up and they recommended that I make an appointment with an ENT (ear, nose, and throat specialist). I called one of their referred doctors on Friday, and was pleased to get an appointment for today (Monday). Having dealt with military doctors for the last few years, getting an appointment so soon still amazes me. With military doctors, you have to make an appointment a month out, at least.
It was a good thing I got in so soon because SSNHL needs to be treated immediately; at least 14 days from the time of the initial hearing loss and within 30 days maximum. Otherwise, the chances of reversing the hearing loss are almost negligible. As it stands now, I have a 50% chance of having any of my hearing return, but I don't think my doctor is very confident that I'll have much return since my audiology test today showed that I've suffered significant damage. (As in, I can't hear a dang thing out of my left ear except for very low decibel sounds. I can't hear any words. I can, however, hear Suyom purring which is oddly comforting.)
The course of action now is to take a tapered dosage of steroids to hopefully ease the swelling in the nerves of my inner ear in the hope that that will prevent the hearing loss from being permanent. In two weeks, I'll visit the ENT and audiologist again to see if there's been any improvement in my hearing and I may have to continue to take more steroids for another two weeks. After that, we just have to wait and see if anything improves, but after a year, it's considered permanent. (And with this type of nerve damage, a hearing aid would be useless.)
So what was the cause? My doctor suspects that my last cold spread a viral infection to my ear which damaged the cochlea. A cold.
As my doctor said, SSNHL is just bad luck.
Bad luck, certainly. But I have the feeling that this was no accident. Whether or not the damage is permanent--and I certainly hope that it is not because being deaf in one ear is not enjoyable at all--I have felt often this week that this happened for a reason and that I have something to learn from this experience.
I just hope that that lesson can be learned in the next few weeks, and not over the rest of my life.
So friends, if you have any extra prayers or good thoughts to spare, send them toward my left ear. It would very much appreciate it.
I had the doctor repeat those words to me several times today. That sensorineural part kept tripping me up.
And I'm a little hard of hearing these days.
What started out last Sunday as an unpleasant (though somewhat amusing) case of vertigo and a constant ringing in my left ear has led to a diagnosis of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss. Meaning that I have suffered a severe loss of hearing in my left inner ear which may or may not be permanent.
At my initial visit to my family practice doctor last Monday, they cleaned out my ear, predicted that it was just a combination of wax build-up and/or fluid which would clear up on its own and sent me on my way. I had no reason to believe otherwise: I had not experienced any trauma to my ear, had not attended any loud concerts (sadly, it's been WAY too long since my last concert), and don't make a habit of working on loud construction projects. I had no reason to believe that my ringing was anything serious.
But by Thursday, when the ringing was still present and my hearing had not improved, I called my doctor for a follow-up and they recommended that I make an appointment with an ENT (ear, nose, and throat specialist). I called one of their referred doctors on Friday, and was pleased to get an appointment for today (Monday). Having dealt with military doctors for the last few years, getting an appointment so soon still amazes me. With military doctors, you have to make an appointment a month out, at least.
It was a good thing I got in so soon because SSNHL needs to be treated immediately; at least 14 days from the time of the initial hearing loss and within 30 days maximum. Otherwise, the chances of reversing the hearing loss are almost negligible. As it stands now, I have a 50% chance of having any of my hearing return, but I don't think my doctor is very confident that I'll have much return since my audiology test today showed that I've suffered significant damage. (As in, I can't hear a dang thing out of my left ear except for very low decibel sounds. I can't hear any words. I can, however, hear Suyom purring which is oddly comforting.)
The course of action now is to take a tapered dosage of steroids to hopefully ease the swelling in the nerves of my inner ear in the hope that that will prevent the hearing loss from being permanent. In two weeks, I'll visit the ENT and audiologist again to see if there's been any improvement in my hearing and I may have to continue to take more steroids for another two weeks. After that, we just have to wait and see if anything improves, but after a year, it's considered permanent. (And with this type of nerve damage, a hearing aid would be useless.)
So what was the cause? My doctor suspects that my last cold spread a viral infection to my ear which damaged the cochlea. A cold.
As my doctor said, SSNHL is just bad luck.
Bad luck, certainly. But I have the feeling that this was no accident. Whether or not the damage is permanent--and I certainly hope that it is not because being deaf in one ear is not enjoyable at all--I have felt often this week that this happened for a reason and that I have something to learn from this experience.
I just hope that that lesson can be learned in the next few weeks, and not over the rest of my life.
So friends, if you have any extra prayers or good thoughts to spare, send them toward my left ear. It would very much appreciate it.
Monday, February 13, 2012
When it rains, it pours....
It really is true....sometimes when it rains, it pours. Both in good and in less-than-good ways.
It's been a great three months: we got awesome callings which we love, I have the best job in the world (for me), and our toddler just grows cuter and cuter by the nanosecond. In some ways, the blessings have been poured out abundantly and I'm very grateful for that.
But in the last three months, I've also been sick more times than I've been in the last three years. Seriously. I went my whole pregnancy without a single bout of morning sickness or sneeze, and spent the first year of Zara's life enjoying excellent health and was growing rather used it. And then suddenly BAM! Sicknesses galore! I've had:
Cold
Stomach flu/bug
Cold
Headaches
Vertigo/weird ear thing
I mean, what's with vertigo anyway? It's not even a real illness....just a weird "everything is spinning" kinda fun house. So far, I'm not a fan.
It started yesterday at church. We were just about to teach our Sunday School lesson when my left ear decided to shut down or something and all I could hear was a loud ringing. I managed to teach my portion of the lesson (David and I team teach so we split up the lesson) with a constant buzz in my ear. I figured it would eventually go away, but by Relief Society, I was in a full-on dizzy tailspin.
I called our doctor's office first thing in the morning and got an appointment right away. They cleaned out my ear, which had a little bit of build-up, but it's still closed for business. At least the ringing has gone away, but I'm getting a very real glimpse into the life of deafness. I swear, I can see people talking to me, but I honestly can't hear what they are saying to me. I keep telling David to speak louder, and he just says, "Is this what it's going to be like when we're old and decrepit?" but apparently old is relative term when it comes to my body these days. I really hope this is just a short phase and that my ear will "pop" soon. I'd love to hear again.
The vertigo seems to be improving....or maybe I'm just getting more used to the world constantly tilting on its axis? I can't tell. Today was better, but I have a feeling that the only cure for vertigo is time and a lot of rest.
Apparently, my body does not agree with turning 29. I don't even want to imagine what a joyride it's going to take me on when I turn 30.
Until, I guess I'll just try to enjoy the free rollercoaster.
It's been a great three months: we got awesome callings which we love, I have the best job in the world (for me), and our toddler just grows cuter and cuter by the nanosecond. In some ways, the blessings have been poured out abundantly and I'm very grateful for that.
But in the last three months, I've also been sick more times than I've been in the last three years. Seriously. I went my whole pregnancy without a single bout of morning sickness or sneeze, and spent the first year of Zara's life enjoying excellent health and was growing rather used it. And then suddenly BAM! Sicknesses galore! I've had:
Cold
Stomach flu/bug
Cold
Headaches
Vertigo/weird ear thing
I mean, what's with vertigo anyway? It's not even a real illness....just a weird "everything is spinning" kinda fun house. So far, I'm not a fan.
It started yesterday at church. We were just about to teach our Sunday School lesson when my left ear decided to shut down or something and all I could hear was a loud ringing. I managed to teach my portion of the lesson (David and I team teach so we split up the lesson) with a constant buzz in my ear. I figured it would eventually go away, but by Relief Society, I was in a full-on dizzy tailspin.
I called our doctor's office first thing in the morning and got an appointment right away. They cleaned out my ear, which had a little bit of build-up, but it's still closed for business. At least the ringing has gone away, but I'm getting a very real glimpse into the life of deafness. I swear, I can see people talking to me, but I honestly can't hear what they are saying to me. I keep telling David to speak louder, and he just says, "Is this what it's going to be like when we're old and decrepit?" but apparently old is relative term when it comes to my body these days. I really hope this is just a short phase and that my ear will "pop" soon. I'd love to hear again.
The vertigo seems to be improving....or maybe I'm just getting more used to the world constantly tilting on its axis? I can't tell. Today was better, but I have a feeling that the only cure for vertigo is time and a lot of rest.
Apparently, my body does not agree with turning 29. I don't even want to imagine what a joyride it's going to take me on when I turn 30.
Until, I guess I'll just try to enjoy the free rollercoaster.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Lunar New Year!
Happy Lunar* New Year, from our Korean baby!
It's the year of the dragon, a very auspicious year. Our Chinese friends predict that many children will be born this year since a lot of parents want dragon children. I guess we'll have to wait and see if that's true.
In honor of the New Year, I made duk mandu gook, a traditional soup that Koreans eat every New Year's Eve. I became a little obsessed with the stuff near the end of our time in Korea and I make it often now. I thought I'd share my recipe because it's super quick and awesomely delicious, especially on a cold night.
I adapted my recipe from this recipe from the New York Times.
Ingredients
12 Mandu/Gyoza/Potstickers
4 cups beef broth, preferably Korean (see note)
1/2 bunch scallions
1 cup frozen Korean rice cakes, sliced (see note)
1 egg, lightly beaten
Black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Toasted seaweed (optional), julienned.
1. Place a large pot filled with broth over high heat. Prepare scallions: discard white parts, chop a few inches of green parts into rounds and slice remainder lengthwise. When broth boils, add 3 to 4 dumplings a person, reduce heat to medium and cook 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Add frozen rice cakes and scallion slices and cook until cakes are soft, another two minutes. Add eggs and gently stir. Shut off heat and season with black pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish with scallion rounds, sesame seeds and seaweed, if using.
Note: For beef broth, dashida powder is sold in bags at Korean markets. Dissolve one teaspoon per cup of boiling water. Korean rice cakes, called duk, are sold in the freezer section of Korean markets; the wide slices are the most traditional. This makes 2-4 servings. It's best eaten right away; it doesn't always reheat well.
The two main ingredients are mandu and duk. Duk is a glutinous cake made from rice flour. When I first tried it, I didn't like it. It's weird and doesn't have much flavor. But it's kinda grown on me. My local Asian market doesn't carry the sliced duk so I just make do with the round kind that is generally used for dukbokki. I have made my mandu from scratch before (Cook's Illustrated has a great recipe), but I typically buy mine. I prefer the pork filled mandu, since that's what they use in Korea, but you could use chicken or beef potstickers too.
You could use regular beef broth but dashida (Korea beef broth) is SO much better and easy to find in any Asian market. This is the broth powder that I brought home with me from Korea. I also sometimes throw in a little anchovies powder because other recipes I saw included it, but it's not essential.
The trick with the egg is to slowly and gently stir your broth with a chopstick while pouring in your beaten egg. I love the egg. And in less than 30 minutes, you have a delicious Korean soup. Mmmm.
After dinner (and the baby had been tucked away in bed), I broke out the box of hotteok I bought before we left Korea. There was a little stand near our apartment in Seoul that sold these delicious cinnamon filled pancakes, which are a popular Korean street food, especially in the winter months. I think they'd be super easy to re-create even without the mix. I think next year, I'll definitely have to find my own recipe.
After letting the dough rise a bit, you fill it with a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, and nuts and then fry them them up.
The insides get all gooey and delicious.
David approved. I don't think I'll be able to eat hotteok without instantly being transported back to a cold winter day in Seoul. Oh, the memories.
Our New Year's was topped off by the first real snowfall of the year. The world is beautiful and wonderful all covered in snow. Hope you all had a wonderful New Year!
Here in the Malone household, we say "Lunar New Year" instead of "Chinese New Year" in deference to all those other Asians who are not, in fact, Chinese. :)
It's the year of the dragon, a very auspicious year. Our Chinese friends predict that many children will be born this year since a lot of parents want dragon children. I guess we'll have to wait and see if that's true.In honor of the New Year, I made duk mandu gook, a traditional soup that Koreans eat every New Year's Eve. I became a little obsessed with the stuff near the end of our time in Korea and I make it often now. I thought I'd share my recipe because it's super quick and awesomely delicious, especially on a cold night.
I adapted my recipe from this recipe from the New York Times.
Ingredients
12 Mandu/Gyoza/Potstickers
4 cups beef broth, preferably Korean (see note)
1/2 bunch scallions
1 cup frozen Korean rice cakes, sliced (see note)
1 egg, lightly beaten
Black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Toasted seaweed (optional), julienned.
1. Place a large pot filled with broth over high heat. Prepare scallions: discard white parts, chop a few inches of green parts into rounds and slice remainder lengthwise. When broth boils, add 3 to 4 dumplings a person, reduce heat to medium and cook 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Add frozen rice cakes and scallion slices and cook until cakes are soft, another two minutes. Add eggs and gently stir. Shut off heat and season with black pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish with scallion rounds, sesame seeds and seaweed, if using.
Note: For beef broth, dashida powder is sold in bags at Korean markets. Dissolve one teaspoon per cup of boiling water. Korean rice cakes, called duk, are sold in the freezer section of Korean markets; the wide slices are the most traditional. This makes 2-4 servings. It's best eaten right away; it doesn't always reheat well.
The two main ingredients are mandu and duk. Duk is a glutinous cake made from rice flour. When I first tried it, I didn't like it. It's weird and doesn't have much flavor. But it's kinda grown on me. My local Asian market doesn't carry the sliced duk so I just make do with the round kind that is generally used for dukbokki. I have made my mandu from scratch before (Cook's Illustrated has a great recipe), but I typically buy mine. I prefer the pork filled mandu, since that's what they use in Korea, but you could use chicken or beef potstickers too.
You could use regular beef broth but dashida (Korea beef broth) is SO much better and easy to find in any Asian market. This is the broth powder that I brought home with me from Korea. I also sometimes throw in a little anchovies powder because other recipes I saw included it, but it's not essential.
The trick with the egg is to slowly and gently stir your broth with a chopstick while pouring in your beaten egg. I love the egg. And in less than 30 minutes, you have a delicious Korean soup. Mmmm.
After dinner (and the baby had been tucked away in bed), I broke out the box of hotteok I bought before we left Korea. There was a little stand near our apartment in Seoul that sold these delicious cinnamon filled pancakes, which are a popular Korean street food, especially in the winter months. I think they'd be super easy to re-create even without the mix. I think next year, I'll definitely have to find my own recipe.
After letting the dough rise a bit, you fill it with a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, and nuts and then fry them them up.
The insides get all gooey and delicious.
David approved. I don't think I'll be able to eat hotteok without instantly being transported back to a cold winter day in Seoul. Oh, the memories.
Our New Year's was topped off by the first real snowfall of the year. The world is beautiful and wonderful all covered in snow. Hope you all had a wonderful New Year!Here in the Malone household, we say "Lunar New Year" instead of "Chinese New Year" in deference to all those other Asians who are not, in fact, Chinese. :)
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Thanksgiving 2011
Yes, yes, I know that we're way past Thanksgiving time, but I wanted to share some of the photos I took from our week in San Diego to celebrate Thanksgiving. We had a great time with friends and family. And eating. Oh yes, we did eat!
Poor little baby was so tuckered out, she fell asleep on the bed while David was reading. My parents' cat Bronte joined them. Sadly, Bronte was hit by a car and killed just before Christmas. She was a sweet little cat.
My sister drove down from Lemoore with her three kids. Zara loves spending time with her cousins. I think she especially likes Anna. They even had matching pajamas (which was so not done on purpose, by the way).
Zara and Seth, who are three weeks apart.
And general mayhem rules when six of the seven Hayman grandkids are afoot.
The day after Thanksgiving, or was it Saturday? we went for a walk down by Lake Hodges.
Seth just kills me. His cuteness grew by leaps and bounds when he started walking. I don't know why, but Seth walking is just about the cutest thing I've every seen.
Besides this adorable little thing, of course.
It didn't take long before my brother-in-law Brigham was carrying/pushing all three of his kids. Talk about a work horse.
Now, maybe if I try really hard, I can get our Christmas pictures up sometime before Valentine's. :)
Poor little baby was so tuckered out, she fell asleep on the bed while David was reading. My parents' cat Bronte joined them. Sadly, Bronte was hit by a car and killed just before Christmas. She was a sweet little cat.
My sister drove down from Lemoore with her three kids. Zara loves spending time with her cousins. I think she especially likes Anna. They even had matching pajamas (which was so not done on purpose, by the way).
Zara and Seth, who are three weeks apart.
And general mayhem rules when six of the seven Hayman grandkids are afoot.
The day after Thanksgiving, or was it Saturday? we went for a walk down by Lake Hodges.
Seth just kills me. His cuteness grew by leaps and bounds when he started walking. I don't know why, but Seth walking is just about the cutest thing I've every seen.
Besides this adorable little thing, of course.
It didn't take long before my brother-in-law Brigham was carrying/pushing all three of his kids. Talk about a work horse.Now, maybe if I try really hard, I can get our Christmas pictures up sometime before Valentine's. :)
Welcome 2012
As I was running around doing my errands today (it being Thursday, my designated errand day), I just kept thinking "life is good" and marveling at how content I feel. I have felt forms of contentedness over the years, but never such a complete fullness and happiness. It's a marvelous feeling, to feel that life is good and know it is true.
Zara has reached an age where she's (for the most part) absolutely adorable and delightful to be around. She's independent enough to play on her own but still loving and affectionate. She babbles almost constantly (David and I take turns translating her baby talk), giggles gleefully, runs circles around the cat, practices somersaults with much laughter and self-applause (we still don't know where she even learned how to somersault), and is generally just a fun little person to be around. It's amazing to watch her personality emerge more and more each day.
I've been working at BYU for a month now and love it a little more each day. Not only is it great to be back at a university and in an academic environment, but I really enjoy my job and the flexibility and intellectual outlet it offers me. My position is a brand-new one so I really get to create the job as I go along and it's so fulfilling to see how quickly I've already been able to make a difference. Plus, I just love working with all the history professors and the students.
David and I were also called to be the Gospel Doctrine teachers. We rotate with another teacher, but since there's two of us, we teach two Sundays and then the other teacher does one Sunday. We've taught two classes so far and I think they went really well and have received many compliments about the lessons. I love teaching and I have prayed and prayed to receive a teaching calling and yet I've always been called to do some form of activity planning. (Though I did teach the Sunbeams (kids age 3-4) for a little while.) You can imagine how overjoyed I was to receive this calling and to feel like I finally get to use the talents I possess to serve in the church. (My talents do not lie in party planning although I've certainly improved in those after all these years on the Enrichment/Activities Committee.) I love to teach because it gives me the motivation to study and learn....and I love to learn. Plus, this year we're studying The Book of Mormon which is full of such amazing power and doctrine. What could be better?
More than that, David is happier now that he's on the path to having a career he can truly enjoy, we have a comfortable home, a nice car, plenty of food to eat, and a very sweet kitty. Not that we don't have everyday worries. We certainly have those too and our future is still very much up in the air, but all in all, we've been very blessed. So yes, life is good.
I don't typically set New Year's Resolutions. I never keep them and I hate feeling like a failure. Besides, they're always vague and overly general, like "Be more patient!" or "Lose weight!" that it's hard to quantify them. But in an effort to hold myself to something and to continue my general sense of contentedness, here are a few of the goals I'd like to achieve this year in order to foster happiness:
1.) Blog at least once or twice a week. (My goal is to have 90 blog posts this year, up from 85 from 2011.)
2.) Set aside time to sew at least once a week. This is harder now that I'm working but I have many projects I need to finish and/or work on, and I do gain so much enjoyment from sewing that I need to be more proactive in spending time doing what I love.
3.) Read the scriptures every day. This is made so much easier now that I'm teaching Sunday School and really have a reason to do it.
4.) Say yes to service. I challenged myself recently to say yes whenever I could to service opportunities. I'm not really good at this, but I do belief you are greatly blessed for serving others and so I want to make a more concerted effort to do what I can.
5.) Spend quality time with David and Zara.
6.) Delve back into the world of history. Since I graduated from GWU four years ago, I've been telling myself that I would revisit some of my research projects in the hopes of publishing some articles. Now that I'm working at BYU, I have absolutely no excuse not to do this. I have access to their wonderful library and online resources and am surrounded by history professors who can offer guidance and peer review should I need it. I just need to do it!
Zara has reached an age where she's (for the most part) absolutely adorable and delightful to be around. She's independent enough to play on her own but still loving and affectionate. She babbles almost constantly (David and I take turns translating her baby talk), giggles gleefully, runs circles around the cat, practices somersaults with much laughter and self-applause (we still don't know where she even learned how to somersault), and is generally just a fun little person to be around. It's amazing to watch her personality emerge more and more each day.
I've been working at BYU for a month now and love it a little more each day. Not only is it great to be back at a university and in an academic environment, but I really enjoy my job and the flexibility and intellectual outlet it offers me. My position is a brand-new one so I really get to create the job as I go along and it's so fulfilling to see how quickly I've already been able to make a difference. Plus, I just love working with all the history professors and the students.
David and I were also called to be the Gospel Doctrine teachers. We rotate with another teacher, but since there's two of us, we teach two Sundays and then the other teacher does one Sunday. We've taught two classes so far and I think they went really well and have received many compliments about the lessons. I love teaching and I have prayed and prayed to receive a teaching calling and yet I've always been called to do some form of activity planning. (Though I did teach the Sunbeams (kids age 3-4) for a little while.) You can imagine how overjoyed I was to receive this calling and to feel like I finally get to use the talents I possess to serve in the church. (My talents do not lie in party planning although I've certainly improved in those after all these years on the Enrichment/Activities Committee.) I love to teach because it gives me the motivation to study and learn....and I love to learn. Plus, this year we're studying The Book of Mormon which is full of such amazing power and doctrine. What could be better?
More than that, David is happier now that he's on the path to having a career he can truly enjoy, we have a comfortable home, a nice car, plenty of food to eat, and a very sweet kitty. Not that we don't have everyday worries. We certainly have those too and our future is still very much up in the air, but all in all, we've been very blessed. So yes, life is good.
I don't typically set New Year's Resolutions. I never keep them and I hate feeling like a failure. Besides, they're always vague and overly general, like "Be more patient!" or "Lose weight!" that it's hard to quantify them. But in an effort to hold myself to something and to continue my general sense of contentedness, here are a few of the goals I'd like to achieve this year in order to foster happiness:
1.) Blog at least once or twice a week. (My goal is to have 90 blog posts this year, up from 85 from 2011.)
2.) Set aside time to sew at least once a week. This is harder now that I'm working but I have many projects I need to finish and/or work on, and I do gain so much enjoyment from sewing that I need to be more proactive in spending time doing what I love.
3.) Read the scriptures every day. This is made so much easier now that I'm teaching Sunday School and really have a reason to do it.
4.) Say yes to service. I challenged myself recently to say yes whenever I could to service opportunities. I'm not really good at this, but I do belief you are greatly blessed for serving others and so I want to make a more concerted effort to do what I can.
5.) Spend quality time with David and Zara.
6.) Delve back into the world of history. Since I graduated from GWU four years ago, I've been telling myself that I would revisit some of my research projects in the hopes of publishing some articles. Now that I'm working at BYU, I have absolutely no excuse not to do this. I have access to their wonderful library and online resources and am surrounded by history professors who can offer guidance and peer review should I need it. I just need to do it!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
2011 Retrospective
I love the end of the year, when I look back and remember all the things that happened that year. As always, I'm amazed by everything that we did, what happened, and how lucky I am. So here it is: the year 2011.
January: Zara entered the fifth month of her life. We dealt with sleep issues, introduced solid foods, and watched her roll herself all over the place. I finally finished Zara's baby quilt (my first completed quilt; I've since made many others), and undertook a few more sewing projects.
February: Zara falls off the bed for the first time, but we both survive. (And all the 324 times she's done it since.) David and I celebrate our birthdays with our first child-free date since Zara's birth (dinner at a Thai restaurant in Itaewon). David receives LEGO Hogwarts and we buy ourselves our joint birthday present: a brand new TV. David was kept busy at work--as usual--but spent a lot of time studying for the GMAT which he re-took this month. (And he got a much better score than his first attempt.)
March: David finished his application to the MBA program at BYU at the beginning of the month, and then did his phone interview at the end of the month. We crossed our fingers that he'd get in because he didn't apply anywhere else. Zara mastered the art of crawling. And getting into everything. She also grew her first tooth.
April: David found out he was accepted to BYU at the beginning of the month so we could all breath a great big sigh of relief. Zara grew. I sewed. The weather in Seoul improved and we ventured out from our winter hibernation.
May: We soaked up every last bit of Korea we could get during our last full month in the country. We bought lots of Korean items to commemorate our time and we bought a new Nikon DSLR camera.
June: We fly home to San Diego, where we spend two weeks before departing on the first leg of our Rediscover America Super Awesome Roadtrip which takes us to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas (lots and lots of Texas), Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. We explore more of Atlanta and spend time with David's family (and help his parents move into a new house). David finally FINALLY finishes his Bachelor's degree in accounting. Whoo! Zara walks.
July: We embark on the second leg of our roadtrip which takes us to Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nevada, and the northern part of California. We stop over in San Diego for my mom's 60th birthday, family reunion, and family photos. We end the month by rolling into Utah with no place to live and sick to death of living out of our suitcases.
August: We live with my Aunt Debbie while we search for a place to live in Utah. We finally find our sweet 19th century pioneer home in Provo which we move into on August 16th, the same day that David starts school. Zara celebrates her first birthday.
September: We adjust to life in Utah. I work on more sewing projects and Zara and I visit many parks in the area. David loves his classes and what he is studying.
October: We get to spend some time with our good friends from Korea, the Cottrells and enjoy the beauty of fall in Utah. We enjoy Halloween festivities and Zara gets really into the whole candy receiving thing.
November: I apply for and interview for a job on BYU campus. We drive down to San Diego to spend Thanksgiving with my family.
December: I get the job and start working 15-20 hours a week while Zara deals with a little bit of separation anxiety. (But she's getting much better.) David finishes his first semester of grad school (and receives all A's and A-'s) and we enjoy Christmas in Utah.
It has definitely been a great year. Many changes, many unknowns, but through it all, we've enjoyed ourselves and had some truly amazing experiences. For the most part, life is good. Sometimes I think that we'll look back on these two years at BYU and remember them as the best days of our lives. David loves what he's studying and gets to have a regular schedule and spend lots of time with Zara and me. I found the perfect job which I love and allows me to earn a little extra money for our family. Zara continues to both exasperate and exhilarate us with her joyful baby giggle and intelligence. She's a special little person, that one is. We are definitely looking forward to what 2012 will bring us....if, you know, the world doesn't end on December 21st. :)
January: Zara entered the fifth month of her life. We dealt with sleep issues, introduced solid foods, and watched her roll herself all over the place. I finally finished Zara's baby quilt (my first completed quilt; I've since made many others), and undertook a few more sewing projects.
February: Zara falls off the bed for the first time, but we both survive. (And all the 324 times she's done it since.) David and I celebrate our birthdays with our first child-free date since Zara's birth (dinner at a Thai restaurant in Itaewon). David receives LEGO Hogwarts and we buy ourselves our joint birthday present: a brand new TV. David was kept busy at work--as usual--but spent a lot of time studying for the GMAT which he re-took this month. (And he got a much better score than his first attempt.)
March: David finished his application to the MBA program at BYU at the beginning of the month, and then did his phone interview at the end of the month. We crossed our fingers that he'd get in because he didn't apply anywhere else. Zara mastered the art of crawling. And getting into everything. She also grew her first tooth.
April: David found out he was accepted to BYU at the beginning of the month so we could all breath a great big sigh of relief. Zara grew. I sewed. The weather in Seoul improved and we ventured out from our winter hibernation.
May: We soaked up every last bit of Korea we could get during our last full month in the country. We bought lots of Korean items to commemorate our time and we bought a new Nikon DSLR camera.
June: We fly home to San Diego, where we spend two weeks before departing on the first leg of our Rediscover America Super Awesome Roadtrip which takes us to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas (lots and lots of Texas), Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. We explore more of Atlanta and spend time with David's family (and help his parents move into a new house). David finally FINALLY finishes his Bachelor's degree in accounting. Whoo! Zara walks.
July: We embark on the second leg of our roadtrip which takes us to Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nevada, and the northern part of California. We stop over in San Diego for my mom's 60th birthday, family reunion, and family photos. We end the month by rolling into Utah with no place to live and sick to death of living out of our suitcases.
August: We live with my Aunt Debbie while we search for a place to live in Utah. We finally find our sweet 19th century pioneer home in Provo which we move into on August 16th, the same day that David starts school. Zara celebrates her first birthday.
September: We adjust to life in Utah. I work on more sewing projects and Zara and I visit many parks in the area. David loves his classes and what he is studying.
October: We get to spend some time with our good friends from Korea, the Cottrells and enjoy the beauty of fall in Utah. We enjoy Halloween festivities and Zara gets really into the whole candy receiving thing.
November: I apply for and interview for a job on BYU campus. We drive down to San Diego to spend Thanksgiving with my family.
December: I get the job and start working 15-20 hours a week while Zara deals with a little bit of separation anxiety. (But she's getting much better.) David finishes his first semester of grad school (and receives all A's and A-'s) and we enjoy Christmas in Utah.
It has definitely been a great year. Many changes, many unknowns, but through it all, we've enjoyed ourselves and had some truly amazing experiences. For the most part, life is good. Sometimes I think that we'll look back on these two years at BYU and remember them as the best days of our lives. David loves what he's studying and gets to have a regular schedule and spend lots of time with Zara and me. I found the perfect job which I love and allows me to earn a little extra money for our family. Zara continues to both exasperate and exhilarate us with her joyful baby giggle and intelligence. She's a special little person, that one is. We are definitely looking forward to what 2012 will bring us....if, you know, the world doesn't end on December 21st. :)
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Holiday Baking
It's time for my annual holiday baking report. In years past, I've gone a tad overboard with the cookie-making and have baked anywhere from 5 to 7 different holiday treats to pass out to friends. This year I decided to simplify my life just a tad and only pick four different cookies.
One had to be sugar cookies. I remember making them with my mom every year to leave out for Santa and I just don't feel that it's Christmas without them. To be quite honest, I love a lot of other cookies more than I love sugar cookies and they are rather time consuming, but I still do them every year. I thought these ones turned out particularly good this year.
Another must cookie are my pumpkin cookies with brown butter maple frosting. They might just be my very favorite holiday cookie ever. Pumpkin and maple are amazing together and are flavors you don't often see in a typical holiday cookie plate.
So I had my sugar cookies (no chocolate) and my pumpkin maple cookies (again no chocolate), so I decided to do a standard chocolate chip cookie. Except these are not your standard chocolate chip cookie, these are Jacques Torres' ("The King of Chocolate") famous chocolate chip cookies which are oh so delicious. David doesn't agree with me, but I think these are the best chocolate chip cookies in the world. (But be warned, they take a while to prepare.)
For my last cookie, I decided to try a brand-new recipe. I knew I wanted something very chocolatey and when I stumbled upon these chocolate cookies with mint chips, I knew I had a winner. Plus I liked that it added another flavor (mint) to the overall composition of the plate. Strangely, this recipe does not call for any eggs, which I liked, but it did leave the cookies a tad crumbly, so you have to be careful about that. I decided to use mint M&Ms to give my chocolate cookies a noticeable punch of green and red color. Above are all my cookies prepped and ready to be packaged.
In the past, I've piled cookies on plates or in metal tins. I prefer using tins but they are a tad pricey, especially to give to each friend (and we are kinda poor right now). Plastic/styrofoam plates just don't hold many cookies and they shift around a lot in transit. Plus, I've never found an adequate way to cover them and still have them look pretty. This year I remedied the situation by picking up these cookie boxes. I found them at Big Lots for $2 for a pack of two. (I saw them other places as well.) They held far more cookies than a plate and kept them secure and snug during transport. Plus, they provided a little window to display the goodness inside. All around a great idea, and one that I'll be using again in the future.
How was your holiday baking this year? Any good new recipes? I've included my recipes for sugar cookies and pumpkin cookies with maple frosting below. :)
Tessa's Sugar Cookies
3 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. margarine
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 sour cream
Sift together dry ingredients, set aside. Combine margarine, sugar egg, and vanilla. Add 1/2 flour mixture and sour cream until well blended; add remaining flour. Roll out to 1/4" thickness (or if you're me, even thicker :) and cut out cookies using cookie cutters. Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes.
Frosting:
1/2 c, unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. milk, room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar
Pumpkin Cookies
1 cup pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Dissolve baking soda in milk and set aside. In large bowl whisk together pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, and egg.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and then. Stir in the baking soda mixture and then chocolate chips. Spoon onto cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until done.
Brown Butter Maple Frosting
3 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp maple flavoring
Sift sugar and set aside. Melt butter over medium heat until golden brown. Watch closely so it does not burn. Add butter to sugar, scraping all the butter into the bowl. Add milk and maple flavoring. Stir until smooth.
One had to be sugar cookies. I remember making them with my mom every year to leave out for Santa and I just don't feel that it's Christmas without them. To be quite honest, I love a lot of other cookies more than I love sugar cookies and they are rather time consuming, but I still do them every year. I thought these ones turned out particularly good this year.
Another must cookie are my pumpkin cookies with brown butter maple frosting. They might just be my very favorite holiday cookie ever. Pumpkin and maple are amazing together and are flavors you don't often see in a typical holiday cookie plate.
So I had my sugar cookies (no chocolate) and my pumpkin maple cookies (again no chocolate), so I decided to do a standard chocolate chip cookie. Except these are not your standard chocolate chip cookie, these are Jacques Torres' ("The King of Chocolate") famous chocolate chip cookies which are oh so delicious. David doesn't agree with me, but I think these are the best chocolate chip cookies in the world. (But be warned, they take a while to prepare.)
For my last cookie, I decided to try a brand-new recipe. I knew I wanted something very chocolatey and when I stumbled upon these chocolate cookies with mint chips, I knew I had a winner. Plus I liked that it added another flavor (mint) to the overall composition of the plate. Strangely, this recipe does not call for any eggs, which I liked, but it did leave the cookies a tad crumbly, so you have to be careful about that. I decided to use mint M&Ms to give my chocolate cookies a noticeable punch of green and red color. Above are all my cookies prepped and ready to be packaged.
In the past, I've piled cookies on plates or in metal tins. I prefer using tins but they are a tad pricey, especially to give to each friend (and we are kinda poor right now). Plastic/styrofoam plates just don't hold many cookies and they shift around a lot in transit. Plus, I've never found an adequate way to cover them and still have them look pretty. This year I remedied the situation by picking up these cookie boxes. I found them at Big Lots for $2 for a pack of two. (I saw them other places as well.) They held far more cookies than a plate and kept them secure and snug during transport. Plus, they provided a little window to display the goodness inside. All around a great idea, and one that I'll be using again in the future.How was your holiday baking this year? Any good new recipes? I've included my recipes for sugar cookies and pumpkin cookies with maple frosting below. :)
Tessa's Sugar Cookies
3 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. margarine
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 sour cream
Sift together dry ingredients, set aside. Combine margarine, sugar egg, and vanilla. Add 1/2 flour mixture and sour cream until well blended; add remaining flour. Roll out to 1/4" thickness (or if you're me, even thicker :) and cut out cookies using cookie cutters. Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes.
Frosting:
1/2 c, unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. milk, room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar
Pumpkin Cookies
1 cup pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Dissolve baking soda in milk and set aside. In large bowl whisk together pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, and egg.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and then. Stir in the baking soda mixture and then chocolate chips. Spoon onto cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until done.
Brown Butter Maple Frosting
3 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp maple flavoring
Sift sugar and set aside. Melt butter over medium heat until golden brown. Watch closely so it does not burn. Add butter to sugar, scraping all the butter into the bowl. Add milk and maple flavoring. Stir until smooth.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Merry Christmas!
I really can't believe that it's already Christmas Eve. I mean, honestly, where did the time go? I feel like time goes into hyper-drive after Halloween.
We're all very excited for Christmas at the Malone household. (Though we've been a bit slow on getting everything ready for the holiday season.)
Zara, though, is as cute as ever and excited to open all those gifts underneath the Christmas tree. (And of course, she's got way more gifts than David and me combined. How is that fair?) Still, she's super cute, so I guess I'm okay with that. Also, how did my baby get so gigantic? I really have to train myself to not call her a baby anymore.
We decided to stay in Utah for the holidays in part because of my new job which I started two weeks ago and in part because we couldn't afford to travel anywhere else for the holidays. I'm glad we opted to stay put. Yesterday, we drove down to East Carbon (a tiny little town in eastern Utah where my mom grew up) to visit my Grandma Urbanik. My sister and her family also came to Utah for the holidays to spend time with her husband's family, but we get to spend a little bit of time with them which will be awesome. Tonight, we're spending Christmas Eve with my aunt and all her family. Turns out, we get to spend the holidays with lots of different family members. What could be better?
And since it's been a little while, here's a few recent photos of Zara in all her adorableness:
Merry Christmas to all our friends and family around the world!
We're all very excited for Christmas at the Malone household. (Though we've been a bit slow on getting everything ready for the holiday season.)
Zara, though, is as cute as ever and excited to open all those gifts underneath the Christmas tree. (And of course, she's got way more gifts than David and me combined. How is that fair?) Still, she's super cute, so I guess I'm okay with that. Also, how did my baby get so gigantic? I really have to train myself to not call her a baby anymore.We decided to stay in Utah for the holidays in part because of my new job which I started two weeks ago and in part because we couldn't afford to travel anywhere else for the holidays. I'm glad we opted to stay put. Yesterday, we drove down to East Carbon (a tiny little town in eastern Utah where my mom grew up) to visit my Grandma Urbanik. My sister and her family also came to Utah for the holidays to spend time with her husband's family, but we get to spend a little bit of time with them which will be awesome. Tonight, we're spending Christmas Eve with my aunt and all her family. Turns out, we get to spend the holidays with lots of different family members. What could be better?
And since it's been a little while, here's a few recent photos of Zara in all her adorableness:
Merry Christmas to all our friends and family around the world!
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