God is a God of Irony

I don't think I've ever blogged about this mantra of mine but I do believe it to be true. In my life at least God is a God of irony. In other words, I do things I never want to do yet they still happen to me. Does that make sense?

Here are a few examples (and you know I'll be brutally honest with all of them...all 2 of you who still read my blog)

1. My first 2 years at BYU I wanted to get married more than serve a mission but yet I served a mission anyway. 

2. I did not like high school and in my last week of high school 11 years ago, I proclaimed "I will never be in high school again! Hallelujah!" and here I am, a teacher of high school for 5 years. 

And last, my announcement of all announcements, another irony in my life is the following: 

3. Never liking Salt Lake and detesting the University of Utah with every ounce of my soul and here I am...moving back to Salt Lake and attending the University of Utah for graduate school.

Oh the irony! Me a Ute? Gah. 

So with that being said, it's IRONIC. I do what I don't want to do and it keeps happening to me. But as much as I'm whining about it here on the blogosphere I also know without a doubt that those three out of many examples of irony in my life have also brought me incredible joy and many life lessons that I would never want to give away. 

I guess it's good that God is a God of irony; He has turned my life into an adventure that I never thought was possible ten years ago. 

This ironic life change will occur in July 2014. Tune in for more updates. 

May Madness

May is the month of MADNESS!! Holy cow, it's been so stressful at work the last few months. I think it's a combination of a few things:

1. Not many days off besides weekends

2. Students are ready for summer vacation

3. Teachers are ready for summer vacation

4. Students are apathetic towards the work

5. Teachers are apathetic but must pretend to care so students don't become more apathetic.

So with this magical combination, you can imagine how fun work is right now!

So I agree with this image below. Students are driving me crazy.

My patience is gone and so is my kind heart. I feel a lot of anger towards my students and I yell at them. This is really bad, people. Who am I becoming? You don't even want to know. But alas, I have a few more weeks to go and then it will be summer. I can survive until then, right?

So in the meantime, this is my mantra:

If I can do this until June 20th it will be an absolute miracle. 

Note: June 20th is still forever away. All of you teachers in the west please don't taunt me with your summer plans yet. 

These are a few of my favorite (Canadian) things...

The nostalgia of being back in Canada hit immediately. So many random things reminded me of my time in Canada as I often thought, "Wow this is so Canadian."

This is a Canadian staple. How many lessons did I teach at a Tim Horton's during the harsh winters?

Poutine. French fries, cheese curds, gravy, onions, sausage, hot dog and Canadian bacon. A heart attack waiting to happen.

It looks like Monopoly money! Why don't we have pretty money in the states?

Beignets. Another heart attack waiting to happen.

So many letters home did I place in the Canadian Post.

Yah, these are nasty but they like their potato chips over there!

REESE peanut butter cups. Can you see the difference?

One of the reasons I say "eh" more and "pardon"

A legit concern in Canada

I never had this on the mission but fondue is very French!

Banana and nutella crepe. Yum.

So who wants to go to Canada now?

The Return of the Missionary

It has been 7 years since I have graced the great province of Ontario. This place is holy ground for me as it was the place that I served and lived for 1.5 years as an LDS missionary. It was so great to be back in my old "hood" and see people who meant so much to me at the time. After my time in Quebec, I hopped a plane to Toronto and rented a car and for 3.5 days drove from area to area to renew old acquaintances and smell the nostalgia that Ontario holds for me.

Beautiful Toronto. I actually didn't spend any time in this city besides a drive through it. Next time!

GET READY FOR A LOT OF SELFIES!

Nathan and Nicole. 2 people I knew from 2 different areas who are now married. Small world.

Nicole. One of our go-to members who went on a lot of splits with us and continues to be so passionate about her testimony of the Gospel

Heather. My bosom member-mssionary. She and I are kindred spirits separated by a 10 hour drive.

Georgette. Solid testimony of the Gospel and loved us missionaries!

Angela. Member-missionary extraordinaire. Always took care of us and continues to bless the lives of others.

A totem pole in Ontario! 

John and Darlene. He was one of the Bishops I served under and they have this charming home in the country. 

Adri! DC friend who is now married to a Canadian. 

Had to get a picture in front of the temple.

Katie. I trained her on the mission and she is now a mother of 3!

Jen--wonderful YSA who always loved us!

Paul. Former ward missionary who blessed our lives tremendously because of his faith and dedication to his calling.

Sylvie. We worked with her for months and she always made us laugh and fed us lots of food.

Oh and then I took a trip to Buffalo...

And visited the Teddy Roosevelt Inaugural site. 

So glad I had Allison to play hostess while I had my 24 hour stint in Buffalo.

Wow. What a wonderful trip. Incredibly exhausting but so rewarding to see all of these lovely people and to remember their influence in my life. I said it a lot then and I still feel it now...

I AM SO GLAD I SERVED AN LDS MISSION!

Je me souviens!

This trip is living proof that I can do hard things. Part of my "Great Canadian Adventure" over spring break was to go to Quebec on my way to Ontario. I ended up spending a day in Montreal and a day in Quebec City. You will see through my pictures that my great love was Quebec City. I travelled by myself for much of the trip so get ready for lots of selfies. The main thing against me on this trip was mother nature. It decided to SNOW while in Montreal and stayed freezing for the next few days. Lessons learned? Don't go to Quebec in the early spring!

Thought this old rustic Canadian Maple Leaf was a good start to my time in Canada!

Ok so I did get a jumping picture. 

Poutine. Holy calories!

Notre Dame Cathedral in Montreal--saw a really cool light show here!

See, they speak French here. 

And now to Quebec City cause lets face it: this place stole my heart!

Very European-like buildings. Instantly in love. <3 p="">

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What a joy to travel alone!

Quaint shops

Oh the Funiculaire! I loved walking the cobblestone streets. Too bad it was 20 degrees outside.

The famous Quebec City mural. 

The famous chateau. Supposedly the plans for the D-Day invasion of WW2 was arranged here by Churchill and FDR.

Inside another cathedral.

Beautiful Street view

A wonderful time! I particularly loved all of the random people I met while I was in Quebec. It's amazing how when you're by yourself, you just talk to strangers. It made the trip that much more unique and meaningful. So grateful for these experiences.