My First Official Day at Desert Ridge

It has been an overwhelming day to say the least! Today was the first day of orientation to the Gilbert School District. It is a great district and I have been absolutely impressed with how the district is run. Today we found out some of the logistics of what is required. I have to complete 7 1/2 hours of new teacher training that has to be completed in 12 months and an additional 12 1/2 hours within 18 months. That is the district requirements so that does not include all the things that I have to do for the State. I have to complete 60 hours of SEI training (Second language learners) within the year. I also have to complete two exams within the year! Can I say OVERLOAD?? At this point I'm wondering......what exactly does my Master's Degree mean???
I have also been hit up about coaching volleyball, basketball and softball. I'm really interested in coaching so my first instinct is to make my life as busy as possible. I'm happier when I'm busy but I also know how totally consumed my life can become with teaching and coaching. My social life (or potential social life) will become nonexistant as I spend all my time at school and working. Right now that sounds great but that's not going to give me a balanced life.......what to do......what to do.........Will I be able to say NO is the other question......to be continued.......

My Arizona Initiation

Yep! I was on my way to the DMV to become an official Arizonian (is that a word??) and I got crunched by a Jeep Wrangler. The damage was minimal so I didn't call the cops because I felt bad for the kid that hit me. He had just graduated from high school and you all know what a soft spot I have for teenagers!! He was really nice and apologized for hitting me. I hope it all works out okay. I had to go and get an estimate for the damage which was about $700.00 for a new bumper. The guy that did my estimate made it VERY clear that he thought I was attractive.......he said, "I think you're attractive!" Hehe.....I was blushing then and just as I am now writing about it. It was quite flattering and definitely boosted my ego. Sometimes it's just nice to hear it! Even with the delay if you check out the second picture, you will be able to see that I still made it to the DMV so I have progress from Idahoan..... to Utahan......to Nevadan........to Arizonaian!

Finally......the rest of my apartment!!

I've had my apartment put together for awhile but then I messed it up again before I could take pictures of the rest of the rooms :) So Charity here you go.....I know you've been the one waiting to see my place!


This is my bedroom. It pretty much looks the same as my old place. When you have the same decorations it doesn't tend to be much different. However my bed is actually made in this picture so be impressed!! It's rare :)

This is looking the other way in my room. Behind the mirror is my HUGE walk in closet. I don't even fill it up......I guess it's time to shop!

This is my front room. The table in front of the door is not going to always be there. That's just all my scrapbook stuff. I've actually had so much time on my hands, I've been scrapbooking. I've got about 16 pages done. That's a HUGE accomplishment because of my perfectionism that makes me take FOREVER on one page. A scrapbooking entry will be coming soon :)

This is suppose to be my dining room but since I don't have a table it is now my office. This is where I spend A LOT of time. As you can tell it's the most lived in room in my apartment! I really like it!
Well that's it.....now you've seen my whole apartment!! What do you think??

My Ward Family

I'm so grateful for my ward family! It is such a comfort to know when you move to a new place especially when you don't know anyone that you will have automatic friends in the church. I was able to go to a Relief Society "get to know you" activity last week (which was the highlight of my week by the way) and met some wonderful sisters. I'm especially grateful for sisters that have really gone out of their way to make me feel welcome. One of those sisters is Karyn. She invited me over so swim at their pool on Friday with her family. The picture is of their fun pool. I didn't get a picture until after the water was turned off but there is usually water running down the slide and off the ledge. It's a great pool! The Mangisi's have 7 great kids. Brother Mangisi is Tongan so I'm also very grateful for that island connection that I love so much :) The Mangisi's also invited me over for a night of great food and games. I feel so welcome with their family and their friendship has been such a blessing.

Passion or the Lack of......

I've been thinking a lot in the past couple of weeks (that's what happens when I have too much free time!) As I have read blogs of various friends , I have realized the lack of passion in my life. They each seem to have things in their life that drives them forward. That they are truly passionate about. I looked up the definition of passion.........Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for anything and often requiring action. Passion often applies to lively or eager interest in or admiration for a proposal, cause, or activity or love. I just really want to find that enthusiasm for something in my life. I have had it many times throughout my life for different things.....sports, missionary work, education, Polynesian culture and of course love. I just seem to be missing that passion today. I still love each of things I listed but the passion is just either gone, not as strong or no longer creating that intense emotion. I'm not sure why things have changed. I guess I have changed and with change comes a new outlook. I don't want to come across as having a negative outlook because that's not what this is about. I'm just looking for something that I can really focus my interest and that can compell me to action. I want to find that excitement, that enthusiasm and that driving interest.......that PASSION!!

My 4th of July at Lake Pleasant

This is Lake Pleasant. The storm started moving in as we were leaving. We were loading the boat just as the rain hit. I wish I could of caught some of the lightening that was starting. It was beautiful.

This is Angie (my greenie and last companion in the mission) and her nephew Brigham.

This is some more of the family. Chad and Mary (Angie's brother and sister in law) have 8 fabulous kids and one on the way! It was so fun to be around them. Andrea is the oldest but she stayed home. It was a test to see if I could remember all of their names so here it goes.......Brigham, Payton, Teancum, Jarom, Kayden, Talmage and Burleigh. Ali (Angie's little sister) was also with us. They are all little fish. They love the water!

This is Jarom and I. This tube was so hard to hold on to. My arms still hurt. It takes a lot more upper body strength when you are bigger!! Jarom was my little instructor. He would tell me when to lean back so we didn't crash. Too bad I was not a very good listener. I made us crash a few times!!

This was such a sweet picture of Mary and little Burley sitting on the shore watching the other kids on the boat and in the water.

This is a picture of Angie (aka Sister Davis) and I. I wasn't going to include this picture because I look so awful BUT then I decided that I need to keep seeing these kind of pictures so I will have more motivation to do something about it!! Let's hope it works. Overall is was a really fun day. It's amazing how serving a mission is still blessing my life years later. It was so fun to spend time with an old companion and to be blessed by her family in a time of new beginnings for me. I have been feeling pretty lonely so it was nice to get out and meet new people. Thanks Angie!!

2 Rooms down........

I am having a hard time staying motivated to unpack. During the day I'm so SLOW and then I decide at 8 or 9 p.m. to actually get a lot done. I'm already getting my days and nights mixed up which isn't necessarily a good thing since I have to report to work at the end of July. I finished my bathroom on Saturday and it took me until Monday to finish the kitchen. I even went grocery shopping. Mom, aren't you so proud of me!! That was the worst task of the day! Here are some pictures of the two finished rooms at my cute new place!

This is looking into the kitchen from the doorway.

This is the other half of my kitchen! It has tons of counter and cupboard space! I love it!

This the bathroom from my room and the counter. The bathroom is big too!

This is the bathroom from the hallway door!