Gobble Gobble Taco Day!

Yes, you read that right. It is a Darland family tradition to have tacos on Thanksgiving, and this year will be no exception! We're stoked. And I'm still making pumpkin pie, so I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. So there. :)

I actually really love this tradition of ours. I don't know if I love it enough to carry it on when we have kids--is depriving them of memories of turkey and stuffing un-American? We'll decide on that later. For now, though, since Paul's allergic to turkey, Charissa's a vegetarian, Mom hates to cook (even though she's great at it), and I'm not too huge on cranberry sauce or yams with marshmallows, we're all pretty happy with a huge and filling taco bar. Plus, it makes a great conversation topic. :)

In other news, we saw "New Moon" this past weekend and loved it...can't wait for "Eclipse" to come out in June! I'm not a Twilight junkie or anything, I've only read the books once through and I didn't see either movie on opening night--in fact, I didn't see Twilight until it was out on DVD. But I like the series well enough, and I like that Paul likes it well enough, too. So we're excited that the third "installation" is coming out in a mere seven months! I also learned today that they change the director for every movie to give each its own distinctive feel, and now that I've seen the trailer for "Eclipse" I'm pretty stoked about the direction it's going to take. I am always amazed, mesmerized, even, how two people can look at the same thing so differently, or start with the same material and create two completely different visions and products. People are fascinating if nothing else.

FHE--Similes and Home Desserts

I like to pass on fun activities, especially family-related ones, to pretty much anyone who will listen.

Paul & I have recently started planning FHEs again (his work schedule and my school schedule just didn't coincide enough to have real activities, so we read a chapter out of a church book on Monday mornings before rushing me off to my classes...now that he has Mondays off, we are doing it "right" again!). Last night we had a simple little activity that we found out of a book I love, FHE for Newlyweds, and I thought I'd share.

There are 10 categories (cars, food, shoes, animal, color, season, cartoon character, sport, place, and movie star are what are in the book, but I think you could easily adapt the categories to fit the interests or age levels of your family). You basically make up a simile for your spouse in each category, stating the reason behind it--for example, in the car category, you might write, "You're like an SUV because you're adventurous and you love the great outdoors". It was a challenge, but a fun one, and we got a few giggles. And now I can scrapbook the little notes. :)

I won't bore you with everything we wrote, but here are my three favorites Paul wrote about me:

"You are like a pizza, well-rounded with a little bit of everything, and, of course, my favorite."

"You are like ballet shoes, pretty and seemingly delicate but strong enough to support whatever is needed."

"You are like Chicago because I smile whenever I see you."

And here are my three favorite things I wrote about him:

"You are like a puppy because you're friendly, loyal, cuddly, and fuzzy--a best friend to the end."

"You are like your military boots because you always look so polished."

"You are like the winter because you make me want to curl up and stay in bed all day."

For dessert, we made these little house-shaped pastries--basically, you use a thinly-rolled pie crust and cut it into shapes (we used a house), then sprinkle on some chocolate and peanut butter chips and cover with another of the shapes. Bake it in a 375 degree oven on a parchment-covered cookie sheet for about 12 minutes, or just 'til the edges start to brown. Simple(ish) and tasty! And I've got a ton of chocolate and peanut butter chips left over for next time.

It was a good night. Especially since his new shift started today so we'll see even less of each other most days, it's nice to know that I have him all to myself on Sunday and Monday.

Student Teaching

I finally found out my placement for student teaching! I'll be teaching third graders in a small rural community some forty-five minutes away. I'm excited! And terrified. For those of you not familiar with how education works, even though I've had classroom experience teaching and observing each semester here at Purdue, student teaching is a time in which you gradually get control of the entire classroom all day, every day--you essentially become the teacher for a few weeks or months, and then you gradually hand the reins back to your mentor teacher as the year draws to an end. This means that I get to navigate the students through their first-ever ISTEP testing experience, as well as try to help all the students learn enough to meet the Annual Yearly Progress for the Title I school. I get to do the whole parent-teacher conferences thing, and I get to plan lessons day in and day out for a fourteen-week roller coaster ride. Pressure! But I'm still elated. I want to teach third or fourth grade, and I feel blessed to learn from a teacher who has taught at a few different levels. So I say--bring it on!

We Heart Primary

Paul and I have one of the best callings ever: Primary teachers! We teach the 7-8 and 8-9 year-olds in our ward, and we have a blast. They are SO inquisitive at this age, and they are finally starting to "get it" in terms of the gospel--partially because biologically their brains are developing the ability to reason and empathize, partially because they all come from warm, loving families who teach them the gospel at home every moment they can, and partially because they have been baptized and have the gift of the Holy Ghost with them.

Regardless of the reasons, it is SO fun to see them grow in their testimonies, listen to the CRAZY-deep questions they come up with, and do our best to answer them as we teach them about the gospel. It is even more fun to help them recognize the Spirit as it influences them in their lives! Just last week one of our kids was talking about how there's an apostle that speaks so powerfully to him that he just can't hardly talk afterwards, it's like there's nothing you can do or say to deny the truth of what he says. I said, "Do you know what that is?! That's the SPIRIT!" And even though this is a very precocious child, a new connection was made and he understands now a little bit better that the Spirit speaks to us all in many different ways. Moments like that happen nearly every week, and between that and trying to answer their incredibly vast range of questions, Paul and I feel like sometimes we get to learn SOOOO much more than our kids ever do.

It's also been a blessing for us as a couple, because Paul and I do not get to see much of each other these days. It is HEAVEN to spend all day Sunday with him and with our kids. :) And a good trial-run for when we ever have our own...

Well, in just under two weeks we are having our Primary Program, and Paul and I have desperately tried to learn some of the new songs--"My Eternal Family" and "The Family Is of God." Any of you with children or callings in Primary know how adorable these songs are. It is even more adorable to hear an entire choir of 3-6 year-olds screaming out the chorus because that's all they really know! But, it turns out, they are better than us. We have been spending our FHMs (Family Home Mornings! :) ) and a little time in the evenings lately trying to nail down the words to these two songs--I don't know why it is so difficult for us to master them, but it is what it is. We're trying. We can't let a few 8-year-olds show us up. ;)

Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Paul's 25th Birthday

This has been a rigorous and rough semester for me, and for Paul, as well, and happy moments have been too few and far between lately. But the highlight of the semester so far was DEFINITELY Paul's 25th birthday on October 18th. I had been planning it pretty much since the summer, and all that planning sure paid off!

Since I chose to go with a LEGO theme, for birthday week Paul had to search the house each morning for a giant LEGO (made with a kleenex box and milk jug lids spray painted red, thank you very much!); in the LEGO was a candy bar and small toy, along with a short message tied to the candy...he had a lot of fun finding the toys, and we both are STILL eating all the candy!

Since his birthday was on a Sunday, we went up to Chicago Saturday to kidnap his sister and visit the LEGOLand Discovery Center in Shaumburg. It was a lot of fun, even if we were a little old to be there! We got to play with LEGOs, go on a dragon ride, walk through a LEGO jungle, visit the "hall of fame" with famous LEGO-made artwork reproductions and famous figures, and visit the mini factory (did you know only 18 out of every MILLION LEGOs is discarded from a factory? Talk about quality!). We also got to see a miniature Chicago--very detailed and realistic looking, except for a Batman figure on top of the Sear's tower!

If you have any sort of LEGOland or its discovery centers nearby, GO!  It's worth it!

Then we went back to his folks' place and Paul visited, opened presents (like the Enterprise cufflinks and LEGO mp3 player from Emilie shown below!), and ate some Filipino food before heading home.

(P.S. There are a million and one different LEGO-themed gifts and prizes to buy if you go to the LEGO store HERE.)

That night, we started our "Happy Birthday, Moon" on birthday eve tradition--Paul found the birthday top hat, beneath which was about 10 pounds of LEGOs for him to play with! (And for us to use in the party the next day!)

On Sunday, we threw a party after church with some of our wonderful friends. I learned how to make vegetable pancit, and we fried up some lumpia (two of my favorite Filipino foods), and after everyone was well-fed we played some games. We had "Guess How Many Legos are in the Jar?" and had a super-difficult LEGO quiz.  Some bold primary and green colored birthday decorations helped round out the table.Then we had LEGO team building relays.  This was everyone's favorite part!  I made three stacks of identical "challenges," which included objects they had to build and the inches high it had to be (for example, in the picture below, the word "Paul" at least 3 inches tall...we also had planes, giraffes, tables and chairs, etc., at varying heights).  I backed each set of challenges in a different color, with a ruler to match, for each of the 3 teams, then shuffled them.  So, everyone's building the same things, but not necessarily at the same time.  One person from each team started off, and when they finished they had to take a picture of their creations with the rulers and then tag the next person to go build.

Then I split up the rest of the challenges into three different rooms.  We had LEGO tower races (build the tallest free-standing tower you can in 2 minutes), LEGO chopsticks (transfer LEGOs from one bowl to the other in 1 minute), and a LEGO toss into bathroom-sized cups, with points at the bottom for you to add up. At each "station" was a paper to record your name and stats, like the height of your tower or how many chopsticks or the points you got.  It made finding the "winner" of each category super easy, and let them know what they had to beat, while still giving them time to have fun wandering around a bit and socializing in more intimate settings.  :)  We had a "closing ceremonies" and I awarded the winners for each game and the quiz and guessing game earlier with prizes--like the LEGO salt/pepper shaker, or LEGO post-it notes, or keychain, or magnetic frame (I made that one myself), etc.

Then we had cake--and with 25 relighting candles spread out over the entire table, it took the entire party to put out the flames!  (Excuse the crazy melty appearance, I'm not a cake decorator by any means and I'm afraid of fondant!)

For this cake, I basically baked two 9x13" cakes and cut them into different sized rectangles (half the cake was the 2x3 LEGO).  I used mini muffins/cupcakes for the knobby parts.  Add some brightly colored icing, a green plastic tablecloth to put everything on, and voila!  Instant, easy (though time-consuming), affordable cake!

We ate, chatted, and played some more, with Paul opening gifts and having an all around grand time. The favors were some LEGO-like building block candy and some paper with crayons. People seemed to have a lot of fun reverting back to their childhood, as did we--it was nice to go back to the good old days of creative play. I had a blast putting the whole thing together, and now I'm looking through my birthday binder to try to figure out how to top it next year!

I don't know why I love birthdays so much...we celebrated them now and again at home, but growing up we didn't really make a huge deal out of 'em. But whatever the reason, I love them now, and I wish that we didn't always feel like the "fun" parties are just for little kids--as the LEGO party proved, you're only as young as you feel, and we all have a little child tucked deep inside of us.

If you want to see more pictures from the party, visit my facebook album!

Blessings, anyone?

Today I am grateful that I have some really amazing professors and TAs. I'm in school for 8 hours straight on Wednesdays, but because I have instructors that are engaging and who have wonderful experiences and insights, and who are all around interesting people with pleasant dispositions, those 8 hours fly by...at least compared to the alternative. I am grateful to be studying at a great university where I am learning so much from such fantastic people...honestly, the social life at BYU was a wonderful daydream, but the academic life usually wasn't engaging or challenging enough for me. Or perhaps it's just that with a few more years under my belt, I've changed and have a better approach now...either way, I am truly blessed to have the particular stresses and demands that being a full-time student at Purdue has given me.

Week of Firsts...

Paul & I had a busy week last week--and really in the last month. Last week was both of our first weeks at our new jobs, and it was the first week of school for me, as well. And I had two papers assigned on my first day! So much for "syllabus week." I got to talk to the head placement director about my student teaching placement for January and he was actually incredibly nice to me, which apparently is a first from the way my friends have talked about him. Paul & I also bought our first car. (Pictures to follow...)

I know that I am very blessed, and that there are wonderful things ahead of us, but to be honest, I am more than a little overwhelmed right now and wishing that I were someone better than me. I feel exhausted all the time, and I never get to see my husband during the week (he works late afternoons and evenings and I work/take classes EARLY mornings). We also haven't had enough time to go grocery shopping for real, so we stop by and pick up a few things that only end up making me hungrier and cost more money in the long run. So I'm tired, hungry, cranky from not seeing my husband, stressed about a $300 licensing test next week that I HAVE to pass, and overwhelmed ALREADY with school assignments and planning for student teaching...and no real end in sight. And it's only the second week. And that's only the stuff I'm choosing to tell you. *Sigh.*

Because of this, I am trying to count my blessings more (as hard as it is sometimes). So one new thing every day...today, I am grateful because on Sunday, Paul & I are going to be sustained in a totally rad new calling, in which we get to work together! So even though I may not see him for 5 days out of the week, our weekends are totally linked and I'll get to see him pretty much all the time. I think I'm going to like Sundays way better now. Also, I am grateful because my sister bought us unlimited texting, so Paul & I can send a few random messages throughout the day without actually having to coordinate our time. So at least that's something. I so totally could not have been one of those women who let her husband leave for months or years at a time, even for so noble a cause as to serve a mission. I am a very independent person, but I have become incredibly dependent on Paul for so many things, especially emotionally. I'm lucky that we get to spend as much time together as we do, and that even when we can't, there are other ways to stay close.

The shop is FINALLY set up!

Check it out...of course, I have no products up yet. But I WILL. :) And it will be glorious. I set up the account two months ago, but just finally got the money to set it up (yes, it's only a dollar, but that's a lot these days!). Anywho, without further ado...

http://celestesbestbuds.etsy.com

Check back frequently as I have some flowers here that I'm hoping to make into masterpieces soon! :) But even if you don't want to buy anything, oh well. :) Just enjoy the flowers themselves.

Countdowns...

I have recently been amusing myself with countdowns. A friend of mine (a few, actually) are leaving for their missions next month and are counting down the days on Facebook. I laughed, remembering "only yesterday" when they were trying to mentally calculate exactly when their mission calls would even come in the mail. Then I remembered my own countdown to our wedding, and the various countdowns of friends' babies, birthdays, and other big events. When I was a little girl, we had a Christmas Countdown calendar every year (often of our own making).

What is our obsession with time, with looking forward? And what do we do in the meantime? The few countdowns I remember, on a personal note, were not all that pleasant. Time stretched out the more I looked forward to something, and especially when those somethings involved a lot of planning on my part I became easily overwhelmed...my excitement only made me more irritable. I know you know what I mean. It's an almost universal phenomenon, I see it all the time, and sometimes I wonder why we torture ourselves with all the anticipation. Either we are all of us masochists, or there is something about looking forward to "better days" that we need like we need air. Or maybe both. Without a dream, and without an almost tangible timeline to follow as we realize it, maybe something in our cosmic DNA withers and dies. Even though I know better, I countdown to many things.

My question is, what are you looking forward to right now? What is on your countdown?

I really just love my job.

Life is full of surprises. :)