Glorious Comeback

So I've decided to blog again. Even though I know I probably read these posts more often than anyone else reads them, I just can't seem to walk away forever. Besides, with all of my new found time, redesigning my blog has never seemed so fun! So what's been going on with the Coffeys over the last four months or so?

This semester has been busy...to say the least. Even if I wasn't a half-hearted, non-commital blogger, I would not have had much time to devote to it. Student teaching took up the majority of my time. Straight from there I went to work each day. I was averaging about 12 hour days although there were several 13 and 14 hour days in there. It was rough. But sooo worth it!! I LOVED student teaching. I never thought I would enjoy the junior high as much as I did. And of course, I love my job too! So doing math like 60 hours a week was fun :) Student teaching came and went...(I wish all of my semesters at BYU went by that fast). My last day was last Friday. My cooperating teacher and my students did a little surprise celebration for me. They signed cards and brought treats...it was so fun! I'll really miss those kiddos! But it wasn't all sad...ending student teaching means: GRADUATION!!! I'm sooo excited to graduate! All the fam is coming up which is always fun and I can't wait to officially be DONE.

This semester has been crazy for Brock too. He's still working full time and this semester he started back to school full time at UVU. Most of his classes were evening classes since he was working. Full time job + night classes three days a week + plus mutual (he's in the Young Men's Presidency) + plus a Saturday class = BUSY. We basically saw each other for about a couple hours a day...it was kind of awful. Brock's last week of classes is this week and then finals are this weekend/next week. So he's almost done too!

So what's next for the Coffeys?

I've started the job hunt. In most cases, job searching sucks. But I must say, I've enjoyed it so far. There's something different between job hunting just for a job, and job hunting for your career. It's so exciting! Many districts still haven't posted the majority of their jobs, but some have gotten an early start. I've applied to several positions so far, but since this week was spring break, it has put a hold on the whole process. So far I've had 1 interview at Spanish Fork High School. The position was only part time (which I really don't want) but I figured it would be good interview experience. Monday I have an interview at Westlake High School. For fear of jinxing myself, I won't say that I REALLY, REALLY would love this job...oops. Fingers crossed! This coming week I expect to hear about more interviews. I'm hoping I have a job by like May or June so we'll see!

Brock is going to take the summer off from school and just work. He's going to start back at school this fall and cut back on work. Until he graduates he's going to focus on school and I'll be bringing home the bacon as a teacher (yeah right). I'll work through this summer at my current job. This summer should be nice. We'll hopefully get a couple trips down to San Diego in. I need my fix...and a tan. Overall I'm just excited to slow things down again for a little while. I'm excited to cook again, to clean again, to be a WIFE again.

Out With the Old, in With the New (Year)

Well I suppose it's time for my bi-annual blog update. I always swear I'm going to do better at this but oh well. It's been a busy busy time since my last update and so much has happened. Let's see, where to start...

I'm officially done with school at BYU! I finished my last classes, completed my last finals, and officially got my grades (I passed, phew!). It's kind of a weird feeling knowing I won't be back on campus until graduation...but I'm on to bigger and better things. I can't wait to start my student teaching this week! I'm so excited to meet my cooperating teacher, find out what classes I'll be teaching, and just get this whole thing rolling!

After finals were over, Brock and I got to go home to San Diego for a week and a half!! It was amazing!! We had so much fun with both of our families and friends. Everytime we go back to visit, we remember how many awesome people we know down there and that just gives us extra motivating to get back there quickly! Here's a few of the things we got to do down there:

We saw an Aztecs basketball game. They're ranked 7th in the country right now!

We got to eat real Mexican food!

Brock played in his annual alumni soccer game at Helix. He scored 2 goals!

We celebrated Christmas!

We went to Sea World!

And of course, we visited the beach.

We were also down there for my older sister Natalie's wedding. We had her bridal shower the day before, decorated for the reception, attended the sealing in the San Diego Temple, attended the reception where we got to see lots of friends, and finally got to do clean-up duties. Here are a few pictures from all of the wedding festivities:

Overall, our time spent in San Diego was wonderful. We can't wait to get back there to raise our family some day. When we got back to Provo, Brock and I were able to celebrate our first anniversary together. It's hard to believe it's already been an entire year! It has honestly been the best year of my life (definitely beat that year long engagement crap). I love Brock so much! He is my best friend in the entire world and I can't wait to start our family together.

2010 definitely ended with a bang for us. We were able to bring in the new year with some friends and now we're excited for what 2011 will bring. Happy New Year!

Home Stretch!

So this week has been great on the school front! Tomorrow are my last classes at BYU...ever!! So exciting to have my classes done! I just have a few finals to get through next week and I'm done on campus! Which brings me to my next portion of excellent news...student teaching!! I got my assignment last Friday (finally). I'll be teaching at Spanish Fork Junior High School! At first I was a little disappointed that I didn't get high school, but I'm excited for the experience at this level, and who knows, maybe I'll be converted! I've heard nothing but good things about my cooperating teacher so I'm super excited to meet her and start working with her in January! Also, I got my Praxis (the licensing test teachers have to take on content knowledge) scores back today! I did really well so that was exciting. (I passed in case you were wondering.)

So in a nutshell I'm 3 finals, 3 1/2 months of student teaching, and 1 graduation away from being a teacher!! I have never been sooo excited about the career that I've chosen. I can't wait to teach!!


"Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas." -Albert Einstein

Update.

So I have mixed feelings about blogging. I am thoroughly convinced that nobody reads this except for me. However, just when I think I should quit, something inside of me still has the desire to type out various events of my life for an unknown audience in cyberspace. So here I am, providing an update of my life over the past month or so.

1. Another Glenn wedding is in the works! My older sister Natalie is engaged! I've never met the guy, so I can't exactly say I'm excited for a new brother-in-law, but I'm sure he's a good guy. As she has been calling me asking about various wedding plans it really makes me NOT miss planning a wedding ha. There were some parts that were fun, but overall actual marriage is way better than the wedding day.

2. Pictures have made it to the walls of the Coffey home! After almost 10 months of marriage, I finally printed pictures, framed them, and got some decorations on our barren walls! I have one "family" wall that has various pictures of our wedding, Brock and me, and the beach to remind us of where we're from. Also the Proclamation is on this wall too. Then above our entertainment center I put a picture of Christ, a copy of the Living Christ, and a picture of the San Diego Temple. Growing up there was always church related art and decorations on our walls. I wanted to be sure to put some of these up in my home as a constant remember to strive to be better people!

3. Fall is here! I took this picture out of my living room window today of the pretty changing leaves. You can't really tell in the picture, but today is a wet, cold, gloomy day. I was ready for the change in weather. My first Utah summer was painful, so cooler temperatures are fine by me. This storm we're having right now is definitely a cold one! We turned our heater on for the first time today! Even though I hate the messes that come with rain and snow, I love the snuggling, the hot chocolate, and the cute clothes!

4. School is going really well! This is my last semester of classes so it's nice to go out with a bang. My first round of midterms just got done and I did really well on them! It's crazy to believe this semester is already more than half over. It feels like we just started! But I feel very fortunate to be in the classes that I am in. I have great teachers (which in a college math department is difficult to come by) and I like the material of my classes. Check out this picture of one of my professors. Yes, that's an elderly math professor sitting Indian style on top of a table.

5. This Friday is mine and Brock's 10 month mark! Before you know it, it will be a whole year! Time flies! I love married life and love living with my best friend! I love that he consistently brings home flowers, he is always willing to make dinner because I get off work later than him, he rubs my back even though he knows I won't to it back in return, and he always tells me he loves me!

Well there you have it, the past month of my life in a nutshell.

When it Rains it Pours...

No, literally...I got soaking wet walking to my car today.

So the past three days have been pretty gosh darn awful. It just seemed like one thing after another, after another. It all started when I remembered at 10pm on Sunday night that I had a paper due the next morning at 8am. This is where the snowball begins. I stayed up late writing my paper, I couldn't fall asleep because my mind was churning from writing my paper, I was exhausted the next morning because I couldn't fall asleep, I was late to class because I was moving slowly since I was so tired, I realized it was the day that I was supposed to be there 10 minutes early because I had a role in the lesson that day, after class I couldn't think straight in my meeting with my professor because I was tired (so I looked like an idiot), because I had my meeting with my professor (which went long because I was "unprepared") I didn't have a chance to finish my math homework which was also due that day, I had a sore throat that was progressively getting worse as the day went on. That was just Monday people. Tuesday consisted of waking up at 5:30 am with a horrible cold, having another meeting with my professor (since my first one was a disaster), spilling an entire soda (which was meant for my husband as a surprise) on my foot and car floor, and then staying up late to finish a lesson plan. Today I had to teach my lesson with my lovely cold-voice, I skipped my basketball class (which is my release in life) because I was feeling so awful, and then walked for ten minutes in uninterrupted, pouring rain, topped off by a possessed car ride in which my car seat electronically moved on its own smashing me between it and the steering wheel.

Needless to say, I've been complaining lately...a lot. And while it's easy to feel sorry for myself and complain about the thousand things that have gone wrong, I know that for every bad thing that has happened, I have at least 10 good things in my life to be grateful for. And so, to make up for my sorry attitude, I am going to list the top ten things that I am grateful for at this very minute:

1. My Husband- he works so hard, takes such good care of me, and is always there to listen. He's my best friend and I love him so much!
2. My Dad- I call him every single day. It started out for him, but now it's just as much for me. He's one of my best friends and I love talking with him.
3. Calista- I love that I have my older sister here in Provo. I love how close we are and I love how much she gets along with Brock. I look up to her a lot and I'm lucky to have a sister like her.
4. Basketball- I love that I've found something in life that I'm good at, I enjoy, and serves as a release from my busy life.
5. Education- I love attending school. I love math. I love helping people learn. I can't wait to be a teacher!
6. The Temple- I was up at 5:30 on Tuesday to go to the temple. How lucky am I that I live 5 minutes away from the Provo Temple? It feels awesome knowing I'm living worthily to go whenever I need to.
7. Prayer- I love that I can pray when I'm feeling so crummy. I love that it is often my husband's first suggestion when I complain to him. I love that I get answers!
8. My Home- The more time we spend here, the more it's becoming a home. Slowly, more pictures are making it up on the walls, more messes are being made, and more projects are being completed. I love that the spirit can dwell here.
9. My Job- I know I am so blessed to work where I do. My job is wonderful. I have an awesome boss and awesome co-workers. Heck, even the students are awesome! I couldn't have found anything that suited me better.
10. My Couch- It's such an inviting place to avoid homework, cuddle with my husband, watch sports, or just relax. It's the first "big" purchase that Brock and I made as a couple and one of the few things we bought brand new. It's like a symbol of our new lives together...and it's pretty dang comfy too :)

I have a wonderful life. Even on the bad days, I know that I am blessed.

Home Improvement (minus Tim Allen)

So Brock and I rent a small duplex here in Provo, Utah. We have no plans to stay in Utah long term and thus renting here is perfect for us. We love our little house and even though it isn't actually ours, we've definitely made the most of it. Being renters, home improvement is an interesting thing. There are a million projects I could list that I would LOVE to do around here, however I never want to invest any money here since I know it's not ours. However, this weekend Brock and I completed our first home improvement project!

Ok, so the purpose of this picture is not my adorable husband (he was ready to shovel snow for the first time at our house ha), instead turn your attention to the door at his left. It is the door to our furnace and water heater. It's the first thing I see when I walk in the house, it's visible from the living room, and of course I always have to look at it while I'm cooking or eating. The tenants before us must have glued a white board or bulletin board of some sort to the door. When they left, they just ripped it off and lovingly left the next tenants with their glue remnants. I have complained about this door for the past 8 months, but this weekend we finally did it! Ok so I know this isn't exactly extreme home makeover or anything, but I just don't think anyone can quite understand how much I hated this door. When my dad visited last, he brought up a sander for us. The plan was to sand the door down and then repaint it, and so that is exactly what we did!

We went to Lowe's for the sandpaper and paint and then embarked on our little project. Brock did most of the sanding work. I wanted to be a part of it so he humored me and let me try. I'm not the strongest person ever and my arm got tired fast haha. After he finished sanding I swept it and began the painting process. We were originally going to paint it brown again, but then we decided on white. Since it's not a door we use often we wanted it to blend in with the walls a littler more, so white it was. I did a lot of the painting. In high school, I repainted my whole bedroom so I guess you could say I'm a painting pro. While I painted, Brock worked on some odds and ends with the cars and our bikes. As it dried, I helped Brock with his other projects (I'm lying, I sat in a chair and watched him work...don't judge me.) It was really nice to work outside with Brock. When I was growing up some of my favorite memories were weekend yardwork under the instruction of my dad. I really love being outside and I know this weather won't last long so it was fun to be out there while we can. So back to the door...it dried, we hung it, and it looks fabulous! I'm so incredibly excited about it. Even though it's something so small, you would not believe the difference it makes in our house! The first like 5 times I came through the front door I went on and on about how much I loved it and how much better it looked! In fact, Brock got so annoyed with how many times I said it that he threatened to put it back the way it was. So now I just silently admire it :)

Even though it wasn't some huge thing, it definitely got me excited to own a house someday. I can't wait for the freedom to change things however I want whenever I want. But for the time being, our little duplex-complete with a nice new door- is just fine.

Back to School...

Classes started this week. That is the last time I will say (or type) that in my undergraduate college career. Can I get a WOOHOO?!!! I started to prepare for the semester last weekend. I had to get my ID badge that I'll wear in the public schools (it just identifies me and certifies that I've been fingerprinted and had a background check). I also began my student teaching application that's due on the 12th. Not going to lie, as I bought my books, got my ID badge, and filled out my application I got extremely excited about my career choice. There were many days early on that I doubted my program. I thought Theory of Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Differential Equations, Fundamentals of Mathematics, and of course Linear Algebra would never end. I had a mid-college-life crisis one semester and thought about changing to a major that will not be named (maybe I'm ashamed). But man am I glad that I stuck it out. And now, here I am at the end.

The best part about this all is that I really like my classes this semester. So I'm having my cake and eating it too! I'm taking MathEd 377/378 which is the practicuum in my program. We basically study how to be better math teachers. We watch clips of teachers and analyze the tasks that they give and the questions they ask. We also prepare several of our own lesson plans on various topics and teach them to each other. We'll also go out into the public schools to observe and on some occasions teach. I really like my teacher for this course and I'm excited to start teaching! I'm also taking Math 300- The History and Philosophy of Mathematics. This class is exactly what it sounds like...ha. We study this history of mathematics up until about the 1700s. My professor for this class is awesome and I'm really excited about it. Finally, I'm taking Math 355- Graph Theory. I was kind of nervous about this one, but it turns out I'm really enjoying it. My last class is of course...basketball haha. This is the fifth time I've taken it (by choice, not because of failure ha). I've found that it really helps me release a lot of stress from my crazy major.

So there it is, the last 10.5 credits before I student teach. Unfortunately, I don't get to choose where I will do my student teaching. I requested to be placed down in Nebo school district which is where I work. It would be close to work and I know a lot of the students at various schools from my job (I'm the head math tutor at Success Education Center in Spanish Fork). Anyways, here's hoping I'll get to teach down there. Then, it will all be official in April: graduation, complete with credentials and my license to teach! It's crazy to think that in less than a year I'll be in my own classroom, on salary (as minimal as it may be), and officially be starting my career! A lot of people question whether I'll find a teaching job (given the several budget cuts and unemployed teachers in the nation). Luckily, math is always in demand. Last year, in the heart of all this economic mess, every Math Ed graduate from BYU found a teaching a job! So that was definitely good news. So here's hoping.

It feels really good that I can type the remainder of my college career and the beginning of my life's career in just a few short paragraphs. Self, good day.