SO BORED

So I just finished a long night of parent teacher conferences...usually this should warrant some sort of celebration, right? I came home only to find an empty apartment...lame. Jeff won't be back until Saturday and I am already so bored and thinking about the four white mothers. Although I was excited when Jeff suggested some trips to visit some certain white mothers. Maybe. Hopefully. Unfortunately, we are in that same "poor" phase in life. I told Jeff I can't even remember the last time I went shopping and bought something. I'm pretty sure it was six months ago...yep. I'm positive actually. We just end up looking like scrubs and eating a lot of potatoes, ha ha ha. Okay, so maybe we eat more than potatoes, but didn't you just feel so sad for us when I said that? Don't you see those couples that get to travel all over the place, and they wear stylish clothes, and they have nice shoes, and they eat out everywhere, and they do tons of expensive things and wonder how the heck are they doing that? I just say that they have tons of debt and are living way beyond their means. It makes me feel better as I sit in our apartment in the same clothes I wore as a freshman at the Y and dreaming about future trips to Rome. And if we lived beyond our means, I'd be in NYC right now doing tons of fun stuff with Jeff and wearing super cute clothes. But it's not worth it, right? And we'll be stronger people when it's all over, right? Just like in those stories?

Living Life as an Ensign Article

Allow me to explain. For several years, I've read Ensign articles detailing the poverty-stricken years of young LDS couples struggling through the stressful, tender, life-enriching phase of graduate school and/or the young poor years. Due to some bizarre mix of nostalgia and longing (I blame my parents' tales of their days in Madison and my own childhood love of "The Gift of the Magi"), I wanted to be such a couple.

Enter last night's budget check. Oh. My. Are we really that poor? When did that happen? Why doesn't it feel as cozy and heart-warming as the stories? The articles I read always had a tinge of the sweet about them. Let me tell you, though: I felt nothing sweet when my heart constricted and panic set in. I foresaw five years of toil and constant stress.

Enter a calm husband, who reminded me that we have savings, who reminded me that our budget actually covers our necessary expenses, who reminded me that this was indeed a phase, who reminded that me we felt excellent about this decision, especially the decision that is leading to the most imminent major expenses, etc. My breath seeped back in...slowly.

No doubt the couples behind those Ensign articles had moments of sheer terror too. However, their growth occurred despite the panic (even more likely because of the panic). As time passed, hard days got swallowed by moments of insight. So that is the new goal: look for the growth; ignore the panic. And maybe one day I'll be able to walk into Banana Republic again.

you'll understand why

I had to take this photo while driving... because I knew you all had to see it. (zoom in on the license plate)

H-B-W Strikes Again

So remember H-B-W? Yeah, well I thought once married life began, it would cease to exist. However, I was sadly mistaken because H-B-W has struck again, but this time in second grade!

With the school year coming to an end, my students started delivering presents to me. My favorite part was the thank you notes from the second graders. I'd received one that told me "You're the best Queen" and inside it said "To Mrs. Queen Yongbrg" (yeah let's just say not a single student finished the year able to correctly spell my name). But there are also humorous pictures in the cards as well. One student drew a picture of me, very tall of course, and a tiny, tiny boy beside me (he looks more like a preschooler than an 8 year old). I was patting him on the head with a speech bubble that said, "I like you." He's the class clown, and let's be honest everyone loves people that are funny. I guess he picked up on that too.

But as I continued to receive cards and pictures, I was very speechless when a cute girl in my class handed me her card with a picture folded inside. Looking at the crayon drawing, I realized I was in the picture and the girl was drawn a lot smaller beside me. She had a speech bubble that said, "graet bod!" I read it again because what second grade girl would write a note saying that to her teacher? I took it home to have Jeff confirm what I'd read was correct. He got a good laugh out of it. Jeff told me to hang on to it because I'd probably want to read it when I am pregnant :) After his confirmation I remembered hearing her say it at recess to another little girl, so I knew she must be telling me "great bod" in her picture. Is that weird or what?

So my three white mothers, it appears H-B-W cannot hide. The legend lives on even in second grade...

Trip to Utah? No.

So, I thought I might be coming to Utah to visit. And then there were a bunch of layoffs and other cuts at work, then Alexis called and is desperate for family visits in her advanced-pregnancy state, and then someone offered to subsidize by plane ticket. So I'm going to Portland next week for a couple of days. Utah will have to wait until I am more solvent. Or you could come visit me here... Miss you all!

I'm a Stalker

For some bizarre reason, I've been pondering the blogging world lately. (Forgive me, My4WM, if this is too personal-sounding of a blog for a coauthored site.) Although this online-writing world seems basic (review the day/week, post your thoughts, attempt to sound witty, add some links, etc.), there's actually a complex, interconnected sub-existence to blogging. And I think blog-stalking is at the heart of it. I have a confession: I online stalk (my students would say "stock") several poor souls. Squandering time to religiously follow the lives of people I have never met (...or people I've met but they wouldn't remember me...or people I've read about on a stalkee's blog...or people I've read about in newspapers) relaxes me. I feel sneaky without being creepy. Embarrassingly enough, my sister and I have discussed people we pretend to know, and we can sketch out a decent picture of their lives. It's like a hobby. But I have to wonder if it's a healthy habit. So I'm cutting back. Time limits. Certain days of the week. Only when grading is done. A self-rationing process. Before I stop cold, though, I have to ask...

Am I alone in this? If so, I will try to break my addiction entirely. If not, please let me know. Even better, if you are blog-stalking this site, drop an anonymous post, and I will feel vindicated in my comfortable, incognito life behind the computer. 

Also, moving day is fast approaching. We don't have to make a decision until April 15, but I'm struggling. We've created a pro/con template for the schools in each city, but I feel we should consider the wishes of friends (who might visit us) and possible internet stalkers (who might like to hear about the day-to-day in a specific part of the US). Where should we go?

1. Pasadena, CA

2. Santa Barbara, CA

3. Boston, MA

4. Madison, WI

5. Ithaca, NY

Come live with me and be my Love

Well, maybe not quite with the same sentiment as Marlowe, but I think you should all come live, visit, or whatever here in California! I definitely would love to see my 4WMs! To tempt you further, here are a few pictures from Laguna Beach when Tricia and I were down there right after Christmas.

Are you tempted to come live with me yet?

So, Jen, I think you and Nigel definitely need to come and consider Santa Barbara, or San Diego (San Diego is a little closer, though, so that's probably my first choice - although UCI is REALLY close!).

Sarah and Whitney, I think you guys should definitely come for visits! If anybody wants to come, you can always stay at our house and I am always up for a Disneyland trip!

Anyway, things have been coming along pretty normally here. Nicole, my friend who told me about my job and has been living with us for the past 4 months, is moving to Orlando this week. It will be sad not to have her in the office with me, but I have some pretty awesome coworkers, so luckily she is not my only friend in the office!

Erik is home from school right now, and my cousin Noel is living with us also, so things are a bit cozy right now. We will still have a guest room open for any visitors, though - hint, hint!

I am also frantically trying to save money right now to be able to go with my parents this summer to pick up Kurt in Russia. He's acutally in Kazakhstan right now, but will be in Russia again before the end of his mission. I really hope that I can save enough to go!

I recently have a new calling: Education Counselor for Relief Society. I think the Bishop was amused that I was so excited to not be the RS President. The person who was called is just perfect and I can have fun while not quite having all of the responsibility and burden of that heavier calling! It also gives me a chance to get to know more people in the ward. It is definitely an interesting dynamic in the ward. Pretty young overall. Makes it a little difficult sometimes to feel connected, but oh well! We have a ward trip this weekend to the mountains, so that should be fun as well.

I'm trying to think of any other updates that I have...I think that's pretty much it! Not too much going on. I miss you all! Oh, and yes, Jen and Sarah, I have gotten your various messages! I will try to be better about keeping in touch, but I think we all know that that is a constant goal with me! :)

I hope you are all doing well! Jen - keep dreaming about California so that we can make it come true!

Going to California

At least that's an option. And during the deepest cold of Utah winter, it seems like an excellent option. On Monday our mailbox held an early present: an acceptance letter to UC - Santa Barbara. N wasn't expecting to hear back from schools until around February, and he's hypothesizing (like a good scientist) that California schools try to nab those in winter-locked states by enticing them during the bitter months. Plus, he gets to visit (all-expenses paid, mind you--where are the perks for liberal arts majors?) during February, one of my least favorite months of dark and frost and snow. 

It's a ploy to win us over...and right now it's working. In fact, I've started dreaming of California and sun. I woke up yesterday telling N--sans preface to this comment-- that my only worry was navigating the crazy freeway system (Jo, you're allowed to laugh right now). Luckily, he understood my mind's meanderings: "So we're moving to California now, huh?" Any thoughts?