Happy Now--Feb. 16

I know that we are more than half way through February, and it is pretty late to be making New Year's Resolutions, but I have made a new one.  Looking back through old blog posts this week, I realized how much I enjoyed doing my weekly Happy Now posts (click here for the history on how these posts got started) and how good they were for me.  The posts encouraged me to look for the simple joys in my life each week and made me better appreciate the blessings that otherwise would have gone unnoticed (or at least undocumented).  After a brief attempt at a revival in 2012, the posts slowly petered out.  This time I am committed!  This Happy Now post will cover the past two weeks in February, but then I plan on making weekly posts.

1.  Sugar Cookies--After a rather disastrous first attempt at making sugar cookies in high altitude earlier this month, I called a good friend, Kristal, to get her advice on sugar cookie recipes.  She was kind enough to invite me over and share her secret family recipe for sugar cookies that turn out soft and fluffy, even in Pinedale!  The cookies we made together turned out perfectly.  I returned home with recipe-in-hand and a resolve to make a successful batch on my own.  Success!  Darren and I were quite pleased.

Sugar cookies ready to go in the oven

2.  Baking with Broadway--Let's start with a semi-well known fact about Kate: cooking isn't a strength of which I can boast.  Another lesser-known fact: out of necessity, cooking and baking have become much more frequent occurrences in the Myler household since moving to Pinedale.  New information: broadway playlists make the above mentioned fact much more enjoyable and less stressful for this girl.  It all started several months ago when I decided to put on a genius playlist of broadway songs while preparing dinner.  I started singing along and, before I knew it, dinner was about done.  Though still strictly recipe-bound, I hadn't panicked once about how the meal was turning out.  I even started a load of dishes just to stay in the kitchen and keep the playlist going.  This was a real breakthrough.  Since then, I play broadway soundtracks almost any time I find myself alone in the kitchen.  One of the most recent experiences was when making the sugar cookies mentioned in #1 above.  I can honestly say I look forward to baking now.  Cooking is slowly growing on me, too.  ;)

3.  Favorite Cookie Cutter--One more about sugar cookies and then I'll stop.  I just need to give a shoutout to whoever invented this cookie cutter.  True genius, am I right?

4.  Long-Term Sub Possibility--Since moving to Pinedale and receiving my Wyoming subbing license, I have enjoyed the opportunity to have new teaching experiences in elementary, jr. high, and high school classes.  Earlier this month, I received a call from the high school principal wondering if I could be a long-term sub for a social studies teacher going on maternity leave for the last month of school.  Darren and I have talked about my teaching full-time as a secondary teacher at some point if I ever wanted to try something other than elementary school.  And loving history as I do, I thought being a high school social studies teacher would be right up my alley.  So, to receive this call and the opportunity to try my hand at something I was considering doing full-time was really exciting for me.  Last week, I had the chance to sub for this teacher and really enjoyed the subjects and the students (mostly juniors and seniors).  I'm excited!

5.  Cross Country Skiing--Darren and I took advantage of the fresh snow two Saturdays ago and decided to go cross country skiing.  It had been several years since I had been, and it was Darren's first time.  He was a natural!  We had a great time.

6.  Persephone's Bakery--Back in September while my parents were visiting, we took a trip to Jackson and discovered Persephone's Bakery.  Not only are the sandwiches great and the cookies amazing, but the whole atmosphere of the little bakery is so charming.  Darren had last Tuesday off so we decided to go to Jackson and celebrate our Valentine's a little early.  We decided to have lunch at Persephone's and, once again, it didn't disappoint.  I wanted to capture the feel of the bakery in a picture, but found I was a little embarrassed to be taking pictures, so I just snapped a quick one of our table.  If you're ever in the area, though, I recommend grabbing lunch, or just a cookie and hot chocolate, at Persephone's.

7.  Valentine from Darren--One thing that has always impressed me about Darren is how thoughtful he is when it comes to giving gifts.  I tend to be the type to ask people what they want and then get them exactly that.  No surprises.  Darren, however, is sneaky, and that is part of what makes his gifts so great.  He remembers things I mention once that I would like and then buys them without me knowing.  Or he comes up with creative gift ideas on his own that are perfectly suited for the recipient (like the creative writing course he gave me two Christmases ago).  For Valentine's Day this year he surprised me with a beautiful soap dish and bird-shaped soaps for our bathroom that I had previously seen in a store in Jackson and loved.  It was perfect.  Love him.

8.  CTR4 Class--A few weeks ago I received a calling to teach two little girls and two little boys in my ward's CTR4 class on Sundays.  These kids are so cute.  Today in church, one usually pretty serious little guy was all giggles.  He was so full of hugs and smiles it made my heart melt.  The lesson today was on the birth of Christ.  As the lesson suggested, I turned off the lights in the classroom, had the kids close their eyes, and asked them to imagine that they were shepherds in the field the night Christ was born.  I asked them to imagine the stars in the sky, the grass beneath them, and the sheep around them.  Just as I was reaching the story's climax when the angel appears to announce the Savior's birth, this little guy jumped up (with his eyes still closed) and started walking around the other students acting something out.  I couldn't tell what he was doing, so I asked.  He told me that he was worried about his sheep and was putting up a fence to keep them safe.  The cuteness about killed me.  Since his eyes were closed through the entire episode, I decided it was best for all involved if I directed him back to his seat, but it sure made my day.

9.  Book Talk with Dad--Several posts ago I mentioned that I have weekly "book talks" with each of my parents.  I have loved our conversations.  My Dad and I have moved onto the book Literary Genius by Joseph Epstein.  The book gives a brief biography of 25 men and women who have created significant works of literature in English and an attempt to capture each person's genius.  Yesterday, Dad and I discussed the chapter on William Wordsworth.  It was one of my favorite conversations we've had since starting these book talks.  It may have been because we both love Wordsworth's poetry, or the insights my Dad shared, or the memories it brought back from a study abroad trip to the Lake District, but something about our discussion left me feeling so light-hearted and happy.  It was the highlight of my day.

10.  Gratitude Jar--Along with deciding to start up Happy Now posts again this week, I finally got around to putting together a little Gratitude Jar for me and Darren.  I found the idea on Pinterest, and am excited to read through the little tender mercies we have written about over the year on December 31, 2014.  The fact that "Count Your Blessings" was the opening hymn in Sacrament meeting today doesn't seem like a coincidence.  I am getting the message loud and clear that I need to start making gratitude more of a focus in my life.  I'm excited to get started!

Not very fancy, but this 2014 Gratitude Jar should do the job.

Arizona Adventures

I took Friday, February 15, off work for a fun four-day Valentine's/Presidents Day weekend.  Darren and I are approaching our year anniversary as Arizona residents, and we wanted to see some more of the sites this great state has to offer.  Visiting the Grand Canyon was high on our list since neither of us had been there.  Darren did a little research and found an awesome Bed and Breakfast in Flagstaff (about 1 1/2 hours from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon) called the England House (does he know me or what?).  I also got a tip from some students and work colleagues to visit a drive-through wild animal park near Flagstaff called Bearizona.  We had such a fun time!  A special thanks to our parents who gave us some travel money at Christmas for just such a trip.

BEARIZONA: Our first stop on the way into Flagstaff was this amazing animal park

The tour started with some good-sized mountain goats.  It was so exciting to see these animals up close!

Coming to say hello

This little guy got so close to the car it was hard to get a picture.

American Burros

Bison

Darren got this awesome shot of one of the gray wolves:

Some of the White Bison got a little close for comfort:

This guy was right outside my passenger side window.  

The car in front of us was sure having a good time. :)

Big Horned Sheep:

Black Bear:  I definitely let out a few anxious squeals in this part of the park.  When we first entered the bear territory, we could only see the bears from a distance.  As you can tell from the pictures, though, we quickly got a closer view!

We ended our visit in the walk-about part of the park in which we were allowed out of the car to see a few more species of animals.

We then checked into the charming England House Bed and Breakfast.  The house was built by a British architect with the last name of England in the early 1900s.  The couple who owned the Bed and Breakfast were so sweet and served some amazing breakfasts.  They had also done an excellent job restoring the house while still keeping many of the original features (such as the pressed-tin ceilings).

ENGLAND HOUSE B&B

Our room

150 year old claw-foot bath tub ... um, yes!

Native American Ruins/Grand Canyon

Our B&B hosts suggested we hit some old Native American ruins on our way up to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  They also told us about a "secret spot" we could hike to with amazing views of the Canyon.

Wukoki:  Hopi word for "Big House"--this was once home to two or three Indian families from 1120-1210.

Wukoki

This was a gathering place for those living in the area about 900 years ago.  The area included market-type structures and ball courts.

South Rim of Grand Canyon from "secret spot"

Lowell Observatory

On our last night in Flagstaff, we visited the Lowell Observatory near our B&B.  Lowell Observatory is where Pluto was discovered.  They offered a constellation course and had telescopes set up that allowed visitors to view Jupiter, the moon, and the Orion Nebula.  It brought back wonderful memories of the constellation cruises I took with my Dad during our summers at Stanford Sierra Camp on Fallen Leaf Lake.

Overall, it was an awesome weekend that allowed us both to appreciate so many of our Heavenly Father's creations.  What a beautiful world in which we live!