It's not Christmas Anymore!

I can't believe I haven't written on my blog since Christmas. I guess I've just had too much fun reading Melanie, Kim, Amy and Cassie's blogs to write my own. So, here it is February and even close to March. So, what's been going on lately? Well, besides work, I've been enjoying hiking with Linda, going to the snow in Flagstaff with Amy and Cassie, and going to see Lion King. I'll try to add some pictures soon. So take care.

Yikes, Only 20 days til Christmas!

I can't believe how fast this time of year "speeds" by. Have you ever noticed that time actually speeds up from October to January and actually "slows" down June to August? If you don't believe me just ask anyone who's lived in Mesa, AZ at least a few years.

Well, I'm actually almost ready for Christmas. I actually did pretty much all of my Christmas shopping on the internet this year. I've decided it has some perks. You can compare prices with all the stores and you don't have to drive anywhere or hassle with all the crowds. And everything I've bought has had free shipping. Another perk is everything I bought had so sales tax and several things had pretty big rebates. So, I figure I saved quite a bit compared to shopping at stores. So, I'll find out at Christmas if it was all worth while.

I hope everyone is surviving this challenging time and that Christmas will be a special day despite those crazy things happening around us.

I'm pretty busy with my job so I don't have as much time to blog as I'd like. My daughters are pretty good bloggers though and so I'd recommend checking out their blogs. Melanie can tell you all about life in Equador at melanieandjosh.blogspot.com and Amy always has fun and interesting things to say at ames-world.blogspot.com . So, take care til I have time to write again.
Julie.

I Love October!

I have decided that October is my favorite month of the year. Why, you ask? Well, it's finally cooler. I can actually go outside and enjoy myself and take in the nice cool evenings. Halloween is right around the corner with all its yummy candy, parties and decorations. Thanksgiving is coming soon and all the Christmas craziness hasn't quite started yet. It's the season of "anticipation" and excitement. I guess that's why it's my favorite time of year. Oh, yeah, and how could I forget, all the new t.v. shows are finally here and no more boring re-runs.

Wow! It's been a long time!

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted. Life has a way of going on whether you have time for it or not. So, what have I been doing? Well, I've been enjoying my cute little grandbaby Owen, who's leaving in 1 1/2 weeks for Equador (Waaah!)

I've also kept pretty busy at work. I started teaching some new classes and have discovered new challenges to overcome. One is having new students from Somalia who can't read or write anything (not even their name or address). I'm also looking forward to the end of their month long fast. They can't eat or drink anything during the day until 7:00 at night. As the weeks have gone on I see them getting more and more tired and weak. It's challenging for them to learn under these circumstances. So, I've been learning a lot about their Muslim culture and their dedication to it.

One of the most interesting parts of this new job is learning about so many new cultures. I teach students from Somalia, Vietnam, China, Eritrea, El Salvador, and Mexico.

I've also been busy writing and planning for the Primary Sacrament meeting Program. Our ward will be presenting it in October. I'm happy to have it written and now just need to figure out who will be performing which parts.

So, that's my "exciting" life pretty much in a "nut" shell. I wish I could write about my life in as interesting and cute of a way as my daughter Amy. So, my recommendation is that you take a peak at her blog because you'll get a kick out of it and it will put a smile on your face.

I'm a Grandma!

Melanie's baby was born Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 3:17 a.m. (Chicago time). He weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz. Everything went well and Melanie and baby Owen are both doing great. His full name is Owen Caleb Wallbrecht. He's a little baldy with just a touch of blond hair in the back. I hope to tell more soon as I'll be leaving Friday morning to fly to Chicago. I'll stay until Monday night and help Melanie and the baby. It should be a great experience to be a "Grandma". I will write more soon. Oh yeah, some other exciting news is Amy's coming home on Sunday. I will be glad to see her again and wish I wasn't missing her homecoming.

Yikes! I'm almost a grandmother!

Well, one more week and I should officially be a grandmother. I actually like the term grandma better or "gwamma". No stuffy "grandmother" for me. Melanie is suppose to have her baby induced on Aug. 11. I will be flying to Chicago on Aug 15 until the 18th. It should be exciting! Also, Amy is finally coming home on Aug 17th. I've really missed her and will be glad to have her home. I hope the experience has been worth it all in the end. This weekend I will be leaving Friday for a work "retreat" up in Flagstaff. We'll all be going up together in a van and staying in the same hotel. I hope this helps me to get to know the people in AALL (Arizona association for lifelong learning) better. All the people from Rio Salado will be going together (there are a bunch of us). A good chance to network. So, I should be pretty busy the next few weeks.

I look forward to nicer weather soon. My favorite weather time is Fall so I'm looking forward to Oct and Nov. I just don't enjoy the hot summers here. Well, that's about all that's going on. Cassie will be in 9th grade at Taylor and Amy will be in her 3rd year at ASU (she was awarded a special scholarship by ASU (on top of her other scholarship so that should help). That's about all for now.

LIfe right at this moment

This is my life right at this moment. I just finished my first month at my new job and it's gone better and faster than I expected. The next week I won't have to teach students and I'll finally get to put all my "stuff" away in files etc.
I'm really grateful to have a summer job. There have been a lot of unexpected and unusual expenses this year and money is tighter than ever. I don't know how I made it all the other summers without work. It's not so bad working in the summer either when you come home at 8:00 at night cuz the freeway isn't as crowded and it's not very hot. Plus these 3 day weekends are really nice. As soon as I get a few paychecks under my belt, I want to take Cassie to the Grand Canyon during one of my 3 day weekends.
Amy called yesterday and she sounds happy and like she's surviving. I sent her a box full of silly things like gummy worms, a funny looking hair band, an arm band that said, "don't touch", a candy necklace, and some other goofy things. She said it made her laugh so I'm glad. I'm sure Amy would love letters, emails, or whatever from family and friends. Well, I guess I better go figure out what I'm gonna do with this weekend. Talk again soon. Oh yeah, one more thing, I just started Facebook, (much to Amy's horror!) but it's been kind of fun. It's actually a better way to talk to more people and I even ran across some old friends from high school. It's also fun to see what all my nieces, nephews , etc. are doing. Well, take care.