Job Update

With the coming of the new year, I figured it was about time to give an update on just what it is I've been up to for the past several months seeing as the last time I wrote I was just recently returned from my honeymoon and I've now been married almost 8 months. My only excuse is that my life took off on a hectic whirlwind in that time and it was all I could do to just keep afloat, let alone blog about it all.

You see, after my honeymoon, it quickly dawned upon me that fall would soon be here. And with the coming of fall meant that schools would be starting up again. And since I am licensed to teach, I decided it was about time to start putting my education and qualifications to use. So, I updated my resume, filled out more job applications for three different school districts than I care to remember, completed dozens of interviews, and still didn't have a job within just weeks of the start of school.

Just when despair was about to overwhelm me, I struck gold. I was hired as a third grade teacher at Altara Elementary. Within two weeks of getting hired, we moved to Sandy, set up my classroom, and started my first year of teaching (not to mention helping with my younger sister's wedding and making a trip down to Arizona for her open house). Little did I know that these hectic couple of weeks were just the beginning of the craziness that was about to ensue.

For the next four months, school was my life. I was always stressed about planning lessons, grading on the weekends, and not sleeping well. As much as I loved working with the kids, this stress slowly began to eat away at my desire for the profession. I didn't have any free time that wasn't spent thinking/worrying about school. I was CONSTANTLY sick and just plain feeling crappy. In the end, the rewards were not substantial enough for me to justify ignoring my own health and sanity, so I came to the determination that I would not be returning after Christmas Break.

I have absolutely no regrets from the time I spent in the classroom. I learned more in those couple of months from my students, principal, and fellow third grade teachers than all of my college classes combined. I was able to experience first hand the joy that comes when the lights click on in students' head as they come to understand difficult concepts. And because I was teaching third grade, I knew that most of my students still highly cared about me simply because I was their teacher. My team of teachers was amazing at helping me plan lessons, collect data, and stay somewhat sane.

I don't know where I will go from here. Who knows, maybe one day I'll get back in the saddle and try it again. But, for now, I will cherish the memories I made in my brief stint as a teacher.

First Half of Teaching Experience

Second Half of Teaching Experience

Nuptials, Honeymoon, and Luau, Oh my!

"Hang onto your hats and glasses, folks, cause this here's the wildest ride in the wilderness!" --Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Okay, so this may not be the wildest ride in the wilderness, but it is a monumental occassion. I, Kaysie, am coming out of blogging hibernation after three long months. For those of you who may actually still think to check this on occassion, I appreciate the votes of confidence. And know that while I myself may have fallen silent on the blogging front, I like to think that I have perfected the art of blog stalking and love reading your updates, philosophies, opinions, and other random thoughts.

Phew, I think that's enough for today. Baby steps, right? No??? Hmm...Well I suppose I have enough to update to keep typing.

Last time I wrote, I had just agreed to marry Jason and we were just beginning the stress-filled process of planning a wedding. Thankfully, that is all over now. As of 1 o'clock on May 16, I am officially Mrs. Kaysie Ziebarth. Crazy, eh? I couldn't have asked for a more amazing wedding day. While I may not have been the girl to have my wedding planned out by the time I was 16, I had still been preparing for this day my entire life. And it was well worth the wait!

I was so grateful for all of the family and friends who made the effort to come and support us (I'm still working on thank you cards). It wouldn't have been complete without them! Thank you!!! Click here to see your pictures! The weather was perfect and turned out to be one of only two rainless weekends since then. This made picture taking much less of a drag and enhanced the setting of our reception, since it was up Provo Canyon. It was nice to see all of the planning come together for such a fantastic result (if I do say so myself). If you haven't seen pictures yet and would like to, click on one of the following cuz I'm too lazy to upload them again:

Temple Pictures
Reception

After the whole event was over and done with, we had one week back at work before we left for our honeymoon, for which we were California bound. We started off at Disney's California Adventure for a day, Disneyland the next, and Magic Mountain for a few hours the next day. It was great to be able to share one of each of our favorite vacation spots with eachother!

The day we were in Disneyland I was also celebrating my 23rd birthday so I got a pin to wear so that everyone was wishing me a happy birthday all day long. We also got a birthday fun card with $70 on it to spend on merchandise in the park. Definitely one of my best and most memorable birthdays!

After we were all theme-parked out, we headed to Oceanside and Jason's family to help prepare for our Open House Luau! His parents had been cooking and pulling pork for days and I've never cut so many vegetables in one day, but the whole event turned out great! Although it made us miss Hawaii something fiere, it was nice to be able to meet more of Jason's family and friends and get a feel for the people who have supported him and helped him become the wonderful man he is today. Once again for pictures, click here!

So yes, I am still LOVING married life. I am filled with joy at having tied myself to my best friend for time and all eternity. I look forward to strengthening our relationship over time and continuing to learn more about him. :)

Valentine's Day and SO much more!

I know I've been a slacker of late and that even my most recent entries merely scratched the surface and were more for entertainment than informational. But the reason for that is that I was thinking/feeling things which I should not have been. I had jumped the gun and was utterly ashamed at that. But there is no longer a need for concern. The situation resolved itself in a spectacular manner this weekend. And it is that resolution that I intend to share with y'all today.

This weekend was Valentine's Day. For those who know me at all, Valentine's Day is by far my least favorite holiday. And it wasn't just because I didn't have a significant other to share it with (although I'm sure that didn't help matters). My Valentine's Days have just always been subpar. Plans didn't work out, I'd end up fighting with some of my closest friends, and worst of all was high school when people were so outwardly affectionate to "the one." The one that they had gotten together with a week before and would break up with a week later (if it even lasted that long). It was disgusting. However, despite my distaste of the holiday for personal reasons, overall, I felt the holiday had potential for people who actually had someone to express love for, as long as it was tastefully done. That being said, I was flabbergasted as to how I would approach the holiday now that I have a very significant other.

He seemed rather excited for the day, not to mention intent on reversing my opinion of the holiday. So I decided not to put up a fuss. I even got a bit excited about getting his gift together: a package with a little bit of Hawaii inside including Hawaiian music, Hawaiian drinks, tropical straws with umbrellas, a Hang Loose vinyl sticker, a tiki cup, mini palm trees, and a handmade latchook rug with a Hawaiian scene. You see, the original plan for Valentine's Day had been a trip to Hawaii, but due to circumstances out of our control, that didn't pan out. So I decided to bring a bit of Hawaii to him.

Thus with the exchange of gifts, our evening began. One of his conditions for the day had been that he got to plan everything and that I would be completely clueless. Being out of the know is also something that tends to drive me insane, but I once again allowed it (man, I really am a sucker for the kid!). We headed off to find a restaurant. His first plan had been to go to the Cheesecake Factory, but in calling ahead and finding out they had a three and half hour wait for a table, he opted for plan B, Tepanyaki. Only he was a little late picking me up and by the time we got to the restaurant we only had an hour before the next item on the agenda and they too had a wait of at least an hour and a half. So, much to his discouragement we ended up at L&L Hawaiian BBQ. I was throughly enjoying myself, partly because for once it wasn't my plans that were falling through (yes, I realize that sounds a bit mean hearted, but sadly it is still true).

After fueling ourselves with chicken katsu, we were off to BYU campus where we went to a Divine Comedy performance. They did a bunch of sketches including a spoof on the Twilight series. It was hilarious! It was about 9:00 when we left campus and apparently still had some time to kill so we went to Coldstone. Then it was off to the Provo Towne Center for a movie.

When I realized we were going to another show, I was not only confused but a little let down. Let's just say I had been expecting something...different. Anywho, this proved to be another instance in which my being involved with an activity causes unexpected glitches to arise. He'd been counting on a ten o'clock showing of the Pink Panther 2, only there was no ten o'clock showing. So we altered plans yet again and ended up watching Paul Blart: Mall Cop (if you have any desire to see this movie, I would recommend waiting for the dollar theater).

By the time the movie was over, it was getting late. We got in the car and he made as if he was going to take me home, but on the way he needed to stop at his apartment really quick. We stopped and he told me to wait in the car. I was waiting in the car and getting thoroughly frustrated with myself for having expectations for the evening which obviously weren't coming true. And then trying really hard not to be frustrated because I knew it would hurt his feelings and its not like it was a bad evening. Definitely my best Valentine's Day ever. After mentally flagellating myself in the car for five minutes, Jason texted me and told me that this might take a little longer than expected and that I should come inside.

My hope was rekindled, but I still had no idea what to expect when I walked in the door. He had completely decorated his apartment with Hawaiian decor. He had an Aloha banner, pineapple, bananas, palm trees (which he'd crafted himself), coconut cups, a picture of Sunset Beach on his big screen TV, and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" being sung by IZ playing in the background. I was stunned. Once I regained control of my legs, I walked a little further in, admiring all of the details he'd put into this. We both donned leis and he gave me a green shell necklace and bracelet. Before I knew it he was down on one knee asking me to marry him. I said yes, of course and have been grinning like a fool ever since!

Oh, and it turns out that everything that we did during the evening was a reflection of activities we'd done together in Hawaii. The original restauarant of choice was Cheesecake Factory--a common get away for our group and Jason was often the chauffeur. However, the restaurant we ended up at also worked into the plan since it was a Hawaiian BBQ (and a popular restaurant in the islands). The comedy show was on a BYU campus (we met at BYU Hawaii). We went to Coldstone together at least once in Hawaii (which is when I first learned how much he loves his sprinkles). And the movie was not only reminiscent of our first date here, we went to and/or watched many a movie together in Hawaii. Yes, he had all of the details worked out pretty darn well I'd say. :)