Studying and Baking

I am officially signed up to take the AEPA (Arizona Educators Proficiency Assessment) for Elementary Education this summer. It is a 4-hour long, 100-question test that determines whether you are certified to teach Elementary Education. Basically, the SAT for teachers. I have to take 3 portions of the AEPA before I graduate: the Elementary Education, the Special Education and the Professional Knowledge portions. I am taking a leap of faith by taking it this summer, which is much earlier than most of my fellow teaching majors will be taking it. However, I don't think I will be learning much more about elementary education at this point in my program, and so I might as well take it now when it's fresh in my head (normally, people wait until right before they graduate).

My point in all of this is to ask for you to pray for me. I have exactly a month to study for this test, and if I don't pass, I will have wasted $100. I would ask for your prayers that I could study effectively and pass this test on the first try. Once I pass, I will have peace of mind knowing that I am one step closer to becoming the awesome teacher that I want to be!!! :) (Oh, and if you are wondering, I still haven't decided what grade to teach yet. Anywhere from Kindergarten-4th grade is fine with me!)

Today my friend Rachel and I made wonderful mini-pizzookies, similar to the one's that they serve at Oregano's or BJ's here in the valley. They are basically soft, gooey chocolate chip cookies covered in vanilla ice cream. You have to try them! Here are our results:

P.S. Let me know if you know of any good studying strategies!

The lovely month of June.

June is upon us! I love June because...

It is the month of Lars & I's anniversary.
It is the heart of summer and lazy days.
It is the time that I usually go on some sort of vacation (such as Seattle this year!)
It is another month that I get to spend living the wonderful life God has given me.

Here's my June itinerary:
June 5 & 6th (this weekend) - Babysitting with Lars for the kids in his host family while their parents are out of town.
June 6th through 16th- Hardcore studying for the Elementary Education portion of the AEPA (Arizona Educator's Proficiency Assessment) that I'll be taking in July. I have to take 3 different parts of it to become certified as a teacher. I feel confident that I'll be able to pass it on the first try, but it will definitely be a challenge :)
June 17th - Leaving for Seattle
June 21st - Getting my wisdom teeth out. I'm actually looking forward to it because I'll be pampered by my mom and I'll be able to drink smoothies all day :)
June 24th- Back to PHX

I will leave you for now with some yummy ham& cheese hot pockets that I made from this recipe.


Mmm, don't they look heavenly! The dough was too sticky so I didn't get to roll them up as prettily as I would have liked, but they are definitely delicious and they can be easily frozen to re-heat for lunch at a later time.

Summer outlook on life

Here's my summer outlook:Yes, those are my legs, soaking up some Arizona rays by the pool :)

This particular pool was at my friend's community center, waaaay up in north, north Scottsdale.
The weather was perfect today, and the scenery was gorgeous.
Another part of my summer outlook has been doing more cooking and baking in my new kitchen, now that I am all settled. My friend Rachel & I made some amazing chocolate chip cookies yesterday from this recipe (seriously, try them, they're amazing), and then today I made sweet potato fries from this recipe. Here were my results:
Wonderfully crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with the perfect blend of spices and a homemade dip. I think that these sweet potato fries may be the only way to go from now on. Plus, they're a lot healthier than your average fry ;)

OH, and of course I must post a picture of my favorite breakfast, an egg-and-cheese breakfast wrap with spinach and strawberries on the side. YUMMM.


I have had a really busy last two weeks, but mostly with fun things :)
A Saturday wedding, a trip to starbucks with a new church friend, going out to lunch at On The Border, and getting to know Lars' host family better. I've also gone Target shopping (maybe a little too much), talked with a friend about helping plan her upcoming wedding in October, and gone on a double date with our friends from high school. I've even gone bowling/out to ice cream with our young adult bible study members, and helped out with a Friday night Jr. High talent show at New Life . And the fun doesn't stop there...tomorrow I am going with Lars over to our friends' apartment for a little BBQ. We met Jon and Cherie at bible study and can't wait to get to know them better.

I'm at a really good place in life right now...plus, I got hired for a fall job! Praise the Lord for all of his blessings :)

Apartment Tour

I thought I would post some pictures of my lovely new summer apartment. It is a 4-bedroom, but I only share it with one roommate (at least for now). She is on the opposite side and has her own bathroom/bedroom. I apologize for the picture quality, because once again these were taken on my phone!

Here is my kitchen :) This is what you see as soon as you walk in.
A peek inside my cupboards...Here is the living room/ eat-in dining area. All the furniture was already here when I moved in (except the TV, that was a gift from Larsy). I still need to spruce it up with some throw pillows/art on the walls.


And now, we enter my side of the living space. There are 2 bedrooms over here, and 2 vanities, but no one else lives on this side, so I get it all to myself :)
My desk and mini fridge :)

And my lovely, deluxe full-size bed (soo much better than the twin-size mattresses at Taylor Place)
And there's me!
I hope you enjoyed this apartment tour! I can't wait to have people over and have a dinner party! Let me know in the comments if you have any ideas on cheap ways to make the living room look better/less dorm-like! haha

west side.

I am living now at the Las Casas dorm at the West Campus. I am totally not used to this area. It is a completely foreign world to me. I'm used to Scottsdale/North Phoenix/Cave Creek and now I'm in Glendale/Peoria. It will take me awhile to get acclimated to these surroundings. Luckily, I already have many friends who live on this side of the valley, friends who are willing to pick me up and take me places so that I can get out of the dorms, which has been great:)

I went on a Target shopping spree today with my friend Michelle. Nothing major, just a few t-shirts and a bathing suit. And afterwards we ate at chick-fil-a! I will never stop loving that place :)

The job front is looking promising. Although I was denied for the last job that I interviewed for, I got an e-mail recently from a lady that wants to hire me as a desk assistant on campus! So I am just waiting for a reply e-mail.

It is so nice having my own kitchen, now! I bought some white"squircle" shaped plates at the dollar store, and some plastic tumblers from Target that were on sale. Together with donations from the host family that Lars is living with (a rolling pin, a strainer, some measuring cups and spoons), as well as donations from his mom (a toaster, a blender, extra silverware), I am on my way to having a fully functioning kitchen! Although, I have to admit, it is a bit of a bummer to have to share it with strangers...my roommate sometimes has people over and they use it, too. I am looking forward to the day I have my own apartment, far and away from university housing. Don't get me wrong, though, I am very grateful and blessed to be in the housing situation that I am. It's definitely bigger than my last dorm at Taylor Place!

Even though I moved in 3 days ago, I still have some unpacking to do. I am looking forward to going to a church talent show on Friday that Lars is involved with, and I am also super stoked for one of my good friend's weddings on Saturday! I <3 weddings!

New Fave

I have a new favorite blog. I really love Angela Hardison's vintage/modern design sense. I found out about her blog, SeeSaw Designs, from an article in the Arizona Republic "Your Home" section. She also has an etsy shop, which I love! Here are some of my favorite Vintage pieces from her shop:

Fondue potFloral Mugs
Red Polka-Dot Blouse

I love that her "vintage treasures" are priced somewhat affordably (and that's saying a lot, coming from a college student). For now, I am just looking, but I would love to buy something from her shop in the future.

Summertime :)

It is officially summertime in my book, because today was my last day of classes for the semester! :) I'm sad that I'll no longer have a reason to see this particular group of friends every day, but at the same time I feel incredibly relieved and accomplished. Aside from one online final and one online project to finish, I have completed every single one of the academic tasks that once seemed so insurmountable at the beginning of the semester.

And I have completed 4 of my 7 semesters at ASU. In other words, I am halfway through my junior year of college at only 20 years of age...

How did that happen?

Oh yeah, AP credits ;)

Overall, I am just so overjoyed and excited to be done. And I am so excited to move into Las Casas in a week or two. I want to buy some pots and pans so I can get cooking right away! All of the recipes on ourbestbites.com are making me drool! I have so many lovely recipes that I want to try! I think it is so important to cook the majority of your food rather than eating out or buying pre-packaged meals. It makes for a healthier you and a healthier planet!

And that's all for now...
<3Linds