Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

My bestie, Aubree Hellen Ruth Johnson, got out of bed early this morning and ran a 5k with me... The Provo Monster Mile. But, what's better is that we ran this race as little minion people from Despicable Me. Enjoy! (Click on a picture to go to slideshow mode.)

One down!

Today, I am smiling:

Reasons why:

•  I did it! I survived my first quarter as a teacher! Yeah! 
• My sister moved back to the states today after living in England for 3 years!
• It's Halloween, a magical time of year, and I feel like watching Harry Potter. If I had time, I'd read it.
• I realized today how many amazing people I have in my life that love me.
• And the list goes on...

What do you believe?

So, about a year ago, I created this profile for mormon.org. As I was reading it today, I felt peace fill my soul. If you want to visit the actual site, click here; or you can click on the icon to the right that says: I believe.

Hi, I'm Charla

I'm a singer/songwriter, a college student, and I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I am finishing up my bachelor's degree in Spanish Teaching right now, and I'm currently working on recording my first EP. I love to sing, write music on the guitar and perform. It's therapeutic to express myself through music and to share my love of music with others. When I'm not doing homework, working or singing, I'm usually running a race or doing something active and fun. I love being outdoors and I love a challenge.

Why I am a Mormon

Both of my parents joined the LDS church right before I was born. Growing up as a member of the church, I always felt good about living the standards of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I was constantly encouraged to serve, love and help others in all that I do.

As I grew into my teenage years, I began to feel more and more alone in my decisions to stay sexually abstinent, to refrain from using drugs, tobacco and alcohol as I watched many of my close friends do the opposite. One day I came home from high school saddened by the news that yet another good friend of mine had become pregnant. I went straight to my bedroom and began crying at my bedside. Then as I began to pray to Heavenly Father, I explained to Him how alone I felt and how sad I was. While I knelt there weeping and praying, I felt a warm, calming sensation come over me, and my loneliness subsided. I had felt the Spirit comforting me. In that moment I felt Heavenly Father's great love for me, and I knew that He had indeed heard my prayer. I felt courage to continue living obedient to His commandments, and I knew that If I ever felt alone again, all I needed to do was pray.

Throughout my life, I've continued to receive comfort during times of trial as I have remembered to pray. I know that Heavenly Father loves all of His children and that He hears and answers prayers. I have asked Heavenly Father to know for myself if the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith were true, and on several occasions I have felt a strong confirmation from the Spirit that it is. I know that living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, has brought more peace, joy and assurance into my life than I could ever hope for. It has been and continues to be a constant source of comfort and inspiration in my life.

Personal Stories

How has attending Church services helped you?

Every Sunday, we have two hours of sunday school wherein we study the Bible, the Book of Mormon and other materials containing the words of the prophets of God. And the third hour of church is called sacrament meeting, in the which we partake of the Sacrament, the bread and the water symbolic of the Savior's sacrifice for us when he atoned for our sins and suffered for our pains, weaknesses and sorrows. Also during Sacrament meeting different members of the congregation are given the opportunity to prepare and deliver 8-10 minute talks. Once a month we open the time we normally use for talks during Sacrament meeting for anyone present to come up and share his/her personal testimony of Jesus Christ.

Attending church every week has helped me strengthen my relationship with Heavenly Father and with my Savior, Jesus Christ. It helps remind me of what is most important in this life, returning to live with God again one day. And it helps me refocus myself at the beginning of every week as I renew promises I have made with God to keep His commandments. Also, I have received great strength simply from interacting with and surrounding myself with other people who are also striving to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

What is the Book of Mormon?

Charla answered...

The Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. The … Show more

The Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. The Book of Mormon was written by prophets of God who lived in the Americas before, during, and after the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. It contains a record of Christ's visit to the America's after His Resurrection. In John 10:16 Jesus tells His apostles, " And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." During Christ's visit to the Americas he says to them, "And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd" (3 Nephi 15:21, Book Of Mormon). As I have read the Book of Mormon, I have felt that the book is true, that it is indeed another testament of Jesus Christ. As Latter Day Saints, we read the Book of Mormon alongside the Bible. I know that anyone who will read the Book of Mormon, ponder on its message, and pray with real intent to know if the book is true, they will receive an answer from God. Because I have personally done this, I know without a doubt that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. As I continue to read from its pages, I am filled with joy, peace and hope, and I am given strength to continue living the Gospel of Jesus Christ as I learn from the example of the prophets who lived in the Americas many years ago. The Book of Mormon can provide us with many answers to the most important questions of life such as, "Where did we come from? Why are we here on earth? What is the purpose of this life? and Where do we go after we die?" If you've ever had any of these questions, I encourage you to read the Book of Mormon and to pray about its message.

How I live my faith

It's all about love. The Savior, Jesus Christ, set the perfect example of love during His earthly ministry. As I begin and end each day with sincere prayer, I make time to think about how I interact with those around me. I often ask myself questions such as, "Was I kind? Was I thoughtful? Is there someone that I need to treat better? Is there someone I can serve or help?" As I pray, I often am inspired to change something that I am doing in order to show more love to my fellow beings. As I engage in this activity everyday, I rememebr to see everyone around me as Heavenly Father's precious children. I am reminded to love them, to help them, and to serve them as the Savior would if He were standing in my place. Additionally, as I strive to show more love to those around me, in turn I feel more frequently the great love that Heavenly has for me as well.

My Classroom

So, I've put a ton of thought into making my classroom an inviting atmosphere for learning Spanish. Here are a few pics:

Welcome to my classroom! That's my desk!

There's a pinata hanging over my desk that my students made of my head last year when I student taught. They told me they were making a pinata of Dora la Exploradora... and the next moment I turn around, and it's hanging over my desk.

Notice the Promethean Board! I love technology... but not as much as... Well, actually...

So, hopefully you can tell from the pictures I took, but my classroom is HUGE! I love it! There's tons of space for moving around during conversation activities and learning centers. I feel very blessed.

So, this is "Spain". If my students are being amazing and get their work done quicker than the other students, I give them a ticket to Spain. So, they get to go sit on the cool chairs and play games in Spanish or read Dr. Seuss books in Spanish. They love the chairs especially.

I have a window! (Very few of the rooms in our school do)

I have 3 rules, and I'm very serious about them. They encompass A LOT.

My co-worker Melody helped me come up with this. We make sure the kids know that making mistakes is essential for becoming fluent in a foreign language. I think it has made them feel much more comfortable with speaking Spanish in class.

I teach the students a new phrase in Spanish every week. We practice it during the "Bienvenida" everyday, and I use it to get their attention by saying the first half of the phrase and having them recite the second half. Works super well.

So, "Puntos de Fiesta" are rewarded when my classes demonstrate good behavior in the classroom, like staying on-task, speaking in Spanish, being polite and kind, quieting down quickly, etc. When each class reaches 100 points, they get a "fiesta" for an entire class period. I'm amazed how motivating this is.

This is the class calendar. The kids write on it only in Spanish, and we go over the events of the week they have written on it everyday at the beginning of class during the "bienvenida", the welcome.

This is my word wall. It's a work in progress. As the kids learn new vocabulary, I try get it up on the wall for them to reference during class. The more exposure, the better.

So, apparently maps are expensive. I still need one of Central America, oh... and apparently Spanish is spoken in one small country in Africa: Equatorial Guinea. Who knew?!

And the traditional teacher posters. Gotta have 'em.

Tumba, Tumba, Tumba Vacia...

So, I have two exciting announcements to make! AHEM!!!

I officially survived my first legitimate Parent/Teacher Conference! Yay!

Aaaand...

"Dia de los muertos" is coming up here in about 3 weeks!

I will now explain how these two events are related, at least in my current life. Let me start by saying that this past week of Spanish teaching was insane for me, insanely busy that is. I averaged about 5 hours of sleep a night and maybe one hour of socializing a day, which, by the way, is both incredibly abnormal and unhealthy for me. But nevertheless, the show went on. Sometimes as a teacher I feel like a performing monkey on high heels.

Anywho, we had parent/teacher conferences on Wednesday and Thursday night. So, I got home both nights around 8:30-9:00pm completely wasted. And on Wednesday night I still had some planning to do for a lesson on "Dia de los muertos" I was to teach Thursday. So, going into 11:00pm, I found this incredible song on Youtube, which you should definitely watch by the way; it's called: "Cancion las calaveras". With the aide of a sudden adrenaline rush, I was inspired to create a dance to this song. And to prove it was inspired, within 20 minutes of discovering it on Youtube, two of my roommates and I were performing this dance for the other 3 roommates and anyone else who happened to be over that night. (I often feel sorry for the girls who live in the apartment below us. I hope they don't hate us.) At any rate, it was a nice way to work off my post-bedtime, hyper-frenzy adrenaline rush. After dancing it through about ten times, I slept like a clay brick.

But the best part of this inspiration was watching my students dance to this song in my classroom on Thursday afternoon. It was hard to believe that a ridiculous dance that I had made up late at night with Aubree had turned into an incredibly entertaining class performance. To beat that though, I definitely did not expect to hear the following at parent/teacher conference Thursday night:

"My daughter just loves your class. She thinks it is so much fun. In fact, when she came home from school today, she taught me this cute little dance she learned in your class."

I could just picture this girl dancing and singing for her mom: "Tumba, tumba, tumba vacia, cierrate ya porque viene la fria. Ja ja ja, que risa me da! Ja ja ja, no me alcanzara!" (Aubree and I have been singing this song ever since Wednesday. I'm telling you it's catchy.) I often wonder how crazy it is that I get paid to simply teach my students to be as silly as I am naturally. Those lucky parents. :P

The magic ingredient to happiness

I have three words for you:
READ YOUR SCRIPTURES!

Do it. In fact, if you haven't already done so today, leave my blog and go ahead and do it. I give you permission. You can finish reading this later.

So, as a first year school teacher, I have had a large load to carry, and the silly thing is that I had been trying to carry it all on my own. The first month and a half of school this year was filled with many tears, high anxiety and lack of sleep. I was still somewhat happy, but having lost a great deal of balance in my life, I was growing increasingly miserable.

Often I would pray and ask Heavenly Father, "Why is this so hard?" I would plead with Him for help.

But...

Then I would fall into my 5 hour sleep coma, and would do nothing to aid Him in helping me.

Or in other words, I was asking for help, but I was not making the necessary efforts to receive that help. It's like asking someone for food because you're starving, but walking away before they can either give you food or tell you where you can find some.

I was not engaging in meaningful scripture study. Sure I would read a verse or two, a chapter or two. But I wasn't investing myself in my scripture study. So distracted with everything else on my mind, I simply couldn't concentrate, or so I told myself.

I spoke to a good friend about my troubles about two weeks ago. I wanted to know how I could place my burdens upon the Lord, whenever it felt that I was often carrying the heavy load all by myself and consequentially and frequently tripping and falling to the ground under its weight. His advice was both simple and timeless. He encouraged me to make meaningful scripture study a top priority in my daily routine. As he advised me, I knew that I would find answers to my prayers by following his counsel.

So, for the past two weeks, I have successfully carried out a meaningful scripture study everyday. And a miracle happened! Suddenly I find myself having not only the energy and capacity to deal with all of my job-related responsibilities, but also having the inspiration to do so effectively. I've felt my burdens lift as I make time for reading and pondering the Book of Mormon and various conference talks by the apostles and prophets. I have felt immensely happy despite a tight and demanding schedule and a ceiling high stack of to-do lists. I have felt peace in the place of anxiety stress. I have felt relief and comfort on mornings when I normally would have felt fear. And I know these blessings are a direct result of me reading the scriptures everyday.

So, get off the internet, and go read your scriptures. Do it! :D

An Inexplicably Amazing Day

Is it a chemical thing? Is it just me feeling happy for no reason? Is it as simple as me realizing that my life is pretty darn stinking good? I dunno. But for some reason, I came home from work today feeling like a million bucks. And I honestly cannot explain why. I mean, I actually woke up feeling incredibly overwhelmed and kind of anxious about how prepared I was to teach today. And though most of my classes went pretty well, in my last Spanish class today, I had two kids start wrestling, right there on the floor of my classroom. And, that's when the claws came out! Even I was surprised how easily my tone changed from pleasant fun teacher to no-nonsense drill sergeant.

So, despite how I began and ended the teaching portion of my day, I somehow between Sandy and Provo transformed from a stressed-out teacher into an elated human being. How is this possible? I'd definitely like to figure out how I can make this a regular occurrence.

Well, at any rate, below is my attempt to describe and somewhat preserve how I currently feel...

I want to kiss everyone I know on the forehead and then squeeze them tightly for a good minute, just to make sure they know they're loved, and especially by me.

I feel like running up a mountain just so I can feel my lungs and legs burn and then stare at the glittery city lights. (And the strange part is, I would totally enjoy doing this alone... but probably not a safe or wise idea, seeing that it is 10 at night.)

I feel like making 100 cupcakes and sharing them one by one with 50 other people... For some reason cupcakes sound good. (Did I mention I've had cupcake dreams before? I felt like such a sinner eating all of them cupcakes, but HOT DANG, them cupcakes were good! Did I also mention that I'm an English Teaching minor? ...)

I think I could do 3 workout videos in a row, and then take a 40 minute shower with zero singing breaks. My song selection would be: the elephant love melody from Moulin Rouge, JB's "One Time",  Regina Spektor's "On the Radio", "At Last" by Etta James, and maybe a few of my own.

And I even could pull an all-nighter tonight just to make some fun memories with my besties, my roommates, even though I know I'd pay for it in 2 days.

I dunno, maybe all of this is stemming from having become so preoccupied with all my new responsibilities as a "real" adult with a real job. I think I've reached a point where I can no longer care as much as I have been trying to care because it's simply not worth all of the associated stress and anxiety. I will do all that I can do, and I will remain responsible. But, everything that I cannot do, I will rest in the arms of the Lord. He will make my burdens light, and He will help me to do the same for others. I mean, honestly... how am I suppose to have a positive influence on the youth I teach everyday If I slowly turn myself into Miss Cranky Pants? I'll tell you right here and right now, in the words of Glozell, "It ain't gon' happen!"

Airports are NOT for babies.

Continental Airlines British check-in lady:

"Miss, can you put your carry on into that receptacle? There, you see? It is too large. I'm sorry, but it has to be regulation size in order to go onto the plane."

In the meantime, I am starring quizzically at my carry-on, that puke brown sturdy piece of luggage I've been using  as a carry-on for the past 5 years now. It stubbornly rested at the top of the bin due to a handle on the end that was about 1 cm too long.

"What was this lady freaking out about?" Shrugging, I turned back to British woman for my next cue.

"Miss, at least let me weigh your stow luggage. There. It is blah blah blah ounces away from its maximum weight limit. You cannot add anything more to this suitcase, unless you want to pay the fee."

"How much is the fee?"

"$200."

...

" Miss, what is that you're doing? I need to know what you are doing!"

"Well, I'm putting everything from my carry-on into my backpack so that I can throw it away." (It seemed like the obvious solution to me.)

"Well, you cannot re-pack your things in the check-in area. Please move out of the check in area!" (She looked disgusted with me.)

I lifted my heavy suitcase and pulled it away along with my other bags in order to stuff twenty books and dirty underwear into my backpack.

"Miss, I need you to remove your trolley. It is in the way!"

I got up, scooted my luggage cart out of the way as well, and continued the repacking. Ten minutes ticked by before I was able to successfully piece my differently sized books into my seam-popping backpack. I then began regretting hauling my summer reading to England with me. Trying to zip shut my bag, I realized that not everything from my carry-on would fit, even after stuffing some things into my purse. So, I left the items I felt I could part with in the tiny brown suitcase, which I was informed I could discard over at security. Hefting my now 60-something-pounder backpack onto my back, I readjusted the straps so that my arms could squeeze through. I had transformed into Quasimodo's first cousin.  

With hunchback and all, I advanced toward the check-in counter yet for a second attempt. And to my delight and surprise, I noticed the cheeky check-in attendant that had sent me on this frantic repacking adventure was now nowhere to be seen. In fact, I was able to quickly slip something into the big suitcase, weigh it, and see it go down the belt with no hassle. Then while I was walking towards security, a light bulb went on. And that is when the redistributing began. This time it only took about 2 minutes.

With carry-on re-situated and backpack relieved, I floated through security without a word. Amazingly the same thing happened as I boarded the plane. And not one soul blinked an eye when I slid my carry-on into the overhead compartment.

As I effortlessly shut it, I heard a satisfying "click". 

I smiled the entire 9 hour ride home.

Mormon Ads

Warning: Cheesy Video Alert. I love these.

 

Coming Soon

Excitement is in the air!!!

I am currently anticipating so many exciting things that are about to happen in the near future!

To list them off:

• The final Harry Potter movie comes out July 14th  (Hardly 2.5 weeks away)
• Justin Bieber's next album comes out on Nov 17th
• Colbie Caillat's new album comes out July 11th ( 2 weeks baby!)
• I finish recording my cd album in 2 weeks
• I start my teaching career in 7 weeks
• I get to see Aubree Hellen Ruth Johnson and Heidi Jensen in 6 days

Life is good.
I am blessed.
<3

Too excited to sleep!

On Wednesday (via Skype video stream):
"My last question is simply, when will I find out if you are offering me the job?"
"We'll definitely have a decision by Friday. We want to fill this position soon, but we need to check references first."

On Friday:
-no email

Saturday & Sunday:
-same story

Monday:
-I think I checked my email every two hours, just in case. (I have issues.)
-And remarkably at midnight, England time, which is 5 pm Utah time I checked my email and there it was!

All I needed was to scan the first line quickly to read "we'd like to offer".

Offer! Offer! I know exactly what they'd like to offer! Do I dare read on? Or should I try to breathe first? Am I really this blessed?

I jumped up and hugged my brother-in-law. Where is my sister at a time like this?! (Stuck in a stuffy plane flying home from a wedding photo shoot in the states) Oh, but I cannot wait to tell her! Good thing she has no access to the internet for the next 15 hours.

In short, I will be working as a full-time Spanish teacher at Eastmont Middle School starting in August. Yay!

Diapers and Sword Fights

So, it's now been a week and a half that I'm in England with my sister and her cute family. I've started running again...it's a work in progress. I've picked up reading for leisure again, which I have missed immensely. And I have spent endless hours with my two beautiful nephews, Weslee and Kent. Enjoy the pics!

Weslee with his books. He loves to read.

Weslee experimenting with my camera. I was showing him how to take a picture, and he actually took a fairly decent picture of me.

Sleeping baby Kent. My little sweet pea.

A new development: Kent holding his own bottle. (4 months)

Daddy, my bro-in-law Kevin, brushing Weslee's teeth

My awesome sister Teri and Sweet Pea

Love that cheese!

Kent's favorite swing

Kevin and Weslee washing their hands

Crazy man!

Weslee's amazing hair

It's a Toaster!

I may be single, but I have 155 kids...my Spanish students.
I may not have biological children...but today I got a toaster.
It's not a boy. Not a girl.
No.
It's a toaster!!!

So, today I said goodbye to 3 of my 6 Spanish classes. And after an entire semester of hard work and disciplining, I decided to bring my guitar to work, pop some popcorn and play a video of everything we've done in class.

It turned out to be a greater success than I had imagined. And a few of my students surprised me with their various gifts.

Zack with his kind and thoughtful note.
Carson, who lingered after school just to hear me play and sing one more song.
A handful of kids who told me thank you and that they'd miss me.
And then there was Bryen.

Bryen is the kid who makes strange faces at me while I'm explaining a task to the class. Bryen is the kid who draws a circle with a X through it on every white board in my room. (I erase them frequently). Bryen is the kid who invented "the game". (Basically if you think about the idea of "the game" or a game or the word combination "the game", then essentially you lose the game.) And mostly, Bryen is the kid who would blare this voice recording on the loudest setting of his speakers when we were in the computer lab that yelled, "It's a toaster!"

It happened twice.

It was because of this that all semester I would hear students from his class say this phrase at random moments ALL THE TIME. Giggles would follow ceremoniously. Then I started seeing this phrase written on my white board when I wasn't looking, or on homework assignments for me to read. This one time I made the mistake of handing them an assignment with an array of pictures of household items on them, including... you guessed it... A TOASTER! You can imagine what these papers were covered in when they were turned in to me: large circles and arrows pointing to the toaster, and that coined phrase, "It's a toaster!" in capitalized, bold letters.

So, as you can see, Bryen has made himself quite the celebrity in this one Spanish class. Sometimes when he raises his hand, I am afraid to call on him. You never know if he's going to contribute to the lesson or throw it off entirely. Well, after playing my first song today, up went Bryen's hand, and what did he say?

"I have something for you."

The next thing I see emerging from his backpack is a shiny, new toaster. He hands it to me. Next come bread, a butter knife and some jam. Laughing inside, I held up the gift, and surrendering said, "It's a toaster."

I believe in LANGE

- Oh great... another talk about lange - droned Aubree.
- Lange? - I snickered
- Ha ha! Lange?! No! Change, I said change! - retorted Aubs.
- Lange. I love lange! I’m all about lange.- me
-Your face is lange! –you guessed it

The stake high councilman’s talk was langed forever after that. But, I guess that’s what happens when you sit next to your best friend in Stake Conference. I’ll have to review my notes to remember what exactly I got out of that meeting, other than a good back scratch and a new nonsense word. But we’ll save that for another post on another day. Today, I want to talk about lange.

Sick of that word yet?

Well it just so happens that THAT word, if there were ever a word that you could roll the past 3 years of my life up into, would be the word. So, sick of it or not, I guess I’d better get used to it. And while we’re on the topic, why don’t we take a look at my “recent langes” list.

RECENT LANGES:

Plan	Langed Plan
Live in Provo all summer	Live in England all summer
Get a tan	Live in England all summer
Finish Independent Study course in Provo	Finish it in a week and a half to go to England
Chill with Aubree	Skype Aubree
Spend summer with friends	Spend summer with adorable nephews and sister
Get some boring job to make a couple of bucks	Read tons of books, play with babies and go to Spain
Finish and distribute my cd in Provo	Finish cd quickly and distribute in England
Play my guitar ALL THE TIME	Play bro-in-law’s guitar ALL THE TIME

So, as you can see, not all the langes are bad langes. And though I will miss chillin’ with Aubree and adding to our endless list of inside jokes, I will start adding again to that list that my sister and I had to put down when she moved to England. I miss that list. And most of all, I miss my family. (Did I mention I get to go to Spain?!)

Hasta el agosto, Provo. ¡Te extrañaré!