The verdict is in..

I GOT A 4.O!!!!

First of all I want to get it out there that the only reason

I am telling this to the world is because

I never thought this would happen in my college career, never!

Getting straight A's in high school was an often and common occurrence,

but in college, at BYU??

I had a slap in the face after my first semester when I was thrilled to get a C+

in my college algebra class.

There have been other occasions since then that I was just hoping for a C+

(statistics, american heritage, and world civ).

So as you can see this is a little out of the ordinary for me.

I guess school gets easier after you get married..

or I am just really enjoying my major!

Probably both.

Also I want to give a shout out to my hard-working and dedicated

husband who also got straight A's!

(this is a more common occurrence for him, but still awesome)

He had to get A's in two of the pre-recs for Accounting and he did!!

Spring classes started this week,

and lets just say I don't think there will be a 4.0 repeat.

My mind is never really in the right place during spring...only 7 weeks!

Piano

My parents so kindly donated their piano to us and we have been LOVING it!

It has been so fun for us both to be able to play more often.

I have played everyday since we got it, and so has Rob.

It is slowly coming back to me. I am determined to get back to where I was.

I have been working on the song I played at my peak in Piano lessons,

and its definitely a work in progress.

My hands/fingers need to regain some strength back,

they are seriously sore from playing.

I wish never would have stopped playing.

Now I just have more work to do...

It helps that Rob is much better than me so he has been helping me out.

He is a great teacher. :)

Lucky for me, I get to listen to him play all the time!

Unfortunately for him, it's not quite as pleasant to listen to me..

but it's still been a lot of fun!

Thanks Mom and Dad!

Josie's Got Talent

Spring Cleanin'

I took my last final yesterday and had some time on my hands

so I decided to go clean out my bedroom at my parents house.

It actually was a fun activity with the help of my sister Melissa

and later Mogan stopped by to join the fun as well.

While cleaning out my closet I realized I have a problem...

I like clothes/shoes too much.

Not only did I have a full closet of clothes at my new house,

but also had a closet full at my parents house.

I also realized I am becoming more and more like my mom;

I had a harder time throwing some of that stuff away than I thought I would.

I always think "well I may need that sometime,"

or maybe I will wear that."

But Melissa kept me straight.

At the end of our cleaning I had 6 Full garbage bags of clothes and shoes.

At least I know that those clothes will go to someone who needs them more than me.

DI has some great finds now!

Not only did DI benefit from my cleaning but so did I!

I found shirts that I forgot I had, so it was like I went shopping

with out spending a dime!

I also found some funny things while I was cleaning.

I found tons of notes that my friends had written to me in Jr. high

and I can't believe the things we talked about/ cared about!

I also found some of my photography work that I did in high school photo class,

it kinda inspired me to be a photographer...

I admired all my homework/notes from high school and Jr. high

that I guess I never wanted to throw away.

And I still didn't, I could only handle so much for one day.

Among my many finds I came across this pink fuzzy photo book with

tons of pictures from back in my pageant/modeling days.

I think I took these pictures for the picture I had to send in of myself or something.

I thought they were pretty funny so I thought I would share a few...

Like Rob and I like to say..

Isn't it a blessing we clean?

Buy a Stranger a "Coke"

For one of Robert's classes this semester his teacher assigned his students to

"Buy a stranger a Coke," it didn't really have to be a coke but the

point was to buy something for a stranger anonymously.

So he went to McDonald's and payed for the person behind him.

A few weeks ago we went to dinner at my family's favorite restaurant - Mama Chus.

We happened to run into my aunt and uncle there and chatted with them and then they left and we continued to eat. When the waiter came to hand us our bill she said that the couple sitting right by us had paid for our dinner.

These couple acts of kindness have really had me thinking lately,

I want to be more serviceable (if thats a word).

It doesn't necessarily have to be buying something for someone

but simply being more aware of the people around me.

During General Conference this month there was a lot of talks

about service which also added to my thoughts on this topic.

M. Russell Ballard gave a talk about service and I love what he said,

"It is only when we love God and Christ with all of our hearts, souls, and minds that we are able to share this love with our neighbors through acts of kindness and service—the way that the Savior would love and serve all of us if He were among us today.

When this pure love of Christ—or charity—envelops us, we think, feel, and act more like Heavenly Father and Jesus would think, feel, and act. Our motivation and heartfelt desire are like unto that of the Savior. He shared this desire with His Apostles on the eve of His Crucifixion. He said:

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you. …“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another”(John 13:34–35)."

Read this great talk here.

Service is something I want to be better at. I always use the excuse that I am too busy, or once school is out I will be better or something lame like that. I am making a goal to serve others more anxiously and always be looking for ways to serve.

I challenge those who read this to "Buy a stranger a Coke."

Bittersweet

Today was the last day of classes which is a relief but also sad.

Sad? When have I ever been sad that a semester is over?

Never. Although this semester was different,

I actually enjoyed it!

I made new friends,

I enjoyed learning what I was learning,

I loved my classes,

the workload was bearable

and on and on.

Mostly why I enjoyed this semester so much

was because of the people I met and the teachers that impacted my life greatly.

Also because it excited me for what I want to do; to teach.

This semester was one of many firsts:

I wrote my first children's book,

I was in my first play,

(This is my drama class that performed "Bartholomew and the Oobleck ")

I wrote my first lesson plan... and a million more.

I got my first A on a math test.

I recorded my first singing album,

(ok not really, I just had to record myself singing for music which wasn't pretty).

I wrote my first song and made it into a book,

It was my first semester that I got an A on majority of my tests minus math.

I taught PE in an elementary school for the first time

I was called Mrs. Brinton for the first time,

(really just Mrs. B by my PE students)

and you get the point....

This is a picture of some of my dear friends I made this semester.

we went to get ice cream at Macey's for Juliets b-day.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this semester and am sad it's over,

but it will be good to move on.

p.s. as you can tell this is mostly a Tawni blog that involves Robert.

I'd rather be...

Here!

Than getting ready for finals week with this gloomy weather.

Although thankfully this should be my easiest finals week yet!

And should be that way from here on out... hopefully!

A fresh start

So I used to have a blog but then I got busy and lost interest in it. I thought I would give it another shot now that I am married.

I am a horrible journal writer, so I am hoping this can be kind of like my journal which may be boring to some but at least I will have it all written down.

Here’s to a fresh start in the blogging world!