Crowning moments

Have you ever had a crowning moment? That moment in your life where you feel like everything you've been doing up to that point is justified and you feel like jumping up and down and screaming or running in circles in a big open field?! Like Martin Luther King Jr. and his empowering "I Have a Dream" speech. Or the moment William Wallace gets up in front of all his brothers and soldiers in Braveheart and calls them together one last time before their momentous battle for freedom (that one gives me chills). These moments shaped history and how we GET to live our lives today. Talk about feeling justified and empowered. These men knew what they were talking about.

I had one of those moments a few weeks ago. My comedy troupe had a stunning performance for the corporate office of Deseret Book to try out for Time Out for Women. We showed them our "Jane Austen is My Homegirl" rap and I'm sure we just blew it out of the water. I was proud to call myself a member of Pretty Darn Funny at that moment. And afterward, Gordy, a friend of mine who is also in the comedy troupe, pulled me to the side and asked me to go to a puppet show with him! I am so thrilled to learn more about puppets from him. It was a phenomenal night and it made me appreciate history and the brave men and women who had their crowning moments in history, because I feel like that night when we performed, and all the other "events" that happened that night, were the crowning moments in my life so far. Hopefully there will be many more to come.

Invitation and extra credit!

            NOTE TO MY STUDENTS:

            After finding out that Gordy was a fan of pre-industrial England the night we rehearsed in Deseret Book, I asked him to come perform one of his puppet shows highlighting the class struggle and economic crisis of the English lower class.

He will be coming Thursday, so make sure to bring your best accents and get ready to meet King George V in the best puppet show you’ll ever see!

P.S. Because we're almost to the end of the school year and A LOT of you need extra credit, I'm giving 10 points extra credit for a two-page write up about the English class struggle. Due the last day of school. 

I DROOL over history books...

I was in the Deseret Book store this week and of course, I had to browse through the history section. I was curious to see if they even had a history section, and boy, I was pretty surprised and impressed. I know they have plenty of stuff my mom would appreciate, but I didn't think they'd have such a great selection of history books... both church history and US/ world history.

The church history section... a great selection.

The history section... I had to close my mouth and wipe up a bit of drool...

He. Is. My. Hero.

Have you read anything from the Stewart brothers? AHH. You need to. Seven Miracles that Saved America, and, The Miracle of Freedom: Seven Tipping Points that Saved the World. A book I just discovered tonight is called Great American Documents for Latter-day Saint Families. Um... that is awesome. It goes through all of the "great American documents" and breaks them down, giving small descriptions, definitions, and insights into these documents, as well as how they connect to LDS families. AWE-SOME.

And... another one of my favorite people? Emmeline B. Wells. Some people have heard of her name for different reasons, but did you know she helped Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton pass the 19th ammendment which gave women the right to vote? AND... she was the fifth general president of The Relief Society. What an amazing woman.

See?! That's why I love history.

Who am I? - The great reveal!

Guess who is the newest member of a comedy dream team? Yep...it's meee! I think my historical interpretation, creativity, costume and authentic accent probably tipped the scales. So let's not delay...did you guess who I was?

Je suis en feu!

Let's just say I was on FIRE during the auditions!

Most of the ladies seem nice, OH and there's also a man! His name is Gordy and he seems really nice. If I had to compare him in a historical sense, I'd say he's got the goofineses of an Einstein mixed with the fatherly leadership of George Washington....with a puppet. Which reminds me...this has to be a historical first...the only all woman comedy group with a man...and a puppet!

Auditions?

"NO...it's this way to Waterloo!"

To be honest, I'm really not a very showy person, but for some reason I seem to take on a new persona when I'm teaching. Maybe it's because my students' learning is so important to me, or maybe it's just a desperate attempt to hold their attention (the latter, most likely). 

After almost a year of seeing me leaving my inhibitions at home, and suit up as Napoleon Bonaparte, Pocahontas, Paul Revere, and even Betsy Ross, my students found a way for me to take my history geekiness to the next level.(yes there is another level)

After Kristen Jackson's mother heard of an all-female comedy troupe, Kristen got the whole class on board (unbeknownst to me), and they staged an Arminius-caliber ambush demanding that I audition.  Apparently some of them actually paid attention during our lesson about the "Battle of Teutoburg Forest," and unlike the Romans, they were not to be defeated. Armed with arguments as sharp as darts and a determination even Caesar couldn't match, my students produced a compelling campaign to make me the next comedy superstar. 

I was so caught off guard (and so proud of what they'd learned!) that of course I couldn't say no!

So I will be making my debut as a historical guru comedy buff at a new venue next week. 

Some women like earrings & necklaces. Me? Chains!

And what famous historical leader will become my comedic doppelgänger, you might ask?

I'll give you a hint: Chains & she's HOT.

Ciao da Italia! (Hello from Italy!)

In honor of Valentine's Day, I decided to post about Italy. Italy is truly a country of love. Because of my blond hair, I could have had the pick of 20 different Italian men who expressed their love to me. Oi! I blushed and kept walking and kept focused on the amazing buildings and history. I spent most of my time in Rome, Florence, and Venice. Here are a few pictures!

St. Peters Basilica, which is in Vatican City, and basically where the pope lives. This was at dusk and it was absolutely breathtaking. Technically, Vatican City is it's own city. It has it's own police force, post office, etc. Quite and interesting little place.

The fountains on St. Peter's square (surrounded by the "Arms of Bernini") were so beautiful, and SO welcome because it was so incredibly hot. Italians will just go walk in the fountains or stick their feet in the fountain to cool off. Smart, smart people. And the cool thing about this water is that it is drinkable because it comes from the Roman aquaducts. Interesing, huh?!

I have never seen fruit stands like this. Never. And outside of Italy or South America, I doubt I ever will. Amazing, delicious fruit.

This is a view looking up from the bottom of the Museo Vaticani (Vatican Museum) stairs. If you ever have the opportunity to go to Rome and see the Vatican Museum, don't pass it up. It will forever be worth it and you will always be glad you went.

Ohhh, Venice. My heart is still with you. My gondolier's name was "Bond. James Bond." I'm not joking. He tried to woo me with his English skills. I wasn't wooed.

Another view from the gondola. This is truly one form of transporation for the Venetians. It's amazing what a different pace of life they lead. So chill. I don't think anyone knows what stress is there.

Guten Tag aus Deutschland! (Good day from Germany!)

Here are a few pictures from my trip to Germany. I won't overload you... I took close to 300 pictures. What a sincerely beautiful country. The people were pretty hard, but if they see you in distress or lost, they are immediately at your side offering a map or directions. (Even though the extent of my German speaking abilities is "Guten morgen" and "danke!", I appreciated their heart-felt offers.

I had one heck of a time navigating the bus, train, and street car system. It took me a while, but after a lot of wrong trains and buses, I got it right.

On my train ride from Frankfurt up to Duesseldorf (a five-hour train ride), I saw some amazing hilltop castles! This train traveled along the Rhein River and there were some beautiful little towns.

Gorgeous view from the train.

Just before we got to Duesseldorf, we stopped at Cologne (Koeln) to see the uber famous Cologne Cathedral. There is truly nothing like it in the world. Students: we'll be studying the history behind this cathedral very soon! Interesting fact: one of the reasons the cathedral is so black is because of all the dirt, soot, and grime from the city of Cologne. It was an industrial city for so long that they pollutants in the air dirtied the exterior of the building. It is going through a lot of restoration right now to get it back to its original look and feel. (I would not want to be one of the workers on that scaffold. The towers are over 515 feet high, and I think 509 steps to the top of the tower. (I was a little focused on not getting too dizzy and falling down the tiny stairs that I lost track of counting for a bit.)

Here is the inside chapel of the Cologne Cathedral.

I went hiking one morning in Duesseldorf. There aren't too many days like this in Germany. Clear, blue skies are a novelty!

You'll be walking through random little streets and suddenly you'll find a church in the middle of a neighborhood. I got used to hearing the bells chime every hour.

From the top of Dome Cathedral in a city called Mainz. So, so, so beautiful.

And to close things up for Germany, here is a little video I took outside of Cologne Cathedral: