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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

New Car


It's been months since I've had a real blog -- so here I go. Thought I would start out with the car that I bought while I was student teaching last semester. It is THE best car I could have asked for and I feel so blessed to have found the perfect one for the perfect price. My old bishop helped me find it at his car dealership. He really is such a great father figure to me and takes really good care of me.
At Gene Harvey, my bishop works with his 2 brothers, who were so sweet. They even took a picture of me in front of the car for a calendar that they send to all of their customers. I am so glad that they documented this. Amy is in the front seat if you can see her.

If I could express into one word how I feel about having a car, it would be FREEDOM! I finally feel like an adult. After 10 years of public transportation, begging for rides to the grocery store in the snow, waiting at the bus stop in front of a bar in New Orleans hoping I wouldn't get killed-- I can finally get to places with no hassle. However, I do miss walking to places so I can daydream, not paying for gas, and how it built some character in me. I am trying to pay it forward by giving people rides when I can. I could also say that I feel quite spoiled because I don't deserve this.

Oh and did I mention that I got my driver's license a couple of weeks before the big purchase?

I would say all in all it was a good year in 2010. Along with a new car and a driver's license, I also finished my "dreaded" student teaching (a.k.a best semester of my college career) which led to me graduating in December. I learned from this experience that my calling in life is to help kids, specifically secondary school students. I LOVED my students and have been back a couple of times to visit and it fills me up with so much joy when I see them. Most importantly, and this is going to sound cliche, but I learned that if I try hard enough and trust in the Lord, then I can do anything. I accomplished tasks and problems that I never thought I could do/face.

It feels pretty surreal to be done. It seemed just like yesterday that I was idolizing my beautiful older sisters and how graduating like them seemed so distant.

As for the new year? It's gonna be a great year. The next chapter in my life includes new goals, new jobs, new adventures, and I am ready for the Lord to guide me in the direction He desires most for me. Having a plan scares me and I am trying to do my best, but if I could see for just one second the Lord's plan in comparison to mine, I know that I would hands down choose the Lord's plan.

Have a great new year and let's DREAM BIG 2011!!!

Stay tuned for "What I did over Christmas Break"... (a sneak peek can be found here and here)

Saturday, January 8, 2011

A Day in New Orleans

A Day in New Orleans from Laura Hansen on Vimeo.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Eve of Thanksgiving

Got ahead on the Thanksgiving menu, and decided to make my smashed potatoes tonight. I am so excited for Thanksgiving tomorrow and am so grateful to have two of my siblings to spend it with. Wish I could be with the rest of the family though.


5 lbs of red potatoes, 2 1/2 sticks of butter, 1 head of roasted garlic, cajun seasoning (tony sacheres), milk, salt, pepper, and a couple of hours later, you've got yourself a heck of a lot of delicious smashed potatoes.





Other items on the menu:
green bean casserole
honey glazed ham from costco
corn bread stuffing
Judy's rolls
and turtle brownies


I really want to make this pie crust, so we'll see. Probably won't happen...
It's supposed to be the best!




All Butter, Really Flaky Pie Dough

Makes enough dough for one double-, or two single-crust pies.

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces, 16 tablespoons or 1 cup) unsalted butter, very cold





Love you all! And Happy Turkey Day!




Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Sumo bots!

Here is a video of my middle schoolers' sumo bot unit.
The kids went gaga over the sumo bots-- they absolutely loved them!





It was my mentor's first time doing sumo bots with his students, but figured he would give it a try since he has me as his student teacher.
We taught them basic circuiting and construction and then we had a tournament for all of the teams.

Some other things I am teaching to my classes:
-Lego Robots
-Hydraulic Arms
-Mass producing toy cars
-Making pens on wood lathes
-Penny hockey boards

and the list goes on and on...
and yes it is quite overwhelming,
but I am learning so much as a teacher every day.

8 more days until I am done with school forever!!!!

Monday, September 27, 2010

Student Teaching

So as many of you may know, I am doing part of my student teaching this semester at Provo High School. I am really loving it and my students. Not gonna lie, I have my good and bad days (mostly good). I am exhausted a lot of the time, but I walk home with a smile on my face because it just feels so rewarding to teach and getting to interact with these crazy kids.

Here are a few of the commercials that my students made in my video class. The main thing I stressed was for them to use different camera angles that I taught, which they all seem to have done a pretty good job. Don't ask me why they put some of the stuff they did into their commercials... haha you'll see...







Now you see what happens when I give them too much autonomy haha, but I am still so proud of them!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Online Portfolio Website!

Here is my website I've been working on for most of spring semester at BYU. I can't believe I am almost done with school!

http://www.jbteaching.com/laura/index.html

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Official Photography Website : )

Hey all! Here is just a blog that I created just for my photography. Feel free to spread the word!