Week 5 - Personal History

5. What do you see as your personal strengths?

 MOM:

I believe that one of my personal strengths is my sense of humor.  I love to laugh and tell jokes. My children and grandchildren can testify about my sometimes sarcastic sense of humor.  I try to see the humor in all kinds of situations.  Another personal strength is how much I love and adore my children and grandchildren.  I love to be with them and do activities with them.  I love to learn, and I love to read all kinds of books.  I also try to be honest and trustworthy. Another personal strength is the fact that I believe in my religion.  I have a testimony of the truth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I was married in the Salt Lake Temple on August 10, 1971.  Currently, I am ward librarian with Jenny.  

 

JACKIE:

I see my personal strengths are in art and being kind.   I enjoy the arts and I am glad that my hobby was strengthened through going to classes and learning art in school.  What I love the most is oil painting, and painting from photographs.   The painting becomes one of a kind with brush strokes and color.   I have been shy most of my life, but along with art, since it art is a quiet activity, I feel that I am sensitive, kind, and a caring person.   It seems others in the media are not this way, and are only very selfish.   Anyway, art and my personality has helped me become more talkative now, but also remain grounded in what is most important in life.   I also feel a personal strength is to be LDS.   I am so happy to be a part of this religion.  It means so much more then just knowing that we have the Book of Mormon to read and understand.   With being LDS I find that happiness and optimism have been a huge part of how I look at Art, and the future.  

 

STACY:

My personal strengths are that I am organized, creative, funny, kind and have a love for learning.  I enjoy organizing and scheduling things.  That probably is what makes me a great project manager at my work.  I like to be creative with design, graphics and color.  I have the same sarcastic humor as my mother.  My son Johnny is also funny and sarcastic too.  We love to laugh and find humor in things.  I am kind and have empathy for others.  I love my family and friends and try to be kind to them and make sure others are kind to them too.  I love learning new things.  I did go to college for a total of 8 years and achieved two master's and a bachelor of science with a minor in business.  I am still studying now.  I got my architect's license, I am a  LEED accredited professional and I am working on my Interior Design certificate now.  I think it is always good to keep improving and learning new things.   

 

 

 

Week 4 - Personal History

Question:

What college did you go to?

What did you study?
What memories do you have of those years?​
MOM:
I went to the University of Utah.  I studied English and history.  I was a history and English graduate.  I loved the University of Utah.  I went to all of the games and met my future husband there in a skiing class at Alta.  I passed him going up the mountain to Alta and he remembered my face when I passed him.  He later asked me if I had a red Mustang, and I said yes.  He then said that the white Scout was his that I passed.  I remember laughing about that.  He then asked my friend, Sherma, and me to have hot chocolate with him after class.  Of course, we said yes, because who can pass up free food.  So, as you can see, I have very fond memories of the U.  I even went back after I had four kids and was teaching full time and got my Masters in Education specializing in Gifted Education.  What a wonderful time I had at the University of Utah. 

JACKIE:
What college did you go to?

I went to the University of Utah in Salt Lake city to get my Bachelors of Art Education, (BFA) , and then in 2000 to do a few courses in Interior Design through the LDS Business College.

 

What did you study?

I studied Art Education.  A variety of Art classes such as watercolors, Oil painting, sculpture, photography, and Art history.   Also, I took various education classes, like; 'know yourself and the university',  American Indian and culture, Women studies, and Food and Nutrition.  Stacy and I took a ballroom dance class once.   In Interior Design, I took Textiles, and Placement Design (how furniture can be arranged), and Color Theory.  

 

What memories do you have of those years?​

Very fun and very challenging.  I think the main thing was Stacy and I were together 24/7 so a lot of memories I have was how we got on each others nerves.   She'd tease me how I walked swinging my arms, studied, or how I read my books (under a blanket in my room.)   Stacy and I also worked together!  We worked at the Olpin Union at the U of U Information desk, and went to the Theta LDS sorority together once a week after work.   Other classroom memories, was how I did not do so well at 'Know yourself and the university.'    (Guess I didn't know my university...ironic since I was giving information out to all the students and faculty)  I did not do so well on the written exam basically.  And Art History was hard, but I managed to pass both to get the credits to graduate.   Some other memories was how I liked the extension classes in the Sandy, UT location.   It was nice to go there after Dillard's just around the corner.   Then after graduating the U of U, the LDS Business college, was so different in how each class was started off with a prayer and a song from the hymn book.  I felt reverence there, unlike the University of Utah, where everyone was the same religion, and upheld the same moral values.  

STACY:
I went to the University of Utah.  I got a bachelors of science in architectural studies with a business minor.  I also got two Master's degrees.  One was in Architecture and the other Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing.

I have a lot of memories while I attended the U.  I was there for a total of 8 years, from 1995-2003.  I met a lot of lifelong friends who I worked with at the Union building - Oanh, Deidre, Krista and Mike Slipsky.  I also met some great friends during architecture school - Stacey Lund-Walker, Courtney and Annie.  During MBA school I made some great friends - David Rebol, Jim Campbell and Steve Beningo.  I enjoyed my time at college.  It was fun and also challenging.

Week 3 - Personal History

What subjects did you like the least? Why?​

MOM:
My least favorite subject in school was math.  I took a lot of math classes, but I didn't like them as much as English.  I went as high as Algebra 3 & 4 in high school, then I quit.  I asked my guidance counselor why I needed so many math classes, and he said that I didn't need any more, so that was it.  I liked math in the 2nd and third grades, but that was all.  I think that you either like math or you don't.

JACKIE:
The subjects I least liked were history and math, in school.  Well, I actually liked math up until geometry then I couldn't understand the mathematical solution very well.  And history was interesting, but the tests were hard.  I had a hard time remembering the spelling or dates correctly (so i got them wrong) yet, i remembered the stories and photos, and pictures correctly.    And in math was the same, if i could understand the logic.  If the problem was not something I could visualize, i could not get the correct answer.

STACY:
My least favorite subjects in school were English and History.  That is kind of funny because my mother was an English teacher.  I thought writing essays and papers in English were hard and boring.  I thought it was very subjective when the teacher graded papers.  I didn't like history because I thought it was boring about wars and such.  Only until I took economic and architectural history in college did I realize that history could be interesting.

Week 2 - Personal History

“What were your favorite subjects in school? Why?”

MOM:
My favorite subject in school was English.  I loved writing stories and reading books.  That is why I probably became an English teacher.  I also liked taking journalism and helping to write the school paper.  That is probably why I also became the journalism teacher and advisor for the school newspapers.  That was one job that I really liked.  I also liked choir in high school.  I loved traveling around to different places to sing.  I was a 2nd alto.  That was fun! 
JACKIE:
My favorite subjects in school... was Art obviously.   I loved in Elementary the art teacher and going to her room to do crafts and ceramics.  In middle school, I liked art as well, but also enjoyed the cooking classes, and sewing.  In high school, my favorite was Art again, but we learned more about writing in calligraphy, and ceramics where I loved building projects by hand in clay.  So, Art followed into college where painting in oils was my favorite class, as well as a watercolor class were we got to meet in different locations to draw the buildings around Salt Lake.

STACY:
My favorite subject in school was math.  I liked it because it made sense to me.  There was a formula where you would always get the right answer.  The funny thing is that I never took any math in college.  I had done the highest math my senior year in high school, AP Calculus BC and scored a 4 out of 5.  That was good enough to test me out of any other math I was required to take in college.  I also loved my interior design class in high school with Mrs. H and yearbook with Mr. Alcorn.  In college, my favorite classes were the design ones that did color studies.  I also liked my business classes that were about negotiation and mediation.  I thought that was very interesting.

Week 1 - Personal History

Starting the weekly personal history again for 2015:

Week 1:

Where did you go to school? What was school like for you?

MOM:
I went to school in California in Inglewood, California.  I skipped kindergarten and went straight to first grade.  My teacher's name was Mrs. Holmes. I remember her because her eyes bugged out and she scared all the children.  She must have had a thyroid problem.  Every week a child was chosen to be the classroom monitor to help the teacher.  I remember that I waited all year to be chosen.  Finally, I was chosen for the final week of school, and I came down with the chickenpox, so I never got to be classroom monitor.  I was also in the first grade in California, when the Salk vaccine came out for polio.  I remember lining up single file to eat the sugar cube the vaccine was on.  We were all lined up outside on the playground like we were all in prison. 

     We moved back to Utah and I went to Canyon Rim Elementary for second and third grade.  Then we moved to Holladay, and I went to the fourth and fifth grade at Hillview Elementary.  Then Cottonwood Elementary was built and that is where I went to sixth grade.  

     I went to Olympus Junior High for the seventh to the ninth grade.  I won the school spelling bee in the eighth grade.  I was also on the school newspaper.  I went to Olympus High School and was the alternate for the business sterling scholarship.  I was in a club called the HighTies for good grades, and I was the vice president.  I sang alto in the concert choir, and I was also on the school newspaper.  

     I then went to the University of Utah and graduated in history and English.  I got my teaching certificate and got a job at Union Jr. High.  One of my favorite classes at the U. was skiing.  I took skiing classes every winter.  That is where I met my future husband, Drake.  I later went back to the U. after I had four children, a job, was in the primary presidency, had a husband and a dog, and got a Masters Degree in Education, specializing in Gifted Education.  Life was wonderful and beautiful!
 

JACKIE:

The school we went to as kids, was Altara Elementary, Crescent middle School, and Alta High School, and then the University of Utah (for my bachelors), and The LDS Business College (for some Interior Design classes, no degree.)  

So, school was fun for me I suppose.  I really enjoyed art and at Altara I remember being in Reflections and winning a poster that went on to Washington D.C..  And in Middle School, doing art projects and winning Reflections there as well.   I painted with my grandma those years so that was really memorable.  In High School I did A.P. Art and got enough to earn some college credit.   Least memorable?  Probably being fat, not having dates, and teasing, (but that's another story.)  Generally, I enjoyed school and my friends and especially doing everything with you--STACY, in school, and even now beyond school.  :-)

STACY:
I went to Altara Elementary, Crescent View Middle School and Alta High.  There were all located along 11000 South.  I went to the University of Utah for my bachelor's in architectural studies and Master's in Architecture and MBA (1995-2003).

I liked school, especially math classes when I was younger.  Middle School was probably my least favorite time in school. It was hard adjusting to the popular kids and just being a teenager.  My mom taught at my middle school when I started 9th grade, so that made it better.  I liked High School where I could select the type of classes I enjoyed.  I really liked interior design and drafting.  I took orchestra (I played the violin) for my sophomore and junior year.  Then, I realized my senior year that I really didn't like orchestra and decided to join the yearbook staff.  That was so fun to be creative and design the yearbook pages.  I wished I would have done it the other two years too.  Oh well. 

I enjoyed my college days.  I made awesome, lifetime friends while working at the Union building.  These friends are Oanh and Deidre.  I have many memories of the 8 continuous years I was at the U.  I attended with Jackie, Jenny and my late friend Silicia.  Architecture school was hard and overwhelming, but I learned a lot.  MBA was great meeting new people and working in groups.  Sometimes I wish I was back in school learning and exploring.

Week 13 - Personal History

Do you have any aunts, uncles, or cousins who really stand out in your mind? Write something about them (names, personalities, events that you remember doing with them, etc.)

 

JACKIE:

My favorite cousin is Deanna (Lloyd) Hawkins.   She is my age, (we were born the same year) but her birthday is in August making her about six months younger then me.   We enjoyed being in High school together.  We made the same friends and went to some group dances together.   We even took some Art classes together and in one Ceramic class (we had together) was where she met her husband now, James Hawkins.   Those were fun times!  Also, we had sleep overs, and played Barbie when we were younger.   I remember many days when I would go to her house to play, feed the fishes, or play with their pet a girl cocker spaniel outside, or even make some treats.   The best treat I remember making in the kitchen at Deanna's was a chocolate oatmeal piled cookie that was put in the refrigerator after it was cooked.   We made them all the time, and its really hard to find the recipe now.  (It was something they also made at school for dessert.)  Another thing we did was make puppets from socks.  Deanna was always doing crafts and I really liked that about her.   With my art skills and her craft skills we had a good time making up fun activities to do.   Now, that we are older with our own families I don't see her much but, she was my favorite cousin to be with.       
STACY:
I babysat my cousins Adam and Ashley a lot.  I would stay at their house while their parents Aunt Shauna and Uncle Rick would go out for the night or out of town.  My cousins were really cute to babysit.  I would play Nintendo with them a lot and play in their backyard.  Shauna had a great garden and a lot of raspberry bushes.  I remember a time when my cousin Ashley was in kindergarten and she wouldn't go because I didn't do her hair like her mom did.  I still try to keep in touch with Ashley and I refer to her a little cuz. 
I remember going on vacations to Disneyland and Lake Tahoe with Grandma, Grandpa, Shauna, Rick and their kids.  We had some fun times. 
I remember playing with my cousin Deanna and going to Disneyland with Jackie, her and my grandparents.  We would try to have sleepovers together but Jackie and Deanna got along better than Deanna and I.
I like my dad's sister Michele.  She lives in San Diego which I always found to be beautiful and exciting.  She knew how to throw fun parties and was a very good hostess.  She makes sure to walk around and speak to all of her guest.  She is fun lady.

Week 12 - Personal History

Did your grandparents live close by? If so, how much were they involved in your life? If they lived far away did you ever travel to visit them? What was that like?

JACKIE:
Yes, our grandparents lived close by, heck, they were even in the same city! I think growing up, having them close by made going there so often really fun. We went to visit to play, to do art activities, to do music things, to go to the 'club' and just to visit. We met for birthdays with all the cousins aunts and uncles as well. I really enjoyed being part of my Mom's side, our grandparents that lived in Sandy, Utah. Our other grandparents I did not know. They passed when I was young on my father's side. They lived in California. I'm not sure if we would have known them as well but, if they did live longer I think it would have been nice to get to know them better. "The stories is what they leave us as we grow old, and that treasures our mind with happiness in this life." 

STACY:
Our maternal grandparents only lived about 10 minutes away in Sandy.  They were very much a part of my life.  I always had sleepovers at their house with Jackie.  My grandparents even took Jackie, Deanna and me to Disneyland alone when we were young.  We had a great time.  We celebrated holidays at their house and now when I have family parties, I invite them to my house for dinner.