what I do all day...

Just in case you were ever curious about what I really do at work, here's the link to the report we've been working on since I started. It examines the performance of Hispanic and White students on NAEP (a national standardized test) at the national and state levels, specifically focusing on the achievement gaps between those two groups and various subgroups. 


It's also gone viral and several news outlets have picked up the story (if you want a short and sweet version of the 90+ page report, I'd recommend skimming the news articles...or reading the executive summary of the report):

TIME: The Achievement Gap: Why Hispanic Students Are Still Behind

Reuters: Hispanic-white achievement gap still wide in education 

The Washington Times: D.C. Hispanics trail U.S. peers in math, reading

Education Week: Study Finds Gaps Remain Large for Hispanic Students

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah school achievement racial gap one of highest 

Anyways...
Hope you all have a great weekend. and a big thanks again for keeping Ryan in mind this week...I'm sure we'll have updates later on how it all went.

thanks...

thanks for all the good vibes Monday - please keep them coming for today. we're on the home stretch!

good luck babe!

good luck love

If you looked at my phone lately, you'd find a lot of pictures that looked like some variation of the following:

 Ryan studying at his computer...

Ryan studying at the table...

Ryan occasionally looking up and giving me one of these famous "are you done yet" looks

and of course, Ryan focusing on more important things while I make sad faces

for the past month and a half Ryan's been in full study mode, putting in 14+ hours of studying a day prepping for comps (qualifying exams aka hardest tests ever). his first one is monday, followed up by another round on thursday. i can't think of anyone else who has put in more time, studied harder, or been more focused. if you get a chance, shoot him some good vibes.

good luck love. you're amazing and you'll do great. i sure love you and am so proud of you.

5 random things

1. I just saw this on a friend's blog and couldn't resist sharing. It's hilarious.

It's a Daddle: A "Saddle" for Dads. Perfect gift for when you're horsing around with your kids.

2. I saw this video this morning and kinda loved it. I'm still hesitant towards the song itself but the whole feel is super sweet.

3. Just in case you didn't notice, Lori's Etsy shop has now been added to the blog on the right-hand column. Check it out, she has super cute stuff.

4. Also new on the blog is the broken button that says "follow me on Pinterest". I'm still working on fixing the image for the button, but if you click on it, it does take you to my pinterest page. I love pinterest and am a strong believer in its amazingness. If anyone needs an invite, just leave a comment and I'll be sure to send one your way so you too can join in its magic.

5. This feels newsworthy to me, and hopefully will serve as a good enforcement tool, but I have officially been off of sweets (at work) for 3 days now. It's kinda a huge deal since work is usually jam packed with these lovelies and possibly a few Reeses Pieces, Sour Patch Kids, and other such goodies that always make my tummy a little sick.

So there you go - 5 things that you probably didn't know before. Hope you all have amazing weekends and enjoy the sun.

Famous

sometimes I just feel like hanging out with my celebrity friends. when the urge hits I just call up my buddies

like Pat Sajak

 Buzz Aldrin

and Miss America. 

Vietnam memorial

memorial day weekend is one of my favorite times to be in dc. this year we continued our tradition of going to the Vietnam memorial candlelight vigil. it's an incredible experience. seeing all of the veterans, listening to the bagpipes play amazing grace and the trumpeter play taps, and talking with chaplain of Rolling Thunder is remarkable. it's always one of my favorite nights and I feel so lucky to be apart of something so much bigger than me. 

happy belated birthday shoutout

At BYU I'd hear horror stories about crazy in-laws who would call all the time, comment on your terrible cooking, check the cleanliness of your house with a white glove, and move in when you weren't hacking it taking care of their son.

I lucked out in the in-laws department. Fortunately, I married into an amazing family with an awesome mom at the head. Sue has always made me feel welcome and loved (even long before Ryan and I were together and I was just her piano student). I'm so grateful for her and her incredible example. thanks for being the best mother-in-law I could imagine! happy birthday Sue! I hope you had a great day.

picture thanks to Erica from weekend trip to NYC (more to come on that later)

la parrilla

a few weeks ago Ryan and I met up with some people from his cohort for a birthday dinner. they have a tradition of going to a restaurant with food from the home country of the birthday girl or boy. this time it was Uruguayan food - and it was amazing. i've been seriously dreaming of it ever since...we had tira de asado a la parrilla and suprema (pollo) a caballo con dos huevos fritos. the chicken was amazing - it's breaded chicken topped with melted cheese and two sunny-side eggs. i wish i had a picture, but i'm sure it wouldn't do it justice. hope you all had some great and tasty food lately too. if not, find a recipe for suprema a caballo con huevos fritos and try it out.