Merry Christmas

I created this video several years ago and it just isn't Christmas until I watch it.

Temple Lights

So I explained in my last post that Clayton and I spent the whole day together.

Monday night we went to see the temple lights. There was a light sprinkle on the way there but we stayed dry as we walked around the temple grounds.

A day of...

Monday I didn't go into work so that I could go buy tires. Clayton went with me. We ended up spending the entire day together. It turned out to be a good day - even after the $600 I spent on new tires!

Clayton and I left the house at about 9:00 and drove over to Discount Tires. We were the second customers there. The employee was at my car before I even had a chance to get out. That turned out to be a good thing cuz we only had to wait 30 minutes.

HUMMMM - What to do with our time? Breakfast???

Of Course - Sonic is right across the street!

We ate quickly (I was cold)

20 minutes left - Dollar store or Kmart?

Kmart (we can see discount from there and will know when my car is done)

CAPS FOR SALE!!!!! (in case you were wondering - that is a very cute childrens book - check it out)

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! the car is done - off to do Christmas Shopping. That turned out to be dangerous. I ended up buying more for myself and only got presents for mom and dad.

We did make a stop at Arizona Mills.

My kindergarteners didn't believe Christmas trees could be that big so I had to take a picture so they could see it for themselves!

I will do a real post in a moment...

But I thought this would be fun.

One Word
In a WordRules: Answer the questions with one word only!!

Where is your cell phone? Purse
Where is your significant other? missing
Your hair color? red
Your favorite thing? t.v.
Your dream last night? GREAT!!!
Your life dream/goal? family
The room you're in? bedroom
Your hobby? reading
Your fear? falling
Where do you want to be in 6 years? undecided
Where were you last night? Susie's
What you're not? short
One of your wish list items? tickets
Where you grew up? Phoenix
The last thing you did? piano
What you are wearing: clothes
Your TV? medium
Your pet? fish
Your computer? HP
Your mood? bored
Missing someone? yes
Something you're NOT wearing? shoes
Favorite store? NY&C
Your summer? Fantastic
Love someone? Yes
Your fave color? Green
When is the last time you laughed? today
When is the last time you cried? dunno
Your significant other's hair: TBD
Your life in one word: good

Now it's your turn! You can just pick one and do it in the comments if you're too busy to do the whole thing

I Can Only Be Grateful

I got a flat tire today after church.

Choir practice ran over 30 minutes. I left and was just down the road when I realized I had a flat. I called the house and no one answered. I knew my mom was taking the girls back to Erna but I didn't have her new cell number. I called Erna and she was meeting mom in the Fajitas parking lot. I got mom's number from her and called mom. She came to my rescue.

So Why am I Grateful?

- I didn't have a blow out on the freeway

- I was able to quickly pull over and call for help

- Mom was only about 15 minutes away - as opposed to the 35 minutes it would have been.

- I get tomorrow off
On the way home I decided that if Margaret could sub for me tomorrow morning I would take it off and go buy new tires. I called Margaret and she said she could. I planned to go in at lunch time but Margaret said she would prefer to sub the whole day. WHOO HOO!!! I get the day off!

So even though I ended the day with a flat tire I had a GREAT day. Church was great - although it did leave me wondering about a certain someone...

One Step At A Time

Twice in one day I have heard the song, "One Step At A Time" by Jordan Sparks. It is a very pretty song with a great message for me!

This time of year is always tough for a single girl like me. I thought this was the perfect song. Here are the lyrics to the chorus:

It's like learning to fly
Or falling in love
It's gonna happen when it's
Supposed to happen that we
Find the reasons why
One step at a time

New Blog

I have created a new blog. I feel like I have a lot of good ideas for the classroom and think that there are many teachers who can also share their ideas. So this is my kinder blog. I will post ideas and activities I use in the classroom and hope that there are those out there that can benefit from it.

all-i-really-need-to-know.blogspot.com

Elephant exchange

It was our White Elephant Exchange at work today. Not everyone participates. There were about 10 of us. It was a lot of fun!!! The girls are crazy! The two male teachers who walked through just had to roll their eyes, blush, and walk out!

This is the little gift that got the party started!!! It was a container of "Man Charms" These little guys go in your drinks.

Our principal Lynn came in to see what the ruckus was all about. Of course she wanted to keep all the Man Charms for herself!

I don't know what was said, but by the looks on all their faces, it was probably inappropriate!

We couldn't end the festivities with out striking a "Man Charm" pose!

Well I'll be A Monkeys Uncle!!!

I never thought it would happen!!!

Dad lit the furnace and turned up the heat before anyone had to beg him to do it!

My Obsession

BOOKS

Growing up my mom bought the Illustrated Classics books. All of us kids would read them, some of us for fun (ME) some of us by force (THEM). Honestly, I think I am the only one of the kids that ended up with the same love of books that my parents have. ANYWAY,

I really enjoyed these Illustrated Classics(IC). These books made me fall in love with the classics (of course I have never read an actual classic, only the condensed version). We have A TON of these IC in the bookcase in the living room. My mom once commented that she wanted to get rid of them. WHAT!!! I don't think so! Erna said the same thing. I thought that was the end of it. But then mom brought it up again. I told her the same thing. Then just last week she told Clayton that she wants to get rid of them. I now have the fear that one day I am going to come home from work and they will be gone.

SO

This is when I decided to rearrange my bookcase in my room. I will make room for them and keep them with me. Then she won't need to get rid of them because they will be out of her way.

This morning I was ready for work 20 minutes early (don't ask me how that happened!). I started working on my bookcase. I took almost all of my books (not my Mary Higgins Clark or John Grisham books) and put them on one shelf - of course I have Twilight which is out on loan and another book (one of my favorites) Lost and Found by Clair Poulson (It got damaged while out on loan!! UGHHHHHH) not on the shelf.

HOLY COW!!!

(I counted 61 books)

I didn't realize how many books I have. Of course I am actually quite proud of it. It is not like I read these books once and never open them again. I have read probably half of them twice and several of them I have read 3 and 4 times. I love looking at my books! I am protective of my books (I don't like to let my dad borrow them cuz he doesn't take care of them. He gives them back dirty). I know what your thinking - SHE'S NUTS!!! Maybe I am, but I am a happy nut!

All the books you see in the pictures are from the LDS bookstore (Seagull and Deseret). They are good books. Need a recommendation??? Just let me know!

Now or Later

I use to be vary good at bugeting my money. I had a spreadsheet in Excel that did all the adding and subtracting of bills and payments and it would let me know how much extra cash I had each paycheck. It was great. But lately I have been lax in the spending department. I hadn't been using my spreadsheet, I was buying what I wanted and I wasn't saving the kind of money I should have been.

Since I decided I am going to New York next Christmas I am going to save as much money as I can. Not only for the cost of the trip its self but also to have a good amount of spending money. You can't go to New York and not do some shopping!!!

I have opened up my spreadsheet and started using it again. I have taken on the montra, Spend it Now or Spend it Later. Whenever I get the impulse to buy something (which is often) I ask myself do I want to spend my money now or in New York. That settles it then and there. New York it is. What a motivation!!! The only bad part is when you HAVE to spend your money! I can't believe it, I am turning into a penny pusher!!!

Yesterday I had to give five dollars to the Birthday Fund for Jennifers birthday at work! UGHHHHH! Today is early release and we always go out to eat. UGHHHHHH! Tomorrow we are celebrating Jennifers birthday by going to Manuels. DOUBLE UGHHHHH, not only do I have to spend money but the food is bad to boot!!! Chirstmas it coming up. Do you know how hard it is to shop on a budget. I love the gift giving part of Christmas and a budget makes that difficult. UGHHHH!

I do have to say though that I was proud of myself yesterday. The girls told me they were going to Taco Bell for lunch. (Usually I am always up to going out for lunch) But yesterday I stood my ground and stayed at school and ate the lunch I brought. One small step for me, one giant leap for New York.

A New Tradition

I went to Barnes and Noble today for a drawing book. While I was there I remembered I needed a new calendar for next year. I needed a wall calendar and a planning calendar. I saw this one.

That is when I had my briliant idea. You see, I have always wanted to go to New York. I have always wanted to go to New York at Christmas time. I decided that I would plan my trip to New York for December 2009. I bought this calendar as a motivational tool to help me reach my goal. In this calendar are pictures of places in New York.

Rockefeller Center

Radio City Music Hall

I want to see the Christmas Spectacular

The Statue of Liberty

Time Square

I want to see all these places (and so much more) and this Calendar will motivate me to save the money to go.

I even chose a date (of course this date is not set in stone, but the month and year are!) and wrote it into my calendar.


SO what is my tradition? Every year I will buy a new calendar of the place I will go at the end of the year. Where will I go next? London, Paris, Sydney, I haven't decided yet. Right now I am just excited for New York!!!

Not a fan

I'm not a fan of Thanksgiving. Don't get me wrong, I love having a four day weekend, but it just doesn't feel like a holiday for me. Really, if Thanksgiving were on Sunday it would just be another Sunday dinner.

I woke up this morning at 7:30, I tried sleeping in later than that (I didn't get home until 12:30 in the morning) but I couldn't. I watched some tv and then got ready for the day. I had to go to the grocery store so I could make my contribution to the lunch. I made cran-apple chutney and crab stuffed mushrooms. I got home at 11:00 and started cooking. I couldn't enjoy the cooking because I was rushed. I had to be at my grandmas at 12:00. I get to Grandma's at 12:20. It is just my mom and dad, Clayton, me, my sister and her family, Uncle andy and his wife and daughter and Grandma and Bob. A very small gathering. We start eating and I am home at 3:30. My thanksgiving is over. It lasted about four hours. That's it - 4 hours, I guess five if you include the shopping.

Now I am home searcing for something to watch on t.v. trying to talk myself out of doing homework. ITS A HOLIDAY FOR PETES SAKE!!! I WILL NOT DO HOMEWORK!!!

So now you see why I am not a fan of the holiday

When I Grow Up

I was reading a blog this morning. The woman was talking about what she wants to be when she grows up. She would love to be a Grandchild follower. She would love to just follow her grandkids around and take pictures of their precious moments. (She had pics of her GK's on the blog - her grandsons caught a wild turkey!!!) Anyway, she asked the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" This got me thinking.

My immediate thought is - "I am already what I want to be - a teacher" I love my job. But as I was ironing my clothes this morning (btw - I HATE IRONING!!) I got to thinking about jobs. I decided to choose a job that I would never have but would love to do. I guess you would call it my dream job. I think I would love to be a photographer for a travel magazine. The magazine would pay for my trip! I could travel around the world (which I really want to do) and not have to pay for it. I would get to take pictures (which I also LOVE to do) and they publish them.

BEST JOB EVER!!!!

So I as well will pose the question,

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Restructuring of my classroom

Last week I went and visited another kindergarten class in the district. Matthew Fishencord (we call him Fish) is an amazing teacher. His classroom runs its self. I really like what he does. I had been in his classroom before and have used a few of his techniques. But this time I went I really paid attention. I went with another K teacher from my school. She runs her class almost exactly like his. I think it was good to go with her. (We can't even speak Fish's name to the other teachers - they hate him) The trip really motivated me. I came back to work the next day ready to change EVERYTHING. I almost did. I do calendar and cirlce time like Fish. I even do centers like him now.

Life is sooooooooo much better. I hardly have any dicipline problems anymore. The kids are engaged and are enjoying what they do. They know exactly what is going to happen so they are prepared. The kids are happier and so am I. I find that I am no longer looking at the time in the same way. I used to look at the clock and hope for recess or a special (music, ART, etc.) I needed that break. Now I look at the clock and wish we didn't have recess ot specials because it interupts our activities!

Fish was right when he said that he didn't know how teachers do it. They are exhausted all the time. I know I was! But not anymore!!!

In January I am going to rearrange my classroom to better accomodate for our centers. I really hope I don't upset the other K teachers by doing this!! Oh well, if it makes me happy and my students happy I'm going to do it!!!

Life's little joys

Do you ever stop to think about the little things that happen and just make you smile?

Sunday evening I wasn't looking forward to a long work week (maybe I was still tired from the field trip on friday). Usually I am really good at not thinking about work until monday.

I was getting ready for bed thinking about how I had before school duty (which means I can't be late - or get anything done before the kids come) when it hit me... Next week I have afternoon recess duty (THE MOST DREADED DUTY OF THEM ALL!!!) but it is only a three day week because of Thanksgiving! That put a smile on my face. Then Jenny asked me if I could switch duties with her on Tuesday because she has a meeting. OF COURSE!!!! Now this means I only have afternoon recess duty TWO DAYS!!!!

So Monday morning I was out on the playground at duty (not freezing my butt off because for some unknown reason Mother Nature is being difficult!) I looked up at the marquee and saw that it is early release on Thursday! I had completely forgotten!!! Yes - another smile! I'm trying not to think about the fact that at our meeting on Thursday the ENTIRE staff will be watching me on video. Yes - now a frown. I'm NOT looking forward to THAT!!!

Today I was looking over my calendar to plan for the upcoming week and realized it is only about 4 weeks until Chirstmas break - I WAS BEAMING!!!

Can you see that all my happiness revolves around work - or the lack thereof!!!! I know pathetic.

What little thing puts a smile on your face???

Tolmachoff Farm Field Trip

It was our first field trip this school year. We went to Tolmachoff Farm on 75th Ave and Bethany Home Rd. Everything ran smoothly. I didn't lose any children!!! I am exhausted! I guess part of that is what I did with the kids after the field trip! When we got back to the school half of the class went home with their parents who came on the trip. So I only had 10 kids. We played in the classroom for half an hour and then we went out to the playground for the last 20 minutes until dismissal. My boys LOVE to play soccer. SO they were all over there playing. I walked over to watch them and decided to play with them. They all wanted to be on my team (completely different than when I was in grade school). We picked teams and played for 15 minutes.

I always love when I have the opportunity to just play with the kids. I am always telling them this and telling them that. I am always the teacher and I love the few occasions when I can just be their friend. As a teacher you have to be careful with this and make sure they kids know when you are their friend and when you are their teacher. I make it a clear point to say to them, okay no more playing lets get serious. Then they know that I am back in teacher mode.

I gotta say though, soccer is a GREAT workout!!!

Nothing to post

It has been a week since my last post. Nothing has really been going on. Nothing worth posting I guess. Most of my time on the computer has been for homework or for trying to change my blog template. I was wanting a really cute template and the basic ones on this site are kinda boring. I am still trying to figure it out. For some reason it won't let me.

I went to my mom's family reunion on Saturday. I wasn't going to go cuz I really don't know anyone and they are all really old. Plus I had a lot of running around to do. But then Erna came with her girls and so I decided to go and then Clay decided to go and then dad said he would come. So we all ended up going and staying later then we intended to. I did still get everything done after we got back. So it all worked out.

I am very excited that Tuesday is a day off. Everytime I think about work tomorrow I remember it is only for one day and then I get a day off. Then on Wednesday I have a sub so I can go observe a teacher in the district. And Friday is our field trip to the farm. So all in all it will be an easy week (I Hope!!!)

I find it interesting that everytime I say I don't have anything to post, the post ends up being one of my longest. Sorry for the randomness!

Friend or Acquaintance???

I realized not to long ago that I don't have very many friends. I have some acquaintances who I talk to every now and then. And if I don't want to feel awkward at a party I can stand by them and not feel to weird. Yes, it is pathetic, I know, but thats my life.

SO ANYWAY,

It is REALLY depressing when you figure out that the one person you thought was a friend turns out to only be an acquaintance. ACTUALLY, it made me mad!

This person was at the same party as I was, I talked to this person for a minute when she arrived but I could tell she was distracted (busy with her friends) SO I spent the evening with my acquaintances. Toward the end of the night I sought her out because I didn't get in a good visit with her (we only ever talk at church). I found her and tried to start a converstation with her. She answered my question and then turned around and ignored me!!! In the words of Stephanie Tanner -- HOW RUDE!!! At that point I was done! I left and came home.

I am so mad that she treated me like that!!!

I'm tired and am going to bed, MAYBE I wont be as mad in the morning. DOUBTFUL

P.S. I am now really good at spelling the word - acquaintance!!!

Icecream........for breakfast???

This morning I went out to pick up my kids on the playground and one of my little girls comes walking up and says, "I didn't get to finish my breakfast." She then proceeds to lick her icecream cone. Yes, thats right, her breakfast was a vanilla icecream cone!!! I told her that she needed to throw it way because breakfast was over.

WHAT WAS HER MOM THINKING???
Most people know better that to feed a child icecream for breakfast.

Was she wild the rest of the day? I think so, but maybe she was the same as she is everyday. Maybe it was my sub concious knowing what she had for breakfast and exagerating her behavior.

Two tips for parents -

1. DON'T feed your child icecream for breakfast
and
2. IF you do, don't send them to school with it!!! Then at least if the child tells me she had icecream I can give the parent the benefit of the doubt.

I almost made it!

Last year I was sick ALOT!!! You name it, I had it.

This year I haven't been sick yet. I was really pleased especially with P/T conferences this week. Both times I had conferences last year I was sick and had to reschedule several conferences. It was a mess. This week I kept telling myself, "Yea!! I'm not sick this year." I wouldn't say it out loud because I didn't want to jinks it.

Well, this morning I woke up with a sore throat and a very runny nose. I was hoping it was allergies but I haven't gotten better yet today. I eyes burn like it is allergies but usually when I wake up with allergies I am okay by the end of the the day.

I guess we will see when I get home and take some allergy meds. I hope it isn't something more. Just once I want to get through P/T conferences without being sick!!!

Conferences

Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE parent teacher conferences???? Well I do. It is 5:20pm and I am still in my classroom! I have one more conference at 5:45 and the parent probably wont show. I hope she does this student needs HELP HELP HELP!!! Then after the conference I have to go to Ottawa for my class. I won't get home until 9:00. I guess I could hope that we would get out early but getting out at 8:40 is already early I shouldn't hope for more, especially when we aren't even suppose to get out until 9:30.

I have another late night of conferences on Thursday but at least I don't have class that night!

I better eat my dinner before my next conference shows. I'm always nicer on a full stomach.

Reflection

It has been a week of reflection for me. A family member is going through the same tough trial of axiety that I went through 7 years ago. She sent out a plea for help and it was amazing to see the response she got from family and friends. I was one of those family members that responded. And I am grateful I was able to help. I sent her an e-mail about my past struggle with anxiety and offered to go to her house and give her all the stuff I used to overcome my anxiety. She was very grateful and will hopefully go through the program so she can be happy again.

Because of this situation I have spent the week remembering back to when I had anxiety and how this trial in my life strengthened me. It was the darkest time in my life. I was miserable, sad, depressed and didn't know what to do. I prayed and my prayers were instantly answered through my dad. He came into my room right after I ended my prayer and gave the program and saved my life. Yes, it SAVED my life. I am a happy person now who loves life. Seven years ago I hated myself and my life. Now, I cant get enough of life!!!

Right before this plea for help from my cousin I was reading my patriarcal blessing. It mentions several times that I will work with women. I didn't know what that meant until now. I realize that because I overcame my anxiety I am able to help the women around me who now suffer as I once did.

Then to top of this entire week of self reflection I opened up my Relief Society Manual to study the lesson for today and it is all about trials. The spirit I felt while studying the lesson was so strong. I understood even more how much the Lord was there for me through my trial.

I never have and never will look back on my life with anxiety and regret it. It has made me the person I am today. It was a trial that strengthened me and helped me grow spiritually.

School Pic

Because I am a teacher we get free pictures when Lifetouch comes to the school. We just got them back. Here is my pic for the 08-09 school year.

Puerto Penasco in detail

On saturday morning we got up, made breakfast, and headed to Puerto Penasco. On our way there Kyle says to me, "I like you alot better without anxiety!" My reply to him, "I like me with out anxiety too!" Never before would I have gone of to a whole other country and decide to just go to the beach not knowing where we were staying or what we were doing.

We go there around 2 o'clock and first had to find a hotel. We drove around for a good while and decided to check out Viva hotel. It was the perfect choice. We got a room for 77 dollars a night. The clerk asked us if we wanted a room on the first or second floor and I said the second. I knew we would get a better view from there. He let us see the room before we checked in. We loved it so we got it. It has a balcony which I enjoyed the next morning. I woke up just as the sun was coming up and Kyle and Ibis were still asleep. I got my book and sat on the balcony and read and enjoyed the view. It was amazing.

On the balcony.




They had a nice pool area. Kyle used the right words when we described it as the tropic pool area. There were palm trees every where, a pool, two hot tubs and a bar. It was very beautiful. There was also a restaurant at the hotel. It was right next to the pool. We went and ate breakfast there. I think that was one of the best parts of the vactation.


There I was sitting in this restaurant looking out the window at the bird flying across the beach, listening to the smooth sounds of Jim Brickman and other piano peices and eating an amazing omelet. I can only think of one other thing that could be added to that moment to make it the most perfect moment in my life!

TO BE CONTINUED...

PUERTO PENASCO

I had a ton of fun in Puerto Penasco.

It was a weekend of first for me.

It was my first hotel with an ocean view.

It was my first time at a mexican beach.

It was my first time buying knock off sunglasses.

It was my first time on a quad.

It was my first time in a cab.

It was my first time on a horse in over twenty years, (they terrify me)!

More details of our weekend to come. I just wanted to get some pictures on here to start out.

Debut Album

Debut Album. Here's how you play:

1 - Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:RandomThe first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to Random quotations: http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

If you want to do this again, you'll hit refresh to generate new quotes, because clicking the quotes link again will just give you the same quotes over and over again.

3 - Go to flickr's "explore the last seven days" http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Put it all together, that's your debut album.

You can't cheat, but even with randomness, some people at the message board were getting some awesome results.

Here is my debut album:

Name of Band: Þorsteinsson

Album Name: When we're in Love

Album Cover:

Mexico

Kyle and I got to Mexico around 6:30 last night. Ibis looks so cute pregnant. I got Kyle in trouble!!! I always bring something for Ibis when I come for a visit. This trip I brought some clothes for the baby. Tjy are cute and green so they can be wore whether it is a boy or girl. But Ibis asked Kyle why he hadn't bought HIS OWN baby any clothes!!! haha
We ate dinner, meatloaf and potates. It was good. Ibis also made a tuna salad. She LOVES tuna. I told her not to eat alot becuase it is not good for the baby. She didn't know. I told her to eat salmon instead it doesn't have the mercury in it. I should give her the paper I wrote on nutrition during pregnancy.

Anyway,

It is 5 o'clock in the morning now!!! Why can't I sleep right?!?!? I hardly slept last night I was up several times. I got an air mattress to sleep on and it is a little more comfortable than the cot I used last time. I was very warm last night. The third time I woke up I turned on the AC unit. Why I didn't do that earlier, I have no idea!

Today we are off to the beach. I don't know what time we are leaving. I barely woke up and Kyle and Ibis are still asleep. Although I do hear some bumping around upstairs so I think they will be down soon. I need to take my shower. I want to look cute today. I want to take lots of pictures and want to look my best!!!

I also can't wait to do some shopping. Kyle said the area we are going to has great shopping. We will see.

Busy, busy, busy

It has been a few days since I have posted. I have been very busy and really haven't had the time. Now I do, WHY, I am on VACATION!!! I took tomorrow and Tuesday off of work (monday is a holiday) and am going to Mexico. I am getting more excited each day that it gets closer to going. I got home late yesterday and today because I have been trying to get everything done and ready for the sub. Now it is done and I am ALMOST completely worry free. I am going to finish my homework tonight and then I will really be on vacation!!!

TAGGED

I've Been Tagged

8 OBSESSIONS
* Twilight
* Criminal Minds
* NCIS
* The Mentalist
* Maybe I should just say TV in general
* Breakfast
* Lunch
* Dinner
I better be careful!!!

8 WORDS OR PHRASES I USE OFTEN
* Criss Cross Applesauce
* Hands behind your back
* Show me a straight line
* Stop talking
* Get it, Got it, Good
* I don't want to hear running feet!
* sweetie
* You're a dork (this I say at home NOT AT SCHOOL!!!)

8 THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE
* Finish my masters
* Buy a house
* Get married
* Have a family
* Travel the world
* Go to the PBR
* Pay off my debt
* Go to the world series

8 THINGS I'VE LEARNED
*My ABC's
*My 123's
*How to talk
*How to walk
*How to read
*How to lead
*How to tell time
*How to rhyme

8 PLACES I WOULD LOVE TO GO
*On a date!!!
*Australia
*Denmark
*England
*Africa
*Italy
*Rome

8 THINGS I CURRENTLY WANT OR NEED
*A Vacation
* The Early Childhood Endorsement deadline to be extended
* FOOD! I'm starving! You should hear my stomach growl!
* The camera I found on EBAY!
* My Student loans to be paid
* ALL my bills to be paid
* To have my homework finished
* To go to bed

8 PEOPLE I TAG
EVERYONES been tagged!

Motivation

I have learned when I get the urge to do somehing I better do it. And tonight I did it. I finally washed my car. I have needed to do it since summer vacation. Tonight I got the motivation to wash it. I don't know where it came from. I got home from work at 3:30 and then watched House while I ate my dinner/lunch. Then I went in my room and got crackin on the homework. I wrote 1/2 of one paper, typed up an observation I did on Sunday and posted my two required posts for my online class all in an hour and a half. Now all I need to do is finish the paper I started and type up one other paper. After I stopped the homework for the night I came into the livingroom and played the piano for half an hour. You would think I would be tired but for some reason I decided to wash my car. Granted it was 6:30 at night and dark outside, but we have a street light at the end of the driveway and the light from the shed in the side yard gave me enough light to kinda see what I was doing. We will see tomorrow how well I did.

Hopefully it will look this shiny and new!

Questionaire - I never do these and this will be the last

Welcome to the 2008 edition of Get to know your friends! Hit forward, > change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to your > friends including the person who sent it to you. The theory is that you > will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not > have known!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 5:00, 5:07, 5:14, 5:21
2. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds
3. Last movie you saw? Ghost Town
4. What is your favorite TV Show? Name ONE?!?!?!? Are you crazy. I guess the favorite of the favorites is...Criminal Minds, Mmmmm Shamar Moore!!!
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Two Eggs
6. What is your middle name? Beth
7. What food do you dislike? Hawaiian Haystacks
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Kate Voegel
9. What kind of car do you drive? Toyota Matrix
10. Favorite sandwich? Safeway's Deli Selections!!! I have several, it depends on which safeway I get it from. The california dreamin' is yummy!
11. What characteristic do you despise? The bad ones
12. Favorite item of clothing? Jeans
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? > Australia - in a heartbeat
14. Favorite brand of clothing? New York and Company. I also love the Tall Girl Shop
16. Favorite birthday? 25th - Went ot a d-backs game and ended up with the best seats in the house
17. Favorite sport to watch? baseball
18. Furthest place you are sending this? Peoria lol, that's sad!
19. Person you expect to send it back first? who knows???
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Neither!!!! I don't like to wake up and I don't like to go out at night. But I get more done in the morning.
22. What is your shoe size? 11
23. Pets? Three fish in the classroom, Black eyes, Goldie and Optimus Prime!
24. What's your favorite holiday? All the ones I get off work for!
25. What did you want to be when you were little? How little? I don't remember
26. How old are you today? 25
27. What is your favorite candy? Kit Kat
28. What is your favorite flower? Tulips
29. What day are you looking forward to? Saturday
30. What are you listening to right now? The AC unit in my room
31. What was the last thing you ate? Chicken sandwich from BK
32. Do you wish on stars? Yes!
33. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Green
34. How is the weather right now? Sunny and warm. You should ask my class that question. You will get hand movements!
35. Last person you spoke to on the phone? The Secretary in the front office.
36. Favorite soft drink? I don't drink soft drinks, it has been years since I have had one.
39. Favorite restaurant? Texas Roadhouse
40. Hair color? RED - it's the best!
41. What was your favorite toy as a child? Don't remember
42. Summer or winter? WINTER!!!! hands down
43. Hugs or kisses? ??? Kisses from the Nieces
44. Chocolate or Vanilla Ice Cream? I dream of Chocolate. I found some Sara Lee Chocolate cheese cake bites that taste like chocolate icecream so I get my fix!
What is under your bed? I'm afraid to look
48. What did you do last night? Homework, watched t.v. started making dinner (mom finished)
49. How many keys on your key ring? don't know, and I don't want to get up to go count them > 50. How many years at your current job? 2
51. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
52. How many towns have you lived in? 1 again, how sad!
53. Do you make friends easily? no

Thank you friends! I look forward to getting to know you better.

Random

I didn't have anything specific to blog about so I decided I would just blog what I am thinking about right now.

The Weekend.

I WANT TO DO SOMETHING! I want to get out of the house, hang out with friends, and have a fun weekend. Do I have friends to hang out with? Not really. Sure I have the few people I talk to at church or at work but we don't go out. I don't know about things that are happening over the weekends or have anyone to go with.

A guy from work asked me if I wanted to go to Schnepf farms with him this weekend. Great, now I have to figure out a polite way to say no thank you. I don't want to go out with him for two reasons, 1. He is not a member of the church, and 2. I work with the guy, that would make things very awkward. Just ask one of the teachers who was going out with another teacher and then broke up with him. Yes, definitely awkward.
NO THANK YOU!

Does this blog sound depressing? Well, it is. Yes I am depressed. I get this way when I stop and think about how long it has been since I have been on a date. I know I will get over it, I usually do, I stop thinking about it and stay busy with everything that I need to be doing. When I am like this I just have to hang tough and wait for it to pass.

Tacos

Chicken tacos, shredded beef tacos, ground beef tacos, carne asada tacos, fish tacos, crunchy tacos, soft tacos,

EGG TACOS!

Thats right, egg tacos! Many times I have made a breakfast dish involving eggs and corn tortillas. It is one of my favorite breakfast dishes. I made it again yesterday and it occured to me that they were egg tacos. Now I have a name for my dish.

What's in an egg taco?

I scramble eggs to my liking. I call it slow and low. I don't stir the eggs while they cook, I gently fold them. It takes a little longer this way but the taste is incredible. I scramble one egg for each taco. So yesterday I had three tacos so I scrambled 3 eggs.

After the eggs are done I set them aside. I melt some butter in a pan and heat a corn tortilla in the butter. The corn tortilla needs to be warm enough so it won't tear when you fold it. When my tortillas are done I put them on a plate, add egg to each tortilla and top it with cheese and Pico de Gallo.

MMMMMMMMMMMM!!! You should give it a try sometime!

Read to your children

This semester I am taking a course on literacy for young children. On the first night of class we were given an article about Raja, a young boy who was read to from the day he was born and every day after that.

"A few of the books read to him where Mercer Mayer's Just For You; Bill Martin's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?;..." and other books. These stories are easy reads, repetitive, rhyming, and predictable.

Obviously for the first few months baby raja didn't pay attention to the books. After two months, when Raja was in his crib crying, the book Just For You was held up to him and read, he stopped crying. He looked at the book until the story was finished. He listened through two more familiar stories with the same interest.

"It was as if during those first 2 months Raja had gradually developed a nonverbal association between reading books and comfort." The sounds of the words being read were like the mothers heartbeat in the womb.

"At 3 to 4 months - Raja was restless when a new book was read to him. These books needed to be introduced slowly, a few pages at a time. Raja identifies with the sound of the language and not just the pictures. One of the familiar stories acts as a pacifier... His piercing scream (produced by a vaccination shot) is stilled by his father reciting "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?" With the needle still in his arm, he starts to laugh.

At 5 months - Raja has an attention span of at least 40 minutes and a repertoire of 15 familiar stories.

At 9 months - His attention span with familiar stories is at least 75 minutes. He sits with his father or mother for 75 minutes reading books. He has a repertoire of 22 stories. He turns pages by himself.

At 10 months - his attention is now inexhaustible; his parents' is not!

At 11 months - He brings to a parent books that are requested by title. His parents can pull him away from almost any other activity by beginning to read one of his favorite books. He spend up to 45 minutes playing with his books by himself - turning pages and laughing at favorite scenes."

It was an incredible article!

All of this is before he is even a year old! All from reading to him from day one. Parents can even start reading to them while they are still in the womb. Read them these simple books listed in the article. Read them over and over again. Trust me, they never get tired of "Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see?" (You will, they won't!)

Work, BBQ, Movie

Yesterday was a very long day. I left home at 7:00 am to get to work. I had a good day at work but I did get a little annoyed at a few people.

Nathan, the night lead custodian at my work always draws pictures or leaves notes on my dry erase board. When I got to work yesterday the note on the board started out, "Callie is messy" and then he left a long note about something I asked him the day before. Now I know I am a little messy and my desk is always covered with stuff and we joke about it sometimes, but I thought that went a little to far. I was mad at him but he doesn't get to work until 2 o'clock so by then I wasn't as mad. Plus he brought me a file cabinent that I had been asking for so then I couldn't be mad at him anymore.

The other person I was annoyed at was the music teacher. She decided she needed to tell a second grade teacher that my class is wild. REALLY?!?!?! They seem to only have a problem in their special classes (Art, P.E., Music, Library). When they are with me they are great (most of the time). They are five and do have their bad days. But I didn't think is was the music teachers place to let others know how my class is.

After work I had to go to a ward activity just down the street from my work. So I didn't go home in between work and the activity. I am on the activities committee so I needed to be there at 5:15 to help get things ready. The BBQ was pretty lame. Not many people showed up, but of course I left around 7 so maybe more people showed up later. I didn't want to stay at the BBQ long and then Celena came and wanted to go see Eagle Eye so I went with her.

It was a good movie. Kinda along the lines of I-Robot. Plus Shia LaBeouf is an actor that I enjoy watching.

It was a busy day and I didn't get home until 10:30!

Switzerland

On many occastions I have been refered to as "Swizerland." Especially where politics are concerned. I don't like to ruffle feathers. I can, and do when I feel that I need to speak up and let my view point known. Now is one of those times.

SO SWITZERLAND IS ON VACATION!!!

I have left Switzerland for a few minutes to let everyone know my point of view.

There has been alot of discussion regarding gay marriage and the proposition that will be on the ballot in November. Some say that gay and lesbian couples should have the right to be married. Others say that marriage should be reserved for the union of one man and one woman.

Where do I stand? Marriage is meant for a man and a woman. I will be voting Yes for Prop 102! There are alot of arguments for and against this propostition. Here are my arguments,

The biggest concern I have is the freedom of religion. There have already been several lawsuits throught the country because people are trying to uphold their religious beliefs.

"California Lutheran High School, a Protestant school in Wildomar, holds that homosexuality is a sin. After the school suspended two girls who were allegedly in a lesbian relationship, the girls' parents sued, saying the school was violating the state's civil rights act protecting gay men and lesbians from discrimination. The case is before a state judge." (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91486340)

"A clerk in Vermont refused to perform a civil union ceremony after the state legalized them. In 2001, in a decision that side-stepped the religious liberties issue, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that he did not need to perform the ceremony because there were other civil servants who would. However, the court did indicate that religious beliefs do not allow employees to discriminate against same-sex couples."(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91486340)

"Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association of New Jersey, a Methodist organization, refused to rent its boardwalk pavilion to a lesbian couple for their civil union ceremony. The couple filed a complaint with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights. The division ruled that the boardwalk property was open for public use, therefore the Methodist group could not discriminate against gay couples using it. In the interim, the state's Department of Environmental Protection revoked a portion of the association's tax benefits. The case is ongoing." ( http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91486340)

Each of these cases are a clear example of the freedom of religion being attacked.

I am sure anyone who disagrees with me on this issue will have their reasons for choosing to vote the way they are. I will gladly hear those reasons. Will it change my point of view? No. Am I wanting to change anyone elses vote? No. I just want everyone around me to know where I stand on this issue and why.

And with that said, I am on my way back to Switzerland.

The Cure-all for Dental Phobia

I HATE going to the dentist!!!!!! At least I used to. Well, now I only dislike going to the dentist. What changed?

BRACES

After having braces on for two years, nothing can hurt me now!!!!! Having braces was PAINFUL! Going and getting my teeth yanked this way and that every month for two years made getting fillings very easy.

I had to get three filling replaced today. I had silver ones in and they were pretty old so they replaed them. I was very nervous before I went. I was terrified to get the shot to get numb. But I went and it was fine. It didn't hurt at all. Why?

Because nothing compares to the pain of braces!

My Yenta

Several months ago I came across a blog written by a single lds woman. She is an incredible writer and I enjoyed reading one particular post. It is titled, "I Need a Yenta" I will put the link to the site at the end of this post but I also wanted to just put some highlights from her blog in this post. In her post about a Yenta she talks about people setting her up with men. She makes some really funny and true points.



"I base my selective listening on the spouse of the person offering the advice. If their spouse is less than perfect or desirable, I choose not to take their formula into account. Because really, if that is the best man she could find, why would I want to take her advice on the subject? She clearly is not an expert on finding the perfect man..."

"Few people know that the real Yiddish definition of yenta is "busy body," or someone who knows both parties well. An LDS yenta could really serve some helpful purposes, because, trust me, the art of matchmaking has really gone downhill..."

"in my humble opinion, it is all too often found that a wannabe yenta has set up a man and a woman with all of the forethought of "He's single, she's single. Let's set them up!..." (P.S. I have had this happen SEVERAL times!)

"A truly qualified yenta would find and plan a first date that caters to both parties' common interests. All the stress of meeting and dating would be taken off the couple, and true love would ensue..."




So in all fairness, I do appreciate the help of family and friends in their endevers to find me a man. I would just love it if they thought through the process of the set up. Two single people DOES NOT mean perfect match.

So did I find my Yenta? I'm not sure but I'll let you know. I just might have done that, if she goes through with set up. I was talking to her today and she asked me who I have my eye on. "Who is it that you watch in sacrament meeting?" Are you serious, did she just ask me that? She did and I answered. I am not getting my hopes up that she will do anything. I have had enough people tell me they would set me up and do nothing (wannabe Yenta) So I will keep you posted on wether or not I found my Yenta.

http://singles.ldsblogs.com/2007/10/09/i_need_a_yenta

Tall Girl Shop

I have really enjoyed my day today. I didn't think I would, seeing as I had a training class this morning at 8:30. But is has been quite enjoyable. I got out of my training class early (9:15 instead of 10:00). I decided to go to the Tall Girl Shop for a new pair of jeans. Last time I went they were clearing out their old inventory before restocking their shelves with the new fall line. So they didn't have any jeans my size. So today when I went, they had so much to choose from. The shop is expensive so I have to narrow down my selection to one pair of jeans. (I had 6 pair in the dressing room) I was able to find the perfect pair. They fit beautifully and look great. Plus I was able to get 25 dollars off of a hundred dollar purchase. So when I went to the counter and my jeans cost $99.95 the owner just went ahead and gave me the 25 dollars off cuz the price was so close to 100. SO YEAH!!!! I got my jeans for $80 (after tax).



Here are some reasons why I love this store.

-The women that work there are super sweet.
-There is the cutest little dog (molly) in the store - She's the owners dog. She just lays around and naps. Sometimes she will wander around to a new spot in the store. I just think it is so cute.
-If you have the wrong size in the dressing room you just let them know and they get you the size you need. You don't even have to leave the dressing room.
-They put your items in the dressing room as you shop so you don't have to hold your stuff while you continue to look around
-Their pants are LONG - 37" inseam. I can wear heals and the jeans still reach the floor.

Becoming a Writer

Today our school district had early release. While all the kids got to go home early, we as teachers had to sit through 2 1/2 hours of meetings. It gets a little tough there towards the end of the meetings but it is a nice change of pace from the regular day to day stuff.

In our first meeting we had a guest speaker. I don't remember her name but she was San Diego's Teacher of the year before she retired and moved to Sun City (WHY she would move from San Diego to Sun City I HAVE NO CLUE - but thats beside the point.) ANYWAY, SHe spoke to us about making our students become writers. Now while most of what she had to say had nothing to do with us in kindergarten (we just want our kids to be able to write words by the end of kinder) there were a few good points and one that will even help me as a writer.

The point she made that I really want to take to heart in my own life (when it comes to journaling/blogging) is to write about the things I want to remember. First I need to think about my life. Second I need to decide what part of my life is special and that I want to remember. And third, write it down in detail explaining why it is special to me.

By doing this we get past the "bed to bed" writing. ie: I got up, had breakfast, went to school, came home, went to bed. What part of that day was special?

This woman's presentation probably wouldn't have stuck in my mind the way it did if I hadn't watched Stephenie Meyer on Ellen yesterday. Meyer had never written anything before her Twilight Series. She had a dream one night and wanted to remember it. She started writing it down and before you know it Twilight was written and she was looking for an agent. Four years later she had written five books and has a movie on the way. All because of a special moment in her life that she wanted to remember.

NOW after writing this, I really didn't have anything special I wanted to remember about my day - well, except for her presentation. So hopefully when I blog next it will be a good story from a new writer (me).

Music and Books

I have really been enjoying my books and music lately. I went to Seagull Book and Milano's Music on Saturday and amd glad I did. I got two books at Seagull Book. I got Epicenter and Wrongly Accused. I just finished Epicenter tonight. It was a good book, it was about some people stuck in a building after a really bad earthquake. It was very touching. I even cried at some parts. Next up - Wrongly Accused. The author to this book is someone I have never read before so I will let you know how it is.

At Milano's Music I got some sheet music and a Disney Songbook. I have been listening to Marvin Goldstein in the car on the way to and from work. It inspires me to keep practicing the piano and surprisingly I AM improving. Some songs I haven't been able to play before are a little easier this time around. I just need to stay in the habit of practicing everyday.

I start school next week so we'll see how long my practicing keeps up. I think I will keep reaing - especially having to wait around until class starts at 6:30.

ON AN EXPTREMELY HAPPY NOTE- tomorrow is early release! The kids get to leave at 11:00. Even though I have to stick around for meetings it is nice every once in a while to have some time without the kids. PLUS we get to go out for lunch at a normal lunch hour. (instead of the usual 10:30 lunch)

Bitten

No, not by Edward Cullen!

I am getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. They are driving me nuts!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know why we have such a problem with mosquitoes here at home. I was home for 1 hour and already have three bites. My bites are always bad. I don't know if this happens to anyone else, but the spot where I am bit turns into a welt, itches like crazy which makes it worse cuz then I itch it and it just gets bigger.

I am really surprised that I haven't gotten West Nile. Come to think of it, I haven't felt well all day. Maybe I DO have West Nile!!!!!

I have had an upset stomach all day. I dont' know how my kids know when I don't feel well but anytime I am feeling bad my kids have a great day. Plus I am so busy at work I don't have time to think about my stomach. Now that I am home I feel worse. I should go take some AirBourne and Advil.

SCORE!!!!

I scored some great seats to last nights D-Backs game. One of my coworkers, Cammy, had extra seats and gave them to me (along with a parking pass! SWEET!!) Her family has season tickets. They had six seats but were only going to use four. They took the best seats. We got some great seats though. When Cammy and her family left early they gave use their seats which were field level between third base and left field. There were only two rows infront of us. Last time I went to the game I thought I would never get seats like that again and here I was with amazing seats for the second time in two months. I went with Krystle from work. We had a lot of fun.

The game started off slow but I was on my feet by the end of the game. In the 6th inning the game was tied 0-0. I told Krystle I could feel it in my bones that the D-backs were going to score in this inning. Sure enough the scored one run. Now the game was 1-0. In the bottom of the 8 I could feel it in my bones again that they were going to score again. I almost didn't say anything to Krystle but then I knew I would be kicking myself if they scored and I didn't say anything. So I went ahead and told her I "could feel a run coming on."


Next thing I know, Jeff Salazar (so adorable, cute, handsome, and my d-backs heartthrob) comes in to pinch hit for Brandon Webb. It made my night to have Salazar play, he doesn't play every game. He is the first up to bat this inning and on the first swing hits a triple (makes it to third base). YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The d-backs ended up scoring two more runs that inning. I told Krystle that now they just couldn't screw it up in the ninth.

They almost did! The Red's ended up scoring 2 runs in the ninth bringing the score to 2-3 with a man on third ready to score the tying run! We were all on our feet when Qualls struck out their last batter!!! WE WON THE GAME!!!! Good job boys!

There was a fireworks show after the game but Krystle and I didn't stay to watch. Krystle had to get up early to take her parents to the airport. We watched the fireworks while we were walking to our car. It was really cool to hear the fireworks echo in the garage. During the finale of the fireworks a bunch of cars alarms went off. Pretty funny!

FYI - I did not take these pics. I forgot to take my camera and Krystles didn't work to well. I found these online. I love having pictures to go with my post.