Mah-Jong

Tonight was so funny. I played mah-jong (a Chinese tile game similar to rummy) for about 6 hours. At one point my mom thought she won, but she didn't and it was just so hilarious. SHe tried to take a tile and discard one, but in order to win you must have all straights or threesomes of a tile and a pair. It was so funny. My mom was pretty determined she won and didn't realize her error.

Another funny point during the night was when my grandma's feet were underneath the table. I put my feet on top of them and tapped them. She looked at my sister and was kind of freaked out, asking why she did that, then she realized it was me. hehehe.

Oh Happy Day!!!!!!!!

Today was a most awesome day! Not because I worked out my problems or anything, but because a friend's friend helped me reduce my speeding ticket to nothin! HOOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a fantastic day! I also saved a kid at school. He was gushing blood and I came to his rescue. Okay, okay, it wasn't anything life threatening, but a KILLER bloody nose, shooting out like hose water! Anyhow, besides that, my day was just ok.

Following some advice...

I've received so much advice about how I should handle this weird, emotional, and sensitive situation I've been put in. AND, I've decided I'll take the road not taken. I'm going to ignore it for a while and be distant. I guess if I'm not cool enough to add as a friend on facebook, even though you've added my sister and brother, that I don't have to try when no one else does. It's some insight I received from my sister. I always try too hard. I always want people to like me. And because of that, people walk all over me and at times I let them. I've either been too nice or too opinionated. So now I'm going to be neither. I'm not going to care and I'm not going to try to be an active part in anyone's life. Why am I always the one that calls? Wait, it's cause I'm the only one that cares, not becuase everyone is busy. I am busy too even though Daniel is gone. In fact I"m more busy with church callings, new job, new grade assignment, and three classes, but I still manage to call people. Hmmm....it's a great new way to think and I should have thought of it sooner. It's not because I'm not a nice person. Nope, not it one bit. I've sacrificed and been thoughtful countless times. Now I'm going to put myself in other people's shoes and stop being that person. It should be fun. I don't have to do ANYTHING! Mwhahahaha. I'm going to test it out and see how it feels to not be the thoughful person who cares about everyones feeling and about feeling a part of things. I mean, it'll totally be out of my character, I'm generally nice to EVERYONE, even people who don't deserve it, but this time, I'm not going to be. I'm going to be the icy shoulder. I'm going to stand back from it all because more than anything I'm tired of being the only one who cares about how people are treated and wanting to change it. I'll just do like everyone else and settle it by ignoring it. Maybe it will work for me, especially since it seems to be working for everyone else. I don't even know why it bothers me so much, but it does. I'm a totally blue personality and I want everything to be out in the open and when it's all weird and uncomfortable and no one thinks there is a problem, but me, maybe I'm emotially the problem. So here goes! Here I go, I'll not care. This is me not caring: ZzzZZzzZZZzz :)

Thoughts....

Right now I'm so conflicted. In fact I'm sitting in tears wondering how come the world is full of selfish people? At first I thought, maybe I am too much of an idealist. But as I was preparing a lesson for church tomorrow I couldn't help but think about this situation, I am right. In fact I've put myself in her situation over and over and have concluded that if Daniel's mom or dad had a surprise visit into town and we had a birthday party or something happening I would be more than happy to have them. And I know that Daniel would love to have my parent's join us as well! Maybe I am one of the rare cases of people who like their in-laws, but I hit the jackpot when I married Daniel. His family is awesome and have been so great to me...which is why I also feel so conflicted. I wouldn't ever want my family to treat Daniel the way that I want to treat her... But at the same time I know that Daniel would never act that rude and selfishly. Maybe it's youth, maybe it's just immaturity, regardless of the reason, it's still wrong and it's eating at my heart. I don't want to isolate anyone or be mean, but a part of me wants to. Another part of me wants to be nice regardless of the situation. I mean, if I can be nice to people who made fun of me in my childhood, I can certainly be kind to someone married to a loved one, right? ....maybe. Maybe I'm not ready to deal with this. Maybe I just really want my husband to be home so I can gripe to him, instead of a blog. Who knows? I certainly don't even know my own thoughts, so how can I solve a problem I didn't create? ...not sure...maybe it's not solveable. ...maybe it's doomed to pull my brother away from our family? ...maybe he wants that, which is why he's done nothing to defend our family. ....maybe he loves her family more?? ...maybe he's blinded by "love." Don't know and starting to NOT CARE. Not looking forward to Thanksgiving all of a sudden. Maybe I should stay home and hang out with Simba and eat ice cream...I have some delicious peppermint ice cream in the freezer....hmmm....good ideas... I guess I might never have answers, perhaps I will only have questions...wondering why this? Why? Clearly I'm just upset and that's why I'm having horrible thoughts racing through my mind...when will they stop!? GREAT!? More gray hair.

What the F---!!???!!??

SO, I'm a LITTLE purturbed. A family member of mine got married a few months back and his wife has done very rude things to people in our family (including mostly me). She's transformed him into a completely different person and it doesn't seem to be for the better. Although I have been struggling to get to know her, the more experiences our family has with her, the more I want to run and find him a new wife. It's not fair of me to say who he should love, but shouldn't family love each other?

Today my dad drove from Elko, NV to Salt Lake City. He had forgotten his key to my sisters house and called this family member of mine. He asked if he could come borrow his key. He said that he could come get it, but that at 7pm friends were coming over for Her birthday party and that he'd have to leave. I was a little taken back. ESPECIALLY SINCE MY PARENTS BOUGHT THIS GIRL A $200 NORTH FACE JACKET FOR HER BIRTHDAY!! It's always kinda been a rule in our family to invite family member to functions even if they can't attend...in fact I must admit that most people are like that. However this girl has transformed my brother into a social retard. I must admit I was super ticked off when I heard this. Especially since I had just called this girl to wish her a happy birthday and was putting something in the mail for her. More than anything, I am hurt. I am hurt that my father isn't allowed to be a part of a celebration, when he is clearly family!!!!! WHAT THE HELL HAS HAPPENED TO THIS GENERATION OF KIDS!?!?!??!?!? (because that's what they are, KIDS!) I know my parents didn't raise that family member to act this way. I'm shocked. I'm disguisted. I'm pissed. Be mean to me (since she already has), be inconsiderate to my sister (once again, already has), but what the F%@&????!!!!??? An old man wanting to be a part of your life?! That's screwed up. I've tried. We've all tried. What the hell are we all suppose to do when she doesn't try. What would you do?! Need advice......

What a silly dog!

I must admit, so many things have happened lately and I've yet to write about them. However this moment from last night made me laugh so HARD. I nearly fell over!

As I wrote a letter on the dinner table I pushed aside some newspapers. I pushed much harder than I realized because a page flew off the table. It landed ontop of Simba's water dish. This angered him. He stood. He glared at the paper. THEN, here's the kicker, began to growl....starting softly, the growl grew into a loud bark! It sounded like a burgular was sitting in my living room with us! He did not like the paper on his water dish, so I promptly removed it. HAHAHAHAHA...this had me laughing for quite a while. Hopefully it will make you laugh too. Too much, too much my dear ol' doggy.

Days when I hate teaching...

It's been a while since I've updated this blog. And it's ironic that my last post was about reasons WHY I teach when today I just need to vent about moments I absolutely LOVE being a teacher (sense the sarcasm yet?).

This year I've been blessed with, yet again, another challenging class. It's been this way since the beginning of time. I've gotten a large majority of kids who have no faith in themselves, bottom of the class, lazy, bad attitude, scary parents, overly social/lacking social skills, emotionally scarred, you name it! But I completely believe that I was given these kids for a reason. I truly believe that somehow God led them to my room and wants me to do everything in my power to motivate them. However, yesterday I was at the end of my rope....and the knot was failing me, because I could feel myself falling into an abyss of anger and frustration.

As I was falling into this abyss I couldn't help but think, "Wow, today is the first day I've had a student acutlly YELL at me. The joys of teaching, the joys of teaching, the joys of teaching." It happened when an extremely difficult student of mine, who happens to be a pathological liar and kleptomaniac, came walking through the halls when I was suppose to be free of kids. I glanced down at my watch, the time read 3:08 pm. I wasn't imaging things, he was back for me. And of course he should be, because all day he didn't do anything but sit in his seat and ignored the existence of me as a teacher. Sitting and looking at his desk. Sitting and staring at other students. Sitting and staring at a marker. The list could be endless. However that list would NOT include: following directions, participating in the discussion, writing assignments down, participating in practice, etc., etc., etc...... Now you can imagine my head was spinning. It actually wasn't. Not yet. It didn't begin to spin until I saw him that moment after school. He began speaking to me, "Lie, lie. Lie lie lie lie lie, lie lie lie lie lie. Lie, lie, lie, and lie. Continued lying, lying, and lying." I couldn't believe my ears. His mentor couldn't believe her ears either. Then the next shocker. I guess it never shocked me, so much as confirmed predictions about this child. "YELL! YELL! YELL! YELL Mrs. Jones! YELL! YELL! YELL!!!"

I managed to keep my composure somehow, but I did get a few annoying yells back about how the world didn't hate him. All the students in our class didn't hate him. I didn't hate him. And that he was a nice kid who just constantly made bad choices. He didn't seem to understand and continued with the yelling of "The world is out to get me speech" as I was turning redder and redder and as fellow teachers walked by in disbelief. I was about ready to just walk away when reason hit this child smack in the face. I was "reason," but I didn't get to smack him in the face. Finally this insane child realized I cared about him. Twenty minutes had passed and I could sense more frustration building in my tone. I gently squeezed his hand, made him pledge his life on starting fresh, and walked away.

Walking away made me realize there will be times in my profession when everythign I have done has done nothing. Where I have been utterly unsuccessful and hate it!! HATE IT! HATE IT! HATE IT! And although life is full of many challenges, and yada-yada-yada, I hate admitting defeat. My former principal, a very wise woman, always told me that I have to accept that I might not be able to change the world by reaching every child TODAY, that what I do reaches beyond today and into the future. As someone who find great joy in instant gratification, it frustrates me. I am constantly reminded of my inability to succeed and just pray to God that I can do more; that I can be better; that I can love my job and never feel like I did that moment I spoke with this child.

This Is Why I Teach....

Lately I have been wondering WHY I TEACH... I had contemplated all the kids I've made cry because I'm "too strict." LOL-Some actions have consequences... I've reflected on the many nights I've not slept because my lesson plans weren't "perfect." Only to realize that some of those perfect lesssons I spent all night working on were sometimes WAY over the heads of my students. I've wondered why I've spent much of my hard earned money back on my job and the kidsin my class....and why I've spent money on the supplies parents SHOULD HAVE BOUGHTFOR THEIR OWN CHILDEN.... I've contemplated in my mind the argumentativestudents and kids who "know everything." I've gone home crying too many nights because I've felt like nothing I ever do will ever give these kids a chance at a real life.... I've spent countlessnights on my knees in prayer for the kids in my class and ones I worry about at school.... I've been yelled at by a parent. I've been told that I'm assigning "stupid things kids don't need to do," about reading 30 minutes each night. The first twenty minutes of my day and last thirty minutes are the times I'm paid to plan all my lessons for Reading, Writing, Spelling, Science, Math, Social Studies, etc., grade papers, devise plans for struggling students, conference with parents of stuggling students or behavior problems, input grade, print progress reports/report cards, adjust scheduling, adjust classroom seating, map out standards to be taught before the CRT's (the test which AYP is judged), create sub plans, create emergency sub plans.....the list goes on. However, these aren't they reasons why I teach. I teach in spite of these things. I teach for several reasons. The one that sticks out in my mind most vividly is certain rewarding experiences. I'm reminded of why I teach because I saw a former student at Wal-mart. I'll call this kid "Howe" for privacy purposes. When "Howe" first came to me his father walked this petite boy up to me and told me that his child was not smart, he should have a 504, he'll lie, he'll cheat, he's not a good student. I was of course shocked, however since coming to Pahrump this has happened to me EVERY YEAR. This is year four. I replied that I'm sure that "Howe" was going to be an excellent addition to our class and I was excited to get to know him and despite what his father said, I'd heard excellent things about him. The first two months with "Howe" were very painful. He would run in the halls and jump against the walls with his feet and ninja kick them. I would talk to "Howe" every day and remind him of the rules. His behavior did not end there, he would not pay attention in class. His desk was so messy that he couldn't find anything in his desk. He wouldn't turn in his homework. He'd get bad grades on tests. He couldn't answer questions in class. He would get into trouble on the bus and on the playground. He wouldn't even look you in the eyes when you talked to him. Then one day I took him aside. We had a conversation about his future and the conversation ended with a question. What do you want for yourself? He looked me in the eyes and said, "I want to get straight A's.
I want to be smart and be a good boy." I told him, "Then that's what you are going to do." We devised a plan and from October on, he was a changed child. He was a model citizen. He'd do extra homework. He would tell me about books he was reading. He would fold his arms in line. When I would look up when teaching, his eyes would follow me. He had changed and I had helped him somehow. There are many other kids I can think of with similar stories, however this one stands out in my mind because I see this little boy at the store often. And everytime I see him, he gives me a hug. And every time I almost cry. I love that kid. He's going to do something great with himself despite his circumstances. I keep a prayer in my heart for all former students, that they will be successful and make it out of their homes alive. Now if I were to take all the bad things and add them up and compare them with the number of good things, the bad would outweigh the good. BUT those precious, precious moments where you know that you really have impacted a childs life are the moments that make teaching worth it. It's a feeling that's undescribable. However, they are experiences that need to be written down because all the bad sometimes feels like it outweights all the good. It my book, it never will. I will always teach for the kids like "Howe" and the many others I have connected with.

Sooo Much To Post.....Sooo Little Time.....

Chicago was great! I had such a great trip with my sis and mom. We did almost everything that could possibly be done! It was AMAZING! It makes me realize just how much I enjoy traveling! =) Completely looking forward to more trips. I'll post pictures and more stories here later.

School started this week on Monday...and I truly can't believe the week is already over! I've moved to a new school, Floyd Elementary, from Hafen Elementary. I'm also teaching 5th grade instead of 3rd and I must admit, "I LOVE IT!!!" Although I am very worried about my students, I'm thinking 5th grade is a FANTASTIC age!!! I've been busy the last few weeks preparing my classroom and I will soon have beautiful pictures to post. I'm starting the year with half of my class from Hafen. It's so fun having kids I know already. We have bonded and I feel they are really liking my class. I have such sweet kids this year, it's been a blessing. They are sooooo funny though. Today I was carrying about 20 notebooks when I went to pick my class up from lunch. Well, "T" thought it would be nice to help me, so this 3' little guy takes these notebooks out of my hands and attempts to walk with them. As he approached the line, the notebooks crashed to the floor. Luckily "I" picks them all up and helps out "T." "I" begins to ask, "Why am I carrying these books?" I of course laugh and reply that he can hand them to me. In response he scoffs and says, "I couldn't have a young lady like you carrying these down the hall!" Of course in my head I'm laughing...but really thinking, WOW! I hope these kids keep these manners and only get more and more well mannered and thoughtful as they grow.... =)

I also have the opportunity to work with a very special child, who is a kleptomaniac (sp?). It's crazy! He's already stolen from me. I feel so completely violated. But I am learning to forgive. I guess I realize, I really need to forgive this little kid if I ever expect God to forgive me for all the stupid things I've done in my life. I've been especially reflective on my life lately and I'm trying to change. I'm going back to Church. I'm getting new hobbies. I'm trying to be who I thought I'd be when I was 12. Looking at life from a 12 year old really puts things into perspective. I feel I might have been more insightful as a kid than I am now. LOL. And definitely less vain and materialistic. Regardless I am back on the path to finding myself. And the funny thing...well, I guess not funny, but interestingly enough, even though I just spent 4 hours cleaning up after my dog...I am the happiest I've been in a long time. I feel so much peace in my life and I can only hope it will begin to get better. It's like a story I once heard about life. We each are carrying a backpack through life....and every time something happens to us that is negative, we sin, we do something to someone else that is unkind, or we don't forgive, we put a different size rock in our backpack...and on the path to where we go we continue to carry them...if we don't let go and stop those things and forsake them...we will be so weighed down that we can't go any more and our lives become stagnant. I feel like I'm on the road to taking out my stones and I can finally walk forward once again. =)

Anyhow, I'm currently up too late...I've been cleaning up after my poor dog. He had an accident....somehow he ate something that did NOT agree with him and needless to say, I've been cleaning the carpet for the last 4 hours. BLAH! So good night for now....pictures to come, of everything else, not my carpet!

Congratulations Brett and Holly Hoffman!

August 15, 2009
I drove into Elko this afternoon for my friend's wedding. It made me laugh thinking about my friend Holly. Holly and I use to go to the park in the summer and practice being a "hott chick." It's silly, but we would seriously talk about what "hott" girls do and how we need to act that way so we could be the "hott chicks." Yes, I know...I was/am a DORK, but who isn't!? Anyhow, the wedding was BEAUTIFUL and Holly looked so great in her dress! She actually married Brett Hoffman. The funny thing is that they totally should have gotten together sooner, but Lisa (Holly's sister) said that Brett thought Holly was "boring" and Holly thought Brett was too "nerdy." LOL-Funny how things change after high school!

CONGRATULATIONS once again Brett and Holly!! And if you know them, make sure you congratulate them! Love you guys!

Falling down

When life hits you, it usually hits you hard. I've been doing a really good job of staying afloat since Daniel has been deployed. Really, I have. I have had minor break downs here and there, but I have kept myself together. Last week I was starting to really feel like I was making the best of this predicament....however today it just feels like it's all come down on me so hard. The realization of losing good friends who knew Daniel and hung out with him and me....they could always joke with me abotu what Daniel might do in certain situations and they missed him too, so it didn't make me feel so damn alone... BUT now they are in Maryland. And Maryland is so lucky to have them! And in the end I am alone in Nevada with my dog. And I know I'm never really ALONE....it just feels that way. I mean, I have other friends who are wonderful and who have helped me out...it's just this feeling I have...my throat is tight, the walls are falling in on me, my eyes won't stay dry, and my heart literally aches. It aches so much I don't know how I'll get through it, what I'll do...nothing. I have been doing zillions of things to keep busy and find happiness without my love...but I still feel the empty hole he has left in my heart. Life is so fair in so many ways, and I'm not complaining...I guess I'm just begging the Universe for something more...possibly some putty to temporarily fill this hole in my heart? Or maybe even the Earth's rotation to speed up so the next few months go by faster?? Maybe I can just develop more hobbies? I don't really know the answer...I'm at a loss. Sometimes I feel I am losing my faith....but I know it's not God's fault, in fact, I know I am suppose to learn and grow from this...but right now I have that feeling you get if you've ever fallen from a tall tree...and all the wind has been knocked out of you...and at this moment I'm just trying to catch my breath and it feels like I'll never be able to.

Dialated Eyes

WHOA!?! I went to my contact lens eye exam and they dialated my eyes...I couldn't see straight for 4 hours! I had to go relax at ROSS until I could finally see.... It was pretty funny walking around looking at things...I couldn't tell if things said small, medium, or large! I'm just glad that that's not how I see things every day and that it lasted for only a few hours.... BECAUSE THAT WAS CRAZY!

Being Lazy...

So I will post some pictures up here eventually. I'm soooo tired and need to get to bed. Tomorrow I need to get going early and prepare my classroom for school to start. I am also meeting my cousin's family for Dim Sum!! Oh how I love me some Dim Sum!! YUM! YUM! YUM!!

I am really excited for Wednesday....I get to pick up my new glasses!! I splurged and got these OH SO CUTE Coach frames. All of the other frames looked SO SCARY on me, so I was forced to get these. =) I will finally have glasses that I like and will wear! YAY for being able to see!!

Losing Patience?

I thought that as time passed we are suppose to learn patience? I don't quite understand it. I feel that as I'm getting older I am not getting more patient, that I'm getting more IMPATIENT and IRRITABLE. I don't know if anyone else experiences this, but geez, I am having a hard time controlling my thoughts....they are so sarcastic and irritated. However, my trip to Chicago did put me in a pretty good mood....I need to find some quiet place to enjoy and get a grip on my slowly sliding patience....

Fireworks, Parades, Taz, Birthdays, Movies, and Mr. Hong Kong and Family

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Saying good-bye is hard....

This has been a year full of challenges and changes and although they have not been the most pleasant life experiences, the saying, "It is better to have loved and lost, then never to have loved at all," comes to my mind.

Erik and Amanda embark on a great adventure to Maryland this week. They have been the closest friends Daniel and I have had. When we first moved to Pahrump, we came for my job. I L-O-V-E-D my school and Principal. THOSE were the ONLY reasons we moved here. The first year here was the hardest. We didn't have any friends or people who were our age who hung out with us. Occasionally we would do things with acquaintences/friends, but we hadn't yet found people who enjoyed the same things we do and doing them ALL THE TIME and into the wee hours of the morning. It wasn't until Erik came to Hafen in 2007 that we found what had been missing in our lives. When I first saw Erik and Amanda touring Hafen Elementary School, I remember thinking, How can I get Erik to hang out with Daniel? They could play basketball or something....then Amanda would have to hang out wiht me and we could have friends! We got more than just a friend for Daniel, we found friends we will have for the rest of our lives.

Right now I'm feeling a big hole in my heart, but I am trying to think positive and see that this short meeting was just an opportunity to develop a friendship that will last forever. I will miss Erik and Amanda so much. They have helped me in more ways than they can even imagine. I don't know how I would have survived Daniel's deployment without them. May God bless them in everything they do and keep them safe and watch over them. And although they are forced to leave us and moving on to bigger and better things (;P) we are grateful to have loved them and lost them for the moment. We'll be missing you Erik and Amanda, You hold a special place in our hearts.

Harry Potter Summer!

Watching Harry Potter tonight totally helped me feel happy. I was very excited because Amanda was so excited. I even snuck in some Nielsen's Oreo Custard. YUM! YUM! YUM!! I can't wait for the next one. I guess I better read up. I only read until the Order of The Phoenix. For some reason I had a hard time getting in to them, but I've LOVED the movies, so I've been inspired to read them when Erik and Amanda move (the 27th of July =( ). This picture is of my cousin, "Duck." He was about 5 or 6 and LOVED putting spelles on people, so we'd paint up his face and give him a chopstick and WALA! Magic!!

What a day!

What a day....I got up so early and was going to go to aerobics...but unfortunately my body is older than me and I my neck and back and knee hurt so much. I feel like my body is not aging the way I need it to. For heaven sakes I'm only 25!! Anyhow, I finally got over to my school and started on my classroom.....luckily Marcy showed up to save the day because I was getting so overwhelmed that I just sat and looked at my room for a while. We did a lot of work, however only dented the amount of work I need to get my room ready...AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!! Well, to top my day off, I officially broke my phone in half! It WAS hanging on by a ribbon, now it's totally separated! YIKES!!!!! Tomorrow cannot come quick enough. I need my new phone and a good massage!

Broken Phone and other things....

0h my goodness! What a crazy and HOT day! I got rid of almost everything at the garage sale! HOORAY!!! Now both of our cars fit in there!! HOORAY!! But the sad thing was that my phone snapped in half!! Can you believe this!?! It's being held together by a little ribbon that is still allowing me to talk to people. SCHWEEW! because it's my only line to the outside world! I don't even have a land line! This would have screwed me over so bad!! Anyhow, at least my replacement phone will be here on Tuesday. I am mad that they make phones so FLIMSY!! BOO!!! I remember the good ol' days, my phone didn't have a camera, but it haad reception in all the best places, AND it was dropped in a mud puddle, run over by a car, AND STILL WORKED!!!! However, I was forced to get a "new" phone eventually, and now I'm on my THIRD NEW PHONE and they all SUCK!! (I'll get off my soap box now.)

News: Garage Sale! etc.

So right now I am sitting outside on my little lounge chair trying to get rid of all this junk. I've gotten rid of a lot of things. I'm strinking all sorts of deals to get rid of it all. It's fun. I really like haggling. And I like trying to see how much stuff I can get one person to take. I managed to get this one woman to take like 10 bags! I was pretty impressed with my skills. It's not exactly fun, but I have been pretty bored...even though I have tons of stuff to do!

Ooooh! Good news! I will be able to get my room set-up this coming week because the custodians got my room ready so quickly!! Can you believe it!? I can't. It took them only a few days! THEY ARE SO AMAZING!! Anyhow, it's nice to be able to get into my room because I'll be so busy the end of July until Holly's wedding on the 15th of August. And then school starts for teachers the 20th and the kids come back the 24th!! YIKES!

Summer is flying by so quickly! I've been trying to enjoy it and get as much as I possibly can done before school starts up...but it seems like things get messier. I cleaned the garage a days ago and now it seems like my living room is cluttered with the things I brought in that I've been wanting to have in the house. I have too much stuff!! I say it all the time, but I don't know how to be simple or condense all the things I have. I look at something and I'm like, I NEED it. I know, I know, I don't NEED it, but it sure feels that way. I mean, how can I live without my lovesacs? My 200 shoes!? My millions of childrens books!?! I couldn't!! I wouldn't be able to! And here you have, a confession from a shopaholic and pack-rat. I'm too sentimental to get rid of some things....then I get sad when I see people take away my things during the garage sale, but OH WELL. I'm learning to be less sentimental and to keep only what I THINK I really NEED (even though I need it all). :) Well, I can't wait for this to be over. Then I can get more things done that REALLY need to get done! (LIKE EVERYTHING!)

Daniel Update: Daniel is finally in his final point in Afghanistan. It's been really interesting for him; He says there are like 600 men stationed there and there are only 8 bathrooms, 5 shower stalls with curtains and 3 shower stalls WITHOUT curtains. Seems like a pretty horrible little base. We'll see though. I hope they treat him good there! He says they aren't allowed to have ANY lights on after dark, which is a scary thought. Keep him in your prayers!!

Daniel Update

Besides the fact that Daniel misses me so much, he's doing okay. He is having a very hard time adjusting to the time change. He said that at one point he was just sleeping all day and waking up to eat or shower. On his plane ride to the base he's stationed at (we'll call it destination A, he's not allowed to really talk about certain things for security reasons), he said the landscape was amazing! Even Lamoille Canyon didn't come close to the beauty! The mountains were big and beautiful and the trees are so green with calming white bark. He said he'd never seen anything like it. He still has not arrived at destination A. His unit has made many stops at other bases because it is such a long trip. He should be there soon though. As of right now he has been sleeping in big tents with hundreds of cots lined up inside. I imagine it is pretty rugged.

He told me a funny story about a friend of ours. He was walking back from the computer room and decided to walk through the bathrooms to get back to the tents sooner and when he's walking through the bathrooms, out walks Alex Wilson. Alex is a good friend of ours. We've both known him since elementary school and he was even the Chaplin that married us. I was glad that Daniel got to see him because he's sounded so sad, and I think seeing an old friend helped to cheer him up. Alex is in the Air Force and he and Kathleen were deployed for 6 months to Afghanistan in December. Alex was on his way out of Afghanistan as Daniel is on his way in. Lucky Alex! Well, as for an update, that's all I have for now. If you would like Daniel's APO Address just ask and leave your email and I'll send it to you.

A funny July 3rd....

Hahahaha....so today I got a good laugh. Just what I needed!! I went to the pre-Fourth of July Fireworks. Yes, there were fireworks tonight and they have them tomorrow as well. =) Now while I was there I saw some interesting things. First, I saw a goat. Now this wouldn't be unusual in the town of Pahrump. In fact, I've seen this little goat at Wal-Mart, tied to the back of a truck...hehehe.... But while we were there, the goat got onto the back of a guy!! It was so hilarious, mostly because he was telling Amanda and I about how the goat is defensive when she (her name was Bambi) is up there, so we should not touch her. Well, along comes this little girl and touches the goat! Bambi turned and tried to head-butt her! I almost started laughing...instead my "teacher side" came out and I told the little girl, "You should remember to ask people to pet their animals before you do because it can be dangerous." Yes, I know...it's the summer! I just couldn't help myself-a learning moment presented itself and I took it... Anyhow, the fireworks were great too!! They were so loud that this person's car alarm went off THREE times!! Kids were crying everywhere. The dog next to us wouldn't stop yapping. The guy behind us wouldn't stop screaming, "YEAH! Woo Hoo!! That was a good one!" All in all, it was a good night.

Should be cleaning...

I should be cleaning right now....but instead I decided to look at a mysterious CD that I found while cleaning. Someone had apparently given it to me, but I've never looked at it before. It was labeled to me, and had tons of pictures from when I was in this dance group, ROC/MSU in college. The pictures put a smile on my face. It's fun reminiscing. I don't remember what we are doing here, but I imagine it was before the REALLY COLD show that we did outside and had to change into costumes behind the bus in the dark! We look like we're totally having fun, huh!

How cute are we! L to R: Shaela, Crystal, Mario, Summer, Andrea, Me, and Ginni.

This was just funny. I think they were doing the Haka....of course.

The boys always wish they could wear the false eyelashes and so we let him.

Hiking up to the Y.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Sleep. What is that?

~So very tired today....must take sleeping pills.....I haven't been sleeping well since Daniel left again. In fact, I've had this completely horrible splitting migraine! I wonder how I'll do tonight when the fireworks go off?? (Yes, they are having fireworks tonight and tomorrow night. I dunno why?)

Blast from the Past!

I was looking through these Cd's I have (from before the convenient and affordable portable storage devices) and found wonderful pictures from my trip to Washington DC. This was over six years ago in 2003! I would love to go back as soon as Daniel gets home. He's never been! Can you believe it!? Well, it's funny seeing how young I look and how very much the same my parents look! They haven't aged a day!I loved all the War Memorials. They were building the WWII Memorial while we were there. I loved these rocks and truly agree with them! I HATE WAR!

Me and my mom. Look at how much taller I am!

My dad and I are so very talented, and we wanted to show off our leaning abilities in this picture. haha, it was nice to stick my hands and toe in the water, I don't think I could live somewhere that is humid!

Ed Freeman

I received some of this information in an email and feel it was fitting to put this on my blog in honor of all the men and women who selflessly serve. Words cannot express how I feel about stories such as this. I hope that as you go about your business on the 4th of July, you will remember the sacrifices that have been made on our behalf. The Author's of our Nation's Declaration of Independence, Soldiers of past and current....all have sacrificed on behalf of freedom for people here in the USA and in the world.
Ed Freeman's Story:
What I received: "You're a 19-year-old kid. You're critically wounded and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam . Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.

You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.

Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter and you look up to see an unarmed Huey, but it doesn't seem real because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.
Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.

He's coming anyway.

And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.

Then he flies you up and out, through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses.

And he kept coming back, 13 more times, and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out."

Facts:

He was a veteran not only of Viet Nam, but of World War II and Korea.

He was the recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions on November 14, 1965, at Landing Zone X-Ray, in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam.

During the Vietnam War Freeman served as a helicopter pilot with the rank of Captain in US Army's Company A, 229th, Assault Helicopter Battalion, First Cavalry Division Air Mobil. On November 14th, 1965, a US battalion was surrounded by the enemy. In the heat of the battle when all hope was lost, an unarmed helicopter came to their aid, bringing water, much needed supplies and ammunition.

According to survivors of the battle the unarmed Huey returned more than 21 times with supplies, evacuating the wounded each trip. That day, more than 70 soldiers were flown to safety by Captain Freeman.

Freeman was decorated with the distinguished Flying Cross for his act of bravery but for decades those who survived this battle felt that a higher honor should be awarded to the helicopter pilot. On July 16, 2001, Congress awarded the Medal of Honor to Freeman with the persuasion of Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Crandall, other survivors who were rescued by Freeman, and Senator John McCain. That day, Freeman and his wife, Barbara, were invited to the Whitehouse where President George W. Bush presented the Congressional Medal of honor before witnesses consisting of Vice President Cheney, the secretary of defense, secretary of veterans affairs, the joint chiefs as well as members of the Joint Chiefs, Senator John McCain, Senator Craig, Congressman Otter, and Congressman Simpson from the delegation of Idaho.

On August 20, 2008, Major Ed Freeman passed away from complications of Parkinson's disease at the age of 80 and was laid to rest at the Veterans Cemetery in Idaho, where he settled.

In March of 2009, the United States Congress bestowed one more honor to Major Freeman. They designated the US Post Office in his place of birth McLain, Mississippi, the "Major Ed W. Freeman Post Office."

Rest in Peace Ed Freeman. Thanks for everything!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

There must be light at the end of the tunnel, otherwise I'd be getting pastier.

Leaving, on a jet plane.....

Right now I am overcome by a wave of sadness. Daniel flew out today. He's been deployed since April 15th, stationed in Indiana. Now he's on his way to Afghanistan... I added two songs to my little music player: 1-Feel Good Drag by: Anberlin, 2-Angel by: Jack Johnson. They're some of his top songs right now and listening to them somehow comforts my crushed soul, makes me feel close to him even though he is miles away. Wish him well, send your love and prayers.
~xoxoxo

Our Brief Visit

Daniel got to come home for a week. Then I found out he won't be getting leave for the rest of his deployment!!!! =( Needless to say, I'm very sad. We didn't do a very good job of taking pictures. We get so caught up in the moment we totally forget about the camera. Here are a few pictures that we did take. We had so much fun in Las Vegas. We went and saw The Lion King. It was AMAZING! I love music! We also saw The Variety Show. hahahah...it was CRAZY! I have several favorite parts, first when the little guy balances on the head of the big guy with just one hand and is upside down in the air! (It totally reminds me of knocked up when they are watching Cirq du Soleil.) I also really enjoyed this guy...I can't remember his name now...but he throws this balls onto a keyboard and can play the most amazing songs! Balls are just flying everywhere and it sounds so beautiful!

This picture is so funny. It took him almost 5 minutes to open the thing! These are really cool little Japanese drinks that require you press the top with a plastic opener and push a marble through to open it. I'll post the video later.

Gellato!!! Yum, Yum, Yum!!

We forget to take pictures....This is us after The Lion King at our Hotel. Can't you tell!? We have hotel lighting....

Simba is Happy!

Daniel and I aren't very good about taking pictures with each other or of each other, but we did get a few during his leave. This is my favorite video though. Molly doggysat Simba for us, when I went to pick him up, Daniel hid on a chair under a blanket. I managed to catch a little bit of Simba when he finally finds Daniel. I didn't catch the best part though, Daniel was making weird noises when we first came in the door and Simba was running wild all over the room looking for him. ha ha ha ha....dogs are so silly! I sometimes wonder what he's thinking!

Red, white, and blue

We decided since Daniel will be home soon to visit that we would help make Simba more Patriotic to welcome him home. =)  Simba enjoyed it of course.

Painting Our Toes

Amanda and I had a girls night tonight. These little piggies splurged and ate pizza, hot wings, AND ice cream! It was fantastic! We watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and painted our toes. (If you look close you can see little pig heads by our big toes.) Then we painted Simba's toes.

30 Day Shred

I'm doing this circuit training program by Jillian Michaels (The Biggest Loser Trainer) and right now I'm feeling like a pretty big loser.  I just worked out and I haven't for a week or so...and I AM TIRED!  Hopefully I will be able to catch up on exercise.  I also need to get running!  My sister signed us up for a Pioneer Day 10k on my birthday...  I only have until July 24th to be ready. I hope I make it!  Especially since we all know I am a SHORT distance runner.  Any advice?!

My Trip to Reno 5/11-5/15

The trip to Reno was pretty interesting. I brought Simba with me because I was worried about his leg. He was pretty funny in the car, he started leaning on the console and soon he was in the front seat! I kept thinking, "Where is his seatbelt!" (He ate it!) Then he would want to put his head out of the window, so occasionally I'd let him stick his head out. It's fun to watch his face flap in the wind. (By the way, all the pictures were taken from the front seat of my car...I know, I know...dangerous...but I just pointed and clicked. My eyes were on the road the entire time!)

I forget how amazing and beautiful the desert is. I hear so many people complain about how ugly it is here, but I see beauty everywhere! I really like the picture of the sky when the sun is setting and it makes it look like butter, like in the book, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. As you can tell, I love sky pictures. =) I think Nevada is BEAUTIFUL!

I originally went to Reno for a class I have to have for my teacher license renewal. When I was there I found out I also have to take another class because although it is considered a Nevada State Law and Constitution, it doesn't cover US Constitution. LAME! So I had to quickly sign-up for an online course for US Constitution. Teaching is costing me a lot! Seriously contemplating a career change.....

While I was there I assisted my parents put in laminate flooring for their condo. It was pretty interesting...mostly because Simba was putting his nose into everyones' business. He wanted to help with everything...ok, not help, just get in the way. Eventually, without Simba's help, the floor was finished. It made the kitchen area look so nice and bright. It is fun doing things like this, now I just need to figure out how to do the cutting and measuring and I could do it all by myself. Anyhow, home improvements are always great! Right now I'm trying to get my house de-cluttered. We'll see how it goes.

So I drove home last night. I had a killer migraine. I took a nap and woke-up realizing I didn't want to drive in the heat, so took off from Reno in the still of the night and made it home around 3am. today. Thank God for Coca Cola! I was wired because I haven't had caffeine in over a year! I made it though, safe and sound. Also, Simba's leg is doing great! It's almost all healed up! Well, enjoy the beautiful pictures! Oh yeah, one of my favorite pictures is the last one of a gas station I stopped at. Don't worry guys, I got regular. =)

Packing Update-Wednesday, June 10

Simba looks very excited to be there with us. Look at how he's glaring at us!!


Today I made a bit of progress. I took Simba with me because I was worried about his poor little leg. It looks like puss is starting to come out of it, so I am keeping a close eye on the little guy. Anyhow, i got a bit more packed...right now what's left is the clutter.... All the little things in my cabinets and floor (that I pulled out) and the desk. BOO!! I'm excited to slowly be getting to where I want to be, but I am nowhere ready for school in the fall!! I hate the feeling of being overwhelmed!! Anyhow, Cindy's boys (my third grade team) helped me pack today. Kyle and Cole did a good job of taking things off the walls and packing things into boxes for me. It's nice to have someone there to talk to when I get things taken down. I'm going to miss my friends at Hafen. I know I'll still see them and get to do things with them, but it will never be like working with them and knowing you have people who care about you and watch out for you right where you work. They all made working at Hafen a great honor that I am pleased to have had.

Ha ha ha....funny thought

I was just looking at my blog and realized that for the longest time I didn't know how to embed photos into the post and I have a kazillion pictures on my blog from a LONG time ago. I'm going to leave them though because they make me laugh. I really like the one where Simba is balancing a turtle on his nose. hehehe... My dad's dog is also funny. She was a HORROR to dog-sit! And the pictures from my first real fly fishing experience remind me of pictures of when I was a kid. I'll have to get a copy of it and post it. it's so funny becasue when I caught a fish when I was like 5 I was so excited that my smile was so animated and my eyese were so little and the fish was so huge. ha ha ha...good times! Anyhow, just looking at my blog and t hinking abotu how blog-illiterate I was and how I'm getting a teeny-tiny-bit better. =)

Simba's Owie!

My dog really reminds me a lot of myself. He is constantly getting into trouble and hurting himself. Most of the time I'm not even sure HOW he does this! It's frustrating! I come home and he has a huge gash on his head or is bleeding or has a huge scrape on his paw. I'm not sure how he's doing this or WHERE he's doing this, but I though it was odd. Today his owie was hurting him, so we laid around and slept all day (I was exhausted for some reason too). It was a nice and restful day. No packing was accomplished... =( Here are some pics. of my sad dog and his scrape. I bandaged him up because he wouldn't STOP licking it and he was making it red and gross!

Addicted to blogging....

It's so late! My bed is calling to me...and yet I'm still here...posting things. I'm ADDICTED! Ok, maybe not addicted, but too bored and can't sleep that I'm here posting....any ideas!? Maybe I should take sleeping pills. Anyhow, going to try to go to bed again. I've been having a hard time sleeping since Daniel left. :( BAH-HUM-BUG and Good Night!

9 DAYS!!

In 9 days Daniel will be here!!!!! I don't know what to do with myself!! It'll be so much fun!! We have tons of stuff planned! We will try to take pics....but we're NOT very good at documenting life. We're having a little mini-vacation in Vegas. We'll stay at the Excalibur the first night and the remaining time at South Point Casino. I like South Point more than the other casinos for some reason. It has THE MOST COMFORTABLE hotel beds and great shampoo/conditioner. And it has fun things to do there, midnight bowling, movies, pool, away from the strip, etc.

We're also going to be going to THE LION KING!!! I am so excited. I love THE LION KING!! Even my dog is named SIMBA. :) I love it!! Then we're going to check out the variety show too!! It's hopefully going to be a good show. Who'd I'd really like to see is Wayne Brady!! Anyhow, I'm excited for out little vacation together. I feel like I haven't seen him in YEARS!! YAY!!! ONLY 9 DAYS LEFT!!

Field Day Funny...

The last day of school was June 4th. At our school the last day of school is field day. Field day at Hafen is a glorious day prepared by Mr. Verzilli. It was a bitter sweet day filled with joyous and at times annoying frivolity. Here is one of the highlights of the day. The kids were SO FUNNY all day long, this made me laugh the hardest though. I hope it will make you laugh too. Watch out! They just might get you too!!

Packing Update

i



Today I was packing my room up. Luckily I've had help from Liz! She's such a good friend!! As you can see in the photos my pile is getting bigger, but the mess seems to have just popped out of the cabinets!! It is SO SCARY!! I am so thankful that Liz has been helping me. Before she showed up today I was just sitting there looking at everything...hahahaha...and missing my third grade cohort already!!!! Packing with Liz made me miss third grade even more! We were packing and talking about third grade things like teaching cursive, going crazy, silly kids, saxon math (WE HATE IT), and other boring things. ha ha ha ha...but it was so much fun to talk to someone and pack. Liz is SOOOOO organized! She helped me clear a LOT of the clutter and get it into boxes. HA HA HA HA....well, Marcy and Cindy (my third grade team) were also so very organized! I wish to be more like them! Maybe moving to Floyd Elementary will FORCE me to be that quality that I admire so much in my colleagues. Anyhow, my room is a mess...and my packing pile is HUGE!!!!! More updates later. Have a great day!

Packing My Classroom and Stuff

Yesterday Alyce Johnson came over for dinner with the missionaries. It was pretty fun. Simba couldn't get enough of them. He even nibbled on Elder Finance's tie!

Today I worked on packing up my classroom. I've only been in it for 3 years and OH MY GOSH I have tons of stuff!!! hahahaha...I must admit I'm a book-junkie! I have over 15 boxes of just books!!!!! I just can't get enough books! (I'll post SCARY pictures of my room later.)

I took down almost everything from the walls and my room looks absolutely naked! It's horrible seeing it in such condition! I imagine I will survive. I will be able to move into my new room after June 30th. I will be in room 52. I'll miss room 117 at Hafen Elementary. I haven't even seen my new school yet! Weird, huh! Michelle is going to show me around next week some time. I am going to miss my beautiful school and fun-loving staff!!!! I'm also going to miss the student bookstore, Tomes for Domes, that I opened up last year. It's been fun doing things at Hafen, hopefully I will get a chance to be as involved at my new school.

Feeding a Lamb!

So I've been going through my pictures and I keep finding fun ones that I haven't posted. This is of me feeding a lamb!!! I think it's pretty awesome, I really LOVE ANIMALS! And this is the first time I've done something like this. I use to want to become a veterinarian, maybe if teaching doesn't work out I'll go back to school.

Shopping With My Sis!

Angelina came down to Vegas a few weeks ago and we went shopping to cheer me up. These shirts were some of our favorite purchases. We had a lot of fun cruising the outlets and getting lost thanks to the GPS.

Sorry Girls, Mr. Hong Kong got married! 5/2/09

Sorry ladies, Michael is officially taken! I went to his wedding in May and look at how happy he is! It was fun to get to hang out and see my little brother. He looked so pretty in pink! I also did the tea ceremony for his reception...what an interesting opportunity!

We're part of the Furious Five!

Amanda and I are just so furious! We saw Po and just had to take a picture with him because he is so cute. This was right before we saw Terminator Salvation, which by the way was an AWESOME show! Erik was of course too embarrassed to take a picture with Po, so he took the picture for us. =)

I still can't believe how expensive theater food is!

Simba's Shoes!!!!

The asphalt gets so hot here in the summers so I got Simba shoes! They are so funny on him! When he put them on he walked around all silly, like he had tape stuck to his feet. But eventually he got use to them.

5th Grade!

So I am going to be teaching 5th grade at Floyd Elementary next year! CRAZY!

The Dust Has Settled...

This morning I was sitting in a room with 40 other teachers, waiting to see who would have a job and who wouldn't, it was pretty nerve wrecking. I arrived on time, 8 o'clock, not earlier. Luckily, because they started the whole process REALLY LATE! At about 9am they started the whole thing. (For those of you who havec no idea waht was going on, Nye County School District decided to cut 28 elementary school teachers. They cut teachers from each school that were the lowest depending on their seniority, instead of cutting from the bottom of the seniority list. So now the teacher's had to bump other teacher who were less seniored...yes, yes.....A HUGE MESS!) So at around 9 am we start the bumping process. They took one person at a time and told them the jobs they were qualified for in the district and gave you the least seniored person to bump. Some people took a long time. I was the 16th person from the top, so at around 10:30 am I was called in.

Now I've been really nervous about this whole situation. First I was ANGRY! ANGRY doesn't even describe it, I loathed the person who made these decisions. Then I was SAD! Now I've come to grips with change...and even though this year at Hafen Elementary School we have had a "Dream Team," I'm reminded that life is full of changes. Something has to make sense somewhere...I feel that this is just such an insane move that somehow it was meant to be. I know it is actually. I am starting to feel more and more at peace with the idea that my only close friends here will soon be off to new adventures in the East. AND that Daniel is deployed. AND that I will be switching schools. I am ok with that. In fact, I am praying that Erik gets his dream job. Afterall, I really feel that he deserves this. I'm actually feeling like a change in schools wouldn't kill me, it will give me an opportunity to reinvent myself and not allow myself to get complacent in the workplace. I feel that God has to watching out for all of us and even though all of this is INSANE and CHAOTIC and feels UNNATURAL, we will all learn and grow and continue to live. I feel that God will protect Daniel and that we will all somehow make it through the mess that we call life.

Anyhow, I was given options of where to accept a job. The choice was obvious. And now I'm sitting on this decision and feeling it is okay. I haven't felt this much peace in a while. I'm so thankful that I feel this. I'm embracing myself for the next bump in life, as life goes....but until then, I'm glad the dust has finally settled.

Too nervous to sleep...

I am still up...and I have work in the morning! Actually, what I have is a displacement! I am going to be over at the Southern District Office, waiting around to TAKE someone's job! YIKES! ALL of this is just so crazy and is driving me crazy! I hope that it all works...well, I know that somehow all of this WILL work, it's just my nerves that aren't letting me think that.

The other day I was talking on the phone with a complete stranger, I had met her at a teacher conference. Her name is Marie. Anyhow, I was talking to her about a product I really want to use for math when she said, "Is everything ok? I can here an edge in your voice." I was totally shocked at the complete and total intuitiveness of this stranger and felt a connection. Marie told me several things that hit home, one of which was, "Jessica, you just need to trust life." I had never really thought of it that way. Trust life? Now that I've been thinking about that, I do. I do need to trust that whatever God has in store for me will happen. And I am starting to believe that. I am feeling calm. AND I've even began feeling that all of these things in my life that I feel are trials are beginning to be blessings in disguise. I cannot explain the thoughts that cross my mind or the feelings running through my body. Somehow I know it will be ok.

The Past Few Weeks: Spring 2009

These are some things we had a chance to do during March and April of 2009. =) We had a lot of fun exploring caves near our town. Visiting CA was a great adventure...UNTIL I got seasick!! But eventually all fun must come to an end, and Daniel was deployed April 18th.

First Year Anniversary 8-11-08

Fun stuff we did in Las Vegas!

My Sad News

Today teachers in Nye County School District were notified of RIF (reduction in force). Sadly I was one of the SEVEN teachers at Hafen Elementary School to receive a letter. What does this mean for me? For me this means that I must now displace another teacher at another school who has less seniority than me. What does this mean for Hafen Elementary School? Our beautiful school will be left with 14 teachers. How has this been allowed? How has this happened? How will our school be able to meet the K-3 class size requirement of 22 to 1 student to teacher ratio and grade 4-5 25 to 1 ratio? I do not have the answers. I mourn the loss of my position at Hafen Elementary, as it is an AMAZING educational facility! What I hope and pray for is that positions/allocations will be given back to Hafen. I often wonder, why Hafen? Especially when other schools are only losing 3-4 allocations/positions. This is a question I hope will be answered sooner than later, as the children of our school will be the ones to suffer the consequence.

Broken AC

SO Erik and Amanda watched Simba at our house. Yesterday they came home at 6pm and our AC was blowing hot air and sounded like DEATH! Well, it was pretty bad I guess...120 degrees downstairs!! Hotter upstairs!! I came home from my conference today and OH MAN! IT IS HOT!! I decided to assemble my portable AC and stick it out....we will see if Simba and I survive. Anyhow, looking forward to getting it fixed!

Michigan Pics.

May 2009

SO much has happened and I haven't done a very good job of keeping this updated, so here's a short little list of the major things:

April 18th-Daniel left to Indiana, in June he will leave for Afghanistan.
May 2nd- Michael got married. Welcome Shelby into the family!
May 8th-Find out I might lose job.
May 9th-Air conditioning stops working while I am at a Conference in Las Vegas and Erik and Amanda are watching Simba and the house. Simba almost dies of heat exhaustion!