Keeping Up With The Jones's

Tomatoe, tomato...

2011-09-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

I love tomatos!!! My garden is really blooming, tomatos and cucumbers arrived, waiting for my peppers....oooh, and my pear tomatoes are doing great!!!

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Knitting....

2011-09-10T03:16:00.001-07:00

Still on the knitting....and although it doesn't look like much, this is almost two weeks of knitting...*sigh*

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Challenge

2011-09-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

Homeownership is a mysterious adventure, you never know what you'll find. This labor day weekends we decided to get some stuff around the house done. We took out the broken microwave hood and I decided to clean the cabinets again and this is what I found on them....eeeeeeew!! The steam cleaner didn't get this last time. Grody!!

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Challenge

2011-09-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

I swear it looked bigger earlier, knitting is hard work!!

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Knitting club tommorrow

2011-08-30T19:51:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited for my knitting group to start tommorrow. This is something that I want to make, one for me (the owl) and the penguin for Nick. Hooray!!!! Hopefully it's good, my grandma tried to teach me before, but I didn't really get it. Hopefully it's different now!!

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Challenge

2011-08-30T19:44:00.001-07:00

At the movies waiting to see, crazy, stupid, love and this is what Daniel is doing. Hahahahah

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Failing the Challenge

2011-08-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't been doing a great job of updating our taking pictures, so today I took a photo of my mutant tomato that is growing in my garden. Also the to to the super cute dress I bought for my moms award ceremony in Nashville for her Employee of the year award.

Yesterday we went to my dad's work bbq for all the men and women working on the MAPP project out at Rio Tinto. There was good food and nixed people, here's a picture of my dad and Daniel. :)

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Challenge

2011-08-21T21:12:00.001-07:00

My dad is in constant contact with us. Today he sent me a picture from the house in Elko. If you look close, there is a hummingbirds nest on the satellite dish. So beautiful! He's going to try to get better pictures next weekend.

Challenge:

2011-08-18T18:53:00.001-07:00

Simba loves getting in the driver's seat when we leave him. He is such a funny dog!

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Challenge: Days ____ of 365

2011-08-15T23:05:00.001-07:00

I've forgotten to do this for the past few days....so here goes. The 11th was our anniversary of 4 years. I got Daniel these super cute vests because he has been wanting vests. On The 12th we went to gay bingo night with some friends. We almost won, but we tired wroth another person....so daniel had to participate in a shove a banana down your throat contest. We lost. It was this really awesome art portrait too. :( Today Ang and I started training for the half marathon we signed up for. This is what I look like after running for 30 minutes. Wahoo! Our race is Feb. 26th in Orlando, FL. I'm so excited!!
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Challenge: Day ___ of 365

2011-08-12T17:57:00.000-07:00

So, weird confession....when I was a little girl, my friend McKall and I, would bring our trolls to school and play with them in the field. Ha ha ha....today I saw these at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and it brought me back to when I was a dorky little kid. Ahhh...

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Challenge: Day: 18 of 365

2011-08-09T09:25:00.001-07:00

This morning I mastered biscuits!! They were so delicious with the sausage gravy, and I don't really even like that type of food. Thanks Camine for the best recipe!!

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Challenge: Day 17 of 365

2011-08-08T12:36:00.001-07:00

My dog has an aversion to water. It probably stems from the fear of being thrown in by Daniel. However since discovering Tanner Park, I have been luring him into the water with treats. He has been doing so good, I'm so proud of him!

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Challenge: Day 17 of 365

2011-08-07T21:38:00.000-07:00

Today I was giving Simba his medicine and dropped it. It bounced and landed in a scary little spider web. I didn't realize I missed that when I was cleaning. I need a maid.

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Challenge: Day 16 of 365

2011-08-06T12:29:00.001-07:00

Beautiful day in Salt Lake, I can see why people are morning people. Woke up early to help Daniel put on his uniform for drill, then took Simba to Tanner park. He was such a good dog. Them I went top the farmers market and bought too much delicious fruits and veggies. On the way home I saw a unleashed dog attack another dog in a walk with his owner. It scared me do badly, I called animal control. I was immediately grateful that Simba is such a Wonderful dog, but scared that an out of control dog like that exists. I can imagine I feel somewhat like a parent feels watching the downward spiral of the world around them and just praying for the best for their children. Gosh, I don't want to have kids, it is all just too scary, and Simba is only a dog!

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Challenge: Day16 of 365

2011-08-05T13:46:00.001-07:00

This is the cutest puppy. Only $350 and Daniel could have another Jack....

Challenge: day 15 of 365

2011-08-04T21:17:00.001-07:00

Today I sat out of my kickball, so I brought Simba with me. He dressed up as a kickball player. He's so cute!

Challenge: Day 14 of 365

2011-08-03T13:08:00.000-07:00

Today I was delighted to discover that one of my favorite restaurants, Cafe Rio, has a "drive through." It's actually a curbside to-go order thing, but it made my day after a pretty rough night. It's all about the little things in life.

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Challenge: Day 13 of 365, Tuesday (late)

2011-08-03T11:46:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Daniel broke his arm. I don't really need to say much more, except that it sucks. He goes in to get his cast next Tuesday...oh joy!! Poor guy....

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Challenge: Day 12 of 365, Monday (late)

2011-08-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

This is me and my favorite Tenzin! Every Monday I get together with some of my geeky friends and play games. The game is fun, but He is always the highlight of my trip. He is the sweetest little baby with the best disposition. His mom and dad are lucky to have such a sweet little guy and they totally know it. =)

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Anywhere cigar photo of Simba

2011-07-31T15:27:00.002-07:00

Simba's cigar

2011-07-31T15:27:00.001-07:00

Simba had since taken up smoking....not really, this just looked so funny I had to take it, then when I went to take the picture he shies away. He is camera shy for some reason.

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In the jeep!!

2011-07-31T13:55:00.002-07:00

Alas, we are on our way home. Never been more thankful for a/c :D

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Challenge: Day 11 of 365

2011-07-31T13:55:00.001-07:00

Simba is our five year old Rhodesian Ridgeback. He is fierce AND my little lap dog. If I let him, he would try to lay by me in bed or lay in my lap, like he is trying to in this picture. He is an amazing dog and we love him sooooo much!

Bad estimation on our part..

2011-07-31T13:54:00.001-07:00

So, I'm sitting in the Lowe's parking lot waiting for Daniel to come back with the jeep. We came for a circuit breaker replacement and we are leaving with a patio furniture set!

Daniel says he hates shopping with me because we end up getting lots of extra stuff. I just think that I look for things I've been waiting for. This was more than half off original price, and it was the simple style I was looking for, so how can you pass up on something like that? I know I'm not the only one who does this.

Shows, our estimation skills are off, something I cannot share with my third graders...and so I'm stuck waiting for daniel to comr back with the jeep. I sure hope he remembers to takes of the back seat!

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Challenge: Day 10 of 365 (late)

2011-07-31T13:54:00.000-07:00

July 31, 2011

Today I swam with Dalton at his pool. It was so refreshing and relaxing. Some of his friends came too. His friend Drew brought his little girls, Olivia and Ellie. This is a picture of me and Olivia. I was her new friend today when she abandoned Dalton. She was hilarious and so cute. She has this little speech impediment and talks a mile a minute.

Daniel and I also went to Mulligans, a mini golf, batting cage, driving range place in 106 South. It was fun, we batted, and I did shockingly well for someone who doesn't play baseball, doesn't have hand eye coordination, and who has only been to the batting cage once before. We also played mini golf, which was really fun and quite hilarious. Hailey was getting pretty frustrated, Ryan and steven were competing even though we weren't keeping score, and Daniel had about 3 almost hole in ones.

Challenge: Day 9 of 365 ( I think...I'm losing track because ok send from my phone and not the site...lol...technology!)

2011-07-29T21:13:00.001-07:00

I am proud to be an American! The military has been a large part of my life due to the fact that Daniel is in the Army National Guard. Since we have been together her had deployed twice, once to Iraq for over a year and as half, and another time to Afghanistan for a little over a year. It's amazing what men and women from all backgrounds live through in the name of freedom and justice for all. And many that do not make it as well. I'm grateful for these soldiers and all the sacrifices they make and that their families make. Life isn't fair, but I'm grateful for the safe return of my husband and pray for all who are there still and who have returned.

This quilt was a project my friend Crystal Farinella made when I didn't want to throw out all the old Army fatigues my husband was getting rid of. I wanted something for our kids to have (more like kid) of their father's Army days. Maybe one day I will make one to match so that if we have more than one kid, they can each have one.

Anyhow, out arrived today and it is so beautiful! Many thanks to Crystal, she did a great job!!!

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Artistic mom

2011-07-28T22:06:00.001-07:00

My mom is so artistic! She made me and my sister a watermelon that said Happy Birthday Jessica! It was full of delicious berries!

Challenge: Day 8 of 365

2011-07-28T22:04:00.003-07:00

Can I say delicious?! Today was my sisters birthday, we had port of subs sandwiches and tons of fixings and ended with this. This is the most calorie packed cheesecake at the cheesecake factory. Yum, red velvet cheesecake!!!

Oops...

2011-07-28T22:04:00.001-07:00

....maybe I should have read the directions before I put it in the dishwasher!

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Mom's Advice

2011-07-28T13:02:00.001-07:00

My mom told me I should try to go as long as possible without needing makeup. So, here is my face without makeup. Hopefully I can continue to not use makeup, especially since I don't even know how!

Challenge: Day 7 of 365

2011-07-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

Today was fun, I had brunch with my mom at Market Street Grill. Thee lobster benedict was so delicious! Then I shopped with her, this Burberry coat looked so cite on her!! We even looked at a new washer and dryer because we have been thinking about upgrading. No decisions made yet, except we want front loading ones. Any advice?

Then Daniel and I ended the day at the water park with our friend Lon. Oh how I hate the green slide! I catch so much air on it!

Challenge: Day 6 of 365

2011-07-27T01:47:00.001-07:00

Today was a day filled with junk food and wilds animals. We went to family fun day for Rio Tinto at the Hogle Zoo. It was super fun!

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Challenge: Day 6 of 365 (a little late )

2011-07-26T00:06:00.000-07:00

This is one of the two fans we installed. And when I say we, I mean Daniel did most of it, I helped screw in bolts and put on the fan blades, but he had to do the grunt work, get in the blazing hot attic and install supports so the fans wouldn't fall through the ceiling.

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Challenge: day 5 of 365 (forgot to post)

2011-07-25T20:53:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday and since my mom was not here I forgot to take any pictures. This was the only picture I took at lunch at Ruth's Diner. Later we went to this great place, The Garage. We played corn hole and had food. Not bad at all!

Challenge: 4 of 365

2011-07-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

Playing at the pool with the cutest girls!

Challenge: 3 of 365

2011-07-22T17:55:00.001-07:00

This year we bought the pass of all pass to seven peaks, we've only been like 4 times, so we decoded we need to try to go every day for the rest of the summer. We didn't take a picture there because we never bring in our phones, but we always stop to get a slurpee afterwards. This is us after being in the sun. Our friend Lon, from my kickball team went with us. I finally got the courage to go down the slides that look like roller coasters. I caught a lot of air, it scared me so much, but it was fun. Yay for the summer!!!!

Challenge: Day 2 of 365

2011-07-21T15:10:00.001-07:00

Today Daniel and I transplanted the cherry tree, we waited a little too long because we haven't had time...but hopefully it does well and starts looking healthy.

Challenge: Day 1 of 365

2011-07-20T13:46:00.001-07:00

This is just one reason why Utah is amazing!

At Alta with my teaching team scoping out the area for our third grade expedition. What a sight!

Let the 365 Day Challenge Begin! (tomorrow)

2011-07-19T23:40:00.001-07:00

My cousin has inspired me to become a better blogger. I figure I better start doing this because one day I might have children to fill these pages with and if I'm not a pro by then, what will I do? =)

So apparently I will take a picture each day and write a little something. This should be fun....and hopefully it will help remind me to journal about my life and capture moments I want to remember.

Half Marathon....OH Yes I did!

2011-07-18T22:23:00.000-07:00

It's official, I'm signing up for a half marathon. My sister said she'll run it with me and my friend Erik and Amanda are doing it as well! :) I'm thrilled and anxious all at the same time. I hope I make it and hope I train really well and don't get a horrible time. I've been looking up tips and a running advice schedule, but I guess what I should really be doing is actually running! And I will, I have plenty of time, the race is February 26th. Yay! Wish me luck!

Lincoln memorial

2010-08-03T14:40:00.001-07:00

Arrival in D.C.

2010-08-03T14:17:00.000-07:00

When we arrived in D.C. Erik drove us around in circles looking for parking. It was pretty ridiculous at the amount of traffic and expense of parking. But eventually we found a place to park and made our way to the Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, and Lincoln Memorial.

We also had the pleasure of walking by the Reflection Pool in which we saw this funny squirrel trying to avoid being photographed by a lady...so of course I snapped a quick shot of him hiding on the tree.

Now we are off to the mall and going to get some dinner. What an exhausting day.

Ocean City Beach

2010-08-03T07:55:00.001-07:00

This morning we got up early to catch the sunrise...and barely missed it. The view was gorgeous though and the crab in the picture was definitely sad he missed the view. We gathered rocks and shells for jewelry and a picture frame. It was such a beautiful morning, we even saw dolphins swimming! Now we are off to D.C. for sightseeing.

Beach Day

2010-08-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

Today we came to Ocean City. It was a four hour trip from Hagerstown. In the four hours I managed to lose my wedding ring down a crack in Amanda's car
Erik and Daniel had to fish it out. Lucky thing Erik has slender wrists.

The overcast day turned into a pretty wonderful beach day. We all jumped in waves and Amanda and I were pummeled by the waves. It was fun except for salt water in the eyes and nose. Yuck!!

Amanda and I picked through the sand and found shell treasures for a picture frame. It was a lot of fun wading through the sand and water searching for shells.

We found an Italian restaurant, Antipasto Restaurante, within walking distance. It was not worth it. We ended up splitting a steak. But it was outrageously priced and not that great. Anyhow, we walked down the beach and boardwalk forever. We ate some delicious ice cream and had the best fries. I'd never had fries with vinegar, but that's the way they do it here and it wasnt horrible.

We saw some neat sand art. And eventually we made it back to the Casablanca Inn. I've never had sand in so many places....

My bee crank flashlight

2010-08-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

This is so cute I just had to share! It's the flashlight Daniel got me at Retro Metro. It doesn't need betteries, all you do I'd crank and it gets so bright! Love it!

Krumpe's Donut

2010-08-01T21:01:00.001-07:00

Today we had our first two Krumpe's donut. We stood in a long line on DoNut Alley. The smell of grease and dough overcame you as you walked through the door. We ordered an assortment of flavors. I enjoyed the glazed cake donut best. Daniel likes the chocolate cake donut the best so far. Overall the cake donut lived up to the rave...the original glaze was not as good as the Krispy Kreme donut originals that melt in your mouth.

A Day in Baltimore

2010-08-01T15:50:00.001-07:00

I woke up to Kitty knocking on the door. Sadly I responded thinking it was Erik or Amanda.

When we finally woke and prepared for our day, Daniel noticed a huge ground hog hanging out on the shed window. He was so cute, I even snapped a picture of him hanging in the window sill.

The drive to Baltimore was long. The navigation led us through a scary neighborhood. I snapped a picture of this door cemeted off. Crazy!!

We finally reached Inner Harbor and began our search for lunch food. We originally started looking for a nice seafood restaurant...but after looking at several menus we realized $35 a meal was too much for lunch. Daniel settled on Johnny Rockets and the rest of us ate Phillips express seafood. It wasn't bad, but I kind of have a tummy ache now..

The Baltimore Aquarium was cool. We saw lots of amazing animals. My favorites were the dolphins and jelly fish. I have some great photos to share once we get home, unpack our computer, and upload them. Hooray for today. I am so tired...I Ned to get into bed as soon as we get to their house. ZzzzZzzzzz

Arriving in D.C.

2010-08-01T00:10:00.001-07:00

My mom dropped us off at the SLC Airport July 29th. She witnessed a very scary car accident only moments in front of her. Luckily she was not harmed in any way, just very shaken up. We flew out of SLC without any delays. Daniel is my lucky charm because usually we get stuck somewhere, but thus time everything went smoothly. At the Houston Airport we thought we were getting lucky and that we were going to get to D.C. early, but it wad not the case, the flight was a different one, nearly identical to ours. But we did eventually make it to D.C. And after we gathered our bags, we headed to Hagerstown, Maryland. It took us 2 hours because Erik navigated wrong because of the barely visible signs....hahaha....we managed to pass a toll Booth three times. It was pretty funny to me because at this point it was about 1a.m. and I was exhausted. But we did make it to their house and Amanda had yummy cupcakes waiting for us, a birthday banner, and flowers the Kitty had knocked over. It was good, and eventually we headed to bed.

We slept in the next morning. We went to Erik's school and I saw my very first groundhog. It was so cute and fat! I wished I could have seen it closer! It was neat looking. I guess a family of them use to live under Erik's class in the portables, but now he has a cute room in the building.

We ate at the Bull and Bear downtown. It was much too cold, but pretty tasty.

Amanda and I finally convinced the boys to play Settler's of Catan with us after some yummy smores. The best part of smores was when Erik brought out the lightening racket to kill bugs. It zaps bugs when You hit them with it. Erik intentionally touched it and was zapped. Daniel accidentally grabbed onto it and was shocked. It was pretty insane.

The caravan extension they have for Settler's was tons of fun. I was close to winning tonight, which was a total miracle because You go in order of birth year so it always goes Erik, Daniel, me, and Amanda. Usually Amanda and I do bad...but that night I was one point away from winning.....so close! Oh well, I am learning to be a better sport.

Crystal Grottoes

2010-07-31T23:44:00.001-07:00

Today was such a beautiful day. We woke up to perfect weather, packed a picnic, and headed to Crystal Grottoes, a cave with more formations than any other cave in Maryland. The cave was cold and beautiful. My favorite formation was the one shaped like shark's teeth.

We went to Fredricks for a picnic and sat by these beautiful bridges. It really was such a nice day....We did get a little sweaty walking around, but overall not as bad as I thought it would be. We went to this store called Retro Metro. It was full of all sorts of great stuff. Daniel and I got these cute penguin hot pads we've been needing to replace our burned up rabbit oven mitts. Daniel got me this super cute wind-up bee flashlight. It is absolutely adorable!

After visiting this cute little down town area we headed to the bead store. I bought beads to make a necklace for our night at Mary Poppins which is at The Kennedy Center. I am excited!

We came back to Erik and Amanda's house: swam in the pool, prepared dinner, and ate. In the pool Daniel tried to bombarde me with a cold water filled splash ball. Most of the time he was kind enough to squeeze the water out...but a few times I was splashed with cold water. I felt pretty bad because I made Daniel fall off his little inflatable matress a bit and more into the water. Sadly, someone left these soft eating mango licorices Amanda gave me on the ground....ants helped themselves to a delicious treat while we sunned. It was a sad moment for us all.

The BBQ chicken was made with this great Frank's sweet and chili sauce, soy sauce, and garlic. It was so yummy!

We found ourselves at the best buy after dinner. Daniel and I convinced Erik and Amanda that they needed a blue ray player. While the boys played Amanda inteoduced me to the world of 5 or less...I think that's what it was called. But it wad tons of gray stuff for $5 or less. We got headbands to make cute flower bands, and Also got flowers. They are going to be awesome!

We had ice cream at a place called Friendly's. They were not very friendly, but the ice cream was spectacular. I got a nut of caramel and Daniel got tons of peanut butter stuff with peanut sauce. I was stuffed.

Amanda and I made our jewelry while the boys put together the blue ray player. I made a three strand necklace, ring, and bracelet. It wad tons of fun sitting and talking with Amanda. I have truly missed her.

We bought our tickets for Baltimore Aquarium-
$25 each!!! Can you believe it?!?! As long as we get to sit in the splash zone at the dolphin show it will be worth it! Gotta get some sleep because I'm waking up in less than 6 hours.....

Fourth of July

2010-07-04T22:52:00.001-07:00

I feel really blessed to be an American. Since Daniel has been home I count my blessings he made it home safe, however my heart goes out to all the families that still have a deployed love one, or who has lost a loved one while they were protecting our freedoms. I am so proud to be an American, I love our country and am so thankful for all that we have and are able to do, due to the sacrifices of many. I hope we will always stand tall and make our country proud. May lives and time from family not be in vain...do your best in all you participate in. God bless America!!

I found the song I was looking for!

2010-06-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite songs! I couldn't think of what it was earlier, then all of a sudden it hit me, so I found the lyrics to share with everyone.

Oh Lord, My Redeemer

And the Roman soldiers laughed
When they saw their pris'ner stumble.
He did not revile them back.
And wondering, I asked,
"Who was this man so humble?"

And a woman at my side
Choked on her reply.
Though she struggled not to weep,
The tears poured down her cheek,
Her heart breaking as she cried:

"Oh Lord, my Redeemer,
Thou has done so much for me!
Oh Lord, my Redeemer,
All my love I give to Thee!"

And the crowd went pushing on.
I felt compelled to follow.
I knew that they were wrong
How they mocked Him all along.
Suddenly my heart felt hollow.

For they nailed Him to a tree
On a hill called Calvary.
While I stood there filled with wonder,
The heavens roared with thunder,
And again I heard this plea:

"Oh Lord, my Redeemer,
Thou has done so much for me!
Oh Lord, my Redeemer,
All my love I give to Thee!"

I could not forget His face
As I wandered from that place.
With the questions ever burning
I put myself to learning
And each answer came with grace.

And I knelt in earnest prayer,
His memory still there.
And the more that I'd enquire
The hotter burned the fire.
I found joy beyond compare.

And the day turned into three.
Morning found me in a garden
Where the gentle April breeze
Returned me to my knees,
Pleading for a pardon.

And I can't say when or why
I opened up my eyes
But his feet were there before me,
But His hands were open o'er me,
And His face I recognized.

"Oh Lord, my Redeemer,
Thou has done so much for me!
Oh Lord, my Redeemer,
All my love I give to Thee!"

Park City Weekend:5/21-5/23

2010-06-07T22:29:00.000-07:00

My fabulous sister planned a family get-together in Park City. We took a plane up to SLC and we spent over 6 hours waiting in the airport due to inclement weather in the East. It was pretty disappointing, and by the time we got to SLC we were pooped. My dad picked us up in his new Jetta. The plastic hadn't even been taken off of the back seats! We drove through the rain and snow up to a rented condo in Park City....and did we fear for our lives? YES! I sometimes wonder how my dad has made it as a driver....but we somehow survived....although slightly frazzled...

When we arrived we were happy to see my mom, sister, cousins and aunt. My cousin Emigh and Raymond have the cutest kids! Below are just a few photos from the weekend. My favorite is when Olivia was singing this Hello Kitty song. She has a hard time saying K's, they usually sound like T's, but by the end of the weekend she had smartened up, and shockingly her K's were sounding much more like K's than T's.

Angelina also had a lot of fun putting mustache's on all the girls....here's pictures of the mustache club....

Olivia's Mustache.

Sidney looks great with a mustache!

...But Sophie's is the best.

This is us hanging out with the girls. Shockingly I'm the one with my eyes closed, instead of Angelina.
Now this is one of my favorite pictures. We played rock band into the late hours of the night...and well at one point Olivia wouldn't share the microphone with Ang and me, so we decided to use her braids...she didn't like it very much.

Angelina with Sophie eating dirty carrots.

Sophie holding Sydney, what a funny sight! Sydney is practically the same size as Soph!

We went to Olympic park in Park City to ride the bobsleds, but while we were there the weather turned snowy and wet, so they shut the course down. =( We didn't get to ride the real bobsleds, but we are going to try to some time. However, we did go walk down town and go to The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. For those of you who know not what I speak of, I speak of the most magnificent place to go when you have a sweet tooth....the caramel apples are so amazing and they have such a huge variety of things to eat that it's almost overwhelming when you go in.

Olivia, Me, and Daniel in a bobsled at Olympic Park in Park City.

YIKES! Would you seriously want to ride in one of these? I think not!

Olivia and Daniel playing a fun game at Olympic park.

This video is kinda funny. It really shows how fun and spunky Olivia is. She's a cutie...however, she got too smart for us! She wouldn't say Kitty after the first time....even if it meant she liked going to bed more! (Which she doesn't!)

Anyhow, Park City was a great adventure, despite the waiting at the airport and crazy weather. It was fun seeing family and just hanging out. Hopefully we will get to do it again real soon!

March 14, 2010

2010-03-07T22:37:00.000-08:00

So, if I understood Daniel correctly on the phone....March 14, 2010 is the day that he should be heading back to America. He has a bunch of tests he has to get done so he has to come back before his unit. Then from that point we will figure out a date I guess? Who knows, it's a miracle Daniel has a date for that. SO, HOORAY!! HOORAY!! HOORAY!!!

STOP CALLING ME A KID!

2010-02-24T20:11:00.000-08:00

I understand that as a young teacher, you'll always get remarks about your age. It seems however, that there is this persona about what a teacher should look like and apparently how old they should be. Yes, I am younger, but I am by no means a kid. A kid in my mind is someone under the age of 18. In fact, I don't even refer to people older than 13 as kids, but as teens. I am an adult. And just because I don't have kids myself, it doesn't make me a kid. Just because I am youngER, doesn't mean I'm a kid. Just because I'm younger than YOU, doesn't make me a kid.

Ever since I entered the teaching profession, people have been commenting on my age. In fact, the first comment I received while touring a school during an interview went something like this:

Teacher: Hi, I'm So-and-So. Who are you?
Me (New Teacher): I'm Jessica Tsu, I'm interviewing here for a job.
Teacher: What!? Are we hiring high schoolers now?! (Smirks, then walks away)

And ever since then, I have gotten comments every year about my age. I've been told that ONE DAY I will be "thankful" for these types of comments, but to be honest, I don't understand how age is such a huge issue?! Honestly, I've never understood why people feel the need to comment on MY age. Go ahead and comment all you want about YOUR age, but leave me out of this. AND what bothers me more, is that I am relatively close to the same age as many of the teachers around me, but for some reason I am the one that these sassy remarks are directed towards. Who cares if I don't have kids yet? Who cares if I am younger? I went to college. I got great grades. I aced all my testing for teaching. And hey, I have enough energy to keep up with my students. AND I have extra time to spend on class work because I don't have kids...so what is the big deal and why do people mention it so often? I'm not sure. If you figure it out, let me know.

Classes, craziness, the thing I call life...

2010-02-23T20:06:00.000-08:00

Right now I'm listening to Jack Johson's, "Better Together," the song Daniel and I danced to at our wedding. Simba is laying on the ground whining, wishing he had my food. I'm finishing some work on the computer and eating one of my favorite cereals, PB Captain Crunch, and wondering, How did it come to be eight o'clock already!? Oh wait, it's cause I had Smartboard class until 6:30. Time sure flies!

Today just flew right by too. And I can't believe it has been almost a year since Daniel left. He will be leaving his base in Afghanistan this week. Then he'll go to another base, and keep moving like that until he comes home to the good ol' USA. YAY! I'm so glad he will be home soon. Living alone is horrible. And living alone with a dog is WORSE!

I'm looking forward to the next three weeks, even though they are going to be crazy. I'm going out of town Friday for a top secret mission. Then next week I'll have a sub for half a week and I'm off to this awesome CUE Technology Conference in Palm Springs, CA. Then the following week we have CRT Testing. The weekend following CRT testing I go to Fallon for Smartboard training. *SIGH*. This Tuesday I am having the missionaries over for dinner and I'm wondering what to make. I asked them for suggestions because I hate coming up with a menu and they said they like rice. Which makes me want to make Chinese...maybe postickers, stir-fry, teriyaki chicken? OR, possibly Panda Express? LOL....I wouldn't stoop THAT low. But I am getting a little worried. OH WELL. I'll make it somehow. Maybe I'll just serve rice?

Going out of town is always hard for me because I'm BAD at unpacking my stuff...UG. Not looking forward to it or being in a car for that long...actually, I'm a bad car rider too! I just fall asleep!

Anyhow, that's the craziness going on right now. Until next time...

Crutching around....

2010-02-12T22:38:00.000-08:00

Today was a typical day. My friend's daughter texted me wanting to walk dogs together. I willingly obliged. In fact, I enjoy walking with them. Simba and Ruffy have fun ignoring us, and we talk about random things that make me laugh and appreciate I'm no longer in Jr. High. Simba pulled hard and disobediently today so we decided that we'd break the law and let them run around for a while. It was great until a lone figure appeared out of no where. We snatched up the leashes and began running in the opposite direction. By now the sun began sinking under the horizon and the grayness started to engulf us. Simba, extra jovial tonight, pulled and tugged at his leash. I obliged and began running with him through the grass and dirt, the remains of a once beautiful golf course. To my surprise I found myself crashing down to the ground. SNAP! I heard a horrible sound come from my ankle. I couldn't move. The pain permeated from my ankle into my thigh. Laying on the ground I couldn't think about anything except for a conversation I had with Laura just last night, it was about how someone had broken their leg and they had to be helicoptered out of a camp site. I had said I would NEVER do that, I'd hop out. BUT the few seconds that led to me laying on the ground made me almost laugh. There was no way I'd be able to make it. The sharp pain radiated from beneath my heel. Eventually I made it home, Simba wouldn't let me ride him, although I tried to. And now here I am in a fake cast and crutches. I have to go to the doctors AGAIN in the morning because the xray tech wasn't in. I'm just hoping it isn't broken or torn....I hope it's just a BAD sprain.......*cross fingers*

What's been going on

2010-02-06T17:56:00.000-08:00

Daniel will be coming home in April. WOOT! WOOT!! I will no longer be alone!! YAY! It will be a refreshing break to solitude. His unit has been preparing to come back, they will slowly turn gear in, and move base to base in a month. Then they'll be on their way home! YAY!

I've been sick. I have had a major sinus infection that turned into a horrible vocal infection and was moving into my chest. I woke-up Thursday not being able to speak. Horrible, horrible, horrible!! My mom finally convinced me to take Friday off since I couldn't talk and she didn't want me getting all my kids sick. Very true, true, true. Especially since I hate when kids come to school sick, I decided I better not be such a hypocrite and stay home. It was a good thing I did, I was exhausted and slept almost all day! I woke up at around 4pm and are some food, emailed, showered, and went back to bed. It is amazing how I could sleep forever. I feel like I'm the type of person who will never be a morning person and continually needs at least 10 hours each night. *SIGH*

All these chronic things led up to me FINALLY buying these really cool and unfortunately, expensive, air purifiers. YAY! We will see if they help me and my allergies. I think they will. My little ionic breeze helps and it's only one filtration system, the ones I bought are a 5 step filtration process!! CRAZY! So I'm excited to have clean and purified air, no dust, no dog hair, no allergens! Woot! Woot! Don't worry, I'm not putting all my eggs in a basket, I am prepared for failure or success.

My Smartboard at school is installed and I've been trained Level 1 and 2 Smart Ready! YAY! It's so much fun! I feel like I am really excelling at it as well. I feel like a sponge when I'm learning, it's so great! I love learning, but technology has been so fun for me lately. I've been trying to decide what I want to get my masters in, but I think that this year has helped me realize I want to get a masters in technology. Oh yes, more good news for school! I am also probably going to get iouches for my class!! There is a grant that gets an itouch for each student and a laptop cart with 16 laptops and 1 mac. Should be fun. Our whole fifth grade is probably going to get the itouch. HOORAY!!! =) Anyhow, it's so much fun learning how to integrate all this technology with the kids. The kids love it just as much as I do, maybe even more?

At church I've been called as the Young Women's Camp Director. I'm excited and scared all at the same time. I told Aunt Sandy and she asked me if she should congratulate me or cry with me and it made me laugh. Looking back on my childhood, I was never really that active in church for long periods in my life, but I always found my way to Girls' Camp. AND, I always LOVED it. I'm excited for Girls' Camp and I hope that I can make it a memorable experience for all the girls in my ward. It feels good to be back at church and help the youth. I feel so inspired when I am with them. They are amazing, strong, and talented! I feel very blessed to get to work with them and learn from them.

Overall, life has been good to me. I have bad days still, but I've been trying some herbal remedies that have been doing wonders. This passion flower and St. John's Wort for stress has really helped me. Now all I have to worry about it taking care of my registration citation, if only I knew what it was for. *SIGH* Will the madness ever end? I hope so. 2 months. =)

New Year's Resolutions

2010-01-02T20:06:00.000-08:00

Every year I make new goals for the year. I've been thinking a lot about these and here's what I've come up with:

1. Get fit and eat right!

2. Get organized! Reorganize my house until it looks like one of those magazines. =)

3. Do things that will make me happy.

Hooray for the 2010! A time to make a new start (again)! Hip-hip-hooray!

Blue

2010-01-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

I'm a wreck. I kept myself together enough for the holidays, but I haven't been feeling like myself. It's so hard with Daniel gone, all I want to do is sleep. But most the time I can't sleep and so I end up feeling like I do today-crappy. I didn't do anything exciting last night, I just got back into town and was so exhausted. I laid and laid and laid until 9am this morning. It is horrible, my head is still feeling the after affects. Anyhow, I just haven't felt like myself all year, I've been so negative, grumpy and completely irrational at times. I feel like it's time to get medicated. Bah-humbug.

Mah-Jong

2009-12-29T01:28:00.001-08:00

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!!!!!!!!

2009-11-24T21:21:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-11-23T20:29:00.000-08:00

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....

2009-11-21T22:50:00.000-08:00

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---!!???!!??

2009-11-21T18:46:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-19T17:03:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-11-18T18:17:00.000-08:00

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....

2009-09-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

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.....

2009-08-29T01:46:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-08-16T02:29:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-16T02:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-13T00:14:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-08-07T22:36:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-08-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while...but just wanted to write about my mini-trip so far. I celebrated my birthday with family and friends. We had a good time at Su and Andrews BBQ. AND in Utah they have fireworks and a parade for my birthday =).... Okay, not really, but my birthday is a holiday in Utah, Pioneer Day. So, on my birthday we went to this parade and the floats were pretty amazing. I couldn't believe that people did these in their spare time! Then we ate at the Royal Eatery. I had a pretty good breakfast and had fun talking with my mom and sister. We went to a BBQ and watched the fireworks from the yard. The fireworks were SO CLOSE to the house that we could feel each explosion. In my opinion, that's the only way to really enjoy fireworks, although I am feeling slightly deaf from all the fireworks this summer.

My little brother left and came back from a trip to Hong Kong during the time I am here...what a short trip!! He went for 4 days. While he was there he helped with the Mr. Hong Kong 2009 Pageant. They had to go out for the swim competition. I must also so that the 2009 contestants were NOT as attractive as last years competitors. I couldn't pick which ones I thought might win, but was surprised to see the winners. Anyhow, Michael had a great time while he was there and got to see my cousin Gabriel's first baby! Her name is Sidney. She is BEAUTIFUL!! I wish I had a few pictures to post, but I haven't seen her in person yet, but I'll get them from Michael.

Taz, my sister's cat has been so funny. He is probably one of the only cats I like, however he is also probably the harriest cats I have ever met!! His hair gets all over me and at times it feels like I can't even breathe....it's the worst! The other morning I woke up and he was laying on top of my belly. He is always sneaking up on me and laying by me. He probably knows I don't like it when he touches me, but I still let him because he is like one of those cute little old people; you can't help but love him.

I saw two good movies while here: The Ugly Truth and G-Force. The Ugly Truth made ma laugh so hard. It was pretty crude and when they said, "blowjob" I was a little concerned because my mom came with us. I looked down the aisle and she was laughing hysterically. I guess there really wasn't anything to worry about, but in my mind I thought it could be one of those really akward moments. Luckily it wasn't. G-Force was really good. I originally didn't want to see it, but it was very good. My favorite guinea pig was Agent Juarez. SHE IS SOOO CUTE!! I want to get the stuffed animal now. She has the cutest eyelashes! I don't know what my obsession with eyelashes is all about, but ON MY GOSH! Her eyelashes are so cute!! I think the best part about watching G-Force was hearing a little kid talk about watching it while we were in Chicago. He was laughing so hard and asking his parents their favorite parts and saying his was when everyone kept calling them something other than guinea pigs. hahaha..I didn't realize that kids would catch onto that. I thought that that was funny too...maybe I'm really just a kid at heart as well. =) Anyhow, Utah has been fun. The only down side has been getting scratches on my car. Every time I come to Utah, my car gets hit, scratched, dented, or keyed! WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!?!?!

Saying good-bye is hard....

2009-07-19T22:11:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-16T01:07:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-13T21:55:00.001-07:00

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....

2009-07-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-07-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-07T17:44:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-07-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-07-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-03T16:55:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-07-03T16:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

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

Leaving, on a jet plane.....

2009-07-01T22:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-28T15:18:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-16T23:16:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-16T23:15:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-15T13:38:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-15T11:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-10T20:44:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-09T22:39:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-06-09T00:18:00.000-07:00

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!!

2009-06-09T00:10:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-06-08T23:20:00.000-07:00

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!!