Elections

(sigh) I voted. If you know me then you should know who I voted for. Let's just say that I usually cast my vote based on the moral platform and leave it at that. Man I am tired of getting fliers in the mail. And people have been calling the house 2 - 3 times a night to remind us to vote. We don't even pick up anymore. One message told me that they would give me a ride to the voting place if I needed it. My mom got a recorded message from Matt Damon (yes the famous actor) urging her to vote for Barack Obama. I have to say that this election has left a sour taste in my mouth. I feel like if the candidates spent half the time actually doing something about important issues instead of harrassing me by phone maybe the world would be a better place. And please don't get me started on all the money it costs to print and mail those stupid fliers! It costs ALOT of money to print in color and mail the stupid things. And what do we do with them? We throw them away! What a waste. Both candidates day they are going to change things for the better. But both are just conducting business as usual. And don't even get me started on the "unbiased" media. Why does everyone believe what they see on TV? I'm over it. Let's just hope the next president doesn't jack up out country!

Fall Back!

Can it really be November already? Seriously where does the time go? We had a cold snap here last week. It actually got down to the 40's at night which for Tampa this time of year is record breaking cold! It turns out I don't really have any long pants! :) But I do have long skirts so I was OK. :) Halloween was anti climatic. (thank goodness) We didn't make a big deal out of it at school so the kids were fairly normal. I did make them goodie bags and they made these cool spiders too so at least we got to have a little bit of fun. I am officially done with my Saturday class! Woo-hoo! It really wasn't that bad, but I hate giving up Saturdays. And my after school club on blogging and desktop publishing is going VERY well. The kids are really enjoying it and so am I. I am taking them on a field trip to the apple store in a few weeks. I thought it would be a fun way to end the club and I get a year of free one on one coaching from a Mac genius. Needless to say I am excited!
I am being observed twice this week in class as part of my new teacher program, but after that is over I can just teach! Who knows maybe things will even calm down? But I doubt it! :) I very much enjoyed the extra hour of sleep on Sunday too! And now it's 6am Monday morning and I'm ready to go! Have a great week!

Isn't She Lovely

I have to tell you I think that I have the world's cutest dog! She is just a sweetie and is totally down to do whatever as long as she is hanging out with me. There is definitely something to be said for unconditional love! She looks a little nappy in this picture doesn't she? Well that's because my mom likes to feed her homemade onion soup! How can this make a dog look nappy you ask? Well because she gives her the bowl. And CoCo LOVES homemade onion soup so much that she gleefully sticks her entire head in the bowl and goes to town. She has a tiny head so of course her whole head fits in the bowl. And she comes up slightly coated in homemade onion soup! Her favorite is homemade garbanzo bean soup (or chick peas for those of you not raised near Cuba). And of course she SMELLS like onion soup for the rest of the night too. It drives me a little crazy, but she does look adorable when she sticks her whole head in the bowl! And when I get home she races towards me to joyfully show off her nappiness. Really who can resist that? What wasn't so cute was her throwing up the homemade onion soup at 11pm that night! Gross! Gross! Gross! Ahh well enjoy her cuteness! It's hard to photograph dogs without the glare in their eyeballs! :)

It's what October is all about!

We are going to the World Series! Woo-hoo! So exciting! Of course I have friends that are going to the game. I thought about it, but to be honest I am not the biggest baseball fan. It's just nice to see the home team win you know? Especially after years and years of them not being so great. My class is enjoying all the excitement too. I hope they win! :) I need to buy a rays shirt!!!! :)

Am I that weird?

My good friend Carrie tagged me and now I have to describe 7 weird things about myself. I kind of enjoyed getting in touch with my inner freak. Enjoy!

1. I am a passive control freak.



2. I have a fake front tooth (I didn't have a baby tooth or an adult tooth) and before I got the implant I had a reatainer with the fake tooth on it (and a big old hole in the front of my mouth).



3. I think it's been 10 years since I've kissed anyone....no wait it's only been 9 (hell might as well round up mamma needs some lovin!)

4. Beautiful music makes me cry.

5. I flush my sinuses every other day.

6. My favorite ride at Disney World is still It's a Small World (makes me happy just thinking about it)

7. On my mission I always had to be the one to answer our phone in the apt. (there's that weird control freak thing again, I should be medicated but I am too much of a control freak to allow that!)

PS this blog was typed on my brand new Macbook laptop! It's so beautiful! I love it! :)

Waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Sssooo here I am. Yes I miss being a fun person, but really on the whole things are pretty good right now. Compared to a year ago things are AMAZING. My class is pretty good. I am going to teach an after school club on blogging and desktop publishing which I am very excited about. I am tutoring 2 mornings a week before school, I enjoy it and I am getting paid a little extra. My migraines are pretty much gone, AND the new macbooks are supposed to come out this week (I've been waiting since the summer). I'm looking for a place to live (finally moving out of my parents house woo-hoo!). I have a reliable gas efficient car that I like. I could spend all day counting my blessings, but that's not the point! And while I am very grateful and really am happy for the most part, part of me is just waiting for something bad to happen! And logically I know it's silly but I don't seem to be able to help myself! I worry about my dad going into the hospital again, I worry that my mom will become too ill to take care of my dad. Actually those are probably the 2 biggest worries. I just need to relax and enjoy the happy moments more. I'm just not sure how to go about doing that. Don't get me wrong, I'm not losing sleep or having panic attacks or anything. I am just very aware that trials are part of life and I know sooner or later one will arrive on my doorstep (usually the last thing you'd expect ) and so I just keep peeking out the door waiting for it to show up. But I will say that Elder Wirthlin's talk at conference was very comforting! And we had a great lesson in Relief Society about weathering life's storms. I just need to find balance and learn how to accept God's will. I guess I am just too much of a control freak!!

The Time of My Life

What is it about General Conference that always makes me think about my mission? Maybe it's because that is when the mission reunion takes place? I don't know but here is a picture of me and a bunch of my sisters the night before I went home from my mission. It's been almost 5 years since I've come home. Sometimes it seems like yesterday and other times it feels like another lifetime. So far my mission is the best thing I've ever done. It was also the craziest and the hardest and the most trying thing I've ever done too. I'm not sure if I miss it, as missing it implies that I would go back if I could. And I most certainly would NOT go back! But I think about it everyday and even more so during General Conference (which for the record ROCKED especially the Saturday Sessions). But somewhere in the last 5 years I've grown up (I feel like an old fart). I mean where is the girl who used to organize mission wide Pdays? Where is the girl who decorated an elder's car like a christmas tree in October? Where is the girl who was known as the Mafia Mamma?(because if someone messed with one of us they messed with all of us!) Who brought the party with her (even in Pahrump and Yerington) I'm not really any of those girls anymore. Now I'm the teacher, and the single girl in the family ward. The daughter/sister who somehow ends up taking care of everyone and is taken care of by no one. I don't really mind being any of these things I guess I just wish I was having a little more fun along the way. Something to think about anyways....

The Cheese Touch

A little background before the story. The cheese touch can be found in the book "Diary of A Wimpy Kid" It is a VERY popular book with the elementary school kids. Basically the cheese touch is like cooties and incidentally has the same immunization (ie you cross your fingers)

SSSo there I was... picking up the kids after lunch. They are all lined up ready to go because they know it bugs me when they are jumping around and acting like hooligans in the line. So far so good. Until.....we start to leave the lunch room and I notice that a few kids have their fingers crossed as they are walking out the door. Even my good girls have their fingers crossed. I start to get suspicious. I check hands and sure enough 14 out 15 kids have their fingers crossed. I've read Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I know what this means...... THE CHEESE TOUCH IS BACK! After I quit laughing I stop the line and explain to the children that there will be no cheese touch in line or in my room as I have immunized. They finally uncross their fingers. One of my girls comments that it hurts to keep your fingers crossed for that long to which I reply "yep it sure does" in the most profound voice I can muster.
I wish I had a camera, the whole dang class with their fingers crossed so funny! I love third grade! :)

Signs that you are getting old

Ok so here I am. If you know me even a little bit you know I love techie stuff. I always have the latest gadgets (or I am saving to buy them, or I am waiting for the second gen to come out because everyone knows when you buy the first gen it will have problems). So of course as soon as the new version of Itunes came out I downloaded it. It's kinda cool, it has a genius bar that you turn on and then when you click on a song in your library it will list a bunch of songs that you might like to buy. Well I am still working on a 50 song gift card I gave to myself (thank you AMEX reward points they have the best stuff) so I thought I'd browse around and see what's out there. So I click on a song and it gives me a bunch of recommendations. Yeah I haven't heard of any of these fools! I am so out of touch musically but I don't care! I have disney mania 6 and that's all that matters to my class! :) I let them listen to it while we are working. (yeah I really am that cool). This week I am into Dashboard Confessional and Secondhand Serenade. I guess I am fascinated by the idea of a boy who can express his emotions through song. ENJOY!

PS I dl'd this new widget that lets you see who is looking at your blog and I get people from all over the world! I know this scares some of you but I happen to think it's the COOLEST THING EVER! Guess which 2 posts get the most hits? My post on the volcano experiment and my post that is titled "Jesus Loves you but I am his favorite!" It tickles me to NO END! :)

Did you miss me?

Sssooo my friend Hatsuho tagged me. She says I don't blog enough. She is right. I keep meaning to but I'd rather go to sleep most nights and I can't access my blog from school (our county blocks blogger). I will give you a quick update and then you can read my tag:
School is good, I like my kids, I wish they listened more
I decided to start looking for a house or a condo, tomorrow is my first time actually looking at places and I am excited/nervous
I've been on a diet for about a month and I've lost 20lbs because I don't eat ANY carbs! Just lean meat and veggies and lowfat cheese. I MISS CHOCOLATE!
I am still caffeine free too!
Family is good (please say a prayer it stays that way, dad usually ends up in the hospital sometime during the month of september)
In October I will be taking classes every saturday and teaching an after school enrichment club (on how to blog) and tutoring students in the mornings twice a week before school. (and I am excited about all of it, I must be crazy)
those are the highlights! :)
Here is the tag:

I usually: am thinking about what to teach my class next
I search: for the perfect bungalow house in south tampa, in my price range (I can dream!)
I wonder: if buying a house is a good financial decision
I regret: falling in love with the wrong boy
I love: watching my students get excited about reading, my dog
I care: too much about other people's happiness
I always: take way too long to wake up in the morning!
I worry: too much about stupid stuff
I am not: a hyper person
I remember: EVERYTHING! I have a mind like a steel trap! Although the older I get the rustier the trap! I am trying to just keep the happy memories and toss the sad ones.
I believe: that God loves me and EVERYTHING happens for a reason!
I dance: when I am happy
I sing: in the car
I don't always: spend enough time taking care of myself
I argue: with good friends! I love a good argument as long as no one is angry
I write: only on my blog and when I am modeling a lesson for my students
I win: who knows? I am not very competitive
I lose: weight! so far 20lbs and counting!!!
I wish: I had more self discipline
I listen: to kids ask "how long until lunch?" ALL DAY LONG
I don't understand: Why I don't get paid more money! Cuz honey I am worth it! :)
I can usually be found: driving to or in or just leaving my classroom
I am scared of: spiders and other large ugly bugs!
I need: to exercise more (but I am going to go to sleep early instead!)
I am happy: on Saturday mornings when I don't have to do anything that day, its the best!