Whit Sariah

Beethoven's 5 Secrets

2012-02-11T15:51:00.000-08:00

this give me chills. Probably because...

A. It's the cello, and I downright believe that the cello is the most angelic sound on the planet

B. Beethoven's 5th is my absolute favorite classical piece. ever. serious.

C. I love love love a clever mashup

D. I just think The Piano Guys are downright stellar

Description taken from their youtube page-

Story behind the song:
The Lyceum Philharmonic (Youth Orchestra) and its director, Kayson Brown, approached us with this idea. We loved it. It combined two of the things we are working to accomplish -- inviting people to classical music and inspiring young musicians. Steven Sharp Nelson had soloed with the orchestra the previous year and loved the spirit and the talent that the orchestra showed at such young ages (ages 13-18!) Together we developed the concept of "Beethoven's 5 Secrets," combining OneRepublic's tune "Secrets" with melodies and moments from all four movements of Beethoven's 5th Symphony.

We used 5 different melodies from the 4 movements of Beethoven's 5th Symphony (not including the "bridge" the orchestra plays in the middle). Try to guess where they are and where they come from!

What are Beethoven's secrets? He had many. His most prominent secret that he desperately tried to keep from the public and that caused him to be considered extremely eccentric, irritable, and hermit-like was his "weakness." He was deaf during most of his life. Imagine that...one of the greatest composers that ever lived could hardly hear. And yet, he wrote his life's greatest works after becoming deaf. He believed that art itself had "secrets" that had to be "forced into" in order to obtain art's highest level. There is no doubt Beethoven discovered many of the "secrets" of art -- people all over the world enjoy them every day. He was a true master of music, blessed by God. This piece and video are dedicated to him.

Perform "Beethoven's 5 Secrets" and the entire Beethoven Symphony No. 5 with Steven Sharp Nelson at Lyceum Music Festival this year! Work up-close and personal with Steven and other amazing professional musicians like the concertmaster of the London Symphony and Rotterdam Orchestra. Advanced players ages 13-21 are invited to audition. Visit http://www.LyceumMusicFestival.com for details

this thing called adulthood

2012-02-05T16:10:00.000-08:00

that very title is a blog label that i use quite often, but i have come to the conclusion that adulthood is a strange feeling that comes and goes and at the oddest of times. for example:

did i feel like an adult when i moved out of my parents house?
no, i just felt weird

did i feel like an adult when i went to my first college class
no, i just felt overwhelmed

did i feel like an adult when i moved to salt lake
no, i just felt further away from home

did i feel like an adult when i graduated from college
no, i just felt confused

did i feel like an adult when i bought a new car
no, i just felt poor

did i feel like an adult when i got a real life job
no, i just felt excited

did i feel like an adult when i got a costco membership
yes.

did i feel like an adult when i bought a couch last week
yes.

what is this thing called adulthood? i find it odd and confusing. so i am going to go watch some boy meets world now...yes i own the first 4 seasons. judge me if you must.

I Won't Give Up...and I sure didn't!

2012-01-21T12:30:00.000-08:00

Today I have come to the most interesting of discoveries.

Flirting gets you places.

Now don't get me wrong, I have realized this for many years, but have never taken into consideration that I have this power.

Until today.

It was a simple January afternoon in Park City, Utah. Katie Jane and I were on a Sundance adventure. And two security guards were telling me I needed to be 'someone special' to enter this old building on Main Street. This old building on Main Street happened to be the 'Bing Bar.'

It was then I realized that flirting was the only thing standing in the way between myself and Mr. Jason Mraz himself.

Yes. Thats right. Mr. A-Z was within reach and I wasn't going to let anything get in my way.

So I pulled out all the stops. I flirted with the security guard, even telling him I loved him... and landed myself in about the 3rd row, at a private, closed name-on-the-special-list, Jason Mraz concert where probably only 75 people at most were present.

Talk about a dream come true!

It was the most magical 70 minutes of my life... so far. Some of you won't understand or appreciate this, but this was a big deal for me. If you know me AT ALL, you understand this for 2 reasons

A. I LOVE Jason Mraz with my whole entire heart

and
B. I don't flirt. I don't know how, and have been told so by a few people...nice, right?

But I did it today.

We were led by a security man in all black into a dark a sketchy back alley type stair well, where I could hear Jason's sultry voice in the not so far off distance. Seconds later I stood in awe with my darling friend Katie Jane and we sang along and laughed, and I was just as happy as could be.

Observe:

and this new song from his new album, which he announced the name and date of AT this performance, is sure to be my favorite. it was probably my favorite one he did at the concert.

I know right?

Thats how CLOSE I was

I even saw Blythe Danner in her coke bottle glasses walk by later, Melanie Lynskey, and a couple other celebrities that I have already forgotten.

And if that wasn't enough, Liz and I drove back up a couple hours later and flirted our way into a free covered and heated parking spot!

Cute boys in the parking booth. One had very sparkly blue eyes. Hum.... We also saw Joshua Jackson. That was nice.

What a fascinating and downright happy day! Love!

Whit and Liz...and a famous person...not really, but thats okay.

and if you are still confused as to why I love Mr Raz so much, this explains it all:

"Music is the medium I use to recover from life’s often deafening blow. I constantly reawaken thru music. The act of making music is how I tune in and/or tune out to solve life’s puzzles, trying to make the most sense of that which I can’t seem to stop questioning. In life there are problems. In music, if not a direct answer, comes a divine perspective."

Taken from here. Simply Beautiful.

brought to you in part by the letter G

2012-01-15T18:50:00.000-08:00

Goodbyes

Guacamole

Golden globes

Gorgeous Gowns

its been a Good day....

and then i bought a snuggie

2012-01-15T18:30:00.000-08:00

sometimes you have to go back to work for 9 days after christmas break, but then you get 3 weeks off.

yay for off track!

this weekend was full of celebrating.

catching up with friends

kicking my own butt at the gym

laughing

sleeping in

yummy food

talking to my mom

seeing my favorite baby

roaming walmart

and then i topped it off with a zebra print snuggie and a dennys run.

liz and i are so cool right now...

at least its legal

2012-01-06T23:56:00.000-08:00

he may be a little young, but he isnt THAT young right?
okay. im creepy...i realize this.
but i just LOVE him.
a lot.
this gave me chills.

how old is your soul?

2012-01-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

this song/video is in fact the happiest thing of the year so far.

oh joy joy joy

my heart is happy :)

NYE

2011-12-29T18:45:00.000-08:00

I have plans to hang out with my bestie,

go enjoy some deliciousness staring in New Year's Eve

and drink some Diet Coke (we haven't had any since 2010, be proud!)

to me, this sounds PERFECT.

livin on the wild side eh?

how will you be ringing in 2012?

How can you give Kris Kringle a parking ticket on Christmas Eve? What's next, rabies shots for the Easter Bunny?

2011-12-26T17:39:00.000-08:00

a boise christmas never ceases to bring a smile to my face.
never a white christmas,
but happy and charming none-the-less.
this christmas i pulled a 'dad' and saved all shopping till christmas eve.
awesome.
samuel and i went out that morning
and gretchen and i went out that afternoon,
it was great fun!
and i was done and wrapped by 4 o'clock.
just in time to watch some cheesy movies on the hallmark channel.
everyone was asleep by 11,
and we slept in till 9 am.
WHAT?
ya i know. first in ward family history...thats what happens when there aren't any little kids
(don't look at me!)
but it was still great!
we opened stockings, went to church,
(where samuel played child #2 in the program...crack me up)
and then we had more christmas afterwards.
it was quiet and happy and wonderful.
(and i smell really nice with my new perfume.)
after which we watched more cheesy movies
ate ham and cheesy potatoes

(potatoes with actual cheese...not cheesy as in reference to hallmark channel)

and even got dad and ethan to play loaded questions.
i say that was the best christmas present ever!
what a hoot!
we topped the night off by falling asleep watching home alone.

christmas 2011 was definitely a success

how about yours?

Source: potterybarn.com via Lorenza on Pinterest

peppermint and cocoa

2011-12-18T22:06:00.000-08:00

Dr. Neil Miller: Charlie, I'm sorry I didn't believe you.

Charlie: That's okay, Neil. You were just denying your inner child.

Dr. Neil Miller: You're going to make a great psychiatrist someday, kid.

Charlie: Nah. I think that I'm going to go into the family business.

Source: themeadowbrookblog.blogspot.com via [maisontwenty3} on Pinterest

Teaching 4th graders during the Christmas season is probably one of the greatest and downright most stressful things I have ever done.

Its so insanely busy this time of year, but these kids are hilarious and fantastic and just plain great.

It keeps me in touch with my inner child (not that I will EVER be capable of losing it)

But I'm pretty sure Christmas was meant to be celebrated with children.

I wouldn't trade my job for anything....

even if I do have to work this ENTIRE week.

Not kidding. Let's not talk about that...

Luckily the Christmas 2011 playlist is turning out quite nicely, I expect lots of crafting and Christmas celebrating on my evenings this week. Yes, yes I do.

3 days in a row plus some eye candy, my favorite flavor...

2011-12-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

check this out. 3 days in a rowwww folks. i'm back! yes yes!

well. this is definitely post worthy.

i want to say its been two years that kym and i have been waiting for this.

i have read the book (twice).

followed the casting.

followed the filming.

and have been DYING for this to come out.

have now watched the trailer MULTIPLE times

and you better believe i will be there opening weekend!

hooray!

im totally an idiot, i admit it, but thats okay.

judge me if you must.

just dont tell me about it....

thanks.

and enjoyyyyyy

a movie and a memory

2011-12-11T22:13:00.000-08:00

'Do you think we are dreaming?'

'If we are, I hope we never wake up.'

Lets be honest real quick.

Everyone knows that they should have made this movie about 5 years earlier, and cast me to play Samantha,

but regardless...its still one of my favorites.

I cry every time I watch it,

and I just love that Uncle Gard.

He's basically perfect, nasty mustache and all.

I distinctly remember that Christmas morning my Samantha doll sitting waiting for me under the tree.

I don't think I let go of her for months.

In fact, I kind of think I cried that morning...maybe not...but I wouldn't be suprised if I did,

I have always been a big blubbering baby.

I do remember a few weeks later when her head fell off and I burst into tears.

I was terrified I would have to send her to the American Girl Hospital and wait for weeks to get her back.

But father just tied it back on, and she was as good as new.

Oh childhood memories.

So happy.

Boy do I love Christmas time

And yet it makes me so homesick....

only 11 days to go!

We got a lot to learn, God knows we're worth it...

2011-12-10T22:37:00.001-08:00

just thought i would share this little gem here officially.

its been on repeat for weeks. and weeks.

now if only 'mid 2012' would come so i can be graced by his lovely voice some more.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;no&lt;/p&gt;

now excuse me while I to go spend my saturday night crafting, watching silly christmas movies, and drinking hot cocoa.

bliss.

it's the holiday season, oh woop dee doo!

2011-11-27T22:44:00.001-08:00

remember this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day?
well i do.
very clearly in fact.
it's weird to think that was already an entire YEAR ago!
so crazy!

but I am happy to report that this thanksgiving drive was MUCH better
and much quicker...
the 5 1/2 hour drive, went just as planned,
(although I did almost run out of gas...how is it that I got to Boise on a full tank with some to spare, and this time had to stop in snowville? thats over 100 miles difference?) whatever
it all worked out!

And it was a lovely Turkey weekend indeed!
I had to work the Mon, Tues, Wed before Thanksgiving (one of the perks of year round school) so my Boise visit was short and sweet, but it was definitely much needed.

Highlights include but are not limited to:

gretchen watching Lion King and thinking "Mafoose" (muh-foo-s) is a good name for her first born

A. thats a horrible name
B. its MUFASA!!! seriously? just about died laughing.

favorite quote of the weekend "Is there a difference between lesbians and homosapiens?"
a DVR full of lifetime/hallmark/abc family christmas movies just for me to watch
turkey day at grandmas
seeing family
the tradition of black friday ads spread all over the floor after the turkey has been consumed
this year actually GOING black friday shopping
standing outside target for an hour
standing inside the checkout line for 1.5 hours to buy my happy christmas tree
trying to flirt with the guy standing in front of me, fail
mall shopping at 2 am
getting decked in the face by some IDIOT girl in the mall at 3 am
literally yelling at above mentioned idiot girl, causing her to flee in sheer terror
feeling rather drowsy and delirious driving home
more christmas movies friday morning
christmas light hanging with father and samuel
experiencing a real like clark griswold moment...blasted lights
annual family christmas extravaganza till 1 am
more decorating and light hanging
more shopping
chats with my ma
another turkey dinner
a beautiful drive home with glee christmas and bieber christmas music :)
flirting with the starbucks man...thank you for making my day
another turkey dinner, yummmm
decking the halls at my apartment

oh how i LOVE the holiday season... dont you?

this week

2011-11-20T00:26:00.001-08:00

this week i...

went back on track...yay! i missed my kiddos.
had to write my first real set of sub plans for an all day workshop. barf
was observed twice. ick
legitimately cheese grated my thumb. ouch
painted my finger nails twice. awesome
was asked if i could be set up 4 times. wha?
cleared up my hulu queue. legit.
cleaned my room several times. nice
set the smoke alarm off. oops
organized my bathroom drawers. sparkly.
watched the hunger games trailer 7 times. teehee.
did NOT go see breaking dawn...yet. hum.
had several strange dreams. yup.
made delicious pasta. mmmm.
created several spotify playlists...including happy christmas ones. love.
got way super excited for christmas. eek!
graded lots of papers. oof.
and probably some other things...yes.

what an exciting week right?
the most entertaining thing was definitely when i told samuel i cheese grated my thumb. he asked if i got some epidermis in my nachos...unfortunately i probably did....

well, only 3 1/2 days until HOME! yay! and that means my FAVORITE day of the year! thanksgiving? well im looking forward to that but nope. the day AFTER thanksgiving. its THE BEST!!!

peace out folks!

lately....

2011-11-06T22:55:00.000-08:00

life has been lovely.
the past few weeks i have been off track,
but yet still busy as ever.
i decided to get some extra work in this time around, so i have been subbing lots and lots in other classes. lets just say that i love 4th grade. with my whole heart. my whole whole heart.

a few weeks ago i got to go to logan for my besties baby shower...oh what a happy day...


Kym. Katie. Karinne (and baby). Whitney

then to her surprise i am sure...the cutest little baby came exactly one week later!!!

i got to go down a week after that and meet new my favoritest baby ever.

Baby Kade!!

It was so happy to be there for a couple hours and hold a one week old baby. and it was also weird that my bestie is now a mommy. But she is so great, and that baby basically won my heart over. I can't believe i am admitting it, but i teared up a little when i had to leave...i love him! and i love karinne! ahhhhh

anyways. thats all for now. im on a pinterest kick right now...getting way too many teacher ideas....ahhh!

"are you coming home on thursday? it is the greatest day of YOUR life after all..."

2011-11-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

ya, thats what samuel said to me the other day.

sadly no i won't be there, but actually he pretty much hit that right on,

i think its pretty safe to say it was one of the greatest days of my life.

(awww shucks, look at me being all cheesy and what not)

so.....ANYWAYS!!!!!!

happy birthday to the COOLEST twins i know.

seriously people. these are 2 wayyy cool kids...

they are now 15 years young. and still my best buddies.

i remember the day they were born,

(and now excuse me while i go and feel old for a minute)

and it was pretty flippin awesome.

i sure hope the day is magical you two...just not TOO magical

you kids are only 15, alright?!

ok. thanks.

awww probably one of my favorite pictures of them


gretch and damian/rory. and samuel getting his eagle. classy


oh....maybe this one IS my favorite.

you might think that I was the one turning 15...shoot dang.

Anywho. Hope you both have a most triumphant day! Don't miss me too much!!!!!!!!

Love, Your favorite big sis

life is good, and when its good i sing...

2011-10-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

"Enjoy your journey. Enjoy your commute. It’s your movie even between takes. Acknowledge how incredible you are as walk to and from the set. Listen to music as much as you can. Especially while driving. Don’t text behind the wheel. But if and when you run a red light, you’ll not only want to be paying attention, you best wave to the camera. Because if you get your picture taken in that moment, or worse, sideswiped, I want everyone to see how much fun and humility one can possibly have because you simple chose to do so."

-mr a-z

tis' the season

2011-10-23T01:04:00.000-07:00

We all know how much I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE this time of year, but I am afraid it is slipping away from me faster than I can run through a pile of leaves! So I decided to make a list (which should come as no surprise, I have lists coming out of my ears...) of all my MUST-DO for autumn. And when that list is all checked off, then I will be able to welcome in the next happy season, complete with frozen fingers and slush soaked pants....(ewww, can you tell I am SO not ready for winter?)

1. Watch the following movies:

~~Hocus Pocus~~, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, ~~Practical Magic~~, What Lies Beneath, Birds, Watcher in the Woods, The Village, Young Frankenstein, and any other deliciously scary and/or halloween-y movies

2. Make my ~~favorite Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies~~...they are heavenly and (weight watchers friendly) as well as any of the FANTABULOUS recipes that I have found on pinterest...mmmmmmmm
3. Find a pile of leaves to jump in to...or at least walk through and just enjoy that perfect smell.
4. Step on some extra crunchy leaves
5. Take pictures in the canyon
6. ~~Go a Corn Maze~~ and/or Haunted House
7. ~~Go to a costume party~~
8. ~~Carve a pumpkin~~ WHILE watching It's a Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
9. ~~Make Grannies Chili~~...and maybe some cornbread
10. Go to a football game
11. Bake a Thanksgiving Pie
12. Stay in my PJs and read all day (with plenty of hot cocoa)
13. Finish of my autumn '11 playlist
14. Attempt to recreate some of the happiest of autumn crafts found via pinterest
15. Read the following happy fall books

The Little Old Woman Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams, Skippy Jon Jones In Mummy Trouble by Judi Schachner, The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg, Witches Broom by Chris Van Allsburg, Room on the Broom by Julie Donaldson, By the Light of the Halloween Moon by Caroline Stutson

hello! I've just got to let you know...

2011-10-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

First off, the fact that this is the 2nd post this month and it's only the 10th is pretty legit right? Well, I'm getting back so don't you even fret!

Second of all, its SEP week. AKA Conference week. AKA report card week. AKA meet with all the parents week. AKA might as well bring a sleeping back and my toothpaste to school week, cause I will be THERE wayyyyy more than I will be anywhere else. Needless to say its going to be exhausting, and long. But its all good. After this week we have 3 pretend days of school next week, and I go off track until 11.11.11....I love year round school :)

Third of all, I have been scrambling to get my report cards done, finished and printed, but one of the things I am realizing about my self, it that I kind of a little bit despise entering grades into the computer. So I leave it all to the end, which mean instead of a weeks worth of grades to enter...I had 9. Kill me. Luckily, I have that finished, but still had one project left to grade. Social studies. This project consisted of 12 maps...PER KID. Oh, 12 times 23...why YES!!!! I DID just finish grading 276 maps. Jealous right? *ooooowwww head hurts*

Well, amidst these 276 pages of maps, I had to have the 5 following things in order to maintain my sanity
1. Glee playing in the backgroud
2. a few Jason Mraz breaks
3. left over Cafe Rio (i love that i can get 3 meals out of their salads)
4. several facebook/youtube breaks.
5. roommates to come talk to me

and that is why I bring you this post...these are the best videos that surfaced from this Monday night adventure:

ahhh this kills me!

<a href='http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/disneyland-surprise/200byndf?src=v5:embed::' target='_new' title='Disneyland Surprise'>Video: Disneyland Surprise</a>

I have no clue why I laughed out loud at this one...but I really did

this is for my sister...she is obsessed with this group, and they sang a little JB. in your face Gretch! Just embrace the Bieber Fever like the rest of us!

I love him. duh.

and last but not least. I am OBSESSED with this song...can't even tell you how many times I have played it since it was released. Especially the strings that come in like 20 seconds in....oh. my. gosh.

okay. now to put in comments for all 23 students and then I can be done!!!!

sometimes shmumtimes

2011-10-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

sometimes my brother hangs out in my car and switches the ipod to drowsy chaperone and starts singing all the words

sometimes my students call me 'mom'...5 times in one day to be exact

sometimes my toes feel frozen because my basement is soooo cold

sometimes i love my job. haha thats i lie...i ALWAYS love my job

sometimes i feel like a super creepy stalker person when i actually am NOT a super creepy stalker person, it just would appear that way

sometimes i forget to eat

sometimes i run laps in the jog-a-thon with my kiddos, and my pants basically fall off. okay, they literally fall off, but i catch them. thank heavens!

sometimes i believe it would be easier to watch glee by my lonesome, because no one else laughs at the jokes, broadway and pop culture references, and because the ONLY person that understand how much i truly love this show is an hour away

sometimes i order more toms to make my feet happy

sometimes i clean my room and then realize that i want to move, but i cant yet, so i rearrange my whole room, including the bazillion pictures on the wall

sometimes brainwashed little byu fans at my school (i know that was harsh, forgive me...im still bitter) torment me for days on end because of their accidental victory over my beloved aggies

sometimes my kiddos say the funniest things

sometimes i sit in my car for no reason because i love it, and the fact that is starts, runs and doesnt cause me stress

sometimes i dont have a balance in life...still working on that one

sometimes i HATE when people try to cover my one true love: jasons songs and my beloved coldplay songs, but then other times i love it

sometimes wizard and i stay up wayyy too late talking and talking and talking and then its super hard to wake up the morning

sometimes i feel the need to purchase things purely out of the desire to have it in my possession. need therapy much?

sometimes i get really excited to be an 'aunty' even if its technically not for real. yay bff kren!

sometimes things really really bother me.

sometimes i miss college (woah, that makes me feel old saying that...)

sometimes i design really ridiculous choir shirts for my school choir, complete with our name "ChoiRAMa", slogan "Rams don't sing but we do" and a picture of a singing Ram....yes, i laughed too. and yes i intend to wear it all the time

sometimes i lay in bed exhausted, but can't go to sleep. why? cause its raining. we all know how much i LOVE the rain! also the sound of rain is sooooo much happier than the thought of waking up in the morning

sometimes i become obsessed with teacher blogs. 1st it was wedding blogs, then it was craft blogs, then it was everything blogs, and now teacher blogs. im insane

sometimes kym and i go to see drowsy chaperone for the 4th time, and the same guy that played aldolpho the 2nd time we saw it, and who played freddy in my recently discovered musical, was there again. and was awesome. and i want to marry him.

sometimes i crave going to the gym and then eating an apple

sometimes i realize that my blog is super boring and has no point, and i feel the need to apologize to anyone who has taken the time to read this far...

and last by not least sometimes it snows in october, and make me want to throw up.

the end

except for: Sometimes....

Source: tumblr.com via Whitney on Pinterest

except this is like everyday for me...

dear self. you are getting old...

2011-09-15T18:38:00.000-07:00

we had a rootbeer floacial (pronounced: flow-shul. meaning: float social...get it?)
and it was awesome!
party started at 8, and by 9 i was worried about going to bed.
seriously?
"how late am i going to be up? how will i ever function tomorrow? oh my! there are so many people here!"

excuse me, but when did i turn 90?

i finally let lose and enjoyed myself, and even participated in the sponataneous dance party that broke out around 10 or 10:30.
ya it was awesome.
i don't think i went to bed till around midnight....
look at me! living life on the edge and all.

oh brother.

anywho. just felt the need to share my thoughts...
particularly the fact that:
this may be the coolest picture ever.
oh im aching to go here and take cool/random photos of my own....aching i say!
someday right?
well. when will that SOMEDAY ever get here?!

on a different note. im OBSESSED with this song.
and this song.
my fall playlist is almost perfected.
i work too much.
i LOVE my job and absolutely ADORE my kids.
~~i may or may not meet a particularly beautiful man tomorrow who i just LOVE.~~
* ya scratch that already. i HATE being poor. and i HATE that he is going to be 4 hours away...lame.
and i am most definitely spending friday with 3 of my absolute favorit-est people in the world.
life is good. life is grand.
over and out for now.

Ten years have passed since a perfect blue sky morning turned into the blackest of nights..."

2011-09-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

Post title taken from this wonderful article

Can you believe it has been 10 years since that fateful day? I remember it clearly. I remember sitting in 8th grade math. I remember feeling strange all day. I remember being confused. I remember being scared. I remember losing my tennis match that afternoon. I remember feeling relieved when i got home that evening. I remember it clearly.

I have been reflecting a lot about this the past few days, as I am faced with the responsibility of answering questions to a class of wide-eyed 4th graders. As I have researched the past week, wondering what to say and how to say it to my students, I immediately realized that with the exception of, I think, 2 of my students, they had not yet been born on that September day 10 years ago. Woah. Now the responsibility has kicked in. What am I supposed to say? How do I answer their questions? Are they too young? Is this too touchy of a subject?

This is the battle that has been zooming through my mind. So as we left school on Friday, I took 5 minutes and asked them what they knew. And told them to think about these events and talk to their parents over the weekend, and we would talk about it on Monday. So as I have been battling and stressing over this responsibily, and trying to figure out what to say, I realized that this truly is a touchy subject. They are young, and hopefully their parents will educate them on these events, but we can take time to reflect on the feelings following the attacks and the heroism and patriotism that reigned.

So its been decided that we are going to read the book "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers" by Mordicai Gerstein which tells the true story of Philippe Petit, a man who walked between the twin towers of the World Trade Center on a tightrope in 1974. He tells of the marvel of the buildings, his journey and then ends with the book's final painting of the imagined imprint of the towers, now existing "in memory"-linked by Philippe and his high wire. I feel this book helps us to remember that day, without striking up too many questions. Then hopefully we can read either "New York's Bravest" by Mary Pope Osborne or "14 Cows for America" by Carmen Agra Deedy (depending on which one I feel i will cry the least amount...) and then discuss the different heroes from that day, and from our own personal lives. Hopefully it will be a meaningful and lasting discussion, and hopefully I don't need too many tissues.

So now I feel much better about tomorrow and what I am going to say, and I am going to spend the rest of today reflecting and counting my blessings. As well as listening to this over and over again...

God Bless the USA

sometimes life gives you lemons...

2011-09-04T00:35:00.000-07:00


Beware of the killer lemons!

now don't get me wrong...i love lemons.

lemonade, lemon bars, lemon yellow wall color, lemon sorbet, lemon pepper...this weekend i even went to a new pizza place called 'pizzeria limone', which had a delectable margarita pizza and lemon brownies which were quite tasty, so believe me when i say im grateful for your average lemon...

but tonight im talking about those lemons in life that are really sour and sting your eyes and come flying at you when you least expect them. they are quite rude really, and always seem to be disguised as something else, or they just pop out of no where. they are painful and make us feel weak, lonely, and scared. ya, no one really likes those lemons. but for some reason we all get them.

i have had a few of those lemons lately. blast. not cool. not fun. and they REALLY sting. that deep down sting that seems down-right unbearable. luckily its only for a moment...its only ever for a moment, even though it seems like forever (they are tricky little things, those lemons). but i really am grateful for those lemons, and the knowledge i have that those lemons each have a purpose. and even though they sting really REALLY bad, and make you want to gouge your eyes out, say bad words, and run away (in that order) it eventually stops stinging, and makes us stronger. it gets better. it really does.

so here's to the lemons. here's to life, the beautiful thing it is. and here's to all of us making that lemonade...or lemonade bars, which ever tickles your fancy!

oh, and here's to one of the best songs ever...it really is a beautiful world.

ABC, one two three

2011-08-31T21:44:00.000-07:00

shoot. i fear i have been neglecting my blog. so sad. im totally trying to balance life right now. and am SLOWLY getting there.

i need to give more precedent to other things in my life, and not just my job. i mean not saying my blog should be the number 1 thing in my life, but its something for ME that i love and i think i should do more things for me too :) SO i'm trying to become the teacher that goes in first thing at 7 and leaves right at 4...and leaves everything at school for that matter...but like i said...i'm SLOWLY getting there.

but such is life, and here's how mine is going...

i thought it was going to be super weird starting out with a new class since i got overly attached to my kiddos last year, but it was much easier than i anticipated. i have a super cute class, all very bright and for the most part very respectful, its weird how young they feel though compared to the kids i had at the end of last year, just goes to show how important 1 year can be!

speaking of school, but is it totally obvious if i say, i LOVE it? ya...it basically goes without saying, but serious now. the new school year is great, and the first day was so fun. seeing shiny new backpacks and shoes. crisp pencil boxes and an array of justin bieber folders and notebooks. oh it was glorious. but i am still waiting for that bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils...the ones that are just for me. not the ones i had to buy and then sharpen for my 24 kiddos, i want some for my very own!

life is super weird. i feel like its a constant roller coaster...why is that? and how do we make it stop?

i like the rest of the world have been addicted to pinterest for the past couple months. why? well...im kind of obsessive and when i see something i like i book mark it, or print it off, or save it to my computer...now i dont have to do that. its all there in one spot. just being awesome. ya, im a fan.

i have been obsessed with mat kearney's new album for that past couple months. still cant believe i havent blogged about it yet, but whatever. its amazing. i love him. a lot. and yes kym, i realize its another mat...coincidence?

im kind of over facebook. seriously considering deleting it for a while. its boring, and people are so superficial.

been going to the temple once week and its been wonderful. simply wonderful.

a couple weeks ago our home teachers were over, and upon leaving they asked the tyical question of "what can we do for you" we usually have nothing for them, but after a second of silence, katie perks up and says "i know! we need you to bring your vacuum over!" ya she was serious too. we have 2 vacuums, but neither of them work. in fact one kind of almost blew up...anyways. mr joe sure did bring his vacuum, AND actually vacuumed for us. it was glorious. glorious indeed.

some of my favorite texts i have received lately are:
* i hope he or she is not a big boob
*pizza is to new york as child birth is to utah
* i just bought that potato book you were telling me about
* im renewing my library books online. i guess my low iq wasnt enough to read them in the amount of time given
*ugh. your such a teacher sometimes

p.s gretch, the blog title is for you....

thats it for now. my creative juices have been used up the past 3 weeks, and now i must sleep. yay!

"Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books."

2011-08-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

"Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought."

I finished The Help about 2 weeks ago,

and am already aching to read it again.

i dont know why it took me so long to finish it,

(probably because i was so busy at the end of the school year)

but i seriously loved it.

such a clever read, with brilliant characters.

ahhh it was lovely.

i actually listened to the majority of it on audio, and it was

AMAZING.

im not usually a fan of audio books, but i think im newly converted!

can't wait to see the movie with kym and her mom next weekend! yippeeee!

"...out of the blue, he kissed me. Right in the middle of the Robert E. Lee Hotel Restaurant, he kissed me so slowly with an open mouth and every single thing in my body-my skin, my collarbone, the hollow backs of my knees, everything inside of me filled up with light."

'That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive--all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.'(12)

go read this book...NOW!!!!

its amazing.

i borrowed it from one of my team teachers, and i couldnt put it down!

as soon as payday comes again, im running to the store to buy it for myself, so i can read it again and again

and mark up all the FANTASTIC quotes and moments. seriously, it was wonderful and enchanting!

ahhhh love a good book.

'It was amazing to me then, and still is, that so many people who wander into bookshops don't really know what they're after--they only want to look around and hope to see a book that will strike their fancy. And then, being bright enough not to trust the publisher's blurb, they will ask the book clerk the three questions: (1) What is it about? (2) Have you read it? (3) Was it any good?'(16)

oh life

2011-08-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

oh bother, its been so long! so here are some random thoughts as of late...

can i just say im addicted to pinterest? okay good. im ADDICTED to pinterest. i signed up a long long time ago, but never logged on really until about 2 or 3 weeks ago. CANT. STOP. PINNING!!! there should be a support group.

i have had a few harry potter dreams lately, i still cant believe its all over. no more books. no more movies. what a cruel cruel world in which we live in

finally made it to lagoon a few weeks ago. it was lovely. but i felt super old. the heat about killed us, but we prevailed. we stayed 12 hours, and it took me like an entire week to recover. i think going in october is the best idea ever...wont wear us out so fast!

on july 23rd, i did something crazy! i camped out in downtown salt lake. it was weird for me....but apparently the whole state does it, cause there were people piled ever where. it was a strange experience, but it was such a FUN way to celebrate pioneer day. the parade was awesome, and they totally put boise parades to shame. sad.

birthdays are super weird. i mean really. so what if you go from 22 to 23, or 78 to 79 woopdeedoo. who cares? its like the quote from one of my favorite shows :

“I saw him on the news recently ‘celebrating’ his 100th birthday…They wheeled him out and he had that wide-eyed expression of pained confusion that God reserves for the very, very old on their birthdays. You know, the one that says ‘Who are you, who am I and why is this cake on fire?’”

(pretty sure only kym will know this one)

but seriously why is this cake on fire? why do we celebrate birthdays past the age of like 16? its silly to me. but regardless of that, i did have a good birthday. i did my laundry, spent hours trying to consolidate my student loans, organized my important documents, walked around gardener village with liz and had a lovely dinner with my TWO favorite katies! ms craigo and ms katie jane they were awesome and took me to red robin (yummm) and to a movie, which i will have you know is my NEW FAVORITE. oh my goodness...so magical. SO happy.

i also went home to boise for the weekend and let my family wish me a happy birthday, which was fun :) the best present of all was mr thornton...all for my very own. swoon!

while home we also had samuels eagle court of honor, which was lovely! got to see lots of friends and family, and even got together with some of my high school crew and performed. it was weird, and awesome.

for some reason, my dad told samuel that after he got his eagle he would take him to golden corral which is this giant buffet in boise (dont ask me why on earth he would ever WANT to go there, but he seriously couldnt wait...the kid loves food, whatever) so the day after the court of honor, dad and samuel go to golden corral...well, about 30 minutes after they leave i get a text from samuel (fyi he doesnt have a phone, just an itouch) this was our conversation

samuel: so im basically in heaven right now

me: oh geez. how come? non stop food and free wifi

samuel: oooooooooooooooo yyyyeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

me: oh wow. you need help

samuel: i can die now. i'll just go to scotland as a ghost with joseph smith or something

me: what? you are the weirdest kid i know!

samuel: am not im basically the coolest

me: okay maybe, but still

seriously, i have no idea where he came from.

so the week i saw midnight in paris, i also saw soul surfer and crazy stupid love. seriously loved them all. 2011 had the best summer for movies, thats for sure. i mean, i have already seen crazy, stupid, love 3 times now...i need help. but i just loved it so much. and who wouldnt want to stare at ryan gosling for another 2 hours? i mean, personally, i could stare at him forever...just sayin

is it sad that im really excited for school to start? i love my job, and am super excited about all the fun things i have planned. oh im such a nerd...i know i will be crying as soon as it starts, cause for some reason i feel the need to be super woman, and am now helping direct the school choir, as well as serve as a student council teacher. what is my problem? chances are you wont be seeing me much this year, or i wont be sleeping much...we shall see

how is it that with a college degree and a career, im more poor than i ever have been. being an adult kinda sorta really sucks

um...what else...OH nitrous oxide is super weird! gahhhh

okay im done for now!

peace. love. happiness

i've always wanted to be mcgonagall

2011-07-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

it all started last week...
the epic marathon of 7 brilliant movies began whilst i was relaxing in boise.
this marathon was continued upon my return. it was happy...and yet a little sad, for i knew the end was near...and endings are sad...

well on wednesday night, the girls and i decided to make our sad-yet-overly-excited-excitment known.
we discovered the awesome-ness that is freezer paper.
yes. freezer paper.
you see, this magical creation allows you to trace, cut, iron and stencil error free,
so what did we do? made harry potter stencils of course!
i learned about this on a happy blog one day, and have been DYING to try it out.
i figured harry potter and this epic era that was ending, was the PERFECT opportunity.
as you can see. epic shirts were made by all...

which ones mine? ya that shouldnt be too hard to figure out...

then it was the night of all nights.
an already very tired group of friends, (mainly myself, who hasnt been to a midnight movie in over a year, and rarely stays up past 11 pm), embarked upon a very happy adventure. and it was magical (haha get it, magical...ok, i know) 2 hours of sheer intensity, several tears shed (lets just be honest here) and an overwhelming bittersweet feeling. what an amazing saga, boom, over, 14 years later. (what?) i remember when the books started getting popular, and me being the 'super mature' 5th/6th grader refused to read it for a while...i wasnt about to follow the crowd...who does that? but i eventually came to my senses, and embraced the awesomeness that ms rowling started on a napkin. ahhh what an awesome journey it has been! i believe my pal mr rickman (freaking love him!) summed it up best....

yes. he is simply brilliant.

so the final battle is over. so what did i do? ya, started reading the book again. im now currently in the middle of i believe 5 books now, but i just have to read this one again. i just can't seem to let it go.

i also went and saw the movie again. still as intense, still cried. deal with it.
im a harry potter freak! i cant help it :)

and, yes, i will in fact grow up to be just like mcgonagall one day and say things like 'particular proclivity for
pyrotechnics... and BOOM!' that was great. she is great. sighhhhhhhhhh love it.

to be or not to be

2011-07-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

To dream of the person you would like to be is to waste the person you are.

courtesy of the red white and blue

2011-07-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

here's my typical july 4th weekend summary. you knew it was coming, didnt you? i bet some of you have been just DYING to hear all about my stellar weekend, and are just eagerly awaiting my blog right? hum....didnt think so.

but here it is anyways.

july 1st- last day of school...summer is here! i miss my kids already, but i am SO glad its summer vacation, and i have a chance to PLAY!!
i celebrated this glorious occasion by going to dinner with some of my favorite girls, shopping at old navy, and then embarking on a series of most random adventures which include: cute boys at smiths, being hyper at smiths, dancing atop the whole foods parking garage, and staying up later than i have all year. serious. i didnt know 2 am really existed anymore...im getting old. i hit my block at 10:30 and i cant seem to function much past then.
but it was definitely a blast. im so grateful for these girls and the randomness they appreciate with me...we truly are all kindred spirits...i mean, few people would celebrate justin bieber day with me....thats true friendship :)

july 2nd- kiss.me.dirty....race that is. oh this was epic, no, this was BEYOND epic. seriously?! 4 miles running in the MUD!? i am all over this. oh it was glorious. we didn't race one bit, in fact i think we were last ones in our wave of runners, but it didn't matter because SEVERAL people said we were the dirtiest they had seen that day, and honestly that was our ultimate goal. after the race, getting clean took like 7 hours i swear, and then i most definitely zonked out for like 3 hours. when i woke up i drove to centerville to meet kym and her parents for dinner, and then a production of 'civil war' at counterpoint legacy theater. pretty good show, not my favorite, but had some great songs, and im always up for any kind of musical. after that, kym and i got subzero icecream (love) and drove around soaking up the summer evening, and listening to all the fireworks. flip, i love summer.

july 3rd- went to church, same old same old. then, i DROVE HOME! seriously, i was super excited to go to boise, because christmas was basically the last time i have been home. technically i was home in april, but im pretty sure it was less than 24 hours...so i was stoked to have a real boise vacation :) also, this drive is always something i look forward to. 5 hours by myself to think, and belt songs at the top of my lungs....it something i quite enjoy

july 4th- i think it goes without saying that independence day is my favorite holiday. summer, food, family, friends, fireworks, parade, bliss. ahhh yes it is so great. we went to the parade in the morning, which was kind of lame this year...im not quite sure who is in charge...but its always fun to see mr samuel piping away with the band. we then came home for a nap, and packed a picnic and went to the park to camp out for the fireworks. this year the fireworks rocked. maybe it was due to the awesome location where we sat, but it was definitely worth it :) LOVE fireworks :)

p.s. remember that one time i chopped my hair? ya crazy. ALSO, this is the ONLY time you will see anything remotely close to country coming from my blog, but this is a family favorite on 4th of july...love it!

so there you have it. the red white and blue weekend was a success, and now im just chilling in boise for a few more days, soaking up the sun and visiting some of my favorite kiddos and counselors over at playcamp...boy do i miss that job...

oh summer. cant you please stay forever?!

so long, farewell...

2011-07-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

remember this one time, where i graduated from utah state in december, and on february 7th i started teaching 4th grade? sometimes it still baffles me...its crazy that something i worked so hard for, and something i wanted so badly has come true, and has been my entire life for the past 5 months. needless to say, im still ecstatic, overjoyed and i love my job. i had a super awesome class, and if i could i would post videos and pictures of our end of the year celebrations...but thats legally a no-no, so just imagine me and 23 ten year olds having a grand old time, and you will be set.
the last week was a crazy whirlwind. i had to get awards done, grades and reports cards done, had to clean my room, and pack up and move in to the off track closet, all while still teaching. luckily there was something awesome every day, monday we taught the kids how to make oragami frogs (a nice little angle and line review) and then we raced them in the gym. en-ter-tain-ing. tuesday we went on a field trip to the utah capitol, toured the daughters of the utah pioneer museum, and ate lunch and played at liberty park. seriously so much fun! wednesday was field day, and i got extra cool points for being the first teacher in the dunk tank...sweet. thursday we had our 4th grade rendezvous. played pioneer games, made leather necklaces, and made homemade rootbeer!
friday was the last day, and what a strange day it was. the kids were anxious, and i felt super anxious, like there was something dire that needed to be done. but we just had a lovely day, there was the faculty vs 6th grade softball game that morning, and it was a blast! im pretty sure we tied with the 6th graders, but we really just had a great time, and the kids loved cheering us on. we then had a class auction so the kids could spend the last of their class money. we had year book signing and then we cleaned up the room. the last half hour of school, we sat in a circle on the floor and the kids each shared their favorite part of the year, then i went around and told each of them what my favorite thing about them was, and why i was grateful to be their teacher...i felt myself getting emotional a few times, but then some kids would crack a joke, and that was forgotten. but when the bell rang, and i hugged each kid and wished them a happy summer, i felt it coming. once each kid was gone, i turned around and definitely burst into tears. i seriously felt so silly, but so sad! i mean, i will see most of them again, since they are only going to be in 5th grade right around the corner, but these were MY kids. my FIRST class. my FIRST year teaching! i learned so much about myself, and about teaching from them, and now i have to say goodbye? rude. i dont think its fair, but i guess thats part of teaching. hopefully i have a super awesome class next year...
next year which starts in 6 weeks...gotta love year round school! (i actually really do, i think its genius)
here's to my 6 weeks of summer vacation! PARTY!

SYTYCD

2011-07-02T14:56:00.000-07:00

its not summer without SYTYCD.

and teaching year round school has pushed my summer back a little bit.

but school is out (i will blog about that soon) and i am FINALLY all caught up on SYTYCD.

so far...loving the season...but my favorite dances so far are the following:

and dont forget my favorite tappers...love love love

im totally falling...timberrrrrrr

2011-06-23T23:12:00.000-07:00

music, dancing, french humor and pop culture references?

could ANYTHING get better than that?

i submit that it can not!

tonight my dear friend amy and i went to see dirty rotten scoundrels at hale center theater. um...i freaking LOVED IT! i had heard a lot about it, but had not heard many of the songs, and i think its safe to say that i have a new favorite show. oh it was glorious. i was laughing so hard, i was crying...no joke. also, i may have sort of...okay....totally fallen in love with the guy who played freddy. (yes mother, i fell in love with another actor, and no i did not meet him in person...story of my life) he was great. fantastic. simply charming. im making kym go with me again in a couple weeks....maybe then i can meet freddy in real life...cha ching!

watch the promotional video, just ignore the commentary. thats not important. the SHOW is whats important! yes!

now excuse me while i go find a way to download the soundtrack...

and watch more videos on youtube.

ahhh i love the theater. cant wait to get season tickets!

p.s. happy birthday mr a-z. i bought an avocado in celebration!

and thats the sound of sunshine comin down

2011-06-21T23:04:00.000-07:00

we all know how much i love summer,
and today was the first OFFICIAL day of SUMMER 2011!!! solstice wise...still have a week and a half of school, but the next 8 days are going to be AWESOME in 4th grade...just sayin.

ANYWAYS, to celebrate my favorite solstice.... i wore a skirt to work, i laid out in the sun for a couple hours after work reading my book, i watched PLL, i created a new summery blog banner and then listened to my three newest favorite summer songs over and over over and over again...

and

p.s. okay, OF COURSE this is an ultimate summer 2011 song too....don't worry, the whitney summer mix is well in the works....as soon as my computer with all my music gets fixed. boo.

today, i also almost went and got Bob's again, but i have gone twice in the past 4 days, so maybe tomorrow...(haha maybe?...ya right. try a definite yes...)

happy summer bloggers. drink it in! MMMMmmmmmmmmmmm...glorious

ask her if she sings...

2011-06-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

we finished reading one of my favorite short stories on friday (literally this book only has 58 pages, i think it took a total of 30 minutes to read a loud to my students) but i seriously love it. love love it. but my favorite part, is that today we started watching the movie....

and, i feel as if i shouldnt be saying this as a teacher....but this is one of those stories, where i prefer the movie over the book. maybe because i saw the movie as a little girl way before i read the book, oe maybe because the movie is so much more detailed, or maybe because still to this day, i find the movie simply magical. who cares the reason. its one of those movies, where the only person that understands the love i have for this movie is my mom. its just one of those things we have.

any who, whats happy is that my students are really enjoying it, and i am just loving every minute of it. seriously, if you haven't watched this trilogy, please do....now. you won't regret it :)

i swear, every time i watch this movie, i get the biggest chills when they round the corner, and the kids see the wagon, and her yellow bonnet... beautiful.

{for some reason i can't embed the video. so click here}

love.

it's the dad life. it's the dad life.

2011-06-19T22:23:00.000-07:00

i miss my dad today.
he's pretty stellar. take a look for yourself...

i think he's a pretty cool dad. but i think its pretty crappy that i didnt get to see him today.

oh well. hope he had a happy dad's day.

and just because this is ridiculously ridiculous...

click here :)

it will all be worth it

2011-06-17T23:58:00.000-07:00

i have been pondering how this blog post would come out since last friday when i received the news that lamba delta sigma had been cancelled for good, and that the organization was no more. i refrained from speaking out about it until i knew more, and until i had really gained an understanding, so here i am now...

for those of you who don't know. Lamba delta sigma is an LDS sorority organization that i have been a part of for the past 5 months. i joined hesitantly back in January after i finished student teaching in hopes of meeting new people, and as a means to find adventure. i was hesitant due to the fact that i had graduated and was not a student, and have never attended the U, and because the idea of a 'sorority' has always struck me as a bunch of catty girls up in every bodies business. well, little did i know, that this organization would become such a huge part of my life.

since i started in january, i have met some amazing girls. before i joined sigma, i didnt have very many friends in salt lake, and life was just so so. but the blessings have been numerous. these girls are amazing. they have become friends that i know will be forever friends. we have had countless adventures, an infinite amount of late night giggles, and even some silly drama that just ensures that we are real friends. being a part of this organization has made this the best year of my life. its amazing to belong to a sisterhood that is centered around the church.

in april i was called to be the sisterhood officer for sigma next school year. over the past 2 months i have been planning for the next year with the rest of the presidency. from rush week, to fall activities, to exchanges with the fraternities, and sweatshirt and t-shirt designs. until now. when we got cut off.

i will admit i have been really confused. maybe a little mad. and definitely really sad about this. hence, why i have refrained from posting until now. it makes sense. they want us to devote more of our time to the newly reorganized YSA wards, but its still hard to come to terms with. no more weekly sigma. no more rush carnival, no more fall barn dance or winter formal, which are all things i never got to participate in since i joined mid year.

but at the meeting on tuesday night, we were given a lot of reassurance and we left feeling at peace with the decision. the first presidency made this decision unanimously in the temple, so it is up to us to stand beside them and look at the positive. the priesthood leader of sigma shared this parable, which i found fitting.

“The Pearl Necklace”
The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost
five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she
saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil
box.
"Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy,
please!"
Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box
and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her
little girl's upturned face. "A dollar ninety-five. That's
almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some
extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough
money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a
week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from
Grandma."
As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank
and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more
than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and
asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten
cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new
dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the
necklace.
Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and
grown up. She wore them everywhere ~ Sunday school,
kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them
off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath.
Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.
Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she
was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing
and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he
finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."
"Then give me your pearls."
"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess ~
the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink
tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's
my favorite."
"That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night."
And he brushed her cheek with a kiss. About a week later,
after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you
love me?"
"Daddy, you know I love you."
"Then give me your pearls."
"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby
doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so
beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches
her sleeper."
"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one.
Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek
with a gentle kiss.
A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was
sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he
came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one
silent tear rolled down her cheek. "What is it, Jenny?
What's the matter?"
Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her
daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl
necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here,
Daddy. It's for you."
With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind daddy
reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace,
and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and
pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls
and gave them to Jenny. He had them all the time. He
was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so
he could give her genuine treasure. So like our heavenly
Father. What are you hanging on to?

so now, here we are. its sad, but its not the end of the world. i still have some amazing friends, and amazing memories. and there are several blow out parties this summer that we have to look forward to. and boy, they are going to be EPIC!

now, heres a glimpse at some favorite sigma moments...

oh happy day...literally

2011-06-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

i want this. i need this. oh baby oh baby

please please please please

I need a little bit of sunshine from you...

2011-06-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

poor little blog has been neglected for several weeks. so badly in fact, that im now THINKING in blog post form just because i have been missing it so much! i really dont have much to say, but what else is new. its been a crazy few weeks with end of the year testing and all sorts of crazy things going on, so i have not really had the time to breath or eat normal meals, let alone blog. but here are random thoughts as of late. because as i know i have mentioned before, random thoughts are really the only the thoughts that matter...

i love my shatter nail polish. a lot. and cant wait to get more colors. ya thats right, i follow the crowd...

i also really love my car. i havent mentioned it on here yet, but my new car now has aggie license plates, and has officially been named pierre. i think he's cute.

i will admit though, while watching 27 dresses, and just friends, my lovely blue volvo named betty is momentarily missed.

the other day i realized that school ends in less than a month. and i literally got kind of emotional that i have to send my kids to the 5th grade. cant i just be their teacher forever?

since christmas, i have not been home for more that 24 hours. im REALLY looking forward to my boise adventure july 4th weekend. yay!

speaking of boise, i guess its just been an emotional week, because on monday i got kind of emotional that playcamp was starting that day, and i am definitely not there. man, i guess we cant have it all can we?

my new froomie katie is going to italy tomorrow. (rude i know) and we are currently watching letters to juliet and writing letters to juliet so she can take them with her. we were thinking of all writing the same one that says "dear juliet, im sick of waiting for romeo. will you please send the next best thing to holladay, utah? thanks friend!" think we will get an answer?

i have reached a definite level of creepy that only jesika and kym will understand. bah haahhahaha

i love matt white. like a lot. and i love that i met him and we 'talk' on facebook. he's just so great.

speaking of awesome male singers. i shouldnt be happy at someones breakup, but YES YES YES! his new album will TOTALLY benefit from this, and so will i...somehow...someday...have i ever mentioned how much i love him? well its like a lot.

i talked to my lovely cousin today for over and hour and it was so great! i love her.

kym and i are planning an awesome trip for january. i love teaching year round and being able to go on vacations while everyone else is in school

book club with the girls this summer...STOKED!

officially been to bob's TWICE so far, and there are MANY more trips to come! words can not describe the love i have for a snow cone. NO one gets it.

last saturday kym and i drove down to my favorite LOGAN TOWN! the weather was gorgeous, we went to lunch with karinne and 'little baby' and laid on the quad just chatting for a while. then we got snowcones at my favorite snowcone stop in front of hastings. ohhhhh its delicious. i just love everything about logan. boy do i miss it!

while in logan i bought aggie icecream for my kiddos and we are having a party tomorrow after our last test. they can hardly contain themselves, they are so excited! and...so am i!

i feel as if this is long enough, and probably was already long enough like 12 comments back, so not that anyone reads this, but i will cut my random string of thoughts a little short so as not to bore you any more. i promise i will be back soon! i have missed my dear little bloggy blog!

hope everyone is having a stupendous week! pray this beautiful weather holds up! tonight on my evening run, it actually SMELLED like summer. it was glorious!

peace. love. happiness. <3

June 2, 2011

2011-06-02T23:07:00.000-07:00

i felt as if i should make it known that on this day, the second of june, i found myself sitting at a little league baseball game, with frozen toes, goosebumps, my entire body freezing and running for a 7/11 hot cocoa as soon as the game was over.
when did june mean 46 degrees? with freezing wind? and had i known this was the case, i wouldnt have packed my coat and cozy ugg boats away back march! just saying. man, i just am at a loss. for cryin in the beercheese soup!!!!

but just fyi the game was way fun. 3 of my boys are on the team, and they are darling, so i went to see them play. i had a great time, and it was totally fun to finally see what they constantly talk about in class! plus i do love baseball, they were really excited for me to come, and the umpire was attractive, so all in all it was a glorious night.

p.s. these same 3 boys had a baseball tournament in vegas last weekend, and when they came back they were so excited to tell me about the eiffel tower in vegas. haha and one of them brought me back a paris mug, and yummy french cookies. A+ for him eh?

.oh i have the best job in the world.

mr firth and books. what else is there to love?

2011-05-31T20:30:00.000-07:00

seriously. how true is this? ahhh i love it.
im sad at how much of my reading time has been diminished by work/teaching. and im really looking forward to finding a nice balance once things start calming down a little bit.
i just love to read, and i love escaping to a new place created by a magical book.
some friends and i have decided on doing a summer book club, which im really looking forward to.
i believe our first book is the help. which i am stoked to read.
oh the world of books.
what a magical place it is.

i love life.

2011-05-23T00:23:00.000-07:00

"the doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live"

today was one of those reflective kind of days.

as mentioned in my last post, i have been in this weird funk, and honestly i haven't been able to pinpoint where it stemmed from, but the past two days i have been in this odd reflective mood. trying to in a sense awaken myself from this funk without completely ignoring it, but finding a way where i can move past it and learn something about myself. now, this makes me sound really weird, and its not like i have been all gloomy and depressed lately, just off...i dont really know how to explain it.

but everything about today helped. i woke up this morning to the pitter patter of rain, and was filled with joy. i love cracking my window, hearing the drizzle, and smelling the dirt and earth. then i watched this movie while getting ready for church. cute and a little cheesy, just how i like my movies, but with a really great message about our views on life, our personal relationship with God and the influence we can have on others. it made me happy. i seriously loved the movie. church was wonderful as well. nothing necessarily stood out to me today, but just being at church always puts me in a good mood, and rejuvenates me in every sense of the word. then the home teacher came over, and the roommates and i all kind of opened up a little more than usual and a lot of things were brought to light today. after wards, we talked, and laughed, and cried and then went on a drive. it was beautiful and rainy and exactly the escape i needed.

sometimes i think we all lose our focus, and it takes a slap in the face, or a stumble for to figure it out again. there are a lot of things i want to refocus on, and i love that all i needed was a rainy weekend and a tear jerking movie for me to realize it. i love life.

To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are...

2011-05-22T00:52:00.000-07:00

hello world. im back!

i dont really know why i have been blog neglecting lately, and have totally deprived all of you with something interesting to read via the blogosphere, but i can come up two excuses if you really are dying to know?

they are:

A. my life is super duper busy, and i have to occasionally remind myself to eat and do other important things

B. i have been in this weird funk lately, where nothing seems interesting and everything in life seems weird, so therefore...nothing to blog about.

until now.

well, really nothing all that mind blowing has happened,

but the truth is, i cant stay away from my little blog for too long...and that little blog title up there is my new motto, no more weeks on funk. so here i am, and these are my random thoughts as of late....ready...begin....

everyone knows that i love rain, like more than the next person...but its hard loving rain and having to keep 23 ten year olds inside all day because its too rainy. vicious vicious world.

so today was "judgment day" right? interesting...my roommates and i can't tell if we survived. i guess we will know at church tomorrow if we are the only ones that show up? haha (we think we are a little bit funny)

i still wish there was more time in the day simply to listen to music.

sometimes, i wish i had a boyfriend so he could help me grade papers. hahaha okay, maybe thats not the only reason, but that would be extremely helpful...just sayin hahaha

i seriously have a love/hate relationship with facebook. gotta love good old FB, but sometimes i get so annoyed. i had an explanation all typed out, but im sure that will just offend someone, so just use your imagination when i say, stop sharing more than you need to!

speaking of which, this is what just came to mind: "Roman is having an OK day, and bought a Coke Zero at the gas station. Raise the roof?" ahh funny movie.

anyways, did i mention i bought a new car? yes! and i love it. a lot. and i DIDNT completely buy a new car based on the fact that it was aggie blue...okay...maybe a little bit. shoot.

i told you i would find a new song on the album soon. well. this is definitely the one. maybe this one too. oh and the beat of this one is awesome. ahh she's amazing.

im also obsessed with this song as of late. and these guys are super super awesome!

i also like 'legit' graduated this month. which was weird because i actually in fact legit graduated like almost 5 months ago, but this was the symbolic graduation i suppose. it was lovely. i got to wear the cap and gown, traipse across the stage praying i dont trip, and take pictures will all my lovely usu friends. it was really fun, and the family all came for it, so it was a fantabulous day. yay! go aggies!

sometimes its kind of hard being the youngest teacher in the school. but i love my school and have the best job in the world, so i can deal with it.

especially because hilarious awesome things happen every day. like on wednesday when i had approximately 54 children in my classroom and a live chicken. priceless.

remember how i was so upset about not getting peeps this year? ya well my mom brought me some. she loves me :)

i hate season finales. the cliffhangers! gasp!

i am so excited for summer! there are soooo many adventures in the making, i can't even contain myself. i love summer and i love my friends!!!

and now for pictures because duh, you need pictures in every post!

i was very happy indeed :)

i love these girls! hooray for eled friends :)

<3 happy

froomies!

we tried to get a jumping picture...it was difficult

i love everything about my happy Logan place

this is one of my best friends kren. we dont know how to take serious pictures. ever.

also she is really tall. and her little surprise is coming in december and i CAN. NOT. WAIT!

anyways....

its like midnight and im seriously dying. im going too bed! im too old to stay up late these days! but i promise, i will be back to my little blog more often, not that any of you care, but i just feel as if i should reassure myself. ta ta for now!

we could've had it all

2011-05-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

for the past 3 months, i have seriously been obsessed with this song:

and then lo and behold this happens:

magical.

such an amazing interpretation of this song. and boy do i love jonathan groff...

the only thing that bugs me, is that everyone and their cat loves this song now... it shouldnt bug me, but it does. oh well.....i will get over it eventually, cause this song and the entire adele album is just fantabulous.

ps i promise i will for real blog soon. life is crazy. gotta love it!

this is what i did today...

2011-05-06T23:17:00.000-07:00

hooray for new cars!

especially 'aggie-blue' new cars!

ferries, tulips, and a whole lotta fun

2011-05-05T00:21:00.000-07:00

remember how i went on a glorious adventure to seattle and never shared happy details with you? i blame that on a combination of 1. i wanted to get all the pictures and 2. i was lazy and too busy cleaning my apartment and watching season 1 of ugly betty....so now that i have all the pictures, and am done with season 1, i can share with you the fantastic, thrilling, wonderful and fun filled adventures of whitney, kasidy, and sara in the pacific northwest.

we were basically traveling for 6 days. slc-boise-seattle-all around the seattle area-boise-salt lake. ya, a lot of driving is right! but we had some good chats, good laughs, and some good naps (not the driver of course). but it was definitely an adventure. i think the best game we played in the car was "tell us your whole life story" and then "sara picks songs that define the relationship that you will have with the boy you like" believe me, there were some good ones in there.

also, i think one of the best things we did overall was look for random washington boyfriends we could take back to salt lake with us. any boy we thought was cute, we quickly devised a plan of action, and then...did nothing....except imagine that the glorious meet-cute had actually worked out, and we would be planning an october wedding. sounds thrilling eh? well i assure you it was. there were lots of potential meet-cutes (if you dont know what this means...see here. its what every girl wants badly), but sadly we are now back in SLC and not a single one of them came back with us. i found one at the EMP (experience music project museum) which i thought was perfect...but it ended there. i also had one planned out in my head... as we sat waiting for the monorail, i imagined a dashing young man accidentally tripping and falling down into the tracks, where i would in turn jump down and save him but he would have a bad head injury and then long story short, i would fall in love with his amazingly amazing brother while he was sleeping. one can only dream right?

so, im sure you are super bored with my ramblings, and just want to see pictures right? so first things first, remember this post where i mentioned a bucketlist item? well, that came true and it was definitely the highlight for me. and that ladies and gentlemen was the skagit valley tulip festival. oh my own little slice of heaven on earth...just wish i could have shared it with my ma too :)

another great adventure was getting to take our roommate liz with us. well kind of...real liz had to work so we took 'flat liz' to seattle instead...you know, like flat stanley? well, it was fun. its hard to remember to get pictures with your flat friend, but she sure enjoyed the sights! yay liz! liz hooray!

there were indeed many adventures had on this glorious trip. we played lots, ate amazing food (seriously, we vowed to only eat at trendy washington-esque places and it was glorious) we stayed with basically complete strangers who were in fact some of the nicest people in the world, took lots of jumping pictures, made several twilight/vampire references, slept like little babies at night, and just had a grand old time. can i please go back tomorrow? thanks. appreciate it :)

i also kind of crossed off another bucketlist item...orcas island! i have always wanted to go, and that folks is exactly what we did. now, what i really want is to spend an entire week on orcas island sailing, relaxing and whale watching, but the fact that we went and drove around the entire island (literally) was magical and filled me with joy...you see, i love ferries. a lot a lot. as mcdreamy said in the very first season of greys "theres this thing i have for ferries..." im with you buddy. also, i have an obsession with this movie and have for...a long time. and although the movie was not filmed on orcas island, thats where its takes place. so, hopefully my week on orcas island will come someday, and preferably with my own version of patrick dempsey, because apparently thats where my obsession lies...whatever.

seriously folks. the entire week was great. and if you are planning a trip up yonder, make sure and hit up some of my new favorite sights and eateries. silence heart nest (yes that is the name of it, and clearly part of what makes it amazing) also, the pink door, ivars (classic, but a must), and so many more.

I LOVE SEATTLE!!!!

he never ceases to amaze me

2011-05-03T22:37:00.000-07:00

a quote from the one and only jason.
do i even have to mention my undying love for this man?
ya, i didnt think so.

"I am who I am today because my mom encouraged me to do it. If you have kids, or if you work with kids, or simply have access to kids (but not in a creepy sort of way) don’t wait for them to decide what they want to do. Encourage them to try it all on. I worry our kids are racing to be adults when what I mostly see around me are adults racing back to being kids."

peace. love. happiness

2011-04-28T13:33:00.000-07:00

Birds come down from sky so blue...

2011-04-26T00:32:00.000-07:00

do not fear! i am alive, just have neglected my blog. i went on a fantabulous roadtrip, with 2 fantabulous girlfriends, and am currently working on that post. it was an epic adventure...so it takes time. until them:

1. have i mentioned that im obsessed with Toms? ya. now own 3 pairs...and its only a matter of time until i own more. judge away.

2. i love when fantastic things happen when you least expect it. for example i randomly went to provo a few weekends ago to visit my friend jennifer. we were going to eat at some mexican resturant, but ended up going to brick oven. well it was simply meant to be, because i most definitely ran into my dear friend Emily....it was happy. i heart her.

3. i think im borderline obsessed with this song

4. is it june yet? im dying for season 3 of Drop Dead Diva

5. speaking of which....the Drop Dead Diva soundtrack just may be the BEST purchase of my life. sooooo entertaining. pretty sure this show was made for me...yep. its definite.

6. did you watch 'beyond the blackboard' last night? can't wait to get it on dvd. love stacey. love the movie. love being a teacher. happy.

7. have i mentioned that i have to buy a new bookshelf, because i have a small dvd problem? so embarassing...and so fantastic

8. spiced orange harvest people. you have until WEDNESDAY folks!!!! VOTE VOTE VOTE

9. only in the LDS church would i have participated in an easter egg hunt at almost 23 years old, and hear during the opening prayer "as we search for easter eggs and feel of thy spirit" oh man gotta love it!

10. kasidy and i went to two different stores today in search of easter peeps. im quite depressed that i didnt get any at all this easter season. my favorite thing is stale peeps! sigh...

11. still off track, and currently without a car for the next week. sigh.....my apartment is going to be very clean and very well organized...just sayin

and a mini sneak peek of my fantastic adventure...

peace. love. happiness.

Because when you know something, its yours forever...

2011-04-15T00:40:00.000-07:00

I honestly don't even know how to start this post, because I don't know how to effectively express something that means so much to me, without sounding ridiculous...but here it goes anyways.

I distinctly remember being in Miss Sanderson's 3rd grade class, and deciding that I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. I wanted to be in school for the rest of my life, because I loved it that much. I loved learning and I wanted to teach others to love learning. I remember always playing school in Emily's garage, and demanding to be the teacher. I would give Emily and my little brother Ethan 'assignments' that they would need to complete before the next day. Well, as you can see, not a whole lots has changed. I had a dream, and I did it. I am a teacher now, and I couldn't be more happy. Yes there are struggles, yes the legislature is a bunch of crap, and nothing in the education system is fair, but I do what I love. I work with kids every day and I have the opportunity to make a difference, even if it be small and simple.

Well, last year during student teaching, I had the opportunity to work with 3 amazing women who will always hold a special place in my heart. Two cooperating teachers who taught me more than they will ever know, and one supervisor who guided me and helped me be the best I could be. My supervisor was Stacey Bess, and she is without a doubt a remarkable woman. The first time I met her, I was a scared little pre-teacher, intimidated by her teaching history and amazing-ness. At the age of 23, Stacey was assigned to teach at the 'school' at the homeless shelter in downtown Salt Lake. She was given no resources, no training, but just told to show up and hopefully keep the kids off the street. So what did she do? She changed lives. The experiences she had as a young teacher are remarkable and as she shared her story at our little pre student teaching orientation, I was moved to tears....well, more like sobs. Then I found out she was my supervisor, and I was scared to death. How could I ever impress a teacher that had impacted so many lives? How could I teach in front of her without being nervous? But then I met her face to face, and knew I could learn so much from her and was excited to begin the journey. She came in every other week to observe my teaching, and always gave me great advice and ideas to help improve. We had seminars with the other student teachers in the school, and we usually ended up just talking and laughing about who knows what.

During student teaching I read and re-read her book "Nobody Don't Love Nobody" 3 times, and am almost finished with it again. It is seriously an amazing story that makes me multiple times throughout the book. Well, Hallmark purchased the rights to her book and made it into a movie entitled "Beyond the Blackboard", and tonight I had the chance to see one of the first screenings of it in Logan. To say I cried throughout the entire movie would be a complete understatement. It was a beautiful movie, yes cheesy Hallmark-ish at times, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The movie showcased how remarkable of a woman Stacey is, and what she did to help change the lives of these people. Watching the movie definitely gave me that reassuring feeling that I am in the right profession, that I am lucky to be a teacher, and lucky to have the opportunity to make a small difference.

Clearly, it was a wonderful experience. And to be able to talk to Stacey afterward was fabulous. The movie is going to be aired on CBS on Sunday, April 24th and I think everyone should watch it. Its cute, its funny, its happy, and its a touching story about an amazing teacher. What more could you ask for?

its been a day

2011-04-13T23:11:00.000-07:00

today was wonderful
wonderful indeed.
"started" my day off up till 3 am having much needed 'meaningful' conversation with my dear froomie Liz. boy can we talk for hours.
then slept for a few hours, and started the morning in the best possible way.
temple baptisms with miss katie jane

oh it was glorious.
and one thing that made me happy, was that i was baptised for a women named annie, who was born on july 26, 1879
yup thats my birthday...just 109 years prior
awesome.

have i ever mentioned how i love flowers?

the camera was accidently on zoom...it cracks me up though

oh what a beautiful day it was!

we tried to get the flowers in our picture...we failed due to a blindingly bright sun

i sure do love this place

then we ventured over the JSMB for some scrumptious omelets
katie went to work,
i went to the gym
i went to dinner with my froomies
and then a most epic sorority night took place.
lots of laughs. lauren's engagement announcement and flower passing. (EEEEK CONGRATS!)
and then a most entertaining 'dating panel'
oh gotta love sigma!

these are from tuesdays random crepe night...oh yes.

and now, i top the night off with a little saturdays warrior with liz.
no one understands how much i love this movie...
okay, maybe brittany does...
(my dad doesnt understand, he's the one that hid the movie from me for so many months when i was little. rude)
did i ever mention brittany and i went and saw it on stage, followed by the premier sequel to saturday's warrior, entitled "white star" oh yes. it was epic.
i wish i could share some of the songs with you, they were that great
i know one song had lyrics that went like this:

"open up the church let's have a party bring a casserole and hire a band
everybody dance and shout for joy and sing along
set another place at the table
dont forget to bring the lamb
hallelujah
our brothers coming home"

obviously, some of the best lyrics ever...

and no for some ramblings...because thats what i do best
1. im literally addicted to smart water. i crave it. more than natural water...ahhh i need some now!
2. although, now that i think about it, i might just really like the bottles.... no its the actualy smart water the majority of the time
3. considering a facebook fast just to prove that i could do it...i have to ponder this though. i do have a slight addiction, maybe
4. yay for roadtrip springbreak next week!
5. being the 'unwanted' one is quite a strange feeling...not a huge fan, but i will get over it
6. i feel like i wasn't invited to sign up for the class flirty 1010. how come? i feel like that could b helping me significantly
7. it just occured to me that i have not mentioned my newest obsession. well, that obsession is most definitely this show. why yes, it does look cheesy ridiculous (but you should all know my now that those are my favorite) but honestly it is brilliants. serious, its MY kind of humor. and it is just grand. you should probably give it a try.
8. also this moment on 30 Rock was genius. pure genius.
9. if you have been a reader of my blog for some time, you may remember my tendency to get obsessed with american idol. notice anything different this year? ya, well thats 100% attributed to the fact that i just dont have cable...someday maybe. well the interesting part to this is that my MOTHER is the one that is obsessed. every week she tells me all about it, and its quite entertaining...so apparently you should vote for casey? thats what she says at least. if only i knew.
10. awkward story...i was at the gym today, in the locker room, and as im at the sink washing my hands, a girl walks out of the stall...with a pregnancy test in her hand. really? was that really the time and place? whatev!
11. today we literally experience all 4 seasons. woke up to spring, felt (and smelled) summer this afternoon, felt (and smelled) autumn around dinner time, and drove home from sigma in the snow. pardonne moi?
12. they revealed some of the hungers games for the hunger games movie. WHAT?! i just dont know how i feel. gale is not supposed to be the pretty one. i hated GALE! and the kid whos playing peeta is only 18? i mean yes it fits with the book, but come one! sheesh. dont get me wrong, im still excited and cant wait to see it, but im just so unsure in this moment....

ten seemed like a fabulous place to stop. but you got twelve. whatevs. i gotta go to bed....
peace. love. and happiness friends!

p.s. wow this is long. oops.

day 01 ...your favorite song

2011-04-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

FYI- this is the 30 day song challenge. it sounded fun, so i vote its a go.

*of course the first day is clearly the hardest one ever...who really has one favorite song?

grrr. so i have very carefully and painfully narrowed it down to a few favorites.

mind you, these will most likely change tomorrow.

roll with it, thats how i work.

favorite coldplay song

favorite jason song

favorite song as of late

PHEW!!! that was hard...

what feelings sound like

2011-04-11T12:10:00.000-07:00

i think the passion i have for music is clearly something that i have made a point conveying on my blog. its my way of expression, whether it be what i am listening to, how i am listening to it, or what i am singing. theres just something that i feel, that i cant describe in words...music makes me who i am. so when i saw this post by my friend lindsay, i was moved. the video is 14 some odd minutes long, but let me just tell you that i had chills the entire 14 minutes. i even teared up a little. music is such an infinite power...and how amazing is this? eric whitacre is simply a genius. watch this. you seriously won't be sorry.

you better believe virtual choir 3.0 im going to find a way to be a part of...

the inevitable

2011-04-10T22:28:00.000-07:00

"Being buried by your own thoughts and fears, especially when you know it’s happening, can feel like a burden with a rusty flat-tired wheelbarrow turned over on top of it, where spiders and snakes like to hide before they SURPRISE! you. Fortunately, surprises are inevitable and keep us from being buried, even if means enduring the venom. Gratitude is generally the antidote."-Jason Mraz

Why is it that this man

who i have never met,

yet absolutely adore,

seems to say just about exactly

what i need to hear?

And in the most fantastic way?

oh, I just love him.

In case you hadn't caught on to that yet...which im sure you have.

"What Was THAT?! And where did all those stars come from?"

2011-04-10T21:44:00.000-07:00

i had a blog post in the works, and i just went to finish is...and somehow its gone. i dont approve. im actually quite bothered, because i dont even remember what it said. so...i guess it wasnt important.

this week was insane. i feel like it was maybe like 2.7 weeks, when in reality it was only one. i went off track this week, and had to move out of my classroom, and teach at the same time. plus there was something going on every night. monday fhe. tuesday birthday shopping with jesika. wednesday birthday celebrating in honor of the wonderful katie jane. thursday was the end of year sigma celebration. and friday was tale of two cities (again) and playing with the girls. phew! thats a busy yet FABULOUS week! and can i just say that seeing tale of two cities again was definitely one of the highlights. i followed the story much better, since it had been so long since i had read the book, and i definitely bawled the ENTIRE second half. no joke. it didnt help that 'young gaspard' was played by one of my former students (he was adorable in it!) but his character dies, and it got to me...bad. such a beautiful and heartbreaking story, and amazing musical. im obsessed to say the least.

saturday kym came down for a visit, and we went to this charming little belgian waffle place downtown called Bruges Waffles and Frites, which was to DIE for. holy cow. new favorite for sure. then we went and saw Kings Speech and I was honestly astounded. amazing movie, brilliantly filmed. the only part that was dumb, was how they edited it from R to PG-13. the way they did it was ridiculous, and made me kind of mad. BUT it is definitely worth seeing over and over again. and it further affirmed my love of colin firth, that has been a part of me since i was little (i know he's old...whatever) so...GO SEE IT! yay! after that we had an ikea adventure with a bunch of other girls, and dinner at chilis. i LOVE the weekends! and i LOVE when kym comes to visit!

i finished off the night with Tangled and a sleep over in my living room with katie jane and jesika. it was lovely, but im realizing im old now and cant sleep on the floor successfully....gotta love it.

tomorrow marks my first day off track. im excited to take some 'me' time. go to the temple, the gym, and relax for a few weeks. honestly though, im definitely going to miss my kids! 4 whole weeks without their randomness?! how will i survive? haha im sure i will be ok...but it is a long time! i guess that means i love my job or something...

but needless to say, it was a fabulous, yet long week and i am exhausted. im ready for bed, and am looking forward to sleeping in a little tomorrow. hope everyone had a most triumphant week!

and now i leave you with a picture of my awesome girls and i. oh, i heart them :)

arrrr beeee ellllll

2011-04-07T22:44:00.000-07:00

R B L are my 3 favorite letters right now...

pathetic. simply pathetic.
somebody help

oh life......

cheese pie

2011-04-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

the pile of books i have beside my bed that i will be reading while off track is exciting and overwhelming. i seriously can't wait to dive in and read for pleasure again without zonking out after two minutes.

went and saw 'tale of two cities' the musical at hale center theater this week. seriously amazing. had me in serious tears by the end. and the man who played sydney? ahhh swoon. also, add that to the top of the above mentioned list of books to read again.

seriously obsessed with this song from the show.

taking a roadtrip vacation in a few weeks and FINALLY crossing off one of my bucketlist items...stay tuned...

when a boy calls me 'whit' theres no turning back. *swoon* blast it all....

i cant honestly say 2011 is so far the best year of my life. so happy!

im becoming a nail polish addict. i buy too many new colors, and i paint my nails at least twice a week. do i need to call a number and get help, or am i ok?

mom, gretch, grandma and aunt e were in town this weekend. boy do i love family :) hate to see them go...

conference was amazing this weekend...need to catch up on a few talks that i missed, but i love how specific and applicable the talks were this session. definitely things i needed to hear and be reminded about. love it!

went and say jane eyre with mom, gretch, dott and tess. can you say amazing? wow. so well done. add that to the books to read while im off

lots of snow today. what the? why? i just want spring! i packed away my winter boots already! this is ridiculous!

also went to the carl bloch exhibit this weekend. (yes i willingly went to provo) and it was well worth it. what a beautiful exhibit...so glad i had the chance to see it!

cheese pie has become a staple term in our apartment...it takes too long to explain...but just know thats its awesome. and now...im off for a bit of cheese pie. happy sunday!

hey boys hey!

2011-03-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

so i last posted about my friday in a nutshell right?
well it was a long post, so it was one giant nutshell, but you got the idea, right?
anyways....i can't leave out saturdays events...they were just too great as well.
the day started with only 6 hours of sleep on a saturday. for me thats a big deal,
but even after getting home from logan at 2 am, kym and i still decided to take a morning venture to park city because i had never been.
we ate breakfast at this yummy brazilian cafe, which is like 3 feet away from a ski lift (so weird) walked around the shops, decided they were too expensive, so we hit up the outlet strip. holy ginormous, and amazing. i bought several shirts, and we had so much fun! sadly i did not get any pictures...we were too busy shopping, but we had a blast regardless...and we are definitely going back soon!!!

after this adventure, i met up with girls from sorority, and we ventured to spanish fork for the festival of colors. which i have been dying to go to every year, but never had the chance! it was stellar. we listened to some bieber on the way, told stories, and laughed non stop...thats basically what happens when we all get together...the festival was ridiculously awesome, throwing colored chalk at friends and strangers, taking non stop pictures, dancing to crazy music, posing with statues, and being crazy! it was a blast to say the least.

we then went to dinner at the pizza factory somewhere between spanish fork and salt lake, made a random pit stop at a random walmart, and continued to jam to some bieber. yes yes i understand we are 12...deal with it.

and now for some pictures, because they tell the story better than i can!
ahhhhhh i love my friends!!!

run with me down these midnight streets...

2011-03-27T23:34:00.000-07:00

so can i just begin with saying this weekend was amazing?
great friends, lots of laughs, good music, yummy food, and just plain happiness.
i love weekends like this.
busy and blissful.
friday was the concert of all concerts.
it was 4 hours of complete and utter joy.
there is simply nothing better to me that being with people i love, and experiencing great music. each and everyone of the artists were extrememly passionate about their work, and thats what its all about to me.
the first act was a local girl, who was just taking a stab at writing and performing music. she had a great voice, nothing astounding, but i think eventually she could make it...
the second set was a girl and her guitar player, who had this fantastic voice. she never introduced herself, which we thought was weird, but after the show, turns out it was lauren pritchard who played 'ilse' in the original cast of spring awakening. yep...totally knew i recognized her from somewhere. kym and i bought her cd and talked to her for like 3 seconds. do you realize thats like meeting lea michele and johnathon groff through a proxy? HOLY AMAZING! (notice my superior stalking skills on the Spring Awakening picture...)
then came the moment i had been waiting for.... mr brendan james himself. and it was a magical 45 minutes. where i know i didnt stop smiling once. the best part was that kym, karinne and i got there an hour before the show started, and we most definitely had from row seats. literally. brendan and i locked eyes several times, and im not even exaggerating. seriously, he is an amazing artist. he is honestly FANTASTIC live, better than on record. and thats talent if you ask me...i freaking love that man.
after that matt white came on stage, with crazy robert pattinson hair, and a goofy expression. we kind of fell in love with him. i have loved a lot of his stuff ever since this song appeared on she's the man way back when. it is now the mcdonalds mcribb commercial...ya he joked about that lots. he was quite entertaining. very talented and we definitely locked eyes too. call me a dork, but it was a greattttt night.
THEN, magic happened when matt and brendan came back for a duet encore of piano man...um can you say happy? i sure can! it was fantastic!

following this joyous moment, they got off stage, and i most definitely followed them...yup im a stalker, but i wasnt going to let the opportunity pass me by. so we got pictures with brendan and matt, and actually chatted with brendan for like 14 seconds. he told me us that he is coming back in october and we need to be there. heck yes, you better believe i will be! front row once again!
ahhhh now if that doesnt sound like the perfect friday evening, i dont know what does....

oh happy day.

(more weekend awesome-ness to come soon...stay tuned)

sneak peak

2011-03-26T02:00:00.000-07:00

oh tonight was a glorious night indeed....

*more to come soon. must go dream about brendan james now.

goodnight all!

no ending

2011-03-23T22:20:00.000-07:00

im a huge advocate for children's literacy.

simply because i love children

and i love books

and because every child deserves a chance to succeed in life.

there is nothing better than seeing a child get so wrapped up in a book that they never want to leave that new found world.

i know its an experience that i have enjoyed from a young age,

but to see it happen with kids seriously just fills me with all sorts of joy.

this exact thing is happening in my classroom, and it makes me want to jump for joy each day.

my very first day teaching, my students asked me what my favorite book was...

now this is a very hard question for me to answer. basically impossible...

but being that this is 4th grade, i tried to think back to my favorite book as a kid, that captivated me and led me to that new found world.

a book that brought about the full range of emotions, and had me loving the book and hating it all at the same time.

so i told them "where the red fern grows, by wilson rawls"

because honestly, i love that book.

so much.

well not a single one of my students had read the book,

or even heard of the book.

after gasping, i knew that was about to change.

we started the book my 2nd week of teaching,

and i will have you know that my students are eating it up.

they never want me to stop reading.

they absolutely love it, and it just fills me with joy.

now we already had a little chat about emotions, and how some people are affected differently, and how if i cry not to be freaked out...

(i mean, i have already choked up twice while reading aloud, and we are only barely half way through the book)

but they are so captivated, and excited about this book, i just love it.

it seriously only takes one book for a child to grasp on, and learn to love to read,

and i love that i get to be a part of that each day.

Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.

~Author Unknown

A good book has no ending. ~R.D. Cumming

If you resist reading what you disagree with, how will you ever acquire deeper insights into what you believe? The things most worth reading are precisely those that challenge our convictions. ~Author Unknown

Reading well is one of the great pleasures that solitude can afford you. ~Harold Bloom

love it!

2011-03-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

i love this so much.

8 minutes of awesome-ness!

you've got a friend in me

2011-03-20T23:22:00.000-07:00

life lesson.

the day starts, the day ends...

2011-03-20T01:07:00.000-07:00

just crossed off 'go to a jazz game' on my bucketlist. the game was awesome, but the circumstances were semi crappy at times...also, totally bummed i didnt take a picture whilst at the the jazz game. better go back for round 2 sometime soon.

i have another stupid crush and it needs to go away. abra cadabra....somebody help.

totally went to st george last week and had a blast. we werent even their 24 hours, so it was semi ridiculous, but it was so fun. and the temple there is gorgeous.

this weekend included: noodles and co. target pit stop. karaoke. fake tattoos. peaces. justin beiber. a failed zoo trip. red butte cafe. south town mall. stellar forever 21 finds. gasoline spewing out of my car. my attempt at yelling at the texaco people. images in my head of my car blowing up. jamming to my ipod on random (oh the selection...) dinner with kym. and seeing one of my most favorite shows again. i love the weekends...and next week JUST MAY top it off. can. not. WAIT! yay brendan!

i think i need to confess something.
im just going to put it out there.
get it off my chest.
i.
have.
beiber.
fever.
there i said it.
now this is not in the sense that i love him and think he's ooo ahhhh oh, so cute, because thats gross...he's only 17.
but in the sense, that i may or may not have his album, love all the songs, and really want to go see the beiber movie.
i don't really care what you think.
and yes, i realize my little sister has disowned me,
but im working through that and trying to find a solution.

today i got a voicemail from my little bro that said
"how dare you not answer when i call. if you dont call me back, i swear i will slice you with my light saber" boy i love my family.

BEST. PURCHASE. EVER!!!!! i have a feeling i will be buying several pairs...in fact, these are my next ones...

i have thought a lot about happiness lately. and what it is that brings true joy. im reevaluating somethings, and boy is it grand...

can i just say...OBSESSED? totally planning a trip to see this when it comes to NYC. this song is what got me hooked. *drool*

i go off track in 3 weeks! crazy! that means i have a 4 month long 'spring break.' best job ever? i think yes. also, im being rehired to teach next year. who would have thought this semester-long move to SLC would be so long term! love it!

i can't even begin to explain how much i love my friend em, and this particular post she wrote. can you see why we get along so well?

BFABB. kym, you totally know what im talking about. yes!!!

i unpacked all my flip flops and organized them in their little spots. i smiled the whole time.

this is a dumb video, but i had this done today. trippy! doesn't hurt, and im definitely a new fan.

okay. now im going to bed, because its way past my bed time.
peace and love folks!

p.s. this is my computer background. i love it a lot...

la la la la la life is wonderful

2011-03-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

its amazing how wonderful life is. and how often we find ourselves forgetting that.
when ever i have a bad moment, i start singing this in my head.
man i cant even describe the love i have for this man....

adversity does not build character...it reveals it

2011-03-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

i literally have sticky notes every where right now, reminding me about things i need to/want to blog about. but alas, there has been no time...
im still trying to figure out a healthy balance between teaching 4th grade, having a social life, being active in church, working out, reading, and sleeping.
and havent quite figured out the best balance.
i think im getting semi close though...
but for now, just know that my weekend was fabulous (will post more later)
and church today was indeed inspired just for me.
it was an answer to prayer, and the day had me in tears a few times.
what an amazing ward i belong to.
serious.
my heart is full today.
and im going to bed in an exhausted yet joy-ous state.
i like that feeling.
bliss.
till we meet again folks.
till we meet again.

i hear the sound of the ticking of clocks

2011-03-06T10:58:00.000-08:00

i love weekends. last weekend was clearly FABULOUS. i went to my amazing sorority retreat, and seriously had the best time! so glad i joined! best decision ever!

i also got to spend saturday with my 3 best friends! we have been trying for MONTHS and MONTHS to get the 4 of us together, and it finally happened! we went to lunch, did some shopping and had a glorious time catching up. i love them sooooo much!

this weekend i hung out with kym, saw an awesome movie, and we got cheesecake, which is always a good idea.

saturday, i went running with my new butt kicking shoes, and my latest splurge i was pretty much a happy camper. (ps those shoes really do work, my legs are killing me today!) also, i have been waiting a long time for that splurge. sad something as silly as an ipod could make me so happy! but now ALL of my music is on there and i dont have to choose favorites. now no one feels left out.

i also went on a sigma date on saturday. now i dont even remember the last date i went on...apparently im un-dateable or something.... well the boy reminded me of my brother ethan, so that will never go anywhere, but we did have so much fun! went to the jazz game and they won! and got frozen yogurt. happy! i seriously am so glad i joined sigma, can i say that enough?

oh, my point in telling you how i love weekends, is that i really do LOVE weekends. i always have weekends planned at least 10 days in advance in order to ensure they are awesome. pretty sure i have every weekend in march planned out already. these weekends include, but are not limited to: seeing 'hairspray' live , making a quick adventure to saint george, seeing 'drowsy chaperone' and best of all, seeing my newest favoritest obsession. oh im going to marry him.

now, do you believe me when i say i love weekends?

also, today im having a sunday adventure with some sigma girls, dont worry im sure you will hear all about it.

here are some other thoughts that i thought of:
i think its rude that everyone knows whether or not a girl teacher is married, but there is nothing to inform you if a male teacher is married or single! there is the use of 'Ms.' but 9 times out of 10 it just means the woman is divorced, and no one uses that anyways....it just doesnt seem fair to me...i mean its not like i need to know....er....uh....shoot....

i have been having major coldplay/muse obsessions lately. i cant even explain what that music does to me. love it.

can i just say how awesome it is to get paid? its quite nice. sucks it only happens once a month, but getting paid is getting paid. yes.

i just love finger nail polish. a lot. i am building quite the collection without even really realizing it...

spring is coming, and i LOVE it! birds chirping, no more snow, sunshine, blooming flowers, ahhhhh so happy.

sometimes its still weird to me that i am a real teacher. i haven't quite wrapped my head around it, but regardless...i LOVE it! i am seriously having so much fun, and my kids are fabulous!

life is good. and thats that!

uncharted

2011-03-04T22:39:00.000-08:00

few people will understand how awesome this video is...

i do because im a music snob to the max.

this just makes me all kinds of happy

summer rain

2011-02-28T17:34:00.001-08:00

i just REALLY love him....
like really really.

happy presidents day

2011-02-21T23:36:00.000-08:00

hope everyone took a second to think about WHY

we had the day off work/school.

happy presidents day!

“A morsel of genuine history is a thing so rare as to be always valuable.” ~Thomas Jefferson

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” ~James Madison

“The lesson of history is rarely learned by the actors themselves.” ~James A. Garfield

three zero zero

2011-02-21T01:25:00.000-08:00

well well well! what do we have here?....
my 300th blog post. wow-ee
i have no idea what i have really said in 300 posts...but somehow i got here
SO i figured i would mention 30 things i love, because 3 is too few, and 300 is a lot...and i have a life to get back to, so i figured 30 was as good as its gonna get
here we go! in no particular order...

weekends and all the fun that comes with them
my family and the awesomeness that is them
true friends. the ones that know me, and love me, and understand me
music. listening to it, singing it, dancing to it, studying it, sleeping to it, feeling it, so on and so forth
the eiffel tower and anything french (duh)
finger nail polish. confession: my nails have been painted every single week since august. love it
stupid movies
my ward
my roommates
slippers
teaching 4th grade
amusing things that 4th graders like to say
glee (which is another duh)
red tulips
facebook (guilty)
veggie garden cream cheese
shoes
my fish king george, which i will have you know is still alive and well....thought he was a gone-r for a while there, but he is a strong little fella
my scrapbooks
clean kitchens, and bathrooms courtesy of yours truly
sleepovers with liz, watching this movie, which i absolutely LOVE
blogging as well as blog stalking...
any movie set in paris.
movie soundtracks. broadway soundtracks and anything else i can belt it to
the fact that a paycheck is in the near future
institute and my sorority
the pretty mountains out my kitchen window
my car and the fact that it works
utah state sweatpants and sweatshirt which i wear far too often
and in one month exactly it will officially be spring. i like spring

so there it is. that was actually pretty easy....i could keep going, but my computer is going to die
so there you have. thank you readers for...reading. and here's to 300 more posts! holy cow!

more like the kids we babysat than the dads who drove us home.

2011-02-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

i find this article incredibly intriguing:

read it.

share it.

serious

what a beautiful place...to be with friends

2011-02-19T00:41:00.000-08:00

"These are dark times, there is no denying. Our world has perhaps faced no greater threat than it does today. But I say this to our citizenry: We, ever your servants, will continue to defend your liberty and repel the forces that seek to take it from you! Your Ministry remains, strong."

wise words. gotta love harry potter.

forget rose

2011-02-14T22:52:00.000-08:00

a dozen red tulips.

now thats perfection.

so this is love

2011-02-13T22:21:00.000-08:00

here's my cliche valentines day post. because im awesome, and just cliche like that....which you already knew...
you know, i have always loved valentines day, and have never really understood all the whining and booing that girls take part in for like a week and a half prior, and following. (and then some)
valentines was always special at my house, and at school.
my mom would buy flowers, make a yummy dinner, and have a box of chocolates on our dinner plate. she would help me make cute valentines for school, and always bought me a silly valentines shirt with glittery hearts on it to wear to school.
as i got older, ya "having a boyfriend" would have been nice but it never gets me down.
i find ways to celebrate with friends and family that i love, and by doing things that i love and i can find joy in.
this year is no different.
i think the whole "SAD" (single awareness day) part of valentines is depressing and i dont want any part in it.
valentines is about LOVE! even single people have LOVE!
im going to celebrate valentines day by partying all day with my 4th graders, going to the gym, and going to FHE. then i will keep my yearly tradition of watching 'return to me' because i think its one of the sweetest love stories.
sounds like an ideal day to me!
someday, valentines will hopefully be shared with a man, but im not worrying about it now. why? because its not my time. im living a pretty good life right now, and im happy. people always say love finds you when you least expect it, so im not expecting it anymore. im done with stupid crushes, and feeling insecure. im not complaining about it, and im not listening to people complain about it anymore. im done, finished, boda-bing boda-boom, and am focusing on embracing the life i have, surrounded with people i love.
and thats my two cents on the topic. :)
i hope everyone has a glorious and wonderful valentines full of love and laughter! you rock!

thats my man and his legs dont work!

2011-02-12T23:49:00.000-08:00

so.... i survived week 1 as a real life teacher. and it was AWESOME! my students are adorable, and i am seriously loving every minute. i even managed to get a wicked cold before i even started, so i feel week two will be even better.

my mom and brother came to visit last weekend, and it seriously felt like only a few hours they were here, and then they were gone. i feel jipped.

i wish there was more time in the day, simply to listen to music. sometimes i feel like i neglect all my music because i run out of time. am i insane? well yes i am, but i have accepted it.

did i mention the school district gives me a macbook to use while i teach? im in heaven. i will never go back to PCs. they are evil.

as you may have guessed by my blog design change. i am currently pretending its spring in hopes that it will just automatically become spring. because im through with winter. im ready for green grass, chirping birds, budding flowers, and flip flops. whos with me?

we had a lesson on heros this week, and i asked all the kids to write about their hero. some where really entertaining, and some were really touching. but one girl...she wrote about me. haha apparently i am doing something right during week 1? wait till next week deary...muh hahaha.

currently watching anne. no one understands the love i have for that movie. well, my mom does, but thats about it.

i found this website somewhere a few weeks ago, and i love it. sometimes things are dirty, so take that as a fair warning, but sometimes there are really magical things on there :) and im all about magical...

glees doing rent this week! rent! yes i LOVE rent! they are also doing justin beiber...oh yes. i said justin beiber.

got to hang out with miss katie on friday. i seriously love that girl, and all the good times we have together. she seriously is one of my favoritest people in the world. love.

SO i pretty much LOVE this new TW song. yes? much better than the lady gaga original. definitely.

there once were all these things in my head i knew i needed to blog about. apparently they are gone now.

oh watch this. cause i like it. a lot. (#22 is a ninja!) (i'm so overcome with love!)

thats all i have for now. peace and love.

except for the fact that i REALLY want to do this to my bike:

very nice

2011-02-07T23:11:00.000-08:00

#1. i LOVE mr darren chriss.

he's very...nice.

#2. i LOVE gap. its always been my store. ya know, i did work there one summer, and spend more there than i earned.

#3. two new glee episodes in one week?

heaven.

p.s. first day was SPECTACULAR will post more soooooooon.

<3

also, this is fantastic...admit it. you love glee

one last hoo-rah

2011-02-06T23:35:00.000-08:00

well folks, the time has come.

the day i have been looking forward for one heck of a long time.

the day i become a real teacher.

i am so excited, a little freaked out, and very anxious about tomorrow.

this week i celebrated lots,

because i felt it was very important to have a last hoo-rah before i say goodbye to a social life

and hello to utah history, and long division.

not that you really care what i did all weekend, but here ya go:

monday: slept in, attended a fabulous ward fhe talent show, and watched the bachelor

tuesday: went into my school for the majority of the day, cleaning, organizing, and throwing out lots of random papers and such. then went to a concert with miss emily m. which was pretty grand, just uber long :)

wednesday: slept in...again, went to lunch with liz, went to some darling little shops in sugarhouse, went to liz's parents house for groundhog dinner, (get it, ground hog-pulled pork haha) and to watch groundhog day of course

thursday: movie marathon and ultimate 4th grade planning. it was epic. i watched a few movies, and got almost 2 full weeks of school planned out. thats pretty legit. also went to a chinese new year party, and had AMAZING chinese food. awesome

friday: spent the entire day at my school. met with a parent, got all my papers copied, organized some more, met MOM and BROTHER for lunch and then they helped me move in and make my classroom look glamourous!

saturday: ran errands, went to the teacher store :) out to lunch, visited more cute shops, walked around gateway, ate dinner, and chatted the night away with family and friends.

sunday: had a much needed talk with my mom. had to say goodbye :( went to church with liz, drove to kyms watch the pre-glee show (aka the superbowl) and THEN glee finally came back! oh thank you thank you!

it was grand.

and now i sit her in my bed. wishing sleep would come,

but alas, it doesnt.

heres to hoping i dont fall asleep teaching my students tomorrow!

ahhhh MY students!

glorious.

farewell and goodnight folks.

the transformation of thoughts

2011-02-04T01:07:00.000-08:00

"Man, alone, has the power to transform his thoughts into physical reality; man, alone, can dream and make his dreams come true."

one of five thousand

2011-02-03T00:27:00.000-08:00

not that i NEED a new project,
i mean i have five thousand plus underway,
but you know me.
always trying to complicate my life more than needed.
so HERE it is in all its glory.
enjoy!

every little thing, is gonna be alright

2011-01-28T21:49:00.000-08:00

love this. more than i can even say...
*this song is going through my head currently.

something's watching over me, like sweet serendipity...

2011-01-28T01:10:00.000-08:00

1. i forgot to post this, but i think its great... a few weeks ago when i was subbing in 4th/5th grade this was our math worksheet: ..........for those of you who dont know, my dad's name is Scott and my mom's name is Gina...awesome.

2. my mom pointed out that i can cross "get my own classroom" off my bucketlist. wow-ee. i still can't believe this is happening! love it!

3. yesterday was my half birthday. sweet.

4. it dawned on me shortly after accepting my new job, that i would have to give up this...i don't really want to talk about it. i might burst into tears.

5. i had a dream about him last night. he was in a plane crash but called to tell me he was ok. i dont really know what that means...

6. currently looking for "Miss Ward's Class Store" donations. for more information, feel free to contact me via email, phone, or text ;)

7. i'm thinking i need a logan trip soon. i love that place. and miss it more than words

8. i seriously am obsessed with brendan james and every single thing he sings. ALSO can't stop listening to this song...lame music video, but happy song. ALSO this was pretty much the BEST audition ever :P

9. the other day i wanted to go on a little run/jog outside cause it was so nice...but it was late and pretty dark, and i thought to myself "i wish i had a dog so i could go running at night." does anyone else see how pathetic this is? shoot.

10. glee comes back in 9 days. just sayin...

premiums. deductables. and a bunch of mumbo-jumbo

2011-01-25T21:06:00.000-08:00

YESTERDAY i got a job. a REAL teaching job! 4th grade baby! i jumped for joy! yelped a little bit and got super duperly over excited!

seriously, great news eh?

i feel pretty honored that out of all the applicants and interviewees, they picked me.

a freshly graduated 1st year teacher. wow-ee.

i celebrated with kym most of the day. we hit up the dollar movie (yummm. love me some chris pine). got some yummy lunch. then rented and watched what is quite possibly my new 3rd favorite movie. (i say that a lot dont i?) needless to say, it was a fabulous day, topped off with a silly fhe, and making a fool out of myself playing volleyball. awesome.

then at about 1:00 am. after i had been asleep for a good 45 minutes.

it hit me.

i have this huge responsibility now. this so called "adult" job.

eeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkk.

i suddenly got extremely anxious and started mind-planning things. why? i dont know. its not like i have been given curriculum maps or guidlines, or a run down of what these kids have covered already, or anything for that matter yet, but all these ideas kept flooding through. and there was no way to stop them. i kinda freaked myself out. wondering if i have things that i will need in my classroom, or if the kids will be naughty. or what if they are weird. and blah blah blah.

finally i calmed down.

and fell asleep

only to have psycho dreams of about 100 4th graders asking me question after question after question, about things i had no clue about. the 4th graders kept getting bigger and bigger and there were more and and more of them, and i kept shrinking. hum freaky much?

then i woke up and substituted in 6th grade.

and remembered that i really really really love teaching. and having my own classroom will be FABULOUS and i will be just fine.

and i got SUPER excited again. and all the teachers were SO excited for me

and it was just great and dandy.

then i went to the district office and i signed about 13,325,324 papers.

and they handed me a ginourmous packet of insurance and benefits papers to fill out and return in 30 days.

and i looked at them funny.

and asked if i could call my mommy.

so i came home and watched ramona and beezus. ate a salad. and decided i would be an adult tomorrow when it was extremely necessary.

yay for LIFE!! love it! hahahaha

absolutely ape

2011-01-24T00:04:00.000-08:00

i say this is the perfect sunday afternoon movie

the script never ceases to amaze me.

and i personally find the humor absolutely perfect.

like enchantingly perfect...

this is clearly one of my favorite parts:

the face she makes right before this, is priceless.

but my favorite quote?

this one:

Richard: You really like it, don`t you.

Gabrielle: What?

Richard: Life.

Gabrielle: Oh! Every morning when I wake up and I see there`s a whole new other day, I just go absolutely ape!

oh how i adore audrey. <3

unusually great

2011-01-20T22:52:00.000-08:00

"Sometimes the most ordinary things can be made extraordinary, simply by doing them with the right people."

-the lucky ones

You can climb a ladder up to the sun, or write a song nobody has sung

2011-01-19T01:52:00.000-08:00

today i scored two interviews for this week, one for next week, rearranged my room, did my laundry, rearranged the living room, cleaned swept and mopped the kitchen, and helped wizard build a kitchen table for our awesome little apartment. now thats one productive day!

i also fell in love with this song. (including the singer mr. brendan james himself). this song. (please oh please dont let this get over played like hey there delilah). and this song. and about a billion others...blisssssss

pretty sure there should be like 12 extra hours in the day just so i could listen to music. there is never enough time!

i moved all my movies upstairs into the awesome bookshelf ms. kym brought me. and they all fit. barely. my mom would probably have a brain aneurysm if she saw. guilty.

received probably the funniest text ever from kym. i love the common understanding we have with each other. brilliant.

someday i will bowl over 100. someday. its going on my bucketlist, because im that determined.

been on a major coldplay kick again. i think it happens about once a month. and i love it. no one will ever fully understand.

and now, a few words to live by: "Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact." -William James

farwell.

neutron star collision

2011-01-18T13:07:00.000-08:00

belgian waffles. great conversation. wii just dance 2. wonderful 50 degree weather. green hornet. pizza and breadsticks. bowling. fhe. chuck. gym. sleep.

best part of the day? the stars gave the slightest glimmer of possibly lining up in my favor. im sure they will be back to their normal jumbled pattern in like 5 seconds, but for this day. they were in a nice little line, just for me. splendid.

happy monday!

im with the band...

2011-01-15T18:42:00.000-08:00

Rules: 1 - Go to wikipedia and hit random. The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band. 2 - Go to quotationspage.com and hit random. The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album. 3 - Go to flickr.com and click on “explore the last seven days”. Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover. 4 - Use photoshop or similar (picnik.com is a free online photo editor) to put it all together. 5 - Post it with this text in the "caption"

I went to kindergarten, I know how the alphabet works

2011-01-13T21:53:00.000-08:00

freaking LOVED this movie.

not even kidding.

it was FANTASTIC!!!!!

so happy.

i also love the fact that kas and i will be quoting this until the end of time...observe:

and that SOMEHOW kym and i have a freaky psychic thing going on.

we can seriously read eachothers minds...

we both watched this for the FIRST time at the SAME time

without even knowing it...

love her.

we're taking a chance, we're the lucky ones

2011-01-12T23:05:00.000-08:00

this is clearly the greatest thing i have come across in a while: http://whenparentstext.com

it was definiltely the shining moment of my day.

wizard is going through classic tunes on her computer, and we keep having sparatic dance parties.

needless to say, i OWNED "the carlton" tonight.

i have been shamelessly stalking this blog i randomly found, and i realized today that she went to USU and is definitely friends with some of my friends. i think thats freaky and awesome.

i have been teaching music all week in school and have since rememorized (im a teacher and i say yes thats a word) 'the fifty nifty united states'.as well as mastered 'god bless the usa'. 'the addams family'. and 'day-0'

dont ask me how these songs relate. i didnt make the sub plans.

life is good when you have your entire weekend, clear through monday,

planned out on wednesday. sweet.

glee is doing a few justin bieber songs in the near future. which is semi unfortunate/semi awesome.

unfortunate because i cant stand justin beiber the person

but awesome because some of his songs are catchy,

but i would never admit to liking them...unless glee sang them.

case closed.

is it weird that one of the first things i want to purchase when i get paid (after bill paying and necessity shopping that is)

is a bookshelf?

and then some more underwear and socks because im bored of the ones i have?

and then some shampoo and conditioner because the stuff i have i dont like the smell of it?

and then a few books and movies that i am aching to own?

i dont know anything about priorities.

one of my dearest darlingest friends named kren emailed this to me.

she found it on her comp. a lovely picture she drew of us 3 roomies way back when.

oh the good old days....

l'amour

2011-01-11T22:48:00.000-08:00

i love my bed
i love my 4th/5th grade class. i have missed them! and it feels so normal to be back in their class. LOVE it!
i love the brilliantly hilarious things 10 year olds day
i love teaching
i love the thought of a paycheck coming in the future
i love the fact that i have been back in the swing of things this week, like actually eating meals at the normal times of the day
i love my mom.
i love that i finally gave in and pulled out my space heater. i win. basement loses.
i love football.
i love my ward
i love that i finally feel like i have FRIENDS here
i love that above mention friends are awesome and hilarious and crazy and always planning adventures
i love the fact that im the youngest of the same above mentioned friends
i love that i dont feel old here
i love the love hate relationship i have with the gym
i love facebook
i love nail polish
i love blogging
i love my family
i love matthew morrison
i love that kym and i dont go a single day with out communicating
i love the fact that im joining an lds sorority (never thought i would ever say something like that)
i love jason mraz
i love my roommates
i love that i love my roommates. (hasnt been the case in the past)
i love that the 3rd graders still call their teacher ms ward.
i love the new josh album.
i love that glee comes back in less than a month.
i love my hand scrub that smells like christmas.
i love the personas on firefox.
i love my new favorite song. and the fact that it was a free song that i randomly downloaded on my comp and forgot about it.
i love that i labeled my TO DO list, a TA-DA list just as jason suggested.
i love adding amazing things to my bucketlist
and last but not least, i love sleep.
goodnight moon.
goodnight friends.
goodnight all.

make it sting. 1.11.11

2011-01-11T16:58:00.000-08:00

Being as it’s 1.11.11 (which equates to 5 in some cultures) I thought it would be nice to update the blog with a high five to all who pass thru this page. Now go give a high five to the next person you see – and make it sting.

jason! you always know how to make my day :)

thwo tots. two thoughts

2011-01-09T22:16:00.000-08:00

1. apparently i am destined to be a teacher, because i was called as a relief society teacher today. i'm nervous but excited, and really want to sing a song called nervous but excited, but i will refrain for now. but seriously, i am looking forward to this, and i think it will be a great learning experience, and a great chance for me to get to know all the girls in my ward :) just call me teach!

2. can i just say how STOKED i am for this week?! i am substituting the ENTIRE week in my 4th/5th combo class! yay! i cant wait to see these kids, and the fact that i get PAID for it this time, is awesome! hooray! i have never been so excited to WORK!

okay, i lied. three thoughts, not just two....
3. elder christoffersons fireside tonight was amazing, and JUST what i needed to hear.

happy sunday!

Wait, whose subconscious are we going through exactly?

2011-01-08T00:31:00.000-08:00

you complained, you win. my music no longer starts playing upon entering my blog. sheesh. it pains me greatly, and i honestly dont know how long it will last, but for now you win. please still go listen though, because i do have great taste in music if i do say so myself...

kasidy and i had an awesome conversation about literature the other day. im on a major jane austen kick again and i could slap myself for not bringing all my books back to the 84117.

you've got mail has always been one of my all time favorite movies. probably top two. serious. but, i understood the whole 'you've got mail' feeling until recently. bah!

totally went to paris for the first time this week. haha. i wish. it was more like paris, idaho. but it was awesome none the less. the tabernacle is gorgeous, and i just liked saying that i was 'in paris'. magical.

i feel like a failure for never blogging about my awesome vegas vacation. (still need to watch that movie again). kym and her parents went to vegas right before christmas and it was stupendous. you should probably first read this because it gives you a glimpse of how stellar this was (can you see why i call her my best friend) but the whole trip was awesome! best part was...well everything, but highlights include but are not limited to: many fabulous meals, walking through saks, and bloomingdales, and several other stores where i'm sure we reeked of our unwealth, watching ramona and beezus in the hotel, hanging out with the wax figures, finally finding the H&M, and the the OTHER H&M. frozen hot chocolate, rain, shopping, PHANTOM, more shop wondering, watching 17 again twice, the dam tour, and just having a grand old time! ahhhhhh i want to go back!

kinggeorge is dying. i think i have to flush him tonight. sad. we have been through so much together...

"someday my Gil will come." serious. watched anne over christmas break and cried...definitely one of my favorite movies of all time, and i still am trying to achieve my lifetime goal of finding my own Gilbert.

speaking of 'all time favorite movies' i decided to list mine. and it is REALLY HARD. i know my #1 movie...but the only way i am finding success, is to do top 5 by category. then i dont leave anything awesome out.

my teacher license was APPROVED today! woo hoo! now i have to find 50 some odd bucks to pay for it. how much more money are they going to rip from my hands?

suggestion: dont watch inception when you have had a headache all day. dont watch inception when you can't commit your full attention to it...it just makes your headache worse. so...take two.

i feel like i have the same conversation with my friends every single day. probably because I DO have the same conversation with my friends every single day. oh life. and how it seems to slap us in the face all at once.

things i want to accomplish soon. *go to a jazz game. *go skiing. *get a job. *paint each of my fingernails a different color. *rearrange my room. *buy a bookcase. *have a barbara streisand movie marathon. *read mansfield park. *read north and south again. *find the perfect balance between staying up too late, and going too bed to early.

onward folks! hope your day is magical!

ps. are you impressed that i went a whole blog post without mentioning glee?
oh crap, i guess i did.

cotton never looked so good

2011-01-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

clearly one of my favorite dialogues of all time. simply because i makes me want to scream every time. ahhhhh who could resist mr thornton?

John Thornton: Miss Hale, I didn't just come here to thank you. I came... because... I think it... very likely... I know I've never found myself in this position before. It's... difficult to find the words. Miss Hale, my feelings for you... are very strong...
Margaret Hale: Please! Stop. Pray, please don't go any further.
John Thornton: Excuse me?
Margaret Hale: Please don't continue in that way. It's not the way of a gentleman.
John Thornton: I'm well aware that in your eyes at least, I'm not a gentleman. But I think I deserve to know why I am offensive.
Margaret Hale: It offends me that you should speak to me as if it were your... duty to rescue my reputation!
John Thornton: I spoke to you about my feelings because I love you; I had no thought for your reputation!
Margaret Hale: You think that because you are rich, and my father is in... reduced circumstances, that you can have me for your possession! I suppose I should expect no less from someone in trade!
John Thornton: I don't want to possess you! I wish to marry you because I love you!

and then as she drives off in the carriage and he says "look back at me" to himself?

that not only makes me want to scream,

i always DO scream.

oh how i love this movie.

every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end...

2011-01-02T12:39:00.000-08:00

here is my cliche post about the new year.

you knew it was coming right?

me being me and all.

but serious, i love fresh new beginnings

and new chances

and evaluating the year that has past.

and the new year is all about that stuff.

well, i evaluated the year 20 and 10 already which can be found here

and intend to make 20 and 11 even better simply by doing the same exact thing.

being happy.

i'm not going to have my little bloggy thing again

(sorry if i disappointed all 3 of you that read it)

but i have come up with a simple list of things that i want to personally work on

that i am sure will provide even more happiness.

1. UNWIND- be better at reading my scriptures and saying my prayers every night. i feel like i have gotten into a horrid habit of going a million miles a day, and then hitting the pillow and just crashing. i haven't taken the time to contemplate and reflect on the day, and it's something i really want to fix.

2. RELAX- learn how to chill once in a while. i am really bad at getting stressed at the most ridiculous things. like a messy apartment, or something being out of place. i need to just calm down, and not let it get to me. because seriously, its not a big deal right?

3. LOVE IT- i really want to LOVE running. i know it sounds silly, but i want to be a runner. i want to WANT to work out. and i think this will in turn bring happiness in other ways ;) maybe i will try out a 5k or something? who knows.

4. SPICE IT UP- let's bucketlist this! i really want to make it a habit of doing at least one thing from my bucketlist every month. something fun, just for me! its life experiences right? and what better time than now to make them happen!

5. FIND COURAGE- this can be in conjunction with a myriad of things, but i want to find more courage in life. take more chances. be more confident. and not let the fear of the unknown stand in my way.

so there you have it. my new years 'resolutions' if you will. i dont really like the word resolutions, because it somehow has the negative connotation of...well...failure. and being pushed aside in the hustle of every day life, so i guess my new year 'goals' as my friend lindsay would say. or my list for the 'now year' as my buddy jason would say. whatever you call this list of mumbo jumbo, it is mine. this is my year. and i hope to make the best of it!

my horoscope even has good things to say about 2011:

Are you looking forward to a great year? You should be. One or more of your most treasured aspirations might finally become a reality. Make it happen for yourself. You're an outgoing person, with lots of friends and hobbies. 2011 will be an active year for you, and new experiences will certainly change your life in some way. At least one of your long-term goals might finally happen. All you need to watch out for is exhaustion. Too many late nights and rushed projects could take their toll. Pace yourself. A friend could convince you to start taking some classes. You may have doubts, but you're very likely to meet some great people who will share tips that could turn your life in a different direction. They can provide the last piece to a puzzle that you've tried to put together for years. New ideas and projects are definitely favored in 2011. Have a great year!

so now i leave you with some of my favorite new years quotes :

"For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning." -T.S. Eliot
"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man." -Benjamin Franklin
"Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right." -Oprah Winfrey

BONJOUR 2011

a happy new year, with love overflowing

2010-12-31T12:43:00.000-08:00

thanks regina <3

My dear acquaintance, it's so good to know you
For strength of your hand
That is loving and giving
And a happy new year
With love overflowing
With joy in our hearts
For the blessed new year

Raise your glass and we'll have a cheer
For us all who are gathered here
And a happy new year to all that is living
To all that is gentle, kind, and forgiving
Raise your glass and we'll have a cheer
My dear acquaintance, a happy new year

All of those who are hither and yonder
With love in our hearts
We grow fonder and fonder
Hail to those who we hold so dear
And hail to those who are gathered here

And a happy new year to all that is living
To all that is gentle, young, and forgiving
Raise your glass and we'll have a cheer
My dear acquaintance, a happy new year

Happy new year

FOOL

2010-12-29T00:21:00.000-08:00

the fire is soooo delightful

2010-12-24T18:33:00.000-08:00

okay sad day in whitney land...

its not like i really thought i had a chance with him

but seriously?

worst christmas present ever!

pretty sure if it wasnt christmas eve, i would be crying right now.

im going to go watch a cheesy christmas movie and have turkey dinner to make myself feel better.

ok lets be honest, christmas eve has been lovely

plus, this makes me happy.

and i cant stop listening to this:

and this:

i love this day. a lot.

hope yours has been as glorious as mine!

fun theory

2010-12-23T13:58:00.001-08:00

i love this.

a lot.