ABC, one two three

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."

"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

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

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

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

 

 

courtesy of the red white and blue

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...

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

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

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

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

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