Music...

I don't play any musical instruments. Music notes might as well be Chinese writing to me--they mean nothing; however, I LOVE music. I am very passionate about it--in fact, on my mission its the thing I missed most! (besides some people ;))
Music can set my mood to anything...
It influences me greatly and that's why I have to be careful.
I hate it when I hear a song and think back to the happy memories of it. But, it also depresses me a bit, thinking of those times when life was less complicated and happier.
Oh to be young again--innocent and not knowing what real life was really like... guess that's why I spend all day with kids. I adore their innocence.

5 Things I've Learned...today...

1. I must really love chinese food. Today a mom walked in for SEP Conferences smelling like chinese food and it made me hungry. Sad--a little pathetic, yes, but YUm. So good!!
2. Be specific when speaking to a 2nd grader. Today I asked one of my 2nd graders if he was excited for his conference. He sat there for a moment with a confused, thoughtful look on his face. I explained that I noticed he had parent teacher conference tonight--and just after he replied, "Oh! I thought you meant like for Church--General Conference. I thought that was silly to have during the week!" hahaha! Oh I love the kids!
3. I am passionate about my job and what I'm doing. Going to conferences today made me realize how much I cared about my students and their personal successes. Listening and getting to know their parents just made me love them even more and made me realize how proud of them I was.
4. I have a sad, pathetic life where little things make me happy. Today at my paid job, I was having a conversation with my co-workers when they mentioned cookies. They said another co-worker had brought them in for everyone. I booked it to the admin room (when they were in mid-sentence) where the cookies were--it made my night. It also made my co-workers laugh (they know how crazy I already am). I love cookies!
5. Dieting might not work all the time, but running on fumes does. Have I exercise within the past week--oh maybe two times. Have I lost weight? Yes! Crazy how that works. Watch I'll start exercising again and I'll gain weight...go figure.

Dating...Courtship...Missionary Referrals??

I'm searching for how to give a referral and I cannot find it on www.lds.org You would think they would have a giant thing saying "Send Referrals, cLIck here!" :) OH well, I will find out how to do it soon enough...
Anyway, I was looking at the good ole website on lds.org and found this talk by my favorite, Elder Holland. Here's a quote from it, and as always, he states it in the best, most direct, most loving way: "Do you want capability, safety, and security in dating and romance, in married life and eternity? Be a true disciple of Jesus. Be a genuine, committed, word-and-deed Latter-day Saint. Believe that your faith has everything to do with your romance, because it does. You separate dating from discipleship at your peril. Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, is the only lamp by which you can successfully see the path of love and happiness. How should I love thee? As He does, for that way “never faileth.”

here's some more advice he gives:

In a dating and courtship relationship, I would not have you spend five minutes with someone who belittles you, who is constantly critical of you, who is cruel at your expense and may even call it humor. Life is tough enough without having the person who is supposed to love you leading the assault on your self-esteem, your sense of dignity, your confidence, and your joy. In this person’s care you deserve to feel physically safe and emotionally secure.

If you are just going for pizza or to play a set of tennis, go with anyone who will provide good, clean fun. But if you are serious, or planning to be serious, please find someone who brings out the best in you and is not envious of your success. Find someone who suffers when you suffer and who finds his or her happiness in your own."\

~Jeffrey R. Holland , How Do I Love Thee?, October 2003 Ensign

my life is too busy to date--but hey, thought it was some nice thoughts to share! Seems so simple and obvious, but just sounded better coming from him :)

Purpose in All Things...

Here it is--Sabbath Day and I am sitting in the Long Beach airport, trying to get home from a very short, but fun trip with my girlfriends to see a concert in L.A. I know! I sound like a brat, but flight benefits does have its negative aspects too. For example, I didn't make the earlier flight this morning. I went to a concert last night, got in around one, and didn't fall asleep till about two. I got up at 7:30 to take my shuttle to the airport so I could try for the earlier, more open flight of the day, but alas...didn't make it!
Here I sit..in my pajamas, hanging out...But...there's purpose in all things. I've always believed that!
This morning I sat in the shuttle by myself with my driver. I was tired. My mind was going: "So..I need to get the application filled out, get my resume ready...I should do that for our World War II unit this week..hmm...how to plan that...when? " and I wasn't in the "mood" to chat with my driver. I didn't need to, right? There are no rules or codes stating you must be polite with a driver at eight in the morning...BUT a little voice inside me told me that I should. As we talked, he asked where I was headed and I said back home to Utah. His response was: "Oh, I love Utah! I love Mormons!" (haha!) And I said: "Really, why do you love Mormons? " The conversation continued and we spoke about the Church about the Book of Mormon he has read, he lived next to a bishop and had nothing but great things to say about Mormons. (Which made me happy and grateful that those who had become acquainted with him made such a positive impression.) I talked to him some more and asked if he would like to have the missionaires stop by his house to talk to him about "mormons" more. He said he would love to! So I got his address and now I'll be passing it to the missionaires. I don't know what will become of the visit or contact, I don't know if I was meant to take the earlier shuttle and talk to this man, but I do know this-there's purpose in all things. I'm just grateful now that I had the opportunity to meet him and hope that he will accept the Gospel into his life.
OH and my parents happened to be in San Diego this weekend, so they are coming to pick me up and take me home with them, so I'll get to see my lovely niece and nephew as well today. What seemed like a crappy situation turned into a great one. Don't you love how that works? :)

It's all Greek to me...

Does that title make sense? I'm not sure. I think teaching is frying my brain--or rather the lack of sleep and exhaustion...at any rate--So I get on Weber's web page to check out graduation information. Yes, I am actually going to my commencement graduation! Hell yes I am! I worked my freakin' A off to get that degree, I'm sure as heck going to get a picture in cap and gown and go to a nice din-din with the parents after!
So--any of you are invited--but honestly, it's boring, so I understand if you don't want to come. It's December 11th at 1 p.m. at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Anycrap...So I'm reading on the web page and it states:

Bachelor Degrees

Summa Cum Laude
3.9 or higher

I thought--what? So that's what people mean when they say "I graduated Summa Cum Laude (people in the movies at least)" Whenever I heard it I would just think---yea ok, whatever! haha! Well, I will be able to officially say (If I survive student teaching): I graduated Summa Cum Laude!!

Freakin' Awesome!

Oh...Kids...so cute...

I needed to take a break from school and planning and homework, and post a little funny blog about kids. So...the other day at school I realized I had to go to the bathroom. Usually I'm too busy to notice! So I headed over to the 6th grade bathrooms (so much better than when I went into the 2nd grade ones!). As I walk in, I hear two girls talking (seemingly to be in kindergarten or first grade). Here's how the conversation went:

Girl 1: *Sara I have poo stuck in my butt. It won't come out.

Girl 2: (laughs)

Girl 1: NO, really. It is stuck. I keep dancing around to try to get it out--get OUT, Get out! (laughs)

Girl 2: (laughing louder now) You are funny!

Girl 1: Oops, just farted! I have been farting all day!

*Name has been changed to protect privacy.....blah blah...

This continued and I had to repress my laughter! I didn't want my laughing to make her stop talking--it was just too funny to have her stop! LOL Goodness! Kids are so funny! They are so open! 2nd graders used to fart all the time during our circle time and then they would start giggling and I'd have to try and ignore it and move on without laughing myself...haha...so funny! Thank goodness my 6th graders don't do it!

Staying on topic with how cute kids are, here's a cute video of my niece. She loves to rock out to music. This is the Red Hot Chili Peppers... (sorry you'll have to turn your head) :)

Hope in Every War...

http://www.greatwar.nl/

I've been teaching my students about World War I this week, and I've learned I'm sure far more than I've been able to pass on to them. I love history! Well, really, I love learning in general--a bit fitting for me to be an educator eh?! ;)

Anyway, I wanted to make it more personal for them, so we are doing some research and they are going to be given a name of someone they have to research, then they are going to have to present the information they found to the class. Here's one letter I found on www.firstworldwar.com

I thought the letter was great! Doesn't that make the First World War a.k.a. The Great War more than just dates and something that happened in the past....I hope so, cause that's my objective ;)

Dear Folks:

Arrived here last night, and was on the street today when the armistice with Germany was signed. Anyone who was not here can never be told, or imagine the happiness of the people here. They cheered and cried and laughed and then started all over again.

Immediately a parade was started on the Rue De Italiennes and has been going on ever since. In the parade were hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the U.S., England, Canada, France, Australia, Italy and the colonies. Each soldier had his arms full of French girls, some crying, others laughing; each girl had to kiss every soldier before she would let him pass.

The streets are crowded and all traffic held up. There are some things, such as this, that never will be reproduced if the world lives a million years. They have taken movies of the crowds, but you can't get sound nor the expression on the people's faces, by watching the pictures.

There is no where on earth I would rather be today than just where I am. Home would be nice, and is next, but Paris and France is Free after four years and 3 months of war. And oh, such a war! The hearts of these French people have simply bursted with joy. I have had many an old French couple come up to Major Merrill and me and throw their arms about us, cry like children, saying, "You grand Americans; you have done this for us."

It is impossible to buy a flag in Paris today. Everyone has one it seems and the old streets are one solid mass of colors from all the allied nations. Paris, that grand old city that has been dark for so long, is now all lighted up. Listen - my window is open - and somewhere there has been an American band assembled. They are playing My Country 'Tis of Thee.

Folks! It's wonderful! So full of feeling and meaning.

Thank God, thank God, the was is over. I can imagine all the world is happy. But no where on earth is there a demonstration as here in Paris. I only hope the soldiers who died for this cause are looking down upon the world today. It was a grand thing to die for. The whole world owes this moment of real joy to the heroes who are not here to help enjoy it.

I cannot write any more.

Lovingly, your boy, Chas.

Contributed by Lois Normington Haugner

A Keyboarding Lesson

This is what I decided to do today while in the computer lab with my students--time test myself and see how good I'm at keyboarding--I looked at their book and thought to myself...Hah...I'm so fast at keyboarding..I can totally rock this:

This is what I typed in one minute....

As you work for higher skill, remember that how well you key fast is just as important as how fast you key. How well you key at any speed depends in major ways upon the technique or form you use. Bouncing hands and flying fingers lower the speed, while quiet hands and low finger reaches increase speed.

Few of us ever reach what the experts believe is perfect technique, but all of us should try to approach it. We must realize that good form is the secret of higher speed with fewer errors. We can then focus our practice on the improvement of the features of good form that will bring success.

I met a friend at the school. Her name is Callie. Callie and I are a lot alike. We both have blonde hair, we both have a great sense of humor, we both love to laugh and we both love kids and teaching. She is a great person, and I’m sure I have a lot I can learn from her. She is going to Taiwan in December and I am going to miss seeing her everyday. She’s become one of my close friends very quickly.


LoL funny! I'm so pathetic...

Funny--goes along with previous post!

I Want To Be the Biggest Loser...

I have struggled with my weight over the years...I love to be active and workout, but I also LOVe to eat! It's a curse! I am completely motivated, as I usually am while watching The Biggest Loser, to lose 20 lbs in 20 days. We'll see how it goes...My good friend, Callie, suggested I try this website: www.dailyburn.com so I got on it today and it's freakin' amazing!! I entered in what I had eaten for the day (and they have all the brands of foods and everything in there) and it keeps track of your goals, tells you how many calories you should be eating each day to lose and/or maintain weight, and helps to also keep track of exercise. It's all free too! I entered in my food today and lo and behold--I ate less calories than what I was suppose to consume to lose weight! It made my DAY--I might as well have been on a ride at Disneyland (Yes this is how much my pathetic student teaching NO-life has become).
Try it out!! Its never too late for us to all become losers! ;)
Ps love the pictures--I can always enjoy a little eye candy!