Happy Halloween!

Maybe someday I will be just like you and have a kitchen, and a husband, and kids, and stuff. And maybe cute aprons too. *sigh* I guess for now I will just have to dress up as a wife for Halloween!

My Favorite Invention

I think next to paper clips and staplers my favorite invention is the sticky note. You can remind yourself of anything at anytime and you can stick them anywhere! They even come in bright colors so you can organize your colors according to urgency. They even make them accordian-style now so you can more easy rip them off the sticky note pad.

See the problem?

Anyone?

You would think I would be above this, but...

There is a guy that I have kind of been in and out with over the last few months (not the boy from the boyfriend ruse story - infact he is none of these men), that I finally got frustrated with and kind of cut off. I do know however that he his very facebook attentive if you will. So, you would think I would be above this, but I made sure in my Fabulous Fall album on facebook to include the following photos, so he knows I've got options. I know, so Jr. High! Don't judge. :D


Outback Steakhouse

Watching football

Carving pumpkins

Riding motorcycles

Hiking Timp

Okay, I would have posted these pictuers anyway, but I felt a little bit better when I posted them! Again - don't judge.

P&P&Zombies

Jane Austen would probably roll over in her grave - but read it - it is halarious. It is like reading a movie adaptation of the novel. I picked it up out of curiosity, but it is so fun! My only caution - it might give you bad dreams. The first night I started reading the book I dreamt I scratched my face and the flesh of my cheek fell to the floor followed by the flesh of my upper body. :D

You don't have to like zombies to like this book - part of what makes it so funny to me is the self-referential humor - the book makes fun of itself - or I should say it would make fun of itself if it was written by Austen herself. Nevermind if you don't follow what I am trying to say - you can enjoy the Austen feel while also making fun of the Austen feel.

My favorite part of the book is actually the co-author's bio that says the following: "Jane Austen is the author of...masterpeices of English literature. Seth Grahame-Smith once took a class in English literature."



And for those you who won't ever pick up P&P&Zombies, A Thousand Splendid Suns may be more your style. This is a heart wrenching book about two womens' lives in Afghanistan - but the take home message to me, is the beauty of life and indominable human spirit.

Things Fall Apart

I cried this morning. Good thing it was during my prep hour. I have put in 3 - 12 hour days this week at work. I'm flying out to my grandfather's funeral right after school - I hope I don't miss my plane.

I try to keep it all together. I work full time as a teacher - don't kid yourself - the work is not done at 2:30 p.m. I grade papers a couple of hours a night, take on the extra responsibility of the school newspaper, am an advisor of the Hope club, am the school PR person, and end up being asked to chaparone dances, participate in spirit rallies and it seems like a million other things. I also just started my reading endorsement program where I take graduate education classes one full night a week on Tuesdays which requires me to read about 30 + pages of research writing a week and write a 2- page paper each week. I try to go to the gym everyday and have some sort of a social life, go to the temple and church and fill my church callings.

Last week I missed two days of school because I finally broke down. Sick. This weekend I found out my grandfather died and I will miss a day of school this weekend as I attend a last minute funeral service in Columbus, Ohio.

Things fall apart. I have 150 + essays to read, I didn't get my visiting teaching reports in, the student newspaper is now over a week overdue and not finished. My brother and sister think I am ignoring them, and I started my period yesterday. I finally cried this morning.

The Boyfriend Ruse

Last week was homecoming. I was asked to participate in the school's Super Star Ralley as a member of the faculty team. I brought my brother with me to participate in the relay races. The next day at school all the students could talk about in my classes was who that hot guy was with me, and was he my boyfriend? Just tell us who he is Ms.E, just tell us who he is!!!! My cute brother said I could lie, so I neither confirmed nor denied anything. I did however tell them I would be bringing a different guy with me to the homecoming game on Friday.

Friday rolls around and I show up at the football game with my friend S. He put on a show for the kids that they can't stop talking about today. We walked in holding hands and then when we entered the bleecher section and walked passed the student section and S being the slightly cocky and funny guy that he is dropped my hand, threw his arm around my shoulder and waved to the student section - which then broke out in an erruption of "E's got a boyfriend!" followed by cheering. S continued to do the head-tilt and walk with his arm around me passed the faculty and family section of the bleechers and now all my students can say is "I saw you with your boyfriend Ms. E!" and "Have you kissed him yet?" and "That obviously wasn't a first date!" and finally, "He's handsome."

This is what makes it all worth it.

A former student came to visit me today after a month of USU. He was a student in my journalism class for two years, and during that time I saw him grow, change, improve in writing skills, as well as step up and become the student body president, play three sports, and lead in the school musical all the while his parents went through a painful divorce; good kid. He came into the faculty room to tell me that he(as a freshman) is a staff writer for the student newspaper at USU which is quite an acoomplishment! He was given the sports beat, and it doing a great job! He covered the Lodi bike race last weekend and has a 1200 word article online as well as in the newspaper. He came to my room during 4th to give me the link so I can read all of his articles online!

These are the moments teachers teach for. Not that he wouldn't have blossomed in these skills under another hand, but nevertheless it was rewarding for me to mentor this student and then to see him succeed in an area that I helped train him in. Similarly another one of my students is at BYU and she proudly facebook-ed me to tell me she helped the students in her writing class change passive voice to active voice in their writing assignments like I had taught her!

Cool moments.