I've Been Tagged

SJ tagged me with the topic of 5 things you didn't know about me; problem is, I am a very transparent person! Obviously you don't know every little detail of my life, but I am willing to talk about just about thing, and I can't hide too much, my facial expression and verbal expressivness usually reveals all, often this has gotten me into trouble! But after a bit of thinking, here are a few things you may not have known...

5 Things You Many Not Know About Me...

1- I am the Wanna-be Reniassance Woman. I know what you are going to say, choose something and focus on it~! But, I do, or have tried my hand at the following: Croqueting, Embriodery, Quilting, Appliquing, oil painting, watercolor, the pottery wheel, Scrapbooking, Acrilc painting, ceramics, piano, clarinet, choir, beauty pagenting, playing basketball, running track, swimming, photography, fixing computers, paper-stock trading, social dancing, latin dancing, country dancing, skiing, cooking, waitressing, publishing papers, sewing, and i have played in competetive water-polo games.

2- I am a Truck Woman, the reason being, I learned how to drive, (I'm not lying) when I was 8 years old, in my father's tan GMC SierraMadre. I drove on the freeway, to the farm and back, I drove a lot. My dad drives a truck, my grandfathers, (both of them) drive trucks, my uncles drive trucks, my first boyfriend drove a truck, a few others as well, I drove my dad's blue Chevy a lot, (taking time out from my at the time, ugly Ford Tarus), so to me Masculinity= Pickup Trucks. To this day, if a man drives a truck, I will turn and look at him to see how cute he is! My dream truck is a black Chevy Silverado, extended cab, tinted windows, lifted wheels. But trucks = masculinity? Yes, they do, I want a hot man to be carting me around in that truck....LOL.

3- I have been on the Slow Track. I graduated from highschool with a 3.9, taking honors classes since 7th grade, and successfully graduated from BYU with my BA, and am now at UVSC getting a BS and teaching license, but I started out on the stlow track. When I was little I had a really really hard time learning to read. I have a extremely mild form of dislexia, I will switch vowels in the middle of the words, I have grown mostly out of it, but still catch myself misprouncing things all the time because of this problem. I am a memorization learner, so when I learned to read, and I read quite well now, I would memorize the way that the word looked, and not how it sounded, hence my slow start, and my bad spelling. My mom went and got flash cards from my school teachers of the spelling words I missed, got extra homework worksheets for her to quiz me on at home, and patiently, and painfully taught me to read. Ironically, reading is my favorite thing to do, to this day. I remember mom challenged me that she would buy me as many books as I would read, and I wanted tohave as many books as my older sister, who is a speed reader, so it was actually competition with siblings that made me a reader as well. Funny thing, I was also quiet in school, so they put me in the resource-reading one day in 3rd grade, and that lasted about 1 hour, because they realized I could read quite well, above my reading grade level, I was just extrememly quiet! So, here is a shout out, to all the moms who invest in their children's education!

4-My Fashion Sense. My whole life I didn't want to be the Molly Mormon that everyone said I was. My whole life people have said innocence and purity has exuded from my eyes. I was upset by this! So, not wanting to not-be a Molly Mormon, but not wanting to look like it at least, I started wearing a lot of makeup, and mascara, and wearing non-conservative clothing, and big jewlery, and well, you know me! I love being slightly artistic looking, but you probably didn't know the origional motivation for that style!

5-Random Fact. Every other woman on my maternal line for the last 4 generations have married a man with the last name of Hunter. (Amazingly no in-breeding jk). So, when I dated a boy with the last name of "Hunter" 2 summers ago, I was sure I was doomed to repeat history. I obviously did not marry him, he was not the right one for me, but for a moment, I felt like I was in the twilight zone! LOL.

I tag Walking FIne Art

Vertical Vibe

I am a crazy person! My roomates were asking me all night long what I had had to drink! As an FHE group we went to the Vertical Vibe up at The Canyons in Park City, and saw Switchback, who were scheduled for a free concert as part of the Sundance Film Festival. So fun! And I let my inner 14-year-old out! I fell on the snow, started laughing and in front of all these people started making a snow angel! I was dancing around the parking lot, in the mosh pit at the front of the concert and being very, very loud in general. For those of you who know me, you know the slap-happy mood I am talking about! Everything was suddenly uncontrollably funny. I think I was coming down from stress, disappointment, and the crises of turning 27 at the end of the week! But I had the time of my life! And you know, we have some cute guys in our FHE group, and it was just fun to be with guys who can be "good" guys and not be stuffy. They could get up there and dance and sing too, and act loud in general as well. Soooo attractive.

SJ and I also went with a group up to Sundance last Friday and had a lot of fun. SJ was so cute that the waiter at the resturant got us past the 1 hour wait for a table and sat us right down! Props to her! We also decided that part of the fun is having everyone on the street look at you to see if you are a star, its just fun to be looked at! jk

And I wonder why my mother says that in many ways I am still a little girl....

And to my critics I say, you only live life once! :)

The Coloring Book World

Apparently, there is controversy in every field of study, including education! So, one of the current topics of debate for Utah educators/parents/and students, is whether we should, (sorry haven't picked up all of the official terminology yet), use creative teaching, or traditional teaching. For example, in one camp we have educators who say, we are damaging our students with coloring books because we are giving them a form, and telling them to use their creativty within it, and color only inside of the lines, sending the signal that there is only one correct way to do something, and stiffling origional thought. This same camp is argumentative as well about cut-out-forms for making snowmen art projects, so that all kids have to have three round circles, arms and buttons and noses all uniform. This camp says, tell them to make a snowman, and let them choose how many "waists" it has, where the arm-sticks should go, ect.,ect. The other camp says, if we don't give them the basic form of the snowman to work within, we are not giving them the proper formula for a correct snowman. No joke, this is a current debate! On the larger scale the same arguement is currently inflaming the state over public and private education, because of the creative math movement, that currently is in the legislatrue, and currently used in grades 1-6. They want to force teachers to use it and use it through the 12th grade. I listened to mad parents this week say, we don't want our children to be having to open a box of cherios to count how many cherios there are per box to find out the value per dollar. Or have to lay apples out on the floor to add. They argue for the continuance of rote memorization for things like times tables, saying creative math makes losey math, and non-college prepared students...Anyway, there has been a surge for enrollment in private schools this January (for next fall) simply over the "math movement." And public schools are worried about losing students and money.

I don't have kids, or my own oppinions fully formed, but it is an interesting controvery, over whether using these new methods of teaching, may in some respects teach better, but in many respects teach much, much less.

TheEsperanza-Pinata

I Drove past the Creamery on 9th a few days ago, and there were about 35 little pinatas hanging from the ceiling in the checkout isles. I laughed in spite of myself. Ever feel like a pinata? I think I feel this way every January, when I come back to Provo laden with the aspirations and good-intentions for the New Year. Then I feel beaten down with discouragement, wanting my dreams to instantly come true, my goals to instantly be accomplished, and somehow think everything will come about without too much effort, and all the effort I do put in feels like spinning wheels. Call it post-holiday-blues, or post-goal setting-disappointment, but I have had it every day for the last week and 1/2! Well, luckily I woke up to a brighter day this past weekend, kicked my self in the royal-rumpus, and decided, once again, I can do it! So, I have doubled my efforts this week, (I know its only Tuesday!) And not only that, but I went to Ward Prayer on Sunday, FHE on Monday, and to Institute on Tuesday! That is a record beyond all records for me! But hey, gotta be running through the finish line on this soon-to-be-ending year of my life!

A MIllion LIttle Peices

What constitutes a lie? Saying you were imprissoned by the Ohio Police for three months for abusing a police officer? Is it a stretch of the truth? When the truth was, that you were pulled over for reckless driving while intoxicated, the police officer reports that you were suprisingly respectful to him, and you did not spend time in jail, but got off with $703 bail? Whoa, more than a stretch of the truth don't you think? On CNN last night, Larry King interviewed James Frey, the author of A Million Little Peices, who wrote a "memoir" of his life. Frey didn't discuss his obvious lies, (well, at least not while I was tuned in), but argued that well, a "memoir" is a type of non-fiction writing, and does not specify that everything in it is "the truth.'' Sounds like a cop-out to me! True, in literature we discuss memoirs, biographies, and all the millions of categories in-between, but more often than not, it is "biographical" or a memoir that the author will call "fiction," such as East Bay Grease, writen by Eric Miles Williamson. His book is "fiction" based on the true events of his life. No one expects everything in that to be "the truth." But, as King said, and I agree, when you pass something off as a "memoir" and then go on to publicly call it ture, (on Oprah ect.,) you are not given the liberty to "completely make up" situations. Frey kept saying, well, I was just embellishing,authors do that to make things less absurd, less grotesque, more believable....sure, but saying you were imprisoned for three months? When you were actually just pulled over, and taken into custody and got off with bail? That's fabrication! Makes me wonder how many other people "embellish" their lives for writing, and just aren't caught.

Seems to me the almightly dollar had more to play in this than not.

Good News!

Good News! I didn't post this as one of my New Year's Goals because it seemed too far of a stretch. But, I made the goal of getting published this year, in some way-shape-or form. And it has happened! Okay, so I have been preparing for this for a bit--so to say my goal was made December 31, and accomplished January 8, would be a lie.

I just got notified yesterday that an academic paper I wrote on the current state of racism in America is going to be published! Utah Valley State College is going to publish my article in their non-fiction/academic journal, Spring 2006 edition. Okay, so maybe not the hugest forumn ever, but definitely a good start! One that I am excited about! Now I can say I a published writer! Almost as exciting as when I got my first front page article with photo in the Daily Universe, jk. LOL.

My Life As A Movie

I think they are telling me I am dramatic, and boreing?
according to the test:

Steven Spielberg Your film will be 50% romantic, 33% comedy, 27% complex plot, and a $ 43 million budget.
Not the most romantic, funny or complex life, but still a great story to be told. Your story requires a large budget, and only Steve can handle the special effects your story needs. His resume includes Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, War of The Worlds, and Close Encounters of The Third Kind (and Jaws, E.T., The Color Purple, The Terminal, etc.). Your story has elements that a great storyteller such as Spielberg will bring forward. Make sure you get a percent of the gross receipts.

I Promise to Keep These

I've decided to join in the fun of posting New Year's Resolutions. Maybe it will help me keep them better? Maybe it will tell too much about me? Maybe it will give me an excuse to forget about them. Who knows, who cares! Here we go. (In no particular order):

1. Attend Enrichment regularly.
2. Run a 10k
3. Stop saying that one little swear word that slips out.
4. Stop buying scrapbook paper until I use what I have.
5. Stop freaking out when hot men talk to me. LOL.
6. Take better care of skin, moisturizing, sun screen ect.,
7. Be a better sister to both of my sisters.
8. See my grandparents more often.
9. Go on one fabulous vacation.
10. Stop eating so much salt.
11. No more purses or shoes, I have enough already.
12. Continue to develope my photography skills.
13. Some good dates with some good guys.
14. Keep better tabs on world news, (SJ is an inspiration on this one).
15. Read,Preach My Gospel, and improve scripture skills.
16. Hike Mt. Timpanogoos.
17. Have more charity.
18. Be a more patient driver.
19. Do well in school.
20. Have the kind of legs you would want to show off in short shorts, but don't. Ah, that's a wish, probably too much of one! jk

~ And I have to say, every time I think of New Year's Resolutions, I think of Bridget Jones when she says: "obviously must lose 20 lbs., always put last night's panties in the laundry basket, and stop liking men who are...especially one man who embodies all of these..." Wish me luck!