Why I Love Christmas

One of my favorite things about the holiday--as it should be--is faithful friends that are dear to us, gather near to us once more! Thank you all for your Christmas cards and cookies and visits and calls!

Last night Cami&Simon, Marta&Joel, Jacy&Roger, Heidi&Andy, and I got together at the Pizza Factory for food, folks, and fun. I love that even though I look awkwardly like the only single person there--I never feel othered around you guys! This is the old high school gang with the husbands, Heather&Kirk, and Melissa&Ben, Scully and Chad, we wish ya'll could have been there with us!

Newspaper Disaster

So---a girl I have been having problems with all year slipped a really bad swear word into the newspaper this month and the administration are really really mad. By 9:40 a.m. they had already received two parent phone calls. Our paper came out at 9:00 a.m.

She also changed the words in one of the other girl's articles to call someone a "ho" in it, and that girl is livid because it makes her look bad and her friends have already been like wow, I didn't know you talked that way--.

How did this all happen under my tuteledge? Well, on Saturday morning I was at school helping my layout editor put the finishing touch on the paper. THe other girl, the said troublemaking girl, stayed a little longer to finish her funny page. AFter an hour I asked her if she was done yet, and walked over to the computer. She had completely rearranged the whole paper saying I hope(the girl who put together the rest of the paper)doesn't mind! She did mind, a lot. Needless to say at that point all I could do was have her clean up her mess--little did I know she would make more of a mess by deleting an article I needed in the paper, changing words in another article and slipping in a bad, bad word.

Argh.

Christmas on Temple Square

They have really scaled down Temple Square once again this holiday season, but it still wouldn't be Christmas for me without seeing the lights. This time we got to go to the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional, and meet Reece's girlfriend. (Yes, my little brother is passing me up). Despite the scaled-down effects you can't help but feel the spirit of Christmas on Temple Square. Not only did I attend the Christmas Fireside this year but also the Tab Choir/Orchestra concert. It was amazing! Holiday events with music and lights lift my spirits and remind me how wonderful life really can be. I love Christmas time!

I am not old enough to...

Date your dad.
I am old enough to live in a house
to have a credit card
to run a successful savings account
have two college degrees
to buy what I want when I want to
to fly over the ocean by myself
to have a grown-up job
to have a cell phone
to buy my own new car
to have a fake Christmas tree
to own couches
to wear dark eyeliner
to wear lipstick to the gym.
I am old enough to date your brother,
your uncle, your cousin,
BUT NOT YOUR DAD.
I don't care if he thought I was cute at
Parent Teacher Conferences.
I am not old enough to date your date,
or inherit you as 17 year old son.
And despite what my mother says,
I don't think I'm old enough to date at 38 year old.

A Little Christmas Service

My journalism class collected money and put a tree in the Festival of the Trees that benefits the Primary Children's Medical Center. Although there were hundreds of beautiful trees that dwarfed our cute little 4 1/2 foot tree, and tree was only purches for a few hundred dollars, the rewards of doing service are great.

Sometimes "fun" things are a lot more work than work itself, but the stress is worth it. The kids were pretty excited about, and I was too.

A small number of kids were able to go with me up to the event to see our tree after it was sold. Sadly, every member of our class couldn't come, but those that could got a day off of school and a free meal at Chilis! :D

Our tree was dedicated to spreading literacy and had little rolled up copies of our student newspaper and childrens books tied all over the tree. Stacks of books were placed underneath. All in all it was a pretty neat project for us!

Stop Googeling Me!

I have begun to have a little problem with a few students googeling me! I guess it was just a matter of time, but it really is obnoxious how much kids can find out about you on the internet if they want to. I have my facebook profile security set pretty high, so my students tell me in frustration that they cannot find me! Good. But apparently, one of my students found me on the university alumni page, found my age, when I graduated from the univeristy (all of this info I keep very private from my students). Another student found me on a teacher-rating website the kids in our town use, and I asked her politely not to tell me what kids are saying about me, because I don't want to know or be paranoid, alhtough she told me I have a glowing-rating except for one which said...Argh! Don't tell me! Pooh. I then accidentally snapped at this student, who is actually one of my all-time favorite students, when she told me should found all of my old articles I wrote for the university in my college days online, and she read them. And told me what she thought of them. And told me she didn't realize they would keep articles from way-back-then.

I shouldn't be annoyed, they are just curious, I know. But I try to keep that line of professionalism there. I don't want them knowing too much about my life outside of teaching. I don't want them to know my age and see all my photos ect. That's just weird!

I am not the kind of person that freaks about about internet privacy, but I do think it's weird when kids are seeing their teacher's photos and everything on facebook and know too much about their private lives! It's weird to me when I hear from students that their teachers have added them as friends online. Not that I am judging per say, but I want to stay as far away from trouble as possible!

FOr now my policy is as always; STOP googeling me! :D