EsperanzaRising

I. Got. These.

2012-01-31T21:30:00.000-08:00

beautiful flowers from a boy on my birthday. Mmmmhmmm.

And That's What Comes From Men and Women Dancing

2012-01-22T08:44:00.000-08:00

I'm not typically one to string a bunch of events together and call it cause-and-effect. And I always laugh hysterically when I think of one of my favorite scenes from Fiddler on the Roof where a whole slew of events go array simple "because" men and women were dancing together. But I do enjoy good turning of events.

I love going up to the Sundance Film Festival every year: stalking stars, seeing films, bundling up cute, and eating out. It's something to brighten up the often bleak January landscape. Every year we wait-list tickets or last-minute purchase tickets to hopefully-okay-movies. This year I did the early "locals-only" registration which would assign me a time slot to purchase as many tickets as I wanted, first.

When I received notification of my ticket-purchasing-time-slot I realized it was on Sunday. Drat. Of course. After talking to myself for a minute I realized I'd better not. We'd just chance it again this year and hope to get tickets to something interesting.

So...we got tickets to a good, clean film with less than usual trouble, we drove up there and instantly found a free parking spot one street over from Main Street, right next to the shuttle bus pickup stop, right across from the $20 a day parking. Then we actually saw a celebrity without even looking - three feet away on the bus: the very cute, Anthony Mackie from The Adjustment Bureau, among other films.

And that's what seems to come from not shopping for tickets on Sunday: easily getting last minute tickets without having to wait in line, finding a free parking spot where it would normally cost $20, seeing a good, clean film, and then inadvertently spotting a celebrity, without hours of hopefull stalking! haha

Correlation? Probably. But I was delighted.

I'll Never Never Never...

2012-01-12T16:36:00.000-08:00

Wear colored tights like my quirky high school English teacher. Hmmmm....now I'm a high school English teacher wearing colored tights. Yikes! So - there are many, many things I said I would never do like be in a beauty pageant, listen to country music, kiss on a first date, wear skinny jeans, try online dating, become a teacher...Maybe I should say I will never get married, and I will in fact, get right on to doing just that.

The Life Unexpected: Lessons from My Grandmother

2012-01-05T22:11:00.000-08:00

My grandmother recently died. The funeral was held on New Year's Eve. Next to my own mother, she was one of the most influential women in my life. This is the legacy she has left for me:

Love everyone. Everyone was her favorite. I always thought I was one of her favorite grandchildren, but I have no doubt every single one of us have felt the same way.

Always have something kind to say. Grandma could find something positive to say about everyone and every situation. Like my own mother, rarely did anything cross about anyone come out of her mouth.

Always look and act like a lady. Even at the age of 90+ grandma always did her hair and makeup, even if she wasn't leaving the house.

Always have a cookie or a bowl of ice-cream on hand. Everything feels like it will be okay after a spoonfull of sugar. And it will taste better if it comes out of a large, strawberry-shaped cookie jar.

Love the Lord and He will help you rise from the ashes. My grandmother isn't my real grandmother. My dad's mom died when my mother was pregnant with me, and my grandpa married my Grandma Charlene when I was a small child. She had a hard first marriage and hard life, but then she found my grandfather and together they loved her six children, his six children, and all of us grandchildren; went on four missions together, and never passed an opporutnity to share their testimonies.

FOR me, my grandmother was an example of faith - and much blessing after much tribulation. TO me, she was a powerful example of how to gracefully live the unexpected life.

11 of 2011: Good Life

2011-12-30T22:52:00.000-08:00

It’s gonna be a good life, good life, good life, oh, it’s gonna be a good life, good life, good life: Oh, please tell me what is there to complain about. – One Republic

Looking back over a year of blessings.

1. I finished my master’s project; I will graduate in a year.

2. I mentored my first student teacher.

3. I received recognition for, and attended, a national journalism teaching conference in Reno, NV.

4. I climbed the Great Wall of China outside of Beijing.

5. My little sister went on a mission to Australia; I am so proud of her!

6. I was in four places at once: Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.

7. 10 years ago November I went through the Seattle, WA temple; what a blessing that has continually been in my life.

8. I floated the Great Salt Lake (it smells).

9. I travelled through the Baltic countries including Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Finland, Estonia, and Russia.

10. I was chosen to do district level training of the new 2010 Common Core State Standards.

11. The Lion’s Roar student newspaper, for the first time ever, is being printed with two pages of color!

As I look back over the year 2011 I realize it has in many ways been like many others, with ups and downs,tears and laughter, but when I look back on the year as a whole, I ask myself: what is there to complain about? I have good friends, a wonderful family, faith, a good job, and a belief in the goodness of others. I have challenges, but also opportunities. I have grown in faith, experience, and knowledge. It’s been a good year; it's been a good life. And I thank my Heavenly Father for that.

Cognitive Dissonance

2011-12-09T20:17:00.000-08:00

I think the universe is trying to tell me something. While trying to work towards becoming this:

I did this to myself,
(see below) on accident:

I have been working on my future-wife skills, not that there is a future-husband yet, but if you build it, they will come, right?

I am cooking something new and exciting once a week, taking pre-natal vitamins, eyeing cute baking-ware in the grocery store; I even substituted in the nursery last week at church and didn't have a panic attack at the onslaught of germs. And I am going out regularly.

At the same time I am working towards nesting, I am also planning trips (in my mind) to Peru, Egypt, India, Spain, anywhere; imagining possibly earning my PhD in education from some university back East, and browsing the latest sweaters and skirts from Anthropologie and wanting to own half of them, the expensive half. I'm holding on dearly to the idea of the single life because that is all I've known.

I am experiencing cognitive dissonance: the flow of two incompatible ideas at once. I have a strange desire to start a nesting phase, and at the same time keep a healthy escape hatch. The result? Butternut Squash and thumb-sliced soup.

Ironically, I was texting a cute boy while chopping up the squash, and thus sliced my thumb.

Antelope Canyon, Page, AZ

2011-11-30T20:14:00.001-08:00

Over the Thanksgiving holiday my mom and dad and I went to Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona. They are slot canyons owned by the Navajo people. You would have no idea they are right underneath the ground, from the top you see only a barely perceptible fissure in the landscape. Anyway! They are beautiful.

As you can see I had quite a lot of fun with my camera - but how could I not? Apparently in the morning (when we were there) the colors are purplish-blue with the orange, but all day long the colors change as the sun hits the canyon walls at a slightly different angle. I wish I could have been there all day long to watch the array.

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for my wonderful parents who understand my need for adventure!

A Trip to the Newsroom

2011-11-21T17:30:00.000-08:00

Life has a strange way of turning around in circles.

I graduated from this journalism program several years ago, and last week I took my newspaper students to see the news studios and print offices at my alma mauter.

It was a strange moment of deja vu in reverse. I remember as a broadcast student at this university watching tours of high school students and Boy Scouts roaming the newsroom and each time wondering and even speculating that someday I too would be bringing in a group of kids to the newsroom.

Life has a strange way of turning around in circles.

Let's Not Talk About It

2011-11-16T11:34:00.000-08:00

I am a proponent of talking about most things. I am a verbal, so talking-it-out, works-it-out in most cases. However, I wonder if that's not always the case. I wonder if sometimes, talking about it one more time doesn't help.

I just finished reading Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer's account of the disasterous 1996 climb of Mt. Everest where 12 people died in one expedition. Afterwards when the few survivors made it down the mountain people were obsessed with finding out what went wrong and playing the blame-game. Interestingly a relative of one of the survivors, critical of Krakauer's narrative said:

No amount of your analyzing, criticizing, judging, or hypothesizing will bring the peace you are looking for. There are no answers. No one is at fault. No one is to blame. Everyone was doing their best at the given time under the given circumstances. No one intended harm for one another. No one wanted to die. (297-298)

Additionally, Krakauer said people wanted to "catalog the myriad blunders in order to 'learn from the mistakes.'" As if finding those errors would make them "too clever to repeat those same errors." (286)

It's human nature to want to catalog, analyze, and go over one more time because this is how we learn, but is it always necessary? Or are there some things we should just allow ourselves and others to have survived?

Blackmail Photos

2011-11-02T10:19:00.001-07:00

I was told I was under no circumstances allowed to post these pictures on facebook...so I am putting them on my blog. Haha!

So, my teacher friends and I dressed up as teachers for Halloween! It was one of the funnest things I have ever done costume-wise! The reactions were classic. A few of the older teachers complimented us on how "cute" we looked - because they still have sweaters like this in their own closets! And not all of the students got it because they have seen sweaters like this on teachers (i.e. elementary teachers) their whole lives...but to people around my age it was halarious because we would never dress like this! :) Hopefully we didn't offend anyone because it was so great.

Admit it: This is what you pictured in your mind when me (an unlikely) grew up to be a school teacher.

Yosemite: What are men?

2011-10-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

What are men to rocks and mountains? - Jane Austen

Bridalveil Falls

Vernal Falls

This past weekend was fall break and my friends and I went down to Yosemite National Park. My family visited the park several years ago in the summer and I fell in love! I had no idea, however, how gorgeous the park would be in the fall! The colors were amazing, and it only got down to about 40 degrees at night. We spent three days in the park and luckily, we were able to camp right in the park as well.
Cathederal lake

Mirror Lake
Our campsite!

Oktoberfest 2011

2011-10-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

We went up to Oktoberfest Saturday up at Snowbird in SLC. It was really fun! We obviously didn't take part in the beer drinking, but had a good laugh or two over our water-jug drinking.

We did a little polka dancing and photo taking, and we ate snitchel and sauerkraut. All in all it was just great to be out with friends. AND the mountains were beautiful with the changing fall leaves + a little snow.

Save the world

2011-10-07T15:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like all they want me to do is save the world. You can do it they say, on very very little pay. Look how efficient we are with our tax dollars!

Most of the time I just pack up my positive attitude and carry on my way, and do the best the I can. Sometimes I have a day like today. A day where I say to myself, you know, I just might try. It's worth a try.

I have a student in my class that most would label as a typcial Latina high school student. She is very pretty and can work that angle. She skips her classes a lot and is failing half of them. I understand her teachers' frustration with her, how can you help a student who doesn't come to class? But I know the girl behind that mask.

She doesn't understand English half as well as people thinks she does. She masks her lack of language skills by not talking, it is easy for her to skip a class where she doesn't have any idea how to do the work. She has a fractured foot she is limping around on, because her dad doesn't have health insurance. She takes care of her three little brothers after school while her dad is at work. Her older sister, her best friend and role model, (who didn't graduate from high school) just ran off with her abusive boyfriend and baby to Mexico.

I care about this girl a lot. I've had her in class now for two years and I am going to do what I can to help her pass this term. I am going to talk to her teachers, help her with her homework, and be her friend. I am going to help her translate the entire Declaration of Independance into "modern English," and explain to her what lines like:

"...a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism..."

means. I am going to because I'm paid to, but more importantly because although I don't need to--and can't--save the world, I can care, and I do.

If we all looked past the exteriors of others and helped where and when we could, what a wonderful place the world could be.

Zippers Zippers ZIPPERS

2011-10-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

Do you ever muse on strange things when you are stressed out? Do things suddenly become fascinating that you have never considered before?

My stress level is up to my eyebrows this week, and while sitting in a teacher-training conference at BYU—suddenly--the most fascinating thing on earth was the zipper on my hoodie!

Zippers, zippers, zippers ZIPPERS! Who invented them? Who came up with such an ingenious idea? Who thought of making little metal rivets to sew into clothing to keep it together?

What a fascinating sound zippers make as they go up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down, UP AND DOWN, UP AND DOWN.

How curious that you can bend a zipper back and forth and back and forth and it neither breaks nor comes undone!

Curriculum design, what? WHAT? Ooooppppsss.

Zippers: In 1851 Elias Howe (according to Wikipedia) invented the first zipper, but didn’t market it. He was too excited about the sewing machine. A million other things happened and then in the 1930s the B. F. Goodrich Company made zippers popular with their wonderful rubber boots. Who knew? Zippers as we know them in clothing didn’t become popular and normal until 1937 when the French (of course) thought they would be a wonderful addition to men’s trousers.

And there you have it!

Gone With The Wind: I'll Never Finish You!

2011-10-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

As part of my goal to pursue the passion of reading and being well read, I made a few reading goals this year, and have accomplished them. Here is what I have been reading with various degrees of adoration, like, nuetrality, dislike, and disgust:

Read 5 Books on the BBC Best Books list:
1- Atonement - Ian McEwan
2- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
3- Good Night, Mr. Tom - Michelle Magorian
4- Matilda - Roald Dahl
5- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglass Adams

Read 5 Books on the AP Book list:
1- Capitan Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Berienes
2- Madam Bovary - Gustav Flaubert
3- Medea - Sophocles
4- Much Ado About Nothing - William Shakespeare
5- Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut

Read one "church" book:
1- However Long and Hard the Road - Elder Jeffery R. Holland

Read one of the books of The Book of Mormon in Espanol:
1- Ether

Dabble in Non-Fiction:
1- Enrique's Journey - Sonia Nariza
2- I am Narjood, Age 10 and Divorced - Narjood
3- Burned Alive - Saoud
4- The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin
5- The Geography of Bliss - Eric Weiner

Read one Adolescent Lit Series:
1- Fablehaven - Brandon Mull

But my biggest reading struggle of the year? GONE WITH THE WIND. Scarlett O'Hara is a narcissist and I don't want to hear one more time how lovely her plump arms are, or her tiny waist. The fact of the matter is I started this book in June and it's October and I'm still only about 3/4 of the way through. And yes, I am one of those strange beings who have to finish a book once I have started.

Anyway - provided I ever finish Gone with the Wind, what should I read next?

For more details please inquire within

2011-09-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

(pardon the inside thoughts)

"We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity." - Margaret D. Nadauld

I love this quote, I agree with it, it inspires me, it does, but when I go to an event like I did last night [a fashion event] where the beautiful women of the world were everywhere and were showing it off, I felt very small and very modest and very unimportant and very uninteresting.

I know I'm not supposed to feel that way. I know I should be thankful I have all of my body parts and I'm healthy, but it made me feel outnumbered. We may have enough of the fortunate and beautiful and need more of the modest and virutous but it can feel scary to stand up against that.

I believe I am beautiful on the inside, and so I ask people to inquire within and forgive my without, but it's kind of an intimidating world out there. Especially when I feel so inadequate without.

I Hear Voices...

2011-09-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

I hear voices all the time. So says Chris Young in his hit country song. He hears the voices of his father, mother, grandmother and grandfather, various people from his life that have planted little messages in his mind.

I hear voices all the time too. Usually my own voice in the form of self-talk. And well, who doesn't talk to themself?

Therapists tell people to examine their negative self-talk and change the way they talk to themselves. Apparently this is a great way to assert change. Happiness experts say to leave little notes for yourself on your mirror, change your computer passwords to little happy messages, and even to look in the mirror and give yourself 2-thumbs-up every morning.

As someone with a spinning, non-stop brain, I've really learned to listen to myself and the way I talk about myself to myself. Gretchen Rubin says to "Examine Your True Rules," the definitives you tell yourself about life, and challenge them.

I do have a few negative tracks in my mind I work on, but who doesn't. However, in the spirit of positivity here are the True Rules of my life, the positive ones:

My True Rules

*you can complain about it, or you can work on it*

*people generally don't need to be reminded of what they are doing wrong, they already know*

*no one can make you happy, but yourself*

*the greatest wisdom is kindness*

*that's life!*

*act like you do it everyday, and no one will know the diffrence*

*if they don't know what they did right, how will they know to do it again?*

This one is from my dad; it changed my teenage world: *if it's bothering you, it probably isn't bothering them.*

And lastly, when I'm making a decision about an activity or I am having a conversation or interaction or relationship moment that I'm unsure about I always stop and ask myself: how am I feeling, right now? If I feel good: proceed. If I feel funny: stop and re-examine.

Now that you know my personal soundtrack, what do the voices in your head say?

Flea Market Finds

2011-09-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

I could lie about it, but I won't. I love a good antique store or flea market. I like to bargain hunt; it flows through my veins, it runs down my maternal line.

In fact one of my earliest memories is being 4 years old and garage-sailing with my mom and sister and grandmother on a hot, Kentucky July day. The kind of day that melts ho-hos in the back of a VW Rabbit, and sweat glues your sleevless jumper to your sticky body.

My memory and desire were triggered last week as a travelling flea market came to town.

On my way to work I saw it, an old pioneer era house, yard full of junk, or treasure, as it were. I saw it and knew exactly where I would be at 3:00 pm when contract time was over.

I didn't have to look very long, there is was, a Florentine oil painting, chipped frame, sitting in the back of a red Radio Flyer wagon with a $2 masking-tape-price-tag.

I bought it. The lady at the cash box gave me a quizzical look, regardless it now hangs proudly above my chest of drawers.

I love it.

Gold Star Please

2011-09-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

When we expect praise and don't get it, we are unhappy. So says Gretchen Rubin in The Happiness Project. But she didn't need to tell me that, it's not a new idea. And the idea wasn't invented by her. But it did get me thinking. Again.

I try to make intrinsic motivation my motivation for working hard and I don't expect to be praised for what I do. But true to human nature, I love it when I do get praise. It feels good to be recognized. It feels good to get a gold star. It makes me want to work harder.

Last week I was recognized in an article published online and in the local paper and it felt really good. I didn't expect it. I had no idea it was coming. And I think it was sweeter because I didn't.

"It has been my privilege to be associated with ------- for the past several years. I have watched her grow into an excellent teacher. She has the students best interestes in mind at all times and works on their behalf every day.... ------- is a dynamic individual that makes everyone around her better because of her positive, always happy personality." (So says my principal).

I guess I'm asking for praise by even posting this right? But that is not what I really wanted to do.

What I really wanted to do was say that I was reminded of why I think giving praise is so important. If I like it, so does everybody else. If there is something good to say - say it. I have found that encouraging through noticing the good helps motivate better than almost any other method I have found.

So if you deal with people, and most of us do, praise away.

Student Teachers: The Mirror Has Two Faces

2011-09-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

Having a student teacher is like looking in the mirror all day long. You see everything they do in context to what you do, whould do, should do, don't do, and need to do. You see your own strengths in relation to theirs, theirs in relation to yours, and it's a test of your people skills.

It informs you how well you give constructive criticism, how well you know what to say, and what not to say. It is a test in how well you can say what you need to say. It is a reminder of your own experience and of your own growth.

This being said, my student teacher is wonderful and doing a great job!

It's a lot of work.

Amsterdam for nice girls

2011-08-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

My friend Krista and I took a last minute trip to Amsterdam and had really a lot of fun. I wasn't sure how I would like it - not being a pot smoker and all! It was really really fun. There are plenty of things for nice girls to do there far far away from the redlight district and the pot smoking "coffee houses."

We shopped in the market, ate cheese, looked at flowers and windmills, went to the VanGogh museum and rode a canal boat....we went to the Anne Frank house and rented bikes and went around the city of Haarlem. It was really really great! What a beautiful city and country!

My New Home

2011-07-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

For the next two weeks anyway, while I am at a journalism conference! Pretty nice room to have all to myself for two weeks! Maybe lonely?

I was accepted to a two-week institute of which I am an official "fellow." It's all expense paid - flight and all, so it was a pretty neat opporutinity I couldn't pass up!

Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places....haha

2011-07-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

I want to meet my husband the traditional way...but after a couple of not exciting break-ups and caving into pressure I have decided to try online dating as well, just as an experiment, to meet new men. Well, let's just say - I'm amazed at what grown men will say to women they have never met! Here is just a sample of my favorite; all in the name of keeping a sense of humor! haha

"For what it's worth, you do seem like a pretty amazing girl and I'm not sure why you had to resort to online dating."

"I think we should just get married, that way I won't have to send you cheesy messages on this thing."

"I was looking through all these ads online thinking to myself 'Look at all the poor, desperate, lonely women...' and then I saw your ad and thought to myself 'Hey, here's a poor, desperate, lonely woman that's actually CUTE...' Haha..."

"So I was sitting on Santa's lap at the mall yesterday and I said, Santa, there is this girl on Plenty of Wackos, she is amazingly pretty. I can't get her attention, so just warning you if you get picked up by a big guy in red and thrown in his bag, don't worry it's santa!"

I was also hit on by a polygomist...not okay with me.

...anyway...laugh with me. :)

Hermana Pequeño

2011-06-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

We just sent mi hermana pequeno to the MTC, and because she is not learning a new language, in three short weeks she will be living-in-a-land-downunder! :) I'm so proud of my little sister.

Mama Baker's Pasta Lessons

2011-06-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

Mom, Reece's wife Caitlin, Me, and Brooke making homemade noodles.

It's kind of a family joke that I can't cook very well. What I cook I cook well, but that is only after a lot of practice. So when I go home to mom's house I always practice something, and this time Brooke and Caitlin got in on the fun. Today we made homemade pasta noodles. Yum! They turned out pretty well and we made homeade carbonara sauce to top it off.

Lessons to a School Teacher from Her Students

2011-05-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

1. If you are not having fun, what are you doing?
2. Everything goes better with a good laugh.
3. Everyone deserves an I'm sorry or I understand.
4. If I give you a second chance, you will give me one too.
5. Laugh at mistakes and then set goals to do better.
6. Praise accomplishment, no matter how small.
7. Help me to understand because what I understand, I appreciate.
8. A thank you goes a long way.
9. If I care about you, you can tell.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The OCR and Me

2011-05-18T09:09:00.001-07:00

We are under review with The Office of Civil Rights and they chose one high school in our area to visit, and guess what high school they visited? Mine. And guess who they interviewed? Me, and few other key people at our school.

The interview was grueling. I sat all alone across from a lady from OCR and I had to sign official government papers saying my name was on file with the government and anything I said could and would be used against me and my school district if necessary. The interview lasted an entire hour and there were actually several questions I didn't have the answer to.

I was prepared to answer questions about ESL, ELL, BICS, CALPS, DELD, IEP, 504, IDLP, ect., but I didn't know all of the questions realted to ELLs with IEPs. I practiced what I preached and used all of my best how-to-gracefully-answer-questions-you-have-no-idea-the-answer-to skills I teach my students.

We will not know for a few more weeks whether we passed government review, but I did receive this feedback from our district specialist / liason with OCR: "She specifically said that you did a good job. She can tell that you have a good personality."

Well good. My personality has now been edorsed by a scary government lady. Thank you U.S.A.

Profundity

2011-05-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

1. Favorite student question of the week: If you put a book in the oven and turn it up to 451 degrees will it spontaneously combust?

2. Favorite class discussion quote of the week: "We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?" (52)

In our attempt to be entertained and worry-free are we ignoring the important, and our ability to influence change?

The Great Wall of China

2011-04-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

(because you would rather see a post about this - than about toilets)

The mountains along the Chinese - Mongolian border.

While we were in Beijing we took a little day trip out to one leg of the Great Wall of China. As you know the wall extends around the perimiter of China - the emporers hoping a wall would keep out the Mongolians, the Huns, and every other invading group of peoples. The wall really was very awe-inspiring and the countryside was beautiful.

This is one of my favorite shots of the wall from about 10 guard posts from the ground.

The funny thing about this sign warning those with "brain fever" not to climb - is it is about 1/2 way up! Too late!

This is a view of the Mongolia - China border and the Great Wall guarding it.

We climbed up to the end of the "arm" that was a look-out extension - 13 guard posts long.

A little detail - viewed from the wall.

The Toilet Tour of China

2011-04-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

Background: when China made a bid for the Olympics the International Olympic Committee said, yes, if you fix up your toilet situaiton. They added a few Western-style toilets here and there and gave the toilets a rating system, one-to-four stars.

The more the stars, the better the toilet, supposedly. Although, you are hard-pressed to find toilet paper in any of the bathrooms.
This is a four-star toilet, so you can imagine they go down from here!

This is a one-star on the Great Wall of China, let's just say--gross.

This one I would give a two to, but the outside was pretty!

The ancient toilet in the Forbidden City, Bejing. The toilet for emperors!

The bathrooms in the hotels were funny too - they all had see through walls that luckily, we found a switch to lower a curtian over. They also don't throw away their toilet paper - they leave the paper in open waste baskets next to the toilets, so they stink! You can smell a toilet from a mile away.

Pay-Off

2011-04-09T00:55:00.000-07:00

Life certainly doesn’t turn out as you expect it to. I certainly didn’t expect to be where I am now, no husband, no children; a BA, BS, and English Second Language and journalism endorsements, not to mention somewhere between a third and a half of a master’s degree. Yes, I am still working on it and will finish it sometime in the next decade!

I’ve taught high school for five years, and am now beginning to take on extra responsibilities. I am working on a 10th grade English collaboration team, am being trained in the new 2011 Core Curriculum Standards for Language Arts in Utah, and am training other teachers in a series of workshops. Did I mention I am also trying to finish my master’s degree? I certainly had other plans for my life!

Life is busy and sometimes discouraging; if I’m not helping an ESL student learn what a phrase means in English, I’m trying to get a high school newspaper printed, an honors student to love the symbolism in Edgar Allan Poe, or trying not to ring a 10th grader’s neck for telling me the fifth time this week, “I have a life Ms. E, that is why I didn’t read To Kill a Mockingbird! I have a life.”

But every once in a while as with anything you are doing, in any profession or in parenthood (so they say), you have a redeeming moment that makes it feel worth it. This week a senior girl in one of my classes, who consequently is a dwarf (not that that has anything to do with this story) told me when people ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, or what is her plan for the future are she tells them:

“I tell them I want to be you. Whenever anybody, the counselors or anybody, ask me what I want to be, I say I want to be Miss E.”

I must be doing something right, I’m not sure what exactly because I’m not the model for Mormon womanhood, but I must be doing something--. She wants to be me, and suprisingly, I didn't pay her to say it.

Permission to Feel Good About Yourself

2011-04-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

If you didn't hear this talk this morning in conference, listen to it! I believe it gives permission for all women of the church to feel good about themselves whether single, married, working, or not working. I love that he said:

LDS Women are Incredible

"The women of the Church are not incredible because they have managed to avoid difficulties in life. They are incredible because of the way they face the trials of life. Despite the challenges and tests life has to offer from marriage or lack of marriage, children's choices, poor health, lack of opportunities and many other problems, they remain remarkably strong and immovable and true to the faith."

I love that he said we should not judge women who work outside of the home, and let the women at home know, they should not feel like they are not making an important contribution to the world because they are "just" at home.

St. Patrick's Days Bizarreities

2011-03-17T21:04:00.000-07:00

1. Boy in first period informs me I look like a Christmas tree today because I'm wearing a green shirt and have red hair. (Not a girl leprechaun or anything - a Christmas tree).

2. Extra credit on term final for anyone wearing green today! You wouldn't believe the number of students uninhibited enough to shout out to the class and their teacher what color of under-roos they are wearing. And no, please don't show me. Oops, won't do that again.

3. Lunch lady confuses me for a student, and in quite a demanding manner informs me that she cannot let me pass by her in the lunch line without taking a serving of yicky, over-cooked green beans. It's the law. You will eat a square meal!

4. So a student asks me why we celebrate St. Patrick's Day in the United States anyway, I make some off-handed comment about how it is an excuse for some people to drink - it's like the 2nd highest day of beer consumption in the U.S. or something like that. So this same student goes to his next class--seminary. And informs the entire class that I said St. Patrick's Day is for drinking alcohol and in fact a the 2nd most popular day for beer consumption. Thank you student for making your entire seminary class think I drink. How did I find out about this you ask? Of course someone in that seminary class had me for their next class and announced to my whole 3rd period class.......I had to stop and take a moment and inform all my other classes today that I have never, not once, had even one little sip of alcohol.

Ah, a day in the life.

My First Digital Camera

2011-03-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

You probably think I am kidding, but I'm not. I've never owned a digital camera. It's 2011 and I teach journalism for heaven's sake, and have travelled all over the world and don't own a digital camera. Granted I have cameras at my disposal to use, and I do, but I've never owned my own. Until now. I am going to break down and buy my first digital camera.

I set a pretty tough personal goal for myself a few months ago and recently accomplished it! The rewards of goal-accomplishment were enough, so I havn't rewarded myself with the camera I said I would if I conquered, but in setting new goals I realized something. If I don't actually reward myself the way I say I am going to, what will motivate me to accomplish my next goal? So now I am setting out to buy a digital camera, and I need your adivce. What do you have? What do you like? What brand, large or small do you think is the right fit?

My Little Journalists

2011-02-25T19:44:00.001-08:00

Stressful as it can be, I really do enjoy working with these crazy high school kids! This is *most* of my journalism class at the annual Deseret News Journalism Conference held at UVU. A day that is fun for the students, but stressful for me as I chaperone a couple of suburbans full of teenagers and then stress some more as awards are announced for various competition categories such as best layout, best news article, best column ect.

This year we took home three awards - we have done better, but that's really not too bad for a conference with 21 schools participating and over 400 competition entries. I just get anxious for my students to be recognized for their hard work and budding-talent. Aside from boys playing Risk on a laptop during a break-out session, and girls that were just there to check out cute boys from other schools, all-in-all the conference was a successful experience for us.

How to end up without a date on Valentine's Day

2011-02-20T19:35:00.000-08:00

1. Meet someone. Go out on lots of dates with said boy.
2. Go out with other boys who are asking you out who are not said boy.
3. Let boys who have not stepped up in the past anticipate stepping up with you.
4. Become very confused as to whether you are actually dating said boy.
5. Become very very confused as to whom you like and why.
6. Turn down the man who actually asked you out for Valentine's Day because it is not said boy and you feel kind of guilty about a Valentine's Day date with someone else.
7. Said boy does not ask you out for Valentine's Day because he is not sure what is going on either.
8. Stay home and grade papers on Valentine's Day. Who needs it anyway, right?
9. Feel slightly disgruntled that you are home grading research papers on Valentine's Day. Wonder why you are going out so often with boys but have no boyfriend, and are, as stated above, home grading papers on Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day never seemed important at all before; wonder why you are worried about not having a date for it now.
10. Get over it.

I'm Going to China

2011-02-10T08:51:00.000-08:00

So I just signed up to go to China over spring break with a program for educators subsidized by the Chinese government/education system. So...I will be travelling with a bunch of boring teachers like myself.... jk....but it will be a really interesting and very cost efficient trip. My roommate Keri is going with me as well. What I'm most excited about, is that other than touring Chinese schools (jk), I will among other things, be able to walk on the Great Wall of China, see the Terra Cotta Soilders, and tour the Forbidden City.

Good Friends & Birthdays!

2011-02-02T08:28:00.000-08:00

I am a year older, but still blessed with amazing and supportive friends. This year my birthday was really really wonderful. It was a weekend full of celebrations! I think birthdays are really just a great reason to get people together.

Friday night we went to Macaroni Grill, my favorite resturant in Provo with a bunch of my guy and girlfriends and then saw the movie Tangled, cute movie.

My best single girlfriends had cake and icecream for me Sunday night and gave me an emergency dating kit with toothpaste, lipstick, a movie, scented lotion, and a red, fuzzy blanket! :)Someone is going to get special treatment from me. Haha

Heidi and Heather and Cami and I got together and ate at Tucanos on Saturday. I love that we are all still good friends - always a pleasure! Thanks girls for being a few of my favorite married friends!

Thank you to all of my friends and family for being so wonderful whether I was able to celebrate with you or not!

Dear Mr. Tire-Man

2011-01-14T15:32:00.000-08:00

Thank you for having pity on me when I came into your tire store bawling my eyes out, mascara dripping down my face, frantically making calls to the men in my life who were not answering their phones. Thank you for the brand new wheel and the brand new tire for free; you saved me $300. I promise I wasn't crying on purpose to get your attention or your services. Oh, and thank you for the bottled water as well.

I am a little creeped out however that you called me afterwards to chat. I don't know if it's okay that you got my cell phone number off the computer and called me. Then again, you could just be a nice man (so says my father).

Yeah right, I don't think so.

2011-01-09T13:30:00.001-08:00

When the Lord told Zachariah his wife "stricken with years" was going to have a baby, essentially he told the Lord, yeah right, I don't think so. The Lord promptly shut him up for a while until he believed it.

How many times do I do the same thing? Someone commented in Sunday School today about how Zachariah was a very faithful man, a priest for many years in the temple, and he and his wife had been praying for a child for years and were never blessed with one. So what did he do when he was told he would receive this blessing? He murmured and didn't believe it. This same person went on to comment - do we sometimes murmur at the blessings we receive from the Lord and consider them just another mundane thing or even a trial? Of course the conversation steered toward receiving blessings, but not in the way we anticipated.

I remember praying to know what to do with my life, going to the temple, fasting, waiting patiently, and when the Lord finally told me to go back to school and be a teacher I said, yeah right, I don't think so. Eventually I listened, it took me another entire year, but it has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. I remember feeling the exact same way I received the inspiration to go back to school while working to get my master's degree, again, yeah right, I don't think so.

Today's lesson was a good reminder the Lord knows best. People talked about how we all have times when life is not at all what we expected it to be. And that is not just for those of us who have prayed to be able to get married and haven't, or like Zachariah and Elizabeth, prayed for a child and weren't able to. We all face unexpected lives, but are we sometimes frowning at our blessings?

I had to have a little laugh to myself, maybe when I eventually find my husband, a blessing I have long been waiting for, it will be in a way totally unexpected, to someone totally unexpected. Will I be ready to receive it, or say, yeah right, I don't think so.

Quality Family Time @ Christmas

2011-01-02T14:54:00.000-08:00

I've realized as I have gotten older that time spent with family doesn't come around quite as often as you would love it to - so you have to make the most of those treasured moments when you are together!

We spent Christmas out at my sister's house in Indiana (everyone except Reece&Caitlin) this year and had a wonderful time. With a bunch of little kids you can't get out and do too much, but it felt wonderful to have a down-home Christmas just spent with the family watching movies, playing games, sleeping in, wearing pajamas all day, and making holiday treats. I love my family! Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season with your families as well.

Merry Christmas to Me

2010-12-14T15:21:00.000-08:00

Just when you have a bad day or two, it's time to think happy thoughts, no matter where they come from, even Italy! :) A friend of mine spent Thanksgiving in Rome, and met up with our friends B & D again, and look what I got for an early Christmas present! A cute photo Hello from the city of love, from a good-looking Italian man, who misses me. (The one on the right!)

The Missions of San Antonio

2010-11-28T19:16:00.001-08:00

I spent Thanksgiving weekend in San Antonio with Mom&Dad and Reece&Caitlin. Aside from touring the Alamo, which was really really cool, (one of my childhood heros was Davy Crockett), we toured the Spanish missions. There are five missions in San Antonio and each is very different and very beautiful. They were originally walled cities more or less that the Spanish missionaries set up to convert the Indians of Mexico/Texas. We toured the missions close to sunset so the lighting was ethereal and gorgeous.

This is One Place I Never Thought

2010-11-21T09:41:00.000-08:00

I would find myself. Teaching and loving these cute kids, my ESL, or English Second Language students. I just lost one student who was sent back to Mexico, but I still have four students from Mexico, and one little political refugee from Burma. What an adventure!

It's been amazing to me to watch these kids try so hard. I know there is a lot of prejudice against kids like this, even in my own high school; people wondering why they are here, ruining America, but I see things differently.

Most of these kids are not here of their own choice, their parents smuggled them into America. They don't hardly know enough English to pass their classes; one girl is in my regular English class as well as my ESL class, and it has opened my eyes to how little they are understanding in their regular education classes. Of course they don't get good grades or turn in all of their homework, they don't understand 1/2 to 3/4 of what their teachers are saying! And isn't education what is best for these kids? What better benefit for our society than to have these kids learn how to speak Engish and to become educated?

I'm proud of these kids for trying to learn English. What a task. I think they are brave to stay in school and graduate. Many of them have hard homes, babies of their own at home even, and just all sorts of problems they didn't ask for. My student from Burma only gets to talk to her mom once a month, and comes from a community where there is no running water and they lit their house with candles. Can you imagine the culture shock coming to America?

Gaining their trust has been interesting, speaking to them in my little bits of broken Spanish (thank you again, high school Spanish!) has been interesting, and teaching very basic English has been interesting. What an adventure, but isn't that what makes life interesting?

The Universality of Oprah

2010-11-07T16:30:00.000-08:00

I was teaching my ESL students about adjectives this week and as an alternative assessment gave them a big stack of magazines and had them cut out a picture they wanted to write 10 sentences about / describe using adjectives. All of my Hispanic students chose rock stars like Beyonce and Rhianna; the boy chose a red sports car. My little girl from Burma chose Oprah.

She has no idea who Oprah is, but out of all the people she could have chosen to cut out - she chose her. She described her as beautiful with a pretty smile and nice eyes and fancy clothes and get this, she looks very kind and very nice and someone you could trust. Hmmm, so something about Oprah makes her look nice and smart and that is aside from her reputation. Interesting, is one of the reasons that Oprah has a large following everywhere is that she looks nice? So that my little student who just recently left a country where her family was so poor they lit their house with candles -- trusts her? Curious.

It was interesting to me as well when I was in Morocco earlier this year and we ate in the home of our friend Hicham, his mom was an avid Oprah watcher - translated into Arab! She was also an avid watcher of Judge Judy, but that's another story.

Things That Make You Go Hmmmm....

2010-10-31T18:09:00.000-07:00

My Halloween costume. Thrown together in an hour - with my roommate who threw hers together in an hour. Don't ask, I have no idea what I was thinking! I'm not saying it isn't remotely cute, but I look like a freak. I hate spiders in fact, but this year I decided to go to our big Halloween shin-dig as a spider web. (???????) My roommate went as Carrie from the 70's horror movie, neither of us has ever seen. Hmmm....haha. Happy Halloween!

Playing the Slots

2010-10-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

Over fall break we went down to Escalante (4 hour drive)and spent Thursday, Friday, and Saturday exploring the area. We had never been there before, but we found a lot of interesting and beautiful places. One of my favorite was Spooky and Peekaboo Canyons. The slots were really a tight fit and one point we had to slither through a drop and I might have started to cry a little because I was pretty scared. We did have a lot of helpful boys with us though - and we all had to push and pull our way through the tight spots!

Utah Culture

2010-10-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

I have learned living in Utah, that some things are only really in style in Utah. We have this group-culture where people all have to have the same things, keep up with eachother. Most of things I don't fall to, but this one I did. I finally got one of these pretty bracelett-watches all the women in Utah are wearing.

Most women make their own - beading at parties, but I just bought mine at a booth at a fair. It was cheaper than buying my own beads, and no doubt prettier than the one I would have made. I won't get any interchangeable bands, green is my favorite color anyway! Pretty, huh? I don't actually wear watches, never have, but this feels more like a bracelett to me. I love it. And I needed to treat myself to something cute.

Husband Time Double Time

2010-10-02T20:53:00.000-07:00

Alright, I am just going to let you all know, I have a plan to double-my-efforts in looking for a husband. :) And I need your help. If you come across any connections to eligible guys, let me know! I just moved to a new area, have met and gone out with a couple of nice new boys lately, and my goal is to work the numbers game. I'm asking my guy friends for advice on what I can do to date better, I am going to read The Case for Mr. Good-Enough when Cami brings it over to my house, pray for opporutnities to meet and go out with more nice men, and am going to try hard not to judge too harshly, give people chances, and just see if I can better do my part to help myself find a man. And just maybe, if I can make this goal publically and privately, the plan will become more real to me.

Social highlights of late:

A guy actually said to me this week over dinner, "Order anything you want as long as it is under $8.00."

A former student said: "Miss E, I don't know if you will ever get married, I don't know if there is a guy manly enough for you out there, or that could ever keep up with you!"

I got hit on at a party by a man who looked okay, then I found out he dropped out of high school, is still a pizza delivery man at age 35, and is named Axel.

Well, and I already told you the story of the "I like butterscotch, you like butterscotch," guy.

I think it's time to redouble my efforts guys....

Welcome My Favorite Time of Year

2010-09-19T21:39:00.001-07:00

(The Unitas)

(Stewart Falls)

I may have been up to the mountains three times this week with friends: the Nebo Loop, Alpine Loop, and Provo Canyon. I cannot get enough! Fall comes and goes so quickly, I think that is part of its elusive charm! This is the first year I have ventured around the Nebo Loop and it rivals the other two canyons. I can't believe I worked in its shadow and have never driven around it. I think I need to plan a few more trips before the fall is over. The reds are perfect right now and the yellows are on their way!

Update: I went backpacking last weekend in the Uintas and it was so much fun! I've never backpacked in before and it was work, but not as hard as I thought it would be. I didn't take hardly anything which is part of the trick. We brought in freeze-dried food, water, sleeping bags and that is about it! It was a really fun trip.

My Sugar-daddy

2010-09-13T08:55:00.000-07:00

I like butterscotch. Do you like butterscotch? Yes I do, but that is not going to get you my phone number.

Unless you look like George Clooney-- you are not going to be a 50-year-old dating a 30-year-old--correction, unless you are George Clooney.

I went to mid-singles fireside last night, amazing fireside, weird company. True, there were a couple of hundred people at the fireside, but the women were 30 and the men were 50. I’m not kidding; 50 and on the prowl. It’s a sad world. I was helping myself to a serving of ice-cream with butterscotch, and yes, a man tried to use this as a reason to talk to me—the fact that we both like butterscotch on ice-cream. Guess what? Who doesn’t, and it was one of the two toppings available.

Am I being rude? Yes, but please save me from the fate of being in the future a 50-year-old single woman who as to compete for men her age against 30-year-old single women.

I’m not looking for a sugar-daddy – well, at least not yet. Unless he looks like George Clooney, just kidding, not even then.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

2010-08-31T09:06:00.000-07:00

If you can’t impress them with your lesson plans, or your wit & wisdom; if you can’t even impress them with your good looks, impress them with your pants!

I had a former 10th grade student visit my classroom a few days ago and tell me he remembers coming into my class for the first time last year and thinking, WOW, Ms. E has the coolest pants ever! And I quote: “You had these pants that were like fitting on the top and then got really huge on the bottom kind of like bell-bottoms and they were like the coolest pants ever…and all year me and XXXXXX (another male student) talked about how you have the coolest pants!”

Uhhhh…if this wasn’t a little skinny, black-dyed haired, skater boy, I might have been a bit concerned. It wasn’t a sexual comment at all, (we all know I’m not blessed with the best looking posterior-region), it wasn’t a comment about that, it was just a compliment, in the typically- awkward way of a teenager - letting me know that in his opinion, I’m one of the coolest teachers at the high school.
The pants, you ask?

A pair of brown velvety-corduroy-bell-bottom-ish pants from Banana Republic.

I'm Moving Out!

2010-08-21T10:36:00.001-07:00

I'm finally getting out of Provo...I won't tell you where I'm going on my blog for obvious reasons, but this is the first time I will have moved cities since I came to college. No, curious minds, I'm not moving out of state, yet: baby steps.

A friend of mine bought a house and I'm moving in with her. Change is good, right?

Moving is a pain. You realize that you could probably do just fine with 1/2 of the contents of your closet, and you shouldn't go shopping again for a very long time.

Am I worried I will cut myself off socially by leaving Provo?

No, I'm not worried. I have had fabulous friends in the neighborhood I've been living in these last few years, and when you find forever-friends you find a way to keep in contact. Boys? If there are any that like me in Provo, they too will find a way to show me by keeping in contact with me.

Change is good. Change might be just what I need. Maybe one little change will be a catalyst for a lot of change, but I'm not that excited or worried; it's just a new place to live, and a longer commute to work.

What will I miss? My friends, the spaciousness of the house I live in right now, (my friend is buying a town home with no basement), and this view of the mountains out of my bedroom window!

Rastafari

2010-08-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

So I just got back from Jamaica (yeah, I didn't know I was going either - free plane ticket, long story). It was amazing; I'm so going back someday! Anyway, it was gorgeous and colorful and so much fun! One of the most interesting things about the trip was seeing "real" Rastas. Remember the dude on Cool Runnings with the long hair? Yeah, he was a Rasta.

So Rastafari is a religion - a Christian one actually. They worship Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, former Emperor of Ethiopia, as the second embodiment of God on Earth, the first being Jesus Christ. They grow their dreadlocks as a symbol of their "baptism" and smoke marajuana as their "sacrament" of sorts. They live off the land, basically, rejecting materialism and western culture. They usually live in communities where the money they make is pooled together for shared living. They try to be helpful and friendly, and although I'm told they do wash their hair, it doesn't always smell like that!

Bob Marley was a famous Rasta and about 5 - 10% of Jamaicans are Rastas. I'm sad I didn't get a good picture of any of them with their hair all tied up in one of those big-bulbous hats.

Someday I want one of these too...

2010-07-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

How could I not? I love that my dad's pick-up truck is a hiccup-truck, her freckles are pickles, and in her mind, "Aunt Esperanza my daughter", looks like a princess. There is something so sweet about little girls; I want one just like my cute little niece!

It was really fun to see my sister and her kids last week at home in Washington. They are so cute! My sister is such a good mom and I want little kids just like her's. I love the little nephews too; I just especially enjoyed my niece copy-catting everything I did and telling my I was a princess.

The Gift of Time

2010-07-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

"Heavenly Father provided me the gifts of life and time, but I was to choose how to use them." - Kristen M. Oaks

I love this quote from Elder Oaks's new wife Kristen. I believe this way about life, I believe this way about my continued single status, and I believe this about all of our lives. I'm not really into self-help books but lately I've decided to try it out. I just finished reading The Late Bloomer's Revolution and A Single Voice, both similar, one from outside of the church, one from within. The message was essentially the same: Go make your life; stop waiting for it to happen!

Sister Oaks says really this applies to both single and married people. She says, "Looking at sisters around me, those who were happy and fulfullied, I began to notice that their happiness had nothing to do with their marital status...Whether happy or not depends to some degree upon outward circumstances, but mostly it depends on how you choose to look at things yourself, whether you measure what you have or have not." (11)

Amy Cohen says it's never too late to begin, never too late to become what you have always wanted to be, and Sister Oaks says it is up to us to make our lives meaningful. I believe that. I'm grateful for all of the amazing examples I have around me (this means you) whether married or single of living a happy life. I have my ups and downs; don't we all. But I have been trying to make a concerted effort to "make happy memories" as Sister Oaks says, even as a single person. You have each been a part of those happy memories - thanks for your friendship.

Recent happy memories:

Hiking around Brighton Ski Resort, Silver Lake and Twin Lakes

Observation Point, 8-mile round trip hike to the top of Zion National Park

The Utah Shakespearean Festival

Eclipse; best one so far...

2010-07-07T14:34:00.001-07:00

Best Twilight movie so far--don't you think? Edward wasn't as white and scary looking and wears less lipstick; the acting is getting way better; too bad they can't go back and re-do the first ones. And I'm still on Team Jacob and always will be.

I just have to say though, the scene where Bella and Edward decide to save sexual intimacy for marriage kind of made me giggle. It was just kind of awkward, but way to be Stephanie Meyer, for keeping it clean!

Facing the Judge

2010-07-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

A few months ago a friend of mine tried to convince me to channel my strong emotions into writing music. Not only would I drain my emotions of their intensity, but I would have a great song at the end too. That would be great if I wasn’t the only English teacher on the planet with absolutely no ability to write creatively: not songs, not stories, not poems. I did however feel some strong emotions later that week as I ended a non-relationship with a boy I liked. How did I feel? Could I write what I felt into a song, or at least a poem? I tried.

I won’t share the poem with you; it’s crap. I can’t write poems because I get struck on an idea and then my mind seethes on that idea and I completely lose any logical train of thought that could be written into prose. I am more likely to write an essay about an idea and everything every philosopher has had to say about that idea than a cohesive train of thought, poetically expressed in verse.

Here is the idea I got stuck on. I feel like I am on trial. Every time I go on a date with someone new, or someone old who can’t commit to me I feel like I am on trial. Will the judge deem me worthy of another date, or even heaven forbid, a relationship with that person? Am I cute enough, but not too cute, smart enough, but not too smart, thin enough, but not—(oh wait, that doesn’t apply to me!); am I too old, too young, ambitious enough, righteous enough, not so righteous I won’t be any fun; experienced enough but not enough to make me seem worldly or frivolous. Am I too fashionable so I look spendy? Am I not fashionable enough so I look dowdy? If I wear something a tiny bit low-cut am I immodest, if I don’t am I a prude? Is there the proper amount of attraction, or is there so much I make him scared; or worse--not enough, and as a man, he knows his attraction to me cannot grow.

If, if, if, if, if. When it doesn’t work out us single people get stuck on if. What if I would have given it more time, what if I hadn’t suggested we see each other more regularly, what if I hadn’t gone out with a different guy that weekend? Should I have said yes to another date? What if my attraction to him really could have grown? How important is attraction really anyway, right? What if I just give him one more chance? Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned I hated his favorite t.v. show? Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned I’m not a very good cook. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him I liked him, a lot.

And then the if’s you can’t change. If I was shorter, if I was thinner, if I was younger, if I was more fun, if I was cuter, if I liked sports, if I had the right hair color, if I, if, if I, if I, if only I….

And that is what it feels like to be dating, like you are someone no one has of yet deemed worthy of choosing. And sometimes you are your own jury and 12 little versions of yourself are up there telling you why you are not being chosen, why you are still in court, up on trial in front of a man who for some reason you have convinced yourself has command over some area of your fate.

And that’s just it. You have to go through the process of freeing yourself from the ifs and from thinking your life has value if, and only if, you are in relationship. In Sister Oak’s book A Single Voice she said, “I remember feeling many times that I was just marking time, waiting for my life to happen.” You have got to make your life, not wait for it to happen. You have to learn to be happy with yourself, as yourself. It’s a process, it’s a journey, and one I won’t give up on. I dust myself off when something doesn’t work out, and obviously by now I’ve had a lot that hasn’t worked out! I try to self-improve, to make myself happy and interesting, and try not to worry too much about the what if’s.

And I would just like to say Ha, my mom said if I went on study abroad (when I was 20) I might miss dating opportunities that could lead to marriage (no offense to my mom whom I love love love) that didn’t change the course of my fate, I’m still single.

Or did it? Am I still single because the man I was supposed to marry found someone else while I was traipsing around London? Jk, I Love you mom!

Grand Canyon--CHECK!

2010-06-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

So, to keep my life interesting I (and a few friends) created bucket lists of things we have always wanted to do and accomplish. One item on my list was hike the Grand Canyon. And now I can proudly say -- check!

Okay, okay, we didn't hike all the way down to the river, we were not equiped with camping gear, but we did hike six miles of the Grand Canyon! Even my 60 year old mom made it! Yeah! The biggest challenge was the heat. When it is 87 degrees on top, it is 95 degrees 1/2 way down. If we had reached the bottom, temperatures were reported over 108 degrees. I drank tons of water - a little over 6 litres to be exact, and ate a few Cliff bars along the way. I am really not too worn out, and other than the heat, I would say for at least as far as my family hiked, Mt. Timp was a lot harder. The trail we went on, Bright Angel Trail, really isn't too steep, just winding and winding and continuously winding switch-backs.

Anyway, I have accomplished quite a few things on my list, the Oregon Coast, learn 20 words in a foriegn language, go to a country I've never been too before, hike Mt. Timp in the fall, ride a motorcycle with a cute boy, and quite a few other items, (a few which will remain undisclosed for now) and now I can check off the Grand Canyon! Thank you to my dad who finally gave into my whining and took me there!

Keep Portland Weird

2010-06-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

I've seen these shirts on various poeple wandering around the world and have wondered, keep Portland weird, huh? What makes Portland so weird? I discovered what makes it "weird" this last week when we inadvertantly spent an afternoon in Portland while waiting out the rain.

Spend the an hour or two in Powell Books. It is an entire block of old buildings, interior ripped out, now a huge book store with discount books. If Amazon was a physical bookstore, this would be it. Portlanders drink coffee, check e-mail, and read away the afternoon in its windows.

Have a donut at VooDoo Donuts. I'm sure there is somebody you can think of who needs to have their head bitten off! jk :)

Try on vintage clothing at any number of second-hand stores on East Burnside before catching a dollar movie at:

The LaurelHurst Theatre where you can buy wine and vegan pizza to snack on while catching a flick! Suprisingly, the dollar movie and wine is very, very hip in Portland. It seemed oddly appopriate that we watched Alice in Wonderland.

Yes, Portland is a little weird, but also kind of oddly fun.

The Black-Shirt Theory

2010-05-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

Some of you who have lived with me have heard me share this theory, but here is what I think is hard about being single and finding someone to date, I called it the Black-Shirt Theory.

I love black shirts. If I walked you into my room and opened my closet doors you would see a lot of black. I'm not like one of the Von Curtis girls who wear black everyday in an assortment of styles to cut your hair, but I do love black. Almost everyday there is some sort of black clothing on me. There are a variety of reasons I love black, it is slimming, but it also looks great with my hair, but I digress.

I went shopping again this week to look for something new for an occasion I am attending and guess what I came home with? Something black. I have placed bans on myself from buying anything else black, and I actually have been doing pretty well, but this is a fantastic black skirt!

Anyway, everytime I shop I draw to black things and I find something cool and ask myself, do I need it? No, but this one [insert here] has lace, ribbons, cool buttons; is knit, silk, wool, long, short, somehow I think it is different enough, and maybe just that much better than the last black shirt I purchased.

I don't need all those black shirts, in reality I need one, cute, all-purpose, comfortable, goes-with-anything black shirt. And here is how it relates to dating: people seem to always be looking for the next best version of what they already know they want. This girl or guy could be great, but there could be a slightly-improved version out there so they wait to buy. I'm certainly no expert on dating, but do you think finding someone might be like purchasing one fantastic item that you know you love and know goes well with everything in your closet and then deciding to be happy with it?

Jemaa El Fna

2010-05-15T23:36:00.000-07:00

The Jemaa El Fna is the night market in Marrakech, Morocco. It is famous for its food, snake charmers, gypsies, music circles, and assortment of the bizzare. It is very oddly enchanting by day, but especially by night. We spent a couple of hours wandering around the square and mingling with the locals, because although tourists do go there, this really is the place where the locals flock by night.

Berber musicians line the square, and yes, that is a chicken on this man's head!

Yes, he is really selling teeth for dentures.

Kissing a snake.

It took a while to get this little guy's paws out of my hair!

A gypsy lady painting my hand with henna - against my will actually, but that is another story!

My favorite treat was the assortment of nuts and figs you could buy - suprisingly safe and suprisingly delicious. Who knew there were so many ways to prepare figs and dates?

My favorite photo of Jemaa El Fna - I think it captures the mystery. In the background of the photo are a few of the many food stalls - steam rising from the grills.

Lil' Bro's Wedding Day

2010-05-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

My brother's wedding was actually really beautiful. After a week of snow and rain and clouds, Friday was beautiful and sunny, albeit a little bit chilly. I didn't fall into any pitty-moments which I thought I might, I just enjoyed the whole day and was so thankful for the blessings my little brother has received! The only snag was a last minute costume change where I decided not to wear the dress I purchased for the wedding and threw on a dress I've had for a few years but felt more comfortable in. I didn't even have to use any of my prepared-quips for warding off awkward "why are you still single?" comments!

Three Reasons to Feel Sorry for Me

2010-05-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

Three reasons you could feel sorry for me:

1. My little brother is getting married this week, before me.

2. My little sister is in love and looking forward to marriage at some point with her man, before me.

3. I just got kicked out of the singles’ ward and am attending a “conventional,” “regular,” or “family” ward. I am now technically an “older single.”

Reasons you should not feel sorry for me.

1. I really like Reece’s future wife and Brooke’s future husband, and am so (sincerely) extremely excited for them and the blessings they are receiving in their lives. How can I grudge my siblings the blessings I have been looking forward to for so long?

2. I’m adjusting to the family ward. It is nice to not worry about cute boys and having to meet them in the ward. It is going to take a little bit longer for me to get used to not checking out the good-looking men, because in my ward they are all married. I have a handful of single girl-friends in the ward so I have people to sit by. It is A LOT louder, but the cute kids make me want to have babies, if I should ever find a man. And maybe now I will be more aware, later in life, of the single people in the church and the way they need the married members to reach out to them, because it’s true, being single in a family ward, makes you feel like a weird-0.

3. Life is good. I just got back from Paris and Morocco, and am starting graduate school. My life is good; the Lord has really blessed me.

Camping in the Sahara Desert

2010-04-21T15:43:00.000-07:00

This is probably one of the coolest things I have ever done! While in Morocco my friend Krista and I went on a camel trek in the Sahara Desert and slept out in a Berber nomad camp. I would never have done this if it was just the two of us, but we met up with about 20 other people for the experience.

We drove to Efroud, took a jeep 1 1/2 hours into the desert to where the camel trek began, treked on the camel for about 1 1/2 hours and then ate dinner at our Berber camp. We slept in tents that were merely blankets on the sand for the floor and blankets thrown over wooden poles for the sides and roof. I slept like a baby, I can sleep almost anywhere very, very easily. We had heard it could get really cold, but it wasn't too bad with a few Berber blankets on.

For dinner we had traditional food, tagine, which is kind of like a crock pot dinner and then were entertained with music and dancing. After dinner the boys tried to teach us how to play the drums, and I was told I was really pretty bad! We stayed up and talked and told jokes and played games with the boys until pretty late and then went to bed. They spoke very broken English and some Spanish, so thank you high school spanish for being a common broken language between me and some cute boys! Haha. We got up early the next morning and watched the sunrise and climbed the dunes then treked back to where the jeep dropped us off.

The Sahara Desert is really beautiful and had the charming lonesomeness that deserts do. The sand was unbleivably orange and desert grass was a pretty pale sage green, the contrast was lovely.

I got to be the lead camel on the way in so it made me feel like I was in some movie, or the Bible or something: Rebekka (?) leaving on a camel to go and meet her future husband Issac across the desert!

Disease!

2010-04-14T16:29:00.001-07:00

Getting henna done in Fes, Morocco.

My arm is the one with brown and green on it, so pretty!

I just have to say that I DID NOT bring home a weird skin disease from Morocco, although it looks like it! While I was on vacation I had henna done on my hands like the Muslim women do when they get married. It is really pretty when it is just done, but a few days later it fades funny colors and starts to look like skin disease! :D

I had to go back to work with a funny looking hand and had to just own it! I told my students, yes, I had henna done over spring break, yes it will fade in a week or so, no I don't have tattoos or a weird skin disease! Some kids thought I was the coolest teacher ever for getting henna done, but a few kids said "Your body is a temple Ms. E!" I replied that is washes off in a few days, but one student said back, "So, would you use washable chalk on the temple Ms. E, I think not!" Okay, I said, "You win!" Haha. The good thing is long sleeves cover most of it, and it will be gone in just a few more days....

Although I didn't contract a weird skin disease I did however get mild food-poisining, and I haven't eaten hardly anything in days, but that is another story for another day! Another day when I am not wanting to sleep all the time....I will have some cools stories and pics for you all to see!

Au Revoir!

2010-03-31T21:12:00.000-07:00

I'm off to Paris for spring break! Hopefully I will come back in one piece! :D

Romantic

2010-03-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Well, it was a romantic idea, anyway. So - I don't know that I ever blogged about the fact I met a fantastic man in Italy last summer, and yes, I did kiss him. (I know! Please judge.) He is 30, speaks 4 languages, has a master's degree in economics, has lived in Italy, Boston, and Bejing. He owns his own tour guide business in Rome and he is very handsome (at least I think so). He has had a lot of contact with Mormons, but is himself a cultural-Catholic.

Anyway, we met last summer in Rome and went out to dinner and then walked around a romantic park that overlooks all of Rome; the Vatican on one side and the Colleseum on the other. We had an instant connection and he was the perfect gentleman. Anyway -I won't labor you with details, or spin myself into fantastic memories, but he invited me to come back to Rome--he has a friend who ownes a hotel and I could stay for free....romanitic huh? This was after he found out I was going to Paris and he wanted to meet me in Paris, tried to work it out but couldn't because of high tourist traffic during that time. Anyway - I know, huh? Who has that happen? A handsome man I met a year ago in Rome has never forgotten me and wanted to meet me in Paris and then invites me to Rome!

Sadly it won't work out for me to ever see him again, and he is not LDS anyway, and ect.,ect., but wow, what a romantic idea!

Rome will forever be the most romantic city in the world for me, and I guess if I die single, at least I had one good, chick-flick romance, right?

An Attempt at Artistic

2010-03-11T22:09:00.000-08:00

A little sister-sister bonding time has resulted in a few artistic attempts. I can't say ceramics is my thing; I am not used to the idea that you only get one take, have no idea what it looks like due to the muted paints, send it to the kiln, and can't un-do what's done. I perfer oils or acrylics where you can layer and layer and layer and re-layer, but we have had a lot of fun at Color Me Mine, and I guess I'm pretty okay with how these turned out. The joke is always if we don't like what we make, they will end up each other's birthday gifts, or Reece and Caitlin's wedding present!

If you have never heard of Color Me Mine, it is a cute little ceramic studio with tall tables and chairs and paints and ceramics galore. You pay a studio sitting fee and then pay the price of your item, so it can get a little bit expensive, but as long as you go on can-food-donation-night or two-for-one date nights (yes they let my sister and I be "dates"), it's not too bad. Anyway, these are my variations on the theme: Serving Bowls.

The Dress I WILL NOT Be Wearing...

2010-03-01T22:25:00.000-08:00

to my little brother's wedding. My bridesmaid's dress came in the mail, and I guess I needed a reminder not to take myself too seriously. Please tell me you have had this experience? What you can't see is that the bottom of this dress fits my backside just perfectly. Oh, for a perfect body, huh?

No amount of alteration, to the dress anyway, could make this thing work. It's important to have a sense of humor in life, right? I'm trying to tell myself that very thing right now.

Mrs. Lame Man

2010-02-26T06:59:00.000-08:00

I did the temple work last night for a woman named Mrs. Lame Man. I hope it is just a coincidence.

New Take: Old Story

2010-02-22T14:59:00.001-08:00

I know this is old news by now, old news as in January 25th, but we get a temple in Payson! What makes this "old" news "new" again to me was a story I heard last weekend.

This is the DeHart's sod farm. Their daughter is a student of mine. The church called up the DeHarts and asked if they could buy their farm. The Deharts said, if you want the land to build a temple, you can have it for free.

My first reaction to hearing the story was, wow, you would probably be set for life with the money the church would pay for your land. When do they want to buy my dad's farm for a temple? I was really humbled and sheepish when I heard the DeHart's story because - if the Lord asks, you give. I have no doubt in my mind the family will be set for life for donating their land to the church. The Lord will take care of them for their sacrifice. And ultimately -- would you rather have the money as a blessing, or the blessings directly from the Lord? Of course if the Lord asks, you answer. Cool story, and good reminder of what is really important in life.

My Favorite Valentine

2010-02-15T20:14:00.000-08:00

The biology teacher at the high school had his students make biology-related Valentines for their friends and teachers. I received a small pile. This one is my favorite. "To my future spouse, Ms. Baker: You are to my heart as athlete's foot is to my toes. You grow on me and grow on me until you finally take over everything." [On the back] Handcrafted with love from XXXXXX XXXXXXX. Another favorite: Ms. Baker every time I look at your maxilla I have to be resuscitated. :D

Happy Valentine's Day!

You are Never Too Old

2010-01-31T10:51:00.000-08:00

...for a themed birthday party! 17 of my friends and I went to Pirate Island Pizza in Orem for my birthday! We didn't know what we were getting into, we thought it might be like a cheesy-Chucky-Cheese, but it was actually really fun! The food is not too bad and reasonably priced and the waiters and waitresses are all dressed up like pirates!

Little did we know Thursday nights are karaoke nights, so I karaoked for the first time in my life on my birthday as well! Well, first time somewhere other than a living room that is....

I have such amazing friends and am thankful that they are also the type of people up for a little random fun! Thanks for everyone who helped make me feel special on my birhtday!

Graduate School.

2010-01-26T10:58:00.000-08:00

Life happens when you have other plans, right? I was fully not intending to turn the age I am turning in two days, still single. In the likelyhood I will be supporting myself on a teacher's salary for the rest of my life I think I might start a Masters of Education program, either at Utah Valley University or Southern Utah University - starting this June! Okay, so I applied to UVU yesterday....

I was starting on a master's equivalency program through BYU (Reading Endorsement), but then decided, maybe I just ought to get my masters if I am going to put in all that work. This might cramp my $$ and travelling style though. Priorities?

Enabling or Helping?

2010-01-15T12:49:00.000-08:00

I'm afraid I have just officially become an enabler of failing students. Our principal wants us to save the world one failing student at a time, and I'm not against this, per say, but I have decided to go the extra mile this term and I think I'm enabling really and not helping some of these kids. Who is to say who deserves the help? I have helped out quite a few kids who do deserve it, but now, on teacher development day I am helping a kid past my deadline of helping, pass my class, argh!

I think everyone deserves help and mercy, it is in my nature, but some kids are truly better served by experiencing the consequences of their actions. But I set myself up for this one. In an effort to help more students I sent home personal notes with progress reports to every one of my failing stduents asking them to please come get some help from me. I guess I will just have to see if this motivates any of them to work harder next term, or whether I am a push-over this term and should be failing a million students instead!

Big Brother Anyone?

2010-01-08T22:36:00.001-08:00

Do you remember reading 1984 in junior high and not being very alarmed by it? Nothing like that could ever really happen; cameras in the walls of houses? It was way past 1984 by then anyway. Then the movie Minority Report came out and the thought of anything happening like in movie was enough to make me stop at the preview. However, even then, far fetched, right? How about Eagle Eye? A computer single handedly taking over the United States by tapping into the vast surveillance data the country holds. I didn't buy it. I'm not a conspiracy theorist. Talking, free-thinking computers reach beyond the limits of my suspension of disbelief. But with the new technology coming out in 2010...who knows what is around the corner.

I was watching the news yesterday and guess what new gagets are coming out and about. One, the new airport scanners that show every hair on your body. (Privacy violation, anyone?) Can you imagine the storage of sketchy pictures of everyone in their birthday suits? Two, cops in California are experimenting with video cameras that look like blue tooth devices they are required to wear and record every interaction with "civilians." Again, can you imagine the stored data of all of those events? Third, new cell phones (again blue tooth style)that can write texts by voice command. Can you imagine the instant upload of data of anything that comes out of your mouth?

It just doesn't seem like we could be too far off from Orwellian prophecies for the future. I'm not worried - but I just don't think it is as far fetched as I once supposed.

Hoping For Day 500

2010-01-04T09:49:00.000-08:00

Sometimes love just doesn't work out. And it's okay. (Some of us who have been single for a really long time are becoming experts on being single!) Sometimes it's not that you don't have chemistry, it's not that you don't have things in common, or that you don't actually like hanging out with one another or have fun together. Sometimes it's just not there, and it's okay. Sometimes it's just the wrong hand in glove.

500 Days of Summer is not necessarily a movie I would recommend, there are sketchy moments in it, but it was a really good look at the struggles of being single and the magic of falling in love. Tom falls in love with Summer and it is magical, for him, but not for her. In the end, on day 500 of their relationship, she has married someone else and he can't understand it. He calls her out on how she always just wanted to be friends and never wanted a "real" relationship with him, and didn't beleive in love. She says he was right - right about love and relationships and right about marriage - just not right about her.

On day 500 Tom goes to a job interview and meets a new girl, Autumn, and he decides it's not fate the guides relationships, not the cosmos that necessarily drop the right person right at your feet, but taking advantage of good opportunities for love when they come. He gets her number and the rest is up to the viewers' imagination.

What I got out of the movie? Catharsis I guess. You move on from broken relationships and heal. Don't lose faith in the possibility love will come your way. And take advantage of opportunities for love. And I'm hoping for my day 500 - let's hope it comes in 2010. Maybe like for Summer in the movie: I will be reading in a cafe and he will come up and comment on what I'm reading and then he'll be my husband! :D

Spreading the Spirit of Christmas

2009-12-21T22:32:00.000-08:00

I took a group of my jouralism students down to the elementary school today and we read to the special needs students. It was such a great experience. We went into two classes at the elementary school, one for grades K-3 and the other 4-6. We also read Christmas stories and sang to the special needs/severe unit at our high school. It was wonderful to see my little journalists reaching out to the special needs kids who ate up every moment of it! And the teachers loved that we were entertaining their vacation-restless students. I really feel full of the Christmas spirit tonight.

Merry Christmas everyone! May your holidays be bright.

A Compliment Goes a Long Way

2009-12-18T13:37:00.000-08:00

I received a really cool compliment from my administrator yesterday. He said I work really well with the at-risk students. He wants me to consider getting my ESL endorsement (paid for by the district) because of how well I work with that demographic. That just made me feel really good because I do work really well with at-risk students as well as ELL students and I feel a lot of accomplishment and feel success in my ability to help kids who are having a really hard time academically and in life. I am happy that that is something that is known about me as a teacher! He said I am known as a good teacher and that feels great.

Twilight at Temple Square

2009-12-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

The funniest things happen when you are not even trying to have fun. A group of friends and I went up to Temple Square to see the lights last weekend and we had this funny idea to make fun of peple who kiss at Temple Square while seeing the lights, so we posed for fake kissing pics. Then we decided for the first pic to think of captions and came up with: Suddenly she noticed his two, very long, very sharp, white teeth. Haha, I call it the Temple Square Twilight Picture.

Broaken

2009-11-24T16:30:00.000-08:00

Broaken: the way this English teacher spelled broken on the white board this week. Embarassing? Not really. Yes, but no. I am almost incapable of being embarrassed anymore. But yeah, very embarrasing for an English teacher. It happens on occasion. Here is the deal. I am a visual learner and learned to spell by reading. So now that I am a teacher I read all sorts of awful spelling and I absorb a little bit of it on occassion - but just momentarily. I catch myself, but gosh knows what my spelling will be like in 30 years! Here is an example of what I read this week while reading student journals. Look at all of the creative spellings this one 10th grade student had for the word Journal:

Jernal

Jurnoh

Jranal

Jurranol

Juronl

Save me now. i think I need a new job before the kids think spelling is not important because even their English teacher cannot spell (only on occassion, but always when I am on the spot!)

Read this with a glass of apple cider.

2009-11-18T10:05:00.000-08:00

"All-in-all this is a very good book and should be on the top 100 books to read before you die. So learn that this book should be cherished by all, with a blanket by a fire and a nice big glass of apple juice."

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is one of my all-time favorite pieces of literature. I read it every year with my 11th grade students. I talk it up by mentioning that it is (and it is) on the 10 ten banned book list for public schools. It is banned because of sexual reference, swearing, religion, witchcraft, murder, hatred, slavery, and disturbing content.

After we finish the play I have them write persuasive essays about why the work has merit and should be read. I recieve arguments about how we learn repentance, forgivenss, about peer pressure, pride, to listen, about our history, the early court system, self-worth, integrity, and my favorite, redemption. But if those reasons alone cannot get you to read the book here are a few of my favorite arugments from my students:

"What comes to mind when you think of a great American love story, with withcraft, murder, crappy court hearings, and real jerks? That's right, one of the greatest books in America. No, not Harry Potter, The Crucible you crazy. Now pay attention, this could change your life: 'This book should be read in class,' said Chuck Norris of The Total Gym Commercial." (Male student)

"If I had my choice I would read this book again; I would totally go for it. It was a good book and made me almost cry. The passionate kiss at the end was among the top three most passionate kissess ever in my book." (This from a boy!)

"This book should be read by everyone because it shows that, I know it's hard to believe, but there are some bad people out there. Also is shows there are a also a lot of good people that are willing to die to save others. And last but not least it shows us discipline. "You will keep your seat." (84) And sticking your neck out could get it cut off." (Need I say it again?)

Anyway - sometimes grading student papers is not boring, and sometimes we welcome these responses only because they make us pause to laugh out loud in the middle of a public place.

My pitch for reading the book is that it forces you to take a look inside yourself and ask yourself if you believe in yourself, in your name, in forgiveness of self and others, and in redemption. You cannot read this book and not be changed.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T18:23:00.001-08:00

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

2009-10-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-10-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-07T13:53:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-09-17T13:59:00.001-07:00

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.

Bucket List #6 - CHECK

2009-09-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

I created a bucket list for the next year of my life - August to August. This weekend I accomplished #6: Hike the Virgin River Narrows, Zion National Park, Utah.
And here is what I have to say about it:

Don't be scared. The hike is easy. It's only called a hike because you need to wear hiking shoes or tennis shoes, carry a back pack and use a walking stick.

Yes, you need a walking stick. Probably 70% of the hike is through the Virigin River, and at times it is above the waist and swift, but if you have good shoes and a walking stick, it is more like a "nature walk" through the water.

The views are amazing! But this is not a "hike" for people who hate being wet.

P.S. Who said it was okay for 65 year old men and women to hike in their bathing suits only? Oh, well, good for them for having no inhibitions, I guess? :D

Retraction

2009-09-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

My school district (after receiving a lot of harrassment) has decided all students in the district will watch the Obama speech during an assembly this week.

Teaching Students to be Anti-Obama

2009-09-08T19:50:00.000-07:00

I am disconcerted that the school district I work for didn't allow Obama's speech to be viewed in school today. I'm not an Obama lover or hater, but I think not allowing it to be shown in school is sending a message to our students that they should not trust or respect our president.

I got a tattoo

2009-09-03T15:55:00.001-07:00

Okay, so it was a fake one, but it was so fun!

My friends called up two weeks before school started and said let's go to L.A. I said okay! We went to Disneyland, stayed with my friend Krista in Hunington Beach and got fake tattoos, and laid out at the beach, ate gelato, checked out cute boys, and went window shopping. It was such a fun weekend away!

My tattoo is of a Roman gladiator (I have been penchant for all things Italian ever since I kissed a cute Italian man in Rome, but that is another story!) My friends got little tattoos on their backs, but I said, go big or go home! :D It was only a couple of dollars and we got them right on the beach. It felt fun to feel a little wild and scandalous. Ah, the secret life of the conservative, Utah school teacher! :D Oh, and the water was so warm and beautiful! Too bad I'm back to work now!

Forever Plaid, apparently

2009-09-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

One fall fashion I cannot fall for this year is plaid. Do you remember all the plaid and flannel we wore in 8th and 9th and 10th grade? Did we want to look like loggers and farmers? (No offense to farmers since I come from a farm family).

All over Macey's and everywhere else everything is coming up plaid, plaid, plaid. Sure the cuts are a little different, but I just cannot do it! My evidence that it is just too soon to bring back plaid: I flipped on the t.v. today while grading papers and Stephanie on Full House is wearing a plaid farmer shirt with a black ribbon chocker. It's just too soon!

It's About Time

2009-08-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

I love the church's old ad spots from the 80's where "it's about time."

I have been thinking a lot about the languages of love lately because of an article I read about the challenges in the various stages of marriage. The author said one challenge that occurs in the newly wed stage of marriage is figuring out how to love one another. He said it is typical human nature to love someone the way you want to be loved, and not necessarily the way they need to be loved. The challenge then is to find out the way your spouse needs to be loved and love them accordingly - which he said in turn is cyclical and will lead to you being loved the way you need to be loved in return.

I have been experimenting with a few different guys and trying to find out what works. I tried to identify the way they treated me - to see if that is the way then that they want to be treated. It has been interesting and I have a few stories.

But what I really have been doing I think is identifying the ways I need to be loved and I have figured out I am a verbal, but also, a "time" person. I have spend a lot of time with different people this summer and recently with my family, and I think that just spending time with someone/people I care about is what makes me feel loved and what makes me love them more. I don't necessarily need gifts or to have people do service for me, but when someone spends time with me, listens to me, and we enjoy ourselves even doing "nothing" together that is really fulfilling for me. And I think that although we all have our different love languages, gifts, praise, service, touch, ect., I think spending time with one another is so important if at all possible. It does seem to be, at least for me, about time.

On an ending note, one of my favorite songs from Keith Urban has this line in it: "I'll earn your trust by making memories of us." Romantic right?

Memorable Mediterranean Trip 09

2009-07-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

(If you want to see more pics I have a folder of different pics on my facebook).

1. Riding donkeys along the cliffs in Santorini.
2. Eating Greek, Turkish, & Italian food in little resturants.
3. Trying to zip all over the little island of Myknonos, Greece on a 4-wheeler.
4. Avoiding the naked men at Super Paradise Beach, Mykonos.
5. Smoking a water pipe (really just water)in Istanbul with the locals.
6. Stand up toilets in Turkey.
7. Hearing the calls to prayer, and seeing the covered women in Turkey.
8. Shopping for pottery at the Grand Bazar.
9. Seeing the Parthanon, Ephesus, the Coliseum - favorite historical sites.
10. Pompeii.
11. Almost missing the boat in Turkey, and the subway breaking down in Athens.
12. Riding on a pickpocket's motorbike in Napoli.
13. Real Italian pizza in Napoli.
14. Going out to dinner with good looking Italian men in Rome.
15. Jumping on the bed and flooding the bathroom/bedroom in our hotel room.
16. Being asked if I was from Russia or China, being called Amy Lee and Ginger Spice, and men proposing to me on the spot for my red hair.
17. The blue tiles in the harem at Topkapi Palace, Istanbul.
18. Witnessing the ceremony/celebration of a 10 year old the day before his circumscision.
19. The warm, blue Aegean sea.
20. All the people we took the time to talk to, have show us around, eat with, and learn stories from; you really learn about a country from its people.

Off to Greece!

2009-07-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

My old passport served me well: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Mexico. Now it's time to break in the new one! I won't be posting for a few weeks (not that I have been very regular lately) because I will be in Greece and Turkey! I'll post pics when I get home! I promise I will keep my money safe and not get kidnapped and sold into white slavery. :D But if I do--I'll have some good stories for you!

Pete's Christmas Miracle

2009-07-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

I had a little mini-Christmas miracle yesterday and I thought I would share. I bought a new/used car a month ago (his name is Pete) and it is was just a few miles under its manufacturer's warranty when I discovered the air conditioning sporradically would decide not to work. I rushed it to the dealership 25 miles inside the warranty and they insisted nothing was wrong with it. Every time they turned on the air conditioner it worked fine. So after 3 days of having my car on their lot they said, sorry, it is working fine. After asking my dad to call the dealership because I was sure they didn't believe me because I am a female - and they kindly extended my ticket/warranty for 2 days. Monday I drove my car 150 miles up to SLC then to Park City, all around hoping it would break and that I could drive it to the dealership broken so they would believe me and fix it for free. Nothing happened. It wouldn't break! My parents kept telling me to have faith and pray and I thought - pray for my car to break down? This is a mechanical machine, is the Lord going to make my car break down? So after an entire day of driving knowing my warranty would expire the next day I sent a few frustrated prayers to Heavenly Father. I hate when I break down in frustration and feel like a Laman and Lemuel. Well, Tuesday I got up and drove to the temple to do a session in AF because Provo is closed for cleaning, resloved that the Lord was just not going to answer that prayer - wasn't going to make my car break down at will. A few miles from the temple in AF my air conditioning broke again and I prayed all the way back to Provo on the freeway it would stay broken until I reached the dealership. And it did! The mechanic was able to bring out another guy and they looked at it and in amazement realized I was right. 5 minutes later after they wrote up the work ticket it starting working again. The Lord made my car break down for me just long enough....and you might be skeptical, but I call it a Christmas miracle in June!

Remind Yourself You Are SINGLE

2009-06-09T15:40:00.000-07:00

Love the line from While You Were Sleeping: "Do yourself a favor and remind yourself you are single and just end the conversation!" So -- I am going to give you married people some advice. Remind yourself you are married and feel blessed today - despite the money issues and the diapers and carpets that just got spit up on. Remind yourself you are married and enjoy it.

Why do I feel like passing on that bit of advice? D-T-R. Remember those? How about premature DTRS from crazy boys who should realize that dating me would basically change their world forever? :D Okay, toning down the sarcasm. But really, seriously, I know being married is not easier than being single - you are right - it is probably harder, but think for me, just think, just go down memory lane and remember for me the feeling of D.T.R.

On a lighter note, I just hiked Angel's Landing last weekend in Zions and it was so scarey and I made it! And I am proud of myself, and if I can climb that high, scary mountain - I can handle anything a boy or two can throw my way, right? Right.