Manless in Mesa

Marry Him

2011-07-01T23:07:00.000-07:00

At the prompting of a friend, I read a book about a month ago entitled Marry Him: the case for settling for Mr. Good Enough. More than once I have been told that I am too picky about who I date (thanks family!). I never really saw it as being picky. I thought that compiling a list of "must haves" and "deal breakers" based on men I have gone out with was only helping me become aware of what I want and what I don't.
Well the book was a little bit of an eye-opener. Contrary to what it sounds like, it's not a book about settling for less than the best, but more about being realistic about who is out there. As I get older (yeah, I'm no longer 22) I realize that the idea of being the single, spinster teacher who collects themed cardigans really isn't appealing and take a look at what needs to be changed so I don't become crazy sweater lady. My aforementioned list isn't getting any shorter, in fact, it's really long and when I look at what's available in the men department it becomes quite clear that there aren't any that resemble who I'm looking for on paper. So what has to give?
I've decided to ditch the list that began when I was a 12-year-old Beehive and I'm taking a new approach. This time I am looking at wants vs. needs. Yes, I want someone with Ryan Reynolds's looks (uh, actually, I really want Ryan Reynolds), but I don't need someone with movie star looks. When I really ponder over what I need in a significant other, the list is much shorter.
Now that I am armed with some new ideals I've re-vamped my match.com profile (that IS an online dating site, where else do teachers meet men?) and I'm giving dating another go. This time I'm attempting to be a little less analytical when it comes to the old criteria in hopes that I get some different results.
Let the mayhem ensue.

San Francisco, what's with the rain?

2011-03-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

Warning: there are a lot of pictures below. Not only a lot of pictures, but a lot of my rambling to accompany them. Lucky you. San Francisco, you're pretty darn cool, however, I wish you had respected the items I had packed and had weather that accommodated. Instead, I got one day of sunshine and 3 days of rain, the spitting kind. So in the words of one of my favorite San Franciscans: How rude!

All in all, I had a blast. Please enjoy my amazing photography skills. And wit.

Guess where we headed first. I'll give you a hint, we had to climb Everest first:

And if that wasn't enough:

Hello "crookedest street!"

We walked up it too. My calves ached for 4 days. I'm not kidding. I totally love my stick shift auto, but should a rich and handsome man whisk me away to San Francisco to live happily ever, I'd be getting me an automatic. Holy hills!

This is the only day of sunshine. We thought it was a good sign. We were wrong.

Here comes the rain. We went to Blazing Saddles and suited up some sweet mountain bikes for a trek across the Golden Gate Bridge and through quaint cities such as Saucalito and Tiberon. These pictures were from the beginning of the ride. Before the downpour. At that point in time our fingers were frozen and we were worried about ruining our cameras to document.

I digress. Hopper's hands. I have no idea what they are, but I saw a smokin' hot runner-as in shirt off and ripped) run over and touch. Naturally I needed to follow suit.

We found some nice, if oblivious boys to take this one. At least he was thoughtful and captured the bridge. See our bikes?

Underneath. Cool huh?

You could have wrung our clothes after our ride. I am proud to say we rode all 21 miles to Tiberon (21, not the 18 that the stupid map said).

Chinatown. We didn't stop, just zoomed through. Kind of cool backdrop though.

I was tempted to open an account here. Who wouldn't want a bank that looks like this?

Ferry Building. Pier 1. Get it? Pier 1. :) Super cool shops inside. I'm still a little bummed we didn't stop and get a grilled cheese at the cheese shop inside. Next time.Bay Bridge

Public toilets! Sweet! There's a 20 minute time limit at which point the doors open. The random maintenance dude mentioned he's seen a few things inside here that were pretty odd. I can only imagine...
Lisa thought about going in, but discovered that there was no TP and it didn't smell to sanitary. Guess it's time to refill the soap.

Now for my favorite part! Alcatraz. I am FASCINATED! We were really, really TO'd that we couldn't go on the night tour. Can you imagine a night tour of "the Rock?" I'm going next time. I really think they need to give the backdrop in this picture a little more atmosphere. Where's the fog?

Cool, right?
View of the city from Alcatraz. Yes, it rained.

The showers. They used to have stalls, but to keep inmates from fighting they took them down. I seriously loved this tour!
After the shower this is where the clothes were.

A cell.

Lisa in a cell. Don't worry, I didn't make her stay there.
The rec yard. I thought it was pretty lame that we didn't get to go down into it.

What's left of the Warden's house. Apparently it was destroyed by a fire.

I LOVED this part of the trip. We got to hear about the break out attempts, about how families lived on the island, and got to see how the cells worked. It was THE COOLEST.

The next picture may not be appropriate for all readers. I would like to say, however, that the, er, gentleman who sported this ink was a chaperone for a high school group. I thought it was pretty sly of me to get a picture unnoticed. I rock.

Right? What the heck is it?

Golden Gate Park. Don't walk it, it's not really interesting (sorry GGP lovers). I'd go again only to see the museums I missed and the windmill (and tulip garden), but I'd take a bus. The walk is longer than you'd think. I took this picture while we were trying to find the Bison Paddock and to show the distance between my travel buddy and myself. She told me later that the park was a little too deserted for her taste and I think she was afraid someone was going to jump out at her. I was thinking it was pretty thoughtful (sarcasm) of her to put so much distance between us during what she had thought was an unfriendly area, she assured me that she looked back often to ensure I was okay. And it rained.

Such a relief!

At the Japanese Tea Gardens. $7 admission fee. That's all I've got.

Next stop, actually we went here first but order doesn't matter right?Never heard of it, right?

"Whatever happend to predictability..." We watched for Uncle Jesse for hours but maybe he was getting his hair gelled.

Cool shoe garden.

We also got to go to the Curran for a Broadway Show. We wore no jackets. One of us in flip flops the other in a pair of flimsy flats. It was raining. Totally worth it.

I LOVED this too! Love, love, love. And who was playing the lead? Constantine Maroulis of American Idol fame. I just wish I'd been a little lower.

Constantine
<-----------

Okay, that's pretty much all. Except for this place:

Go to San Francisco and eat there. Sooo good. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

See breakfast?

I have a question for you

2011-01-02T21:47:00.000-08:00

It's that time, or rather a little past that time, when most do a little self reflection and set some goals. I think I do that on a daily basis, but around New Years I give more attention to this reflections, seeing how I start a new calendar year and also age. Last week I sat in Midas trying to read about Lord Voldemort speaking to the slimeball Wormtail about Bertha Jorkins' demise, when I overheard a suggestion on the news about how to create New Year's Resolutions: Ask your friends and family. The reason behind this to see if there are suggestions made numerous times and using those suggestions to create goals. If I hadn't been so irritated at the volume of the television, or obsessed about reading to get ahead with AR, I would have listened specifically for what to ask. Instead I am googling it and coming up with nothing, so I'm going to try to word this delicately and hope it comes close.

What characteristics or traits do YOU feel I should develop or improve upon in 2011?

***Disclaimer: I am the first to admit I'm imperfect and flawed. I also realize that I am asking some of you to step outside your comfort zone and say things you may not are polite to say. Consider this post a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card, if you make a suggestion, I promise to take it as intended.

If you're up to the task, please comment. If you're not comfortable commenting, but would like to contribute, e-mail works too. Thanks in advance for your thoughts, and

HaPpY NeW YeAr!!!

That's Good, That's Bad

2010-10-16T14:16:00.001-07:00

I'm interrupting the house tour (that no on in particular is paying attention to) to share a little about my break. In an attempt at creativity and using effective transitions, I shall model this post about my October break after a children's book. Without further ado:
That's Good, That's Bad
by me

Parent-Teacher conferences were over and it seems the 1st quarter was over.

That's good.

No, that's bad. How in the world can a I end a quarter without being ready for it in the first place? Frightening.

First quarter ending means that I had to dip into personal funds for pizza and ice cream for the entire class.

That's bad.

No, that's good. The 4th graders worked their tails off to please the me and meet some lofty goals and deserved a reward.

And so the children fled the school building on Friday, October 1 for two weeks of fall break.

That's good.

No, that's bad. Fall break means that I will be spending all my free time planning and planning and planning some more.

That's bad.

No, that's good. If I spend my entire break planning, maybe I will be sane for the majority of 2nd quarter.

A break from school means a break in routine. In order for me to not gain 15 pounds over break, I volunteered to sub a whole bunch of group fitness classes to keep myself active.

That's good.

No, that's bad. Midway through the week I rolled my ankle (the same one "broken" a couple of years ago) and that sucker puffed up.

Luckily, I'm no wuss and I have all my wraps and ice packs from the last incident and it's looking alright.

In addition to my group exercise madness I volunteered to go on a bike ride at 4 a.m. on my October break, in the dark, with a bunch of peeps I don't know really well.

That's bad.

No, that's good. I have recently decided to try a few tri's (as in in triathlons) and a bike ride is good for my heart, and my rear.

Everyone bailed except the organizer who happens to make my brain go to mush everytime he talks to me, let alone looks at me. Sigh.

That's good.

No, that's bad. Not only is the man over 10 years my senior, he also has a harem. You heard correctly. Trust me, it's never going to happen.

I met up with a friend for dinner. We caught up and discussed how amazing my life is (ha!). I had just come from the gym so I looked pretty much like a wet cat. Eeeew.

That's bad.

No, that's good. Our server seriously got his flirt on. If someone is willing to flirt with you when you look like scum, imagine what they'll think when they see you in something other than spandex. Am I right or am I right?

I gave him my phone number.

That's good.

No, that's bad. After a little facebook stalking (don't look like that, you know you do it, too) I find out that our server is just about 10 years my junior. Seriously. SERIOUSLY.

Before I know it, it's October 15th and break is over. Have I planned? No. Have I read to help me reach an outrageous A.R. goal? No.

That's bad.

No, that's good. Turns out, I really think I needed the lazy time. I'll get myself organized the first week back and hopefully read like a, like a, well like a thing that reads really fast to meet my goal (or beg my students to let me lower it).

During the course of my break, I was awoken by a phone call telling me that my sister was on her way to the hospital to have a baby. Yay baby Madden!!!

That's good.

No, that's great!

(see Madden? He's my fall break silver lining.)

Okay, I'm not really creative, but all these things did happen. Embarassingly enough, every single one. My break was pretty chill, though the Forbidden experience will be hard to top in the future. Let me just say, girls truly just wanna have fun.

The throne rooms

2010-10-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm not in love with the title, but you know what's coming, bathrooms. Here's the main bathroom, which I am officially turning over to Kelsi. Anyone who's familiar with my history with this bathroom will know what that means. I think.
Okay, I may help and put some things on the shelves, but other than that, I wash my hands of it. Really.

I was going for girly and I think I succeeded. The pink isn't too strong, though not as subtle as I had intended. The rest of the decor will be non-pink.

For some reason I felt like my bathroom was less deserving of decoration than the main bathroom. However, now that I'm giving the other one to Kelsi, I am thinking I may have to work on it a little more. In case you are wondering, the walls are not white, but "mystical sea" which is a pale green which compliments my boudoir nicely.

This is a close-up of my daily affirmation. It's pretty much true. All the time. I give my permission for you to copy. (my mom wrote it, by-the-way, doesn't mean I don't feel the same)

A very similar shower curtain as in the first bathroom, but white. I'm going for simplistic. At this point it is really simple. However, until my sugar daddy Ryan Reynalds realizes his mistake marrying Scarlett, and starts to shower me with the gifts and money I am so deserving of, I suppose I'll add to it myself. Sporadically.

That's it really. Now, any hints or ideas are absolutely welcome. Do NOT suggest an over-the-toilet standing cabinet. Other than that, what do you have?

P.S. I still have not received the shams (see prior post). Don't be shy.

First things first

2010-09-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

A tour of my beloved home...it's been 7 months and I've been busy. That said, we're going to take this slowly, one room at a time so you can behold all the loveliness. Here's my sanctuary, in all it's Scotland Road (paint color) glory:

"Katie, it's beautiful! But a couple of things are obviously missing, no?" says awestruck blog post reader.

"Why yes, yes there is a glaringly obvious item or two missing," says Katie.

Sundra Blossom Collecion Euro Sham x2 (plus the pillows)

from Anthropology

Who wants to get me a housewarming gift?

And if you're feeling generous, a dresser, armoire, and a couple of night stands would be an excellent addition, too.

Just sayin'.

Tomorrow (or the next day): the bathrooms!

Gimme your Box Tops!

2010-02-16T20:26:00.000-08:00

I know that we have had this conversation. I know we have. I remember telling you all just what products you can cut these bad boys off of and save for my loveable, well-deserving classroom. It's time to send those collections to me (I'm aware that there are only 2 of you; shame, shame on the other 5 readers of my blog. Audrey, you get a free pass because you are collecting Box Tops yourself) If you have any, and I mean ANY, just let me know where to send the self-addressed envelope.

As of right now, my class is in 1st place. But, I know (for a fact because I am snoopy) that there is at least one teacher who is holding out. When I say holding out, I mean she has an entire box full. We're talking over 1,000. And I know that she, I mean they, are just waiting for February 25th (which is the deadline) to roll around so she, I mean they, can blindside me.

Help us out! Where should I send the envelope? Remember, deadline is February 25th, so I need them before then. My kindergarteners thank you.

Framing begins next week...

2010-01-26T20:44:00.000-08:00

I can't even believe it! I thought it was high time that I stop mooching off my family (I SO do not mooch, just using the expression) and move into something that is bigger than a 10x10 square (it's IMPOSSIBLY HARD to cram 28 years of priceless mementos inot a room that size and still have a bed to sleep in). Isn't that exciting? Let me paint you a picture...
I'm the one on the far left. Minus the pretty foliage and mountains, the long driveway, and pretty flowers in the window. I'm also pretty sure that's not what the color will be, but a girl can dream.
My front door. More or less:

You just walked in and no, those mirrors won't be there:

You turned around at the top of the stairs to see the trio of doors (my doors will be two-paneled by-the-way). The left is the garage, straight ahead is a closet, and the right is the exit:

You're so excited to see the rest as you catch a glimpse coming upstairs:

I had to throw this in somewhere. These are my door "knobs" though they aren't knobs:

Prepare for house overload. These posts took FOREVER. Believe me, this model is not what I have envisioned for my sanctuary, but it's a start. If you're lucky you'll be invited to a house warming par-tay. And I mean PAR-TAY.

Laundry and kitchen

2010-01-26T20:36:00.000-08:00

The laundry closet ('cuz this ain't a room):
The kitchen after you've walked upstairs:

The kitchen, from the hallway:

The kitchen from the refrigerator's point of view:

Uh huh, the kitchen from the dining room:

Scrap all the basic junk in the kitchen to get a better idea of what mine should look like. Picture 42" upper cabinets with crown, darker wood, darker counter top, black appliances, microwave over the range, and a better colored wall. Okay, a different colored wall.

Living and dining rooms

2010-01-26T20:28:00.000-08:00

View of the living room from kitchen:
Now imagine that half wall you just saw transforming into a cute white railing like this:

Dining area, nope, I didn't invest in that lovely light:

Sadly, I have more carpet than tile, but here's another view of both rooms from the hall:

Picture different decor. I don't know about this model...

Bathroom and roomie room

2010-01-26T20:16:00.000-08:00

The bathroom:
With this faucet:

And this light fixture:

A lucky roomie's room:

Another view:

I will just say no to these colors.

Master bathroom

2010-01-26T20:12:00.000-08:00

Ignore the color, see this space:
With a double sink using these faucets:

These lighting fixtures:

This "garden tub" (apparently a must):

Ignore the colors. Not me.

Master bedroom

2010-01-26T20:07:00.001-08:00

A walk-in closet (even if you just stand inside the door):
MY master bedroom:

Yep, still MY master bedroom:

You guessed it, MY master bedroom again:

Of course I can decorate better than this. These colors and this style is not me at all.

2010

2010-01-10T08:21:00.000-08:00

Time to stop messing around. I've been pondering over New Year's Resolutions for over a week, the pondering turned into post-its, and now the post-its are a blog. Let me first say, I really sucked it up last year. The only resolution I really kept was to be "fiscally fit." I paid off enough and saved enough and came up with a plan and in the next 3-4 months I will get to have a house. Uh huh, a whole house that is mine. :) Be jealous.

On to 2010's goals, please note you do not have to read them, but I do need to write them down.

*1* Get smarter. I'm thinking this can be anything from reading less romance novel to taking a cooking class to sewing more.

*2* Write. I need to be better at documenting my life. Journal entries and/or blog posts. How will I ever learn from my mistakes if I don't write them down?

*3* Stay fiscally fit.

*4* Time management. I'm terrible at this. I do a lot of sitting and then rush to get things finished. OR I start something and move to something else before the first thing is finished and before you know it I've started 5 things, none of which get finished.

*5* "Network." This has been a goal for the last 2 years but I think that my friends and I have come up with a really good plan to keep up with this.

*6* Weight somethingorother. Food is for energy, not to make me happy and I don't need to eat 5 times a day particularly if I'm not hungry (not that I do that). I've been grocery shopping and we're gonna get really good at the eating this year.

*7* Vary my activity. I teach Group Active and Body Step, time to get some variety, a little more cross training. I've got a 10k on Valentine's Day.

*8* Spirituality. Time to read more, pray more, ponder more.

*9* Be honest at all costs. No more beating around the bush in an attempt to be nice. Just say it.

*10* Pretend this is a goal. I hate odd numbers. :)

See how well-rounded my goals are? Here's to success in 2010! Woo!

A weak 100th post

2009-12-06T07:47:00.000-08:00

How is it that when I have something to blog I choose not to blog and when I do not have anything to blog I decide to post? So maybe this will be a bunch of snippets, updates about what is going on in my world (please stop begging now).

**This year is hard. It's only my 4th year and now I see why people get burned out in this profession. I have experienced things that I never thought I would have to and it's been a repeated slap in the face. Just 101 more days...
**My hair frustrates me. I need to sit my sister down sometime soon for a hacking and just can't mesh the schedules. So I dyed it.
**There is no hole yet.
**I am a football addict. I never saw it coming, it just did. Shocking.
**It is 39 degrees outside and I have no winter clothes.
**It is Sunday and I have no church clothes.
**Two dates in two weeks, also shocking.
**My skin is pasty white. I am in desperate need of a tan, which leads me to...
**Where should I lay on the beach this year? Suggestions?

Just a little irritated

2009-11-11T09:29:00.000-08:00

At some point I'm going to get over the smash & grab that occured 2 weeks ago, but probably not until I stop realizing things that have been taken. I think when I first called the police I totaled the value of what was taken at around $300, that was before I realized my Bodybugg, ipod, Fossil watch, day planner, and my newest find: a gift certificate for a pedicure that I was saving for Thanksgiving weekend. Just a little irritated. I know I should be grateful for my wallet and credit cards and phone and camera and checks and cabinet/countertop samples and Coachies that were in the bag that was with me inside the gym, but I can't seem to be satisfied with that. Grrrr!

On another note, said teacher mentioned in the prior post has appeased his/her principal by hosting a meeting with upset parents which turned out to be pointless. Parents did not acknowledge claims made to the principal, nor did they give opportunity for the said teacher to confront them about those rude claims. Said teacher is done with it all.

Hypothetically speaking...

2009-11-01T18:30:00.000-08:00

Here's a scenario:

An experienced teacher receives word of one of his/her parents is meeting with their principal about some emotional issues their student has been experiencing at school. Said parent expresses to the principal that they do not like how their child's teacher handled a situation that occured earlier in the year (for argument's sake we'll say this instance happened 10 weeks prior to said meeting). This parent states that they do not believe that their child's teacher has an investment their child's well-being and that this teacher does not care for their child. Also, the parent believes that the teacher does not like them as s/he does not acknowledge their presence on the playground or cafeteria.

*small side note: Rumor has it that parent-teacher conferences were held 4 weeks prior to this meeting and this parent did not mention this belief to the teacher, nor did they discuss with the teacher that they were unhappy with other "events" that had happened earlier in the year. Rumor also has it, that the teacher did express his/her concerns over this particular child's well-being and made suggestions (and followed through with them) that could possibly help this child. At that meeting, the parent agreed that those suggestions would be a good idea.

While the teacher meets with the principal about this meeting, it is mentioned that it is the teacher's job to soothe the parent's hurt feelings and repair this broken relationship between parent and teacher. Afterwards, this teacher is off to pick up their class, see this parent and this child, and conduct business as usual.

After an evening of contemplation, the teacher I am referencing decides to meet again with the principal about this parent and this situation. Their prior discussion led this teacher to believe that s/he had made a mistake with this student/parent/situation and it was their responsibility to fix it. Surely, the emotionally-stretched teacher had misunderstood. S/he has never been accused of mistreating a student and this new accusation weighed heavily on his/her mind. In the second meeting, principal attempts to give the teacher some peace of mind, tells him/her that this parent said that they have heard many good things about the teacher. (Yes, heard, not experienced) The teacher was then told that it was not his/her fault, however it is still their responsibility to fix it. Just like the day before, the teacher must now go pick up their class, see this parent and this child, and conduct business as usual.

Or not. As the teacher enters the playground, this particular student is crying in addition to another student who is physically adamant that they are not leaving mom and is also crying. Please note, this is not the first time this situation has happened in this particular class. Somehow the teacher is able to gently pull the physically upset child into the classroom along with the emotionally upset child and the other 20+ students. It isn't known how, but this teacher somehow makes it through the day without an emotional melt down. Perhaps it was the promise of the weekend so close that provided the extra strength.

Ah, the weekend. In case you didn't know, weekends officially start at the end of the school day for those in the teaching profession and this teacher was in dire need of this weekend.

Unfortunately for this teacher there was one more obstacle to be overcome. Fulfilling a promise to a friend, this person went to the gym. "Good for them!" you say, "let out some of that pent up emotion!" Normally I would agree, however at the end of the workout this person walks to their car to find a smashed window. Nowhere to be seen was their ipod, sun glasses, bag of clothes, teacher bag (yes, all teachers take bags of things to do home), and their beloved Dave CD's.

Too much. It was too much. The emotional meltdown could no longer wait. So there, in the gym parking lot a good cry was had. (Yes, a police report was filed)

The conclusion: Can you blame the "hypothetical" teacher who has had these "hypothetical" experiences for not wanting to go to school tomorrow?

A total bust

2009-10-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

The "Sing-a-long Saturday" thing that is. Seriously, one person comments and it wasn't even the person the post was directed to. How sad is that? Much love to Jenny for reminding me that people do read my blog, I truly love yur guts. As for the rest of you, sorry I inflicted my favorite Live song upon you. Needless to say, it's going to be a long while before you see another sing-a-long, if ever again. I can take a hint...

In other news, I'm thinking I may try to write a post soon. I'm not making any promises, but I feel as though the creativity in my brain is about to bubble over.

Katie's Sing-a-long Saturday

2009-09-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

I've seen the "Monday Madness" posts and "Flashback Friday" posts and all the other special alliteration posts associated with the days of the week and I've joined the ranks. Nothing really special, but I'm sharing one of my favorite songs because I do just love it and felt like sharing. I don't know how regular this kind of post will be, but when I share a song I'll likely rattle of a story and why I like it

This one goes out to my cuz Holly.

The story:
12 or 13 years ago my sisters and I went with my mom to visit some family. Just a random night, nothing special about it to my knowledge, just a visit. Maybe dinner? Anyways, Holly is going to run to the store and I, being desperate to spark a friendship with just one of many uber-cool cousins, volunteer to go with her. I want to say it was the suburban? Must have been pre-Rabbit, I loved her Rabbit (Holly, it was you with the Rabbit, right?), but that's not where I'm going with the story. This song, today's sing-a-long song, is playing. I remember it being really loud and that she played it over and over on the way to the store and back. It was an instant favorite of mine. Did I ask her what the song was called? No, that would have made sense. Instead, I went to Circuit City (back when they were open and let you open CD's to listen to them before you bought them) to find the CD with this song. I was having a rough go of it. Finally I went up to the girl working there to get some help. How did I get this help? I had to sing it for her. Bless my amazing abilities to sing, she knew just what it was.
Why this song sticks out as one of my favorites? Uber-cool cousin Holly liked it and I the story of how I came to find it.
It's been years, but I still love this song and crank the volume (because that's how it's best heard) and when it randomly pops up on my ipod, I listen to it twice.
Without further ado, crank the volume and press play!

Comment, who else loves it?

Ready, set, cut!

2009-08-23T21:45:00.000-07:00

Every year at this time I get to feeling disappointed in my hair. Usually I bust out the scissors promptly after school pictures (seriously, 3 years now), but I think I need it cut before pictures this year. I desperately want long hair, but I know in my heart of hearts that I don't look amazing with long hair. :( We're going to take a mini-poll of all 3 readers of my blog. Do I cut it? Something like this I think (it's not so different from my usual cut):
Or endure the awkward stage I'm at and cut after September 9th? You have...a week. Help.

*Thanks to Katie A. for the picture.

One more thing

2009-08-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

I didn't go to the casting call on Thursday. Basically I am a giant chicken and didn't want to go by myself. Sadly, the friend who would have gone with me was unavailable (you're supposed to read into that that there were friends who adamantly refused to go).
I'm going to have to think of another way to introduce myself to those bachelors...

The silver lining

2009-08-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a long two weeks. The training is hard. I have to teach procedures and rules. There are lines to straighten, pencil grips to fix, and oh, the paper snow from crazy cutting. My newbies are definitely coming along though. The tears were officially gone Friday. No one tried to make an escape from the cage, no one begged me to stay for lunch, and no one told me they missed their mom. Things are looking up, but it's been a LONG two weeks and I am missing my voice to prove it. But let me tell you why it's taking a toll:
*NO aides
*NO recesses (inside does not count)
but most importantly...
*NO Emily, Ishani, Ava, Molly, Mark, Jack, Brock, Payton, Ryan, Sophie, Tyler, Shane, Talmage, Keely, Cassidy, Mia, Colby, Bella, Kendall, Rebekah, Austen, Nicholas, Malia, Jakey, or Bryan.
Yes, I miss my last year's kiddos. :( It's the saddest thing to see them in the hall and know that they are having such a great time in 1st grade, to know that they are AmAzInG and that they are not being appreciated by their new teachers (come on, no one knows all the work we put in in kindergarten).
Mostly I'm getting over it, adjusting, but Friday I had a brief conversation with one of MY 1st graders that brought a tear to my eye. As I was taking my kids to P.E. I see a line of 1st graders and of course I had to say hi. One of mine was the line leader and as she gives me a hug she told me that she had a dream about me. I asked her if it was a good dream or a bad dream and she said it was her first good dream because I was in it.
Seriously, I was verkelmpt, choked with emotion. It made my day and destroyed it all at the same time.
I'm sure she meant it was good because I was in it (naturally ;) and it was the first dream that she'd ever had with me in it, but I'm going to ignore that because I am happy to believe that it was the best dream she's ever had because of me.

Don't burst my bubble.

Calling all eligible ladies...

2009-08-02T17:17:00.001-07:00

For those of you wondering, the first week of school was just fine. I'm going hoarse, again, which is lame, but things could be worse. I believe it will be a pretty good year. :) For those of you who didn't know, yes, we went back to school last week. :) I LOVE Chandler! (Bing and the school district)

That's not what this post is about. Perhaps you were able to watch the last season of 'The Bachelorette' and your eyes were blessed to behold the jaw-dropping cast-offs of Jillian. Honestly, I'm glad she got rid of 'em all. I think Ed is great for her. I also think that these fellas could be great for me:

Jake-

Kiptyn-

Reid-

It turns out that one of these drop dead gorgeous men could be next season's Bachelor. And wouldn't cha know that there is a casting call for interested bachelorettes on Thursday in my city! What do you think? Should I go for it? We all know how lucky any of these men would be to get the chance to take me out. I'm sure that my kinders and their parents would understand and that the district would hold my job. I'm dusting off my glamour shot now.

Do I dare?

Comments requested

2009-07-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

Look, I know we're all busy, but I need to feel appreciated. That said, I'd love some comments, just a little validation that I am as funny as I think I am. In turn, I promise to try to be a better commenter on your posts. Just so we're clear. ;)

Who's organizing the next trip? I'm sooo in.

2009-07-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I'm going to let my amazing photographic talent tell the story of my trip to heaven, a.k.a. Kaua'i.

(they are in no particular order)
Mar and Luvey at the luau:

A rooster at the luau (his closest friends did me a HUGE favor on my vacation and made sure I was awake at 3:45 a.m. everyday. Thanks rooster pals!):

Queen Emma's bath? I think? (I've never heard of her but she has a bath named after her and that's cool, right?):

This particular bath is dangerous, note the skull and cross bones:

The bath, again:

You guessed it, my companions, minus KJ, at the bath:

A picturesque waterfall on the way to the bath (I'm getting it copyrighted, I'm so talented, yes?):

Keaton and I. Keaton is my 16 year old surf instructor. Yes, I got up and yes, I realize the position of my hand is freaky:

Another display of my talent: This guy was under our table, at every table we went to. Also managed to show up everywhere we went:

Half of the Kauai' companions post air plane ride, pre hospital trip:

I'm a total hottie, 12 hours of travel does not take away from my gorgeousness:

Hale Makena (Home of Cockroaches):

I'm in the wrong profession, again, my talent. This was taken from the Costco parking lot. Wish it was my Costco parking lot:

Mar and Ab:

Kakes and I:

Mar and Luvey and Ab and Carla (notice the smiles, these were not present at the airport on the way home):

And now school has started and this vacation is a distant, distant memory. Who's planning my next vacation?

Found it!

2009-06-30T22:53:00.000-07:00

Meet Single Dads: Are you a single mom? Meet 1000s of single dads in your area at Singleparentmeet online dating. Browse pics or videos.

Nevermind that "Are you a single mom?" question and fast forward to the "Browse pics or videos." comment.

I'm totally kidding...I think

Thank you facebook

2009-06-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

A BIG shout out to facebook for trying so hard to end my single-ness (is a word?). I must say that I am thankful for a social gathering place that is looking out for me and my single status. Each and every time I log in I am greeted with a variety of dating websites that showcase numerous appealing qualities in a prospective mate (okay, some of them aren't appealing, but maybe I should branch out).

Here are a smattering of examples:
Too many friends? Match.com (Been there, done that)
Date Rich & Successful Meet millionaires, CEO's, entrepreneurs and successful men looking for quality women (very tempting I dare say)
Catholic Match Have a good time meeting genuine men in the world's largest website for single Catholics. ( probably not for me)
Find a date. Complete Chemistry.com's free personality test and receive your first personality-inspired matches today!

The best one I dismissed before I could read (and copy & paste), yes it was a dating website dedicated to single dads. Ah, there's the tug on the heart strings. Bless those single dads (have I said too much...).

I digress. Thank you facebook for bombarding me with opportunities to meet creepers, I mean, men online. Just when I feel as though I have hit a blogging dead end I enter into the land of promise. Hallelujah!

8 days and counting...

2009-06-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

Alright peeps, let's be honest, who really feels like they've been neglected by my not posting? Let me go ahead and detail my summer thus far and I'm sure you'll agree you haven't missed out much:

-Sleep
-Step
-Read

I think that's pretty much it. You're all caught up! Wait! Did I mention I am house shopping? Yes, I am no longer satisfied with my 12'x10' space and I'm looking to upgrade. I've even submitted an offer and I'm waiting for a BPO (don't ask, I don't know). Sweet, eh? Let me think, is there something I'm missing... Okay, I guess I could do a better sum up than that.

May:
I said goodbye to my amazing kinders. :( I really did have an amazing class and, unfortunately, it was time for them to move on to 1st grade. It's actually depressing, I had 25 kiddos who could read, write, problem solve, and follow directions and in just 3 and a half weeks I will have 24 kids who will cry for their moms, be unable to hold a pencil, and unable to tie their shoes (alright, actually most of my last year's kids couldn't do that...). I exaggerate, I am excited for a new group, but the others will be missed and I've told them they are in trouble if they don't come back to see me.
I got a camera! I'm still figuring it out...

June:
Uh, I read. Let's see, Twilight (again), New Moon (again), Eclipse (again), Breaking Dawn (again), The Host, Everyone Worth Knowing (again). Maybe I need some new books... By-the-way, I recommend The Host. It took awhile to get into, but I really liked the characters (and the happy ending, those are a must). Who's got a book for me to read?

Really that's it. A few barbecues with family and a couple movies. Here's what I'm looking forward to:

-A house! (hopefully this will be resolved before I go back to school)
-Hawaii! (8 days...)
-Wicked! (oh yes, it is FINALLY my turn to see it)

Audrey, here is your post. Unfortunately y-chromosomes have been MIA this summer, thus far, and therefore nothing too entertaining to write about. Men usually are the subject of my best posts. Let's all cross our fingers, shall we? ;)

Bodystep!

2009-05-18T20:49:00.001-07:00

Welcome to a mini journal entry. I'm tooting my own horn. I just finished Bodystep training (I realize there are only 5 of you who know what that actually is, but it is what it sounds like, step aerobics) and I passed! Two days of work outs and a superbad challenge. I don't think I've ever sweat so much ever. That's pretty much it. I'm tired, but excited to learn more tracks. One step at a time, eh?

Hit me baby one more time!

2009-04-26T19:56:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to me! This is me and some of my chicas on our way to see Britney. Notice, please, the headband. Thoughts?

Oh, good time by the way. Though, I'm not sure if it was Britney or a blonde look-a-like...still a good time. :)

Read it and weep

2009-04-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

Yep, a for real live post (just for you Josh, wink wink). Now, what to write about...

SpRiNg FlInG! (I'm so creative, did you see how I made a pattern with my letters?)

Last year's post about Spring Fling was about a mile long. As I recall, it had pictures and everything to document the momentous occasion. Y'all aren't so lucky this year. I'm sure I had parents take pictures of my getting whipped cream up my nose and my awkward movements getting out of the lame dunk take, so I'll be sure to get those to you as soon as I get them.

It was pretty fun. I had the Plinko booth again, high fives for Plinko, yeah? I'm really going to do some serious thinking about how to jazz it up for next year. It needs to be bigger, and blink, and make noise, and shoot prizes. I think that may be the only way I can compete with "Soaring Hawks." Stupid stomping game...

I did see, and photograph, 20-something of my Spring Flingin' kiddos (which will not be posted, because honestly, do you really want to see?) who seemed to be having a rockin' time. I stole some cotton candy from said kiddos and ate way too many pieces of pizza and Krispy Kremes...oh, the Krispy Kremes... On to the best part:

The pie booth. My kids had been looking forward to smacking my face with whipped cream for weeks and on that night, they came in spades to rub it in my face. Twenty minutes later my contacts were glued to my eyes and my hair, face, and back were covered in dairy and my kids were lining up to help me get clean. On to the bestest part:

The dunk tank. If they were excited about the pies, they were borderline psycho about the dunk tank. Let me tell you though, these dunk tanks sucked! Not like last year's with the fancy ladder and step inside so that you could pull yourself onto the collapsing platform in a lady-like fashion. Oh no. The tank on these ones looked like a small prison, and by small prison I mean a metal crib which was lined with some kind of sturdy tarp. No fancy ladder or step. Let me paint you a picture: beloved Miss R hoists herself up on the platform using some sort of bar on the outside of the tarp and is dunked for the first time by the teacher who just paid her dues (this seems to be a tradition for said teacher, she gets a lot of enjoyment out of this). So Miss R has to figure out how she's going to hoist herself up for the remainder of her shift. Mind you, there is NO STEP and I am not a slight girl (though watch for July 2009 photos as I plan to be by then). I work out, I've got strong arms and shoulders, however they are stubs and not long enough to get me up high enough to sit on the platform (stupid, STUPID genes) so I have to fling my leg out on top of the cage, soaking the small children standing there, and looking like a complete freak. This was the procedure for the next 35 minutes. The line NEVER ended and after every dunk my children, the small people who hug me every day and tell me they love me, chanted as the next person grabbed the ball. I had to give the people working the tank $50 each to stop the line (not really, I think they felt bad for the chubby girl in the cage).

Fast forward to Saturday morning: my eyes were puffy from the whipped cream, my rear hurt (and still does) from hitting the pavement 298 times, and I had a bruise the size of a golf ball on my right shin (from hurling my leg atop the cage). Not to mention I was exhausted.

Only 360 days 'til I can do it again!

Another confession

2009-03-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

So, as a partial Spring Break goals revisitation, I would like to proudly say that I've read 5 books. I am actually feeling pretty proud of myself.

Now for the confession: I'm a paperbackaholic.

I don't have a bookshelf (though, if you'd like to gift me one, I'm sure I can find somewhere to put it), but if I did have one, I could easily fill most of it with paperbacks, um, happy, love story paperbacks, most of them by one of my favorite authors- Nora Roberts (I am happy to say that I have branched out and have multiple books by other authors, she is just my favorite).

As I thought last weekend about what books to read to accomplish my 2 book goal, I remembered I had gift cards to Barnes & Noble. I grabbed "Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man" and a paperback, okay, it was a hardback unfortunately, but it was a steal. I quickly read through both of them (thank you Steve Harvey for the relationship insights, pretty interesting really) and quickly went to my book storage for more books to satisfy my reading appetite. I have now finished three additional books, all in the happy, love story paperback genre, all of which I have read at least 2-3 times before.

It's not like this is the only genre I own. I actually have a pretty fair amount of spiritually uplifting books (yes, I've read them) and some thrillers, the entire Harry Potter series, etc. but when I crack open the bin (I told you I don't have a bookshelf) my fingers go directly to the cracked spines of my worn and well-read paperbacks.

I suppose I'm living vicariously -to a point- through my literary collection.

It's a disease, an addiction. The first step for addiction is admitting it, right? I mean, that's what I hear, not that I've ever been addicted to anything before. Ever.

I'm so lame

2009-03-12T23:02:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I know every last one of you is nodding your head in agreement. Three weeks. Three weeks since my last post and, really, nothing has happened. Okay, not completely true, I am now an aunt (you all knew that from reading my mom and sister's blogs though), Spring Break started, I decided I can't afford to date online, spent a few days in San Diego, blah, blah, blah. I've pretty much sat on my thumbs all of Spring Break so far (yes, one day of it was spent sitting on my thumbs on the blessed Pacific Beach). I've gained at least 5 pounds (not exaggerating) when I was supposed to be losing 5. I had planned to take a BodyStep training next weekend, but that's been rescheduled (I'm not sure how I feel about that), I had actually planned on living at the gym, but I'm lacking in the motivation (though the Vicki's swimsuits are doing their best to light a fire under me). Man, I suck! Help me out, what should I do for the rest of my break? I really wanted to read, but I'm not feeling the reading vibes, though maybe a trip to Barnes and Noble would cure that quickly. Thankfully, my Thursday is planned (thank you Superior Court of Arizona). I just don't want to get to March 23rd and think "Man, I got nothing done."

Okay, enough whining, here is a loosely put together plan (on the edge of your seat?):

*Read 2 books (I'm aiming small, hopefully I'll read more)
*At least one class a day, hopefully it's a step class (maybe it's a good thing I've been given 2 months to prepare)
*Grocery shop (I'm thinking no eating out for a month, sorry Aud and Lisa)
*Hang with my nephew (did you see the pictures? he's so cute!)
*A second post on Monday to see how I'm doing
*Clean/organize my room (I don't think this will happen, but I write it just in case)

Sorry for the most boring post ever, but I see this blog as a way for me to journal without dusting off my journal. You lucky ducks get to read it, I'm so kind. :) I promise to attempt to liven it up, but my most happenin' posts involved men and those are pretty scarce these days.

Advice?

2009-02-15T20:04:00.000-08:00

Alright, I'm a little bored. When I look back at my posts from last year I had a lot of really hilarious (well, they're funny now) dating stories and I've had pretty much none. I just feel the need to spice things up just a bit so I'm asking for advice, or maybe not advice, but your opinion. Since I'm no longer in a singles ward, and I teach kindergarten, I rarely have the opportunity to socialize with people my own age, not to mention men. Here's where I'd like your opinion:

Should I go back to the online dating?

I am very happy with where I am right now, but I don't get out much and when I've done this in the past I got a couple of free meals (okay, that's not what it's all about, but as a person on a strict budget I find that a benefit). I realize I could put a fancy poll on the side of my blog, but #1. I find them irritating and #2 I don't know how. So, comment and comment often.

Valentines Day

2009-02-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

Singles Awareness Day, S.A.D., come on, who thought of that? I almost feel bad for the people who refer to February 14th as singles awareness day. Doesn't that just make them sound pathetic?

I'm finishing this post, alright I know it's been awhile and 4 sentences isn't an amazing post but whatever, with what my AmAzInG room mom's and kinders made for me for my Valentine. I absolutely love/d it.

A creeper story for Brigitte

2009-01-13T20:22:00.000-08:00

Alright, a few weeks ago as I was on my way to class with my good friend Audrey, I got this random text, something like: Thanks for helping me out tomorrow, I really appreciate it. I decided to have some fun and replied with a casual: No problem. Remind me what it is I am helping with. Anyways, it became painfully obvious within a few messages that this person totally had the wrong number and I told him so. He went on about being embarrassed and getting total pride check because he was fake numbered.

Ha ha, right?

Well, I'm always in for a little fun and conversation with random strangers (see 2008 internet dating posts as proof) so I text him for a while longer. He called me later that night.

Okay, this dude was all of 19 years old. He was a "motivational speaker" though, I don't know what a 19 year old could say that would be motivating. After an e-mail with pictures, and 5 minutes on the phone I was sure he was a creeper. You know the look, right? He had this total attitude on the phone like he was hot stuff and it was very evident from his photo that he was not (did I mention his last name was Pigg?).

Katie=creeper magnet

(apologies if no one but Audrey and Lisa found this story amusing. It may have been one you had to be there for.)

Happy Birthday to me!

2009-01-13T20:19:00.000-08:00

How great are my room moms (and class)?

Ode (sorta) to Disneyland

2009-01-13T19:58:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my uber-cool friends for humoring me and roadtripping it with me to Disneyland for my...(drumroll please)...27th birthday.

Generally, people take fabulous pictures with characters or in front of Disney monuments, but not me, I take pictures of random strangers. Enjoy the following:

Bread people- Guys, they were chowing down on a loaf of bread while waiting in line. A loaf of bread! Really I don't know why I thought this was funny, anyone here tried Grandma Sycamore's. Nuff said.

Also, for your viewing pleasure, girl with tail:

Here are some fabulous shots of Audrey, Lisa, and I crammed into one tiny car on Thunder Mountain Railroad. The girl put 3 adults in one car! We had a thrilling ride, to say the least.

Parting shots, just before we rang in 2009. We were freezing (no, I won't tell you the temperature).

Do I have to?

2009-01-11T13:41:00.000-08:00

Alright, given my fairly successful 2008 resolution run, you'd think I'd be a little more gung-ho about making my 2009 resolutions. However, here I am, hesitating over my keyboard... Oh well, I guess I should just get on with it.

#1 Lose weight. Just because I did rather well with this last year (hey, I DID lose weight, just not all that I wanted to). Piggy-backing on that would be the resolution to wear a bikini in Hawaii in June.

#2 Be fiscally fit. Also on last year's list, but I've really got a good head start now. Budgeting blunder no more.

#3 Go out. This is not a sly way of saying date. I need to actually get out of the house, which has been manifested boldly in my watching 88 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in less than 2 months. (of course, I'm not giving that habit up, just adding to it. Now, I'm not saying dates are our of the question. Generally I don't have to pay for dates, so that would actually help out #2.

#4 Be nice. I mean this as in, not just putting up with people, but putting forth more effort to behave nicely to those people who bother me.

#5 No soda, except for holidays (until 2010 when I can persue all the carbonated and caffeinated beverages I want, should I choose). Thank Kelsi for this one. After days and days of headachew from caffeine withdrawals I have been clean for over a week. Unhappy and deprived, but full of water and not my beloved Diet Coke. Game on Kelsi, I can do this.

Maybe this will have to be continued later as I can't think of others, though I'm sure there are more.

(sorry Brigitte, I have one or two creeper stories, but they're going to have to wait, too. I promise to get one in this week. But you're going to have to set me up with a couple soon, because my creeper magnetism is deminishing, even the Arizonan creepers are starting to shy away.)

Oversexed, or is it undersexed?

2008-12-22T20:53:00.001-08:00

Small confession to my family and friends to follow. Let me first of all say, that I know I am far from perfect. I've made many a mistake in my lifetime and I'm sure I'm going to make plenty of more. The reason I'm writing this post is to clarify misconceptions any one has about me and my morals. Let me cut to the chase.

For the last 14 months I've come to know the most amazing man. He's considerate and compassionate. He honestly doesn't give much thought to his own needs, and that's probably why everyone who knows him loves him. Long story really, really short: I've been sleeping with him for the last 4 nights.

That's right. I got a genuine Edward Cullen fleece blanket to snuggle up with every night (or any time of day I choose really). I think that the best part of this gift is that it did not come from my family or friends, but was given to me by one of my students (he just shot way up there on the list of favorites, totally kidding). I've had numerous conversations with his mom about the entire Twiligt saga and she knows I'm a fan. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a freak fan, but I have entertained a thought or two about what an amazing relationship that Edward and I could have (if only vampires were real)...

I guess that would take us back to the title. How sad am I, that my lovelife is centered around a fleece blanket?

Eh, oh well. :)

Resolutions re-visited

2008-12-20T07:09:00.000-08:00

I think the only New Year's resolution I really remember making is the lose weight one, so I'm a little, sickly, excited to have written the rest of them down last year so that I can really reflect on my failures (okay, I believe that there are some triumphs, too). Lucky y'all for getting to read about it all!

1. Lose weight before summer (I told you it was tradition)
14 pounds totally counts. I'm pretty proud of myself on this one.

2. No credit cards!!!
I haven't used one this month, does that count? I don't plan on picking them up again, I guess this one is To Be Continued...

3. Create and stick to a budget (kinda goes hand in hand with #2)
Check. Well, I have in December and if you can create and stick to a budget in December I think you've got it made.

4. Play! I've spent too much time the last 4 years being comfortable staying home.
Heh heh heh. I've played I suppose... It really does depend on your definition.

5. Get a PG-13 rating on my blog (your post inspired me Lauren, I feel like I have something to strive for), can't be that hard for me.
I think I failed in this. I'm really going to give it another go in 2009. Oh the posts I could post...

6. Delete my MySpace! All I do is stalk people I shouldn't on there anyways.
I totally deleted. Then re-signed up. Then deleted. Now I have Facebook, I believe that is a tiny step in the right direction.

7. Serve more.
I do think I've been better in this area. I actually have a calling that requires it. This will be another one on the 2009 resolutions list.

8. Try to keep up my journal (or blog, or both).
Um. Crap job on the journal, but I did alright on the blog, am I right?

9. Limit my caffeine intake (HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Right!)
No comment.

10. Like myself more.
I do.

That's an 80% folks!

On another note, more posts will likely be on the way as I can only read your SAME posts so many times before I get bored and have to post some of my own. I've got one brewing right now...

The Budgeting Blunder

2008-12-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

Get it? Like budgeting "wonder" only not wonder but blunder! I'm good aren't I? Alright, so in an attempt to get ahold of my slippery finances, I'm becoming an anal money recorder/penny pincher/miserly bitty. It's about time!

Really, this is the hardest thing I've done (aside from not putting food in my mouth when I'm bored). I sat with my good friend for two and a half hours while we looked at exactly how much money I spend and how much I bring in. We had to assign money to different categories, "spend it on paper. Hello envelope system!

The worst part is, I can't officially start until Thursday when I get paid, but I'm already ready to break it. But I won't! While I wait, I decorate 10 envelopes to the max 'til I make the withdrawal on Thursday.

Don't be jealous. ;)

On a side note, if anyone was wondering about how I'm doing at stopping food from entering my mouth, I'm about 10% lighter than I was when I started and mmmm, 10 inches tighter (?). That's WW speak for I'm doing alright, but no second 10 pound ribbon just yet.

Did it.

2008-11-15T17:01:00.000-08:00

That's all.

I think I'm broken

2008-11-09T19:49:00.000-08:00

Another journal entry for y'all. I went out with a man last Saturday night, it went really well. He seemed pretty cool and we had a good time. This man has a number of really great qualities:
1. Genuine, remembers what I say
2. Educated, yep, he has a degree
3. Established, uh huh, a career and a home
4. Healthy, well, he's a trainer and trained high-jumper
5. Respectful, as in he hasn't attempted to grope me

I'm pretty sure he likes me

We've talked EVERY night this week. I'm not exaggerating. Plus, we've "hung out" twice. In addition to that, here are some texts I've received:
"It was just ok then you messaged me it was way better after that!"
"...miss u"
"Maybe if u call me i can ask u out on a date :-)"

I'm pretty sure he likes me

Here's where it becomes pretty evident that I'm broken. I'm not so sure how much I like him. He really is a great guy, but it seems that he likes me a whole lot more than I like him.

Some background:
I've had one "boyfriend." Ever. That's not to say that I haven't been used and abused by plenty of losers in my relationship portfolio. When I say plenty, I mean PLENTY.

The problem:
Here I've stumbled upon a really nice man, who likes me. I feel like, I'm being smothered a bit (really, if I'm not at school, I'm on the phone) by the phone conversations and professing of one-sided emotion. As I think about this brief relationship, I almost wonder if we had a DTR talk that I didn't know about.

I think I could nicely tell him I'd like to go slower, I really do, but I'm not so sure if I want things slower or halted completely.

My sisters, 2 out of 3, have been kind enough to point out my lack of experience in relationships and seem to think that because I'm out-of-practice, I'm thinking too much into this and need to relax, give it some time and see what happens. I've always been of the opinion that if I don't see a future, why waste time.

I guess this is the real problem:
I probably should like this guy, could like this guy, but I keep thinking, isn't there someone who fits my ideal just a little bit more out there for me? No, he's not Mormon, so that's probably his biggest strike, but I feel as though he should still get a chance.

That's where I'm at. Since the vast majority of readers of my blog are married, I have this question for you:
When you initially started dating your spouse, were you content but really wondering if there was someone better out there for you? (I'm not jumping to marriage, but that's where I'd like to be at some point so, yeah...)

The even bigger question:
Have my single years and lack of relationship experience made me set my expectations too high? Am I being too picky?

A picture tag

2008-10-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

Because I'm bored and feel the need for comments (you are a bigger person than I Brigitte for turning your comments off for the week):

RULES: You have to post the 4th picture in the 4th folder in your pictures folder. Then give a brief description before you tag a few others.

This is Kelsi and I at Abbey and KJ's apartment partaking in Super Bowl XXXIX (and lots of junk food, you may even see some wing sauce). Stupid Patriots won...

The newly tagged are: (it's so nice being the first in the family tagged, the list is WIDE open) Abbey
Allie
Cara
Marsha

Growing up

2008-10-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

First of all, I should get some kind of award for the number of posts I've written in October. This has to be some kind of record! (It is, right?)

Second of all, I'm getting serious here. I've actually meant to sit and write this for many months (now that I said it, I'm not 100% sure I haven't written it...humor me). It's been a neat experience to read my friends' and family's blogs over the last year. Most of the people reading this right now live 600+ miles away from me, so I never get to hear how you are doing and see what you are up to; in addition to that, I don't get to experience the grown ups you have become. I'm sure I'll touch on the female readers some time soon, but this post goes out to the men.

Wow.

Looking at the pictures and reading the stories, I'm sure, don't do you justice. Way back in June, Father's Day to be exact, I remember reading lots of posts going out to the dad's. Most of you had one on your blog, and not to make light of anyone's tribute, I remember Lorraine's standing out. Reading the qualities that she wrote about Jeff being a husband and father floored me (and creeped me out, no offense Jeff). Most of the memories I have of Jeff are of my visits to Roosevelt as a kid and having Easter, or watching Conference, or jumping on the trampoline with the sprinkler under it and going to dinosaur land...it seems so strange to think of him as a dad.

Anyways, that's just one example. I see pictures all the time of my cousins as husbands and fathers and can tell just by looking that you are great at what you do. When did you all grow up into amazing men?

I was talking to a friend of mine at about the quality of men out there to date awhile back, though we talk about it regularly. Most of the men we are acquainted with come in second to a good book. Case-in-point, last weekend I went to a YSA activity (Young Single Adult - a reminder for those of you not single) and had a conversation with a 28 year old man. When I asked him what he did for a living he said he has a lawn mowing business (no mention of a degree), when I asked him how many people work for him he said just himself. I know a lot of 12-14 year olds have lawn mowing businesses. I'm not sure what else to say, I was looking for an escape at that point as a 28 year old professional lawn mower extrordinare did not seem up to snuff. Is that harsh? I realize there is more to a man than his profession, but...

I'm gonna go ahead and tie this single girl soap box up and say "men, I'm impressed" and "congratulations" to the ladies. Nice job rounding up a good one!

Pictures

2008-10-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

Better one of the moocher eating my sundae and a couple with the bird incident. Scroll down and enjoy.

Bonus story: Sunday night

2008-10-15T21:26:00.000-07:00

Last Vegas post, I think. Sunday night we went to a Cirque de Soleil show at T.I., Mystere.

Super cool! I didn't follow the story at all, no idea what was going on, but the acrobats and gymnasts or whatever we awesome. They made things like climbing a pole look like something everyone can do, it was completely effortless. Way, way cool.

Then I lost $25 at the slots thanks to this unlucky gnome:

Lisa (not Lisa kindergarten teacher), Audrey and I went to a bar because Lisa said she met this nice guy and his son's friend who she said was cute. Audrey and I like eye-candy, so we went to have a peek. This kid kept talking about Flagstaff, he'd been to Flagstaff. We asked why, his response: "I aborted a baby there." Yeah. We left.

Myst. Cool lounge with the one and only Rustyn Vaughn Lee strumming up a storm on his gitar. He was a pretty good piece of eye-candy, weird "aborted-baby-in-Flag" guy, notsomuch. How cute is he? AND, how cute are we?

Waiting to get on the plane. We were just vegging, wondering why we were feeling crowded by wheelchairs, note the handicapped symbol on the chair:

Stories 5, 6, and 7

2008-10-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry yo's, but I got busy (and a little tired of blogging every night). Here you go:

#5:

After the birdshit incident (think that will be the last time I refer to it) we went back to the time share to clean up. Hello Mamma Mia! I wore my A-MAZING dress (purchased in the last post) and sucked it up and wore my cute houndstooth shoes. :) We all went to the dinner buffet at Mandalay Bay. $30 bucks, I actually winced when I swiped my credit card. I don't think I've ever paid that much for a meal I didn't share before. Dinner was pretty good, dessert Sucked with a capital S. They didn't even have cheesecake! We got a cute dinner picture though:

In the bathroom, I ran into a former parent. Weird! I actually babysat for her this last summer, so we're pretty cool. We both did a double-take, I actually felt pretty popular at that point, she seemed really excited to see me, it was a good ego boost. She invited us to crash a wedding party at Rumjungle, gave me the name 10 times and left. I get to my stall and I hear a man's voice yelling "Hi Katie" into the bathroom (a pretty full bathroom). I guess Mrs. Nickel* had insisted that her husband go into the bathroom to say hi.

Mamma Mia was awesome! This is my 2nd time seeing it on stage and it was great! I like the movie, even have the soundtrack (yeah, I have the Broadway soundtrack, too), but on stage is even better. If you love ABBA, you will love Mamma Mia.

#6:

Rum Jungle! Kids, I made it through dinner, Mamma Mia, and one hour of dancing at Rum Jungle in my super cute shoes. You're so proud, right? We had to crash the party (we look like the crasher type, don't we?). The music was great. Mr. and Mrs. Nickel* were very happy to see me and my pals and we all had a grand ole time. This was the best club we went to. By mentioning the wedding party we got VIP wrist bands and went right in. Yay! More pictures.

Lynda and I both had Nickel* children last year:

Yes, I had fun:

Aud and I, just because :)
* Names have been changed to protect identities

#7:

Our last day we trolled "the Strip" and I think we covered about 25 miles. Here are last day pics:

Crappiest day ever, literally!

2008-10-10T00:29:00.000-07:00

So we woke up 'round 'bout I don't know so I'm not putting it down and decided to check out the outlet mall. Let's be perfectly honest, does anyone go to Vegas for the outlets? We have them in Phoenix, in fact, I'll bet you can find a decent outlet mall within an hour of where you live. And while I do enjoy spending money (and how), it's become less fun now that I realize I don't have any. Negativeness and shopping do not mix, darn my stupid conscience! Was I excited about the outlets? Not so much. Did I smile and do it? Yup (I managed to snag an A-MAZING dress, so I shouldn't be so grumpy about it).
Time to get on with it.
The five of us split up and agreed to meet at the Fudgery (a fudge shop, you would never have guessed this, right?) at 4:00 p.m. Audrey and I were meandering to the Fudgery at about 3:58 and all-of-a-sudden something lands on me. Took me about 5 seconds to figure out what just happened. A bird shit on my head. I apologize for the word, but at the time (and when I reminisce upon it even now) that's the word that comes to mind. So, as the bile is rising in my throat after my realization what is my good friend doing? Looking for something to help me clean up, right? Wrong! She's desperately looking for her camera to document the experience. I was NOT amused; she, on the other hand, just about had an accident as she was laughing so hard. Not only was I not amused, I grabbed the nearest napkin (yep, the one sitting on the dirty ground because at this point it looked more clean than my hair) and scrubbed. We then proceeded to go into the Fudgery and wait on our friends.
There I am, scowling, with a very strong suspicion that bird junk is still oozing down my scalp, and sitting inside what can only be described as the happiest place in Las Vegas. Explanation: we walk in to hear the Fudgery workers singing. We assume that they sing when they are tipped. We were wrong. They would bust out into fudge-lyriced oldie after fudge-lyriced oldie (that can't be spelled right, but in my defense it's probably not really a word). "My Girl" turned into "My Fudge" and "I've Been Working on the Railroad" turned into "I've Been Working in the Fudgery" I think you see where I'm going with this. Needless to say, I wasn't in the mood and was just irritated at the spectacle.
As I have relayed my birdshit story to my family I've been met with other bird feces stories such as: "one time a bird pooped in my food" and "one time a bird pooped on my shoe." Here is my reaction: "THERE'S NO COMPARISON." And there isn't. The irony of it all is that I am always on the lookout for birds flying over my head as I would hate for them to poop on me. The ONE time I wasn't looking...

(You may be wondering if Audrey managed to snag a couple shots and the answer is that she did, however, this is my blog and I don't have to post unflattering pictures if I don't feel like it. Suckahs!)

Okay, three pics.

Doesn't this lady look disgusted? She should try smiling more, I don't think she knows what happened.

I got a story!

2008-10-08T21:47:00.000-07:00

But you knew that. So Jet was lame and then that guy ate my sundae then we went to Pure, a club inside Caesar's Palace. To add insult to injury, I had to "check" my lame Margaritaville bag (with my super cute, super cruel shoes inside) at the door and pay 5 bucks. DUMB! Anyways, we wandered around for a bit and then decided to go up to the top floor to dance because there was lots more room, though the techno music kind of sucked. We ended up dancing with these guys from Sweden (not many American boys in Vegas) and guessing at their sexuality all night. It was determined that European men are metrosexual and it's really hard to tell if they are straight or not. Gotta tell ya, I wasn't sold on their rhythm either, not the best dancers.

So this story is kind of lame, sorry about that. I did get hit on by this guy from Jersey that night. I told him my name was Sam and that I had a boyfriend. He proceded to tell me that my boyfriend was "f!#%in' lucky." I must admit, I agree, whoever gets me will be f!#%in' lucky indeed.

Here are some pictures from the night:

Picture for the last post

2008-10-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

Yep, he's eating my food (I know it's dark).

I found the ring!

2008-10-07T20:59:00.001-07:00

Turns out it was in my purse. Good news, yeah?

The next story

2008-10-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

Let's see, where did I leave off... Oh, yes, $40 flip flops. So we decided to check out some clubs, you know, get acquainted with the whole sin city scene and ventured to Jet (in the Mirage), flip flops and all. It was supposed to be this pretty cool place, 3 rooms with different music in each. It was a bust. Jet gets 2 thumbs down from Katie. The room with the best music was friggin' packed and you couldn't dance without risking a cigarette burn so we bounced on outta there.

Here's where the night really gets good, we cross the street and happen upon Ghiradelli. Woo hoo! Things were looking up. So I order this:

It's the gold rush and it was GOOD (this picture sucks, I should have taken one, but I didn't)! Anyways, it was just too much goodness for me to finish so I decided to be done and we walked away. I kid you not, not one minute later some kid (we're thinking homeless) just sits down at my seat and goes to town on my sundae. (Audrey, if you're reading this I'm needing some pictures to fully explain this story) We all bust a gut, not at his unfortunate situation, but just at the situation in general.

Long story really short: a homeless man ate my sundae right in front of me.

I lost my CTR ring in Vegas

2008-10-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

Many of you know I went to Las Vegas this last weekend. So here I am, back home safe and sound but with about a billion stories to share. :) Lucky you! Problem is, since there are a billion stories, if I tried to write them all down in one post it would be really long; really entertaining, but REALLY long so I am pleased to present to you "The Seven Days of Vegas" (please note, I was not in Las Vegas for seven days, but I will be presenting stories over the next seven days):

Day 1~

We, the five of us that went, stayed in a time share about 2 miles from Las Vegas Boulevard so we decided to rent a car. I think that renting cars is fun, you never know what you're going to end up with and I've always had a good experience. So, we go to the Hertz counter, they give us the spiel, and tell us where to find our car. Look what we got! Hello Sunshine!

Ha ha, totally kidding! Here she is for reals.

Note the expression change. All in all, we were pleased with the Impala; she done good by us. Holla!

Bonus story:

I bought some REALLY, really cute shoes and just had to take them on my trip. You have to take cute going out shoes to Vegas! See how pretty!

So. Flippin'. Cute! Naturally, I wanted to wear these shoes, they complimented my outfit nicely and so I popped them on and off we went. (Pictures of me on this night will be posted when my friend is able to get me copies of them). We were going to grab some dinner and then hit some clubs, I got through the parking garage and casino of Caesar's Palace and across the street to Margaritaville before I decided I love my feet too much to put them through so much torture. I needed a Plan B pronto. Since we were at touristy Margaritaville, I decided to scope out the flip flop collection as a solution for my problem. Ta da!

Did I mention they cost $40? I was NOT happy. Little did I know, this was an omen of things to come on this trip. You can imagine how sassy I must have looked getting my groove on in these babies. Oh yeah.

P.S. I really did lose my CTR ring. Sad, huh?! I was driving home when I noticed that my best friend for the last 5 years was missing, Kim gave it to me for my birthday. :( It was too big, I really should have been more careful. I wonder if someone will get me a new one (wink wink, only 85 days 'til my birthday).

Seven Up

2008-10-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

I've only read one book... In case you were wondering.

Check me off!

2008-10-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

Mom, I looked at the first question in this tag and had to laugh, how am I supposed to answer this? I'm leaving it blank and I'll leave it up to y'all to decide if I should fill it in with my ideal qualities, or leave it blank (wouldn't want to jinx myself you know).

4 random things I love about my husband:
1)
2)
3)
4)

4 jobs I've had:
1) kindergarten teacher
2) CSL
3) Lead Teller
4) Server

4 movies I have watched more than once:
1) 27 Dresses
2) Center Stage
3) Keeping the Faith
4) Far and Away

4 TV shows I watch:
1) Dancing with the Stars
2) Pushing Daisies
3) Project Runway
4) FRIENDS

4 places I have been and loved:
1) New York City
2) cruise ship (any and all)
3) Disneyland
4) San Deigo

4 of my favorite foods:
1) pizza
2) sweet pork salad
3) french fries
4) cupcakes

4 places I would like to visit:
1) Australia
2) Europe (England, Ireland, France, Spain, I could go on)
3) the east coast in the fall
4) Fiji (why not?)

4 things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
1) Hawaii
2) implants (hey, it could happen)
3) Disneyland
4) being the favorite aunt ;)

4 people I tag:
1) Katherine
2) Becca
3) Candice
4) Allie

Utah + family = A good time (who knew?)

2008-09-30T20:07:00.000-07:00

I'm totally lame. I took 2 pictures the entire 48 hours I was there. Thankfully there were other cameras there and it looks like slowly those pictures are making their way into the blogosphere. Here's one of the pictures I took (and it's a good one, I think):

It's Andi!

I realized while I was in Utah that I didn't know a lot of my cousins. I don't think that I ever really did (I'm not blaming the lack of knowledge on living in 2 different states, though I know it didn't help), looking back there always seemed to be some sort of separation between me them even when I lived in Utah. I came home to Arizona really happy to have gotten to know them for the first time. I realize that this whole blurb is kind of corny, but I am very grateful that I was able to spend so much time with so much family (considering it was a short trip). I am sorry there weren't more of us there to share in the fun, you were missed. :)

I also got to have lunch with my friend Lauren while I was there. Can I say that the best thing about Lauren and I's friendship (and the same with Lorraine) is that it doesn't matter how much time has passed, we can pick up where we left off. :) I have truly missed both of these girls the last 9 years, I'm glad I was able to catch up, even if it was really short. I'll be back, I promise!

Fall Intersession :)

2008-09-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

I have fourteen days off, that's two weeks. Yay! I think I'd be a little more excited if I wasn't sick. Seriously, I have the nastiest cold I've had in a long time. Boo! Anyways, you all know I lead an exciting life, so I thought I'd share my goals/plans for this break. Here goes:

1.) Read 8 books. Doable, right? That's less than one a day a piece. I actually have a bet going with Abbey that I can finish a series of 14 before her. I'm on 7 and she's on 11. Looks like I need to start focusing (in all fairness, she did just have a week off which is why she is ahead of me to start with).

2.) Survive Las Vegas. Also, doable. I just have to heal first.

3.) Learn my new Group Active choreography.

That's kind of it. Don't be jealous.

I haven't been lazy

2008-09-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

I've been without the internet. Lame, huh? Here goes Holly and mom:

3 joys, 3 fears, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 surprising facts, and 5 people to tagg, leave a comment for the 5 so they know thay have been tagged.

3 Joys
1. Reading, I LOVE reading
2. Not having a family to come home to (it would be too much right now, someday though...)
3. My family, I do love my family

3 Fears
1. Screwing up my kids
2. The dark
3. See number 2 above

3 Current obsessions/ collections
1. Box Tops (shameless plug)
2. My health
3. Markers, I really love marks and anything inky I can write with

3 Surprising Facts
1. I have a queen size bed and sleep on only one side
2. I go to a family ward
3. I play fantasy football (Go Reds!)

5 people to tag (I'm changing this to 3 since everything else is 3's)
1. Audrey
2. Lauren
3. Lorraine (has Lorraine been tagged?)

Happy Birthday Audrey! Yee haw!

2008-09-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

It's Aud's birthday! I absolutely love this girl for many reasons I won't begin to place on my blog. I will say that everyone should be so lucky as to have an Audrey in their life.

Lisa and I were kind enough to ambush dear Audrey at Texas Roadhouse last Monday night (6 days before her birthday, she never saw it coming). She was a tremendous sport and hopped on the saddle. I love you Audrey!

Yeah, Katie's life? Not so interesting.

2008-09-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile since I've posted, but I promise there is nothing interesting going on. Honest and truly. So, I've decided that in order to appease my fans (ha ha ha, fans...) I'm going to do a completely random post (as random is what I do best, heheheh).

So I have a total crush on an AFL player (Arena Football Leage). I'm not going to mention his name or what team he plays on (if you talk much to me during the season you know the answer to both of these questions) as I know his sister-in-law has a blog, and if I can find her than she can find me. Anyways, he's phenomenally hot; like, really, really, ridiculously good looking. My baby sister has mad hook-ups at United Airways Arena and got tickets to an AFL game this summer (box tickets, which are totally overrated, by-the-way), so we grabbed some friends and went. If you've never been to an AFL game you are seriously missing out, the weirdos come out of the woodwork for these. Case-in-point:

You can't see it well, it's a shame I have a crappy camera phone, but this man is wearing a popcorn bucket as a hat, for the entire game. $20 on popcorn is just too much, but if I use the bucket as a hat...

Random picture number two, guess who?

Yeah, that's Brian Urlacher. As in linebacker for the Chicago Bears, number 54. I don't feel right saying how I know him, but after seeing him numerous times over the last few years, I finally asked for a picture. Here's how our conversation went:
Me: Would you mind taking a picture with me?
54: No problem
Me: My sister and stepdad are such big fans.
54: You're not a fan?
Me: Uh, well, uh, well (face turning red), yeah, of course.
I have decided after examining this picture that I need to find myself a linebacker to marry. Do you see how little I look standing next to him? I was 10-15 pounds heavier then than I am now, too. He's massive.

Coming soon:
Parent-Teacher, probably have some bloggable moments
Utah visit, oh yeah, I'll have some stories
Vegas, well, maybe I won't talk about that too much. What happens in Vegas...

My favorite Cousin-In-Law!

2008-08-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

(sorry all you other cousins-in-law)

So have I mentioned that I love Brigitte? I swear I've never met her but I feel we have a bond (call it witty posts or whatever). Know how my awesome friend Brigitte propelled her way to the top? She sent me Box Tops, isn't that sweet?!

(in case you forgot what they look like, and I realize this one is expired, please don't send expired ones)

Jayson, you done good!

Yes I can be bought. :) Love you all!

And I hope they never find me...

2008-08-21T18:26:00.001-07:00

I do not post this to brag or be boastful, but maybe it will inspire someone who reads this (and remind me when times get tough that I can do it):

Just 30 more to go...

The best picture of all!

2008-08-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry mom, this picture belongs in my classroom picture post and I forgot to take it! Look how talented my mom is! She drew the "cowkids" and I think they are great!

I know I need to write and tell everyone how fabulous kindergarten is this year, but I just don't have the energy. Here is the year summed up: I am extremely blessed. My class is great! (knock on wood)

Home Sweet Classroom!

2008-07-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

So this is where I'll be living for the next 10 months. Isn't it cute!?!

The calendar:

Job/Information board:

The back of the room (I made the curtains, cool eh?):

Cubby wall:

Behind my desk:

My wall:

Don't you wish you were in my class? Wish me luck!

End of the year gift.

2008-07-27T12:35:00.001-07:00

Thank you family for your help! I gave this out to my kiddos at the end of the year last year. Someone mentioned they wanted to see it, so here it is!

San D"yay"go!

2008-07-21T21:13:00.000-07:00

I'm not even going to apologize for posting this so belatedly (look at my new word!), I'm just going to run with it. So the awesome threesome went to San Diego over the Fourth of July weekend, that would be Lisa, Audrey and myself if you're wondering. We had a fantastic time (well, my fantastic time dwindled toward the end as I was coping with some nasty tonsilitis, apparently it's not just for kids) and are making it an annual trip! Right Audrey and Lisa? It's been written so there's no backing down. ;) Anyways, yeah, fabulous time! Here is the picture of what our first fill up in CA cost:

Check out this view!:

(And I'll bet you're thinking I'm referring to the sunset, but I'm not, those surfers wer HOTT!)

Here is a picture of the awesome threesome (mind you we spent the day in a car):

(And, yes, I realize I'm not looking at the camera. I was distracted. HOTT surfers, remember?)

Let's see...OH! The fireworks!:

This one is just to show people that freckles don't really fade as you get older (but seriously, how frexy am I? Seriously!) :

I can't believe I almost forgot the Taproom! YUM! And the picture is us with our left overs, happy as clams that my car wasn't towed (my luck sucks, you know this). Did I say YUM!?

Fan-frickin'-tastic vacation girls!

I'm psychotic

2008-07-16T23:18:00.000-07:00

I am posting merely to draw attention to a noteworthy post. Thanks to Brigitte, I know I'm not the only one who needs comments to feel validated. Unfortunately for me, I wrote FOUR posts on Saturday and my favorite got shoved to the bottom, First Dates. Read it if you didn't already.

Told you I am psychotic. :)

Mem'ries...like the corner of my mind

2008-07-12T15:03:00.001-07:00

Last one of the day, I promise!

Remember when...

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments

BOX TOPS!!!

2008-07-12T14:23:00.001-07:00

So, where were your Box Tops last year, huh? I had only one person mail me Box Tops and she was not even a blood relative! I'm not sure if you looked at my school's Box Top page at the end of the school year, but we LOST! BADLY! I'm going to give you the chance to redeem yourself and you can send me the ones you've been clipping all summer long at anytime, you should have a lot, what with all the Ziplock bags you've been through and the Kleenex boxes and the Betty Crocker cakes/cupcakes you've made (I know you've been saving, right?) . :)

I will go so far as to send you a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you'll just hook up your favorite cousin/niece/sister/daughter/friend up with some Box Tops.

In case you forgot what they looked like:

Or where you can get them:

http://www.boxtops4education.com/AboutBoxTops/Products.aspx

I love you :)!!!

End of the Summer

2008-07-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

I have only nine days of summer left. NINE DAYS, people! In nine days I will have to be back in my classroom (like I haven't spent any time in there already...I'm cool like that) and getting ready to teach a new group of kinders. Scary, isn't it? I mean, this is no ordinary task.

First, we start with a little parent training, especially the first timers. It really is okay to drop your five-year-old off at the playground and drive/walk away. Nothing terrible will happen I promise. I also promise that mom/dad sticking around guarantees a longer cry time (for both children and adults) than if they would send their little one on his/her way.

Next, there is the training of the kinders. It's the little things that no other grade has to deal with, such as: how to sit in a desk, how to hold a pencil, how to walk in a line, how it is not okay to say whatever you want whenever you want, where to put their finished work, when to go to the bathroom, how to NOT pick their nose, how to use sneeze/cough and cover it, how to use sanitizer when they don't, how to use a glue stick, etc. THEN, we can do the fun stuff: how to write neatly, read, spell, count by 1's, 2's, 5's, 10's, and 100's, add, recognize coins, count money, be a good student, etc.

So now I'm starting to hyperventilate, the panic attacks are coming, not to mention the nightmares I've begun to have nightly about that first day/week... To try to avoid the overwhelming start of school I've given my self a goal of reading 13 books by then... Now that I've actually counted them it sounds a little impossible. Wish me luck.

First Dates

2008-07-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

I'm actually thinking about going pro in the first date circuit. I have been on 10-15 first dates in the last 9 months, I'm not even kidding. I have two "first date outfits" that I alternate between now (I'm sure you're thinking that these clothes should be pretty worn out by now, but this is something I only thought to do a few months ago), complete with shoes and earrings and hair (I did discover last night, however, that my earrings are MIA). Some of these first dates have led to second dates, but most of them turn out to be first/last dates (at least I'm dating, right?)

This may sound judgmental, but I can tell when I open the front door whether or not this is someone I want to see again. Thus far, they always seem shorter than I imagine (internet dating) or have picked some, uh, less-than-fashion-forward clothes to wear. Before you start thinking that I am a terrible person for making a snap judgement you should know that I continue to look for redeeming qualities while on the date, first impressions speak volumes, but so do actions. I am happy to report that over half of these guys open the door for me every time, which wins points, and usually the conversation isn't too bad. Sadly enough (or maybe not), there usually isn't anything there that makes the date standout or make me want to repeat it. I am sure most of you have had at least one date like that. That said, the date ends and they drop me off home...

Talk about awkward. How do you end a less than stellar date? And, does how you end it really reflect your stance on how it went? In my mind, there are four ways it can play out:

1- A "peace out" wave from the car. I don't think I've ever experienced (though more than once I wish it had). I think that one is pretty easy to interpret, he's not interested.

2- A handshake at the door. This may have happened to me once or twice. I say this could mean one of two things: this guy is polite/cautious and is interested in you OR, this guy is walking you to the door because that's what he has been taught to do and is not interested.

3- A hug at the door. This one has a lot of levels, such as: hand placement (over your arms, under your arms, a mix of either of the previous options), body contact (I think it's safe to say you won't get a call back if it's two pats on the back at arms-length), length of time (a longer hug would purvey interest, no?), etc. I am generally a hugger unless I'm completely disgusted by my date, but I am careful of body contact and the length of the hug if I am not interested.

4- A kiss. I'd be a liar if I said I hadn't done this a time or two (heh heh heh, okay, maybe more often than that but I am trying to cut back). I am quite certain that there is no correct way to interpret a kiss on the first date. It is either interest or hormones.

I won't even go into the lame, piddly conversations that happen at the doorstep. (You know, "I, uh, had a good time" and what do you say when you don't "Let's not do this again."? SERIOUSLY?!?) I forgot I wasn't going into that.

Last night I had a first date and I was walked to the door, then there was the hemming and hawing at the door, and then I got a hug...AND a kiss on the cheek. I walked in the door thinking, "Huh?" I am sorry to say, that I kinda hope this was one of my first/last dates with him (very nice, but not for me). In my analysis (of course I've analyzed it), I think it means he's interested, I'm hoping I'm wrong...

A risk I'm willing to take:

2008-06-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

I have the scariest fan in the whole wide world. If you don't live in Arizona, you probably don't understand the necessity of the fan, but believe you me, they are important. Right now it's not even 9:30 a.m. and it's already 93 degrees outside my bedroom window, my fan is necessary. It has taken me some time to decide if I really want to up the rotation level from low (which doesn't do a damn thing) to medium or high. I believe that it is time to up it. "Why is this decision such a big deal?" you say, well I have the Fan Of Death hanging above my bed. Here's a peak at medium speed:

This fan really does scare the hell out of me. I cringe with every click and creak and wobble, I just know that one day it's going to fall right on top of me. If there is a day that you don't see me, it's because my wicked fan finally did me in. I love you all and would hate you leave you, but it is too frickin' hot to have the fan on low!

And yes I realize that I swore twice in this post. But it's nothing you wouldn't hear on PG-13 movie and I did resolve to get that kind of rating on my blog. My deepest apologies to anyone offended.

I've found my calling!

2008-06-20T21:44:00.001-07:00

I had the best date ever today!* My date was amazing, but I'm getting ahead of myself. So I went bowling today and got my best score ever, a 203!** I had a couple of rough moments, like this one frame I think I only knocked 2 down pins, but when I looked at the guy I was with he smiled, gave me a thumbs up and told me I was awesome! Why can't all dates be that complimentary? Anyways, we shared a pretzel and an hour and a half at the bowling lanes, it was perfect. Thank you Carder, I had a great time!

*This date was entirely paid for by myself. However, since my date was a 6-year-old, I believe that would have to be the case. ;)

**My score of 3 games combined. ;)

So today I finally completed my last teacher auction date from Spring Fling. I had two of them, I'm not sure that I mentioned it WAY back in the Spring Fling post, but as part of the fundraiser teachers auction off time with their students to the highest bidder. This was my boy auction (the girl one was lunch and matching pedicures) with Carder and we did have a great time. He was totally done with bowling after 2 games, but persevered and made it through all 3. What a guy!

Play lists

2008-06-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to say it, I really dislike play lists and here's the reason. I am a multi-tasker. I pride myself in being able to do many things, and do them well might I add, at the same time. I also LOVE music, I listen to it loud and sing it loud, too. That's said, when I turn my computer on I am doing a lot of things at the same time, for example, right now I have YouTube up, along with my e-mail, my blog and an IM conversation. What happens when I'm already listening to something on my computer and open a blog with a play list, is an overlapping of sound, which bugs the crap out of me. If I'm not listening to something already and open up a blog, I'm blasted with music from the blog because my volume is cranked up from the last time I was listening to something. The kicker is this, most play lists are NOT at the top of the page and I end up scrolling like mad to find them to pause them or scrambling for the volume control.

Now I realize that this is a personal problem. Many people that I love dearly have playlists and I'm not requesting that they delete them, in fact, I've found a lot of new favorite songs or old favorites by playlists, but there has to be a way to let the viewer start them, right?

Playing catch up

2008-06-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

Did ya miss me? Don't even try to hide it, I know everyone has been checking my blog every chance they get to see if I've added a post. Wanna know how I know? The number of comments from my last posts (THANK YOU Brigitte!). Moving on, I know I mentioned surgery in one of the last posts, so I'm going to update on the messed up finger first. The diagnosis was a "Giant Cell Tumor" which the doctor assured me is quite benign (though this is the second time that I've had something removed from that same spot). I'm going to show some pictures and if you are easily grossed out, I encourage you to stop reading this post now. They aren't terrible, stitches and a little bruising is all. The good news is, I get the stitches out tomorrow AND only part of my finger tip is still numb! Woo hoo!

Before:

After (kinda):

More than maybe you wanted to know about me

2008-05-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Thank you Jenny!!!

THE ABC'S OF ME!
A. Attached or single? So single. So, so, so single.
B. Best Friend? I go to different people for different things, I don't think I've had a true best friend since Lauren and Lorraine in highschool I'll give you three: Lisa, Audrey, Abbey
C. Cake or Pie? Cupcakes!
D. Day of Choice? Friday or Saturday until may 29th, then any day
E. Essential Item? My phone. No one ever calls, but I know when they do I won't have it
F. Favorite Color? Red, yellow is growing on me.
G. Gummy Bears or Worms? Both.
H. Hometown? Midvale, UT
I. Indulgent(Favorite). Food, it's pretty disgusting.
J. January or June? January, it's my birthday, duh
K. Kids?25 5 and 6 year olds
L. Life isn't complete without? My family
M. Marriage Date? Like I would know. I would have said 8 years ago (soooo glad it wasn't)
N. Number of Siblings?3 younger sisters
O. Oranges or Apples? Apples
P. Phobia or fears? Being unhappy with me or my life
Q. Quote? "If you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you always got."
R. Reason to Smile? Forgiveness and starting over. Oh, family/friends.
S. Season of Choice? Fall
T. I TAG Audrey and Jeff
U. Unknown fact about me? I'm way too hard on myself.
V. Vegetable? Potatoes
W. Worst Habit? Cluttering countertops
X. X-ray or Ultrasound? I had an X-ray 3 weeks ago for my surgery in a week-ish
Y. Your Favorite food? Pizza
Z. Zodiac sign? Capricorn

Tagged (times 2, or maybe more I forget)

2008-05-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's hard to find quirks when you're dealing with perfection so it took me a couple days to scrounge up 6...
The rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you
2.Post these rules
3.Tell about six unspectacular quirks about yourself
4.Tag six fellow bloggers by link

The quirks:
1. When e-mailing, or texting, I use correct grammar. Meaning capitalization, proper spelling, punctuation, all of it. The only time I abbreviate is if my text exceeds the 160 characters permitted. Seriously, ask anyone.

2. I always put the toliet lid down. ALWAYS. I can tell when someone has used my bathroom because they don't put it down. True story.

3. I've seen every episode of FRIENDS at least 10 times. I can quote just about any episode in almost any given situation as the phenomenal sitcom covered almost all of life's experiences. I just have a huge aortic pump for those 6 characters.

4. I don't put books down. When I've picked up a book I will stay up 'til 4 a.m. finishing it even if I have to wake up early to pick up breakfast for our entire faculty for a 7 a.m. meeting. And once I get on a reading kick I'll read 7-8 books before I realize I can't pick up another one or else my report cards will not get finished by May 28th.

5. I am attracted to two types of men: 1- the super "goodie, goodie" Peter Priesthood types who don't look twice at me because it is obvious I am far from perfection; 2- the rebellious I'm going to repent one day, but right now I'm just living it up. I guess there are 3 types, the third being the #1 type and show just enough interest to get what they want and then ditch me when they find who they really want. It never fails, ask anyone who knows anything about my dating life for the last 12 years.

6. Beans disgust me. Particularly kidney beans. They have a skin you pop with your teeth, it just grosses me out!

Who to tag...I'm not going to list any family members as they've all been tagged so let's say Audrey, Lauren and Celeste.

My Mar

2008-05-11T14:36:00.001-07:00

You all see where I get my good looks now. I'm a lucky, lucky girl! (Since she didn't post a picture of herself wearing the fabulous glasses I thought it fair that I do it for her). I absolutely love this woman. I have read all the posts about what mother's want for Mother's Day and I'll have to admit I still don't know what to get mine. I don't mean to brag, but once I got out of my toddler years I was pretty much a model daughter. Seriously, you can ask just about anyone. That's not to say I never got into trouble, but I just never had a rebellious phase that put gray hair on either of my parents' heads. That said, I already gave the gift of being a good child. I think next on her list is grandchildren, but anyone who has read my blog knows that that ain't going to happen anytime soon.

My mom is pretty darn amazing. She has great style and a great sense of humor. She knows exactly who she is, where she came from, and where she is going. She raised 4 girls and has the patience of Job (one bathroom and all of us are within 5 years of age). She still does our laundry when no one (Larry) is looking, sneaks money into our purses just because, and loves to just hang out and talk.

I think the best thing about my mom is how non-judgemental she is towards her children/family. Everyone has their moments, and I know she's not perfect, but she doesn't stop loving us because we made a bad, or many bad, decision(s). She feels no need to point out the accomplishments of one of her daughters, or family members, to make another one (or herself) feel better or worse, but loves them unconditionally. I think it's safe to say, I haven't inherited that quality, or at least perfected it, yet.

Thank you mom for my good looks, creativity, and for being my friend. I lover you!!!

Pretty yards

2008-05-11T14:26:00.001-07:00

I've felt a little left out not posting and talking about my own yard (alright, it's not my yard, but I live there), so here is a post which will fully put all those other yard shots to shame. Top this!

I wanted to show a front and side view so you could really get the full effect. Isn't she a beaut?! It's obvious that we don't need to worry about a pesky HOA sending nasty notices to us. :) Woo hoo!

So I'm totally kidding, that is, however, the view I get when I walk out of my house every day. This is what our yard looks like. Doesn't KJ do nice work?

Check out the love!

2008-05-11T09:24:00.001-07:00

This past week was teacher appreciation week. The PTO at our school gives each day of the week a theme.

Monday was door decorating day. Mine was atrocious, no joke. I totally didn't get it and it all came down by the end of the day Wednesday. Anyways...

Tuesday was sweets day. I filled out a "Favorites" sheet at the beginning of the school year and this day is a test of what really can hold up as one of my favorite sweets. I put Twix down last year, I've had a hard time eating them since, needless to say I did not put them on the sheet this year. :) My favorites this year were peanut butter m&ms and 100 Grand bars. Yum! This is the day I was referring to as the day my children help me stay chubby. Eat your heart out Abbey (literally)!

Wednesday is flower day. I love tulips. Ever since my mom's gorgeous garden of bulbs growing up in Utah. That's the flower I put on my "Favorites" sheet. I think I did pretty well. I got some really pretty flowers. Right now they are all in my classroom dying and I'll be throwing them out Monday morning before my kids see them, but that's beside the point.

Thursday is "thank you" note day. This is probably the best day. I really love gifts, I'm not going to lie. But there is something about how each of them took the time to create (or write at least) at note to me about how much they love me that makes me a little weepy. My frustration point at this point in the year is very high and I have a very short fuse as it is, I feel very undeserving of their affection after I've scolded them pretty much every day (don't get me wrong, I don't scold unless it's needed, which seems to be hourly with 12 days left...). Check out my cards!

All I really wanted this week was for my kids to be good listeners and students. That didn't happen quite like I wanted so I'll be grateful for the goodies they gave me and the 12 days I have left. :)

In case you wondering

2008-05-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

Man A, B, and C are all gone. Buh-bye. I think I've finally come to my senses...now, where to meet some quality men. I think I'm done with the internet, just doesn't work for me, besides, real life is way more fun.

On a different note, I will soon be showing you how hard my students are trying to help keep me chubby. The nerve! (I'm totally kidding, you'll see.) I promise I can write funnier posts! Oh, guess what! Only 15 more days of school!

Fun stuff...

2008-04-29T20:31:00.000-07:00

Doesn't that just sound like a filler? I mean, it's like I don't know what to say so I'm going to end the sentence with "fun stuff." I'm talking with Man B right now...HELP! This is a very slow conversation. I believe I mentioned that he has 2 kids, right? He just asked me if I wanted more than 3 kids (which is what my online profile says), and if that was just my own kids, or including others. We just decided what we're doing tomorrow (get me out of it!) and I'm not excited! Pei Wei and then bowling. We aren't even starting this thing 'til 8 and I'm not staying out all night! And now he's fishing for what I'm doing this weekend... Advice? Help? I want to cry...

Gotta vent, must vent..

2008-04-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

Alright, this is a blog/journal entry, a little extra insight about me and actually, the name of my blog fits this post very well. Heads up, I'm not the hottest thing on the block, despite what it mays sound like in the proceeding ramblings. I've taken to the wonderful world of internet dating, woo hoo!!! So that should explain the number of males in the story.

First a little back story. I went out with a man in February for, oh three weeks or so. Not exclusively, but consistently. I had thought we really hit it off, there was fun conversation, chemistry. I liked him, which is naturally why I'm sure I weirded him out and at the end of the month he called me to let me know that he had just recently started seeing someone seriously (or that decision had been made) and we probably shouldn't go out anymore. I was bummed, but I gave him points for actually letting me know. We'll call him Man A.

In the first part of April, I started talking to another man who is really, really nice. He seems to really like me, we've gone out once and I am trying to find ways to limit the amount of texts he sends me (seriously, it only takes a minute or two to get a response). We're supposed to go out again on Wednesday. We'll call him Man B.

So two weeks ago, or there about, I get a text from Man A, just to see how I'm doing. I responded, but I was really going to try to not get psycho over it and read too much into it. Friday, I get an invitation, via text, to go to his house for an impromptu barbecue. Sure, why not I say. There was one other girl there by the time I got there... So that chick leaves and Man A and I start filling each other in on the last few months. Chemistry is still totally there. I ask at one point about the girl he was seeing and he mentions that they are breaking up. (Is it bad that that information made my day?) Anyways, I leave and I get a text the next day asking how my day was (from Man A, I got numerous texts from Man B). I answered and left it at that. The next night I get a phone call, lasted about 7 minutes. He says: How are you? What did you do today? By the way I'm officially single. What are your plans for the week? I say: How are you? How was your day? Well, that's good if that's what you were wanting. What are your plans for the week. He told me how busy he was, I said have a good week and we hung up.

The thing is, I really, really like Man A. I'd ditch Man B for Man A, at this point in time, in a heartbeat. Problem is, I don't have a clue about what Man A wants from me, if anything at all. Man B is coming on really strong (I see now why guys have run from me in the past) and it's a little overwhelming, as is the fact that he is 26, divorced and a dad of two small children...

Okay, the real dilemma is this: I'd love to ditch Man B at this point, and just sit and pine over Man A, you know, waiting for him to call. But when I actually say those words I see how stupid it is to pass up what could be a good opportunity because I want something else. Know what I mean? This isn't really all the details, but the jist and any rate. Feel free to give advice, comment, question, laugh, or whatever, it's just something that I had to get off my mind...

P.S. I haven't mentioned Man C, the 36 year old, separated-not-divorced-yet, dad of two who really wants to meet up with me and is pulling the same clingy behaviors as Man B...

P.P.S Sorry Aud, I know this is the kind of stuff reserved for our dinners, but I just couldn't hold it in. Oregano's soon?

And also, thank goodness for Copy & Paste!

2008-04-17T21:09:00.000-07:00

Just a side note, there have been many-a-blog that I've spent my hard-to-come-by time writing (go me with all the hyphens!) that have failed to publish. I got so friggin' tired of trying to re-write (hyphen!) all my witty blogs that I've decided Ctrl C adn Ctrl P are my new best friends. I really think this relationship is going to take me places. ;)

Sexy earrings!

2008-04-17T21:06:00.000-07:00

I forgot to put my apple necklace on today (no, not a "Twilight" apple necklace-someone actually asked me if that's what it was). I'm only saying this because I was thinking about how I had no jewelry on as I left my house this morning. Anyways, I got to school and went to talk to another teacher who had "kennel" duty and one of my boys runs up to me with a pair of earrings. "Miss Rigby, these are for you!" I look at the earrings and they are sparkly, pink plastic earrings that dangle, a little bigger than a quarter. He was so absolutely thrilled to give me these earrings. I put them on as soon as I was inside and wore them all day long. (This is the same boy who got my my princess gems for Christmas, look in the archives if you didn't see that picture). Even got a few compliments from some of my girls on my stylin' earrings. The best part is, I now have a really great pair of "date night!" earrings. Watch out boys!
In all seriousness, I was touched at how this little kid had thought of me when he saw the earrings and wanted to give them to me. Best gift I've ever gotten from a male not in my blood lines, HANDS DOWN!

(best picture, ever, right?)

Book worm to the extreme

2008-04-13T19:24:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share that since my Spring Break, which started on March 10th, I've read 7, wait, make that 10 books. I'm not talking about children's books, the shortest one had 357 pages. Doing the math, that's about 1 book every 5 days. Mind you, 5 of these books I've read since I've been back in school. I'm a total nerd aren't I? I'm not going to tell you which books I've read, only my family gets the luxury of knowing that little secret. Still though, how cool am I?

A little privacy please!

2008-04-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

On a whim, I googled my name and do you know what popped up? My dear friend Audrey's post on her blog about our daycation (I swear we're going to have one Auds!!!). I was a little creeped out that someone could look me up and be able to read my thoughts, okay, those were Audrey's, but still my link is on her blog. Long story short: I think I may make this beauty private. It's not for sure, but what if this got into the wrong hands? I'm not sure I know whose hands are the wrong ones, maybe that's why I'm hesitating. Just wanted to let you all know, just in case. :)

Spring Fling, baby!

2008-04-13T19:05:00.000-07:00

Our school just had our annual Spring Fling! It's our huge fund-raiser that involves the entire school and community. Each teacher (about 30) creates a classroom booth which is a game and everyone who plays gets a prize. On top of that we have a silent auction with themed baskets and "time with your teacher" (which is so fun). Last year we raised over $20000 and this year was much bigger, all our hard work paid off! So here is a picture of my AMAZING booth, which wouldn't have been so AMAZING if it hadn't been made mostly by my wonderful family (thank you Mar and Luvey!).

In addition to the class booths, the most fun of teachers (which includes me, of course) place themselves as targets in the pie-throwing booth and dunk tank.

Alright, so the pie booth isn't so bad as long as your eyes aren't open when the pie comes at your face AND if they don't angle the plate upward so you get cream up the nose AND if you don't mind the smell of fermenting whipped cream in your hair for 24 hours. Really though, a lot of fun watching how excited they all got each time the pie hit my face...

The dunk tank, well, it's a booty work out. I don't have the longest legs (I know you're shocked to hear that) so climbing up and down isn't as easy as you'd think. This also took place at about 8:30, you can imagine the desert with no sun right? Still the kids thought it was a friggin' hoot watching me hit the water and were so excited to hit the target (with a ball or their hand).

Thank you to my supportive and adoring family for trekking out to Chandler for the big shin dig. Aren't they great?!?!

Lopsided Chipmunk

2008-03-20T19:59:00.001-07:00

I look as good as I feel, you decide.

I'm not me...

2008-03-20T19:49:00.000-07:00

So I've been acting like a complete spaz this last week and I only can think of one explanation: the drugs. I've been loopy, paranoid, sleepy, forgetful, anxious, and I don't know, ask anyone who has associated with me. I've decided to take a big step and boycott the pain meds. After skipping the last dose I was supposed to have, I'm not entirely convinced that I should be finished, but I'm not really diggin the idea of not controlling my thoughts, words, and actions. It's more like a dull, uncomfortable pain so I think I can handle it. By tomorrow I'm hoping the weirdness will have faded and I'll be acting like me again, cross your fingers.

On to other news, I go back to school Monday. No kids yet, but back to school. It's really bitter sweet actually. I love that I have the opportunity to sleep in (which I've only taken advantage of today), but I feel like I'm not getting much done. Any ideas on what to do for the last REAL 24 hours of my break?

Weakness

2008-03-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, those who know me know that there are just some things I cannot say no to, you know, like Diet Coke. ;) Anyways, the point of this post...I'm um, re-creating my MySpace. I KNOW! It's terrible, but I'm just so nosy and the blog-hopping isn't cutting it, I mean, I can't look up specific people and it drives me completely insane. Maybe I should blame this on 2 weeks off for spring break... No, I'm not looking for love on MySpace (are you kidding me?), just thought I would throw that out there in case someone actually thought that was a reason. I'm not even close to being desperate, so no way am I THAT desperate!

In other news, I get my lonely wisdom tooth pulled on Tuesday. They're gonna hook me up to an IV and drift me off to sleep and get that baby out. I get to look like a lopsided chipmunk for 3 days of my spring break. Woo hoo!!! At least it'll give me a reason to skip the gym for a few days (I've been very good about going for the last week, like 2 hours a day even!). I do like going to the gym, mostly because I get results, but a break will be nice. :)

So next time to see me I will be prepared to be razzed about the dumb account, give me a break, I'm only human!

Did you want pictures?

2008-03-02T12:05:00.001-08:00

Not that someone made the comment on the blog specifically (why comment, right? WRONG!), but I meant to post some pictures from The Big Bang and never did. So here you go!

Tagged

2008-02-20T20:22:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo! I was tagged for the first time! You're in for a treat.

TAG

10 yrs ago: I think I had just gotten my driver's license! (I failed the first test you know), I had a total crush on Garrett (heh heh heh), um, that may be it.
5 Things on my list of things to do today (in no particular order):
1.) Shower
2.) Group Active video watch!
3.) Group Active!
4.) Sleep
5.) Teach, but I do that everyday
Things I would do if I suddenly was a Billionaire: What wouldn't I do?! Travel and travel some more, gonna see the world baby! My family would get a few toys (after setting a BUNCH aside for investment purposes, I know, BORING)
3 of my bad habits:
1.) Not hanging up my clothes after wearing (if not dirty)
2.) Leaving my desk a mess at the end of the day
3.) Speeding?
Places I have lived: Mesa, AZ; Gilbert, AZ; Las Vegas, NV; Midvale, UT
Things most people don't know about me: I really like romance novels, I have more than 10 credit cards (I DON'T USE ALL OF THEM!!!), I fall asleep with my lights on 50% of the time. :)

Uh, I suppose I'll tag: Audrey, Celeste, Marsha (test, test, new mommy)

Manless no more?

2008-02-10T11:36:00.000-08:00

I know what you're thinking so far, but I'm referring to the title of my blog and not my status. It's not that "Manless in Mesa" doesn't fit anymore or that I've gotten a terrible response to it, but you know when you just start itching to change something? Rather than do something too drastic like dye my hair (which I already did this week) or get a tattoo (I would never be so rash, that one requires some thought), I figure I could change my blog title. I'm a thinker! I'm asking for input, any ideas for the change?

Hmm, what else is there to write about...I've managed to avoid getting the terrible cold/flu/bronchitis/fever thing going around in my classroom. I averaged 20 kids all week long (there are 25 on the roster), those 20 kids still managed to disrupt instruction pretty much consistently with the chorus of coughing. You know how if you see someone yawn, you get the urge to yawn too? Well it's the same for coughing, apparently. Even mentioning the word would result in phlegmy coughing all around. I shiver just thinking of it.

In other news, I deleted my MySpace! I haven't even been tempted to re-create it! I think that's pretty good considering it ate up a lot of my life for 2 years. You'd think that that would free up a lot of time, but not really. On a whim, I registered for Match.com in October, (you know, "it's okay to look"?) and though I haven't looked at it much in the last 4 months my subscription ends this month and I've been popping on. If you've never resorted to online dating you're missing out. It's amazing what people will put on their profiles to get attention. I could devote an entire post to that alone. I plan to REALLY get a life in March.

Hmmm, I think that's all for now, check ya later.

Bang This!

2008-01-19T17:12:00.000-08:00

Today is the one week anniversary of our night out with Kelsi and the birthday that will go down in infamy. We went out last Saturday to celebrate my baby sister turning the monumental 21. It was girl's night out with my sisters, my mom, Carla (the adopted sister) and we decided to go to Big Bang, a dueling piano bar in Tempe. We got pretty good parking (we took 2 cars) and headed inside. It was really a lot of fun! The pianists were EXTREMELY talented (I was totally jealous) and very funny, too. We decided to call it a night at about 11:30 and left. As one group gets to the cars first, they notice that instead of our cars, others are parked in their stead. Hmmm. How could that happen? Behind the fence was the answer: No Parking, Violators will be towed. They were kind enough to list the phone number of the company who had graciously moved our cars along with the amount that would be collected at pick up, $140. Chump change.

After reasoning did not work on the dedicated employees at said company, we resorted to calling for rides with the assurance the cars could be picked up on Sunday. Rides being hard to come by at, oh, 12:30 a.m., 2 nice gentlemen came to rescue us with cars that would fit 5 (there were 6 of us). So, 3 get in one car, and the other 3 get in the truck. We laughed about how surreal the entire night had been on the ride home, how hilarious that our cars got towed and we couldn't get them back! Knowing that we should drive carefully home, so we didn't draw attention to the fact the there were 4 of us crammed into the small cab, we drove carefully home. Unfortunately, it just wasn't our night. As we exited the freeway, we were pulled over. The nice officer administered a sobriety test on the driver and scolded us for not wearing seatbelts. The driver got a warning for his speed and we got tickets for failing to "buckle up." It really was a fabulous night, completely unforgettable. Hopefully I'll be able to talk my sister into sharing the pictures, as I know you want to see.

The moral of the story, part 1: Closer parking does not always equal a quick getaway.

The moral, part 2: Always wear your seatbelt.

Not the last post, silly

2008-01-11T20:42:00.000-08:00

I was waiting for something important to say...still thinking about that. Maybe I'll update the resolutions thus far. Not much to be said for #1 except that I've worked out a lot this week. The budget is kinda coming along, I blew the credit card at Semi-Annual Sale, but I don't think I'm going to let it get me down. I'm thisclose to deleting MySpace after seeing a joyous update on someone's profile, I've written in my journal once and this is my 2nd blog this year. What were some of the other ones???

Anyways, I have my very own Group Active class at the new FitnessWorks in Chandler!!! I'm totally excited, maybe even giddy. I'd love to have more and I've pondered training in another format, I'm turning into a gymrat. Whodathunk?

What else...OH! I'm excited that since I've sent my blog link to family, I've been able to lurk on a couple of my cousin's blogs and see their adorable growing families. It is weird to think of them as parents, I still remember them wearing neon orange Cousin's Camp tees and walking around downtown Salt Lake with twinner hair.

As for the weird order of Christmas pics, I actually did the top set of pictures last, so all the captions make sense if you read them backwards. Sorry Celeste, I'm still new at this!

Happy 21st Birthday Kelsi!!!

This may be the last one

2008-01-01T14:03:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's the last of them. ENJOY!

...even more...

2008-01-01T13:57:00.001-08:00

There are more (my family is bigger than I thought).