Final Post!

Hey followers!!! So this is my final post on this blog. I never really had a good concept for this blog and was never really passionate about it. So will you all do me a favor???? Will you pretty pretty please follow my new design blog? Okay, if its totally not your thing, you don't have to. But I'm SUPER excited about it and about all the fun projects/ideas I'm going to blog about. So, adios! And see you soon!!

Helpless

So I am super hungry and completely helpless to do anything about it. First I considered using my quarters to buy a doughnut at the school store during lunch. But then I remembered my quarters were in my car, and I didn't drive to work today. I have no money in my wallet, except for a few pennies. Then I thought of going to Arctic Circle to get a shake, but again, no car. I don't think there is anyone here at school that would take checks, but if they did I would STILL be out of luck because I ran out of checks last month! I won't be in control of my own destiny until 4pm this afternoon when Adam picks me up at Patti's house and even then he probably wont let me get food because we need to get on the road to Lancaster! He will probably make me eat an apple or a string cheese, because that is what he brought for road trip snacks! Obviously I am only hungry for junk food. I haven't felt this helpless since. . . like before I could drive. :(

I'm a Teacher. Please don't idolize me.

Warning: This is a little bit of a rant. But its something that has bothered me for a long time. Please know that I am referring only to myself, I don't mean to put down any teacher who goes above and beyond for their students. :)

So maybe its guilt or maybe its selfishness, but I don't like to be grouped into the "teachers should be nominated for sainthood" group. When I see people posting on facebook or sending emails about all the thankless work teachers do, I would just rather be left out of that sentiment. I go to work at 7am. I work really hard while I'm there. I hope that every other person who has a job works hard while they're at work. I work hard because I want to be good at what I do (and I think I am) and I work hard so that I can accomplish every thing I need to by 3pm. It took a few years of spending some extra time after school working on lesson plans and grading and what not. But I quickly learned how to grade more efficiently, plan more effectively and organize my self so that I only needed to take one or two trips to the main office each day. Now into my fourth year, my lessons are planned two weeks in advance, my grades are completely caught up and my classroom is more organized and clean than it has ever been. At night I don't grade papers or do lesson plans. I cook dinner, I clean my house, I hang out with my husband and I read books. When I meet students from BYU that are working towards becoming FACS teachers (Family and Consumer Science, the new name for Home Ec) they ask what I think is most important to be a good teacher (this must be a question they are required to ask because it comes up each semester when I meet with them). I tell them that I think the most important thing is to separate your life and your job. Being a teacher is my JOB. I feel good about myself when I excel, I really cherish the awards I've received. But I know my limits as a person and when I need to quit and do something for me, you better believe I do it. I have learned to keep all my work at school, I no longer take any grading home for any reason. I'll stay longer at school if I absolutely have to, but its very important to me that my home be a sanctuary where I can remember my favorite things (cooking and watching TV!!) and forget about my job. It keeps me sane and happy and fresh so I can be the best at what I do. I'm just a normal person working hard to be good at my job. I really don't do anything special that makes me more deserving of praise than any other hard working person on this planet. So next time you get an email about the hard work or late nights teachers put in, you can say a little prayer of thanks for them, but please remember to omit my name. :)

This Day is Bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

If you like the green bananas you are definitely the fortunate family member. Adam has to hope that some of the bananas will turn yellowish brown before I have eaten them all in their green deliciousness. Doesn't happen very often!

Cannibalism

Today I was eating my lunch next to the preschool, like I do every other day (usually). A mom and her son came looking for Gerry, the lady I work with and was eating lunch with. While the mom was asking Gerry about bringing a dog in for show and tell, the little boy was staring at me eating my lunch. When I pulled out my string cheese he didn't miss a beat. "Can I have a small piece?" What the??? I don't think small children should be accepting food from strangers, let alone ASKING for it. I said no, because I need food to feed the baby in my belly. He looked at my stomach in fear and said, "How did you get a baby in there? Did you eat it or swallow it?" Ha ha ha!! That's what happened to the last kid who asked for a piece of my string cheese! (Dang I wish I would have thought of that line earlier!)

Michael J, Patron Saint of Halloween

Is there a person that has ever lived that was more of a Halloween icon than Michael Jackson? Lets look at the facts:

He dressed in costume almost every day of his life.
He didn't even need a mask to have a scary face.
His song Thriller is a Halloween song that we listen to all year round.
A lot of his other songs also make great Halloween songs: Billy Jean, Dirty Diana, Smooth Criminal, Beat It, and Bad, just to name a few.

Just know that wherever you are tonight, somewhere Michael Jackson is looking down on us and wishing you a Happy Halloween!

Fear

To celebrate the Halloween season, here is a list of things I am afraid of, in no particular order.

• I'm afraid I'll forget how to cook by the time I feel good enough to cook again.
• I'm afraid of men in gorilla suits. Any psych majors want to help me out with this one?
• I'm afraid I wont ever fit into my wedding dinner dress. Not so much a fear about my size, as its about how much I really really love that dress!
• I'm afraid of haunted forests, haunted houses, haunted corn mazes and the fact that Adam might force me to go again this year.
  
• I'm afraid that is a fight he is going to lose. That isn't so much a fear, as it is a fact stated like I have a southern accent.
  
• I was afraid of losing my job last march and now I'm afraid of not getting to quit.
  

Well that's all! Happy Halloween season everyone! (Idea for next post: celebration of Michael Jackson, the patron saint of Halloween)

Marriage

For me, marriage was never about not being alone. I didn't mind being alone. Friday nights were totally awesome if I had a date, or if I just watched a chick flick and did my toe nails.

Marriage wasn't about security. I had my own car, my own job, and my own apartment (okay, I shared with a roommate. . . ), I think I was pretty secure.

Marriage wasn't about passion, I think I was living just fine without it.

No, marriage wasn't about filling a void. I loved my life. I would only get married because it was so great it would be nice to share. I would only get married if I found a person that complimented me for who I was.

How did I know Adam was the perfect guy for me? A lot ways really, but I think it was driven home to me the other night. Adam was reading the scriptures to me. 2 Nephi 19 to be exact. When he came to vs 6 he paused. And he didn't have to tell me why he paused. I knew! He paused so I could sing it!! Because I wouldn't have focused on another word if I didn't get it out of my system!

Random Thought for the Day

It doesn't matter what you have on underneath (even if it is a pair of shorts) you look like an idiot walking around school with pants around your ankles.

Adam is Funny

Me: Hey your iPod says the battery is very low. But its plugged in, shouldn't it be able to charge from my computer?

Adam: Yeah it takes a minute. Very low battery means the battery is very low.

No kidding?

Just a Little Convo

The following conversation occurred while I was on the internet.

ME: Woah!! I don't know what I did, but I just made one of my little tabs into its very own window!!!!!

ADAM: Yeah. I do that all the time. (as in, duh)

ME: You do? On purpose?

ADAM: No.

(This is probably not funny to anyone but me. . . I accept that)

It was all Yellow

So I'm sitting here suffering from a really bad allergy attack. Just when I think its going to end and the tickle in my nose stops its torture, it just starts right back up again with a single watery eye and very good reason to blow my nose. If I could just sneeze I think I would feel better, but its not that kind of allergy attack, its just teasing with me. ANYWAY. . . So I didn't want to shower and do my make up yet, because it would all come off the left side of my face so I thought I would wait it out by writing a blog post. I don't know what is going to make this episode end, its not like I've taken any medicine, I'm not that smart. ANYWAY. . .

Have you ever taken the color test? Red, white, blue, yellow??? Well I heard a presentation by this guy on Wednesday and it was great. And he said that no matter what, our core personality will never change. So I guess I was wrong that I used to be a yellow and now I think that I'm a red, and that I thought at some point in my childhood I was a white, but I know that I have never ever been a blue, because that means I would have to be super selfless, which I am not. Plus I've never been a worrier.

So in watching his presentation I have once again decided that I am a yellow personality that learned how to be assertive (he explained in his presentation that its the healthy thing to do as an adult yellow). A few things that helped me realize what I was:

• Yellows are motivated by fun. They try to incorporate fun into everyday. When people seemed to ME like they didn't have very meaningful lives (so nice of me to judge, I know) I could never understand why they didn't do more FUN things. Its what keeps me going through the hard times, looking forward to something fun in the future.
  

• Yellows wake up loving themselves every day for no good reason. Enough said.

• Yellows, like everyone else, carry around a trash can where they keep all of their insults and bad things that happen to them. The only difference is that yellows have a hole in the bottom and have a hard time getting upset. Okay, hold on before you start thinking of all the times I have gotten mad. I'm not perfect on this one! BUT it reminds me of how I smile when I'm upset with Adam and how I laugh when I yell at my classes for being bad. But yeah, I can hold a grudge too.

• Yellows are afraid to face the facts. I used to not open bills if I knew I couldn't pay for them. I DON'T KNOW WHY!!! Anyway, Adam pays the bills now.
  

• Now I'm going to make myself pretty and get some work done around the house. I kind of want to have a party tonight!!

We Couldn't Help It!!

We couldn't help but laugh, a lot, when we started singing There is Sunshine in my Soul Today at church. After all, there wasn't just sunshine in my soul, there was sunshine all over my BRIGHT red arms. I leaned over before the song began and said, "I think I've had enough sunshine for awhile." Which is totally NOT true. I just haven't had enough sunscreen in my life. Anyway we chuckled through the first verse (it wasn't very funny in the 2-4 verses. . . ) Probably our favorite is the line "That glows in any earthly sky" when Adam and I both looked at my "glowing" arms. So I'll take a break from the sun for a day or two and then I'll be cautious with my exposure. :)

I Try To Learn From The Best

I'm always looking for teachers examples that I can follow, tricks of the trade that they use that I can experiment with in my class. Today I was watching Willy Wonka and I thought the teacher was AWESOME! Here are two quotes that shows just what a great teacher he is:

"I've just decided to switch our Friday schedule to Monday, which means that the test we take each Friday on what we learned during the week will now take place on Monday before we've learned it. But since today is Tuesday, it doesn't matter in the slightest. Pencils ready!"

"Of course you don't know. You don't know because only I know. If you knew and I didn't know, then you'd be teaching me instead of me teaching you - and for a student to be teaching his teacher is presumptuous and rude. Do I make myself clear?"

PS I forgot this movie was a musical. . .

Sometimes A Little Rebellion Can Be Fun

It was summer of 2006. I had accepted a job teaching Interior Design, Child Development and Clothing at Bingham High School starting that fall. It was strongly encouraged that I attend Utah's Family and Consumer Science Summer Conference in Riverton Utah. I requested the time off from my retail position and made the 20 minute drive in my Toyota Pick-up (Which I need to take a moment to say that I miss it SO MUCH. There was just something about that truck that was so comfortable and made you feel . . . connected with the road, I guess).

Summer Conference is two days long and it was a difficult couple of days. It catapult me right into my adult life. No more being a kid. I was reminded of a quote from Raising Helen, where the niece is upset with her aunt, her new guardian. She screams, "Don't you remember what it was like to be young?!?!?" And Helen, the aunt, replies, "Of course I do! It was last Wednesday!!" All around me were reminders of adultness. Women in their 30s and 40s and 50s and so on. . . Women talking about students, about babies, about grandkids, about divorces. And all I could think was, I DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE THESE WOMEN. Of course, once you get to know someone you'll end up loving them, and I know that now. I know a lot of these women and I do love them. Some of them are great role models, and some of them are dear friends, but at the time this is what I saw:
Crocheting
Knitting
Frumpy clothing
Quilting
Some of the most boring shoes you have ever seen in your LIFE
Basically I just got scared of growing up to be. . . boring.

So on day two of the conference I wore:
A rockin' white tank top with skulls
A little gray cardigan
Black yoga pants
Pink shoes with skulls (I had a theme going. . .)

I AM NOT GOING TO GROW UP TO BE BORING!!!!!

Now that I know that my story is my own and that I will end up according to how I live my life, I've toned down a bit. I still dress up to the nines when I attend this conference but I'm not quite so intense. Growing up can be hard, especially when it happens so quickly.

Forever

*Written on Sunday evening

After Adam finished his triathlon yesterday he laid down to rest while I went out to the swimming pool to enjoy the warmth I've missed all winter. While I was there I started chatting with some men in town for mountain biking. They were funny and teased me for stealing their pool chair, even though there were plenty to go around. They asked me questions like where I was from, what my husband did for work, how I liked teaching. . . basic stuff. They also asked how big of a family I had. It came up naturally in conversation, but I can't remember exactly how. I said, "I'm the oldest of 6 kids." So they went on to say how unfair it is when oldest children are expected to be a good example and the pressure can be too intense and how much oldest children are expected to help out with younger siblings. I admitted that it was true, I did help a lot with Kenny and Hannah, but that I didn't mind. It was a lot better than other things I could be doing as a teenager. But it got me thinking, people always assume that helping out with younger siblings is such a drag, but really if you love them it isn't so bad.

Then this morning as I got ready to head back home, packing up the hotel room and doing my hair, I got a song stuck in my head. I really have no idea where it came from, I hadn't thought of this song for a long time. It was a song from Pooh's Grand Adventure, I think its called Forever. Pooh is singing to Christopher Robin about how they are going to be friends forever. When I was a high school student, my younger siblings were on a different school schedule than me and so Andrew and Rob and Kellie would all be in school, but baby Kenny and I would not. We spent a lot of time watching Pooh's Grand Adventure and I remember writing down all the words of the song Forever. Then I would sing it to Kenny, pausing at smaller words and he would fill them in. It went a little like this:
Kim: Forever and ever is a very long time. . .
Kenny: . . . Pooh.
Forever isn't long at all when I'm with. . .
. . . you.
I wanna call your name
Forever
You will always answer
My name (the actual word was forever, but Kenny always got it wrong, which was actually cuter than getting it right)
And we will just be we, forever you and me, forever and. . .
Ever.

Maybe I didn't have an ordinary teenager experience. I think I had an extraordinary teenage experience. And I wouldn't change it for anything!

Well, today I'm glad I don't teach Spanish.

I'm procrastinating my lesson for church tomorrow. I started it, but got distracted by this, that and the other. This was checking my facebook. That was checking blogger. And the other was finding this button on my Mozilla web browser. The button said "Translate" and it was blue. And I had never seen it before. I clicked it and it said, This page has been automatically translated into English. Well it was my friend Tiffanie's blog (Love you Tiff!!) and so, duh, she WROTE it in English. Still, I was curious. So for some reason I selected French off the drop down list of languages. I don't speak French, so I couldn't tell if it was correct or not. So then I changed the language to Spanish. And wow!! It totally translates her whole blog (later I tried it on my own blog too!) into dang good Spanish. I mean, I haven't studied it for a LONG time, so maybe I'm incorrect about the accuracy, but it seemed pretty close to me! So write your paper for school into your blog. Translate it into Spanish. Or French. Or Hebrew for that matter. Its like Google's version of the easy button.

It's the little things

I don't write much about Adam in my blogs or on facebook. I don't talk about how I think he's the hottest guy I've ever met. I don't tell about all the cute things he says and does for me. I don't mention the phone calls and the text messages I get during the day. (That is to say, I try not to)

I don't want to brag.

So this is probably the only time you'll hear me say it. But the reason I bring it up to day is because I always wonder how I got so lucky. Before I dated Adam I never even dated someone I thought was as cool, as good looking and as totally compatible with me. I never knew it was possible to be so happy. But really, What did I do to deserve him?

Well after a year and a half of asking myself this question, today when I left the grocery store I realized the answer:

I always put the grocery cart in the cart return.

YEAH BABY! I knew someone was watching me take the high road. Even in the RAIN!

But please don't make me give up my strawberry shortcake!

So I've been married for 4 months and I have put on just a tiny bit of weight. This something I have worked so hard to avoid, but apparently not hard enough so I've rededicated to living a healthier life. I've cut out most desserts and tried to eat healthier and smaller portions. I've also started doing Biggest Loser Cardio Max workout DVD. I'm feeling better and stronger everyday I eat good foods and get a good work out (which is not every day, I'm shooting for 3 times a week right now)

There are a lot of desserts I can give up. I can watch my husband eat ice cream in front of me, I can turn down the chocolate chip cookies, but I don't think I could ever give up eating Strawberry Shortcake. It is probably my favorite dessert. Not just because its good, but because of what it represents. To me, strawberries represent spring and warmer weather, Easter and new beginnings. But it can also represent a lot of calories. So I dedicated some time to figuring out how to make my favorite dessert a little more figure friendly than usual. Its still a dessert. Proceed with caution.


Cupcake: (I broke down a cake mix into a smaller portion, because you KNOW what happens if you have extra cake lying around the house. . . and you're hungry. . . )
1 c Betty Crocker white cake mix (put the remainder of the cake mix in a Ziploc bag and back into the box)
1 egg white
2 T sugar free applesauce
1/3 c + 1 T water

Mix all ingredients, beat on medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Spoon into 8 cupcake liners. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. I let them cool, kept two for our dessert and put the rest in the freezer for another day. Because of the applesauce, these cupcakes will go bad faster than regular. I guess I could have made an even SMALLER batch, but I just didn't want to figure how to break down 1 egg white.
Cupcake: 100 calories

Strawberry topping:
2 cups fresh strawberries cut in half or fourths
2 T sugar (I'm going to try just 1 T next time)

Place strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Use two knives working like scissors to cut the strawberries into smaller pieces. The sugar will help draw out the strawberry's natural juices and make a really good topping.
1/2 c of topping: 45 calories

Whipped Topping:
1/2 c evaporated milk
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 T powdered sugar (must use powdered)

Place milk in a mixing bowl and place in the freezer until ice crystals form around the edges of the milk. (Consider freezing your beaters as well) Mix with a hand mixer on high for 1 minute until frothy. Add vanilla and sugar gradually. Mix on high for 2 more minutes until stiff. Serve immediately. (This can only be used on cool or cold desserts. It will melt on anything hot or warm) Makes 2 cups.
1/4 c whipped topping: 25 calories

Feel the Heat

I was so excited to try this awesome new recipe. I got it from my friend Jenny on facebook and I had made a few tweaks. I cut up the red bell pepper into spears. I cut the chicken (Jenny's recipe was for turkey, but when I saw the price was over $5.00 a lb, no thank you, I will stick with my chicken) into thin sections and then salted them and sprinkled them with fajita seasoning and then pounded the heck out of them with the butt of my knife (perhaps I should invest in a meat mallet?). I place the spears in the center and roll them up in the chicken. I turn around to move the frying pan with oil back onto the hot burner (it was starting to smoke earlier and so I moved it partly off) when I felt the MOST extreme heat I have EVER felt. OH MY GOODNESS. My hand is on FIRE! But how can that be, I think, I didn't even touch anything! I can't have seriously burned my hand on RADIANT heat from an electrical burner! I quickly place my hand under running water. I don't yell when I get hurt, I like hold it in until my blood vessels are about to explode. Adam notices something is a little different in the kitchen and asks if I'm okay. I think about it. Am I? I've burned myself often, but the worst of it could maybe be considered a first degree burn. This feels worse. . . A LOT WORSE. WAY WAY WORSE! So I try to convey this to Adam but I'm not sure how, so I just keep responding to his question of "Are you okay?" with the word "No." And I actually manage to run my hand under cool water AND get dinner in the oven (actually I alternate between the two activities). I sear the chicken rolls in the heated olive oil on all sides and then put them in the oven heated to 350 degrees (for those of you who are gleaning the recipe from this post) When the chicken is cooked I eat with Adam and a wet towel resting on my now blistered burn. Later Adam gets me some Aloe Vera sunburn gel and though it helps, I still suffer a couple of hours while we watch Biggest Loser. I continue to apply the gel every time it starts to hurt again. Probably every 5 minutes or so. Thankfully, my advil kicks in right as the show is ending so I easily fall asleep at 10pm.

Wednesday I wake up and remember the burn on my hand. It doesn't hurt at all, I can only feel it if I think about it. However, I don't have a lot of gauze or band-aids to hold it on with (I don't have any medical tape, so I just did what I could) so to spare my bandage I shower with that hand it the air. I can do everything but wash my hair. Well, I probably could if I had time, but I don't. I value my sleep too much. So once I'm out of the shower I no longer have to worry about the bandage getting wet and I can do my hair and makeup using both hands.

Later that day at school I have to use the bathroom. Its right before the last period of the day so I hurry to make it back before my students arrive. As I go to wash my hands I forget about the bandage and I stick both hands into the water. Oh well, I think. Probably needed to be changed and I have a first aid kit in my classroom with all necessary equipment. So I rip off the bandage and FREAK OUT. Why is my burn blister GREEN!?!?!?! That has got to be a bad thing. Oh wait, aloe vera gel. I didn't wash it off my 23 applications of it last night before bandaging my hand.