Was the Suspense Killing You?

Remember the changes I talked about earlier this week?  Today is Sunday and I can officially tell you what these changes are.  Are you excited?

I was called as the 2nd counselor in the Relief Society presidency of my ward.  I know it's not super exciting but it's going to be a big change.  I went from member of activities committee (read as...I send emails once a week) to being in charge of a lot (I'm not sure what this entails yet as I've never done it before but the rest of the presidency and I will figure it out soon).  I even get a huge binder.  That's how big the difference is...no binder to huge binder.  Wow. 

Two Week Vacation?

Who's off-track?  Oh, wait...I AM!! 

I'll be spending a fun-filled weekend in Lake Powell. 

 Woot!

I'm Obviously An Expert on Mothers and Daughters

Remember how I spoke in church in January?  Remember how you usually speak in church about once a year (if you're unlucky or lucky depending on how you look at it).  Guess what.  I'm speaking again this Sunday.  That's twice in four months if you're mathematically challenged.  I was asked to use this talk as inspiration for my talk.

The talk is by Elder Ballard.  It's entitled Mothers and Daughters.  Yep, I'm a daughter but nowhere near being a mother and no one in the ward is a mother either.  I'm not sure how to go about this talk.  I'm sure it will be fine by Sunday but I'm unsure where to go and how to start.

I've got to figure out something else to start other than Laffy Taffy jokes.  I was thinking about talking about having 27 children and something about how I still seem to manage.  I don't know.  Help?

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Remember how I told you I needed to drop out of the MEd. program?  Well, I almost did.  I'm still taking one class per semester for the next year and then I'll decide on the Master's part.  Maybe I'll be ready in a year.  Maybe not.  Well see how it goes. 

Anyway, I'm writing this to just say that I'm glad I did because changes are a coming to my life.  I can't tell until Sunday but I'll let you know then.  Oh, wow.  I can do this.

Spring Fever

I think I have Spring Fever just as bad as my students do.  Ugh.  18 more school days.

I even made a paper chain.  I'm that cool.

Broken Promises

Saturday I stayed up way too late...3:30am to be precise.  The next day when I slept through the first hour of church, was struggling to even keep my eyes open for the next one and was called out for "napping" during the third (side note: I was just resting my eyes), I made a promise to myself to get enough sleep every night this week.  I said to myself, "I will go to bed no later than midnight every night this week.  Then on Friday I will celebrate the crap out of being off-track."

This promise was not kept on the first night of said pact with self.  I was up until 1:30am.  (Dang you, Rich and your silly games!  Even though I am/was tired, I am not complaining about these games...keep them coming.) 

Yesterday I recommitted myself to this promise.  Even though I had friends over, I went to bed at 11pm...WHAT?!  I don't think I've gone to bed during pm hours in a month or more.  I was so excited to get to bed on time and thought I was going to be so well rested this morning.   I knew I was going to be energetic and able to get up early enough to work out and it was going to be a great day.

That did not happen.  I slept through my alarm (and woke up 30 minutes before I had to leave for work), I had a headache, I didn't get to work out, and I was super ornery.

What's the deal?  Has my body finally adjusted to 4 hours of sleep a night and now it doesn't know what to do with the 8 I gave it? How has more sleep equaled more ornery?  Ugh.  Actually, double ugh.

I'm moving to San Diego

Not really but that would be amazing.  Maybe I'd get away from all this crazy weather.

Remember how at the end of April I woke up to this?


It happened again only much worse.

 Really, May, really?!

Drop Out

I think I need to drop out of my MEd. program. 

I'm feeling overwhelmed.  I'm feeling like I don't know what I'm doing.  I'm feeling like my social life and I are more important at the moment.  But mostly I'm feeling upset.  I'm upset because I should get a raise from putting myself through the hell that was my first year of classes but because of the district split and lack of money, I won't get it.  I should be earning $2600 more a year (I know that's not a lot but think about what you could do with about $216 a month.  I know a lot of things I could do. 

Ugh.  I hate being a grown up.  Will someone please make my decisions for me?  And while you're at it...find me a handy, handsome husband.

Sand Drawing

Amazing.

You've Probably Already Seen it...

...but I just love this little girl!

"I can do anything good...I like my hair...I like my whole house...I can do anything good.  Yeah, yeah, yeah."

I've Been Wrong All These Years

I read this on my beautiful friend Claire's blog.  I just thought lots of people should get the opportunity to read it.

"Girls! girls! Those of you who have hearts, and therefore a wish for happiness, homes, and husbands by and by, never develop a reputation of being clever. It will put you out of the matrimonial running as effectually as though it had been circulated that you had leprosy. So, if you feel that you are afflicted with more than ordinary intelligence, and especially if you are plain with it, hide your brains, cramp your mind, study to appear unintellectual—it is your only chance."
~ Miles Franklin, My Brilliant Career (1901)

Single Ladies

Just because I know how much you love this song.

You Have Those Horrible Days, Then...

...you get something like this and you know it's all been worth it.

"Miss J. has a way to teach something and make it fun and easy to learn.  She's one of my favorite teachers that I've had."

(click to see it biggie sized)

This is from L.  L. who says all kinds of crazy things.  I think I may just make him one of my labels.

edit:  You can now read about anything L. has said because he is one of my labels.  Click here if you'd like to read them all.

edit #2: I've now made all my featured students labels so you can quickly read all the funny things they've said.

Freaky Quiet

The joys of CRTs.

Though I hate them like Batman hates the Joker, I do love the silence. I took this of me just sitting there while they tested. My class has NEVER, EVER been this quiet in their lives. I'm calling it a miracle.




"They're so quiet."

Like freaky quiet. Sorry that video is kinda creepy of me. I didn't want anyone to know I was taking it.

Moral of this blog post: When you try to do things in secret, you end up looking like a dork.

P.S.  My hair looks like that because I just had it dyed and can't wash it for 48 hours.  Hour 0-24 of no washing was fine.  Hours 25-48 are scary.  My hair has taken on a life of it's own. Stay tuned for nice clean hair tomorrow.

Weekend of Awesomeness

How does one create a weekend full of awesomeness? With a few amazing steps.

Finally get that desk out of my car? Check.

Birthday bowling? Check.

Only use inside jokes as our names during bowling?  Check.

Giant bowl of ice cream? Check.

See an awesome rainbow? Check.

Make all kinds of horrible faces and take pictures of them?  Check.

Dominate bowling during the 8th frame?  Check.

Elder L. Tom Perry, of the Quorum of the Twelve, walking to the church office building? Check.

Floss teeth in public?  Check.

Eat pasta and enjoy the company of lovely ladies?  Check.

And that my friends is the making of a lovely weekend.

Both of Us

“Mamihlapinatapai: A look shared by two people with each wishing that the other will initiate something that both desire but which neither one wants to start.”

I'm going to start using this word because it describes my life perfectly.  Once we all start wearing our big boy and big girl pants all the time, then I will stop using it.  

Until then, mamihlapinatapai.

Why Nothing Ever Gets Done

4 Reasons:
1. I have a Mac. 
2. On this Mac is Photo Booth. 
3. No one is home.
4. I have homework to do.

First I perfected my dance moves.

 Vogue...strike a pose!

 I honestly don't know what this is.

 My go to car dance...the sprinkler.

My go to dance for class time...random arm movements.  It's a classic.

Then I took a trip to an amusement park.

I even went on a roller coaster.

Lastly, I decided I should become a magician.  How many magicians can make their own heads disappear? 

I think I'm so funny. 

And this is why I always do my homework assignments the day they are due.

New Title?

My blog title has been a work in progress since I began blogging. 

I've always hated it but never did anything about it.  Today, through the fog of sleep deprivation, bloggity-inspiration struck. 

I have a few options but have tentatively changed the title to Musings of a Wannabe Ginger.  What do you think?

Here are the other options:

• Random Thoughts of an Amusing Redhead
• Stories, Thoughts and Hearsay from a Wannabe Ginger 

Any and all comments or suggestions would be appreciated.  Have a lovely day!

Can I Borrow Your Big Girl Pants?

There is so much I want to say but because this is the internet and anyone could read it, I think I'll refrain.  I've spilled my guts to enough people this week to last me awhile.

Here's the short of it: I wish I could stop being such a pansy, put on my big girl pants, and do something about it but I'm terrified.  

That being said, my posts may become a bit more superficial than usual. 





P.S.

L. told me to "get some this weekend".  I don't know if I should be weirded out by the fact that he and the rest of my class are so obsessed with my personal life or worried about what he thinks "get some" means.  6th graders are interesting.

edit: My friend Ryan gave me the line "Big girl pants."  I (he) thought I should give him credit.

Ground Control

On Monday, my friends and I went to support our friend Bryce and his band Ground Control at Muse Music in Provo.  We had a super time dancing and rocking out to killer music.

 Ground Control

 Jaynee and me

 Ryan and Jenny

 Ryan, Jenny and me

 Me and Rich

Bryce

Gabriel, Jenny, me, Rich, Jaynee, Ryan

Let me explain my super amazing pose.  See the mirror in the back?  The flash kept reflecting back and making a horrible shot so being the smarty I am, I did that.  Totally blocked the flash.  Mission complete. 

One Word...Amazing

Holy cow.  This boy is amazing.




















He'll be on Ellen tomorrow.

Being Stupid is Tough Work

I've been super dumb the last couple of days. 

I already told you of the no sleeping thing.  This trend has continued and now I've gotten even stupider.

I'm blaming the lack of sleep for my horrible decision making.  I may be making it sound like I did something horrible.  I don't think I did.  But I do think it's just going to come back and bite me, and only me, in the bum. 

Here's how it all went down:

During reading groups, my student L. (you know L. from proper English lady, "Girls just want to date me", "Valentine's Day is a day of love", "Hey laaaaaaady!", Jedi boots, and Tampico.) asks me why I'm not married (then he told me how pretty I am and that I should have a boyfriend...but that's beside the point).  Somehow, we got to talking about my boyfriends or lack thereof.  And somehow, I began talking about the boy that I like.  I told them almost everything. 

My girls are even more obsessed now with finding me a husband than they were here.  We'll see how this all plays out.

Who's That Crazy Fun, Joyous, Awesome, Friendly, Forgiving, Cute, Fun, Generous, Spazzy, Great, Trustful and Cool Teacher?

It's Teacher Appreciation Week at my school.  On Friday, the PTA had a luncheon for the teachers.  They also gave us pictures with words and phrases written on them that our students had described us as.  Here's mine:

Spazzy and crazy fun were the highlight of my Friday afternoon.  One of my friends at work who teaches resource got "she is married." and "wears glasses."  We laughed for an hour about how funny the kids are.  

Teacher appreciation is amazing.  Thanks, PTA!

¿Cuántos Días?

Treinta.  Fabuloso!

You didn't know I was bilingual, did you?

Cinco de Mayo Festivities

How'd you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?

I wore a sombrero and a fake mustache.  It was epic.

Overheard During the Past 2 Weeks

I've changed how I my students do journals.  Instead of having them write in them for half the year then I look at them, I have them write everyday and I read them everyday.  Today I read this from my cute little J.  (The same J. that said she would cry and cry when she left my class and that I am too good for all men out there but I will wop you women's butts and take your men):

"My teacher [Miss J.] is better than my other one...She liked the smart kids better then the other ones.  She made everything hard for me.  She did not even help me and anything...Miss J. you are better then her you don't have a favorite one like her you make it easier for me.  She made me raise my hand when I didn't know the answer.  She made me embarrassed because I did not know the answer.  You teach in fun ways and you teach me easier ways to do math.  you are like my mom, sister, aunt.  Thank you Miss J. a lot."

She doesn't want to leave my class and I don't want her to leave so I think I'll keep her.

 L. :"I like your Jedi boots, Miss J."

Me: "Thanks?"

JGP made this bracelet made from cardboard and tissue paper.  He made it during class when he should have been doing a math assignment. 

Having a Life is Tough Work

Having a life is great but it's coming at the price of giving up precious hours of sleep and becoming a lazy teacher.

Like I said here, I've been going to church activities ALL.THE.TIME.  I've met some amazing people...some amazing people that like to say out way too late.  No one realizes that my sleeping habits resemble that of a grandma and they keep me awake until all hours of the morning...the MORNING, people!  (Other proof that I'm a grandma sleeper, read here and here.)

I know what you're all probably thinking or screaming at your computer screen.  But I can't just leave my friends or tell them to lock up my house when they leave because I'm going to bed, that would just be terrible hostess duties.

Here's my week since Sunday...


Sunday afternoon/evening...dinner at my house with a bunch of lovelies.

Sunday night...movie at Ryan's (awake until 1am).

Monday evening...FHE.

Monday night...get-together at my house (again, awake until 1am).

Tuesday night...Jazz game...Hung out with Chick-Fil-A cow and Jordan, left early but still didn't get into bed until midnight.

Wednesday morning...Holy cow!  I was can't-keep-my-eyes-open, can't-form-words, walking-like-a-zombie sleepy today.  My poor students!  Yep, they're being little turds lately but they still deserve more than I could give them today. 

I really should go to bed early tonight but it's Cinco de Mayo and I want to celebrate better than I did last year.  What to do?

4 Posts in 1 Day

Quick story.

After school on Friday, the staff threw a baby shower and a wedding shower (not for the same person).  Because we rarely all have to opportunity to be in the same room at the same time, we always go around and say what's new in each grade.  "Mrs. D won't be back next year, her husband got a job in France." or "Miss C. bought a new car." or "Mr. W is going on a cruise."  You know.  Same boring stuff we hear every time.

Being 6th grade and last to go, my teammates and I always try to concoct some sort of elaborate story because we are all so boring in real life.

(A little background on my team before I go any further.  75% of us are married...any guesses on the only single gal?  How'd you guess?  Yes, it's me.  Right now I'm on track with 2 lovely ladies who are trying to get pregnant.)

Having just had the "Are you pregnant yet?" conversation with many friends (I know, awkward) I immediately thought pregnancy...

We finally get to 6th grade and the 3 of us look at each other then our team leader shouts, "We're ALL pregnant!"

There is a 2.5 second pause of shock for 3 ladies on the same team being pregnant then I get open-mouth stares from every.single.person.  It was great.  Then embarrassing.  And I had to quickly retract the entire statement because I don't want anyone thinking I'm easy.  Also, no one on the team is pregnant.

But that's not the best part.

My teammate who began this juicy gossip on Friday came into class today to tell me something secret.  She whispered it to me in front of my class.  As she was saying it, my class starts to murmur.  "Hey!  No secrets in this class!" 

My teammate and I look at each other.  She smiles slyly.  I begin to speak without thinking (6th graders rub off).  I blurt, "I'm pregnant and getting married!"

Looks of wonder and woots of joy followed by "Miss J.  I'm still trying to find a man for you!"

I again had to immediately take this back.  I just shouted "April Fools!" and hoped everything would be okay.

Fast forward about 5 hours...

It's the end of the day.  We're cleaning up and getting homework passed out.  One boy comes up to me and asks, "So, you're not really pregnant, right?"  "No, H.D.  I'm not."  "And you're not getting married?"  "Nope.  I'm not getting married."  "Okay.  I just wanted to make sure."

But this is all leading up to an epic April Fool's Day* joke.  I'm so excited!  You'll hear about it on Thursday!

*I know April Fool's Day is over.  It was a weekend and I didn't get to do anything so I'm doing something with my team on Thursday. 

6 Week Summer? Yes, Please!

I contemplated changing tracks next year, here.

I decided I would go through with it on Saturday night and emailed my principal because I was so excited that I couldn't wait. 

6 week summer...here I come!

Pemba's Song

Book #45: Pemba's Song:A Ghost Story by Marilyn Nelson and Tonya C. Hegamin

Pemba and her mother move from Brooklyn to Connecticut. As soon as Pemba arrives at the new house, she knows something isn't right. She begins having blackouts and sees an 18th century African-American girl. Something terrible happened to Phyllys, a slave that lived in the house hundred of years earlier, and she needs Pemba's help. Working with Abraham, an eccentric old man who lives nearby, Pemba must uncover the girl's story to finally put her to rest.

This book was a quick read. I enjoyed it but would have liked a bit more meat.  My students liked this book a lot and were very excited to read it.  They breezed through it quickly and easily.  I would recommend it for about 4th to 12th grade (although the older kids may get bored with it and want more to they story just like I did.)

How Much Longer?

34 more days. 

It's getting scary.  Pray for me to have patience...and keep my sanity.

Thanks in advance.

May Videos

My sister, Courtney, had this on her blog. I almost peed at the end.