Ideas for Neighbor Gifts

I admit I'm not very creative when it comes to giving Christmas treats to neighbors. Last year I made Orange Almond Bread (my favorite!) and wrapped it up in saran wrap and tied it with ribbon. Yup, that's pretty much the extent of my neighbor gifts. I know that my next door neighbor, Rich, was most appreciative since he lives on his own and gave me a gift in return (not that I expect that of course).

Over the weekend I was looking in a packet my mom has of ideas and sayings for gift giving. My favorite was as follows:

Attached is a brownie, cookie or cake mix.
"Roses are red. Christmas is sweet. I'm too busy! Make your own darn treat!"

I laughed hysterically the first 5 times I read that. Okay, maybe I'm still laughing hysterically every time I read it. So don't be surprised if you get this gift from me one day. I just hope you'll get as much enjoyment out of it as I do. Haha!

To Be or Not to Be.......

....that is the question. Christmas used to be my favorite time of year. I loved the holiday festivities, the decorations, the hustle and bustle, the shopping for perfect gifts, the family parties, the excitement of Christmas morning. Don't get me wrong, I still love parts of the Christmas holiday. It's lost a lot of it's sparkle since my divorce a year and a half ago. I hate to say it, but sometimes I feel like a scrooge. I dread the holidays....and as it nears closer, I dread it even more. Last year I didn't put up a tree or any decorations, I pretended it didn't exist (at least in my house it didn't). Bah Humbug! If I had my choice, I would've gone into hibernation and skipped Christmas altogether. I hate holidays in general...they're not a pleasant time for me, but Christmas is THE hardest.

I'm trying to have a better attitude this year....though I fall short most days. I'm trying to get into the mood and excitement of the season. Maybe pretending and putting on a happy face shows some sort of effort? This past weekend I put away my Thanksgiving decorations and have started getting out Christmas. I figure maybe if I do a small amount each day....I might be able to get it all accomplished without having a complete breakdown. I might even have my parents over later this week to help with the tree. Sometimes the thought of it all is too overwhelming. I'm hoping to get through most of the season without too many tears. Maybe somehow I'll make it a merry Christmas this year after all.

Time for Celebration

My shower is finished....except for my shower door, which will hopefully be installed once we can find a cheap one at Home Depot or Lowe's. Any other suggestions on where to look for a cheap shower door?

All of the tile and grout were finished Friday night and they came back again early Saturday morning to seal it. Hooray! I was able to get my house back. I spent most of Saturday cleaning the bathroom and vacuuming everywhere. Ugh, what a mess everything was! I'm happy to say things are almost back to normal, and I have a clean house once again.

We put the shower curtain back up so at least I'm able to use the shower until I can get a door. It's such a nice luxury having a fancy tile shower that will actually clean up well. I love that it's spacious and has shelves and a corner bench for shaving. :) I also absolutely love my trim...slate, glass and other such fun small tiles. Okay, so maybe I'm in love with just about everything. I will have to post some pictures soon.

Almost done?

Remember my remodeling that I started a week ago Monday? Well, it's still not finished. There have been many problems along the way, and luckily they were solvable. The day he started laying the tile we find out the wrong trim has been ordered. We had to take it back to the store and ended up picking out something entirely different since what we had originally ordered was back ordered and we didn't want to have to wait. Then we find out the also gave us the wrong floor. We had picked out a brown tile...but later switched it to a cheaper one. They gave us the one we really wanted, but that we had not ordered....so they also discounted that price. Yay for mistakes that turn out better in the end.

When my shower was started I was told it would take about 5 days. Are you kidding me?! It's been about double that! They are finishing up the tile today (I think) and will hopefully grout tomorrow. My dad will then seal it Saturday. We then have to order a shower door and have that installed sometime next week.

I'm so tired of my house being a complete disaster, and really really hope they are finished and done soon. I'm tired of people and mess and crap etc. etc. in my house! I'm also not looking forward to deep cleaning and getting rid of all of that dust and other such mess when they are finished. I just have to keep telling myself how great it will be and how much I will enjoy it when everything is back to normal.

My Five

Five things I don't leave the house without:

1. Cell phone
   
2. Lip gloss
   
3. Gum
   
4. Keys
   
5. Jewelry (earrings, necklace, watch, rings...)
   

Five cartoons I watched when I was younger:

1. Jem and the Hollagrams
2. The Smurfs
   
3. Gummi Bears
   
4. Strawberry Shortcake
   
5. Fat Albert
   

Five things that terrify me:

1. Scary movies
   
2. Loud noises
   
3. SPIDERS
   
4. Anything creepy and crawly
   
5. The dark
   

Five things I dislike that everyone else seems to like:

1. Onions
   
2. Peppers
   
3. Spaghetti
   
4. Broccoli
5. Scary movies
   

Five things I want to do before I die:

1. Be a mommy
   
2. Be totally debt free (car, house, everything...sorry Heather I copied)
   
3. Go to Paris with my honey
   
4. Have a secure and happy marriage
   
5. Germany, Italy, England, Australia, need I say more.....
   

Five people I tag:

1. Liz
   
2. April
   
3. Jan
   
4. Arianne
   
5. Lisa
   

Demolition Day

My shower remodeling is beginning today. Hooray.....I think. It's taken a lot longer than I thought to get everything figured out and ordered (not to mention the frustrations and annoyances along the way), but the day has finally arrived. I've covered my floors in sheets and removed all items from my counters in the bathroom. Oh geez, it feels like it did when I first moved in. My fabulous dad is playing "overseer" while I'm work all of this week. Love you Dad! What would I do without you? Today would probably be the demolishing day, ripping out the old shower/tub combination and hopefully the more exciting tiling parts will be starting soon. It's suppose to take 5 days....cross my fingers. I would love to have the mess over with by this weekend so I can put my bathroom back together again. I will have to take pictures and post them.

Conferences

Tonight is Parent/Teacher Conferences. Definitely not my favorite time of year. I hate being at work for 12 hours today....and another 12 hours tomorrow...and still having to come into work on Friday. I'm quite jealous of those traditional teachers that get Friday off. I do look forward to see those cute kiddos in my class that have been trying so hard and have progressed since the first of the year. I love seeing their grades going up, and their smiling faces. :) Some things do make me proud. However, I will be glad when these two days are over and I can catch up on my sleep this weekend. Wish me luck!

Life is.....

Have you ever wondered why life turns out the way that it does? Why sometimes no matter what we want and what we feel is best for us, it doesn't always go that way? Why it can't just be easier? Sometimes it seems like life is going great, everything is going our way, everything is going smoothly, when BAM....it takes us in a completely unexpected direction. This new path just might be the best way after all, make us happiest in the end. But of course we fight it, we don't like change, we don't want it, it's too painful, it's too frightening, it's too lonely and unknown....whatever. It's so hard to see the end result of any of our choices and decisions in this life.

I like immediate gratification. I want what I want now, today, this moment. I have a hard time waiting, knowing my happiness or wants will come sometime in the future. It seems unfair that some people seem to have everything that I want, yet take it for granted or don't seem grateful. I don't feel like I'm that horrible of a person not to deserve such things. I know I've made plenty of mistakes and wrong choices in my life, but know that I'm at least trying or working towards correcting and righting some of these wrongs.

It is hard to see the end of my path....since it's so far away. I do get discouraged and frustrated when it seems like I'm trying and yet keep falling and feel like I have to start all over again. I'm grateful for Sundays and being able to go to church and get that added boost and optimism to help me through the rest of my week.

I am grateful for the family and friends in my life that have helped me get where I am today. Even through all of my good and bad moments, I have such wonderful friends who have not left my side in my moments of need. In times of greatest trial there are always things and people that I am blessed with.

Monday....Ugh!

I always find Sunday nights to be depressing. Why, you may ask? Because the next day is Monday, the start of a new, long week. Awful things always seem to happen to me Sunday nights. I might have an emotional meltdown, I might have horrible, terrible nightmares, I might not be tired and go to bed way to late, I might wake up in the middle of the night and be unable to go back to sleep, I might have many or all of these things happen. No matter what I do to prepare myself for a Monday, the night before is always awful! I rarely get enough sleep Sunday night. I rarely wake up having enough rest (and pay for it the rest of the week). What do you say to skipping Mondays, and starting the week out with Tuesday?

Halloween

Halloween is a week away and I have No idea what I'm going to dress up as. Being a teacher, I have to dress up every year and participate in the Halloween parade at school (not my favorite). Last year I was a biker chick, the year before I think I was an army girl. So, what should I be this year? I need something easy and quick. I could be a biker chick again....but is that boring? I could be a farmer, or a baby....or something really simple. What do you think? I need your help!

Remodeling

I'm redoing my shower in the master bathroom and I'm SO excited! I've done a few changes since moving into my town home and I'm loving it! I changed the carpet, painted the floorboards and touched up paint here and there (thanks to help from my dad), got a new sink in my kitchen, door knobs and pulls on the kitchen and bathroom cabinets.

I have 2 bathrooms, the guest bathroom and the one off of my master bedroom of course. Both bathrooms have the tub/shower combination, which is great when it comes to wanting a bath (though I do wish it was a bit deeper so I could actually fit into it). Both showers are made out of that fake, plastic, hollowy stuff that feels like it's going to break if I'm not careful and it's crap to clean, since it won't ever really come clean. I've decided to rip it all out and put in a tiled shower (since I still will have the guest bathroom to use as a bath). I picked out the tile with my mom and got it ordered last week. Hooray! It's going to be so great when it's finished. I will have to post pictures. The work will probably begin the first part of November. I'm not exactly looking forward to the mess and the pain of waiting for it to be finished. In the meantime, I will be using the shower in the guest bathroom (hooray for 2 bathrooms) However, I know it'll look great when completed! Yay!

Already Gone

Why is it that I can relate to songs like this? It's such a sad/pretty song and I cry my eyes out every time I hear it. I love it, but it makes me sad at the same time. It's strange sometimes how some pain in life never completely goes way. Time may heal me physically, and sometimes I may have a pretty believable happy face but emotionally it feels like I've got a huge scar that will always be there. Don't want to have a whine fest, just wanted to share this song.

I'm an Aunt!

My brother, Mike, and his wife, Natalee, had a little baby girl this morning at about 3am. They named her Lexi Michaela Secrist. Very cute! In the meantime I hope Natalee is getting some much needed rest (okay, you too Mike) Love you guys!

My Birthday

This past Saturday was my birthday. Another year older, too bad we don't get younger. :) I had a fabulous day! It all started out with sleeping in....woo hoo, one of my favorite things to do. I went to lunch with a great friend to Applebees (again woo hoo) and we caught up on all of our news. We then headed over to a boutique where another friend of mine (shout out to Nicole) had a booth. I bought myself a much needed birthday present. Love my new necklace! That evening I saw Harry Potter for the 2nd time (love, love, love that movie) and ate Subway sandwiches.

I want to thank everyone for making my birthday a special one! Thanks for all of the birthday calls, texts, etc. I feel very blessed to have such great family and friends. Love you all!

Disneyland

I've been slacking on my blog lately, and haven't updated it for a while. We went to Disneyland September 4th for a week, while I was off track, and we all had a great time. Well, other than my getting a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad sunburn! Ugh! My 2nd day there we went to the beach and I burned my legs pretty bad. To the point where I couldn't stand, or walk without crying and being in excruciating pain! But, besides that fabulous experience, the rest of the trip went pretty well. I was able to spend 2 days (maybe more like 1 and 1/2 considering I moved so slow with my sunburn and swollen feet) in Disneyland and had some great seafood (yum!) and character dining in the park. I think I'm ready to go back again, anyone wanna go with me? :)

Cole's Creations

A friend of mine, Nicole, recently started a new blog. She's very crafty and creative and has great jewelry and such for sale posted on her blog. I have a watch band and earrings that she made, and I'm hoping to get a necklace and lots more soon. Head on over to her blog here, and check out all of her fabulous creations. Make sure you give her a shout out, and welcome her to the blogging world.

The picture I have posted here is one of her necklaces she has shown on her blog. So cute!!

Sunscreen Anyone?

I just realized this morning that I don't have any sunscreen to take with me on my vacation this weekend. Considering we'll be going to the beach sometimes I'm thinking I should pick some up. Does anyone have any favorite sunscreens I could try? I don't want anything too greasy since I really hate the feeling of them as it is. I want one that's a good quality, and something I wouldn't mind keeping and using again. I only have 2 more days to purchase said sunscreen, so all the help I could get would be great.

Welcome Autumn

Fall isn't really for another 3 weeks, but it's close enough I think. I can't believe it's here already. Really, where did the summer go? I do like autumn, in small doses, don't get me wrong. Most years we don't really have much of an autumn and go straight to winter, that I'm NOT a fan of.

I love that fall introduces us to cooler weather, yet it shouldn't be too cold. I love that my birthday is just around the corner (Oct. 10th). Mark it on your calendars! :) I have missed wearing some of my warmer clothes, long sleeves, pants, etc. etc. I will miss my flip flops, short sleeves and capris though. I am not ready to have huge snowstorms or bundling up in coats, gloves, hats, and boots to trudge out through the freezing cold weather and snow. Yuck! So here's to a happy autumn, but maybe postponing winter for a while longer.

Off Track

This is my last week on track. Hooray for off track times during the year! Have I mentioned that I love year round? I love having my breaks spread out through the year. I love having almost all of December off. I love that I get 3-4 weeks off every time I go off track. I love that being off track gives me a much needed rest and I come back to school ready to teach again, rather than feeling burned out.

After school on Friday I leave for 10 fun filled days at Disneyland. I love Disneyland and haven't been in quite some time, so I am excited, not to mention spending time with my cute niece and nephew. I love them to pieces!! Sadly, my credit card balance isn't quite down as much as I would've liked. I know I'll be charging a bit more while there, and will have to work at paying it off in the next few months before Christmas...eek! Can you believe Christmas is in like 4 months? Seriously, didn't we just celebrate that?! I used to love, love, love Christmas and all of the holiday cheer and crap, but not so much anymore. Needless to say, I'm not exactly looking forward to that time of year, but that's for another time and another angry post. :) In the meantime, HOORAY for going off track!

What a Pain

Last year I got a back spasm, or whatever the heck it was. I was in constant pain and could not do anything normal. The worst was getting out of bed in the morning, where I didn't sleep the night before since every time I moved I woke up in horrible pain. When my alarm would go off to get me up for work I couldn't get out of bed without crying and wishing I didn't have to move ever again. Definitely not fun times! Yesterday at work I again hurt my back. The annoying part is I really don't know what I did to it. It doesn't seem as bad as it was last time, and I'm hoping it doesn't continue to get worse. :( I can function a little better, in that I hurt but am still able to sort of do things for myself. I didn't sleep much last night and am not thrilled to be at work today since it hurts to sit and to stand. I can't decide which gives me more relief. Blasted thing!

Bitterness

Warning: this post will be pathetic and negative. Feel free to skip this one. Have I mentioned that I have a bad attitude and I pretty much just don't care? I have no desire to date or do much of anything lately. I know that I'm bitter and it's my own fault. I seem to pull away from most everyone, causing more loneliness for myself. I don't want to go out with friends most days, I don't want to meet new people, I don't want to start over with the whole dating crapola. I feel like I've given up in many respects (like I said, I KNOW I have a bad attitude) and I'm not trying at all. The couple dates I have gone on were alright, but I wasn't putting forth much of an effort, and I didn't care to try. The guys figured out I wasn't interested and once again I didn't seem to care. Seriously, what is wrong with me?

Before I go on, I want to recognize my fabulous friends (you know who you are) that have been with me through every step of the way. They have been there through my good times and bad. Thanks for being my shoulder to cry on, and my rock when I need that extra strength. Thanks for cheering me up and laughing with me during happier times, and being understanding and supportive during the tougher ones.

While I'm on my soap box, can I talk about people getting special treatment?Why is it that other people with "issues" get treated special and we all have to be extra nice, or extra understanding, yet my "issues" don't seem to matter? Everyone has their own issues or problems, but mine are non existent I guess. I'm not expecting everyone to treat me "special", but be a little understanding, please. I do have feelings, and I do still hurt most of the time. My life isn't all sunny just because my divorce is over. I still have a lot of pain and a lot of damage I'm dealing with everyday. Some days it's a lot harder to pretend than it is other days. So please, give me some slack and don't expect me to be happy all the time.

I Need it! I Want it?

I've been wanting this CD since I've been hearing all their great songs on the radio. Green Day has forever been one of my favorites! I went to their concert a couple years ago, and wish I could go to more. I've been telling everyone I want it for my birthday. Now I'm starting to think I might need it before our Disneyland trip (post below)? It would be great to have it on my ipod on that long drive to enjoy, right? Hmm....now the question is, do I need it now? Or can I be patient and wait for my birthday? Decisions, decisions, I've never been very good at those.

Mickey Mouse Here We Come

In 3 weeks my entire family is going to Disneyland. Hooray! I haven't been to Disneyland since I went with a friend of mine in college ("I'm not falling for that one. I'm not getting on the freeway. Hey! We're on the freeway." That was for you Kim.). I love Disneyland and am looking forward to going. We'll be gone Sept. 4 (leaving as soon as I get out of school. I'll be off track!) until Sept. 12. I'm looking forward to experiencing some Disney again, it's been way too long!

We'll be staying in a Marriott condo about 30 minutes away from the park. I'm thinking about 3 to 4 days at Disneyland, maybe some at the beach, and some for relaxation of course. Since it's been about 10 or more years since I've been, is there anything I NEED to do or see while I'm there? Any fabulous eating places? Great shopping spots I can't miss? Help me out and let me know the things you love doing.

P.S. Did I mention I'm not the happiest road tripper? I'm planning on bringing plenty of snacks, books, and of course my new ipod, but all of you be forewarned I'm not always the greatest when it comes to LONG car rides. I want to get there and be done! It's Disneyland (I am a kid afterall) and I want the fun to begin, not the long, endless hours of boredom in getting there. On a better note, I did make it all the way to Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota and I survived (with no impatience I might add). I actually didn't mind the driving too much, except for the dead scenery I enjoyed it. There is hope. Some day when I'm rich and famous, I'll own my own plane and be able to travel wherever and whenever I want. :)

Happy Birthday Garrett

This past Saturday was my darling nephew, Garrett's birthday. He turned 7 years old. I can't believe he's already in 2nd grade this year. How fast they grow up! My sister had a little family party on Sunday and his friend party was on Saturday. Happy Birthday Garrett! I love this picture of Garrett and Ashlie, not exactly sure when it was taken though.

Selfish People Suck

The world does not revolve around you. Enough said......

All by Myself

My parents have officially moved out into their new home. They are 10-15 minutes away from my house, and even closer to my sister, in South Jordan. I love their new home, and think it's got many of the things they were looking forward (minus the formal dining room). I like that they're much closer and I won't have to be taking the freeway during awful winter weather.
It's nice to have my craft room put back together again, and begin to work on my cards for next week's card club. I like having my space back and getting back into the routine of things. I'll have to post some pictures later of my parents living quarters while at my house. Haha!
It's been kind of quiet and lonely since they're gone. No one to eat meals with, no one to watch tv or movies with. I think I started getting used to the company. Good thing I can visit them whenever I want since they're so close now.

Why?

Why is it that Sunday night I don't sleep well? Why can't it be Friday or Saturday night where I have the option of sleeping in the next morning? Why is it that my mind picks Sunday night to run wild and think of everything possible? Why does it have to be Monday today? Why do I have to be SO tired today? Why did I only get about 4 hours of sleep last night?

I'm exhausted today and struggling to be here. I couldn't fall asleep forever last night. Then when I did, I kept waking up every hour or more. I had the most bizarre dreams....scary in fact. My mind kept going and going, not letting me get any rest. Ugh! I hate that I pick Sunday night to have a terrible night sleep, when the rest of the weekend was fabulous and I slept great. Seriously, why is it the night you need sleep to function the next day you can't seem to get enough?

Blood....ick!

For the past however many months I've been getting excruciatingly painful charlie horses in my calves and toes many times each month. Sometimes it will wake me up from a deep sleep (oh so much fun!) and other times I'll be walking and end up clutching my foot in pain. The more I started thinking about it I realized that the stomach medicine I take for my acid reflux can cause calcium deficiency (my doctor had previously told me this). I called the doctor's office and told them about my frequent charlie horses. They wanted me to come in to get some blood work done to find out if it's calcium or potassium deficiency. Each day during the week the blood work people go home at about 4:00....which makes it pretty impossible to get there anytime but Friday.

After school on Friday I left a little early, and made me way across town to the doctor's office. I arrived there shortly after 3:00, making sure I had plenty of time. The receptionist ladies proceeded to tell me that the lady that does blood leaves at 3:00 on Friday. Now why in $#&! would the stupid nurse lady tell me there'd be there later if they weren't going to be!! I was frustrated to say the least. I wasn't thrilled to have my blood taken, but wanted to get the blasted thing over with. What a waste of a trip.

Stupid Punks!

My parents are still living at my house, possibly for another 2 weeks. They have since found a house (in South Jordan) and are waiting for carpet, etc. etc. to be finished before they move in. My house has a one car garage and usually my parents have been parking one car behind mine in the driveway. Recently they have been leaving my mom's car in the garage at their soon to be house. Every morning my dad pulls his car out so I can leave for school.

Last night he decided to park his car over one street at the guest parking by our clubhouse. This morning he walked to his car, and came back a minute later. Someone had broken into his car! What? Scary! They had broken his back window to get in and used a knife to pull off the trimming or whatever it is on the steering wheel and the electrical stuff, trying to steal it (blasted punk!). He has a Civic, and the car won't start without the key, so the moron wasn't able to steal it afterall (Yay for that!). He must've been in a hurry or something, because he left his knife and some blood behind and didn't steal anything out of it (luckily).

The police didn't want anything to do with it, and said to let my HOA know. He took the car into the Honda shop and it will be $500 or less to fix everything. What a pain! Things like that aren't suppose to happen in my neighborhood. Scary to think all 3 of our cars were over in that exact spot just a few weeks ago while my concrete was being redone. Now I'll be all sorts of paranoid. Eek!

Where did the time go?

My summer break is coming to an end. It seems like it just began, and I was heading to Mt. Rushmore, which was a ton of fun by the way. This 2 week break in the summer goes by way too fast sometimes. I'm looking forward to getting to know a new set of kids, but I also will really miss my class from last year! I have 19 boys and 6 girls this year. Eeek! I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. Noisy....yet no drama. I haven't decided which would be worse.

Fall is just around the corner, and that is crazy in itself. It does mean my birthday...hip hip...but not so thrilled about being another year older. I haven't accomplished many of the things I though I would when I was little....heck, I would probably have thought I was an old lady by now....haha. Funny the way you perceive things as a child and how different things are when you get there.

Road Trip

Tuesday I'm heading on a road trip with my parents. We're going to South Dakota, visiting Mt. Rushmore. I've heard it's a 10 hour trip without stops, that's one heck of a drive. I'm excited though, since I haven't been on many vacations and I'm a huge fan of trips! I've updated my ipod and got a bunch of books to bring along, besides my camera of coures, so I think I'm prepared.

None of us know much about Mt. Rushmore other than it's cool and everyone who's been thinks it's a great trip. And since it's a National Park, it's gotta be great, right? So, if any of you have been or heard anything about it could you let me know? Or let me know what else there is to do or see around there?

Seriously.....enough!

Yesterday, while visiting a friend, I decided I needed some attention. I was calmly walking down her lawn when I ran into a slight depression part and lost my balance. My right foot rolled under one way, then trying to catch myself it rolled back the other way. Luckily, I was almost to my car and was able to sit down for a bit and catch my breath. Ya know when there's so much pain and you feel like you're going to vomit? Not fun. I then had to drive myself home (good thing it wasn't any further).

And did I mention that I still have to keep off my driveway for about another day while the cement is curing? Not great timing with that! I parked a street away, gathered up all the courage I had left and hobbled my way over to my house. I iced it most of last night and have it wrapped up today since I'm still in pain. I haven't had any sprains or torn ligaments since my ballet dancing days, so maybe it was overdue. I sure hope this'll be my quota for quite a long time now though.

Ouch!

This morning while taking a shower I knocked over the shaving lotion which caused a dominoes effect....shampoo, conditioner, shower gel all came cascading onto the top of my right foot. Ouch! It's going to have a big ol' bruise, I just know it. It hurts like crap today and of course the top of my sandal doesn't help. After getting out of the shower I found that my hair dryer wasn't working. Blast it all! I was not having the best morning. Then as I was grabbing my stuff to leave I remembered where my car was......on the next street over. What a fun trek.

This afternoon we're having a water day at the end of the day. My students are thrilled, and I'm somewhat excited myself. I'm sure it'll be crazy hot out there, but maybe it'll be a great way to finish off my day. Anything is better then the way it started, right?

No Parking

Starting today my HOA is having some of our concrete replaced in my neighborhood. My house is one of the lucky participants. They will be tearing out the existing concrete in my driveway and pouring new sometime this week. As I was leaving this morning they started working on the house next to me, which is good news. I'd much rather get it over with early and hopefully it can start setting (or whatever it is concrete does). In the meantime I get to park on the street one over from me and make the trek to my car every day. It'll be nice when everything is finished and looks fabulous and new, but until then it's sort of a pain to plan an extra 5 or so minutes to make it to my car. How spoiled have I been with a garage this past year and a half!

Bed and Breakfast

In 2 more days my house will be turned into a bed and breakfast. My brother, Mike, is coming this weekend to help my parents move and will be staying with me from Friday until Sunday. Are you excited Mike to sleep in my pink bed in my craft room? Haha! My parents will then be moving in for an undetermined amount of time (until they find a house) starting Sunday. It'll be an adjustment having people to share my space with. I've become accustomed to doing things my way and on my time schedule. Heck, I haven't lived with someone now for a year and a half.....how crazy is that? However, it will be nice to have company and maybe not be lonely quite as often and it'll give me a good excuse to cook dinner for myself sometimes since I'll have someone to share it with.

Wish us luck. I hope everything goes well for the big moving days! Did I mention I hate moving? Ugh!

Time for Updates

I'm back on track today. Yesterday was actually my set up day, which was kind of nice, considering the other teacher had finished school on Friday so I had to the room to myself. It sure went a lot faster in moving everything and getting things ready. I love my kids this year! Have I mentioned that before? The majority of them are such sweethearts and I will really miss them when school is over. 3 more weeks, that's all that's left. How crazy! Next year I have a class of mostly boys (a change from my class of mostly girls this year). I love boys, and I won't be having all the drama I had this year, but I know it will be a lot noisier, since boys don't seem to get the whole "quiet" thing. Haha!

The past couple weeks were fun filled, but also full of emotional roller coasters. Seriously, I don't know what my deal is lately. It's so frustrating that I can be having a fabulous day, or even week, and next thing you know it's turned into the crappiest, worst day ever. Some days I feel so discouraged with things, and have a hard time finding much to be happy about. I hate being lonely, and I hate that I hate being lonely. I hate that sometimes I can't control my tears, and they always seem to come at the most inopportune times.

Before I forget to mention, my parents sold their house! Crazy that it's seemed to happen so quickly, but still a good thing overall. They have to be moved out in 2 weeks. AH! They are in the process of looking for another house in the South Jordan area and will use what is left over after everything to buy it. They have found one house that I think is perfect, and they seem to be leaning towards that one as well, so we'll see what they decide. In the meantime they will probably have to live in St. George and come and visit often until all the work is complete on the house (carpets, counters, etc. etc.). The good thing is South Jordan will be much closer to my sister and I than where they have been, so it's all about thinking positive, right?

Wii Are Happy

After many months of deliberation I finally came to a decision. I bought myself a Wii the other night. Hooray! I decided it was time for Christmas in June. I also might've picked up a few games to go with it. I need to have some variety in my game playing right? I had to have the Wii fit, and I needed another controller so I got the Wii Play. It already came with the Wii Sports, and last but not least I got Mariokart. So there you have it, my new toy!

I've spent a few nights up much later than I should, but I'm off track, so I've justified it. Besides, it's sort of an active form of gaming, right? Next on my list is the EA Sports Active, looks like a fun workout type of game, and definitely high on my list is Guitar Hero World Tour. But these and other fun games will probably need to wait until the real Christmas time. I think I have far exceeded my budget for a while.

Trip to Idaho

This past weekend I went to Meridian, Idaho to visit my brother and sister-in-law. I drove up Friday and came back on Monday. It was a very fun getaway. We played some tennis, which I haven't done in over 10 years, I kinda sucked. Went shopping at Natalee's Seagull Book that she just started working at. Love that store! I got to see my cousin, Trisha, and her kids (that I don't see very often since they live in Idaho). Started getting hooked on Heroes, and have since signed up for Netflix.

My favorite part was making a mess all over their kitchen....okay, so maybe that wasn't my favorite part. I went to get a drink of water, knocked over the bottle of milk in the fridge, but lucky for me the lid was on and nothing happened. I think maybe I should've just stopped there. After taking the filter pitcher thing out of the fridge I start pouring it into my glass and the top comes off and water dumps all over the counter and starts running onto the floor. Mike had just filled it up I guess, but how was I suppose to know that? I'm sure they were thrilled to have me leave afterall....no more messes. :) Hehe. Thanks Mike and Natalee for having me up. I'll try not to be so messy next time.

One More Day

I have one more day until I go off track. Hooray!! I'm looking forward to Friday being my last day, and having my nephew, Garrett, come over and have a sleepover. Our night will be full of fun movies, games and maybe a trip to the Arctic Circle. Of course after Garrett sleeps over, Ashlie will want her turn. I love my niece and nephew! And I love being off track.

Today my parents are leaving for their trip to Europe. Yup, I decided not to go. :( Sad story isn't it? It was definitely a hard decision, but the cons seemed to outweigh the pros. I get to pick them up from the airport on Sunday, June 7th. Holy crap, that seems like forever away, my off track will almost be over by then. I hope they have a fun time, and everything goes as planned, even though I won't be there.

I Don't Exist

Just in case you were wondering, and if you didn't know.....I don't exist! A few months ago I got an email, on my school email account, from a parent (that was NOT a parent of one of my students). I figured this out after many emails from said parent insisting that her daughter is in my 5th period.....umm....lady, I teach elementary school....we don't have periods. It seriously took me 4 or 5 emails to convince her that No, I don't have your child in my class, and No, I don't teach middle school.

Again, a few weeks ago I get another email from a parent (again, NOT a parent of one of my students). However, this father was able to understand a lot quicker that I wasn't the teacher of his son. Later I found out, supposedly, there's a teacher at a middle school close to me with my exact same name. How randomly random is that? And said teacher has apparently given out her (MY) email address as her own. I know this because first (clueless) mother told me I had put the email in my disclosure statement at the first of the year.

Just today I went to our school library to check out some books and videos for my unit, and the librarian could not find me on her system. Yup, you heard me right, I don't exist. She found the Melanie Jensen at the middle school......but no ME! I have been erased from the system I guess. Does this mean I don't have to come to work anymore?

Sleepy Time?

How soft and comfy do these slippers look? I'm a big fan of slippers of any kind and have a few for winter, but have been searching for some during the summer. The ones I have are definitely in need of recycling. These babies are suppose to feel like chenille, with foamy cushioning and some sort of aromatherapy scent. Sounds like a winner to me. I checked my Target, but they didn't have any. Maybe I might have to order these babies online?

It's Official

My parents have put their house up for sale. For those of you that don't know, a month or so ago my dad was forced to retire. Sadly, his place of business was losing a ton of employees due to this stupid economy. He's worked there for 30 some odd years and I never thought anything would happen to his job. Because he had worked there for so long and was such a great employee they gave him the option of leaving with some dignity and retiring early. Of course he picked said option, since he really didn't have much of a choice to begin with. My mom works part time at Spoons n Spice, but more for the discount really, nothing substantial. Their budget was going to quickly become a lot smaller.

My mom, not wanting to move, has put off listing their home for as long as possible. They will more than likely be moving to St. George, into their vacation home, and looking for a condo type house somewhere here in Salt Lake to visit quite often (more often than not, and hopefully permanently, according to my mom). My sister and I both live here, my brother in Idaho, and my mom would enjoy living as close to her children and grandchildren as possible.

I'm not thrilled seeing them move, and am hoping they find another house here soon! I've loved having my parents so close. I'm also hoping the sale of their existing home, and everything else works out the way they need it to. Wish them luck!

I'm Appreciated!

This week is Teacher Appreciation at our school. So far the office and PTA have given us a carmeled apple (delicious), relaxation cd, they made breakfast for us yesterday, and banana splits today after lunch. I've also got a couple things from my fabulous students. One little girl gave me a $20 movie gift card, others gave me notepads, cookies, cards, etc. I'm feeling very appreciated! :) I love knowing my kids and their parents appreciate what I do, even if it's just a quick homemade card.

Update City

Last night I went and bought my knobs and pulls for my two bathrooms. Hooray! They're not installed yet, but I'm quite excited to have them. I even had a fabulous little coupon where you spend $50 and get $10 off. This made my excitement even better. :)

On a more gross note, this past weekend I was opening a new box of girl scout cookies (I save these babies as long as humanly possible. Hoping to draw out the wonderfulness of them!) I was having my favorite Do-si-dos.....yummy. I opened up the box, pulled out the cellophane wrapped cookies and noticed black dot things....hmmm. At first I thought it was part of the cookies....just burned stuff or something. But on closer inspection they were black ants. A few squashed on the sides, and a bunch in the top. Ew!! They did not come from my house, if you were wondering. These little monsters were sealed inside the blasted package. I immediately lost my appetite and ripped open my remaining last box of Do-si-dos to make sure they were okay, which they were, but still, not exactly sure I want to eat them anymore. I called the 1-800 number on the back of the box yesterday and the nice lady gave me a number of the council here in Utah to call and who to talk to. But of course they were closed by the time I called them last night. I'm thinking a huge case of cookies is in order, but on the other hand, do I really want to eat some anytime soon? What a disgusting problem!

On a Quest

That's not really a picture of my bathroom, but how cute is are those mirrors? Last Fall or Winter, or sometime I got knobs and pulls for my kitchen cabinets. So much better. I found them at Lowe's, so they weren't too expensive and my wonderful Dad installed them for me. My next thing on my "To Do List" is find some for my two bathrooms. I'm heading over to Lowe's this evening with my parents after having them over for dinner. It's always a great excuse for me to fix something fun, when I usually don't since it's not quite so fun to cook just for one. My question to all of you is, should I get all pulls on cabinets and drawers in the bathrooms? Or pulls on drawers and knobs on doors? What do you think looks best? I can't seem to decide, and me making a decision could take forever!

Happy Graduation!

My favorite brother, Mike, is graduating today from BYU. Hooray Mikey Moo (I know you love when we call you that)! Tomorrow afternoon we're all heading down to BYU for his specific college one and then going out to eat after. Yummy! You know I'm just in it for the food, right? Mike and his wife Natalee have been living in Meridian, Idaho since the first part of January after Mike got a job in finance with a company up there. Congrats Mikey! Love you!

Hooray for Sales

I made a trip over to the JCPenney yesterday after school. I was in need of some socks (black and white) and was in hopes of finding some capri pants, since it's that time of year now, I hope. A great card club friend of mine sends friends and family coupons every little while, which is always a nice added perk. I love JCPenney and have found some great deals and cute items there every time I go. I didn't find as many capris that I loved as I had hoped, but I did find a cute jeans pair on sale for $20 plus another 20% off of that. I found my needed pairs of socks, not on sale, but again a 20% off helps. Then I had to look through the purse section. Of course I found the cutest purse that I just NEEDED (or wanted, however you want to look at it). It was regularly $45 already on sale and then with the other discount came to about $23. Woo Hoo!! I was saving all sorts of money. The purse was an added need to cheer me up, we all need those things every now and again, right? All in all I had a great shopping trip and am enjoying my new purse today. :)

Oh Sweet Sadie!

I'm so excited! Next Friday and Saturday (April 24th and 25th) they're having a fabulous boutique in Daybreak. They'll be having all kinds of fun goodies you can check out and buy. I'm thinking these awesome finds are also going to be there. Or something like them anyway. I've been needing a new watch and think I'll be going just for that if anything else. Check out the Oh Sweet Sadie blog here and you can find out more details. Maybe I'll see you there. :)

Spring Break

I had a great Spring Break, maybe that was mostly because I didn't have any school Thursday, or Friday. Hooray for days off! Wednesday night I went to pick out my sink and faucet(hoping the plumber would be coming sometime next week). Thursday I got my hair cut and highlighted. Isn't is funny how you feel so much better after a great haircut?

Friday the plumber came to install my new kitchen sink, surprise. He was working me in between his other jobs. I love, love, love it!! I'm actually able to put things in my sink and let things soak without overflowing. And my new faucet is so nice, I love the sprayer being part of it, rather than a separate piece. Plus I got a soap dispenser, it came with my faucet, and there was an extra hole on my sink so I might as well use it. It was fun!

Saturday I caught up on laundry and some cleaning. Sunday my parent's had an Easter dinner at their house with my sister's family and me. Ya gotta love any party where my cute niece and nephew come, it gives me a great excuse to play and be silly! I hope everyone else had a great Easter as well. The nice weather yesterday is making me really, really sick of this cold weather. I need spring!

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone has a fantastic Easter. Enjoy!

Apostates?

Hehe! This article made me laugh. Read it here if you're curious.

Money Money Money

Friday I went to get my oil changed in my car. I figured it was about time since it's way over the miles. I had a coupon for $14 off at my Acura dealership. I make an appointment, knowing that it will be even longer if I don't. Even with a stupid appointment it still takes 60-80 minutes. Ugh! I always bring a book to read hoping to pass the time. After about an hour my service guy comes up and tells me my back break pads need to be changed, as in they wouldn't pass inspection. Oh geez! I know it was about time for all this to start happening, so I wasn't worried that he was playing me as a "dumb girl". They wanted $169 just for the break pads. Ummm....no, that didn't sound so appealing to me. I told him I didn't want to pay that, and could they give me a better deal or I'd go elsewhere. He came back telling me they'd do it for $151. Funny the things you'll get if you talk about going somewhere else. Haha!

For those of you that don't know, the first of the year I changed my Dish Network packaging to include HD programming (for my fabulous TV), meaning I had to get a new HD receiver. I called Dish wanting them to switch out my receiver, and begin paying the higher prices to get my great channels. They wanted to charge $100 or some such thing which I thought was stupid. I'm already a customer and you can't give me a better price then that? Nope! I then proceeded to tell the lady that I would be calling Direct TV instead because they had a promotion going for FREE HD receivers, none of this stupid $100 fee crap! I was told to hold as they put me through to the manager. She told me she would waive the $100 fee and they would install everything for free (which is what I wanted to begin with). Why is it that you have to threaten to leave or go somewhere else before you are given a good deal? If you are already a customer, shouldn't you be given the good deals to begin with?

What do you suggest?

I've been wanting a gaming system forever. Okay, so not literally forever, but long enough to feel like forever. I love playing video games, I love people that love to play video games with me. I'm a nerd what can I say? I really want Rock Band and love anyone that will let me play theirs. I could list a whole bunch of games that I enjoy or want. I've sort of been thinking about Wii, just because they make the Wii Fit, and I do need to start working out or doing some sort of exercise before I start weighing 500 lbs. So my question to all of you is what gaming systems do you have? Which one would you suggest for me to get? Are some better than others? Are there any games that you love?

What I'm Thinking....

......I am lonely most nights, sometimes I'm okay with that, sometimes I'm Definitely NOT!
......I think my heart isn't into the dating thing. I just don't wanna......not in the mood....whatever.
......I want to start working out.
......I want to buy a Wii and then get a Wii Fit (okay, so maybe I just really want Rock Band, but it doesn't mean I wouldn't get the Wii Fit and use it)
......I did not like the Left 4 Dead video game. Scared the crap outta me. Eek!
......I enjoy eating, a lot! Especially things that are unhealthy and bad for me.
......that people really annoy me, maybe more the older I get.
......I usually am a rule breaker, what can I say, I enjoy rules, but I enjoy breaking them even more.
......sometimes I mess up, and I mess up big.
......I love my niece and nephew and would do anything for them!
......I enjoy staying up late, but regret it the next morning when I have to wake up. Ugh!

Tacky Goes to Camp

I love Tacky the Penguin and saw this on Amazon. Hooray! Another Tacky is coming out on May 9th. This is definitely going on my "want" list. I'm a huge fan of Tacky and of course have all of the previous books. Go to the library and check these out if you don't already own them. My students love them and we laugh through the entire book. Great reads!

Take a Chance On Me......

Did anyone love this movie as much as I did? I saw it once in the theater's when it first came out with my parents, they saw the play in New York so they already sorta knew what it was about. I then bought it around Christmas time, and have watched it a millions times at least.

My sister recently watched it for the first time and loved it. We decided to buy the soundtrack on Amazon, since they always have good deals. You can find it here. We ordered it last week and hopefully it should be here by April 2nd. Hooray!! I'm excited to start jammin' out to great tunes in my car. I love getting new CD's.

Hooray for Tax Returns!

I haven't blogged in forever. What a slacker I am! I recently got my tax return and was totally stoked by how much I was getting back this year. It's seriously been a few years since I got a return. The past couple years of my marriage I had to pay a couple hundred or so every year. I was not too excited about that to say the least. So I was quite surprised and ecstatic to get a lot back now that I'm a fellow home owner.

I've been coveting a new kitchen sink ever since I moved in here. I hate, hate, hate the one I have. It's got stupid stains in it that won't come out. It's so shallow I can barely wash anything without major messes everywhere. I love my kitchen and believe I have the best kitchen ever! It's much larger than most town home type kitchens I've ever seen. It's got fabulous cabinet space and plentiful countertop work space. But the blasted sink has been a sore spot since the beginning. So with my tax return I have decided to buy myself a new sink. Hooray! A stainless, VERY deep sink (in case you were wondering). What is life coming to when I'm so excited to buy a new sink? I never thought I'd see the day.

12 Hour Days

Tonight is my last night of Parent Teacher Conferences. Hooray! It's so hard working two 12 hour days and still having to come back on Friday. Last night everything went well with my little kiddos and their parents. I have some fabulous kids this year. One of the best classes I've had in a long time. I don't have a whole lot of behavior problems, though I do have a lot of drama since my class is mostly made up of girls. I'm hoping things go smoothly tonight as well, I don't have quite as many appointments and do get to leave a little earlier. I hope it goes by quickly! I'm already wishing for my bed, which is never a good sign at 10 in the morning. I do have some Coke in the fridge getting cold for lunchtime. Mmm....something to look forward to. Though it would be even better if it was a Mountain Dew (my favorite)!

Lock Down!

Yesterday around 10am our school had a lock down. We sat in our locked classroom, lights out, fairly quiet for about an hour and a half having no clue what was going on. We could hear helicopters going by over head. Apparently there was a suicidal armed man (he wasn't armed after all) in the neighborhood. I think it was 9 total schools in the area that had a lock down, including the library next door. Read about it here. There were many stories going around the school such as children seeing the man walking through the halls, carrying a gun, etc. etc. What vivid imaginations our children have. I'm glad to say everyone was safe and sound at the end, though maybe a few frightened children and teachers. What an exhausting day. I was sure ready to go home after that.

My Soap Box

If you haven't been through a divorce you can't fully understand the emotional, physical, and mental pain you experience. I appreciate everyone who's tried to be sympathetic, and been a listening ear to my traumas. I have wonderful friends and family who have been there for me when I've needed them and been unable to hold myself up. This post is about my frustrations and annoyances with those that don't understand or even try to understand. So if you don't want to hear me on my soap box skip to the next post.

I think I might lose it the next time someone tells me how thankful I must be that I don't have any children cause it would be so much worse. Have you been in a divorce? No, so don't preach to me. I realize there are many factors that could make a divorce "worse". However, a divorce is "worse" in itself. Just because I don't have children and I was the one to want the divorce doesn't make it an easy thing to go through. I still struggle with things everyday. Some days are definitely harder than others and I do still have days filled with pain and tears. Yes, having children would add an extra hard thing to deal with and yes, I am glad that I don't have children in this situation. But I do want children and a family in my life. I'm not quite as young as I used to be, and I feel these hopes and dreams are fading fast. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, it's just reality. I'm 31 years old, I don't have a lot of child bearing years left. I know there are always wonderful opportunities for adoption, which I think is so fantastic. I'm not opposed to adoption, but I would at least like the chance to try getting pregnant before looking at other choices. If you made it this far in reading, I commend you. And thanks for sticking through it.

Love Me Some Daisies

How cute is this watch? I'm seriously tempted to buy it (not that I have the money for it), but the watch I have now does have some issues with keeping time ALL the time. I'm a huge fan of daisies and love this watch! My sister is asking for one for her birthday, which is tomorrow. This is going on my want/need list. Because I want to need it of course.

A New Fancy Nancy

Hooray! They're coming out with a new Fancy Nancy on March 31st. Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire! How cute does that sound? This is definitely going to be on my want/need list. I love these books. If you haven't read them before you need to check them out. Such fun books! Read about it here.

One Word

It's harder than you think!! Here is what you are supposed to do...and please don't spoil the fun...copy and paste into your own note, type in your answers and tag a bunch of people - including me.

Where is your cell phone................purse

Your hair......................................straight

Your father.................................. funny
Your favorite thing.......................... sleep
Your dream last night....................... dunno
Your favorite drink.......................... lemonade
Your dream/goal............................. family
The room you are in......................... classroom
Your fear...................................... loneliness
Where do you want to be in 6 years...... famiy
Muffins......................................... poppyseed
One of your wish list items.................. baby
Where you grew up.......................... mountains
The last thing you did........................ story
What are you wearing....................... clothes
Your TV........................................ big
Your pets...................................... no
Your computer................................MacBook
Your life........................................ busy
Your mood..................................... happy
Missing someone.............................. yes
Your car........................................ acura
Favorite store..................................target
Your summer................................... hot
Your favorite color............................ pink
When is the last time you laughed.......... yesterday
Last time you cried............................ yesterday
Three people who email me..................Liz, Mike, Debbie
Three of my favorite foods.................. cheesecake, mexican, cheese
Three places I would rather be right now..bed, Hawaii, shopping
Three people I think will respond............ Liz, Arianne, Brekke

I Think I'm Crazy

Remember my previous post about enjoying the snow this year? Well, I think maybe I was delusional or something. I'm definitely not enjoying it today. I woke up this morning to see everything dusted with snow. What happened to the forecast of "it's not coming in until later this afternoon"? I wasn't too happy to see the snow this early in the morning. Couldn't it have snowed this weekend when I probably would have enjoyed it more? (I said "probably". I don't know if I would have really enjoyed it anyway.) I put on my boots and warm coat. I even wore my hood when walking into the school building this morning. I was quite annoyed in seeing the flag out this morning, meaning it was going to be an inside morning for the kids. I know it will probably be an inside lunch recess as well. What a typical Monday. I should go to the grocery store after school and pick up a bottle of milk and orange juice, but I'm thinking I don't want to. Who needs milk and orange juice anyway, right?

I'm Lovin' it

This weekend I went shopping for a new phone. I already had a pretty good idea which one I wanted. My dad and a bunch of my friends have this one, so I've been wanting one for a while. Even my momma got this exact one. We got a better deal when we got 2 at the same time. Check out my new enV2 here. I've had a lot of fun playing with this guy. I love that it's got a keyboard inside for texting, but you can also still use the outside like normal. I love that it's maroon. How fun!

Funny Dinosaur Costume

Haha!! This had me laughing so hard. Funny things kids do that make us laugh. Enjoy!

Lost Season 5

Is anyone else as excited as I am that Lost has started again? I've set my DVR to record it every Wednesday, just in case I miss it. Last week was a great 2 hour beginning. I'm looking forward to tomorrow as well of course. Oh, and did I mention I got Lost Season 4 on DVD for Christmas? I was so totally stoked! My parents asked what I wanted for Christmas so I said, "Ummm...Lost Season 4, Lost Season 4 and Lost Season 4. In that order. " Lo and behold thats what I got. Hooray for fabulous parents that give me what I want. :)

My ABC'S

A = Age: 31
B = Bed size: Queen
C = Chore(s) you hate: Dishes and Dusting
D = Dessert you love: Cheesecake
E = Essential start your day item: Taking my stomach pill
F = Favorite actor(s): Denzel Washington, "Handsome Rob"
G = Gold or Silver: Silver
H = Height: 5'9"
I = Instruments you play: Piano
J = Job title: Teacher
K = Kitchen color(s): Sky blue, Yellow
L = Living arrangements: Town House, by my lonesome
M = My name is: Melanie Hilda Secrist Jensen
N = Nicknames: Mel, Schmel, Belle
O = Overnight hospital stay(s): Tonsils. A couple nights.
P = Pets: None
Q = Favorite quote: You get what you get so don't throw a fit.
R = Right or left handed: Right
S = Siblings: Sister: Laura. Brother: Mike. In-laws: Greg and Natalee
T = Time you woke up today: 6:00am
U= Unique about you: I hate Spaghetti, White Rice, and Applesauce.
V = Vegetable you love: Peas
W = Worst habit: Procrastinating
X = X-Rays you've had: Neck, Sinuses, Back, Ankles, Feet
Y = Yummy food you make: Seafood Dip
Z = Zodiac Sign: Libra

The Bug

I've been sick for the last week. Ugh! I don't have a lot of patience when it comes to being sick. I'm tired of not being able to sleep. I'm tired of not being able to breathe. I'm tired of my voice sounding funny. I'm tired of coughing. I'm tired of blowing my nose. I'm tired of my constant headache. Just go away already. I gave in yesterday and went to the doctor. I have a sinus infection so he gave me some medicine. Yay for doctors! I'm hoping it'll make a hasty exit.

Being sick doesn't help in respect to my moods either. I'm more down lately. I hate being alone all the time. I feel miserable and I guess I have a miserable outlook on life to go along with it. That's enough of my complaints for the day. Maybe send along some happy vibes?

What a Catastrophe...

Yesterday I was feeling awful. My throat hurt, my head hurt, I felt like crapiola. I didn't feel like eating much, unless it would help make my throat feel better. I decided to make some Cream of Wheat. Yum! I mixed it up in a bowl and on my way to the microwave I dropped it. The bowl shattered and Cream of Wheat went down the front of me, down the oven, cupboards and fridge and of course all over the floor. Ugh! I might've cried just a bit as well. I really wasn't in any sort of mood to clean. I stripped off my clothes since I was dripping with yuck and went to get redressed. I then spent the next half hour mopping, vacuuming and mopping again. I rinsed my clothes out a million times before washing them. What an exhausting morning. I was quite ready for a nap after that. And did I mention I broke my bowl?! :( Luckily they aren't horribly expensive, but still I love my dishes and will have to go out and buy another one to replace it.

I love Paris!

One of my dream vacations has always been to go to Paris, France. My parents are going to Paris the end of May and I have been given the option to go with, if I would like. How exciting is that? The only problem I have is how expensive it's going to be. The plane tickets will be about $1200 round trip, and then if you add food and shopping expenses I'm guessing another $800. Ouch! $2000 is kind of a lot of money, especially when I don't have it. I would have to put everything on my credit card since I don't have anything saved.

Should I do it and work out of control crazy for the next couple years on trying to pay it off? Or should I pass on this one, and maybe plan for next time when they go to Germany possibly? Or maybe do both?! I'm definitely torn between going on my perfect vacation and getting in more debt or missing out and saving on money that I really don't have to begin with. Any suggestions from anyone?

So Long, Farewell

Tonight my family is having a going away dinner for my brother, Mike, and his wife, Natalee. They are moving to Boise, Idaho this Saturday. They lived in Orem since they got married, while Mike was still attending BYU. Mike recently graduated from BYU in finance and got a job in Boise with a great company. We're all very excited for them! However, it's a little sad to see them move. Luckily Idaho isn't that far away, and it's in reasonable distance for a road trip. Wish them luck!

Me Liking the Snow?!

I've been somewhat enjoying the snow this year. I know, it's definitely not a "me" thing to be liking the snow. I'm not a snow person, I don't like skiing, I don't like being cold, I don't like being cold and wet, I don't like scary roads in the snow, and I don't like winter. Hmm...I think I about covered it. But strangely enough I've been liking the snow this year. I haven't had too many experiences (yet) of driving too far or sliding too much on the icy roads. I got some fabulous snow tires for my car this year (after my blasted flat tire last year I had to buy 2 new ones!), which helps me feel safer. I'm also liking that I don't have far to go to get from home to work and back again.

While I was off track it did some snowing. I liked it! Except for the day I had a ton of errands to do (that's a different story for a different time). Of course I still have my days or moments when I'm cursing the stupid snow, but for the most part I'm sort of a "happy snow" person this year. I've had a few nights/days when I'm just in a snuggly, curled up in a blanket, fireplace on, hot chocolate drinking, lazy mood and it's quite satisfying to see it snowing and know that I don't have to go out or do anything in particular (unless I have school that day however). I hope everyone else has been enjoying or at least surviving the snowstorms. Be safe!

Back to Work

Today is our first day back to school since I went off track the first part of December. It definitely was a much needed break. Hooray! Christmas was a difficult holiday for me this year, but it was nice to spend time with family and relax. I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday season!

It was great seeing my kids this morning. I realized how much I missed them! I have such a fun group of kids this year. We've had a great year this year, and I've been able to do so many fun things with them. It's nice not having too many bad/behavior problem children. I love them!