Day 1 ~ A recent picture of you and ten facts about yourself.
Dude, talk about a tough task! Back in Florida pictures were being taken all the time . . . I was seriously changing my profile picture almost every couple of days. TONS of pictures - taken by me and by others. That? Was two and a half years ago. These days if pictures are being taken I'm generally the one behind the camera . . . kinda sad. Anyway, this is about the most recent picture I could find. Not, perhaps, my most photogenic moment . . . but check out that cake!
2. I discovered back at the start of the school year that I'd forgotten my multiplication tables. I discovered that when I had to start correcting 3rd and 4th graders tables. I figured it probably wouldn't look very good if I pulled my cell phone out to check simple arithmetic problems I should have just known, so as long as they looked right I called it good. Slowly they came back to me . . . the good news is I did technically remember them, I just wasn't sure about them because it had been so long.
3. I hate driving if I'm in a place I'm not familiar with. I'm totally paranoid that I'll accidentally go the wrong way down a one way street or something.
4. The fact that we now have a washer and dryer still excites me.
5. I'm pretty sure that 95% of the people I know around my age are either engaged or pregnant. It kind of makes me feel like I'm slacking or something. :-)
6. I really want to try bungee jumping, but I'm pretty sure I would chicken out at the last minute and not do it unless either someone pushed me or we were doing a tandem jump and they jumped taking me down with them.
7. I would fly to New Zealand just to go zorbing again.
8. I have never read any of Tolkein's books . . . well, never finished. Hugo I can do, Dickens I can do . . . but Tolkein is a bit to much for me. I'll have to try again someday.
9. I get a maniacal bit of pleasure by occasionally warming up my toes on Luke's back.
10. I'm a "messy" organizer. Everything is in piles and looks totally chaotic, but I know where it all is . . . except for a few things that got misplaced somehow when we moved and I just cannot find now . . . blargh.
P. ost S. cript I want one of these blenders. However . . . I get the feeling that would be a bad idea. I'd be too tempted to see what crazy things I could put in it!!
So school's out . . . as you've probably heard. Christmas awkward? Repeated . . . smaller scale though, so not as awkward. But after a full year now, I think I've learned all the little unwritten traditions to save me from the awkward. Which, my luck being what it is, means I won't be back next year. (Seriously folks: voodoo rituals . . . native luck dances . . . whatever . . . help me out here!)
There were a few cute little stories, but since even Luke has started rolling his eyes when I come home and say "I have the CUTEST story to tell you!" I won't put you through anymore suffering. (I get the feeling I've been really boring around here lately . . . well, except for maybe the wedding play-by-play . . . )
So here I am being all realistic: I'm not going to be doing much of anything in the coming days. Reading. Facebooking. Cross-stitching (yeah, haven't given that up yet . . . maybe I'll tire you out of my "I'm so old rants" now that I won't have any cute kid stories). Good thing we have a Wii. (side note: the whole pile to the moon thing? Might actually kill me. Seriously. I've been stuck in one spot for months now. Good thing those rabbids can also time travel through a washing machine, I'll be doing a lot of that this summer!)
Aaaaaaaaanyway. I've been seeing this floating around the blog-o-sphere lately and I'm totally stealing it. Feel free to do the same. :-) But this is what you have to look forward from me for the month of June:
30 Days of Blogging
day 1- recent picture of you and ten interesting facts about yourself
day 2- the meaning behind your blog name
day 3- a picture of you as a child
day 4- a habit that you wish you didn’t have
day 5- a picture of somewhere you've been
day 6- favorite super hero and why
day 7- a picture of someone/something that has had the biggest impact on you
day 8- short term goals for this month and why
day 9- something you're proud of in the past few days
day 10- songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad
day 11- write a bucket list of things you want to do before you die
day 12- write a poem to someone you love
day 13- your 5 favorite books and why
day 14- a picture of you and your family
day 15- put your iPod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play
day 16- a picture of yourself
day 17- someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
day 18- plans/dreams/goals you have
day 19- write about a sweet memory from your past
day 20- write a letter to someone
day 21-a picture of something that makes you happy
day 22- what makes you different from everyone else
day 23- something you crave a lot
day 24- post your favorite quote or verse of scripture and why
day 25- what I would find in your bag
day 26- list 10 things that you are thankful for
day 27- my day job verses my passion
day 28- cruise a thesaurus and pick out 10 words you like the sound of
day 29 - favorite TV shows and why you like them
day 30 - movies you can watch again and again
I've also noticed a bunch of people doing, seriously, at least half a dozen different "30 day challenges" on facebook kind of similar to this one, and I'm just warning you now that I'm not going to be as hardcore as some of the people who post things a couple of times a day. Also, items will get preempted if I have something better to blog about . . . but I'm not exactly expecting that to happen, ya know? I was a pretty boring person to begin with, and then I got married. And everybody knows you get really boring when you get married. :-)
So does that make me, like, the most boring person on the planet?
P. ost S. cript Oh, we are SO seeing this movie!! (And seriously, is there a more perfect movie for Amy Adams?)
What is it about the first couple of warm sunny days that makes everyone completely forget about sunscreen? Even me, the girl who burns after, like, five seconds in the sun.
So there's been a kickball tournament going on at school for the last couple of months. Winning team played the teachers. That was today. And I got to play on the teacher's team, yay!! It was tons of fun, and I'm so glad it actually happened . . . it was overcast when I left for work an hour before the game, and it down poured briefly a couple of hours afterward, but it was nice and bright and sunny while we were playing. Very interesting. Anyway - some highlights:
~ I did NOT make a fool of myself - YAY!!! As I told a few of the other teachers, I haven't played kickball since I was a kid myself, and to say I sucked then is a bit of an understatement . . . I am sooooooo not athletic! But I even hit the ball when I kicked it today - and yes, I was worried.
~ Having the entire school chant my name when it was my turn to kick. :-) And then when we switched from . . . I don't know, what it's called . . . offense? Defending? Outfielding? Whatever - we weren't kicking the ball. Anyway. When the teacher team came in to kick all the kids who weren't playing were lined up along the side of the . . . stadium . . . field . . . whatever the thing is called (not a sports person in the least, can you tell?) wanting high fives from all the teachers. And I do mean everybody. If I missed someone I knew they'd call after me and I had to backtrack. I actually had to use both hands to make sure I got everybody. I felt like a freaking rock star. It was kind of super awesome.
~ So there were two kid teams and two teacher teams. While the other team is playing I'm watching with the third graders, hands on my hips. Suddenly I feel something being laced through my arm - I look down and one of the girls is using my wrist as a hook for her jacket. She looks up at me, grins, and says "hold that for me, will ya?" and walks away.
A few minutes later she comes back, to check on her coat rack I suppose, and says "thanks, sweet cheeks!" I'm still not entirely sure what I think of the whole thing . . . I was a bit speechless at the time.
Note: this is the same girl who tried using a pick up line on my birthday card. I guess kids really are picking up things younger these days!
~ Eric? Loves the song "Friday." Loves the fact that Katie and I can't stand it. Sweet, cute, and adorable as he is, if school wasn't ending in a week I think one of us might end up wringing his neck, lol.
And now some amusements not kickball related:
~ I'm not sure if little Jehosaphat remembered what a kick I got out of his grandpa comment last week or if he just liked the joke himself, but he used it again yesterday. For spelling groups we had a mini-spelling bee. I let them spell it out loud and I write what they say on a white board, then they get to look at it and change anything if they want. Every time he was satisfied with his spelling he stuck his nose in the air (trying to be snooty, I think) and say "Grampa spells it like that!" The whole time he referred to himself as "Grampa" and it got to the point that Jacob started calling him that too . . . I think because I was cracking up every time Jehosaphat said it. I don't know what it is, but those two seem to adore making me laugh. Which, of course, makes me laugh even more. I guess we're all satisfied.
~ Fourth grade this morning. There's one girl (we'll call her Taylor) who has taken to chatting to me while I correct homework or whatever before the bell rings. She's a sweet kid, and we've started teasing each other a bit in fun. Today she made a comment something to the effect of "I'm just going nuts today!"
Disclaimer: I should not have said this. I realized it as soon as I said it. But it's my default response when I'm talking to adults, so it just came out almost before I even realized I was going to say it.
"How is that different from any other day?"
The funny part (and the good news for my job status!) is that she just went on with the next thing she wanted to say . . . but then about six words in stopped, and turned to look at me with a rather shocked expression, mouth in a great big O.
Maybe you had to be there, but I about died. Good thing she was cool with it. I got the expected "I can't believe you said that!" but she was laughing herself a minute later. Sometimes I forget that fourth graders are . . . well, fourth graders. There's just something about the way you can converse with them, as opposed to just "talking to" younger kids. You know?
~ So yesterday was the last day of school for kindergarten. That was a little sad - those kids are just so sweet and loving and good-hearted. I'm definitely going to miss them. Case in point: when it came time for me to leave I got mobbed again. I kid you not, I was surrounded by six-year-olds three deep. Couldn't have moved if my life depended on it. So I did the only logical thing - told them they could each have their very own hug if they would just let me go (for crying out loud!) and take turns.
I've never seen that class get in line so quickly. :-) It was kind of bittersweet - there were a few whom I could tell were really broken up about school ending. Little kids and their routines, eh? Andrew in particular looked to be trying really hard to be a big kid and not cry. It really broke my heart not to be able to promise him and some others that I'd see them next year, but all I could do is go with a vague "maybe." (side note: any prayers, good vibes, voo doo rituals, magick circles or whatever you happen to prefer to send my way supporting me being able to come back next year is greatly appreciated!) Donatello actually came back for another hug three or four times. I felt a little guilty since he was supposed to just go sit back down . . . but what do you say to that? "I'm sorry, you can't have another hug?" Yeah, no. Maybe I'm just too soft hearted, but there is no way I'm turning away a kindergartner who wants a hug. Not happening.
I suppose the good news is that I'll have a nice (and thankfully mild) sunburn to remember everybody by for a little while after school's out. :-)
P. ost S. cript You can seriously find anything on the internet. And a lot of it is pretty dang cool.
It's my birthday, yay!!!!! And while I have to say that as long as today does not end with our apartment on fire, it will qualify as one of the best birthdays ever, well . . . a few lovely hours spent at the zoo that's A BLOCK AWAY from our new place? Check. Pics popping up on facebook shortly? Check. Super yummy ice cream cake? Check. (side note: a seven minute car trip on a sunny day with an ice cream cake in the passenger seat is significantly more nerve wracking than a two minute trip on an overcast day. Learned that one yesterday as I convinced myself that I was actually watching it melt as I drove home . . . ) And now Luke has gone to work for the rest of the day so I decided to spread the happy by sharing some fun stories from the week.
~ Katie's class made me birthday cards and they were standing up on the table waiting for me yesterday. Kinda made my day. :-) Some of the highlights: (all spelling/grammar verbatim, lol)
~One card was completely covered in happy wishes - "your lucky," "I wish it was my birthday," etc. Among the good wishes, a Foghorn Leghorn sound clip played in class occasionally: "NO NO NO your doing it all worng (wrong)"
~"365 days" . . . I'm pretty sure this was meant to express the fact that he remembers how any days there are in a year, thereby knowing how long it is until my next birthday.
~ One girl, instead of folding her construction paper like a card folded it into eighths. And labeled every eighth on the outside with "open." And asked me if I'd figured out how to open it. And looked relieved when I told her I had. I'm still giggling.
~ Two math related references - a caterpillar with body segments labeled "2 x 4 =" and a speech bubble saying "8" and on another card "your best timing person" . . . suffice it to say I have made quite a name for myself as someone proficient at correcting a quarter page of arithmetic problems and putting stickers on a chart. :-)
And last but CERTAINLY not least . . .
~"are you free to nithe(tonight), ou(oh) you Have a Husbind SORRY"
Ummmmmmmm . . . is this a nine-year-old girl attempting to use a pick-up line on me? She meant it as a joke - she asked me later if I thought it was funny, and I am still laughing . . . but I'm also still a little confused. Talk about kids saying the darnedest things!
~ Thursday. Lunchtime. Kids are coming in to check their reading points, and being the only adult in the room, I'm doing the checking. Jacob and Jehosaphat come in. The reading coach has a cute little teddy bear dressed up like Benjamin Franklin, and while they're waiting for their turns Jacob points to the bear and says "Hey look, (Jehosaphat), he looks like you!"
Not missing a beat, this most adorable little boy in the world looks at the bear and says, "Yep, I'm an old grampa," whilst . . . nodding really isn't the word. More like bouncing his head up and down. And you're all really missing out on the best part, because what really makes the story so funny that I couldn't speak for a good 3 minutes at least is the visual - this kid is seriously cute, and when you couple that with his absolutely darling accent and mannerisms it takes everything he says and does from just amusing and silly to hysterical. I'm really hoping I get to see more of him next year.
Good times. I'm ready for the end of the year, but I'm definitely going to miss these kids. What will I laugh at all summer?
P. ost S. cript Okay, this is definitely one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I want one!!
True story: I double the recipe whenever I make cookies. I end up with about half as many cookies as a single recipe makes.
When I was a kid I always wanted to go to the arcade at the mall. I didn't know it was an arcade . . . having never heard the word, at least not with its accompanying definition. All I knew was that there was this store at the mall that was really dark inside and really loud and full of these really cool games like Pac-Man and Tetris and racing games and I don't think I even realized what all was there or what was the point. All I knew was it was off limits. And, therefore, I had to get in there.
I honestly can't remember why I wasn't allowed in. It may have been because an arcade is not exactly an appropriate place to turn a seven-year-old (give or take) loose - not, of course, something that would have occurred to me at the time, but something I can completely understand now. It may also have been that my mother thought arcades were the spawn of the devil. Or the actual reason could have fallen anywhere in between those extremes. I really don't know. I think my grandma let me waste a few quarters on the claw machine right inside once or twice. I might have even gotten something out once . . . but again - don't remember.
Luke never got to go to the arcade either. So Tuesday, to celebrate the fact that we don't have to hoard quarters Scrooge McDuck style anymore, we made our way to the mall and wasted the six dollars of quarters we had left after moving.
It was not the glorious dream fulfilling hours of sheer abandoned pleasure my younger self was envisioning.
For starters, it was way to bright in there - just as bright as out in the rest of the mall. Not cool. And too quite - no blaring music, although there were a couple of pretty loud games.
And then there were the games themselves. Either we both suck at video games a lot more than we though - and we both admit that we are not exactly proficient gamers - or about half the games we tried are not functioning properly. That was a little obnoxious.
On the other hand - the plus side - the pinball machine works quite awesomely. I was supposed to get five balls for a quarters, and although I used to be pretty good at this game (on the computer anyway) I'm rather out of practice. Even so, that game went on for a good half hour at least. We didn't keep track because we weren't expecting it to go on so long, but every time that little silver ball sank into the evil abyss it almost immediately reappeared on top of the plunger - woot! That may have kind of made my day. :-) And the awesome Star Wars game was working, which rocked . . . except for the fact that it has been proven once and for all that the Battle of Hoth would not have gone so well had they been expecting me to help out. *sigh*
I feel like I should be disappointed. It was certainly not the stuff my childhood dreams were made of . . . but it was still kind of fun. Even if we did both use copious amounts of hand sanitizer when we were done - something that never would have occurred to me in a million years back in the day. I guess that means I'm all grown up . . . right?
Random side note: Tomorrow is my birthday. I want this. I would be eternally delighted. And I would base all my Halloween costumes around it for the rest of forever. Because with a hat like that, what else would you do with it? And my listening to NPR has totally been justified because if I didn't listen to it for the news on my way to work in the morning I would never have known this was happening. :-)
P. ost S. cript Missing me some Star Wars Weekends silliness right now . . . I was there for this year, folks. In fact, I may have been at this particular Hyperspace Hoopla (HOOPLA!) even . . .
So the end of the year is coming, and I'm facing the reality of how obvious it will become that other than work, church, and errands, I generally only leave the house for purposes of socializing once a month. Not so noticeable when you're leaving every day, but last summer there were a handful of weeks that I didn't leave once between two weekly excursions to church. That's a little depressing.
We've been to our new ward a few times now, and I'm starting to remember a few names (working for Disney completely ruined my ability to remember names . . . stupid name tags). It's a little jarring to be in a ward with people . . . er . . . well over thirty after so many years in wards where everyone but the bishop is pretty close to my age. And I'm tolerably certain we are the only couple without kids/not expecting . . . in fact, I'm not sure yet, but it may be that every woman within ten years or so of my age either just gave birth or will this summer/fall. Seriously. It remains to be seen if anyone s going to try and make that awkward. There are a few people I like so far, at least as much as one can like a person after having a couple of brief conversations - but I have to admit, I'm worried about making friends.
I've never been very good at making friends . . . or maybe just at knowing when I have. I don't know if it stems from a couple of bad/awkward experiences in elementary school, or if those were just early evidence that I'm just wired backwards or something. But me and friends? Don't entirely go together. I spent high school mostly hanging out with people who, on looking back, really only tolerated me, while the people who I see now were "true" friends were the ones I sat with in class only if none of the "cooler" kids were in that class. I regret that now, but on the other hand I've kept more in touch with my "real" friends - whereas, while I may be facebook friends with the others . . . well, we all know what "facebook friends" means, don't we?
In college pretty much everybody in my departments was cool. Waaaaaaay to cool to want me around. At least that's how I felt. I was always so hesitant to go to any party/reading/gathering/whatever because I felt like I would be in the same situation that I was realizing I'd spent high school in. I was talking to an old college friend about it a few months ago - she said she's felt the same way! And that she's mentioned it to one of the decidedly cool kids - who said we'd always been welcome among the cool crowd. That was a bit of a shock, and I have to admit that simultaneously do and don't believe it.
That pretty much sums up my experiences and thoughts on friends, both before and since. I'm always second guessing myself.
Oh no, I must have offended everyone with that comment - that's why no one said anything.
That party invitation on the whiteboard in the break room - that's meant for everyone except me.
They're just to nice to specify.No one came to my (insert whatever here) because they actually don't like me.
It sounds ridiculous. Even while I'm thinking those sort of things I realize that. But I can't help it. I always cringe a little when people say things like "What are you waiting for, an engraved invitation?" because . . . well, I kind of am. Without one I'm probably going to think you're just trying to be nice - that it's a charity invite. Isn't it stupid? Crazy? I know!! But there you go.
So I gotta say it really made my day to get an early birthday present last week. Aren't they pretty?
And just look at the vase . . . hand blown!! I love it!!!!!
Please ignore the decidedly un-picturesque kitchen background. :-)
Just the little bit of spring color we need at our house while we wait for this rainy weather to finally go away.
I love getting flowers. Back in high school there were a couple of clubs that would sell roses for Valentine's Day as a fundraiser . . . I was always so jealous. And of course there were always the guys who's "creative dance asking" involved having flowers delivered to a girl in class. And of course there was college . . . roommates having boyfriends . . . getting flowers . . . don't even get me started on how unloved and unlovable I felt at times.
So getting flowers - heck, anything - was kind of like the ultimate acceptance from some of the few friends I've made in the last couple of years. Or one, at least. :-) I can't fathom it changing much of anything - I'll probably still second guess myself, like, all the time . . . maybe a little less. And it is nice to feel a tiny bit more sure of myself. For a little while. Until the next time someone responds a little less enthusiastically then my warped expectations convince me they should have. Good times.
P. ost S. cript Sharing the awesomeness. Seriously, who comes up with this sort of thing?!
~ On a poster talking about why so many Germans immigrated to America:
"They wont to leave because they were harassment."
~ (I wore my Maori fishhook necklace today.)
(David): Where did you get that Miss Lacey? me: It's from New Zealand. (David): You've been lots more places than us! me: I'm a lot older than you too. I've had more time to go places. (Ezekiel): I've been to Salt Lake!! To the zoo!! me: Me too! (Ezekiel): How come I didn't see you there? me: I think we went on different days . . . (Ezekiel): (paying no attention to what I just said) I know! You must have been in the giraffe section.
Note: I haven't been to the Hogle Zoo since before these kids were born.
~ So Jehosaphat comes back from speech and decides to give me a little plastic lady bug he earned there. A few minutes later (Jacob) comes in and gives me two smarties from the package he just earned.
me: Awww, thank you (Jacob)!!! Jehosaphat: I gave her this!!! (shows him the ladybug)
I hope they don't start, like, fighting over me or something. :-)
P. ost S. cript I feel so bad for laughing, but seriously. Hilarious.
~ The one who, upon teaching second graders how to spell "believe" simultaneously laughs and cringes when the seven-year-olds cry "Like Justin Bieber!"
~ The one who would rather not admit she knows how to spell Bieber . . . wouldn't recognize one of her songs if she heard it though.
~ The one who momentarily held favorite cousin status with a cousin who doesn't remember her name.
~ The one who, in a room of 100 people making bread from scratch, would absolutely get the one and only package of bad yeast . . . thankfully, also the one who sees it coming and can laugh at it immediately.
~ The one who loves it when the entire kindergarten class jumps out of their seats for a big group hug . . . but also can't understand why it's happened twice in a week - is she dying and they're the only ones who know?
~ The one who is really glad to have a strong immune system since her husband has had one nasty cold after another for the last three and a half months.
~ The one feeling frustratedly popular right now with multiple teachers wanting her to take part in the end-of-year testing for their class . . . thereby desiring her to be in three or more places at once. This week shall be interesting.
~ The one who is looking forward to the end of the year . . . but after one week of so very little to do will be ready for it to start again. Which begs the question - will there be more blogs, or less blogs? Place your bets now!
~ The one feeling a little ill from the smell of smoke from the downstairs neighbors . . . and a little confused because they seriously chain-suck those death sticks and this is the first time it's been smell-able from inside the apartment . . . and really hoping the finally warm weather has nothing to do with that . . .
~ The one who sometimes talks about herself in third person just because she can. And has on occasion considered using the royal plural just to see what kind of reactions it would get.
~ The one who should probably get a life or something. Is she right or what?
P. ost S. cript The one who shows how much a of a nerd she is by admitting to finding this absolutely hysterical. Also: there is no better way to highlight the utter inanity of these lyrics.
Not, perhaps, my most photogenic moment . . . but check out that cake! 
