This Thursday July 9, 2009 marks the anniversary of the passing of my aunt Karen Sessions from breast cancer. We are having an online auction to help raise money for our Team so we can walk in her memory in November of 2009 in California in the 3Day 60 mile walk. The auction will run until July 21, 2009 which would have been Karen's 54th Birthday. Please check out our blog spot and help us in any way possible. We would love to make our goals by July 21, 2009 !!!
Even if you can get out the word, that would help.
Here's a great story that happened to my g-ma
G-ma was having a little yard sale just cuz she wanted to. A couple little boys (about 7 years old) stopped in and took a look around. They settled on some Christmas decorations. After they paid their 50 cents, they asked her what the sale was for. G-ma showed them a picture of Karen, told them how much she loved and missed her and that we were going to walk 60 miles in her honor.
One of the little boys, reached in his pockets and said "I would like to help, I have another quarter". With a tear in her eye two little boys taught a very valuable lesson, it doesn't matter the size of your wallet, but the size of your heart.
I have a CD that I remember buying December of 2008. Why do I know this? Well, I remember dancing to it as I realized I was in love with Jason. I would be in my bedroom and dance around to song after song.
I am a Barry Manilow fan...aka a Fanilow. Wait, randomness...why am I writing this at 1:23 am in the middle of the week. You can deduct a few things:
1 - No one is posting on my usual haunts, therefore I'm bored.
2 - Oprah is not keeping my full attention (yes, she reruns at 1AM here)
3 - Bed is not quite calling my name yet.
4 - The Lagoon song is somewhat stuck in my head. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, click on the link in the words "Lagoon song" and then click to download a free copy. Sadly, each time it plays, it's only a 15 second blurb...just enough of a teaser.
and....it's now me time! I got that burst of energy/brains I so needed in order to get some long overdue homework done and now that I'm done with it, I need some me time. What does this have to do with Manilow and me being a Fanilow? Well, as I sat here, the song came to mind from the aforementioned album (notice my big word usage, thank you WSU Masters program). It's called "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", yeah, it has nothing to do with my life, but the title says so much to me and the way it's sung is like a lullaby. This is where I was going to share this lullaby with you, but my internet crashed and as I was reloading my brain crashed...which means my me time is over. I can no longer use fancy big words properly...it is time for sleep.
Before I go, answer me this...what's your ideal me time?
because well, I know you all want to drool over the fun we had...here's a slide show of some of the pics we took. And while I'm waiting to upload all of them, let me tell you some of my highlights.
*getting to leave 5 hours after my last day of teaching my first year of school
*food - food - food!!! I ate fresh fruit everyday. I was in heaven (have I mentioned that?)
*being waited on hand and foot. Every person should go on at least one cruise. I suck at saving and I'm already saving up for my next one.
*getting to meet up with Lily in Costa Rica. Lily and her dad took us to an awesome beach in Costa Rica (hey Lily, when you have nothing going on, I really want some pics of that beach and those trees and the place we ate the fried plantains because I seriously got no pics of Costa Rica, we were having too much fun)
*before Lily came, Jason and I got to witness a nice knife vs aluminum bat fight. Jason, being the awesome hubby he is, saw that pic chunks of asphalt were getting ready to fly and pulled me back to behind the "secure" fence.
*Snorkeling in Belize - you will see how awesome the reef was and how sweet the private island was.
*Portobello in Panama. There was this awesome old fortress there and a really cool church. I wish we could've spent all day there. But, we went to the Panama Canal, which we both agree is better seen on the Discovery Channel...Y-A-W-N
*Duty-free shopping...got me some new makeup, perfume that Jason picked out (I swear I didn't even smell any of the perfumes and Jason picked one up and said, this one smells good - I had to go back and get it. Oh, it's called Be Delicious), some cheap jewelry, ornaments...speaking of, where are those ornaments? Gotta go find those.
*Shopping in Belize - I have become a purse whore. Sadly, I fall under the cheap, name brand knock-off category. Well, Belize is the place for that. I found a rockin' Prada purse for $30, it has the certificate of authenticity, it must be real, right?
*Also, and I'll admit this because I already have a prescription for it, but I forgot the medicine. They have "pharmacies" there. I had a major migraine and needed some phenergan, an anti-nausea. The ship's dr is in for all of 3 hrs a day so I was thrilled when I was able to get some. They did offer me some liquid codeine...I say, that's an overdose waiting to happen. I'm double insured, what I need is free at home.
Now that I'm going to get searched and seized by customs, I'll write a little more (as the pics are still loading)
*Mango Daquiri's - virgin of course
*Oh, and my fave and I so wish I had video of this. Our Filipino server, IMade (pronounce, ee-ma-day) and some other servers singing the anniversary song which goes like this - use the regular Happy Birthday song as the tune
Happy Ann-a-ver-sey to yew kissee kissee kissee (then they waited for us to kiss)
Happy Ann-a-ver-sey to yew kissee kissee kissee (kissing again)
Happy Ann-A-VER-SEY, Happy ver-sey
Happy Ann-a-ver-sey to yew kissee kissee kissee
isn't that the sweetest, funniest thing ever?
*having a very drunk on rum punch lady keep telling us how much she loved that show (aka Big Love) about the Mormons and asking us if we were "in or out" of the church. We tried to get her to understand that Mormons do not practice polygamy and haven't for a very long time and those who do are excommunicated/kicked out of the church. She just kept saying, "so does that mean you're in or out in the Mormon church?" She did tell me that in order to keep my marriage strong I need to keep reinventing myself....I'll keep that in mind as I get yet another hair do and go shopping for new and interesting clothes :)
After 10 years of marriage, both of us working and going to school...Jason and I really needed a nice vacation. No, driving to Disneyland is NOT a vacation. So, we hit the Carnival Freedom without Jenna and hit the Western Caribbean. Can I just say...Heav-en-ly. We went to Costa Rica (not an island), Panama, and Belize
So, let me share some of our heaven with you.
Now...Where to start with these pics
Us on one of the formal nights...and those of you who know Jason...yes, he wore his Vans On a private island in Belize...did I mention Heaven?
My most favorite self-portrait ever. Snorkeling in Belize How lucky am I to have my own personal tour guide in Costa Rica - thanks Lily (and su padre)
My bff, Misty, aka the most awesome designer ever (Jason was disqualified from the running for some odd reason), texted me tonight and said she made me a new blog header. If I had "mad skillz" I would totally make my own, but alas, I lack said skillz. Thanks so much Misty!!! I <3 you
Those of you who have spent any time with Jenna know that she's a character. Well, I know I've been lacking in the blogging world for a little bit, but seeing as I just finished 3 assignments, I figured I could take a break to blog.
Jenna's stalker: I hear Jenna talking in her room, and I presume it's on the phone as it seems to have an uncanny ability to follow her into her room and stay there. I hear her saying in her meanest most stern voice, "I said to stop calling me, I don't want to talk with you." The I hear the phone slam shut. Now I'm thinking, one - our phones don't slam shut, they have no hinges. Two - who is this person who is bothering her, am I going to have to go all Chuck Norris on them (as I tell my students, no one can beat Chuck Norris in a fight). Three - wait, no, again, our phones don't slam shut, is someone in her room? (yes, my parenting skills are lacking, I should've known if someone was in her room). As I'm running through these things, she walks out with her Disney Princess cell phone. OK, disclaimer: no, I did NOT buy my 6 year old daughter a real cell phone, this thing cost $4 at Walmart, plays annoying music, and I swear the battery doesn't die. But I digress, she has her cell phone in her hand and what she has made into it's holder in the other. She's huffing and puffing, looking quite irritated about this so-called phone call. I asked her who she was talking to and in her most annoyed voice says, "a boy, I told him not to call me, but he keeps calling me. And then he started texting me." At this point, she pushes a button on her pink and purple princess covered phone and it begins to ring. She opens it up, looks at the screen, rolls her eyes, and shuts the phone. "uuugh," she says, "he's texting me again, I'm going to text him that I'm not going to answer his texts any more". She opens the phone and proceeds to push buttons (yes, I can claim to her knowing how to text from me, but the rest, I will blame on either "kids these days" or something that one of the bad kids at school must be teaching her - because as we all know, my child is an angel and would never think of something like this on her own.) She says, "there I told him" During this time, I receive a REAL, not imaginary, text from my mom saying that my sister has been rolled in to the OR to have her baby, so this is my cue to get up and take Jenna and Jason to the hospital. Jenna tells me she's bringing her cell phone with us, just in case some one calls or texts her. I tell her that's fine.
We only get a mile away from our house when her phone "rings". I hear her say "ugh" again and she proceeds to tell said stalker to leave her alone and she's going to turn her phone off. She slams the phone shut and pushes some buttons, telling Jason and I that she's "so annoyed that this boy won't leave her alone so she's turning the phone off". Jason and I glance at each other and do a silent laugh (we didn't look because that would be dangerous as he was driving and we are law abiding citizens who always keep our eyes on the road). We get to the hospital without anymore annoying phone calls or texts. Like I said, she turned her phone off. We get upstairs to the waiting room and I of course have been dying to tell someone about Jenna's stalker. I find my little sister and tell her what happened, along with her husband who I swear Jenna is in love with. My little sister's husband asks her who is bugging her so that he can go beat him up while my little sister asks Jenna questions. Oddly enough, this little girl has a memory to go with that imagination and she was able to repeat what had happened. Thankfully since that night, I don't think that "this boy" (as she says in her most irritated voice) hasn't called or texted back. I think we scared him away.
Alright, well, homework is calling me away, but stay tuned for the question we have been waiting for after having a cousin born..."mom, how come she had to be cut open, wasn't her hole big enough?"
and yes, she did have 2 Easter dresses thanks to Alia not wanting to wear hers from last year.
Welcome my new nephew who has yet to be named - I'm pushing for Prince Phillip. Anyway, just wanted to share how cute he is. You can't see his hair in this pic, but it's about 1" long and has a bit of curl! And I got to listen to him cry - oh so cute right now.
oh, and scroll a little bit because my background on the blog makes him look like he has splotches, but he doesn't - he's perfect.
Our school participated in the Utah Jazz reading competition. When it comes to competition, well...I really like competition. So, I decided to compete against my class. I told them that recently I hadn't been reading a lot and that I would like to start reading again. I told them anyone who read more minutes than me would get a king-sized candy bar of their choice. The school goal was to have each student read 1000 minutes, any student who read at least 1000 mins got to wear their hair crazy, so I told my kids that if the class average per student was 1000 mins that I would do my hair crazy - try to get it in a mohawk.
Well, that was 5 weeks ago and my students totally rocked the contest!!! My class read over 36,000 minutes!!! I only had 3 who didn't participate. The class average ended up being about 1600 mins/student. So, I knew what I had to do. I called my little sister up, who does hair, and asked her if she would get up early yesterday to do my hair. (When it comes to doing hair, I'm not good at it). She agreed - awesome sis! She tried to get my hair to stand up straight like a mohawk so she improvised and this is what she came up with.
...the world will stop turning ...life as I know it will stand still ...I will actually enjoy watching Qubo with Jenna ...I will not allow the calories on a very good looking Snickers bother me (but I won't eat 2) ...I will appreciate what I look like ...I will laugh when Jason's snoring wakes me up instead of grumble that I lost 2 hours of sleep ...I will stop and smell the flowers that will hopefully start blooming by then ...I will no longer stress the small stuff ...I will be
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...
You Are a Doris!
You are a Doris -- "I must help others."
Dorises are warm, concerned, nurturing, and sensitive to other people's needs.
How to Get Along with Me
* Tell me that you appreciate me. Be specific.
* Share fun times with me.
* Take an interest in my problems, though I will probably try to focus on yours.
* Let me know that I am important and special to you.
* Be gentle if you decide to criticize me.
In Intimate Relationships
* Reassure me that I am interesting to you.
* Reassure me often that you love me.
* Tell me I'm attractive and that you're glad to be seen with me.
What I Like About Being a Doris
* being able to relate easily to people and to make friends
* knowing what people need and being able to make their lives better
* being generous, caring, and warm
* being sensitive to and perceptive about others' feelings
* being enthusiastic and fun-loving, and having a good sense of humor
What's Hard About Being a Doris
* not being able to say no
* having low self-esteem
* feeling drained from overdoing for others
* not doing things I really like to do for myself for fear of being selfish
* criticizing myself for not feeling as loving as I think I should
* being upset that others don't tune in to me as much as I tume in to them
* working so hard to be tactful and considerate that I suppress my real feelings
Dorises as Children Often
* are very sensitive to disapproval and criticism
* try hard to please their parents by being helpful and understanding
* are outwardly compliant
* are popular or try to be popular with other children
* act coy, precocious, or dramatic in order to get attention
* are clowns and jokers (the more extroverted Dorises), or quiet and shy (the more introverted Dorises)
Dorises as Parents
* are good listeners, love their children unconditionally, and are warm and encouraging (or suffer guilt if they aren't)
* are often playful with their children
* wonder: "Am I doing it right?" "Am I giving enough?" "Have I caused irreparable damage?"
Jenna got these from Santa for Christmas and well, as a good mom, I help her quite a bit to accrue more Kinzcash. I love playing Cash Cow and making her webkinz going potty (don't know why that is but I find it amusing).
Christmas was great, we got to relax and play with our family. Hopefully in the next couple days I'll post some of our pictures.
In one weeks time two separate set of stairs have attacked me. yes, both times I was holding onto the railing I've learned that it hurts less if you attempt to pull the railing down with you. My mom suggests I scoot up and down the stairs on my butt.
Yes, it is the week before Christmas break. And yes, I did have to threaten my students today with extra work. But, I can honestly say that I still love my job! My kids are so awesome and they make me smile everyday. I love to see them when they really want to succeed and they are so proud to show me their scores when they do well on the computer math and reading. I love seeing at one moment how grown up they can be and when the recess bell rings they are out on the snow pile playing king of the mountain. I can see some of myself at that age in everyone of them.
On Monday I was having a really bad day. I was stressed, my kids were out of control and I was so overwhelmed. I called my mentor and she brought me the simplest thing...6 Dove chocolates!!! It made such a difference. Even on that horrible day though, I knew I still finally chose the right profession.
Another thing that makes me smile is when I'm walking down the hall and so many children know me and will call me out by name and want to give me a hug.
Even though I am excited for 2 weeks off, I am going to miss them.
I'm doing my first ever blog contest. The first person who can tell me how many surgeries I've had will get a prize from me. We were talking about this last night and my brother-in-law told me I've taken all the good excuses for not going to certain family functions. So, it got me thinking...how many surgeries have I really had in my life?
So, go ahead and guess while I try to remember. I'll keep this open until after Christmas
I wanted to share with you all again how gorgeous Jenna is and what a wonderful photographer Jason is. This picture was taken last year for our Christmas card. Jason took Jenna out to the Great Salt Lake shores. It was freezing outside and about every 3 or 4 minutes Jason would put Jenna in the car to warm up for a minute. She was such a sport. You can't even tell that she was cold. You can see the snow on the ground, that kind of gives you an idea.
Anyway, I love this picture. Jason entered it into a contest online with Circuit City and he won 3rd place with this awesome picture. He didn't photoshop it at all. He did digitally develop it using Lightroom - that will mean something to you photo people out there.
I almost teared up today as Jenna and I were driving to dance. She was telling me that her two friends were telling her that Christmas was all about presents. A normal 4 and 7 year old response, in my opinion. This is wear the proud mama moment comes in. She said, "but mom, Christmas really isn't about presents, it's all about Jesus, isn't it?"
I hope she always remembers this. Jesus is the reason for the Christmas season. What a wonderful example she is to me. She reminded me what I really should be thinking about.
