The Shasta Cans

I have been trying really hard to stay away from sodas these past few months, and I'm getting better by limiting how many I drink (which weren't that many to begin with), and I don't buy them anymore either.  However something happened when I was getting out of Sams club.  Interesting story.

I had gotten everything that I needed, paid, and was placing things in my car when I heard a cart and some voices coming my direction.  I was parked between two minivans and when the cart stopped next to one of them, I tried to move quicker so they could load up.  However, the mother and the 3 kids (maybe 10, 8, 6) she had with her were arguing.  I couldn't help but overhear.

Older Boy: "But these are gross!  You never get us the good kind."
Mom: "They're fine.  Stop complaining or you won't be eating out."
Older Boy: "Yeah right mom.  Like you'd just get them food and me nothing.  That's neglect."
Mom: "Where did you hear that?"
Older Boy: "School."

Some Silence.  By then I'm almost done packing everything into my car.

Younger Boy: "Why couldn't we get the other kind of soda?"
Mom: "Because it was more expensive.  We couldn't afford it.  We can afford these."
Younger Girl: "Can I have a cookie now please?"  (I thought this was cute.  So random.)
Older Boy: "We can too afford it; you don't love us enough to get it."
Mom: "After dinner you can have a cookie. And if either of you two complain one more time and I'll give the sodas away."
Older Boy: "Yeah right.  You wouldn't."
Younger Boy: "Sorry."
Mom: "That is it. You'll have to explain to dad about this."

Next thing I know is I feel a tap on my shoulder.  I turn around and it is the mother, holding on to a flat of shasta sodas.

Mom: "Would you like this?"
Me: "Excuse me?"
Mom: "My kids are being ungrateful. They need to learn. Would you like this?"
Me: "Umm, okay?"
Mom: "Merry Christmas."

The mom hands me the sodas, points to the van, and the Older Boy starts to climb into the front seat.

Older Boy: "You've never done that before."
Mom: "And I'm sticking by what I said.  We'll get Sonic for the rest of us and you get to have whatever is in the fridge."

There was some cheering, but but by then I had climbed into my car.  I waved at her as I pulled out and she smiled.

Strange huh?

Ramblings

I was asked the other day why I teach middle school when I am more suited for doing something artistic or performing arts.  I had a deal with my mother when I entered University; she would help me pay for college and all the expenses that come along with it as long as I chose a degree that would give me a good paycheck by the end of the month.  I could do anything else that I wanted and she would help support me in that but I needed to be able to support myself after leaving University.  So I chose teaching.  I get a monthly paycheck, I have weekends and holidays off, I get a Thanksgiving break, Winter Holiday break, and a summer break and I'm done by 3:30pm usually every day.  Then I could come home and do what I wanted to after that. Yes, the trade off is that I have to deal with certain parents and with all the politics that come with teaching, but at the moment I'm willing to work with that.  While I'm still trying to build my business so one day I won't have to teach, at least I don't have much going on after that.

Fabric, trims, and patterns are like an addiction to me.  Yep, I'm addicted to fabric.  If I go into a fabric store (or any store that has fabric for sale) I ultimately end up getting something.  A pattern, some ribbon, trim, or 25 pounds of fabric (like I did a while ago), but I've never paid full price for any of it.  I had saved up a little bit from selling another costume and sent out to "just glance around" (yeah right) and ended up coming home paying $145 for fabric and patterns.  But the kicker for me--and this is where my high comes from--is that I saved over $985 on everything.  Granted I would never pay full price for things like that, but still, it is a great high to have.  Unfortunately now I need to go out and buy a few more bins to house it all.  I hate having fabric piled on the floor but that is where they are residing at the moment; along with 3 bags of ribbon/trims/lace, and another bag full of thread cones (because you can never have too many colors of thread and I always buy 5 cones--4 for the serger and 1 for the machine).

I don't mind not having kids.  I can come and go as I please.  I'm not dependent on another schedule.  I'm really not tied down.  Sorry to those of you who have kids and think I'm being judgmental, I'm trying not to be.  I just don't think it is the right thing for me to be doing.  I really can't see myself as a mother.  I enjoy being around kids (past a certain age), I'm really not a fan of babies, but I like the fact that if something happens or if the kid starts to throw a hissy fit I can always pass the child back to the parents (I think that is why grandparents enjoying their grand-kids).  Can I see myself having kids?  Probably not, but feelings can change.

Needs vs wants.  Yes, even I continue to struggle with that.  I know the difference, but I'm pretty good at convincing myself otherwise.  I would like a new TV.  Do I need one?  Not necessarily, but it would be nice to have.  I want a treadmill (that is one that I'm fighting with myself at the moment over).  Yeah, I know, I'm pathetic.

I really don't like the fact that if you walk around the malls or almost any store for that matter you hear christmas music playing.  I think that christmas music shouldn't start playing until December 1st.  Call me a scrooge if you'd like, but I get sick of it!  25 days of christmas music should be enough and then if you'd like more, do it on your own personal playlists.

I found out earlier this week that we get BBC America, so I've been catching up on the Doctor Who episodes they play plus a little bit of the Tutors series and a series called Downton Abby.  I really like that series, plus Dame Maggie Smith has some great lines! "Put that in your pipe and smoke it!" (yes, that is actually one of her lines!  So awesome!)

On the field

So, not really know that the guys wanted to go down on the field, my mom asked them for this last game if they wanted to and Adam, Jakob, and Andrew (Jakob's brother) their eyes lit up and of course they said yes!  So down on the field for some pre-game stuff they went.  Needless to say, they were excited.

    

 Plus, before the game the Army guys had an Apache Helicopter at the pre-game stuff and Adam and Jakob wanted to go get a picture.  Yep, they were happy.

Knows me well

Yesterday was a rotten day at work, and I mean rotten.  Grades came out.  Yep, that is why.  All of a sudden kids realize that what they do in class really does matter and they get all upset at me thinking I am the reason that they failed.  I had 4 parents come in and try to bully me into changing their students grades, 2 of those parents called me a liar when I said that their student cheated (and I have proof that they did), and so forth . . . . . . . . . just a bunch of problems.

I usually call Jakob when I'm on my way home just to see what the plans are and if we need anything before I get home.  Apparently he heard something in my voice--because I was on the verge of breaking--and said that he would be a little late getting home, he needed to go pick up a few things, but he was leaving work.  I got home, turned on a movie and pulled out my portfolio sketch book to finish up some final designs.  Jakob came home with a bag and told me to close my eyes.  He placed "something" in my hands and just from the sound of the packaging I knew what it was: Mother's Circus Animal Crackers.  Yes, Jakob gets me coated cookies if I'm feeling down.  Plus he found a toy blaster that he wanted for parts for his next project but said that I could shoot it a few times if I wanted to.  Awe, sharing his toys.

He tried to eat a cookie later that evening and I about bit his head off. 


My cookies.


In other news, my mother also figured I was having a bad day when she brought me lunch (which was a nice surprise, thanks mom!) so she designed a couple of necklace and earring sets for me and brought them to me to "brighten my day" because the designs were of bright colors.  But on that front, we're beginning to move forward with the business and I'm apprehensive but excited at the same time.  The designs of the jewelry fall into two categories: simple and classic, fun and edgy.  Guess who designs what.  Actually we do both.  We keep going back and forth.  There are times that I want something simple and classic and then I want something edgy and fun.  I should have a simple website and some pictures up soon, but I'm definitely going to need more pictures. . . . . . .

Halloween

Yep, you would think that as a costume person I would "adore" halloween, and while I do, this year something just felt different.  I love the fall and all the different costume ideas (although some of them are just really really strange) but I didn't feel like dressing up this year in something elaborate.  GASP!  I know.  Me, not dressing up?  Something must be wrong.  I guess I just didn't feel like it.  I can't give a better explanation than that.  All last night Jakob was confused by the fact that I couldn't give him an explanation.  But we had a little get together to get to, and I didn't want to be a party pooper, so I grabbed one of my long leather coats and a sword. (and no, I didn't go to work looking like this.  I'll post a picture later of my cute halloween skirt).

Any guesses?

 

This is my feeble and very poor attempt at being an "Immortal" from the Highlander TV series.  I didn't want to go searching around for a scabbard for one of the broadswords or the rapiers, so I just grabbed one of the asian swords that was on the hutch.  At least I was comfortable for most of the night.

This was Jakob.  And yes, that is real chainmail.  Probably about 50 lbs overall.

He had fun, but that tunic is still driving me batty.  The edging was a pain to try and sew on, so parts of the costume are just tacked together.  I'll get to finishing it one of these days.

Thanks Court for a nice small get-together and a . . . interesting . . . round of Apples-to-Apples. =)

But on the flip side, I have a bone to pick with the trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood.  When I was growing up, we were taught that you only went to houses with the porch light on.  I really didn't feel like handing out candy (plus, Jakob had already taken most of the candy we had to his ward trunk-or-treat) so I turned off our porch light, put a nice sign on the door, and turned on a movie while I waited for Jakob to come back.  I had a few trick-or-treaters come up up the stairs, read the sign, and go back down the stairs politely.  But there was this one group that I was about ready to become the mean neighborhood lady again.  It was a group of about 5 kids (ranging in ages) and 1 parent.    The parent stayed at the bottom of our stairs and the kids came yelling (and I mean yelling because I could hear them from inside with all windows shut and my movie on) up the stairs and started banging on the door.  I didn't answer, so they started ringing the doorbell.  Yes, ringing.  Multiple times.  One of the kids then said "kick at it!  maybe they can't hear!" and they all started kicking at my door.  After about a minute they started going down the stairs but the parent said "Are you sure you rang the doorbell?  Try it again." and sent them back up the stairs to which the came, and rang the doorbell, but kept their finger pressed down on it so the bell makes that rattling sound.  I was so annoyed by that point that I also yelled through the door but they started going down the stairs again.

Who teaches their children to act like that!?  The clincher of all of this was as the kids went down the stairs one of them said "maybe they don't have any candy" and the parent said "everyone has candy today and they just want to give it away."  UGG!

But at least the weather was nice.  =)

. . . and Michelle, I'll get those pictures to you!

Back again in the classroom

Well, I got the job.  Yep, self-doubting little me got the job.  I was very surprised when I received a call last Friday evening at about 5pm from the principal of the middle school about being hired on.  To say I was stunned would be an understatement.  I really have no idea what they see in me but they see something worth while so they are hiring me on for a full-time teaching position.

I started today.

Yep, heard back on Friday and started today, Monday.  Talk about being thrown into the fire.  This is middle school we're talking about.  They aren't in elementary school anymore but they aren't yet in high school.  They are confused about everything and throwing in a new teacher after having bunch of subs isn't exactly the best mix, but I think the students are taking it rather well so far.  We'll see how things go once they get used to me. 

With being thrown into things so suddenly, it makes it hard to know what is going on but luckily I have a few things on my side.  The previous teacher planned everything out to the day about what was going on and what should be done and how to do things.  So at least I'm set for the rest of this semester.  I just need to figure out how to teach it.  Today I was lucky to have someone come in this morning and teach the first lesson so I could watch and figure out what needed to be done for the rest of the day plus part of tomorrow. The bad thing is I have no idea what to do for the 2 classes tomorrow that have no instruction. 

The former teacher came in during my break and tried to show me how she did things (which is confusing me even more!) and tried to help me out by showing what I should do for the other two classes, but I'm not sure I understand it anymore than I did when I first started looking at it.

Anyway, it is the end of the day and I'm going home.  I'll probably start up my CTE blog again (the link is in the right hand corner of this blog) because you never know when you'll need an outlet for some of the stuff that goes on.

Moving Forward

The weather here is amazing today.  Well, amazing for me.  I absolutely adore dark, cloudy, stormy days.  It is raining outside and I can hear it pittering on the roof of the school.  I wanted to get away from all the noise of my office/gym/lunchroom area so I moved onto the stage.  It feels so much better here.  The noise from the kids is filtered through thick walls so all I hear is the rain.

For the past few days I've been trying to wrap my head around a few things.  First, I was able to get an interview with a local middle school about a teaching position.  While middle school is not the best teaching place for me, it is a teaching job and something that I need.  It would get me back on track to where I need to be in my teaching career at the moment.  But the downside is it is the same school that I interviewed for last year and they didn't like me then, so I'm a little skeptical as to if they'll like me now.  There were 5 other people who interviewed and all of them men.  I was the only woman, but I'm used to that in my teaching career.  It is very malecentric.  That's okay with me.  The interview questions were the same as last year and the interviewers were as well.  I decided I was going to go in there and play their little game (something I hate doing in interviews but I need the job). I'm not sure, but I think they had a better impression of me.  That doesn't mean that I'll be changing my teaching strategies, but it may just get me in the door.  I should know in the next day or so because they would like the replacement teacher to start Monday.  Yeah, that means this weekend I'll be catching up on the curriculum as a just-in-case.

Secondly, I still haven't heard anything back about the casting.  While I'm pretty sure I didn't make it in, I just would like confirmation of it.  Plus, it would be nice to know if Jakob made it in or not too.  But something good may still come out of it.  I may be able to get back into dance classes because I could now pay for them!  Ugg, I miss dancing so much.  I still do it on my own time just to keep my skills up, but I miss it a bunch.

Thirdly, what in the word am I going to pull together for Halloween?!  I have a few ideas, but I'm not sure what I'll be doing.  I know what I'm going to do for next year (and yes, it's going to take me a whole year of pulling things together and working with other people to make it happen) but I can't figure out what to do this year.  Jakob is probably going to use his new chainmail and the knight costume I made for a photoshoot earlier this year and all his leather gear for a knight.  I do have the the dress used for bookcovers over the last few years, but I'm not sure.  I'm guessing that I'll just have to go through everything in the costume closets and see what there is.

But it's raining!!  =)

Utter Fool of Myself

Okay, so I'm usually not the one auditioning for shows and stuff, but when I was told that a local theatre was going to be doing the musical version of Zorro and they were looking for flamenco dancers, I took a chance and auditioned.  And man was I wrong with doing that. 

First off, I was asked to sing.  I don't sing in front of people.  I really don't.  I sing along in the car because that is just what you do to music in the car.  I sing in the shower because nobody really cares how they sound in the shower.  But singing in front of people?  Yeesh!  One of my worst nightmares.  So I was really surprised after I sang at the first audition and I made it to dance callbacks.  What I'm thinking happened was they saw my dance background and forgave my voice because I didn't do all that well during the singing audition.  It was the first time I sang with the piano and he played it kind of fast.

So callbacks were last night and I totally made a fool of myself.  They broke us into groups because there were so many and I was placed into the second group which meant we had to wait for 45 minutes before we could go in.  That just made my anxiety level rise like nothing else.  I'm usually not nervous when it comes to dance auditions, but last night I was shaking and I couldn't think straight.  When it came time for my group to go in, I botched it from the minute I walked in.  I'm guessing my anxiety was so high that my brain wasn't working as well as it normally would.  I could not for the life of me get the steps to work with my feet.  They just wouldn't go.   I was off beat and out of sync with what the instructor was doing.  My arms wouldn't work with my feet and my feet wouldn't work with my brain.  When it came time to break into even smaller groups to show what we could do, my body just froze and I couldn't get my feet to make the correct sounds (yet again).  Once we were dismissed I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it so since Jakob had his callbacks right after I did, I waited until all the other girls had left and tried the sequence again.  And of course I could do it, all the sounds and all the arm movements.  I don't understand why my body wouldn't work with me the first time.

I guess I'm just disappointed with myself for letting my anxiety get the best of me (yet again) and for not showing what I am really capable of doing.  There is no way that I am going to get into this show.  I'm pretty sure that Jakob'll get in because of his swordplay ability.

Some Adult Truths

Okay, so I am totally stealing this from a friend.  Enjoy.  You'll probably find that a lot of these you'll nod your head at.

*** Adult Truths ***
1. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

16. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

17. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

18. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

19. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

20. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

21. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

22. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.


Too funny . . . . .  

It may be rivalry week, but it doesn't feel like it

Usually the BYU/utah football game isn't until November and that helps to build up the hype for both teams.  You know what each season has looked like. You know where they stand. The weather is usually cold and snowy and all that winter gear is needed.  But this year is completely different. 

The game is today, only 2 games into the season.

We don't really know what each of the teams are capable of.  We don't know where their seasons are going to end up.  While the weather may be colder, it still isn't all that bad and the sun is out and shining.

Today is the first BYU/utah game that I'm missing in a long time.  While I usually don't care for football, this game has always been a fun time for my family.  It has been a time that my family dresses in blue and sees some of the players from years past because we work the Varsity Club tailgate before the game. 

Today is different.

Jakob and I both have a show tonight so we won't be seeing the game.  While Jakob has to be at the theatre early, I'm going to stay at the tailgate to help my mom until late.  I didn't say anything to anyone about it, and while I should have said something, I didn't feel like I needed to. Usually the crew shows up between 6:30 and 6:45 and I am considered crew. I set everything last night.  I don't have to be at fight call.  All the props are where they need to be or are already made.  I really don't have to do any hair or make-up before the show (I get mine done during intermission).  I can get there and set the food and be done with everything.  Takes me maybe 10 minutes at most.

We'll see how everything goes this evening..

Go Cougars.

Weekday blues

Yes, it seems that lately all the posts are about how crappy my job is and how horrible life is and while the majority of it is true, it's not all bad.  Everyone has money woes (at least I hope they do because that would make me feel a lot better) and everything else I've complained about, so I'm thinking that I'm not alone in how I'm feeling and where things are going.

It is a Monday yet again and I'm back at the school.  This blogging thing is making it a bit easier to get through the work day because any of the emotions or problems that arise I can quickly write down and get them out of my head so they aren't always bogging me down. 

This past week has been a bunch of ups and downs, but at least I got to see a few friends and received some nice stuff (thanks Court for the cookies and thanks Beorn for the leather bracelet and leather notebook).  I never really took into consideration what my friends do for me and how I feel.  I can't help but feel a little happier when I look at my friends blogs or at the pictures from stuff we've done.  I feel better when I'm digging through the bins of fabric in my rooms downstairs and looking for inspiration from movies or nature for a few of my designs.  My cats make things better and worse all at the same time because they want to be "involved" in what I'm doing but being cats they end up playing with the fabric or the pattern pieces because they're moving; and while that makes me laugh a bit, it also gets a bit frustrating when I'm trying to figure things out.  Feathers are a completely different story.

Yesterday was the first day in a long time that I was actually able to spend some time with Jakob without other things getting in the way and what did we do?  We cleaned the house because it was ignored for almost 3 weeks.  Its hard to get things done when you come home at 3:30-4pmish and have to be somewhere at 5:45pm.  And then your days off are spent sleeping to make sure you have enough energy to get through the rest of the things that actually need to be done.  Plus, I spent some time in my garden yesterday because after looking out the window and seeing the weeds taking over 1 bed of veggies and my tomato plants falling over because of the weight of ripe tomatoes I needed to do some TLC for them.  I'm not a very organized person in general, but it felt good to be able to put the 1st floor of the house organized and cleaned.  We'll see how long it lasts (which I'm hoping for a while). 

I'm happy that the show now moves to weekends instead of the entire week.  That means that I'll hopefully be able to get some stuff done and actually be able to cook/bake this week.  Since money is very very tight Jakob and I haven't eaten out for a long time and I'm sure he's getting sick of eating PB&J sandwiches hopefully I'll be able to put the veggies to good use.  Plus, it is less gas that both of us need to spend.

I'm still looking for another job and it seems that the job market is getting smaller and smaller as the days roll on.  I'm not sure if I have the guts to actually start my business as a full-time thing yet or not, but I'm hoping in the next couple weeks I'll be able to have my Etsy shop up and running.  Here's hoping.  My mom and I have some fun designs with jewelry that we've been trying and I hope they are going to sell.

Opinions

Well, September has come once again and that means that school has started back up. I'm still instructing at the elementary school--but not by choice, by necessity only. It is interesting how many jobs are available, but how employers aren't hiring. In the last 2 months alone I've applied to 40 jobs and heard back from 25 of them. They've all said about the same thing; either I'm overly qualified for the job so they'd have to pay more or I'm under qualified because I don't have "customer service experience". 1st off, if I'm applying for the job (over qualified or not), apparently I'm okay with the salary so if you think I can do the job then hire me. 2ndly, just because I don't have customer service experience in your specific field, doesn't mean I'm not willing to learn or can't pick it up. I'm still looking around and trying to change the situation, but with so many people out of a job, it isn't helping any. At least I have something, right?

Football season is starting back up and while I'm not a big fan, I go to the games when they're available to me. My mom is President of the Varsity Club again, so that means more tailgates. There is 1 drawback to this year though: I'm missing the first 2 home games because of the show. I'll probably be able to do a little of the tailgate (which makes my mom happy) but I won't be able to see the games. I'm not too disappointed, but it is a family tradition to watch the Utah game and with it being BYU's first home game, that isn't going to work this year.

The show is going . . . well, it's going. There is a part of me that wishes I'd stayed away from the show and just let Jakob do his thing because as it gets closer and closer to the time for the show to open, I'm getting sick of being around that theatre and some of the people there. It just seems that people are starting to get on each others nerves a bit and that the show isn't fun anymore. At least, that is how I'm beginning to feel and I've never felt like this about a show that I'm involved in before. Plus, it seems that some of the things that I've said have come back to bite me. I know this time period and when you are billing the costumes as "authentic", then perhaps they should be around the right time period. Many of the costumes aren't. They are from the late 1700s-1800s and we're dealing with the early 1600s. That may not seem like a big deal to some people, but to those who know clothes, it is a big deal. It is like doing a 1980s show in 1940s style clothing, it just doesn't work. I overheard one of the costume people say rather demeaningly "but what does she know about clothes. . . " and then I just walked away so I didn't hear anything else (but I did hear my name at the beginning of the conversation, so I assume they were talking about me). But then again, I was asked to do props so at least I'm trying to make sure that the props are correct. On another note, I was glancing at their mock up playbill and I noticed that my name was missing as dance choreographer and they had shortened my last name. Uhh, NO! And to top it off, I haven't felt truly happy for about 2 months. This is not something I would wish on anyone. I laugh a little bit and I tend to "fake" happiness for others because it makes them happy, but to be truly honest, I just don't smile when I'm by myself anymore. All I want to do is curl up and go away. Not normal for me.

Back to the hell-hole

There is no other way that I can put this. I know it seems like I do a lot of complaining about the "job" that I currently have (and maybe I do) but it isn't exactly what I would call enjoyable. For sure other people have more patience than me for these ages, but I really don't. I really really don't. I have friends who have kids in this age range and for me, it seems that they are at least doing their job. They discipline their kids, they have taught them manners, and they aren't the "Mama Bears" that I see all the time around here--at least they aren't like that when I see them.

Yes, I am back at the elementary school instructing PE at a little over part time. They decided not to cut the job this year after all and since I didn't say anything about leaving, they assumed that I was coming back. I have spent most of the summer looking for another job. I have applied to over 45 jobs, with most of them coming back to me saying that I am "over-qualified" or that the position has been filled. I'm still looking though, I haven't given up. I've been chatting with my mother about it and she is keeping a few of her former students who are looking for a PE position in the loop of things so if the off chance that I have another job pop up, I can go to the principal and say here are the ones who you need to call in for an interview. They are waiting for the call and they are certified. Lets HOPE it comes down to that.

I was chatting with my parents the other day about this whole job thing and they are beginning to see it from my perspective a bit. I believe that a teaching job is most likely not in my future and I need to find something else. And according to my father, that may include more schooling in a different direction. Interesting for my dad to say that, but at least the dialogue is now open.

I wasn't planning on holding any PE lessons today (and the teachers all know it) because while the teachers have been paid for this past week to be in their classrooms and getting everything they need, I haven't, so I haven't even been to the school in a very long time. I need today to get everything finalized and make sure I have things in order to make it a little less stressful on me for these first 2 weeks. But as things would have it, one of the 4th grade teachers sent the students down and then called me and expected me to give a PE lesson. And when I told that teacher no, the teacher decided to call the principal in on all of it. Yes, a grown adult called the principal in because I wouldn't do a lesson. He had been told just 4 days ago that there would be NO PE lessons on the first day to make sure the students were comfortable in their new classrooms and I had time to do some prep work. For once the principal was on my side, but I could see that the teacher was trying to get his way.

I'm not looking forward to this if this is what is in store. The first day and I've already got trouble. Well, at least 1 good thing may come out of all this . . . it is early out for the next 2 weeks, so I don't have to see the kindergarten kids for a long time. Lucky me.

Masks

Part of making the props is I get to make the masks for the ball scene and of course I pulled Court into all of it. Anything artistic and animal related and I pull Court into it. I'm excited to see where this is all going to go.

So yesterday, Court and I made our way up to a shop in SLC that sells a bunch of different masquerade masks to use a bases and I asked Court to make a few sketches of the masks. Once we got to the shop, the sketches changed completely. I think it helped both Court and I to see what we could use as bases and change around to what we want them to look like. These are going to look so cool once they are done.

Each of the masks are going to look like animals, but the artistic kind of animal. What I did was ask each of the actors to give me an animal that they thought would work with their character and then Court and I are taking it from there. If everything comes off the way we want them to, when the audience sees the masks they should be able to figure out which animal they are but still have a fun look to them. I see lots of feathers, glue, fabric, and hilarity coming in the next couple weeks. I have until the end of August to get these masks done and I think with Court's help I can get something else knocked off my list!

Enjoying my time

I haven't completely dived into the props stuff yet, but the dances are all done for The 3 Musketeers. Granted I think like a dancer and they aren't exactly time period correct, but I like them and it seems like the cast likes them too, so they are staying.

I started looking around for all the prop stuff and I'm seeing a few things that'll work, but on Saturday I'll be able to take a deeper look into things because the cast is heading to one of the local high schools to look at the costumes and I'll be able to look at the props she has and see what I can borrow for the show. Things are coming together.

However, I'm not looking forward to August 18th. I'm required to be back at the school that day, but I'm not paid for it. Yep, the joys of being staff instead of faculty. We're still required to be there but don't get paid for it. They also want me there in the evening for "Meet Your Teachers" night but I can use the excuse of rehearsal to get me out of it. What I'm hoping for is another job will come up before then and I can start recouping the summer costs of not having a job. But that is another post in itself.

But I'm spending most of my days sending job applications, playing with beads for necklaces/earrings, and fabrics flowers and accessories and looking around my fabric bins for other stuff.

The Three Musketeers

So Jakob auditioned for The Three Musketeers that was going to go up this fall at the Covey Center for the Arts and received the part of Rochefort, one of the villains. He is also the Fight Choreographer for the show. Lets just say he's having fun.

They ended up going with another costume designer (unfortunately I didn't get a chance to show them what I can do. They had already made up their minds and the director couldn't talk them out of it. So I was asked if I wanted to be a dresser for the show considering there are a few quick changes and I know what I'm doing.

Then they realized that they needed some dance choreography for the ballroom scene and I was asked to do choreography for that. I'm kind of stuck with some of the time period stuff considering there isn't too much out there on the actual dance steps, so I'm making up my own stuff. If anyone who is a dance historian goes to the show they'll definitely know that the dances aren't exactly history correct, but I did my best. Plus, I like how some of the dances are turning out.

And the new thing in all this happened this past week. Apparently their props person dropped the project and they needed someone to replace that person. And since I've been at rehearsals a lot for Jakob (he wanted some pictures/video of him teaching choreography), they presented the opportunity to me to become the Props Master for the show. I accepted, 1) because I need the money, 2)I'll already be at the show every night as a dresser, 3)they need someone who is "invested" in the show and they believe that I am the person for the job. Now, I've done some prop work for other small things, but I've never done something like this before. I don't know if I've bit off more than I can chew, but I guess they liked the fact that I have some contacts that could help out with this. We'll see how things progress.

Meanwhile, Jakob and Adam were asked this past weekend to show up at a local festival to help promote the show for this fall. They did a short fight demo. Jakob and I discussed making him a new costume to go with his "persona" so in a few days I completed his costume. I'm happy with it. Silvery shirt, black/red tunic, black/red dueling cloak. He already had the black boots, black pants, and the hat with the black and silver feathers and trim (reasoning behind the costume colors).

Here's the video that I took of them fighting. Sorry about the quality. I took it on my point and shoot and apparently it's a bit more movement than I thought. You can watch the video in HD by changing the settings after the video starts.

Weekend from Hades

We really haven't had too much going on this past month and I haven't had too much motivation to actually write something either. But this weekend is something to chat about.

First off, Friday morning started the Balloon Festival. I have loved hot air balloons since I was little. Some of my favorite pictures are with my dad when I was younger at the festival. It has been one of the things that my dad and I share. The cool thing about this year's festival was the Darth Vader balloon from Belgium. This balloon was huge and so cool. Michael and I ended up going all three days. But once again, I didn't get any pictures of me with the balloons, but a lot of pictures of the balloons itself. Stink!

Okay, last year Jakob and I were the ones who were the organizers of the fundraiser booth and things went really smooth because of all the planning. This year the booth was kind of taken away from us and the rules changed. It had nothing to do with the festival, it had more to do with the group wanting to change what we had done for the past 2 years. And there was very little organization done this year so Jakob and I decided that we weren't going to do anything with it and enjoy ourselves with the festival and our weekend. Well, that plan didn't work out too well. We arrived the first day at the festival just to walk around and see what was there and we saw that the booth was in shambles. Jakob and I just looked at each other, sighed, and jumped in to rearrange and set straight the booth. We ended up staying there the rest of the evening. We didn't get to see the festival that day at all. (And what stinks is that Jakob and I had planned a date that night since it'll be the last date we have until his show is finished in October.)

Saturday had the balloon festival in the morning and this time Jakob came with us. He loved the balloon and we got to chat with the pilots and see the interior of the balloon. Pretty cool. My mom came this morning as well, and once again, no pictures of me. I really need to start handing over my camera more.

Since I'd gotten about 3 hours of sleep the night before, Jakob and I decided to go home and sleep; which we did but received a phone call that the booth needed help so we went down once again and helped. And once again, we didn't get to see any of the festival. And with all the traffic happening, we didn't get home until midnight.

Sunday was a bit smoother in the start. Since the garrison was going to be marching in the parade the next morning they decided to have a marching practice in the morning before it got too hot, so Jakob went to that and I went along to get some footage. We went home and I crashed yet again. About 3pm we went to my parents and had an indoor BBQ and chilled with my brother for a while playing games and just enjoying being in air conditioning.

After that, Jakob asked if we could stop by the float and see if they needed any help or if they were ready to move the float down to the starting lot. But when we got there about 8pm, there was still a lot that needed to be done so we jumped in and starting working on stuff. We moved the float down to the start at about 10pm (which was a nightmare when we arrived at University Ave where people were camping out for the parade). Jakob and I got home yet again after midnight.

Monday morning started yet again with the balloon festival . . . or what was supposed to be the balloon festival. The weather wasn't cooperating and they weren't going to inflate. The crowd started getting really pushy with the event organizers that they were there to see the vader balloon and they wanted to see it and with all that pushing, they pushed the balloon crew to at least inflate it. Things went wrong from there. After they inflated it, the wind starting picking up and picked up the basket. We had to jump on the basket and started holding it down as the balloon toppled over . . . and snagged on a truck from another balloonist who wouldn't move the truck. The wind continued to pull the balloon and the basket, so many of us let go and let the basket drag sideways as we ran over to untangle the balloon from the truck so it wouldn't rip. They won't know if it ripped until they get to Montana for their next flight. I felt so bad for the balloonists and the crew.

After the balloon fiasco we headed over to the parade. The clouds were still overhead, so it made for a nice start to the parade. The float and the marching troopers won an award from the parade. The "Independence Award for the Most Impressive Entry by a Non-Profit Group". I was surprised. The parade went pretty well. I'm still sore from all the walking/running that I did. I had my camera and I was taking photos and videos, so a lot of movement.

Jakob and I went to my parents to get a quick bite to eat before heading back to the booth because once again they needed help. Yeah, not exactly the weekend I wanted but at least we got through it. After that day I had over 16,000 steps and a little over 7 miles walked. Yes, I'm still sore since I didn't stretch before hand.

Now Jakob has rehearsals every day until the opening of his show (which I'll chat about a little later) so I'm back to trying to find another job for the rest of the summer plus a job for the fall that pays better than what I had this year.

Savings

So after selling a costume, I had a little bit of play money and I needed some new supplies and fabric for my current stuff, so I went through all the different Memorial Weekend sales (both in store and online) and ended up getting the supplies that I needed plus a few things that I wanted. In all I spent 135.79, and with my recent money dilemmas, that would be a lot of money. But when I went through all the "original" prices of everything, I felt a little better spending this money. If I would have paid original price for everything, I would have paid $594.65; so I have a savings of 458.86.

Much better. Now, to actually get going on the projects.

=(

I didn't get two of the teaching jobs that I interviewed for.





At least this time it wasn't on a Wednesday. =s

Reading and job finding

So I've been slacking off this year when it comes to what I'm reading. Either I'm just too tired to pick up a book and read it, or there really hasn't been anything that I've been wanting to read. Well, I got this offer online for BOGO (buy one get one) on books from Borders and I decided to go in and see if there was anything new that caught my eye. I ended up leaving with 4 books for the price of 2 and some good early summer reading.

I'm reading two of them right now and I like them so far. Alice in Zombieland is the first one. This book is written in the same style as Pride and Prejudice and Zombie and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. They are fun more modern takes on the "classics" and he does a good job with it. He keeps the writing style and tone of the original author and twists it around to include those newer themes. I'm not sure if I'm totally sold on the notion of Alice, but I'm only halfway done (I've just gotten to the croquet game) so we'll see how it ends up.

The second is Red Riding Hood, but not the fairytale version. Apparently this book was based on the screenplay for the movie of the same name which came out earlier this year. It is pretty well written and is reading at a fast pace, which is nice for me. It has many of the same elements of the original fairytale but seems to mix in elements from M.Night Shyamalan's "The Village" and the whole werewolf thing that is popular right now. They gave Red Riding an actual name, which is nice, and they make Grandmother a bit more mysterious instead of being this nice old lady.

I'm still in the middle of the second book from the Sword of Truth series, but that is my car book, so I don't get to it as often. I tend to have books in various stages of reading throughout the house and my car, and occasionally my sidebags so I always have something available to read if I am waiting for something/someone.

Now, on to finding a summer job. This has been more difficult that I thought. Apparently teaching experience isn't considered "customer service" experience so I keep getting turned down for jobs because of that. I refuse to do fast food service, but I may have to start applying for hostess or waitress jobs yet again (not something I'm looking forward to). And when I tell employers that I'm looking for full-time work during the summer but I would have to go to part-time when school starts back up, they usually say "thanks but no thanks" and show me the door. I may have to leave that part out from now on. I am looking to go part time in the fall so I'll have two jobs, but that may be difficult depending on what my job is in the fall. I still haven't heard back from the schools that I interviewed at and I sent them a little message this morning. There is a teaching position available in Park City, but that is a drive from where I live at the moment and I don't think I want to make that drive everyday next fall/winter. I still applied and I'm waiting to hear back from them. Perhaps I need to find an apartment in Park City and stay there during the week and then come back down during the weekends. Eh, we'll see if I even get called for an interview.

Track meets

I thought that when I didn't accept the offer to coach high jump this year, i was able to get away from track and the amount of time it took up. Apparently not. This year, the university decided that they were going to add in a video element to their track meets and they approached me to be the Video Director of everything. I thought it would be easy since I've done stuff like this before. Apparently not. It started out well but then got frustrating and overloaded for what they want to do.

First, I have no problem coming up with crew, but it is the crew that doesn't work with me. First off, when you commit to something, you'd better have a good reason not to show up (or not to even call and say what is going on). Reliability isn't what it used to be. There is no way that I would act like that towards someone giving me a job to do. If I can't make it, I let people know about it and in as much advance as I can so they have a chance to find someone else to replace me or I come up with someone to replace me. I had a crew of 7 set, ready to go and when Friday came around, only 3 of them showed up and I haven't heard anything from the others. Looks like my list of people that I can't trust to work with has just gotten longer. Apparently Responsibility, Reliability, and Accountability isn't held high any more.

I think this can all work out well, it is just the ability to do what I need to do with people I can trust. And they were even going to get paid.

At least for now, the track season is over and I have my weekends back. Now it is on to finding a summer job and something more for next fall . . . which is harder than it looks, but that is for another post.

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad . . . Morning

I hate mornings when you get out of bed and from that moment on things just aren't going right for you.

This morning was one of them.

From the point that I got out of bed, I stubbed my toe on the bed frame. Then I poured milk over me at breakfast. I stepped on Jimmy's tail when reaching for my shoe. I left my lunch sitting on the counter when I left for work. I hit every red light on the way to work. I left my sunglasses sitting on the table at home and it was bright outside. My key broke in the lock at work and they had to bring someone from the district out to issue me a new one and remove the broken part. And the kicker of the morning: I was verbally accosted by a parent for asking her son to try his best at PE.

And all this happened before 10:45 this morning.

That last bit is what I'm so upset at at the moment. I know I shouldn't be and I should just let it slide off my back, and I've been trying, but I can't let go of it.

Here's the story:
The second class of the day is a 4th grade. There is this one student, we'll call him Cub, who didn't show that anything was wrong during warm-ups or the walk out onto the field. After I explained the game and split the class into teams, he told me he wasn't going to play and I asked him why. He said his knee hurt (later he told me he had a displaced bone which I still don't believe). I asked him to play to the best of his ability. And that is what he did. I didn't force him to play. I didn't say "You're playing or else" I just told him what I tell any of the other students. He didn't hand me a doctor's note or a parent's note or anything. I can't take the word of students because if I did, half the time I wouldn't have a class to teach.

About 10 minutes later, Mama Bear came storming onto the field while I was teaching a class and started yelling at me about Cub. That I "made" him play and that I should "trust her son because he doesn't lie" and that "I'm going to sue you because of what you did. We're going to the doctor's and if there is permanent damage, you'll be liable for it". That is a verbal accost. She's the one that can get in trouble for it. I did apologize if she thought I did anything wrong, but I don't think I did anything wrong. After this happened, I went to the secretary to let her know about it and I learned that this mother had bullied another teacher because her son didn't come in first. Apparently the family is very competitive.

I'm just upset about it because I know the power that parent's have in districts when they think that their "Cubs" are not being treated the way they think they should be. I am worried about losing my job because if I lose this job then I am in trouble for next year. I'm not sure if I even want this job for next year, but at least it pays the bills.

I'm trying to turn this morning around by having fun with the students and taking them outside because they want to go outside and playing with them. I'm trying to turn this around by writing about it and getting it out of my system. I'm trying to turn this around by talking with other people and getting my side of the story written and heard. I'm just hoping that my story will be heard and not just drowned out by a Mama Bear who is out on revenge.

It is the Next Wednesday . . . .

And I haven't heard anything as of yet. Here's hoping that something good comes out of all the waiting. There have been a few more developments lately in the saga of getting a job for next fall, but hopefully the developments lead to something worth while.










and yes, I know that I keep promising to put up some pictures of my mom's and my jewelry, but I haven't found any good pictures yet! I have some artsy-style pictures but that doesn't show off the jewelry all that well. Maybe I'll just take some straight photos and see if that works for at least a "promo". Anyone have any suggestions on photos, please feel free to send them my way! And no, it isn't comfortable to try and take a photo of your own neck with the jewelry on.

Spring has sprung . . . hopefully

Well, the rain is here almost every other day and here's hoping that the weather stays like this. I like the rain, it means I don't have to water the garden as much.

But this year I am determined to get my back yard finalized to the point that I can actually enjoy it and my garden. I've got to first figure out why my sprinkler system isn't working and that is going to be interesting. My dad tried to help out last year and we couldn't figure it out, but here's hoping to a new year and new luck. We're thinking that the water just wasn't turned on to the system and that the control box is damaged. Last year at the end of the season I bought a new control box and some tools for cheap so hopefully I'll be able to put it in.

I also want my garden back. With the price of food going up and up, I want to be able to feed myself some fresh veggies without having to pay a bundle. I've got the framework for garden boxes, and my mom has started her greenhouse, so a few of my seedlings are there. But with the garden boxes, that means I won't have to put in that much sod in the back, so it keeps down the cost. As for the sod in the front, it shouldn't be too much either since I'm planning on doing some landscaping up front to keep the grass and water to a minimum.

I'm also getting sick of the faded color of my house and I found out that there is a paint for vinyl siding, so I'm going to redo the coloring and I'm going to paint my door something bold. I've also got to do something about the mailbox. I'm thinking that I can buy some remnant bricks and build a nice mailbox housing. That may be the cheapest thing to do and sill fulfill the requirements of my HOA.

And on that note, I am really sick of my HOA. There is a "snitch" in the neighborhood that will let the HOA know of anything that is going on that isn't up to the "code". But I really don't care. The HOA can't take my house and since it is my property I can technically do anything I want with it. If I wanted to paint my house a bright green, I could. Would it match the neighborhood? No, but I could. Not that I'm going to though.

Spring cleaning has started and I've got some older appliances that need to be sold so I can use the money elsewhere, or donated so I can get a tax break. I'm trying to see which one will give me the greater outcome. I'm thinking that I'm going to have a yard sale soon to get rid of some clothes and other junk that we haven't used in a few years (or specifically from the move over). That should get me some extra cash to fund all this.

I'm hoping that things will move on this year and we'll be able to figure out stuff and make it all work.

"If you haven't heard by next Wednesday . . . "

I hate that phrase. Absolutely hate it. Every single job I have ever had or interviewed for has been followed by that phrase and I have lost every single one of them. Don't believe me? Here goes the rundown . . .

Episode I -- BYU Media Services
In August of 2008, after I had graduated in April, I had let the department know that I was leaving and I had 1 week left. Well, my Boss decided that it would be better to "let me go" than have me leave on my own terms. So after I had been chatting with a few of my coworkers and saying that I would be leaving on a Friday, my Boss came forward (on a Wednesday) and said that my services would no longer be needed since I was leaving, I could leave a few days earlier. Yep. Wednesday let go.

Episode II -- Tech Assistant
August of 2008-May of 2009 I was a Tech Assistant at a local elementary school. Got the job on a Monday. The year went fine and they asked me to interview to stay for the next year. I went through the interview and I thought I did well. They said "If you haven't heard from us by next Wednesday, please contact us". I thought I had the job for the next school year, but the district decided to start bumping out all the tech assistants, so I was given my "letter of nonhire" (that is actually what they called it). It was a Wednesday.

Episode III -- High School Teacher
August of 2009-May 2010 I was teaching high school. Yes, I knew going into the position that it was a guaranteed 1 year with the possibility (depending on my results) of extending it to a permanent position. Well, the end of the school year came and I interviewed for the position. Every indication they gave during the interview was that they were happy with what I did and they were going to rehire me. The principal said "If you haven't heard from us by next Wednesday, come down and chat." By the next Wednesday I hadn't heard anything so I went down and they said that I had been let go and that I didn't have the job next year. Again, a Wednesday.

Episode IV -- P.E. Instructor
August 2010-May 2011 I am currently instructing P.E. at the elementary level. They have already started figuring out what they want to do next year and if they have the funding for it. I have completed the "interview" for the next year and they said that if I didn't hear anything from them by the last Wednesday in May, to talk to my principal. Yep, another Wednesday and this time I have to wait until May to find out.

And the latest episode . . .

Episode V -- Job Hunting MCPA
This is my most recent job interview. It is for a teaching position at a local charter high school. I've had 2 interviews with them and from all their indications, they liked my teaching style and they liked me personally. Yesterday (a Wednesday) was my 2nd interview. Since next week is Spring Break (yay!) they aren't going to get with me next week but the week after. "If we don't get with you by the Wednesday after Spring Break, then come by and chat with us." That phrase yet again.

Can you see why I don't like that phrase?

Nothing Eventful

Really, nothing has been going on lately in our lives that seems noteworthy. Jakob is almost finished with his student teaching and can get back to work in about a month (yay for income!) and I'm still battling it out at the Elementary school.

For those who have never really worked in an elementary school for long periods of time, you may not understand how hard it is. You are almost always sick because of the students. You get berated by parents if you do a good job. You get berated by parents if you do a bad job. This is their "baby" and they can do nothing wrong in most parents eyes and "how dare you" scold, discipline, or even say anything to the student other than "good job". Yep. I've gotten that. And since I instruct P.E., I get this excuse all the time from students and parents "Well, they'll just grow out of their chubbiness" or "My child doesn't need to stretch or practice. They have natural talent for anything." Yeesh! I can't believe some of the stuff that I get.

But life moves on and the school year is almost over and I'm hoping that it will eventually work out for the better. There is a Teacher Fair next week at the University and both Jakob and I are going to it.

My (un)eventful week

So this week has been . . . interesting to say the least. It all started last Saturday during the Utah vs. BYU game. My mom wasn't feeling all that well but went to the game. We just played it off as exhaustion and both of us actually were exhausted. She's had a bunch of students out with various ailments and I've had students coming to class with a bunch of ailments (when will parents learn to keep their kids at home when they're sick!)

Anyway, the sunday after the game my mom gives me a call in the morning and says that she's feeling horrible--and sounding horrible--so she wasn't going to come over for dinner in case she had something "catching". Jakob and I both felt okay, so we just let it slide and sent some food home with my brother.

Monday came and it is Valentine's Day. I'm sure that students came just to get the candy from the class parties, but I had a bunch of students sick--and I mean more than usual--and they all wanted to give me hugs and talk to me. And I'm not a fan of that and the students know that if they are sick they shouldn't come near me and try to avoid touching the equipment (and yes, I do use hand sanitizer). Well, during the day I started coughing and just feeling lousy but I made it through most of the day (Jakob even sent me deep purple roses at work with a teddy bear. Nice surprise at the end of the day). But after I went home, the coughing got worse along with the feeling of just plain blah. So when my parents surprised us at home with a Valentine's "celebration" of pizza and desserts from Kneaders, we were happy that we didn't have to go anywhere (especially with the way I was feeling).

Tuesday. Ahh, that morning I woke up with the feeling that a ton of bricks had taken residence inside my chest. I could barely breathe, let alone talk. So I left a message at work saying that I wasn't going to come in. I took it easy at home, but when my mom called, so said that she was going to set up a doctor's appointment for the next day and for me to do the whole steam and hot pack-on-chest stuff. That made it better, but I started going downhill rather quickly Tuesday afternoon.

Wednesday morning and I'm out completely. I'm having a hard time breathing (more than before) and I feel extremely hot. My mom stops by mid-morning and gets me into the car. We arrived for the appointment early and luckily enough there wasn't anyone in the office (yay!) and because I was feeling so rotten they had to pull out the oxygen tanks. After a few minutes they took my oxygen saturation blood levels and they were low, really really low. And my fever had started rising again, it was 103 after taking a fever reducer a half hour before . . . yeah not good. So after a few more tests, including a quick flu test, it came back to be Influenza A (which according to my doctor is one of the worst forms of the Flu) and he wanted to hospitalize me right then, but my mom said that she could handle it for the rest of the day. So my doc put me on antivirals and sent me on the way with a standing order that I report to the hospital if anything changes for the worst.

Thursday things started looking up. At least I hadn't been to the hospital and I started being able to breath again, but I still didn't feel 100%, and that is what scared me. Still no work.

Friday went worse. Downhill again along with the fever coming back and the chest heaviness. My mom started worrying that the flu had turned into something else (which has happened before to me).

Saturday was a bit better, but walking around made the world spin.

And now it's Sunday again. 1 week later and at least it is a bit easier to breathe. I'm still coughing and the world spins if I move too much, but it seems to be getting better.

I'm pretty convinced it was one of my students who gave me the flu. It is annoying to me to see students who shouldn't be at school because they are visibly sick, be at school because their parents won't keep them at home. They infect everyone else and who are the ones that really pay for it? The adults. I believe that the only reason adults get sick are because of kids and the other parents who don't do the right thing.

To be completely honest, I am nervous about going back to work on Tuesday. I'm still weak and I'm sure there are more students who are sick and at the school. I'm going to be taking it easy with the students, but I'm thinking that the older grades are going to take advantage of my situation. I guess we'll see what happens on Tuesday, whether I call in sick one more day or actually go in and face everything.

Another year by, but none the wiser

My birthday has come and gone and I actually enjoyed not having too much attention with everything. My mom stopped by the school and gave me a hug in the morning, which started my day off right considering I have a hard group of 4th graders in the mornings. Then the custodian was "told" that it was my birthday so she made this big sign that she hung on my door so for the rest of the day I kept getting the question "Is it your birthday?" Now, I had to be nice considering it is the elementary aged students, I couldn't pull out any of my "snappy comebacks" so I just let it go and nodded.

Then, I had to go to the DMV after I finished work. Now I normally dread going to the DMV. I've never had a good experience with them, but when I went earlier this week it was actually a good experience. I found out that you can schedule an appointment online to the Orem DMV. I walked in and got into another line (which gave me preference) and I pretty much got to cut in front of all the other people waiting in line (which didn't go over too well with this older guy at the front of the line). And after sitting in the chair for maybe 2 minutes, I got called up and finished up with everything. It helped that I had all the correct documents plus a few more as a just-in-case, and within 15 minutes I was in and out. Plus the guy that was doing all the work was nice and he chatted with me while he made sure everything was correct. One of the things that drives me nuts at the DMV is the crappy mood that most of the workers are in. They don't talk to you. The guy even wished me a happy birthday as I left.

Then that evening Jakob and my mom had planned a surprise dinner for me. Jakob had told me that he was going to take me out for dinner and he had made reservations. Then he got this phone call saying that our reservation had been "bumped" up and if we could go right then; so we did. And when we walked into the restaurant, my family was already sitting at the table. It was a nice surprise and I got an amazing necklace designed by my mother for a present (plus a few shoes!). I normally don't like to let the waiters know that it is a "special occasion" because then they embarrass you, but our waiter knew and didn't do anything other than wish me a happy birthday. Nice. Low key.

I'll post some pictures of the necklace later this week. I'll also be opening up my "shop" soon to see if there is any market for the necklaces and earrings that my mom and I are designing. I'll post more information when it is all set up.

Confusion

Okay, so the first part of that last post doesn't make that much sense. It is because there was a post before it that I decided to ultimately delete. I have my reasons.

Anyway, it is that time of year again. Girl Scout cookie season. Now, I was a girl scout, but I never wanted to sell cookies. In fact, I've never had a girl scout cookie. Nope. I don't feel the need to splurge on cookies that only come out for a limited time when I have all the ingredients for cookies in my pantry. Yep, so after the 4th doorbell ring today from girl scouts (and some of them I'm pretty sure aren't from this neighborhood) I decided to make my own. Besides, I like eating the dough just as much as the baked cookies.

I digress.

You would think that after a few minutes of sitting on the doorstep and no one coming to the door, you would move on to the next house. But not this set of three girls. These three girls plus two mothers were on my doorstep ringing the doorbell and knocking for at least 5 minutes. I stepped by the door to listen to their conversation and it was funny to say the least. Girl 1 started off by humming a tune, then knocking while Girl 2 was fiddling with papers and ringing the doorbell. Girl 3 and the mothers were down a few steps and after the first few minutes Girl 3 said that they should go but Girl 1 and 2 both replied with "I know they're in there! The cars are in the driveway. No one can say no to these cookies." And that is when I opened the door and said "Actually, very easily. No, I don't want any cookies. Now stop ringing my doorbell." As I was closing the door I took a look at the mothers and I couldn't tell who was trying to give me the worst dirty look; the girls or the mothers. I just had to laugh when I closed the door.

But now I'm sitting here eating soup and cookies while the cats are chasing each other. After the day I had, this makes it a bit better.

Life anew

I've received a couple of messages about that last post saying that it made them "uncomfortable" with what I've said. That I'm good at fooling everyone. These people said that now they're not sure if they can believe anything more I say because of one issue: will I be truthful with them?

Let me put it to you this way: I've always been truthful with everyone and everything I do. I just have a "talent" to make people around me see something that I don't necessarily feel at that moment. Does that make it hard to read me and what is really going on? Perhaps, but that means that it is something that I need to work on and probably will be working on this for a very long time. It doesn't just go away overnight like a cold or a stomach bug.

But I'm taking steps to help with everything (no, it doesn't involve medication) but it does involve a lot of searching and a lot of thinking and what I'm now calling "me time". Me time doesn't necessarily mean that I'm alone, but it does involve doing something primarily for me and no one else. I may be with people, I may not. It all depends on how I'm going to approach the situation now.

That brings me to my next little point.

I'm picking a "theme"--if that even is the right word--for this year, and there happens to be a song that goes along with it. My theme is Overcoming Expectations and the song that I've chosen is Firework by Katy Perry. If you haven't heard the song, here is the music video for it:


I believe the song is about overcoming your obstacles, letting go of fears, and letting who you really are shine through. That is my goal for 2011.

Starting something

It's a new year. 2011 is now here.

Most people look at the new year and make a resolution to do something different. I've never really been one that makes resolutions, but this year I'm going to join in on the bandwagon and try something different. I'm making plans to start my own business. I've got almost everything I need in order and I'm waiting on a few more things to fall into place; however I'm more than half way there. I don't want to announce anything yet in case things just doing pan out, but I think it will. I'm also starting some stuff with my mom. Hopefully I'll be able to take some pictures soon and post the here so you can see what we're doing.

I'm also resolving to get another job this year. I can't take instructing at the elementary school much longer. This just isn't my age group, or my subject matter. Yes, I think I'm fooling everyone into thinking that this is what I do or what I want to be doing, but it is getting ridiculous. I'm hoping that a position opens up soon in my field or other things take off and I don't have to deal with these people anymore.

However, in other news, Jakob started his student teaching today. Technically he doesn't have to start until Wednesday, but he wanted to start right away so he could have some room near the end of the semester in case he can't make it certain days to the school. He is at a Junior High and from his meeting with his cooperating teacher, it seems like there will be enough stuff for him to do an get a good experience with it. I think things will end up moving along rather well for him, and I'm excited about it. There was a whole lot of drama going on with getting him into this position, but at least he has a spot that doesn't demand he travel extensive distances the way they originally wanted him to.

Me, I'm still at the elementary school and dreading the fact that today was the first day back. The students, for the most part, are behaving, but I have the "older" kids this afternoon and they always make it "interesting"--to say the least. However, I look forward to when the final bell rings and I can go home to my holiday presents: a light box and sketch stuff. I have been wanting a light box for a while and my dad was going to make me one but couldn't find all the parts to finish it (after I bought them all) so he decided to gift me one. I'm happy! And my mom bought me some more sketch books and pencils (which I run through quite frequently because I practice so much). I'm really not all that great at sketching, so I do a lot of tracing and using my "drafting" skills, so at times my people turn out looking very blocky, but my writing is readable. There is the plus side to that.