My Honey Turned 30!

All of Werty's family met us for dinner at our favorite restaurant, even his siblings who live in ID. YAY! It was amazing to have everyone together. Then after dinner, people came over to our place. We made good use of the DDR my sister and brother gave us for Christmas.

Our Finished Tree...before we take it down

Werty and I had a great FHE shopping for ornaments. Once Werty got in to it, he went to town. Made me laugh a little, because when the evening started, he was not in a mood to shop. (I think he was envisioning being dragged all over town and dealing with hours of holiday shopping traffic...thank goodness for Michael's having all the ornaments we needed.)

Thankful for Covered Parking

This is the first time in my life that I have had covered parking. I love not having to scrape my windshield every morning before work. I have to get up at 5:30am every morning - and I do not want to get up any earlier! My car is very wide - so scraping last year took a minimum of 15 minutes. In our old apartment, we had two parking spaces. Now we only have one - the only down side to our new place. However, we can fit both the motorcycle and the car in our one spot...and it's a covered spot. Hallelujah. I don't want to ever go back to uncovered parking again. I guess the house we get someday will have to have a garage. :D

My other happy thought today is that we received goodies from our friends Andi and Ti. I made cookies this afternoon and finished stuffing the boxes of goodies that are going out to them and to Dekan. Now we need to mail them.

I am taking the IB kids on a field trip tomorrow to the SMA to look at Soviet art. Werty has kindly agreed to be the second chaperon.

Our Family Christmas Tree!

I know it's big, but we plan to have it longer than we will be in our current apartment. Plus, we now know that our ceiling is exactly 7.5 feet high because the tree just barely touches. We were so exhausted Monday night after getting the tree - we went to a few stores that didn't have trees anymore before we found our tree at Lowe's - that we only put half of it up before going to bed. I have been sick all week and only sleeping about 3-4 hours a night. When I decided I wanted to be a teacher I wasn't thinking about how I would be getting up at 5am everyday and have to act chipper and be patient! Anyway, Monday night I wasn't able to fall asleep at all...stupid sudafed...so Werty surprised me when I got home from work the next day. When I walked in the door, there was the tree - finished and all lit up.

Werty wanted a tree that had soft rubber tips that looked more real and scratched less. I wanted a tree that looked bushy like the real Christmas trees I grew up with. This one was the bushiest and has a combination of standard and soft rubber tips. It really helps the tree look realistic. The tree was listed higher than the comparable one we had looked at last week at another store. However, Lowe's had all the fake trees marked down to 50% off, so in the end we got a great deal. We still need to get some ornaments, of course.

Who, me?

Last week I received the monthly "Unsung Hero" award. It's an award that teachers give to each other. My former boss, the ESL director chose me because of all the extras they have me doing, from teaching during lunch to the after school activities and fundraising. (I don't know if I can ever attend another BYU sport event again...we made like $.50 an hour at the last game.) Anyway, now I need to choose someone to present the award to next month. Not many first year teachers are recognized, so that's nice. FHE tonight - go buy a fake tree. We finally decided - if we can find one we like, we will go fake. Never th0ught I would say it, but I think it's a good idea. (Seeing what the trees available look like helped me to decide. Christmas trees should be bushier than these mountatin trees.)

Friendly Neighborhood Ulcer?

For at least the last two months, I haven't been able to eat bell peppers anymore. We started buying red peppers in a 6 pack from Costco...but now every time I eat them I get acid reflux and sometimes I feel queasy. Last night, Werty gave me a sip of his egg nog, and I guess I need to avoid sweet things late at night too. My tummy has been more touchy than usual. And unfortunately, I know my sensitivity isn't a sign of anything life changing. So, what could it be? So, I keep joking with Werty that it's my friendly ulcer. I can't remember what my sister's symptoms were when she had an ulcer, so this diagnosis isn't really based on any facts. Mostly, I think it is a result of erratic sleeping. So, I have to watch what I eat in the evening, avoid the spicy and sweet, and try to get sleep.

Werty and I tried to go shopping today. He said he didn't want to do any browsing, just get in and get out. So we had an agenda of a few things we were looking for - we went to two stores, and didn't find anything. Fruitless. My conclusion: browsing serves a purpose, especially when it comes to gift ideas and gift giving. So, next I will attempt the online shopping route. Does anyone know what Werty's oldest sister wants? Lisa, I will try to find out what my MIL wants, but she is on my "hard-to-shop-for" list. She lost weight with the surgeries this last year, and she's swimming in her old clothes. But clothes can be difficult from a distance.

Wish List for Christmas

I have been chastised. Seriously, we just had mid-term progress reports and the end of the term is coming up fast. So, I have been inundated with grading as well as trying to start the next IB unit. I am really stressed about not having enough time for the Cold War, which is one of the required topics this year. We just finished WWI to give you an idea. Today we started the Russion Revolutions - made the kids watch a silent propaganda film, "October" directed by Eisenstein.

Okay, so here are some things I would love for Christmas:
- CD, Mindy Smith "One Moment More" (my current favorite songs to listen to on youtube)
- "Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives" by Alan Bullock
- Dance Dance Revolution for PS2 (there are different playlist/versions, I don't have any of them, so I don't care - pick one that seems to have a good playlist)
- Dance Dance Revolution Dance Mat for PS2 (we need 2 total so Werty and I can play together)
- DVD, Narnia: Prince Caspian
- DVD Masterpiece Theater's Jane Eyre, the 2006 mini-series version
- perennial someday item: Pfaff sewing machine

Werty's Wish List
- Soundtrack to the french musical "Ten Commandments" - he says the one he wants is sung in french, someone at his previous job had it, and he fell in love with it.
- Ah, my Goddess season 2 DVD set
- Fruits Basket mini-series DVD set
- Card Captor Sakura DVD set
- iTunes gift card
- Disney's Sword in the Stone (We already bought WallE for ourselves - we couldn't wait)

This is the first year that I don't have any of my shopping done before December. Usually, I am at least halfway done by now. But I have been too tired to go out to a store - which is the reason we are using our travel toothpaste this week - I haven't had time to go out and buy any toothpaste. :P In the past, I had a little more time than Werty, so I took care of the Christmas presents, but maybe this year Werty will have to do it....hmmm, yeah.

So, what do you guys want for Christmas this year?

Making our own leftovers

This year, Werty's huge family decided to disperse to ID or to in-laws' for Thanksgiving. So, we went to my grandparents' house in SLC, taking Glump with us. Werty made his beet-root pie. I was a little stressed about it, but we had a great time. I even got Werty and Glump to play the old family favorite with me - Clue. "Mystery Mansion Clue" to be exact. I won. :D Thursday evening Glump, Sue and I went to see Twilight again. It was better the second time around.

Since we didn't have any leftovers from the actual holiday, I made a mini-Thanksgiving dinner tonight. I made a ham, my version of candied yams (Werty said they were the best ones I had ever made), Werty's second beet-root pie, and stuffing. Now we have leftovers for the next week. Oh, and I actually baked an apple pie this weekend. (Julie can I have a copy of your apple pie recipe? I can still remember how good yours are!)

This break was my first chance to really spend time unpacking and organizing...even though we moved 3 months ago. I have just been that busy. (Werty was given the job of unpacking, but let's face it, he has different priorities for what needs to be dealt with first). The living room looks worse now, because stuff was shuffled around. However, I finally have all the clothes unpacked and closets organized. There are only two boxes left in the bedroom - bathroom stuff mostly. Werty worked on the 3rd bedroom which will be our exercise/video game/guest room/Werty's tool storage room. It's a small room, but we have lots of plans for it. The office is still a mess, but the box piles are shorter now. I am the one that is good at deciding where something should live permanently, so not having time to help has been a problem. (My goal is to be comepletely unpacked before the Christmas holiday.) Unfortunately, I still have about 100+ powerpoint projects to correct, as well as a pile of response journals and essay tests. I guess I will be doing that on Sunday, even though I don't like to do work-related stuff on the Sabbath. I hope everyone had a good holiday!

Tag from Ddonn

Choosing the 12th pic from my folders that have at least 12 images in them - cuz I don't have 12 folders of pics. Most of my pics are on my memory card, not actually uploaded to my computer. I guess we should take more pics. Here is Werty last Thanksgiving at Bear Lake, UT. Brrr.


Here is the 12th image from my "screenies" folder - screenshots from FFXI. Werty and I hanging out in the Castle in San d'Oria, our home nation.

The 12th pic from Werty's graduation pics. Werty, Zinx, and one of their little sisters. (Haha - none of the pics of me are the 12th pic - which is fine by me!)

So, if you would like to - choose the 7th pic from your 7th folder to share on your blog.

Movie Trivia and Twilight Critique

How many characters played by Will Smith can you name? There was an activity at a training meeting where we had to identify movie lines. One of my favorite games. Besides naming the movie and the actor, we also had to know the character's name.

"I didn't hear no fat lady."
"Fat lady. You're obsessed with the fat lady."
And I realized that Will Smith is such a big name entertainer that I don't remember the name of the actual characters he plays. How many can you name?

Here's the quote that most of the people at the meeting didn't get, but I did. Can you name the movie? (I guess most of the other first year teachers were too young to know.)
"Interesting game - the only logical move is not to play."

Speaking of movies, Werty went with me to see Twilight this afternoon. After the first half, I wondered why my sister Sue would be willing to see it a second time. After the second half, I wanted to see it again too. I liked what they chose to leave in, etc. My only beef was the cinematography and dialogue - not sure if the blame goes to the script or the editing because the lines they had were good. A little less long takes, a little more dialogue please. It's a difficult thing to transpose a book that takes place in someone's thoughts into a movie. I'm not a purist who demands they stick to the book. But usually, movies add dialogue to compensate. Twilight chose voice overs and long takes instead. It made the falling in love sequences a little awkward. There were times when people in the theater laughed when they weren't supposed to laugh. Bad sign. Other times, the laughing was at the right times - a good sign. The action of the second half of the movie, once their feelings for one another was established, really saved the film. Recently, movie makers seem to think they have to hit their audience over the head with something or else we won't get it. It felt that way with all the long shots. Subtlety is part of good acting. It's what draws you in. The cinematography got in the way of the acting - but there were perfect moments between the two, so I don't blame the acting. I'm glad I went and saw it. I agree with Ddonn, they did a good job capturing the green of the Pacific Northwest, and it does make someone like me feel homesick.

Klari got the job!

My sister-in-law Klari will be the new math teacher for the grade 4-6 gifted program. When I saw the job posting, I encouraged her to apply. She wasn't sure if she wanted to teach this year since her son is only in kindergarten. But this job is prefect for her - it's only 10 hours a week. So congratulations Klari!!!

Also, one of the counselors paid me a compliment today. She said that I have a high retention rate comparatively - that is, students like my class well enough that they aren't requesting transfers. Not a big deal, but enough that someone noticed. So, I must be doing something right. :P

Kill 5th Period

They were not nice to the substitute today. I arrived back to school from the field trip, exhausted and hoarse from walking all over for 4 hours while I am sick. I arrived the last few minutes of class to find the kids off task and the sub texting at my desk. Worst part was that the students all noticed the sub was texting. The classroom was in a shambles. I had to clean up colored pencils and textbooks scattered all over the classroom, at least a third of the colored pencils were snapped in half...causing me to be a few minutes late to my round table meeting...which means that they paged me over the intercom... and I had to wait until the end of the meeting to say my part because I arrived last. To add insult to injury, the front office named all the teachers that were to report who weren't there yet as "Mr. so-and-so" "Mrs. so-and-so" and then when they said my name, they called me by my first name. The building full of students just released from class, and I am called by my first name over the PA. Made my blood boil.

What consequence should I give to 5th period? Any ideas?

Jurassic Park Memories

Ddonn had a post about the book on her blog today. I had to read and write a paper on the book in 8th grade as a science assignment. The first time I saw the movie was on a field trip with my science class at then end of the year. But the SECOND time I saw the movie was a month later. June 21, 1993. The day after school got out for the summer. Hee hee. Anyone know why it was important? I do.

So, here is my run down for the week:
Monday - NHS after school activity
Tuesday - IC field trip chaperone to BYU's World Fest
Wednesday - all day long literacy training at the district (to get an endorsement I already have - but my presence is required by state law)
Thursday - IC working concessions at the BYU Bball game, none of the other advisors can make it, so Werty has to come with me to fulfill the 2 adult requirement
Friday - visiting teachers, followed by FFXI static
Can I just say - I hate having to create lesson plans for substitutes?

Friday dinner with GLump

GLump called earlier this week to invite himself and a mystery girl over for dinner. Knowing that by Friday I am dead to the world and not up to entertaining, we decided to go out to a restaurant. Turns out the mystery girl was a pleasant surprise - one of my former students that GLump works with. She couldn't believe that GLump and I were siblings. She was one of my all time favorite students, so it was a good evening.

Also, I am sick once again. I haven't had a lot of sick students - but Sue was sniffly last week when we went shopping. I figure that's what did me in. Walking home from work in the cold twice in the last week probably didn't help matters either. It takes about 30-35 minutes. Now I know.

One of my Seniors decided to drop my class and only do the partial program. Sad. But she wasn't really keeping up, so maybe it's for the best. She can concentrate on other priorities now, since my class wasn't one of them. (After a month of discussing the Manifesto, a student should be able to write an essay on the principles of Marxism, don't you think?)

The Unexpected

This last week there was the A+ student who took the answer key and cheated...the multi-pierced rocker who decided to try out for the school basketball team. Teenagers surprise you and keep you on your toes.

Werty and I took time to go out on a date last Thursday to go see WallE again before it leaves the dollar theater. I love that movie! When you think about how little actual dialogue there is, it is amazing. So much of the story is told through expressions. Plus, I'm a big "Hello, Dolly!" fan. Only problem is, it puts the music in your head for days...

Friday night my sister Sue and I went shopping. Mervyn's going out of business sale. Sad. Bought new jeans and work clothes. Spent way too much. Saturday we were supposed to head to ID, but Werty wasn't feeling up to the long drive. Sad.

WWI Debate

My class had a good debate over the origins of WWI today. It wasn't quite the same as when I was an IB student - but that was mostly because there were about 1/3 of the number of students. The vote was a 3 way tie - between Serbia, A-H, and Russia. There was one independent study student who wasn't in class - I guess she will have to watch the video and cast the deciding vote.

My favorite show was preempted tonight and next week. How sad. Don't they know it's the one show I allow myself to look forward to each week? :P

Afraid they might melt...

We bought trick or treat candy last week, but once I put it in a bowl it didn't look like enough. So, the afternoon of Halloween we went and bought some more. We went to our ward dinner, but skipped the trunk or treat and came home to give out candy. (Werty's siblings had their trunk or treat right before our wards'...in the same parking lot...and they came in to the dinner to let us know that they thought it was time for us to head home so that they could trick or treat at our house.) As we headed home, it started to rain a little. Werty's siblings came and then only a few more people. So sad. Our new complex is known for attracting a large number of trick-or-treater. Our last apartment would have about 1-2 families each year, so we were looking forward to having more people. I think because Halloween was on Friday, most people had trunk or treats and parties and didn't do the door to door. It was really warm out, but maybe they were afraid they might melt in the rain...Thankfully, we didn't open all the bags of candy so we can take some of it back to the store. :P

Also, I emptied 2 more boxes this weekend! Go me!

Grades

Grades are done. There was one or two grades that will have to change with grade verification tonight, but I am so happy to be done! All the staying up until past 1am correcting papers was yuck.

And the IB papers that I put off until the last minute? It's not on purpose. I know how those kids fret about their grades. When staring at a stack of 200+ tests and 200+ study guides compared to 8 tiny timed essays - I usually tackle the big stack first.

Hall Pass

We have this broken desk in my classroom - the seat was loose, and a student picked at it until it came completely off. The holes in the seat were completely stripped, so it couldn't be repaired. So, it sat in the corner by itself. Then yesterday, one of my student sat on it after school and the front metal legs made a snapping sound. 2o minutes later, forgetting he had already broke it, he sat on it again, and the legs finished breaking. Pieces of desk was all that was left. And these desks are our protection in case of an earthquake? My classroom is in one of the outer buildings of the school, a building that would pancake...and all we have are these desks!?! I no longer look at them as I once did. They are not that sturdy. Anyway, the boys help me toss the pieces in the dumpster. Obnoxious student decides to take home the heavy desktop instead of putting it in the trash. I tried to get him to trash it. Visions of an abandoned desktop being left on the sidewalk somewhere haunted me. But no, he carried it all the way home and brought it back the next day with the words "hall pass" and his name spray painted on it in a very haphazard way. Carrying it in to the school this morning, he was stopped by security because they thought he had stolen and vandalized from a classroom. So, now I have a hall pass of sorts. Only problem is, students are begging to use the bathroom just so they can carry the heavy thing around. Go figure.

Wednesday Night

I missed my favorite show last week, due to air travel. So I watched it Tuesday online. Then Wednesday I watched the new episode. I got my PD fix two days in a row! We ordered pizza to watch together - it's the one show the Werty will sit down and watch with me. Then Geoff called and came over for the rest of the evening while I continued grading. Tonight I have been doing more grading - and grading this particular class has put me in such a bad mood that I think I will try to write tomorrow's test tomorrow. Not a good idea to write a test when you're tired and frustrated. Makes me too mean.

Back from Atlanta

My least favorite part of the trip was the 3 hour delayed flights because of weather in Chicago. Having to pay $50 for a taxi on top of the pre-paid shuttle fare because we were so late arriving that EVERYTHING was CLOSED was not too cool. At 2am I happily made it to my hotel. The highlight of the trip was going out to the cheesecake factory with my Aunt. We talked for hours. She is one of my aunts I hardly get to see, and it was a blast getting to spend so much time with her one-on-one. She's a lot of fun.

So, at IB training I discovered that the curriculum for the class I teach is changing next year. Thankfully, some of the topics I chose to teach this year will still be on the new list, but the major ones are completely different. Hooray. It was kind of exciting to be surrounded by IB teachers. The first day of "what is IB" was kind of yawn, since I was already familiar with the program from completing it myself. The last day, the more nitty gritty stuff we need to know for assessing our students was WAY more helpful. One of the most useful things at the conference was finding out what books other IB teachers are using.

Well, I am happy to be home again with my honey Werty. Sorry, Lisa, that we didn't get the chance to see you before you moved away. :( I left Wednesday for Atlanta and there was no time.

My Friend Denise

This morning my dear friend Denise passed away in her sleep. I have been dreading and expecting the phone call for the last year. I have thought of her and the letter I wanted to write her every couple of weeks for the last year. Now it's too late to send it.

Denise was so sweet and kind to me as I grew up. She was my primary teacher, young women's teacher, and my friend. As a child, I looked forward to the "birthday parties" she held at her house every year - one party a year to celebrate every child in primary's birthday. We watched movies, ate candy and did crafts. At one such party, Denise introduced me to "Goonies." Denise was the first person to teach my sisters and I about cross stitching. She encouraged creativity in me. I grew up in a well educated, literary and musical family. However, other kinds of creativity that I wanted to try were not available. Denise filled that hole. I used to sit by her in church and we would write rebus puzzles to each other, spelling out titles from the hymn book and other sentences like "I love you." It was a sacrifice when my oldest sister asked all of us siblings to start sitting with the family again to support my father. It meant giving up some of my time with Denise. In high school, Denise and I were the alto section of the ward choir together. I got used to listening to her to find my note during difficult parts. Ward choir wasn't as much fun without her. When I got home from my mission, I spent a whole day with her. I learned more about her that day than I had ever known before. When Werty and I got married, Denise was one of the wonderful church ladies who helped out with the reception - spending the whole night in the kitchen making sure there was food for all the guests. Last time I saw Denise was when Wertyand I went home a few years ago to visit. She had had a stroke by then. I am glad that Werty got to meet her and get to know her a little. I know that she is at peace now, freed from the cares and health problems of this world. And I know that I will see my friend again someday.

Brrr...Winter is on its way

I worked the BYU game last night for International Club. It was SOO cold. I was in the wind with only my BYU sweatshirt on for 5.5 hours. It took me 3.5 more hours to warm up after I got home. BYU won over UNM (21 to ?7?). Today on our way to church, there were tiny snowflakes falling. Looks like the Indian Summer is over. I guess I need to find the box that has my winter coat in it.

Also, my niece had the opportunity to read the news on TV. Here's the link http://www.heraldextra.com/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,159/
Click on the story "Big Prize."

Curly Hair

I LOVE my naturally curly hair. It makes me unique in my family. So, last weekend I was hanging out with my nieces and nephew during Priesthood session for "pizza and movie" night. My sister's oldest girl asked me the cutest question. "Aunt Zanne, I like your curly hair. Why do you curl it everyday?" "My hair doesn't go straight like yours." She gave me a perplexed look. "God made my hair curly instead of straight. After I wash my hair, it dries curly." "Wow," she said. My niece, who is in kindergarten this year, got her hair curled for her school pictures. Really cute btw. She has recently learned the process of turning straight hair into curly hair. it never occured to her that some people have it naturally. Made me smile.

Happy Birthday

to by Bro Nate008, my MIL and my best friend's kid Jr. Popular day to be born.

I hate, I hate, I hate

...Peter Pan!?! No, no...artificial hormones! I so wish the asst principal had come in and observed me last week like he was supposed to...instead of this week. Ugh. "Teacher, I heard that you got really mad yesterday..."I hope that they were talking about class because they were studying for the test they took today... Today I only got angry at a student one-on-one, at least, even if I stomped out of the room to give it to him. Again, I blame the hormones. Plus, it was Obnoxious student, and he acknowledged that he deserved it.

Good news is that I determined that I needed to make time for lifting weights again. So, Monday I did weights for half an hour. Then today, I rode my bike to and from work. Pretty good for only 3-4 hours sleep each night.

Inappropriate for Children...

That's what one of my sisters-in-law called herself last weekend. I thought of her when I told my students, "I am really pissed." Yeah, not a good thing. Not something I usually do. I blame the artificial hormones I started taking this weekend. /Sigh

Happy Birthday to Ddonn!

Today is the birthday of both my best friend and my Idahoan sister-in-law. Last night, I spent a few hours with my sister and her kids for girls night. We watched "Ice Age: The Meltdown." Then my in-laws gathered for birthday cake after the Priesthood session. We sang Happy Birthday to all the October birthdays - S, B, MIL, and Cherry. So, even though I couldn't be with them, in my heart I was also eating cake to celebrate Ddonn and my brother Nate008.

Quote of the day...

During our first Zone Conference following the border/mission change, my companion said something that has always stuck with me and cheered me up. "I don't kiss no booty, and I don't shake my booty neither." For some reason it was the quote stuck in my head today.

Looks like my sister might be coming for Christmas after all. Yippee!

My IB students had their first in-class timed essay test. They have been taught by teachers who are also AP teachers - so they have done lots of DBQ's, what IB students call documents tests. (It's kind of funny, I call them documents tests, and the students sometimes automatically correct me with "DBQ" - because they don't differentiate between AP and IB lingo). I let them have an index card - only two of them remembered and prepared one ahead of time - to write an outline or notes. But they were a little thrown because I didn't provide any documents or quotes for them to respond to. I just told them to write me an essay explaining Marxism or an aspect of Marxism. Also, they asked how long of a paper I was expecting - like 1 - 1.5 pages? (I let them use the computer lab). I responded that when I took the same test myself, I wrote 4-5 pages hand written. After the 60 minute test, I explained to them that only one of their IB essay tests was going to be document based, the other two would be a list of questions based on different topics. I told them that I want them to be comfortable with a timed test so that they won't be pysched out when it's the real deal. That got their attention. I'm not just being mean - I want them to be ready. I promised them I would write up a description of the format for each of the three IB tests.

What if...

The dreaded "what if" tangents. Today we were discussing the current economic crisis and bailout bill as a segway into how separation of powers works to get things done. Obnoxious student asked, "What if there was a huge disease that wiped out half of the population of the country, would that cause the prices of food and stuff to go back down? Wouldn't that help the economy?"
"You are talking strictly about supply and demand? Yes, there would be less demand, and more stuff left in stores, so prices would go down." "Good. That's what I'm gonna do. Invent some virus that kills half of you all." Suddenly students are asking to be obnoxious kid's new best friend and be spared. It all started with "What if..."

Potluck

What can I make between 4pm when I get home from work and 6pm when I have to be back at work for the club potluck? I ended up making a green salad and some brownies. I figured things would start a little late, but we waited until 7pm for more students to show up before starting the dinner.

I asked my IB students what they covered regarding WWI last year in Hist of Amer. Phew, the only thing they seemed to know about the start of the war was the assassination and the increasing militarism. I told them we were going to do a debate. They pointed out that there are only 6 students in the class - and I told that there are 6 sides in the debate. Perfect.

My favorite thing today was the Pushing Daisies season opener. Their first season was cut short by the writer's strike - and I have been anxiously waiting ever since. Since we were at the potluck, we recorded it and watched it when we got home. It's the one show that Werty will actually stick around and watch with me.

This is my favorite class...

"Teacher, this is my favorite class, cuz I can get away with murder." "You can't get away with murder." "Well, you don't yell at me like my other teachers." "Would it help if I yelled at you? Do you want me to yell at you?" I asked one of my most obnoxious students. (No, really, the kids got a mean streak, and I have very little tolerance for those who lie.) "No, not really, " he said. We had our first debate. Yeah, I don't think 8th period will be doing any more of them. (The above student is in that class...did I mention there are 30 boys and only about 12 girls in that class? They are not nice to each other). The asst principal didn't show today to observe my class, so maybe on Wednesday.

Saturday I went to the RS broadcast at the Conference Center with my in-laws and Klari's siblings. Basically took my whole day, so I didn't get my grading done, but it was fun. We went to eat at the Blue Iguana after the broadcast. This was my first time walking to the restaurant without Werty. Just when I started to doubt that I knew where it was (there is all this new construction on that street), I found it. Whew!

Congrats Dad!

My dad went in for a second interview this week and got the job! They decided they can't hire anyone full time right now, so it's contracted work. However, it pays better than the contracted work he's been doing. So, happy day!

It works! Start jamming!

Okay, so it took moving our booth three times until we had a spot for guitar hero. First the outlet that didn't work, then direct sunlight made it impossible to see the TV screen. Of course, then there were the technical difficulties - the disc didn't want to play some of the songs. But, we were up and running well before we were supposed to be. We had to be in the corner of the new basketball court, up against the shed wall (the shed provided just enough shade). And then a truck arrived with a rock climbing wall, set up right next to us. YAY! Suddenly our corner had video games and rock climbing - and it was a happening place. Some of my students came by - many of them were experts at the game. One girl chose a Nirvana song - and I smiled inwardly, wasn't that band part of my generation?

Noobie

Since the other advisor - the one who actually knows what to do - was out of town on a conference, she left me in charge of NHS inductions. Every time I asked for updates and made inquiries of the students, I was told it was already arranged or taken care of. Since I don't know how to make arrangements or who to check up with - I was at a loss. Throw in the fact that I was only at school on Monday and then again today (Thursday). So, when I show up tonight for inductions, the other advisor had arrived, found nothing ready, and had to scramble. Ugh, I am such a noobie. I didn't even know where the dimmer switches were or where the microphone and speaker live. Thankfully, the other advisor wasn't angry with me. Tomorrow I am in charge of setting up the int'l club booth for the homecoming carnival - guitar hero was what the students wanted to do. Supposedly there is an exterior outlet somewhere - my noobieness continues...

Poor Me!

I was up all night with a lot of bloating, pain and chills. Either food poisoning or a bad reaction to the meds I got from the doctor yesterday. After 4 weeks of being sick, I got some antibiotics. However, there was also some prescription cough syrup which I am not going to take again, in case that was the culprit. I am suspicious that it could have the been the pizza from my lunch yesterday. I spend one lunch a week with IB students who are taking my class independent study. The IB coordinator provides lunch. Only problem is, often it's teenager food. I always bring a yogurt, so that I have some nutritional food. So, yesterday it was pizza. Whatever was the cause, it was a relief when I started puking my guts out at 5am. (The amount of pain that preceding the nausea rules out any possibility of pregnancy related sickness for those who wish to read pregnancy in to anything...I am sick, not pregnant.) I got a crash course in how to get a sub this morning. All my codes and paperwork was at work, so I had to get up and go to work early to get a sub, write out a plan, and wait until the sub showed up, which was right after the late bell. All the while, trying not to succumb in front of my students. Tomorrow I have to attend district training, so my other students are getting a sub too. Still feeling sore and icky, we will see if I am able to eat anything tomorrow.

Poor Werty!

My baby started to feel sick last night, and then woke up today with, "I'm not going to make it to church." In the end, I convinced him to go for half an hour - then we left after the administration of the sacrament. So, today I am missing going to all of church, but I have to take care of my honey. I am still sick...going on week #4 with the same bug...so when we got home, I crashed and took a nap, never a good sign. Looks like I will need to go see a doctor. I don't know if I am "wheezing," but my throat "crackles" when I breathe, does that count?

Talking to my brother, he pointed out that I should write and ask Mr. Martin if he would send me a copy of his WWI packets. What I can't remember is whether his address was 121 or 171? Help anyone?

iPhone

Werty actually looked into what it would take to get an iPhone today - my honey the technophile/Applephile - and it looks like it might not happen quite yet. We would have to get a decent cell phone service - not one of the cheaper plans like some of our younger siblings have. After borrowing cell phones during that week when our phone service wasn't working (they paid for the service call because the problem was the exterior phone line.), we learned that many of them don't get reception is our basement apartment. My sister's cell fared better than the others.

I got my first real salaried paycheck today. YAY! Too bad we are still on catch up from the summer when I had less monies.

My Bro

I talked to my brother on the phone tonight. He has already seen 4 movies in the last 3 days. (No surprise to me). He saw some that I still haven't seen yet. But, I told him he needs to go see WallE. Anyway, we talked for about an hour. I am not sure what he going to do exactly now or how long he will be staying with my parents - possibly until January. We didn't get around to any of that - too busy talking about our mission experiences.

One of my friends asked about the Audra thing - since it doesn't relate to my name at all. As I mentioned in my first post - Audra is my FFXI elvaan character name. :D

BYU 59 UCLA 0

Too bad I didn't see any of the game. All I saw were sandwiches - turkey, ham, pickles that I subconsciously still smell...you get the idea. Next game I am going to train the students how to make the sandwiches. Handing out ice cream and soda looked WAY more fun! 7 hours...which was 2 more than I was told to expect. Yikes. But at least I caught an error in the end tally that saved us about $50 for the club.

So I am a terrible sister. I have been so busy that I keep forgetting that my brother is home. I really need to call him!

Staff meetings are fun

Congrats to my friend GO on winning on award at today's staff meeting. Yesterday and today were consultation days - meaning a shorter schedule to allow students 45mins after lunch to meet with teachers and make-up work. (Used to be twice as much time...but whatever) Students come in, start working, and then I have to kick them out to attend a staff meeting. Argh! Staff meeting today, staff meeting yesterday....and the whole day on Friday? You guess it! Meetings! Besides grades being due tomorrow by midnight, I need to prepare a content skills outline for an 11:00 am meeting. Not quite sure about that one. And Saturday? No, not meetings, fundraiser! I will be at the BYU game making and selling sammamiches.

It's short!

I was correcting papers and reading Marx late last night. I had been begging Werty all weekend to cut my hair. So, finally, I put the pen down and he cut my hair. Usually, he cuts my hair when its nice and wet and stretchy. Cutting it when it's barely damp was an experiment - and it ended up being a lot shorter. (The shortest layer ends at my ear.) I think I like it.

Two more days until my brother comes home!

Family BBQ

Celebrated birthdays for Werty's dad and sister today with a family BBQ. Probably the last BBQ of the season. Always fun to hang out with all the siblings - and Werty's cousin and her kids are still here. Got a little bit of grading done, have a lot more to go...and my last sudafed is wearing off, so we need to go pick some up on the way home. With all the new regulations on cold medicine, how do you buy two different kinds of Sudafed - stuff for daytime and stuff for night. The 12 hour kind is the only thing that works when my sinuses are this bad, but then I can't sleep. The 4 hour pills I can take at night, or just skip for 4-6 hours so I can sleep. Hmmm...

Regional Conference weekend, did I mention that?

Oh, last night, I was able to get online - first time since school started - and participate in assaults. I think that might be the only thing online I can squeeze in anymore, since it's on Friday night. It was nice to talk to our friends.

4 More to Go!

I am caught up on grades for two classes, took a few days. For my next trick, I will take care of the other four over the weekend. I also have to write my first test of the year this weekend. Suddenly students are asking about make-up work and extra credit. The magic of test time.

My brother comes home from his mission NEXT week. They scheduled him mid-transfer, so he has been able to visit one of his old areas and be an extra elder with at least one of his old comps. His last email talked about the people he saw last week who he taught his first few months, many of whom have been baptized. He was happy "to see the fruit from the seeds" he had planted.

Werty is going to work in SLC on Monday. Commuting will be a new adjustment. He has been unpacking us. Last night, we discovered that we have cable channels after all. I asked Werty to plug the TV in through the tuner on the VCR because we were only getting a few channels - not even all the basic channels like the CW - and then we were getting the History Channel (:D) which isn't a basic channel. With the VCR plugged in, voila, we have our channels back, and just in time to watch Burn Notice - a little reward for all my late hours this week.

Teacher...

My mom wants to know when I am going to have homework...well, tell her you have a test next Monday and you will have a study guide to do very soon.

My grade says that I have an F because I haven't turned in my disclosure, but I did...yeah, the grades aren't up to date, but that should change in the next few days.

I saw you at church on Sunday, are you in my ward?...Yup, we just moved in...We just moved in about a month ago too. I told my mom you were my teacher and you were really cool.

You're in my ward...Yup, I thought I saw you...Our ward is really boring...Okay, then.

My stupid phone is retarded, it doesn't get any reception, you want to see my phone's antenna, there's two of them, one on each side, let me show you...no thanks...c'mon teacher...not now, maybe later...c'mon, let me show you my phone...(student pulls out his cell phone and a pair of rabbit ear antennae, which he proceeds to extend as far as they will go)

And when their group project was to write 10 laws for living on a deserted island with their class, the law, "No Polygamy" passed, but "Everyone has to worship Jesus" didn't pass...yeah...had to reign that one in a bit.

Thanks to one of my students, I also learned that today is the first day of Ramadan. What a fun day it was going back to work after the long weekend. My MIL is recovering from her surgery, with only minor complications, and I think I am getting sick again before I was really better...and I really hope the washer and dryer arrive this week.

New Place

We are all moved in, and Werty got the internet up tonight. Thank goodness for Labor Day weekend - I managed to get most of my kitchen moved in and I actually cooked dinner this weekend. All of the rooms are still filled with boxes - and I have to stop and remember that somehow all this stuff once fit into a smaller apartment. Klari will be happy to note that we bought and put up drapes this weekend also - since I know that it always first on her list when she moves in to a new place. Kids are already asking almost daily if we are moved in yet - we told them they can't come over until we are moved in.

Where's my books now that I need them?

Werty has been wonderful and has been packing up our apartment for the big move this weekend. Tonight, as I was preparing for my IB class, I wanted to look for some primary source quotes...but all my history books are gone...sitting in boxes in the new apartment. Ah, well. Thank goodness for the internet.

It's hard to believe that we are really moving. I might have to go to BYU concessions training part 2 right in the middle of our Saturday move. Part of that training is cleaning and prepping the BYU vending stand. Then clean our old apartment. Then clean the new one. Somehow I think something isn't going to get the attention it deserves...

So tired

Back to School Night until 9:15pm. Dead on my feet. Today was also my first even schedule - my day without a prep. 7am until 9:30pm is cruel. Nice parents though.

Curious

Valinda got me curious, so I went looking and found a Disney princess quiz.

Cinderella

Although gentle and soft spoken, Cinderella has a keen intelligent sense of humor which she wisely keeps hidden from her cruel Stepmother and jealous stepsisters. Finding delight in her tiny animal friends, able to sing as she works, Cinderella has true dignity something her Stepsisters could learn a thing or two about. Despite moments of heartbreak and disappointment, Cinderella holds onto her hopes until goodness and beauty are rewarded and dreams that she has dreamed do come true.

First Day...179 to go

Yesterday was freshmen orientation, so it didn't really count. Today I taught two classes. Tomorrow I teach straight through all four classes without a prep. In other words, one day is happy, one is sad, and so on until 2nd semester. Tomorrow I teach my first IB class. I'm excited about that. I revised unit one about 4 times. The hardest part is knowing how far back to start for background. In high school, my teacher started by doing a run down of the 2-3 centuries previous. Since these kids took different prerequisite classes as freshman and sophomores than we had at Foss, I decided to take a different approach and only go back one century.

Did I mention that I have to work concessions at BYU football games? I have never worked in food or fast food. I have never had a food handler's permit. I'm kind of proud of that. (I can hear your evil laughter). Now that I have a salaried job...I get to have that experience. It's a fundraiser for one of the clubs I am doing. And poor Werty has to do it with me because two adults are required.

I'm sorry, visa hasn't been around for over 500 years...

To answer Valinda's question, no we missed #7. It was the only one we missed, but they showed the ending again and again later, so we saw that. It was amazing. One of the news guys held up a pencil and said that the difference of that 1/100th of a second is about the size of the eraser and the metal crimp on the end of a pencil (Werty tells me the metal thingy is called a ferrule). Wow. And it really did look like the other guy was gonna win from the video of it.

So, my poor husband went to BYU today to try to get paid for some work he did last week for his former boss. Even though he worked there for 7 years, he has to do the paperwork all over again. He brought his documents, but the student employee said that she can't accept a laminated social sec card. Werty, in his youth, thought it would be a good idea to keep such an important document in good condition, so he laminated it. Every job he has had has commented on his card and told him, you know, you're not supposed to have that laminated. And every time he has said, yeah, I know, but I was young and didn't know that. No one has actually refused to take it before. But now we live in a post-9/11 world. The student employee refused to take it. She said that the stub that comes with the card explicitly says not to laminate it. Well, Werty still has his stub (this is my careful husband we are taking about) so he looked it over, and no, it doesn't say that on his stub. (Then again he's probably a decade older than the student employee at the window...so maybe it says that on HER card...and I am proud at him for keeping a cool head and not pointing that out to her). She gave him a paper listing all the other types he could use instead. So, Werty heads home and gets his passport. The nice paper the lady gave him said that a current or expired passport would work. He drives back to BYU, to the same window with the same girl. He hands her the passport. She starts to fill out his paperwork, and just when he thinks he is good to go, she asks him if he knows the expiration date. He tells her it expired last year. Well, I can't take that if its expired, and she stops filling out the form. He points out to her that the happy paper SHE gave him said it was acceptable. Oh, well...hmmm....I guess I can take it then, but I'm gonna need your social security card. ARGH! Wasn't that the point of him driving home to get the passport? Or did we just want to waste gas and time for the fun of it? So, in the end, it took Werty 3 hours to get the paperwork done and get paid for a job that only took an hour to complete...and he has to bring a new social card back within 30 days.

Happy Birthday Zinx!

So tonight, Werty and I went out to eat with his family to celebrate Zinx's birthday. Zinx chose our favorite Chinese restaurant for dinner. Last night we had Chinese at another restaurant with my grandparents and family. If we had known we were going to be going out to eat twice this weekend, we wouldn't have gone out for Chinese on Monday...

I finally finished my IB curriculum outline on Friday at about 3:15pm. Too bad that was on my to do list on Tuesday and Wednesday...so I didn't get all the things I wanted to get done, like lesson plans. I wasn't slacking off...I worked 11 hours on Wednesday, and over 9 hours the other days.

Being involved with two clubs, IB, and all the federally required first year training sessions, and having a prep only every other day...no one expect me to be available any time this year. So, please, no one be offended if I can't do something. OK? ok. One of the clubs will require a few hours of my time about twice a month. No problem. The other club will require one afternoon a week plus many Saturdays, which I was not expecting the Saturdays. The club does lots of cool service though. The reason why this club will take so much more time is because they honestly DO so many different things. You could break this club up into three different clubs, really.

So, we are at Klari and Ged's house right now. We watched Phelps win his 8th Beijing Gold medal on Ged's big screen HDTV. Exciting stuff! /cheer

Time to get busy!

After spending 6 days in meetings being told all the stuff we need to do, I have a humongous to-do list in my head...and only 3 days to get it all done. Tomorrow we have our dept meeting, and the day after that is the NHS meeting (I am going to be a co-advisor for NHS). But, I did manage to get all my paperwork done for the IB training I am going to in October. And I have a shiny almost-new laptop for my classroom. Unfortunately, the old desktop is still in my classroom taking up space. But they are supposed to come and take that away someday to be used in one of the student computer labs. (Can't use the desktop even if I wanted to - IT guy won't give me a user account since he gave me the laptop). Basically, I got all the stuff done that required waiting in line at work. WooHoo!!

Why students will be angry, reason #1

I found out today that school will be starting 5 minutes earlier, and end 5 minutes later, oh and lunch will be shorter. Thanks to all the students who can't seem to get to class on time, convincing the powers that be that they need more passing time. They have 7 minutes passing time already...I had 4 in high school, and yeah, the halls were packed and it took strategy to make it to class on time, but it was possible. The one big difference is that we didn't have cell phones, so we didn't need calling and texting time during our break. That must be it.

Anyway, more meetings today. My mentor teacher passed on giving me a tour of the school. I wasn't able to sleep last night, so I'm hoping I get some rest tonight since my contract time starts tomorrow at 7:00am with a staff meeting.

Time to watch the men's gymnastics final!

Transitions

Yesterday was the funeral for my student. His family are members of our church and I could tell that they had a lot of faith. The most heart-wrenching part of the services was watching the younger brother sob over the loss of his brother. Kevin had so much potential. It's comforting to know that he still exists and will someday see his family again on the other side of the veil.

Today our Bishop was released. I guess he has been the Bishop for over 5 years - which is longer than usual for a BYU student ward. We have been in the ward for only a year, but our Bishop really made us feel at home. He is very warm and insightful. Since Werty and I are moving this month, we were already preparing ourselves for goodbyes - this one just came two weeks earlier than planned.

Last week I attended new teacher orientation. Long days of sitting in district meetings. The food was pretty good though. This week my contract time begins, so I will be sitting in staff meetings all week instead. Tomorrow I meet with my mentor teacher. I am lucky, in that I already know my mentor teacher, and he is excited to have me in his department. I am going to take the rough draft of my IB curriculum outline to him for review.

I have to give props to my brother Glump. He works at a grocery store and has been kind enough to collect boxes for us for our move. We picked up a load of boxes from him on Thursday night. Since it was his night off, we hung out and went to see Prince Caspian, since Werty and I hadn't gotten around to seeing that yet. It was great fun. The movies I have seen this summer: Prince Caspian, Iron Man, Dark Knight, Emma Smith: My Story, WallE, Made of Honor. WallE was my favorite, hands down.

Enjoy the Olympics!

Tragedy

On Sunday, we had a wonderful, uplifting day at church. There are a couple of people in our ward who have suffered serious tragedies recently and there were many testimonies shared that were both touching and brave. I remember thinking of how being a teacher I get to meet so many young people and hear about their struggles and tragedies. I believe that yesterday's experiences were my preparation for today. I received a call from my friend and co-worker today about the death of one of my students. He was killed on Saturday in a car crash. I remember what he wrote last year about his goals for the future. He wanted to be a soccer star. He was one of those kids that would procrastinate and come in the last week of the term to raise his grade those last few percentage points to pass. So, we teachers got to know him really well. He was going to be in 10th grade next year. My heart goes out to his family and friends. It will be strange to see his friends without him this Fall.

Zinx's Wedding

Here are a few pics we took at the temple of Zinx and Cherry's wedding on Friday:
Surrounded by many younger siblings. Zinx is #5 of 9 children. (Werty is #2). Cherry is #5 of 10 children. The bride's family wore pink and brown. The groom's family wore the green and brown.
We waited over an hour for them to finally re-emerge after the ceremony. I forgot to take any pics of the reception or the cake >.<

After the wedding, I met up with my sister and we waited in line for the midnight release of Breaking Dawn. We got our books a little after 1am. I'm only about 1/3 done, even though I read until 4:30am last night.

Chocolate cake hates me!

When I closed my eyes last night, I kept seeing different flavors of cake and frosting...I wish I were joking...

So, my responsibility for this wedding on Friday was to bake the wedding cake. Bake, not decorate. Last year, I had more time and I did both. Also, at the last wedding, all the layers were the same kind: carrot. (which is one of the tastiest recipes I have, btw.) This time, there was the challenge of making each layer a different flavor. So, now I have a new rule for making wedding cakes - limit the number of flavors to one, maybe two. I only have 2 pans of each size, and each tier is made of 3 layers. Last year, this was no problem - since you can only fit so many pans in the oven at the same time. The 10 inch round and the 6 inch round was equal to one batch of batter. However, when each layer is a different flavor, and I have to make one flavor of batter at a time (I only have one mixer after all), the whole system is thrown off.

The worst problem came when I got to the smallest tier. For the other layers, I had to tweak the recipe to make it the right flavor - I turned the same recipe into both a maraschino cherry chip cake and a lemon cake. The recipe for the top was straight forward. Devil's food. And I had made it before...even it was over a year ago. I was going to make half a recipe - but then I put the normal amount of the last ingredient, and had to go back and add doubles of everything. You know how it goes. Somehow, maybe because it was between the hours of 10pm and 2am, I misread the recipe and didn't put enough butter in it. But that wasn't the worst mistake. The oven temperature, when I finally rechecked it at 2:30am, was set at 100 degrees too high. The oven had been set at the high temp the day before when my husband made biscuits. So, now I have to wonder...was it like that the whole time? Did I just get lucky with the other layers? Or had it been bumped somehow? I had checked the temp before, but I had only payed attention to the last 2 digits. Okay, so my cake layers come out looking fine, until they started to cool...and shrink. They have this huge crater on the bottom. So, I try again. These turn out worse! I nicknamed them the hockey pucks! Hard, dried cake with a big crater on the underside. I recheck everything. How could this be happening? I finally discover the oven temp error. Did I mention that our AC broke the night before!?! It's July, no AC, and I have been running my oven nonstop all day at 100 degrees above necessary. At 3:00am, I gave up and went to bed.

6:30am my neighbors wake me up. At 7:30, they are still being too loud for me to get back to sleep, so I'm up baking cake again. This time, I had the right amounts, the right temp (what a ridiculous amount of time for 3 six inch layers). Everything works. And now I just hope that the happy couple likes the cake. In my crazed state, I decided to make the last tier a chocolate-cherry-chocolate combo. When I made their practice cake weeks ago, they had neglected to inform me that they wanted 3 different flavors - so the practice cake was only the originally requested flavor. So I'm tweaking and making up as I go, and I have no idea who it will taste.

So, the rest of the day I made three different kinds of frosting. Yeah, going to have to limit the number of frosting choices in the future too. I don't know about you, but I think the frosting that comes out of the plastic container is gross. Not wedding cake fare. I know that the sister who is decorating the cake was hoping I would do some fruit glaze fillings - but I had already bought the other ingredients by the time I was told this - and I didn't have any of the right ingredients for what she wanted. Plus, did I mention the practice cake!?! I asked the happy couple what they thought of the filling on the practice cake, and they approved. So, that's the kind that they got. The chocolate top layer has a thicker, fudgy frosting. Thick is good, since it's going to be living in the freezer for a year. I think the lemon zest frosting was my favorite - I should probably write down what I did so I will remember it for the future.

So, the end result was: two and half dozen eggs, all the sugar I had in the house (that WAS my food storage sugar...moving, remember?), 16 attempted cake layers...just to get one 9 layer cake delivered this afternoon to the wonderful woman who will be decorating it. Thank goodness for her. I was happy to help - tweaking recipes and trying new things is fun - but I am glad to be done. On the plus side, I have leftover layers to enjoy. The hockey pucks taste really good with mint choc ice cream. And a thank you to our landlord for replacing the motor in our AC unit!

I will try to include some wedding pics soon!

And my choice is...

I have the choice of three main topics which I must cover more in-depth than any other topic I will teach all year. The first IB test will be based on only this topic. When I took the IB class that I am going to be teaching, we covered the rise of Hitler as our in-depth topic. The IB tests that are being used as samples NOW are the tests that me and my friends took THEN. It makes sense they would only release test questions that are no longer being actively used, right? Right. Unfortunately, that means that the in-depth topic that I have reading materials for is no longer one of the choices. So, time to go check out the new book by Alan Bullock that I have been wanting to read because I choose...the Stalin topic.

4 days until Breaking Dawn. Any ideas what I should wear to the release party? I'm going to be coming from a wedding...so I might have to change anyway. When I came home with the skirt that I have to wear to the wedding - really cute, but not my color - Werty took one look at the color and said, "It's okay honey, you don't have to wear it ever again." LOL

Penny for your...meal?

The BBQ was a lot of fun. There was a lot of talk about a penny - the penny that my nephew accidentally swallowed before we arrived - the penny which his x-ray clearly showed had made it safely to his stomach. How did he come to swallow a penny? No one is really sure. It was suggested that he may have been attempting a magic trick.

One week until Werty's brother's wedding and the Breaking Dawn midnight release party! Have you seen the new teaser? http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810010670/trailer

Happy Pioneer Day!

The holiday that is only a holiday in Utah. Any other states have an original state holiday? For the holiday, we are going to see The Dark Knight with my brother. Then we are going to drive on down to Ged and Klari's (poor Ged is working in Portland, where the 24th is NOT a holiday) for some family BBQ action. Happy 24th!

Victorian Women

My HS teacher taught us about a Dr. Mosher - a female doctor who studied and debunked some of the Victorian myths about female physiology. So, I did some research. I found a fact that I think I will share with my students. It was believed that men breathed with their diaphragms, but because women have organs that men do not have, women can only breathe costally - or with their upper lungs. Dr. Mosher taught that women breathed that way because of training and current fashions. When a woman removed her corset - it was discovered she could breathe! She taught female students breathing exercises that allowed them to be healthier and build up their abdomen muscles, which alleviated pain. Here is a quote that I appreciated from Dr. Mosher: “What we need are women no less fine and womanly, but with beautiful, perfect bodies, a suitable receptacle for their equally beautiful souls, who look sanely out on life with steady nerves and clear vision.”

and....Click!

Looks like Werty is going to be doing an internship the next 6 months. He will get to use his skills, plus get to try his hand at some web development - which is one of the things he has wanted to improve his skills in. Also, Werty got an in-game item that he has been wanting and stressing and almost getting for the last couple of months. One of those it only pops during certain weather, and never in less than 23 hours things. Anyway, he's a happy Werty now.

We ate the first fruits of our garden tonight. Green beans. Our garden is only half as large as normal - 5 rows of beans, 4.5 rows of corn - but no tomatoes. Canning tomatoes while moving and starting school didn't sound like fun, so we skipped them this year. For those who don't know, Werty LOVES homemade salsa. We usually have 30-45 tomato plants, and then I can a years worth of salsa.

Reichstag Fire 1933.

Homeless no more!

I spent the morning alternately typing my old IB notes and calling the owners of the condo every half hour. I was starting to feel paranoid that one of the other two couples who had looked at the unit on Saturday had already taken it. Finally, we got a call back. Looks like we have a new place to live! We won't be in my friend's ward, after all. Her ward covers units 1-6, and we are in unit 7. Argh! But at least we will be in the same stake. And as my MIL pointed out to me, we will be within walking distance of family.

Why typing my old IB notes? To review and get a feel for what I learned when I took this class, oh 12 years ago... which I am thinking will prepare me for deciding what I want to teach and include in my proposed IB curriculum. There are a few spellings I guessed on and tried to spell phonetically from my teacher's lecture that make me giggle now. Thank goodness for googling - so I can find out how to really spell the guy's name who was blamed and executed for the Reichstag Fire. Here's a trivia question: Without looking it up, what year was the Reichstag Fire and what was its significance?

Will we get it?

Werty and I attended a first time home buyers class yesterday. It was a good experience, even though it doused water on any excitement we felt about buying a home any time soon.

We also looked at a condo yesterday. We have had a lot of friends in our old ward who lived in this particular complex. I am really excited about the prospect of more space - a 3rd bedroom so the next time someone visits from out of town, there is somewhere they can sleep. Only drawback - it's another basement level unit, which we were hoping to get away from. But it has a dishwasher! /drool

When it's right, things tend to feel right, they click. We have been waiting patiently for something to click and work out. I hope this is it. It would be nice not to have this hanging over my head anymore so I can get on with my work.

My Newest Nephew!

Me, my Mom, and E3. Okay, okay, you can tell by the pictures that he is not THAT new. I was attending a baptism for the son of an old friend (KD), and I was holding said nephew. One of the grandparents asked how old he was. I said he wasn't mine, but he was about 6 weeks old. She declared that impossible. He must be at least 3-4 months old at that size. So, I recounted...and yup he was still under 2 months old. The grandmother shared that all her babies were about 6 lbs. Then I understood. My nephew is the smallest of all the granchildren so far, in that he was under 9 lbs when he was born. So, here he is, a healthy two and half months old. Ddonn - you now have the proof you wanted that he exists. :P His sisters are all blondies - but check out that dark hair!

Werty's Graduation

Here are some pics from graduation, April 2008. Werty graduated with a BA in Media Arts, minors in Music and Computer Science.

Introductions

Someone asked me last week if I had a blog, so I decided it was time to start one. So many of our friends have moved away over the last years, and blogging is how I peek in on how they are doing.

I have adopted a rule from my best friend - no real names on this very public blog. Those who are in-game friends will recognize us as Audra and Werty. Others know me as Zanne. (Nice to meet you).