Finally

I wish I had something poetic to say on this, the last day of the elementary school year.
I don't.

1 of 7 deadly sins

I'd do whatever it takes to get a much envied Snuggie (short of actually buying one for myself), even if that means reading with a child.
Does anyone have a kid I can read with so that I can enter this drawing?
(Can you find and click on the three magic hyperlinks?)
If I win the Disney vacation and you win the Snuggie, I'll trade you.

A dream is a wish your heart makes

I hope that Cinderella wasn't right. I have strange dreams all the time.

I'm still at the dorms for a few weeks. I noticed yesterday that there were still several bikes left in the bike rack. I wondered what the housing director would do with all those bikes.
I dreamed last night that he clipped all the locks and gave the bikes away. I was so frustrated, since one of the bikes was mine, that I stormed into his office and yelled at him until I cried.
I just sent him an email (in real life) requesting that he save me the embarrassment and realize that one of those bikes is mine and not to give them away just yet.

And the night before (Saturday to Sunday), I had a dream that I was playing the organ for church services. My voice was hoarse from being so jubilant and silly on graduation night, so I couldn't sing while I played. I noticed that no one else was singing, either. I was so saddened that I started to cry. I couldn't be consoled. (If you know me, then this would be no surprise. Okay, maybe the crying would be a surprise, but the fact that I was so upset that no one was singing shouldn't surprise you. I love nothing more than the singing of the hymns.) Then some young man had the audacity to add to my grief by blaming me for playing poorly.
It was an awful dream.

I don't know why I've had two frustrating dreams the last couple nights. Maybe it's due to the fact that my family and I went to Outback Steakhouse on Saturday night. I used to have frustrating and stressful dreams all the time when I worked there. Serving in a busy restaurant is very stressful work. If you don't believe me, try playing Diner Dash.

Random post is now ending.

I'm a college graduate

It's official. I graduated from Dixie State College on Friday, May 1. It feels great to graduate.

(I'm no where near finished. I anticipate many more years of formal schooling and countless hours of independent study.)Will, my older brother, finished his degree requirements in December. I loved that we were a part of the same commencement.

A Mother's Hands

A dear sister shared the most beautiful tribute to motherhood today at church. I will do my best to record the words she spoke.
Sister Harker said,
A few weeks ago, my youngest daughter had her first baby. My emotions were very close to the surface. I repeated over and over that I couldn't believe my baby was having a baby.
After the baby's birth, the nurse was doing what she's supposed to do: scrubbing and cleaning and pricking. Ellie was doing what a newborn is supposed to do: crying at the top of her lungs. I decided to reach out and touch Ellie's hand in hopes of making her first few minutes of life more comforting. Ellie wrapped her little hand around one of my fingers.
Holding hands is one of the greatest ways we connect with one another.
As I thought about these hands, I reflected on the hands of my mother. She used her hands to hold me and comfort me as a baby. She held my hand as I experienced the new things in life. She used her hands to clap for me at my dance recitals even though I wasn't very good; she thought I was good. She clasped her hands in prayer in my behalf. She held my hand on my wedding day and let it go so that I could take the hand of the man who would be my eternal companion.
I don't know when it happened, but one day the roles reversed. I now held her hand. I held her hand as I guided her through the grocery store. I held her hand as I took her to get her hair done. I held her hand, aged and covered in brown spots and deep blue veins, as she passed from this life. I look at my own hands and see how they are beginning to resemble hers.
I find joy now as I watch my own daughters as they use their hands to comfort, guide, cheer, and pray for their own children.
I see a mother's hands, and I feel love.

Happy Birthday, Casey

My little sister turned 25 today! I sure do like her.

I'll take math

I just finished my last solo week of student teaching. Whew! Finally.
I asked my mentor teacher before I left today how she wanted to split up the day on Monday since we are transitioning back to tandem teaching. She had started a science testing preparation activity and wanted to finish that. Since she had it all prepared, she took that one right off the bat. She sat there in silence for 5-6 seconds. Finally, she said that I should definitely take math and that we would tandem teach literacy.
A huge grin covered my face as I tried to accept the math responsibility without laughing. I told her I'd be glad to take math, since they are going to be taking a test. I couldn't hold back anymore. I erupted in laughter! Bwahahahaha! I think that's the hardest I've laughed out loud in a long time.

Easter

Against all odds and with none to help or uphold Him, Jesus of Nazareth, the living son of the living God, restored physical life where death had held sway, and brought joyful, spiritual redemption out of sin and hellish darkness and despair.
One of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone we do not have to do so.

Graduation is fast approaching

I consider myself tech savvy...most of the time. I purchased a student license for Adobe Design Premium and have used several of the included programs, but for some reason, I was intimidated by Photoshop. Well, today I found myself with the overwhelming desire to create my own graduation announcement. I had to face my fears. I jumped right in. A special thanks goes out to all the wonderful internet people who made this project possible. I went to Google with all my questions and found the answers on a slew of Photoshop tutorial posts. (I was greatful that I wasn't the only who needed assistance for even the small manipulations.)
I'm impressed with the final project, especially knowing it was my first. My friend, Jodi, gave me the perfect statement of validation. "If your career as a teacher fails you could go into digital artwork." Oh, yeah, and thanks, Jodi, again for taking such a great picture. It sums me right up.

Attention all Northern Utah Girls

Call up all your girlfriends and attend this event! (Please repost.)

Click for more information.

What do you know about Tooele?

Per your request, I'm posting details about my first job offer.
I originally saw the position listed on Teachers-Teachers. I sent my application to the school and even followed up with an email address that I found on the school's website. I heard nothing.
I saw that this school was scheduled to be at the teacher job fair at BYU. I circled it on my map, but when I went by there was no one manning the booth.
After three hours of being charming, I was exhausted. I called my friend, Eliza, to hit her up for lunch plans. She said that she was waiting on Annie who was in an interview and then would be heading around the corner to eat in the cafeteria.
I decided to walk the floor one more time, with intentions to stop by the booth for Vista School to remind them that I was amazing. (Vista was my first interview and my number one preference as of right now.)
All the reps from Vista were tied up with other candidates. (Why bother looking elsewhere? You've got what you need right here.)
I circled back around and saw that someone was finally at the booth for Excelsior Academy. (There. I finally divulged the name of the school.)
The gentleman was interviewing a girl with gorgeous red hair but very little to say. He did far more talking than she did. I waited patiently, even after Eliza, Annie, and Eliza's friend, Holly, stopped to tell me their search for swag was a fail. I told them that I was going to at least introduce myself since I'd already sent my application in to this school and that I'd meet them in a bit.
When the red head finished up, I immediately took her chair and introduced myself. The gentleman doing the interview was Ernie Nix, the director (or in other words sole administrator/principal) of Excelsior.
I explained that I had already applied and he admitted that he was behind in looking at those applications.
He offered an interview right then and there. I took it.
I interviewed well despite the chaos around me at this teacher fair. He practically offered me a position at the end of my interview. He said that he wanted to make a couple phone calls but that he'd get back to me in a very timely manner.
I went home that night back to St. George. I stayed up for a couple hours looking into the Tooele area, trying to imagine if I could live there.
The next day, I went on an adventure with a friend of mine to Grafton and Silver Reef, both ghost towns in the local area. As I was about to leave the dirt roads of our adventure, I got a phone call.
It was Ernie Nix extending me a job offer. I was surprised with the timeliness of his phone call. He stated several times that I was a great match for the ideals and philosophy of this school.
I told him that I would have to think about it and would get back to him. He gave me his home and cell phone numbers.

What do I know about Tooele? It's about a 35 minute drive from Salt Lake City on the west side of the Oquirrh Mountains. The population is about 40,000. It's elevation is 4923 feet. The average summer high is 91. The average winter low is 20. The lowest recorded temperature was -16 set in 1990. (I experienced -27 working at Togwotee Lodge in Wyoming.)
There's more interesting city data here.
The local paper, the Tooele Trascript, is only printed twice a week. The local library seems nice. After two months of having a library card, a patron could check out 30 books at a time and keep them for three weeks.
The cost of living is lower than the US average. Housing seems not too difficult to come by.
If I find a potential husband, getting a marriage license is rather simple. I can even schedule an appointment to get one after business hours. They support marriage in Tooele.
They have county fair. They have an arts festival. They even have a simple recycling program.
I'm not sure what'd I'd do for a musical outlet since the only choral group I can find is the Tooele County Choral Society which seems rather elitist. They are made up of only 20 members. Oh, wait. I just found a news article in the Transcript that mentions the yearly Messiah performance. Thank goodness.
The Salt Lake City Astronomical Society hosts star parties in Stansbury Park on a regular basis. That brings joy to my heart.
There is at least on YSA ward. That's a good sign.

What do I know about the school's director, Ernie Nix? A quick Google search tells me that he used to weigh almost 400 pounds. When his wife had a cancer scare, he decided then and there he had to do something about his health. He's now a marathon runner.
His son was shot while serving in Baghdad.
He's served as principal at two elementary schools and two middle schools in the Salt Lake area with over 12 years of experience at these schools.
One of these schools had a student body that was made up of 95% in poverty and over half learning English. Within one year, their achievement scores jumped from 56 to 80, easily meeting AYP.
He seems like a decent enough guy to work for.

What do you know about Tooele? Would it be a good move for me?

The pondering begins

I got my first job offer today.
The research and the pondering begins. It's now decision time.

Rot in prison, Paul

I'll admit it. I'm fishing for comments on this one.
I've been meaning to post this picture for quite some time. It was one of the funniest parts of my Christmas quick trip to Florida. We got gas and dinner at a truck stop in Mississippi just outside of Jackson. My sister found this little gem on the wall of her bathroom stall. I snapped the photo with my mother's cell phone. Cell service was inconsistent in the area, so I couldn't send out the picture right away. I did send texts to a few of my funnier friends and asked them to Google Paul's name in Mississippi to find out if he ever did get booked in jail and promised them they'd find out why later. Google didn't bring back any good results. Once I regained cell service, I sent them the picture. I asked them the same question I now ask you:
What did Paul do to tick off Wanda?
Why would Wanda want him to rot in jail?
Tell me more about Paul and Wanda. It must've been pretty serious for her to include last names. Please be as clever and creative as possible. Tell your friends to join in on the fun. Feel free to repost this as long I you let me know, so I can read the clever responses on your blog.

Times is hard, times is hard

This economy is rough on everyone. When times get tough, people get desperate. Dancers start taking any job available. Watch the musical performance at the end of last night's Colbert Report.

I'm sure those dancers are classically trained Juliard graduates, and this is their only option for work these days.
Didn't get enough? Watch more on youtube.