Faith in Jesus Christ

I have loved reading the Ensign for the month of March. My favorite article I think so far is "Faith in Jesus Christ" by Elder Nelson (the link sends you to the article). I am a scientist and I love anything that speaks about science and religion. This article strengthened my testimony of the divinity of the Savior and the Creation. I am so grateful for the Gospel and all of the blessing I enjoy through having it in my life. I am so lucky to have this blessing in my life! I loved how Elder Nelson explained how the human body develops and how it works. It is so amazing! I love it!

Car Dealerships & Airports

I bought a new car today. I am excited and will have a picture for my next post, but I would like to talk about the dealership right now. I read in a book "If you feel like you're getting hustled at a car dealership, it's because you are." They shmoozed me and kept saying how much they were going to take care of me. It felt nice to be courted like that. The finance girl kept saying, "You got a screamin' deal on that car." She said it probably six or seven times. They gave me the "employee price" for the auto-protection package. Funny, that was the same pricing they gave me the last time I got a car from them. My dad new the salesman, he's a young kid, so I felt good helping him out, better than from a huge dealership in AZ. In the end, I got the exact car I wanted just a year older, but still brand-spanking-new. I wasn't expecting to buy a new car, I just wanted to test-drive one to make sure that was what I wanted so that if it wasn't I had time to research other cars. I guess it's true, they have to make the sale during the first (or in my case, 2nd) visit or adios, they aren't going to make it. I feel good about my purchase, I will let you know if I regret it later. They are "pimpin'" it out now! I am so excited!

I am in the Las Vegas Airport now, waiting to fly home from Spring Break. I was standing at a gate waiting to see if I could get on an earlier flight and there was an irate customer in front of me. I could understand his frustration, I think I overheard him saying he had been flying/in an airport since 11:00? this morning. But those gate attendants really do have a lot of power. She had to threaten him with "unfit for travel". Then he got up in her face and asked, "Did you just threaten me?" She said, with a slightly raised voice, "You just threatened me." He stalked off saying loud enough for them to hear, "mumble, mumble, Incompetent, mumble, mumble." I just wanted to say to him, "She has the power. Don't mess with her!" In case you were wondering, it was $72 extra to catch the earlier flight. I stuck with my original flight, to Syd's dismay. Sorry Syd;)

I rode the Shuttle to Las Vegas and there was this girl who was a Sophomore in high school on the shuttle. She said something about 21 being old. I remember 21. I remember thinking how old I was and how old 26 was. I remember being 16 and thinking, "Man, 21 is ancient." Now I think, "21, I was so young then...Life was simpler, etc., etc., etc. 26 is not that old." I wonder what I will think at 27. I was at a meeting where they were going to give a PowerPoint Presentation and they couldn't get the projector to work. I, being the tech savvy teacher that I am, offered to help and the presenter responded with, "Oh good, someone under 30." (Most of the people were older than 30.) I thought that was funny how they worded that. I had never been referred to as someone under 30. Thirty sounds old to me. This was a really random post. And long.

Spring Break

Spring Break is here! Yahoo! It is so nice not worrying about school/work. And sleeping in...I love it. I am watching "Matlock" right now and it takes me back to elementary school and being off track. My brother and I would watch "Matlock" everyday. In the fall, the Disney Channel would show Sleepy Hollow and Ichabod Crane. I wish Disney would play the old classic cartoons! I miss them.

Anyway, I am looking forward to spending lots and lots of time with my family this week, especially my adorable niece and nephews. They are oh, so cute. I love being in St. George and seeing the signs of Spring, the daffodils, the blossoms. Happy Spring and Happy St. Patrick's Day, hope you're wearing green!

Disneyland Fever

It has been almost 3 months since I have been to Disneyland. I know, can you believe it? I am itching to go so badly. I hear Disney music or see pictures that remind me of The Happiest Place on Earth, and I can hardly stand it! I can't even bring myself to watch Disney Resort commercials, I want to be there that badly. I wasn't going to renew my Annual Pass, but I have caved and am going to go ahead and renew it. I am going in October anyway, it is my niece's first time and I wouldn't miss that for anything! I'm sure I could make time to go a few more times to make it worth buying the Pass. If you want to go shoot me an email or give me a call!

New House

I have settled into my new house. Thanks to my wonderful sister and brother-in-law I was able to move in on Saturday. Thanks guys! My new place is huge! I love it. My closet is almost as big as my 1st room in my last place, and the bathroom...Forget about it! Everything is so spread out, it's a little weird to get used to. My roommates are really nice and fun to talk to, I had almost forgotten what it was like to live with roommates. I like it.

My neighbors, on the other hand, are a house full of college boys. They party every night and they are LOUD! Last night they were playing guitar hero or something in their garage and it was echoing and everything. I wanted to open my window and say, "Grow UP! Some people have real lives/jobs. You are being so selfish (as I yell at them to get what I want)." It's an adventure, and I am sure I will get used to the noise. If I have my TV on, I can't really hear it and at least they stopped at 11:30. I told my students today that when they get older, they need to be kind to their neighbors and if they choose to party, which I know they would never do, to do it on the weekends and end by no later than midnight. I mean, my neighbors don't do anything until after 9:00 or 10:00, can't they party earlier and be done by 10:00? Some people's children...

Flat Stanley

My niece has been reading "Flat Stanley" in her 2nd grade class and she sent him to me to learn about Arizona. I took him to Chase Field where the Arizona Diamondbacks play baseball. I took him to school with me so he could see what junior high school was like. On Monday, I took him to a botanical garden about 40 miles away. It was nice to get out of the valley and near some "mountains". It was a really beautiful day, not too hot and not too cold, a little cloudy. I loved being able to walk around and enjoy nature. I will have to go back to when the cacti are in bloom. One of my goals for this year is to see more of Arizona and go hiking more.

I signed my contract for my new place today, and I am going to start moving in tomorrow! I am excited for this new adventure. I am excited for my goals this year. I have applied to graduate school to get a Master's Degree in Educational Technology. I figure I use technology all the time in my teaching I might as well get paid more for it! All of the classes are online so I don't have to go to classes and I can go at my own pace. I can't wait to get back into school and learn new techniques to improve my teaching. I was surprised by how easy it has been to apply, and the best part of the process is that I don't have to take the GRE!! I should be finished with my degree by December 2010. We'll see what happens this coming year!

I am watching Glenn Beck right now, and he is talking to Jonah Goldberg about his book "Liberal Fascism". It sounds like an interesting book, I may just have to read it.

Change

Change is strange. It's good, but it can be very difficult. I am moving houses at the end of the month. I don't want to pack up my things and lug them over to my new place. But it will be a wonderful new adventure. My bedroom will be much bigger than my current room. It is the master suite in a house. It has a huge walk-in closet! In the bathroom there is a garden tub and a separate shower. It's quite nice! It will also be closer to my family, which is always a good thing.

At school, we are switching the program we use for our websites. I found myself resisting this change. I thought, "I already know the old program. I like what it can do, and I can't do that with this new program..." Then I realized, it will be okay and when I learn the new program, I will like it. It may even be better than the old program.

So some change is good, some change is bad. I think the changes coming in my life are going to be great!

Rick Monday Saves American Flag

In 1976, Rick Monday stopped two protesters from burning an American flag during a Cubs v. Dodgers game. I love his comment about having the only thing he is known for is saving the American Flag is not a bad thing. What a great American!

YouTube Videos

I have posted some of my favorite YouTube Videos to the left. If you refresh the browser, the type of video will change. Enjoy! YouTube is Awesome...

My Job

I am a junior high teacher, and I know most of you are thinking, "What is she nuts?" But I have to tell you, I LOVE my job. I liked it last year, but I love it this year. This year is my second year at my school, and I feel a lot more comfortable with my surroundings. As I was walking down the hall yesterday, I realized just how happy I was to be at my current job. I still hate getting up in the morning, just because I enjoy sleeping so much, but I absolutely love being at school, working with and teaching my students. They are really great kids and not the nightmare many of you associate with teenagers. They say the funniest things and I have found they are very respectful when you treat them with respect and show them you care about them and want them to succeed.

The best thing about teaching is when former students come back and visit you. Students you never thought would visit you. This happened to me a couple of weeks ago. A student from last year, who wasn't a very good student at all and was involved in drugs, came for a visit. I could tell things were different with him. He told me about some of the poor choices he had made in the recent months, and how these choices had led him to turn his life around. He isn't sleeping in his classes and he is trying to keep the commandments. He said his body feels clean now that he is off the drugs, he can tell the difference. I was amazed! He said he would probably stop by again before the end of the year, and I told him I would love it if he did. Did I say I love my job?