Tawna Perkins

Woohoo!

2012-02-08T18:52:00.000-08:00

I'm down another 3.8 pounds, which makes a total lost of 11.6 pounds. So proud of myself! It's amazing what can be accomplished when you have the right mindset, even with a busy schedule. No excuses, and deciding what you really want can make all the difference!
On a random side note, I feel like watching Ellen, having a diet coke daily, and taking life a day at a time is helping me get through a busy time. I'm almost 30, peeps! I'm in the process of finishing up my list of 30 things I want to accomplish while I'm 30. Once it is finalized I will share! (I need to be held accountable).
And another random note, five things I'm so grateful for today:
1. Diet Coke (as mentioned above)
2. Working with amazing coworkers. Glad to know I'm not alone in the craziness, stress and fun in teaching!
3. POP chips-barbecue. I'm officially obsessed! Yummy and healthier than regular chips.
4. Modern Family-makes me laugh every time!
5. My cute students who make me happy every day. I laugh all the time in my job. I want them to succeed and I'm doing everything I can to make them even smarter than they already are. It's not easy but it's definitely worth it!

Down Three More!

2012-02-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

I lost another 3 pounds last week! Yay! This week has been more of a challenge for me, with getting ready for Parent Teacher Conferences, and having them at night. I'm still working on working hard though! Next week will post more...Carry on!

Minus 4

2012-01-23T17:31:00.000-08:00

My first week of weight loss resulted in four pounds off. Yipee! I'm working hard on adjusting my portion sizes, eating a lot more fruits and vegetables, writing everything down that I eat, and going to the gym at least 3 times a week for an hour. It's amazing how good I already feel, and the difference in what I'm eating has on my body, in a good way. I'm staying positive, staying motivated, and keeping busy! Here's to another great week of teaching first graders, attending grad school, the joy of getting to do homework ;), exercising and taking care of myself! (With just a bit of fun sprinkled in, with the right people who know how to keep me laughing and positive at a busy time in my life!)

New Year, New Changes...New Me!

2012-01-17T20:16:00.000-08:00

I will admit it, I have NOT been a great blogger this past year. The lame old excuse that life got in the way can be applied here. 2011 was a good but challenging year, with a few changes. Here are the top five events that happened in 2011, in no particular order:
1. Cruise to Alaska, departing from Seattle. That vacation was 10 days of pure bliss for me! First cruise and I fell in love. I will be a cruiser for life! Who's with me?!
2. Starting grad school. Wow...love it, hate it. I've learned so much, I've challenged my brain to grow (what I always tell my first graders...challenge your smart brain to grow even bigger!), I've become a better writer, and teacher because of it. However, it is VERY time consuming with class, homework, research papers to write, articles and textbooks to read, projects and presentations to prepare, etc. Last semester was the hardest yet. I literally gained the grad school 20 pounds in one semester!
3. Moving to a new place. I LOVED the house I lived in before, I had the best roommate on the planet, but it was time for a change. My new house is HUMONGOUS, and I am in love with having my own bathroom and garage space. Every time I move to a new place (which happens about every year, sadly. One of these days I will find a permanent city to live in, and buy a house!) I gain new experiences with different roommates. They all challenge me in very different ways. For better and for worse!
4. Getting a new first grade class. Every school year, the group of students I get is so diverse and unique from the previous group. My last group of first graders was massive (26-that's a lot of them!) with a few challenges that I have never experienced in my seven years of teaching before. I loved them, and I learned so much from them, but they were an exhausting lovable group, and I was ready for them to move onto second grade. This new group has brought different challenges and strengths...plus I have 21 of them! Having 5 less students in first grade is a HUGE difference...those cuties are very needy! I love my new group as well, and I've learned a lot from them, and from a lot of changes I have made to my teaching this new school year.
5. Random trips that I took to Denver (two times-my favorite city on Earth!), Kansas (NFL game against Broncos-Broncos won!), and Las Vegas. Good memories, good times! No matter how old I am, and if I don't remain single for long, I will still continue to travel. It brings me joy to visit people I love, and see places and things I haven't seen before. That's what life is all about, building relationships and memories!

This new year, 2012, brings a lot of changes for me that I will be SO much better at updating you about. First new change that I will be honest about on here..because after all, this is MY blog! I am on a weight loss journey to be healthy again. I miss being active, healthy, and being happy with how my body is, so I am working hard on changing that. I am extremely motivated and excited so far in changes that I have made. It will be a hard but gratifying journey of change to be in love with my body again! So here's to a new year, new changes, and a new Tawna!

I spent a lot of time in 2011 with this guy! Bryce is the best friend I could ask for!

NFL game in Kansas with one of my favorite people on Earth, Jenna!

My new (and now old) roommate Kaylee at our goodbye dinner. I lived with her and Janae for 4 months and loved them both dearly!

My Good Friend Bryce is Amazing!

2011-12-27T23:08:00.000-08:00

Bryce has a Christmas tradition in his family. Every year, they get together and exchange white elephant gifts. One gift has been in his family for 25 years, a statue of the Venus de Milo, who lost its head the first year of the gift exchange. Every year, it's regifted and someone in the family is the lucky recipient to watch over it for a year. Last year, his aunt lost the statue and his family was so mad at her! But luckily, she found it again, and Bryce made this video and showed it at the party. He is very creative, and amazing at his talents, one being video making. Watch and spread the word! (I helped take pictures for it, so I feel like it's kind of my video too :) ).

FINALLY! Last Vacation Day...

2011-12-05T17:26:00.000-08:00

The last day of our trip, we spent another day in Seattle. We spent time at Pike's Market, went to the top of the Space Needle, ate the best doughnuts with frosting, and I went to my first NFL game, Seattle Seahawks played the Minnesota Vikings. Such a fun day, but I was completely exhausted by the end of the day! So sad my trip was over, but ready to get back to Utah and get my classroom ready for another school year!

I can finally start posting about other updates in my life, I'm so sorry it took so long to post about my vacation. However, I loved this trip so much, and wanted to remember my experiences for my future!

BVOML Day 8: Victoria, Canada

2011-11-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

This was probably my favorite day from the whole cruise, if it's even possible to choose a favorite day out of so many awesome ones! We sailed to Victoria, Canada that night and had our excursion time from 6 PM to Midnight. We decided to do the Butchart Gardens and Butterfly Gardens in Victoria. It was about a 30 minute bus ride to the gardens from the ship, and the drive through Victoria was beautiful! I liked the Butterfly Gardens but Butchart Gardens blew my mind. It was the prettiest place I have ever been on Earth, and it was HUGE!! We went at evening, and the lighting made it beautiful, but I would love to see it during the day as well. They said they change it every season, I want to go back at Christmas time! The pictures definitely don't do this place justice (it was so beautiful that it actually moved me to tears...not that that is difficult to do, but still!) but I hope you enjoy, and want to go back with me sometime soon!

BVOM:-Day 7-Ketchikan

2011-10-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

Ketchikan was the prettiest Alaskan city that we stopped at, and yet sadly, it was the city we spent the least amount of time in, Bryce and I's biggest regret from the whole trip. The dock time was from 7 AM-noon, and I'm sorry but I was on vacation, and vacation to me does NOT involve getting up before 7 AM. However, if I had known how awesome Ketchikan was, I would have made the exception just this once. I guess that means I will have to go back and visit! We walked around the shops for a bit, and then went to a lumberjack show. It was a little cheesy, but funny and I was impressed by what they could do. Bryce and I LOVE fish tacos and are always on the hunt for finding yummy ones, so we stopped at a place there and ate some. Pretty good! By then, it was time to get back on the boat. :( But I loved our morning walk around the city, I couldn't get over how beautiful it was!

Since it was such a short dock excursion day, we got to spend a lot of free time on the ship, and Bryce and I finally did more than just take naps and watch movies in our cabin (I loved doing that, but I kind of wish I would have done some more activities on the ship!) It was fun to walk around and do and see different things on the ship-it was a very memorable day for me!

That night was the last night we would be eating in the formal dining room (The next night we would dock at dinner time in Victoria, Canada), so the dining staff put on a fun musical dinner, we loved it! I was kind of sad to know I wouldn't see them anymore, our waiters and drink guy were hilarious! After dinner of course, we went to another awesome show! (Blogging about this REALLY makes me want to go back on a cruise!!)

BVOML, Day 6-Sitka

2011-10-01T23:14:00.000-07:00

The next day on our cruise found us in Sitka, Alaska, a quaint, small Alaskan city known for it's fishing industry (as well as being the city where The Proposal was set, although the film was NOT filmed in the actual city of Sitka). Bryce and I wanted to check out the "cathedral" first-the night before each excursion day, the cruise line gives you a map of the city where we would be porting and different sites around the city. Based on this info given to us, we thought this cathedral would be cool. Funny thing about is, when we got there, in order to get into the actual cathedral you had to pay a 5 dollar donation-but it wasn't a donation, it was mandatory! The cathedral turned out to be a small church. It had it's little perks, but not 5 dollars worth! After spending about 10 minutes in it, we decided to go explore some shops in the city. Our favorite one was the Chocolate Moose. They sold yummy chocolate, as well as cute crafts. We both spent some money in there! It was a fun site seeing city, so beautiful with water surrounding it, as well as big, green mountains. My favorite part of Sitka was this boy singing American Pie. He was probably around 11 years old, and sang and play the guitar so beautifully. My heart melted, and I could have sat and listened to him perform all day! That night was the second formal night of dinner. After a yummy dinner and a fun performance of a guy impersonating Elton John (He was amazing and super funny!), we went to the deck of the ship, where they were having a chocolate party. I have never seen so much chocolate in one place, and the displays were beautiful! I was really excited to eat chocolate from the chocolate fountain, but the worker accidentally got chocolate over my formal dress...embarrassing! (PS, my mom had to work hard to get the stains out. But she's a pro at getting stains out and you can't even tell now that there was chocolate all over my dress. Thanks mom!) Such a fun, memorable night!

Downtown Sitka

The "cathedral"

Cutest singer ever!

Beautiful Sitka!

Chocolate Moose-Loved this store!

Formal Night #2

It was so cold on the deck-but so pretty!

Becky and I waiting for the Elton John show to start

Bryce and I waiting for the Elton John show to start.

Notice the chocolate? Yeah...it was a mess!

Grand Piano-made from chocolate!
Yep, made from chocolate!

Yummy! There was lots and lots more chocolate than this even...chocolate heaven!

BVOML, Day 5

2011-09-25T22:52:00.000-07:00

This day on the cruise was another day at sea. However, we cruised by Hubbard Glacier, and our captain got us up super close to the glacier. On the way, we picked up 2 park rangers so they could be out on the bow of the ship with us as we got close. Bryce and I stayed out there for hours, and it was so worth it to see the glacier up close and personal. While we were there, the coolest thing happened...a part of the ice chunk came off the ice that had gathered in front of the glacier. The park ranger estimated that the ice was at least 3 years old. No worries, folks, it's not ice melting on the actual glacier! The pictures don't do justice for how beautiful it was there. And the closer we got, we realized there were sea otters (or seals?) lying on the floating ice chunks. Super cute! The glacier was one of my top highlights from the trip. Alaska is seriously beautiful and amazing. Everyone needs to go and experience it at least once in their lives!

BVOFML, Day 4

2011-09-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

Day 3 on the cruise was our first excursion day! We boarded in Juneau, Alaska, around noon and we had 9 hours at the port. We bought an excursion to the all you can eat Salmon Bake. We took a bus to get to it, and the driver took us around Juneau, pointing out things about the city. It was a beautiful, but cold, rainy day. There are so many trees in Alaska! The Salmon Bake was yummy. My faves were the glaze on the salmon-I could have drank it by the bucket full, and the corn bread. Yummy!! After we stuffed ourselves silly with salmon, we went on a walk up the trail, and found a gorgeous little waterfall, with fish everywhere in the water! Beautiful beyond words...

After the salmon bake, we decided to take the tram up the mountain in Juneau, where there were shops, hiking trails, a local family playing in a band, and a bald eagle that I fell in love with. Bryce and I went on a little hike-I didn't wear the right shoes for a wet rainy day, so we didn't go far, but oh man, the further we hiked, the more beautiful the scenery got! That night, we ate in Juneau, did a little bit of shopping and then got back on the ship. Such a fun day in Juneau!

View from the tram ride up the mountain, that is our cruise ship! Notice how foggy it was...so cold!

The port of Juneau

The tram we took. Loved it!

Noticed this on our hike. Bryce knew what it was, he knows his flowers!

Loving the hike!

Look at that beautiful waterfall! PS, I love how Bryce is holding the umbrella, it makes it look like it's an old man cane!

Seriously, breathtaking. I wanted to stay here all day!

I couldn't get enough of this bald eagle. It was so cool to see one up close!

Some of the nature we saw on our hike. You can't tell how hard it was raining here, but it was a downpour!

BVOFML, Day 3

2011-09-12T22:49:00.000-07:00

The second day on the cruise was a day at sea, meaning we didn't have any ports to get off for excursions. I took full advantage of having a day off from "life" and slept for most of it, best day ever! I think we may have rent a movie in there somewhere. That night was our first formal dinner. It was kind of fun getting all dressed up, I haven't done that for a long while! Can I just say that the dinners were SO good on the cruise? It was always a 4 course meal, with several options for each course, each night. It was like eating at a fancy restaurant, 7 days in a row!
That night we were able to go to the entertainment show, which consisted of Broadway songs....loved it!

One of my most favorite parts of the cruise was the towel animals they would leave on your bed every night while you were at dinner. I always got excited to see which animal they created that night!

Best Vacation of My Life So Far, Day 2

2011-09-06T21:39:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of the trip consisted of sleeping in, taking a taxi to the ship (and can I just say I was shocked by how big the cruise ship was?! I've never seen one up close and personal...took me a bit to get used to the sheer size of it!), and checking in to the ship, which was a lot like checking in for a flight at the airport-lots of lines, and security, and more lines. Once we checked in, Bryce and I immediately went to check out our room. It was small, but cozy. The ship wasn't taking off for a few hours, so went to get food and then he took me on a tour of the cruise line. He had gone with Holland America before, so was familiar with the set up. I was very confused and very overwhelmed by where things were, the ship was literally its own city, and it took me a few days to figure out where things were! That night, we had our first dinner in the dining hall, and I instantly loved our waiters. So cute! Chad and Becky went on the cruise to celebrate their anniversary, so the workers sang to them and gave them a cake. We wanted to go to the show that was playing that night on the ship, but dinner took too long, so we ended up just walking around some more on the ship, and then got a movie from the ship movie store...you could rent any of the ones they had for free-we took full advantage of that! It was a very relaxing, fun day boarding the ship!

The vanity where I got ready every day. So small!

Our room! It was tiny, but comfy!

The very small bathroom!

Bryce and I on the first dinner in the dining room

Chad and Becky after being sung to for their anniversary

Aren't they so cute?!

Best Vacation Of My Life So Far, Day 1

2011-08-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

I went on an amazing Alaskan cruise this summer, and wanted to share my experiences and pictures with you! I'll share each day from my 9 day trip, one day at a time. Today's post will be on the first day of the trip.

We (we being me, my close friend Bryce, his brother Chad, and Chad's wife Becky) flew out from Salt Lake super early and got in to Seattle around 8:30 AM. We wanted to see if our hotel room would possibly be ready, and were going to take a taxi from the airport to the hotel when we were approached by a limo driver. The very top item on my bucket list has been to ride in a limo because I never have before (I almost did when I was in 4th grade...but that's a story for another day). I assumed it would have been too expensive, so I just kind of laughed it off. But Bryce knew I wanted to ride in a limo someday (I had actually shared a few things from my bucket list with him just days prior to this) and it turned out not to cost a lot with all 4 of us, so we went for it. I was as giddy as a schoolgirl during the whole 15 minute ride, I couldn't stop smiling and giggling! Perfect start for a perfect vacation, I say!

Our hotel ended up being ready and it was such a nice hotel room, I wish I had taken pictures of it! Bryce and I ended up taking a nap since we had to get up so early that morning for the plane ride. After the best nap ever, we went with Chad and Becky to get a pulled pork sandwich because Chad loves them and saw on a food show that this certain place in Seattle is 2nd best in the country. Super yummy!

We decided to do some shopping, which included a walk through of Crate and Barrel where I found my dream bed and chair...someday when I'm super rich, right?!

That night we went to a Mariner baseball game, where they played the Red Sox. We had amazing seats, and it was so much fun! I'm a huge fan of MLB games, especially watching them in person. I decided to cheer for the Mariners since I'm not a big Red Sox fan. I always pick a favorite player when I'm watching live games, and this time I chose number 21. SOO cute!

To Be Continued with Day 2...boarding the ship! Excited, right? That's what I thought!

Enjoying the game!

Awesome seats, right behind the Mariner dugout!

21...the future Mr. Perkins (or I can be the future Mrs. Gutierrez, either works for me!)

This picture was taken on my phone, so super crappy quality, but here's the limo ride! So happy!

Change

2011-07-24T12:53:00.001-07:00

Change is approaching. I can feel it...or I should say, I have felt it for sometime now. Not only change in my physical place of belonging, but change within me. Have you ever felt that in life, you are either moving forward, moving backward, or somewhere in between, waiting for either the forward or backward to happen? I've been in the "in-between" stage for sometime now. It's not an easy place to be. It's uncomfortable, it's hard, it's vulnerable. I am excited to move forward, excited to see new possibilities lie before me, excited to let go of the complacency that I have experienced. Life is good. And mine? Well, I am choosing my life to be a good one. A good, good life!

Sometimes...

2011-07-11T23:49:00.000-07:00

Sometimes...

...I need a good workout at the gym, or a hard, long run to make me feel like I'm me again.
...I wish I already had my Master's degree (but I'm grateful for the chance to work towards it now!)
...I crave and adore naps!
...I feel like I fail my students. But most of the time, I feel like I'm making a difference in the lives of the children I teach, in a job that I love SO much!
...I just really need to laugh so hard that my stomach hurts and tears fall down my cheeks (thanks to living with the funniest roommate ever!)
...I want to stay in bed all day and read a really good book, or watch my favorite TV shows, one right after the other.
...I observe the world around me, and am amazed at the beauty that is everywhere!
...or all the time, I am really, really grateful for true, wonderful friends. I tell you what, being 29 and single is the best when you are surrounded with the best of friends!
...I like to go to movies alone.
...I crave Jimmy John sandwiches (don't worry, I got my fix today!)
...I love to be a girly girl, and shop for high heel shoes, purses, earrings and dresses.
...I miss my grandma so much.
...I think about memories I have shared with my family and it comforts me when I feel alone or far away from them.
...I want to get a kitten for myself. Yes folks, I have become a pet person!
...I go for long drives alone, blaring my music and singing along so loudly that I tune everything else out.
...I secretly love to watch the Disney channel.
...I need to reflect on my blessings so that I can be a better Positive Polly and not a Negative Nancy!
...I just need to talk to someone and have them just listen.
...I spend hours looking at first grade teaching blogs. There are some really creative people out there and I benefit from their sharing of their creativity!
...I blog about random things in hopes of becoming a better writer!

Truth Is Beautiful

2011-07-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

I am currently taking the class Teaching Effective Writing Instruction. And I'll be completely honest, I have been scared for a few months to take this particular grad class because I feel like I struggle as a writer, and teaching writing is my weakest area in teaching. But in the short amount of time I have been in the class, I'm really starting to open up to writing and to the possibility that I can actually be a good writer. All writing is, is telling a story...MY story. There's so much that happens around me, and how I react to it, that I can write about!

I decided that once a week (or more, depending on how I feel), I will open up and just write on my blog. Because I can't be a better writer and a better teacher of writing if I don't write often and push myself to do it!

Today I laid below the big beautiful tree in my backyard while listening to the song Dream by Priscilla Ahn. I got lost in the lyrics, and thoughts about my life. I wish that I had taken more time to do that-to just be alone in my thoughts, lost in beautiful music, while lying under that tree that I'm going to miss so much. There is power in being alone in meditation. It brings you to the core of you. And there is power in music. I love the way that music expresses what is in my heart when my words lack. I love how the melodies of songs are like my heart being poured out. What a gift it is to have music as a way of expression!

Here's to allowing more time for myself to meditate, hopefully I can incorporate it daily! Enjoy the song. Get lost in the lyrics. It's powerful!

Missing

2011-05-29T23:08:00.000-07:00

I miss my Grandma Perkins a lot lately, but especially today. I stopped by to see her grave. I did that a year ago, and there wasn't a headstone then, so I was grateful there was one today. She is buried under a big, beautiful tree. It was close to 9 PM at night, and the cemetery was deserted. Just barely enough light to find my way. I love that she's buried under that big, beautiful tree, for a few reasons. The first being that it's easy for me to find it. The second being that it's such a peaceful area. I sat by her grave and talked to her for a while, and I felt a peaceful contentment. I felt her presence with me. I wonder what she would say to me if I told her my current situations in my life, the choices I have made recently, and the decisions I need to make for my future. I can hear her saying, "Quin, you are a beautiful woman. God made you intelligent and wise to make your own decisions.." something like that. I used to hate when I was little, how my grandma would call me Quin. She REFUSED to call me Tawna. She was the only person I would let call me that. It took me a really long time to embrace my full name. But now, I treasure that I let her be the only one to call me that. I have a lot of friends who now call me that, and I always am reminded of my grandma when I hear it.

I am very proud of my heritage, and the family I come from. I know that my grandma was an amazing woman who had a Christlike heart and I want her to be proud of me. I need to keep her in mind as I make some important decisions in my life. I love you grandma. Thank you for helping me to love myself.

Obsessed

2011-05-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

I've recently put myself on the bandwagon of looking up first grade teaching blogs. I am officially obsessed!! How have I not discovered these blogs sooner?! As evidence on my own blog, (look to your right-do you see all those new teaching buttons? Yeahhh..can we say just a LEE-TLE bit much?) you can tell that I care more about looking at teaching ones than at other blogs lately, which also includes updating my own. But I came across a blog entry today that had me laughing out loud. Any of you that are teachers can totally relate to the following. It describes perfectly what I go through on a day to day basis!

You Know You Teach First Grade When...

- Your once neatest handwriters are suddenly writing their names illegibly. Because they're attempting to write in cursive with no formal instruction.

- You've been through no less than 762 glue sticks.

- You've considered changing your name for the day just so you don't have to respond to Ms._______ seventy-eight times in an hour.

- You're fairly certain that a select few students will never recognize the written difference between a "b" and a "d" no matter how many times you correct them.

- You get just as excited as the kids do when the Scholastic book order comes in.

- You welcome inventive spelling if only to have something entertaining to read.

- You wish you got a dollar every time you told your class to "be a level zero in the hallway" or to "get in line" when walking down the hall.

- You have at least one Dr. Jean album on your iPod.

- Calendar activities exhaust you. {Maybe that's just me... I'm hoping that doing it on the SmartBoard next year will alleviate some of my pain!}

- You love your students' goofy smiles due to their jack-o-lantern-like assortment of *missing* teeth.

- On that same note, you are driven *12 kinds of crazy* when students repeatedly get up from whole group time to get a tissue to wiggle a loose tooth.

- Your heart goes pitter patter when hear your firsties read, smiling at the fact that you are the one responsible for that.

Although this time of year is very exhausting in teaching, with kids being ready for summer, and sick of being with the same peers for hours every day (even my really well behaved kiddos have started fighting with each other lately!), I absolutely love and adore them, and I absolutely love and adore what I get to do everyday. I'm constantly learning, seeking for new ideas, figuring out ways to help my students succeed, laughing at the funny things they say, and moved to tears by how tender their precious hearts are. Teaching truly is my calling for life, as one of my student's parents so very kindly pointed out to me recently. I was made for this. Please bless that me telling myself that can get me through the last few crazy weeks of school!

Just for Me, Part 2

2011-04-24T00:38:00.001-07:00

How cool is this?!

Just for Me

2011-04-24T00:21:00.000-07:00

I'm posting this to help me remember I want to add that to my calendar routine at school. This guy is awesome, I've got so many new ideas from him that my brain is on overload and need a place to store my thoughts tonight so I don't forget. Hence, the blog..

Peace

2011-04-11T22:08:00.000-07:00

I'm extremely touched and in quiet reverence tonight after watching this. I needed this reminder today. I love my Savior. He is my rock and my foundation. I'm grateful that I have chosen to follow Him. My life is filled with peace because of Him.

SHOUT OUT!!!

2011-04-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

I just want to give a HUGE thank you to my good friend Brooke, who created my new blog design. She is so talented! If you look to the right, you'll see a link for Babbling Brooke blog designs. You should check it out, she definitely knows what she's doing! Thanks Brooke, I love and miss you Marva!

To Kansas or Bust?

2011-04-06T21:05:00.001-07:00

My dearest friend, Jenna Ann, took on a position at Washburn University last August in Topeka, Kansas, as a professor in Psychology. She came back to Utah during her spring break to visit, and I decided to drive back to Kansas with her so that she wouldn't be alone on the 16 hour car drive, and so I could also see where she is now living and working.

We split the drive into two days to make it not as long. The first night we stopped in the middle of nowhere Nebraska (Ogallala I believe?) and then made it to Topeka the second day. You would think that a 16 hour car drive sounds miserable and horrible and awful...but it was the exact opposite! I tell you what, if you're going to do a long road trip, there's no one better to do it with then Jenna Ann Glover! We talked for hours, sang lots of our favorite songs and laughed and cried hysterically. I will treasure that time with her for a long time to come.

She had to work while I was there, so it was nice to have some time to myself to sleep in, read, watch shows, etc...things that I NEVER get to do with working full time and going to grad school part time. At night, when she would come home, we would go explore the city. We ate at a few yummy restaurants, including the famous Oklahoma Joe's in Kansas City (about an hour from where she lives). The Brown vs. Board of Education case happened in Topeka and there is a museum there in honor of it, in an old elementary school. Being that I'm a teacher, Jenna knew I would love to see it. It was awesome! I was also able to see the University that she works at. I'm so proud of Jenna, and how hard she has worked to make it this far. I always leave her feeling like I am a better person and that to me is a true friend!

This was basically all I saw on the drive to Kansas...

Brown vs. Board of Education

Isn't she adorable?!

Christmas/Birthday

2011-03-07T18:51:00.000-08:00

I tell you what, teaching full time, going to Grad school part time, and just everyday life makes me the busiest I have ever been! Hence the reason no blog updates for a while. Since it's Spring Break at USU, I have a week off of studying, paper writing and attending night classes to get caught up on a lot of things in my life, including my blog! I FINALLY uploaded pictures I had taken on my camera. I forgot that I had taken pictures of Christmas! Since I don't have a family of my own yet, I decided to spend Christmas Eve with my brother, sister-in-law, my 2 little sisters, and my nieces. So fun!! We had Christmas Eve dinner, sang some Christmas songs, Aspen (my oldest niece) read us The Night Before Christmas, they opened their pajama presents, and then we wrote what our gifts were to Jesus this year. Then I did something I've never done before...I went back to my house and slept alone on Christmas Eve. Who does that, right?! But I loved having my alone time for a bit for Christmas. :)

Christmas morning, we had breakfast at Mick's house, and Cody and BreAnne joined us for that. Then we all went to our parents house in Tremonton to open presents and have Christmas dinner. As I have gotten older, the meaning of Christmas really has changed from giving and receiving gifts, to really focusing on the "true" meaning of why we celebrate Christmas. I'm extremely grateful for the Savior. The more I learn about His life, and who He really was and is, the more I see His hand in my life and I get to know him in a different way. I've been so blessed to be raised in a home where He was central. I love Him and I strive to follow Him, always.

Abbie in her adorable Santa dress!

Typical Trina

Typical Tabbi

Typical Jen :)

Now on to my birthday! I celebrated it a few weeks ago by flying to my favorite city, Denver! Since my birthday always falls on President's Day weekend, I always like to travel somewhere as a gift to myself. I flew in on my birthday, and my former roommate there and one of my most favorite people alive, Hilary, took me out for sushi with some other Denver friends. Mmm.....I heart sushi!! Then we got frozen yogurt from Yogurtland. Sugar Heaven!!! We then went back to her apartment and played Michael Jackson on the Wii all night. SO fun! I'll be honest, I wasn't that great at it at first, but I got better the more I played. The next day, I went to lunch with Hil and our other roommate Jessica, who just recently was married. I miss Heidi's, they have the best sandwiches! (Besides Jimmy Johns, of course!). Then Hil and I did some shopping. Hil + Tawna = spending lots of time and money shopping! She's my favorite person to shop with! That night, Jessica and Hilary threw a birthday party for me, as well as Jessica's husband, Mac, who also has a birthday on February 18th. We ate pizza, played a lot more Michael Jackson on the Wii and I got red velvet cake from Costco (Again, mmmmmm!)

Sunday was spent visiting other friends and relaxing. I was sad to fly back Monday morning, but so grateful for the chance I had to see my favorite city and some of my favorite people. Denver is very close to my heart and I always love and appreciate when I can go back.

Not much else to report on...I am busy but loving Grad school and doing pretty well in my classes. Teaching is always fun, but the kids have spring fever (and in all honesty, so do I!), and I just registered for the Top of Utah half marathon, so I will be training and running that again this August. Lots and lots of miles to run for the next 5 months!!

SUSHI!!

Look at all the awesome toppings you can put on at yogurtland! I also had 4 different flavors of yogurt underneath all those toppings. Can we say Happy Birthday?!

Disneyland for New Years 2010

2011-01-30T10:00:00.001-08:00

I've always wanted to go to Disneyland at Christmastime. My wish FINALLY came true this year! My good friend, Bryce, asked me if I wanted to go to California with him and his family the day after Christmas. Of course I said yes! Bryce's twin brother lives there, and his wife just had a baby, so they were all going out to meet the new member of their family. And of course, hit up Disneyland! The Glovers love Disneyland! (Thanks Bryce, for letting me have all these pictures, since I struggle taking pics with my own camera...)

Disneyland was crowded! I knew it would be, but they were not letting people in after 10 AM because they had already reached capacity. So the first day we did California Adventure. My favorite ride that day was Midway Mania, the new Toy Story 3-D ride. They also had an awesome outside night dancing club for the new movie, Tron. We all really liked that.

We attempted Disneyland the next day but got up too late so we ended up driving around, eating Sushi, hanging out at Downtown Disney, and eating at Mrs. Knott's at Knottsberry Farm. So yummy!! That had a huge line so we waited for over an hour to just get in to eat.

The next day we got up super early so that we could actually get into Disneyland. It was pouring rain as well, so we came prepared with raincoats. We got in! And it was such a fun day! The rain came and went throughout the morning, and let up in the afternoon. My favorites this day were the Haunted Mansion had turned into The Nightmare Before Christmas, eating the Monte Cristo sandwich, and It's A Small World, which had also been transformed for Christmas with Jingle Bells. Bryce and I left Disneyland early to go to the Staples Center, where the Jazz were playing the Clippers. He's a huge Jazz fan, and had to have nice seats. So I was lucky to sit in great seats to watch the game. We won! They had a fan there who would get up every few minutes and cheer the crowd on, he had a really loud voice and everyone loved him! Then we met up with Brandon, Bryce's twin, and ate at Pink's, a famous hot dog stand. Yummy!!

Thursday we went to see my good friend Brandon from high school. He works in Beverly Hills, right off Rodeo Drive. He looked great, as always! (I'm sad I didn't get a picture with him). We also got cupcakes at Sprinkles cupcakes.

Friday, just Bryce and I went to Disneyland to celebrate New Years Eve. Disneyland was extremely crowded! We had to wait in line to get a locker, wait in line for food, wait in line for rides, etc. We spent a lot of time in lines :) But it was a long, fun day. We were there from 8 AM to 12:30 AM so we were completely exhausted by the time we got back to our hotel. Thanks Bryce, for being so good to me and for the fun trip!!

My Amazing Mom

2011-01-19T19:18:00.001-08:00

I'm a horrible daughter and doing this shout out 2 days late....better late than never, mom! Her birthday was on Monday. She's the ripe young age of 64 but to me, she's always been 30 (which I'll be turning in a year..go figure!) I love my mom for several reasons, more than I can list here, but here are a few of my favorite reasons why my mom is amazing:

She is the kindest person I know. She treats everyone with love and respect. She taught me the importance of that from a young age.
She is a strong woman of faith and has the strongest testimony of prayer. Some of my most vivid memories are sitting on my mom's bed as she kneeled in prayer. Sometimes for over an hour. She knows and loves God and knows that prayer can change people.
She is so selfless (sometimes to a fault :) ). She works at the same school I do, and is always so willing to make copies, to laminate and cut games, to go the extra mile for me when I'm overwhelmed and struggling to get it all done.
She loves her job and loves the students in her class and it shows. My students that were in her all day kindergarten class where she works as an aide, love her, and want to hug her every time she comes to see me.
She is so talented in decorating cakes. I LOVED choosing what I wanted every year on my birthday cake and having her decorate it even better than I could imagine. I need to post all my birthday cakes sometime, you will be in awe!
She will always take time out to teach me to sew (I have absolutely no patience for sewing!); to cook, and to fix things. She's wonder mom!
She loves me, she supports me, and she wants the best for me. What more can I ask for from my mom?

Mom, I love you. Thank you for everything you do for me. I know sometimes it may seem to go unnoticed or unappreciated. But I am aware of what you do for me, and in the quiet parts of me, I realize how wonderful you are, and how grateful I am to call you mom. Take some time for yourself, and do something totally new soon. Happy Birthday!!

Top 11 of 2010

2011-01-02T09:24:00.001-08:00

I know, I know, it's supposed to be Top 10 of 2010, but I decided to go with Top 11 to kick off 2011 starting. In no particular order, here are the Top 11 events of my life that happened in 2010. Bring on 2011 for even more fun and exciting changes in my life!!

11. I completed my fifth year of teaching, with my first year of teaching first grade. Let me tell you, first grade is a grade I never thought I would teach. But I really loved it and I was sad to see my cute group of students move on (good thing they are only in second grade so I can see them all the time still!), and I learned so much to make starting my second year of first grade even better!

10. I completed the process of applying for graduate school and was accepted to Utah State University, a goal that has been on my bucket list for years. I will start classes next week and I am so excited to keep growing and challenging this little brain of mine!

9. Denver 2010 trip to see my good friend and former roommate Jessica get married. Perfect fall weekend in my favorite city!

8. Moving back to Logan with one of my closest friends, Katie, has been the best decision I have made this year. It's been so much fun and just what I needed. She is so good to me! And I love Logan..I love being here.

7. BYU Football Date Night with Bryce. I am not a BYU fan by any means. But this was such a fun night, and it opened my eyes to seeing that BYU isn't all that bad. :)

6. 2010 was a year of changes for me with friendships. I made some new friends and let go of some old ones, as well as spent times with friends I don't get to see a lot. All challenging and so good for my growth. It's funny how some friends come and go, and how some friends always stay. But I really do believe that every person that comes into my life teaches me something that no one else could.

5. My Spring Break trip to see my Grandpa Perkins with my sister Tabbi and my cousin Liz was one of the funnest road trips I have taken, hands down. Lots of laughs, tears, and experiences were shared!

4. This next one is wrapped up in one word (or more like one person). Ellen. My good close friend Ellen. We have had several fun experiences together this year. Seeing Muse in concert, hiking Angel's Landing, me spending a week with her and her family in St. George. Thank you Ellen for being such a constant true friend for me this past year. I love you!!

3. Concerts with my sister-in-law Jen. We saw Brandi and Jewel sing in Boise this summer. And we are such huge Brandi Carlile fan's that we saw her again in September when she came to Utah. Jen, more concerts in 2011 I say!

2. New Years Eve at Disneyland. How cool is that?! Something I've wanted to do but never thought would happen. It was a tiring, but magical day. Thank you Bryce Glover! I'll be posting pictures from the whole trip soon!

1. Going on the Ellen Degeneres show was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I would love to experience it all over again! She was truly funny and genuine. That whole trip to Cali was so much fun and just what I needed. Thank you girls for a memorable week!

I also just want to add that it's been a fun year with my family with Easter, Thanksgiving, Perkins Family Reunion to Bear Lake and Lagoon, camping with the nieces and nephews at Craters of the Moon, and just spending time together. I love my family so much!

Pictures

2010-12-14T22:27:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted for a bit; I've been keeping myself busy with teaching and having fun! I always try and make time for these beautiful girls. I'm the luckiest aunt in the world, what can I say?! They always pose with the funniest faces. I need to learn from them on how to make the funny faces..it's not my strong point!

Lovely: I have the best nieces and nephews in the world. Today was Aspen's birthday and we went to dinner at Olive Garden. Man, they make me laugh!

Horrible: As much as I love the snow, I'm nervous about driving in it to Tremonton in the morning. Please bless!

Face Unafraid the Plans That I've Made...

2010-11-09T15:40:00.001-08:00

Face unafraid the plans that I've made. I love this statement. I probably have blogged about it before, but it recently has come back into my life as a great reminder. I have no need to fear my future. I'm happy-

I love my job. I have the best job ever!! My students make me laugh everyday. It makes me so happy and proud when I see them all progressing. First grade is such a rewarding grade to teach because at that age, they are like sponges and take everything in. I love when I see them applying in their reading and writing what I have taught them. I get to go to graduate school and that makes me so happy. I'm always constantly seeking for knowledge. It gratifies me and makes me a better person and teacher.

I love where I live. Logan is such a great place for me to be right now. It's so beautiful. It feels like home! And I have the best roommate ever!

I love my family. They are always there and available to help me. I know they love me and support me and that's all this girl needs! And I can't help it, I have the best nieces and nephews ever. I wish I could have them around me all the time because I feel the happiest when I'm around them.

I love my friends. I've always truly been blessed with the best. I only surround myself with positive happy people and that has made all the difference. I'm blessed and I'm reminded of that on a daily basis.

I love who I am. I have good, genuine qualities that I've been blessed with. Because I have been raised the way I am, I am happy because I know how to serve others. I know how to give of myself without losing myself. I know when to serve others and when it's time for me to serve myself. I know how to reflect on my life and what I have to be grateful for. I know who I am, where I came from, and where I want to go. Goals are important to me. I set them and reach high! What a gift!

Face unafraid the plans that I've made...sounds good to me!

Lovely: Sushi for dinner! I am a foodie...I love my food! The best thing about sushi besides how yummy it is, is that after I eat it, I don't feel gross and heavy. I feel healthier!

Horrible: Today was the last day for one of my students. She is moving and it makes me so sad. I had to hold back the tears as I hugged her goodbye. Every single one of my students has an impact on my life. I spend 6 hours with them everyday, 5 days a week so I'm with my students more than anyone else in my life and it's very hard for me when I have to say goodbye!

Lovely? Horrible!

2010-11-08T16:08:00.001-08:00

Lovely: The fact that I got an extra hour of sleep yesterday because of Daylight Savings, and I drove to work in daylight today instead of darkness. Also, the rainy weather makes me want to curl up in my bed with the AMAZING book I'm reading right now (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo).

Horrible: Rainy days for elementary school students makes a LONG day for this first grade teacher. They didn't get to go outside and play, so they were stuck inside all day. We also had a little scare where the power went out for a bit, which made them even MORE hyper! The last hour of school today was pretty rough!! Time for bed...?

Dear Tuh-bi-tha and Jen

2010-11-05T21:51:00.000-07:00

Tabs,

I'm sorry that me going off Facebook has caused you some grief in your life. I too miss the "remember when" game, but I'm liking this idea of blog video posting. The soldiers doing the jumping jacks in Iraq was hysterical! (Here's the video for those of you that haven't seen this:)

My personal favorite from this was the guy in the middle. He looks like he's boxing/dancing.

Here's a video in return, from a movie we both love to quote. I'm thinking we should watch this during Christmas with the whole famdamily. Love you!!

Dear Jen,

Thank you for your words on your blog to me. I love being able to be open with you and for your honesty and no judgment towards what I have to tell you. If only more people in the world could be like that! I appreciate that you took to heart what I said and thought about it so you could give me a response that was meaningful, loving and very needed. You are wonderful!!

I have great sisters!!

Denver, How I Love Thee

2010-10-25T15:58:00.000-07:00

If you are a follower of my blog (or if you just know me as a person), you know that I spent a year in Denver, Colorado for a sabbatical from teaching. I haven't gone back to visit for about 9 months, so I was MORE than ready to visit last weekend. When my plane landed, I felt like I was "home" again. My excuse for going, besides just for fun? Jessica, my former roommate, and person that moved to Denver with me from Utah, got married! I had a glorious weekend of visiting friends and former coworkers, eating yummy Colorado food, seeing Jessica get married in the Denver temple to a Canadian (so therefore, I enjoyed being around Mac's Canadian family and friends with their cute accents), shopping, hitting up a haunted house and corn maze, and making new friends! Can't wait until my next trip back!

Right after I flew in to Denver, my old roommate and friend Hilary picked me up and we headed straight to Red Robin to eat with friends. John Henry Parker, one of my favorite people of all time, manages the Red Robin that we went to and he brought me a HUGE serving of the campfire sauce to dip in my fries. He knows how much I love that stuff! (I put a dime next to the container to show the size of it. Yummy!)

My good friend Brett and I were talking about how we hadn't yet got Jessica and Mac a wedding present, so we thought we would be funny to take pictures together and frame them to give as our gift. You betcha, that's really what we gave them! Below are just a few of the hysterical ones that we took..

My good friend Sara and I after the temple session, waiting for Jessica and Mac to come out for pictures.

John Henry Parker, up close and personal.

The cute couple!

Hilary and I. Notice the height difference. We are known as Talls and Smalls...

I love this girl!!

One of my favorite temples of all time. This temple got me through a lot the year I was there!

After the wedding, we were starving so we got brunch at the Original Pancake House. I have been to the one in Salt Lake a few times, but I FINALLY ordered something that I will order forever from there. The Pecan Banana crepes are to die for! Notice my side of bacon and the original potatoes. Yep, I really was that hungry!

I met a few new friends in Denver, this girl was my fave. Her name is Debbie, she's good friends with Hilary. She hung out with us the whole weekend. I haven't laughed that hard with someone for a long time! I love meeting new people who are fun, easy going, funny, and a charm to be around.

Graduate School, Here I Come!

2010-10-11T15:41:00.001-07:00

I was officially accepted into the School of Graduate Studies today, in the School of Teacher Education and Leadership! I will start in January to work towards getting my Masters Degree in Elementary Education, with a reading endorsement with it (which will make me more highly qualified to teach reading). My mom brought the letter to school today, and I was so excited when I opened the letter and read that I had been accepted. I can't wait to start going to school again! It will be tough with teaching all day and taking night classes but I look forward to it making me a better teacher and person. Utah State, Hey Aggies all the way, here I come!!

Glee

2010-10-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

Yep, I'm a total Gleek, I can't get enough of Glee each week and the music. This week was no exception to that. I cried the whole episode. God is Great, God is Good, God doesn't make any mistakes!

For Now

2010-10-04T21:50:00.000-07:00

I have decided to deactivate my Facebook account...for now anyway. I need more time to get back to myself...the other day I was reading an AMAZING book my roommate let me borrow called The Gift by Hafiz, the Great Sufi Master. I had just had a great discussion with her about how I've been feeling so out of balance with myself, lost and unsure of so much with myself. I turned to a page in the book, and he says "...to give myself, to myself." It hit me so hard that that is what I need to do. I am so good at giving freely to others, to always lend a helping hand to those I love, to those in need. My job is one where I sacrifice so much of myself, my time and my efforts. I love my job so much, I can't imagine having any other job (in fact, I went into school Saturday to work for a bit, and while I was working, I had this overwhelming feeling of gratitude because I'm doing what I love to do most. How lucky and blessed that makes me!) But I come home drained and tired a lot. I'm not giving enough of myself TO myself. So that is what I'm going to work on for now. Get back to me, get back to who I am, figure out what I love and desire and follow the dreams in my heart. I'm sure eventually I'll get back on Facebook, it was a great communication tool for so many people in my life. But until then, if you need to get a hold of me, hopefully you know how! :)

I read NieNie's blog, and I noticed she' s been starting to add something lovely and something horrible about the days she writes, so I'm going to start doing that on the days that I blog:

Lovely: I had a great talk today with one of my closest friends, Curtis (who I lovingly refer to as Bob. I met Bob when I worked for 2 summers as a camp counselor. He was a fellow counselor and his camp name was Bob, so that is he who is to me!)

Horrible: I stayed WAY too late at work and came home and did some more work, so I wasn't able to finish the book Mockingjay tonight like I was hoping to! I can't get enough of the Hunger Games series, I highly recommend all 3 books to everyone and anyone that loves to read! (I'm dying to know...Peeta or Gale?! But don't you dare spoil it for me!)

I discovered this song a few weeks ago, and it brings so much joy to my soul. I love every word, it's how I want to be again, getting back to myself! Enjoy!

Lovin'

2010-09-20T16:22:00.001-07:00

School has officially begun again! I am in the fourth week of teaching my 2nd year of first grade, and so far it's going as well as the first month of first grade can. They are adorable and fun and learn so fast, but it's very draining to keep 25 6-7 year olds focused all day. By 9:00, I am usually asked, "Teacher, when is lunch?" "Teacher, when do we go home?" I go through the schedule everyday, and slowly they are getting more in the routines of day to day school but I come home completely exhausted! So usually the last thing I want to do is blog. But it has been far too long since I completed my last entry, so here are some more updates:

We had the annual Perkins' Family Reunion. This year we went to Lagoon for a day, and then to Bear Lake the next day. I don't have any pictures from Bear Lake because I only was able to go for a short time, I had my 10 year high school reunion that night. And I'll be honest, the Lagoon pictures I didn't take either. My siblings are FABULOUS at taking pictures and I just "borrow" theirs!

I am old!! My 10 year high school reunion was this summer. It is so crazy to me how fast time went by, how much I've accomplished in the past 10 years, but at the same time, how much I haven't been able to do yet. I didn't really want to go but my good friend Brandon talked me into it, and I'm glad I did attend. It was so fun to see friends I haven't seen in years, and to see how much people have changed and done with their lives! It will be interesting to see how much changes in the next 10 years. (I'll be 38!!)

My good friend and freshman year of college roomie, Hannah. She didn't graduate with us, but she married Jake, my good friend from high school. It was so great seeing her and Jake!

My gorgeous friend, Brandon. Thanks for talking me into going, Brando!

Tabbi ran the half marathon, so my sister-in-law Jen, and my niece Aspen, and I all went to cheer her on. Jen and I reminisced about running it last year and we both hope to run it again next year. I've really missed having the regular routine of running in my life and desire to have it back again. I was able to watch the Top of Utah marathon this past Saturday from my own front porch because they run by my house and I really wanted to be running with them. That is my ultimate goal, to run one full marathon. Can I do it?!

PS, I literally got up and crawled out of bed and put on a hat minutes before seeing Tabbi cross the finish line, so don't judge how I look! ;)

I have moved back to Logan and I can't tell you how much I love it. My best friend, Jenna, couldn't sell her house so my friend Katie and I are renting it from her. Katie has a dog, Sam, and a cat, Ash. I am not a pet person, so at first I was a little concerned as to how it would be living with a dog and a cat. But I love, love, love them so much. Sam is my third roomie and Ash and I have become BFF's. I have now even jumped on the pet bandwagon and I own a fish! Huge commitment for me, dead serious! It took me a while to pick out the angelfish, and even longer to come up with her name. But I decided to go with Eat,Pray,Love, a theme in my life at this time. She will go by Eatee for short. So my life when I come home from school consists of hanging out with the pets and I can't get enough of it! I was even excited driving home from school today to see Eatee...how lame is that?!

Sam and I. Adorable!

Eatee...

Isn't Sam beautiful?! Ash was outside playing at this time and I couldn't find him, so I'll post a picture of him later.

I finally got new glasses after years of having my old ones. I don't really wear glasses a lot except at night but my new ones are so fun, I just might wear them more often! I wore them to school today and my students told me they made me look smarter and they loved the design on the sides.

Laughing My Pants Off!

2010-08-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

I put this on my Facebook page too, but for those of you who aren't on Facebook, or don't stalk my page, but do stalk my blog, you will enjoy this. Funniest thing I've seen in a while, I keep watching it and laughing so hard I almost pee my pants. And then I show other people, and laugh so hard I almost pee my pants, as they do the same, too! Thanks Tabbi, for sharing this with me!

Happy Monday!

It's About Time

2010-08-10T23:48:00.000-07:00

Man, I suck at this whole blogging thing lately! It's been a really fun summer for me, too so I have plenty to blog about. But I will admit, I've also been super lazy...hence the reason I haven't blogged as much! One fun thing from today, I moved back to Logan. Finally!! I am a Loganite again! It feels good to be back to this city that I absolutely love and adore. I can't wait to run in the evenings around the Island, take drives through the canyon, ride my bike and feel the wind in my hair around this beautiful city. I'm also looking forward to spending more time with my nieces, making new friends, and seeing old ones more. Change is something I've been craving lately, and I look forward to the new changes that lie ahead for me here!

Here are some pictures from random adventures I've had this summer:

I met up with the old "gang" and went to dinner and bowling. Meggan and Bryce...

Shay and Nik

Laci and I

For the second year in a row, I have joined the Schulze tradition of going on a long hike at Zion National Park. Last year we did the Orderville hike. This year we wanted to go for the Subway hike, but didn't end up getting permits for that one, so we did Orderville again. We all thought it would take a lot longer this year because instead of 14 of us, there were now 24, including several children. But somehow, we finished the hike hours before our time last year. So much fun! (I secretly hope that I'm invited every year. I kind of feel like I'm part of the family. :) )

Shannon Rhodes invited several friends to her cabin in Island Park for a Singles weekend. 5 of us ended up coming but it was so much fun! We went on a few four wheeling rides. It had been years since I had driven one, but after a bit I got the hang of it. Unfortunately, I did hit a pretty rough bump and went flying through the trees. Luckily the four wheeler was okay but my arm came a way with a pretty deep wound. But totally worth it to see the view from the top!

Me, Shannon, Mandy and Monica at the top of two top mountain.

On our drive home from Island Park, Monica and I stopped in Rexburg to see the temple. This was only my second time driving through Rexburg, a tiny college town. Beautiful temple!

I just wanted to throw in the fact that I love Jimmy John's sandwiches, I would marry them if I could. I've eaten there several times this summer, and I know I'll be eating there a lot more, now that I live in Logan!

Monica and I heading to Island Park

My good friend, Bryce Glover, invited me to go to the BYU football date night. I was a little hesitant at first because I am not a BYU football fan by any means, I'm an Aggie girl by heart. But it turned out to be a really fun night! We ate a yummy meal, interacted with the coaches and football players, checked out the locker room and field, and got to know the players on a more personal level. My two favorite moments were probably when I about took down a player, and then when I caught a pass and got a high five from a different player. I'm still not a BYU fan, but my heart has been softened...just a smidge!

Bryce and I with Coach Mendenhall. I will say, he was super attractive!

I drove down to St. George to spend a week with my friend Ellen and her family. We hiked Zion on an incredibly hot day, I literally didn't think I was going to make it to see the three emerald pools. However, I was reminded a few times by complete strangers that I was superwoman, and it gave me the little bit of extra push I needed to get there.

On another night in St. George, Ellen drove me around to all the different sites. This spot was my favorite at Snow Canyon. Absolutely beautiful!

Another night, we also went to the Tuacahn Theater to watch the Broadway of Tarzan. Incredible!

Since I was already down in St. George, I thought I would take a day and go visit my friend, Becca. She recently moved back to Vegas from Colorado, before she heads to BYU-Hawaii. It was such a fun day! We went to a movie, got huge tropical smoothies, went to the Bellagio Hotel on the strip where we visited the garden (seriously one of my most favorite places on Earth), ate some yummy chocolate cheesecake and watched the water show, something I've wanted to do for years but haven't been able to do. We then had a marathon of Burn Notice. It was so good to see her and spend time with her!

My sister and sister-in-law set up a cousin's camp this year, and I invited myself along as the favorite aunt. We went to Craters of the Moon in Idaho. My favorite part, besides spending time with my nieces and nephews, was the night hike a few of us took. I hope I'm invited every year to cousin's camp! (Hint, hint.)

My sister-in-law, Jen, and I took a roadie to Boise to see Jewel and Brandi Carlile in concert. A-MA-ZING! We were pretty close to the stage! I was able to get this one shot of Brandi before putting my camera away..they were Nazi's about not shooting pictures of the performers! I loved seeing two of my favorite musicians live and up close and acoustic. Such a fun night!!

Jenna and I at the concert. Can I just say that I love this girl?! She has received her PhD in Psychology and just accepted a teaching position at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. I miss her, but guess what? I get to live in her beautiful house in Logan!

Despicable ME!

2010-07-21T23:03:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I haven't updated in a long time! That is so despicable of me! I do have a reason though..my sister Tabbi borrowed my camera over a month ago and I haven't gotten it back to upload pictures on here. When I get my camera I promise to update you on what I've been doing the past month. I have enjoyed not having school, which means sleeping in, lots of reading, OK let's be honest, lots more catching up on TV shows and movies that I've wanted to see! I've also been able to spend more time with friends and family, including some awesome camping trips and hikes.

I'll admit that I have gone into my classroom a few times this summer. But in my defense, I did move into a new classroom, and I secretly love this time of year, setting up my classroom, buying new school supplies (I love and adore the office and school supply section of the store. I can spend hours and hundreds of dollars in that aisle alone), and getting things ready for my brand new group of students for the brand new school year! I'm already getting super duper excited for teaching first grade again!

There have also been lots of movies in the theater that I've been able to see. My recent favorite is Despicable Me. I took two of my nieces to see it, and I was laughing hysterically the whole time! Definitely a must see if you haven't seen it yet. Updates to come soon, I pinky promise!

About Time!

2010-06-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

Sarah McLachlan has been my favorite singer since I was a sophomore in high school. Her music has always spoken to me. Her voice, her lyrics, the melodies. I can't tell you how many times listening to her music has comforted me! Her last album came out in November 2003 (not counting her Christmas album) when I was finishing up my bachelor's at Utah State. I'm proud to say that as of next Tuesday, her newest album, called Laws of Illusion, will be released. Do you know what that means? This girl (meaning me) is one incredibly happy girl!!

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Cali 2010, Day 4

2010-05-24T15:11:00.002-07:00

Man, the most important day of my trip and I've waited so long to blog about it! I apologize about that, but I am a school teacher, and the school year is coming to a close, which means LOTS to do! Quick side note about that. I'm staying with teaching first grade next year, and will be moving back into the school. So no more portable for me. I've enjoyed it, but I've missed feeling connected to everyone by being in the building.

OK, so day 4 of our travels led us to the Warner Brothers studios lot, bright and early for a tour of the studio before hitting up the Ellen show. The WB tour was awesome, I highly recommend it for anyone interested in TV and movies. There were certain parts of the tour where cameras weren't allowed, they literally locked up our cameras a few times throughout the tour. We were able to see a lot of sets from lots of TV and movies, my favorites being from Gilmore Girls and FRIENDS.

The left corner of these buildings was where Luke's Diner in Gilmore Girls was. I LOVE that show!!

The gazebo from Gilmore Girls. I want to live in a Stars Hollow. They do awesome things in that cute little town!

Only 2 stages have official names. This one, and the ER stage. They were the most famous shows filmed at WB and lasted a long time. Friends for 10 seasons, and I think ER was 15 seasons?

The actual Gran Torino from Clint Eastwood's movie. It belongs to him, but he wants WB to hold onto it.

To the batmobile, Robin!!

I also am a big fan of Harry Potter! In the museum, which is one part of the tour that no cameras were allowed, the whole upstairs is full of Harry Potter set pieces, costumes and props. So cool!

This was my favorite part of the whole tour. They have a room set up with all of the FRIENDS props, exactly how it was on the actual set. Yep, this is the actual couch! All of the furniture and props were used on the show. The tour guide said the Smithsonian really wants the couch, but WB isn't giving it up. I loved that I got to sit on it!

Taking over Gunther's job for the day..

Central Perk! This makes me want to watch all the seasons again...Brady, I might need to borrow them again from you!! Or you can just buy them all for me. Whichever you'd like!

After the tour, we headed to where we were supposed to go for the Ellen show. We were 3 hours early, and they told us there was no point waiting in line because you don't sit by the order you come. So we ate lunch at a steakhouse down the street. Not too bad! We were all so antsy for the show! When we headed back, the place was loaded with lots of people. The producers had us fill out a survey of any hidden talents we had and weird jobs we've done. They had people come up and share random talents they had (some weren't that great, but I'm not judging..). We then were given a number, and lined up in that order. When we got inside the studio, they sat us wherever they wanted to put us. We ended up on the right side, about 6 aisles up. I was hoping to sit close to the aisle to get a better camera shot and see Ellen better, but oh well. Cameras weren't allowed in the studio, so these pictures were taken from Ellen's face book page. It's kind of hard to see me, but again, I'm about 6 rows up from the bottom, and clear over to the right.

It was such a fun experience. Ellen is beautiful, skinny, and genuinely nice and funny! During the commercial breaks we would get up and dance, and she would wave at us and dance along with us. We were all hoping to get on to do the game, but I think they just picked random people from the audience. I was tired of clapping and cheering by the end, but it was such a great show. Elaine from Seinfeld, Finn from Glee and the band slash, with Adam Lavine singing, were who appeared on the show. I would love to do it again, so any takers?! After the show, you could shop in the Ellen store. We were the last ones in there, and it was so fun because we got to talk to the girl who designed all the clothes. We then went to an outdoor mall, did some shopping, took food back to the hotel and watched the Jazz get killed by the Lakers. We were pooped by the end of day, after getting up so early. LA was such a fun, much needed trip for me!

This is my row. You can see me at the end with my hands up...

Where's Tawna?

In this picture, you can basically just see my hands. The guy in front of me was huge and tall!!

Cali 2010, Day 3

2010-05-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

Day 3 in Cali was spent getting a Mother's Day brunch, since Monica and Mandy are mom's. We followed the yummy brunch with getting manicures and pedicures. This was the second time getting a pedi..you see, I hate feet. I don't like people touching my feet, and I definitely do NOT like touching other's feet. My first pedi I got as a gift for myself on my birthday, as a challenge to complete a goal I had set to get one. So the second time around, it was easier for me. We followed that with spending the rest of day in Hollywood, walking around to look at the stars, spent some time at the Kodak Theatre, and the Grauman's Chinese Theatre. We ended the day with an awesome tour of movie stars' houses. Give it to 'em, pictures:

Eating brunch. The shadow makes my nose look weird!

Look at our cute manicures!

Franky at Chinese Theatre.

And good ol' Dean Martin. Janet Carter, my singing teacher in high school, really helped me grow to love that era of music!

Not sure what I'm doing here..this is outside of the Chinese Theatre.

Mandy, Monica and I at the Kodak Theatre. Mandy has her eyes closed a lot in pics!

Waiting for our amazing Movie Star tour to start..

Look at our awesome ride! Yep, those are leopard cover seats! We rode in style!!

The Hollywood sign in the distance.

View of downtown LA. Super smoggy, but I loved all the big buildings, especially lit up at night!

The Magic Castle!

We took a late night tour, and my camera started to freak out, so this is a really bad picture. But this is where Frank Sinatra lived, behind this gate.

Eddie Murphy's house. A little 80's huh?

Supposedly this is the back of Jennifer Aniston's house?

And Laurence Fishborne's house. There were some amazing houses on the tour but the tour guide drove so fast and it got dark so I didn't get good pictures.

The famous Beverly Hills sign. We also drove down Rodeo Drive, which I had never seen, so that was kind of fun!

Cali 2010, Day 2

2010-05-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

Day two of my adventures in Cal-i-for-nye-a were spent in Santa Monica. We slept in, headed for the beach, and then spent the rest of the day on the Pier and doing lots of shopping at the outdoor mall there. I was introduced to a yummy frozen yogurt place called Pinkberry. Their fruit was to die for. I literally could have eaten that fruit all day and been totally satisfied (in fact, we all went to Pinkberry again the day before we left, we all loved it so much.) We ate at a yummy Italian restaurant that night, and then headed back late to our hotel! Again, I'll let the pictures do the talking:

Just before heading to the beach!

Pacific Ocean, baby! It was so nice to just lay out by the water. It was a bit windy, but sunny so it was perfect!

An attractive police man took the photo of the 4 of us with the ocean in the background.

And the attractive police man took it with Santa Monica in the background ;)

The Pier

There were rides and lots of shops and restaurants by the beach. So fun!

Monica and I were introduced to a few crazies while shopping at the outdoor mall...

This was my favorite crazy. She wore a ribbon around her, like she was in a pageant, that said "Jesus is God." She had her megaphone and stood by us for a good 20 minutes while we sat and waited for the other girls, preaching to us about how we must believe in Jesus Christ or we will go to hell. She was being a missionary in her own way, I respect that...but I love Jesus in my own way as well!

Cali 2010, Day 1

2010-05-13T15:11:00.001-07:00

My friend Monica got tickets to the Ellen DeGeneres show and invited me along for the ride! We flew to California Thursday, May 6 after work, and landed late so we just found our hotel in Burbank and slept! Friday, Day 1 of the Cali 2010 trip, was spent at Universal Studios. After, we ate dinner at the Saddle Ranch. I've never eaten so much food in my life, but Monica and Shannon rode the mechanical bull. I would have done it myself, but since I just had surgery, I didn't think it would be too wise to do that just yet. I'll let the pictures do the talking for the day!

Mandy, Me, Monica..

Posing it with the Shrekers. Not sure what was so funny but I'm laughing pretty hard in this picture!

Hanging out, this is pre- Jurassic park ride, where I got TOTALLY soaked and my hair turned into the curly afro!

Going on the Universal Studios Tour. Loved it!

Just call me Fred, and meet my wife, Wilma.

Highlight of my day..a worker dressed as Eddie Murphy. He totally had the laugh down, he was killing me! And He didn't know the concept of having a personal bubble space, he popped all of ours! But I sure found him to be so hysterical!

Lisa, from the Simpson's. The Simpson's ride was my favorite at Universal. The Mummy Returns was quite funny as well. NOT a fan of the House of Horrors tour. I literally cried and closed my eyes through the whole dang thing. I hate anything scary. We all thought it was a ride, turns out it was a walk through thing with people and things from scary movies. I don't recommend it!!

Yeah..I don't know...

Libbers

2010-05-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends and one of my most favorite people, Liberty Lois Perkins, turned 6 yesterday! My sister Tabbi already stole my idea to dedicate a blog post to Lib, but hey, I can do it too! I love this girl so much. She is one of the happiest kids I know, and she always makes me feel so much better when I'm around her. She makes me laugh, gives me big hugs and kisses, and tells me that she loves me. One of my most favorite things about my niece is that she can totally entertain herself for hours. She loves playing with her sisters, but she's totally content to play alone as well. A lot of times I'll watch her when she isn't noticing, and she'll be playing her barbies, speaking and singing out the parts she wants each to play. It warms my heart a little bit. If I need some cheering up, the first person I want to spend time with is Libby because I know I'll leave her feeling so much happier! Happy Birthday Liberty! Thanks for being the happy, beautiful girl that you are. I love you more and more!!!

Hanging out at Yellowstone.

My grandma's funeral. We know how to have fun, regardless of the situation!!

Isn't she so beautiful?! She did such a great job at her Christmas dance recital!

Laughs!!

Kisses!!

Hanging out at Fish Lake 2008

Today

2010-04-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

Today is a good day. I've been blessed to have a day of rest, listening to the beautiful rain pour outside, listening to Brandi Carlile's new CD, Give Up the Ghost (THANK YOU JEN!!!), looking through my pictures on iPhoto, helping me to reminiscence on the most important people and events that have happened in my life.

Yesterday was the fourth surgery, yes that's right, the fourth surgery I've had on my lovely tush. I'm hoping and praying, along with all those that love me, that this will be it for the sake of my bum and my sanity and my mom's sanity. As fun as it is to be doped up and crazy on meds, I would like to have my bum back again, to do the activities I love to do most: sit and watch movies at the theater, run outside, teach my precious first graders, jump on the trampoline with my nieces and nephews, sit on the piano bench and play to my heart's delight.

But for today, it's been a good day to have my music, my pictures, my thoughts, the rain.

Here's a few random photos I wanted to share:

My girls..Shay, Megg and Lace. We missed you Gail! These girls are my sisters for life. We've been friends forever, and will continue to be friends forever.

I found this at grandpa's, it was taken on my 4th birthday with the purple outfit they gave me. My grandma always remembered that purple was and still is my favorite color. She was a gem at remembering stuff like that!

Pointing to the mustard I spilled on my shirt after eating a hot dog at a Denver Nugget's basketball game. This pic. made me laugh at myself-I'm good at that-spilling on myself, and laughing at myself!

Visit to Pa's

2010-04-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

For part of my Spring Break this year, my sister Tabbi, my cousin Liz and I decided to take a road trip to Spokane, Washington to visit Grandpa Perkins. Since grandma passed away, we have wanted to visit him. And what a trip it was! We were able to have some great chats with Pa, go through my grandma's jewelry and clothing (she has some AWESOME 80's clothing, and we were able to put on a fashion show for my grandpa. Funnest night I've had in a long time!), go through old photographs, shop at the sweetest toy store, White Elephant, and eat at Dicks, they have yummy hamburgers! It was a fun, quick, emotional trip and I'm so grateful I was able to go. I'm very proud of my heritage, of belonging to such an amazing family. I miss my grandma, I think of her daily, but I'm so thankful for what she taught me, and what she has left behind for us. I'm a better woman today because of her! I love my grandpa as well and I'm also grateful he's still here to keep creating memories for me!

I'll let the pictures do the talking for the trip:

Road Trippin' it!

We stopped for a bathroom break and they had this awesome statue so of course we had to pose by it!

My grandparents living room. When I first walked in, I wanted my grandma to be sitting in her blue chair, talking and laughing with us. :(

I love this wall of photos in my grandparents' bedroom. My dad, my Aunt Candi, and my Uncle Fred. I LOVE the picture of my grandparents in the gold frame. DIBS!

Dicks..yummy! Or in the famous words of my grandpa, "You love Dicks."

Grandpa told us so many great stories about growing up, his family, war stories, etc.

We had so much fun dressing up in my grandma's clothes!

Notice my Elvis lip!

Grandma, you had the sweetest shoes!! My faves? The hot pink ones!

Tabs was killing me..she had on my grandma's jogger shirt, her mumu. tons of jewelry, her red shoes and her purse. This is my favorite picture, so funny!

Pa taking a turn on the workout machine. So funny!

Going through my grandma's jewelry..man she had a lot of it! Tabbi wanted it all. She kept yelling, "DIBS!" before Liz and I could even see it!

Grandpa brought out a big box of my grandma's lipstick. Sweet shades, huh?!

New favorite lipstick shade!

Funniest moment-my grandpa, at 92, is still driving. He wanted to take us to dinner, and he literally took up 3 parking spaces. So funny!

Inside White Elephant. I grew up loving this toy store. Rows and rows of toys, games, everything!

So excited to be at the White Elephant!

Liz's brother Nathaniel and his wife Nicole live in Missoula, MT. We stayed with them Thursday night, and then they drove to Spokane Saturday to spend time with all of us. That night we went to dinner at Applebee's. I love my family!

Girls, I'm so glad we went on this trip. I had a lot of fun! Love you!

Bye Grandpa! We love you so much!!!

Undisclosed Desires of My Heart...

2010-04-07T16:27:00.000-07:00

I was able to take my friend Ellen to the Muse concert on April 5 at the E Center for her early birthday present. I hadn't heard a lot of Muse songs, but the few that I knew of, I really liked. And hey, when is a concert ever not fun? I've been to a few concerts in my day, but this one by far was the most amazing in the stage set up. I was in awe the second Muse started playing until the end. They played for over an hour and a half, and I couldn't get enough! Thanks to Ellen, I have some pictures to share. I just want to include here that I'm in love with the drummer. He was amazing, and pretty cute as well. And the lead singer is one true, talented musician. His voice was right on, he can play the guitar, piano AND key tar. Melted my heart the second I saw the grand piano rolled onto the stage!

We paid, unknowingly, for premium parking. Sweet deal if you ask me!! Especially on a snowy night!

Ellen and I posing, waiting for Muse to get on the stage. I had no idea my brain would be literally lit up within the next few minutes!

The stage..before Muse came out.

The stage after they came out. Oh man...best stage set up ever! I really couldn't get enough.

The stage was glass and they had AMAZING laser shows throughout the whole concert.

My love, the Grand Piano.

During the show, they had eyeball balloons full of confetti that came down.

The finale. Again, amazing!

My favorite song they performed was Undisclosed Desires. Here are the lyrics:

I know you suffered
But I don't want you to hide
It's cold and loveless
I won't let you be denied

Soothe me
I'll make you feel pure
Trust me
You can be sure

I want to reconcile the violence in your heart
I want to recognize your beauty is not just a mask
I want to exorcise the demons from your past
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart

You take your lovers that you're wicked and divine
You may be a sinner
But your innocence is mine

Please me
Show me how it's done
Tease me
You are the one

I want to reconcile the violence in your heart
I want to recognize your beauty is not just a mask
I want to exorcise the demons from your past
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart

Please me
Show me how it's done
Trust me
You are the one

I want to reconcile the violence in your heart
I want to recognize your beauty is not just a mask
I want to exorcise the demons from your past
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart

Someday, I hope someone can do that for me. Someday!!

Vegas 2010

2010-03-17T21:06:00.000-07:00

I was able to take a quick trip to Las Vegas this past weekend for a much needed break! We went to the BODIES Exhibit (LOVED it..I appreciate my body so much more now. It's amazing!), the Wax Museum, walked around the strip through different hotels, ate lots of food and had fun!

The Bellagio Hotel has this beautiful flower garden that I was obsessed with! I was sad though, the infamous Bellagio water show didn't go off because it was super windy. I haven't seen the show before, even though I've been to Vegas several times! Next time!!

We just so happened to run into Johnny Depp...

Meggan loves her JFK!

I love my George!

Can you tell who that is flying through the air? David Copperfield. I was obsessed with his magic shows in my younger days when they came on TV.

Finally, someone else who has small hands like me. Gloria Estefan!

Oh Tim...

I want to be like Mike!!

JLo and Meggan love to show off their bum bums.

I think Julia and I would be good friends.

Oprah!!

Beautiful ceiling in the Venetian Hotel.

I was obsessed with this awesomely huge remote. I need to get my dad one!

Chocolate Fountain in 3 different flavors. Heavenly!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

2010-03-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday, so our school celebrated by having a read a thon. I read a few Dr. Seuss books throughout the day, the favorite being Cat in the Hat. After, the students made their own Cat in the Hat hat's and then got out their pillows, blankets, and Dr. Seuss books and read up a storm! Several students also brought treats for everyone to share. Such a fun, fun day! Thank you Dr. Seuss, for making reading so much fun and teaching valuable lessons to all age groups!

Happy Chinese New Year!

2010-02-22T18:28:00.000-08:00

My little sister, Tabbi, spent the last 7+ months in Asia, teaching English in Taiwan, and doing some awesome traveling (that I'm SUPER jealous of!) Chinese New Year was on February 14th this year, and she just moved back to Utah, so I asked her to come in and teach my students about it. It was so fun to see her interact with the kids, they loved her in return and had some pretty funny comments and responses to her questions. They really loved practicing writing and counting to 10 in Chinese, learning about Chinese New Year customs, and the most popular event of all, learning how to use chopsticks! Several of them even took them home that night to eat dinner with them! Thanks Tabbi, for sharing your time and talents with my class. I love you!

First Grade Adventures...

2010-02-21T19:08:00.001-08:00

My friend, Tori, is a dental hygienist, and she came and taught my class, and Jackie's class, about how to take care of your teeth. She did such a great job!

Tori showing my students how to floss their teeth by having two of my students be "teeth."

I had my students write a letter to Tori, thanking her for coming in. This one was my fave! (Notice the rock she glued onto the letter...)

Some of my students posing in their pajamas. We had a pajama Christmas party!

My students dancing with Corby the Cougar, our school mascot.

Aren't they so cute?!

My students do what I call "work stations" with a buddy, while I do reading groups. Here are some pictures of just a few of my work stations. My students love to read the Holiday joke books together at the library work station. They especially love reading to my stuffed animals in the big maroon reading chair.

Game work station-really teaches my students how to get along with others, and solve conflicts.

Overhead work station-another favorite of my students! This is where they can practice rereading poems, circling words they know, and practice their handwriting by writing word wall words, spelling words, or a story that they make up!

Buddy reading work station

Word study work station-they build word wall or spelling words using beads, magnet letters, stamps, etc.

Below are pictures from the First Grade Music Program that was on my birthday this year. The whole school came, along with parents, and before the program could start, my students had to make sure that everyone sang happy birthday to me. It made my day!!

A few of my students had speaking parts in the program. Again, aren't they so cute?! It brings me pure joy to teach these young but vibrant minds. It's amazing how eager and ready they are to learn, and how quickly they catch onto concepts. So rewarding to teach them on a daily basis!

I got this picture from Facebook, one of the mom's of my students took it. So cute!

Sledding with my nieces and nephews on Christmas Eve

2010-02-21T18:54:00.000-08:00

Funnest I've had in a while! Unfortunately, I was only able to go down once. My niece, Liberty, was with me on the tube and we ran into the tree. Scary sight! So the rest of the time I was able to watch my nieces and nephews enjoy themselves on the beautiful day before Christmas! After we enjoyed lunch at Frederico's. Yummy! Thanks mom and dad for that!

Shout out to Brooke

2010-02-21T14:43:00.000-08:00

I've had a few comments on how cute my new blog design is. And I totally, 100 percent agree on how adorable it is, I love it! But of course, I'm not the one that designed it (only in my dreams..). My good friend, Brooke Merrell Banta, designed it for me. Head on over to this website: http://www.babblingbrookedesigns.blogspot.com/ to get a sneak peek at what she does, and have her design your blog. Thanks Brooke, for making mine super cute. I sure love you, Marva!

I Love...

2010-02-13T22:03:00.001-08:00

Can I just say that I love the month of February for so many reasons?! First of all, it's the month where I was born, so that gives me a lot to celebrate and be thankful for. But it's also the month after January, the worst month of the year, so it's kind of an awakening for me, and it is the month where we celebrate Love on Valentine's Day. This means PARTAY in elementary school terms. I received the cutest valentine's from my students, along with a lot of chocolate, candy shaped as flowers, AND a Jonas Brothers' poster. What more could make a girl happier?! That's all the love I need, is from children! I can also celebrate loving my family, my friends, and people who are most important to me. I can get kind of cheesy and sentimental, but who doesn't love a good dose of cheese once in a while?!

February is also the month when my favorite president, George Washington, was born. I reflect a lot at this time how amazing our country is, how it was founded, and where it is today. I truly love George, and can't wait until the day comes where I can meet him. I might scream and giggle like a little school girl, but hey, he's not my favorite historical figure for nothing!

And for this year, in the month of the Febs, we get the 2010 Winter Olympics! I absolutely love the Olympics. Watching them since I was a little girl has been a favorite activity of mine. I'm always in awe at the athletes' abilities, and always feel a new sense of motivation to challenge myself physically after watching them. I also feel a sense of pride in being a citizen of the United States of America. I love when someone from the USA wins a medal, and they play the National Anthem at the medal ceremony. Go team USA!

So here's to February, for being a new start, and for bringing us closer to Spring. I'm so done with Winter!!!

Funny First Grade Story of the Week

2010-01-26T15:42:00.000-08:00

I've decided to post some of the funny things that happen in my classroom each week, because it's just too good not to share!

I have a jar of concerns in my classroom, so instead of students coming to tattle on other students, they can write the concern down, and only I will read them. I check it once a week or so. I had to keep one I read today, it was just too funny. It said, "(student's name) was using inappropriate language in class, like poop." Of course it was spelled differently, in the way only first grade invented spelling could be. But what first grader uses the word inappropriate?! Oh man, I laughed hard over that one! I'm sure I've said the word a few times, how a certain behavior is inappropriate. But I was super impressed that this student caught on to that and wrote it. Have I mentioned lately how much I love teaching first grade?!

Random Thoughts

2010-01-25T22:09:00.001-08:00

I had my third surgery this past week, and I'm doing pretty well. I'm sore and I'm tired from going back to teaching today, but I'm hanging in there. No use complaining! It is what it is, and I'm just hoping this will solve the problem. It was nice to have some down time for a bit. I mainly just slept, watched lots of good movies and TV shows and read books. This time I asked to have a pain medication switch, Percocet made me super crazy. This time I took Loratab and it didn't make me send out crazy, emotional texts, like I've been known to send in the past.

I had this random thought today as I got home from work. This might not make sense, but stay with me for a bit. I thought about how I am all that I have. Truly. Yes, I have great friends and family in my life, but I can always and only depend fully on myself. I am with myself 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I will do my challenges alone, I will go through life with me. And I thought how I'm grateful for that, that I'm grateful I am who I am. I wouldn't want to be stuck with anyone else. I love who I am. It's taken me a long time to come to this, and the thought came out of nowhere today, but I really appreciate the person that I am. Of course I see so many awesome qualities in others that I admire, that I would love to develop in myself. And others bring out the best in me, and help me to challenge myself and grow. But overall, I love the person I have become. I love that I am a hard worker, that when I set my goal to do something, I am determined to complete it. I love that I graduated from college fast, and was able to find a teaching job that challenges me everyday. I love that I have allowed myself to change in my career, trying different grade levels, and constantly researching and learning new ways to be a better teacher for my students. I love the fact that I was honest with myself in taking a sabbatical and pursuing other things outside of teaching, that I followed my heart and soul and spent time in Colorado. I love the experiences and friends I made there that made me a better person coming back to Utah and teaching. I love that I am short, that I have naturally curly hair, little feet, blue eyes and strong calves. I love how I am so inspired by Sarah McLachlan's lyrics and melodies, how easily music speaks to me, and is the way that I bear truth and testimony. I love that I love reading good, uplifting books, that I challenge myself in growing in my spirituality, studying and reading about several religions and philosophies. I love how easily I love others, that I am a good listener and caring friend, that I am very dependable and would do anything to help anyone I love and care about. I love that I am a happy person, who doesn't depend on others for my happiness, that I allow myself to feel and experience my emotions but I don't let them define me or control me. I love my contagious laugh, and being around people who make me laugh so easily and often. I love that I love to run, sing, play the piano for hours at a time, and that I love my nieces and nephews more than I love anyone. I love the way that being with children makes me feel so at peace and in tune with who I am, how they bring out the best in me. I LOVE the people who I am so blessed to call friends. I have always had the greatest friends, and that continues to grow. I've always been surrounded by the most uplifting, positive, fun people. How can a girl go wrong when she's surrounded with the best?! I strongly believe that you can tell who a person is by who they call their friends. So you can tell who I am because of who I choose to associate with. I love the knowledge I have, and how I allow myself to keep learning and changing for the better.

My new motto this year, besides living in the moment, is that my life is good. This is a good, good life. There's nothing to complain about! When you're happy like a fool, let it take you over! When everything is out, you gotta take it in! This is my new favorite song. Definitely at the top of my running list. When I need a good boost or uplift, this song will be what changes that.

So there you have it, folks, my random thoughts as of now. This has gotta be a good life!

It's a Good Life!

2010-01-20T17:11:00.000-08:00

For Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, I was able to go to Denver again! This time with my old Colorado roomie, Ellen. It was such a fun weekend with visiting friends, spending time downtown (I LOVE downtown Denver), letting off Sobe bombs, and visiting other sites. I had had a super crazy week before with Parent Teacher conferences, and I was having surgery the day after I got home, so I made it a stress free weekend, no work, no worries, just having fun. And that is what I did! Denver, you never fail to please my heart and soul. I have the greatest friends in Colorado, it's always so good to go back "home."

Ellen and I outside Babi-Yar Park, a park I've wanted to go to for a while. It's a memorial for the Ukraine Jews killed in the Holocaust. It had a walking path in the shape of the Star of David. It was very peaceful, and beautiful.

My favorite part of the Babi Yar Park was the tree section. It had this awesome quote in the middle of the trees: "Can we not learn from the trees? Each stands alone, yet flourishes in the benevolent shade of others." If you didn't know this about me, I'm a huge fan of trees, especially when they are alone. I thought this quote was so fitting to life!

I love the Children's section in the Denver Public Library. Ellen came up with the idea of Hil and me sitting in the little people chairs. See how easily I can fit my legs under the table but Hil can't? Hilarious! (She's almost a foot taller than me)

On the 13th step up to the Capitol Building, you are exactly one mile above sea level, hence the reason Denver is the Mile High City.

The old roomies! Me, Ellen, Jessica, and Hil in front of the Capitol.

I was proud of this picture I took at the Capitol. I wouldn't consider myself a photographer like all my sisters are, so this was a good moment for me.

Isn't the Capitol beautiful? It reminds me so much of the DC Capitol building.

Ellen, Jessica and I at the 16th Street Mall in Downtown Denver, one of my favorite places ever!

Becca and I on the drive to do Sobe bombs. Her bangs are so cute on her!

Ellen and I took advantage of free day at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Since it's January, there wasn't a lot blooming outside. But inside there were some gorgeous trees and flowers. I loved this purple one.

Ellen and I at the Denver temple. That temple saved me last year, several times!

So this picture doesn't do justice for what I was able to witness. Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. day, and Ellen and I were heading downtown to have lunch with Hilary and Becca. A lot of the streets were closed and we weren't sure why. Well, it turns out that there was a HUGE rally downtown to celebrate the day! The mayor spoke, and other people, as well as lots of booths and music. I've never been able to be part of something to celebrate the day, so I thought it was awesome that we came upon it!

My Running Journey

2010-01-05T20:05:00.000-08:00

Running and I have a love/hate relationship. It really has changed my life the past three years since I started to have it be a more permanent part of my life. Since my first race 3 years ago, I have been able to participate in 5 5K races, 1 10K and 1 half marathon. But my ultimate goal has been to run a full marathon. And I decided this is the year to do it! Running in Colorado became a constant, consistent part of my life. Since moving back to Utah it's been pretty sparse since the half and having my surgery. But I started up again yesterday. Can I just say how much I miss my running path by my apartment in CO? I took advantage of that great Cherry Creek Trail as often as my little heart could. What I wouldn't give to have that trail here with me now. Or maybe what I wouldn't give to be back there...alone with my thoughts and fears, receiving clarity to the questions in my heart, coming to love who I am and the body I have that is able to do so much. But maybe I can have those same experiences here in Utah, on the treadmill while it's freezing outside, and off the treadmill when warmth comes back to us once again. Bring it on marathon, bring it on!

Man, I miss this trail so much today, I could cry!!

Posing before one of the 5K's.

Posing after the halfie with my awesome sister-in-law.

Posing before the Bolder Boulder 10K. I plan to run that every year. Anyone is free to join me, it's the funnest race you will ever do!!

My second 5K I participated in.

Goals for 2010

2009-12-30T08:45:00.001-08:00

With the new year coming up on us, of course we all are thinking of New Year's Resolutions we would like to accomplish this year. Me included in that. However, I made a list of 27 goals this past February of what I would accomplish before I turn 28. So my list of goals for 2010 include a few things I need to finish before turning 28 in Febs, and then the rest are for the rest of the year. My top 10 goals for 2010 are as follows:

1. Run the top of Utah full marathon in September. So I will be spending the next nine months training myself to run 26.2 miles.
2. Read the Book of Mormon. I had the goal to finish it before February, I'm currently in Helaman, but my dad gave my whole family a challenge to finish reading it before he does, so I have decided to include myself in this challenge.
3. Finish reading Les Miserables.
4. Get a pedicure-feet scare me so this is a hard one! I don't want someone else touching my feet with their hands...
5. Completely pay off all my debt.
6. For the last few years I've gone on a trip over President's Weekend since it's so close to my birthday..my own little gift to myself. So I would like to go somewhere fun for President's Day weekend!
7. Finish memorizing the lyrics to We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel. I'm so close!
8. Write 2 letters/cards to friends/family each month.
9. If I stay in first grade, I would like to completely organize all my files and my classroom. If I switch grade levels, I want to be totally prepared beforehand in teaching it!
10. Watch all 3 Lord of the Ring movies in one day, and really feel more confident in my driving stick shift abilities!!

Can't Get Enough!

2009-12-28T13:59:00.000-08:00

I watched (500) Days of Summer and loved it! I really loved a song from the movie, I keep playing it on repeat. I've share it with a few people and none of them seem to see it the way I do. That's the great thing about music!! Maybe it's just speaking to me right now in my current state of life...So I'm sharing it with all of you!

Sweet Disposition by Temper Trap:

sweet disposition
never too soon
oh reckless abandon
like no one's
watching you

a moment, a love
a dream aloud
a kiss, a cry
our rights, our wrongs
a moment, a love
a dream aloud
a moment, a love
a dream aloud

chorus:
so stay there
cause i'll be comin over
and while our bloods still young
it's so young
it runs
and we won't stop til it's over
won't stop to surrender

songsof desperation
Iplayed them for you
a moment, a love
a dream aloud
a kiss, a cry
our rights, our wrongs
a moment, a love
a dream, aloud
a moment, a love
a dream aloud

Aspen's 8!!

2009-12-14T15:50:00.001-08:00

My niece Aspen, turns eight today! Happy Birthday Spenners! I love you Aspen, and I'm so happy you are a part of my family. I can't believe you are already 8! I remember the day you were born, I was SOO excited to see and hold my first niece! And now look at you, so tall and beautiful and grown up. I love your fun and sweet spirit, how incredibly loving you are to everyone. You are so smart, and I'm so proud of you, for how hard you work in school. You are such a great big sister to Libby and Abbie. You are a good example for them to follow. Thank you for always loving me the way that you do, you always make me feel special when I'm around you. I treasure the memories I have shared with you, and look forward to making more! Happy Birthday, beautiful lady!!

Turkey Trot 2009

2009-11-30T18:12:00.000-08:00

Every year, McKinley does the annual Turkey Trot before Thanksgiving. I always like to run it with my kids. Second grade and older students run for a mile, but first grade runs just half a mile. I haven't ran for two months, since I had surgery. My doctor just informed me last week that I can start running again (praise the heavens...you have no idea how much food I've eaten since my surgery, I've gained myself a few good pounds, and need to start running it off, and I also need the running to improve my mental clarity!). So I was excited to be able to run, and thought, "I've ran a 13.1 mile half marathon, a 10K and a few 5K's this past year, I can run a half mile easily!" All the first graders lined up, and I joined them when they started. Good heck, they all ran fast, and left me in the dust! I was shocked at how slow I was! After a bit, of course, most of them decided to just walk. I kept my slow and steady pace (and yes, I ran by all the kids who were complaining how they couldn't do it. I would encourage them with my words, but I wasn't going to slow down and walk with them. I wanted to run, man! Rude of me, I know :) ). I finished it, but it was the hardest half mile! It sucks how much running I have lost since I haven't done it for two months! It was a lot of fun though, and I was very proud of all my students for doing it. The first place boy and first place girl even came from my class!

First graders, lining up, ready to run!

And they're off!

Phew! We finished!

Yay Billy! First place boy..

Yay Lexy! First place girl..

My Short but Fun Weekend in Denver

2009-11-30T17:59:00.000-08:00

My good friend Meggan came with me to Denver for the weekend. I was able to have lunch with my former coworkers, see lots of my favorite Colorado people, eat some yummy food, and do a little bit of sight seeing. We went to Boulder for a few hours, a place where Meggan, Jessica, and Becca had never been. We also spent some time at the Columbine Memorial. As weird as this sounds, I find that place to be so peaceful and I love to visit it! It was a short but fun weekend, spending time with the funnest people I know! Thanks Hil, Sara, Jessica, and Michelle for letting us stay with you and spending time with me. I sure love you girls!

We loved this candy shop on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder. They had everything!!

Megg loves her nut rolls!

They even had awesome sunglasses in the candy shop...Jessica looks stunning, don't you think?!

I have funny friends in Colorado. We ate at Mexican Restaurant, and didn't have the best service. We were short a straw, So Jessica and Becca split a straw in half and used the short little straw until our waitress FINALLY came back and brought us another one. Loved it! You can see here Becca comparing the two straws..

Self-portrait, with some yummy candy in my mouth from the yummy candy shop in Boulder. I love to eat!

I'm "in" Boulder. Get it? Huh, huh? I love that city. Can't wait to run the Bolder Boulder 10K again in May!!

Denver, You are Just What I Need!

2009-11-09T21:12:00.000-08:00

Since moving back to Utah the end of July, I have been anticipating and trying to plan a trip back to Denver, the city I love. FINALLY, I bought my plane tickets and will be going in a week and a half! I have missed the people in Colorado, I have missed the Denver skyline, I have missed the adventures that can await you there, I have missed the food, I have just plain old missed it! Don't get me wrong, I love Utah, I love teaching, I love the people here (most of them anyway). But there's something about Denver that just speaks to the heart and soul of me. And I have a feeling that taking a quick trip there will be just what I need at the present funky moment of my life. Denver, here I come!!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

Meggan and I dressed up as the Chippendale dancers from the Saturday Night Live skit with Patrick Swayze and Chris Farley. I elected Meggan to be Patrick because she is an awesome dancer and for some reason I KNEW she could pull off that mullet! We even performed the dance. We'll do it again and get someone to record it, don't worry! Enjoy the photos!

Yep, I was "Barney" (Chris Farley) and no, that is not a pillow sticking out of my armhole. OK, so maybe it is...

Adrian (AKA Meggan) showing off the Patrick Swayze move very well!

The Schulze's don't mess around at their Halloween parties! After an awesome scavenger hunt around town, we had the eating contest. Don't let this picture fool you..we thought it was just nachos too. But below the nachos was a collection of nasty stuff: marshmallows sprinkled with Cajun spice, pumpkin, olives, beans, cookies, along with drinking hot cocoa mix in water, that mind you, had not been stirred together yet. I don't mess around when it comes to eating contests but this year I couldn't handle the marshmallows with spice. I tried to gag it down but I ended up throwing it all up instead! Sorry team, I couldn't pull through on the food eating this year! After the eating was the obstacle course, but sadly I couldn't participate in that with my recent surgery. Next year my friends, next year!!

This year the theme was whatever you wanted. Shay and Nik came as Fred and Wilma, Laci was a pirate, Daniel came as Billy Ray Cyrus. Good times at the Schulze Halloween Party 2009. Thanks for the good times!!

For the Love of Augusta

2009-10-23T23:27:00.001-07:00

Posing with 7 of my 9 nieces and nephews. We missed you Malcolm and Quinn!

Me hugging my brother Cody after a very emotional moment for me..

My dad with his brother, Fred. My aunt Candi, their sister, passed away a few years ago. We missed her a lot at this time, too.
Libby, me, and Aspen. I love my nieces and nephews so much!

I love my uncle Kieth! (My Aunt Candi's husband)

My cousin Liz and I. She's the best!!

My nieces with my great Aunt Jean. The only living sister left out of the 6 my grandma had. She smelled so good, just like my grandma always did.

Libby always knows how to party it up!

The singers-fitting that my grandma is in the background. She had the most beautiful casket..

I LOVED this picture. The pall bearers facing all of us. It was neat to look back and see all of them.

My grandma loved these men!

Singing my solo part.

Dad with Libby

The Perkins/Crouch clan ate at Red Robin after the graveside service. Lots of laughs, my grandma would be proud!

Beautiful Nieces and Nephews

Ammon, Kanyon, Micah and Jonah

The Crouch family, minus Nathaniel and my Aunt Candi

It was such a beautiful Fall day!

My whole immediate family except Lisa's husband Mack and her two kids Malcolm and Quinn. Big, beautiful family! I love all of you! It was so good to come together to celebrate grandma's life!

All is Well

2009-10-23T16:36:00.000-07:00

Grandpa (Pa), my Uncle Kieth, and some of my siblings and cousins at my grandma's viewing.

Tabbi, Trina, Kala, Liz and I sang "How Great Thou Art"-my grandma's favorite hymn, and what she always wanted sung at her funeral. We sung it at the graveside service, with Tabbi's friend Jessica accompanying us on the harp.

Most of the cousins together-Nathaniel, Mick, Cody and Kala are missing from this one.

For the first time ever, all 7 siblings of the Perkins' clan posing for a picture: Kala, Cody, Mick, Lisa, me, Tabbi and Trina

It was a beautiful and emotional two days being with family and saying goodbye to my grandma. Many kind and wonderful words were spoken about her, and it makes me very proud that she was my grandma. I want to live up to the heritage that is in my family because of her! More pictures to come later (I have to steal them from my siblings, because I don't take good pictures anymore...)

My Rock

2009-10-14T21:09:00.001-07:00

My Grandma Perkins has always been a very important person in my life. Since the time I was a little girl, she has always been a woman that I have loved, admired, and adored. She passed away this morning, and since I found out, my thoughts have led back to my favorite memories with her, and what she has taught me:

-My grandparents lived in Cour D'Alane, ID but had a winter home in Arizona. Every Fall, they would drive South, stopping to say with us for a few days on their way to Arizona, and again in the Spring, on the way back to Cour D'Alane. They would always come on weekends because I remember my grandparents going to church with us, and I ALWAYS wanted to sit next to my grandma. She would scratch my back all during sacrament and it was pure heaven for me!

-My favorite place in the whole world was my grandparent's house in Cour D'Alane. They lived on the lake and every glorious summer for a few days we would drive up and spend time with them. It was the most beautiful, peaceful place on Earth, and I anticipated that trip all year! Every morning my grandma would make orange juice mixed in the blender with a banana-something I like to do now. We would go on our annual shopping trip with Grandma. And I tell you what, my grandma didn't mess around when it came to shopping! She knew all the best places to go, gave honest opinions about how we looked in our clothing, and I cherish those times I spent with her :) Playing games and putting puzzles together at the lake house was another favorite activity of us grand kids.

-It was a sad day for all of us when my grandparents sold their home in Cour D'Alane and moved to Spokane, WA. Tabbi and I were able to drive up, just the two of us, to spend some time with them a few years ago in their new home. That is a trip I will treasure for the rest of my life. We were able to just sit and talk with them for hours. My grandma had the sharpest memory of any person I know, and she was over 90 years old!! She had a keen eye for details, and was a wonderful storyteller. I loved hearing her talk about her past, growing up with her large family, about my parents, giving us wonderful advice, and just spending that time with her. She and my grandpa worked in the temple once a week, and it was their tradition after to eat a Burger King hamburger and share a small fry. Isn't that so cute?! It was fun to share in that tradition with them for a day.

-My grandma was honest, firm, blunt, hilarious, and the most loving person alive. She knew who she was, she loved herself, and she wasn't afraid to be herself. All those qualities wrapped in one made my grandma so beautiful, so wonderful to be around. She always knew how to make everyone feel so welcome and people wanted to be around her to hear her stories, and share in her glorious laughter. She could always make me laugh, she could always make me cry. She told me how it was, and I needed that! That's a quality I always admired in her, one that several people in my family possess. It makes for good times when we are all together, I tell you what!

-When my grandma said "I love you" I knew she meant it. She said it with so much conviction, so much emotion. I believed it, I felt it, and I loved hearing her say those 3 words. That is something I learned from her-love others unconditionally, tell them often, and mean it when you say it.

-My grandma was my biggest fan-she supported me whole heartedly in everything I chose to do-my singing and piano lessons, going to college, graduating, teaching, receiving my temple endowments, moving to Colorado. All of it. She backed me up, and would tell me how proud of me she was. I remember a short while after my Aunt Candi died (her daughter), I called my grandma to just talk (I loved doing that). She told me that my Aunt Candi would tell her often, "Quin is so beautiful." And then my grandma said, with emotion that made me cry, "Quin, you are beautiful. And I love you, I love you!" -Side note, my grandma refused to call me Tawna. I was Quin to her, I will always be her Quin.

-A few years ago, some of us in our family went to visit my grandparents in July for their birthday. On this particular trip, Kala and I were able to go shopping alone with grandma. At that time, I had been thinking about getting Chaco shoes. I really wanted them, but was hesitant on the price. We passed a store that sold them in the mall, and I told my grandma that I desired them. My Grandma said, "Quin, let's just go try them on and see what you think." So I did. She loved them on me, and basically forced me to buy them. She knew how much I wanted them! Another lesson learned from my grandma-when you truly desire something, go for it. Get it.

-I remember after my older brother, Cody, fell off a 40 ft. cliff. My grandparents came to be with us. I had never seen my grandma cry so hard as when she saw Cody after the incident. I will never forget that moment-the emotion she showed, the love that she truly felt for him, and I knew she loved us all that way, equally.

-I always feel so proud when I hear stories of my grandparents on both sides, of the history of their families. I always feel so lucky that I was born into such an amazing heritage. I was blessed with the best grandparents a girl could have. I've always known I was loved, I've always known that my grandparents cared about me and valued me as a person, as their granddaughter.

-My grandma always remembered all of her grand kids' birthdays and sent us a card with money every year. She always signed the card, "Love to the Last Counting." I loved that statement, and have begun using it myself. My grandma taught me so many valuable lessons, most by her example of faith in the gospel, in her love for her family, and by the way she chose to live her life and share it with us. I love you to the last counting, Grandma. You were the rock in our family, and you will be missed every day..

P.S. I'm ticked..I can't find my favorite picture with my Grandma Perkins to post with this entry. I'll find it soon and post it.

Random

2009-10-09T21:49:00.001-07:00

I decided to change my blog a little bit, I was getting a little sick of the old format, if you know what I mean, and I'm sure you do! I found this picture of me from about a year ago. I was living in Denver at the time, having the adventure of a lifetime (well maybe not that grand of an adventure, but at the same time it was). There was a place in Lone Tree, CO, right by where I lived, called Chee Burger Chee Burger that had a 20 ounce burger and if you could finish it, your pic. was on the wall. Of course, I am a big lover of food, and sadly, (but really not that sad) I am a fan of food eating competitions. I have been in a few, and needless to say, I finish what I eat! So this is a picture of me, anxiously anticipating the arrival of my 20 ounce beauty, that yes, I totally finished eating and I'm proud to say I beat out 3 boys, AND was only the 3rd girl on the wall of pictures to have finished eating it there-pretty pathetic, girls, if you ask me! That was a proud moment in my life. Anyway, I think this picture pretty much summarizes me- a little spacey, a little nerdy, but one who finds pure joy and happiness at the simple things in life!

Update

2009-09-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

I just wanted you all to know how much I'm enjoying teaching first grade. It's been a fun, tough, stressful, enjoyable and exhausting transition from teaching older grades. They are so cute and say the funniest things! I'm grateful to be teaching again, and for the joy my students bring into my life. I'm learning a lot about how to teach reading and about this age group! What a fun and trying year that lies ahead for me. I'm excited for the challenges and growth that will take place not only in my students, but for me as their teacher as well!

Also, I had my surgery yesterday. Same surgery I had 15 months ago, dang butt of mine! I had cysts on the end of my tailbone. It runs in my family-my dad and all of my older siblings have had the exact same procedure done. You just wait Tabbi and Trina, you're next! The surgery seems to be going easier for me the second time around. I'm having an easier time getting out of bed, and although I'm exhausted, I'm still able to do other things. I think it's because this time around I have a lot of other things to worry about (my students!) that keep me going. I just wanted to thank all of you that have kept me in your thoughts and prayers, as this is not an easy procedure to deal with, especially at this stressful time in my life with my career and the transition to moving back. It meant the world to me yesterday and warmed my heart to see so many of you call me, text me, email me, or leave me messages on Facebook. I feel like I have the best family and friends that a girl could ever ask for! This is just the beginning of a hard few months of recovery for me, but I know I can make it through and REFUSE to have to do this surgery again if I just can stay on top of it! But thank you again! And a huge thanks to my mom for taking care of me. It's not going to be easy for her to have to change my packing, seriously so painful for me but I know it's more painful for her because she's the one inflicting the pain! So thank you mom for putting up with me!