The extended version

So 1-25 are from the note I posted on facebook last night ... and now I feel the need to extend it further than 25 things. :) Read or don't read ... it's your call. :) There may be more forthcoming.

Rules:
Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I skipped the 8th grade, graduated college at 17, college at 20, and graduate school at 22. I was the smart kid, and I've never been ashamed to admit it.

2. When I go to Barnes and Noble, I rarely spend less than an hour in the store.

3. I spend way too much money on things for my classroom.
And I don't regret it.

4. I backpacked through western Europe by myself with very little money for three weeks. I slept on the beach in Cadiz, Spain. I also spent three nights sleeping at the airport on a bench across from a homeless man in Alicante, Spain. I convinced a Swiss train driver to let me ride the commuter train for free because I didn't have any money. I got stuck on a train for 16 hours trying to get to Paris, and slept on the beach in Nice, France ... only to be awoken by a French guy (who needed to brush his teeth) who offered to show me around. He also tried to kiss me after he dropped me off at the train station. I politely declined and boarded my train. I had to wear 2 pairs of pants for most of this trip because my jeans had ripped across the butt. Because of this, I walked around Paris on New Year's Eve wearing a pair of jeans with what will fondly be remembered as "the flap". I also borrowed money from a German man to get myself back to the airport on my last night of backpacking. (I mailed him money when I returned the States.) Those three weeks were full of adventures and many moments of soul-searching; I am so grateful for that time in my life.

5. Teaching is the only thing I have ever been able to see myself doing. It's the only thing I have ever wanted to do with my life.

6. After Brandon and I are a little more established (and the market levels out again), I want to spend my summer breaks flipping houses.

7. I love math.

8. I love the way snow looks as it's falling down from the sky and covering the earth in whiteness ... but I will take a rainy day in Oregon over the snow any day.

9. If I could be a beach bum for the rest of my life, I would be totally content. Likewise, if I could lose myself in a wilderness cabin, I would be just as happy.

10. My home is wherever Brandon is.

11. I would love to travel to every country in the world. There is nothing more exhilarating to me than being surrounded by foreign people/languages/culture/customs/etc.

12. My students are one of the best parts of my life.

13. I know in my heart that I was born to be a mother, but I am terrified of taking that step in my life.

14. During my sophomore year of college and the subsequent months, my life fell apart beneath my very feet. I tumbled into what seemed like a never ending pit of despair and helplessness. I have never felt so worthless and broken in my entire life as I felt in those months. However, because of those moments, I learned what it means to be able to rely on friends and the power of prayer. I also learned that I am, in fact, a survivor and capable of making it through everything.

15. My friends are my heart, my soul, and my everything. I depend on them more than they realize, especially those I have known for years. I would not be who I am today without their influence.

16. Right now I don't have my glasses on ... and I cannot clearly read anything I've typed so far. The only way I know something is misspelled is because the red line shows up.

17. My parents are amazing. They have never let me fail and for that, I am eternally grateful.

18. I am a chapstick addict.

19. I check my email about 1,000 times a day.

20. I am a freak about oral hygiene, but I hate flossing.

21. The night I married Brandon was the first day of the rest of my life. It was the best decision I have ever made.

22. I love country music. Especially on warm spring days when I am driving by myself down tree lined roads with my windows down and my hair blowing in the wind.

23. I almost always wear sunglasses in when I'm outside. My eyes are really sensitive to light and I feel like I am constantly squinting otherwise.

24. One day I will be a published author.

25. I love the hustle and bustle of the city, but still have dreams of a little yellow house on the top of a huge grassy hill ... complete with a white picket fence.

26. In my senior honors English class in high school, a college professor critiqued an essay and told me that I was "too Polly Anne-ish" and needed to adjust my thinking to be more realistic. I have not lost an ounce of my optimism and consider it to be one of my better qualities.

27. I love my husband with my entire soul. He is my best friend and my other half. Without him life is relatively dull. While I loved my life before he came into it, I live a better life now that he is in it.

28. I love Chinese food.

29. Most of my favorite restaurants are in McMinnville, Oregon. I have never had better Chinese food, sandwiches, breakfast, or Pad Thai than I have at Chan's, Sandwich Express, Wildwood, or Thai Country.

30. I kind of want to be a wedding planner.

31. I believe in Christ, and I cherish my relationship with Him. I learned long ago that allowing others to tell me if that relationship was good enough or strong enough is ill advised and bad for my spirituality.

32. Fresh air makes me come alive.

33. I love quotes and have over 500 pages of them on my computer. However, you should also know that I am incredibly OCD about the organization of this document. They are all formatted exactly the same and put into catagories. I will only add quotes if I have time to sort them. Thus, I have about 100 saved drafts in my gmail of quotes waiting to be sorted.

34. Blowing my nose is a very satisfying experience.

35. I'm married to a man who is a phenomonal kisser.

36. I love Billy Joel.

37. Grocery shopping is one of my favorite things to do.

38. I just bought Barack Obama's book The Audacity of Hope and am really excited to read it.

39. Before I die, I would like to go sky-diving. Keep in mind that I am terrified of heights.

40. Spiders scare me so much that I get shaky and start crying if they are bigger than an ant. If they are smaller than an ant, I still freak out and call someone else to come kill them.

41. I love HGTV with a passion.

42. I have read every single one of these that one of my facebook friends have posted because I think they are incredibly interesting.

43. I check my bank account incessantly.

44. When I was a child, I tried to play Tarzan on the shower curtain after a shower. Needless to say, the shower curtain and curtain rod came tumbling down because of the weight of my 7 year old body and my parents got pretty mad.

45. I recently learned how to shoot a gun and really enjoy going to the shooting range. I am also considering getting my concealed weapons permit after we move back to Oregon. Not that I ever hope to have to use a gun that Brandon or I might be carrying, but it will be nice to have it just in case.

46. I don't exercise as much as I should or want to. I love exercising, but somehow it always gets put off.

47. In 5th grade I rose horses at my friend's house. The horse I was on suddenly bolted about 1/2 mile back to their house and I was unable to get it under control. He then proceeded to buck me off right before he would've broken my neck by smashing me into a horse trailer. I have not gotten back on a horse or even gone near one since that moment.

48. I once had a fish that committed suicide by smashing itself into the rocks at the bottom of the tank.

49. I still own the very first Nintendo system ever created. I also own 4 other game systems.

50. The first time I ever saw Star Wars was my junior year of high school. The first Indiana Jones movie I ever saw was when the new one came out in theaters. The first James Bond movie I saw was Quantum of Solace.

51. I love jacuzzi tubs and bubble baths with my husband.

52. I have an 80GB external hard drive attached to my desktop computer ... 47GB of that are pictures.

53. If I could get massaged every day of my life, I would be happy.

54. I take pictures of my dog like it's my job.

55. I really hate when the janitors move my garbage cans after they empty them.

56. I really love my dog. Even though I sometimes want to kill him, I always forgive him. My relationship with him is very similar to the relationship I have with the people in my life that I am closest too.

57. If movie theater popcorn wasn't so bad for me, I would eat it 3x a day.

58. I feel really bad if I don't realize someone is waiting to cross the street and I don't stop, regardless of whether or not there is a crosswalk.

59. I have to admit ... writing this list makes me feel a little vain.

Everything bad just falls away when Denali falls asleep in my arms.

"I will learn to let go what I cannot change
I will learn to forgive what I cannot change
I will learn to love what I cannot change
But I will change, I will change
Whatever I, whenever I can"
-- Leanne Rimes

This verse pretty much sums up how I am feeling right now. Last night was interesting for me, but I think I am coming to terms with the fact that I can only control what I choose to say and do. I cannot choose or control how people choose to react, regardless of how irrational I feel that person is acting.

If I lived a thousand years, I never could explain the way I lost my heart to you that day.

This will forever be one of my favorite love songs ... :)

Greatest Story Ever Told
Oliver James

Thank you for this moment
I've gotta say how beautiful you are
Of all the hopes and dreams I could've prayed for
Here you are

If I could have one dance forever
I would take you by the hand
Tonight it's you and I together
I'm so glad I'm your man

And if I lived a thousand years
You know I never could explain
The way I lost my heart to you that day
But if destiny decided I should look the other way
Then the world would never know
The greatest story ever told
And did I tell you that I love you tonight?

I don't hear the music
When I'm lookin' in your eyes
But I feel the rhythm of your body
Close to mine
It's the way we touch that sends me
It's the way we'll always be
Your kiss, your pretty smile, you know I'd die for
Oh baby, you're all I need

And if I lived a thousand years
You know I never could explain
The way I lost my heart to you that day
But if destiny decided I should look the other way
Then the world would never know
The greatest story ever told
And did I tell you that I love you?
Just how much I really need you?

Did I tell you that I love you tonight? Tonight...

And if I lived a thousand years
You know I never could explain
The way I lost my heart to you that day
But if destiny decided I should look the other way
Then the world would never know
The greatest story ever told
And did I tell you that I love you?
Just how much I really need you?

Did I tell you that I love you tonight?

Passed along by one of my colleagues. :)

Life Lesson# 45893 = Always check your child's homework before it gets to school!

---

When asked to draw a picture of what they wanted to be when they grew up, second-grader "Sarah" turned in the lovely drawing shown below. Needless to say, the teacher was a bit surprised -- Mrs. Smith had always seemed like such a conservative woman. So she sent a note home to the girl's mother asking for clarification as to the picture's meaning. (read Mom's reply below the picture)





(Here's the reply the teacher received the following day)

Dear Mrs. Jones,

I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer.

I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.

From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Smith

Thank goodness for upcoming three day weekends

I am nearing complete and utter exhaustion. It has been a long couple weeks with the newest member of our family and school being increasingly demanding. I've taken on a few projects in the classroom that are extending me a lot further than last semester ... and while they are great and totally worthwhile for the kids, the extra work for me is difficult to swallow when I'm already tired.

That and I am just about at my wits ends with a couple of my students. I have one boy who is a bully. There are no two ways around it. He bullies the other kids and is just plain lazy. He doesn't read directions (or follow them if they are verbal), and he spends so much time sitting there complaining that he doesn't get his work done. He has the potential to be great, but only does enough to barely squeak by.

Ugh. I don't know what to do! It is so frustrating. Sometimes I just want to shake him! Not that I ever WOULD of course, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, that is my little rant for the day. I love all my kids, including this one who drives me nuts ... but it's hard to love them sometimes. Kind of like Denali ... it's hard to love him when he gnaws on my arm ... but I do anyway. :)

Speaking of the little runt, he's cute as can be and growing quickly. He had his first visit to the vet on Monday morning and did very well! Right now he is cuddled up on my arm having little puppy dreams and keeping me warm. House training him is going better than I would have thought, which is certainly a relief! He goes to the door 90% of the time when he has to go potty, but we have to get there quick because he really isn't that good at holding it in. lol He's only had a few accidents in his kennel, and 2 of the 3 have been when I've come home from work later than normal. He's a big bundle of love and makes it easier to come home from a long day of work. He has SO much more energy now that we are (per the vet) feeding him 3 times a day for 30 minutes. Before we'd been giving him a set amount 3x/day, but the vet said to let him eat as much as he wants for 30 minutes and then pick up his bowl. He's definitely a little porker now! Especially at night. haha

Anyway, that is all ... I think I might try to catch a little shut eye while this little guy is asleep. Adios

Being in love is amazingly, frighteningly, beautiful.

When you fall in love, it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then it subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the desire to mate every second of the day. It is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every part of your body. No – don’t blush, I am telling you some truths. For that is just being in love, which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away. ~ Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

I love this quote because it is the essence of the love Brandon and I have for each other. It doesn't matter if we are lying around the house in sweats like we are right now ... or if we are traveling ... or laughing ... or loving on each other ... or even talking. The love is still there. It has been since the first moment we met and it will continue to be long after we part from this world. This is not to say that we are not still excited about our time together, or to say that the desire is gone ... those things are certainly still there. But that's not true love ... those things are, as the quote describes, part of being in love. We are head over heels in love with each other, but we also have a deeper, more meaningful connection that cannot be broken.

I love that about us. :)

Puppies are nature's remedy for feeling unloved ... plus numerous other ailments of life.

This week has been an adventure ... lacking sleep, but full of love, warmth, and completeness. At this stage in our lives, Denali makes our family complete. He is such a joy to have in our home ... to play with, to cuddle with, to laugh with. I didn't know that dog ownership would bring me to this level of happiness. Don't get me wrong ... he is a TON of work! He tires me out and frustrates me to no end, but he is ours and I love him.

We haven't been up to much other than taking care of Denali this week. Cleaning up after him, playing with him, trying to train him, shopping for him, etc. We've invested close to $600 in this dog already, but that's okay. We're so glad that he is part of our family.

School was exhausting this week ... partly because of Denali, but mostly because the first week back always is. It's hard to go from vacationing to being responsible for 27 little lives. It's a transition I welcome, despite its difficulty. The weekend came (and is going) quickly though, which is also a nice change. The countdown to CRTs is on, which is frightening for me ... but it's something I will have to work with. The kids are smart ... they really are. When we have class discussions and do class work, they know the answers ... they comprehend what they are doing. They just have a hard time with tests. I think part of it is probably the language of tests moreso than the content. For some of them the content is ridiculously difficult, but that is to be expected I guess. It is just hard ... to see my low kids not making as much progress as I would like. People tell me to look at my test average without my special ed kids or my newcomers ... which would take out 10 of the lowest scores in my class. But I can't (and won't) do that. My high students will learn without me. Of course they need me to show them the way, but my influence on their scores is minimal. They are eager to learn because they understand things without much prompting ... I can show them once or twice and they can master it from there. But the kids who are farthest behind are the ones who desperately need my attention, and I haven't yet figured out how to find time to give them the attention they need in order to catch up. I have 27 students for 6 1/2 hours a day ... minus ELD ... minus assemblies and drills and specials ... it's hard.

Teaching is one of the few professions where you can be totally elated one moment and in tears the next.

Thursday I gave a reading assessment to some of my students ... and it was amazing! Many of my kids made 6-8 months+ progress in just 5 months! That means that what I have been doing in class and what they have been getting from others is working! It's phenomanal! I celebrated their success with them and with other teachers all morning! Then after school I graded their math tests ... and while I was really excited about how well some of them did, I ended up in tears because of how dismal some of the scores were. I really thought we had it this time ... I really thought their scores would be higher. They have been completely engaged, working hard, and really trying to do their best. They ask questions, they (mostly) do their homework, they practice their skills in different ways every single day. I gave a TON of support throughout the unit and on the test.

Yet ... our average was still a 61%.

It's a hard thing to swallow. Scores like that make me feel completely useless in the classroom ... like I am not making a difference at all. I just have to remember that that's not true. I am putting my heart and soul into my job ... into each and every one of my 27 kids ... every moment of every day. When I'm not at school I'm thinking about fun activities we can do, when I'm at school I'm constantly trying to make the next hour better than the hour before. Every ounce of energy I have goes into helping my students see their own potential for greatness.

Anyway, that is my little ramble. Desk jobs don't require you to be too emotionally invested (if at all) in your profession. You can leave your work at work when you go home. And many times, if you fail ... you can fail in private. Teaching is such a wonderfully challenging profession. I have moments of complete and utter frustration followed by some of the most golden moment of my life.

That is all for now. Happy Sunday morning. :)

We're parents!

Well ... we did it! Monday night we went out and bought our pride and joy ... a purebred AKC papered chocolate lab from beautiful parents and a strong, healthy, and jubilant litter of 11. He weighed 6.6 lbs the night we brought him home, and is just barely 6wks old. He is the cutest darn thing I ever laid eyes on, and I honestly cannot believe how much I have fallen in love with this little guy. We've only had him for two days, and already we've lost a lot of sleep because of him ... but he is one of the biggest blessings ever to come into our lives. We decided on a name tonight -- Denali. This is, of course, assuming we don't dream about something brilliant in the coming nights. :)

For those of you who haven't checked/don't have facebook or myspace ... here is our little man!
The very first picture I took in the car on the way home from his parents' house. He looks like a goober, but he was really tired and kind of shell shocked. lolHe cried for a little bit on the way home and then curled up on my shoulder and fell asleep! He's such a little bundle of love!
Dad and Denali on our first night together.
Mom and Denali. He's such a little snuggler!
I love this picture of our little man. :) This was on day #2.
Apparently Denali loves HGTV as much as we do ... he stood like this for about 5 minutes. It was pretty funny.

Sooo ... that's that. :) I love this little guy and am so happy that we decided to take this step!

He's really quite hilarious to watch ... with his puppy clumsiness and all. Not to mention the fact that he's tiny, so all the stairs in our house are like mountains. He's doing pretty good on the house training for 6 weeks ... we have to watch him a lot during the day though. He goes out about every 2 hours, unless he eats/drinks a lot of water. Then he goes out right away.

Tonight was pretty funny. He climbed up the stairs to go into the kitchen and then was being too wussy to come back down (even though he was doing it this afternoon). Since we wouldn't help him, he got really resourceful and climbed on Brandon's laptop bag and wiggled his way through the spires and onto the top of the couch. I'll post pictures of it later. It was pretty good. lol

Oh, I should also mention that he is scared of shadows and will pounce on his own shadow, only to have to turn around and pounce the other way immediately thereafter. :)

Anyway, Brandon and I (collectively) slept for about 5 1/2 - 6 hours last night, so I think we're going to head to bed. Hopefully Denali will sleep more tonight than he did last night! We're going to try putting his kennel in another room until he gets used to it. Currently it's at the foot of our bed, which makes the crying REALLY loud! So, for our sanity, we are going to put the kennel in the spare bedroom and close both doors ... and then get up to let him out at the times he's been needing to go the last couple of nights (1am, 3am, and then again when I get up at 5:30... plus when I leave at 6:45 ... and then again whenever Brandon wakes up). Hopefully this will help us sleep. We're trying not to be too soft by letting him sleep with us because he really needs to learn to be okay with his kennel. It's hard though because he's just a pup and we are both total softies for him! We're doing things we won't be doing when he gets bigger ... like letting him up on the couch, etc. And while I would LOOOVE to sleep with him (like we did the first night!), it's really going to better for us in the long run if he isn't convinced that sleeping in our bed is better than sleeping in his. He's going to be a big boy, so he will need his own space.

Anyway, that being said ... I am off to collect my husband, my pup, and my earplugs. :) Good night!

Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot about little puppies.

It's official! We spoke with our landlord and he said he trusts us ... which means ....

WE GET TO BUY A PUPPY!!!!

In case you weren't yet able to tell ... I am beyond thrilled about this development and cannot wait to go pick out the newest member of our family. :)

New year. New beginnings.

Holy smokes, I cannot believe it is already January! Sure enough, however, it is January and Christmas break is over ... which means that tomorrow I go back to school and will be reunited with the smartest kids I know. I am dreading not being on vacation anymore, but I am stoked to see my kids again. I love the work I do at school, and I love the people I get to interact with every day. Tomorrow will, no doubt, be incredibly exhausting because waking up at 5am is not something I've made a point to do over the last few weeks, but that's okay.

Anyway, the break was really nice and really relaxing. Brandon and I had a wonderful Christmas at home with our families and some quality Oregon rain. :) We really enjoy going home, though it probably will not happen again until after school gets out. If he gets that job with Washington County, he will be able to go home more often ... but otherwise we won't visit again until June.

New Year's Eve was fun -- we just had some of our friends over for a really low key night. We did watch the ball drop in Times Square though, and we counted down from 10 seconds till midnight ... so we were still festive. :)

Normally I don't do new year's resolutions, but this year Brandon and I have decided to declutter. We realized that we have a lot of stuff that we don't use in our house that is just taking up space and making it harder for us to live. You'd think that we wouldn't have much since we are so young, but it's amazing what happens when two packrats decide to get married and move into a big house with lots of space to store things. haha It feels good to declutter though. My desk in the office is completely cleaned off, and I shredded a TON of stuff from 2007. Don't ask why I insist on keeping every bill that we get in the mail. Especially since all of our statements are available online anyway. Most of them have been switched to paperless, but there are some that still haven't given us the option. We're working on it though. We're also cleaning out our kitchen and getting rid of some of the stuff we don't use anymore ... like our magic bullet. We haven't been too pleased with its performance anyway ... and we bought a blender about 6 months ago, so now we DEFINITELY don't need it!

Anyway, the point of all that is that decluttering the house is kind of freeing in a strange way. I don't really know why ... but I feel like I have more space to breathe when there is not so much stuff in the house. Besides, we will give away all this stuff that we don't use/need and someone else will be able to benefit from purchasing a practically brand new magic bullet for $20 instead of $60. :)

In other news, for those who haven't heard ... Brandon and I will (hopefully) soon proud parents!!!!

... of a chocolate lab ...

ha Gotcha!

Sorry. Couldn't resist. :) Our landlord has a no pets policy because the last tennets were crappy and let their puppy run wild throughout the house, ultimately causing carpet/wall/etc damage that Michael then had to fix before he count rent the house again. However, when we moved in we had spoken with him about the possibility of us getting a dog while we still lived here. He said that it was something we could certainly talk about if/when the time came. The time has come, and we are really excited! We have saved up the money to buy the puppy and all its necessary supplies ... so we are just waiting for the go ahead. We've even found some puppies locally that we want to check out! We are trying not to get too far ahead of ourselves though. We've been very good, very responsible tennets so far ... so hopefully that will work in our favor. If he says no, then I guess it's just not the right time. Cross your fingers though! We are definitely ready for this next adventure in our lives, and we are so excited about the joy that comes from dog ownership. It will be a huge step (with a great deal of work attached to it), but it is one we are ready to take together. We'll definitely keep you posted. Meanwhile ... any good names for a boy chocolate lab?

Anyway, that is all for now. I am going to go fold laundry before dinner. Oh the joys of married life! ;)

Adios amigos