Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Christmas-End Summary

Humor me for a moment while I copy Bridget Jones (slightly modified):

Articles of clothing purchased with Christmas money: 13
Degrees in my home after returning from a 10-day trip: 56
Hugs and kisses given/received from nieces and nephew: Oodles
Number of times being sick over the break: 3
Suitcases retrieved from being checked and found destroyed: 1
Books read: 3
Amount I could have spent on a stellar outfit: 300
Number of Office episodes watched: 8ish
Pounds gained from feasting on Christmas deliciousness: 4
Christmas cards received: 9

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Weaver's Needle

This morning I dragged myself out of bed at 6:20 AM to go hiking with friends. It felt inherently wrong to be up at that hour on a Saturday, but I'm happy I did it. We drove about 45 minutes out of town to Weaver's Needle. It was a good hike - about three miles up to the saddle.

Then the boys and I set off on a tramping/rock climbing adventure towards the needle (pictured behind us). It was a treacherous journey on the way out. On the way back...we discovered a trail :) Boy did that save us a lot of time on the return trip!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Gift-Giving

You know that experience of giving a truly good gift? One where the receiver knows how much you care about them? One where the receiver is so-o-o appreciative because you care about them enough to pay attention and listen when they talk...and you know just what they would like most? I had that experience this week. Actually, I found myself on both ends.

I gave a gift that meant a lot to a very dear friend of mine. She probably doesn't know that her response to my gift is the sweetest thing I've experienced this month. I only hope to be able to do the same for my mom at Christmastime (don't worry Mom - I've got your back!)

Tonight I was on the receiving end of such a gift. This is my friend Steve.


We've been friends for about five years - he knows me well! Sometimes I realize he knows me better than I would have thought. Tonight he brought me two very special gifts: pumpkin egg nog (which we both love) and Stephen's Peanut Butter Cup hot chocolate. (By the way, his given name is Stephen, hence the photo of them together :)) Steve knows my weakness for anything chocolate and peanut butter-y - I thought it was awfully thoughtful.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Happy Birthday Joni!

I love Joni - today is her birthday! I love that we're only one year apart for one month each year :) Happy Birthday Sister! Hope it's a good one - see you in a few weeks!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Elf Yourself

I did it last year...I had to do it again :)

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Raising Boys...Get Used to it!

I read this on another blog and liked it :)

The following came from an anonymous Mother in Austin, Texas...

Things I've learned from my boys (honest and not kidding):

1. A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2,000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.

2. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

3. A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

4. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42-pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.

5. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

6. The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.

8. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

9. A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old Man says they can only do it in the movies.

10. Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old boy.

11. Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

12. Super glue is forever.

13. No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.

14. Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15. VCR's do not eject "PB & J" sandwiches even though TV commercials show that they do.

16. Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17. Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

18. You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.

19. Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

20. The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.

21. The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

22. It will, however, make cats dizzy.

23. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

24. 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

25. Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.

* a) For those with no children - this is totally hysterical!

* b) For those who already have children past this age, this is hilarious.

* c) For those who have children this age, this is not funny.

* d) For those who have children nearing this age, this is a warning.

* e) For those who have not yet had children, this is birth control.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Mosaic of Me

I know I'm not actually in any of these photos, but it's kinda fun :)

The Questions:

1. What is your first name? Sara 2. What is your favorite food? Popcorn 3. What high school did you go to? Auburn High School in Auburn, Nebraska 4. What is your favorite color? Blue 5. What is your escape place? Books/Reading 6. Favorite drink? Water 7. Dream vacation? Greece (currently) 8. Favorite dessert? Anything chocolate 9. What you want to be when you grow up? Mom 10. What do you love most in life? Family 11. One word to describe you. Happy 12. Your favorite animal? Kitten


Credits:
1. Princess Crown Cupcake, 2. Pop Corn, 3. after the storm, 4. lonely planet - Maldives, 5. The Old Library, 6. water droplets in the shower - o.k. bokeh, 7. View of Santorini, 8. eye candy!, 9. Joy of life, 10. South Beach Sisters, 11. In "LoVe" Germany..HappY ValenTine's Day.., 12. Cute cat alert!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Happy Birthday Rachael!!

I love my sister. Today is her birthday. Hope it's a good one Rachy!


Sunday, November 16, 2008

New Playlist

I LOVE Christmas time - the scents, the decorations, the lights, the music, the movies, the goodies, and being with family. Since some of those have to wait until December, let's talk about what I can control now :)

Actually, I really only want to focus on the music. I admit I've been listening to Christmas music on the radio for the past two weeks. Hey, in my defense, two local stations play non-stop Christmas music...can I help it if my car radio tunes in??

You may think I'll be sick of Christmas songs before the holidays start, but I beg to differ. Don't we sometimes want the pleasure of holiday music listening for more than just December? It makes more sense to me to listen a bit early than to listen past the season. So, I have a new playlist.

Many of the Christmas tunes I've chosen are classics. Some are personal favorites. I may choose to add or delete occasionally throughout the holiday season. If you have a favorite, let me know and I just might add your request to my playlist :)

Saturday, November 15, 2008

I'm Thankful

I hate being left out - Thanksgiving is typically the holiday I spend as an orphan. However, I was thinking last night about all the things I am thankful for. I know it's a few weeks early, but just in case I'm not feeling warm-fuzzy thanks on Thanksgiving, I'll share with you now some things I'm thankful for.

  • A never-ending supply of stellar books to read
  • Pumpkin-scented candles
  • Three good days in a row at work
  • Kickboxing class that kicks my butt
  • A clean bathroom
  • Mail...and I don't mean the junk kind
  • A new pair of jeans that fits just right
  • Radio stations playing Christmas music
  • Good girlfriends
  • My mom

Monday, November 10, 2008

Scottsdale Fashion Week

A few weeks ago, I won something else on the radio :) I don't know how I'm so lucky, but I am. This time around, I won four tickets to Scottsdale Fashion Week. Apparently it's a pretty big deal. I would never have paid money to go, but I'm glad I won tickets. My friends Haya, Jen, and Katrina joined me for "girls' night out" Friday night. We saw a couple of different shows and wandered around checking out the booths, filling our free bags with free stuff, and taking silly photos in a photo booth (which pictures I'll post if and when I get them). Until then, here are our professional shots ;)

In front of the runway

Katrina looking "model-ish"

I wasn't ready for my close-up :)

Strike a pose

Real models don't smile

Monday, November 3, 2008

Oklahoma Weekend

Last weekend, I got out of town again! This time I visited my good friend Heather in Oklahoma. We had THE BEST time! We shopped, hung out with friends doing the Halloween thing, (we wore tiaras and feather boas), went to the Oklahoma City Temple for a session, and went to the Sooners/Huskers game! Okay, so our team didn't do well...but it was still so-o-o much fun! The Sooner fans were nice to us downtown after - probably because they killed us; then again, they cared less about beating us than they did about Texas Tech beating Texas :) Now there's a wicked rivalry!

Heather's cute mom sent us Husker care-packages for the weekend. Heather's included some Husker paper products, which we used for lunch the day of the game. Mine had a beanie, whiteboard, Big Red gum, tattoos, notepads, mousepad, and rubik's cube. Everything had Husker logo on it :) We wore our tattoos and chewed our gum at the game. It wasn't cold enough for my beanie, but I look forward to wearing it when the weather is cooler!

At the game, they honored the 1971 Game of the Century, Nebraska vs. Oklahoma (which Nebraska won, thank you very much) by having the players and coaches honored on the field. Tom Osborne and Johnny Rogers were there - they got the loudest cheers from our fans.

We sat behind the band, cheered until we were hoarse, made new friends, and left heart-broken at the final score. But what a great experience! Had we won, we could not have "rubbed-elbows" with the locals downtown afterwards. You'll notice we found a fun red phone booth like the ones we found in London. Naturally, we had to take photos in the booth :)

I liked Oklahoma City and it's surrounding suburbs. The people were friendly, the shopping superb, the atmosphere fun, and my friend Heather was the best hostess ever!

Sierra Anchas

Not last weekend but the weekend before, some friends and I headed out of town to camp and hike. We went east of Globe, AZ to a place called the Sierra Anchas. The weather was cooler, the leaves had changed color, and the stars were amazing out there! We had dutch oven cooking for meals - delish! In the morning we went on a hike. I just love getting out of town, camping, and hiking :)

Jeff is quite the photographer - my favorite is the photo not in color.












Thursday, October 30, 2008

VOTE

I was talking with some friends last night. One guy insisted he has better things to do on November 4th than vote...excuse me, what?!? He explained that he had already cast his vote for who he wanted for president, and he's no longer in the running. In his words, "If I have time next Tuesday, I might head to the polls - but I'm not making it a priority." What happened to every vote counts?? Question: Can you or can you not vote on what you know? I didn't think voting meant you had to vote on every person and proposition...correct me if I'm wrong. There's a pretty big issue on the Arizona ballot - Prop.102 for marriage. This guy is an elder's quorum president - I thought it would matter. I couldn't believe it. I sent off my ballot today.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Dinner Date

I was lucky enough to go out to dinner with a high-powered attorney on Tuesday night. First he took me to eat at California Pizza Kitchen. Then he serenaded me on my guitar. It doesn't get much better than that! Oh, did I mention he's married? To my sister :)

Yep, my brother-in-law Henry was in town this week for work. It was fun getting to hang out for dinner while he was here! Makes me wish more of my family lived closer...

Thanks for dinner and fun, Henry!

Photo Tag

Thanks Jo :)

Want to play along? Go to your photos folder. Open the fourth folder and upload the fourth photo to your blog.

What's fun is that I had no idea what this photo was until I posted it to my blog :) It's my sister Rachael and me at Christmas 2006. That was the last time we had professional family photos taken. Looks like it's time for a new one...hint hint. This could be the year since we'll all be together again and there are two new boys in the family since 2006.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

A Few of My Favorite Things...

Sometimes it's easy to forget why I'm a teacher. Today and one day last week, I had a couple of things that reminded me. The obvious reasons include my love of imparting knowledge, a desire for kids to have a teacher who cares about them and respects their personalities, yadda yadda yadda.

Last week a dad came in and proceeded to tell me that his son talks about me all the time at home. Huh. I began to worry until he explained that it is a good thing. Whew! It's a boy that does really well in my class and our personalities mesh. So it makes sense that it would be good - it was just flattering.

Remember the boy that likes to ask me what I'm wearing the next day so he can match me? Ha ha. It makes me laugh just thinking about how that must sound :) Anyway, we made our plan for tomorrow (black pants, button-down white shirt with a collar - we'll look like waiters); then he looked at me and said, "I like you." I didn't think I'd heard him correctly and when I asked him what he'd said, he said, "I really like having you for a math teacher." Awwww...and I really like having him as a math student!

It just makes me happy to know that I can be a force for good in someone's life. Hopefully many someones' lives. When I'm discouraged or frustrated with my job and not being able to help every kid as much as I'd like to, it's rewarding to hear a kind word from the kids about how I'm doing.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Snack Time

I just got home from the gym and I'm a hungry-hippo! As I stared forlornly at my semi-bare cupboards, I realized that I generally eat snack foods rather than a real meal. For instance, some of my standards include:
  • String Cheese
  • Olives
  • Pita with hummus
  • Fruit
  • Snap peas
  • Cereal
  • Granola Bars
  • Almonds
  • Cottage Cheese
  • Yogurt with granola
In fact, today alone I've had five things on my list. Most of what I eat is portable - that's very convenient when I'm generally grabbing something on-the-go. Any suggestions for new "snack foods" that are healthy and delicious? I feel a change coming on...

Saturday, October 18, 2008

October Break

Last week was my October break. I got out of school at 12:30 on Wednesday and didn't have to go back until Monday. Aunt Doreen came to visit me! I love it when people come to visit me :) We had so much fun!

We ate out, watched movies, swam in my heated pool (where I taught water aerobics - funny!), shopped, got manicures and pedicures, and just played.

Doreen decided she will live out here when she's old enough to need someone to care for her :)

Here are some photos of Doreen getting her first ever mani-pedi.

We really liked our toes and fingers :)

Doreen's new "sexy sandals"
The funnest shopping we did was for accessories (shoes and purses). We both got some cute new stuff.

Can't wait for your next trip out here Doreen!