President Gordon B. Hinckley

I will miss you...you were an incredible prophet!

I can just imagine Pres. Hinckley's cute little wave as he entered the gates of heaven today. I envision cartwheels and dancing, singing and waltzing about as he greeted his wife. Sadness and joy are the two emotions I'm feeling. I'm sad to see such an amazing man of such wisdom and strength leave us. He was an inspiring prophet who gave so much to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His grin and his high energy empowered me. His book "Stand a Little Taller" has been a daily reminder of his great love of the gospel and has impacted my day to day living. I also feel joy...he no longer has to suffer the pains of the world. He is with his sweet wife and many other great and noble people now:). Goodbye President Hinckley.

"Online." --Brad Paisley "If you’re going through hell." --Rodney Atkins!

This past Thursday my sis, Leslee and I hopped on trax and headed down town to the Brad Pasiley concert! What a thrill! I loved it all! I’m not usually big on loud music and crazy people, but I LOVED this! All of the songs were great. The show opened with Rodney Atkins….who I would have to say, is one of my new favorites! Well there you have it, I LOVE COUNTRY MUSIC! I’m not going to lie, I’m afraid of the wrath I’ll get from some of my friends….wow, I’m admitting this to the world, but I do…I love country!

What a quiz thinks about me....

You Are An ENFP

The Inspirer You love being around people, and you are deeply committed to your friends. You are also unconventional, irreverent, and unimpressed by authority and rules. Incredibly perceptive, you can usually sense if someone has hidden motives. You use lots of colorful language and expressions. You're quite the storyteller! In love, you are quite the charmer. And you are definitely willing to risk your heart. You often don't follow through with your flirting or professed feelings. And you do break a lot of hearts. At work, you are driven but not a workaholic. You just always seem to enjoy what you do. You would make an excellent entrepreneur, politician, or journalist. How you see yourself: compassionate, unselfish, and understanding When other people don't get you, they see you as: gushy, emotional, and unfocused

What's Your Personality Type?

So I don't know if I agree with all of these...I agree that I'm a people person, but irreverent and unimpressed by rules...I don't know about that, I think I'm a rule follower who has opinion. And in love, a charmer???? interesting...I am willing to risk my heart and I agree that I don't follow through with my flirting (I don't know if I know how to, lol!)....this was an interesting quiz. If any of you decide to take this quiz, let me know, I want to see how you fare.

I also took a Quiz called, "What kind of mother are you?" Now I know I'm not a mother yet, but I was interested to know what "they" whoever "they" is, had to say about it, haha.

Mom Quiz

Your quiz score makes you: Smarty Pants Mom

Smart parents like you have smart kids. They need plenty of intellectual stimulation and you provide them with all they need, plus lots of love. You know how to help them with algebra homework, and you are superior at kissing boo-boos.

--Wow, if that's what kind of mom I'm going to be, bring it on!

Gotta GO, Gotta GO, Gotta GO Right NOW!

Have you ever had to go to the bathroom so bad that you suddenly realized you were making whimpering noises? And then as soon as you got to your destination, you bolted out of the car, ran as fast as you could to your house and as you were running, lost your cell phone in the snow, but still had to go sooooo bad that you left it for the cold? Well, if you haven’t, DON’T! It’s quite the traumatic experience! That’s what happened me as I got home from my trip.

I went to Idaho this weekend to visit my BFF Kristy! Kristy and I have been friends for 21 years now! My sister came up with me and we jammed out to country music the whole way up! Some of the highlights from the trip:

DISCOUNT MOVIES! Everybody loves a good deal right? Right☺! We went and saw Enchanted. I had never seen the previews…I had heard from a girl in my singles ward that it was a good movie. So the movie begins and I quickly realize that it’s an animated movie…I began to worry…nothing against animated movies, I actually like a lot of animated movies, I just usually wait ‘til they come out on DVD, unless they’re a "must see." This movie seemed a bit too kiddy friendly and a little over the top especially the theme song entitled “A True Loves Kiss” ☺. But then animated characters turned into humans, it was still a bit corny, but I do fall for romance in any form, ha-ha. (I’m a hopeless romantic, what can I say☺)

OLIVE GARDEN! Kristy’s husband Mike is a manager at Olive Garden. I ordered “The Tour of Italy.” It was so expensive! I felt slightly guilty…we even ordered an appetizer! And sadly, NO DESSERT! This whole no sweets for 6 months is hard! I have to keep reminding myself that dessert will never desert me…I just can’t have it right now☺.

GAMES! We played a lot of games this weekend! We played, Egyptian Rat Screw (I’m horrible at this game!), Nibs, Dominos, Apples to Apples, and Imaginiff. I found out that I’m horrible at card games! At one point in our game playing my sister said to me “If I had your brain, I would be so frustrated!” I tend to over-think and overanalyze, I try to use the best strategies☺.

POT ROAST! We made a pot roast in the crock pot! Mom you would be so proud of me! I can now cook in a Dutch Oven and in a Crock Pot! Here are some pics of the process….(you must always brown the roast first, daddy taught me well! Oh, and always use the drippings from the raost in your gravy, yum, yum!)

Left: Sautéing the Onions---------- Right: Browning the Roast

Left: "Just Add Water!" ----------Right: " Ta-Da! Dinner for 4!"

GRADING! Leslee and Kristy helped me grade papers! Kristy had a riot! She kept saying, I could be a teacher, this is fun! She would criticize handwriting and complement their little doodle drawings on the back of their papers. I wish I had grading helpers all the time! Thanks Les and Kristy Sue!

REAL MOVIES! We went and saw Mad Money right before we left for our journey home. It was funny movie. Just them talking about beginning tight with money made my skin crawl!

DRIVE HOME! Our drive home was perfect, the weather was great! And of course there was my little bathroom adventure upon arriving home☺. I kept thinking "mom are we there yet? Mom, how many more miles? Mom, I can't wait any longer!" (My sister says that she feels sorry for the man I marry, she said that if I have a weak blatter now, who knows what I'll be like when I'm pregnant!) Well I hope that everyone else had a fun Martin Luther King Day weekend! Yay for 3 day weekends! Cheerio!

On the left: Les & Me -----------On the right: Kristy & Me

Left: The "falls" of Idaho Falls----------- Right: Idaho Falls Temple

Left: Leslee---------- Right: Kristy

Left: Mike, Kristy, Leslee, Me ----------Right: Kristy & Mike

BLAST FROM THE PAST!

Erik and Meredith came to visit on Thursday! They’re some of my good friends from UNC! I got to know Erik freshman year…the good ‘ol days….back when I had a boyfriend named James (James A. Michener was the name of library on Campus…one day I told my roommates that I had a date with James and I really had them fooled into thinking I had a boyfriend, clever, huh! I was such a nerd back then!) When Erik was on his mission, Meredith came to Greeley and we served in the RS Presidency and became good friends.
I love these guys! They are the most genuine, most kind, most lovable people I know! A couple of months ago they brought a little bundle of joy to earth and named her Autumn. Erik is the sweetest dad…when Mere said it was time for a diaper change, Erik said “it’s daddy-daughter time!” Erik told me how this is their bonding time and how he likes to make her legs move like a bicycle, which makes her laugh. Here’s a few pics from their visit.

The Phone Call, The Substitute, The Stress

Last week I received a phone call from a number I didn’t know…we all know how curious that can make someone! I was excited because who ever it was had left a message. Turns out, It was a friend of my dads! I haven’t seen this guy since I was like 11! He left message saying that he had given my number to some guy he knows who’s single….I just had to laugh!

Then the next day there was a male substitute at school. My teammate immediately came and found me and informed of the handsome fellow. He was good looking, but too good-looking for my taste. Good looking men remind me really fancy restaurants, they usually look great, and they’re what everyone is raving about, but it really doesn’t taste that great. I like the everyday restaurants and occasionally I like the fancy places and the hole in the wall places…I chatted with the guy for quite sometime, but still couldn’t tell if he was married (he wasn’t wearing a ring, I checked). My teammate was super curious (at this point, I knew I wasn’t interested, but because I’ve been watching too much of The Office I told her to go find out.) She wasn’t sure how to ask, so I suggested that she ask him if he has any kids, perfect lead, huh! Turns out he is married! Attention all wives: TELL YOUR HUSBANDS TO WEAR A WEDDING RING! I’m just grateful no one on my team ever said anything!

Well that’s all the juice I have for this week, other than those two events, I went to class all weekend, Friday night and Saturday all day! YUCK! I enjoyed a lecture they gave on stress. Here are some of my notes:

What causes it?

o No control
o Too many things to do…
o Money…
o The TOP stressful jobs…
• Medical Interns
• Air Traffic Controllers
• Miners
• Police Officers
• TEACHERS

You have to make a decision to fight or flight.

REDUCING STRESS
• TEN HABITS
1. Relax
2. Eat Right
3. Exercise
4. Sleep
5. Organize
6. Manage Time
7. Values
8. Humor
9. Choose Your Battles
10. Anger Management
11. Don’t Get Your Masters Degree!

Sorry this was such a long blog…Enjoy your week!

My brothers...I promise they were adopted!

The things I miss being the oldest child...here are some pics taken earlier this week at my parents house.

Aaron posing as "Peter Pan!"

Ryan & Aaron having a little fun with the Bo and Cache!

Tag Your It!

Just like in the game of tag, I’ve been tagged…however, this tag has a bit more pizzazz than the traditional “Tag Your it!” running game…you need to list 8 habits or facts about yourself. So here goes…let’s see how well you fair, you’ll have to let me know how you do!☺

1. I can eat almost anything for breakfast…I ate cereal for so many years that I absolutely hate it! Actually I don’t absolutely hate it, it just never sounds good to me. And get this, I buy it just so I can put on the shelf and look “normal!” One day my roommate Niki came into the kitchen and saw me eating vegetable soup for breakfast, now she thinks I’m psycho!
2. My left ear is slightly deformed or rather slightly smashed…for years I covered it up with my hair. No one really can tell unless they look at each ear separately.
3. I check the mailbox everyday hoping that someone will have sent me something. I don’t know exactly what… I love checking the mail!
4. My preferred way of eating bananas is with a knife, I like to slice off each bite…it tastes so much better this way! As a kid I never at banana’s any other way!
5. I receive a new word from dictionary.com everyday…I try to learn at least one new word a week. Why I do this, I don’t know, I’m just weird like that. I only remember a few words, but I enjoy it.
6. I love to talk on the phone, but I hate answering it…weird combo I know!
7. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to see a picture in those “Magic Eye” things!
8. I went to a foreign country by myself…I stayed in a hostel and met some Australian friends to see the sites with.

P.S. Stay tuned…I have a special blog coming up for all my favorite mommy friends! It’s a compilation of answers to all your educational questions for your kidos☺. I’m not an expert but I can share my two bits☺.

KidS sAy tHe DaRNdeSt ThINgS

Story 1

This week in Camp Finley during Writer’s Workshop time, we wrote about our New Years Resolutions. I told my kids (students) that I was giving up sugar as one of my resolutions. There were a lot of shocked faces and a few nods (some kids worship me, weird huh!) One student asked about holidays and I told them that holidays were the only exception. One darling little girl raised her hand and said “some days you’re gonna wish everyday was a holiday!” I couldn’t agree more! I replied, “You’re absolutely right, some days I will wish that!

Story 2

The next day...

Background info: Before we went off track we talked about a reading strategy called "Making Connections." This is a great comprehension strategy! We talk about making connections as we read, text-to-self connections, text-to-text connections and text-to-media connections. We learn that as we make connections while we read, we are more likely to remember the story.

As a review, this week I posed the question, "What are connections?" I called on an adorable little girl in my class and her response was "it's when two people who find each other, love each other." Apparently she forgot our reading strategy over the break☺. Her precious little answer made me turn a slight shade of red and a little giggle escaped (my dad doesn’t call me giggles for no reason at all, I can’t help it sometimes!) I had to quickly call on someone that I knew would know the answer. It’s obvious that she’s learned a thing or two about love connections...kids grow up fast these days!

How to Survive Camp Finley…

Wow! I’m so stinkin’ tired..I can’t sleep! So what I do? Blog. Gee whiz, I really need to get a life. Apparently this is my new way to kill time, especially when I don’t want to do what I should do…don’t worry I’ll still be waking up at 4:50 AM!

Camp Finley is back in business! It was so great to see all the little rascals today! They really do make my heart do a square dance! Every time we go off-track and then track on we usually go over the classroom procedures. It worked out especially well today because we got a new student. I asked the class what thing’s our new student needed to know to survive in Camp Finley…this was their response. For those of you that haven’t been in a classroom for a long time this might be humorous, and for those of you who know a teacher all too well, just skip this and read my other blogs, I don’t want to bore you with my teacher stories☺.

Straight from the mouth of babes…

What you need to know to survive Camp Finley (this is a compilation of responses from various students, they are direct quotes…we wrote them on the white board☺)

1. “When the fire alarm goes off you need to hurry and line up!” (I found it odd that this was their first response to the question. Safety first I guess! It was a great lead into our language arts lesson…we read “Officer Buckle & Gloria” by Peggy Rathmann. It’s a story all about safety tips. It’s an easy read, I’m sure you could all pick it up at your local library, LOL.)
2. “When there is an earthquake you need to hurry and get under your desk, then cover your head with your hands.”
3. “He needs to know the rules!

• “Make sure your eyes are on the teacher…or you’ll have to pull a card.”
• “No put-downs!”
• “You better raise your hand…or you’ll have to pull a card.”
• “TCOY” (Take Care Of Yourself)
• “Line up quietly, with your hands and feet to yourself”

4. “He also needs to know that when you’re doing something you shouldn’t do, that’s a warning…next time you have to pull a card!”
5. “Raise your hand, that one’s really important, don’t forget it.”
6. “He needs to know that when he goes to the bathroom he needs to ask by using the sign language toilet sign, then he needs to put the boy toilet paper role on his desk.”
7. “When we’ve been playing outside for a little while and when you hear the bell or a whistle you need to line up.”
8. “Always be quit in the hallway.”
9. “Don’t slip on the ice, that means no playing on the ice.”
10. “Walk in the lunchroom.”
11. “You have to be nice to others.”
12. “We learn life skills here.”

• “To keep at it! What’s that word again?” (Perseverance)
• “Caring.”
• “Friendship.”
• “Respect.”
• “Organization, that’s Miss Finley’s favorite skill!” (That’s what I tell them…I hate cleaning up messes☺)

13. “When the teacher says “Peanut Butter”, we put our hands up in the air like this (hands flat like pressing against a wall) and we pretend that we are stuck in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We she says “Oreo,” we put our mouth like this, like we have an Oreo in the back of our mouth (you can talk like a whale doing this). And we she says “Chocolate Chip” we put our hands like this (in the shape of a triangle), like we have a Chocolate Chip on our head.”

14. “Oh and if you haven’t noticed Miss Finley likes camping!”

So I guess this is your little peek into a second grade classroom…maybe someday I’ll put some of our very dorky but very fun, songs on here! Tata for now…I must force myself to sleep.

Last Moments of 2007!

I think I ate every possible sweet treat in my last moments of 2007…you see my friend Katey and I made a bet. A bet, that for 6 months we could go without sweets. Now I’ve done this a couple times before, and its quite a good thing for me. It helps me to gain will-power and to abstain from not so healthy food choices…. Sweets are a good friend of mine and because I’m leaving this friend, I’ve written a letter to say goodbye…

Dear Sugary Goodness,

Today I must say goodbye to you. I know that we’ve been together for quite sometime. I’ve grown (no pun intended) to love you over the years…you’ve been there through everything. You were there for me when I got my first broken arm, you were there for me when my dad cut my bangs an 1/8 of an inch long, you were there for me when I failed that test in AP Calc, you were there for me during all the good times too, like birthdays, holidays, parties, dates, and you were even there for every church event. I want to thank you for all the time you’ve spent with me…and for being there for me when I most needed you…but I must say goodbye and do this thing called life on my own. I know I’ve said goodbye to you at least a million times, maybe more…I know last year our break up only lasted 9 months…I just couldn’t live without you during that trip to Europe. This time I need at least 6 months…this break will be good for us, I just know it! So please don’t come visit…I need my space…if you want to hang out with my friends that’s fine…some of them need you more than I do…you are just so irresistible!

Love always,

Tiffany