Wednesday, November 26, 2008

I have the Day off & I'm Insured!

Best day ever!!!!!!



I have the day off! I am cleaning, going to lunch with mom, going to the chiropractor, and making pies! What a glorious day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And guess what else?!?!?! I have insurance now!!! Because I changed districts I had to WAIT to be insured or pay the big bucks...so I went without...I am so blessed and lucky that nothing terrible happened!

Have a great Thanksgivin' Feast everyone!



Love, T

Sunday, November 23, 2008

New Website!

Our church has a created a new (relatively) website, it's amazing! Check it out! Melissa...I think you'll really like this one...it answers all the questions about our basic beliefs. This site is authorized by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...everything you've ever wondered and more:).

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Have you ever wondered...

...what I like to spend my money on most? If you have or if you haven't, I'm going to tell you...some of you can probably guess instantly....and the answer is...

TRAVELING!

That about sums it up....this past year most of my big spends were on trips, ok the last 4 years, ever since I graduated with my bachelors...oh, and I went back to school for a masters, so I guess a lot of my money went there too. This month I decided that besides my retirement plan, I need to work on a savings plan for a house (I have one but it's little bitty)... BUT THEN... Southwest had an AWESOME deal yesterday and I bought two plane tickets! Sheesh! They were dirt cheap! One of the round trip tickets was a $100! I couldn't resist! So, yes there will still be a house savings budget...it's just going to take a little bit longer to get it up and running the way it should, with the amount of money I should be putting away:).

I am so stinkin' excited to visit my friends and get away! I am so grateful for a good job and good friends to visit! Life couldn't get any better today:).

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Attitude of Gratitude!

To answer H's questions... life has been Nutso because of school... I'll paint the picture for you all and then I'll leave it at that because I am super grateful for my job, I love teaching, I love my students and I feel that I'm drawn to my profession for a reason.

For the painting....I teach 24, 8 year olds, almost nine. I have lots of different kinds of learners, everything from non-English speaking to gifted and talented. I have kids who are extremely bright in Math and and extremely bright in reading but not in both. I have students who need to be challenged and students who need interventions. I have parents fighting over custody rights in front of me. I have tattle tales. I have whiners. I have happy go lucky students. I have one parent a week who volunteers. I don't have a copy aide. I don't have any aides. My only students who are being serviced are my ESL students. I am learning a new curriculum and teach 5 billion subjects a day so by the time I make copies of everything, study the lesson, find creative hooks and engaging lessons, present the material, break up fights, count the number of minutes every kid read, tally the number of box tops brought in, grade papers, enter grades into the computer, write parents letters, go to bus duty and recess duty, attend faculty meeting, prepare for parent teacher conferences, listen to the dang pencil sharpener a thousand times a day...I get warn out. There is just so much a teacher could never explain... :) And that is why it's a little Nutso... However, I may sound like I am complaining, but I LOVE my job! I wouldn't want to do anything else! Even if I have to feel tired and frustrated, I feel compelled to help kids learn and find ways to help them realize their potential and watch them soar! If I had all the money in the world I would reform education though!

I love my students! I love teaching!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

The DL in more detail...a continuation of a previous blog...

The bold highlights are the featured stories in this post: (ENJOY!)

--The day one of my students tried to sneak a dog into the classroom in his backpack aBoldnd he didn't know how it got there...
It was a typical day in third grade, all the students were reading silently at their desks. I (the teacher) was calling up students to my desk to sign their planners and check up on their homework, when from out of no where we hear a strange barking noise! Much to my dismay, the students stood up in an uproar about their rudely interrupted reading and the exciting possibility of chasing a dog! Then a couple kids started shouting "it's Brandon's dog, it's Brandon's dog! It's in his back pack!" I go back to where the back packs are, sure enough one back pack was awkward shaking out of control...I tell Brandon to grab his back and meet me in the hallway. Brandon slowly opens up his back pack and sure enough, there was a cute little black poodle in there!!!! I asked him how it got there and his classic response was "I don't know." He proceeded to tell me how his sister likes to play tricks on him... I investigated a little more by asking him if his backpack made any strange sounds as he road his bike to school or if he felt anything weird on his back and he said that he didn't, weird! Then we went to the office to call mom, mom's reaction "we told him he couldn't bring that dog to school!" My question for that parent is, how the heck did he get away with it if you told him no, don't you think you'd check on your kids before he left if he even mentioned the idea? That was one exciting day in Camp Finley!

--The day I used a public bathroom in San Francisco that was for both genders...
My mom, sister and I went to a beach house type restaurant in San Fran. After we got seated at out booth, I went to use the bathroom, I was a little perplexed when I couldn't find the sign indicating men or women, nonetheless, I proceeded into the only bathroom I could find. As I approached the stall there I saw that there was a sign posted that each bathroom was for a man or a woman to use. The stalls were more like rooms because the walls went down to the floor. The sink area was typical for any public bathroom, a row of sinks directly in front of the stalls. After returning to the booth, I decided to let my mom and sister discover the oddities of this bathroom on their own, hehe. Our booth was conveniently right next to the bathroom. As I waited I saw this guy approach the bathroom with the same perplexed look that I imagine that I had. He walks in the bathroom, see's a bunch of women washing their hands and jumps out of the bathroom! I began to laugh and told him that the bathroom was for both genders! He says to me "you're not pulling my leg are you?!?!" I told him no and kept laughing. The waiter came up to me right after that and said "this is the best seat in the house!" I would have to agree:)! After our meal, all three of us girls went to the bathroom to freshen up and fix our hair, guys washing their hands would just look at us and shake their heads as though they were saying in their heads "I can't believe this, women are invading our privacy!"

--The day I took a tour of the Jelly Belly Factory
Yum, that pretty much sums it up! We took a very intensive tour of the Jelly Belly Factory while we were out in Cali! It's quite the process! My favorite part was wearing the hat and eating the jelly beans!

--How I don't want to grow up, I want to be a Toys-R-Us kid!
No joke...the older I get, the more reality sinks in...I am a grown up now...I am in charge of myself...I have to pay the bills...provide a roof for my head...decide my political stance...make doctors appointments...clean on the weekends......the list just goes on...I am a grown-up...

--The day I had the best ice cream ever in Napa!
The best ice cream in the world is located in Downtown Napa, California! Mint Truffle Chocolate Ice Cream! This was a favorite of my mom's when she lived there and she so kindly took us there 3 times during our short little visit to Cali! It was delish!

--I might tell him about how I went to California for 5 days but didn't tell him...
Cali was so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Fall break!

--The day I got offered a job at Lakeshore, a local teacher store...
I guess I'm what they're looking for in an employee...a couple weeks ago I spent a couple hours looking and looking, debating and searching for classroom materials to buy...we only get so much money to spend on our classrooms, I've got to make it worth it! As I was checking out, the cashier was asking me if I would be interested in working a couple nights a week and we kind of chatted it up a little... I said no, I just can't do it all....

--The night I actually slept on my back and how much better I felt...
I am trying really hard to sleep on my back and I made it through one entire night (I think). I've thought about making some sort of restraint for myself so that my back won't hurt when I wake up... ideas??!?!

--How I got a new calling:)!
So, I got a new calling and I'm stoked about it! Temple Co-chair over the Winder 19th Ward and the H-4 (the four singles wards in Holladay!) With this calling comes a few responsibilities...organizing temple trips, teaching temple preparation, attending the family history class as well as assisting people in doing their genealogy, and sending our emails about the upcoming temple events.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Sorry...

Life is a little nutso right now...someday I will write more when my head is more functional...

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Rodeo Clown Ryan!




Ryan definately knows how to have a good time! I love his costume! And both of these pictures rock!

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About Me

Life as it for Tiffany Finley is quite the revolving door, one activity ends and I’m back on the rebound, looking for something to spice it up! Live it up, I tell you! Although, those who know me well, know my limits of “living it up!” A whirlwind of terrible singing, dancing, playful banter, blunt responses, sweet and endearing but firm and serious remarks to children, speaking/slaughtering accents that I’ve spun from memory, are a just a few of my favorite things….I delight in waking to the sunrise, driving to an incredible place of work, where I am able to express my true self regularly! My students call me "Crazy. ” This is where the song and dance comes into play, whether we are learning about adjectives or writing our names on our papers, I’ve got a song and cheer for it all! I’m passionate about traveling and walking down narrow pathways. In my spare time, I enjoy taking walks in the park…I’ve been known to disappear in the dark of the night, only to be found on the swings. I also love to organize and re-organize, I can never quite get things right. I thoroughly enjoy people watching.