Change in perspective

As the snow has become my new friend, I have become best friends with lots of layering. Every morning my ritual consists of
1. Layering with at least two pair of pants/leggings. I even wore leggings under my tights. At lest 3 layers of shirts. I'm always cold now.
2. Start the car to warm up.
3. Jacket - I think I have more jackets than shoes, so it's always fun to pick which jacket I will wear each day.
4. Scarves - I'm so glad they are in style because I have been in love with them for the last 2 years. With the short hair now, it keeps my neck warm.
5. Gloves - I don't know the usefulness of these because my fingers are usually already cold when I put them on.
6. Comfy socks - On top of my normal socks, I put on the comfy socks. They keep my toes warm and keep the socks dry.
7. Boots - so I can trudge through the snow. I put my normal shoes in my bag.
8. Beanie - Oh, wait, it will mess up my hair. I put it on and then take it off before I leave.
Now with this information, I only have to walk about 100 -150 steps from my car to the building. Born and raised a Californian.

As I was bundling up the other day, I was thinking how tiring a process this is. It really is a lot of work. Those of you in California, never complain about all the work it takes to spend a day at the beach. Anyways, I was kind of having a bad attitude toward my new friend the snow. Then I came around the bend in the road on my 4 minute commute and this is what I saw.

I took this after. It was actually a lot more beautiful that morning. It was misty and the Temple looked absolutely beautiful. It took my breath away. It changed my attitude and made the weather a little more bearable. I am so lucky to be able to see the Temple everyday. I can see it for most of my "commute" and throughout the day. I remember living in Logan and being so close to the Temple. I tried never to take it for granted. I hope I never take for granted how close I am to this new Temple, you know, now that I'm 5 minutes instead of 15 minutes from a Temple. I know, I know, I can actually see 3 Temples on a good day, especially driving home from my parents. THAT is the upside to living with my new friend, the snow.

How can I not laugh

This is a conversation I had with one of my students
Student: When is your mom and dad's birthday?
Me: (I answer hesitantly, because where did this random question come from?) November 26th (Student starts to sigh) and January 10
Student: Oh goody, I still have time
Me: For what?
Student: I want to make a present for them.
Me: Why?
Student: For doing such a wonderful job at raising you. (At this point, I'm doing my laugh/cry combo because it was so cute, funny, and very very random!)

Another time, a student asked, "Where's the peanut gallery?"

Wicked

I GOT TICKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Christmas!

I love this time of year. It's just so glittery and bright. I sound like my mom.
Here is my Christmas tree. It's so pretty, I just stare at it. All thanks to Target. I bought the trim a tree in a box kit. A huge box that has ornaments, flowers, and ribbon.
All I had to do was look at the picture on the box and copy it. I'm not original. I couldn't have done the flowers or ribbon on my own. Now I just pretend that the tree is real and smells wonderful.

30 something

I'm not quite owning up to my age, but you can figure it out from this list.

30 something things I’m thankful for

1. Mom who gave me life 30 something years ago today. Also for sleeping on trains through Europe so I can see the world.
2. Dad for being able to fix anything in my house. I’ve become a lot less independent since they’ve moved here.
3. My brother and his wife. They are examples to me on how to show love for each other after 13 years.
4. Jen and Deb. They make me laugh. I’m so glad that we all live close by. I never thought that would happen. It is so much fun. They take care of me, too.
5. My nephews. They are so cool. They’re getting to the age where they don’t really want to give hugs, but I still make them. I love them.
6. My nieces. They give me so much love. My nieces and nephews fill the empty spot in my heart.
7. My house. I own a house! Okay, I still make payments, but I have a grown up responsibility. I love my house. My tax returns have helped to make it my favorite place.
8. My very cute Mazda 3. Zoom, Zoom! Yes, I’m shallow enough to put my car on here, but humble enough to be very thankful for it.
9. A stable career. I’m pretty sure they will need teachers even as the economy crashes.
10. With that, being able to teach and work with kids everyday. They keep me young and remind me to laugh. I love teaching.
11. Church wards. I could be going to a singles ward right now but I have learned more on how to raise children in the gospel, in the last year than I would have learned in a singles ward. I have always had good wards and good Bishops. I know I am very blessed.
12. Education. I have a Master’s Degree in and two endorsements. I love learning.
13. Touching European soil.
14. Seeing the Mona Lisa, if only for 10 minutes.
15. Walking the streets of Venice.
16. Hawaii – thanks mom again for the graduation gift. It was so beautiful.
17. Being raised in California.
18. The friends I grew up with. Stake dances and the Chevy Sprint. So many memories.
19. The first snow. It really is beautiful.
20. The first tulip. After the third snowfall, I’m about done. So I love the first signs of Spring.
21. The huge donation I’ve made to the DI this year in clothing because it’s all too big.
22. November and December. I love the holidays!
23. Peace and quiet after a long day.
24. Being 4 minutes from work.
25. Sunbeams.
26. Less than $2 gas.
27. Tax returns.
28. Logan, Utah experience. That is one of the most beautiful college campuses. I’m so glad I got to live there. Plus I had wonderful roommates that I still keep in contact with.
29. The examples of the people who have come in and out of my life.
30. Small amount of culture that I’ve been exposed to.
31. Books, books, books.
32. Temples. The Temple is the most peaceful place there is.
33. My testimony of the Jesus Christ.
34. That I’m alive and healthy. Trying to live life without regrets. I hope the next year goes just as good.

November 4, 2008

WOW!!! I think I'm speechless.
But I do have a few thoughts...
1. I agree with everything John McCain said in his concession speech. How are they not crying? I was.
2. I am hopeful about everything Obama said in his speech.
3. We will all remember this historic election and try to explain to our grandchildren what it meant.
4. This Country really is amazing. Where we can go from, only white, male landowners could vote to an African American President.
5. As a teacher, this is good. As a safe citizen, not so much. I guess only time will tell. I'm a little hesitant about what the future holds.
6. FDR and Kennedy were huge on change. I hope this new President can measure up.
7. Last but not least, what a historic year. This and Michael Phelps taking all gold, priceless. :)

Diet scoop

I've been meaning to blog about my fabulous and crazy diet. I've gotten a lot of second glances from people who have noticed but don't want to be rude and say anything. Here is a before and during picture.


The diet is called 1st Personal Diet. It's all online, no meetings to attend or weigh ins. You start with an initial blood test and then follow ups every 4 weeks. Based on your blood test results you are given a specific eating plan. A sample day might be: breakfast - yogurt and fruit shake or veggie omlette, lunch - chicken and veggies, dinner - steak and veggies. Fruits and crackers as snacks.
This diet is amazing. The only downside is I've had to get rid of all my clothes I love. Here the bags I donated to the D.I.


It feels good to be healthy again. It feels good to go into any store and buy something off the rack. I've spent too much money on clothes lately.
Thank you to everyone who has been supportive and understood when I refuse all the goodies. I'm not perfect all the time, but I have some darn cute clothes hanging in my closet that I can't wait to wear!

New Tag

The rules: Answer the following questions with one word answers (I couldn't keep it to one word, sorry) and pass it on to seven others.
Here are the questions:

1. Where is your cell phone? On the table
2. Where is your significant other? I ask that question ALL the time.
3. Your hair color? Right now… reddish brown
4. Your mother? Trudged through Europe for me
5. Your father? Hunting somewhere in Montanna
6. Your favorite thing? What I can’t have
7. Your dream last night? Lots of them, crazy ones too. (I took Advil PM)
8. Your dream/goal? Too many… To life with no regrets
9. The room you're in? Dining room
10. Your hobby? Surfing the web
11. Your fear? Scary movies coming true
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Somewhere warm
13. Where were you last night? Babysitting a very cute little girl
14. What you're not? Rich
15. One of your wish-list items? Credit card paid off
16. Where you grew up? Chino
17. The last thing you did? Ate yummy apples
18. What are you wearing? Long sleeves, sweats, sockies. All black, hmm
19. Your TV? Background noise
20. Your pet? none
21. Your computer? MacBook Pro 17 inch ☺
22. Your mood? content
23. Missing someone? often
24. Your car? Cutest Mazda 3 ever. Zoom, Zoom
25. Something you're not wearing? Too many hats
26. Favorite store? Sephora (see #14, 15)
27. Your summer? Too SHORT
28. Love someone? Yes
29. Your favorite color? pink
30. When is the last time you laughed? Tonight watching SNL
31. Last time you cried? Today when I read Marque’s facebook

I tag anyone who needs something to post.

I love my Sunbeams!

One of my Sunbeams brought me caramel corn tonight. I took the before and after pictures. The after picture is about 10 minutes later. It was so yummy. I couldn't stop eating it. You can't tell, but I ate quite a lot. I had to hide it. I'm totally going to have a sugar headache now, but it was worth it. Thanks Landon and Erin for trudging out in the snow to bring me the yummy treats.

I know this post will probably never get me released from my calling, hence never allowing me to go to the old folks singles' ward, which I'm okay with, but my Sunbeams are sooooo cute. I basically spend 3 hours every Sunday entertaining 3 yr olds and I absolutely LOVE it! I miss them when I don't get to see them for a week. They are the cutest munchkins ever. Don't get me wrong, they can still be typical three year olds who can't sit still. They are smart little cookies, too. I'm surprised at the correct answers they have during our lessons. Out of the mouths of babes. They know about Jesus and know how to pray, which all the credit goes to their parents. There are amazing people in my ward that are HUGE examples to me on how to raise my own future children in the gospel.
We were talking about birthdays today and two of the sunbeams said they are four. I asked them "Does that mean you're older than me?" They said "Yes." Sweet, I'm young again.
My favorite, though, is seeing them sing. One of the reasons I go to a family ward is for the yearly primary program during sacrament. I'm usually laughing or crying, watching the kids give shout outs to their parents from the stand, climbing on the wall, or whatever other crazy things they are doing. Well, next Sunday will be our program and I won't get to be the on-looker. I will be one of the ones trying to get them to stay in their seats. I now have so much respect for the hard work that goes into these programs.

Expires when????

We were at the gas station and found these. You can't read it, but it says it expires

JUNE 3009!

I don't know anything that will still be around in a thousand years. I mean, can you imagine the people from the future unearth this gas station after a thousand years. Nothing left but fresh gummy worms. We laughed about this all through the store.

Museums, Shopping, and LA Freeways

California was absolutely beautiful! You know the saying, "The grass is greener on the other side." Yep, I agree. I realize I'm on vacation with no stress or worries.
I was there for 9 days and stayed with one of my mom's co-workers in Simi Valley. She was the sweetest lady and so hospitable. I was about 2 hours away from where I grew up, so basically I could've been anywhere. Pretty much left on my own since my mom was working, I really enjoyed exploring.

MUSEUMS
First, I hit three different museums. I went to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the J.P. Getty Villa, and the J.P. Getty Museum. I definitely got my fill of culture and history, but I loved it!

The Presidential Library was neat because Ronald Reagan was the president I grew up with, the first one I actually remember. (If you're too young to remember him, I don't want to hear about it.) A lot of Nancy Reagan's gowns were on display. She was a very sharp and stylish dresser for the 80's. I was very impressed.

The above quote is from John Adams states, "May only good and wise men inhabit this house." I thought it was cool.
They also had Air Force One from when RR was in office. It was huge, but small and cramped once you got inside. I expected it to be a lot roomier. They had remains from the Berlin Wall, a big Jelly Bean Jar, and lots of other interesting stuff.

Then I went to the Getty Villa. Basically, it's a Roman Villa that a rich oil dude recreated to house all his artifacts he collected from Rome and Greece. There was stuff that dated back from 6,500 B.C. WOW!! It was a beautiful place. Probably around 80% of the stuff there was from this ancient villa in Herculaneum, near Pompeii. Even the marble floors were made of remnant pieces that were found there. The architecture was amazing too. I walked around all day.

Then I went to the Getty Museum. This museum started out as a place for Getty to collect everything non-Roman empire era. I mostly walked around to see the beautiful, beautiful paintings. I got to see Monet, Rembrandt, and Renoir. I could totally work in a museum.
http://www.getty.edu/visit/
After the museums I got to go to the beach two of the days. All I wanted to do was to put my toes in the sand. The beach is so peaceful to me. I could listen to the waves crashing on the shore forever.









SHOPPING & READING

You leave a girl on her own, she's going to shop. I found 3 shopping centers that were close to where I was. One of my favorite places, though, was when we went to Chino. They built this awesome outside mall. They had the coolest store, H&M. I remember seeing these all over Europe but didn't pay attention. They have cute clothes, for cheap! I loved the place so much, I even splurged on my nieces. What I loved about all these shopping centers were the outside tables they had everywhere. I would kill time by sitting at a table, in the warm sun, reading my books. I probably wouldn't sit out in the middle of the Gateway by myself, I'd be too self conscious. But where I know I will never see these people again, I'm more able.

L.A. FREEWAYS
I'm proud to say, that after driving all over Los Angeles, I can now change lanes with the best of them!!! It took me a few days, but now I'm good. Maybe because I learned on these freeways, I don't think those "crazy California drivers" are all that bad.

It was a fun trip. I got to spend time with my mom and nieces that I don't get to see enough of. I tried to stay on my diet, but that didn't work out so well. You just can't pass up The Hat or Tommy's.

Why I love year-round education...

I love year round teaching because for the next 3 weeks, I get to
~sleep in (except the day I fly to California at 6 am, no complaints here)
~clean my house- I mean, really clean it
~hang out in my comfy clothes all day, if I want to, that is
~sleep in more
~do my errands in the middle of the day when others are at work (this is my favorite)
~not having to do my hair/make-up every single day
~be lazy
~get caught up on everything I've been putting off for the past 2 months
~coerce my dad into coming and helping with those projects I need done around the house
~read
~watch General Hospital - I heard Laura is back, again
~watch all the travel shows I've been DVR-ing
~get out of town for more than 2 days
~re-coop so I can be energized to teach those little munchkins once more

Books

Okay, Annalisa, you made me curious. The Big Read is a National Endowment for the Arts program designed to encourage community reading initiatives and of their top 100 books, they estimate the average adult has read only six.

Here’s what you do:
*Bold those you have read.
*Italicize those you intend to read.
*Underline the books you LOVE . (I wasn't smart enough to figure out how to underline)
I also but a * next to books I own.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen*
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte*
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling*
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee*
6 The Bible*
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (maybe)
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen *
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen *
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis*
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan*
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen *
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce (I think in high school)
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White*
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl*
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo*

I was able to bold more books than I thought I’d be able to. Still there are quite a few books I still need/want to read. Now, I just need to keep Goodreads updated.

Flashback Weekend

I have been able to see a lot of old friends over the past week, especially yesterday.
My old roommate and her cute family came down from Sun Valley, Idaho to visit. She has a 5 year old and 5 month old. They are soooooo cute. They definitely brightened up my home. Thanks guys! Kennedy, you can come live with Auntie Teri anytime.
I was able to be witness to Allison's inaugural trip to IKEA, while her husband took her 5 year old to Lagoon. I just kept laughing every time we would see something she loved and she'd talk herself out of it or we'd try to walk past it. (It worked about half the time.)

****************************************************************

Last night, we went down to Lehi for a Chino 3rd Ward "Reunion". It was a get together with some of the people I grew up with. Growing up, our ward had an awesome youth. There were a lot of us and we had fun. It was great to see people all grown up and see them with their own families, especially since I imagine everyone still 17. I missed the ones that weren't able to come. It is amazing how many people from Chino ended up here in Utah.

Marque and Mont

'Ode to Judy. She makes the best cinnamin rolls ever!! And the best lemon squares. She is the nicest person ever. RANDOM MEMORY: My mom and Judy made us girls take a wagon full of ward cookbooks around the neighborhood to sell them because they had so many left over.

Laurie and I. I always love listening to Laurie. She tells you how it is. She always made everything so much fun...When we were probably beehives, we sewed flouresant shorts and matching shirts for girls camp. Ohhhh, 12 year olds.

Tara and Kelly

Half the fun was being able to drive down with my siblings. It's not very often that just the 4 of us hang out. I thought it was pretty cool.

************************************************

I'm not quite done with the flashbacks. Last week I was able to see 4 of my old co-workers. It was great to see them. I had a great support system when I began teaching and when I changed grades. Even though I might not call or e-mail, I think of them often. I always have intentions to get together with them but life happens and it get's put aside.

Me, Jenny, Teri, DeAnn

I am reminded of the song, "Each Life That Touches Ours For Good" That is how I have felt this week. I have been lucky enough to always be surrounded by amazing friends. I am thankful for the memories that I have. The downside to growing up, getting married, or moving on in your job is that you don't get to see the fabulous people you meet along the way as often as you'd like. I know it's all part of life and I'm not sad about it. I love where I'm at but it's always good to see people and catch up. Okay, I didn't mean to get mushy or sentimental.

Best of SEPHORA

So the tallies are in. Check it out.
http://sephora.com/go/bestofsephora/

It's not often that I feel like I've met the bar in way of fashion and make-up...until now.
I feel pretty good knowing that I actually have or have tried quite a few of the products they say are the best of Sephora.

My personal best of Sephora though is a little bottle of lipgloss. Why? Because I bought it in Prague. It is the only thing I bought as a souvenir while I was there. There isn't much left of it, but every time I use it, it reminds me of one of the most beautiful and historic cities I've ever seen.













So my Thankful-mony goes to Shana and Lisa for introducing me to Sephora in Passadena, California after a delicious meal at Cheesecake Factory. Remember?
And to Mandy and Tina for our trips to Vegas for our ritual trips to Cheesecake and Sephora for a free make-over where we well made up for that in the product we bought.
And to all my other friends who are in love with the store as much as I am. Long live overpriced makeup that makes me feel beautiful.
I will say that I am excited for Sephora's "step-sister" ULTA to open across from South Towne Mall. It's not as cool as Sephora or as small. It has about half of the product that Sephora carries, but it does carry the eyeshadow primer :).

Politics - Who Me?

I have never been a very political person. I try to pay attention and I feel it's a privilege and obligation to vote every time. This is the first time I ever watched a Convention. Let alone two weeks worth. Is it what happens as we get older? You actually care more about what's happening in our Country.
Well after listening, I'm still undecided (not very surprising if you actually know me) but I'm very interested. I do know this, I was hesitant when I heard McCain picked Sara Palin. After watching her and listening to her, I was very impressed with her. I actually can't wait for the debates. Will I ever be able to watch normal TV with addicting drama? Oh wait, that's politics.

I just wish everyone could get along.

Jordanelle

So... A couple weekends ago I got really homesick. I wanted to just get in the car and drive to the beach. I wanted to sit in the sand and read my book. Well, I wasn't that spontaneous. I calculated how much it would cost in gas. Plus I no longer have a free place to stay, thanks mom and dad.
Instead I decided I would take the niece and some of the nephews to Jordanelle. It's probably been about 10 years since I've been there. I know, it doesn't seem like I've been here that long. Anyways, I checked into renting a wave runner and was all ready to do that. I decided I didn't want to do that with just me, the only adult. We just went up and hung out on the shore. It was really rocky, not sandy, like I was hoping. The water was cold but good enough for the kids. They had fun.
Well about 45 minutes after we got there, one of the rafts started floating away. I told the kids to grab it but they were clueless. So, I jumped in and started swimming after it. I know there is a physics lesson here, but the closer I got to it, the farther away it got. I just kept swimming. I was only an arms lengths away from it. I figured as soon as I got the raft, I would float back.
See the little white spot, the kids say I swam that far. I don't think I swam to the boo-ey, very close though. I was that smart, stop before the white thing. I never got the raft. I floated back to shore. Once I was back some waverunners brought us the raft.

The Lessons I Learned...
1. Don't go chasing after $1 rafts. Let it go. (I was able to share this lesson with our neighbors at the lake when their ball floated away.)
2. Michael Phelps really is amazing. I was pooped afterwards.
3. I need to hang out at the lake more often.
4. Nieces and nephews are awesome. They were cheering me on the whole time.
5. Trying to read Breaking Dawn while watching 3 kids in the water doesn't work.

Why I loved the Olympics

1. Men's gymnastics winning Bronze. Pretty good for the underdogs. In your face Hann twins. Stay tuned for the comparison of the big marshmallow and the little marshmallows.
2. Jonathan Horton sticking his landing in team gymnastics.
3. Women's gymnastics taking Silver.
4. Alicia Sacramone taking it with dignity. She's still better than any of us will ever be.
5. Seing China women get gold, no matter how old they were. They rocked!
6. Watching Michael Phelp's proud mama.
7. 4X200 men's swim-WOW! I got tired just watching.
8. 4X100 men's swim- I need that group hug.
9. Michael Phelps taking 8 GOLD.
10. Seeing history being made with Michael Phelps.
11. Opening and Closing ceremonies.
12. Nastia Luikin getting Gold in all around.
13. Getting all emotional in front of 20 3rd graders trying to explain how AWESOME Michael Phelps is and what he's done.

These have been one of my favorite Olympics. LONDON 2012!!!! My goal is to get to London before then.

Super Phan

Who would have thought that I'd become a Michael Phelps Phan? Not me.

But how can you not with that smile and his amazing ability?

8.8.08

I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!

I don't watch sports, ever. I'm not athletic, at all. But I love to watch the Olympics. I love the coming together of people from all over the world for a common cause. I think it's the coolest thing! I feel so patriotic watching American athletes on the medals stand with OUR national anthem playing. I usually just watch gymnastics and swimming. I haven't been following the athletes or anything. This morning I saw a clip about Michael Phelps and I will definitely be watching him.
I absolutely love the Olympic commercials. They are just as good as Hallmark, but not as long.
I actually enjoy watching the opening ceremonies where each country marches in. It's interesting to hear the facts. BUT...I don't think, wait, I know, I can't stand TWO weeks of Bob Costas. Sorry if you like him. He has been the commentator for as long as I've been watching. I don't know if it's his voice, his comments or what. Really, does NBC have no one else?

1st Day Jitters

I survived the first day of school (I was the teacher, not the student). I was nervous, anxious, and excited to meet my new class. Now I am just excited for this next year. They are soooo cute. We are going to have fun. One girl said "Miss Obrey, you're way too hyper." :) Needless to say there was a lot of information I had to give them.

I've joined the blogging world!!

With a lot of pushing I have finally joined the blog world. I expect to be getting an email saying others have created their own blogs now.
I have loved reading blogs from people I haven't talked to in a while. Now I think we will probably call even less because we are just reading about each other's lives online.
Technology is awesome. In the last week I have chatted with people from New York, LA, Africa, and Australia. I have reconnected with old neighbors that I played with when I was little, which was a very long time ago. Now I just need to find all my old roommates.