Gulash

I have been told that gulash is a Hungarian stew that has a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  Just a big mix I guess.  For some reason that's how I feel right now.  I don't feel like stew, I just feel like a little bit of this and that...

I have been super busy with school recently.  I always heard that the first year of teaching was "SO MUCH WORK!" but for some reason thought that that wasn't going to apply to me...  Haha!!  Yes.  Teaching IS a lot of work.  SO much work.  But I am loving it and learning SO MUCH!  Those little second graders take a lot of energy, but they are also so full of love.

Yesterday as the last day of school this year.  We had a little holiday party and made 'gingerbread houses' out of graham crackers.  It was a ton of fun that every single students thoroughly enjoyed it.  It is always fun to see my kids enjoy something so much :o)

My favorite holiday is coming up!  I simply love this time of the year!!!  I am trying to enjoy every bit of Christmas I can.  It's probably weird, but I also don't like when Christmas gets so close, because I know that soon it'll be gone and I'll have to wait 10 months until the NEXT holiday season.  Silly, right?  I have yo remind myself to enjoy what's here while it's here.

Last night I was SO TIRED!  I went to sleep to take a little nap at 6:30 and just slept all night.  Well, until 4:30 this morning that is...  And here I am, WIDE awake at 5:20 typing a blog.  :o)

I always look forward to my breaks from school, but once they're here I don't know what to do with my time...  I need to start some projects.  Or buckle down and do my report cards... 

The day after Christmas I am going up to my parents' cabin for 5 days.  I love it up there in the mountains.  Except when I get cold.  I hate being cold.

I'm off to clean my house.  

Enjoy your holiday season!!!

My voice....

...is gone.

I guess it got jealous of my hair...

Yesterday at 10:00 am my voice started going.  Here I am the following night totally voiceless.  If I talk normally just air comes out.  If I scream it comes out just below my normal voice level, but all crackly and scratchy.  If I whisper it sounds like a whisper.  The strangest part is that I feel fine--there's no pain.  not yet at least...

Today at school I had to whisper directions to one student and have that student loudly tell the rest of the class.  I am taking tomorrow off to rest my poor larynx.  (The first time I've called for a sub.  I'm slightly nervous seeing that I'm quite attached to my class.  The good news is the sub is my mother-in-law, so they're in good hands).

My hair...

...is gone.  

I cut it short this morning.  I cut about 7 inches off.

Here, I'll show you:

Before.

 

After!

I'm still getting used to it, but I think I'm really going to like it!

Phone photos

I recently transfered the pictures from my phone onto Gregron.  I went through them on my phone.  Here are a few gems I found:

This was on the door of the laundry room at an apartment complex.  so.so.funny!

This is Mark Twain, the rabbit who lived in our yard for a week.

  

 

Homemade cream puffs!  Sooo good!

 

 Paxy and Alberta.  Loved these couches.  Anyone who knew 5 East hillside knew how great these couches

were.

 

My and my grandmas :o

They CHANGED the sign.  They changed it to make it incorrect.  Silly.

The most AMAZING chocolate-and-peanut-butter-covered rice crispy treat.  It came from a cute little fudge shop in Maryland.

Great deal!

Hey everyone just wanted to let you know that my brother Brad who is a photographer is available to do family pictures. Now is the perfect time to update your family picture. Not only is the weather great, you can use the your new picture for your Christmas card. For $100 you get a photo-shoot up to an hour and a CD with the full resolution images that you can take anywhere to be printed or post online. Here are some samples of his work. Brad also does weddings, so if you or anyone you know is getting married let him know. You can see more on his website at www.bradburnhamphotography.com. You can contact him at burnhambrad@gmail.com or give him a call at (480) 241-9409.

Second Graders

I've learned a LOT about second graders these past four weeks. For example:

* The make a whole lot of pee. Honestly. They have to go every hour. And they don't even drink that much... I just don't get it.

* The world is their playground. ANYTHING can be a toy or distraction. This includes (but is not limited to) their feet while they are walking, the pencil they are using, or the person sitting beside them.

* It's extremely difficult to walk in a straight line.

* They can be so silly! They say the most unexpected things (good or bad).

* They have an amazing capacity to love.

Good news!

Nothing says "new school year" like a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils.

I got a job!!! After a lot of stress, time, worrying, and interviews, I got a job!!! Yes, I'm starting a month into the school year, but better late than never, right?

I am going to be a 2nd grade teacher down at Emerson Elementary; the very school I attended years ago. It's going to be an adventure and I know I'm going to learn a WHOLE LOT!

The Happiest Place on Earth!

My little sister Annie turned 12 on Wednesday. She's never been to Disneyland, so that was her birthday present. It was just going to be her and my mom, but last minute I snuck my way in on the action! (The one perk of not being employed is that you can abandon your life for a few days and that's totally okay).

We had SO MUCH FUN! Annie loved every second, and it was so fun to watch her so thoroughly enjoy it :o)

Here was my FAVORITE part of the trip. We were on splash mountain: Annie in the front, my mom second, and me third. We were having a blast when we came to the drop at the end. Right as we started going over the edge my mom looks at the drop. In a terribly frightened and alarmed voice she says, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" Each work got louder and more frighted. Annie and I could.not.stop.laughing!



It's a Small World.


I let Annie drive... bad news!


Yeah, I could totally be Zerg.


Annie and Alice are supposedly the same age...


A classic first time picture :o)


I think I'd have that look on my face too if there was a robot attack!



Big Thunder Mountain! I love that ride!!!


We're that strong! Well, Annie is... I just look helpless.


We walked my mom into the round. She had to take a little power nap!

Happy birthday Annie!!!! I am so luck to have you as a sister. I love you! Thanks for the great memories!

Farwell Vermin!

We've been having some bug issues the last couple months. Tanner has been a really great bug killer {which makes me love him even more}, but it was time to do more than that... We got our house sprayed--inside and out--today. Hallelujah! Good bye all you nasty, sick, dirty bugs.

Poor Broken Beast!

This is Stella.


I believe you've already met.

Well, she's broken... She won't start. I put in a new battery (it was still under warranty--thankfully!) and she still won't start. That means it's the alternater or the starter. I don't really know what either of those things are--when someone says either of those two words, all I hear is "money".

Poor broken beast...

How much longer...

School has started. I am a certified, ASU graduated, Summa Cum Laude, fun loving, children loving teacher. But I'm not REALLY a teacher, see. I don't have a teaching job.

I have been praying that things would work out. All along I have felt like things would be okay, but... my hope is starting fade... I am trying to stay positive, but it gets harder with every passing day...

I went to college, did well, and what did I come out with...? Nothing but thousands of dollars in student loans.

High School Musical (4)

I'm sure all of you (or at least most of you) know about these movies.

Well, the other night I saw this SNL skit. HILARIOUS! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did :o)

Not Again...

About a year and a half ago I got a cold sore. Since then I've had about 4 reoccurances. They are one of the worst things in this world. Count yourself lucky if you've never been tainted with one.

.

Yesterday I started getting another one. I put some medicine on it, but it kept getting bigger: at a RECORD speed! As that first one was growing a second started on the other side of my mouth. They were so painful--they hurt even more than all my previous coldsores. I tried everything I could think and they just kept hurting and growing. I even started to get a sore inside my lip. it was the worst! I just wanted to die, or cut my lips off--anything but feel that blasted pain.

.

THEN, the most amazing this happened...

.

I woke up. And my mouth is fine! It's a miracle. What a blessing. I have been happy all day knowing that my mouth is fine!

BurnhamBags

Do you remember a few months ago when I made this gem?

Well... After I made that purse and my mom made some for a church activity we decided to make a bunch to sell.

Here are a few of the purses we came up with:

Go HERE to check 'em out.

Enjoy :o)

And if you want to skip out on Etsy, pick it up right from me, and save on shipping just let me know!

Answer: A theif in the night.

If you couldn't tell my my title, we're playing a little game of Jeopardy.

Answer: A thief in the night.

Question: Who broke into my car.


On Sunday my driver side window broke and is now stuck rolled down. A dirty rotten thief saw that last night and decided to take advantage.

What so I have to say about this? In his face!!! I didn't have anything of value in there. All he got was 2 dollars and a little bit of change. He was kind enough to leave my bobble pig and earphones behind.

But still. I have knowing there are people like that in the world. People who think it's fine to take anything they want.

How do you sleep at night?

Back in high school I had this best friend.

We did everything together. I had half of our classes together, we would mingle during passing period. We saw each other all the time and were fully caught up on each others lives.

Despite that, we felt a need to have a notebook to pass back and forth: write notes, record our time apart, quote movies, and the like.

One time Camille wrote me a note in said book. At the end of her note she wrote,
"Tell me, how do you sleep at night?"

I thought that was a silly question, but answered anyways--thoroughly. I went on and on about relaxing my body, clearing my mind, all kind of nonsense. I even wrote that I never had a problem sleeping at all; I always fell right asleep--it never took me longer than 2 or 3 minutes.

I gave the notebook back, and the next time I saw Camille I was met with laughter. Turns out that wasn't a real question (of course it wasn't) it was was a quote from You've Got Mail.

This clip actually.

* * *

Turns out I'm not fortunate enough to sleep that easily anymore. 2-3 minutes to fall asleep? No, not anymore. I don't lie awake for hours on end, but it takes a while longer now. Last night, it took me 45 minutes to fall asleep.

Maybe I should get some of those UltraDorm pills they talked about on You've Got Mail...

MIA!

I know this picture isn't my best, but it's all I could find.

Why is my tongue so reddish orange? Because I was just finishing my 12th Popsicle; but that's beside the point. This post isn't about my tongue, the time I ate 12 Popsicles, or my random trip to California with people I barely knew... This is about something dear to me that's gone missing.

Do you see the sweater in the picture?
I loved that thing.
No, I didn't always wear the hood like that [in fact, I think that may have been one of the only times I did.]


Look at the bottom right corner. Look how long that sleeve is!
Some of you may think that's no big deal... But here's the thing: I'm 74 inches tall.
Do you know how hard it is to find long sleeves when you're that tall?!
[you probably don't know unless you're close to that enormous height...]


Anyways, that sweater was incredible.
I think that sweater was crafted just for me.
And now, it's gone.
Gone, gone, gone.


When I was young and I would lose something my mom would always ask,
"Where's the last place you remember seeing _____."
So I did that. I asked myself that question.
And you know the last place I saw that glorious sweater?
On my honeymoon.

...gone...
And my life will never be the same.

We call him Connie

I come from a family of 7 children. I LOVE my family and we get along SO well. See, here we are. Can't you just tell that we love each other?

I am the VERY middle child. My brother just younger than me is Connie (the tall one to the left of Tanner in the picture above. Third from the left...) His name isn't really Connie, but since he used to be such a con and ignore my parents' requests to go to bed, staying up hours past his bedtime he earned the nickname Connie. I don't think I've even called him Austin these last 3 years.

Connie is fantastic! He is a great brother and fabulous friend. He's funny, kind, and a friend to all.

Well, a couple months ago Connie turned 19 and got called to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Here he is opening his mission call. He was called to serve in Omaha Nebraska for the next two years. He left this last Wednesday (July 1st).

This is him as a newly set apart missionary. I am SO proud of my little brother. I know he is going to make an amazing missionary!!!

I have also started a blog for him. I'll be posting letters and pictures he sends home. So if you know and/or love my brother feel free to stop by this blog to see what's going on with him and his mission.

Brown Paper Packages Tied up with String

I've heard it said many a times that a grateful person is a happy person. Well, I fell like I need a little more cheer right now, so I pulled out a journal from a few years ago that contains my "Favorite Things" list. I thought I's share and hopefully brighten your day a little too :o)

long jeans

road trips

hot chocolate

warm spots on the carpet from the sunshine
popsicles
ferris wheels
going on adventures
crispy corn dogs
cool pool on a summer day
my husband
my family
listening to music
Christmas lights (and anything Christmas for that matter)
going for long drives
the smell of rain
the sound of rain on a tin roof
my cabin
snow angels
China
skydiving
Chinese children
trying new things
stepping on CRUNCHY leaves
the smell of drywall mud
the beach
driving fast
comfy pajamas
breakfast in bed
Italian
the piano
rocking chairs
twinkle lights
good, solid friendships
the Grinch
soft blankets
smell of cedar wood
ant farms
firm toothbrushes
warm, heavy quilts
big, soft towels
traveling
Mexican food
mistletoe
being crafty
scrapbooking
scarves (scarfs?)
teaching
glasses
success
new dollar bills
super green grass
barbecues
soft carpet
pine trees
hair
flip-flops
purses
trampolines
computers (esp Gregron)
letters
clouds
cartoon movies (esp Disney)
pillows
books
Tetris
scriptures
bikes
wood floors
air conditioning
seeing my breath on a cold morning
tulips
daffodils
textures
fireworks
'pitter patter'
rice cakes
cuddling

What about you? What are some of your favorite things?

The last month

**Warning: This post may be a little unorganized and hodgepodge-ish**

Well, this last month has been a good one. It seems like a lot has happened. Let me share.



My birthday came and went. I'm 23 now! Well, it just so happened that my birthday was the last day of school (I was working in the class I student taught in). My mentor teacher bought me this great cake and we had a little class party :o)


Some of the students made me this marvelous sign.


Tanner and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for my birthday. It's been some time since we're gone out to dinner so it was such a nice treat!


My real diploma came in the mail.


For my mother-in-law's birthday my father-in-law let her shave his beard! He's had it for about 15 years, so it was a BIG deal!


On our family reunion we went to Sea World. Yes, we saw Shamu, yes that is now what he lives for.



We go to San Diego every year for my family reunion. This year I was in a room on the third floor. Here's the view from my little balcony! Beautiful!


Me on the beach, sporting my new hat. :o) I have always wanted a cute hat, however I don't really look good in hats... I decided that in order to fulfill my 'hat dream' I needed to get one someday, and this one looked better that other styles. And the beach always makes pictures nice...


We also had the chance to go to the San Diego temple. It was incredible, absolutely stunning!


I went to a music night {yes, my parents were there. The music night was dedicated to my grandmother [my mom's mom] who passed away. So the owner invited my whole family, seeing how the piano used to be in our family...} Anyways, we were able to talk my parents into singing this silly two part song: Bad Man's Blunder. It was a crack up!