Goofy

It's been one of those days. I woke up to a very strong impression that it was, for sure, without a doubt, FRIDAY. I realized, by the time I got to the bathroom, that it was not Friday, but only Tuesday. That really puts a damper on your weekend plans, if you are not even there yet! I'm having the darndest time getting my high school's Literary Magazine published. I took it to Steamrollers (for the third time) after school today, and they called me few minutes ago to let me know they couldn't find the Index. EEOW! So now you can see why I put Goofy in my blog. Can't explain it, just feeling sort of like one of old Walt's cartoon characters. Did I mention that I was Goofy in one of our Roadshows at BYU? Yep, that I was. Enough said.

Spaghetti Dinner

You can really tell it's a Friday when you make mistakes like the one I just made. I got home from school, and went to work making a pot of spaghetti (mmmm). We were having a few people over from the ward, and I like my sauce to simmer for a couple of hours. The picture you see on this blog is actually the SECOND pot of spaghetti that I made. This is what happened...(I wouldn't tell anyone else, and I know this won't go any further), so here goes... Becca called me just after I finished putting everything in the pot. Ymmm. Anyway, I got into a conversation with Becca about, of all things, baseball, and I decided to multitask. My house plants were looking kind of dry, so I decided to water them. Not just any old water, but the Miracle Grow kind of water. I added the drops of MG into the pitcher of water and at the same time decided the sauce needed another stir (all the while having a very intense baseball conversation with Becca). As I held the phone with one hand, and the water (with MG in it) in the other, my brain must have just gone to sleep, because I began to pour the chemically-laced water into the spaghetti sauce. WOW! I woke up real fast, said good-bye to Becca, and tried to scoop the section of water out of the sauce...kinda didn't work, since water moves pretty fast. All I can say is, it's a good thing I had more of the ingredients in the cupboard. Yeah, I started over, even though I briefly thought of trying to salvage what I could. In my mind I had images of 6 dead people soon after consuming a pot of spaghetti(french bread, salad, veggies included). It was too much for me, so down the garbage disposal went a large pot of my best effort...only to start again. What you see in this picture is sauce #2 (and we're all still alive). Boy, do I love Fridays.

Late at night

I can't sleep,and I need to finish my novel, so if you combine the two, you get "me", sitting on the couch in the t.v. room. The good news is, I finished my book. It's titled Blindness, by Jose Saramago, and I don't really recommend it to anyone, but I had to finish it. I really hate to start a book and not finish. It's about these people who, one-by-one, go blind, and the whole city goes a bit crazy. Bill saw me glancing at it at Target before Christmas, so he bought it for me. I've gotta watch out and make sure I either let him know I'm only looking, not interested, or I could end up with a couple of bookshelves, full of strange books! The good news is, there's only about 4 weeks left of school, but the bad news is, I have to teach those 4 weeks. You can really tell it's time for a break, and I mean a long one, when the teachers are more anxious for school to let out. I guess that's how it has always been:) I don't have any pictures to post, and Summer is going to help me import/download some music, so I can be just like her. Have a great week!

New design

Bill and I are trying to install "InDesign" on our new Apple computer, and it is taking the longest time. I can't believe they make you jump through so many hoops, just to prove it is indeed you (who purchased the program) doing the installing. Bill had to fax his Dixie State College ID to them, and that didn't go through, so now we're waiting for them to email us back with further instructions...ARRGH!!!! I'm in the middle of putting the school literary magazine together, and it is so very stressful. I hired (sort of) a senior to help me, and when she was going through the steps of adding the various poems and artwork, it just amazed me how technologically gifted this next generation of kids are. Her fingers were flying over the keyboard! I tried to follow her, but I really felt like an idiot. I'm grateful she's a neat girl, and keeps all of her laughing to herself. Anyway, this magazine is new territory for me. I'll take a picture of the cover and put it on the blog (if it ever gets done). In case you're wondering what that fuzzy picture is at the top of this entry, just ask Mandy. Ok, Ok, I'll tell you. It's a picture of a picture at California Adventure ("Tower of Terror"). I'm the calm one, Bill's the strong, silent one, and Mandy's, hmm, let me see. Oh, yeah, she's the "don't let go, don't let go" freaked out one. It was so fun!

What's With This Weather?

Just to let you know, I'm not one of those people who bring out their spring/summer clothes, only to put them away in boxes when fall comes. I do have boxes, you know me, but, for seasonal clothes, not so much. Anyway, back to the current weather. I started dressing for warmer weather, when the temp hit 65-70, and by dang, we are expecting a blizzard tonight. Well, Cedar is, but we get some of it. I love my classroom windows, but it is so dreary when it's raining and blowing! Sounds a bit like whining, but really, don't you think the middle of April is time for a change in the weather? I can tell I've been in southern Utah too long, when I whine about the crummy weather. Here's a couple of shots out our front door.

Easter 2009

Well, Easter has come and gone, but its message is eternal. I started my Primary calling today. I teach 4-5 year olds. You know, compared to my 10th graders at school, they're (the 4-5 year olds) are not too bad. I did have to ask Angelie to put her legs down, and one of the other girls picked her nose, but all in all, it went pretty well. Wait, Rex did keep hitting himself over the head with his scriptures while he was waiting to say the opening prayer, and when he came back to sit with our class, let me know that he needed to go pee, right now! You gotta love them. Summer, Erin, how did you do it? I was trying to calculate how long you keep a calling, and time just seemed to go on forever. Here's a couple of pictures of Adam, Ashley, and Kevin doing their Easter-egg hunt outside of the Stuart's house. Have a great week.

Kermit the Frog

J

Kermit the Frog

I took this while in California (Hollywood), and it was the only star I found I wanted to take a picture of (oops, ending a sentence in a preposition...grammar alert). I'm also trying to add music to my blog, so here goes...

Las Vegas

Bill and I went to Las Vegas (sin city) to get away for a few hours, and I had to return a couple of items. What better reason to drive a couple of hours? We enjoyed ourselves, ate at P.F. Changs, met annoying kiosk venders, etc. Speaking of kiosk venders, do they annoy you like the do me? I just can't stand it when you're walking down the mall having a conversation with your whomever, and they step in your line of sight asking "what are you drinking" (I just bought a pop), or, "may I see your ring" (this one is hawking ring cleaner), all the way to "Your husband is so lucky to have a beautiful wife like you" (selling some face cream, to make me even more beautiful). The one that took the cake was yesterday when, as I was walking along looking for a particular store, and a vender stares at me and says, "why do you look so mean?" (he obviously needed to talk to the one at the other mall that thought I was "beautiful") By this time I had really it, so I said "what did you just say? don't talk to me that way". Boy was I full of myself. We did get away, unscathed, and finished our tasks. Oh yeah, I was in the Banana Republic store, returning a shirt, and as I stood in line admiring a jacket (too small), a woman said "go ahead, get it, it would look great on a body like yours". I quickly returned my shirt, didn't look back, grabbed Bill and headed for St. George. What is it with these people, anyway? So we did get some shots (from the car) and here's just a few. There is a shot of a casino that was obviously named after Bill!

Jacob, etc.

I just got the biggest urge to write, so here I am. I'm attaching this picture of Bill and Jacob getting ready for Jacob's baptism last January. Hi, Jacob...remember this day? We are all so proud of you. You're the second of the grand kids to be baptised, I think Ryan's next, then Will, Jessie, and on and on. I just wish everyone was here in Utah, dang it! How many of you out there are watching 24? Yeah, Adam E., it's been a long journey, this 24, and just because you can't stick with it, it doesn't mean I won't. I'm so getting ready for summer vacation. With student's calling me "dude" (more than once, which gave him a free ticket to the VP's office, and a face off with an immature young lady in the very next period, I guess it's a good thing I have such a calm, laidback personality. HA-HA (as Bill would put it). This summer we are heading for Portland, then to that little far out-of-the-way burg called Orofino, Idaho. I am so excited to visit your Walmart, Summer, and that exchange place, where you go for all the great deals (just think, only $5). The next vacation spot is a bit farther away. I'm flying to New Hampshire for a visit, then a looong drive back to Texas where I'll rest a while, before flying back to Utah. It sounds tiring, but somehow I know I won't run into anyone itching to call me "dude." I'm planning on taking pictures over Easter, so you should get a new blog at that time. The thought just hit me...who is the "you" I refered to in my previous sentence? This is so cool, I feel like I'm writing for the New York Times, it just takes my breath away :)

My last night class!

Woopee! It's here at last. This is my last night of my 12 week night class that I teach every spring for the school district, and I'm really ready for it to be done and over with. I'm sort of tired right now, and as I reminisce about today, I think it went pretty well. I had my 10th graders do a "concentration" or "memory" game with their latin root words, and they had a lot of fun (I suspect a couple of them of cheating).

I found a picture from my plethura of items on my computer here at school. My 11th graders of a few years ago decided to create this for me on my computer when I was out of the room. They're so cute, and they loved me!

General Conference

Well, Sunday morning conference is over and it was amazing. I hope all of you out there have the opportunity to watch conference either live, or via the internet (or read it in next month's Ensign, or later on on the t.v.) wow, there really are a variety of ways to listen to the prophet and his apostles. I don't have any pictures or music to attach to this entry. I'm terribly un-creative (Summer, you're the queen of all creative blogs, as of this day). To all of the rest of the family who also blog, this is not a slam on you...you all are creative too, and I'm quite envious of your talents. I know I shouldn't be envious, and it's Sunday, but I'll be envious quietly...am I rambling? Yeah, too much time on my hands right now. I promise you, I won't have the opportunity to run off at the mouth in the future. I've got tons of papers to grade, which I am now refusing to do. Oh well, I can just give all the kids A's this time, and fool them all. Did I tell everyone about our new technology? Maybe in the next blog

Numero 2

I need to clarify the picture I attached to our first blog (yippie, I'm a blogger...wait, what's a "blogger?") The picture was taken of Bill, Mandy, and me at California Adventure, when we took our Spring Break get-away to California. Have a great night, see you soon!

O.K., this is a bit scary, since I haven't blogged before. I teach high school English, and it seems that every time I write something that will eventually be read by another party whether it be a friend, family or my boss, I get so paranoid. I DON'T WANT TO MAKE ANY MISTAKES!!! Well, now that I've gotten that out of my system, I can continue. One thing, though...if anyone sees any mistakes I've made (grammatically), please don't tell me. I'm going to attempt to import a picture, or two, so you can see how gorgeous I (Bill too) am. :) This first blog is dedicated to all of you out there with way too much time on your hands.