"Where Have All the Flowers (oops, Trees) Gone?"

I forgot a few of you haven't seen our war-ravaged back yard.  The BLM people came in last year and destroyed all (well, most of ) the Tamarisk trees in an effort to rid the area of the water depleting fire danger.

Anyone want to help?

I'm really getting serious about our back yard.  I know we can't do it this summer, but we can do some planning, can't we?  Bill and I went to a wedding reception next door, and I just love their backyard.  I'm ready to start drawing up the design.  Here's the "Before" picture, and quite possibly next summer, you'll get the "After" picture!

                                                              Before                        

Notice the pvc pipe stretched across the rock?  A couple of weeks ago, Will was pretending he was cutting down trees.  The pipe was the tree, and he would hold it upright, and yell "timber" as he let it fall.  Pretty creative mind.  By the way, no one was hurt during his lumber jacking :)

If anyone is interested in giving us some creative ideas for the design of the backyard, feel free, (unfortunately, we can't accommodate a pool, financially) so it looks like that is the only limit to the design.

Oatmeal and paper everywhere!

I've started couponing again, and even though it takes some time, I will make that time, since it saves us so much money.  Last week I bought approximately 35 boxes of Quaker Instant Oatmeal for about $12.00.  I also got in on a sweet deal through Staples.com.  I was able to buy two cases of their Hammermill copy paper (20 reams) for only $11.22.  That's about .55 per ream.  I've also bought a purse for $5.00, and three free movie tickets.  I'm telling you, if they want to give it to me, I'll take it!

New craft project

Everytime we have family over, for dinner (Christmas, Thanksgiving, summertime, etc.), there are never enough places to sit, especially for the little ones.  Now that the little ones are too big for high chairs or laps, I decided to get some more bar stools, and found three off of Craigslist.  They are shorter than the regular-sized barstool, and would be a perfect size for the little kids.  I'm only sorry there were only three, but they're from IKEA, and I love IKEA products. Anyway,  Bill and I drove over to Ivins this morning and picked these up, sight unseen, except in a photo on Craigslist.  They were a bit scratched and I didn't like the top, so I bought some black spraypaint, foam rubber, and some fabric.  Here's the results.  I'm pretty happy with the outcome, now we just need everyone to get here!



                                                              B E F O R E

                                                               A F T E R

I went with the chili pepper fabric, since we have both grandsons and granddaughters.  This way, there's no fighting over who gets which one.

Attendance Quiz

Ok, so I think I have finally found a way to get my students to class on time.  Nothing is more annoying than tardy kids.  It drives me crazy, and if you can imagine me crazy, that's not a good thing.  Here it goes... I LOCK THEM OUT!!!!  I really do.  I lock the door prior to the tardy bell ringing, and close it once it has rung.  As I take attendance, I can see those adorable (late) faces at the window of my door, wondering "what the heck?" The way it directly affects their grade, is, I assign an Attendance Quiz to the assignments that day, which just means they get 15 points for being on time, and zero for being tardy...I LOVE IT!  It has started to work, I think.  Some of the other teachers in my hall are doing the same thing, and it's hilarious to hear kids in the hall saying, "Oh oh, it's an attendance quiz again!"  I don't know about you, but it is aggravating to have to repeat myself almost on a regular basis.  It's kind of cute too, when I hear a student of mine ask one of his classmates who's sitting close to the door, to  let someone in.  That happened today, and I told him, "don't you dare!"  Ooo, I'm so mean.  The funny thing is, my students still like me.  Maybe they don't get it.

Mysterious Noise

I've gotten on this coupon craze (thanks, Summer), and have actually gotten in on some pretty sweet deals.  At the present, I'm waiting for two free movie tickets just for buying tons of Hershey candy! Anyway, I had oodles of coupons for Target last week and armed with a determination to get everything free, I headed to the store.  It took me a while to find everything I had coupons for, and believe me, I was a wreck when I was done.   When I got home, I had many things to put in storage, in case the world comes to a screaching halt (or slowdown). Interestingly, I purchased (with a coupon) a room deoderizer (don't laugh, I really needed it).  I finally put it together, and placed it on our kitchen table, to take care of those annoying onion, or fish smells. This air freshener is state of the art...it is motion activated, so whenever anyone passes by, WHOOSH!
I got up the first morning after I alarmed my deoderizer, and. as I walked into the kitchen at 5 :45 am, I jumped a foot or two, as it sprayed its aroma.  Not only did it spray, but it had a curious sound like a cat spitting, or some other creature that shouldn't be in my kitchen at that hour.

I still jump, but just last night, I watched it as the little red light went on, signalling imminent spraying, and I steeled myself for the noise.  It worked!  I didn't jump.  Ok, now's the time for you all to say I have way too much time on my hands.

                                 Here is that mysterious room freshener...frightening, huh?

Emails!!!

I just received an email from an angry parent, blasting me for poor teaching.  EEEEK!  Not that I'm perfect, but this student (10th grader), doesn't hand in all of his assignments, does poorly on tests/quizzes, and flat out lies to his dad.  He's actually a pretty smart kid, but that's sort of what gets him in trouble in the first place.  He won't shut up in my class.  He always has to have the last word.  I  spoke to his web design teacher, and he says the same thing about his talking out, but he's getting an A from him.  He's getting A's from most of his teachers (not me). I emailed him back and told him it was offensive to be called a poor teacher, and if he wanted to come and observe my class anytime, he was welcome.  When his kid came to class today, I questioned him about what he told his father, and he wanted to hand in work he told his father he had done.  Yeah, he had done them alright, AND I had recorded it in Powerschool.  It really bugs me when a student lies to their parents about school (me in particular).
I find that people (parents) find it much easier to slam you when they are emailing you.  I had this happen to me a couple of years ago with one of my Debate Students.  Boy could she yell!!

Could Have Had a V8

I know a healthy drink has no resemblance to a movie, but as the phrase goes, there's something else I "could have had." We went to a movie tonight, and had somewhat of a difficult time deciding which one to go to.  It's that time of the year, when it seems there's nothing out there we really wanted to see.  I sort of wanted to see "Clash of the Titans," Bill didn't really care, and let me decide, so, after reading the brief write-up in the paper, and checking it out on the internet, decided on "Date Night."  The previews were ok, some where actually funny (I thought), but it turned out to be only funny in spots (the part where the front of Steve Carrol's car was attached head on with a taxi.  That was pretty funny.  I hate it when I'm disappointed in a movie.  They just don't make good comedies anymore.  The language, topics, and visuals were really gross, and I'd like my money back.  I don't think we've seen a good movie since "Blindside."
The Masters is this weekend, and Tiger is back playing.  Bill's rooting for Phil Mickleson, and I don't really care.  Ever since all that garbage came out about Tiger's philandering, I've lost interest in watching him play...dang it!  Too bad Tyler and Bill aren't playing, now there's a couple of gentlemen (and they don't play too badly either).

11th Graders

I just figured out that, at this moment, 11 of my juniors are failing!  That's pretty bad, since I only have 24 students.  Some of them have As, but those that are failing, either don't care,  have jobs that keep them up late at night, or actually aren't capable of the work.  One of my boys reads on about the 3rd grade level, and I feel bad for him.  To make matters worse, Austin's one of the kids that works late at night.  They're doing a Research Paper/Power Point Presentation, and he was struggling last week picking a person to research.  Off the top of my head (maybe since I was into baking at the time), I suggested "Betty Crocker", and he said ok.  Today Austin came to me and said he couldn't find anything on her (what, is this the same Betty Crocker with the famous red and white checkered cookbook?).  He's a big kid, and I asked him if he played sports (sorry about the stereotype), and maybe he could do his research on a sport's figure.  He said he wasn't :( so I suggested he go back to his seat an think about someone in sports he could do.  Finally, he came back with "Joe D'Ammagio."  I guess I'm going to be doing  some research on "Jumpin' Joe" with Austin in the next week or so.  Wish me luck.  Couldn't it have been someone like, Mary Lou Retton, or Wayne Gretzky?  Those I know something about!

Peeps!

One more small blog.  I completely forgot about my green peeps.  Peeps are very important to me.  I love them.  Just imagine swallowing a mouthful of sugar, and then letting it melt in  you mouth.  There are those who who may not like this, but that would not be me.  If I remember right, didn't Adam E. like peeps, too?  Here's mine, all mine!

Happy Easter

It's Easter, and a time to remember what our Savior did for us.  I do forget what a great time this is for all of us, especially with all of the commercial trappings (chocolate rabbit, jelly eggs, etc.), but as I sit here at my computer with the entire family still asleep, I can hear a bird chirping outside, and when I look at all of our trees and flowers sprouting new blossoms and leaves, I really am grateful for my Savior.  I do need to be a better wife and mother, and even a better grandmother.  There's just something about the silence of my home this early that gives me the opportunity to reflect.
Summer and Tyler are here, briefly, and this will be a great Easter with the kids, Conference, and all of the yummy foods. Yesterday and today I am attempting to bake a new cake called "Lemon Crumb Cake."  I hope it turns out, but the one thing I have going for me is most of the family are not wild about sweet stuff (well, you might make the exception for Summer and Tyler, but don't tell Tyler that there is cream cheese in the filling!).
I'm going to snap some pictures, so I'll just post this rambling discourse and get back to it later :)

 I am so excited to eat dinner, so I can have my gourmet dessert!  It is sitting in the refrigerator right now in the garage, and I think I can here it call my name.

Well, I snuck down to the refrigerator where I hid the cake, and cut a slice to make sure no one would die from my baking (you know they used to have underlings whose only job was to taste the king's food, to make sure no one was out to get him...I'm pretending that's me).  It had a good taste, but I thought the cake, itself, was a bit heavy.  Oh well, Summer really liked it.  She's my 2nd underling, in case I die, then she can warn the kingdom (our house).

One last pic for this Easter. Here's Will, Gwen and Maggie (forcing Maggie to pose).

Outsourcing!!!

Not sure if that's how you spell it, but I hate outsourcing.  I just called a company I deal with to reset my password so that I can pay my bill online, and, of course, I was routed to India, or Bangladesh, or wherever they speak another language other than English.  I had to have the customer rep. repeat what I needed to do several times, but I bit my tongue when it came to chewing him out.  After all, he's only trying to make a living and provide for his family...it real is annoying, though, and I know there is absolutely nothing I can do to change it.  Maybe I just need to remember my password next time. Duh.

Here's a picture of Kevin, riding Teresa Goodrich's horse across the street.  Kinda cute, huh?

The little boy behind Kevin is Brent Goodrich's little boy. (Brent is the Goodrich's oldest son) If looks could kill.

Best Family in the World!!!

As I reflect on my family, and what they mean to me, I just want to jump up and down and tell everyone around how much I love each and everyone of you.  I know, I usually blog about inconsequential things such as, a haircut, Bill washing our cars in the rain, exercising, blah, blah, blah. But every night, when I go to bed, I try to fall asleep remembering different things that have gone on in my life (childbirth, ouch!, trips taken, children, etc) and it usually works, I fall asleep.  What I know for sure is that I can't believe what a very full and rewarding life I have.  For the most part,  1.We all are speaking to each other (even though there are times when too much time goes by without that connection). 2. We all love one another (even with our little idiosycracies) 3. We'd do anything for our family.  Thank you, for being the greatest family.
I know I should post a picture of my family right here on this blog, but I don't have a picture of us all in one photo :( , so I'll look for a bunch of photos that I think of when I think of you all!

Oh yeah, I just noticed this is written on April Fool's Day, and I want everyone to know this blog is NOT an joke!