Quote This.

Try to make at least three people smile everyday.

Realize that life is school and you are here to learn. Problems
are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away
like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

Life isn't fair, but it is good.
Life is too short to waste time hating someone.

Don't take yourself too seriously. No one else does.

Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their
journey is all about.

What other people think of you is none of your business."Simplicity is pure sophistication."

And the Students Pull Ahead

I was the perfect student. I just know it.
I wish I had thirty of me, perfect little me's, sitting in my classroom
eager to hang on every word I say. Then I might
feel like I was doing well teaching.

(Because I am not going to tell you all that there are
a few choice students that I could just, you know... kick
really hard, or something.
I'm a professional.
Professionals don't want to kick their students, or spray them down with
a super-soaker water gun, or duct tape them to their seats,
or stuff a million sock down their mouth.
Professionals know how to handle situations where students just
rub you the wrong way. And I'm going have to delete this post
before I ever get a job. And professionals wouldn't have to do that.)
{image}
Yep, I had a rough day at school.
(Remember I am still a students so I can complain
about how hard school is. And how much I hate Monday
because it means I have a whole week of school left.
Students be nice to your teachers!)

But I can't complain about my weekend. I joined the Mormon
force down in Utah to attend General Conference. GC is where
we listen to our leaders tell us all sorts of good stuff and feel that
nice warm feeling we call the spirit. We find way to be better,
and I really like that.

My whole branch left
at 4:30 in the morn on Sat. and returned at 2 in the morn on Sunday.
Not usually my tradition for GC.
Usually I make a mighty breakfast, leave on the PJs,
and watch GC from the comfort of my couch, but not this time.
I didn't watch much on Sunday. I slept. A lot.
Good thing there is the Ensign.
And we can find it here.
What is your General Conference tradition?

P.S. Don't you just love her nails? Watermelon! Genius!

Don't Call Boys: Mom's Golden Rule

Let me tell you about dating.

(Well at least about dating after you haven't been dating for awhile because, you know,

you've been married.)

It's awkward.

I feel like I'm lying to the guy. But honestly, when do you tell

someone that you messed up your life. And who honestly wants

to be dating a girl who drags on and on about her heart breaking.

But I am dating now, and I have to remind myself of something

that I believe in but struggle with.

I believe that the man must be the one asking you on the

date and essentially be the one pursuing the woman.

(the old-fashion type of relationship)

When I was in sixth grade I called Ryan E. (definitely someone I had a

crush on) because we were planning to surprise our teacher with a party.

Although the phone call started as strictly business,

I wasn't going to let an opportunity to talk to the oh so popular Ryan E.

go. Nope, I took full advantage. I kept that poor boy on the phone as

long as I could.

However, when mom found out I got the "do-not-call-boys

lecture" (it was short but affective) and for the most part that has worked really well.

I've forgotten that lesson.
I set up the sweet swaps. I call when I want someone to go with me somewhere.

I text when I want them to know I'm thinking of them.

And I definitely think of some of the most creative schemes to get in the

same room as the man I'm semi-stalking. I am aggressive and I think it

is wrong! I make it too easy on men. And to be perfectly honest, I think my

whole generation does.

I'm not suggesting that we become sticks in the mud. No,

flirt away, make your interests known discreetly. Just don't be the

first to make the move.

I think men have become lazy. They can rely

on us to pick up the slack and tell them when they should be

getting together with us again. We don't even give them a chance to lead out.

Don't we want a man who is going to have the guts to chase after us?

And its sad when we have church leaders giving talks about the

definition of a date verses "hanging out."

No, we shouldn't want to "hang out."

No, we don't want to have intelligent conversations be through texting.

We want to be dated and courted. It doesn't even have to be fancy.

Do you realize that by enabling these men through the dating

experience you are going to be dealing with that through marriage as well?

(And then you get the title of the nagging wife.)

Let the men have a little ambition and put forth a little effort.

I like a man who plans the date beforehand, opens the car door, and

calls soon afterwards to say how great I am and that he wants to do it

again. I want to make a comeback of MEN and chivalry and the go-get-em attitude.

This time, you won't find me calling boys.

{image}

Though I might change my mind if I had a cool phone like this.

Larry Walters' Can Fly!

Yes, sometimes I get lonely. And sometimes I cry really, really hard.

But for the most part I'm happy. And I want to remain that way.

I consider myself a bouncer. And this is a happy post filled with what

I would consider happy, inspiring thoughts.

This photo happens to be my new computer background. Besides

just being really cool, its got a really cool story to go with it.

Once upon a time there was a man named Larry Walters. Larry was

a truck driver who had never been able to fulfil his dream of being a pilot

due to his poor eyesight. I am sure Larry sat around on his lawn chair

for several years feeling sorry for himself. When one day Larry decided

enough was enough. He hooked up 45 helium filled weather balloons to

his lawn chair, grabbed a pellet gun, a PBJ, and a six pack of beer and

shot up to sixteen thousand feet. I can imagine his feeling of exhilaration.

Sixteen thousand feet in a lawn chair over Los Angeles!

Unfortunately, he drifted into the primary approach corridor of Long

Beach Airport. Yes, Larry was in trouble. After about 45 minutes in the

air he shoot down several balloons with his gun before accidentally dropping

it overboard and landed on some power lines. This blacked out an entire

neighborhood. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) fined him

$1,500 and cited him for "operating a civil aircraft for which there is not

currently in effect an airworthiness certificate."

You know what he said when asked why he did it?

This is good.

"A man can't just sit around."

Ada boy Larry.

Larry did without knowing what would happen. He did it despite

the dangers and his poor eyesight and people telling him no.

His message from 16,000 feet up was: "I did it! I'm flying."
Most of us do just sit around dreaming, wishing, hoping, and

waiting for the good things to come our way.
And then there are those few who find ways to make their dreams

work. There are those who have the spirit to do that which is scary, and

deemed impossible.

What kind of person are you?

The COW Story (involving poop)

The sun was setting behind me. The colors blending in with the cloud

of dust from my tires as I speed along the dirt road. I stuck my hand out

of the window making an airplane and letting the wind blow it up and down.
It's harvest time!

All day long there is the sound of machines going in the fields. A fleet of trucks

run along the roads taking wheat, barley, and oats to their rightful places. The

sticky hotness and the itchy cloud of grain dust penetrate the air. It is

definitely miserable. But I love it. I didn't always.

Living on a farm sounds romantic and appeasing. Let me tell you it isn't.

When I was younger I hated the farm with a PASSION. I wanted to live

in a big city full of culture and art. I loved art. However, I was stuck in a town

where the nearest thing that could be called artistic was a cattle brand.

When I applied for college I was required to write an essay addressing

the question of why the college should choose me over other applicants.

I told them a story:

It was a stormy day. Actually, it had been raining for about three days.

Dad hauled my little brother and me out of the house to sort out

some cows that needed to go to auction.

We chased them down the alleyway into the sorting corral.

I grabbed the gate and was using it to push the cows in. All of a sudden I

was on my back as one of the mothering heifers kicked the gate right into my

forehead and sent me flying onto the ground. Let me remind you it

had been raining all week and so, yes, I was covered head (including hair) to

foot in slimy, oozy COW POOP!!!

{image via}

I just laid there stunned; cows running all around me

taking advantage of the open gate. I got slowly up. Waddled over to dad,

holding back my tears asked if I could please go home. "Nope," he said.

" We have to finish the job." So I stayed. Miserable to the bone. Hair

matted to my head with poop. Crusty. Stinky. Wet. And we finished the job.

I told those big college people that I would be that way the rest of my life.

I would stay until the job was done.

And so... in two days I move.

I move to a new town, a new job, and a new life.

I'm starting my student teaching. Starting the beginning of "being cultured."

And you know what I think I'm going to miss the most: home.

I'll be packing now.

Where I Come From It's Cornbread and Chicken

{me with the pigs}

If someone were to ask me what experience has shaped my life and personality the most, I would say, without the slightest pause, growing up on a farm. There is a certain sense of pride that comes from having your dad work with his hands and your mom take care of her family. As far back as I can recall, we've always had cattle and enough land to keep us more than busy.

Lessons learned on the farm were countless. Such things as

• I was born knowing how to drive a truck and a tractor.
• It is important to know how deep and thick something is before you cross it.
• The better you treat an animal the more they are willing to give you.
  
• Everyone feels hot and sticky and miserable in a 2pm sun --you’re problems are not unique.
• There is always going to be another solution. You can't do it one way you can do it another.
• A piece of twine will do some amazing things. (It is similar to duct tape.)
• You can't start it-- push it. You can't push it--pull it. You can't move it--ask your brother.
• The best time to sing at the top of your lungs to Dixie Chicks and Tim McGraw is while driving a tractor. Country music doesn't belong anywhere else.
• It isn't always easy to find "this size bolt" from 6 five-gallon buckets of rusty pieces of metal.
• And it important to always have a lot of duct tape and WD-40 on hand.
• You don't get to take a hour lunch.
• Machines talk. They tell you when they are feeling normal and when something is amiss. STOP if anything sounds bad.
• Go to bed when you have the chance.
• Run everything to the dirt and then some.
• An most importantly, the harder you work at something the better you feel about yourself.
  
  Family and your stories are part of who you are and what you stand for. Dad can fix anything and mom knows how to make everything good. The habits you keep for years are as strong as life itself. We are part of the land we work. Pray a lot because it all depends on Him. However, work like it doesn't.
  
  No other experience in this world can offer the satisfaction I feel when I watch the sunset after a day of sweat and hard work and the realization I've "done some good in the world today."

Mom doesn't like the word random

~ When I finally have a house of my own to decorate, I am

going to put thousands of glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceilings.

I have them in my bedroom now and I love trying to find constellations

as I am going to sleep. I make up my own with their own stories.

(I did this with a past boyfriend for a date. We went and checked out
children's books at the library, made a fort out of the couch cushions, and

tried to find constellations on the ceilings as we ate smores made from the

stovetop. I don't think he liked it as much as I did. Cued me in that he wasn't

right for me. :) {Image found at weheartit.com}

~ My mom's name is Ann. My grandma's name is Shirley. I've always

wanted to name one of my daughters: Anne Shirley.

"Anne with an e."

It honors three great people.

{Mom cutting Grandma's hair. This is one of my favorite pictures.}

Anne of Green Gables= fantastic book, fantastic movie

Probably going to watch it today and eat my cupcakes.

~ I Love Lucy is the best show in the whole world. I have never laughed so hard.

I own 6 seasons on DVD and I watch them every year. I've dyed my hair
red in honor of her several times.

{image found at weheartit.com}

~I don't really have celebrity crushes. Although for a while I really liked Orlando Bloom. I liked watching him in Lord of the Rings. Running. Hmm. He made a pretty great pirate as well.

~Getting notes is one of my most favorite things. I love making cards to give

to people. I think notes should be as long as the space available.

There is always more to say to a person, fill'er up!

~Summer is coming to an end. Did I get rid of my pasty-white chicken legs? No.

Did I read any of the books I planned to? No.
Did I do some art projects that I could use for my student teaching? No.

My excuse: for the last four years I have done nothing but study my

brains out. Read and read. I use to love reading. It feels now like

something I have to do (a chore) and I don't want to. I'm done studying for a while.

All I want to do is watch T.V. and eat cupcakes. It makes me

feel sluggish and gross, but I deserve it. I have worked hard to finish college

and this my break. Next week I'll be moving into a new apartment, in a

new town, and starting a new "grown-up" job; I'm scared! I'm having all sorts

of doubts. What if I really don't like teaching? What if I'm not a good teacher?

Crap.

Mom says I worry too much. I know I do.

~These chairs are making me so happy. I painted them yesterday.

The frames were plain wood I had sitting around that I sprayed

with a light coat of white and scruffed up a bit with sandpaper.

Watercolor.

~I really want to know how to make a heart on the computer.

Anyone know?

It's a Universal Truth...

that all driver's licenses are terrible.

Today I got my third license in a year (that's a different story that someday I'll tell)

and it is the worst! I tried extremely hard to be cute. I was determined to look

at least normal. I wore my favorite shirt and did my hair as cute as I could.

But the camera again conquered me.

Hair= not bad.

Squinty eyes= ugh!

See the clenched smile= not normal, kind of sinister.

Chin= I look like my brother.

And who sees my driver's license? Police who have the ability to make me

poorer than I am. (Did I tell you all that I have to buy a new car?) I always hope if I

look pleasant they will be nicer. (Not going to work with this lovely card.)

I hate getting pulled over.

I hate the chills down my back seeing those lights. I hate how awkward it is.

I hate the agonizing wait seeing if they are going to punish me; and coupled

with the flashing lights blinding me and everyone whose passing looking

through the window to see if they know me, makes it miserable.

"Hey everyone! Yes, I got in trouble. Move along now."

So, what I really meant to ask:

As anyone ever had a good driver's license?