So, the holidays are soon upon us and my family is already talking Christmas plans since we will all be together. The idea of another talent show has been proposed. Help!!! No idea what to do. Last time (two years ago) I played songs on water glasses. It was awesome, if I do say so myself. Other family members reenacted the Happy Hands club from Napoleon Dynamite and also funny moments from our family's history etc...
I have to top these!!
Any suggestions??? I am completely stumped.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The week of the perfect storm
Don't you love it when so many crazy things happen all at once? What do they call that when everything intersects? The Bermuda Triangle? I prefer to call it the perfect storm. This week at school it is Red Ribbon Week. This consists of pajama day, sweats day, hat day, candy each day for the kids, bulletin board decorating etc... When you are at a school with a uniform, any time the kids get to wear something different they go nuts!!! This week we also have Halloween. You better believe that the kids know it. They, understandably, are really excited for the impending sugar highs and costumes. To be honest, I am too. I love Halloween! Being a teacher, you get to enjoy it as much as you did as a kid. So fun!! If that wasn't enough to make the kids insane, it's COLD/snowy!! Ugh - so many fun things going on but its pretty much impossible to get any teaching done.
Did I mention that it's end of term at the end of the week and we need to do DIBELS testing with each kid? ( I have no help with that BTW).
It is times like this when one word comes to mind as the most important trait a teacher can possess: FLEXIBILITY!!
Happy Halloween everybody.
Did I mention that it's end of term at the end of the week and we need to do DIBELS testing with each kid? ( I have no help with that BTW).
It is times like this when one word comes to mind as the most important trait a teacher can possess: FLEXIBILITY!!
Happy Halloween everybody.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Day 30, 0 to go
LAST DAY - TIME FOR MAKE-UP!
I can't believe it's been 30 days of new adventures. It has been a crazy, busy, exciting, roller coaster of a month full of good things and bad things. Most importantly, there has been a good thing each day because of this adventure. To finish off this month, my friend Tifani joined me once again and we had a lot of fun making and mixing up some eyeshadows. She bought a kit that had color pigments and base you mix together. She had some sparkles, highlights, and shimmery powders you could mix to make whatever color you want. We spent a couple of hours creating new colors. So fun and colorful! I opted for a lot of bright colors and have a shade for almost every color of the rainbow. Tifani even had little bags to mix them in, pots to put the finished color in and a mortar and pestle to grind some powders up. I have never done nor would I ever even think about making my own makeup, but leave it to Tifani to be prepared with everything you need and an amazing idea.
I can't believe it's been 30 days of new adventures. It has been a crazy, busy, exciting, roller coaster of a month full of good things and bad things. Most importantly, there has been a good thing each day because of this adventure. To finish off this month, my friend Tifani joined me once again and we had a lot of fun making and mixing up some eyeshadows. She bought a kit that had color pigments and base you mix together. She had some sparkles, highlights, and shimmery powders you could mix to make whatever color you want. We spent a couple of hours creating new colors. So fun and colorful! I opted for a lot of bright colors and have a shade for almost every color of the rainbow. Tifani even had little bags to mix them in, pots to put the finished color in and a mortar and pestle to grind some powders up. I have never done nor would I ever even think about making my own makeup, but leave it to Tifani to be prepared with everything you need and an amazing idea.
Day 29, 1 day to go!!!
SHOUTING HAIR
So, I've been a bit of a slacker on my last few days. It's been a bit of a downer week, so it made it really hard to keep up. Dang it! I have my last adventures ready to go, and it's been amazing! So, yesterday I went to get my hair did. Since I got my hair cut short three years ago, I haven't colored my hair. So, I have virgin hair! She has been telling me about a new method for highlighting hair called baliage. My younger sister got it done and I loved it, and I figured it had been long enough. Time for coloring. I was hoping for a very subtle look - and that's what baliage is supposed to be. Since it is a sort of bleach and not a color, you don't know how it will turn out until it's done. Kind of a gamble, but I was so excited!
Here's the finished look:
A guy who used to do my hair would always ask if you want your hair to whisper, talk, or shout... what do you think my hair is doing???
Tune in tomorrow for the last adventure.
So, I've been a bit of a slacker on my last few days. It's been a bit of a downer week, so it made it really hard to keep up. Dang it! I have my last adventures ready to go, and it's been amazing! So, yesterday I went to get my hair did. Since I got my hair cut short three years ago, I haven't colored my hair. So, I have virgin hair! She has been telling me about a new method for highlighting hair called baliage. My younger sister got it done and I loved it, and I figured it had been long enough. Time for coloring. I was hoping for a very subtle look - and that's what baliage is supposed to be. Since it is a sort of bleach and not a color, you don't know how it will turn out until it's done. Kind of a gamble, but I was so excited!
Here's the finished look:
A guy who used to do my hair would always ask if you want your hair to whisper, talk, or shout... what do you think my hair is doing???
Tune in tomorrow for the last adventure.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Day 28, 2 go
CONFERENCE DRIVING
The end of my 30 days is almost here!!! Wow! I can't believe it has ben a month. Wow how time flies. Looking back over my adventures, I see that I haven't done many spiritual things that are the most important things I can do in life. I had recently downloaded last April'sconference session on my IPOD. I hadn't listened to it yet, but I did in the car today on my way home. I had forgotten the main theme was families and raising children. WOW! I don't remember there ever being a more dominant theme then there was last April. It just says how important it is to raise a righteous family in today's world.
So, yesterday I drove home in silence, but today I listened to the words of the prophet and general authorities. My favorite story was in a talk by someone of the seventy (didn't catch the name...)He was talking about a boy that wants to hit a homerun, so he practices batting with himself. He tosses the ball up and tries to hit it. He misses three times and is upset at first because he wanted to have the best hit ever. After a moment he gets a big smile on his face and says "What a pitcher!" What a great lesson on overcoming trials and finding the positive in life. I know I need that in my life, especially this week. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time remembering the talks after hearing them only once on TV. I'm glad that I have them on my IPOD that I can listen to them as much as I want and really get the messages I need to hear, when I need them!
The end of my 30 days is almost here!!! Wow! I can't believe it has ben a month. Wow how time flies. Looking back over my adventures, I see that I haven't done many spiritual things that are the most important things I can do in life. I had recently downloaded last April'sconference session on my IPOD. I hadn't listened to it yet, but I did in the car today on my way home. I had forgotten the main theme was families and raising children. WOW! I don't remember there ever being a more dominant theme then there was last April. It just says how important it is to raise a righteous family in today's world.
So, yesterday I drove home in silence, but today I listened to the words of the prophet and general authorities. My favorite story was in a talk by someone of the seventy (didn't catch the name...)He was talking about a boy that wants to hit a homerun, so he practices batting with himself. He tosses the ball up and tries to hit it. He misses three times and is upset at first because he wanted to have the best hit ever. After a moment he gets a big smile on his face and says "What a pitcher!" What a great lesson on overcoming trials and finding the positive in life. I know I need that in my life, especially this week. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time remembering the talks after hearing them only once on TV. I'm glad that I have them on my IPOD that I can listen to them as much as I want and really get the messages I need to hear, when I need them!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Day 27, 3 to go
THE SOUND OF SILENCE
After some bad news at work on Friday and a crazy day getting things back together today, I needed some peace and quiet. On the way home, I did something I NEVER do. I turned of the radio. I can't stand driving without the radio/IPOD/some sort of background noise. It's usually how I unwind on my way home or really enjoy music and rock out. Today, I drove home and was alone with my own thoughts for 40 minutes in the car (25 minutes to Provo from school, plus a couple of errands before getting to the house). It was a little theraputic - it let me try to wrap my mind around some things that have happened at school and to think about what needs to happen the rest of the week. Out of habbit, my hand kept wanting to turn up the volume on my steering wheel controls and I would have to consciously hold it back. I guess I truly am a creature of habbit. It's very rare that I am in silence or any kind of quiet atmosphere at all. Being around 8-9 year olds for most of the day doesn't allow for a lot of peace! When I get home I usually have music or the tv on in the background. So, it was very unusual to have a prolonged quiet drive home. I did enjoy it and it was nice to just think. Anyway, I think I could do with a little more peace and quiet in my life.
After some bad news at work on Friday and a crazy day getting things back together today, I needed some peace and quiet. On the way home, I did something I NEVER do. I turned of the radio. I can't stand driving without the radio/IPOD/some sort of background noise. It's usually how I unwind on my way home or really enjoy music and rock out. Today, I drove home and was alone with my own thoughts for 40 minutes in the car (25 minutes to Provo from school, plus a couple of errands before getting to the house). It was a little theraputic - it let me try to wrap my mind around some things that have happened at school and to think about what needs to happen the rest of the week. Out of habbit, my hand kept wanting to turn up the volume on my steering wheel controls and I would have to consciously hold it back. I guess I truly am a creature of habbit. It's very rare that I am in silence or any kind of quiet atmosphere at all. Being around 8-9 year olds for most of the day doesn't allow for a lot of peace! When I get home I usually have music or the tv on in the background. So, it was very unusual to have a prolonged quiet drive home. I did enjoy it and it was nice to just think. Anyway, I think I could do with a little more peace and quiet in my life.
Day 26, 4 to go
THE MORNING BREAKS/ 1(00) SUNS
Something that has been on my list since I came up with this idea was watching a sunrise. I have never really get up early for the purpose of just watching the sun rise. Since I was at Bear Lake, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. The sun rises relatively late since it is the fall, at our cabin that faces east over the lake = beautiful! I woke up at 6:50 and sat on our front porch with a blanket and waited. My mom got up to join me and even brought hot chocolate. Truly, not a better way to start the day!
Wait for it...
The clouds gave us a great show
Beautiful!!!
It was really amazing to see how quickly the sun appeared and we couldn't have asked for a better morning. As my mom said "It rises every morning, doesn't it" Yes, it does and I am so glad to have had this opportunity to see it this morning.
PS, if anyone gets the double musical reference of the title of this post, you are a "member of the family"!!
Day 25, 5 to go
MILLIONS OF PEACHES...
TodayI joined my family at my cabin for conference weekend. So much fun and one of favorite ways to enjoy conference. Being out of town made it a little difficult to come up with a new adventure. So, earlier in the day, I was talking to my family about needing to come up with a new thing... she said "how about making jam?" Perfect. My mom and dad brought a whole box of peaches from their tree in their backyard. It was a ton!! So, I decided to make peach jam.
Pretty simple and yummy!
Peeling millions of peaches, peaches for free...
Adding the magic jam ingredient: pectin.
Peach jam!!! (not enough jars at the cabin)
I'm not a huge peach fan, but I did have a taste and it was sugary, sweet, and peachy!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Day 24, 6 to go
ELEPHANTS ON PARADE
Don't you love it when you are staying at a hotel or on a cruise and you come back to your room and your towels are decorated into some sort of animal shape? Well, I do! Also my sister-in-law gave my mom a really cute towel shaped elephant that held some lotion. I wanted to try my hand at towel animals. Perhaps it's a little stretch for a new adventure, but it makes me feel very diverse in my abilities. I decided to make an elephant, and the instructions I found called him "Ernie Elephant". He required 2 towels, one bath towel and 1 hand towel. The only towels I could find were different colors, so he was going to be a multil colored elephant a la the psychadelic elephants in Dumbo. It was super simple, but I think he turned out pretty cute. I added some sun glasses for a vacation-y feel. Hmm.. maybe I need to go on a cruise.
Meet Ernie the Elephant
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Day 23, 7 to go
GO ON, TAKE A BITE
There's a somewhat famous line in Sleepless in Seattle that Tom Hanks gives as a reason that he loves his wife: "She could peel an apple in one, long, curly, strip" I have always wondered if I could do this. Is there a special trick? Is it really a remarkable task? Well, I have never really tried it before, so here's the new adventure today. Can I, and Meg Ryan, peel an apple in one long curly strip? The challenge was accepted.
The contendor:
A delicious, beautiful, and shiny, gala apple.
The task:
Me, peeling the apple in one strip.
Success???
You betcha! This is the peel - one long, curly strip!!!
It was a really yummy delicious apple too. Bonus!
Day 22 8 to go
COUNTRY ROAD
Tonight was my family/friend giltter toe party. We have a party about every 6 weeks. I literally live for these nights! Good chit chat, food, glamourous toes, and fantastic company. Tonight's party was hosted by my cousin who just moved in to a new house in Farmington. It's a bit of a drive from Santaquin, so I knew I wouldn't have a ton of time for a new adventure. I picked up my friend Tifani in Salt Lake on the way, and we had a fantistic ladies night. On the way home, we decided to go home on the good ol' Legacy Highway.
I have never driven on the Legacy highway before, so we were in for a beautiful, country, nighttime drive. Well, we kind of thought we were.
We did have a pretty nice sunset as we drove. Not too many cars at all, and it was a nice quiet adventure. However, we began to notice that the city was getting a little farther away - we were going to the west side! We quickly exited and made our way to I-15 to get to Salt Lake. Now heading east, we were then faced with this:
Kind of hard to tell, but we were stopped at a train track. We watched the train moving very slowly. Very slowly... Then it stopped.... more waiting.... then the train started to move BACKWARDS. Very slowly... It stopped again... then started moving forward again. This happened about 2-3 more times. I have never seen a train do that before - so somewhat of a new adventure. Finally, the train kept moving and didn't stop. Yeah! I finally got Tifani home and I continued on my way. All in all, a lovely drive that I will take in the future only when necessary.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Day 21, 9 to go
DESSERT ANYONE??
Is there anything better than cooking a yummy, chocolately, creamy, yet easy dessert? I say NO!!! One of my favorites is an eclair cake. Graham cracker crust, pudding/cool whip filling, and chocolate frosting. Are you salivating yet??? Well, tomorrow is our glitter toe party and I needed a treat to take along. Last year at school, someone on the PTO always brought in this yummy dessert for parent teacher conferences and I have been craving it for a while. I haven't ever made it and thought: perfect opportunity! My sister sent me the recipe and I stopped at the store and came home, cleaned the kitchen and whipped up some chocolately heaven.
Here's the recipe if you don't know it:
2 pkgs. of Graham crackers
(2) 3 oz pkgs. of instant vanilla pudding
3 1/2 cups of milk
8 oz. of cool whip
Line 9x13 pan with graham crackers. Mix milk with pudding. Fold in cool whip. Put half of pudding mix on crackers. Do another layer of crackers. Put the rest of pudding mix on crackers and top with another layer of crackers.
FROSTING:
4 TBSP of unsweetened cocal
4 TBSP Butter
4 TBSP of milk
Melt all together. Stir in 2 C of powdered sugar. Frost. Cover and refrigerate.
and PRESTO:
Mmmmm... Too bad I have to wait until tomorrow night to have any.
Day 20, 10 to go
TEA TIME
Having a very sketchy voice after yesterdays concert, I needed a bit of homeopathic help... HERBAL TEA. I have never tried it and have always wanted to give it a whirl. Is it good? Does it really help? I bought a pack of assorted teas including lemon, orange spice, and pomegranate. I have heard that lemon is the best to help with sore throats and such - so lemon it is.
Well, it was not very good. Not a ton of flavor- so it was a bit watery. I added a little honey to make it a bit sweeter. So, it was ok but not great.
With the taste question being answered, did it help my voice? You betcha! It was amazing how quickly it helped. Not a trace of a scratchy voice at all. That' s good to know. Maybe orange spice will be a little more tasty.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Day 19, 11 to go
CONCERT!!!!
A lot of my previous blogs have had to do with my upcoming Neon Trees/3o Seconds to Mars concert. It's finally here (and sadly, over). It was an awesome, spectaular, rockin', crazy, and unforgettable night. Before the concert I knew this would be a great opportunity to be adventurous. I had two goals: be in the mosh pit and try to get on stage. 30 Seconds to Mars always calls about 30 people on stage for the last song of their concert. Anyway, I knew I would be blogging about at least one of those two scenarios. Well, I didn't make it on stage, but Tifani and I were in a proper mosh pit. Can you call a mosh pit proper??? Well, here's the story of the night. Concert was supposed to start at 5, and doors opening at 4. It was general admission so I wanted to get there early so we could get up close. We did. We were there at about 3:30 and not too many people in front of us. YEAH!!! Well, at about 4:15 we hear that things have been changed. The doors will now open at 6 and the concert starts at 7. No wonder there weren't a lot of people there yet! We were 3 hours early!!! We waited it out in true groupie fashion for the rest of our crew to arrive. Once they started letting us in, I got a call from my friend that they were there. I said - run! There are letting us in and I don't think we can save your spot - there were now security people about. Plus, there were only letting the first 1500 people on the floor. Tifani and I got in and walked past a window and saw Tyler and Jared hanging out by the tour buses just talking - we screamed like little girls and snapped a pic with our phone.
Once Tif and I were on the floor - pretty much front and center , the first band, New Politics, came out. I have never heard any of their stuff before. They were ok, but the mosh pit was INSANE!! Don't know what I was thinking wearing flip flops, bare toes and mosh pit is a BAD combination. Pushing, crowding, jumping, screaming, more pushing, no breathing room AT ALL, and all with complete strangers. They played about 4 songs and Tif and I were done with moshing. I know she only put up with it for me. You rock Tifani! So, I experienced it and it was a little too scary for me. So, we moved back to a safer location but still within view.
Neon Trees were so fun and amazing as usual - glad I got to hang with my other friend Andrea as well. Andrea, you are now a member of the family!! Then it was time for 30 Seconds to Mars. They have so much energy and it was contagious throughout the whole crowd. Jared (lead singer) stopped about 2 songs in just to say what a great crowd we were and how much he appreciated that he didn't have to warm us up - we were already rockin! He also said that "on record" we were possibly the best crowd they have ever played in the US and were coming back very soon. YEAH!!!! He took a pic of the crowd to post on twitter:
KINGS + QUEENS OF UVU
(that's what he wrote on the post) I'm probably in there somewhere!!!
Here's a crazy pic of crazy Jared crowd surfing.
It's not the best quality- my phone doesn't take good pics when it's dark - but you can see him STANDING up on the crowd. Awesome!
Well, that's a novel about my adventurous night. My voice is not doing so well today. But I guess that's a sign of a fun night! Can't wait until next spring when they come back.
A lot of my previous blogs have had to do with my upcoming Neon Trees/3o Seconds to Mars concert. It's finally here (and sadly, over). It was an awesome, spectaular, rockin', crazy, and unforgettable night. Before the concert I knew this would be a great opportunity to be adventurous. I had two goals: be in the mosh pit and try to get on stage. 30 Seconds to Mars always calls about 30 people on stage for the last song of their concert. Anyway, I knew I would be blogging about at least one of those two scenarios. Well, I didn't make it on stage, but Tifani and I were in a proper mosh pit. Can you call a mosh pit proper??? Well, here's the story of the night. Concert was supposed to start at 5, and doors opening at 4. It was general admission so I wanted to get there early so we could get up close. We did. We were there at about 3:30 and not too many people in front of us. YEAH!!! Well, at about 4:15 we hear that things have been changed. The doors will now open at 6 and the concert starts at 7. No wonder there weren't a lot of people there yet! We were 3 hours early!!! We waited it out in true groupie fashion for the rest of our crew to arrive. Once they started letting us in, I got a call from my friend that they were there. I said - run! There are letting us in and I don't think we can save your spot - there were now security people about. Plus, there were only letting the first 1500 people on the floor. Tifani and I got in and walked past a window and saw Tyler and Jared hanging out by the tour buses just talking - we screamed like little girls and snapped a pic with our phone.
Once Tif and I were on the floor - pretty much front and center , the first band, New Politics, came out. I have never heard any of their stuff before. They were ok, but the mosh pit was INSANE!! Don't know what I was thinking wearing flip flops, bare toes and mosh pit is a BAD combination. Pushing, crowding, jumping, screaming, more pushing, no breathing room AT ALL, and all with complete strangers. They played about 4 songs and Tif and I were done with moshing. I know she only put up with it for me. You rock Tifani! So, I experienced it and it was a little too scary for me. So, we moved back to a safer location but still within view.
Neon Trees were so fun and amazing as usual - glad I got to hang with my other friend Andrea as well. Andrea, you are now a member of the family!! Then it was time for 30 Seconds to Mars. They have so much energy and it was contagious throughout the whole crowd. Jared (lead singer) stopped about 2 songs in just to say what a great crowd we were and how much he appreciated that he didn't have to warm us up - we were already rockin! He also said that "on record" we were possibly the best crowd they have ever played in the US and were coming back very soon. YEAH!!!! He took a pic of the crowd to post on twitter:
KINGS + QUEENS OF UVU
(that's what he wrote on the post) I'm probably in there somewhere!!!
Here's a crazy pic of crazy Jared crowd surfing.
It's not the best quality- my phone doesn't take good pics when it's dark - but you can see him STANDING up on the crowd. Awesome!
Well, that's a novel about my adventurous night. My voice is not doing so well today. But I guess that's a sign of a fun night! Can't wait until next spring when they come back.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Day 18, 12 to go
NAILS
Today was kind of a long Friday at work. The school had a carnival that started at 5:00. I worked on stuff in my classroom until 6, made an appearance at the carnival (it was really fun!!), left school about 6:30, ran some errands on the way home, watched some TIVO'd Thursday night premiers with my roommies and went to bed. WHOOPS! No new adventure of the day! Crap, what to do?? Well, fortunately I had stopped and got some awesome nail polish on the way home because I saw a parent volunteer at school that had silvery metallic nails and I wanted some! I had painted my nails during tv night with roommies, and presto! Awesome, silvery metallic nails was a first for me. It may be a bit of a cop out, but I have never had my nails this color and it won't be the last time. I am in love!!! I think it's a bit rock and roll for my concert tomorrow night, what do you think???
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Day 17, 13 to go
OF ALL THE MOVIES IN THE WORLD, I HAVEN'T SEEN THIS?
For those of you who know me, I am pretty synonymous with movies. In fact, I am writing this blog while watching a movie in the background... I would have been more than happy to have a 30 day movie blog, but this is for new adventures. Though, I do love movies, I haven't seen a lot of classic or really old movies. One of which is Casablanca.
Today, it was all about the classics. I ordered this classic, Oscar winning movie from Netflix and today it arrived. Just got through watching it and I really enjoyed it! It seemed shorter than I expected. I really had no idea what the story was about before watching it. All I knew was that it is set during WWII and there are Nazi's... I was glad to learn right away that Casablanca was a refugee town for Europeans trying to flee to America. No idea. Wow, and I call myself a movie lover??? Anyway, if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend! Very well acted and written. Humphrey Bogart and Ingid Bergman = dreamy!!
PS - I also just realized pretty recently that Casablanca means white house... Anyone know why it's called that???
For those of you who know me, I am pretty synonymous with movies. In fact, I am writing this blog while watching a movie in the background... I would have been more than happy to have a 30 day movie blog, but this is for new adventures. Though, I do love movies, I haven't seen a lot of classic or really old movies. One of which is Casablanca.
Today, it was all about the classics. I ordered this classic, Oscar winning movie from Netflix and today it arrived. Just got through watching it and I really enjoyed it! It seemed shorter than I expected. I really had no idea what the story was about before watching it. All I knew was that it is set during WWII and there are Nazi's... I was glad to learn right away that Casablanca was a refugee town for Europeans trying to flee to America. No idea. Wow, and I call myself a movie lover??? Anyway, if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend! Very well acted and written. Humphrey Bogart and Ingid Bergman = dreamy!!
PS - I also just realized pretty recently that Casablanca means white house... Anyone know why it's called that???
Day 16, 14 to go
THIRTY POMEGRANATES
Going to a good rock concert makes me feel like somewhat of a rebellious teenager. It's one of my favorite things and I have one of my favorites coming up: 30 Seconds to Mars. I saw them in May for the first time not having heard any of the songs before and fell in love! My friend Tifani and I decided we wanted to make some T-shirts in support. We made shirts for another concert over the summer, but this time we got some iron transfer paper - something I have wanted to do for a long time. To explain the meaning of our shirts, mine says Pomegranate. At the last concert, the lead singer had a bright pink mohawk which he claimed was "pomegranate". Tifani's has the word "seconds" written 30 times in different fonts a la 30 Seconds to Mars. The iron on process was pretty simple, once we figured out how to get a mirror image of our words. It was a lot of fun - and now the world of homemade t-shirts is at my fingertips!!!!
Yes, we have the ironing board on the washer, we needed to be able to put lots of pressure on the iron transfer paper.
I love how couture Tif's pose is, Miss J would be proud. Also, don't I look SOOOOO rock and roll? Ech, I'll have to work on that before the concert.
Going to a good rock concert makes me feel like somewhat of a rebellious teenager. It's one of my favorite things and I have one of my favorites coming up: 30 Seconds to Mars. I saw them in May for the first time not having heard any of the songs before and fell in love! My friend Tifani and I decided we wanted to make some T-shirts in support. We made shirts for another concert over the summer, but this time we got some iron transfer paper - something I have wanted to do for a long time. To explain the meaning of our shirts, mine says Pomegranate. At the last concert, the lead singer had a bright pink mohawk which he claimed was "pomegranate". Tifani's has the word "seconds" written 30 times in different fonts a la 30 Seconds to Mars. The iron on process was pretty simple, once we figured out how to get a mirror image of our words. It was a lot of fun - and now the world of homemade t-shirts is at my fingertips!!!!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Day 15, 15 to go
MEMORIAL DAY
Today, we have reached the halfway point and I am feeling about 75% better than yesterday so I thought I should do something a little special. Something that I wanted to do during this experience was to visit my Grandma Slack's grave. Since it is only about 2 minutes from my house, I thought it would be something nice to do. My grandma died in 1994 and my family and I have been to her grave every Memorial Day since, but I wanted to go on my own. This was my mom's mom. She lived in Provo and I remember going to visit her so often. Sunday dinners, 4th of July, eating at Riverside Country Club, etc. etc. I have so many memories. This is picture of her as a young girl.
Today, we have reached the halfway point and I am feeling about 75% better than yesterday so I thought I should do something a little special. Something that I wanted to do during this experience was to visit my Grandma Slack's grave. Since it is only about 2 minutes from my house, I thought it would be something nice to do. My grandma died in 1994 and my family and I have been to her grave every Memorial Day since, but I wanted to go on my own. This was my mom's mom. She lived in Provo and I remember going to visit her so often. Sunday dinners, 4th of July, eating at Riverside Country Club, etc. etc. I have so many memories. This is picture of her as a young girl.
Elizabeth Sutton Slack
Over the weekend, I was talking with my mom and sister and they brought up having a Grandma Slack day - eating food she might have made, going a place we might have gone with her etc. And I mentioned to my mom that I had on my list to put flowers on her grave (NOT fake ones - my grandma always said that she would haunt anyone who put fake flowers on her grave). My mom told me that I should get some fall leaves because she loved to go see the fall leaves. So, today on my way home, I made a little detour up the canyon to find some leaves.
I love how the sun is shining through the trees!!
One exciting part of the drive up the canyon: having to slam on my brakes to avoid a pigeon running across the road. Not having hit any roadkill, I finally found some red, gold, yellow, leaves and a sunflower (just because they were everwhere!) I drove to the cemetary and fashioned a little fall bouquet to leave on her grave.
It was a really special and fun afternoon. I will always remember my grandma and I feel lucky that I live so close that those memories are around me almost every day!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Day 14, 16 to go
Madame Librarian
Still not feeling 100% - gotta love a nasty cold. If there hadn't been so much going on at school today, I would have stayed home. But, alas, my students came first. one word: Dayquill. It's amazing. I think it works wonders. At least for about 4 hours. I took some this morning, but haven't taken any more. I thought I was doing better - but at about 5:30, the drugs were definitely wearing off- Hello Mr. Sniffles. Needless to say, I had to, once again, do something pretty simple today. I have been reading Super Fudge to my class and we just finished it today. Bingo - I needed a new book to read aloud. I wanted to get a new book that I haven't read to my class before - I've read some books several times. My older sister came to mind on my way home today. A long time ago, we started a book club to read Newberry Books and she is the only one still keeping it up. Respect to the sister!! She told me of one book that she listened to on tape with her kids - The 21 Balloons. I think I remember a teacher reading it to me in school. It's about a man who is on an adventure in a hot air balloon and crashes an a mysterious island where the people living there have kind of a unique civilization... hmm... Lost, much???? I haven't really read an adventurous story like this to my students before so I took to the Newberry shelf at the library. Don't worry, I have been to the library before and I have read Newberry books before.
The new factor of today lies in the fact that I got a book I haven't read in 20 years to read aloud to my students. I also checked out another book that I remember that I loved: The Summer of the Monkies. Another teacher at my school has been reading it to her class and I have been wanting to get that one too. I'm excited to expose my students to some new books that they may not ever have read otherwise.
Still not feeling 100% - gotta love a nasty cold. If there hadn't been so much going on at school today, I would have stayed home. But, alas, my students came first. one word: Dayquill. It's amazing. I think it works wonders. At least for about 4 hours. I took some this morning, but haven't taken any more. I thought I was doing better - but at about 5:30, the drugs were definitely wearing off- Hello Mr. Sniffles. Needless to say, I had to, once again, do something pretty simple today. I have been reading Super Fudge to my class and we just finished it today. Bingo - I needed a new book to read aloud. I wanted to get a new book that I haven't read to my class before - I've read some books several times. My older sister came to mind on my way home today. A long time ago, we started a book club to read Newberry Books and she is the only one still keeping it up. Respect to the sister!! She told me of one book that she listened to on tape with her kids - The 21 Balloons. I think I remember a teacher reading it to me in school. It's about a man who is on an adventure in a hot air balloon and crashes an a mysterious island where the people living there have kind of a unique civilization... hmm... Lost, much???? I haven't really read an adventurous story like this to my students before so I took to the Newberry shelf at the library. Don't worry, I have been to the library before and I have read Newberry books before.
The new factor of today lies in the fact that I got a book I haven't read in 20 years to read aloud to my students. I also checked out another book that I remember that I loved: The Summer of the Monkies. Another teacher at my school has been reading it to her class and I have been wanting to get that one too. I'm excited to expose my students to some new books that they may not ever have read otherwise.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Day 13, 17 to go
So Let it Be Read
Today, I had planned to go on a Sunday drive and picnic with my fabulous roommates, but last night, I started coming down with a pretty nasty cold, so I have been in bed all day. Since I didn't feel well enough to go to church, I decided to do some good old fashioned Sunday School. I read an entire book from the Old Testament. I looked at the table of contents to choose a book, and Hosea it was. I have a very hard time reading the Old Testament. I find it difficult to understand and it's often worded pretty harshly and dark. Hosea was no exception. What I mainly got out of the 10-or-so page book was that Israel had forgotten the Lord and Hosea was calling them to repentance. The way it was worded was pretty blunt - comparing Israel to a harlot and to quote Hosea "I hated them for the wickedness of their doings... I will love them no more..." I don't know about you, but I love the feeling of comfort and peace I get from reading the scriptures, and sometimes I don't find that in the wording of the Old Testament. There was a little comfort at the end of the rebuke that is Hosea, however. "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death".
On that note, remember the Lord and follow his counsel, listen to the prophets and he will remember and bless you.
Today, I had planned to go on a Sunday drive and picnic with my fabulous roommates, but last night, I started coming down with a pretty nasty cold, so I have been in bed all day. Since I didn't feel well enough to go to church, I decided to do some good old fashioned Sunday School. I read an entire book from the Old Testament. I looked at the table of contents to choose a book, and Hosea it was. I have a very hard time reading the Old Testament. I find it difficult to understand and it's often worded pretty harshly and dark. Hosea was no exception. What I mainly got out of the 10-or-so page book was that Israel had forgotten the Lord and Hosea was calling them to repentance. The way it was worded was pretty blunt - comparing Israel to a harlot and to quote Hosea "I hated them for the wickedness of their doings... I will love them no more..." I don't know about you, but I love the feeling of comfort and peace I get from reading the scriptures, and sometimes I don't find that in the wording of the Old Testament. There was a little comfort at the end of the rebuke that is Hosea, however. "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death".
On that note, remember the Lord and follow his counsel, listen to the prophets and he will remember and bless you.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Day 12, 18 to go
Maybe she's born with it
Today's adventure was a fun one! I have always kind of felt my eyelashes are a little lacking in the full and thick department. So, to pump up the volume, I bought some fake eyelashes. I have absolutely never used them before and was a little concerned about them looking natural, and staying on. Insert Yours, Mine, and Ours catastrophe here.
Remember the lashes coming off in the middle of a date?
Anyway, I was ecstatic to find a fake eyelash kit - complete with lashes, tweezers, adhesive, and remover for 8 bucks. I decided to use the seperate lashes rather than the one strip of lashes. I thought it would look more natural. It was a little difficult to get the lashes in the right place and to avoid excess gobs of glue. So, gathered my wits and got to work.
Before - have to do it with a clean face. Hence, no make up. Don't look too closely.
Applique
One down
Today's adventure was a fun one! I have always kind of felt my eyelashes are a little lacking in the full and thick department. So, to pump up the volume, I bought some fake eyelashes. I have absolutely never used them before and was a little concerned about them looking natural, and staying on. Insert Yours, Mine, and Ours catastrophe here.
Remember the lashes coming off in the middle of a date?
Anyway, I was ecstatic to find a fake eyelash kit - complete with lashes, tweezers, adhesive, and remover for 8 bucks. I decided to use the seperate lashes rather than the one strip of lashes. I thought it would look more natural. It was a little difficult to get the lashes in the right place and to avoid excess gobs of glue. So, gathered my wits and got to work.
Before - have to do it with a clean face. Hence, no make up. Don't look too closely.
Applique
One down
All done and ready for a fun flirty lash day. I was feeling a little "easy, breezy, covergirl".
The best thing about it was no one really thought they were fake or noticed anything until I said I had fake lashes. Like the golden rule of make-up, the trick is to make it look like you aren't wearing any. Maybe the same holds true for fake eyelashes. Apparantly they are supposed to last a couple of weeks, so we'll see. But I love them! I may try to find some eyelash growth stuff - it really makes a huge difference. Great new experience for the day!!!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Day 11, 19 to go
Me.com
Here we are, in the teens of our countdown. How's it going so far? So far it's been a very fun and enjoyable experience. Sometimes it's a little tough to find time and to try to make it interesting, but consistency has been my key! This week especially has been full of fantastic new adventures. That being said, today was somewhat of a different story. After a very long, crazy, and somewhat chaotic day at work, to be honest the last thing on my mind was getting up the energy to come up with a new adventure of the day. I had some ideas, but all of my ideas were a little too much for me to take. So, today here's what I came up with:
I googled my name. I realized that I have never done it before and wanted to check out my virtual self. I found a few other Adrienne Grays in the world. A myspace profile, an obscure singer/songwriter, a twitter page, and then my own facebook profile link! I was the fourth name to come up. Kind of crazy and makes me feel that the world might be a bit small.
Here we are, in the teens of our countdown. How's it going so far? So far it's been a very fun and enjoyable experience. Sometimes it's a little tough to find time and to try to make it interesting, but consistency has been my key! This week especially has been full of fantastic new adventures. That being said, today was somewhat of a different story. After a very long, crazy, and somewhat chaotic day at work, to be honest the last thing on my mind was getting up the energy to come up with a new adventure of the day. I had some ideas, but all of my ideas were a little too much for me to take. So, today here's what I came up with:
I googled my name. I realized that I have never done it before and wanted to check out my virtual self. I found a few other Adrienne Grays in the world. A myspace profile, an obscure singer/songwriter, a twitter page, and then my own facebook profile link! I was the fourth name to come up. Kind of crazy and makes me feel that the world might be a bit small.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Day 10, 20 to go
Paper Cranes
At the end of the last school year, one of the 4th grade teachers taught all of the 3rd and 4th graders origami. Since then I have wanted to learn to make a paper crane. I am sure I have done origami in school, but I don't remember anything I might have made at all. So, I decided it counted as something new for me. I had a pretty good supply of colored paper in my classroom and brought a few home to test it out. Here are a few pics.
Before
In the works...
Flying away!
It was so fun, I made more!!!!
It was pretty easy - thanks to a how-to video on you-tube. A good time. I highly recommend the art of origami!!
At the end of the last school year, one of the 4th grade teachers taught all of the 3rd and 4th graders origami. Since then I have wanted to learn to make a paper crane. I am sure I have done origami in school, but I don't remember anything I might have made at all. So, I decided it counted as something new for me. I had a pretty good supply of colored paper in my classroom and brought a few home to test it out. Here are a few pics.
Before
In the works...
Flying away!
It was so fun, I made more!!!!
It was pretty easy - thanks to a how-to video on you-tube. A good time. I highly recommend the art of origami!!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Day 9, 21 to go
WHOOPS!!!
So, I spent some time getting my blog ready, and somehow posted it on a different blog. Don't ask me how I did that.... So, rather than re-type... here's the link!
www.bucketlistbookclub.blogspot.com/2010/09/day-9-21-to-go.html
So, I spent some time getting my blog ready, and somehow posted it on a different blog. Don't ask me how I did that.... So, rather than re-type... here's the link!
www.bucketlistbookclub.blogspot.com/2010/09/day-9-21-to-go.html
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Day 8, 22 to go
Eat Your Vegetables
Today, I decided to be somewhat resourceful and healthy! Those of you who know me may die of shock. Yesterday, I put cucumber slices on my eyes and was left with almost a whole cucumber. No vegetables for me, so rather than waste a perfectly good vegetable I decided to use it for something new today. I tried a cucumber!!! I never eat vegetables, so I decided early on that it should be on my list. My roommate tasted it first to let me know if it was a good cucumber. She didn't want me traumatized for life if the first cucumber I tried was a nasty one. She gave me the OK and here's the photo story:
First bite...
Thinking it over...
Eh, it was OK....
Well, here's the verdict. It didn't have much taste, I thought, I didn't hate or love that. But I didn't like the mushy texture of the seedy middle against the more crunchy outside. I would have liked to try it with some ranch, but we didn't have any here. Next time. I think I could almost enjoy a good cucumber with a little ranch.
I did eat a few bites to give it a fairer try. It was ok, but I didn't love it or want more. I was really hoping that I would like it so I could find a good vegetable to enjoy. Oh well. I tried!
Today, I decided to be somewhat resourceful and healthy! Those of you who know me may die of shock. Yesterday, I put cucumber slices on my eyes and was left with almost a whole cucumber. No vegetables for me, so rather than waste a perfectly good vegetable I decided to use it for something new today. I tried a cucumber!!! I never eat vegetables, so I decided early on that it should be on my list. My roommate tasted it first to let me know if it was a good cucumber. She didn't want me traumatized for life if the first cucumber I tried was a nasty one. She gave me the OK and here's the photo story:
First bite...
Thinking it over...
Eh, it was OK....
Well, here's the verdict. It didn't have much taste, I thought, I didn't hate or love that. But I didn't like the mushy texture of the seedy middle against the more crunchy outside. I would have liked to try it with some ranch, but we didn't have any here. Next time. I think I could almost enjoy a good cucumber with a little ranch.
I did eat a few bites to give it a fairer try. It was ok, but I didn't love it or want more. I was really hoping that I would like it so I could find a good vegetable to enjoy. Oh well. I tried!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Day 7, 23 to go
Cool as a Cucumber
Today was kind of an indulgence. I have always wanted to put cucumbers on my eyes. Supposedly this has many benefits. I decided to see what the hype was about before I tried it. It is believed the cucumbers can help reduce puffiness, bags, and dark circles under the eyes. The technique: Put slices on your eyes for 10-15 minutes. Simple? Couldn't be more so. Effective??? That's another story. From what I read, the cucumber has nothing to do with it. It is just the cold. You could basically get the same effects from a cold washcloth. Hmm... I was a little disappointed to hear that, I won't lie. However, I still wanted to try it out for myself. To add to the experience, I decided to do this with complete silence. Normally, I would have to have music or some kind of background noise. Since I had basically found that there really were not a lot of benefits from the cucumber, I wanted this to be mostly about relaxation.
It was a little difficult to get a picture, and I know it is not the most attractive look - but here's the proof:
Needless to say, it was cold!! It did feel good and refreshing. I can't wait to try this on a hot summer day to cool down and relax. An added bonus, the scent of the cucmbers was relaxing. I did feel a bit like I was in a spa. When I took off the cucumbers, my eyes felt nice and tight. Don't know if there are any lasting benefits. Maybe I'll need to do this more regularly. Conclusion: cool cucmbers are good for the eyes and the soul.
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