Staples and Spiders.....

A couple of weeks ago, I started a second job at.........

STAPLES!!!

and yes, "I am literally standing" right at the cash register by myself during my working hours. A little less exciting than teaching, but the extra money is helping!!!

As for other exciting happenings this week:

QUESTION: What kind of spider causes human flesh to rot for as much as six months if bitten, and can run, very quickly, AT humans?*

ANSWER: a hobo spider.

*my sister told me these facts, they may or may not be accurate, but still very scary!!!!

My neices and nephew were cleaning out the window wells at my mom's house last week and think they saw hobo spiders in the window of the room I was sleeping in and I have been freaked out ever since!!!! I came home to my apartment to find a suspicious brown spider in my bathtub!! EEK! He was quickly drowned and disposed of. I didn't wait long enough to get a close look to see if it was in fact a hobo spider, but does it really matter what kind it is????

All spiders are evil.

Summer is here!!!

Once again, I have failed as a consistent blogger. I'll attempt to document the last several months...

The highlight was definitely my cruise!!! So much fun, sun, food, and good times. with 2 friends in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerta Vallarta. Some of the highlights were snorkling (and dancing) with our excellent tour guide Daniel in Puerta Vallarta, a water taxi in Cabo, Parasailing and a great beach in Mazatlan, cruise director Paul (we loved him!), food, food, food, etc. Such a great time and much needed break. Here's a few pics:

After the cruise I had to survive 6 straight weeks of school until the end of the year. I made it and SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!!!!
I am currently looking for a part time job and to possibly sell my car ($$$). Other than that I love having a summer vacation. No cabin fever yet- but it's only been a week and 1/2.

I am looking forward to some exciting summer festivities, however. A couple of weddings, a family reunion, and CORE academy (an awesome conference for teacers). Also, possibly some REAL soccer games. I think I have found a new favorite sport (to watch, of course). If you haven't been to a game, they are really awesome and exciting, even if the only thing you know about soccer is that they can't use their hands...

Last but certainly not least, my sister just found out she is having a girl!!! Yeah! I am so excited to be an aunt x 5. She will be here around Thanksgiving and I can't wait. I somewhat secretly believe that I am the favorite aunt for all my neices and nephews. I am pretty much the only single one so by default I hang out with them at family events - having no significant other to cling to or speak of with fellow family members with significant others. So, it appears that my job is to be the best aunt in the world to the cutest and best neices and nephews in the world and I love it!!!

Where has the time gone....

It's been a while since I posted, but I haven't had too much excitement in the last few months. School is cruising along and I can't believe we are almost done. Wow! I
have booked a cruise for spring break with a couple of friends to the Mexican Riviera. I am super excited and can't wait. I owe more money (taxes) to the government. Life is just up and down. That's the way it goes...

My neices and nephews

Are the cuteset kids in the world! My sisters just posted some great pictures of them.

Cole, Madison, and Tenley are my oldest sister, Mylee's, kids. They live in Idaho Falls. I sure miss them!

Ryder is my newest nephew His mom is my younger sister Lindsay. He is so much fun!

Look how handsome he looks here.

My Awesome Week...

It's too bad you can't put sarcasm in writing. If I could, the word awesome would be heavy with it. It all started on Thanksgiving with the passing of my Grandma Gray. She died at about 3 am last Friday. It is a mixed blessing as she has battled Alzheimer's for years. It makes me happy to know that she has her memories back and is with those who went before her, including her son who died just months after he was born. She will be missed and my thoughts are with my Grandpa, dad, aunt, and uncles who are of course very sad. I hope they can find comfort at this time.
As if that wasn't sad enough (which it is), on Tuesday on may way to my parents house to go to her viewing, I was rear ended and the good samaritan (sarcasm again) who hit me chose to drive away. The truck had a temporary plate and I couldn't get a plate number or 4 wheel over the curb to get away. This is where driving a big truck vs. a mini cooper comes in handy. I guess if I wanted to be able to flee the scene of the crime, I better get a truck. Luckily, I am certainly ok and my car has only a fairly minor dent and no scratches.
This week, I definitely believe in karma.
That night and the next day were the viewing and funeral for my grandma. It was a very sad, hard, and emotional day. It was great to hear about and remember the kind and loving person she is and look forward to seeing her again. I also got to be around a lot of family, some of whom I hadn't seen in a very long time and I know my grandma was happy we were together.

This is me, my cousins, and aunt at the funeral. We all made bracelets using pearls from a necklace that belonged to grandma.

This is me and all of the grandkids (except for 2 who couldn't make it) and a few great grandkids as well. In all, there are 24 of us. We love you Grandma!
The good news is, "things can only get better".

My 6 Quirks - I was tagged!!!!

Ok, so my sisters have tagged me into this and I have been thinking about my quirks, some that I can share and maybe some that I prefer not to!!! I am curious to see if any of these were new to those that know me and I feel as if I need to preface some of these with "I'm weird, I know" But I guess we all have our quirks. So here goes

1) The most obvious one, and for anyone who knows me even a little bit this will not be a surprise. I LOVE MOVIES! I know Lauren put this, but I have to steal it and proudly say that I am better at memorization here than she is. I love movies and they are pretty much constantly on in the background anytime I am at home. Cleaning, lesson planning, cooking, you name it. This leads me in to my #2:

2) I have to have the TV on to fall asleep. I can go to sleep without it, but it takes me a while to shut down my brain. If the TV is on, I am out in a matter of minutes every time, literally. But, it has to be something that I have seen before and therefore am not invested in. Just something to drown out the voices in my head:)

3) I eat my food one item at a time. I start with one thing, and then move on. If I have a hamburger and fries, for example, I always eat the fries first (while they are hot) and then the hamburger.


4) Vegetables. The only vegetable I do eat is raw carrots and lettuce occasionally. I have tried several, and no go. It's a texture thing. I can't do lettuce unless it is crisp, romaine lettuce in a properly prepared salad (meaning prepared by me, and with no other vegetables on it), otherwise it is too wilty, rubbery and tasteless to me. YUCK.

5) The clock in my bedroom is always set very fast. It is currently set 25 minutes ahead. This is to lessen the shock of the ungodly hour that I have to wake up. In my mind, I wake up at 6:35, when in reality I wake up at 6:10

6) I don't like when plans change at the last minute. If I have something planned with someone, and they bail out or decide they want to go to a party instead of the movie we planned on, even though the party will be more fun, I really don't like it. I had my mind set on the movie, and now I have to change my mind set... Not enjoyable for me.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas, yet again! I am so excited, overwhelmed, a little stressed, but almost giddy. I get to spend this Christmas with my entire family this year. I have been looking forward to this for 2 years. It will be tons of fun, and I am thinking we need some fun activities... stringing popcorn, making ornaments, gingerbread houses, making wrapping paper (with brown craft paper) - just some thoughts. Any other ideas or thoughts for fun family christmas activities? I can't wait to be together, relax and have fun at my favorite time of year.