THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2, Day 20, 10 to go

The witches are out...
Every year, I have seen numerous billboards and heard radio commercials etc. about the witches at Gardner Village in West Jordan. Despite all of this advertising, I have never been to see the "witches at Gardner Village". My younger sister texted me and said she was taking her kids tonight if we wanted to come. Thank you Fall Break!! I was happy to be able to go. We met them and walked around a bit, my niece and nephew were both geared up in adorable Halloween attire. I love those kids!!! We walked around and looked at some of the witches and shops for a while. A favorite was the Halloween village - Ryder loved the moving parts. So did we, although $60 for one house was a bit much. We then went on to dinner at Archibalds. Yummy! They sure have some good eatin' there. Ryder had us all in stiches when he joined in our "adult" conversation without skipping a beat. We were talking about someone that a friend knew who had to move away with her husband, someone made the comment that both of them had to move. Ryder said "Both of them? How TERRIBLE!" It was classic. After dinner we walked around with the kiddos some more. They enjoyed seeing the decorations and light, just being outside. No one bought anything, except my mom bought a small toy for the kids. Aren't grandma's the best?  It was such a fun night. I just love any opportunity I have to spend time with my neices and nephews.

this was Ruby's favorite: the dancing, hula-hooping witch. She was dancing along.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 19, 11 to go

A rare luxury

Thanks to a fabulous holiday- Fall Break- we were able to have a very early day. School dismissed at 1:30, and the teachers got to go at 2:00. We had suspected we were going to be able to leave early so a few teacheres made some plans to hang out. We thought it would be fun and somewhat luxurious to watch a move and get some snacks. How often do yo uget to do that on a Wednesday afternoon with your co workers? Never!! I brought some Chex Mix and KeriAnn brought some brownie mix. Not just any brownie mix, Ghiradelli Mix. So gooey and chocolatey. Just delicious. We then set out to pick a movie to watch. Sharra, a fellow teacher, had a huge book of DVDs. We narrowed it down to 5 and each assigned "points" to the movie(s) of our choice. We each had a total of 10 points to vote. We narrowed it down to School of Rock, Rocketman, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Ringer, and another that I can't remember. The Ringer was the winner. Only Sharra had seen it, so we were excited. It was hilarious!!! It is about a guy who pretends to be mentally handicapped in order to fix the special olympics. I was a little unsure if I should be laughing at times, but it was very funny. I have heard about this movie before and have been very curious.
Anyway, I enjoyed spending afternoon in luxury in the middle of the week with my most awesome coworkers. We were talkling about how lucky we are that we enjoy eachother so much that we voluntarily spend time together over our break. Loved it!!!

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 18, 12 to go

Dear Mr. Postman

We have been talking about government and community helpers in school this week. I decided that it would be a perfect time to spread some of the love to our wonderful community helpers. I wrote a letter to our mail man (or woman...) and put it in the mail slot. I wrote that we had been talking about community helpers in our classroom and that I wanted to say thank you for the hard work they do. I must confess sometimes I think it would be so nice to just drive around all day, but I know that it's not that easy. A very lonely and thankless job. I thought I would give a thank you to a very unappreciated job.

Thank you, postal workers!!!

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 17, 13 to go

Where did that come from?

Have you ever wondered where some of our famous saying come from? Why must it rain cats and dogs? Did people really chew the fat? I thought I would do a little research and find out about a few...

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw, piled high, with no wood
underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the pet
dogs, cats and their small animals: mice, rats & bugs - lived in the roof.
When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and
fall off the roof, hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs."


The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt, hence
the saying, "dirt poor."

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When
visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a
sign of wealth and that a man "could bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would
sometimes knock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the
road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid
out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather
around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up, hence the
custom of holding a "wake."


England is old and small and they started running out of places to bury
people. So, they would dig up coffins and would take their bones to a
house and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, one out of 25
coffin were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized
they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a
string on their wrist and lead it through the coffin and up through the
round and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the
graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell, thus,
someone could be "saved by the bell," or was considered a "dead ringer."



Now, I am not 100% sure of the accuracy of these meanings (who can believe everything you find on the internet) but I found it interesting nonetheless.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 16, 14 to go

Homemade Bread...

Who doesn't love homemade bread? Not me. I love it! Not so easy to make though. In fact, I never have. My sister gave me an old bread machine a while back, and I have been wanting to use it for a long time. Well, it may have even been my mom's, I'm not sure. But somehow, I inherited it. I did not, however, inherit any sort of manual or recipes. I looked up my model number online and fairly easily found the recipe and instructions. After a quick trip to the store last night, I was ready to make some bread. I put the ingredients in the machine before I went to bed, set the timer for 10 hours. Not having made bread before, I wasn't sure how it would turn out.

 This morning at 8:30 I went upstairs to the smell of baking bread. Is there anything better?? I let it cool and took it out of the pan. I was a bit worried becuase the crust was so hard. It seemed like it was a rock of bread, not a loaf of yummy, soft, warm bread. After I cut into it, I was relieved! It was soft, warm, and perfect! Time for breakfast.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 15, 15 to go

Temple

After such a fun night, I was up for a somewhat low key adventure. My friend had contacted me earlier in the week about going to the Provo temple today. Now, of course this wasn't a first for me, but it has been a while, ok, confession, over a year since I have been to the temple. Also, I haven't been with just a friend before. I was excited and grateful for the opportunity to have my recommend and go again.
We had planned to meet outside the temple at noon. It was a gorgeous day, so I didn't mind waiting a while for my friend to get there. Sitting on a bench by the fountain, watching a family who had been sealed together get pictures taken was a perfect way to spend a Saturday.

My friend arrived and we made our way inside. It was a great experience and it felt so good to be at the temple again. We went to Cocoa Bean after and got a cupcake and talked for about an hour. She told me that she and another friend planned on gonig to the temple every second Saturday of the month. I am so glad to have someone to go with.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 14, 16 to go

Tonight I Gotta Cut Loose...
Well, tonight I have to say was such a fun night! But it didn't start out that way though. I was working until 7:00. Ugh!! I kept telling myself I had fun plans later and that next week is a 3 day week. Once I finally left work, I went to meet my friend KeriAnn for dinner and a movie. We went to Red Robin and Keriann said she knew a server there and we requested to be seated in his section. I had planned for today to have our waiter pick my dnner for me. I was worried that our waiter wouldn't want to take the risk and wouldn't order for me. I was assured that Tyler, KeriAnn's friend and Red Robin employee,  was good at ordering for his guests. I let him know that I didn't want anything with vegetables... he asked if I wanted chicken or beef, or a burger or pasta. I told him to surprise me... This is what I got.

Mmmm. Chicken Parmesan. I was a little unsure of not getting a burger at Red Robin. But the pasta was soooo yummy. It was hot, cheesy, and the chicken had a delicious, crusty breading on it. I was extremely happy with the choice. Tyler has some mad ordering skills.

Don't let the face fool you - he was hilarious!

After dinner, we somehow got our extremely full bellies to the movie theater for phase 2 of the evening. Footloose! I have been waiting for this movie for a long time and was extremely excited. Like dinner, it did not disappoint. It made me so happy! I highly recommend it. Also, if you ever have a waiter who is up to the task of choosing your meal, do it! It was so fun to have a surprise dinner brought to my table.