Yesterday I was in this training where we had to go around and tell everyone in the room a quality that we admired about them or something we thought they were really good at. The majority of the room told me that I am witty, smiley, and happy. And it filled my emotional bank account! I especially appreciated it because I had had a hard day on Tuesday. Often I don't think of myself as always happy. It almost made me feel like I'm not allowed to have bad days now! Sometimes it takes someone else (or lots of someone elses) that help us to see how awesome we are. And it makes me sad when other people don't see that in themselves. I know I say I hate people, but most of the time I have a lot of respect and admiration for people. Maybe I hate how perfect they are? Okay, that's probably not mostly true.
Today was my first official day back from track break with my class, and it was practically perfect! My kiddos were super well behaved, everything went smoothly, despite my worrying that everything would fall apart, and I was complimented on my data binder that I made by our instructional coach and principal. It's always nice to have hard work recognized.
Track breaks make me really appreciate my job. Because last year was so hard, I was worried that I would hate year round school. But so far I'm loving it! These breaks are timed perfectly (although I still made it into work so maybe they're just a tad too long! My coworkers did tell me I was at school too much, and that I need a husband. So if you know of anyone... haha). I had so many moments today that reminded me that I do love my job. I have an amazing team to work with, and the best behaved class I have EVER had! I'm down to only having 14 kids. I know, I know, you hate me if you're a teacher. I get that a lot.
Sometimes we need to change our perspectives to see how wonderful the world can really be. Or maybe I'm just crazy and had a really good day. But let's go with a change in perspective. Try and look at things a different way, and see how great life can be!
Also: I will never write a book because I can hardly organize my thoughts on a blog. The world doesn't need that kind of torture in book format. So kudos if you actually read this!
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
IdaHOME
What makes a house a home? This is something that I've thought about for a while now. The argument could be made that it's where someone cooks for you. All of my favorite homes are where people feed me. (Take note: If you can cook, that's a major selling point. For the record, I CAN cook, I just don't like to. Partially because when I do I end up eating the same thing for a week straight. You can only eat so much spaghetti...) But I digress. I think what makes a home boils down to LOVE. There's a distinct difference in a home where it is built on love, and just a house. The home that I grew up in never had many pictures, because we might be the most unphotogenic family ever, but I always could feel the love and support that my parents had for me and my brothers. I knew my parents were proud of me because they always hung up or displayed my art projects, no matter how terrible they were. Can we take a minute to talk about the clay sculpture I made in 9th grade that sat displayed in our house until I BEGGED my mom to throw it away because it was seriously so terrible? Occasionally when a good picture surfaced, we would put it in a nice frame and hang it on the wall to show that occasionally we COULD take a good picture. (Sometimes those pictures dated back to the 80's though.)
I recently visited a friend's house to drop of some homemade chocolate chip cookies (what's that? You want my recipe? It's the one on the back of the chocolate chip bag. I figure it's tried and true, right?) and he invited me in and showed me around. There were pictures of his family everywhere, and all sorts of art projects hung up. He started telling me about his family and everything in the house, and you can tell that it was more than a house, it was a home. He started telling me about his siblings and nieces and nephews, and it was obvious he loves them. Being a single adult, I feel like I don't often get to spend time in homes, so I cherish the moments that I do. (Also, a random worry of mine: If I can't get the lid off my pickle jar, who am I going to ask?? There aren't any manly men in my home!)
This brings me to the title of this blog. I'm in Idaho! Just one of my homes away from home. There are a lot of places that I consider home, and grandma and grandpa's home is definitely one of them. This morning when I came out for breakfast, I was greeted with a big hug, pancakes, eggs, and, homemade raspberry jam (I'm convinced that Grandma's cooking is better than just about anything else in this world). I've never had any doubt that my grandparents love me. Just now my grandpa asked me if I want to go shooting with him! (Definitely another way to my heart.) Every time I come to Idaho, I stop in Provo to visit friends and/or spend the night. I stayed with my friend Lizzie, whom I love and adore. Provo, not so much. Being in Provo is confirmation to me that I absolutely made the right choice in going to BYU-Idaho. Provo is just too big and busy for me. Note: I have nothing against BYU itself, it's just not a good fit for me. I love being in a city, but also being close enough to the country that I can get away for a bit if I need to. It didn't hurt that my grandparents lived 30 minutes away either. Family is everything to me. My mom and I had a rocky relationship when I was a kid, due mainly to the fact that I was a butthead, but now she is my best friend and I can tell her about anything. My people skills have much improved since childhood. I know my dad always has my back. I don't necessarily talk to him about anything and everything, but I know if I have a question about the important things in life (what are taxes and why do I have to pay them? Also, how do I do my taxes?) I know my dad is there to help me out. I've never seriously doubted that my parents loved me. Just the minor doubts that every teenager has when they can't do what they want when they want. Or you know, that one time I went a year without a bedroom door because I slammed it one too many times. As a child and teenager, I was convinced my parents hated me and stayed up at night plotting ways to make my life miserable. As an adult, I can fully admit that that was a GENIUS idea and will probably be employing it as a parent.
But we've gotten off the point here. The difference between a house and a home is love. In my opinion. Every time I come to Idaho, I can't leave without stopping to see the Idaho Falls Temple. This temple is very special to me, because it is where my parents were sealed together, and it is where I received my endowment. This is where my family literally began. The temple is The House of the Lord, but I think it's more like a Home. Heavenly Father gives us temples because he loves us. I feel it every time I go inside. I can't wait for this beautiful building to reopen so I can go back inside. Until then, at least it's not the only temple!
What do you think makes a house a home?
I recently visited a friend's house to drop of some homemade chocolate chip cookies (what's that? You want my recipe? It's the one on the back of the chocolate chip bag. I figure it's tried and true, right?) and he invited me in and showed me around. There were pictures of his family everywhere, and all sorts of art projects hung up. He started telling me about his family and everything in the house, and you can tell that it was more than a house, it was a home. He started telling me about his siblings and nieces and nephews, and it was obvious he loves them. Being a single adult, I feel like I don't often get to spend time in homes, so I cherish the moments that I do. (Also, a random worry of mine: If I can't get the lid off my pickle jar, who am I going to ask?? There aren't any manly men in my home!)
This brings me to the title of this blog. I'm in Idaho! Just one of my homes away from home. There are a lot of places that I consider home, and grandma and grandpa's home is definitely one of them. This morning when I came out for breakfast, I was greeted with a big hug, pancakes, eggs, and, homemade raspberry jam (I'm convinced that Grandma's cooking is better than just about anything else in this world). I've never had any doubt that my grandparents love me. Just now my grandpa asked me if I want to go shooting with him! (Definitely another way to my heart.) Every time I come to Idaho, I stop in Provo to visit friends and/or spend the night. I stayed with my friend Lizzie, whom I love and adore. Provo, not so much. Being in Provo is confirmation to me that I absolutely made the right choice in going to BYU-Idaho. Provo is just too big and busy for me. Note: I have nothing against BYU itself, it's just not a good fit for me. I love being in a city, but also being close enough to the country that I can get away for a bit if I need to. It didn't hurt that my grandparents lived 30 minutes away either. Family is everything to me. My mom and I had a rocky relationship when I was a kid, due mainly to the fact that I was a butthead, but now she is my best friend and I can tell her about anything. My people skills have much improved since childhood. I know my dad always has my back. I don't necessarily talk to him about anything and everything, but I know if I have a question about the important things in life (what are taxes and why do I have to pay them? Also, how do I do my taxes?) I know my dad is there to help me out. I've never seriously doubted that my parents loved me. Just the minor doubts that every teenager has when they can't do what they want when they want. Or you know, that one time I went a year without a bedroom door because I slammed it one too many times. As a child and teenager, I was convinced my parents hated me and stayed up at night plotting ways to make my life miserable. As an adult, I can fully admit that that was a GENIUS idea and will probably be employing it as a parent.
But we've gotten off the point here. The difference between a house and a home is love. In my opinion. Every time I come to Idaho, I can't leave without stopping to see the Idaho Falls Temple. This temple is very special to me, because it is where my parents were sealed together, and it is where I received my endowment. This is where my family literally began. The temple is The House of the Lord, but I think it's more like a Home. Heavenly Father gives us temples because he loves us. I feel it every time I go inside. I can't wait for this beautiful building to reopen so I can go back inside. Until then, at least it's not the only temple!
Thursday, September 24, 2015
I love this life
I wrote a blog post, decided it was too jumbled and even a little harsh, so I deleted it. My mother would be proud. I'll keep it simple. Life is great. For the moment. But that's how life is. We had a beautiful double rainbow here the other day, and I even had a cute little quote to go along with my picture that is on facebook. "You can't have a rainbow without a little bit of rain." Sometimes bad things happen, and life gets hard. And that is OKAY. I think we live in a society where it's socially unacceptable for people to share their problems. But sometimes that's what you need. Sometimes all you need is to get them out there. And most of the time, you feel better! Last year was hard. I hit an all time low in my life, and I was majorly depressed. And I didn't talk about it to very many people. Because that's what we do. We put on a smile and pretend like everything is okay when we are falling apart on the inside. I had days where I was done. I was physically sick. I hated my job, and I didn't know why I was even bothering. I didn't think I could make a difference. I missed my family. I didn't know why I moved so far away from people who love me. But I learned that in order for our situations to change, WE have to make a change in ourselves. I made the decision that I was going to be happy. I was going to choose to be positive. I was going to look for the good in the situation. If I couldn't change something, I would find a way to make it bearable, and sometimes even fun. I took myself out of Vegas for a bit during the summer, I saw my family, I switched grade levels. I DID something. And sometimes that's all it takes. I'm not saying that that will fix all of your problems, but it can't hurt.
Not sure why I went there, but it happened. I hope it helped someone. My life is pretty fantastic right now though. I love my job, I love my class, I have the best team ever, and I have a month long break coming up! (Who said year round schools were bad? If you're single, they kind of seem like the best thing ever!) My baby brother is a COLLEGE STUDENT!!! Where the heck did the time go?? I remember when that kid was born! And now he's all on his own! I've got a trip planned to Rexburg in two weeks to see family, and then I'm going to Disneyland with Kirsten. And I get to go to PALI with our 5th graders who were once my very first class of 3rd graders. They have a special place in my heart! I have some amazing friends who I would be lost without. I got a new calling at church where I format the ward bulletin, and I LOVE it! It's even better than my first "real" calling of Relief Society Greeter my first semester of college. Yup. I'm pretty sure they made that calling up. But it was pretty great. Hopefully I didn't just jinx it. But I type a lot faster than I can write in my journal. So here it is. My life in a nutshell. I hope you have a great day, and when life gets hard, remember that you can't have a rainbow without a little bit of rain.
Not sure why I went there, but it happened. I hope it helped someone. My life is pretty fantastic right now though. I love my job, I love my class, I have the best team ever, and I have a month long break coming up! (Who said year round schools were bad? If you're single, they kind of seem like the best thing ever!) My baby brother is a COLLEGE STUDENT!!! Where the heck did the time go?? I remember when that kid was born! And now he's all on his own! I've got a trip planned to Rexburg in two weeks to see family, and then I'm going to Disneyland with Kirsten. And I get to go to PALI with our 5th graders who were once my very first class of 3rd graders. They have a special place in my heart! I have some amazing friends who I would be lost without. I got a new calling at church where I format the ward bulletin, and I LOVE it! It's even better than my first "real" calling of Relief Society Greeter my first semester of college. Yup. I'm pretty sure they made that calling up. But it was pretty great. Hopefully I didn't just jinx it. But I type a lot faster than I can write in my journal. So here it is. My life in a nutshell. I hope you have a great day, and when life gets hard, remember that you can't have a rainbow without a little bit of rain.
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Change is in the Air
So, obviously I rock at writing on my blog. It's becoming an annual thing, I think. I spent a lot of quality time on blogger tonight though because I made a blog for my ysa ward! I feel really accomplished and think it looks awesome! Kirsten keeps making fun of me for how excited I am. Although she frequently makes fun of me so I don't think I can read too much into it. While I was slaving away over the blog, she was a good little teacher and did all of her lesson plans for the week. I figure I'll do mine tomorrow. Although tomorrow is MARATHON DAY!!! And if you think I'll be running a marathon, you obviously don't know me at all. Kirsten and I are watching all of the Harry Potter movies. Although we cheated a little bit and are watching the first one tonight so we might actually get some sleep. We've got big plans for tomorrow in addition to the movies. We are planning on swimming and making cinnamon rolls. I think this has the potential to be a Labor Day tradition.
In case you are wondering, I LOVE my class this year! I dropped down to 2nd grade which means a couple of things:
1. I moved into the building. Pro: I have a HUGE room. Con: It's a corner room so I have two walls of windows and the air doesn't work. I stole a fan from the custodians and told them I wasn't giving it back.
2. I only have 15 kiddos in my class!! I really don't see a con to this.
3. I have an AMAZING team that I am working with. It seriously helps me remember why I became a teacher and why I love my job.
4. I have to learn all new curriculum and I have no resources from previous years. Although I do know where they should be by the end of the year, which is helpful.
In case you were wondering why I made a 2nd blog for my ward... I was recently released from activities committee co-chair. I loved that calling, but that calling, along with school, drained everything I have. I am now in charge of the ward bulletin. Yup. That piece of folded paper you get every week that tells you what you're singing and who you are listening to? I make that. Also, social media specialist is somewhere in that title. I had no idea what that meant because I can't do anything with the facebook page, so I did my own thing (as per usual) and made a blog for the ward.
As far as my family goes... My parents left the Great State of Georgia and moved up North to Pennsylvania. I am in LOVE with their new house, but obviously I miss the South. Southern Hospitality is a real thing!! I went to visit for 3 weeks over the summer, and it was great! Dad and I spent a day in New York, we went to Gettysburg (their Cyclorama doesn't spin like the one in Atlanta does... The North may have won the war, but the South definitely wins this battle.), and we also went to Valley Forge one day with mom and the dog. There was a lot of "mommy and me" time this summer. And even though I'm an adult, I absolutely admit to needing my mom and dad. Who else will wake me up at 4 am just to check on me or come running when I drop the remote and it makes a loud noise just to make sure I'm okay?
One year older, and wiser too... Well, I don't know about wiser... (Fun fact: I found out this year that I don't have wisdom teeth! I'm pretty sure that makes me highly evolved.) But I did have a birthday last month, and my friends threw me an absolutely "marvel"ous birthday party! It was super! It was Captain America/Avengers themed, because obviously Captain America is the best. Duh. My internet is spotty or I would post pictures. Stalk me on facebook for them. It was the best birthday party ever. Hands down.
Well, that's about all I can think of... I hope life is just as peachy for you as it is for me!
In case you are wondering, I LOVE my class this year! I dropped down to 2nd grade which means a couple of things:
1. I moved into the building. Pro: I have a HUGE room. Con: It's a corner room so I have two walls of windows and the air doesn't work. I stole a fan from the custodians and told them I wasn't giving it back.
2. I only have 15 kiddos in my class!! I really don't see a con to this.
3. I have an AMAZING team that I am working with. It seriously helps me remember why I became a teacher and why I love my job.
4. I have to learn all new curriculum and I have no resources from previous years. Although I do know where they should be by the end of the year, which is helpful.
In case you were wondering why I made a 2nd blog for my ward... I was recently released from activities committee co-chair. I loved that calling, but that calling, along with school, drained everything I have. I am now in charge of the ward bulletin. Yup. That piece of folded paper you get every week that tells you what you're singing and who you are listening to? I make that. Also, social media specialist is somewhere in that title. I had no idea what that meant because I can't do anything with the facebook page, so I did my own thing (as per usual) and made a blog for the ward.
As far as my family goes... My parents left the Great State of Georgia and moved up North to Pennsylvania. I am in LOVE with their new house, but obviously I miss the South. Southern Hospitality is a real thing!! I went to visit for 3 weeks over the summer, and it was great! Dad and I spent a day in New York, we went to Gettysburg (their Cyclorama doesn't spin like the one in Atlanta does... The North may have won the war, but the South definitely wins this battle.), and we also went to Valley Forge one day with mom and the dog. There was a lot of "mommy and me" time this summer. And even though I'm an adult, I absolutely admit to needing my mom and dad. Who else will wake me up at 4 am just to check on me or come running when I drop the remote and it makes a loud noise just to make sure I'm okay?
One year older, and wiser too... Well, I don't know about wiser... (Fun fact: I found out this year that I don't have wisdom teeth! I'm pretty sure that makes me highly evolved.) But I did have a birthday last month, and my friends threw me an absolutely "marvel"ous birthday party! It was super! It was Captain America/Avengers themed, because obviously Captain America is the best. Duh. My internet is spotty or I would post pictures. Stalk me on facebook for them. It was the best birthday party ever. Hands down.
Well, that's about all I can think of... I hope life is just as peachy for you as it is for me!
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