Happy Birthday to ME!

Sorry I haven't had time to blog lately... It was one of my new years resolutions, but you know how long those things last.

Well, the b-day weekend was awesome! We had a great weekend with the whole family... Bowling, dinner (my entire family made it this year, all 17 of us!), cousins sleepover, chatting, vising the new baby, and a few minutes vegging in front of the TV with a good movie.

It is Monday and I am back to reality with a dozen deadlines before our audit and lots of needy students! I took this photo the other night at a friends house cause at the time it was hysterical. Now I am starting to feel sorry for the little guy in the bowl. I guess I am just a little too empathetic to his little situation lately!

So other than setting a new years resolution I have decided weekly goals are better for me so there they are:

My goals for this week are these:

1.Survive until Friday.

2.Get to the temple this weekend.

3.Stop stressing.

Any ideas on how to accomplish #1 and 3???

Christmas Dance Recital

Last night was Hannah's dance recital. Looking back, it is amazing to me to see how much she has grown and changed over the years. This is Hannah 4 years ago at her first dance performance. Holy cow! So tiny!And here she is now...

She decided that she wanted to try tap this year instead of ballet... Now she is totally bummed that she isn't doing ballet. Mostly due to the fact that she didn't get a cute new tutu for her recital...Just a sweatshirt and a scarf. I was disappointed, too, Hannah.Needless to say, she still does a great job and is such a beautiful dancer. Her dad and Amber were able to come and see her, along with my mom, her Grandma Shell and Aunt Brooke.

Fun Filled Fridays

This past Friday was quite eventful, to say the least. I started off the day by dropping Hannah off to school and heading in to work to post my grades. Hannah went to her friends house while dad and I went out car shopping.

Let me give you a little background on my little old car. My 98 Honda Civic, lovingly referred to as the Rice Rocket, has been with me since November, 2000. After 298.360 miles, I have decided that she needs to retire. Along with needing a distributor, CV axles, and a thermostat, (I can drive clear to work without my heat even starting to get warm) her exterior has seen better days. Every time I get into that car I feel like Captain Hook when he could hear the tick tock of the crocodile coming towards him. I hear the tick tock of a time bomb... I know I am just one turn of the ignition key away from this car just not wanting to run anymore and a hefty repair bill just to get it back on the road. So to make a long story short, I decided it was time to take the plunge. Maybe this will help me deal with my commitment issues...Maybe not.

So I found this sweet deal on the cutest little Beetle. I won't bore you with the specs, but lets just say this... Heated seats. I think I am going to enjoy my drive to work this winter! Dad went along with me for moral support and to drive my other car home until I decide what the heck to do with it.

We got home and Hannah had her friends sleep over. Riley and Karina live here in the neighborhood and the three of them are pretty much inseparable. They danced, sang, watched about a minute of a movie, ate pizza, drank smoothies and hot chocolate, and tore the house to pieces. I, on the other hand, went into my bedroom and folded laundry. Needles to say, we didn't get to bed until around midnight, but they had a blast.

Well, it was a super long day, but in the end, I think it was a pretty good day. When I can get up the courage to go back out into the cold, I may take a photo or two of my cute little car so I can show ya all. Now the count down begins for my next adventure...Road trip to Montana in December. Wish us luck!

Honor Roll

At parent teacher conference last week, I received an invitation to come to the school today and watch the honor roll assembly. Hannah's school gives awards to all of the students who get all A's and B's. Hannah was so excited to get to go to the assembly...Her dad and Amber were also able to attend and see her in the spotlight. I can't believe that I have such a smart, sweet little girl! I took more pictures at the assembly, unfortunately they didn't quite turn out.
So in celebration of such an awesome achievement, Hannah was also able to go watch the Utah Jazz game tonight with Robert and Alma... She loved it, minus the part about having to scream every time the Jazz scored!

So, on to more of my fun life... Work is going well. We had a bit of drama today, though. One of my students received a call during class that her husband was having a seizure and they were transporting him to the hospital. She was freaking out to say the least. I jumped in and worked my magic ;) and calmed her down. Then I had another student call me because she thought she was having a stroke!!! For heavens sake, people, call 911, not your instructor! I advised her to go to the ER and call me back... I heard she saw her doc, but still don't know how it all turned out.

Tonight my students got to give their first injections on each other, so needless to say I am a little wound up... It is a little nerve racking being responsible for these people when they have needles in their hands! Tomorrow is "banana day" for my class. I get to watch 30 students slice, stitch, and then remove sutures from bananas. Anyone want to come? I am hoping I don't have a story to tell tomorrow!

Where is the "off button"?

I can't turn it off. My brain, that is. It's pretty late and I can't sleep. I'm fighting a nasty sinus infection and I don't think the antibiotics are working. can't smell or taste a thing. That could be a good thing I suppose. I took some Nyquil and now my throat feels dry and sticky. I need to drink more water. I have hundreds of papers to grade and lesson plans to print out. I wonder if any of my students emailed me tonight... Oh, well. I'll check that in the morning. I just spent an hour blog-hopping and I really should have been putting dishes away and folding the clothes that have been in the dryer for two days. I have no idea where my phone is. It may be in the car but it is cold and rainy outside and I am freezing and that will only make me colder...I worry if we made the right decision to move to Salt Lake. I also wonder if my car will start tomorrow! Hannah is going to her dad's house for the weekend... Maybe I'll just put in some earplugs, warm up the electric blanket and sleep the weekend away!

Homesick

I am feeling homesick. There. I said it. I miss my little town of Heber. I miss my friends and I miss my neighbors. I miss being able to run to the grocery store without having to wait at a stop light. I miss bumping into people I know everywhere I go. I miss people asking me how I am doing and really meaning it. I miss Sunday mornings in the ward I grew up in. I miss the drives over to Wallsburg just to check on things for Grandma. I miss feeding cows and changing sprinklers. I know, this sounds crazy. Here I am sitting around on a Sunday afternoon with nothing to do. I should be napping or doing something productive... Nope. I am sitting here feeling sorry for myself for what I feel like I am missing out on.

Now don't get me wrong, things are good here. I have a great job. I am making more money than I have ever made in my life. I love what I am doing. I never thought I could do this, and yet, I find that it feels so natural. Hannah is thriving in the new neighborhood and in school. She has so many cute little friends and this place never is quiet. My neighbors are awesome. Last weekend I was sick and my neighbor, Anna, watched Hannah all day and even dropped by with a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup...so what am I complaining about???

I guess I just didn't realize that so many changes would eventually catch up to me.
Well, Hannah will be back from her dad's house in a minute. I better get it together and finish up dinner so we can enjoy the rest of the evening.

I am still alive...I promise!

I know some may be wondering where the heck we have been...
Ok, well, I'll just assume that at least someone is missing my lovely blog...
Seriously, things have been crazy the past few months. I've made some major changes in my life. I moved. I changed jobs. Twice. I haven't had a paycheck for a month. I haven't had Internet for a month. I took a job doing something I thought I could never do and found that I am really good at it. I have been reminded over and over again how extremely blessed I am and how much I am loved. I agree, that was a little vague, but I guess you'll just have to stay tuned to see whats up.