Been a while...

I know it's been a while, and I have been outta the whole blogging business. Sorry for that. I usually love posting pictures and rambling on and on about a variety of things. So, this time there is no picture to post, but a few updates nonetheless:

1. New apartment:

I am loving life! Things can not get much better than having a cute lil home to come to at the end of the day. Wedding gifts are finally out of their boxes and getting some good use out of them. It's amazing how much stuff/junk we've acquired together, and I'd almost forgotten about many of the things we have. It's been fun finding some hidden treasures lately!

2. New position:

Summer School began 2 weeks ago, and I'm teaching several 6th graders a basic writing class and a team building class in the afternoon. It is lots of work with very little down time. I overly plan so things go well during the day, and that also takes time. There is no break except for lunch which is 20 minutes, and sometimes I wonder why I look forward to it every year. And then I'm reminded---only 24 days of school, and you pocket about $4,000. THAT is the best part. With that money, we are going to pay off 2 student loans and buy some nice furniture for the living room. Now that is something to look forward to!

3. New husband:

Steven shaved off his goatee today. I know that looks don't really matter, but there is something about facial hair on men that drives me crazy...and on Steven, it is so adorable. Anyway, it is all gone. He is trying to do what is right, and we agreed that when we moved out on our own, a few things were going to change in our lives, and that we would try really hard to live the Gospel to the best of our abilities. One of the things was his facial hair. We've agreed that if he doesn't get called to work with the Young Men or the Elders Quorum, he might grow it back for a while. We'll see what happens, but for now...I'm missing it, but enjoying tickling his naked face!

4. Old job:

A week and a half ago, I was offered a teaching position at Oakland. I accepted the position and am really excited about it. It is my preferred place to teach, even though the kids are rougher around the edges, and that always means working hard, and lots of parent contacts during the year. I will be traveling a bit more than I had originally planned, but since it is what I want, and what will make me happiest, I accepted the position. I will be teaching Spanish 2, Spanish 1 advanced, and a regular Spanish 1. So, lots of work ahead (and I'll be a student myself), but I can do it.

Well, that will do it for now, I guess. I will try to get some pictures taken of our apartment and post them soon. Everything is finished now--pictures are on the wall, beds are set up, boxes are unpacked, and closets are full. It is nice to have everything in order.

I am truly blessed.

I have a wonderful job.

I am married to a great man who loves me and works hard to provide for our family.

I belong to a church who teaches me how to provide for myself and lean not on my own understanding, but on Divine Inspiration for me and my family.

I have a wonderful family who supports me, calls just to say hi, and who places value in things that can not be bought with money.

I am grateful for parents who have raised me well, for teachers who have taught me correct principles, and for siblings who have laughed and loved with me along the way, and for friends who have been there when I needed them the most.

Thank you to all of you for your examples, and for your love.

Pics from the Past...

Moving has it's ups and downs. One of the best things about moving is that it FORCES you to clean really well. Another good thing is finding all of those hidden treasures that are packed away. Steven & I sure had some good laughs this past week. Several of you all will remember these people & the stories behind them...several of you are IN these pictures....and the other several of you will laugh your heads off at things that happened in my past.

Ready or not...here we go...into the past where photos really DO say a thousand words! (don't you just love the quality of scanners?...ugh!)

Photo #1: Jess, Gay, and Ryan (wasn't that his name?). We were all friends in college, and I even went on several dates w/ Ryan Eggbert. Funny thing about this guy--he's afraid of showers...something about him almost drowning when he was little. Long story short...I don't date smelly guys!

Photo #2: Me and my sis, Marlena. This pic was one of the first taken by my littlest sis, Becca. It was taken by one of those old school cameras that went horizontally, and it was my favorite, neon orange! It was Becca's first picture-taking experience. "Becca, are you sure we are both IN the picture, in the middle?"..."yep...I know what I'm doing, guys"....well, what you see is what you get. We were going to Homecoming here, I think.

Photo #3: Marlena & Uncle Mike on his new (now old) motorcycle. We LOVED Uncle Mike, although he was very scary lookin when we were little. When we grew up, he was the coolest one around!

Photo #4: Marlena's graduation. Didn't she look happy here? Dad always made us take embarrassing pics, especially when we didn't WANT to. This is a great example of that!

Photo #5: This is a pic of Jules, Olive Oil, Me, and Mena. We went to Rick's College together one summer. Jules lived in ASSPEN (yes, I misspelled it on purpose...has to do w/ the odor of that place), and the rest of us lived it up in the dorms. What a fun summer!

Photo #6: Mena, Jules, Troy, and ?. The girls went to DI and bought hideous dresses, but they stunk so bad that they wore clothes underneath them. I suppose they had fun that night (even though they smelled funny).

Photo #7: Mena & Olive (Ollie)...Don't remember why we made the sign, but we thought it would attract guys somehow. It said "Get your meat beat here" and Olive drew a great arrow, and she actually wore it around campus one day....crazy girl!

Photo #8: Yep, for my birthday one year, my wonderful friends rented a hearse. It belonged to a youngster across the way from where we lived. It was crazy,. but lots of fun!

Photo #9: Jules & Marlena "breakin it down" while cleaning the apartment during "white glove" checks...I always HATED those.

Photo #10: Don't you remember when wearing a white t-shirt and jeans was cool? Here are my two crazy sisters hanging out together! Awwww...such sisterly love!

Photo #11: This was one of my favorite pics of my lil sister! We went out back, and I started taking pics of her...she is so beautiful! Yes, we wore TONS of make-up in those days, but she looks just as good w/o it, too!

Photo#12: Here is my parents (get a load of the hair on my mother and her large-rimmed glasses), my lil sister Becca (what's up w/ the large hair) and my sister, Marlena & her hubby. This was while Marlena finished nursing school and lived at home for a few months after getting married. This was a pic sent to me while I was on a mission in Chile.

Photo #13: Now THIS is a good pic! Andrea had not discovered how to use make-up, and I had discovered the dark-red lipstick! I was in a high school choir called Madrigals and was dressed for the occasion (check out the bangs and brows), and the fam was there to support me. And YES...I still have the costume, and break it out every now and then for Halloween!

Photo #14: And last, but not least...my good friend Jessica, who I rarely ever talk to anymore (ugh!). This was a pic she thought I'd gotten rid of YEARS ago! We were roomies in the dorm, and we were being funky that day! Don't even ask...cuz I don't even know what we were thinking!

There you go...a glimpse into the past of me & my family and friends. You all should do the same! It was really hilarious to go through old photo albums, scan in the pics and post them. I think I'll start a TAGGING thing.

So, I tag: Emily, Gay, Jess, Olive, Shelly, Steven, & Tami.

We're FINALLY Here!

We've moved in!

I think I emailed everyone our new address, but if I somehow forgot you, and you'd like to have it, please let me know in the comment section. What a week last week turned out to be!! Monday thru Wednesday were spent giving finals to students, saying goodbyes to all of my favorite people at Oakland, and packing up my entire teaching career and moving them to another school in town. Thursday was spent packing up 5 sedans...some of them we ended up packing several times, and making several trips to the new place. Here's the shortened version of the story...

Thursday I paid the first months rent, along with the deposit and get the keys. Mother & I already have our cars packed and ready to unload. We get to the apartment only to find out that things were NOT ready for us. Needless to say, we met the painter, the fix-it-up man, the maintenance man, and got a personal phone call from the Manager herself. Cleaning needed to be done, repainting, and several other things. We went to lunch and I went to Target while they finished up.

Several hours later, we unloaded the cars and went home to meet up with the in-laws and one of my friends, Wanda. Each of us had our own vehicles, which totaled 5 cars. We packed them to the brim and headed to unload another load. We got so much done...from unpacking, to putting things up, and my mom was especially helpful in the kitchen. She was in charge of taking things out of boxes and putting them in the cabinets & drawers...amazing task, and she was good at that!

Friday I made another trip to the new place, and got ready for the "movers" to come that evening. Several people from church came to help, Steven picked up the U-Haul truck and headed to the storage shed with the missionaries, his best friend Scott, and his father. Meanwhile, at my parent's house, 3 trucks showed up with several men to help out. Everyone loaded up, and amazingly enough, they all arrived at our new place at the SAME time!

Everything went well...we got everything moved in about an hour and a half, believe it or not. The last few days have been spent unpacking, throwing away CRAP we have saved for many years (and sometimes we aren't sure why, really), taking things to the Salvation Army, and dropping off books to donate to the Public Library.

We have made much progress, but there is a lot still to do. Summer School starts on Monday, and I'm not ready for that either. I've enjoyed the week off, even though I've been spending time at the Dr's office, downtown, and going through boxes. I have found some time to catch an Oprah episode every now and then...now that's what I call RELAXING!

Here are a few pics of our new place...

Here's the KITCHEN. It's pretty big, and has new appliances. Very cozy. Don't really have a theme or color, I just buy whatever is on sale, and put it in there. I guess you could say it is colorful (even though this pic doesn't quite show much of it now).

MASTER BEDROOM- ya, really not much in here yet. That is a compact refrigerator in the box...something that has yet to be used, but Steven is thrilled at the idea of having water or a Coke next to his bed for whenever he wants it. There are 2 closets, and I may end up STILL putting some of my shoes/clothes over in Steven's one day (he he he).

LIVING ROOM- The couch was given to us from another young couple before they moved to the East Coast, but it's quite cozy for now. You can see the coffee table which was a PAIN IN THE $%* to put together, but we are now proud owners of a matching coffee table, 2 end tables, and a magazine rack (and Steven & I made it through almost 3 movies while cussing at each other and getting all upset at directions that don't make ANY sense).

SECOND BEDROOM--right now, it's just full of boxes, but it will be the storage/computer/sewing/random room in the house. Steven & I have decided to put things in here that have no other place in the house. But, if you need a place to stay when you come to CoMo, you can stay in the random room, free of charge!

p.s.- this is only a small portion of the boxes that were stacked in here! This pic was taken after 2 days of going through boxes!

p.p.s.- Can you find Steven in the bottom pic? (He REALLY is in there...)

More Stress = More humor

As many of you know, tomorrow and Friday are the BIG MOVING DAYS!

I'm so glad they are finally here...and I'll be even more glad when they are in the past! UGH! So much to do, and only a couple of hours left. Good thing school ended yesterday, and I only have to go check out at one other school (which should only take 30 minutes).

So, for any who will be moving in the future (and for my own use as well)...a few more moving tips, courtesy of Budget rental trucks!

Friends: Who can ever have enough at critical times like these? Anyone want to come join the fun? C'mon, you know you want to!

Tape: Can be very tricky to use. Use with caution, that's for sure! And no using it to get even with any of the above mentioned friends, or else all help would soon vanish.

Furniture: This one is by far my favorite! I've already been following this tip, and didn't even know it! I'm glad to know it's okay to do so. Does that mean I'm still going to hell, though? I don't remember ever hearing this one mentioned at church...

Moving Time!

As many of you know, many changes are about to take place within the next week. Wednesday will be my last day teaching this school year (yeah!), and also my last day teaching at my beloved OJHS school! I will be changing schools, and next year I will be full time at WJHS, so at least I will only have to travel 3 miles to work, and I will have my OWN ROOM! There is a lot to be said for that.... Then, on Thursday and Friday, Steven & I are finally moving out of the basement! It's finally coming, and we are so excited! We are so excited we are stressed, and getting grumpy...it can come soon enough!

So, today I am posting some moving humor. Enjoy!

My favorite tip: VERY necessary for us, as well as the people helping us!

I love Christmas Vacation (the movie)...maybe Aunt Whatsername should've paid attention to this advice...remember the old lady that brought the cat wrapped up in a Christmas box?

Save our backs!!

Idol Finale

WOW!

What an amazing journey. Even though I picked Archuletta to win, and he came in second place, I'm happy with the win. Both David's are going to make a great career out of singing, and I'm excited about that! It has been a great season, and the finale was great, and if you weren't watching, you really missed something special when both David's embraced and congratulated each other. It really is nice to see such great competitors showing such love and emotion for each other...not very common for people to show on tv these days.

Well, I can't find a video of his winning performance to play here, but you can go to http://www.americanidol.com/ and see him sing the winning song of American Idol season 7.

Nevermind...I just found one! Watch below...

Fabulous Weekend!!!

First of all, let me preface by saying that EVERY TIME I want to go on a bit of a vacation or get away for the weekend, I get SICK. Literally. I don't get just a bit of the sniffles, or a bit of a sore throat...I get the WORKS! I mean....stopped up ringing ears, sore & swollen lymph nodes in the throat, clogged up nostrils (and that makes the throat even worse from being forced to breathe out of my mouth), and an achy body. What a mess!!!

But, even with my ailing self, we headed to St. Louis to celebrate Steven's 26th Birthday. Let me say it was very eventful. As you read on...you will see why.

FIRST STOP...temple. Well, since I get up at 5:30am everyday, and yell at my Jr. High kids on a daily basis, getting to the temple on Fridays is always a challenge. This Friday was particularly interesting. School is nearing the end, the kids are ready for summer break...and SO AM I!!! Adding my sickness on top of that...we decided to skip the temple (but don't worry...we're still making our tracks on the heaven-bound route).

FIRST REAL STOP...O'Charleys Restaurant. I had one of the summer specials...a variety of chicken tenders, and fries. Now, I know you're already thinking "Uggghhhh...another girl that just eats Chicken tenders".... but you need to remember a couple of things: #1- I LOVE eating! #2- I usually don't order chicken tenders. #3- these are the BEST chicken tenders in the world! So, having that in mind, the special is 2 original, 2 pretzel coated, & 2 BBQ chipotle tenders, with fries, and a house salad. The chicken was fabulous, the fries were delicious, and the salad was excellent (except for the fact that they are no longer making their own croutons), and the all-you-can eat rolls were amazing (except for the fact that they didn't ever refill out basket! Oh well...I don't need any more rolls attached to my thighs these days! Steven had the 4 mini sandwiches...2 chicken tender sandwiched, and 2 mini burgers w/ fries. All in all...luscious (except for the fact my taste buds weren't the caliber they usually are....bummer!)

SECOND STOP...the Mason Lodge. Steven's sister and her family live in the "attic" of the Masonic Lodge. Yes...the sort-of-religious fraternal order, called the Free Masons. Although no one really talks about what goes on among this special group of men, it is cool to see various symbols and find similarities to my own religious beliefs. I need to research them more, and become more familiar with their doings. The attic/loft where Emily, Joe, and Noah live is a piece of art, literally. Emily has the coolest decorating style EVER. Tons of knick-knacks laying around, and my eyes were kept busy the entire time; finding new things in new corners. They were out of town, but graciously let us enjoy their home for the evening (gracias, Em!). We enjoyed watching Nacho Libre, while I didn't enjoy trying to get some rest w/ both nostrils stopped up and not being in my own bed (although the pull-out bed is amazingly cozy). THIRD STOP...Einstein's bagel shop for breakfast! Always a favorite. Need I say more? I had a toasted Sundried Tomato bagel w/ Onion & Chive spread, and Steven had the Cinnamon Raisin & Sugar bagel, toasted, with Honey Almond spread. We enjoyed two glasses of icy Coca Cola's with our hearty breakfasts. FOURTH STOP...MetroLink train, a common St. Louis ride. We took the Metro to Union Station, and spent about 45 minutes walking around, killing time before our final destination. From being sick, I need some chapstick. We found a general store in the mall, and bought some chapstick. My lips were in heaven. I was feeling so good at that moment, that I went to throw the wrapper in the trash and ended up letting go of the lid with the paper. Steven (even on his own birthday) ended up digging through the trash to find my Chapstick lid. What a good man! FINAL DESTINATION...Busch Stadium! We watched the St. Louis Cardinals play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. What excitement...even though I went through an entire box of lotion-filled Puffs, it was worth it to see my hubby get so riled up, and so excited when the Cardinals finally won...after going into the 10th inning b/c of a tie game, and a home run by Ryan Ludwick at the bottom of the 10th inning. I could have done without a certain crowd of drunk folks who became pretty annoying shouting and screaming (sometimes honking) at whoever was up to bat. But, being in the stadium, enjoying a pretzel w/cheese, hot dog w/ mustard & relish, and an icy Coca Cola with my hubby was well worth the runny/snotty nose. No, we didn't make the kiss cam, no we didn't have box seats, but we were in the shade with nice sunny weather, a cool breeze, and a great view.

Steven's Birthday weekend couldn't have been any better (unless I could take away the being sick parts). Other than that, St. Louis treated us well, and we enjoyed being together. Enjoy the pics from out trip.

above: This was the view from our seats...pretty good, I'd say!

below: Alberto Pujols. Don't know much about the man, really. I DO know he's from the Republica Dominicana, so that means we have something in common...hablamos español. I think that's cool. He is famous for hitting home runs, and for being so young. He has a perfect batting stance, take a look below. WOW! What a sight!