My favorite song right now is...

"When I See Your Face" by Bruno Mars. It makes me instantly happy the second I hear it. I want to switch it to my ringtone. It's the sweetest song ever. I don't consider myself a romantic person, but I hear that song and I turn to mush and it makes me realize that I truly believe that every girl in the world longs for a guy to say those things to her.

No Christmas.

There are always some 6th graders who don't believe in Santa.

This year I have some who REALLY don't believe in Santa. As in, they can't. As in, their religion forbids it.

I don't know a lot about the Jehovah's Witness religion; all I know is that 2 kids in my class who are Jehovahs Witness don't celebrate any holidays. No birthdays, no Halloween, no Thanksgiving, no Valentines Day, no patriotic ceremonies...

...and sadly, no Christmas.

Which, as a teacher, really puts me in a bind.

I have THE ABSOLUTE CUTEST, COOLEST, BEST Christmas activities for math, reading, writing, etc. But I feel like I can't really do them because of those 2 kids.

Other teachers have told me to do what I want to do and just give those 2 kids an alternate assignment. But that sucks because there's SO MUCH I wanna do! They'd be doing a million "alternate assignments" for the next week and a half!

I've been holding off on all my fun holiday stuff because I'm struggling with the decision. It makes me super depressed to stare at my pile of Santa Persuasive Letters, Christmas Tree Factors & Multiples, "Green Tree Green Tree" books, daily Christmas journal entries, and all my other awesome activities. Normally I would have started these already, but I keep trying to hold off and it just makes me sad.

I am trying to be religiously-tolerant, but honestly, it KILLS ME that these kids don't celebrate ANYTHING!!! That must be so hard for a 12 year old to miss out on so much. And selfishly, it makes it hard for their teacher, too!

ARGH. Merry freaking Christmas.

So whiney right now.

Normally I'm a total grammar freak, but right now I just don't give a crap. So please excuse any grammatical errors you may find in this rant.

I don't wanna go to school tomorrow. You'd think that after a whole week off I'd be ready to get back. But I'm not. Not at all.
Don't get me wrong; I LOVE my job. I absolutely LOVE teaching. But it's been so nice being able to focus just on being a mommy and wife and NOT a teacher. Once I get there tomorrow and the bell rings and I see my kids I'll be fine. But right now just thinking about the early morning, scraping ice off my windshield, going back to work is not a fun thing.

Topher threw HUGE temper tantrums tonight. Our version of time out doesn't seem to be working anymore. Why oh why do the terrible twos have to come early for my kid?

Thanksgiving was dysfunctional. My family is sort of a big mess. Gotta love 'em.

I'm getting fat again. After working my arse off all summer long and dropping 25 pounds, now I'm gaining it back. I've gained 5 pounds over Halloween and Thanksgiving. NOT happy. Time to get my flabby rear end back in the gym and actually start paying attention to the crap I shove down my throat.

To anyone reading this, sorry to be such a downer. Don't worry. I'm sure I'll be back to my usual, hyper, happy, spazzy self tomorrow. But hey, I'm only human, right? I deserve a day or two every so often to just freak out. I'll just be sure that I don't make a habit of it.

Still alive.

Worst. Blogger. Ever.

Sorry. I suck. I know.

Here's the super-fast, totally condensed version of what's up:

1.) School started. Good 'ol 6th graders. I have a few tough cookies to crack this year, but overall I LOVE my kids. I have some really REALLY super cool kids this year. TONS of fun. Plus I love my team teachers. They are like family to me.

2.) Topher's 2 year old molars have come through. Awesome. It totally hasn't been bad at all. I just noticed a couple weeks back while brushing his teeth. Other than drooling all the time, he hasn't been fussy or anything.

3.) Thanksgiving! WOOT! We were going to leave for Cedar tonight, but it's a blizzard outside. So we'll leave tomorrow. Hopefully the roads will be clear. I am so excited to see my fam and eat lots of yummy food. I had to bring pies this year and after much coercing from Jay, I decided to make them myself. So far I've made fresh strawberry, carmel cheesecake, and banana cream. Still have to make chocolate and pumpkin then we'll be all set. I'm totally proud of myself that I haven't burned down the house yet.

4.) A few weeks ago my dad got in a motorcycle accident. He thinks he's Evil Kinevil. He broke some bones in his neck, his shoulder, and his collar bone. Yikes. In the hospital for a few days, and on house arrest for a few weeks. Soo lucky he's alive. Doctors said if he hadn't been wearing his helmet and chestplate and all his gear he would be dead.

5.) Just went and saw Harry Potter & Deathly Hallows part 1. LOVED it. So glad I reread the book beforehand. I hadn't read it since it came out a few years ago and didn't really remember much. I finished reading it like a week ago, just in time to go see the movie. ECLIPSE comes out on DVD next week, and now I can't wait for Harry Potter part 2 and New Moon! YAY!

I'm sure there's a BAJILLION other things. But I'll try to get on here more often and catch up on stuff. Not making any promises, but I'll try.

VOTE for me!!!!! PLEASE!!!!

My 99 Day Challenge is over, and now it's time to vote!!! They have actually narrowed it down from 10 people to 3!!! It's just me and two guys!!! I have a one in three chance of winning the trip to Florida!!!

But now it's all up to you, my friends. Go to http://www.my995fm.com/pages/99daychallenge/ to view the before and after pics and vote!!! Voting starts July 8 and ends July 18!

Friends, I love you and appreciate all your support throughout this entire journey. Could you do me a huge favor? Could you help me spread the word? Tell your friends, family, neighbors, strangers at Walmart, whatever! Post on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Blogs, emails, anything!!! I'll take all the votes I can get! Thanks!

Hottest Guys on Earth (besides my husband, of course!)

Here they are, in no particular order...
Well, naturally I had to put Taylor first, but other than him, no particular order!


Taylor Lautner


Jake Gyllenhaal


Mark Salling


Shane West


Kyle Korver


Zac Efron


Jared Padalecki & Jensen Ackles from Supernatural


Jude Law



Paul Walker

Nervous for tomorrow.... digging through my closet...

Tomorrow is officially the last day of my 99 day weight loss challenge!! I have to be at the radio station at 10am to take my "after" picture!! I can't believe how fast the 99 days flew by! Sometime soon they'll post everyone's pics online and open voting to the public for a week. I will let you all know when and how to vote. I would LOVE to get the most votes and win the Florida trip, but even if I don't, I've already won something awesome... I fit into my college clothes again! I'm down 25 pounds!!! I about cried today when I tried on a pair of shorts that were three sizes smaller than what I've previously been wearing and THEY FIT!!! WOOOOOO!!!! I still have like 20 more pounds to go before I'm at my goal, but I feel like I have accomplished so much over the 99 days and will just keep on going! Anyway, so I'm pretty nervous right now. Searching my closet. Trying on EVERYTHING. Trying to find something that makes me look super skinny from every angle. I am exhausted, thinking I'll just go to bed and see what looks good in the morning. WISH ME LUCK!!!! Send some good picture vibes!

...and the award for Worst Blogger goes to...

...ME!
I haven't blogged in over 2 months!!! Holy Geez! Sorry friends. I royally suck. After having three different friends tell me I suck at blogging, I decided I better get my butt in gear. So here's some fun random tangents:

*I LOVE summer! School got out like June 4 or 5, I can't even remember! I've put it so far in the past! HA! I miss my school kids, but I L-O-V-E summer and being home with my Topher Gopher.

*Next week is the end of my 99 day challenge. I've lost a total of 24 pounds and am now wearing clothes that I haven't fit into in like 10 years. LOVE it. I still have about 20 more pounds to drop before I'm back to high school weight, but I can do it! I have to go in to the radio station next Tuesday to take final pics, then everyone will get to vote. Hopefully I get a lot of votes so I win the Florida trip!

*I gave Topher a haircut. Yikes. BAD. He looks like a monkey. Unfortunately NOT a cute monkey. A funky monkey. Hopefully it won't look too bad in a week or two.

*Topher is teething. Sigh. He's getting his fangs. I hear those are the worst, most painful teeth to cut. So it makes sense that he's been a complete beast the last couple days. Poor kid. Hopefully it's just about over.

*My brother Russell and his wife Cindy and their three year old TJ came to stay with us last weekend. We went swimming at the Lehi Legacy Center and went to the zoo and had tons of fun. Pics to come later.

*ECLIPSE. Twice. Went on opening night at 9pm with my friend Karen and her family. Then went the next night with Jay and my friend Kristin. I am ridiculously obsessed with Jacob. It's scary and sad and wrong. But I don't freaking care. Bella is a total moron. Nothing against Edward, but seriously... I'd choose Jacob in a heartbeat. I've always been Team Jacob, ever since I read New Moon for the very first time.

*My house got attacked by our neighbor's trampoline. Like 90 mph winds blew it over the fence and crashed into our kitchen windows. Crazy and scary. Sooo glad Kristin was there so one of us could stay calm. I was a mess. Jay was gone and my neighbors were out of town, so I just ran next door and screamed for help. It's all good now, we got our window fixed and bought a new light fixture (the other one got ripped off). How many people can say they witnessed a trampoline attack? Now that it's all in the past it's pretty funny.

*My friend Natalie had her baby!!! YAY!! A boy named Camden. She was three weeks early! Wasn't due until July 22! But baby is healthy and all is good. Can't wait to meet him! My teacher friend Melissa had her baby too, on June 22, a boy named William. It must be baby season! :)


That's all I can think of. I'll try to blog more often, but I'm not promising anything.

Blogging takes time and energy...

...and lately I haven't had either of those. Sorry it's been so long. Life is good. Topher is learning new words everyday; so far he's really good with mama, dada, uh-oh, nanana (banana), and he's close to getting the word up.

We've been out of town for the last three weekends, so my house is a mess, we have no clean laundry, but we've had lots of fun!

We spent Easter weekend in Cedar and St. George...
We spent last weekend in Mesquite for the Sigma Nu White Rose Formal (leaving Topher overnight for the first time ever, and I didn't even cry!)
We spent this weekend in Spanish Fork...

It's good to be home.

School is in the busy-freakedoutteacher-phase, so who knows when I'll have time to jump on here again, but just know that no news is good news and all is fine.

I've taken a bajillion cute pics lately; I'll post more someday. But for now, enjoy the cute one of us with the Easter Bunny.

99 Day Challenge Top Ten "Before" Pics!

I went to the radio station last Thursday to take "before pictures". I am the biggest girl in the competition! I couldn't believe it! I actually think that's a good thing for me, because I'll be able to make a really drastic transformation and my AFTER pic will be amazing and maybe that will help me get more votes and win the Florida trip!!!

To see all the "before" pics of the ten contestants, go here:

http://www.my995fm.com/pages/99daychallenge/

I'm the very last picture. Not very flattering, but it's my "before" pic so it's not supposed to be cute! My "after" pic is the one that counts!

Guys, I am SOOOO EXCITED!! I went to the gym yesterday morning and worked out, and signed up to meet my trainer Monday morning at 5:30!! You all know that I am NOT a morning person at all, but somehow this competition has made me be able to overcome it! I know it's only day 3, and I still have 96 more to go, so hopefully I'll still be this enthusiastic the whole way through.

99 Day Challenge!!!

A few weeks ago I heard a contest on the radio...

http://www.my995fm.com/pages/99daychallenge/

So I entered. In my entry form I wrote about how we just spent all our money for Jay to have gastric lapband surgery and how he's lost 40 pounds since November and I've only lost like 4!! About how I'd love to go to the gym but we don't have the money and how I'm jealous of all the attention Jay is getting for his weight loss and how I have some catching up to do, etc. etc.

I know there were at least 60 people who entered... they were going to pick 5 men and 5 women.

And guess what??

I GOT THE PHONE CALL TODAY FROM THE RADIO STATION!!!!
I'M IN!!!! Wooohooooo!!!!

I am so flipping excited!!! So I automatically win a year membership to Golds Gym and a duffel bag full of stuff. Then if I have the "biggest transformation" (a.k.a. get the most votes!) after 99 days when they post my before and after pics, I win a trip to Florida!!!!!!

I go in to the radio station Thursday to meet the other 9 contestants, get interviewed, learn all the rules/deadlines, and take "before" pictures. Then comes 99 days of intense working out, eating right, and changing my physical appearance!!!!

Did I mention I'm FREAKING EXCITED?!?!?! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Wish me luck!
I'll be sure to keep you posted all along the way!!

Parent Teacher Conferences:

I SURVIVED!!!

Parents didn't yell or be mean to me or anything!!

WOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Topher's 12 month checkup

Last Wednesday I took Topher to his 12 month check up. Good thing, too... here's what we found out:

He has a double ear infection.
He has a pretty bad cold.
He has all four molars cutting through.
He has a heart murmur.


All of that sounds pretty awful, but it's really not so bad. He had a double ear infection in the fall too, and the dr said that's pretty typical of young kids, so as long as he's not getting them every month, he's fine. He's had a cold for awhile, we have the humidifier going in his room, but it'll just take time. All four molars cutting... well that just sucks. He hasn't been too particularly fussy, but he does have his rough days. As for the heart murmur, the dr also said not to worry. He said it's not uncommon in babies and they normally grow out of it. He just wanted to make me aware of it in case I ever have to take Topher to the instacare/ER and another dr notices it. Just so we all don't freak out.

What a week. I love my Topher Gopher and I'm sad he has to deal with all this mess at once, but I guess it's all part of raising kiddos and the good stuff totally outweighs the bad stuff so we'll just have to grit our teeth and make it through.

If...

We've all heard this question: If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

What do you think? Opinions?



Also, my blog feels lonely. If a girl blogs but there's no one there to read it, does it make a difference?

I guess it's my own fault for going private, eh? Grrr. But it was a change that needed to happen so I guess I have to deal with it.

Sad day for a teacher.

I know I haven't posted pics from Topher's b-day parties... and I haven't updated on anything that has happened over the past two weeks...
But I need to blog about this right now because I want to remember how sad I feel. Is that weird? Probably. But even the saddest, most devastating moments in our lives need to be documented. So here it is.

I was wandering around on facebook and I found one of my students from my first year of teaching. I was his fifth grade teacher and now he's a freshman in high school. I got really excited as I started looking at his friend's list and finding a BUNCH of my students from my first year! This was back when Cedar Middle School was still Cross Hollows Intermediate for you Cedarians. I added a bunch of them as friends and we started catching up; where are they now, how do they like school, what do they remember from my class, etc.

Unfortunately, not all the catching up was good news.

To make a long story short, I just finished reading an obituary. One of my students, Shawn, died July 28, 2009. I called my mom to ask if she knew any details. Was it an accident? Illness? No. Suicide. He hung himself.

I am heartbroken. I am bawling my eyes out. He was only 14 years old. He was charming, sort of a trouble maker, but charismatic and persuasive, a real smooth-talker. Wild imagination, lots of fun and spunk. His picture from his obituary looks just like I remember him. I just went through a bunch of pictures from that year. I remember all my students names, every single one. I remember specific random memories that make it feel like it was just last year, not five years ago.
I can't believe one of my students is dead. That's just not supposed to happen. I love these kids like my own, while they're in my class and forever after. I am just so sad right now.

An hour ago I was dreading going back to school tomorrow. Now I can't wait to get there and hug my students and tell them I love them.

Topher's Birthday Week!

Topher's birthday is Wednesday, Feb. 3. However, we decided to have a party at our house in Eagle Mountain tomorrow night (Feb. 2). We invited probably 30 family and friends, I'm excited to see how many show up. We're just gonna do pizza, cake, open presents, and call it good. I have been BAKING nonstop for two days! I did a big cake, cupcakes, and a "smash cake" for Topher (which I am SOO EXCITED about!) I'll be sure to take pictures!

Then we're having another party Saturday afternoon, Feb. 6 down in Cedar. It'll just be my immediate family and a few friends. I'm really glad Topher gets to celebrate his birthday with Jay's family and my family. And all our great friends!

I can't believe my baby is turning 1. I can't believe it's been a whole year. Several times a day I ask myself, "How did this happen?!?" I really don't know where the time goes.

Happy Birthday, Topher Gopher!

Pageants

I am so excited for the Miss America Pageant this weekend! Ten years ago, who would've ever thought that I'd end up being a pageant girl? HA! Definitely not me! But I am so glad I got involved in pageants. I made a lot of new friends, got to wear pretty dresses, improved my performing and interview skills, and most importantly I got to learn a lot about myself. I love reminiscing about the good 'ol pageant days. My favorite part of last summer was when my friend Natalie asked me to judge the Miss Lehi Outstanding Teen pageant. It was an amazing experience! So much fun!! It's crazy how easy it is to click right back into "pageant-mode".

If anybody wants to watch Miss America with me, come on over!

Topher has croup.

He coughed yesterday a little bit and throughout the night. This morning when I dropped him off to my neighbor I told her to call me and I'd come get him if he got bad. She never called, so I didn't worry. But when I picked him up at 4pm she said I should take him to the dr cuz he sounded really bad and had coughed all day. He still eats and plays and seems ok most of the time, but he really does hack pretty bad. So we went to instacare and the doctor checked him out. It's croup. We got a prescription and I'm staying home from school tomorrow and Friday to keep him home with me. Hopefully it'll pass quickly and he'll be back to his normal healthy funny self!

Why does this have to happen the week that Jay is in Florida and I'm all alone?!?! Argh! Come home, Jay! I need you!!

P.S. This picture was from a few weeks ago. He came home from the sitter with this little eye-bruise mark. I just wanted a pic of him looking sullen since this post is about him being sick. This picture seems to work.

Lonely.

Jay is flying out tomorrow morning. He's going to Orlando until Saturday night. I hate it when he's gone. It'll be a fun trip for him because between meetings they get to go to Disneyworld for a day. But still, I hate being without him.

Good thing I have Topher and Rusty to entertain me.

I *heart* the Jazz!

I love basketball season. We are sooo into the Jazz games, we usually watch them all on TV but we got to go to one in December. Jay's dad and grandpa came with us. We sat in Jay's work seats which are halfway up the lower bowl, really good seats! It was a really fun game; I think the people around us started to get sick of me being obnoxious and screaming so loud (especially when Kyle went in... it was his first game back after injury and I was EXTREMELY excited about it!) Unfortunately they lost by 2 points right at the buzzer, it was sort of depressing. I still don't understand how they can beat all the awesome teams and then lose to the crappy teams! Anyway, we love the Jazz and hope they do good the rest of the season... maybe even make the playoffs??? Let's hope!

New Pics from Christmas Break

randomly written recap

*6pm, Tuesday, Dec. 22: car wreck. my first. really bad. totaled my car. not my fault. 4 vehicles involved. lucky to be alive. still waiting on insurance.

*Thursday, Dec. 24: had Christmas in spanish fork with jay's family. Then drove down to cedar.

*Friday, Dec. 25: had Christmas in cedar with my family. Topher's 1st Christmas.

*Saturday, Dec. 26: played games with sandy, katie, jen, & ray. too much fun. it's funny how we don't see each other for years but when we get together it's right back to where we left off in high school.

*Sunday, Dec. 27: Jay's birthday. he's 31. wow. that's old. We drive home.

*Tuesday, Dec. 29: Jay's family come to our house to celebrate our birthdays.

*Thursday, Dec. 31: chris, sharise, dina, mike, christy, heath, ramona, potato, jeremy, and lexi come to our house. we eat tons of food and play games for new years eve.

*Friday, Jan. 1: we drive to spanish fork to play games at chris' house with chris, sharise, mike, & dina. then randomly we decide to go to the movies at 10:30. the boys see sherlock holmes. the girls see new moon. best way to start a new year if you ask me. i've seen that movie twice now and could easily see it several more times in the theater.

*Saturday, Jan. 2: we go to dinner at chilis with natalie & davy for my birthday. then play games at our house.

*Sunday, Jan. 3: my birthday. i'm 27. that also seems old. i got sung to in primary, it was awesome.

*Tomorrow, Jan. 4: i go back to school. sadly. i don't want to. i have loved having so much time off. i wish i were a stay at home mom. i'm sure once i get to school and see my kids and get back in routine, it'll be fine. but right now i'm dreading it.