2nd First day of Kindergarten

i think my little 5-year-0ld Kaylee said it best when she put her hand up to her head and heaved a great sigh, "What a day, huh?" kindergartners are a scream. i love them!

kindergarten? get out.

it's true. i'm a kindergarten teacher. and, i'm kind of freaking out about it.

frogs, fishing, falling and frolicking in tahoe

Lake Tahoe...what a miraculous place. It's going to places such as these that makes me wonder, "How do people not believe in God? or a Greater Being?" The stars were breath-taking, theLake Tahoe! What a trees reached the clouds, the mountains rolled and the lakes hid themselves in crevices full of wild-life. From Day-1, it was an adventure.

I finished my last day of work on Friday, and we got all packed up, ready to go. We were going to drive to Kaysville to stay at my parent's casa to hang out for the night. We got everything ready to go and were out the door by about 6:30 pm. Swan (our graceful white toyota corolla) was loaded up, ready to go. As we glided on to I-15, Swan starts shaking profusely. What the crap is going on?, we thought. Earlier that day, Mike had taken the car in to have the oil changed and the tires rotated...well, let's just say that some mechanics are IDIOTS. We pull up to Wal-Mart Tire and Lube with our sick Swan (thinking they're the only ones who could possibly open this late) and low and behold, they have like a 2 hour wait...SO Mike has the idea, Pep Boys! So we cruise on over to Pep Boys, Swan coughing the whole way, and they tell us that the people who rotated the tires didn't tighten the lug-nuts, they didn't balance them, and that two of our tires are so balled, they're ready to explode into their very own fireworks show. $150 dollars later, and at 10:00 pm, we were on our way to Kaysville. Gee-whiz. So we rolled into the casa hartley around 11:00 pm...just in time for bed. Great start.
Day 2: we woke up at the crack of dawn, ready for some real fun. Before we knew it, we were in and out of Winnemuca's summer car show spectacular and cruising through Reno...and then, the breath-taking surroundings engulfed us on every side...trees, lakes, birds, bugs (evident by increasing numbers on our windshield)...we were in Lake Tahoe.

That night, we went for the first ATV ride. And boy, did we do it in style. We rode up to Lake Sterling, but Mike and I got lost (following suit to the rest of the weekends' activities) and I conveniently crashed into a log, which flew me off of my machine onto the dust-filled trail. Save the scrape on my knee and a new whole in my denims, I was fine. Lake Tahoe was going to be an adventure.

Day 3: We again woke up early to go to church in Tahoe City. I was basically limping around in church, but that's alright. It was worth being a "hard-core" atv-er. Sunday was a fun day spent almost quite entirely playing the wii...or taking breaks to eat or pee...then playing the wii some more. Even Mike's parents got in on the action by playing Tanks or Tennis. They were pretty intense competition! And I have to admit...i stink at both.

Day 4: We got to go into Lake Tahoe today...we went on a couple rides...slept in...it was a lot of fun. we also went on a really fun ride where we got to hike a round a really beautiful lake...and even see a couple of frogs along the sides of the rocks. It was a lot of fun and so rewarding to see the vast beauty tucked away in the hills of Tahoe's forests.

Day 5: Mike and I went adventuring...and decided to go fishing today. Since we wanted to fish, we were left in the dilemma of what we were going to do about fishing poles....not having them wouldn't stop us from fishing...no sir-ree bob. So, we went out "stick" hunting to make our very own poles from scratch. we finally found some winners and began carving away. Mike is actually quite good at it. It reminded me of these interesting fellows we saw at the Harry Potter party who devoted much of their lives to hand-carving wands (that really don't serve any purpose other than looking pretty freakin cool). Well, our sticks transformed at the hand of master-carver Mike into awesome poles. Since it took us so long to put these contraptions together, we didn't get time to actually fish...instead, we decided to wake up the next morning to go. That night, we took the TV outside and watched "Maid in Manhatten." I would definitely encourage anyone who is considering watching a movie outside to do so snuggled with a blanket by the fire underneath Lake Tahoe stars. It was awesome.

Day 6: Fishing Day. We didn't catch anything, but boy was it memorable. Mike and I kept climbing through rocks, trying to get our bait in any crevice that there might be fish frolicking around...but i think waking up at 9:30 doesn't really leave the cream of the crop for us fishermen/women.

all journeys have an end.

well, folks, i'm packin my bags! i'm currently at work on my LAST DAY. It's true, my actual last day of work at the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University. It's a very slow summery day at the Library...kind of lethargic (which is out of character for our Dean's office). But somehow, the lethargy is kind of nice. It's given me the chance to reflect on my year here...the wonderful people i've met, the memories i've made and the laughs we've shared. it's a unique place, the HBLL...I never thought i'd get up the courage to leave Harold... i think it's given whole new meaning to the phrase, "It's not you, it's me." It's hard to say good-bye...in fact, it brings a song to mind: It's Hard to Say Good-bye from the play "Dream Girls."
"We've been together a long time...we never thought it would end. We were also close to each other, you were always my friend....And it's hard to say good-bye my love, it's hard to see you cry my love, hard to open up that door, when you're not sure what you're goin' for..." You know, I truly couldn't say it better myself. I'm so glad for all the friendships and associations I've made...and even though it's so hard to say good-bye, a corner of my heart is glad and ready to open a new door...and close this chapter called "Brigham Young University." (sigh).

ditchin.

so i decided, i'm ditchin the wordpress blog. I'm going to record everything right here. so, i'm just going to put some snips from the blog that i would like to remember.

on no particular day somewhere in january of 2007, i wrote:

"i’ve decided that life is pretty funny. it is eventful. it is uneventful. it is happy. at times it is unhappy. i like life, though. i mean, me and life, we like to dance together. we like to cry together. me and life, we’re pretty tight. i don’t go anywhere without it, even though sometimes it goes places without me. i guess life is a typical friend.

lately, i’ve said to life, hey, life, what are we going to do together? i mean, we have some big twists and turns coming up. but life is just being a listener right now. life hasn’t said much to me lately… i value that life is such a good listener. but sometimes, i need feedback. kind of like the feedback that simon gives to the crappy singers by telling them they probably don’t have a future in what they think they have a future in. i need life to be a simon for me right now. but life isn’t a simon for me. it’s just life.

i have to admit, i’m scared for some of the big changes that await me in the near future. life knows that i’m afraid. but life doesn’t change the changes. life thinks that changes are good. life always brings on changes. what is it with life? but it’s ok. i would be so boring with out life and the changes it embraces. life makes me daring."

it's funny how life goes in rounds because my heart today echoes what it did that day somewhere in january.

on some whim in the mundane of november 2006, i reminisced with a romantic heart:

"i think that one of my favorite things is just staying in on a friday night with the one i love and nuzzling together to watch a movie, while eating some of my favorite popcorn made from a my favorite birthday present, the whirly popper. i love how your mind just kind of gets transported to this other world when you’re watching a movie or a favorite show. its like, you feel like you know the people. you feel like you’re there. its hard to imagine sometimes that these people don’t actually know you in return, but they don’t. i love nuzzling with my favorite pink blanket that i have had since infancy; my hubby thinks i’m crazy that i love that silky thing–but it smells so nice. it smells like a bikeride on my favorite purple bike- the one i got for christmas that had different speed options. it smells like the bars in the gym i used to work out on when i was a gymnast. it smells like cotton candy, my favorite treat, that we always used to get at the orange county fair, or the baseball games, or the park on the fourth of july. friday nights are my favorite because i get to be a kid again and forget about all the worries of the world."

my favorite things all have a smell. i'm grateful for my nose.

in the same november of 2006, i must have had a horrible bathroom experience. I wrote:

"i really really hate going to the bathroom. sometimes i wonder why the man upstairs made us go through this interesting process. i mean, don’t get me wrong; i appreciate the fact that we don’t have to keep everything inside that we consume (that would be weird). but i’ve found that i always wait until the very last minute, till i can’t hold it any more. and when i go, it takes me about 15 seconds to get in there and out of there. i’ve been known to be the fastest “goer” of my kind. i think its partially because i always have to go in the most horrible of places. i.e. school. the school loos are the worst. i mean, seriously, how difficult can it be for the school to replace a toilet? instead they let them get so bad, that you can’t tell whether the brown stuff is rust or something else… i always hope its rust."

everyone has their least favorite things, right?

finally, my last favorite blog from wordpress was when i wrote about screaming. i've always had a bit of a temper, i guess:

"sometimes i want to scream so loud so that everyone on the planet will have to turn around, stop what they are doing, and acknowledge the fact that i am screaming. there doesn’t even have to be a good reason for the scream–though sometimes there is. let’s face it, life gets dicey sometimes. but most of the time, i just walk around campus thinking, i wonder if i screamed really really loud, what would everyone do? i imagine most people would just keep walking. but some would stop. and when they stopped, i would say, listen, everything’s ok, i just wanted to scream. but since this is probably a socially unacceptable act, i will have to stick with the remedy of the car wash. no one can hear you scream in there."

there's a peak into what had potential to be great...but was absorbed by the better blogger.com.

creeps and bajeezies

I know some people think i'm so juvenile for my interest in the reality tv industry...and not just any reality tv program...but the all-encompassing reality experience, definitive of all others...American Idol. The fact that this show has a deeply-juvenile following became even more apparent to me after the most entertaining of concert experiences, American Idols Live, that Mike and I attended on Thursday. We were surrounded on each side by kids and teenagers...and at one point, I started to feel a little silly. And then i thought to myself, why in the world do i care what other people think? I truly, thoroughly enjoy American Idol. It rocks! Sure, Sanjaya creeps the bajeezies out of me, Jordin is a magnificent singer...but "like totally" immature, and Hailey is quite scandalous....but I enjoy their creepiness...and I enjoy the fact of knowing that this music experience gives every-day normal humans the wonderful opportunity of creating something magical that other every-day normal humans can be a part of in their very-own homes. It's exhilarating for me. So we went to the concert! It was a BLAST! There are two things that I love so much about these concerts. 1. They are truly the people you became so fond of and attached on the tv in your very own home! They sing just as good (even BETTER), they look just the same (even prettier/handsomer), they entertain just as much, and they are the same normal humans they once were! 2. I love that they haven't come out with any obscure singles that you've never heard of...so they just sing all the greatest hits of all time from stars like the Beatles, Whitney Houston and Christina Aguilera, making it so that its really one giant sing-a-long. Probably my favorite part was when Blake, the amazingly talented beat-boxer, went center-stage accompanied only by one of those crazy looper contraptions and a guitar. He recorded his voice to sound like the base-line and the percussion, and whatever else and actually sang over it "She will be loved" by Maroon 5. I would buy that record! It's mind boggling how he does the thing he does. Other highlights included the impersonation of Lakeesha as some french floosies in "Lady Marmalade" from Moulin Rouge (which also included Gina and Hailey....which was actually kind of freaky because they really filled the part well), Melinda, Gina, Lakeesha and Hailey in "Aint no other man but you" by Christina Aguilera, all the boys creating the first ever "idol band" including Chris S, Chris, Sanjaya, Blake, and Phil....Gina being Faith Hill and Phil being Tim McGraw singing "It's your love"...the list goes on and on and on.
Mike and I kept turning to each other...and saying, "Is this for real!? Are we really this close? For a mere $50 total!?" I honestly felt like we had robbed a bank and gotten away with it or something... it was such a fun experience to be a part of. I will wear my pink wrist band that allowed me on that floor with pride until it creates some horrible tan-line...or it gets infested with bacteria, whichever comes first.

simply wii.

i have so many things to blog about...it's not even funny. let's start with.... the nintendo wii. So, for Mike's birthday, he decided, "I want a Nintendo Wii." I tilted my head down beneath my imaginary lenses and said, "Reality check, bucko. We don't have the cash-flow to support your fancy-shmancy desires." So, he went over my head and talked to his parentals and my parentals. Who can refuse his cute face? Not the 'rents, that's for sure. So they purchased him a Wii for his 24th birthday. Yesterday we received the Wii in the mail...and I'm afraid we've opened a viral can of worms that cannot and will not be contained. We started playing tennis- just one game, because I had to get to bed at a decent hour - and then one turned into best of three, best of three turned into three best of threes, and then it was 1:00 am, I had bloodshot eyes, and was not in the least bit tired. Despite my lethargy today and the inevitable bags that accompany the lethargy, my mind keeps being magnetized back to the invigorating experience of the realistic sensation the Wii creates for its users. At one point in my swing of the control last night, I actually believed I was really playing tennis. I knew, of course, in the depths of my little body, that it was really "just a game," but the combination of the sounds of swinging rackets and hit balls, and the effort it takes to swing the controller...and the fact that you can mess up if you swing too late or too early...the fact that coordination really does matter just like it does in the actual sport really confuses the user into a false reality. Thus, it is my belief that the Wii has revolutionized the Nintendo technologies. I will never reach the same level of satisfaction and achievement on Pacman than I reached last night scoring the match point with a remote control racket. It's a fact that is simply Wii.