Making Christmas, Making Christmas...la la la!

iiiiiiiiiIIIiiiiiiit's Christmas time! Hee hee hee hee hee!!

I like putting up Christmas decorations, especially when two of my favoritest people are helping me.

After Christmas last year, Scott and I went shopping for better Christmas things this year. While this tree is still not necessarily my "dream" tree, it's better than the Charlie Brown tree of last year. ; ) 

As a makeshift tree skirt we're using a "tapestry" of the Nativity.

Our litte tree from last year has graduate to the front room. :)  Tee decorated it beautifully. Yes, that IS her corn bag hanging on her arm. My house is a....ah....little chilly, shall we say? ; )



Totally washed out. Sorry, Tasha!



All right, all right! Its time to bring out... the Persuader!

Your choice, mate. You can talk now, or you can talk later.

Aint that right, Persuader?

Yes!

Our Christmas tree all up and decorated--looooooooooove it.

Please take note of the peacock feather ornament--very sparkly and beautiful.

Thank you, Carnahans! One of my favoritest families. :)

I don't think two kids could ever have more fun with these ornaments than Tasha and I did. They are they happiest ornaments I've ever come across. And there's TWO--one for each of us! :D (She still has her corn bag, lol.)

That is how we started off our Christmas season. Huzzah! I love it.

Rules For Editors

Grades: Various

Summary: Tips to help your students make the most of their time editing.

1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.

9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliché.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25.Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth shaking ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

Submitted by: Holly Crites - Ingleside, Illinois

http://lesson-plans.theteacherscorner.net/writing/skills/rules-for-editors.php

I'm going to make a poster of this and hang it in my classroom.

I Heart School

Inservice is over.

This is my last "free" weekend.

Here it comes!

     I love school. So much. I loved it when I was in elementary school, but I especially love being the teacher. It's incredible how comfortable I am with it. I remember (the whole one semester) when I was a music major I would just cry myself to sleep every night because I was so miserable. It just didn't make sense to me--I loved music so much and wanted to teach kids to love it just like I did. But it was just SO wrong. Everything about it was wrong and felt wrong, and that was weird because I had never felt like that about music before.

     I spent the next semester taking generals because I had no idea what I wanted to do with myself. It was easy for me to rule out things I didn't want to do; it was unbelievably difficult for me to come up with majors I'd be ok with. Out: math anything, science anything, music anything, health anything, art anything. Possibilities: English ed, horticulture, or el ed. I decided I couldn't do English ed because (looking at McKenzie's stuff) I knew it would be just like the music thing over again. I looked into horticulture quite a bit, not necessarily because that's what I was really interested in, but I felt like elementary education was just SUCH a cop out major at BYU-Idaho. I felt that EVERY girl that was in el ed was just out to get married and that it was an easy major for people who were unwilling to do anything more difficult. I'm really ashamed to say that, but that's seriously how I felt. At that point in my life I really wanted to pursue a career seriously (after a mission, of course), and I did NOT plan on getting married, so I didn't want to get into a major where that's how people would see me.

    I thought and prayed and thought and prayed some more. By the time registration came around I still didn't have any idea what I wanted to do. I just got on and registered for el ed classes as a cop out. Really. I thought, "Well, I don't know that I want to do this, but I'll take some classes so I don't get too far behind and they'll be easy, so it doesn't matter."  I didn't take any horticulture classes, even though I wanted to--they just didn't fit in my schedule. Hah--I don't even remember what I took that semester! That's when Emily was there with me....so that was, what? History and Philosophy of Education...huh. I don't remember what else. But guess what? It didn't take me that long to get my answer. Everything just felt right. I felt so comfortable, good about myself, and good about where it would take me. I hadn't even been with any students yet--but I just knew that I was in the right spot.

     I can probably count on one hand the number of times that I've felt so absolutely positive about a decision that I had no hesitation about moving forward with it. My entire experience in the elementary education program at BYU-Idaho has been one of those times. I still constantly receive affirmation that I'm diong the right thing and going in the right direction.

    Now I'm finishing up that education and am going forward--w00t w00t! True, I'm still a "teacher candidate" during student teaching--I'm still learning how to be a teacher--but I get to be the teacher. I really must be on the right path too, because I keep getting seriously blessed in my endeavors to be a teacher. Senior practicum--5th grade--social studies unit on the Revolutionary War--um, yes PLEASE!! My favorites of everything. My teacher, Mrs. Marquez, was absolutely perfect for me. She was such a fabulous mentor and taught me so much about being a good teacher. She also became a close friend. We both went through some personal issues through the semester and I couldn't have been more grateful to be able to work with her though everything--she helped me be the optimistic (and probably naive) teacher I want to be, while understanding the realities that I was dealing with as well. For my student teaching I'm expecting all of that again with Mrs. Nyborg--she just seems like the sweetest lady ever and I know that I have the opportunity to learn so much from her. Oh, and I'm in 6th grade. Does the Lord love me? Yes. Yes He does. He knows I would have just died had I been in a younger class. He also blessed me with a great school where all the teachers want to help me succeed. The principal, Mr. Keller, is so supportive and wants to help us. He told me today that he knew he wanted me at his school as soon as I interviewed because he wanted me with Mrs. Nyborg. He even had to fight over me with another principal! :D  That really brightened my day.

     I want to be a good teacher. A master teacher. I really want to teach, too. Let me tell you that I soon learned that el ed is not an easy major. I mean, sure--ANYONE can be a mediocre teacher. But it is not easy to be a good teacher. It takes a lot of hours and a lot of work and a lot of continuous learning, and I'm still working on all of that. But I really want it. I want to teach, and I have every intention of doing something with my degree. I'm not sure yet (with this economy and what's happening in Idaho education) that I'll teach, but I'll be a parapro or something. I will work with children. I will learn from those children. It's all I want to do. Someday, I'll get to work with and learn from my own children, but I'll practice on other peoples' first. :)

    I know this is a lot of serious/boring/feely stuff, but that's all I've been thinking about lately. I know the Lord will take you where you need to be if you just LISTEN and DO. I know that--everything from my major to my husband--every decision I have made has gone through Him, and that's how I know they're all good ones--and the best decisions I could have made.

    So. My 6th graders come on Monday. Bring it on!

A Day in the Life of the Mad Haderlies

I just decided, after the past couple of *fun* days that I've had (where I've actually taken pictures), I'd post about one of my summer days. I LOVE SUMMER. The sunshine really brings light into my soul, and so I get happy and do happy things like take pictures. :)

Ok and secretly this isn't all ONE day, it really is a couple o'days rolled into one. But it COULD be all one day.

So first, Scottie and I wake up late and make breakfast...

This one's mine. :)

Then Scottie and I decide we need to get the car taken care of (FINALLY). We get the tires rotated and balanced, get the brakes checked, and have the oil changed (the chips in the windshield just have to wait...*sigh*).

Scott was being a good, quiet little boy, playing with the toys...

and then started making faces at me. :P

We took a break from the toys and started watching this John Wayne/Dean Martin movie (yes, he DID sing, which is why I was okay watching it, since Westerns aren't my favorite). I saw a couple magazines on the chair next to me, and that's when I made this horrible discovery:





Unfortunately, I was too lazy to read the whole article, but I did gether that there we're a mixture of things: 5% Neanderthal (sp??), 3% some other strange thing that I can't remember, and x% of other stuff. I have no idea, but I decided I liked the magazine. It was kinda like the time in Primary when my teacher told me my mom and dad weren't really my mom and dad, they're my brother and sister (you know, in the larger scheme of things), that Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother are my real parents, and I just cried and cried. Yeah, it was kinda the same feeling.

So after that Scottie goes to his appointment for the day and leaves me to decorate the room. Yesssssssssss!! I didn't really do anything with it because I'd been planning on painting it this summer, and what was the point of hanging a bunch of stuff up just to take it down? But since it doesn't look like I get to paint any time soon, I decided to go "college room" on the master bedroom. I took out my box of decorations from my single days and do a bit to spice up the room, though it's by no means fantastic or finished. But now there's SOMETHING on the walls--it's not the bare, icky cream color it was before.

Then Scott comes home and works on the garage. Yay--it's clean now! I was like...I didn't know the garage went back that far! It's so nice to have more room to park. :)

huh...I should probably mention that I just realized these are all BEFORE pictures, and that I didn't take any AFTER pictures. Bummer. Maybe next time...
 

Then we hang out with Tee and Emma and make delicious homemade ice cream (thanks to Emma's class having leftovers). :D

ice cream!

I brought cookie dough to snack on, because I usually want to buy ice cream. But instead of buying, we MADE! And when we added the cookie dough to it, it was pretty dang delish.

 

We finish up the night using Scott's awesome telescope that I got him for his birthday! Yes, I did copy Emily, but it was such a fabulous idea...the moon looked sooooOOOOOooooo cool! ...but the stars just looked like bigger bright dots, lol. But it was still cool!

And then we go to bed. Sometime Scott reads to me, which I thoroughly enjoy. We're currently on the second Percy Jackson novel, thanks to the fabulous suggestion of Heidi. I love those books! But I love that Scott reads to me because that's what I fall asleep to.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the end.

I enjoy my life.

I wish...

Does anybody else have those days where you're just full to the brim of wishes but total lack any sort of motivation to even leave the bedroom?

Today is one of those days. I'm sitting here in my bed (on the mattress pad because the sheets are in the washer) freezing my behind off because it's cloudy and rainy and cold AGAIN with my corn pad on my feet (it's getting cold, but I don't want to venture off into the kitchen because it's cooooooold out there), just wishing that my closet would all of sudden be full of cute dresses, belts, and shoes and that I'd get this fantastically cute hair style just out of nowhere that I would never have to fix.

I wish my house was painted warm colors and was clean all the time. I wish I had a broom and that the bathroom floor laminate wasn't torn. I wish I had the money/talent to fix up what I already have to make everything look cute and vintage-y.

Today is a day where I wish I was one of those cute girls that everybody loves and has the really cute house that's totally original and you wish it was yours.

And y'know, the funny thing is I think I could be...

But today is not the day I become all of these fabulous things and have the perfect house. Today is the day that I lay in bed, listen to Pandora, play solitaire, and think about the kitchen that is in some serious need of cleaning.

Maybe the sun will come out tomorrow and inspire me.

A Well-Spent Friday Night

Last night, Scottie, Tee, and I got to go to the Mindy Gledhill concert on campus. It was the first concert I'd been to in...well, too long. It was so fun!

We started out the evening by leaving Scottie in line while Tee and I went out to snatch Mindy posters. I mean, the concert was starting in 30 minutes and was sold out, so it's not like the promoter posters were doing much in the vacated buildings. So, off we went to scope out the Spori, Snow, and Romney, and Clarke...

We "stole" four posters: one for each of us, of course, and then one for Beth and one for Emma. The first three were were stealthy thefts, but Tee like, right up and took one in front of a girl at the Clarke. No shame! hah. We ran back at 6:58 because they opened seating at 7:00. Thank goodness for Scottie...when we got back, the line was huge. We got pretty good seats in the middle...until people sat in front of us. *sighs* Why do girls have to have such big hair??

Anyways, the stage looked awesome. There were Christmas lights and hanging fabric and globes and umbrellas...it was pretty cool.

The announcer told us about Mindy's family and that she was expecting another boy, so we all knew she was pregnant, but we didn't know just how pregnant she was, lol.

Anyways, it didn't affect the performance at all. She did awesome! She came out singing "California," which is a very fun song. She was too cute.

She sang *I think* everything from her album "Anchor." She began every song with the stories that inspired them. Come to find out, she's really not a creepy stalker like the song "Crazy Love" may lead you to think. Anyways, it was fabulous, and she's a really great live performer.

So yeah. She was pretty dang cute. After the concert (she encored with Burt Bacharach's "Close toYou," which is one of my all-time favs) we went outside to make some purchases. Tee and I were gonna buy her sheet music for "Anchor" (my favorite song of hers) and then have her sign it....but there were SO MANY people I thought I was gonna die. I do not do very well in heavily-crowded areas that are too warm and smell like BO...I get feverish. :S  And that's exactly what happened. I really thought I was gonna be sick. So, sad as it was, we left without an autograph. Maybe Scottie and I will sneak to the Civic Center tonight in IF to try for an autograph. :)