The real me vs. The vampire version of me

Occasionally when I meet people and tell them I'm a high school teacher they try to be nice/funny/flattering and say something awkward like "Oh I bet the students are all in love with you since you are so pretty" ha ha ha HA! Very funny! On a side note I maintain a very professional relationship with my students and no one ever flirts with me (thank goodness) But just in case you have secretly had the same thought this story should clear up that disillusion.

Last week I taught my German classes the word die Ehe trans. the marriage I was using die Ehe in various sentences and then I realized that I had a mini album of wedding photos on my desk. So I grabbed a few and continued talking about die Ehe while I flipped through. I ended up sending the album around the room while I tried to continue teaching. Then one of my students said: "Is this really you?" and the conversation continued like this:

male student: "Is this really you?"

me: "errrrrrrr yes that is me" (in English)

female student: "wow you look really pretty."
male student: "This is seriously you? How long have you been married?!?"
male student: "yeah! how long?"

me: "I got married two and a half years ago. *pause* Doesn't it look like me?"

male student: "Well it kind of looks like you, but you don't wear make up."
female student: "Yes it looks like you. You guys be nice to her." - bless her heart!

me: "I wear make up! like last week when the...."

male student: "And you don't have your glasses on."
male student: "I didn't even know you had contacts."
several male students: "yeah!"

me: "You guys know I have contacts I wear them all the time!"

male student: You look so happy!
female student: yes you look so happy!

me: "I was really happy! But I'm happy to be at school teaching you too. Don't I look happy?"

male student: "no not really."
female student: "you look a little tired."
male student: "This is seriously you" - obviously someone just woke up.
me: "What!?! I'm totally happy and YES that is me"

male student: "Okay you look a little happy but a little tired too."
female student: "You still look like that. Don't listen to them." -thanks but my confidence is wavering.
male student: "I can tell this is you...but.......its...... like.......it's like the VAMPIRE VERSION OF YOU."

The VAMPIRE version of me? Seriously?!?!?

Then the whole class started to laugh (me too) The vampire comment was just so funny coming from a boy. Note: in the Twilight series which all my students have read the Vampires don't have fangs, they look normal(ish). Once you became a vampire apparently you look like the supermodel version of your self.


Could my smile get any bigger????

I guess I can see how this was the vampire version of me. It was the happiest day of my life and no matter how happy teaching makes me it obviously doesn't compare to marring Prince Charming. This picture courtesy of my cute cousin-in-law Alison who is also a life of the riddle blog follower. (It is such a pleasant surprise to find that people follow my blog!)

Merry Christmas everyone may all of us look closer to our Vampire-selves on a daily basis.

Christmas Concerts and other thoughts.

I'm a musician and Christmas is busy! I have concerts with my kiddies all over the city, I have concerts with my professor Brady Allred and the SLCA. I have musician friends I always want to support! I have choirs I want to check out and listen to. December evenings always look like this: Concerts/rehearsal/concert/rehearsal/Performance/rehearsal/rehearsal/concert/Performance acne/Christmas EVE!/Day/relax! Some years I get lucky and have time for some eggnog and quite family time. Most years that quite time comes after Christmas.

Saturday night I slipped out of the house and left poor Spencer studying his honey comes (physics charts) in peace. I walked up to the University of Utah alone to see the University Singers Christmas concert. I was in Singers in college and those times were some of my best college experiences. They did a great job I was inspired.

I am so grateful for Christmas music and the spirit it brings. Despite my life long church going Mormon gal self sometimes I don't feel very religious or as religious as I should feel. What I mean by religious is spiritually tuned. I don't always feel as spiritually tuned as I should or want to feel. Christmas helps me spiritually tune in. Christmas music reminds me that all talents come from God and to be grateful for the blessings I have including the music talents I have and can share with others.

This video is of wonderful director Brady Allred and his University Singers singing Carol of Joy. I'm doing this song with my school choirs this week too! I feel so grateful for all my blessings at Christmas. I'm also grateful for all my blog readers! Enjoy and Merry Merry Christmas.

And now I can die.

If it is true that we can't die till we have left our mark on the world then my time is short. Last winter through sheer luck I invented the most perfect light Christmas snack that ever was. Yes Yes Yes I know this is a little pretentious of me to say but keep reading.

Recipe for the perfect Christmas snack:

Crackers
Pomegranates
Cream Cheese

Direction: Spread cream cheese on Ritz whole wheat crackers (don't let whole wheat confuse you these tasty treats are TASTY and NOT nutritious.) Sprinkle with 20-30 pomegranate seeds. Eat right away and enjoy!

Are your taste buds salivating?
No yet?!?!?
Then take a look at these:
Karen and Keri sure seemed to like them:



Yes they will make you the hit of any bring-food-for everyone pot luck Christmas party. And now I can feel good about having contributed to society and made the world a better place. Enjoy!

Presents to me!

My birthday was this week. Last year I was turning 3o, which means this year I'm 29 again. Last year their were lots of things I wanted...their are still lots of things I want. I made a list of some present ideas and had faithful readers of this blog (all 3 of you) vote. Thanks for voting here were your choices:

1. Living room couch
2. CZ earrings
3. i-pod
4. Guitar
5. Kitchen Aid Mixer
6. Hawaiian vacation
7. New Lap Top
8. New fingernail
(this last on is in reference to this event)

Most of you voted for a Hawaiian vacation which would have been nice. For my actual birthday present I ended up getting CZ earrings. But in the passing 365+ days since my last year I've managed to score most of the items on my original list. Here is an update!

1. Living room couch - Grandma's old couch Feb 2009
2. CZ earrings - Birthday last year
3. ipod - Birthday this year (BE EXCITED!)
4. Guitar - I stole my parents guitar back.
5. Kitchen Aid Mixer - Christmas 2009 (sale pending)
6. Hawaiian vacation - still a dream away...sigh
7. New Lap Top - birthday last year
8. New fingernail - still not as good as new but close.


If you read that last list closely you will realize that I have an ipod. Yep! I'm in club ipod! or club apple or something nerdy/cool. That was my birthday present this year! Hurray!

Having an ipod has never been a top priority although I've always thought it might be nice to have one. But I'm not a very spendy girl. I would convince myself it wasn't worth the money with arguments like this: I've run 100'ds of miles with out one. They cost so much money! They are so trendy. You hate headphones...But finally I caved. The hardest part was picking out the color. They have so many! Here are a few:



But I finally picked this yellow one. Yellow is my favorite color. I've spent all day playing with it instead of studying. I'm kind of excited!
Books on Tape/CD are a big part of my life. Now made easier!
And then their is music. That is kind important to me too.

How do you want your children to be?

I'm not a Mother. I'm not pregnant, but sometimes at work (I'm a choir teacher) I feel motherly as I calm down teenagers and their over active hormones. Do you remember how HARD life was as a teenager? No? Really you don't remember that? You missed out on a once in a life time rollacoaster ride.

I really enjoy teaching and getting to know all my students. Most of them are so funny/sweet/smart/witty/adorable/etc. Some students are more challenging but I still I've grown to appreciate the individual DESPITE that I had to send you out TWICE in one week. The more and more I teach the more I think of how I hope my own children turn out. I think I've got it figured out.

I want nerdy children.

Yes that is right. Nerdy children. Not TOTALLY socially awkward (just slightly) hopefully relatively smart and interested in learning and improving. Nerdy and nice children who feel that decorating a room means putting up more book shelves. Is this too much to ask?

I come from a long line of Nerds myself. Both my Grandpa's had Ph.D.'s and those wonderful nerd genes have trickled down to many nerdy aunts/uncles and hundreds of uber nerdy cousins. I'm not pregnant (really I swear!) but when I am I'm going to pray for the nerd genes.

What are your thoughts?

20 Years ago today

I was almost 11.
I was living in Schweinfort Germany very close to the border of East Germany.
I did not expect the Wall to fall.
Very few people did.

I consider myself very fortunate to have been living in Germany when the wall fell. I was young but I still remember how exciting it was. I remember the East Germans streaming across the border in their tiny Trabants. I remember my German teacher at the time talking about what they were going to do with all the German Shepards that had served as bourder guard dogs. I remember thinking that they would have to rewrite all the text books. I remember driving to former east Germany and seeing how gray it was. It was an amazing time. I still get emotional when I talk about it. 10 years after the wall fell I was living in East Germany serving as a volunteer for my church. I got to hear first hand accounts of the events leading to the fall of the wall.

Is it any wonder that I got a little teary-eyed when I told my students where I was 20 years ago and the day that changed the world. Sorry students, your teacher is a girl and she cries. I showed them this really amazing 10 minute video "Walled in" talking about the fortifications the wall had and the precautions the East Germans/Communists took to keep their people from leaving.



I think for most of my students it is hard to think about what would be to separated from family and the rest of your country. But lots of my students thanked me as they left so I think it touched them.

Congratulations Germany you have come a long way since then.

How I became a German/Choir teacher.

The short version:

In college I majored in vocal performance. I loved my major and I loved singing. But by my senior year I realized I didn't want to try and make it as a professional opera singer. I had sinking fear in the pit of my stomach that I should have majored in Music Education. I could see my self teaching and loving it. I thought about switching but I was really poor and very tired of school. I graduated and took the first job with benefits.

I was miserable and felt like I was wasting my talents. I stuck it out for two years and then I was elated to find a job teaching choir at a high school. I mentioned in my interview that I spoke German and they asked me right their if I would be willing to teach German. I said yes. (I had always secretly wished to be a German teacher too)

One month later I was teaching. My first year was rough.I don't even want to think how many hours I worked. But still I loved it. Being a teacher uses every ounce of talent I have and demands that improve in all areas of my life. I still don't speak German as well as I want too, I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever speak German as well as I want too. I still don't know as much about music as I want to either. I still work lots of hours trying to make my lessons better. I'm almost finished with my teacher certification. Then I'll be a bonafide certified teacher. But my classes are great and just keeping getting better and better and the best part is I love my job. I really love it. Loving your job is such a blessing in life.

So that is how it happened.

Happy Halloween

I LOVE Halloween. It is such a strange holiday based on darker things but I LOVE all the little kids in costumes. And I love how they make dark things like zombies and skeletons cute. I love dressing up but I think I peaked when I was 8 years old and went as Bubble Gum. I was so cute a few people took pictures of me when I came to their door. Closest thing to paparazzi I've ever experienced.

I vary what I do as a German teacher for Halloween. Sometimes we watch Nosferatu the original Dracula still considered to be the closest version to Bram Stoker's classic Novel. On the other years I give them Goethe's famous poem Totentanz (Dead Dance) and we discuss it. Most of the German is over their heads so we briefly read the German and then compare that with tow English versions I have. I talk about how somethings get lost in translation and that is why reading things in the original can be beneficial. I usually try to speak 90% German in class so this day is a little unusual.

Then I tell them that I have actual footage of this dead dance with the skeletons rising from the grave and dancing. I tell them not to be afraid and if they are we can turn on the lights. They all roll their eyes. Then I show them this (I've included the English version for those readers who don't speak German)

Here it is actual footage of the dead dance as described by Goethe:


If the intro is too long or you make sure you click to the middle to at least see the dancing skeletons.

San Diego Vacation Fall 2009

My family decided last spring that come UEA weekend we were going to go to California and make a new starts. Well not exactly a new start although we did have a great time. We rented a house so we could have some family together time. It was cosy enough to have a few family squabbles but big enough to keep us all friends.

Day One: San Diego Zoo

Let's face it. This little bear is the star of the zoo.
She posed very prettily for us.

We also enjoyed the SkyFari ride.

Which gave us beautiful views of the zoo and city like this one!

And provided some great moments to smooch!

Much to the dismay of my little niece
who so graciously shared a skyfari car with us.

We loved the zoo!

Day Two: Sea World

(We shared this special moment with every other Mormon from Utah) Yep My siblings all saw friends from their Utah high school. The BYU shirts were everywhere. Still Sea World was relatively empty. We didn't have to wait it line and rode the Atlantis rollercoaster 5 times!

This was time number 5.

The speaker said great things like:
"The spirit of Atlantis will only speak
to you those who keep
their legs and arms inside the ride at all times."
- classic

You can tell we are from Utah because of our matchy matchy t-shirts.

Now everyone knows Shamu is the star of Sea World. But let me put in a good word for the trainers too. We kept wondering how much they paid them to stand on the nose of a Killer Whale and then dive like an acrobat into the relatively cold (55o water) What do you think? $80,000 or $150,000. How much would you do it for? Free? Remember they can kill you.

Spencer wanted to get in on some of the Shamu fame.

Day Three: Zoo (again) & the Beach

Sadly I forgot to charge my camera battery. The zoo was great and the beach was even better. The pacific was really warm and we swam like crazy. My athletic husband brought all kinds of beach games that required too much coordination for my uber nerdy family. Poor guy. I don't think he quite realized how nerdy we were. I'm afraid I'll dilute his perfect German blood.


Day Four: the USS Marriner and the BYU football game.

The USS Mariner is a retired Air Craft Carrier. This was fascinating for all the pilots in my family. They discussed different landing techniques and approaches and lots of other pilot jargon.

My mom the cute pilot.

Sadly no pictures of the BYU game either.
But was fun and BYU won. GO Cougars.
(even though I'm really more of a U fan. )

Now I"m back to work. Trying to recover from the cold. Spencer is taking good care of me.

How does one avoid getting sick?

I'm sick. Again. I'm. sick. again.

As I told my mother yesterday (doesn't everyone just want their Mom's when they are sick? even when you get 'old'?)

Mom: how are you feeling? -asked in a very tender loving motherly voice.
Me: "I feel awful. I can't breath out my ears." -said in a very sulky voice.
Mom: You can't breath out your ears? (laughing gently)
Me. No I can't....I mean I can't hear....but I can't breath either. Ahhhhggg!

I've realized that I get sick often. I don't know why. I eat okay. I exercise. I am RELIGIOUS about getting enough sleep. I wash my hands. I take vitamins. I've never smoked a day in my life.

Despite all this I have the worst immune system. I catch all germs with in a 50 mile radius. It is one of the reasons I decided not to become a professional opera singer. SO much pressure not to get sick. So instead of singing professionally I became a teacher (which I love more) I teach high school where I"m exposed to lots of germs. Although after 4 years teaching I would think I had built up some immunity. This is my 2nd cold this fall. I got sick on Friday right in the middle of my family's San Diego fall vacation. It was not fun. I was grouchy the rest of the trip, (sorry family.)

I just don't know what to do about it. I feel like I've had a cough my whole life. My sister thinks it is allergy induced asthma (who know it had a t?) and told me to go get tested by an allergy specialist. Every October I get a cold with a cough that lingers in various stages of severity till the next October comes and I get a fresh cough. I"m amazed I can even sing at all. This makes me so sad because I spent a good portion of my life training my voice.

This weekend I made the mistake of not bringing any cough drops or Kleenex's to California. Luckily their were some still lingering in the dark places of my purse from my last cough outbreak.

I could keep this to my self but I really want to know what I should do? Dear Internet please help me figure out how to avoid getting sick. I"m pretty much willing to do anything short of sporting a Michael Jackson surgical mask. I promise not to shake hands. I promise not to share drinks, chap stick or food (gross.) I just want to never get sick again. Help please help. Love the Sicky.

Our worst nightmares

This week was a rough night for sleep in our household. We both had disturbing nightmares.

Mine was:

I was teaching my class (I'm not sure if it was choir or German)when two students walked up and hit me across the face, hard across the face. I ran out crying and kept running down the hall to the administrative offices. Tears streaming down my cheeks I found a director and said "Two students just hit me on the face during class!" THEN as if getting hit in class were not the most terrifying thing, what happened next was: The director said "Well, what did you do to them to make them hit you?" Yeah. Thanks for your unwavering support.

Spencer's nightmare was:

That he was married to someone else (so cute no?) He soon realized that the person he married was not his best friend. So he tried to remember who his best friend was and he thought "Joanie is my best friend! Why I didn't I marry Joanie?" Then he woke up.


But thank goodness these were just night mares. No students have hit me in class, and Spencer managed to marry his best friend: ME! Our lives are pretty good.

Glee- and my life

Fox has been working hard to promote it’s new musical drama. I’m not a big TV watcher, but two friends tipped me off and as I’m a high school choir teacher it caught my interest. The pilot was phenomenal. The 2^nd episode was too racy for this Mormon girl, but very funny.

The plot in two sentences: Young energetic teacher takes on the responsibility of directing the high school glee club which although popular in years past is now only a handful of quirky students with varying degrees of talent and dramatic personalities. Determined to restore Glee to its past glory he recruits the Football QB which earns him an enemy of the cheer leading coach and squad. (I wrote this myself)

I can’t help but draw parallels with my own life. Like the teacher in the show I am also really passionate about teaching and I have my fair share of student drama. I can totally relate to the teacher when he tells the prima donna that she can’t have the solo in every song. Or convincing the jock that he really has talent. In the 2^nd episode the students change the number and end up doing a really skanky song in front of the principle and the entire student body. The poor tries to explain it to the principle in the next scene. Yep me too. I’ve had a few last minute student costume and choreography changes which were UNAUTHORIZED. Remember How’s about a palsy at the end of BIG SPENDER (Spring of 2007 concert?) Anyone? Anyone? Becca?

I also have to say that I’ve built my small choir program from a handful of students too. When I started teaching High School 3 years ago I had 30 choir students total and only 8 of them were men. Over the last few years I’ve done everything I could think of to recruit students to my program. One of the best things I did was last year. We had an entire Music Recruitment week with photo galleries, pancake breakfasts, instrument petting zoo’s, open houses and the culmination Assembly where we performed this:

My school's dry synchronized swimming

Yes, all the men in my madrigal group performed (with MUCH initial convincing on my part) a dry synchronized swimming event that was rated the funnies thing that ever happened at the school. After that everyone wanted to be in choir. This is a very bootlegged copy as cell phones and cameras are VERY PROHIBITED where I teach. If you can’t get an idea of how funny it was from that video I ripped it off of this one:

The Original Video I found on youtube that inspired it all

So as for Glee, although I hope they keep it clean I"m glad to see a show about my life and my many struggles. Glee has also inspired one of the assistant vice principles at our school to start his very own boy band. Stay tuned for more teaching stories!

Hold on thight this information might save your life.

That is what the fight attendants should say as they do the demo. I've flown a few times and information on how to put on an oxygen mask is pretty boring. Yet if the airplane were to crash that boring information might save my life.

This is how I feel about all the education classes I've had to take as a teacher. Boring classes - yet I learned some information that "saved my life" or in less dramatic terms makes teaching easier.

When I was in college I accidentally got a degree in Vocal Performance instead of Music Education for various reasons that I can't remember anymore. I was lucky enough to find a teaching job with out a teaching certificate but I've had three years to get certified through the Alternative Route to lisencure that Utah State office of Education offers. I'm almost finished. I've filled my summers and evenings taking 15 credits of education classes entitled:

1. Literacy Strategies
2. Special Education
3. Transition to teaching
4. Survey of learning and teaching Diverse Populations
5. Classroom Management
6. Testing and Technology

I have to admit Education classes aren't the most exciting classes I ever took. Most of the teachers were good but it is hard to teach someone to teach. Also they had to present a lot of information in a short amount of time. And to top it all off Education classes have a reputation as being boring. And they are. They REALLY are. yet at the same time I did learn things that have made me a better teacher.

School is off to a great start this year. Some of that is because this is my FOURTH year teaching (I'm a senior!) but some of that is do to the boring information that saves my life.

Light. Sun Light. Lamp Light. Moon light. Star light.

Summer is fading. The days are getting shorter. It is dark now at eight instead of nine. I wake up in the mornings to run and I run in the darkness. It is well past the solstice. The light is changing. The earth gets closer to the sun but tilts away. All the shadows change. Noon sunlight in September is so different than noon sunlight in June. North America settles down for winter and its Argentina’s turn for summer.

Can you tell? Does anyone feel it? I’ve always felt the light change as Fall came on. I’ve always noticed a change. Not just a temperature change although that happens too. I’m talking about a visual difference in the way the sun hits the earth. In winter it becomes quite pronounced but I can feel the sunlight change as fall approaches. Spencer thinks I’m crazy. The first fall after we got married I started talking to him about “how the light changes” and Spencer’s teased me ever since.

Not only that he teased about how much of a big deal I made about lighting. He said “You are the only person I’ve ever known who refers to the sun as The Light.” Only then did I realize that not everyone cared as much about light as I do. I’m light sensitive. Not in a -I’m a vampire way- but in an obsessive compulsive way. Rooms have to be lighted in a certain way. Not too much light can come in from any one direction. Over head lights are NO good and should be used sparingly. . I don’t like to run once the sun gets to a certain level in the sky. These are things I adjust and change constantly and I can’t relax unless it is as perfect as I can get it.

I think I’ve been this way all my life but years of singing in Opera’s in college and the directors yelling “find the light” may have also helped me “find the light” the right kind of light.

What do you think about light? Or The Sun? Does anyone else find themselves tweaking the lighting around them? Does anyone one else feel it?

First day of school.

I asked my students to introduce themselves like this:

name
what they had for breakfast
the last book they read.

Here are some quotes from the fist day of school:

"And even though I'm a guy I"m not ashamed to say that I'm reading Eclipse for the 6th time."
(that is a twilight book for a three of you Americans who have not yet read twilight.)

And another one....

"I can't remember the last book I read, and in fact I"m not sure I remember how to read anymore."

And my favorite....

"I'm the only boy in my family. My mother and sisters are forcing me to go the Twilight convention. At first I was really mad and didn't want to go but I've decided to make the most of it. I realized how many hot girls would be there."

Yep. Back to the grind.

Oh what do you do in the summer time?

Teachers usually play all summer. Not me. It was classes classes and classes. Some classes I had to take like special education and literary strategies. Some classes I took for fun like Swiss literature and conducting. Then being the over achiever I am I cut my summer even shorter and organized a retreat for my students at the U for the last 3 days. and when I say 3 days I don't mean 9 to 5. Oh no. Much more time than that. I just really wanted to start the year right. I wanted them to bond and become friends, I wanted them to work hard and have fun to. I wanted them to work with brilliant Dr. Allred. And after hours and hours and hours I think it worked.

Me in action.

Teachers getting thanked.

Hard day

I'm feeling a little down. To make myself feel better I put on my bran new shoes . I've been wearing them around my apartment all morning.



It seems to be helping a little.

What do you do when you are blue?

Double standards in my marriage.

Double Standard: It is okay for me to travel to conferences and go to Europe with a girlfriend for weeks on end. But I do not like it when my husband leaves.

I'm a pretty lucky girl as far as marriage goes. I would never have guessed that anything as crazy as my single years would end so well. THAT was a scary time of life! I barley made it out alive and fully intact. My exit from the single world to the married world was as smooth and seamless as my single life was not. Thanks to all friends who stood by me during those crazy days. Thanks to all ex-boyfriends who didn't marry me you were right it wouldn't have worked.

Married life with Spencer is well....Great. just great. We don't fight. I"m crazy about him. But I realize the scales are tipped in my favor. Spencer bends over backwards to make me happy. I try to do the same but I think he bends more.

I realized this last night as I slept alone. Yes alone. Spencer was up backpacking with his BFF in the mountains and I stayed home to give them some alone boy time to sing Kum ba ya and boy bonding. (I learned this morning that no singing took place)

In our two years of marriage this is the first time he has left me. Not the first time we've slept apart I can't even count the times I have left him for conferences, sleepovers with my sisters, and then that trip to Germany/Greece last summer.

I was really happy for him to have some BFF time. I had dinner ready when they came home today but I know I would never want him to leave any longer than one night. But somehow in my mind it is okay for me to leave on adventures. Yep. Double standard.

Not as cool as I said we would be.

Remember how I told you all that we were going to do an EPIC bike trip all along the Oregon coast? Remember how you all thought that was SO cool and pledged your life to reading this blog thereby letting some of this blog coolness spill over into your lives.

My most faithful readers opened Google reader or the life of the riddle url hoping to see pictures like this:

I am so sorry to disappoint all of you.

This is very difficult to say but....

We are not as cool as I said we would be.

I have to tell everyone that we are not that cool. Proof:

• No pictures of us riding in the morning sunlight through a canopy of green trees.
• No tour the cheese factory in Tillamook.
• No lunch breaks at quaint little coastal light houses.
• Not once did we ride off into the Oregon sunset.
• No bulging calf muscles from all the roiling hills.
  

Sigh.

We canceled our trip to Oregon.

Why? Why would we avoid such a trip that would make us cool for at least 2 years to come?

This is why:
My entire family including my adorable nieces and nephew were all going to the family cabin in Montana the same week Oregon 2009 was planed. They kept talking about how much fun they were going to have. They kept sending pictures of my cute nieces. I started to doubt how much fun biking all day would be. Every time I got on Creamsicle I realized how much sitting on a bike seat is NOT as fun as it sounds. But then again Google Earth makes Oregon look beautiful. Also I was going to meet up with my high school friend Rachel whom I hadn't seen for 1o years! Still...I kept wavering until I finally said to Spencer. "I really think we should go to Montana instead of Oregon." I tempted him and he did partake.

So before you vow never again to read this blog let me tell you that we are planning on doing the Epic Oregon 2010 next summer. AND the trip to Montana did prove very blog worthy. I'll send some pictures along soon.

Sorry again to disappoint. No comments necessary. I know how you all feel.

Q. What do pit toilets, the color pink, silk and princess have in common?

A. They are all favorite things of my niece Mariah.

Mariah is a princess to the core. She refuses to wear pants and loves all things pink and purple.

It was very surprising to hear this four year old declare in her uber-high pitched cartoon voice that she loves pit toilets. (We had to stop at a pit toilet on the way throughout Yellowstone National Park last week.) I thought I had misunderstood. How could pit toilets be ANYONES favorite kind least of all the girliest girl I have ever met?

I asked her Mom (my sister) to clarify and yes it is true. Apparently Mariah loves pit toilets above all other kinds. I asked Mariah why and she gave me some silly answer about it hitting her in the bumb which is terrifying just by itself. Run Mariah Run. Don't take your 100 pink dresses into any pit toilets. Someday you might value indoor plumbing. The rest of the planet does.

The pink princess herself flanked by her Aunt Mother and younger siblings at a showing of UP in 3-D.

The Farmers Market

It is the place to be. Old people, young people, beautiful people, rich people, poor people, skinny people, hippies, tattooed people, dogs, birds (seriously a guy comes every time with his pet parrot on his shoulder) etc. Every Saturday morning during the summer months the normally scary pioneer park is transformed into the farmers market.

Local farms sell their goods, be it honey, cheese, lamb meat, peaches or soap. Artisans sell jewelry, leather purses, art work pottery and so on.

For the last 60 years my family has had a farm. It is one of the last places in Orem not turned into subdivisions. When my Dad retired from Medicine he decided to grow a big garden. Then he got the idea to sell his excess. Now it is a family tradition. I sell for him sometimes and it is pretty fun. Great people watching, great to be outside, great everything.


We sell whatever my dad decided to plant which so far this year has been spinach, lettuce, peas, beats, beat Greens, dill, onions, zucchini, and back choie which I have no idea how to spell but I did manage to sell quite a bit.

We also sell Rocks. Magic Rocks.

Add distilled white vinegar, food coloring to our magic rock and in two weeks you will have beautiful aragonite crystals. We sell them for $.25 cents and the kids go CRAZY!

Magic rocks, want- to-be-rock-stars and old Russian ladies trying to barter. What more could you ask of a Saturday morning.

Twilight in real life: or how my parents stumbeled into Forks.

They had no idea what was going on. My parents were driving across the Olympic peninsula on vacation and stopped to spend the night in a tiny town called Forks. They had never heard of Forks. But soon they discovered that Forks was different. For one thing it was swarming with teenage girls. The girls were all taking pictures in front of the "Welcome to Forks" sign and the "Forks High School Home of the Spartans" sign and other random places.

My Dad in front of Forks High School
he had to fight his way in front of all the teenage girls to have a chance to take this picture.

A twilight themed book shop in Port Angeles

Then the shop windows were decorated with Twilight paraphernalia everywhere. All the Motels said "We have twilight rooms."

My dad at La Plush Beach

Three girls got up in church on Sunday in the ward my my parents visited and talked about how great it was to be in Forks...how they were on vacation from Utah...going back to BYU in the fall...how beautiful Forks was...how it was just like they pictured....bla...bla..blah.

Eventually my parents figured out the connection between Forks and the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. (They had never read the books nor seen the movies.) Knowing my father he made several bad puns about entering the Twilight Zone. (with him you g et Pun quantity not quality)

Once they realized there were vampires in Forks they decided to be extra careful. They ate Garlic Burgers for dinner.

P.S. Happy Birthday to my wonderful father. Today years ago he was born. I'm so glad he was born.

More duct tape in German class: How the end of the year wrapped up.

Part I - the return of the Duct Tape

Remember back to March/April when I played that joke on my German class and put them all in a seating assignment based on their hair color? Yeah they laughed and laughed and wanted to get me back. But I've got some wicked "Nun chuck" teaching skills by this point. So getting me back was going to be tough. But they did. This whole experience is going to take longer to type than happened in real life. Here goes....

It was a beautiful day in May around 1:30 p.m. German I was about to start and I was going to be late starting it. A student out in the hall had an URGENT question about music yada yada. By the time I headed to the German class I was about 1 min 1/2 late.

I entered the class room eager to make up for lost time. Everything looked normal at first except the lights were off. I flipped on the lights and started to say "Guten Ta.......................!?!??." but I never finished.

In the middle of the classroom sitting in my chair was Uwe. He was duct taped to my chair. Duct taped! His hands and feet were bound and he had a strip of duct tape across his mouth. In addition to how alarming this already looked, Uwe was putting on an Emmey award winning performance. His eyes were rolling around in his head as his body thrashed back and forth under the constrains of the duct tape. It looked like a torture scene from 24.

Yes this is the Uwe (names still changed) of past duct tape fame. One could really say the Uwe struck again. This is not okay. This is wrong on so many levels. I am in control of my classroom. Right Right?!? No. Uwe was in control and I had to do something fast! But as I walked over to Uwe I had to use every ounce of mean teacher strength not to laugh.

The whole class was rolling with laughter. I stood over Uwe not knowing where to start. His hands were taped. His feet were taped. His mouth was taped. He was putting on a pretty good show of pretending to talk through the duct tape. I ripped (gently pulled) the duct tape off and said in my meanest pretend voice: "Who did this to you?" Uwe realizing I wasn't mad just whimpered.

"How am I going to get this off?" I asked aloud. Some quiet girl in the back called out
"I've got a knife."
Great that is just what this scene needs. A knife. She hands me a slightly sharper than a butter knife and I cut the bindings off. I sent Uwe back to his seat. He did a army roll across the classroom and then came up underneath his desk. By that time I was laughing like crazy. Uwe was laughing. The whole class was laughing. Then because I am a good teacher I had to kill the mood with a lecture on appropriate situations for school. We discussed and decided that this did not qualify as one.

So they were even. They got me back for the blond to brown seating assignment. Until the next day when I got them AGAIN!

Part II - the teacher strikes again.

German II ended and the same German I class was about to start. I had had the lights out in German II and when they left I kept them off. I sat in my chair in the front of the class. The very chair Uwe had duct taped himself too (with a little help from his friends) I curled up in this chair (it is big and throne like) and pretended to be asleep.

It was so awesome. The first ones started talking until they realized I was "sleeping" then I heard muffled conversations like: "Shh she is asleep" don't wake her up. and "Is she really asleep?" the response: "she's totally asleep look at her breathing." Ha Ha Ha I'm a pretty good asleep faker.

I let it go on about a minute after class had started. Then I jumped up and yelled "I'M AWAKE!"


You should have seen their faces. It was priceless. The year ended pretty uneventfully after that. They turned in their final assignments and passed their oral exams. I have this same group of kids next year for German II. I have a feeling that Uwe and the duct tape will strike again.

My new love: Audio Books.

I live downtown salt lake city. I can walk to Temple Square, I can walk to the Gateway if I feel really ambitious and I can walk to my favorite branch of the Library the Sweet Branch buried in the avenues. I love how close I live to downtown Salt Lake and the diverse (for Utah) culture. I've lived downtown for EIGHT years now. That is longer than I've lived anywhere else my whole life. So yeah when people ask me where I'm from the answer is obvious. I'm from Salt Lake. I love Salt Lake.

But I work far away from down town. It takes me a half hour to get to work. Most people say huh? A half hour that is so long. But it doesn't bother me. For one thing since everyone is trying to drive INTO the city and I am driving OUT the commute is pretty stress free. It takes me 30 minutes from my driveway to my school's driveway. But I make good use of the time. This year I discovered Audio Books. Now I've done allot of long drives across the whole western US and from Montana to Mexico a few times. I know the advantages of books on tape helping you to stay awake from Payson to Cedar City or Cheyenne to Cody. But I have never been in the habit of books as I do my daily commute.

I'm totally sold now. Here is a list of all the books I read and my rating. Some were better than others. But overall I'm totally sold on the idea. I LOVE Audio Books!\

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn***** A Thousand Splendid Suns*****

Captains Courageous***

Eat, Pray, Love**

Enchanted April****

Shopaholic & Baby**

The Bean Trees**

The candy shop wars**

The Constant Princess***

The Maiden Bride*

The Other Queen** The Secret Life of Bees****

The Time Travelers Wife*****

This side of Paradise***

I was mostly at the mercy of what the library had on its shelf. If you have any recommendations for Audio books (on CD) let me know. I no longer have to commute and hour a day but I'm still going to listen.

"Nothing says marriage like a log and a saw"

That is what the German's think anyhow. At German weddings they have lots of classy traditions that differ from American weddings. My all time favorite German wedding tradition is the cars at weddings. Germans decorate the bride and grooms get away car with special flower bouquets that they adhere to the trunk and hood. So when you come out of the chapel your car awaits you all covered with flowers. Contrast this with the tacky American tradition of cans/condoms/shaving cream/shoe polish written JUST MARRIED. Yeah. The Germans have it figured out.

Admittedly Germans have much nicer cars as a whole. You could stick a thistle on a BMW and it would still look classier than a Chevrolet.
Unfortunately when I got married my family really dropped the ball on car flowers. I'm not complaining it really was almost the perfect wedding. We did do my other favorite German wedding tradition. That involves a saw and a log.

According to German tradition -and please all my German readers correct me if I am wrong- Right after the wedding (or in our case at the reception) the new couple saws a log together. This symbolizes the new couple working together for the first time as Man and Wife. I love the symbolism. It teaches the young couple that marriage is work and a good marriage is working together.

Last Saturday my dear friend Whitney tied the knot. Whitney and I met last summer during the program (MUTPED) I did in Leipzig. I instantly liked her! Not only did she speak fabulous German, she was hilarious, down to earth and LDS to boot! We palled around the whole summer and all kinds of adventures including the time Whitney dressed up like J.S.Bach.

How Whitney met Dave:

After the summer Whit when home to finish her Ph.D. at some university in the mid-west that I can never remember. She swoar up and down that their was NO ONE TO DATE. But as fate would have it a handsome grad student moved into her ward while she was in Germany. She came home, they started dating and the rest is history.

Her reception was Saturday at the Lion House and my job was to bring the log! Let me tell you that caring a very dangerous look saw through Temple Square will earn you a few suspicious looks from the security guards. Luckily we were escorted through the massive tunnel system under Temple Square into the safety of the Lion House court yard. The workers at the wedding said that no one had ever brought saw horses, a log and a saw to a wedding before.
Whitney and Dave did a great job sawing the log. Which means they will have a great working marriage! As Dave posed for pictures he said "Nothing says marriage like a log and a saw." Thati s unless you are German.

Congratulations Whitney and Dave! Marriage is the best! Especially if you work together.

Opposites attract - singing in church

Today in Church we had my favorite meeting. We sang 90% of the time. Members of the congregation pick their favorite hymns from the hymn book and then we sing them. This occurs once each year in our ward. I love it! I love to sing. It keeps me awake during church. I get bored when I just sing soprano so I switch it up.

My game plan for hymn singing: I sing the tenor line first. (the tenors have the nicest harmony) then I sing the Alto (singing alto is fun but not as fun as tenor) then I sing bass (up the octave.) The bass part is usually pretty easy. They just go back and forth from the dominant (V) to the tonic (I) all the time. Then if their is a 4th verse I sing Soprano.

I love it. I love all the singing. But you know who doesn't love it? Spencer! My favorite Sacrament meeting is his LEAST favorite. I'm singing my heart out like a choir girl in ecstasy. I look over at my husband and he is fast asleep. He slept the entire meeting. He woke up when the postlude music started to play. No singing for him. Opposites attract I suppose.

On the tenth day you are a cyclist.

I bought my bike. I have shoes. I have gloves. I have spandex. I have matching orange water bottles. I look like a cyclist (to a non-cyclist) but I couldn't fool the pro's. I've got a long way to go.

A man named McCool did my bike fitting at 2nd and 2nd cycle store in SLC. He told me "On the tenth day you are a cyclist." Go three times a week for three weeks and on the tenth day you will be a cyclist.

Eager to learn I got started...

Monday morning I road up Citycreek Canyon.
Wednesday I road out to the Great Salt Lake marina.
Friday I'm riding to Provo and Saturday I'm riding back from Provo which equalls 100 miles.

Eight rides to go and I will be a cyclist. (fingers crossed)

A new member of the family: Creamsicle.

We are so happy to welcome Creamsicle to our family. She is beautiful and seems to be adapting well. She weighs 19 lbs and is 54 cm.



We didn't win the bike contest. Thanks to all of you who voted and who enjoyed our video! We plan to enter again next year. It is a yearly contest. But I did find a great bike at our favorite down town bike store. I love her! She is Cream and Orange hense the name Creamsicle. I've taken her out a few times and she is smooth. We are so happy to add her to the fam.


And this is why we call her Creamcicle.

Oregon...only a bike away.

Thanks for all your comments about our trip to Oregon this summer. WE. ARE. EXCITED. Does anyone know of any cheep places to stay along the Oregon Coast? Anyone have a great aunt who will let us stay in her basement? We have a rough itinerary.

The only thing is I don't have a bike. No Bike. in German: Kein Fahrrad. So what are we going to do?

We have it all worked out. Spencer read about a competition to win a $5,000 in biker magazine. All we had to do was make a 60 second video about why we need a bike.

Here is the video.

We think it is pretty good. If you like it please log in to bicycling.com and vote for our video. It is based on voting so please support!

A lesson for the teacher

I was talking to my friend today about my blog and she loved the post about my German class and the hair color seating arrangement. I realized that it was a good lesson for me. Often things that are so obvious to the teacher are not so obvious to the students. My students went and entire month without seeing the pattern. Some classes never realized it until I pointed it out. Obviously if I had taught them to watch for pattens, or nudged them in that direction they would have realized it. It was a good learning moment for this teacher.