I Believe....

Today while my kids were working, I was walking around I overheard the following conversation:
Kid 1:"I believe in the future, God and Santa."
Kid 2: " I belive in the future, because it IS the future, nature, and my education."
Kid 1: " I do not believe in Chucky, 'Pampires' and Bats. Bats are real, I just don't believe in them and Pampires are just scary."
Kid 2: " Ya, it is ok to not believe in real things. I don't believe in Bats either."

Such a deep conversation for 6 year olds!

Respect the Detector!

Smoke detectors are designed to be an inexpensive device that could potentially save your life. Now that I am a responsible homeowner, I am aware that I need to replace the batteries every year. Yes, I realize it should be every 6 months) at least I am being honest! This has been something that I DREAD every year, and the only time that I have missed being in an apartment.
Well, it is that time of year; time to replace the batteries in the smoke detectors. I don't know why they install them on the ceiling. Yes, smoke rises. But, couldn't it be just as effective at the top of the wall? I drug out my step stool, which happens to be 6 inches too short. I can reach my ceiling, but only when I stand on my tip toes and even then it is just barely. I was successful this time, but each time I have to change the batteries I am reminded of this classic Friends episode!



Other funny smoke detector story:
In college my friends, Brian, Terry, Lindsey and I were visiting my mom. One of the smoke detectors was going off, so we decided we would try and fix it for her. Well, we kind of made it worse. It began one big long beeeeeeeeep that never ended! Even when we detached it from the wall and disconnected it, it still was beeping (kind of like the video above!) We spent so long dealing with the stupid smoke detector that Lindsey and I missed the dorm meeting, and because no one would believe our story ended up with 6 hours of community service (or HSU service as we call it).
Moral of all my stories: Respect the Smoke Detector!

Coyotes, Europe, and Christmas!

It was late when I got home tonight, and when I let Copper out, I could hear all the coyotes again. My house backs up to a lot of undeveloped land, and all the little coyotes have been displaced with all of the recent development. Now, I am not just talking about hearing coyotes far away. I am talking about 5 coyotes hanging out on the other side of my fence! ( I am trusting my neighbor that there are 5. He said he went out to look over the fence and that is how many he saw.) I don't know much about the animals, but I do know that I don't want anything to do with them, and that they are LOUD!
I haven't heard them in a couple of months, and they were letting everyone know that they are back. I am not scared of them anymore, because I have figured out that they can't get in my backyard, and they aren't going to eat me.
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Tonight at dinner we began the beginning stages of planning our next trip!!! We are considering Europe! WOO HOO!!! I love Europe! The summer of my junior year in HS, I went on a 2 month mission trip to Europe. It was AMAZING! Here is a picture of me and my best friend Julia in Switzerland. Yes, that was me wearing my shorts rolled, with big socks, and an Adidas shirt. Yes I was WAY cool!

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I heard on the news this morning that a radio station has already started playing Christmas music. Yes, it is true! Christmas has come early this year!!!! This put me in a holly jolly mood and I couldn't wait to get to my classroom to start playing the fun Christmas music. I am also thinking about putting up my Christmas tree this weekend. But, my cat likes to play with the tree, so I may wait another couple of weeks on that.
Since I am in the Christmas spirit I thought I would share my favorite Christmas picture from when I was a kid. Let me set the scene:
Each year the entire family would travel to my Aunt and Uncle's Lake house for Christmas Eve. We would spend the night playing games, playing, and making cookies to leave out for Santa. All the cousins would sleep in one of the bedrooms, and then the next morning we would wake up and see what Santa left us.
In this picture we were all making the cookies to leave for Santa when out of no where Santa just pops up and knocks on the window. Most normal children would scream for joy at the sight of Santa in the kitchen window. Not me. I was TERRIFIED! I guess I like the idea of a big, jolly man bringing me gifts, but the actual big guy himself was scary!

Bowling and a Dead Tree?

Tonight some friends and I went to dinner and bowling and had a blast! We ate at Cliff's inside Stacey's furniture. I had never been there and now have a new fave. restaurant!
Here are some pictures from tonight
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I think I may have killed my tree in the front yard. It looked like a winter tree in October, however it does have a few green leaves on the tips. This is all my fault. I am the one who didn't know how to set the sprinkler system, and it didn't get watered for most of the summer. I hope it isn't dead, but just a little dehydrated. I guess I will have to wait until Spring to see if it comes back to life. Here is a picture of my semi-dead tree and my cute puppy!

Baby Shower

A big event this weekend was my best friend's baby shower. I am so excited for her to have little Ethan! Rachel is due January 13th, but I am hoping for little Ethan to arrive on my b-day; January 11th.


We took many fun pictures at the shower, but here are some of my favorites.






Stephen and Rachel the happy parents to-be!













Me, Rachel, Julia, Jenny and Kathryne

Rachel with her baby bump!

Me and Julia

Me, Rachel and Julia. We have all been best friends for over 18 years and have known each other for even longer!!

Starbucks and the Happy Barista

I love Starbucks! I am not a coffee lover. In fact, I don't even own a coffee pot. I will have an occasional cup at conferences, or if it is super cold. About 3 years ago, I discovered the Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks. To me, this is heaven in a cup! I love the slight mint taste with the touch of chocolate and of course the caffeine fix that follows a cup. They advertise this as a Christmas special, but I have found that they secretly keep everything to make heaven in a cup year round! Each Wednesday morning my reward for getting out of bed and off to work on time, is a Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks.

Side note - I HATE mornings. I always have. I need at least 2 1/2 hours before I like to talk or have any kind of contact with others. Sadly, the profession I have fallen in love with does not allow for me to enjoy solitude in the mornings. So, I have learned to "get over it". :)

Anyways, back to my Starbucks story. I was in the drive thru, and this annoyingly chipper, squeaky voice tried to have an unnecessary conversation with me through the speaker telling me the difference between a traditional peppermint mocha, and the updated, new and improved, peppermint mocha twist. I wanted to yell and say, I DON'T CARE JUST GIVE ME MY COFFEE, but I refrained. Then, at the window the silly morning person tried to keep talking to me. Any other time of the day, I would have not minded the small talk, or even have given it any thought for that matter.

Moral of the story: Make sure I have been awake for at least an hour and half before interacting with me.

It's all over!

7 Days into National Blog Month, I have done a terrible job of meeting my own goal of a blog a day. OOPS! :)
This was a big week for me, and I am still recovering from Bronchitis, so it seemed like every event took double the energy and effort.
My evaluation was Tuesday, and I think it went well. As I have mentioned before I have a super fantastic class, and they were super great again today. Of course, I have the list of everything I should have done differently.
After school, I rushed off to my class where I was presenting with a partner. Let me just say, I stayed up late Monday night reading and preparing for this. Funny how this little presentation had me nervous all day. When it was finally our turn, on the 2nd sentence of our first slide, the professor led the class in a tangent story in which 3 out of the 20 people in the room discussed young, single mom's in our society today for 30 minutes. After awhile I was wondering if it would be rude for me to leave to run to the restroom . Once we were actually able to present our chapter, it went well. I decided to talk really fast so no one would have the opportunity to think of a story and go off on another tangent. :)
Wednesday, I came home not feeling well, and crashed into bed at 6:00.
Thursday was our big garden event. It was very successful, and I am so glad it is over for this month!
I am hoping to be able to rest this weekend, but it is already looking full of fun events that I can't wait to participate in!

Weekend

My friend Bethe challenged her blog readers to celebrate National Blog Month by posting one new blog each day. I am always up for a challenge, so here it goes! (Don't get your hopes up. Today's may be quite boring!)
Today was all about work and getting caught up, so nothing too interesting to write about. I am planning on going to bed super early. Tomorrow is a big day!
This weekend my mom came in for her early b-day celebration. Thursday night we went to Spring Creek, my fave. BBQ place! Friday, we stayed at my Grandmomma's house and my cousins Victoria, Andrea, Jeff and his wife Millie came over to help pass out candy.
Saturday, we went to Canton to meet my Aunt Debbie, Aunt Dee and cousin Jenni. It was great seeing family, and the weather was perfect for spending the day outside. However, it was sooooo super crowded.
Sunday, was spent at my Aunt Carole's house with more birthday fun!
I love family weekends, but I am so worn out!
Happy Early B-Day mom! I am glad you came to visit!