the sabbath.

Directions: open This Page in another window and press play, then read my post.
I went to church in Bilbao today and this has been my theme song for my Spanish adventure so far. Every time I walk through the cities and countryside I turn on this for my soundtrack. It's just too bad I didn't have my ipod when I got lost trying to find the ward in Bilbao and was 'walking the old eroded streets'
Luckily, I made it just in time for sacrament meeting. I met the Branch President. He is this wonderful man from Colombia. They have a class for single adults and I already made some friends. After church, I took a little walk around the Guggenheim.
That thing is amazing. Bilbao is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been in. I contemplate never leaving...
Then I found out the Metro/subway was closed to get back to Gorliz. I still don't know why. It is a 45 min Metro ride, so walking was out of the question. Then I saw two girls from church by the Metro station and they helped me find a bus that would take me half way and then I would have to change buses to make it the rest of the way.
Many nice people helped me out along the way. This older lady that sat next to me on the first bus even called one of her friends on her cell phone to see when the buses to Gorliz pass by and where I should get off.
Now, at home finally, I will rest, like the sabbath requires.

Aaron, Guess what this smelled like????

if you guessed Uruguay, you are right!

yo vivo aqui!

a bridge in Plentzia, Spain. This river runs in from the bay of Gorliz



Gorliz, Spain. taken from a hill in Plentzia, Spain


Jone was tired of riding her scooter, so I took a turn and she took a picture


Josu and Maite walked a little slower than Jone and I


this is Jone and I. She is the older of the two girls that I tend. This is the best vacation ever!

not having a cell phone is weird....

Attention everyone: I am in Gorliz, Spain. Luckily we were able to set up wireless in the house of the family where I am staying, so I will be able to blog a lot! I am an au pair, if you did not know. I just met the family when I arrived here yesterday. They are very nice and this area is sooooo beautiful. I wasn't nervous at all to go across the world and stay with people I did not know, until a few seconds before exiting the plane, when I realized I could not remember what the dad looked like who was coming to pick me up....AH. When I walked out of the salida, I saw a man and woman and waved, thinking it was them, but they just ignored me, so I looked around and saw another man with a little girl who looked very familiar and that was them and they recognized me right away.

We had a 3.5 hour car ride back to Gorliz from Madrid and it was fun to conocer the country side to Basque country. In Basque country, the capital being Bilbao, they speak two languages, Spanish (Castellano) and Basque. Basque sounds really similar, but is written so differently. Quite a few times, I hear people speaking, think it is Spanish, can't understand AT ALL what they are saying, and finally realize that they are speaking Basque.

The weather is a lot like San Francisco and other coastal parts of Northern California. We live really close to the beach and go down to a plaza right near the beach a lot. It is humid, but not too hot, so it's ok!
Their house is so beautiful! I have my own bedroom and bathroom. There are no closets here, just big built-in cupboards/armoires. I think I love that. Also, did I mention that I love bidets? and also Spain. I love it.

ps: pictures coming soon.

Voila!!!

Here is the bike I have been working on. I loved fixing it up and now I can't wait to ride it everywhere!!! After I got it painted by my neighbor's paint guy, I put the crank shaft and handlebars back on by myself.
I went to the bike shop one day to buy some new parts. I told the guy I needed to fix the corroding handlebars and he gave me a Schwinn set of bars that they were going to throw away, so I put those on instead of the old ones. They look so great!!

Then my friend Casey helped me put on the back brakes and the derailers. He wasn't sure how to hook up the cables, so I took it to this shop and they made it ride really nice.
Today, right when I got it home, I stuck on these HOT PINK decals that I bought from Hungary via ebay.

It is sooooooo pretty! I don't think the pictures show how bright the colors truly are...but one day I will be riding down the rode and you will spot me on my custom made bicycle...

Futurific!

Susan had a birthday, shout hurray! We decided to welcome her future of being in the 30's by having a theme party. Theme: the future. We all got carried away and had a blast dancing like robots/aliens/spacemen, eating milky ways and watching Spaceballs.




Now that I have seen a little glimpse of what the future looks like I can tell you, believe me friends, you are gonna love it. The future looks bright.



my friends will and kyle made this video to show at our party, (may not be suitable for children) but hilarious for everyone else

Any advice for a long flight???

Last night as I was looking at my seating assignment for my trip to Spain, I started feeling tired and claustrophobic with a sudden urge to use the bathroom, but the inability to do so freely because you have to make someone else get up each time. I am not really nervous or scared to be in a new country with people I don't know for three months, I just am dreading the airplane ride over the atlantic. It's 5 hours from Las Vegas to Philadelphia, then another 7 hours to Madrid. Right now, I am wishing I could teleport
Any advice for a long flight??

Tagged!!!

5 random facts:
1. I love the smell/feel of clean pajamas.
2. My favorite soda is Sangria.
3. I used to do a sudoku puzzle every night before I went to bed. Now, it's at least a couple times per week.
4. I brush my teeth for two minutes every time (my toothbrush times it for me)
5. I always want to hang out with the 17 year olds that work with me, then I realize I am almost 10 years older than them. ha. weird.

there you go teryn! loves! have fun in switzerland! Bon voyage. Nous allons voir en France!!

wish me luck!

Time to re-assemble!!! I hope I can remember where everything goes!!!

"twelfth" is a strange 4-consonants-in-a-row type word

Fact: Megan is an incredible violinist


Last night, one of my good friends had her senior violin recital. She was amazing. I have never seen fingers move so swiftly! She played "Concerto in E Minor, Opus 64" by Felix Mendelssohn. The whole time I kept thinking of the quote from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, "Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."
Through her hard work, dedication, practice and talent she has become so great at the violin.
I always wish I could be "great" at something. Instead sometimes I feel like Joseph Heller says in Catch-22 "Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them." That's probably why I am so excited to go to grad school. I will have the chance to become great at something by studying and practicing so intensely.
So, the word's out. I will be back at BYU to start my masters in January. WoW.
PS. I just bought this movie and it is one of my favorites. WATCH IT!!

Wiki-who?

HERE is my home from June 30th to Sept 28th. Gorliz, Spain looks amazing! I just can't wait. PS I have Aug 18th-31st off work and want to travel around Europe (mostly southern France and Spain and Portugal) Who wants to come??? Meet me in Madrid!!!

just last night....

this song put me to sleep. yum.

the park by feist
Why would he come back through the park?
You thought that you saw him but no you did not
It's not him who'd come across
The sea to surprise you
Not him who would know
Where in London to find you

With sadness so real that it populates
The city and leaves you homeless again
Steam from the cup and snow on the path
The seasons have changed from the present to past

The past
The past
Turns whole to half
The past

Why would he come back through the park?
You thought that you saw him but no you did not
Who can be sure of anything through
The distance that keeps you
From knowing the truth

Why would you think your boy could become
The man who could make you sure he was the one?

The one
My one
My one

Needless to say....the night-after-the-last-day-of-school is a good night's rest. No more school....EVER!!!

I think I'm in love with these guys....

OR maybe I'm just in love with the 80s!!!!


But look, they are good:
Here they are with Laura Marling! cute.

Memorialized....

We went to my parents' new house this weekend. It is so beautiful. Out of every window is some amazing vista! My sister and her beau were there too. We cleaned up construction mess, went shopping in St. George, played games and watched Perfect Strangers. I kept singing this song....and I keep falling in love with The Magnetic Fields.

I wrote a poem....

Premeditated Seasons
When the leaves in my days turn
or start turning
from green, to yellow, to orange, to red
to brown
a new leaf is turned.
The winter, in a beauty,
strange and indifferent,
calms me with its stillness and
woos me with its silent
white.
Ideas that reverberated
my mind
lay still in
the fog,
unsure of changing
thought patterns
as the seasons
change.

Let's blog it out...

I have this song stuck in my head ever since Suz showed it to me. And I really like the video. YUM!

Laura Marling-New Romantic

Also she sent me a link to an animation from This American Life. I love this couple and the story they tell. If you didn't see it in the theaters, check this out. The husband and wife are wonderfully considerate and caring of one another. Plus, just like counseled, they really have become one individual. ha. sooooooo great.

We are having and 80's Dance-A-Tron...

My roommate made this amazing flier. Rachel & Susan: Bringing You Back!

I am reeling!

which bike should i choose??

Input please. I am painting my bike. What do you like/dislike about these? How do they make you feel? Who do you picture riding these?

a change in the weather vain....

Recently I was reflecting on how much I dislike wind. I remember once, my friends were visiting Las Vegas and said they really enjoyed the wind. I was shocked. It has always been such a nuisance and definitely signifies bad weather. So I decided that maybe I could change my outlook on wind. In order to do that I have become a kite enthusiast. I bought a kite just last week. The day I bought it, there was no wind and I found myself secretly wishing for some wind....funny. Now I am wishing for it. I got the kite up, all by myself and flew it for 10 minutes or more. I forgot how great kites are!!

So lately, as I plan/think/wonder about moving to Denver, I debate about the weather. I wonder if I can handle cold winters with icy sidewalks and cars covered in snow every morning. Where when you are late for something and run out the door without a second to spare, you still have to brush/scrape off your whole car and drive slow slow slow down the road. yuck.
I realize that if I want to move there I have to find something to love/enjoy/embrace about the weather there. Therefore, I have commenced a rigid search for a winter pass-time that I love so much I will be able to handle the cold. IDEAS????
Doesn't Denver look so fun?? Roque and I have fun!

Babysitting 101

Get a mac. Show the kids photobooth. Fun for hours. and hours. and hours. and hours.
Also fun for adults. I took all these great eclipse pictures last weekend. soooooo fun.

The birds have returned from their winter sabbatical...

and I am seeing a lot more of this everywhere:
grotey!

love Love LOVE

Today my roomie and I got home from Stake Conference and she had an email from an admirer. She was in the mood for love. So I made a "love Love LOVE" playlist on my Itunes for us to listen to. It was so fun. I spent at least an hour searching through all my music to pick the perfect songs.
Total songs: 70
Some of the Best: Love by G.Love and Special Sauce
My Cherie Amour by Stevie Wonder
Love At First Feel by Mark Kozelek
The Sad Waltzes Of Pietro Crespi by Owen
Two Fine People by Cat Stevens
Tekno Love Song by Coco Rosie
Friday I'm In Love by The Cure
Digital Love by Daft Punk
Always For You by The Album Leaf
Passing Afternoon by Iron & Wine
and Like Gold by Erlend Oye.
Ohohoh I almost forgot Love Love Love by Mountain Goats.....etcetera.

I might as well write all 70 titles.....
jk
I love Love LOVE everyone of you!

I LIKE FLAN!!!

There is a package of flan on my kitchen counter. It is open and sitting in the pie plate, just waiting for me to cook it up. It has been waiting for almost 2 weeks!! I want it sooooo bad, but I don't have a pan big enough to boil a whole quart of milk. How can I get that flan into my stomach????

confession.

I really DO NOT like that movie Juno. It doesn't even deserve its own post but I have been so annoyed with all the advertising on Myspace and Facebook right now. That movie was so bad.....and I was mad I even wasted my time. Luckily we got in for free, so I didn't waste any money.

I have been teaching school all day and swim lessons all night. I really love swimming, but I don't like how my hair is turning into green straw. yuck.

I get free swimsuits as bonuses. Maybe money bonuses would be better, but I love swimsuits, so it suits me.

I taught Gospel Doctrine last week and I really loved it. I subbed for one of my friends and then this other girl asked me to sub for her in a couple of weeks. SOoooo great! I just got released from my calling, but I could do this 'sub' thing forever. I love teaching.

I gave Susan Mark Kozelek's lyric book that was just published for a VERY early birthday present. I just couldn't wait. It is called Nights Of Passed Over and I loved it soooooo much that I bought my own. I love his song Lost Verses Lately, that's all I listen too.

I guess that's my life update. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except for that fact that I am addicted to boggle.

See if you can find the hidden word in here. It's my passion.
Here's a piece from my Boggle Birthday Cards. This one is for Stefan. Happy e-Birthday!



I miss all my friends soooo much all the time and just wish we could all be close by forever. I read all of your blogs and love to hear about everything that is going on. Loves. much loves.

I have been singing this song all week....

Then I went to Laura Viers' Myspace and she had taken it off. Luckily (exclamation point) I found it elsewhere/HERE and have been listening and dancing along ever since. GO! LISTEN! DANCE! or else.


yum yum gimme sum

I am way more exctied for The Office....

every since I watched all the episodes in all the seasons in 3 days. They were sooooo good. yes, y-e-s, YES for tomorrow.

Perfect Purchase

Last night I bought Perfect Strangers on DVD. Graham and I watched it while we ate dinner. It is still, every bit as funny as when I was little. Larry is still annoying and Balki is still really entertaining. I laughed and reminisced and now I recommend that everyone buy it.
Now all I need to make my DVD collection complete is "Out of This World".

My favorite holiday....

Some would say Christmas. Which is enjoyable, yes. But, my favorite is April Fool's Day. In Uruguay they had a type of April Fool's Day. I can't remember the actual date (maybe Dec 28th), but it was called "El Dia De Los Inocentes" or "The Day of The Innocent People" Whenever anyone tricks you, instead of saying "April fools!!" they say "que la inocencia te valga!" or "may innocence always be with you."
I like looking at it like that. I am pulling pranks to show how innocent and wonderful all my friends/family members are. I love being innocent. I think everyone should, really.




Here's a picture I just found of my sister, me and my brother with our Christmas beads that I made out of garland. I like it.

Flightless Bird.

photo by Leif Anderson


When I fly, I soar. I flap to get to the right height and then look down at the ground and glide around with my arms out stretched in airplane mode. Every once an a while, if I dip too low, I have to flap my arms again, just like a bird to return to cruising altitude. At least that's how it is in my dreams.
I wish, wish wish, to be able to fly.

yyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeesssssss!

I love ROCK BAND!

2008 really is great.

Mark Kozelek's new album "April" comes out on April 1st. What a wonderful year!

My mom said...

and I quote, "Owning a small business is great because you get to pick which 18 hours of the day you want to work."

I laughed out loud.

Then I thought, "But isn't it worth it if your business is 1. really awesome, 2. in Denver and 3. with Mandy and Mikey."

I say yes!

Also, I said yes to a family in Spain. I will be an au pair in Gorliz, Spain from July 1st-Sept 25th. I have 15 days off in August, so if you are in Europe in August find me in cyber space and we can vacation together. We can play soccer with these kids on the beach. I am sure they are still there.
yahoo.

Roque Mountain High

I am in Denver right now, visiting Roque. Soooooooo fun. It is beautiful weather here and Denver is just as great as I remembered. I still love it, although I wish Aaron could be here with me and we could stay in the hostel down by the train tracks and see Mark Kozelek. Ok, actually I don't want to stay in that hostel again, Roque's house is much better and her puppy Gyrdie, is soooooo cute.

I love Denver!!!

it's a little esoteric...

I missed the movie. It went in and out of the theaters, but I couldn't stop thinking about Persepolis, so I checked out the two books that were the basis for the movie yesterday at the library.

I couldn't be more happy.
I am in love with these books.


They are in comic book form, easy to read, very informative and entertaining, a personal/truthful narrative of the life of Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian/French girl during the Iranian revolutions.
This will hold me over until the movie comes out on DVD.

Plus, Sandra Cisneros wrote a review on the back, and you know how much I love her!!! Maybe you didn't know, but I love her a lot.

Wowee.

I got a new hair-cut and color. woo hoo. It was my birthday present from Peedle.

Wish I could tell you about the distance between, how my life is unfolding and how I thought it would be.

So I always seem to make plans and then they fall through. It's ok though. Mostly because I just love the plan-making process.
I was planning on going to Europe, but two families fell through. I think it's off.
I was planning on working at Bubble Swim School, but my school asked me to teach an art class on my day off.
I was planning on NOT going back to BYU, but now that is my only grad school option (I am still waiting to hear back from them).
I was planning on going to the gym tonight, but when I got home from teaching swim school at 8pm, riddled with hunger, it was off.
There is always tomorrow.
oh
I don't know what's happening to me.
Is it a symptom of disease?

For Air-y Bair-y

RELEASE DATE: November 21, 2008....That seems like forever away!

We need a break....

I am still in shock!!!

Here's what happened according to the news. Wednesday night my roommate received news that her sister and family were traveling to the hospital in an ambulance because their house had just exploded. I was so nervous as my wonderful roommate talked to her family, and I just prayed that everyone would be alright. She left the next day to drive to Idaho with tons of good things we found around the house to give her, since EVERYTHING she owned exploded or burned. It is amazing that they will all eventually be healed and whole, but please, keep them in your prayers!

I like it like that.

I saw CTFTPA in Phoenix last summer. It was such a good show. He was touring with the Donkeys, but I like him better like he recorded yesterday on Daytrotter. All electronic, all the time. Listen to his great version of Nashville Parthenon HERE. Soooooo great.
Today my principal asked me if I would want to teach an art class to the 6-8 graders on Thurs mornings. ummmmm yes!! of course. I can only imagine all the fun projects we are going to do. YEAH! I love art.

Whatever happened to good ol' hanging out?????

Less dates, more hanging out. That's what I want.

I like you.

All my experiences lead me to believe that this mathematical equation is true:
Fake Valentines ≥ Real Valentines.

I like making them and giving them. It could be the part of me that also loves April Fool's Day. V-day is like April Fool's Day for lovers. A day to prank people in a tone of niceness and admiration.

Here's my V-day treat, to the girl that gave me the tickets to the James Blunt Concert:




HAPPY FEBRUARY VALENFOOL's DAY!!! sucka.

awkward confession.

So tonight my friend called me up with $80 tickets to a concert. She invited me to have one and at first, I hesitated, but thought, James Blunt can't be too bad, plus its free. I mean, at least he is really ridiculously good-looking. Why not? I had just read a couple paragraphs of an article in The Neon about him and was a little intrigued.
So we went and it was the weirdest thing I have experienced in a long time. My one desire in life is to never be a 40 year old drunk lady hitting on guys to buy me more drinks and dancing to teeny bopper music. Get me outta there! So needless to say we left early and laughed the night away watching all the Vegas crazies.
I do admit that I liked it when he covered this song:

Today I was wondering who the ambulances were for, and thinking I needed to do that more often

Yesterday I decided I needed to get another job. Currently I am working 3 different jobs, but not really making ends meet, because I only teach Spanish 16 hours a week, swim lessons one night a week, and all my earnings from working for my sister go toward a plane ticket to Europe for this summer. Joslin and I decided to take a trip because my family fell through.
So I found this place called The Artful Potter. It's like Color Me Mine. So I filled out the application and as I called people to be my reference I got TWO job offers paying me more and fitting my schedule better. WOW! That made my day.
So now I will be working for my brother in-law again and also working more hours at the swim school in the office and also going to swim meets and selling gear to swim teams. It will be good to be uber busy and make enough money to save for grad school in the fall.
Well. self, good day.

i love you sailor....

Getting used to being alone can be a bad thing. It's really easy to slip into only caring about yourself. Everyday I find myself doing what I want more and more, not thinking about what others need and/or feel in the moment. I go to the library when I want, wash my car when I want, eat when/what I want, sleep when I want etc etc. Just that a life alone, only caring about what I want, isn't really that fun. Sometimes I just wish that I could do what other people wanted too.
Fun times alone are at least 3 times as fun when shared with people you love.

two of my favorite things....

Erlend Oye and The Cure

I am planning to be an au pair in France this summer. I hope everything works out. I really want to live in France, but if it doesn't I have some backup jobs in Basque Spain or Norway. Maybe if I go to Norway I can see this in real life. woot.
After the summer I plan to move from Las Vegas forever. Weird. I don't know where to yet, because I have to wait for 4 different graduate committees to review my applications and decide my fate.
I will keep you posted.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrman

Fair-weather Soldier

That's me. I don't do anything when the weather is bad (ie cold). I just learned that the term cold-blooded is misleading and I would now scientifically be called an ectotherm. I, literally, am a slave to my environment. So my resolutions are to move more. Truth.
So the saga continues. I went to the gym today and saw that Bob Barker retired. I had no idea! Where was I when Drew Carey took over????
Oh TV, thou art a thing of the past. Who watches TV anymore anyway. I am too busy complaining about the cold winter weather.

A two year old told me yesterday....

"When you love somebody, you say goodbye and smile when they leave." soooooo cute.

Ob-la-di Ob-la-da...

I really like via audio today. Especially since this reminds me of the beatles and I think they did that on purpose. listen. soooo good.Oh Blah Wee-Via Audio

Busy Bee

I have been so busy lately. It was a 2 week vacation that I filled up to the brim with wedding preparations, grad school applications, shopping at H&M, going to the library, reading, being with my family and having parties. I said good-bye to two of my best Las Vegas friends because they moved. And all I have to do now is plan two weeks worth of lessons before tomorrow when its back to school. The school year is half over and I just can't believe it. I am going to start working at Bubble for the winter this week too. It is just one night a week and that should be fun. Today I have just been looking on greataupair.com to see if there were any jobs for the summer in Europe that I might be interested in. Cross your fingers for me. Thanks.

Just need to find out how...

I would love to live in Europe. How do I just move there? Is that all there is to it? Just pack up and get an airplane ticket and stay at Populous' house in Italy? Ojala!!

I love the biblioteca.

I love my library. I go there all the time now. It has a really great cd and dvd collection. I just got Maverick with Mel Gibson, this great movie called Designing Woman with Gregory Peck and How To Marry A Millionaire with Marilyn Monroe.
They carry cds like Low, the Brunettes, Harry and the Potters, !!!, and the Carpenters Christmas. Today I went to the library to check out Como El Grinch Robo La Navidad! I am going to read it to my kids next week. When I showed up in the kid's department I saw all my kindergarteners to second graders there on a field trip. They were all so excited to see me and show me all the books they were checking out.
They helped me find the Spanish section of the library. It was so fun to hear them all yelling "Hola! Senora Van" across the aisles. shhhhh kids. C'est une bibliotheque!

ma préférée

Right now I am in love with this song. You would love it even more if you knew what it was saying and you were me. There's just those moments when a song hits you where it counts...

I was laughing when I should have been studying...c'est la vie.

So a while ago I found out that my French professor was a showgirl. She teaches a couple of different classes at the university and I never expected that. One of the guys in my class used to be in the show with her and he told me she had been in that show for 12 years and is pretty much the icon. So, let me introduce you to my professor, at least you will find the exposed back side of her hanging on the billboard at the Tropicana.
Then today after googling her name we found out that she was also on survivor! It was too much. I was laughing so hard as I was watching youtube clips of my professor. CRAZY. Here she is:
I asked her about it. She was in Micronesia. She was really left on an island "exiled" with nothing but water and a machete. She told me she couldn't fish so she ate like 45 coconuts! She invited me over to her house to drink French wine and watch it on dvd with her. I am gonna hang out with a tv-survivor-superstar!! awesome!!

amazing...

This Thanksgiving was great! We went to my sister's house in Arizona. The weather was perfect, the food was delicious and the company was the best. Plus I taught my 7 year old niece how to play sudoku. She is amazing. Check out a 2nd graders completed sudoku. Now that's impressive!

sad news turned glad news.

Just on Thursday night I was heading to my room. I turned off all the living room lights and was walking in the dark, feeling my way. I decided to slide open my phone to get a little light for the pathway and it slid right out of my hand. I looked around for it in the dark and saw lit up numbers. I wondered in my head why I could only see the numbers and not the screen that is usually right above the numbers. Quickly I turned on the light and to my dismay I saw my 4 month old phone in two pieces!!
I wanted to cry. Just earlier in the evening I sold a bike on craig's list and was feeling pretty rich but knew I would have to spend that cash on a new phone. bummer.
The next day I went to T-mobile and thought for a second about lying to the guy to try and get the warranty to pay for it. "I mean I just slid it up to text and it just kept sliding...." But then realized, A). there was no good alibi and B). I am bad at lying. Luckily I found just the right phone and I am so happy!!!

It is just a phone. None of this music player/phone/day planner/life runner gadget for me. I am happy that it is simple. Anyway. It turned out better than I thought it would and didn't make me feel any poorer. I was still rich enough to go to the new H&M here in town the next night. WOOT!

for some reason this reminds me of school pictures...

Here's my school picture. My first year as a teacher. Don't worry, some of you will be getting a signed one in the mail.

This kind of makes me want to read "Crime and Punishment"...but not really.

love love love by The Mountain Goats

"Somethings you'll do for money, and some you'll do for fun, but the things you do for love are gonna come back to you one by one."

I guess this means I can only have 5 kids...

I want a conference bike!!!


SOOOOOO awesome!

2nd date?

I went on the worst first date ever last night. He asked me at FHE on Monday to go to this dinner that our Bishop was hosting for first dates. So I gave him a chance even though he creeped me out from the beginning. I made my friends find dates so I wouldn't have to be alone with him and then met him there to protect myself further.
All I have to say is I have never been out with a guy that was sooooo far from what I actually like before. If he asked me out again he would probably be considered medically insane because we have nothing in common and I tried to make it obvious that I was not interested, without being rude. I hate caves and have no celebrity crushes. We obviously wouldn't make it very far, just save your money creepy red-haired dude.

He introduced me to her...ironic

Saturday night I told my Latin lover that it would be better if he just didn't ever call me again. Before when we broke up we kept calling and so it didn't last...but this time I think it is for real. It was so sad when he just kept saying, "uhhh, ok, ok." And he was kind of surprised when I said we should just see each other in class. But it was inevitable. Breaking up is hard to do.

one new heart, coming right up...

YUM: I think I need a new heart by The Magnetic Fields

Time stands still
All I can feel is the time standing still

as you put down the keys
and say don't call me please
while the radio plays

"I Think I Need a New Heart" ohhh

"I Think I Need a New Heart" ohhh

You've lied too
but it's a sin that I
can't tell the truth
cause it all comes out wrong
unless I put it in a song
so the radio plays
"I Think I Need a New Heart"
just for you
"I Think I Need a New Heart"

cause I always say I love you
whenI mean turn out the light
and I say let's run away
when I just mean stay the night
but the words you want to hear
you will never hear from me

I'll never say "happy anniversary"
never stay to say "happy anniversary"

so I think I need a new heart ohhh
I think I need a new heart ohhh
I think I need a new heart ohhh
I think I need a new heart ohhh
Give me time

Cultural Presentations

My junior high kids did their cultural presentations today. They were so great! I was thoroughly impressed and loved the fact that I didn't have to write any lesson plans. Some of them studied a Spanish-speaking country and brought in memorabilia, some studied Spanish artists or historical figures, others brought in some food and told the history behind it. We ate salsa (who knew that it dates back to the Mayans?), gazpacho from Spain, flan and Mexican wedding cookies. Yum. What a great day! Being a Spanish teacher is so much fun!

I never really listened to the words before and wow.

Well I guess it would be nice
If I could touch your body
I know not everybody
Has got a body like you

But I've got to think twice
Before I give my heart away
And I know all the games you play
Because I play them too

Oh but I
Need some time off from that emotion
Time to pick my heart up off the floor
And when that love comes down
Without devotion
Well it takes a strong man baby
But I'm showing you the door

'Cause I gotta have faith...

Baby
I know you're asking me to stay
Say please, please, please, don't go away
You say I'm giving you the blues
Maybe
You mean every word you say
Can't help but think of yesterday
And another who tied me down to loverboy rules

Before this river
Becomes an ocean
Before you throw my heart back on the floor
Oh baby I reconsider
My foolish notion
Well I need someone to hold me
But I'll wait for something more

Yes I've gotta have faith...


I really like their cover of the 'Faith'

I went to Mexico last weekend...

You try doing the hand jive and jumping double dutch at the same time! sooooo fun. I had such a wonderful time playing with orphans and speaking Spanish. I wanted to bring one back with me. Then I remembered that I already have my very own Mexican to call my beau. He's just a little older and taller and he spoils me rotten. I love Mexico!

Finally, what I've been waiting for...

I had to edit this. just in case.

Friends, Romans, countrymen

Lend me your ears/eyes. This is the future and it looks bright. At least I'm into it! Click here to read an enlightening article!
Thanks Mike!

On my way home...

Roque and I played word games. I love those. First, we named all the words we could think of that ended with the letter 'f'. Then all the words that ended with 'tion'. Then we named all the words we could think of that were actually French words that we use frequently in English. Such as: rendezvous, fiance, ballet, chaise lounge, chalet, foyer, armoire, etc.
But we forgot one of my favorites. I didn't even realize it until I arrived home and used my bidet. I love bidets. Thank you France.