Jam

A very fun way to spend a morning off of school. It went very fast with the 5 of us. 

Halloween Fun

We had a very fun evening Trick-or-Treating. Dani was TinkerBell and Julie was Captain Hook. What a cute pair! Julie always dresses up to go with Dani's costume. 

These pictures don't show all of the little girls who went with our group. There were a lot of them. It was fun and entertaining. Good times. 

Blond Moment

I had a major blond moment this afternoon. It was hilarious! Thought I'd give you all a good laugh.
I went to pick my sister up at work and take her to a memorial service of a family friend. She told me that she would meet me in front of the library. Easy place to pick someone up downtown. Well, I was several minutes early and had it in my head that I would have to drive around the block at least once before she would be out of her building. So I drive past the library and am about to turn the corner at the other end of the block when I see my sister frantically waving at me from in front of the library!
I have no idea how I missed her! And she was wearing a very red coat! Finally made it around the block and picked her up. I guess I was really wasn't thinking that she would be out there already. Hahaha! She told me that a guy rolled down his window as she was waving laughed and said, "I can't believe she missed you!" Where is my brain?
...I'm so embarrassed.

Very Thankful 1-5

Last year for the month of November I posted something I was thankful for every day. It was such a blessing to me. I was reminded daily of all God has given to me. Some days it was easier to see what I was thankful for that day and other days it was harder. But it made me find the good things from those harder days and not just dwell on negative things.
It is hard to believe that November is here and we are 5 days into it! Time flies when you are having fun (and when you are busy most of the time). So I'm starting out the month playing a little catch up. Ha! I'm not too surprised at this.


1. My Salvation - I'm so thankful that God sent His Son to earth so many years ago. Jesus did for me what no one else could ever do. He provided a way for me to spend eternity for Him in Heaven. I don't deserve this at all. But I've been forgiven. Thank you, Lord!

2. Working at a Christian school - I have the wonderful blessing of teaching at the school I attended for all of my elementary, junior high, and high school education. I'll be the first one to tell you that when I graduated I didn't really want to leave. So to many people it isn't a surprise that I am back. I love teaching there. The best thing is that I am able to share the Gospel with my class. Everyday we spend time talking about the Lord, praying and worshiping Him. It is such a wonderful blessing. Chapel times are especially great as we sing and hear a message. The chorus of children's voices is sweet and I'm able to worship my Savior along with them. It is great.

3. Thursday was a rough day at work for me. By the end of the day I was exhausted, frustrated and ready to cry. When all of my kids were picked up in the car line I started to make my way back to my classroom and I spotted my dad. I'm so thankful that my dad and I work at the same place. Because of a "little" rearranging of school offices this year I get to run into him a lot more. Thursday it was especially nice to see him because I really needed a hug. I love my dad so much! He gave me a big hug and asked me what was going on. It was wonderful.

4. Fridays - For someone who works 5 days a week Fridays are wonderful days. I love remembering that it is Friday when I wake up in the morning. I can dress a little more relaxed at work and it is almost the weekend. But it is also a time when I usually have time to catch up on work in my classroom. I spent over an hour yesterday just working at organizing things in my classroom. I'm nowhere near done, but it felt good to do it.

5. I have to say that this morning I'm very thankful for the heater I have in my apartment. It is nice to have a warm place to be on a chilly morning. I realize that it is colder in many places of the world right now, but to this California girl it is pretty cool here.

Well, I'm glad to have started this back up for this month. I am feeling so blessed already!

Oh yeah!

I did it!! 
I made it through the month of October without buying any Starbucks and I didn't eat a single bit of fast-food! I wasn't sure how it was going to go. About a week ago I almost caved, but then I remembered how close I was and resisted the temptation. :)


Now for November. 
My new plan is to again have no fast-food for the month. As far as Starbucks goes...I'm going to put some money on a gift card and that is all I'm allowed to buy for the month. I'm not sure how much that is because I haven't finished my budget yet. But I'll have it figured out soon.

30 by 30 Revisited & Revised

My 30x30 list has been on my mind lately. I have a 1 & 1/2 years to go and I'm thinking I need to make a few changes. I haven't crossed off nearly as many things from my list as I thought I would have by now. There are several things that I'll be able to get done, but I'm going to take out the ones that I don't think are realistic for me to do. 
(Bold items are ones I am working on right now)

1. Read through the entire Bible
2. Donate my hair to Locks of Love (I'm growing it out at the moment)
3. Publish a cookbook of my Grandma's recipes
4. Read 1 book a month from my bookshelf. (That is only 19 books - totally realistic!)
5. Draw one sketch each day for 30 days in a row
6. Make a quilt for my bed
7. Walk in a half-marathon
8. Take a cooking class
9. Loose 20 pounds and keep if off 
10. Make a Christmas quilt (I started cutting out the pieces a while ago and haven't picked it up in a while) 
11. Visit Yosemite
12. Eat at the Melting Pot  (Yum!) 
13. Cook through an entire cookbook
14. Visit another country (other than the ones I've been to)
15. Sew something I can wear  (I made an apron!)
16. Publish a children's book
17. Stick to my budget for two months in a row (I hope after 2 months it will be easy to stick with it for a long time)
18. Go on a hot air balloon ride (I plan to do this on my 30th Birthday) 
19. Visit the Grand Canyon
20. Get into the habit of calling my Grandma twice a month
21. Clean out my Gmail inbox to zero
22. Have a picture taken of me that I really like
23. Visit a winery in Sonoma County
24. Sing with someone famous (I still want to do this...but I'm going to change it to -- Follow my box of cleaning cards for 1 month) 
25. Go to the middle of nowhere and look at the stars
26. Get a massage (Amazing!) 
27. Learn to play the piano so I can sing a song while I play
28. Make a pie from scratch
29. Take a flower arranging class
30. Host a tea party at my apartment. 

Harvest Fair

We had a lovely time at the Harvest Fair this year. Mom entered some cookies and a cornstalk, and Dad entered a decorated pumpkin. We had a great time watching the grape-stomping, and of course Dani loved going on the rides. 

#12

#12 - Eat at The Melting Pot
Yay! I've completed another thing on my 30x30 list!








Can I tell you that I absolutely LOVE The Melting Pot! Yum, yum, yum! I was totally stuffed afterwards. We had a wonderful girl's night out!

Why?

Why is it that when I have a bunch of stuff to do all I want to do is clean my apartment? But when I don't have stuff to work on I don't want to clean!
Something is wrong with me!

October

It is hard to believe that October 1st is today! September flew by. I love that the weather is starting to get a little cooler. Bring on the fall weather! I am ready!
As I was thinking about October this last week I've decided that I'm going to challenge myself for the month. (Don't worry, not another 30 day blog challenge that lasts for 5 months) In order to help my budget and my weight I'm going to not buy fast food or Starbucks for the month of October. And I have to tell you that at the moment I really want to go buy some coffee. This is going to be hard. But I'm feeling very determined. Christmas is coming and I have to be able to afford Christmas presents for people. :)
So there you have it. My October challenge!

Cute Video

Someone showed this to me and I had to share it. I think it is cute. :) 

Sweet Sunday Afternoons

I love Sundays.
Church to start with is great! I love the worship, teaching and fellowship.
Following church I head to my parent's house. They usually don't get home for a while after I'm done at church so I either fall asleep on the red chair or watch tv. (Just ask my family, I'm always falling asleep on the red chair.) When they get home we have lunch and hang out for the afternoon, take naps (most of us), watch sports, etc.
This afternoon was no exception. While we ate lunch we all sat and watched the 49ers game. - Although, now that I think about it I think I left before the game ended. Oops - Somewhere during the game we got into this huge tickle-fest. It was crazy. Danika thought it was the funniest thing ever. And somehow she was leading the entire thing. She'd tell everyone to tickle someone and they would! (We are all wrapped around her finger. Can you tell?)  The funny thing was that she would tell us to tickle her too. It was hilarious.

Good times.

Day 30!!

Day 30!
I finally did it!
I'm not sure if I'm really cut out for a 30 day blog challenge. Lol! It took me a long time to finish "30 days."

Ok here it goes...
Day 30 - A future.

This challenge has been filled with "somedays", "favorites", and "I'd like to"'s. And it is finishing out that way too.  Sometimes those things are good to write about, and other times not so much. Maybe it is a good thing I've spread this whole thing out. :) I want to write about two futures. One that I know for sure will happen and one that I'd like to happen.

My for sure future...
Because I have put my faith in Jesus Christ, Heaven is in my future. Not sure when in my future, but I will be there! Personally I don't like thinking about dying, but I've had my mind on heaven lately. The first several Bible lessons I've taught at school this year have been about heaven. I love the looks on the kids faces when we talk about the wonderful things about heaven. They have so many questions and I definitely don't have all the answers. Most of my answers have "I'm not sure"'s or "I don't think so"'s in them. I don't think that I think about it enough. Heaven is going to be so wonderful! I really shouldn't have a problem when thinking about dying because the place I'm going to is so much better than this world!

My maybe someday future...
If I had a choice my future would be filled with teaching, marriage, my own children, a published children's book and a bunch of traveling. That all sounds good to me. The Lord only knows.
I'm happy to be teaching right now, so I guess I'm on the right track. Now I need to work on the book. I have lots of ideas, just have to get going with it.

And there you have it! The end of my 30 day blog challenge!! Woo Hoo!

Day 29

A place that gives you wanderlust.

I love traveling. I wish that I could do it more. I love flying, as long as I'm not rushing through the airport. I'm one of those people who gets on an airplane and almost immediately falls asleep (much to the frustration of my sister). In a sense I'm thankful that I have friends and family who live outside of California because that means I can go visit them.

A place that I've been to that makes me want to travel more is Hawaii. I've only been there once but it left a good impression on me. I love the beautiful beaches there. It is so relaxing. This picture makes me want to grab my swimsuit,  a towel and a good book... and sunscreen of course. :)

Day 28

A Quote

I'm sure I know some good quotes, but I decided to look at the quotes on goodreads.com for a good one. There were several that I like, but here is the one I chose.

"A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it's in hot water." 
— Eleanor Roosevelt

This can be very true for me. I'm not the strongest person, but when in a situation where I need to be strong I am right there. (At least I think I am) That strength does not come from me. It comes from the Lord who knows what I need and when I need it. Isn't that great!

Dance and Fashion

My sister shared this video with me. I thought it was pretty creative. My how things have changed. 

Day 27

A thing that makes you mad.

Mad is such a strong word. I don't I get mad very often.
The times I've really gotten mad have been when someone has done something to someone in my family. I love my family a lot and I'm pretty protective of them. You mess with my family and you'll have to answer to me! (yes - I realize that this threat is not very intimidating - lol!)

Day 26

A thing you want to do before you die.

Oh goodness.
There are so many things I would like to do before I die.
Just to keep it interesting I'm not going to say get married. Even though that is my first thought. :)
So other than that one I'd really like to visit Europe. No particular part. Just some place in Europe. Preferably a beautiful place. I don't care if I see a big city or in the country. I just really want to go to Europe.
Someday.

And someday I'll finish this blog challenge. :) Hopefully before I ever get to go to Europe. Ha!

Back 2 School - And Loving It!

I've been waiting to post about school starting because my dad has some pictures on his camera that I wanted to post. Obviously it is taking me a while to get them (my fault, not his). So here is my back to school post minus the pictures from the first day of school.

_________________________

A few shots around my classroom. 

It is official!
I LOVE teaching!!
       I've been teaching for just over 2 weeks and I love, love, love it! It is challenging, but it is my class. Oh yes!
       I started the day with several of my students greeting me with "Hello, New Teacher!" There was a little bit of chaos as we got into the room and about 5 minutes later I shooed the parents out of the room. Phew! I really didn't want to start with them in there. The parents make me nervous.
       About half way through the first day I realized that I didn't plan enough for us to do. This resulted in a few games and an extra recess. The kids thought this was great! It made me nervous. One boy who was sick on the first day was sad because he had missed the best day "they didn't do any work and they had 3 recesses!" is what he told his dad. I laughed and said, "Yep, it won't be like that for long."
       I was on cloud nine the entire first week (and really, I still am). My voice started going on the second day. By the end of the week I sounded terrible. I think my voice is almost back to normal. By the end of the day it is a little scratchy.
       I feel so blessed to be teaching third grade this year. I have great students. There are a few challenging ones, but I'm working at helping them and trying to not get frustrated with them. (sometimes that is easier said than done) One thing I like about this group of kids is their sense of humor. They know how to laugh. Sometime they laugh at the wrong times, but we are working on that. Not only does this class have a great sense of humor they also love to learn. They are just soaking up everything I give them! It is great!
       One of my favorite things to do in class is read aloud after lunch. I've always loved doing this. I give the kids the option of coloring while I read. Half of them just sit there and listen, which makes me love them even more!

I just feel so blessed!

       I can tell you right now that I am going to have some fun stories throughout the school year. I'm being good and writing them down in a book so I don't forget them. Maybe you'll see a book of my teaching memoirs in a bookstore someday. If so, it will all make you laugh. They say hilarious things!

Feeling Blessed

Just in the last week I've felt so blessed.
God is so good and has blessed me wonderful friends and family.

A few weeks ago a co-worker of mine heard me say something about my car window not rolling up or down. Not long after he asked me if I wanted him to fix it for me. He ordered the part and installed it last weekend. It only cost me 50 bucks! I can't even imagine how much it would have cost me if I had taken it in to my mechanic.

And then...today my school computer got fixed!  I honestly wonder what my problem is with the computers at work. I always break them. Actually I really think they just die on me.
Well I've been having issues with this one since I moved my stuff from my art room. Unfortunately our computer guy is busy and hasn't had time to fix it. Well I was talking with a few co-workers this afternoon and they felt bad that my computer still wasn't working. As I was sitting in my room working after school one of my co-workers sent her husband down to take a look at my computer. Then while he was figuring it out another co-worker's husband showed up. Between the two of them they discovered that when the computer was moved to my classroom the high school guys plugged one of the cords into the wrong place.

Those are just two examples of how God has blessed me in the last week. I've also had several people praying for me this week because they knew school was starting. And my family and close friends have been such great encouragements to me. God is so good.

Fabulous Friday

I spent today getting ready for school. It is crazy to believe that it starts on Monday. 
Am I ready? 
Mostly yes. 
As I said at Back 2 School Night...I'm excited. 
(Really... I couldn't stop saying that I was excited. It was comical.) 


I have a little more to get done before Monday. I'm almost there!

I have to say though that the highlight of my day/week was watching the office ladies race their rolling office chairs around the office this afternoon! It was hilarious!!! They were trying out the new flooring. They were so quick that I couldn't get my camera out fast enough! You'll have to take my word for it, but you didn't hear it from me! 
I wonder if I can get them to do it again when I have my camera out. Hmmm... something to try later. :) 


Have a great weekend!

Sonoma County Fair 2011

       I love going to the fair with my family. This year my mom, sister and I actually entered things at the fair. It is totally worth the free ticket in! I think next year I'll enter a few more things. It was fun looking for the things we made and what our friends made as well. I'm hoping to do a few projects with my class this year to enter into the harvest fair. Then we can take a field trip! Fun! 

       I have to say my favorite thing at the fair this year (other than the photo booth pic with Julie and Dani - pics to be posted as soon as Julie emails them to me - hint hint) was the turkey stampede. It sounds ridiculous, but I thought it was really funny. They lady who ran it had a funny personality and she had my family laughing the entire time. The turkeys were crazy chasing after a remote control truck trying to get to the food in the bed of the truck. It was hilarious!

The green one is the one mom made. Woo Hoo 3rd place! 

My photo of Dani jumping in a puddle. Didn't win anything, but I still love it!

Julie's 3rd place painting! Way to go!

Dad didn't enter anything, but he enjoyed the food. :) 

I enjoyed the food too! Gotta love Pasta King!

Eek! I don't have any pics of Dani! That is shocking! That is what happens when we bring more than one camera to places. Oops!

On another note...

School starts on Monday! Tomorrow night I have Back 2 School night! I know it will be fine, but I'm starting to get nervous. 

1 week to go

I have to say that I'm ready to get into the routine of school again.
I've always been like that. I love summer, but when it comes to an end I look forward to the routine of school.
There is only 1 week left before the 1st day of school. I'm so excited! I still have a lot to do, but I know it will all come together. I also have to remind myself that whatever doesn't get done in the area of decorating will just have to wait a little while. I'm not too worried (at the moment). :)
I also want school to start so that the major prep will be done. I really want to work on some sort of craft/art project. I have 1 baby quilt I need to finish and 1 I need to start on. I was just looking through my google reader and found a ton of projects that look like a lot of fun. Will I ever have the free time? Hopefully in a few weeks. :)

Here are a few of the fun ideas I just found. 

10 years already?!?

Is it weird that during my entire drive home tonight I was thinking about how to blog about my evening? I'm becoming a blog-a-holic! I'm sure all 4 of my readers are just dying to hear about my evening! Ha!

There are many words to describe what my evening was like. Good, weird, sad, awkward, painful, loud, repetitive, and fun. Talk about a very well rounded evening.

Tonight I went to my 10 year high school reunion. 
Has it seriously been 10 years?!

I had the blessing of attending a small Christian school while I was growing (yes - the same one I currently work at). There were 46 people in my graduating class. Many of those people had been attending the school since elementary school (myself included). I liked going to school there. But I have to be honest. I was dreading going to this reunion tonight. I'm not the most outgoing person, but in high school I was worse than I am now. I wasn't sure how I would be around my former classmates. I only went because I knew I would regret not going.
It actually went pretty well.

• It was good to see some old friends. My best friend from high school and I have grown apart some, so it was nice to catch up with her. It was fun to hear what people are up to, and there were several baby bumps in the room. 
• It was really weird to think that it has been 10 years since we all graduated from high school. Time flies! Everyone looked pretty much the same, but different at the same time. Most of the people there tonight are married and many of them have children. 
• It was sad to hear about those from our class who aren't doing well. In high school many people appeared strong in their faith. But I'm not sure how many of the people from my class are living for the Lord now.
• There were a few times when I noticed that I was drifting in the background, kinda how I was in high school. But I tried to get out of my comfort zone and talk to more people. There were some awkward moments though. I don't really know these people that well anymore. With a few people we get through the standard questions and then not know what else to talk about. There would be an awkward pause and then "Well, it was great seeing you." Awkward!
• How was the evening painful you might ask? I wore heels from 2-10 pm today. My feet were killing me!
• Our class president planned the reunion at a nice restaurant in town. The food was amazing. The only problem was that the patio we were on was loud. There were a lot of people in there and we could hardly hear each other. I already have a hard enough time hearing people. By the end of the evening I was feeling hoarse from having to talk so loud. 
• I answered and asked the same questions all evening. "How are you?" "What have you been up to?" "Where are you working?" It was a very repetitive time. 
• Even though I was not looking forward to this reunion I did have a fun time. It was good to see many of those people. We probably had about half of our classmates there. Not a bad turnout. 

Day 25

Day 25 - A song

How can I just choose 1 song?!? 

I really like this one. 

Listen to the words they are wonderful!

I'm so thankful for what Christ has done for me!

Maybe when I'm done with the 30 day challenge I'll do a 30 day song challenge. That might be fun!

Rindercella

This had to have taken a lot of practice. My dad talks like this all the time. :) 

Day 24

Day 24 - A topic that makes you think

Yikes, it has been a long time since I posted Day 23. July flew by! June seemed to take it's time, but July...I'm not sure where it went! Now we are into August!

So, on to day 24. (so much for doing 30 consecutive days)
       This may not come to as a surprise to you, but school is what makes me think. School is most definitely on my mind right now. Day camp is done and I feel like I'm at the top of a roller coaster about to go down the first drop with school at the bottom. My stomach is doing flip flops just thinking about it. There is so much to get done and only 2 weeks to go. Along with that I'm not able to work in my room for the next two days due to the carpets getting cleaned. I am thankful to have clean carpets. And there are other things I do need to get done without being in my classroom.
       I love being a teacher. And this year is going to be the best one yet! Have I mentioned that I have my own class this year? (just thought I'd throw that out there in case you forgot - lol!)
       But seriously, teaching really does get my brain going. There are so many things to consider when teaching. The kids are all at different levels and different attention spans. What do I do about the kids who just can't sit still? How can I keep the entire class engaged in the lessons? How can I reteach a subject so the kids understand? How can I encourage the kids to LOVE to learn? When am I going to get all this grading done?
       I went in to work this morning for a while and I got all pumped up for the year. As I was driving home with a list of things to do I was thinking about my relationship with my students. There are about 5 kids in my class whom I haven't met yet. I'm so excited to meet them and get to know them! I want them to all like me, but that is not my goal. I would be in big trouble if that is what I was trying to do. More importantly I want them to learn and to love learning.
       How can I keep learning interesting?

       The Magic School Bus books came to mind. I've read a few of the books and watched some of the movies. Those kids love to learn. I started picturing myself as Ms. Frizzle their kooky teacher. She is a little crazy, but she sure does make learning fun. Maybe I should get a curly orange wig. :) Thankfully I don't need that in order to keep kids interested in what we are learning in school. But as I new teacher I'm going to need a few tricks up my sleeve for those afternoons when kids don't really want to pay attention. For now I'll plan a lot of hands on activities, but I think I'll stay away from dresses that have patterns relating to what we are learning, just don't think I'm that dedicated. :)

Uh-oh

So my sink started making a strange gurgling sound just a little bit ago. Sounded exactly like the bubbles from a large water dispenser (you know the ones I'm talking about?) I kept going over there to see what it was. Then Paul, my landlord, came over and asked me if something had overflowed. Apparently there is water running down the wall (not sure how fast) downstairs in the garage.
Oh dear.
I don't think it could have been anything I've done.
I hope not.

Poor Paul. Now he is downstairs hammering away at the drywall so he can find the leak.
Goodness.
Never a dull moment.

4th of July

I had such a wonderful 4th of July weekend. As you may have read, my trip started out with a lot of prayer as I waited to get to Seattle. When I think about it that craziness really helped me rely on God more, so it really was a blessing. 

It was so nice to actually have a vacation. Don't get me wrong, I love my summer job, but everyone needs some sort of vacation. And let me tell you, it was wonderful. 

On the first day my friend Lindsay had to work so I was "stuck" at her house. It was so nice to be able to  have a cup of coffee, spend time in God's word and just take my time in the morning. I loved it. A little before lunch time I went for a walk. This is what I found. 

Isn't that a beautiful view?! And there was more to it than just that. There was no one around. All I had was the view, the sound of a lawn mower and laughter from down on the beach. Even with the sounds it was a peaceful time with Jesus. I was struck by how awesome God is while I was looking out at the water. I really needed that time to get my focus in the right place. 

The rest of the day was spent being lazy. Awww gotta love vacation. 

 On Saturday Lindsay took me over to see her brother and his family. It was so nice to reconnect with them. Their kids have grown so much and they have another one on the way. 

After our visit Linds and I met our friend Ali at a marina where we walked around a farmers market and later on a pier. 

This is where we got a little sunburned. Oops! Didn't even think we were out there that long. 

Then came the long awaited moment. Meeting Jeff. Jeff was actually one of the main reasons why I went up to Seattle. I had to meet the guy who was marrying one of my best friends! I would have felt a little funny being in the wedding and meeting him the day before. I'm sure that has been done before, but I didn't want to do that. 

 Jeff is ok. I guess. 

Haha! Just kidding! He is great and I can tell that he loves Lindsay a lot. I am so happy for the two of them. I'm looking forward to being a part of their wedding in September. 

Sunday and Monday were a lot of fun. After church we drove out to Jeff's family's beach house/cabin. I'm not sure what to call it. It was a beautiful place and I'm not sure why I didn't take a picture of it. Those two days were filled with jet-skis, kayaks, swimming (some of it voluntary - lol), bbq, fireworks, digging for clams, beautiful stars, bocce ball and a lot of laughter. I had such a great time. I'm really glad I was able to go. 

Jeff & Lindsay

Ali and I kayaking

God has blessed me so much with so many great friends. I love that even though I don't talk to them or see them too often I'm still able to pick up as if we had seen each other yesterday. God is so good. 

Day 23

Day 23 - A Meme
Meme? What is a meme?
I had to google it. This is the definition that made the most sense to me. 

Meme - An idea that self-reproduces like a virus; a catchphrase or concept, or other unit of social currency. Example: "Where's the beef?"

 Well, I like the example they gave in the definition, but I can't use that one. The only thing I can think of is "Good Grief" from the Peanuts cartoons. A lot of people relate that phrase to Charlie Brown. I say it all the time and the kids I work with usually remind me that Charlie Brown says it too. 

Do this count?

"Are you ready for some football?"
Everything I think of has to do with TV. Does that tell you something? I watch way too much tv. 


Can you think of a Meme? 
I'm sure you can come up with a better one than me. 

Travel Adventures

Yesterday I flew to Seattle, Washington to visit my friend Lindsay. 
I have to tell you I didn't think I was going to make it here. A friend gave me a guest pass to use with Alaska Air which made the flight very (!) affordable. I am so thankful for that ticket from her. 
The hard part of the ticket was that I was flying standby and there was a chance that I wouldn't make it on the flight. The flight from Santa Rosa to Las Vegas wasn't hard to get on. There was enough room for me. 
The flight from Vegas to Seattle was the one I was nervous about. I had a 2 hour layover there and was number 5 or 6 on the standby list. The flight was full. Oh boy. My coworker, Patti, was really nervous for me. She gave me her sister's number in case I got stuck in Vegas. I guess her sister lives close to the airport there. It got to the point that I thought I was going to have to call her. 
The plane ended up having a mechanical problem and the flight was really delayed. The lady at the desk told me that I probably wouldn't get on the flight unless people started leaving the flight because it was so late. She also told me that the following flights to Seattle were full. 
I sat close to the desk and saw several people make other plans because of the delay. I was praying the entire time. "Ok, Lord, I'm trusting that no matter what happens You will take care of me. Please let me get on this flight." 
They were boarding.
The line was gone and they were calling for people who hadn't boarded yet. Then they started calling people from the standby list. "Please, Lord." The lady started calling names quickly looking for people who were waiting. Finally she called my name. I probably looked like someone on a game show. Hahaha! "That's me!" I yelled as I ran up to the desk. They had to reopen the gate door to let me on! Yikes! Talk about last minute! Thank You Lord!
As flustered as I was I don't think I'd mind flying standby again, but I think I'd prefer it to be a direct flight so that I'd be stuck at home if it didn't work out. 


So there you have my adventure. I hope the trip home is a little easier. :) 

Day 22

Day 22 - A thing you do everyday
As I'm thinking about this I'm realizing that there are somethings I do everyday and that I shouldn't. For instance watch tv. I wish I could say that I read my Bible everyday, but I'm working on that one.

I guess the thing I'm the most consistent at everyday is drinking coffee. Hahaha! I'm turning into my dad! The only time I don't drink coffee is if I don't have creamer when I make coffee at home. I love drinking coffee. I haven't had any yet today, but I'm thinking I'll get some while I have a layover on my trip today.

Have a good day!

Day 20

Day 20 - A picture of my "crew"

I have several "crews" one from high school, 2 from college and one from now. I couldn't just choose one of them to post about so I did them all. :) Unfortunately I don't have a picture from high school on my facebook. I guess I need put a few up soon.

My Chorale "Crew"

My Dorm "Crew"

My Santa Rosa "Crew"

Day 21

So I'm skipping day 20 (a picture of my "crew") because I'm not at my home computer so I don't have any pictures available. If I have time I'll pull some off of facebook, but I'm currently waiting for kids to show up at day camp. Once someone gets here I have to log off. 

Day 21 - A dream I had recently

I'm not that great at remembering my dreams. I usually remember only bits and pieces and they are usually very weird. The last one I remember had to do with a snail. All I can remember is Danika holding a really, I mean really, long snail and she was flinging it around. I was totally grossed out, which is probably why I remember it. 

This dream stems from two things. The first being that when Danika was little we found her in the sandbox with her finger in a snail and a very zoned out look on her face. NASTY! Secondly, I saw a ton of snails outside a friends house a few weeks ago. Again I say Nasty!

I wish I had a more exciting dream to share, but that's it and there is a kid here now so I have to go. 

Have a great day!

Day 19

A Recipe

This is one of my favorite recipes that I use. My family loves it when I make it. I actually found it on allrecipes.com. You should try it! It is easy and tastes SO good!

Chicken Marsala

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine
• 1/4 cup cooking sherry

Directions

1. In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

Day 18

A Thing You Are Afraid Of

Oh, I am most definitely afraid of falling. It doesn't matter if I'm on the top of a cliff (which I never am, thankfully) or roller skating (fell once and broke my wrist). I get really paranoid about falling. I'm really funny to watch jump on a trampoline because I hardly relax. When I think about falling I get major knots and/or butterflies in my stomach. 

I've had many dreams where I'm falling and I wake up with a start. 

Interesting that one of the things on my 30x30 list is to go on a hot air balloon ride. Hmmm. I still want to do it. :)

Day 17

Day 17 - A Secret

Well, if I told you a secret then it wouldn't be a secret anymore!
I really don't have any good secrets to tell. How boring am I?!? 
Seriously, I'm sitting here trying to think of something and there is nothing good. 

I guess I'll go on to the next post.

Day 16

Day 16 - A picture you took

Dani's favorite thing to do. I love her reflection in the water. 

Day 15

Day 15 – A wish

I wish I had a craft room in my house. The room would have lots of storage for all of my supplies, visible shelving for my fabrics, a good amount of counter/surface space to have multiple projects going at the same time, a place for my sewing machine (and if I had a craft room I would have a really good sewing machine), a bulletin board for inspirational picture, and a good sized table for laying out and cutting fabric. Oh what a wish. As of right now most of my craft stuff is in boxes under my bed. Who knows. Maybe someday my wish will come true. (Can you hear Jiminy Cricket singing right now?) 
Here are some good ideas for craft rooms and craft room accessories: 

_____________________________

On a side note: I also wish that I didn't have to do work today. Had a situation yesterday that has to be dealt with today. Please pray it goes well. I'm sure it will all turn out well, but I'm feeling anxious. 

Day 14

Day 14 – A bad habit


I'm sure I have a lot of bad habits, but one of them for sure is that when I'm bored or feeling a little down in the dumps I tend to go shopping. 
Thankfully half of the time I don't really find anything to buy. But there are times when I end up buying things I don't need (I'm confessing, mom). The good thing is that I'm working at training myself not to do this anymore. For one thing, when I'm bored there are definitely things that I can be doing around my apartment. (I should be doing those things right now) And when I'm feeling "down in the dumps" (usually because I'm overtired and therefore rather emotional) I really need to seek comfort in God. At times like these the random shopping doesn't make me feel better, but when I go to Scripture my focus is brought off of myself and onto Christ. That works so much better than any spending does. 

Day 13

Day 13 – A list of favorite memories.

I like this one :) Some memories are from a long time ago and others are very recent. They are in no particular order. 

walks with my mom last summer

playing with Tara during summers when we were kids

Danika at Disneyland

1st time I held Danika

singing in Carnegie Hall

golf cart drive in the woods by the lake in Wi

laughing with ladies at the women's retreat

Alfred Hitchcock marathons with Kelley

walks with Steph

getting hired as the 3rd grade teacher (!) 

watching old tv shows late at night with Julie at Grandma Humphreys' house

watching my dad act like Jerry Lewis

Christmas lights turning on for the first time each year 

Grandma Bice's humming 

building snowmen in Grandma and Grandpa's front yard

when my science lesson backfired, while I was student teaching and my advisor was observing (funny story for later) 

Day 12

Day 12 – A thing that worries you

Ok, why did I decide to do this silly blog challenge? It is making me write about things I don't want to write about. Insecurities and things that worry me. Good grief. 
I know that I worry about things more than I should. One of the verses I quote the most is from Matthew 6. "Do not be anxious about your life..." 
One thing that I tend to worry about is being late. Just ask my family. I think I drove them nuts when I was growing up. I've been like that for as long as I can remember. In the last year or so I've gotten a little more relaxed in being on time for thing. In high school I didn't want to be late because I didn't want a lot of attention drawn to me. My parents used to give me a hard time about it as they should have. I was a little ridiculous. Now when I'm running late I just have to remind myself that I'm not the only one who has been late to something and it isn't the end of the world. 

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

Pottery Studio

I love, love, love going to the pottery studio! I don't go very often, but when I do I have such a great time. It is a little stressful at first, but once I get going on a project it is usually (emphasize the usually) smooth sailing. I really find the time there relaxing. I could go with a group of friends or even just be there alone and feel happy.
This is one of my recent projects from the Pottery Studio. I did it quite a while ago and forgot to post it on my blog. So here I am finally getting around to it. This project took a long time. I started by drawing it on the mug in pencil and then went to town with the colors. The black was the last thing and that took a long time too. I ended up having to make two trips to finish it up. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with it. I'd like to keep it, but it would be a fun gift too.
I currently have a plate waiting to be picked up. I'm a little nervous about how it turned out. That is the harder part is knowing how the finished product will look. I get a little paranoid about that.
In the several times I've visited the pottery studio the same lady has been working there. I know her by name and she knows my face (she'd probably remember my name if I went a little more often). I've chatted with her several times and asked her opinion on my paint colors. I've really been convicted lately that I'm kinda stuck in a Christian bubble and this lady has been an answer to my prayers. I'm pretty sure she is not a believer. And I don't think it is by accident that she is there every time I go in to paint something. I don't know what God is going to do, partly because I know I can't afford to go there every week. But I'm excited that there may be an opportunity to share Christ with this woman. If you think of it pray for Sue. I might just have to make the pottery studio a little part of my monthly budget. Who knows.