GNO!

Joee and I went to see Enchanted at the Thanksgiving Point theaters tonight. The movie was great (I love it! So much fun!), but it was funner because I saw it with my BFF! :)
It's been a while since we've seen a movie together (Ocean's 13 in June), and even longer since we've seen a movie with just the two of us (I can't even remember the last time that happened!). It was fun to whisper about the movie, and sigh about Amy Adams getting to kiss James Marsden and Patrick Dempsey in the same scene! It was fun, too, to sit in Joee's car after the movie and talk like we used to, before we started growing up. We talked for a long time, even though I was freezing (Joee with her internal heater don't need external sources of heat like the rest of us do! I could have used a werewolf boyfriend at the time... but that's a different story!).
Friends, movies, talk, and 75 cent drinks... what a great girl's night out! Let's do it again!

Eclipse

What a whirlwind weekend for reading! I finished reading Eclipse, and now have to wait until next August to have my next Bella, vampire, and werewolf fix. Sigh. I knew I should have waited for them to all come out!

I don't want to spoil the story line, so I'll just say this: I really enjoyed reading Eclipse, and enjoyed perhaps even better having something that was so engrossing to read. I haven't been so obsessed by a book or series in a long time. The joy of that is almost more than the book itself. Also, I really don't know quite what to think about Bella, Edward, or Jacob right now. It appears to me that there are two camps, the Edward and the Jacob. I don't know which side to go with right now. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. And if certain events had gone just slightly different, it would have, naturally, changed the course of the book. And I don't know which events I would want changed or which way I would want them changed.

Well. It's a darn good thing it's fiction! (And darn good that I finished during the break!)

New Moon

I finished New Moon last night/this morning. I even had to take it to Thanksgiving Dinner with me! My cousin-in-law, Amanda, has read the books, so we talked about them a little. She said that she was so jealous that I was still in the second book, because I still had the third one to look forward to. Not for long, I'm afraid. Maybe I should have waited until they were all out to begin the series, so I wouldn't get caught in the waiting game. Oh well. I'm in the thick of it now. Too late to go back!

I liked New Moon, though I'm not entirely sure how I feel about all the characters right now. I'm still not sure whether or not I'd like to date a vampire, and now I have to think about werewolves too...

Elf Yourself

Charlotte at school showed me this site. Pretty funny stuff. Try it for yourself:
http://www.elfyourself.com/
Here's my cute elf! :)
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9551548903

25 Things I Did...

... when I was 25. Now that I'm not 25 any more, what did I do when I was such a great number? (so many mathematical possibilities... 5x5, 5 squared, square root of 625...)
And now, in no particular order...

1. Was a wicked King Noah citizen in the Hill Cumorah Pageant
2. Drove across the country to be in the Hill Cumorah Pageant
3. Climbed up Hill Cumorah countless times... only drove up the back once!
4. Visited the Sacred Grove, the Smith homes, the Palmyra Temple, the Grandin Building, and the Peter Whitmer farm
   
5. Visited the Joseph Smith birthplace memorial
   
6. Taught 3rd grade for the first time... and lived to tell about it!
7. Taught summer school, practicing 'Linking Oral Language to Literacy' strategies
8. Scrapbooked at the Scrapbook Expo... what an experience... and so much more expensive than how we normally shop the Expo!
9. Saw Niagara Falls
10. Took the Maid of the Mist into the Falls... and survived!
11. Ate at Tim Horton's (yum-o!)
12. Ate at Mark's Pizza (of Palmyra - too bad they don't deliver to Midvale!)
    
13. Toured NYC from a double-decker sight-seeing bus
14. Enjoyed hot dogs from NYC street vendors
    
15. Shopped at L. L. Bean (yes, the actual store, in Freeport, Maine)
16. Taste-tested a dark chocolate candy bar at the Hershey factory in Pennsylvania (another yum-o!)
17. Visited Carthage Jail and Nauvoo
    
18. Listened to Harry Potter 7 in the car
    
19. Bought an iPod Shuffle
20. Completed comps (3 12-page papers in 10 days - yeah, baby!)
21. Wrote my last paper for grad school (for now, anyway...!)
    
22. Graduated... again...
23. Helped to create, format, and edit a Sterling Scholar portfolio
    
24. Wore out a digital camera... and bought a new one
25. Served my last hallway duty with Joee & Lee at the WX Sweethearts Ball
26. Found out that my best friend is having a baby... I'm going to be an aunt!
    
27. Watched my car pass 50,000 miles (All of them fun-filled! Okay, well, most of them anyway...)
28. Went to a 'Bells on Temple Square' Christmas concert

Okay, well I guess I did a few more things than just 25 this past year. Hopefully I'll have a few to add during the next year!

Free Rice

www.freerice.com
I heard about this website on the news the other day.
The site quizzes you on vocabulary, and for each word you get right, it donates 10 grains of rice through the United Nations to help end world hunger. The funding to do this is done through the advertising on the site. All you have to do is answer the questions!
Here's a dictionary site, just in case... http://dictionary.reference.com/

Twilight

I gave Joee Twilight for her birthday. I had heard that it was a pretty good book, though hadn't ever read it myself. I figured that she had some time... she might like to fill it with that book. (When she found the book in with her presents, she said, "I was going to give the same book to you!") Once she really got into it, it didn't take her long to finish. She gave it to her mom to read, which didn't take long, and then gave it to me. (My mom has the book and is stuck in the middle.) I've had it for a few weeks now, and have read some at night, but not for long enough sets of time to see why it was so fascinating and so difficult to put down. Now perhaps I know why...

I finished reading Twilight this morning at 12:30 am. I was fortunate enough to get to sleep in yesterday, which I did (it was lovely!). When I did wake up, no one else was up, so I stayed cozied up in bed and read. And read. And read some more. Then when others started to wake up, I still read. Eventually, I did actually get up, but only got as far as the recliner, where I continued to read. When I finished, I very nearly called Joee, to first tell her that I had finished, and second, to see if I could go down to her house to get the next book. Then I realized what time it was, and decided the call could wait until later today, and I'd have to own these books anyway, so that can wait until I get to the bookstore tomorrow.

I can't decide if I would want to date a vampire or not. Maybe I'll have to wait for an offer before I decide for sure...

Field Trip Friday

Whew, am I glad that today is Friday! 3rd grade went on a field trip to American Fork HS to see their production of "Peter Pan." It was an excellent show. Engaging enough even for our little darlings, who sat and allowed themselves to be taken to Neverland. Until intermission, that is. Then there was a mad dash for the drinking fountains and rest rooms! (6 grades of kids in 5 minutes!) We got back to school just in time to go to lunch and recess. It was amazing to me - the kids were really ready to work when they got back, like it was a relief to be doing something normal. Can't wait for the next one!

'Tute Night

In Institute tonight, we talked about Elder Scott, his life, and his talks. We ended the evening by talking about his talk in the April 2007 General Conference. What a great talk! (link to it here) I love the principles of prayer that are outlined, specifically about receiving answers to prayer.
I haven't been excited about 'Tute in a while. Granted, I haven't gone... but maybe because I wasn't all that excited about going. I am excited about this class, though, and am a little put out that I have to miss now and then to go to a math class. There's just a few more classes left of the semester. I can't believe it's almost over!

"We'll remember, always... Graduation Day!"

I graduated. Again. Finally. From the U in May 2007. I received my Master of Education degree in reading and literacy instruction.
I started classes at the U as soon as I was done with my undergraduate degree in Elementary Ed. I applied almost on a whim, and when my life finally settled, I was glad that I had that whim. I ended up being a computer teacher at an elementary school in Utah county with a part time contract. That left me some time to be able to do homework, reading, and take classes. The next year, I taught computers full time, and continued on with classes. That was a little more difficult, as I didn't have quite as much time. However, there's not a lot of school work to do at home, just some planning and a little prepping. I didn't get too stressed out - most things worked.
My last year in grad school, though, was also my first year teaching 3rd grade. I am so glad that I had so many of my classes out of the way by this point! I did most of my reading at home during the week and some weekends, and what I didn't get done... well, that's what Bill Nye is for.
I took my comprehensive exam in 10 days in the middle of March. I took off 5 days from school to be able to do it. Unfortunately, I do my best writing in the middle of the night and under tight pressure. Fortunately, I knew that in advance, and so planned on it. I finished on time with my 3 papers (39 pages total, oh yeah!), and got them turned in - even my paper copy - before the deadline. It was a rough week and a half, but I'm glad I went with the comp option instead of the thesis option - 10 days of severe pain and torture was better to me than a year of slowly drawn out pain and torture.
I wrote and submitted my last paper - ever - 5 minutes before it was due. Early for me! I spent the week before graduation trying to figure out how to put on that hood. I guess that's the final test, to see if you're smarter than your graduation garb!
Graduation was May 4, 2007. Mom and I went to the Huntsman Center for the campus-wide commencement ceremony. Grad students got to sit in the coveted, cushioned floor seating! I ended up sitting by a guy that I knew in middle school. I had only ever seen him once on campus before, when we were both doing our undergrad, but it was kind of fun to be with someone with that kind of way-back, past connection. Mom and I took pictures and went to the bookstore before going home to pick up Dad, JoAnne, and Holly (from school) for the college ceremony.
It started raining as we pulled up to Kingsbury Hall - just wonderful, since the previous college wasn't done yet! Soaked or not, the ceremony went on. Holly and JoAnne were able to get seats in the back of the balcony, but Dad and Mom were out in the lobby. Mom came into the hall when I walked across, and Dad saw me from the TV outside, thanks to my red-longer-than-the-gown skirt I was wearing. The rain cleared up afterward, so we took a few more pictures.
A graduate, at last! I am glad for the experience and for what I learned and practice now as a result of what I learned. But I am also glad that door has shut for a while.
Am I going back? I won't rule it out as an option. But it will definitely be a nice, long while before I do!

Pagentry, part 1: The Trek to the Hill

Last summer, Holly and I had the opportunity to go to Palmyra, NY to be in the Hill Cumorah Pageant. What a great experience! It all started about a year ago...
Holly and I were looking for somewhere to go to celebrate Holly's graduation from high school. I had gone to Europe with Rigby, but the price went up quite a bit since then. We looked into other tours, around Europe and to Hawaii, but hadn't found much that excited us for the price. I got to thinking that a cross-country road trip would be fun. We could make New York City our goal, and stop at several places along the way, including the Nauvoo and Hill Cumorah pageants. When I went on the website for the Hill Cumorah pageant to see the dates, I noticed the link that said 'Click here to apply.' We discussed it, and decided to apply. If we got in, wonderful. If not, no big deal.
We found out we had been accepted on December 6 - 7 months to the day before we had to be at the pageant site in Palmyra. Just the day before, I had talked with my principal and found out that she had been in the pageant years ago. It was exciting to go in the next day and tell her we were going!
We spent the next 7 months preparing. Reading and studying the scriptures to be ready for the performing and missionary aspect of the pageant. Reading and studying maps, travel guides, and AAA books to prepare for the traveling to and from aspect of the pageant.
Once school got out in June, I taught summer school to help pay for the trip. Holly divided her time between the deaf center and EFY. Finally, the date of our departure arrived!
We left home on Sunday, June 30. We stayed in Cheyenne, WY the first night, stopping in Evanston and Little America (love those ice cream cones!).
Monday was a bit longer - all the way to Davenport, IA. We took some time to stop in Omaha, NE, to see the Winter Quarters visitor center and temple. It was amazing to me that the landscape grew increasingly green along the way.
Tuesday we drove to London, Ontario. We stopped at a few turnpike service stations, and even went to a scrapbook outlet store in Ohio. We had no trouble getting into Canada - we both found the right way into Detroit, and looked different enough from those that would do harm to Canadians to be let in.
Wednesday, we ate breakfast at our favorite donut shop - Tim Horton's - and drove to Niagara Falls. We spent the day there, enjoying the mist (both from the weather and the falls). We rode on the Maid of the Mist into the falls, and enjoyed dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Thursday, once we were able to get out of Canada (what an experience... late morning, in combination with dreary weather and cranky border patrol made for an interesting time trying to get out of the country!), we drove just a short while to Canandaigua, NY. We went to the Hill (to make sure we could find it!), as well as the Sacred Grove. Dinner was at Mark's Pizza - yum-o! (We've been waiting 7 years for his pizza! Too bad they don't deliver... to Utah...) Friday we slept in a little, did our laundry and last-minute shopping before we arrived at the Hill in the early afternoon for registration. Pageant fun, here we come!