Disneyland - Best of...

A little late, seeing as how we were in Disneyland in December... but here it is!



Best ride worth waiting an hour in line:  Midway Mania

Best ride worth Fastpassing twice:  Star Tours

Best ride with no line so you can ride it 3 times in a row:  Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Best time to get to the park:  8:15 am

Best time to stay at the park:  12:10 am

Best popcorn stand:  Main Street, 12:05 am (they cook it there until 12:30 so you can get some on your way out of the park!)

Best thing about getting a 'Happy Birthday' button:  Everyone - cast members and fellow Disney go-ers - wishes you a happy birthday!

Best place to watch World of Color from:  We didn't find it... we went twice and had rather tall people standing in front of us both times... what?

Best holiday rendition of a ride:  It's a Small World

Best thing about mentioning it's your birthday when you make reservations for the Blue Bayou:  Chocolate mousse

Best thing to eat so you don't have to eat anything else for the rest of the day:  Monte Cristo sandwiches from the Blue Bayou

Best Fantasyland ride with the longest line though I can't for the life of me figure out why it's so much longer than every other ride's line:  The Flight of Peter Pan

Best scare:  Tower of Terror

Best (worst?) song that got stuck on my head:  Mad Hatter's Teacups jingle

Best song to sing along with on the ride:  Yo-ho, Yo-ho, a Pirate's Life for Me!

Best advice overheard given from mother to son:  "Don't cut off your own arm with that light saber."

january blargs

i am so glad january has come and gone.  it is an awful month.  i've never particularly cared for january, but this one seemed to drag on and on and on and on......

i ran out of my monthly copy allowance at school about a week too early.  probably a good thing for my students, they haven't had near the homework load they would have with a few more copies.

5 january sundays.  5 january mondays.  5 january tuesdays.  only 4 january saturdays.

no snow.  not that i really love snow anyway, especially driving in it, but it's just so mug-ugly out there.  brown, dead grass.  brown mountains.  dirty cars.  ugly.  at least with some snow on the ground it cleans things up a little bit.


but i guess there have been some good things about january too.

weather - lovely outside-recess weather.  i remember a january a few years ago when the first two weeks were spent in inside-recess.  i thought i was going to go crazy then.  this is much better.

5 january mondays - but only 3 at school.

scrapping at hale center theater with joee and tammy and others.

an item crossed off my bucket list - going to a sundance movie while it's at sundance.  my cousin ended up with 2 tickets he didn't need to "your sister's sister."  joee and i went up.  not a bad flick overall.  not quite the experience i was expecting, but it was okay.

12 projects I'm going to make in 2012

I saw this idea over here.... and thought I'd give it a try right here!  (If I've done it right, the pictures should link to their somewhat original form... I'm hoping I've pinned them right on Pinterest!)

12 Projects I'm Going to Make in 2012

1.  Love this.  I made a similar one for the water cup that I keep at school with the lid and the straw (you know the kind?) with the school colors - but I love this idea.  Wouldn't it be cute to make a new one for each season?  Or month?  Or subject we're studying?

 

2.  How fun would this be?  Wouldn't this be a great last-day-of-school-shirt?  So easy and cute.  It'd be great for more precise work, and for those (like me) who are tie-dye dumb.  Bleach pen.  Love it.

3.  I have always wanted one of these!  They are so expensive though when you see them at boutiques or in catalogs.  Now's my chance...

4.  Another cute one to do with the kids in my class - maybe for Mother's Day?  These look so fun!

5.  Ok, so this might be a 'buyer' instead of a 'maker'.  But so clever.  Why didn't I think of this?  What book should I use?

6.  I have major cord issues at my house.  And at school.  And everywhere I try to plug in anything.  So handy.

7.  A travel essential.  So easy.  I hate how plastic-y travel bags get sticky and icky from a recently used toothbrush that you have to pack because you're leaving the hotel in 5 minutes.  This definitely eliminates some of that ick factor.

8.  So cute.  Basic hat pattern, a little embellishing.  I definitely need to make one for all the little Utes that I know!

9.  I definitely need this sign in my classroom.  I may change it up a bit and make one for the principal - "This school runs on ... Dr Pepper."  What's your favorite teacher addicted to?

10.  I've never made one of these.  Ever.  How did I get out of elementary school without this experience, let alone get a job teaching?  I've seen now that Martha Stewart has a nifty little tool to 'help' you make one of these, but I think kids were making them long before Martha's people got the idea.  I do like the variety of colors, too, and not just a classic white snowflake.

 

 

11.  This is way cute.  I was thinking of some different ways to dress up our craft booth at Midvale Days this summer, and thought this would work well.  

12.  I have seen these all over the web lately.  Sooooo cute and sooooo easy! 

Well.  There you have it.  My life's work for the next year.

Now all I need is several days off ... a few weeks off ... summer and I'll be set.

This, in addition to all the other works in progress and wannabe works in progress...  I think I'll start tomorrow...

Weekending - basketball style

I. Love. Basketball.  I love playing it.  I love watching it.  I love seeing little kids playing it.  I love the sounds of dribbling balls and swooshing nets and squeaky shoes on the gym floor.  I love the smell of new gym shoes and leather basketballs.  Not so in love with the other smells though.  Love.  It.

So with the looming NBA lockout, it seemed like a great year to get season tickets to U of U men's basketball, so that I could get my 'fix'.  Yes, they're slated to come in last in the PAC-12.  Yes, they started out the season a little on the rough side.  Yes, they got a new coach who drove some experienced players out.  But... they have improved a ton so far this season.  A ton.  They don't get blown out as often as you'd think.  And they really do play well at times - even for long stretches at times. 

It was quite exciting, then, last Thursday night when the Utes not only came from behind to win over Washington State, they won it in overtime!  What a crowd!  What a game!  What great plays down the stretch!  What great interesting thoughtful pointless commentary from the men sitting behind us!  Woo!  Go Utes!

Friday night, our neighbor to the south, Andy, gave us tickets for the Jazz game against Memphis.  Another team that started out rough, but are looking like they've found their groove.  They won as well, and in great fashion.

Back to the Hill for Saturday's Utah game against Washington.  This game was very back-and-forth, with a few lead changes, but mostly with Utah behind and then sneaking up, and getting behind and sneaking back up.  Well, they almost sneaked themselves into a win, but came up short.  Still, a good game played by a team that is improving game at a time.

Yup.  A good weekend had by all.

Gotta love it, baby!

currently...

currently...

listening... to the hum of my loooovely mini-fridge

eating... cuties

drinking... diet coke

wearing... school-uniform attire and shoes that i should not have

feeling... worn out

weather... sunny, waaaay too warm for january but who's complaining?

wanting... a few more hours in my day

needing... to 'prepare' my room for the fire marshall's inspection tomorrow

thinking... about what i'm going to wear to the ute's black-out game tonight

enjoying... the thought of the weekend

2011 Top 11

In no particular order... and maybe a few more, too...

Travels
1.  Disneyland at Christmas
2.  Colonial Williamsburg
3.  Washington, DC
4.  Civil War tour

The Theater
5.  Wicked
6.  Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Movies
7.  Harry Potter Movie Marathon
8.  Breaking Dawn

Hobbies
9.  Reading
10.  Crocheting
11.  Crafting

Family, Friends, & Others
12.  Family
13.  Friends
14.  Others

Technology
15. iPad
16. New Camera

Experiences
17.  Relief Society at the prison
18.  Camp Spike & Wave
19.  Craft Booth at Midvale Days

Because of Mr. Terupt

I really, really needed a good book to read.  Something uplifting.  But quick.  This book was it! 

Because of Mr. Terupt made me re-remember that teaching is more about the tests-at-the-end-of-the-year.  It's more than the book-learning that goes on.  It's more than passing AYP and NCLB standards.  Sometimes being a teacher is just being a good person, helping students on their way in other parts of their lives besides the 'school life'.

The 'telling' of this book is through 7 different student narrators.  What a great, effective way to tell such a great school story.  Of course everyone sees and feels and experiences something different in class.  Yet the commonalities the kids share is incredible.

Loved it!

Totally recommend it!