Summer Reading List

I am planning on reading a lot this summer.  I love to read, but I never have the time.  With summer here, I will have some time so I am going to make a list of the books that I want to read.

Here's the list of books that I plan to read as of now......I'm always up for suggestions!

§ A Long Way Gone

§ The Entire Narnia Series

§ Columbine

§ Fly, Colton, Fly:  The Barefoot Bandit

§ 127 Hours

This is just the beginning and if anyone knows any other books that are worth reading let me know!

One Goal Reached

So today I accomplished one of my goals!  I have been working on it since June 22, 2010.  Today I finished reading the Bible!  Last summer I realized that there were parts of the Bible that I had never read and that bothered me.  I started reading it that day and have read a portion of it everyday since.  I am so happy that I have accomplished this goal!

Hilarious News Story

I just saw this news story on Yahoo!  It is hilarious!

Check it out:

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/peeps-show-contest-winner-revealed-2474406/#photoViewer=1

The Bird

Let me start off by saying that Rebekah Amort is my hero!

I was working in Bev's classroom today - well I had actually just started getting stuff ready to work in her classroom - when I heard a noise behind me.  I thought that maybe someone had walked into the classroom.  I turned around, but didn't see anyone.   I knew that I had heard something so I got up and started to look around the room.  That's when I saw it......THE BIRD!  There was a small bird in Bev's classroom!  I HATE BIRDS!  They scare me!

I tried to encourage it to leave, but it just flew around the room and smacked into the window.  I freaked!  I ran screaming from the room looking for help!

I knew that Rebekah, John, Garrett and the Vicar should be in the Parish Hall or on their way there so I called Rebekah.  She was in the Parish Hall and came right down to help me.  I didn't have my keys (they were in the room with the bird) so she had to hop the fence.

She tried everything to get the bird to leave.  She poked at it with a large penguin and a broom, but it just wouldn't move.  Finally it flew one more time and smacked really hard into the window.  We couldn't find it after that....hopefully it flew out - we looked, but couldn't find it anywhere in the room.

I locked up Bev's room and did not return.  I called Bev and let her know that there may or may not be a bird in her classroom - we'll see tomorrow!

Accreditation is Over!

Our school has been working on the Accreditation process for the past couple of years.  We have really been working hard and were eagerly waiting for the team to visit so that they could move on.  Well, we had the team (three great people who understand and support Lutheran education) at our school Sunday through today.  They were awesome people who were really supportive and uplifting.  It has been a great few days!  I was really nervous about having them visit us - they do classroom observations which can be really nerve racking - but I found myself getting a little choked up when they left today!  They were so nice and I hated to see them go.  I do have to admit it will be nice getting back to a normal routine where people won't be walking into my room to see what I'm doing!

We'll find out how long our accreditation is for in September - let the waiting begin!

Happiness is.....

Happiness is.....

getting hugs and kisses from Seth
having friends and family who support me
knowing that I am forgiven
the wonderful smells of Spring
beautiful sunny days
watching students learn new things
sleeping in
Angels baseball.......even when they aren't doing too well - it's still baseball
watching the Lakers lose
watching the Lakers lose on the same night that the Clippers win
recognizing that I am a very blessed person!

I Bought a Pair of Shoes for a Needy Child Today

TOMS are great shoes.  They are pretty comfortable and I like the way they look (not everyone does, but I do).  I really like them because when I buy a pair then someone else gets a pair.  This is a fairly easy way to help someone else out.  I'm thinking of getting my nephew Seth a pair too.  I've checked the website and they have really adorable designs that I think he'll like.  I want to take him to the store and have him try on a pair.  The Nordstroms at the Main Place only had girly TOMS, so I didn't get to see what they look like in person.  I'll let him try them out and see if he likes them - I'm really surprised that he has such strong opinions about his shoes already - he's only 2 1/2!

My Released Cameras Have Been Added to Their Website

I got an e-mail today about my two cameras!  I am so excited!

Check it out:

http://disposablememoryproject.org/cameras/camera318.html

and

http://disposablememoryproject.org/cameras/camera319.html

They'll also keep me updated if someone lets them know that they have my cameras!

Top 6 Favorite Episodes of The Office

I absolutely love The Office!  I wasn't too sure about it at first, but I have watched Seasons 1 -6 2 or 3 times.

My top 6 (I wanted 5, but then I realized I liked 6) favorite episodes are:

6.  "Frame Toby"
This is the episode where Toby comes back and Michael and Dwight try to frame him as having drugs in his desk, but the people who sellhim the "drugs" actually sell him salad.  This one is also the episode where Pam gets frustrated because the microwave is such a mess, but no one will clean it.


5.  "Office Olympics"
This is the episode where Jim makes up Olympic games to play in the office.


4.  "Niagara"
This is the episode when Jim and Pam get married.  They go to Niagara Falls to get married and everyone messes up their wedding so they get married before the actual wedding.


3.  "Fun Run"
This is the episode where Michael organizes a 5K to raise money for rabies research.


2.  "The Injury"
This is the episode where Michael clamps his foot in his George Foreman grill.  When Dwight goes to pick him up he runs his car into a pole and gets a concussion.


1.  "Beach Games"
This is the episode where Michael makes all the people from the office go to the beach and play games.

Do you have a favorite T.V. show?  What are your favorite episodes?

Work

I love my job......really, I do.  I don't like it on days like today though.  We are having our Accreditation visit this week so that means a lot of prep work.  I was able to get a lot done during the day and we had a ton of volunteers working on different projects helping the school look great!  Unfortunately, I had a lot of stuff to do today - not all related to Accreditation - so I didn't leave school until 11:30.  I wasn't alone - Bev and Jan were there too!  The yearbook deadline is approaching fast so I used some time today getting things done - I felt great!  That was until I added a few pictures to page 4......those 4 or 5 pictures threw off the whole yearbook by a page.....I had to redo 12 pages.  I wasn't too happy about that, but now they're done and that's 12 pages I don't have to do!

Some Things I Learned Today

I learned a few of things today.

1.  Wayne Waterman can be easily persuaded to read about the upcoming royal
     wedding.  He knows all about why there will only be one ring at the wedding.
     He knows what that one ring will be made out of.  He's an expert!

2.  Sad news today......Michael Buble got married today.....sad, sad day!

3.  Girl's Volleyball Championship Dinners can be very exciting and a good way to
     spend your evening.

Finally Approved!

Today I received the e-mail that I have been added to the Disposable Memories Project's Flickr group.  I uploaded my first 2 pictures to the pool here:  http://www.flickr.com/groups/disposablememoryproject/.  Check it out!  Their Flickr group has a lot of pictures of where people have left cameras and a bunch of pictures that have been taken with cameras.  I can't wait to see the photos that are taken with the cameras I dropped.

Photo Project

I finally heard back from the Disposable Photo Project people.  Their e-mails instructed me to let them know when and where I dropped off the cameras; also, they wanted me to upload pictures of the cameras in their new locations.  I tried uploading pictures, but they have to allow me access.  I keep waiting, but they haven't given me access yet.  They e-mailed me today and I sent them the information - hopefully it will be listed on their website soon!

Camera Update and A Couple Goals

I went to Pitcher Park today to see if the camera was still there.  It wasn't.  I don't know if someone picked it up and is using it on some kind of awesome adventure or if it was thrown away.  Hopefully it's on its way to some kind of great location.  We'll see!

I also decided on a couple of goals that I'd like to work on:

1.     After tonight's games, get better at softball!  I would love to be able to hit
        consistently, but I'd also like to be a better fielder.
2.     I'd like to learn how to speak Spanish so that I can understand it and be able
        to communicate with others.
3.     The gym opens on May 1st - My goal is to go there........a bunch of times......
        and workout.

These are just a start, but hopefully there will be more to come!

I Dropped My Second Camera!

Today I dropped off my second camera for the Disposable Memory Project remember?:  http://disposablememoryproject.org/.

This one I just dropped off.  I put it on the checker board table in the park.  I put it on the table, took a picture and then just walked away.  I kind of felt like I was leaving something very valuable behind.  I know that the camera only cost about $5, but it still felt like I was just walking away from something really important!  I hope that someone will pick it up and have some fun with it.

I Handed Over My First Camera!

Today I handed over my first camera for the Disposable Memories Project!  I gave the first camera to Hannah Guebert - she came down for a visit this weekend!  I was so happy to see her and really glad that she is willing to take on one of the cameras.  I think it will be interesting to see where this camera goes from here.  I know that some of her friends live in other parts of the country and that they will be going home for Spring Break so, I'm sure that this camera will probably travel out of California.

It was very exciting to hand over the camera today.  I'm very excited to see where it goes from here.  Tomorrow I plan on dropping off my other camera at a park (maybe Pitcher Park - not sure yet).  It will be a total surprise on where that camera ends up since I have no idea who will pick it up and what they'll do with it.

New Project

I would say that one of my goals is to travel to different places.  The furthest east I've ever traveled is Pocatello, Idaho.  I have been to Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho and California (of course since I live there)....that's it - that's all the traveling I've done in my entire life.  One of my goals that I've had for a very long time is to travel to all of the states in the United States.  I don't know when I'll be able to afford that or have the time to do that so I'll just have to do my traveling through other people's experiences for now.

I have found a way that I can sort of travel to different places though.  I have been getting e-mails from a really neat website:  photojojo.com - it's a website that sends out a newsletter about 2 times a week that show different things that you can do with photography.  Its most recent newsletter talks about different things to do with disposable cameras.  I read through the different ideas and thought that some of them would be fun to do, but not anything too exciting until I stumbled upon the Disposable Memory Project.  I clicked on the link and I was immediately sold!

The project seems simple enough.  You contact them through their website:  http://disposablememoryproject.org/ and sign up to be a part of the project.  I bought the camera (actually 2) and made the sign and have it ready to go.  I haven't decided where I'm going to leave the camera yet, but I'm sure something will come to me.  I actually did have an idea that guaranteed the camera would leave Southern California - I thought that I should drive to the airport and just hand it to someone and tell them to take it with them.  This sounded like a really simple way to get the camera out there until I realized that I would be asking a perfect stranger to take a package from me onto an airplane.  I don't think I'll be doing that!

Check it out!  It sounds like a really fun thing and the pictures I have seen on their website are very interesting.

Here's what my camera bag looks like:

What to blog about, what to blog about!

So, what do people blog about.  I follow a lot of blogs, but they're done by people who have had tragedies happen to them or who are on a mission.  I haven't had any tragedies (THANK YOU LORD!) and I am not on a mission.  I want to blog because it seems like a fun thing to do and I do actually really enjoy reading other people's blogs, but I am absolutely lost on what to blog about.

I have really been lost in a lot of things lately.  I don't see a sure path in my life right now.  I have to choose my own path, I guess.  I have a lot of things that I would like to have accomplished by now, but just have not.  There are many things that people my age or younger have already done that I am so totally far away from accomplishing.  I have to remind myself all the time that life is what you make of it and even though I feel "behind" on things I have SO many things to be thankful for.

I think that I may use this blog as a way of setting goals and working towards accomplishing them.  I think that it would be really helpful for me to share what I'm working on and get the support of people in getting my goals done.  I would also be interested in hearing goals that other people have.....maybe these goals could inspire me and anyone who reads my blog (not sure how many people that would be).

New Blog

So.....I'm going to try and write a blog.

We'll see how this goes!