Too Good To Be True?

I woke up this morning to find this clip from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on my AOL welcome screen. I thought it was absolutely amazing (as per my minor/not so minor obssession with all things Saved By The Bell)! A Saved By The Bell reunion would pretty much be the best thing that could happen at this point! lol So, without further adieu (you must be reeling with anticipation) I present to you, this clip, which has absolutely nothing to do with me! : ) Perhaps it will turn your frown upside down like it did mine! Enjoy!

Pleasantly Surprised

I kinda suck at this blogging thing. : ) Anyways, this school year is wrapping itself up pretty quickly; I only have 10 school days until the end of the year and I can't even believe it. Before I started teaching and even after a few months of the school year had passed, people kept warning me about how miserable my first year of teaching would be and how much I would probably hate it! lol Fortunately, I found that this was not the case. Am I exhausted? YES! Am I ready to be done with the year? DEFINITELY! Am I looking forward to another year of teaching? ABSOLUTELY! Some days were great and other days I wished that I had just stayed in bed, but I think that you'll have those days regardless of your profession or situation in life; it's simply part of life. I feel a sense of accomplishment too. It's nice to know that teaching is something I can do and that I feel good about. I had worried that I would get into the classroom and not be able to hack it and have all of my college years gone to waste. BUT I did it! YAY!!! I'm gonna miss my "little naughties" as I affectionately call them! We've had a good year: been through a lot, learned a lot, accomplished a lot, and SURVIVED! Woohoo!

Welcome Home Daniel!

So many great things have happened since my last post! My little brother Daniel was due to come home from his mission at 8:40 PM on January 23rd. We all went through the whole day tracking his planes through the layovers like real-live stalkers and we were all SO excited! He had his last layover in Salt Lake City, Utah where my sister, Diane, lives and she was waiting to join him for the last leg of his flight from SLC to Ontario. BUT the inversion layer rolled in and they both got SMOGGED in. No planes were coming or going from the Salt Lake airport. SMOG??? In Utah??? Whaaaa??? So, I didn't know that was an issue there, but live and learn, I suppose! : ) They called and told us that the flight had been officially cancelled around 7:40 PM. We were WAY bummed. Daniel and Diane immediately got in line to book a new flight. The next flight from SLC to Ontario wasn't until Monday, which was 3 days away! The rest of my siblings and I were in a crazy panic. There was even talk of a trip up to Utah. If he couldn't come to us, we would go to him. My parents told Daniel and Diane to book a flight that would come in anywhere from San Diego to Vegas. Fortunately, they found a flight that flew into John Wayne Airport in Orange County the next morning around 9 AM. So, the next morning, we headed out there to get him. One bummer was that some of the people that were going to come to the airport were unable to come. It was rainy and cold weather and so far away. My aunt and uncle said that they weren't going to be able to make it, but when we got to the airport they were already there. It was a great surprise! We even walked right past their car in the parking garage and didn't even notice! Anyways, the plane landed safely and on-schedule and we had a great reunion! Later that day, a bunch of the family went to dinner at El Torito. It was really a great day and it's been awesome to have him back!

Just For Kicks and Giggles!

My cousin tagged me on Facebook and, in so doing, sentenced me 43 minutes of torment while I painstakingly thought of 25 random facts about myself. Thanks a lot Kristi! ; ) HAHA! Actually it wasn't that bad. I ended up copying and pasting 10 of them from a prior myspace blog! Since I was writing them out anyways, I though they would be fun to post here.

If you are reading this and would like to do this too, consider yourself tagged! It's fun to learn new things about friends! No pressure...

Here it goes!

(Please note that I tend to be quite enthusiastic, so...please excuse my excessive use of exclamation points! hehe)

1. Rather than buying my bedroom curtains at the store, I pick out an awesome fabric at the store and sew my own!

2. When I'm stressed I put on my headphones and listen to music or take a long drive.

3. I seriously love history and when I study American history, in particular, I actually get goose bumps...very weird, but I suppose that's true passion!

4. My dream is to go back to my roots and someday live in the South...hopefully Virginia!

5. On occasion, I get road rage and have been known to follow idiot drivers that cut me off while honking my horn. ; )

6. My senior year of high school, I painted my fingernails with a different color or style almost everyday!

7. I can play the recorder! I know that you're jealous, but I have to say that I can't really blame you!

8. I listen to Christmas music year-round!

9. I'm kind of a nerd and have actually implemented a little thing called "Science Time" when my nephews come to visit. We just do cool experiments...usually involving fire!

10. When I graduated from Chaffey College with my AA, I insisted that I HAD to have Dr. Seuss postage stamps to put on my graduation announcements and waited an hour-and-a-half in line at the Fontana Post Office, only to find that they didn't have them there. I ended up going to the Rancho Post Office, waiting less than 20 minutes, and walking out with my Dr. Seuss stamps! Then, I realized that I could have just ordered them online! lol

11. I set my alarm clock for 15 minutes before I'm supposed to get up so that I can allow myself to hit the snooze exactly three times...no more, no less!

12. I minored in anthropology and dream of actually going on an archaeological dig someday...just for kicks!

13. In my anthropology classes I learned how to tell if someone is a man or woman and about how old they were at their time of death, just by looking at their skull!

14. I teach 6th grade and love it!

15. I get lost almost everywhere I go. It used to bother me, but now I'm cool with it. In fact, in the midst of getting totally lost, I have actually found many great adventures. One time Laura and I were on our way to the LA Zoo and got super lost. We ended up having to call my friend Chris and have him use Google maps to help us find our way back to the freeway. Then some guy waving a dirty cloth tried to get us to pull over and talk to him! No thank you, scary murderer man! lol

16. My favorite color is orange.

17. November is my favorite month of the year because of all the pretty decorations in Fall colors!

18. I solemnly swear that Target is a magical wonderland! Really!

19. I have broken 5 bones: right wrist, left wrist, right hand, right ankle, and tailbone.

20. I think that I must have 10,000 pencil pouches, in a box in my closet, leftover from my million years as a college student.

21. I just finished my Master's Degree, but actually hate...no...loathe going to school, and have ever since the middle of kindergarten. Where there's a will, there's a way!

22. Hootie and the Blowfish is NOT my favorite band (Kristi!) ; )

23. I love watching scary movies and stuff about ghosts, even though it means that I probably won't be able to sleep that night! hehe

24. I cannot sleep without a blanket covering my feet, even when it's in the middle of a California summer. Also, I can't sleep when it's totally quiet; I have to have a fan on, even when it's cold!

25. I love Peter Pan, written by JM Barrie! The writing is SO good that you can practically feel the magic coming off the pages as you read! Go read it...immediately! : )

It's been a while...

So, I have already fallen off the blogging wagon. I wanted to write something everyday and then I decided once a week was fine. Now it's sort of hit and miss, but I'm new at this. ; ) Daniel (my little brother, for those who don't know) is coming home from his mission on Friday! The last 2 years have been lonely at home without him and I'm excited to see him again.
At the first of the year, the Fontana and Upland YSA branches were dissolved and we all joined with Rancho's branch. It has been awesome! There are so many people there and I am already making new friends...so exciting! The change came at a perfect time for me because I had just finished school and was ready to finally reclaim my social life and have time to spend with my friends. The new branch has given me the opportunity to start fresh and I've loved it! I was a little surprised that I was given a calling on the first day the new branch met together. I figured that with so many people I would be able to dodge a calling for a bit while I settled in and got to know more people. No such luck! (jk) BUT all is well and life is good!

Until next time...

2008 In Review

I've been on Christmas Break for the last two weeks and have had the opportunity to reflect on the past year. It definitely had its rough times and I can safely say that I am ready to leave that craziness behind me and move on (I think everyone has had a few of those moments). BUT...I also recognize that I have much to be grateful for and that I am very fortunate to have had so many awesome experiences throughout the year. Here are some pictures to chronicle some of the cool things that I got to do this year. I had lots of fun experiences this year that were not captured on film; these are just some of the highlights.

Nay and I went to the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda. It was way awesome! We were the only young ones there! HAHA!

In February I went to Disneyland with my brother's family and we got to go to the top of the Mark Twain Riverboat and the boys got to steer it, blow the whistle, and ring the bell!

In April, Nay and I took a road trip to Utah so that I could be there for Todd's and Mary's wedding. We got to hang around the city for the weekend.

In May we celebrated Kim's 24th birthday by going to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles in Long Beach and then we went on a video scavenger hunt at The Pike. Roscoe's is amazing! You should seriously go there!

At the end of June, my siblings and I decided it would be fun to do the ghost tours at the Queen Mary. It was awesome and spoooky! Yikes! My parents were in New York at the time, so when they got back they decided they wanted to go too. So, I went with them at the beginning of July. Since we were in Long Beach I, of course, insisted that we go to Roscoe's (on both visits to the Queen Mary). My whole family was instantly converted to the goodness that is Roscoe's!

In July we got to see the Terra Cotta Warriors at The Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. We got to see the largest collection of warriors to ever leave China!

I got my first teaching job and started school on July 7th! I teach 6th grade! In August I got my first "big kid" paycheck and bought my very first new car! Hooray for having air conditioner for the first time in 6 years!

In October I went off-track with work (I had a month long break) and I got a room in the Alpine Lodge, which is a cute little motel next to Disneyland, that has fake snow on the roof and looks like a log cabin. I relaxed there, went on a couple of adventures, and spent time at Disneyland. It was my first real vacation on my own. I stayed for three days and two nights. I might make it a tradition!

On October 17th we celebrated Daely's birthday by going to Denney's in Ahaheim for breakfast and then spending the day at Disneyland. It ended up being a lot of fun! During the day we met lots of nice Disneyland crew members and we took pictures with some of them. The guy in the picture above is "Indy-Cameron". He decided to go on the ride with us!

My parents went to Europe for Thanksgiving and so Nancy and I went on an adventure with our friend, Jacob, and his two little boys. We ate at The Wheel Inn, which is the restaurant in Pee Wee's Big Adventure. "Tell 'em Large Marge sent you!" hehe! We got to see the huge dinosaurs behind it! It was a great Thanksgiving adventure!

On December 12th, we went to Disneyland, as a family, to celebrate Dad's birthday (and the other December birthdays too!) We got to see the fireworks show, which is followed by snow. The lights, the music, the atmosphere...truly magical!

On December 13th I graduated with my Master's Degree in Education with an emphasis is Curriculum and Instruction. More than anything, I was relieved! I had been so burned out with school that I almost didn't make it. Graduation day was surreal and it made all of the hard work worth it! After the ceremony I enjoyed time with my family.

Overall, 2008 was busy, productive, and adventurous! 2009 will be even better!

New Year! New Blog!

So, I've decided to start a blog. One of my goals this year is to make journal writing a regular occurance and reality, rather than something I think about doing, don't get around to, and then feel guilty about. So, here it is!