le update

Got a perm! It's super cute- not too curly. Gives me a little sass. ;)  Plus it's fun. My hair was so boring. All it ever did was be straight!  It's nice to have a change. Tammy (my best friend/mission companion) did my hair. Love it. Love her.  I hung out with her and her hubby (and her in-laws) memorial day weekend. Good times. We saw Night at the Museum and Star Trek, did hair, and had time with their family. They just got their offer accepted on a house! How exciting!

Does anyone watch the Bachelorette?  Well, Jake (the stud!) goes to Tammy's salon every three weeks!  They think he's wonderful!  And it looks like he has Jillian's attention...we shall see!  He's been back to the salon since but signed a 5 million dollar contract NOT to say anything!  Dang!  I'm only watching because of him. :)

School is almost out. Thank goodness!  I need it to be over. I love my kids but this last semester has been a doozy. 

Have I said lately that I love my friends? Well, they rock. I am very blessed. You know who you are!!!!    And dating...well...I'm not at liberty to comment.  ;)   No complaints from this girl!

yum Chocolate Pie!

So I was going to make alfredo sauce but forgot how much I needed when I went to the store. I bought over double what I needed, and that's just tacky to return heavy cream, right?  And a nuisance. Anyways, so I googled recipes for cream and found a great one! It tastes like chocolate covered strawberries!

1.5 cups cream

2 1/4 cups chocolate chips

graham cracker crust

Heat the cream to boiling, remove from heat. Add in chocolate until fully mixed. Pour it into the shell. Chill at least 3 hours. Served as slices with some whipped cream and fresh strawberries, it is decadence!

anything could happen

I just feel like Heavenly Father has some awesome things in store for me soon. I mean, He always does, but it just feels different.  I am at a point in my life where I am learning and growing in all sorts of ways.  I know California this summer will be one amazing experience for me.  And I hope school next year will be, too (it's been a little rocky at times this year).   Maybe this is the year I'll get married. Maybe not. But it'll be great no matter what!

I also feel like I am ready for awesome things because I really feel completely and genuinely happy!  When's the last time I could say I was truly happy with myself?  I am very proud of who I'm becoming and feel more self-confidence now than I ever have.  I know I'm not perfect but am trying to let that go.  I don't struggle much with my insomnia anymore and am not on any medications.  Life is good. The world is at my fingertips. I'll be here in Houston for 1 more year. Then we'll see where I'm meant to be next.   I don't know what's in store...

Anything could happen!!!!!!!!! 

Prom

I think I actually looked closer to my age than those of the prom-goers this year!  Maybe it was the hot red dress. ;)  

It's so fun to see all of my students all gussied up (girls) and handsome (boys). Some even surprised me how gorgeous they can be!!!!!!!  (those tshirt and baggy pants girls can surprise ya). Jordan and I monitored the dance floor until about 11 (we had the early shift!). The Book of Mormon between you rule doesn't really work with high schoolers. We just had to make sure they didn't take off clothes (uh, yeah!!!!!!!).  Jordan was a great sport. :)  We had a blast student-watching and dancing. There are some characters out there! And you can totally tell the different cliques.  I didn't see a number of my students, not sure why (well, it is a senior class of 1000). And some pretended to ignored me. Others took a second to recognize me (hair, no glasses...I guess).   good times.

Happy Prom.  ;)

Ode to Regina

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. 

   Pick your artist: Regina Spektor

 
1. Are you a male or female?  Lady



2. Describe yourself:
 Aching to Pupate



3. How do you feel about yourself?  Better



4. Describe your ex boyfriend/girlfriend:
 Carbon Monoxide  (not really...but it was funny)

  5. Describe your current boy/girl situation:
 Flyin’  



6. Describe your current location:
 Uh-merica



7. Describe where you want to be:
 Another Town



8. Your best friend is: On the Radio



9. Your favorite color is:
 Whisper

  10. You know that:
 Reading Time with Pickle



11. What’s the weather like? 
Summer in the City

  12. If your life was a television show what would it be called?
  That Time

  13. What is life to you?
 Consequence of Sounds



14. What is the best advice you have to give?
  Bon Idée

  15. If you could change your name, what would it be?
 Marry Ann

Rock and Roll

Ms. Daniel is not square (according to my students now that I enjoy Led Zeppelin...lol).

So last night I got dolled up to see a Led Zeppelin cover band (Zoso) at the House of Blues.  Now I have to admit a week ago I was not a fan, but I have repented of my LZ ignorance and even bought a cd on iTunes and have become a fan.  Heck, I'm even listening to it now as I write this.

  I met Spencer downtown (even found a spot RIGHT next to his car. crazy I know). We went to dinner at the House of Blues (best ribs ever!) and then we were ready to Rock and Roll (which is a LZ song, pun intended).  The opening band was lame- but it was really funny when he threw his bass down at the end!  No, he didn't break it. He just threw it

 angrily.  Weird.  Then we had to wait awhile for Zoso to come on, but it was so worth it!  I loved seeing how excited Spencer was!  He was quite impressed with them (this is not his first LZ cover band experience).  The lead guitar guy rocked like no other, and the drummer was pretty dang impressive.  The singer was alright but I thought he was so fun to watch!  Robert Plant must've been a character if he looked, moved, and dressed like that. Guess that goes for all of them!  But guess that's their rite for being the greatest rock band of all time.  I did recognize a number of songs and had fun rockin' out.  I should not have worn heels (dang it for trying to look cute!) and am suffering from hearing loss today.  :)   

The band played until past 12:30!  Hard core. Spencer turned 30 at midnight during concert.   We made sure we knew when it was midnight to wish him a proper happy 30th birthday!  After the concert we walked back to our cars (I hobbled without shoes on) and I had his bday surprise waiting for him...

I found out from Jeff that he loves German Chocolate Cake...so I made him a really pretty and yummy cake with a big 3-0 on it (and stairs on the side for a tribute to LZ).  I had a few cupcakes in which I put the band symbols on them so we could enjoy a cupcake and blow out a candle (sorta) that evening. 

Happy Birthday!

So after that I spent the night at Suzanne's.  She lives like 5 minutes from downtown. Totally jealous. We stayed up until 2ish...  Then in the morning we had Aubrey, Nadya (spelled it right!), and Lisa over for waffles!  Cute girls. Fun.  We went to the cemetery service project and avoided getting poison ivy. We must have loaded a dozen or more bags with leaves!  We somehow avoided this weird guy staring at us because we wouldn't eat there (what? exactly.) and then changed clothes to go to the Art Car Parade.  It was a blast! I got tons of great photos!

Weird Cars

Weird People

Reasons to love Houston

 Love it.

From being sweaty and sunned-out, we all crashed at Suzanne's (Aubs on the floor, Suzanne in the armchair, and me on the couch) and fell asleep for an hour...then mustered up the energy to go to the bbq.  Tons of fun. Eating good bbq, playing ultimate water frisbee and hanging out with my awesome friends. Even went on a motorcycle ride (but got scared bad). 

Eventually I made it home. Here I am.  Tired as tired can be.  Feet still sore, a bit sun burnt, and my feet still hurt!  But it was all worth it!  It was a fabulous weekend!

Oh, funny things that I misunderstood today (from being deaf!)

1. Suzanne- "We need machinery." (in reference to getting weeds up)

Me- "Missionaries?"

2. Suzanne and everyone was talking about Art Cars.

I really thought they meant Art Carts (like craft carts with artsy things like jewelry? yeah. my bad)

3. Overheard a conversation that James Earl Jones was buried in the cemetery we were in.

Nope, Jim Willard Jones.  JEJ is alive anyways. Whatever.

4. Aubrey saying she had bleach on her pants and asked me to see if I noticed.

I did not hear bleach but noticed her pants moved funny. I think we're still confused on that one.

5. Steven asked "how was the concert?"

Me- "Who's Hunter?"

That my friends was my last 30 hours. good times. good times.

rock and roll. rock on.

catch me if you can!

Here's a glimpse at my non-stop life for the next few months! Lots of fun things and lots of travel!

This weekend
Led Zeppelin cover band concert at the House of Blues, service project, birthday bbq, and maybe more

May 16th
PROM! it's fun to chaperone!

May 23rd- 25th
Road trip to Dallas to spend time with my BFF Tammy!

June 5th-10th
Stillwater, Oklahoma for NASA Inspire training

June 18th- Aug 14th
Pasadena, California BABY!!!!

Aug 17th
School training starts


...catch me if you can... ;)

striving to be perfect...

My step-mom thinks I'm too much of a perfectionist.  Which she's true. But I know I need to work on it!  I hate being a young professional because I make mistakes- and I'm not used to that!  I've always been good at things and never do anything wrong. Now it's impossible to be a perfect teacher ever- let alone your first few years. But I still beat myself up over my mistakes!  I need to work on that. It's normal to not be perfect!  :)

This is from a talk from Elder Cecil O. Samuelson (2002, MTC and printed in the New Era- read it here)

Doing Your Best	Perfectionism
You desire to give things your best efforts and are satisfied when you do.	You have a list of “shoulds” and “have to’s” and are dissatisfied even if you complete them.
You know it’s okay if you make a mistake. You move on and see your mistake as an opportunity for growth or learning.	Mistakes bring feelings of self-hatred. You don’t want to do anything because you are afraid of failure.
You want to do your personal best, and you try not to compare your achievements to those of others. You don’t need to be the best at all things.	You feel tremendous pressure to earn others’ approval. You must be the best or “perfect” in your tasks.
You can find joy in doing the things you love, and you can get things accomplished.	Your need to do things perfectly leads to procrastination until you have time to do it “perfectly,” and you feel driven by fear or duty instead of love.
Trying to do your best and perfecting yourself “line upon line” with the Savior’s help is Christ-centered because you need the Atonement.	Perfectionism is self-centered. You measure yourself against your own standards and against others’ standards, not God’s.

Mac vs. the Plastic Bag

Mac Wallet

New favorite Mac application- Wallet.  I can keep all of credit cards, serial numbers, bank info, web passwords and accounts all organized!  You can make your own categories (I added magazines, banks, doctors, etc).  AWESOME!  Plus it's password protected.  I love being that organized. Plus you can add cute little icons of your different things. :)  

I added serial numbers for all my stuff- macbook, camera, ipod, piano keyboard, etc.  Super organized!

http://www.acrylicapps.com/wallet/

Wedding Hair

So I am no pro at hair, especially since mine is short. So here's a style I saw a few weeks ago that I rather like!  It's simple and sweet.  

But, Tammy's gonna do my hair no matter what so I'm not too worried. She'll make me bea-ut-i-ful!

Yes. I picked photos from Scrubs- the Janitor and Lady's wedding.  lol.