Chapstick beat out Brian...

"But my lips hurt real bad!"
-Napoleon Dynamite

So, it seems like my younger brother, Brian, was a little shocked and appalled (in a funny way) that he "came in" at number 21 on my 100 list of things I'm thankful for when chapstick came in at number 5. A quick reminder that I covered my butt in saying that the list was in no particular order. But to seek Brian's forgiveness (ha, ha) I want to remind him about the important things in the world he DID beat out.

Hello!! These things are not only delicious but also magic. You scored higher on the list than they did. You are obviously way better than this questionable little green creature and his crunchy marshmallow goodness.


Really? Your feeling bad because you're more of a necessity to me than this is?

Anyone who has ever set eyes on me (and my incredibly large hair) knows just how important this stuff is in my daily routine. By the way, this is the exact same hairspray I use. LOVE IT!! And, you beat it on the top 100. Hmmmm... I must love you too!


I am so in love with ice cream! I always have this stuff in my fridge and think it's one of the best inventions ever thought up! Oh yeah... you beat it on the list too!

See? Being #21 isn't as bad as you think! I love ya, bro!

One thing, and one thing only...

Halle-freakin-lujah that tomorrow is Friday. That's all. TGIF is on it's way!!

"I would buy a mustang and 100 ipods"...

Recession? What recession?

According the my first graders, $100.00 will get you just about anything!
These were a few of my favorites...

"I would buy a mustang and 100 ipods"

As it was told to me...
"If I had 100 dollars I'd buy 100 raspberries and a house."

"If I had 100 dollars I would buy a house and some flowers."

"If I had 100 dollars I would get 50 Lego sets! And a green Jeep!"

"If I had $100.00 I would buy 80 Webkinz or a big giant pool. Or a playhouse castle. My own motorcyle. My own disco ball. My own pet bunny. My own Xbox Lego Star Wars."

Hooray for 100's day...

This Tuesday will be the 100th day of school. 100 down, 80 to go. For 100's day, we have a day of class full of things that have to do with the number 100. The kids draw a picture of what they'll look like when they're 100 years old (hilarious by the way), write about what they'd buy if they had $100.00 (keep in mind that $100.00 to a first grader is like a million dollars to the rest of us-again, hilarious),etc. I also have them do a writing assignment to write 100 things about themselves which is really difficult for them. In honor of 100's day, I've decided to blog about 100 things that I love and am thankful for in no particular order, except for number 1. Here it goes...

1. My amazing mom and dad!!
2. Diet Coke
3. Tank
4. My job
5. Chapstick
6. Having my own home
7. Lysol Disinfecting Wipes (I should buy stock in that corporation)
8. Mascara
9. Greg
10. My car
11. A warm bed
12. Central air
13. A supportive family
14. Tiffany
15. Modern medicine
16. Lip gloss
17. M&M's (the plain ones)
18. My testimony of the gospel
19. My citizenship in this great country
20. Jamie
21. My brothers, Clint and Brian
22. My bathrobe (thanks to Jamie)
23. DISH Network
24. My wonderful co-workers
25. A living prophet
(Am I only 1/4 of the way finished? This is hard!)
26. Dwight Shrute. Hilarious!
27. My wonderful health insurance
28. Bluetooth
29. My "gold plated" problems
30. My years teaching color guard
31. The fact that I am no longer teaching color guard :)
32. Bananas
33. Stake organists
34. My cute nieces Camille and Carly and one on the way (ummm...not by me)
35. My handsome nephews Wesley, Wyatt, and Jake
36. Two great sisters-in-law, Denise and Martha
37. Ice cream
38. Past experiences (good and bad)
39. My church calling
40. Anything chicken
41. The t.v. show "The Office"
42. Hairspray (when it comes to hair, crust is a must!)
43. Hand sanitizer
44. Memories
45. Vanilla syrup for my Diet Coke
46. Swiffer sweepers
47. Indoor plumbing
48. People who actually read my blog
49. Nail files
50. The fact that I'm halfway finished with this
51. Washing machines
52. Spring
53. Prayer
54. Dental floss
55. My lawnmower
56. Eyelash curlers
57. Toilet paper (gross but true! Do you want to live without it?)
58. Weekends
59. Planting flowers
60. The fact I finished college (I'm sure my parents are thankful too!)
61. My Savior
62. Christmas
63. Good health
64. Those who came before me
65. Anti-bacterial soap
66. PJ's
67. The fact that I have zero credit card debt
68. Chocolate chip cookies
69. Electric blankets
70. Hobble Creek candles
71. A fenced yard (although Tank may be more thankful than I am)
72. The temple
73. My upbringing
74. Hair gel (again, refer to #42)
75. Tori Amos
76. The many advantages I've had
77. Debit cards
78. Medical advancements
79. The color green
80. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers
81. Summer vacation
82. To be in a good ward
83. V-8 juice
84. Christmas lights
85. My garage
86. Eyeliner
87. Apples
88. Sleeping in
89. Lucky Charms (they're magically delicious, you know!)
90. Remote controls (too lazy to change the channel without one)
91. Having served a mission
92. Texting
93. Eyesight
94. Rain
95. Perfume
96. Opportunities to serve
97. Crockpots
98. Cafe Rio
99. My huge recliner
100. Again, my wonderful and amazing parents!

Whew! That was hard! I may re-think having my first graders make a list of thoughts to 100. Well anyway, happy 100's day! I hope you have as much fun celebrating it as I will.

"Oh gross..."

This is a little conversation I overheard two girls having in my classroom this morning.

(for those of you who don't spend all day with first graders, The Jonas Brothers is a popular boy band that seems to be all the rage right now in the elementary school world)

Student 1: "I love the Jonas Brothers!"
Student 2: "Me too."
Student 1: "I really, really, really want to marry one of them."
(insert me glancing over their direction with one raised eyebrow)
Student 2: "That's so gross. They're teenagers."
Student 1: "So. I still love them."
Student 2: "That's gross! It's like marrying your dad!"

Another embarrassing moment...

Take a look at this picture. It's embarrass-ing. But, I don't know who's more embarassed...me for buying it or Tank for wearing it. I swore I'd never be one of "those" pet owners who dresses their dog. But, the day unexpectedly came when it seemed like a good idea. My little dog Tank (who will be 10 years old this year) has been shivering a lot lately and I felt so sorry for him. He always seemed to be cold. So off I went to Petsmart to see what there was to fix Tank's problem.
Talk about pathetic! The bulk of my choices consisted mainly of fuzzy pink argyle, snowsuits, Harley Davidson dog gear (complete with hat and sunglasses), and assorted doggie mini skirts. Yeah. I settled on the classic "old man" grey cable knit. It was the best of the worst there was to choose from.
Getting this sweater for Tank was truly one of the most embarassing things I've ever done. I was laughing the entire time I was flipping through the "clothing" racks at the Petsmart and wondered how anyone could possibly buy clothes for their animals. Oh wait...I guess I was laughing at myself.

Christmas at my house...

For those of you who don't know, I moved the summer of 2007 into a new home. I left my cute little old white house I had called home for nine years for something bigger, better, and about 120 years newer. Last Christmas, I was really sick with strep (thanks a lot, first graders!) and didn't do a single thing to decorate for the holiday. In fact, last year I had gone tree shopping with my family a few days before getting sick and picked one out and brought it home. My dad came, made it perfectly straight in the tree stand and put it up in my living room. There it sat all month...undecorated. The only purpose it served was as an additional drinking spot for my dog, Tank.

This year, I risked being disowned and written out of the family will and opted for a fake tree. I was swayed by the wicked ways of the "fake tree" world, evidently. I felt a little "dirty" as I stepped away from a family tradition of having a real tree. I went on a major tree hunt and found one I loved at a store about an hour and fifteen minute drive from my house. It seemed ridiculous to be on a tree quest, but it all turned out to be just what I had pictured in my mind and I was really happy. It wasn't quite as good as the real thing, but in the end it was a lot more convenient and just as fun. And, thanks to Scentsy, my house smelled like a real tree after all!