Save The Date

I've always wanted to send out save the date cards, but haven't for a few reasons: a) let's face it, typical Mormon engagements negate such a need due to their often swift nature, b) it's hard enough trying to get the actual invites made, addressed and mailed prior to the day of the event and 3) I never really hosted an event (wedding aside) worthy of save the date cards. Well, we're having our 3rd annual Halloween party! So, come Saturday night, make sure your schedule is like my student's minds- Wide open! Party starts when you arrive! All family is welcome, and costumes are encouraged. Plus you'll get to see what I've been working on, armed with my trusty glue gun and the materials below. Hope to see you there!

Where's The Pause Button On This Thing?

Slow down, you’re movin’ too fast! I have recently felt that my time continuum has experienced an abrupt shock, like when you see the sudden spike in an EKG monitor thingy and it starts with that incessant beeping. It won’t stop unless you unplug the dang thing. Or, when you accidentally spill orange soda on your remote control and the fast forward button is permanently lodged in the affirmative position, and then only catch every 3rd scene of the movie. Or when you doze off in sacrament meeting and wake up and it’s Thursday, but you only thought you were drifting in and out of consciousness for the rest hymn. It is called a rest hymn, correct?

Anyway, that’s how I feel. Last time I checked I was 5 and happy meals still came in those cute cardboard carriers, with a toy that undoubtedly contained lead and was made in China but was never recalled. Now, it’s a half past November, and tomorrow is practically New Years. I don’t have time for this fast forward nonsense. P.S, did I mention that 2010 has nigh left us?

Moments and events lately seem to escape my mind, and some even seem to be running in tandem. For instance, did I really survive the 1st and 2nd quarter, and already 2 weeks into the 3rd quarter? Have we almost made it past electron configurations and quantum mechanics? Have I really graded 170 individual lab reports, entered the scores, and handed them back one by one after an intimate one-on-one discussion about each student’s progress? Have I really taken multiple trips to phoenix Children’s hospital to spend time and comfort friends and family there? Did I really have a fall break, and go to Disneyland where I ran into one of my current students at the hotel? Have we already celebrated 8 family birthdays’ this month? Did I actually complete our Halloween party invitations and get them mailed off prior to Halloween? Did I actually make it to the post office and mail a package to Joshua? Have we actually reseeded our lawn and planted fall/winter flowers and not forgotten to water them? Did I actually try and attempt to be on time to a relief society activity, only to find out the location had been changed, and the start time was 6:30 instead of what I assumed (7:00), and the chocolate chips I just ran to the store to purchase were no longer needed, but my help was appreciated? Did I really go to Denny’s at midnight this past Friday to celebrate one of my favorite laurel’s birthday’s and eat a chocolate shake and some deep-fried pancake balls only to wake up at 6 am the next morning to help out with a benefit garage sale/bake sale/boutique, and then spend the afternoon scouring thrift stores for Halloween costumes, and then spend the evening doing laundry and making more birthday gifts? Did I actually make 4 separate round-trips to our church building today, all before 1 pm? Is it really 11pm on a Sunday night, when I should have been in bed 2 hours ago because I know, as well as my students do, that grumpiness will certainly ensue, and exponentially increase the longer I am awake.

Seriously, how? When? In what dimension do I accomplish all of the above and also have time to make dinner, go to the gym and spend some time on the million other things on my “to do” list? The above may seem like a long “to done” list, but my “to do” would put the aforementioned list to shame. So, what’s the solution? I want to enjoy all of the above, but still have time to exhale, and then inhale, and then repeat a few more times. Where’s the line between running your mind and body into the ground versus letting your mind and body rot of lethargy? And I don’t even have ankle biters yet either! Sometimes I think the only viable option lies in one of the shortest words in virtually every language: NO! If my mouth could but learn to form that particular sound, I may not be in a sate of constant crisis management. It also doesn’t help that I’m a bit of a perfectionist parading as a procrastinator, or is it the other way around? Hmm, what do you think? Well, it’s even later still, and I’ve really got to get some shut eye. Keep an eye out for that pause button for me, will ya?

p.s. The part about finishing the 170 lab reports is a slight fabrication. I’m not as done as I may have previously professed. In fact, they are weighing my soul down! We’ve been everywhere together- to church, to family dinners, even to Disneyland in hopes that I may have a spare moment to get some grading done. And also, the part about having an intimate one-on-one with each and every students total crap. If I even attempted that with 170 students... Don't even get me started on my class size. Anyway, back to my point :New deal- no more blogging until lab reports are graded. Pinky promise.

Hellow Autumn, Welcome to Summer!

Goodbye monsoon! Today was the official end to our local monsoon. Although, I'm not really buyin' it. First of all, just because my car is dusty and filled with water spots does not constitute a monsoon. Second of all, it can't just be monsoony at night while I'm getting my beauty sleep. It's just not fair. C'mon AZ, if you really want to keep this place inhabited by people you are going to have to intersperse some rain in between all of the hellish sunshine. Conference weekend is usually our benchmark for scalping and planting our winter law (insert gloat here), but it's not going to happen with 105 in the forecast. Anyway, I digress... With that said, I guess rules are rules. So long monsoon season! Hello Autumn, welcome to summer. Here's a recap of my fav's from summer 2010.

San Diego with friends

Our morning exercise. Seriously, my body would be smokin' if this was my workout scenery. Instead, I'm stuck watching CNN and MSNBC on the treadmill at the gym. Seriously, news does not help me forget that I'm running. I need E! true Hollywood story or TMZ to help me forget my troubles. I know you all feel the same, don't lie. Notice Caleb's bike. It had a sticker on the car seat that said "big daddy"

Our transportation to the beach.

I chose the bike because it went with my outfit!

A cotton candy machine

James' heaven will be made out of this stuff!

I was reluctant to post about our deep-sea fishing endeavors because it was some fierce suckage. I was a poor sport, and grumpy. But, time heals most wounds. I've forgiven everyone else for catching my fish, and I'm happy for them for catching my fish. I'm just still a tad bitter that EVERYONE ELSE ON THE BOAT CAUGHT SOMETHING EXCEPT US! The crew tried to "help" me catch one by hooking the fish and letting my reel it in. I told them I didn't want their pity fish and flipped them off (ok, so not really, but if I wasn't such a goody goody I may have) That's the severity of the situation. I did tell them I didn't want their pity fish though. James took it anyway. My smirk says "I'm trying to be supportive for all my friends who caught something and trying to make the amount of money spent on this excursion worth it, but really I just want to pout so get the camera out of my face"This was all that was left of one of Shanna's catches after she was being trailed by a seal. I think the seal got the better end of the deal. As you can see, though, she is still all smiles because this was probably the 3rd or 4th fish she caught.

Freudian slip that Caleb got cut out of the picture, perhaps. I'm pretty sure he caught the most fish in our group. Karma, baby, Karma!

One of the joys of being in young women's is getting to go to girl's camp and not going to all the classes and such. This was our camp. Very cozy, very dusty, very camping!

on top of a very high look-out tower

calm and collected

probably the highlight of my summer- my secret sister rocked my world. Cereal one day, peanut butter the next, and a burts bees chap stick to top it all off.

I'm so glad Mekenna and Catty (nieces) came!

4 days past due for a shower. Good thing blogs aren't scratch and sniff!

17 hours worth of car riding later, my mom and I attended another Utah wedding.

And it rained, and it was freezing, but BEAUTIFUL!

The obligatory, yet coveted pic with Hailey and Natalie. Girls, you make my heart sing!

The mother of the groom. Isn't she lovely! She'd probably kill me for posting this, but chances are she'll never look at it. Plus, she was the one whoe posed long enough for me to snap this rare moment of beauty, elegance and grace!

In July, we bid adieu to our bff's Mike and Erin. But, by far the funniest moment happened to my 2 1/2 year old niece, Mia. Below, she is sporting her 3 month old baby brother's onesie. Why, you ask? Because her father was in charge. 'nuff said! She was originally dressed in gender and age appropriate attire, but she peed her pants and her father decided this get-up was the next best thing. It was so funny to see her running around in this, I was about to pee my pants. I wonder what Adam would have had for my wardrobe alternate?

Ok, a shot of the ever happy couple leaving for D.C.

I took a quick jaunt up a "hill" at the end of July. And by quick, I mean a 4 hour hike with a pack the size of a pregnant ox strapped to my back, digging into my hips, and by hill I mean mountain. We had a weekend youth backpacking retreat, so I was forced to go...

It was beautiful at the top! We camped overnight and got water from the mouth of the spring. Thank you heavenly father for pieces of heaven in sunny Arizona!

I heart the youth of our ward! (they must have some awesome leaders)

The hike down was a literal DOWN-POUR! Rain, lightning and thunder were our companions. We knew no one would believe us so we had to break out the camera for proof. I bet you're still a skeptic. James is.

A flash flood, by definition! This wash was DRY the day before. Honest to blog!

We ended our summer with a quasi-impromptu trip to LA. Mostly to check out a car. Yes, you heard that right. We drove 6 hours to look at a car. And then we drove back, without a car. I'll explain later... Along the way home we stopped at the outlets. It was a nice getaway.
Here is the view from our hotel room. This was so meant to be!

Their target has an elevator. I was stunned.

There ya have it folks, another summer under the proverbial belt. During summer I often contemplate how I ever have time for a full time job!

Your Homework Assignement for Wednesday

This is a touching story about a local high school student. She attends the school where I teach, and her B.F.F is one of my current students. Her name is Carolyn "Ceci" Christenson. She was diagnosed with MDS, a failure of the bone marrow in September in 2009. She was able to find a match, and is doing very well. She is trying to spread the word and raise awareness about the need for donors in the National Marrow Registry. So, all you need to do to help is to click on this link http://emailoprah.org/ and email Oprah on WEDNESDAY 9/29/2010. It's super easy; it'll only take a millisecond of your time, and you'll feel good about yourself. It's a win, win, win for EVERYONE!

Below are a few links about her and her story:

Local news article: http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/2010/09/24/20100924gilbert-girl-oprah-e-mail-campaign.html

Her website: http://www.cecisclimb.com/

Her blog: http://cecichristenson.blogspot.com/

Thank you for caring!

p.s. Kendra, you can totally count this as one of your September Service thingy ma-bob-ers.

Dressing the Part

It turns out, Soifa (niece) and I both have the same cleaning attire. This is exactly what I wear whenever I clean house- complete with pearls and ruffles! Don't you do the same?

5 car wrecks, 4 years, 3 marriages, 2 missions and 1 dog later...

On Friday, my parents embarked on an unforgettable journey (the good kind)! They left their kids, their home, their dog and their jobs for a whole month to gallivant across Europe like 2 twitter pated kids in love! They have been calling this vacation their “25 year anniversary present” for almost 5 years now. Aptly, it is now being recognized as their 30 year anniversary present-extravaganza! So, why has it taken them nearly 5 years to proceed with this vacation? Laziness, perhaps? No desire to leave their precious offspring? Waiting for the fall of communism? Or D, none of the above?

If you chose D, you are correct! In fact, it’s wholly and justifiably the fault of all those things they left behind (kids, dog, house, jobs) why they are now just celebrating all those years together. A couple of their kids decided to get married, wreck of few cars and go on missions. You know, the same old stuff kids always do! 3 marriages, 2 missions, 5 car accidents, and 4 years later they set a date: September 3rd, 2010. They (and by “they” I mean my father) had a countdown on his phone and would periodically email my mom things like “174 days, 36 hours and 17 minutes…” Nothing could or would obstruct their view and reality of September 3rd from happening. However, that didn’t seem to keep the universe from trying. Below is a list of proceedings that took place recently that may have put this trip on further hiatus. It is my opinion that perhaps these indiscriminate, and somewhat pricey, diversions were merely the catalyst and a reaffirmation that this vacation was requisite for their survival and sanity.

• 
  June: T-minus 3 months: Boys went Jet Skiing. Dad hit rock, $2,000 charge
• July: T-minus 2 months: Corolla incurred another accident. Totaled car, $2,000 repair and down a car.
• August: T-minus 3 weeks: Roxy (dog) consumed an inconsumable item, had to have emergency surgery on stomach, $1800 operation, mom was put on “poop watch” for 10 days (had to make sure her all her pipes were working), dog is still on antibiotics, and has 10 inch scar on stomach.
• August: T-minus 1 month: Mom had to have gallbladder removed. Could be 6 week recovery time, if doc can’t do surgery laparoscopiclly. Go news- all went well!
• August: T-minus 3 weeks: house alarm system is triggered when dog goes out dog door, police visit at 3 am. Luckily, no charge for this one, but need to have alarm adjusted. Scheduled to come day before they leave. No on shows… Mom doesn’t feel at ease knowing either a) alarm can’t be armed for fear of setting it off again, or b) if alarm is set, dog will set it off, police arrive, charges ensue.
• September: T-minus 1 week: Stolen Identity! Someone decided to go on a home improvement shopping spree, compliments of my parents, $1400 in charges and will have to dispute charges via electronic correspondence while in Europe.
• September: T-minus 1 day. Ethan’s phone decided to die and go to phone heaven, must have working phone so we can get a hold of the lad. $50 charge for replacement phone, dealing with phone company mumbo-jumbo, etc.

Like I previously mentioned, in reality, I think the above events actually enhanced their desire to get away from the pandemonium they left behind. Now the real question is, will the madness continue in their absence, or adjourn upon their return? Only time will tell…

A 10 Car Wife

Cars and testosterone are rarely found unaccompanied by one another, just as pb & J, or unicorns and glitter; and my husband is no exception. I am not certain of the source from whence his fascination with things on wheels and need for speed originated, but I think it started when he was just an itty-bitty zygote. After all, he was the fastest swimmer and had to overthrow an IUD to enter this world. Since I have known him he has owned 10 cars, an average of 1.5 cars/year.

I saw the signs, but was blinded by his obscene coolness and magnetic charm. I should have realized that when we did this to his beloved Acura Integra for his 17th birthday and he was more annoyed than flattered, that this was a sign of things to come. (Car #1)

And when this was our prom picture- Although, not a car he owned, it was definitely a caution marker. I thought he wanted a snapshot of me, but was then told I was blocking his view. Every girls dream!

And this is the kind of pumpkins he would carve. He was never satisfied with his craftsmanship here; clearly, the front to back bumper ratio is grossly miscalculated.

And when I would get these pics from his mission; sending him to Japan was dangerous, yet divinely inspired!- imagine the temptation. Everything in Japan is turbocharged and saturated with horsepower.

And the fact that we practically own this: Just because there are 3 movies based on related events doesn’t mean you can slap on the trilogy label. On behalf of legitimized trilogy’s everywhere (star wars, godfather, etc), I apologize.

By the time he left on his mission he had gone through car #1, #2 and #3. Car #4 was waiting for him. Really, he had a Neon RT anxiously waiting his arrival. He didn’t need me to wait for him.
car #2

car #3

car #4

At one point after he returned from his mission and before we got married (a brief 5 month span) he had 3 cars (Car #4, #5 and #6). The Silverado was for work, and then realized it was too much truck for his liking (not to mention gas was reaching 4 a gallon) and sold that for a smaller pick up, the Tacoma.

car #5

car #6

Shortly after we married, he was laid off from his superintendent construction job (negating our need for the truck) and so we bought a Mitsubishi eclipse (car #7). “THE CAR TO END ALL CARS”- his words, not mine. James had been yearning for an eclipse much longer than he had ever yearned for me, and I was so relieved that we could get passed this little sports car fad thingy that he seemed to have. After all, he was now the proud owner of The car. Oh, how my naivety escapes me. It had a very throaty exhaust- not a good ride for conversation, and he installed the underglows. Although, their legality still remains a mystery.

Not more than a year later I started developing a throbbing in my abdomen. Most newlyweds chalk it up to pregnancy and 9 months later have a little bundle of joy, but I have now come to know it as the itch. James was tired of the eclipse and ready for something else. Our bundle of joy came much quicker and in the form of a Mitsubishi Lancer. It had a DVD player and it was lowered.

Car #8.

We sold car #7, still had car #4 and now car #8. A few months later and coincidentally shortly after car #4 concocted a serious scratch on the passenger side he was ready for something else. In his mind car #4 was now damaged goods. Instead of going our customary craigslist route we traded car #4 for car #9 with a friend; a fully loaded Nissan Maxima- V6 engine, 20th anniversary edition, blah, blah, blah, as I am sure if you are reading this, you are much more interested in Ali’s bachelorette selection than you are in knowing how many exclusive features our 9th car had.

My memory escapes me as to why we ditched car #9, but at 9 cars and 3 moves into our marriage there tends to be some murkiness. I often reference events by the cars we had and the place we were living at the time. There’s less of “Remember back in 2007 when…” and more of “back in our 1st apartment with the eclipse remember when…” . Reason #7,652 to blog! But I digress, anyway, the honeymoon phase with car #9 dissipated quickly and we unloaded it for one of our current means of transportation, car #10, a Toyota corolla. We bought this baby of his parents and it’s been very good to us, despite Toyota’s most recent recall disputes.

car #10 (although not our actual car, finding an online image was much more convenient than confronting the oppressive Arizona heat to take a blog pic). Besides, our corrolla is a type S has scion rims, and limo tint!

A few months ago I noticed James was spending a great deal of time on the computer, and on a particular website at that (craigslist), which just happen to coincide with yet another ulcer I was experiencing. He starts gauging my interest level, asking me questions like “What do you think of the Honda s2000?”, and adds gear-shifting and blow-off valve sound effects as we’re driving our non turbo-charged automatic.

10 ulcers, er, I mean, cars later I am no dummy when it comes to the itch. Just a few weeks ago we bid adieu to car #8 and he has been combing the southeast area for his next conquest. He has his sights set on turbo! I've decided to embrace my 10 car wife status, and we've agreed upon a few compromises. For starters, we'll never have major car repairs, if my stomach doesn't like the car we pass and Sundays are no craigslist days! I’ve also come to learn a few things, being a 10 car wife. First, every time he says “this is the car of my dreams” I know dreams change almost yearly, b, looking can hurt and 3, cars are people too.