Saturday, December 31, 2011

2011 In Review

I remember when I was younger and complaining to my Dad that years took too long to pass. He informed me that as I grew older, years would pass much quicker.

Well, it is true. This year has just flown by. It did not go how I planned it to go at all. But, I am happy with where Chris and I are at right now.

Some of the years accomplishments:

1. Chris and I both have jobs that don't feel like jobs. Teaching is hard, getting up early is hard but when I am at work I don't feel like I am at work. I enjoy what I do and feel like I am doing something great. Plus we have benefits.

2. I read/listened to 47 books this year. Which was 11 more than my goal.

3. I didn't lose any weight, but I didn't gain any either. Which I am surprisingly okay with.

4. I did take at least 52 good pictures this year.

5. We went to the temple at least once a month.


6. Eventually 80% of my student passed the TAKS test. Not 85%, but still okay.

7. We ate out less, we aren't putting ourselves into any debt, and we are continuing to be awesome.

Friday, December 30, 2011

2011 Gift Exchange



This was the first year us siblings did a gift exchange. We have always just bought everyone presents. But I really like how we did it this year. We drew names and didn't keep it secret. But we still got stuff for everyone's stocking. Because, honestly, I love buying presents for everyone else. So if was fun to still get a little something for everyone.

These are everyone's gifts that they got. Except Steven, I guess Jennifer got that picture. But he is still included.


This was the order of everyone. 

Randi-->Rob-->Steven-->Randi 

Jennifer-->Adison-->Charleah-->Chris-->Sam-->Jennifer

It was so successful, I am sure we will do it again next year. Well, I would love to do it again. 

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Scratch Off Tickets

This was a Pinterest inspired project. I made them during the summer but I just started using them in my class a few weeks ago.

The kids absolutely love them. I limit how much I give out, so the demand stays high. And most of the prizes don't cost me anything. It took me a while to come up with some ideas for prizes. So, if anyone is interested, here is what I am using. 

Sit at Mrs. Stowe's desk for the day
You and a friend each lunch with Mrs. Stowe
The whole class gets 5 extra minutes of recess
Drop lowest daily grade
Add 5 points to a test
1 day assignment extension
A mint
A piece of gum
Use Markers for a day
Draw on the whiteboard at the end of the day
Choose a song for the class to listen to at the end of the day
Swap seats for a day



Here is the link for one tutorial. I combined a few with the supplies I had. This one says use contact paper, but I just used scotch tape. However, I have read others where no tape or contact paper is used so I'll want to try that next. It means less work for me. 

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Sister


This was a book I borrowed from the Library on my Kindle. Which I still think is amazing.

It started out slow. I am not sure why I continued reading it...but I am glad I did. That has been a theme around here lately with my books. Maybe I should never give up on any books that I read.

The book is set as one sister, Beatrice, writes a letter to her younger sister, Tess. Tess has gone missing and Beatrice immediately flies from the States to London to help find her.

Eventually Tess is found dead. (That is not a spoiler, the book synopsis tells you about it.) It is rules as a suicide, but Beatrice insists that Tess could never kill herself.

In this letter, Beatrice tells Tess her journey to finding the truth.

It is a book that tries to be suspenseful, but isn't too successful with it until the last quarter of the book. And it is also a book that is heavy on foreshadowing, which started to bother me. But now that I have finished it, I understand why. I think that is what I liked most about the book. How there were a couple of things that annoyed me, but once I understood everything, it made me actually like the book even more.

The author has a new book coming about next year. I will be reading it.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Pictures from the Phones

 This is a Chris picture from when I took Jesica's senior pictures back in May. She is such a pretty girl, even if she got rid of her awesome red hair. She was pretty easy to photograph.

The first time Chris was in his classroom. The day after his interview/he got the job. It is a pretty exciting thing to see your classroom for the first first time. (As opposed to seeing a new classroom the later in your career at a different school.)


And then a sort of creepy picture of me. 



This might be filler posts, but it keeps me going. At least I feel like I have something to post about. 

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Christmas Eve



"The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of love and of generosity and of goodness. It illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than in things."

"There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus Christ."

Thomas S. Monson

Friday, December 23, 2011

Charleah and Steven



Look at the happy couple! They are finally engaged! It wasn't something that took too long, I was just getting a bit impatient. Steven had been planning it for a couple of weeks and kind of through Charleah off a bit. She was mostly surprised that we all knew about it and that we were able to keep it a secret. 

Besides Steven, Sammie had to do the most work. She knew about the ring, and helped Steven planned it a bit. She almost let it slip to Charleah once when she accidently texted Charleah instead of Steven, but she caught that in time. 

Charleah does not approve of these pictures. But she doesn't read this anyways, so she will never know.

I am most definitely excited that I can use my Pinterest Wedding board to plan a wedding. Which I was supposed to do before I turned 25, but I guess I will settle for before 27.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Kindle Fire

This was my birthday/Christmas present. And I love it. In 1 1/2 weeks, I have finished 3 books. And I have found several books for it already and not paid anything (except for Chris's book.)


There are so many free books on Amazon that I have snatched up and my library lets you borrow books. It is not so easy to find a gem and some of the books are really "easy" reads, but so far I have managed to find several from my "to-read" list. 

Along with my Kindle Fire, I got this awesome cover. It is one of my favorite things in the world. 

I have been debating for several months to on whether I should get a Kindle. I read a lot, so I could justify having it that way. But I do most/all of my reading through the library, which is free. I didn't want to have to pay for any books. But then, Amazon announced that Kindle users would be able to borrow books from the library. I waited and waited and waited until I saw that it wold actually happen at my library. 

And then I had to decide which Kindle to get. I had finally decided that if I got one, it would be a Kindle Touch. But then Chris suggested the Fire. After some more debating, the Fire we got. 

So...about 6 months worth of debating, and I finally got one. I am glad I waited because now I have the Fire. 



Monday, December 19, 2011

My Birthday Cake

Dad has been making us all special birthday cakes this year. Sammie's was molten lemon and Charleah's was Tres Leches. But we save the best for last with an ice cream cake.

[ignore the number on that cake]
It had 5 layers and everything was homemade. The ice cream, the frosting and then the cake. To be honest, I was expecting that. But it was delicious. 

We did not put 26 candles on the cake. That would have looked like the "burnin' of Atlanta." 



Sunday, December 18, 2011

Chris's Project

In the middle of Thanksgiving break, Chris realized there was money to make out there. Using Amazon and the Power of the Kindle.

He asked both Sam and I if we read The Scarlet Letter in high school. Our response, "I was supposed to but I never did."

So, he has created a study guide/cliff's notes/shorter version of the Study Guide.

The Scarlet Letter in 15 Minutes


He has been working on it in his "free" time the last month. He read the whole book several times and has chapter by chapter analysis. And since Chris is so smart, its gonna be good.

If you want to support him to help him out on the rankings, it is only $.99. And then if you actually use it, review it.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

PostSecret


Sometimes PostSecret just hits you. 




Thursday, December 15, 2011

Birthday: Part I


Birthdays as a teacher are the best. You get nice notes saying how awesome you are. Which is cool. And I got my first apple. I guess I am an official teacher now.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Down to One Week

There is just one week left until the favorite child returns. It seems like just a week ago there were two weeks left.




Here are some snippets from some of the letters that he has written. I only edited a few of them to make them more understandable.


thanks for explaining the whole school thing to me but to be honest i was not really paying attention as i was reading it

that would be way fun.( winky face but not in a creepy cerial killer kind of way you dig)

Alright my comp is going to poo his pants, so I got to go.

Remember last week I said my comp was about to poo his pants? Well he did. Yep, it was the most sick thing i ever saw.( nasty disgusted face). 

[signed] elder x mcclellan (dont even want to know what the x stands for) ( shocked face) 

oh need to know about a song. something about rolling and getting McDonald's, shorty. dame some lyrics por favor.

so you asked me a whole bunch of questions that im not going to answer.

boy drama is actually becoming my new favorite topic. haha. i personally think that she should just move on to the next stud muffin. Why not the baker made more then a couple dozen. haha ( like that reference to God creating man? I thought it up myself. Feel free to share it if you like)

and im not going to lie i hate that show glee people are obsessed here with it.



Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The Woodcutter-Reginald Hill


This was a weird book. I almost didn't get past the first couple of pages. It starts very cryptically without any names. At the beginning there are several short chapters about mystery characters who we know nothing about. I usually don't push through books that keep me in the dark from the very first chapter. Also, it was really long and not an easy read. But, it is one of those books where you know nothing is going to come together until the end.  I do like that. 

It tells the story of Wolf, a woodcutter's son who marries a princess (in the modern day.) He lives a fairy tale for 15 years before he is arrested and accused of horrible crimes. You are unsure if he is really every innocent or guilty of those crimes. Years later when he is finally released from jail, he wants some type of revenge. The chapters move between Wolf and his psychologist nicknamed "Elf." She is worried he will relapse but the more she finds about his case, the more sympathetic to him she becomes. 

Towards the end, I couldn't stop reading it. Although it took a lot to get there. I am really surprised I made it all the way through, but I am glad I did. 

Monday, December 12, 2011

Books To Read


One thing that I missed about the computer was my list of books that I wanted to read. I keep it on my desktop in some digital post-it notes. The more books I read, the more books I want to read. So... I need to get going. So I am going to read now. Feel free to copy some.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Scholastic Warehouse Sale

 
Last Saturday, Chris and I went to a Scholastic Warehouse Sale. If you remember the Book Fairs that you had in Elementary School, they are usually run by Scholastic. They also print almost every children's book in the United States.
This is what I walked away. There was a build-a-box where you stuff a box full for $24.95. Plus every book was on sale for 25%-50% off. So I ended up getting 33 books for about $26.



If there hadn't been the build-a-box thing, it might not have been worth it. But outside of that section, the books where just 50% off. Which is still good, but it adds up fast. Chris didn't find a whole lot for his grade level in that section, but I did. He ended up getting Diary of a Wimpy kids books, which are very popular in school. 

The sale happens about twice a year and I think after a few more boxes, I will have a nice sized classroom library. 

Friday, December 9, 2011

More Pictures from Chris's Phone

Chris has never missed an election day. And I have only missed one, the very first primary after I turned 18. We almost missed the last one because there was nothing really important being voted on and we weren't sure if we would make the polling place before it closed. But we did. Whether or not the issues are important to you, we should still take an active role in our communities.


Yes. Another pictures with Chris with something on his head. 

And no phone album is complete without an adorable picture of Miss Kali. 

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Two Weeks

There are two weeks until we get to see this boy:


I am so stinking excited.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The Night Circus






I think this book will be in my top 5 of the year. Sometimes I think it is weird to say a book is beautiful, but this book was beautiful. From beginning to end. This is what got me:

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. 
It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. 
Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements.
It is called Le Cirque des RĂªves, and it is only open at night. 

It seems like it is just about a circus, but is is so much more than that. Behind the circus there is a competition of illusion/magic going on between two people who are fated to battle until the competition is over. They just don't realize what it means for the competition to be over when they fall in love.

Not everyone will like this book. It isn't a fast read because I think the author does such a great job of describing things and I wanted to make sure that I caught every work. Usually I skim over descriptions, but not here.

With this book I got to the climax at 11pm on a Tuesday night. It killed me to have to put it down and wait until after work the next day to read it. I was craving it.

Monday, December 5, 2011

It Works!


This is my desktop. And it is the first time I have seen my desktop in 3 months. My mac started acting up on me and would freeze after being on it for more than 5 minutes. And then it just wouldn't turn on past a gray screen. So I put it aside hoping to get all my data off of it before I took it to get fixed.

Well, finally I realized I was never going to be able to get anything off it and finally took it to the Mac store on Saturday. 3 months after it stopped working. Can you say "procrastinator?"I just used my work computer which I hated lugging back and forth everyday for work stuff and Chris's computer for other stuff. But I didn't have my pictures or my silhouette software or photoshop elements or my book list or anything fun!

Finally Chris asked me to do something and I realized I was going to need some of that stuff for Christmas coming up so I just got it fixed.

And now it works. So far. I am still a little nervous about it though.. Because the genius lab said they might have to replace the hard drive or hard drive bracket but they just ended up doing some software thing and it was fixed. And they didn't charge me the $60-$180 I was expecting. So score there.

Here's hoping it stays fixed. And I am going to back it all up for the future. Nothing like the threat of losing all my pictures to scare me into doing it.

Friday, December 2, 2011

The House at Riverton-Kate Morton


I don't remember how I found this book. When I am out of books to read, I usually browse amazon through lists that people made that have books on it that I have read and liked. I figure that if they liked a book I liked, then we might have something in common.

This book was a bit of a slow read. It goes back in forth in two different areas in Grace's life. Grace used to be a maid at the house at Riverton and as she is about to die, she is telling her story to her grandson.

She kept a secret her whole life and at the end of it, she is finally read to tell that secret.

I liked the story. I don't like how the author set up to tell the story with Grace telling it right before she was about to die. There were a lot of parts that I skimmed through because there were too many details. But there were some twists that I did not see coming which is why I liked it so much. It was a really good story and I love finding books like this. It isn't mainstream but it is still worth the read.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Pictures from Chris's Phone- Part Deux

One night we went to Best Buy and saw this. Two guys wearing spandex body suits. Kind of weird, right? Surprisingly, this was not the last time we saw something like this. A few weeks ago we saw two boys skateboarding wearing body suits like this. If you can't tell, their heads are completely covered. It doesn't exactly scream "comfortable!"
 
Last February we went to the BYU v TCU basketball game in Ft. Worth. We totally beat them and we waited outside with lots of other people for a glimpse of the team. Especially Jimmer. This is the blurry picture that we snapped of him.



The crowd as we awaited the basketball team to come out to their bus. It took them forever. Because technically the meet and greet was inside the gym and we missed that memo.