Change

For some reason I have a hard time with change...even if it is good change. That creates a problem when it seems that everything is changing.

Change in location. We bought a house. Weird. I don't feel like I am grown-up enough to own a house (maybe I will be in 30 years when we actually own it, hehe). I was so sad when we moved out of the apartment; the same apartment that literally made me crazy because it was so tiny.(?) We are now in a house and I feel like I am constantly "playing house". I would post pictures but I haven't taken any, in fact, I don't even know where my camera is in this mess. My favorite part about the house? the garage. Now Bryan can put all of his tools in there and I can reclaim the closets.

Change in job. Bryan got a smokin' internship with the city of Mesa Engineering Department. That is something to brag about considering the economy and lack of engineering internships. I wish he was home more but it pays a little and helps a lot with a future job because it is what he wants to do when he graduates. He comes home everyday and gives me an update of all the city construction projects. Kinda fun to know what is going on.

Change can be good...it just takes some time to get used to it.

Say it ain't so

This morning I went to Walmart. And cried. Yes that was me in the shampoo isle silently wiping away tears as they were running down my face. Why? They have replaced the 4^th of July seasonal stuff with school supplies. School supplies!! Where has summer gone? In less than a month school will be in full swing. I will be again putting in 14 hour days with teaching and football and volleyball games. I will be making seating charts, grading papers, breaking up fights in the bathroom, and taping ankles. I am not complaining. I love my job and am very lucky to be able to take the summers off. The problem is that I love summer more. So brace yourself when you go shopping. Some will celebrate when they see the school stuff (all the mothers out there), some will not even notice, and some will totally lose it (like me).

Just a hint: a big chocolate candy bar will make it feel a little better!

But I wanted surgery too

My sister Lacey came to Mesa for a vacation and her appendix exploded (talk about a horrible vacation). She has been in the hospital recovering from the surgery for about a week. A teacher that I teach with got a new femur, knee, and partial tibia yesterday. She had bone cancer a few years ago and her bones were not healthy due to all the radiation.

However, no surgery for me. I have multiple dents in my cartilage and humerus bone. My labrum (cartilage kinda like the meniscus in the knee but it's in the shoulder) is torn and frayed. The doctor wants to see how it reacts to physical therapy before he will go in and fix it. I am bummed. I want him to go in and snip it, clip it, shave it, tighten it, stitch it, whatever just FIX IT! So please Mr. or Mrs. Therapist I need a miracle worker.

Purse or no purse

I have never been a purse person. I don’t know why. I think I bought a purse once and maybe used it twice in junior high. I think it’s time to become a purse wearing girl. I told Bryan this the other day and his response was, “why?” I explained. The other day I was running some errands. Here’s what I had in my pockets (you know, because I don’t have a purse)

- phone

- driver’s license

- keys

- debit card

- check book

- social security card

- teacher ID card

- a pen

- a few sticks of gum

- a few bucks in cash

- some change for a parking meter

-a list of things that I needed to get done on my outing

How did my pants not fall down?? So I am going to do it. I have been psyching myself up for over a month now. I am going to get a purse. Why am I so insecure? I can’t get a little one because then I get the ‘big girl with a little purse’ syndrome (is there such a thing?). It can’t be too big because then I get the ‘trying too hard and it’s obnoxious’ syndrome. AHH! So if you ever see me with a purse please don’t point and laugh. In fact, don’t even look at it…or me…because odds are that I am totally embarrassed to be carrying one around. Why? I don’t know.

In other news…

- We are all set to close on our house on July 7^th!! Woohoo.

- I am still waiting for MRI results to see if my shoulder requires surgery or just massive physical therapy.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way."

Can anyone name the author? Charles Dickens. For some reason this quote (ok, just the first few parts) has been in my mind the last few days. I finally figured out that it’s because all of the randomness in my head has been taking on this famous opposite pattern. Don’t ask why. I have no idea.

Today I feel…

Educated because I am taking a constitution class and am learning the details of our divine government

Ignorant because the more I learn about stuff the more I realize how much I don’t know

Frustrated that my mind is always so strong and my body has a hard time keeping up

Encouraged that I can recover from injury

Worried about the future

Relieved that the house we want might actually be ours

Joyful that I still have a summer ahead of me

Sad that it is going to go by so fast

Grateful that I have such a great family

Self centered that I don’t tell them enough how great they really are

You are onto something good ol’ Charles. I guess the best of times can be the worst of times. Huh.

These are a few of my favorite things

Maybe it's my new found free time. It could be my need for people to listen to me (I have suddenly lost 150 captive teenagers that listened to me all day). Or perhaps it's just the fact that my husband is busy watching the NBA finals. Whatever it is I am on a blogging role! Even if no one reads I find it therapeutic, in fact enjoyable to sit and write a post. Here we go again.

Here are a few of my favorite things. I hope you enjoy because I definitely do!

I have white kitchen and bathroom counters. I would like to meet the genius that came up with that brilliant idea. These wipes are so quick and easy to use. For 20 minutes a day my counters look clean! A little on the pricey side but some things are worth it.


If you live in the valley and haven't discovered this place you are missing out. Fresh cheap produce. Supersition Ranch Market. Main, east of Greenfield. Drop everything and go now. It will be crowded (mostly with old people) but it will be cheap. Take your spouse, have him stand at the end of the isle so you can sneak in between people and throw a cantalope to him...its a great system we have figured out! This is the place that causes us to have salad, corn on the cob, and watermelon for dinner. What? We like fiber.

These things are to die for. All the goodness of a granola bar with a bonus of chocolate all around it. Yum. My only wish is that they would sell these at Sams Club!

I have recently discovered that I do not enjoy online classes. I think they stink (I would have said 'suck' but my mom would be mad:) I am impressed that people can take their whole education online. For me there are too many distractions. For some reason I keep getting up and wandering. To the fridge, to my phone, to the remote, and to any other place for no good reason. Yuck. I miss lectures. I know I am weird but I love sitting and soaking up a good lecture. There is nothing like a professor who really cares about the topic and shows it. I could sit for hours. In fact last year on my prep I would go listen to an amazing fellow science teacher on the days when he would lecture. For 50 minutes a day I was a student and not the teacher. I loved every minute of it. Weird I know.

So, no raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens for me. Nope, my favorite things are granola bars, crowded produce stores, school, and clorox wipes! I just don't think that would make as good of a song.

Mall Confusion

On the recommendation of some friends, Bryan and I went to get a cookies and creme shake from Chick fil a yesterday (not bad by the way). The nearest one to our house was in the mall. So last night we found ourselves together at the mall. I think the last time this happened we were engaged and looking for a ring for Bryan. We decided that we could handle 1 store only because they looked like they had some good sales. So in we went. Little did I know that it would be such an educational experience.

We passed an article of clothing that looked like this.
Here's the conversation that followed.
B: Do I dare ask what that is? (thinking it was a dress) How can that cover 2 things at once?
K: It's a shirt. If you can call it that. Some people think that it's a shirt.
B: Oh, I was thinking that the girl would have to be in the fetal position in order for everything to be covered up.

Funny. But it's not over yet. We then passed an article of clothing that looked something like this.
Here's the conversation that followed.
B: (Thinking it was just a skirt) How tall do they think girls are? Like 8 feet tall?
K: What do you mean?
B: Look at how long these skirts are.
K: Those aren't skirts, silly, they are dresses. See? (holding it up to my body)
B: Oh.

At first I was laughing at the poor confused boy but then I realized that in today's immodest styles shirts do look like dresses and dresses do look like skirts. Yikes. I must say that I have dress coded many chickas at school while saying, "Honey, I am pretty sure your outfit is supposed to be a shirt and you are wearing it as a dress. Go to the front office because you are not allowed to sit down in my room...it's dangerous."