Detective

*This post has the potential to be a bit lengthy, but if you are in the mood for a good mystery, it might prove to be a great read.*

You may or may not know this about me but I love, and I mean love, crime shows. I watch Dateline, 48 Hours Mystery, AMW, Cops, etc whenever I get the chance (or whenever Jeff will let me). The problem is, I get nightmares. When we had cable and Court TV Jeff banned me from the station because my nightmares were so bad. However, I just cannot get enough. Crime fascinates me. I'm sure somehow it stems from watching these shows with my dad. The point however of my post is, I think it might be possible to see me interviewed on one of these shows. Probably not really, but I'm telling you, there is a mystery with my neighbors. We'll just call them "BUCK and SANDY".

Buck and Sandy are an older couple that live in our building. They are hilarious--odd, but hilarious. There are some facts you need to know about them.

*Buck is an alcoholic of sorts. He loves his beer and drinks it all day long, day and night. He for some reason thinks Sandy does not know about this habit even though he drinks at least a case or two a day and leaves his cans ALL OVER the ground around the complex. Jeff and I pick up at least 10-15 new cans/day.
*Jeff and I find it funny to watch Buck. He hides his beer in the trunk of his car. He comes out trying to pretend to be "busy". He opens his trunk, takes a sip, looks around, and then closes the trunk.
*Jeff said Buck has cases of beer hidden in the maintence room.
*Buck and Sandy are known to get in little tiffs. Over the summer I would laugh because our windows would be open. I would hear Sandy say, "Well, you're not getting any!!" Then I would hear Buck say, "I don't remember asking for any!" What the gross?!
*Sandy and Buck never really have anywhere to be. They mill around with their little dog and just kind of wander around when they are outside.
*Buck and Sandy leave in the winter to warmer weather. They take their big RV and Buck's white truck. They leave Sandy's green SUV.

Now for the mystery. So the weather has been nicer. Our friend Sandy has been spotted as well as the little dog. She seems to be back home for good. However, where is Buck?? That's what I want to know. Nowhere. No truck. No RV. No spotting. Jeff of course thinks I have been watching a few too many crime shows but I think there is something fishy going on. Sandy all of a sudden seems to have a job or something. She is gone during the day when she never used to be. Not one peep from Buck. Not one beer can. Maybe this is normal, but maybe not. You just might see me being interviewed as "the neighbor that always suspected something"....

Home Sick

HOW THURSDAY WAS SUPPOSED TO GO:

Jeff was going to come to the school with me (he's on spring break) and while I was busy teaching, he was going to get the car inspected for registration. Jeff's sister was also in town so after school we were going to go out to his parents house for dinner and to see our darling nieces and nephews.

HOW THURSDAY ENDED UP GOING DOWN:

Well, after being fairly healthy all year, it finally hit me. On Wednesday night my throat started to hurt and by Thursday morning I had a fever and my throat hurt even worse. Since I get strep throat EVERY SINGLE YEAR AT LEAST ONCE, I had a feeling that is what I had. I think I should just become a doctor because I am almost always right at diagnosing myself and others. Anyway, so Jeff came with me to school, took the car to get its inspection and I was feeling worse by the minute. I was dizzy and my legs felt like jello. Of course subs are nearly impossible to find but our great secretary was able to get her daughter to come sub for me at noon. Thankfully I was also able to get a doctors appointment as well. Jeff got back to the school and helped me get the kids to lunch and we went home while we waited until my appointment. I slept and felt even worse by the time he woke me up to go. I was soooo dizzy!! I started walking down the stairs and Jeff was a couple steps behind me. I seriously could not feel my legs so I fell on the second step...smooth. We got to the doctor and I hurt so bad and my head was pounding and my ears felt like they were going to explode. I was in so much pain I did what I always do when I hurt...I cried. I was so embarrassed. I couldn't stop crying sitting there waiting for the doctor--I don't think I have a very high pain tolerance. Anyway, the doctor finally called me in. I had a fever of 104 (which apparently is why I was so dizzy and weak). I did have strep and I got the penicillin shot to the rear--it seems to be a yearly tradition. I was still contagious for 24 hours so I got a sub. for Friday, which is a good thing I did. The shot seems to have kicked in, but slower than usual. I continued fighting a fever all night and until this evening, my throat hurt quite a bit. At least I have the weekend to recover completely.

Anyway....that's my long story of why I haven't been much of a blogger this week. Thank you to the second grade team for being such great friends and taking some of my kids when subs came late, left early, etc. I am so lucky to have such great friends!

Tagged!!

Thank you Jonna for two things: 1. The tag (now I have something to post about and 2. My blog design (I failed to mention that Jonna always fixes my blog disasters and is always responsible for my cute headers and papers!)

5 things tag

10 years ago:

It was 1998 and I was in my junior year of high school. I was probably studying for AP exams, stressing out about homework, and playing pranks on people. Wait a second, has anything really changed besides studying for AP exams??? I still stress non-stop (I probably have an ulcer I don't even know about) and I am still playing pranks on many different people. I was also working at a gym in a daycare 10 years ago, babysitting for a lot of people that paid me really well, and going to movies and hanging out with people from school and church. I didn't love my high school years, I'm not gonna lie. College was much, much, much more fun! Going to a richie high school with a bunch of spoiled druggies=not the best experience.

5 Things On My To-Do List:

1. Call principals in Wyoming and beg them for a job
2. Get Jeff's lunch ready for tomorrow
3. Go to the store and buy some cheese for tomorrow's dinner (bbq chicken wraps--a little creation I made up last year--I know, I am really skilled)
4. Develop my class pictures for the student treasures book
5. Empty the dishwasher

5 Snacks I Enjoy:

1. grapefruit, grapefruit, and more grapefruit
2. cheese-its
3. sweedish fish (especially the multi-flavored packs), any chewy candy
4. dill pickles
5. fresh fruit (especially summer fruits), mostly peaches, mangos, watermelon, cantelope, etc.

If I Suddenly Became a Billionaire I would...

*Adopt a baby(ies)
*Buy a house and furniture!!
*Buy Jeff a new four wheeler and all the tools he wants
*Invest in or start a school for underpriviliged children in inner cities.
*Put most of it in savings (I'm a saver, what can I say?)
*Shopping spree (for clothes of course)
*Invest in a good pair of top of the line running shoes
*Take a bunch of classes like decorating, scrapbooking, sewing, and many other craft classes
*Take a trip to Portugal, Ireland, and Italy, and Germany
*Send my dad some money so he could retire and not stress about money
*Send my sister plane tickets to come visit me
*Oh yeah, and I should probably get a new cell phone because mine is almost from the dinosaur ages. I don't really know how it still works. Although, sometimes I think I should just not have a cell phone and cut expenses, but if I have a billion dollars...I don't know, it's a toss up.

5 Places I Have Lived:
1. Naperville, IL
2. Troy, MI
3. Malibu, CA
4. Corpus Christi, TX
5. West Jordan and Provo, UT

5 Jobs I Have Had:
1. Daycare at a gym and more recently at a "pre-school" thing
2. 4 AM custodial at the Harold B. Lee Library
3. BYU laundry (Both job #2 and #3 have the best, most hilarious memories)
4. 3rd grade teacher
5. 2nd grade teacher

5 Things You Didn't Know About Me:

1. Most people thing I am really shy and quiet, especially at first. I am especially quiet in big groups but once you get to know me (and sometimes it takes awhile), you might not think that anymore. Sometimes I talk way too much and if you get me laughing too hard I won't be able to stop. Small things amuse me too, so you better be careful.
2. I can't leave a project unfinished. Once I start something, I HAVE to finish it and I do not like to be interrupted. This goes for big projects and little ones. That is probably why I burn dinner (and pans) a lot. I get doing something and I think, "I will go turn the dinner off as soon as I put this last load of laundry away"...etc. I would rather go to bed 4 hours late than have something unfinished. I am actually a little OCD about it.
3. I can't leave anything out for too long. I would rather put a project that I don't finish (much to my dismay) completely away and then pull it all out the next day. I hate having anything out!! If I leave the house with a blanket unfolded or a dish in the sink I think about it all day. Once again, I think I am a little OCD. I would even rather stuff something in a drawer than have it left out (this drives Jeff crazy!!! )
4. I have always wanted to teach in an inner-city school with little ones that don't have good homes, but I have never been brave enough and now I'm comfortable where I am. Maybe one day...
5. I am very insecure about my height. I hate it when people draw attention to my height and I have always felt like less of person because of it.

I tag: Megan, Camielle, Heidi B. and C., and whoever else has not yet done this tag!!

PS Sorry, I went a little crazy on this tag with long answers...did you even make it to the end????

Two Funny Stories

Pretty much I love teaching. One of the biggest reasons I love teaching is because I love working with other teachers and making friends. But of course the other reason why is because I love the kids and the funny things they do and say. As tired as I have been this time of year, two funny things happened the last two days. The kids usually say something that makes me almost pee my pants, but I always forget to write it down. So I finally have two stories that probably aren't nearly as funny without being there, but at least it's something to post about.

#1 Today one of my favorite little boys brings his own book from home for reader's workshop. He pulls out of his backpack a "Teaching of the Presidents" relief society manual out of his bag. I seriously almost wet my pants when I saw it. I asked him what it was and he got kind of embarrassed and said it was a book he brought from home. I was trying not to laugh when I asked him if I could see the cover. He shows me and I confirm what I thought it was. Jeff was so sweet and came to school to help me out today. I pointed out to him what he was reading and of course he thought it was pretty funny too. I asked the little boy to read to Jeff. He was reading it SO loud and I could tell Jeff was trying so hard not to laugh. He was reading it great, but was clearly NOT interested!!! He wasn't sure what to do since he was reading to Jeff so he just kept on going. It was hilarious. I can just picture him grabbing something from his bookshelf at home not really knowing what he was grabbing but feeling like it looked big and cool. I love teaching in Utah.

#2 Yesterday one of my sweet little girls said something about her dad. I asked her if she was talking about her dad or her stepdad. She looked confused and I figured out that she doesn't think of her stepdad or stepmom as anything other than dad and mom. So I said, "That's so cool that you have two moms and two dads! You are pretty lucky!" She then tells me that she is actually even more lucky than that because she has THREE sets of parents. I looked confused and asked her what she meant. She then points to the ceiling and says, "I have parents in heaven too." It was adorable. Once again, love teaching in Utah!

What the??

Anyone know why my sidebar thing is at the bottom of my page??? I went to layout and it is weird. I don't have a clue what happened. It will only do it every now and then, but mostly a lot lately. I need some serious help. I don't even touch my layout and it randomly ends up at the bottom. Then the next time I look it is normal again. I am so confused.