Finally...

Finally #1: I have things worth writing about!

Finally #2: I finally switched my background back to the beach theme. Good news considering it had been a St. Patty's Day theme since March. Yes, it is May 25th, get over it!

Finally #3: I graduated! April 22nd was Commencement and the 23rd was our College Convocation. It was 5 years of hard work, stress, blood, sweat and tears. I spent a few semesters making up for the blunders of a freshman and sophmore slump, but finishing it off with a 4.0 in my final semesters made it all too nice. Who'd thunk it, but I am a college grad and made it 2 weeks ahead of Paul! AWESOME!!

Finally #4: I made it through the first year of teaching. What a roller coaster. I am so glad that I have made it thorough the year, it was questionable at some moments whether or not I would make it or not. I had so much support from my team, my facilitator and other faculty. I will miss the people of Larsen Elementary more than words can describe. My students have taught me more about myself than what I taught them. We have had our fair share or problems, stealing from my desk, lies, tattling and bullyinhg; but we have had some great successes too! I will never forget my first year; the kids, life lessons, and professional development will benefit the kids I teach until my job is done. I love what I do and I love working with kids.

Finally #5: For those of you who don't know I have a job next year. I was hired to teach 2nd grade at Mapleton Elementary and I consider myself lucky. I applied for one job in Nebo that had 94 applicants, and at that point I should have decided to take my resume back! I know that with the economy and the need for jobs so high I am incredibly lucky to be employed. I am so excited to get to know a new school, new students, and new faculty. And great news I get to stay in the same grade, I can use what I have done this past year and the fear of oh, sixth grade won't add to the nerves!


And as a side note to Shaunna and others who read my blog to keep themselves updated on my life. I will be better I promise, especially now that I wont see you everyday to fill you in on the happenings!

Unrequited

I am trying to transfer all my notes from my blackberry onto my blog so I don't lose it all before I get a new phone. So here's the last one of the day...maybe.

Why is it that the one thing we want is often the one thing we can't have. And we know we can't have it but we are willing to put ourselves through the blender of life, sacrificing happiness, enjoyment and time for even a glimpse of it. Even if just for a smile, a touch, acknowledgment, we will deal with the rejection, the sadness, and despair that comes when what we want, or in this case who we want, doesn't want us back.

Invictus

I saw Invictus last weekend and really liked it. I wish they had shown more rugby and it had moved a little quicker but I still enjoyed it. I have always found the story of Nelson Mandela to be very interesting. After being wrongfully imprisoned he still supported reconciliation and negotiation, and took the lead in moving toward a democracy with those of the race that forced him into 27 years in a cell. I know it is just a movie, and the lines are not necessarily fact, but Morgan Freeman, who played Nelson Mandela told Francois Pienaar, played by Matt Damon, "If I can not change when circumstances demand it, how can I expect it of others?" It is a message that many advocates of non-violence, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and others have shared. Change starts with the individual and you can't expect the world to change if you can't. The world needs more men and women like this, who are willing to make a change for the good, and rather than talk about what changes can be made, go out and do it.

*Just a thought.

2-in-1!

2 posts in 1 day..very unusual for me, but I couldn't help it. I was talking with a friend on Sunday about one of the greatest television shows of all time. Arrested Development! I love it so much the theme song is even my cell phone ring. I was shocked, appalled, saddened, mortified, and 100 other various adjectives to describe my disbelief. He had never seen or heard of Arrested Development. Since that day I have vowed to share its message of sarcasm, quirky, and absurdist satire. I gladly shared the three seasons I own on dvd. So fingers crossed he gets as much pleasure from Michael Bluth and his family as I do.

Today's Festivities

So I love my mother dearly, and am so glad she has joined the 21st century by way of texting. I am proud to say she owes her success to me, seeing as I taught her the art of a text and this is what I recieved this morning at 5:09 am (we're still working on the time issue, though she is 2 hours ahead).

Mom 5:09 am: In morons in the news( K addition: a morning segment on a family fav radio station) they told a story of a stabbing that took place at the Cinemark 22 in Lancaster, CA ( where I graduated H.S.) Someone was using their cellphone during the movie when a man leaned over and asked if it could be put away. The boyfriend, in his anger, jumped the man and stabbed him with a meat thermometer!

Kelsey(at a respectable) 7:13 am: Lancaster is a classy place. They use meat thermometers as shanks to show their refined nature. Who the heck carries around a meat thermometer. Do they consider that packing?

Mom 9:50 am: Didn't you always carry one for emergency?

Kelsey 10:37 am: Its never been my emergency weapon of choice. I prefer a turkey baster! (Though in conversation via facebook, my sister informed me of my true preference, a fork)

Mom 11:17 am: solid choice.

Kelsey 11:40 am: thank you! (this may or may not have actually been sent)

Now that I have given a little insight into one of my hometowns if I happen to overreact to a inquiry such as putting away my phone, and I happen to mutilate your arm with a fork and do something with my trusty turkey baster I can not be held responsible!

You have been warned

Additions..

I need to add to my favorite quotes from students.


1. "You smell like chocolate chip cookies!" - Grady
2. "Why aren't you married yet?" -Landon
"She's not even old enough to get married yet!" - Rebecca
"Yes, she is, and I have the perfect guy for her! Louis!" - Grady

P.S. Louis is Grady's 14 year old brother!

More to come, I am positive!

Ramblings of a crazy woman...

Why is it that when we make a mistake, whether it is something minor, like a small child (or a teenager) taking a piece of candy from one of the bins at a grocery store to the even bigger mistakes we just keep on doing it? Yes it is easier to fall back in to old habits and routines rather than put froth a conscious effort to try and better yourself. Whether you believe in a god, or just being a decent human beign with a moral code it shows a great deal about a man or woman's character. Courage is not walking into a situation blindly and hoping it all turns out well, and that in the moment you may make the right decision. Courage is protecting yourself, you dignity by making a decision ahead of time, by knowing what decision you will make before you encounter that situation. Courage is when that situation presents itself you stick to your guns, whether or not the choice you will make will be the popular one. Growing up my mother had a quote posted on our pantry doors that read, "What is right is not always popular, and what is popular is not always right." I wish that I had appreciated the efforts my mom and dad went through to make sure they were teaching me correct principles, and show that appreciation more readily. I wish that as siblings we had shown our appreciation for their concerns for us, our safety, and our salvation rather than right off the efforts as the crazed wishes of our parents. I know my parents want the best for each and every one of my siblings, and I hope that to the day I die I make them proud of me. I know that the sacrifices they have made to help me succeed, to put me through school have not been easy. I hope they know how pleased I am to say they are my parents, how grateful I am for their examples.

I am sure my children, one day, will say I am a crazed parent, a product of the generation I grew up in...but I hope they know I had 2 wonderful examples of how a parent cares and loves their children, and it is them that I do it for. If that reasoning is not enough... I'll blame it on their grandparents!