Today I spent a good portion of my day cleaning. I wish I would get on these kicks more often! I love the satisfaction of knowing I can walk on my kitchen floor and not have to worry about stepping on some nasty mystery item. One item that I usually have trouble cleaning are the burner bowl things on my stove. I have discovered a wonderful cleaning material for just that kind of problem. It's called Greased Lightning.I just filled a sink with water and dumped some of this stuff in. I then let my bowls soak for about half an hour and all of the gunk came right off! There was one stubborn spot, but it came off with a little scrubbing with some baking soda.

And yes, Lessley...I did dust. (The Target $1 duster works pretty well.)

In response to my husband's blog post about having to pay too much money, I thought I should post on how there are still some good hearted people out there who care for the college student (ie: they are probably on the fringes of going bankrupt because their food is so cheap). Tonight we went to Rancheritos (formerly Beto's) and were able to get dinner for the two of us fo $6.50. We left completely full...ahh, satisfaction!

Passion

Today Steve and I were talking about work and school. I always thought that once I got out of school life was going to be awesome. I would be so excited to start every week and get paid for doing something I loved. Don't get me wrong, I really like teaching, but I'm not sure it's my passion. Steve asked me if I wished I were back in school and I sadly had to say yes, sometimes I do wish I were back in school. Starting class at 7:30 or 8 and being done anywhere from 12-2. If I missed a class I was the only one I had to worry about. Now I have work every day from 7:15-5:00 (which includes travel times). Sometimes I don't even get home until 8 or 9. If I want to miss a day, I have to make sure I can get a sub and then I still have to spend over an hour planning for the person who will be taking care of my "angels" for the day.

I worry for Steve because we both know that he is not done with school (which he really hates!). And all of this might be working toward something he might wake up dreading every day for the rest of his working life.

So the question I pose to you today is: How do you find your passion? How do you find the thing that will keep you motivated to get up and go every day. I know that no matter what you do there will be days that you just don't want to wake up to, but I'm talking about the majority of days and weeks. I know that Steve and I are still young. I still have the opportunity to go back to school if I want, in order to search for a vocation that is truly stimulating to me. But how do I go about doing that? Any ideas? We have listening ears!

I have lost my table to science! Steven is working on an invention for a manufacturing class and I am left with no kitchen table! Just thought I'd share... : )

Oh Sick!

So if you know me very well you know that I have phobia of throwing up. It freaks me out. I also wonder how I am going to be a parent because I cannot handle other people throwing up either. I used to say that I was a "sympathy puker" but Steve corrected me because I don't actually throw up when I see others do it (I'm too afraid). Instead I get sympathy sick. So anyway, Steve and I had had this conversation on Sunday due to thin walls in our apartment.

Early Monday morning I had a student who said she wasn't feeling very well (a common complaint of a 7 year old in order to get out of class/get special attention), so I told her if she needed to throw up she could leave the room without asking, which she did. I also let her call her mom and go to the office to lay down for a while. In about 15 minutes she came back to get her things because mom was on her way. As she was walking to her desk (in the midst of all other desks, mind you) she tossed her cookies. I nearly tossed mine as well. I ran over to the boy she was standing by and yanked him out of his desk (superhuman strength due to adrenaline) and sent him to the office. The poor girl just could not stop.

Here is where I am so proud of myself! I evacuated my class (so that I wouldn't lose my stomach) out into the hall, got the girl calmed down and cleaned up, and got the heck out of there! She went home right away and I took the opportunity to make a "text-to-self" connection with my class. We had just read about the same situation in the book Ramona Quimby, Age 8 on Friday. We made comparisons about how the girl in our class probably felt much like Ramona, etc. We then proceeded to hold the next hour of class in the library while our gracious principal came in and cleaned up. (The poor woman! The janitor was outside scraping the sidewalks.)

What a way to start off the week!

Update

I figured I would write a real post this time to update everyone on the neverending saga that is my life. (haha...that made it sound interesting) So, as many of you know, Steve interviewed at two dental schools at the end of last year. Both interviews went seemingly well, but he did end up getting a rejection from one of the schools. We still have not yet heard from the University of Washington, or any of the other schools that he applied to. I am getting very impatient with this whole business, but Steve...my better half...seems to be taking it all in stride. I really just want to know what's going to happen so we can plan our lives. At this point we are fairly sure that we are going to be moving to Salt Lake in May to live with Steve's sister. We will house sit for them all summer and then....that's where the story ends! If Steve doesn't get in he will most likely work through the fall and possibly winter and then reapply to dental school and try applying for grad schools. This would put us back at square one, which is where we are right now. If anyone has any good advice about how to not get too discouraged...please let me know!!!
I am still teaching in Heber and really enjoying it. I don't say loving it because it really is a struggle for me. I am learning how to deal with so many women and children all in one building. I think I would do better if it were just me and the children, but the women cause much trouble and controversy! I am amazed at how much drama middle-aged women can stir up at any given moment. Sometimes I feel like I am back in high school (not a place I would like to be). Due to all of the unknowns listed above I am debating whether or not I should reapply for a job in the same district next year. If I did work there, we would consider living there and letting Steve try out commuting for awhile.
There is a silver lining, however. GRADUATION is swiftly approaching! Steve and I will both be graduating on Friday, April 25, just 2 short months away. I am so excited to call myself a college graduate and to say good riddance to my undergraduate years! I am proud that Steve and I made it this far, after both of us swearing we were going to quit several times.
Through all of this craziness though, I am so glad to say that I have been going through all of this with (and because of) Steve. I love him so much and am so lucky to have found someone so amazing! Steve is my best friend and biggest support. I apologize to him daily for all that I put him through, but he just smiles. He really has been the best thing to ever come in to my life and I love him so much!
Thanks to all of our friends and family who get to hear this story at least weekly, if not daily. I really appreciate the listening ears!!!

For those of you who also read the Twilight series you might have heard that they are creating a movie. I don't think I'm that excited because I have a very specific idea of what Edward should look like and the person chosen just does not fit the profile for me!I guess he's okay. If you've seen the Harry Potter movies you will know him as Cedric Diggory. Well, I have been doing some searching of my own as to whom I think would make the best Edward, and this is who I found. (I feel totally shallow posting this, but I wanted some feedback!)
This is Kyle Korver from the Jazz. I just saw him on the news last night and thought he fit the description of Edward pretty well.
Okay, I feel like a total nerd now.