A few things you might not know about me…

* I love cheesy things! Little comments or movies that make most people roll their eyes and gag...I think they are sweet!

*I’m not a morning person or a late night person. I function between 9 am and 10:30 pm.

* I hate taking quizzes that tell me what I resemble most because I can never honestly answer them without trying to alter my results. Plus every answer I read sounds like a good one to me.

Quiz- Which Disney Princess are you? I was Pocahontas the first time, Snow White the second, and I really just want to be Bell. Hummm, what would Bell like better ice cream or French fries? Forget it, quizzes suck!

* I have always had an ongoing list of baby names, even when I was little. Any new ideas?

* In fact, I love lists in general. Thank goodness for post it notes and calendars!

* I love shopping, but I’m not an impulse buyer. I contemplate over and over before I finally decide yes or no, black or brown. When I do buy something I almost always consider returning it.

* I play dodge ball, Bunko, and do a dinner group with a bunch of my friends (we miss you Ruth).

* I always have a late fee at the library.

* I was bit by a neighbor’s dog in 8th grade. I had to have plastic surgery and many many stitches.

* Spontaneity, don't look here. I have the rest of my life already planned out.

* I am paranoid about everything…natural disasters, my house burning down, loved ones getting cancer, death, robbers, aliens, being alone, being late, letting people down, etc.

* My dad rocks! He is the best example of giving service to everyone and he always knows just what to do next. I have no idea what we would all do without him! Now if only we can find him a wifey...

* I have to get everyone’s opinion on everything. Can't life just be one giant poll?

* I have a hard time asking for (and accepting) other's help, even when I really need it. I'm also not very good at saying no, unless you are one of my students and then I'm afraid it comes way too easy!

* Okay, this one is way hard to admit. In the tiniest, littlest, most minuscule way, I tend to be a little overly emotional sometimes (ahem, okay a lot). Seriously, I admit I have those days that are dra-ma-tic! I’m like a little kindergartener with all my tender feelers everywhere. Be careful or I might just erupt in tears at any moment and no, I can't control it. My tears have a personality of their own.

* When I grow up, I want to be my sister (you probably already guessed that).

*I love:
Sundays, Oprah, traveling, the smell of cut grass, Dr. Laura, pictures, any type of surprises, Walmart, sleeping with the window open, frosted rock ice cream (milk chocolate and sweet cream mixed with marshmallows Ü), people who comment on my blog, and my fam!

*I hate:

Watching anything twice, the taste of coffee or mocha, feeling left out (remember, sensitive Kindergarten feelers), round brushing my hair, being late, grocery shopping alone, and the hamsterish smell of kids after gym class.

The joy of being a health teacher

Let’s talk about STD’s. Yep, I said it…sexually transmitted diseases. Well, just a little rant really.

I have always been a little bugged by our district and some of the “stuff” they don't want us to talk to our kids about when it comes to human sexuality. I’m not saying I want to push these poor little sheltered kids off the edge and watch them plummet into all the unfiltered human sexuality info out there, but I do want them to know the truth.

If some of them might face these decisions in their lives, I want them to know what really happens for example during an abortion. I want to educate them about forms of birth control besides abstinence. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about pushing abstinence and I think that is the best, but realistically how many teen pregnancies could we avoid if we educated these kids just a little more. There’s a way to educate without promoting. I think they should know the correlation between STD’s and getting pregnant when using “condominiums” (don’t you dare say the real word) and other forms of birth control. I’m not talking about getting the banana out and all that, just giving a few more facts. When I get some of their questions in class I am scared to death about where their information is coming from. Yikes!

So my point is that if you think your kids are getting good sex education classes in their schools, I’m afraid they probably aren’t. As a teacher, I pray that parents step up and have that awkward conversation with their kids. Start early because now 1 in 4 kids will have to treat a STD in their lives and my school district has reported a STD in someone as young as 12. Want another crazy statistic? The numbers of known STD’s out there keeps rising and there are at least 37 different types we know about today.

After dissing a little on our district, I do have to say that they have taken a giant step this year in educating about STD’s. Now if a trained representative comes from the district to our class they can actually show the kids pictures. It's hard to not be sarcastic about them just barely putting the pictures back into the curriculum.

I kind of got on this rant because the crazy STD lady came today and gave her presentation (and she only rarely referenced her own cervix…what?). I was all excited the kids are finally getting this info and low and behold, one poor kid fainted! If you can get a kid to faint you know that’s some good stuff!

Wow, if you stuck with me through all that length you are officially my new best friend!

What's red, and red, and red all over?

Have you ever had one of those nights when all you do is toss and turn, get up, lay back down, and stare at the clock as you watch your precious sleep time disappear? You roll over and see your husband knocked out cold and it takes all the strength from the bottom of your being to not poke him just to make sure he isn’t awake too (hey, misery likes company). Last night was one of those long nights. Why? I’ll show you…

My first sun exposure to my transparently white legs + 9 hours at the state golf tournament = ridiculous amounts of pain! Legs radiating heat, body freezing cold, and Ibuprofen obviously not strong enough, I laid there like a wimp! Here is where I advertise to remember to wear your sunscreen!

By the way, we ended up winning the region tournament and out of 46 teams, we qualified for state (along with 25 others) and ended up taking 12th. Not bad for our first year!

Meet my pregnant, or formerly pregnant, friends

I’ve just decided that I am about the only married person I know that doesn’t have a kid or that’s not currently pregnant. Seriously, even at church they pass around this “are you pregnant” list as if it’s something you might have caught through the week by sharing a drink with someone who is already pregnant. It’s not the flu people, it’s a baby! I guess it is a married ward...
So here we are after Zander’s blessing last Sunday. Breklyn (bottom left) started the baby trend with Ivy and baby Zander, then Amelia (top left) had her brand new baby Tysha this week, and Holly (top right) has about 10 weeks left before we meet her baby Trey, and Steph (bottom right) is just starting her second trimester. These girls are going to be busy! The best part of the day was when Steph sang me the Seasame Street song “one of these things is not like the others…” Very funny Steph! :)

Here are some pictures I took Wednesday when we went to the hospital to meet Tysha. She is so sweet and you can already tell what an awesome mom Amelia is going to be!