Some Things are Worth Getting Up at 5AM For...

As some of you may know, my friend & I are planning a trip to Great Britian this summer. It has been my life-long dream to visit Scotland, my ancestral home. Because London is so close, we're taking a few extra days & visiting England, too. I am so excited for the trip, I can barely stand the wait. It's like waiting for Christmas morning when I was little; when my brother & I would stay up 'till the wee hours of the morning to sneak out to the living room and poke around at our presents.

We started planning this trip a year ago, when we became roommates again. About a month ago we nailed down the dates of our trip & were pleased to discover that we'll be arriving in Edinburgh at the start of the summer festival season. That information meant that we needed to make B&B reservations right away. We found an awesome B&B for a great price & made reservations last month. I was so excited that this trip was really happening. We also learned more about the festivals going on & decided we really wanted to visit the Royal Military Tattoo festival while we were there. For more information visit: www.edintatto.co.uk

Basically, its a military performance from tons of military bands & regiments from around the world. The festival runs from August 5 - 27, 2011, with performances every evening except Sunday & two performances on Saturday. They perform in a stadium at the base of the Edinburgh Castle & the grand finale features a combined pipe band performance of Auld Lang Syne & Scotland the Brave. When the finale is finished, they close the program with a lone piper playing on the ramparts of the castle. I get emotional just thinking about it, I can't imagine what it'll be like when I get there!!

Tickets went on sale on Wednesday, December 1st at 10:30AM, Scotland time. That meant 3AM our time. Oh Boy!! I finally pulled myself out of bed at 5AM and click the link. I was immediately entered into a queue that read, "Do to the high demand, you have been entered into a queue. Your position is #1,988 and your estimate wait time is 1 hour 20 min." That information was extremely accurate. At exactly 1 hour 20 min. I was automatically directed to the purchasing site & was pleasently surprised to see good seats available in our price range for the date we wanted!!! I'm so excited to go! The show might be the highlight of the trip!!

Here's a pic of the event:

Let It Snow, Let it Snow!!!

It has been so long since I updated my blog, I couldn't even remember my email address to sign in with! Wow!

Anyway, nothing really exciting is going on. I'm still working at the school & it's keeping me more than busy. Things have been better this year...I have an entire day devoted to just instrumental music classes. I love my B days for that reason. Then A days come & things get a little more challenging. But, the holidays are coming & that means long breaks without any school work. Yippee!!

What I really wanted to post about was the awesome "Winter Blizzard Warning" that has been issued for our state tomorrow afternoon & evening. According to the news reports, a blizzard warning has never been issued for our state. I've got plans Tuesday night, but I'll be happy to cancel them if this storm is as bad as predicted. Thankfully I don't have to work Wednesday morning & I can curl up in my apartment & wait for the storm to pass.

I think the only thing that could ruin this excitement would be if the power goes out. The power went out at my parents house a couple of years ago, during christmas break, & it didn't come back on for three days. Hopefully that doesn't happen, but I made some preparations just in case. I bought some new batteries for my lanterns & flashlights. I bought water & some food that I can eat without cooking. I've located the extra blankets & coats in case it gets really cold. I also filled the gas tank in my car. I'm feeling really "grown up" right now. We'll hope for the best, expect the worst. It's going to be an exciting week!!

I'm Sorry, My Life is Boring

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a long time. Summer was good. I loved every minute of it. I wish I never had to work & I could sleep in & do whatever I felt like doing & didn't have any deadlines or stress. But, there is opposition in all things, every good thing must come to an end, yada, yada yada. At least I know summer will come around again.

School starts on Monday. I've already spent the last two weeks cleaning, spending money, and getting ready. Overall, I feel good about this school year. That good feeling may not last long, but it's been nice so far. I've only had one nightmare. Usually at this time, I've had several. All you teachers out there know exactly what I'm talking about. It's normal "back-to-school" jitters. I'm sure the next week or two will be chaotic, but I know I'll survive, 'cause I've already survived it four times now. :)

In an effort to catch up, I went on two trips this summer. One to Washington DC with my friend Bekah & the other to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons with my family. Megan has posted pics of Yellowstone/Grand Tetons. They're still beautiful. I forgot how much I love the scenery there. Washington DC was awesome! I took tons of pics, but not alot with me in them. I also had a big job interview this summer. My dream band position came available & I interviewed twice for it. Eventually, they offered the position to a colleage of mine who's taught band for A LONG time. When I saw him at the second interview, I knew right away he was going to get it. But the whole process really boosted my confidence as a teacher. Even though nothing has changed for me, my attitude has changed. I feel like I'm on the right track, so far. On a spiritual note, the Lord definately has a plan for me. The path is different from the one I picked, but I need to have faith in Him. I'm here at this point for a reason. I don't know what it is, but I feel a quiet, calm, reassurance that everything is as it should be.

Well, I'm sure life is about to get more exciting now that school has started. I wonder how many lockdowns we'll have this year? I'll let you know!

Running Again...

I have a deep confession to make. Two years ago I started this blog as a journal. I wanted to record my training for my first race. I admit, it was a short, simple race, but a big deal to me. I've never been the athletic type & at the time, I'd never run in a race. I recorded all my training days and posted all the pictures from race day. When it was over, I stopped blogging for a while & I stopped going to the gym. It didn't help that school had started again & I was working alot. I kept thinking I would go back, but it never happened. I've visited the gym occasionally over the last 9 months; maybe a total of 10 days since last August. But obviously it doesn't do any good unless you do it consistently. Because of this, I have gained a lot of wieght & fallen out of shape.

Maybe it's the good weather that has inspired me, or the wonderful examples that I have from my family, but I've decided to start training again. There are plenty of 5k races over the next few months & I would like to run in a few. Not to be a world-class runner, but to give myself a reason to go to the gym. I need to exercise & I need a purpose besides work. And, I know that if I don't post my progress & check in with my blog, I won't perform as well. It's easy to talk yourself out of doing something if nobody knows you were going to do it in the first place. So, thanks for listening & holding me accountable.

NEWS FLASH: Today I left work at 3:10, headed to the gym, ran/walked 2 miles & came home. It wasn't my best work out, and I've lost alot of endurance, but at least I did it.

MOAB!!

I love spring break. It always comes at a much-needed time. Saturday, my family & I drove down to Moab to break-in our new camping trailer. We stayed in a group campsite near Dead Horse Point with several other families. Saturday was spent listening to conference & hanging around camp. I took my bike for a spin & walked around the local trails. Sunday we listened to more of conference & took a drive on the BLM land around our campsite. On the drive we saw an old well, a bunch of cows, & spectacular scenery. We drove all the way to the Green River overlook. Then we came back for dinner. Monday, we drove into Canyonlands & hiked up to Mesa Arch. About noon I had to drive home so I could get ready for work on Tuesday. It was fun to hang with family, see beautiful sites & relax a little bit. The weather was partly cloudy & little cold sometimes, but much better than Salt Lake's weather. The rest of my family is lucky. They get to stay for a couple more days.

Our Campsite (Circle of Trailers)...


Proof I can ride a mountain bike...


The old well in the middle of nowhere...


Picture taken from the truck...


The weather did cool things...


The Green River overlook...


Canyonlands, view from the visitors center...


Being blind doesn't stop him...


Mesa Arch...


The View through Mesa Arch...

My iPod's Not Big Enough!

Well, its finally happened! I have more music & videos than will fit on my iPod. Considering I have the 120 GB iPod, this is quite an accomplishment!! Now I have the fun task of selecting the files I want to take with me & the files I have to leave at home. :( Summary: I have 45 GB of music, 25 GB of movies, 5.6 GB of TV Shows, 4.6 GB of Podcasts, and 19.4 GB of audiobooks. Pretty cool, huh?

Kid-Friendly Me

Today for lunch, I stopped at the local Subway restaurant. After buying my sandwich & filling my Diet Coke, I sat down, pulled out my iPod & started to enjoy my chicken teriyaki sandwich. Within minutes, I feel I'm being watched. I look to my right & I see a cute little hispanic girl, around two years old, watching me eat. She just keeps staring at me. I smile, and she smiles back. I try to go back to eating, but she just keeps staring. After a minute, she starts to play with the garbage can flip door, occasionally glancing back at me. I keep smiling until her mom calls her back. I think, that was weird...why me? Twenty minutes later, I've finished my sandwich and start to eat my cookies. I feel I'm being watched again. Turning to my right and expecting to see the same girl, I'm surprised to see a different girl, around 2 years old, with blonde curls. She's staring at me too! I smile, she smiles back and continues to stare until her dad calls her back to the checkout line. What's the deal?! Did my nose turn green or something?! I couldn't decide to take it as a compliment or an insult. :)

For the Record...

I promise during our spring break, at the end of March, I will update my blog's background. The week after spring break, I should have some new pictures to add!

The Biggest Time Waster?

Just for the record:

I have spent the last 2 hours on the internet: reading blogs & forwarded emails. In these two hours, I have learned how cute cats can be when they sleep in flower pots, what kids say about moms, the latest credit card scams, I don't look good in pictures, how hard it is to buy a car in costa rica, how awesome Brian Reagan concert was in SLC, and how "public" our lives have become. A special thanks to all my family & friends for helping me procrastinate my lesson planning a little longer.

The Poor Kitty

My roommate took our kitty into the vet today to get her de-clawed. This was the look I got when I got home from work:

Big Changes

It has been a while since I posted, and in an effort to avoid my bedtime, I'm going to provide the general public with a brief synopsis of the last three months.

A week after my last post I finally moved into my friends condo. It has been a wonderful change in my life. I now live 10 min. from work, unless there is snow or an accident on Bangeter Hwy. I have two wonderful roommates that I have been able to hang out with & socialize with when I'm home. My roommates are also wonderful examples of thriftiness & I have been able to save more money than in previous years. I live in a wonderful area of town & I'm a part of a wonderful singles ward. I've been able to make a few friends in the last three months, in addition to the ones I already knew.

I had a wonderful christmas break & received a new camera for christmas. I looked forward to posting pictures from my new camera. But since school has resumed, I haven't found the time to learn my new camera & upload pictures. Hopefully soon, I'll make it a bigger priority.

The most recent change in my life is the decision to go back to school. I want to pursue a Masters in Education & Administration, so I may become a school principal or vice-principal someday. I'm not in a big hurry, but I know I can't teach my entire life & I already feel some "burn-out". I've run into a couple of obstacles since I decided, however. Once I decided I wanted to earn a Masters in Administration, I needed to decide which school to attend. Most programs start in the summer. My first choice became the University of Utah, but I discovered I had already missed the application deadline for the year. I can apply as a non-matriculated student, which means I can take up to 9 credits without being officially enrolled in the program. But it will mean the program will take 3 years instead of 2. It might be nice to spread the classes out, and relieve some stress while I'm also working full-time. But it will also mean more money in the long run. Another option is the University of Phoenix. It seems to be a "low-stress" program because I only take one class at a time, but it is completely on-line & I'm concerned about not having real people to talk to & attend class with. From the principals I've talked with, a big part of school is networking with other students who I may end up working with in the professional field. I'm currently looking into my final option, Utah State University. Apparently, they offer this program through their extension campuses, but I don't know any details yet. I hope to talk to someone in the department tomorrow. I've also run into some problems with my teaching level. All of the programs require a level 2 certificate, but I still have a level 1. Even though I have technically taught for 4 years, I've had some difficulty getting credit for the 2 years I taught at the charter school. I haven't tried to work out the details because I didn't have the need. But I may need to jump through that hoop before I can attend school. Don't you love government bureaucracies?

Anyway, there's a quick summary of my life. I'll try a do a better job of keeping th'blog updated.