A (Small) Look into the life of this Intern :)

So, here are a couple of pictures that show a couple of things that I have been up to lately. This first one is a little sneak peak into the stuff that I have for my classroom. It is a sign to go above the classroom library/reading area. This is just one of the things that I have made for my class. I will take pictures of the rest of the stuff once it is actually in my classroom. :)

 So, these next three pictures are of things that I made in my science methods class today. These are just some of the things that we did today. Sometimes, there are actually perks to having a 4 hour class. The first picture is of an LED thrower. You can't really tell in the picture, but those four things sticking up on the top are little lightbulbs. The two ends are both pink. The second from the left is clear, and the other one is a flashing lightbulb that changes colors. There is a strong magnet beneath the red tape that makes it so you can throw this little thing at anything magnetic and it sticks. It's a fun little toy!

In this next picture is a plaster mold of a Bobcat track. 

 
This last picture shows a little seed activity that we did. This is one way that you can plant seeds in your yard. It helps with the spacing of your plants. Based on the guidelines given in class, I divided the paper towel into 12 different segments and glued (with Elmer's non-toxic stick glue) a pea into each segment. If I were to continue the growing process, I would cover each pea with enough soil to match its' size. 

We also did an activity with a GPS and army men. As a partnership, we got to hide an army man within certain predetermined parameters, and then "mark" the location with our GPS devices. We then switched our GPS devices with another partnership and found their army man. Another activity we did dealt with electricity. We had a battery with wires and then different things that we could attach to the wires. For example, there were a couple of things that we could hook up that made a beeping sound. We could also hook up a propeller-like thing that would start spinning when the wires were connected. There were also lightbulbs that we could light-up. My group was able to get all of the things to happen simultaneously. (And, they even had 5 different colors of lightbulbs lighting up while everything else was going on). The last activity that we did was with wood blocks. We had to build some sort of structure with 150 of these blocks. We could try and build the tallest, the most intricate, etc. building. The only condition was that when we were done, our structure had to be able to support a little smurf dude. The tower that my group built was the tallest. It was also pretty stable. Some of the other groups in my class created really intricate and neatly designed buildings. 

All-in-all, I had a pretty fun class today! I really hope that I can think of fun, interactive- but meaningful- activities to do with my students during science. 

P.S. I get the keys to my classroom on Tuesday!!!!!! I'm only a little excited! :)

Once Upon a Time...I promise that I can Tell a Normal Fairytale

This afternoon while I was sorting through the MOUNTAINS of papers and folders and binders, etc. that have accumulated for the past couple of semesters I came upon this "treasure." It is a little story that I wrote for a mini-lesson that I did in my literacy class in which my fellow classmates had to pick out a sight word from the passage. Attached to each of the passages was a package of sprees or sweetarts. This will make sense by the end of the story, I promise.

"This is the story of Chicken Big. One fine evening, Chicken Big entered his house of straw and said, 'The ground is rising, the ground is rising!' Just as he said this, Goldilocks huffed and puffed and pushed his front door open. She had a magic bean for Chicken Big to put under his bed. If he was truly a chicken, he would not have any dreams about the bean that night. If he did have dreams about the bean then the dish would run away with the fork and the moon would fall out of the sky. As a token of gratitude for reading this silly, little tale, I have included a sweet little treat."

On a side note, I worked with the cutest little girl today at my tutoring job. I hope she becomes a regular for me to work with!

I heard a new joke today: How much does a hipster weigh?

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

An instagram.

Because Today, as you must know, is Tuesday

"Here's my day so far: went to jail, lost the girl of my dreams and got my [rear ] kicked pretty good. Still, things could be a lot worse. Oh, that's right...I'm falling to my death. Guess they can't How did it all come to this? Well, my end starts at the beginning...The very beginning!"

So, here's my day so far: Went to work, went to a meeting, got my teacher badge, ran errands, talked with my sister, and went running. Still, things could be a lot worse! What a wonderful day I've had. I'll try to keep this post short and sweet.

Here are some things that made my day so good:
1. Starting my tutoring job again. Kids are funny, and somehow I always seem to get to work with the little ones that have attitudes, opinions, and personalities larger than them!
2. I am all set up for life insurance and a retirement plan starting in the fall. I feel so grown up! (And, although I understand that it is necessary, it seems rather funny that in one of the first meetings for my career, we are already talking about retirement.)
3. Eating HEALTHY!!! It is truly wonderful. Although, I am finding that I need to make more frequent trips to the grocery store because I am eating so much fresh produce and way less junk. But since grocery shopping could be considered a hobby of mine, I really don't mind.
4. I got my teacher badge! And, I actually like my picture on it--good thing too, because I will be wearing it every day.
5. I printed off a behavior clip chart for my class, and laminated it on my own personal laminator. I am starting to feel like a teacher for real.
6. Exercising! I am starting to see a tiny improvement in my endurance while running, and I always feel great afterwards. 
7. Having enough discipline to eat healthy AND exercise. They definitely go hand in hand. 
8.  Over-hearing a comment made by a little boy in a yard I was walking by during the "cool-down" phase of my workout. And I quote, "Dude, remember? A woman acts as a reflection of her man!" I had to chuckle over that one. (And I had to wonder who I am a reflection of, seeing as how I don't have a man.)

And that, my friends, just about sums up my day.

In conclusion, here are some lyrics from one of my new favorite songs "When I was your Man" by Bruno Mars. It seems fitting seeing as how a woman is a reflection of her man.

"I hope he buys you flowers, I hope he holds you hand,
Give you all his hours when he has the chance
Take you to every party cause I remember how much you loved to dance
Do all the things I should have done, when I was your man."

So Close, and Still So Far!!!

"We're so close to reaching that famous happy end, almost believing this was not pretend. Let's go on dreaming for we know we are so close, so close, and still so far."

This describes my feelings so well at the moment. I have one assignment left for the first block of summer classes. I am so close to being done...and yet, still so far! And, on a larger scale, I only have  19 credits left until I am officially done with my college classes! (That should only be one semester, right?) But, unfortunately, it spreads between second block summer classes and fall classes. But then I am all the way done with classes forever!!! So close, and still so far! Oh, but I can't graduate until the end of the NEXT semester. Spring 2014, here I come! Again, so close, and still so far!

But on the bright side, if I finish my assignment today, I have the rest of today, and all of tomorrow and Saturday homework free! Freedom is so close, and still so far. (And still so temporary!) 

On a completely unrelated side note, I have an anniversary coming up! Sunday, June 16th (Father's Day) will be my 7 year anniversary of breaking my toes. I have not had any broken bones since, so I am in pretty good shape. 

Until we meet again, blogging world!

Oh! So That's why Gas is so Expensive...

Most people are not aware of how my brain works, and sometimes I'm not quite so sure either. It's a little unpredictable. So, I was thinking today about gas prices, and this was my thought process: Wow, gas is like $3.68 a gallon. That's even more expensive than a gallon of milk. That's weird, because milk comes from a living, viable creature. Gas is just what is left from the dinosaurs after their dead bodies underwent extreme heat and pressure and probably had some sort of change in the number of carbon molecules, etc., etc.,  (I'm definitely not a scientist, can you tell?). So why is some dead-dinosaur-body juice so much more expensive than living-animal-white-liquid that is supposed to be good for you? And then it clicked. It's because it's so old! You know, if you go to an antique show, everything is super expensive because it has historic or cultural value. Now, we all know (or really hope) that the milk we drink is not older than the gas that we put in our cars. That must be why gas costs so much--there is some sort of historic value to it. Major lightbulb! I hope I have enlightened you as well! ;)

P.S. I even made the font green in honor of dinosaurs. Don't you think of green and blue for dinosaurs like the brontosaurus? And red for dinosaurs like the tyrannosaurus rex?

You MATTER!

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. " ~ Thomas Edison

This week, I have been bombarded by homework. Buried, covered, smothered, up-to-my-neck (oh, dreck!), etc. in homework. You get the picture. So, naturally, I am working on a blog post instead of my homework. Go figure. In my defense, I needed a break from homework and decided to work on a blog post instead of taking a nap. As is becoming the norm with my blog posts, I am once again going to highlight the good things that have happened so far this week.

1. Going running and figuring out a (safe) route that I can go running in the future. Tonight, maybe?
2. Going temple- it was wonderful and just what I needed.
3.Helping my sister and her sister-in-law paint a basement. 
4. Seeing my sister three times this week (so far).
5. Preparing and teaching a super cute and fun math lesson- but I may be just a little biased. :)
6. Listening to my younger brother open his mission call- he being the first of the children to serve a mission in my family. (I'm just a little proud of him! :) )
7. Still successfully following my gluten-free diet. (Don't ever try gluten free nut & rice crackers- you will be hooked and they are kind of -or really- expensive!!!)
8. Starting a new book- I'm sold already, and I've only read the first few chapters. (It's pure torture, because it is sitting about two feet away from me just asking to be read. It's a good thing it can't talk, because I don't think I would be able to turn a deaf ear to it!)
9. Almost running into an automatic door because it was opening more slowly than I was walking- that would have been embarrassing!
10. Finding a Megamind coloring book at D.I. that hasn't been used at all yet! I can't wait for some free time so I can color!
11. Flying an airplane out of the Provo airport. Just kidding. I just couldn't think of anything else to write, so I though I'd spice up my blog a little with a nice fabricated adventure. 

How does Batman's mom call him for dinner?

Dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, BATMAN! 

Oh, and I saw this on facebook and thought it was funny! Enjoy! :)



Credit for the quote goes to:  http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_motivational.html#tt0isYWHAKXFvrTe.99

Adjusting my Sails :)

"We...can choose to have a positive attitude. We can't direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. In other words, we can choose to be happy and positive, regardless of what comes our way." ~ President Monson

I am learning more and more in life that there are many things that influence us, for good or for bad, but those things really can't determine our happiness. The situations that we face in life do not have the power to "make" us happy or mad. We are the only ones who have that power- the power to decide how to feel- due to the gift of agency that has been bestowed upon us. While we do not have the power to determine what will happen to us- this would jeopardize the agency of others- we do have the power to determine how we will react. I wish that I could say that I have mastered this quality in my life, but I haven't. Sometimes, I really like playing the "woe is me card," but I am finding that doing so doesn't make me feel any less "woe." In fact, it just fans the fire of anger or hurt that I am feeling. This reminds me of a favorite quote by Elder Holland, "No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won't make it worse." Today, I am making a resolve to change how I approach the winds in my life, whether they be a light breeze or a hurricane. Instead of hoping that the wind will stop blowing, I will pull myself up by my bootstraps, adjust my sails,  and smile. :)

To start off, I am going to pull out the highlights out of this past week:

• Spending Memorial Day with my family and  doing some of my favorite things- cooking, playing games, and laughing!
• Bringing my car to Provo- what a lifesaver it has been this week!
• Feeling the Spirit very strongly in my institute class.
• Spending the last two days of my tutoring job with my favorite little boy.
• Hiking the 'Y'.
• Finishing (kind of) one of my classes.
• Turning my math project in on time- I still had like 20 minutes to spare. :)
• Playing sand volleyball- and actually hitting the ball over the net sometimes, and having every serve make it over the net. That is success in my books.
• Spending a few hours with one of my best friends after class on Friday.
• Going to Wal-Mart Friday and Saturday evening with my cousin- I am seriously living the dream!
• Having time to study my scriptures between Ward Council and Sacrament meeting.
• Hearing just what I needed to hear from the Stake Relief Society President's spiritual message.
• Being invited to go to the temple by a sweet girl in my ward so that neither of us need to go alone.
• Getting a text message that brightens my day.
• Taking meal planning to a whole new level.
• Getting paid to sit and watch a video at work.
• Participating in the coolest "last-day-of-class" activity ever! My group sang a round in four groups and sounded awesome!
• Being asked by my younger brother if I would be his first date when he turns sixteen. :)

I'm sure that there are many more things I could add to this list, but I feel like that's a good start!

P.S. Don't make the same resolve as me unless you want to be tested! I had just typed a beautiful introduction and started on my list of things that happened last week when the page I was typing on closed and didn't save any of it. At first I was tempted to be a little upset, but I realized how ironic that was, so I just had to laugh! 

P.P.S., by the time I'm done with him, he's gonna be begging for mercy. (Name that movie!)