4/28/07

The Tulips Have Finally Bloomed!











Well, here are my prized tulips. I have been waiting for them to bloom, it seems like it has taken forever. I am glad though. It is officially spring now that they are here!

I have had fun this weekend so far. I was in Salt Lake last night for a baseball game. The Salt Lake Bees won 7-5. My friend, Shule, went with me. It was very fun. She asked me what I like so much about baseball and I explained to her that I like the crack of the bat, the cut grass, the long socks, and baseball pants. She then said: "Now I know why you truly love to watch baseball." Well, it is true I like to watch young men play baseball...but I really do love the game too. GOSH! What kind of person do you people think I am? :)

I also was able to visit with Ben Gale. He is a friend from high school and it is so fun to catch up with him. It is also interesting to know that people never really change too much. We mature and learn things but we are always the same person underneath! That is good. I love friends who I have not seen in years and it just doesn't matter; we just pick up where we left off!

Today hasn't been too productive. I really should be grading papers but I have no motivation. I guess they will wait! I finally cleaned my desk off in my Health classroom. It was very cluttered. If only I could find the motivation and desire to clean my office. I guess that too can wait. The weather is gorgeous today. I should go fly my kite. I am not too good at it but it is fun. I just really want to sleep and just hang out at home. Where is my motivation?

Well, I am out for now. Hopefully this next week will prove adventuresome too!

4/26/07

Spring Weather. Biking and Fun!




My week has been good. I have been enjoying my bike as the weather has gotten warmer. I have ridden in Provo Canyon as well as by Utah Lake. I even saw cute cows down by the lake...man I love cows, especially baby ones.

I am tired. My students are wearing me out lately. I think all of us are burnt out. It has been nice to get them outside this week to play soccer. My girls PE class has been impressive because they actually like soccer. In fact, they are my most dangerous class...I am worried they are going to hurt each other because they really want that ball and actually trip each other. Not safe, but very funny to watch! Even though they tire me, my students really make me laugh and happy. I am definitely blessed in the job category!

Tonight was "The Office" night. I am sure I have mentioned my roommates and my addiction to this show. It is hilarious. Not all of my friend are as impressed by it as we are, but we still love it. Thursday is like a holiday for us. We get excited. Tonight, Mary Beth and I got Cafe Rio (some fabulous Mexican food) and ate it before the show, Of course, we also had to watch some previous episodes on DVD in order to warm up. Man, we do have a weakness. It was good times though. That show makes me laugh and smile. Love it!

Tomorrow is Friday and I am way excited for it. A few friends and I are heading up for some baseball in Salt Lake. They have a minor league team up there called the Bees. I am excited to have hot dog and enjoy the game. I sure am a baseball/softball addict as well. Love it, love it.

Saturday I will be able to see my good old friend, Ben Gale. He is visiting because his brother graduated from BYU this week. We will probably have some good food and go ice skating. Fun.

Dick Cheney was in town today to talk at commencement for BYU. I didn't see him or his motorcade, but I was able to see his jet take off from the Provo Airport as Mary Beth and I were walking down by the lake. It was a cool thing. I did not think that big planes could take off and land from there, but I was thinking wrong.

Well, I am tired. Better head to bed. Have a great day and keep the chins up....it is almost summer! :)

4/22/07

Rain

Hi.

I love spring. I even love when it is chilly and rainy. So, today I am in luck...it is both. I am hoping that the rain today will make my tulips bloom. They have their buds up just not opened yet. I look forward to taking pictures of them and showing you all.

The weekend has been good. Yesterday, I was able to go paintballing for the very first time. It was very entertaining to run in the mountains and shoot paint at people. It was also interesting to finally know what everybody talks about when they say it really hurts to get hit with paintballs. I have several welts to prove it! It was fun even with the pain and the fact that I am not very good at it. Especially, because I am still so slow on my ankle, but it was really a good time. Nice to see the beautiful mountains and it was actually nice yesterday, so I basked in the sun.

Friday was a good night too. My roommates and I went to a friend's art show and then we went and watch softball. I am a sucker for a good softball game. The sad part is that the game we watched was a team I am supposed to be playing on but I am not able to because of my tragic walking accident back in January. I hate being injured, hate it! Hopefully, come June I will be back out on that field.

School is going well. This past week really went by quickly. I like my students. Unfortunately for them, by the end of the day on Friday I am fried. I really am a bit burnt out and ready for summer break. Of course, two weeks into break I will probably be bored but oh well. At least, I will be relaxed.

Well, I am kinda wordless now. I guess that means this is the end of another exciting blog. Have a great day and remember to concentrate on the positive!
Later,
Alice

4/15/07

The Cake was a Sucess!



There is Janette with her cake. If you do not know Janette, you should; she is nice! She made me dinner which I thought was a good bonus for me seeing it was her birthday. It should be the other way around...on your birthday, people should make you dinner, but whatever! (that was a Janetteism!) The dinner was good. I enjoyed spending time with Janette. It isn't too often that you are able to have the birthday person all to yourself and I did. Fun.

Not much else has happened today. Church was good as it always is. I am sure I learned something. Actually, that wasn't sarcasm, if you were wondering. I really did learn something...like that service is important because the whole reason we are here on earth together is to learn and grow with each other. We can help each other learn and grow. Our needs can help people learn to help us so their needs for helping are met at the same time we get the help we need! Get it? We are so interconnected. If the plan was all about just doing it alone, we would have been sent here alone. But we are here in groups for a real reason!

Boys are weird. I don't understand them at all. One guy I was interested in at one time now is around more. And one that I am trying to get away from keeps hanging on. I cannot get that man out of my hair. I really just think I should swear men off. Life is so much simpler when I am not trying to figure them out. MAN! (literally!) But I guess fear of getting hurt is no reason to miss something and I think figuring them out is part of the journey!

Well, those are my thoughts for now. Happy Birthday Janette! Everybody have a great night!

4/14/07

Love My Saturdays


Howdy again all. I often wonder how many people are truly checking up on me. It would be interesting to know. Maybe it would be better to just email everybody. But I have been so horrible at that lately.

Today was fabulous. First, I woke up at about ten to ten. I like that sleeping in thing. And just saying ten to ten is fun. I really have been tired lately. I do not know why but I have my theories. One being that I am burnt out majorly. After that, I lingered around in my pajamas for a while. I even was out on my porch watching my roommate, Melanie, weed the flower bed. For some reason, the grass just grows like weeds in the bed. Any quick fixes for that, green thumbs? I guess if I do find a way to rid the garden of weeds, then Melanie will not have a stress relief. Maybe they should stay, but only for Mel's mental health.

It was sunny and semi-warm today, so I decided to go for a walk up in the canyon. I do believe that Spring is one of my favorite seasons. Of course, I like most seasons but Winter just seems to last so long. It was pretty. The trees are getting leaves which is very fun. I sure do love my mountains. I live in a very beautiful place. My sister told me that she could see why I lived here. That was while we were walking up in the mountains, of course.

I also did a little shopping. I bought a cake mix to make a cake for my friend, Janette. She turns 29 tomorrow. Poor kid. Just kidding. So I am trying to be a little domestic right now by making her a cake. I am not the best culinary artist so it could be interesting. I try sometimes and sometimes it works; sometimes not so much!

This afternoon I enjoyed sitting out on our porch and reading. The picture for today is of that. I am enjoying taking pictures for this blog. I especially like taking pictures of myself with the self-time on my camera. Amazing stuff. I also like writing on here. It may just be meaningless banter but I think it as a good outlet for me.

Tonight my roommates and I went to the dollar theatre. We saw "Music and Lyrics." It was Mary Beth's and my second time. It is a cute little romantic comedy. Melanie enjoyed it as well. I sure do love my movies too.

Well, not much else is going on here. Just waiting for that cake to be done. Maybe that will be tomorrow's picture :) Have a great day.

4/10/07

Peep War Day












Well, I have survived two working days this week. I think I can make it to another Friday. And I am looking forward to it because it is Burger Friday(to celebrate payday). We usually get together on payday to celebrate and we usually go to Red Robin. Man, I love that place. Their fry sauce is to die for. My favorite is the Bleu Ribbon Burger.

Tonight, my roommates and I had our annual Peep War. This is where you arm some Easter Peeps and put them in the microwave. As they heat up, they get bigger and the swords(in this case the prongs of a plastic fork) get closer to one another. The peep that actually gets their sword into the other peep wins. See pictures. The best part about the peep war is the eating of the melted peep. There is a pic of me enjoying that part too.

Today went well at work. My kids were good for the most part. I did have to remind my girls PE class to only be nice to each other and that I will not tolerate bickering and belittling. They tend to have this weird split in the class. It is usually Latina girls against the Caucasian girls. It is very weird to me. I wish they could learn to get along and be the generation that stops this racism crap. Don't even get me started on that. I would have a very long blog.

I really do love my students. They make me laugh and really make the day go by fast. One of my students had to leave suddenly today and is going to Mexico. I asked him if something had happened in his family and he nodded and couldn't speak. I almost made me go to tears. My heart really goes out to these kids. I love them.

All I wanted to do tonight was watch TV. It has gotten chilly again here and that is what I do when it is cold. Mary Beth and I did go for a walk and for the first five minutes I thought I was going to freeze to death. I guess we have been a little spoiled with good weather and this cold week is just payback. Oh the joys of spring.

I better get off to bed. Celebrate Poetry Month. Read some good Poetry and for you creative ones...write some! I am trying to do some of both of those things. I love the Poetry. Have a great day or night(whatever you are facing!)

Later,
A

4/7/07














Fun day. Hung out with my friend, Megan, and her family in Lynndyl, Utah. I love small towns. It is always intriguing to me to see small towners interact with one another. Any place we went, Megan knew most people. That is a cool thing. We ate 10 cent hotdogs, and 25 cent cotton candy. We also had 25 cent ice cream cones inside the grocery store. It is an annual tradition in Delta to celebrate the anniversary of the opening of the grocery store(there are only two in Delta). Very interesting. They sold 13,000 hotdogs yesterday in a county that only has 6,000 people. One resident even told his dad he didn't want to leave town for the whole weekend because he would miss the annual hotdogs. Nice.

We also dyed Easter eggs in Lynndyl and had an Easter egg hunt. Later, we went to the sand dunes(one of the pictures) and rolled Easter eggs down the dunes. Another Greathouse tradition, although it is more than just her family because there were lots of other people rolling eggs down the hill. They would even carve out little paths for the eggs to follow. Interesting. I like traditions. They really are fun. I even celebrated Lent again this year even though I am no longer Catholic. My mom found that funny seeing she didn't even give anything up this year. It was very hard to go without candy for 4o days. Last night I ate lots and today even more.

Tonight, I convinced my roommates that we should dye some eggs. I guess I was inspired while in Lynndyl. Mary Beth had a really cool idea using tape. Our eggs turned out good. I even took a picture of nine of them. I like having creative roommates because it encourages me to be creative.

I enjoyed the drive on the way to visit Megan as well. It was so beautiful to see the mountains green. I love spring. It was also fun to sing Shania Twain songs at the top of my lungs. It just felt like the right thing to do as I was in the country. When I first got to Megan's house, I was talking in a southern drawl. I do not know where my accents come from. I wasn't trying to imply that they talked like that, because they do not. I just felt like I was going into the real country, I guess. Sometimes I speak in a French accent just for fun. One time, I actually taught one of my Health classes in a Russian accent. I could not stop, even when my students wanted me to! Weird.

Well, I don't have much else to say today. I hope the day finds you having a good time.
Take Care,
Alice

4/6/07

Friday...Facing the End of Spring Break ! :(


Well, It is the last official day of Spring Break. I do not want to think about that. Luckily, I still have the weekend.

I hope you like that beautiful picture on the right. That is what I look like as I blog today. I am still in my pajamas at 11am. Nice. You can also see into my not so clean room. I thought about cleaning it during my time off but didn't have any motivation follow the thought. That happens sometimes.

Today, I will go to a funeral. I almost said get to go to a funeral, but going to funerals is not something I feel is a good opportunity. I guess death is a natural part of life, but I really do not enjoy going to the "party" for it. It depresses me. The funeral today is for the father of one of our students. He committed suicide after being confronted about his behavior, specifically about not treating the student's mother very well. I just feel bad for my student and how he now has to deal with all the aftermath of this tragedy. I guess sacrificing an hour of my time to support the family of this child is worth it. I am lucky and get to leave the service knowing my father is still alive and well, and I have had the opportunity to make it to adulthood with both of my parents. I am very blessed.

I have been grading papers a bit this morning too. I haven't had much motivation to do this either. It is interesting to see how my motivation seems to dwindle out at the end of the year just like students motivation starts to lack too.

Later today, I will head up to Salt Lake City and hang out with some of the Bills kids(for those of you who do not know the Bills-they are my adopted family. The introduce me as their daughter and have done so for the last 12 years. They live in the Salt Lake Valley and it is nice to have "family" so close. The Bills used to live in Wisconsin, that is where I met them. They are awesome!). We are planning on hitting a matinee movie and grabbing dinner. If I can convince them, I hope we go to Su Casa, my favorite restaurant in Salt Lake. Great, fast, and reasonably priced food.

Tomorrow I head to Delta, Utah. My friend, Megan, invited me to the Easter festivities that go on there each year. Basically, you can buy lots of food for 10 cents per item. There is also rumor of an Easter egg hunt at her house sometime during the day. It will be very adventurous and I am excited to go.

I should start a countdown of days left until the last day of school. That always puts things into perspective. Maybe I will hold off on that until there is only like 15....right now it is somewhere in the thirties, I think. I will keep you posted. Less than two months and I will head to Wisconsin. That makes me smile.

I hope this Easter weekend brings all of you much fun. Remember the reason for this holiday. Christ did die for us, and he rose again after three days, proving to the world that we too can have eternal life. I am very thankful for that and wish that all of you will feel that power in your lives as you reflect this Easter season.

Love ya,
Alice

4/4/07

April Showers.....Bring May Flowers....or in this case April Flowers!


Well, here are some pictures from my flower garden. I actually planted these flowers last fall. It is very nice to enjoy them in the spring. Flowers always make me happy. Melanie, my roommate, finds it soothing to weed them. I am so nice that I let her(even if I do hate to weed, it is a nice thing to let her do it, right?). The garden consists of a few other bunches of these crocuses and some bunches of tulips. The tulips are growing, but not blooming yet. More pictures to come, of course!

Today was the first day of spring break. I love spring break. My friend, Janette, who also happens to be a teacher at Independence, and I went to Park City today. After about four hours of shopping I came back with a new pair of shoes, a new jacket, a new pair of shorts, and a few new shirts. Good times. We go on a trip to Park City about twice a year. The bargains keep us going back frequently. It is where I get all of my PE clothes.

Have I mentioned my addiction to the TV show "The Office?" I am addicted. It is bad. My roommates and I rent it all the time on DVD. Last night, Mary Beth and I tried to get it at Blockbuster because I have an online subscription, but it was not there. So again, I had to go somewhere else and actually pay money for it. Tragic. It was also was tragic that I was the only one who could stay up late to watch more episodes. I just could not get my roommates to watch more episodes. Sad that they have to go to work this week and can't party with me. We are excited for a new episode to be on Thursday night! Woo Hoo!

My allergies are pretty bad right now. It is crazy, because I never get allergies out here in Utah. Dang Global Warming. I am just going to start blaming all of my problems on Global Warming. I am sure that is why prince charming has not found me yet. It is also why all the idiots I have dated are so clueless. I won't vent too much. One of my friends wanted to get my a license plate holder that said "Romeo, Romeo where the hell are you?," that is pretty much how I feel these days. SIGH!

Well, I am kinda at a loss for words which is surprising, I know, but I will now wrap this up. Have a great day and enjoy the spring flowers because they do not last long. Cherish each and every moment for they do not last long either! Live, Laugh, Love as my sister always says.

Later,
Alice

4/1/07

Is it Tired in here or is it just me?

Well, I am tired. I think it is because I just lived though March. It is a good thing to say because I actually lived through it! :) March is the hardest time for me as a teacher. Seriously, with no breaks(except for the one my birthday creates) it is a long month. But happy April Fools...it is finally April. The month of Joy. That is the theme my roommates and I came up with, we have a theme for each month.

I have added all my blogs from a previous blog. They should be in chronological order on here somehow. Just play around with it to get it in order. Soon I will put some San Francisco Pictures on here too. I like the layout on here better so I will probably blog more! :)

This weekend has been fun. Besides the good word from Conference, I got to go to an old roommates bridal shower. It was a good time because I was able to get together with a lot of my Utah State friends. It was like old times...we chatted until after midnight. I am getting too old for that. I am going to try and bring my old posts from above said address here, so that they will all be here for you...consolidation is always good!

Well, hope all is well and thanks for reading.

Just a pic of me and cookie dough!

Almost the end of the Madness of March

Saturday March 31, 2007



Less than a week and I will be on spring break. Fun times. I don't have many plans except to go to Park City to do some shopping at the outlet mall. Other than that I plan on getting rid of this burnout by relaxing. Sleeping in is my biggest strategy for that!

My students are hilarious lately. My favorite thing that happened today is that I made on of my students, who has trouble focusing because of excess energy, run to the back of the school property and back in order to burn some of that energy. It worked for most of the class. Sometimes, I really have good ideas.

I am amazed at how little my students know about appropriateness. Yesterday, in girls PE, one of the students decided it was perfectly okay to grope another girl in the breast. Not okay. Man, I have to deal with a lot. I am sure I will laugh at it later but it is still a sore spot with me now.

I am glad it is the weekend. I got to see a good movie tonight, "Night at the Museum." Good one. I am glad I waited until the dollar theatre to see it though! :)

Well, I am tired and should sleep. Thanks for reading and have a great day or night...whatever it is to you. (of course, I don't think I have anybody reading this....oh well!)

Later,
A

March Madness

Sunday March 18, 2007


Well, It is the month of March. That means a lot of things. First, it means I am now 30 years old. Second, I am in front of my TV watching college basketball a lot. Third, baseball season is soon to start. Fourth, spring is nearly hear. Fifth, it is the month of skills. And Sixth, I am a happier person.

Turning thirty wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I actually had a blast because I was in San Francisco that day. I enjoyed my trip. I loved the cable cars, China town, and especially Alcatraz. We (my roommate and I went) also went to the beach and walked on the Golden Gate Bridge. What a pretty place San Francisco really is.
















March Madness is going on. I love college basketball. I have only (yes, only) filled out five brackets. I love to see how well I can predict the outcomes of the games. It has been awesome to see so many of the games be so close in the first two rounds. Very good stuff!

I am excited for baseball season. I love to watch live games and often frequent the Salt Lake Stingers minor league games. I also love to follow the Dodgers, Mets, and Brewers. I just love that game. I have also been invited to play on a co-ed team this spring. I really hope my ankle is up for it. I look forward to being home this summer to play in Wisconsin. Go American Dynatec.

Spring...I sure do love Spring! It hit 79 degrees in Provo today. Wonderful. I celebrated by cleaning my room, taking in a afternoon movie and by playing frisbee golf. I love the sun...I got to go on my bike twice this week already!

It is the month of skills. I don't know how many skills I really have worked on this month. Maybe those brackets can count. I guess I had some traveling skills improved as I went to Vegas and San Francisco. Riding amusement rides can be a skill, especially for me...I hate them but did the Big Shot on the Stratosphere in Vegas.

I am happy. I come alive in Spring. Glad it is here. Hope you are getting a dose of spring fever too and that this finds you in good spirits.

Later,
Alice


Nearer to the End of the Month of Appreciating Out Inner Freakshows!

Saturday January 27, 2007

January is slowly, well actually, quickly coming to an end. I think it is probably a really good thing to be done with it. I am very excited to have winter be done...and being one month closer helps.

I have a broken leg. That is the only real news that has happened to me. I am getting a little tired of having to tell the story of how I broke my leg, seeing it was only because I am clumsy and just twisted my ankle as I left the porch on the way to work on Tuesday morning. I make up new stories everyday and really make it interesting. The favorite story is that my roommate got mad at me and actually pushed me off the porch.

It is interesting to see how people really can be helpful if you are having issues with your mobility. My favorite experience is walking to my classroom, which is in a trailer beside the school, and one of the students ran out of his other class to help me with the door. I really wish we all would help each other more like this everyday in normal situations. So, maybe my roommate is right and I am actually supposed to learn things from this. I think that it really is to give others the opportunity to help me and serve me but I am sure there are lessons for me to learn too.

I am pretty bummed that I will not be able to play basketball on my ward's team but I guess maybe I am not supposed to be. I get bored easily too, but I did buy a new puzzle today and will have many special projects to do!

As January ends, I hope February meets all of you with new adventures and little or no wrath!

Cheers!

Happy New Year!

Saturday January 6, 2007

Happy New Year


Well, Life is pretty much back to normal after coming back to Provo after the holidays. It was very hard to go back to work, but it wasn't too bad of a week with the students. In fact, I am getting a little sad when I think about having to be done with my two Health classes, seeing the semester ends this next Thursday. I cannot believe the year is half over. I will miss my students and I guess I will be excited about breaking in a new group of students. It is fun to coach them into the routine and see them learn new things. So, there is something to look forward to as well!

I have lots to do today but no real motivation to do them. I guess that is the territory of Saturdays. Good intentions but no motivation. I would really rather be in my bean bag chair reading the good book I am in the middle of, but I must get some things done. Have a splendid day and by the way: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Deep Thoughts!

So, I have a funny feeling that when I get back to Provo this blogging frequently will not happen as much. Sad really. But it is life. The past few days I was able to go to the place of my birth and upbringing (I just realized that, that must have sounded pathetically corny). It was a good time to hang out with friends from my high school days. It is also very cool that I still am in touch with a few of my close friends from way back when.

My brother is in town and I really do love spending time with him. It is great to see him very happy with his job being a pilot. He may actually soon get a really nice job being a corporate pilot. Cool stuff. We went to dinner at my favorite bar(where we eat great food....I stay away from the hard stuff and stick with rootbeer!) tonight which just makes me all happy inside.

Tomorrow my sister and her family will be here. I am excited to see them and it will be fun to have the house all noisy will silly kids everywhere. It will also be fun to have the whole family together again even if it is just for a day!

Cheers to you all. Hope you are getting as much TV in as I am these days and that you are celebrating knowing that calories do not count between Christmas and New Years!

Thursday December 28, 2006