8/31/08

Corn and Church. A blog of Cs.


I love corn. I didn't love it as much yesterday as I cut and cut and cut it off the cobs in order to help my friend, Moo, and her family with their corn harvest. I did feel productive and helpful though, which is always an added bonus. I was also able to take 10 cups of corn to freeze and a dozen cobs. This corn really does taste fabulous. The kind you find in the grocery store is not nearly as neat. This stuff is fresh and fabulous. Okay enough about corn and onto the 2nd C, Church

Church today was interesting for me. I have been going back and forth on my decision on where to go now that I am over the ripe old age of 30 and have not found a mate, which in Mormondome means you may no longer enjoy the wonderfulness of singles wards. (These are congregations of single people aged 18-30, for those of you who are unfamiliar with Mormondome) Single people above the age of 30 are encouraged then to attend a family ward. Here is the thing with family wards in Provo, Utah: there are a lot of babies(real young "adults") who have babies. This sometimes is hard for a single person over thirty to be around because contrary to world belief, some people in their thirties may not be choosing to be single and not having a family. I happen to be one of these people who would rather be parenting than not. Anyway, it is kind weird to go to these family wards and be one of the sole single people who has not reaped the complete joy of getting married and having small children. The people there are still nice, but when the first question out of their mouth may be "Where is your husband?" it just hits the single soul a bit hard. I am glad that I attended the family ward I should be going to today because I have now reached the decision to not be Mormon anymore. JUST KIDDING! In Provo there is this funny singles ward that actually lets people over 30 attend. Some of the people at this ward are socially awkward and you can see there are reasons they have not been married yet, but there are some normal people there too who have just blossomed late. I fall into the last category! So, I think I need to just get to it and become a full member of the older single adult ward. Even though I may feel a little weird there and maybe even a little awkward, it pales into comparison to the loneliness I felt as I sat in church today. It is weird that you can be in a room with over a hundred people and feel completely alone. Weird.

Please do not get me wrong, I really do love my life. I have so many blessings in my life and I get to do so many fun things. I am just feeling that biological clock ticking these days and I really do desire companionship that can only come from a married relationship. I also believe that being single is much better than say marrying somebody completely wrong for me and who may in fact be scary and do things that would ruin my life. I have seen too many of my friends "jump" into marriage with the wrong people and have their lives ripped apart. I would rather be single my entire life than to be miserable with the wrong person. Aw, look how much Alice has grown over the years!

Anybody want to go to the Olympics with me in London in 2010? I don't think I can do it alone! :) That was a random question by the way. I am kind a random person.

Sometimes even in real life I feel random. I think conversation I have with friends is sometimes that way because basically I do much of the talking and they may not feel the need to talk so I randomly go on and on. Kind like my blogs I guess!

Well, I am off to see some of my favorite people in Salt Lake. They are some of my favorite people in the world as well..hehe. It will be a treat! Later.

8/29/08

The Couch of Wonder



Happy end of the week to you. Happy three-day weekend, as well. I am pretty excited to have three days to relax. Well, kinda relax that is. I will be busy, busy, busy!

I love my new couch. I have already had two nice naps on it. Wonderful. Too bad I now don't have enough room in my apartment. I think something is going to have to go and it might be the beloved bean bag chair. I figure I am 31 and it might just be time to be over the whole bean bag thing! I think the money would definitely go to the Wii fund!

I really am enjoying my students. It is so very weird how a good attitude really can change the whole experience of anything. I really am trying to stay positive and actually get to know each student more. That makes a big difference. My Leadership class pretty much thinks I am crazy, but I really feel we are closer than we have been. They are big Juniors this year. I really want to help them get their acts together in order to graduate next year. Too bad the reality is that about half of them will not make it to their Senior year. That really makes me sad and I hope we can change that.

I have been filled with a little rage the past few days. Last night at softball I called one of the players on the other team a butt and then a horse's patoot. (I really did use those very words!) Today, I lost patience with a few of my students. Poor things. They really can't do anything about me and my rage when it comes. I did cool down eventually and had a pretty good afternoon.

Tonight, Janette and I got dinner and then watched The Office. We are catching her up for when the new season starts in a few weeks. I am excited to have another friend to watch with each Thursday. It is even an added bonus that she has an awesome huge flat screen. And no, I am not her friend just for her TV.

Up for the weekend: 1. Harvesting corn down in Delta 2. Laugh show of Timpanogos Storytelling Festival 3. Visit Morgan who is up from Vegas 4. Sheepdog championships in Midway. I am a little busy, like I said.

Tired

I am just partying too much at night.  This is how I party:  I sit in front of the TV and watch What I Like About You until 11:30.  Then I sleep at 11:45.  Not enough sleep.  Dragging already today.  I am excited for the long weekend except for the fact that I have booked myself.  I am doing something pretty much every minute of the weekend.  Sad day for me and resting and cleaning. :(

I had a crazy dream about aliens.  You should ask me about it sometime.  It was crazy.

Well, off to make yet another PowerPoint for my Health class.  Thrilling!


8/27/08

Fun Pics!



I was tagged today by Morgan and the tag meant that I needed to add some pics to the blog.

The pictures are pretty self-explanatory but my spouse is Jim Helpert. Hello The Office! I also put stuffed animals as our kids. I feel much better about not having a spouse or children; thank you very much!

I am back into the full swing of school and being tired and busy and can't get my dishes done ever. I have no spoons left right now. Sigh.

Tomorrow I will get a new couch. Erin and Isaac, I am excited to have your couch. It is staying in the family! :)

I will have to post a picture of the couch tomorrow.

I really don't have much else. I am so tired. Why am I up after eleven again?

8/26/08

Taco Tuesday!



Okay, maybe not Taco Tuesday. More like Grilled Cheese Tuesday, but whatev. I thought I would do a week of what I eat for dinner. There is tonight's masterpiece. Funny thing is that lately I have been craving fake cheese. Kraft singles just tickle my pallet lately. It is weird seeing I am the Wisconsin girl and all. I love those little slices of magic!

Today went fast. My students are fun so it seems to fly. Only one class had a problem and that was because of the projector not working while I was trying to give a PowerPoint Presentation. Frustrating. It is a projector from the 1960s so that is probably why it was having problems. Okay, maybe it is a projector from the early 2000s but it is still ancient in technology terms.

Went for a bike ride with a friend today in the dark. It was an adventure. It was nice to ride while it was cool but I did not like the bugs in my face! Yuck.

Well, that sums it up in a nutshell today. May your Wednesday be filled with pork chops like mine will! :)

8/25/08

Manic Monday? Maybe not!

Hi. It is 11:07 and I should be in bed. I think I really just need to leave the school earlier than after six in order to have some me time!

Tonight I played softball on a team that struggles to get girls to play. It was fun even though the team lost. I really do just like playing.

I then took a wonderful walk through the streets of Provo. Good times as always. I cannot believe it is almost the end of August. My friend mentioned that it was getting darker sooner and that summer was over and that winter was here. How depressing. Unfortunately, winter is getting pretty close! :(

Not much else today. Not even very many funny things that students have said or done. Just a day I guess. Days are good! I am sure I will have one tomorrow too. I hope yours is good.

8/24/08

It's Over...



Find this picture and more of the closing ceremonies at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/olympics/chi-olympics-closing-ceremony-080824-pg,0,1573042.photogallery
(it's picture 5)

When the flame fades, tears come to my eyes. I have always been an Olympic addict. This year, after missing a few of the games, I was re-ignited myself with the love of the games. I do not know why I am touched so much by the Olympic Spirit. Could be the underdogs and the comebacks, or it could be the grace and excellence of the athletes. It just gets me.

I don't know what I will do with myself now. I guess I will have to read or something.

The closing ceremonies were amazing. The Chinese have surely done a fabulous job of hosting the games. I hope you all were able to watch tonight.

Not much else here. I cannot believe I will get to school again tomorrow and it will be week two. Time is already flying. Only 175 days left! But who is counting! :)

8/23/08

Lazy, Lazy, Lazy.

Hi. I am back and in charge. I am sorry for the few days of no blogging. I was actually quite busy with work. I was excited to go back on Thursday even though I still did not feel 100%. I actually kept telling people all day, when they asked me how I was, that I was about 65%. I had to sit down a few times in class because I felt a little week. It was an adventure. I really do love my job. I am always reminded just how much as I go through the first few days of teaching. I love my students. They are so cool. I am lucky to work with such awesome young people.

Here is two of the funniest things that happened this week in class:

1. As I was coming into Boys PE 6th hour yesterday, two students were also entering the gym. One looks at me and says: "So, will you really be doing drug testing in this class this year?" (I guess the rumors have been going around) I answered by saying: "Oh yes, in fact we will be doing urine tests today. I hope you are ready to fill the cup!" By the time I was done taking attendance about five of the boys had asked if we really were doing drug testing in class that day. I found it very funny how trusting they are of me at times but at other times will not even believe things that make sense and are true.

2. Many of this kids kept asking me if Dodgeball had been outlawed. I thought this was interesting and asked where they had heard it. They said the History intern had told them. I went and talked to said teacher and sure enough he had said that just to torture his students and to be funny because they had kept asking if he would let them go play on Fridays. When the kids were asking again in PE on Friday if we were going to play Dodgeball, I told them that only kids not in History could play. It was pretty funny to listen to them complain that, that wasn't fair. Yet again they believed me. Silly kids.

Yesterday, I got to feeling very good. It was good to feel better and to be at school and of course, Fridays are always better than any other day. Hopefully my good attitude will continue and the students will not get bad; they are pretty calm and good the first week as they test the waters!

I am being very, very lazy today.

Well, happy weekend to you all. Sister, I am so glad you are blogging. I hope you will get the bug completely and I will be getting to be in your world via your page! If you all are interested in the Meyer Nuthouse, visit their blog. I listed it on the side of my page!

8/20/08

Pepto-Bismol vs. Imodium A-D




Well, if I can't put pictures of the toilet, I might as well put pictures of the gross medicines I have taken the past two days. By the way, Imodium wins hands down for curing diarrhea, if anyone cares to know. Sorry if that is too much information(TMI). I never thought I would actually write the word diarrhea on my blog. Interesting.

I woke up this morning thinking that I would make it to work. Yeah, I thought that for about two minutes before going to the bathroom and then deciding to quickly write sub plans, request a sub, and call my principal. She has been a trooper through this whole ordeal. Today she just answered and said: "Oh No!" I told her that is exactly what I thought when I had woken up! So, it was another day of laying on the futon and another trip to Smith's to get the Imodium. I had the Pepto yesterday but it didn't do much. One dose in of Imodium and I am good to go. Hopefully, this stays that way. I really am hating not being at school and that seems a bit weird coming for the girl who after Freshmen Orientation commented: "Only 179 more days!" It is really frustrating to know my kids are there and I am not. It is hard to explain. The first days are pretty important even though I kinda find them as pointless as the last few days. During these times, not much goes on at school. The first days of school are filled with "fluff" as Educators may call it. Basically, it is a lot of getting to know you type stuff. The last days are full of fill the time while kids are extremely antsy stuff.

I am having a hard time not being there and seeing what my classes are like. It is very weird to plan for a sub when really you don't know what each class chemistry is like. Who knows who the trouble maker will be and who knows what students will be helpful? I couldn't even write that down for my subs the past two days. Weird.

Maybe I was supposed to learn something from this mystery illness. Maybe I am supposed to fast the day before school. Or maybe I need to be more excited and thankful for the start of school. Who knows? I do know that when I do go to work tomorrow, I will be excited to not have to sit at home feeling nervous and weird. At least I was able to figure out which antidiarrheal works best!

8/19/08

Sick, Sick, Sick!!!

I thought about putting a picture of my toilet on this post because in the last twelve hours I have spent about five hours on the toilet, but I thought a picture of my toilet would be a little over the top! I do not know if this is food poisoning of just a thirty-one year cleansing, but it is bad. I keep thinking: "Why couldn't this have happened last week?" because today is the first day of school with all students. Yesterday, we had Freshmen for Orientation. So, I had to call my principal at six-thirty this morning and also get a sub. I also had to email sub plans to my friend, Janette(thanks for it) in order to be prepared today. I really feel like an idiot, but, as my principal said this morning,: "You can't control these things."

So, I have been sleeping on my couch since seven this morning with little breaks from sleeping to watch Olympics or hit the bathroom. I really thought my sickness would pass, but it still rolls on. I need to get some Seven-Up and maybe Imodium soon but I keep worrying that I would be in the middle of the store and have a bathroom call. Malo. I have not been this sick, hmmm, ever.

I had a dream this morning about Angela Kingsley from The Office. Yeah, for some reason she lived in a barn with her parents and I was visiting her there. I was put to work "shoveling" the driveway in the middle of summer, which consisted of moving mud around. I basically was concerned about my new little brown shoes but her very kind dad hooked me up with some boots. Where do these random dreams come from? The other night, I had a dream about a friend's brother and how attracted I was to him. It was weird because I really have never been interested in him. I also, during the dream, had a warrant out on my about somebody's untimely death. What was that all about?

Well, I am off to more couch laying and Olympic watching and hoping I will be able to work tomorrow. I don't think I have ever hoped for that..hehe. Cheers!

8/17/08

New Curtains, New School Year!



My mom made the wonderful curtains for my house. She is amazing. The curtains were in the clinic she works at and a few weeks ago they were not pretty. They were white with splashes of pink, blue and green. They were weird looking. My mom thought they had lots of possibility; I doubted the possibility. She dyed them in the wash machine. They are so cool. The ones in the kitchen almost look like a lava lamp during the day when the sun comes through them. The ones in the living room can make my front room dark in the middle of the day. It keeps the place a little cooler on hot days(don't worry mom, I open them sometimes too!)

Tomorrow is the first day of school. It is Freshmen Orientation. No biggie. Tuesday is real kids. It is weird. I can't believe it is time already to be back. I guess it is starting whether I am ready or not.

I must now go watch the olympics again. So much to watch so little time.

Have a great night and a wonderful Monday! :)

8/16/08

Saturday IS a Special Day!



Hi. Yesterday was eventful. We had a bbq for school. I had a great steak! Yum. I love potlucks with my co-workers and their families. We did some Rocky Mountain Circle Dancing. It was a blast to see all the little kids dance. I introduced myself like this: "Hi, I am Alice and I like mics. I teach Health and PE. My boyfriend, Michael (little pause), could not make it tonight because he is swimming in The Olympics!" It was funny.

After the bbq, Janette, MB and I watched The Olympics. My boyfriend got his 7th gold medal tying Mark Spitz's record. Awesome.

I really like my new house. Hopefully by tonight I will have my new curtains hung. I got the box from my mom yesterday at work. Thanks for that Mom!

I cannot believe it is now the last weekend before school starts. That is just weird.

I did something pretty big today at school. I had pictures of Brett Farve on my wall in my Health Classroom. I tore them off and crumpled them up. I think I am pretty much a Packer fan. Brett Farve is not a Packer, therefore, I have forgotten who he is...kinda! What a big step!

8/15/08

Golden Times!

My new hero of the Bejing Games is Nastia Liukin, who is now the Olympic Champion of All-Around Women's Gymnastics.  I was in awe at the performance Nastia had last night.  AMAZING.  I was also so touched as she got emotional as The National Anthem played while she was awarded the Gold Medal!  The Olympics seriously contain an awesome spirit.  I was also very excited that the Chinese were unable to sweep gymnastic gold medals!  I am not biased or anything; GO USA!  My life has pretty much been consumed by The Olympics lately.  I keep thinking I don't really have much to write because I spend about 5 hours a day in front of my TV!


Last night was my first softball game since getting back.  I like my team.  We played really well but were unable to maintain the lead!  Funny thing is that I really don't even know what the score was because I just didn't care last night.  I just love playing.  I like that, as I get older, the more it is just about playing and less about winning.  

It is the Friday before the first week of school.  You think I would be more nervous.  I am not.  I just want to get started so we can be done with this whole transition thing. I am just ready to be off and going! :)  It was nice to see students at registration.  It seems to make things real and manageable!

Well, off to finish some things to present at a meeting later today! Thrilling! 

8/13/08

Ode To Andi



Today is my Sister's birthday. She is older than me and is a very nice person. You really should know her. Of course, you may live a far way away from her, but that is beside the point, stalk her and get to know her. Just kidding, don't do that. That is creepy.

I met my sister 31 years ago. Okay so maybe a little more than 31 years ago. I was little; she was a little bigger. I am sure she took care of me even though she didn't like the fact that she had to be quiet when I was around. I guess I was a sickly runt. Anyway, we grew up in Wausau, Wisconsin. She was the boss of me for the majority of my childhood years. I did not like her to be my boss back then but now, when I am 31, she can be my boss anytime. She has good advice and much life wisdom. Pretty much she is an amazing woman, mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, etc. She has a tender heart and is willing to help people. I personally think the most amazing feat she has done has been adopting two kids and being patient with them as they grow.

Whenever I spend time with Andi, it is a good time. Whether it is making cards together, picking on our mother together, or doing fun things together, I know I will have fun. My sister has an amazing sense of humor and makes me laugh all the time. She is a great listener and always gives me good advice.

What an amazing woman! I am so glad to have you in my life sister. I hope this year is the best yet for you, because you deserve it. LOVE YOU! (Seester's birthday is August 13...you may be reading this on August 14 which is my nephew's birthday. He is nice too!)

Work, Work, Work...


Hi.  I am officially back at work this week.  Actually, I am officially at work right as I type this!  

Yesterday, we had a great opening meeting as a staff here at IHS.  I even got to lead an activity.  We did "If You Really Knew Me..." as a staff.  It was completely awesome.  I feel so connected to the people I work with, even the newest members of the team!  If you were to ask me a year ago to lead something for the whole school, I would not have done it.  I am really liking this new Alice.  I really was changed for the good back in July at Next Step training. (see previous blog about Challenge Day, if you are totally confused!)  I also am in charge of the Junior Advisor Team.  We call ourselves The Top Ten because our kids will graduate in 2010!  Today, I will get to see some of the kids in my Leadership class and I am pretty excited about that.  It really doesn't seem like we are back to school until I actually am able to interact with my students!  We got a lot of work done yesterday including planning an outing to a museum to learn about Da Vinci!  My team rocks!

I stayed at work until 6pm.  It is always humorous to me that I will stay and chat with other teachers until later in the evening.  We really don't have lives.  It is nice to be back with my friends!

Janette and I watched the Olympics on her HUGE flat screen TV last night.  I keep telling her that this TV really could be a man magnet.  She just needs to start picking up nice looking men and taking them to stand in front of her TV.  I am sure within about 5 seconds there would be a marriage proposal!  It still is so fun to watch Michael Phelps swim.  He is just amazing.  Talk about a fish!  I would marry him, if he asked!  It is good to have imaginary boyfriends to cheer on during the Olympics!

Well, I don't really have anything else.  Please remember to recycle and to smile, it keeps people wondering.  Not the recycling:  you will just be considered a green person.  Smiling, on the other hand, will make people wonder!



8/11/08

Back To Work.....Almost.



Today I had a meeting at school at 11:30. It was weird and nice to go back to work. Weird because it does not seem like it is time to go back(it never does at the end of summer) and nice because I really do work with AMAZING people.

I rode my bike to work today. That was very nice. It is definitely different than the new bike my mom bought me in Wisconsin but I will get used to it(the handle bars are much lower). I also rode my bike out to the lake. I love that place. Enjoy the picture of me pondering life at the lake!

I woke up today with very bad pain in my neck and shoulders. Bad, bad! I decided that it must be the pillow I am using. I do not know why all the sudden it is giving me problems, but let's hope that the new pillow I bought will do the trick(I was very excited to find pillows 50% off at Shopko...I didn't have to buy a cheap one!!!). I do not want to wake up tomorrow with the same issue. It was bad, did I mention that? It still hurts a little.

Tonight, I watched the Packers lose their first pre-season game. Oh well. I watched it via picture in picture so I could also watch Olympics. I am sure addicted this time around. It has been a while since I was addicted to the Olympics like this. I used to use countless VCR tapes when I was younger and watch everything. Now, I am finding myself using my DVR to tape a lot but I really do not have enough time to watch all of it. I think there is a lot more coverage these days.

Well, I am going to go back and watch the men's gymnastics. Good, good times!

One last thing: I also grilled some amazing chicken thighs tonight. I think it was either the first or second time I have actually cooked chicken. That was very surprising to my friend who ate with me. I guess I have been a little lazy when it comes to food preparation. I am going to be better at making good food because, I CAN do it!

8/10/08

Olympic Fun!



Had a fun time down in Lynndyl this past Friday night. My friend had an Opening Ceremony party. While the athletes were coming in, we would eat food from the country that was being represented(of course we did not have food for each country, but it was fun to anticipate the next treat!). It made watching the Opening Ceremony even more spectacular. Those Chinese sure did an amazing job, quite the show!

It is pretty cool to be able to have The Olympics readily available to me thanks to my Dish Network. I have been recording events and also watching them in real time. Both is good, but of course it is fun to be able to fast forward commercials again! Last night a couple friends came over and we had dinner together and then watched the games. We got to watch Michael Phelps get gold in the 400 Meter Medley. I like him. It is fun to watch swimming. Men's gymnastics were also on and I am so amazed by what they are able to do. They are so very strong! Dinner was excellent by the way. I grilled burgers and we also had fresh corn on the cob as well as fresh tomatoes(I love little side of the road veggie and fruit stands) and for dessert we had peach pie. Pie girl(MBC) makes wonderful pies and I am always so thankful when she shares with me!

It was my first night actually sleeping in my house since being back and it was kinda weird. I slept on the couch until about 5 a.m. and then headed to my bed. I do not know why it is weird. Maybe it is hard to come back to being alone when I spent two months with people. Do not get me wrong, I love this place. My house is awesome. So quiet and just cozy. I am a lucky girl. The only thing I am not excited about is the fact that my swamp cooler is not up and running and it is hot, hot, hot! Today it will be 90. Which means it will be 90 in my house. Hopefully, next week the cooler will be up and running. I do not like the hot! I think the a/c is the only thing I am missing from my last place. SIGH.

Not much happening today. Just going to Church and then eating fish. I am trying to eat a little healthier these days. I hope your day is fabulous. If you would like to see more pictures of Michael Phelps here is the address where I found the picture at the beginning of the post: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/olympics/bal-phelps-photogallery,0,4605337.photogallery

He is a dreamboat! :)

8/8/08

More Later....



Back in Utah. Off to meet friend for lunch. Enjoy the slide show of my crazy "nieces."

8/6/08

Last Full Day



Well, my summer escapade is slowly closing. Okay, maybe it is quickly closing. Time has quickly passed.

Today was pretty fun. Fished in the morning with a friend from my Trivia bar(Yes, Moo that is all I did all summer: fish, fish fish). Then I packed(not so fun). Then I picked up my sister and we hit the town. It was Ridiculous Day downtown, and there were lots of sales to be had. We didn't buy anything but it was fun to shop. I then played trivia for one last time and then met the family for dinner at Pat's Tavern.

Wednesday's special is tacos. They are fabulous. My dad thought I was crazy when I was taking a picture of my food. I told him that food often makes the blog. These tacos are so good for two main reason. One, they fry their own shells. YUMMY. Two, they have a very special red taco sauce. I love it and was very tempted to steal a bottle of it. So good. A very good way to end the Wisconsin days.

My flight is at 4pm tomorrow. I am getting my hair dyed in the morning and then my Dad and I will head to Wausau because I am flying out of there. I think my luggage is too heavy. I will have to do some moving around of my stuff tomorrow. It is still a crazy thought to be leaving. It doesn't feel real!

Well, off to bed I go. Early hair appointment. I think I am going with lime green. Sound good?

8/5/08

Great Day



I couldn't sleep so here I am blogging at one A.M. Crazy Canook.

Today was a blast. I started out by fishing. Enjoy the pictures of me at my favorite place to fish here in Rhinelander, Perch Lake. Very beautiful place. If people want to use boats on the water they can not have motors. Adds to the serenity of the place, if you ask me. Makes for a quiet lake.

I caught a few perch today. I have discovered that they bite best between noon and one o'clock. I didn't get there til close to one so they bit for a little while but then it died down. I then just kinda sat and hoped other fish would become interested.



Before my last softball game tonight, I went to dinner with a few of the players from the team. It was very fun. Hudsons, in Wausau, is one of my favorite places to eat. It is not Red Robin but it is good.

We played the #1 team and I pretty much thought we would lose because they beat us 18-7 the last time we played. We actually won tonight 9-5. It was awesome. I was so excited to play this summer and I really love all the girls I play with. They are always so kind and fun. It was hard to say goodbye to them all.

Marla and Jenette, I hope you approve of this pic. Marla didn't like the last one I had on my blog. She is a trooper though! :)

Fishing in the morning. Better sleep. Later.

8/4/08

If you really knew me...

I don't think I went too much into my trip to San Francisco back in July. San Francisco was great. A BIG great thing happened to me while in California, but it really didn't take place in SF, but rather in Concord where I was able to attend a training through Challenge Day (http://www.challengeday.org). We had their program come through our school back in March and it was a pretty cool thing. Basically, they try to teach people that life is more than something that is just all about us. Their main teaching is that of tolerance and acceptance. Anyway, check out their website. The Next Step training, as the training I went to in July was called, was a follow up to the original program. The three days I spent in this training really was for my students(I want to keep them in the mindset of Challenge Day) but I really got a lot out of the training. Today, when one of the secretaries of my school called, I was again reminded of how much of an impact Challenge Day Next Step had on me and I thought I would dedicat this little post to it(it may actually end up being a pretty large post, you don't have to read it if you don't want to!!) In a few weeks, I will have to lead the faculty of my school in the activity "If you really knew me." Basically, we did this each day at the training and it is meant to help you drop your "emotional water line" and get real. Basically that means, that you share with the people in your group who you really are. Most people in the world walk around only sharing about 10% of who they really are. Who knows why we do this. For me, a lot of times, the reasons I hold myself back is because I am always a little afraid of what people may think of this being, if they really knew her. (MBC this is a lot like true confessions but it may be a little more intense and a little less guarded!) I guess I have already stared my if you knew me part by saying that sometimes I keep the real Alice on the down low because I am afraid of how the world will handle me. Here is a list of my if you really knew me today:

IF YOU REALLY KNEW ME:
1. You would know that today I went into my favorite bar and actually talked to people. I was not guarded or even shy and I initiated the conversations a lot of the time, and that made me really proud of Alice today!
2. You would know that the last week home during the summer is always the hardest week for me. I love a lot of humans but these humans who happen to be my family hold so much of my soul. Being with them is amazing, and the tears of leaving are just a small price to pay to get to spend summer with them.
3. You would know that I hate crying in front of people but, lately, I have felt that maybe I shouldn't try to be so tough because it really hasn't done anything for me except to give me this false sense that being tough is important. It is not important and really crying sometimes is necessary. I guess if we didn't ever need to cry we probably wouldn't have the ability to cry. No accidents in this silly little world.
4. You would know that I have connected with myself this summer. I know people will think I am crazy but I think for the first time I have actually felt my own spirit within me. The awesome thing about that spirit I have found is that she is amazing and strong and beautiful. I do not know why I keep her to myself most of the time because, people, she is an awesome gift to the world!!!
5. You would know that I promised myself to live 100% from now on and that lately I have only been living about 85% but that is totally up from the 50% I was living before summer. The biggest thing I did this summer to live 100% was to ride the log chute in The Mall of America, and even though that may seem like a real small thing to do to many of you, I am not a ride person and my knees shook for a whole 15 minutes afterward. I felt so alive.
6. You would know that the reason why I made this pledge to myself is because I am really afraid that I may be like my Dad. Don't take that wrong, I LOVE my Dad and a lot of the things that make me, me are him and they are good things. I worry about him a lot though because he doesn't live 100%. In fact, I think he may barely live 5%. I sometimes see that part of him in me and I do not want to be like that. I want to get out and see the world, I want to experience things, I want to love so much that it feels like it could actually kill me, I want to feel completely, I guess in essence I want to live 100%. That is a hard thing to do because life is pretty much monotonous at times and we really get caught up in things that really don't matter causing us to not live fully. Even though I say this is my goal, it is like any goal and needs constant tending.
7. You would know that for the first time in my life, I am actually making eye contact with complete strangers. I never noticed this about myself until recently, but I really ignore the human population about 95% of the time. If I don't know somebody, I do not give them the time of day. Actually, that is the old Alice. Now, I randomly wave to people and laugh at little kids riding their bikes as I pass by them and I really don't care how people percieve me. People are awesome. I am definitely trying to be nicer to humans!

If you really knew me you would know that I feel good right now for having just dropped the water line a bit. Hopefully, you gained something from this too and maybe you even know me a bit better too. Thanks, as always, for reading and have a spamtastic day!

8/3/08

Un-named


Creativity escapes me tonight. Okay, well maybe it escaped earlier tonight. I made a bunch of thank you cards for the girls I play softball with. Tuesday night will be our last game. :( Making the cards is where all my creativity went today.

It was a pretty low-key day. Just worshipped, finished the 2nd year of Harry Potter, ate, made cards, joked around with my sister, and here I am now. I probably should sleep. There is a lot of fishing to do tomorrow. I have work to do but, really people, I only have three days left in Wisconsin, there is always time for work later. FISH FISH FISH!

Enjoy the picture of me chilling in my room. Very exciting life here in Rhinelander, WI.

8/2/08

Playing Barbie Games.



Tonight, my friend, Marla, came up for dinner and to play some games. We played dominoes and ladderball, but the highlight was The Barbie Queen of the Prom game. It was a blast. I realy wanted to get Poindexter for my boyfriend but ended up with Tom, who looked like a 40 year old. I am not quite that desperate yet! :)

In order to win, you had to get a boyfriend, buy a prom dress, be a President of a school club and get to the prom first. I did not win. Pretty much sounds like my high school life though, doesn't it? I know, it really doesn't. I am amazed I even graduated seeing I was no prom queen and only had one serious boyfriend.

Sometimes Barbie makes me angry. The things that we teach little girls through this doll, who could not even walk if she were a real woman, is sickening. Oh well, we do a lot of dumb things to screw people up. Enough said.

I am tired. Must sleep. Church in the morning. :) Last Sunday home. :(

Wish I had more energy to make more fun of Barbie. Oh well!