12/31/10

Sledding, Snowmen and the last of the trip!


Was it just me or did the Christmas season go extremely fast this year? I feel like I took one breath and my time at home was over. Weird. I did make it back to Salt Lake. The weather is very Wisconsin. I really didn't need for it to remind me of home, but maybe that is what Mother Nature had in mind. Driving to Provo and back to Salt Lake yesterday really challenged me.

Monday, my sister, mom, niece and I went to Crandon on an adventure. It was fun. I really love the little gift shops of the Northwoods. That night I was invited to a friend from church's house for birthday cake and a planetarium adventure. A man in Monico, Wisconsin built his own planetarium. It is an old school version and he hand painted every star that you can see in the sky in Monico. It was an awesome experience. I like that a man had a dream and he went after it, instead of listening to the critics, who often crush dreams, he went forth and went after his life dream. I was inspired by his story. You can read about The Kovac Planetarium by clicking here. You can also watch the clip he had on The CBS Evening News here.

This year my friend, Jenette, and I participated in the annual Alice Goes Sledding Expedition. We only did about five runs because we were certain that we would hit a kid on a sled and then feel bad about killing them. I actually got some random cuts on my arms and chin because of my contact with some branches of bushes. What an adventure. It was so nice to spend some extra time with Jenette. We then headed to Sam's Pizza for dinner with a few of the girls from our softball team and Marla(the world's best fan!) It was yummy and a great way to catch up with good friends. I stayed with Marla at Hotel Marla, which is always a treat. There is even a new mattress in "my room." We stayed up late eating cutout cookies(which is the main reason I gained about seven pounds this last week! Dang delicious cutouts!). I always feel bad that I keep Marla up and then she has to work the next morning. Good thing she works from home and can go to work in her PJs!

On the way back to Rhinelander, I took the secret slow way to meet my sister, niece and mom at a very large snowman. It was cool. I was there a few minutes before them and took a picture for a couple who had come just to see it. They actually told me about another snowman, which was just up the road and actually on the way back home, so I stopped and took a picture of that one as well. There really are some creative people in the world.

The last night in Rhinelander was spent eating tacos at Pat's Tavern and then just getting ready to come back. We met up with Bob and Josh and their little guy, Nathaniel. He is such a cutie and I really do love that I have friends who I can just hang out with and it is like I never even left!

The break was real good to me. It is nice to know that I still have a weekend before I go back to my responsibilities!

12/28/10

Christmas with the Fam.


Some pics of the Christmas Extravaganza. Christmas with the nephew and nice. Divot killing the duck I bought him last year. Andi working on the puzzle. Me taking Divot on two walks while home(do I love this dog? yes!. We saw some really cool ice fishing shanties on the Wisconsin River while out, oh and a snow covered Hodag! I tired him out and he cried all the way through town when he left. I like to think it is because he loves me so much. We drove to Crandon for an adventure on Monday. That is the pic from when we came back. Flying early tomorrow. Will update when I am landed. Weather looks like it may make my plans different. I guess we will have to see what happens! :) Just going witht the flow because it is out of my control!

Christmas Eve in Green Bay


Enjoy some pictures of Christmas Eve. We were in Green Bay with my aunt and uncle. They are always so good to us and let us stay with them. I was glad to see my grandma as well, but a little sad that I didn't take one picture of her. Oh wait, I did when we were eating at Kroll's. Yipee.

That hat was a hit everywhere on Chirstmas. Do you see how excited I was for the season?

I love the tradition of Jesus' birthday cake that Gabby, my cousin Shannon's daughter, came up with a few years back. It was tasty too! Shannon is taking a picture of me taking a picture of her in the pic. You can also see Gabby, Thomas and Uncle Tom.

When I drove my grandma back to her house, we took a side adventure to this amazing house that took decorating with lights to the extreme. I loved it!

Hope you had some fun during the holidays!

12/23/10

Oh The Pilgrimage Home is Always Good!


It is nice to be home. I feel very lucky to have made it to Rhinelander last night. My flight out of Salt Lake City was actually delayed by an hour and a half and I was cutting it real close to get my connection in Minneapolis. I ran across the airport and luckily had just enough time to hit the bathroom before catching the flight. Isn't that a pretty picture that I took from thousands of feet above the ground? The skies were pretty friendly yesterday! Oh and I didn't have to be groped by security or go through the body scanner...I found that to be a good thing!

I set up my parents manger this morning because I reminded my parents that we can't have Christmas without Christ. Please remember the true meaning for the season. I think we often get too caught up in the giving and receiving of presents that we forget the biggest gift we have all been given. The little babe that was born in Bethlehem is the best gift of all. I am very grateful to know that my Savior was born to make it possible for me to return to my Heavenly Father. Knowing that I do not have to be perfect and that Jesus not only died for me but was born to live a life full of love and great example is truly the most comforting thing that I know to be true. My life is blessed everyday because of Jesus' sacrifice. Please take time to reflect on that sometime during your celebrations in the next few days! May the Peace of Christmas be with each of you!

I also bought some clothes today. I think it was very clever to have decided to pack light and not pay luggage fees. You can but a lot of clothes with 100 dollars. Not that I bought 100 dollars worth of clothes but I could for what I would pay to have a full bag go both ways on Delta. Stupid luggage fees!

Today we drove to Green Bay. My dad thought it was silly that I was taking a picture of the road while he was driving. He said: "What are you taking a picture of now?" I told him I was taking a picture of Wisconsin. Isn't the winter wonderland here pretty? I think so.

I like the new shirt I bought today. I may have stared at it in the mirror for a few minutes. I often check myself out in the mirror these days. It is fun. I looked good today! :) (and no I don't think Carley Simon was singing about me, either!)

I drove past Lambeau Field on the way to eat at Kroll's. I had a yummy butter cheese burger with bacon. It was fabulous. Just as fabulous as my eggnog shake from McDonald's I had on the way here. What an evil and yummy bunch of food I partook of today. My mom actually said to me today: "You really do like food, don't you?," after I said something about the Port Wine Cheese Spread that I put on a few of the crackers I ate at lunch. I really do have a love affair with food!

It was fun to have dinner with my cousin, Shannon, my Grandma, my Aunt Jeanie, and my mom. It was nice to have conversation with them. I have a great family. It will be fun to be here in Green Bay the next few days and catch up with everybody. Life is good and I love mine.

Cheers!

Fun school day!


Tuesday was a fun day. The half day of school before Christmas Break is always one of my favorite days at work. This year it snowed a ton the night before. It was pretty but driving to work was challenging. I went sideways as I tried to stop for the stoplight near my house and some idiot pedestrians jaywalked right in front of me. Sillies.

I helped mop up the mess from snow covered shoes, so the kids wouldn't slip as they came in the door. We also did our traditional cheer for each kid as they came in. Their faces of confusion are always one of my favorite things.

We did the usual writing of Christmas letters to former students who are now serving in the military. It was fun to be able to write to my former students. I am very proud of them. We then had games down in the gym. I was in charge of running a three on three basketball tournament and it was a hit and very fun. The day really went fast.

We then had our work Christmas party at Magelby's. It was a blast with an ugly sweater contest(Matt pictured above won fair and square!!!) We also had a white elephant exchange and I was sorely disappointed that I did not get a new elephant. ha ha. I loved my present though...an original painting by one of our instructional assistants. I picked it because I thought the wrapping with left-handed writing was hilarious.

Later, Jane, Janette, and I went and delivered our turkeys that the school district gave us to three of our students' families. (What are single people to do with a turkey anyway!) It was fun to give in this way and I hope the three families we gave the food to use it to have a good holiday this weekend! We saw that really tall and cool snowman while out and about.

I also received my lifetime membership at Weight Watchers. You can read about it here. It was fun to make this big goal and I am proud of my journey.

Later that night, I had a date after much picking on by my friends and leaders at the WW meeting. I love those sillies.

It was the best date I have been on in years. I won't give you too much detail here because I don't want to jinx anything and really I don't think this is the venue for it. Just know I had a great time and hope to hang out with the nice man another time next week! The END.

12/19/10

Let's hope Monday starts better than Friday did...

World English Dictionary
racism or racialism (ˈreɪsɪzəm, ˈreɪʃəˌlɪzəm)

— n
1. the belief that races have distinctive cultural characteristics determined by hereditary factors and that this endows some races with an intrinsic superiority over others
2. abusive or aggressive behaviour towards members of another race on the basis of such a belief

*Definition found at dictionary.com

I do not practice racism. I do practice idiotism. If you are an idiot, or are acting like one, I may call you on it. Within thirty minutes of class on Friday, one of my students was accusing me of racism. This was because the two girls, who were kicked out of my class for using the f-word while talking at me, are Latinas. If I were a racist, I am pretty sure I would not teach at a school that seems to have a majority of minorities, don't ya think?

Here is how it went down. One of said girls decided to sit out of playing in PE class for about five minutes. I did not call her on it because any time I do call her on her inactivity, she gets very upset and ends up yelling at me. I just let it go and took away participation points. She then eventually came into the dodgeball game that was already going on, and threw a dodgeball at a girl on the other team. Apparently, the girl "did not try hard enough" to dodge the ball so said angry girl disrespectfully told the other student she wasn't trying hard enough. I then stepped in and told angry girl to worry about herself. She was okay for about one minute and then would not let the issue go. I then pointed out that she probably shouldn't be accusing others of not participating when she had herself just sat out for five minutes. This turned into an argument about the other girls in class not ever trying which apparently, in today's teen mind, means your own behavior doesn't matter and that your teacher is racist against you. This caused angry girl's friend, also a Latina, to get into the argument and she really went off. I couldn't even talk or get a word in and when they started to use vulgarity, I told them to leave. So maybe I am a vulgarist.

I am really tired of racism and people using it still today as a crutch to be idiots. People who continue to practice "reverse racism"(the term I use for minorities continuing to make racism exist because they falsely accuse people of being racists, which actually makes people, who aren't racist, almost change their minds. This also refers to the racism that exists now towards the white people because minorities still think that ALL white people are bringing them down even when it isn't true!) I hate that people continue to blame their bad behavior on some contrived idea that is in their mind.

I was angry for more than four hours on Friday because of this. I do not look forward to dealing with these young ladies during class tomorrow. I will try to be adult and deal with them fairly and nicely but inside I probably will still be very angry. The end.

P.S. The girls who didn't get kicked out of class did happen to be white. I do not favor them because of the color of their skin, I may favor them on occasion because they do what the are supposed to be doing. I am a participationist. The End for Real!

12/16/10

I struggle...

I really wanted to have a new layout for Christmas, but I am totally Macbook challenged and have no clue how to make this all pretty and festive. So please, enjoy the festivity of my Christmas tree very little on the top of my blog. Don't you feel the holiday spirit already? Oh and off to the sidebar, there is a manger picture. I bet you are feeling much more Christmas ready, aren't you?

I don't need nice backgrounds and pictures to feel festive. I have it in my heart. Who needs a fancy, schmancy background? Not this kid!

12/14/10

A letter to Santa

Today I had my 4th hour Leadership class write letters to Santa. They thought I was crazy but some of them really got real and were honest about what they really want in their lives. It was fun. I also wrote one and read it to them. They were so cute and even supported me when I got emotional at parts. I feel like it really helped them bond a little with me. Here is my letter:

Dear Santa,
I haven't written you in a while. Some people think that it is silly to do this, but I believe it is important to check in sometimes.

I'd like a few things for Christmas, even thought I feel like I already have more than enough for what I need. I really wish for the good feelings that I have right now to continue thought this whole holiday season. I wish for the opportunity to see many family and friends during the holiday and that the weather will be good for travel so I can have a special lady's night dinner with my 85 year old grandma, some aunts, and a few cousins! I also wish that I'll get to see my sister and even though it is a stretch, I'd love to see my brother. It's been way too long! And if I don't get to see him, please help that he and his family will have a very happy Christmas and that they know I love them!

I also wish that my students will have a great break. Help them to get the desire to pass more classes and to be graduates in 2013! Help them to have peace in their hearts and much happiness in their lives!

I really do have all the material goods I need. I guess iTunes gift cards or some blu-ray discs would be nice. But I don't really NEED them! And if you'd help the Packers make the playoffs, I'd be thrilled!

I'm so luck and blessed in my life. I have great friends and an awesome family. I'm also thankful for all the new babies in my life that remind me of big love!!!

Oh, you could bring some tall, handsome man into my life. I wouldn't complain about that. I'm totally ready to be swept off my feet! I'm just sayin'!

Good luck on your journey this Christmas Eve and thanks for all you do to make this world a happier and better place.

Love,
Alice

P.S. World peace would be nice too and the world needs it now more than ever!!! Cheers!

12/12/10

The Week in Alice.


The countdown to break had begun. Only 6.5 school days left. Yipee. I go home to mama on the 22nd. I am so very excited to go home and party with my Wisconsin people. I have started the plans. One of those plans is sledding with friends and going for Sam's Pizza!

I had fun this Thursday as I went to The Judds in concert. My friend, Jane, and I first ate at a fabulous Japanese restaurant, The Naked Fish in the heart of Salt Lake City. The sushi was so pretty and delicious. We then walked over to The Energy Solutions Arena for the concert. The Judds are amazing. I have been a fan since my mother took me to a free concert at the Wisconsin Valley Fair, in Wausau. They have always touched me with their music and love for each other. That truly is still alive. It was so nice to "Rock to the Rhythm of the Rain," and be told "about the good old days!" They were hilarious too. Wynonna lost some of the words a few times because her mother, Naomi, distracted her. It was funny. It makes me want to listen to more Judds music lately. I think I might!

I have been out and running this week. It has been so fun to be able to run again and to not hurt. Well, at least the area of gallbladder surgery doesn't hurt anymore, but my legs aren't used to it. I actually was able to run three miles on Friday and it felt so very good. I think I am being spoiled because I can run outside. We are snowless so far. Is it bad that I like this? Snow is alright, but when I can be out in the world and running without having to worry about slipping, I am way happy.

Friday I attended my Ward's(Church) Christmas party. It was actually quite pleasant even though sometimes I have a hard time getting myself to social events. I sometimes feel a bit awkward! I sat with some newish friends and it was fun. The food was great and there was a bagpiper. Hello, life is great when a bagpiper shows up! :)

Work is going well. I sure am liking my students this year. I feel like I am in a good, positive place when it comes to my job right now. I am enjoying the journey to Christmas Break. I am counting down the days but I am remembering to enjoy the journey too.

Here is to this week being amazing and that you will all take the time to enjoy the moments!

12/6/10

I am in Love...



My sister from another mother, Morgan, had her baby yesterday. His name is Ezra and I am totally in love with him. Morgan trusted me enough to take care of her other three kidlets while she was in labor and because I love those three midgets, I gladly took over kid duties yesterday. I got the call a little before seven that Morgan was in labor so I got ready and headed up to Layton(a good hour and twenty minute drive). When I got there, the boys were watching TV and Morgan was doing her thing downstairs. I still want to have kids but man, I am not looking forward to birthing. It sounded like it hurts A LOT!!!

But that cute little peanut makes the process so amazing. Morgan is amazing and I truly look up to her even if she is younger than me. It was such an honor not only to take care of the boys for her, but to be one of the first people to meet Ezra. He was even still slippery as I put him into the blanket that the midwife weighed him in. (He was that NEW!)

I am so interested in the process and don't judge me but I totally want to have my babies at home when I have them! Midwives are awesome and really know their stuff. Kim taught me a lot. I even got to see the placenta. Most people are weirded out by it but I was so interested and took pictures to show my health classes. I am such a nerd when it comes to that stuff. I am sure I shouldn't blog about this because some of you will get weirded out but seriously....all of this is part of a natural process that is so amazing and miraculous. I really don't have the words to describe how very cool it all was to be there that day!

I took the day off of work today because I was so tired last night. I have a lot of respect for women who stay home with their babies. Man...taking care of three boys five and under was a lot of work. I am a pansy. I am sure you get used to it when you are the parent but really I have so much respect for parents. The boys were really good, but there were moments where I asked myself: "What would I do if these were my babies?" I sure love those boys though. They made me laugh so hard at lunch when they were being "ninjas." Spencer and Henry just randomly put their shirts over their heads and I looked up from my jelly sandwich and saw them like in the picture. So funny. They watched a lot of cartoons and Oliver and I played and played. They were so cute when they met their brother. So much fun.

It was nice to just chill today. I actually went for a run and it was fabulous. I couldn't believe that it is December and I was hot in running pants and a long sleeve shirt. I love the spring like weather that sometimes comes here in Utah!

Well, better get some sleep for my return back to work!
Cheers.

12/5/10

The Blogging Slacker Apologizes.


Hi kids. How is December treating you so far? If you are like me then December is sometimes a bad word because it means cold and winter. But this year, I have decided to again use my superpower of positivity to make December a good month. Here are a few of the things that I have already done to be happy in December:
1.  I got a Christmas tree. I have talked myself out of buying a fake one like a thousand times and found a solution to the whole having to store a silly fake one. I went with the other family into the woods near Manila and got a real Blue Spruce. Thank you nature!
2. I bought new LED lights for said tree. I love to sit watching TV with just the LEDs for mood lighting. Love it.
3. I also decorated the tree with old and new ornaments.
4. I did donuts after a new snow. Sometimes a fresh snow in an empty  parking lot calls for lots of circles while in a car!
5. I watch movies all. the. time.  Have I mentioned my awesome new TV. It helps make December and life bearable!
6. I listen to Kelly Clarkson's album "My December". It isn't festive and I have no clue what it has to do with December in general, but it seems appropriate.
7. I tune into 24 hour Christmas music while out and about. It helps get me to work in a good mood most days!
8. I just bought snowpants. It will make it easy to go out in the snow and enjoy it.
9. I bought snowshoes. A friend and I have plans to go on snowshoe adventures every week. It will be fun to the the mountains in winter!
10. I can't really think of another deliberate thing I am doing to make winter easier, but it feels like there should be ten!

Hope you day is spamtastic. I am waiting to meet the newest nephew while watching the three others. Little excited and good thoughts and vibes to Morgan right now! (update. Baby is here!)