Random, and kind of gross, but VERY USEFUL

Odd tidbit #1

A missionary companion once informed me that your saliva has the enzymes necessary to break down your blood. This is useful to know in case you ever cut yourself and bleed on your clothes. Maybe I'm exceptionally weird, but YES, I've tried this (spitting on a blood spot on a shirt), and was able to completely remove the mark. I know it's a bit gross, but it's strangely fascinating, too.

Odd tidbit #2

If you can't sleep because you're coughing, put Vicks Vaporub on the bottom of your feet, put on some socks, and voila! Snooze away! Seriously - got this from my mom's friend who is Hawaiian, and had it corroborated by a friend of mine from Mauritius - plus personal experience. I don't know how it works, but I can tell you that it does!

Odd tidbit #3

WD 40 is REALLY useful when cleaning the bathroom. It works great on metal trim, glass shower doors, and even tile. And it keeps everything looking good for a month or two. Sweeeeet.

What??? No scissors???

Christmas break was great. We visited family, ate LOTS of holiday treats, spent some time at Joshua Tree, and even managed to make an Advent calendar. (More on that later. Perhaps.) Then school started again.

My class has been really good, actually, and I've been enjoying work. But now I have to attend a Professional Development. Not just any PD, but one that lasts FIVE DAYS. And they didn't put any scissors in our table boxes. How am I supposed to entertain myself? So far I've been pretty good and only made a post-it countdown of 10 minute intervals. Hopefully I won't get as crazy as I did last time. Only time will tell, right? (And maybe me. On here. In a few days...) :-)

Inspired by Carrie

Yup, it's her fault...I mean, inspiration behind the festive color change.  That, and maybe a bit too much free time on my hands.  Happy Holidays!!! :-)

Newlywed Bliss? aka Shaine, this one's for you

Oh yes, it happened. Today at church a sister touched my stomach and asked me when I'm due.

Now, I realize I've gained 6 pounds over the last 4 1/2 months, but that's not enough to make me look pregnant, SURELY?!? She was incredibly apologetic when I told her "I'm not.", and commented that so many of the young couples in our ward are expecting.....sure. I'm blaming it on my insulin pump. I clip it to the inside of my waistband, but it still pooches out. And yes, the return to the exercise regime has commenced (2 weeks ago, actually - but apparently it wasn't soon enough!!!)

The Magic of Holidays

It's not that people are kinder or more thoughtful, it's that children go on break for a few days and magically lose all of their ability to follow directions.  Which makes my job SO much more fun.  Really.

In other news, the first married Thanksgiving went well.  It definitely didn't feel like a normal TG to me - I mean, it was in the wrong state, with different people and different foods, but it was fun! We spent a lot of time with Robb's mom, sister, and brother in law.  And we spent an equal amount of time in the train coming and going.  That's another story, but my advice in the meantime:  Get a sleeper!!!  :-)

English Language Development

Teacher, why do you smell like the wind?

Hmmm.....perhaps all my communing with nature has paid off and we have now become one!  Or maybe not... ;-)

Analogy

YOU ARE is to WHAT YOU EAT as 

YOU ARE is to WHO YOU WORK WITH???

If the above is even remotely true, I'm turning into a 6 year old.

Fact 1:  I'm no longer able to pay attention to any one thing for longer than 10 minutes.

Fact 2:  I am unable to sit still AT ALL.

Fact 3:  I am increasingly impulsive.

Fact 4:  I like art projects a lot.

The above character developments came together recently as I attended a professional development session.  I spent the day being trained on a method of teaching English Learners, and Fact 1 made itself apparent 10 minutes into the 6 hour day.  Usually, I just draw (and color) pictures and/or write silly letters to Robb.  This time, as the urge to use the scissors in the materials box overcame me (see Fact 3), my coworker asked me if I knew how to cut out paper doll strings.  I quickly demonstrated the art of doll cutting, and we were off.

How was I supposed to know she would get so excited?  Seriously - she was bouncing in her seat with joy!  Her enthusiasm spread, and throughout the day we cut out enough shapes to create some "art" (see Fact 4). 

So yes, it was a great training meeting.  And yes, I kept myself occupied (clearly).  And this is what we ended up with:

Hey - even the presenter congratulated us on our creativity!  (After commenting that we MUST be lower grade teachers.....) ;-)