Month of Thanks Day 24

Day 24- I'm thankful for the youngest bugger in our family, Youval, also known to the rest of her sibs as PN (You can ask her what that stands for.... she probably won't tell you though).

Even though we push each other's buttons, she's still my baby sister and woe betide you if you upset her or are mean to her.

True story...

I also feel like these sum up our relationship quite nicely.

I'm so excited about the adventures that she's having, the things that she will do with her life, the changes that she was make in this world. Hopefully she'll invite me to Oslo when she wins the Nobel Peace Prize. And then I can tell them all how bad she was at making peace with her older sister when she was little. JK! Although there was that one time she scratched me and drew blood....

Love you, PN! So thankful for you little bugger.

More Thanks

Day 21- I'm thankful for a school that I not only graduated from but also now employs me. I can't imagine working at a different school. Too many memories here.

Day 22- I'm thankful for silence and for solitutde when I need it.

Day 23- I'm thankful for friends that I feel comfortable enough with sharing guilty pleasures, especially music-wise, wild dancing,

Day 24- I'm thankful for my couch and being able to curl up with a blanket and good book when I don't feel well.

And to PROVE how great my school/alma mater/employer is, here are some pictures from an awesome Homecoming Weekend.


Thursday night began with a tail-gate party in Simplot and then the C of I vs NNU basketball game. We kept them pretty even for awhile and then just lost it at the end, like usual. We cheered and shouted a lot, mocked this guy who could NOT seem to stay in his seat and I ran into and chatted with some of my students. Love these kids!

Michael, Abbey, me and Jon on the court

On Friday, there was a Coyotes Connection in the afternoon and then people came over to my place for some drinks before the Homecoming Dance. I saw a few of my students there but everything was nice and proper. We had so much fun dancing and hanging out- love my alumni friends!

me and Abbey

Abbey, me and Jon

Mike, Jake, Katie, Jon, me, Chris, Abbey, Tracylea and Sam

me and Abbey

Inner Circle

On Saturday, there was a race in the morning but I wasn't up in time. There was a wine tasting and lecture series in the afternoon and that night was the Alumni Awards dinner- Abbey got one of the awards so I went to support her. Delicious food- so, so, so good, especially that pumpkin pie. Louie Atterberry also talked about the family that got the legacy award for about 20 minutes. No joke. I was making bets on when it would end. The judge and chairman of the board of trustees sitting next to me actually left to the use the restroom and he was still rambling on when she returned. Again, the food was delicious.

the honoree at the Alumni Awards dinner!

A few hours later, we joined forces for Quiz Bowl! Jasper was our MC and our team (whose name I can't for the life of me remember right now!!!!) DOMINATED! We "whoop-whoop-wa-bamed" after every question that we got right and even though we didn't get the final question right, we still won by a lot. Not like our team was stacked or anything....

WINNING team!- Michael, Abbey, me, Katie, Dave, Chris

Whoop-whoop-wa-bam!

A Week of Thanks

Day 13- I'm thankful that there's always an escape. The tolerance that I have for some people in my class at BSU is getting lower and lower each day. But despite that, I can always leave. I can always go home. I can always walk away. And I'm SO thankful for that. It keeps me from hitting people.

Day 14- I'm thankful for a day that my students can work on their projects so I can get some things of my own done. Even if it's reading an autobiography of Oswald Mosley.

Day 15- I'm thankful for numerous groups of friends. Wednesday night, the C of I Happy Hour crew went out to get some Mexican food. Good conversation and frequent laughter abounded. I'm so grateful for these friends who are also co-workers. Thursday night, April hosted a drinks and game night. The mixed cocktails were delicious and Crimes Against Humanity was disturbing and I chatted with people I had never met before and had great conversations. I'm thankful that I feel like I'm becoming better at social interactions.

Day 16- I'm thankful for a TV that can be turned into a fun night. We had a HIMYM night where the boys suited up and the girls got dressed like Robin and Lily and we went to fancy places for fun drinks. Side note: coconut rum and diet Coke is maybe the second best drink in the world, only behind Miami Vices. I'm also additionally thankful for dinner experiments- Abbey and I made spaghetti squash with sauteed spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms and chicken sausage. Delicious.

Day 17- I'm thankful for even seven days of persevering with my new workout routine and doubly thankful for a bathtub to sooth sore muscles.

Day 18- I'm thankful for a church full of sweet, well-intentioned people (even though I may not agree with everything they do politically) who are gracious and loving and generous. I'm glad that I have a place to call home, even though it's not as conveniently located as it could be...

Day 19- I'm thankful for the ability to write while laying down. I screwed my back up and still got grading done. And then I got to watch Supernatural. And I'm very thankful for that.

Day 20- I'm thankful for sudden changes in the weather. This morning, walking to the van at 7:30 am was not freezing, windy and chilling. It was breezy, gray light, and a fresh smell in the air. I love surprises like this.

Month of Thanks Days 9, 10, 11 and 12

#9- I'm thankful that when I slack on this blog, it's OK because there aren't many people reading it anyway :)

#10- But I am thankful for those few of you that ARE reading. Thanks for sticking with me on this crazy life of mine.

#11- I'm thankful that the sacking on this blog is not because I'm super lazy (I swear I'm not) but because I've been engaging in some really fun things there last few days which have keep me otherwise occupied.

#12- I'm thankful for the Veterans that support this country and that lay down their lives so I that I can vote, go to school, rent a house, have a job and be able to be engaged in some really fun things. 

Month of Thanks Day 8

I am thankful today for being able to be impromptu. I had a rough morning class with lots of absences and tardies which usually I could handle in stride but today was frustrating because the kids were debating and when someone doesn't show up for a debate, their partner has to hold off for a few days and that's just not fair. So I was upset and frustrated when I met Aly for lunch. We had originally planned to go to Simplot but she had to print something in Nampa so we escape for an hour and a half and went to lunch at Messenger. We shared a delicious slice of pesto, basil (spinach? hard to tell!) and mushroom pizza and a salad and got to chat and vent and let our frustrations out before heading back to class/work feeling much better.

And as a side note, I'm SO thankful for my afternoon class. They make me laugh so much. Today a kid debated that the drinking age should be lowered to 18 and brought out a bottle of Bacardi to give him liquid courage for the debate (it was water....). He them accidentally slurred the first words of the debate, causing us all to die with laughter. One kid debated about the Olympics and wore a winter sweater that screamed 1980s. Another girl was worried about her rebuttal and when her opponent asked if he could get extra credit for letting her win the rebuttal, she told her in a very seductive voice that he'd have extra credit in her book and then got totally red when we all laughed. I just love these kids in the afternoon class so much- they make my long days worth it.

Month of Thanks Day 7

Today I'm thankful for the ability to sometimes just sit on my couch with my feet up. I read, I do homework, I watch something on my laptop, I even sometimes just lie there and drink some tea. The simple act of resting is often not taken advantage of. Life can be crazy or busy or even just full of fun things but I thankful for the times I have the opportunity to put my feet up.

Month of Thanks Day 6

I'm thankful today that we live in a world where people have the right to vote, to choose their elected leaders, to vote to make a difference on political, economic, social and educational issues. And I'm especially thankful that the Luna Laws were repealed! I'm thankful that I have friends to watch the election with, professors and work colleagues that make us laugh with their television commentary (because we KNOW what they're thinking). And I'm thankful that I was able four years ago to attend a historic inauguration.