The Break-In

Here's the scene of today's story: my house, my room, early this morning. Clothes are strewn about and I am in my bathroom putting my makeup on...

My dad came in and asked if I had a couple of minutes to spare. Sure I do. (Not really. It was snowing like crazy and I ended up on the freeway for two hours and was an hour late to work.) He then tells me he's pretty sure someone broke into the garage last night and wanted me to see. WHAT?! So, as we head downstairs he said the garage door was open and my passenger side door of my car. "Well, someone definitely broke in then cause I didn't open your side of the garage and I didn't open my passenger door when I got home last night." So we go into the garage and he showed me the somewhat fresh footprints in the snow leading from the road to the truck and then to the garage.

Our own stupid mistake, my dad and I had left the truck in the driveway the past few days rather than parking it in the garage. So whoever broke in, smashed the truck window and then opened the garage with the door opener in there. Luckily, we always lock the door that leads from the garage into the house. Lucky for them I mean. I am such a paranoid person that I have taken every precaution, thought of every situation I could ever be in and am prepared in more ways than one to defend my life.

The odd thing is, they didn't take anything. There were some expensive tools in the garage, my ipod was in my car, I had a couple of expensive purses in there too. I'm lucky in that way. At least we didn't lose anything.

Maybe it was just some loser(s) who thought they have the right to take things that others have worked hard for. Or maybe I or my dad has a stalker.

Here's the facts:
-As mentioned before, they didn't take anything
-they didn't seem rushed, as the footprints were clearly those of someone walking, not running
-they had been there recently, meaning between 5-7 in the morning because you could still see the footprints clearly in the snow and you could see some barely wet footprints in the garage.

What do you all think? Like I mentioned before, I am paranoid, so I assume it's personal. But I do have a tendency to be crazy. Just ask my ex boyfriends.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
It has been a long time since I have read a book like this. I love it, I cuddle with it, I dream of marrying it. Everyone should read this book. Everyone.



Kvothe is a legend among men. In this first book of the trilogy, Kvothe begins to recant his life story to a scribe. It is very well written and keeps you pulled in the entire time. There is never a dull moment.



Wow, what I just wrote sounds lame. But I'm in a lame type of mood today. So this is what you get.


View all my reviews.

Thomas Hardy said it best

Everybody is so talented nowadays that the only people I care to honor as deserving real distinction are those who remain in obscurity. -Thomas Hardy

This is one of my favorite quotes by my favorite author.

Everyone is capable of great things if they only try. I find everyone to be endlessly fascinating, if you only sit down and really talk to them. I want to meet the people who are great, but living in obscurity. Not announcing their greatness to the world in hopes that someone will believe them.

The Eight Styles of Learning

I took the test/quiz/??? that Gina mentioned on her blog from the Learning Disabilities Resource Community. Here's the website, as I don't know how to link it up: http://ldrc.ca/projects/miinventory/. The test you take will assess which learning styles suit you best.

Since studying Special Education at the U, I have become fascinated with people and how they function best. I enjoy my one on one time with my students and figuring out that Student A works best with tactile things (I.e. Writing his spelling words in shaving cream) while Student B works best when he learns things through music or silly rhymes. It caused me to reflect on myself and how I work. I took a quiz in one of my classes and among the categories of Supporter, Analyst, Achiever and Manipulator, I scored the highest in Achiever (with Manipulator in a close second). Apparently, I like to work alone, cause I know my work will be better (or at least I think so) than if I have someone else trying to help me. I also don't need other people's approval, because I trust my opinion that I am doing a fine job. And it is true, as conceited as it sounds. Also, lately I had been pondering on how I learn best, and decided it was through hands on work. I learn better by performing in a real situation and modeling, than I do any other way. With this quiz, I was pretty even across the board, but I was a little higher in Intrapersonal. It goes along with my Achiever style, but I don't know about the hands on part. Maybe?

Linguistic	27
Mathematics	32
Visual/Spatial	23
Body/Kinesthetic	33
Naturalistic	32
Music	34
Interpersonal	31
Intrapersonal	41

Intrapersonal Learner

* likes to: work alone and pursue own interests.
* is good at: understanding self, focusing inward on feelings/dreams, following instincts, pursuing interests/goals and being original.
* learns best by: working alone, individualized projects, self-paced instruction and having own space.

I hate October

October is my least favorite month of the year. My brother passed away 4 years ago and today (the 21st) will be the anniversary of his burial. I helped my sister move to Washington this last week and finally got up the courage to look at the pictures from his funeral (which she has the copies of). Why did we take pictures of the funeral? Don't ask me. I love you mom, but I thought it was a little morbid at the time, and now, having looked at the pictures... it's definitely morbid.

Anyway, that's how I feel all of October. Quite a bit sad and alone. That's right people, feel bad for me... not really.

I guess this post is just to honor my little brother's memory.

Brandon Thomas 10/08/1986- 10/16/2004

I Am Legend

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
First off, I loved the movie before I read this book. Now, I simply cannot love the movie. It completely changed the message that the book conveyed. Literally, it's the exact opposite message. Argghhh! Why does Hollywood have to do that?!



Anyway, I didn't like the character Robert Neville in the beginning. I can appreciate a sane person and I can appreciate an insane person. What I can't appreciate is a person who is sane one moment and insane the next. However, after really trying to understand the character and get into his head, I realize it is probably exactly how a man would work being in the situation he was in. I still got frustrated at times though.



I don't want to give anything away, but I loved the end of the book. I would suggest to anyone who loved the movie to read the book, so you can understand what the author was really trying to get at. And if you hated the movie, you should read the book, cause more than likely you'll love it since it's the exact opposite of the book.



It shows a side of our society that we don't often contemplate (e.g. what "normal" is and what is acceptable and why) and makes us more aware of it.


View all my reviews.

Dracula

Dracula by Bram Stoker

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have never read an epistolary novel and it threw me a bit at first. I felt like I wasn't getting enough of "the action" and, silly as it seems, I could not stop thinking, "No one writes their diary like this!" Needless to say, it took me awhile to get into the book, but it is a classic, so I figured it had to catch my attention sometime.



And it did. I wish the dynamics between men and women still existed like they did then. The men were men. The women were adored by these men. The character of Dracula was scary not only because he'll suck your blood bu he is intelligent as well. Great character development. He piqued my interest in vampires (especially Vlad the Impaler) and now I'm obsessed. And I think that's one sign of a great book: when it creates a passion to know more.


View all my reviews.

These days

I wish I had a cool story to tell. I haven't posted for a long time cause it seemed no one was reading my blog anymore. Which is fine, but it's definitely not as fun when I'm the only one reading my blog. (I check it religiously to see if I've posted anything new.) Anyhoo, here's my new favorite picture I photoshopped for your viewing pleasure.



I've been insanely busy (but not literally insane this time) with school. I started my practicum this semester, whatever that really means and I'll be student teaching next semester. I LOVE my classes and all is well, even though it's keeping me a little too busy.

Work is... frustrating. I have been struggling at my new job, but things seem to be smoothing out. Plus, we finally have a schedule. We didn't do anything for the first two weeks, and I need structure and a schedule and something to do!

I have been feeling old lately. I had a little party at my house this weekend. No, not a rave or a drinking party. A game-night party. We played catch phrase and phase 10. That is the kind of partying I love. I am a 25 year old, single college student and that is my idea of fun?! I think I am so weird sometimes. So, to prove to myself that I am still young and cool, I went to a bar on Saturday because some of my friends were playing a show. For some reason, I was headbanging all night. It seemed appropriate and cool at the time. Not a good idea. Me and my oldness woke up this morning still unable to hear and with an extremely sore neck. Good thing I'm not a drinker and didn't have to add a hangover to the list.

Anyway...

I would love to know who everyone is voting for. I am still up in the air. I know I don't want to vote for Barack Obama for two reasons. 1. Lindsay Lohan (and a slew of other *ridiculous celebrities) told me to vote for him. (*Note: pretty much all celebrities are ridiculous) 2. I don't want to live in a socialist country, which is what he will make it if he becomes president. But, I'm not so sure I could support John McCain and Sarah Palin either. Being from Utah, my vote doesn't count anyway. John McCain will win Utah, no question about it. So, I've been thinking I'd vote third party. Either Ron Paul, who I wish would've won the Republican nomination, cause I would've voted for him in a heartbeat or Stephen Colbert. I'd love to write him in as my vote as he's quite intelligent and witty; a winning combination. That way people can't say I didn't vote because I'm young and ignorant. I think it'll prove a point, even if no one but you knows I am making a point. I got into a 3 hour long debate on Tuesday about government and I'm convinced pretty much everyone in this country is brainwashed by the government into thinking they are something great and we can't function without them. Which, maybe at this point, we can't because we've become too dependent on them, but it's not impossible. They're not that great. You listening to me, Lindsay Lohan?

I want to marry an angel... no really.

My boss and friend, Katherine, writes. And she writes well. These are the trailers for her two newest books, of which I've read "A Season of Eden" and I am currently reading "Heavenly" and now I want to marry an angel.

Make sure the sound is turned up on the actual video, cause it wasn't on mine.
Check out her websites too. Or let me know if you have questions.

She is a very intelligent writer who is able to make you fall in love with her characters. She makes me wish I was the leading lady in her books (seriously, I've even asked her to make me one of them). So, watch the trailers. NOW!

New York, New York

The last two weeks have been exhausting and therefore, no new posts. New York City was a blast overall. When I got back I started looking for a job for the new school year as well as substitute teaching this week. The week started out pretty good and then went a little downhill as the days went by.

Monday and Tuesday: I stayed up way too late. It was so fun being back in my old, old classroom.

Wednesday: I was so exhausted at work. I'm not used to being to work by 8 o'clock in the morning. I also suffered from food poisoning* (*note: I'm pretty sure God was punishing me for going to Hooters, as I'd never been before and the first time I go, I feel like dying for days afterward)

Thursday: A truly tragic death and sadness amongst my friends. Also, there was severe awkwardness while trying to be social with a new group of the opposite sex.

Friday: I feared I'd lost my phone and was sick all day long because of it and what may be discovered if someone else found it... Now, I am ready to just crash and sleep, but I can't of course, cause... well, duh, it's Friday night.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for... in no particular order, my pictures from New York City.

At Rockefeller Center. We spent one night there just sitting and talking for hours and I took pictures for random bystanders. They all loved me cause I took my picture taking job seriously and made everyone take a lot of pictures and do lots of poses.

At the famous Serendipity, eating blackout cake. It is sooo amazing. I promptly made it for my mom, Kristen, Weston and Sam when I got home.

Hey dumb dumb, me want gum gum. At the Museum of Natural History.

In Times Square

Let's open up a restaurant in Santa Fe. Sunny Santa Fe would be nice... I seriously sang this song in my head every time we got onto the subway.

At St. Patricks' Cathedral

Eating New York pizza. Ever since I moved home from New Jersey, nothing has compared and I couldn't wait to get back to eat some.

Outside of "Rent". It was so much fun to see!

"Phantom" was the most amazing experience of the whole trip. Seriously. I may have teared up a little while watching it.

And there was walking. Lots and lots of walking.

A's and B's

I checked my summer grades online today and my world was crushed:

A- Sweet

A- Excellent

No grade posted yet- It's alright. I know I got an A

B+- What the hell?

My first non-A grade at the U of U. And it makes me so mad. I tried sooo hard in that class. It killed my 4.0. I am ready to go yell at my teacher, however nice I thought she was before my grade was posted.

The funny thing is, I think that grades have such a negative impact on learning. We teach kids that A's are important cause that means you're smart and you can get into a good college and then get a wonderful job that makes you lots of money and everyone will adore you. Or something close to that.

When we make grades the forefront, children don't learn as much as they can, because they're worried about getting the A, not necessarily learning the content. And because of such acts as NCLB (No Child Left Behind) we teach to the test. It's all about looking smart, it doesn't matter if you actually take anything away from the class; it only matters that you trick authorities into thinking you did.

And I think it's wrong.

And yet, here I am, angry over a B+ because it's a B+ and not an A.

Breaking Dawn party, part deux

I LOVE to throw parties. At least, I think I love to throw parties. Without fail, a week or so before my party, I think "What am I doing?! This is going to be terrible!" My latest was to celebrate the release of "Breaking Dawn", the newest and last book in the Twilight saga. I admit that I am in love with these books. I very much dislike Bella. I very much dislike Jacob. But I am sadly in love with Edward. One day I will stop dating Mike's and find an Edward; but probably not. But Jasper came and that's enough for now! Here are a few of the highlights:

Chelsea showing off her beautiful wedding cake she decorated.

Kim, Teressa and Stephanie

Shay... nuff said

Summer and Rich

Becca

Jenn, Katherine and Brooke

Debating what would/should happen in the book. I was right all along!

Katherine, me and Jen with our new (and not so new) tattoos

And finally, me with my Jasper.

Camping

I hadn't been camping at all this year, and was itching to go. So, I scratched that itch.







I'd never used a chainsaw before. I felt so powerful. Like I could've... well, you know.









Rich spilled his drink on Summer, who had just put on bug spray and she decided to lick it off her arm.








As the only sane person there, I put myself in charge of our safety with the .22. I kept it by my side the whole night in case we encountered a bear, cougar or serial killer.








Todd laughing at a joke the fire just told to him. No one else heard it.













On our little hike












Oh so pretty...

Michael Savages thoughts on autism

So, I did not listen to Michael Savage today or yesterday or whenever this aired; in fact, I haven't listened to him in years. But apparently within the last couple of days he said that nearly every child with autism is just “a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out."

He actually believes this and does not plan to apoligize. He also said “My main point remains true. It is an overdiagnosed medical condition. In my readings, there is no definitive medical diagnosis for autism... 99% of the cases of autism are a result of lax parenting. They don’t have a father around to tell them: ‘Don’t act like a moron. You’ll get nowhere in life.”

As for what he believes children with autism should be hearing, he said they should be told, “ ‘Straighten up. Act like a man. Don’t sit there crying and screaming, idiot.’ ”

Savage's program, Savage Nation, is heard nationally on more than 350 stations.

It is absolutely ridiculous that a man who is thought to be smart enough to host his own radio show would believe this! Basically, what he’s doing is parroting what used to be said about autism 40 years ago, back in the heyday of Freudian analysis. It was blamed on bad parenting. Mothers were said to be "refrigerator moms" who showed no emotion toward their kids. There was no evidence to support this and I am sure any level headed person would agree that it is ridiculous.

I work with children with autism and it is an insult to me and it is an insult to every parent I know and care about who have a child with autism. It is telling these parents who I see try so hard to do what is best for their child and struggle so much in the process, that they are terrible parents.

It makes me so angry. I want to punch his face off.

Breaking Dawn Invitation

I am having a Breaking Dawn party that is going to be a blast and if you'd like to be invited, just give me your email address and I'll email it to you.

My future... I'm sure he knew what he was talking about

I met a Navajo medicine man in downtown Salt Lake today. He told me I had a good spirit and he liked my attitude. He then told me that I needed to take care of the baby and watch out for that man. Cause that man will turn around and bite me right in the back. I wish he’d have been more specific. Now I have to spend all my time wondering “What child? What man? And when?” Here’s to worrying.

The English Language

THIS IS A LONG POST BUT REALLY FUN INFORMATION, TRUST ME. AT LEAST I THINK SO.

I am taking a literacy class this last summer block and I am loving it! I am really hoping I can use what I learn to help Spence, Trey (if Kristen would like me to) and Reeb learn how to read; as well as the many kids I shall one day teach. I have been practicing literacy testing with some children, testing their writing skills, spelling skills, phonological awareness and reading skills (using the QRI). I then interpret those test results and write a report. Sounds fancy, huh? Now I have moved on to tutoring sessions, which so far are a disaster, but hopefully will get better. So, this post is dedicated to all things WORDS. Really, it's enjoyable. Please read on.

Before I go into the letter "K", I'm going to ask you a question that I will answer at the end of the post, so you have time to think about it. This is another spelling for a common word. Can you figure out what word it is?

ghoti (think hard about it...)

Kevin Cummings, of the Shortcomings Audio podcast, writes,

I had my first comedy hit with the phrase “itty-bitty kidneys.” Of course, the audience was my eight-month-old son, so it wasn’t much of a hit, but every time I uttered those magic words he’d laugh until he couldn’t breathe. Similar phrases (including “itty-bitty fingers,” “itty-bitty toes,” and the rarely amusing “itty-bitty latissimus dorsi”) never had the same comic effect. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was employing some powerful tools for verbal comedy.

Words with the ‘k’ sound--like ‘kidneys’--are inherently funny.

The humor potential of the letter ‘k’ has been part of comic lore for years. In the Neil Simon play The Sunshine Boys, the character Willy explains it to his nephew: “Fifty-seven years in this business, you learn a few things. You know what words are funny and which words are not funny. Alka Seltzer is funny. You say "Alka Seltzer," you get a laugh . . . Words with "k" in them are funny. Casey Stengel, that's a funny name. Robert Taylor is not funny.”

So the names Squiggly and Aardvark both have great comedy potential because they both contain the ‘k’ sound. It masquerades as a ‘qu’ in Squiggly and it lurks at the end of Aardvark.

Scientist and researcher Richard Wiseman put the ‘k is funny’ theory to the test during his LaughLab research in 2001. Although the main focus of the research was finding the funniest joke, Wiseman also performed a “mini-experiment” to see if the letter ‘k’ actually gets more laughs.

The experiment was built around a simple joke:

There were two cows in a field. One said, “Moo.” The other one said, “I was going to say that.”

During the experiment, people were invited to visit the LaughLab website and rate jokes pulled at random from a database. In addition to the cow joke, Wiseman and his colleagues put several variations in the database including mice that went “eek,” tigers that said “grrr,” and birds going “cheep.” The winning variation which had the most ''k's was this joke:

There were two ducks on a pond. One said, “Quack” and the other said, “I was going to say that.”

There are other verbal techniques you can use to elicit a chuckle including Alliteration, Assonance and Consonance. Honestly, I stole this from a podcast which talks more about the rest. Look up "Grammar Girls Quick and Dirty Tips: Episode 112" to listen to the rest. It is probably my second favorite podcast I listen to.

Now, to answer the question posed at the beginning of this post: What common word could be spelled "Ghoti" in our mixed up language that is English?

Well, Ghoti could just as well spell fish. In " ghoti," the sound of gh is the one found in enough; the o is the sound found in women, and the ti is the sound in the middle of nation. We discussed this in my literacy class and I found it very interesting. It is truly a weird, sometimes nonsensical language I speak. A lot of Americans complain that people come to this country and don't learn the language. Well, no wonder; It's hard!

In all honesty, I want nothing more than to continue to talk about the English language and/or learning to read, but this is probably going to be the longest blog post ever, so I shall stop. I hope you enjoyed it though and don't want to punch my face in for wasting your time.

Rachel's wedding

Rachy got married this last week and I got Reeb all ready for the wedding. She looked just like a princess and I know she felt like one too. Everyone fawned over her and she was very outgoing that night. She did so well at the dinner and reception, except when she turned on the microphone and started talking into it... and when she kept taking drinks and then pouring the extra water back into the fountain like it was a waterfall. Luckily, no one saw it but me and I sure didn't tell them to refill it. This is my 8th year working with her and I am so proud of her!

School is the Bee's Knee's

I started writing this blog last Wednesday, so just pretend like it was last Wednesday when you read this, hmmkay? Thanks. I appreciate it.

Today was fantastic! I went to Katie's house in the morning and met my mom and two sisters there. Fantastic, right? I bet you thought it couldn't get more fantastic. But it does... I made PlayDough cookies, thanks to Gina, with the kids. Merisa especially, as she had helped me with some literacy testing I needed to do. And when I asked what she wanted as her present for helping me, she said she wanted to bake. A woman after my heart.



Definitely not my best hair day

I had to leave for school before they were baked though, but they saved me some cookies. And that's all that matters. Eating cookies.

I met with my Academic Advisor today and she is the best. After much shuffling of my schedule, she worked it out so that I'll be graduating Summer '09 and assuming I get into the graduate program, I'll have my Masters Degree in Spring 2010. 2 more years of school and I'm done. Outta here. If you consider it in terms of my age, maybe it's not so great. I was giving a presentation on heterosexism in one of my class yesterday and referred to myself as the "25 year old spinster of Utah County". Everyone laughed. But it was a "Ha, it's true, but I'd never say it to your face" sort of laugh. Ahhh, friends... Anyway, I thought it would be another three years, so I was so happy when she helped me with it. Besides getting it done sooner, I found out the Master's program has one required class and the rest I get to choose. Life is, well, I don't know, what's a good word for it, hmmm, oh I know, FANTASTIC!

July 4th

I'm finally posting my 4th of July pictures. Woo hoo! To be honest, I don't love the 4th of July. In fact, I don't even like it. The only thing that makes it fun is that it's Erin's favorite holiday, cause girl likes her fireworks.

I've been SUPER busy, which means life is grand, but also means no time for blogging. Luckily, Becca loves me enough to let me borrow (ha, she thinks I'm gonna give them back) her pictures from the 4th since we did go to the same barbecue at Auntie B's.

The kids loved the fireworks.

Sometimes they got a little too loud for Benson and Spencer though
I look high in this picture. Thanks Becca.
Family, family family. Mima Happy is visiting from Las Vegas.

Note this amazing watermelon cake. It was made by Becca and I, but mostly Becca, but I frosted it and gave it leaves and vines and such. It really tasted like watermelon! We're amazing, right?

Younger men

I just got back from the store. As I was leaving, two guys were walking in and turned right around and followed me out of the store. "Hello" he said. "Hmm... Hello" I replied. Words were exchanged as I tried to get out of there. Oh, he was good looking enough. And he towered over me; 6'5" I would guess. (I LOVE tall men). But I knew, just like I always know, because I am an old spinster. That's right, an old but extremely sexy, spinster.

He asked for my number. I asked how old he was.

18. Eighteen. 8teen. Aytein. Doesn't matter how you spell it; 18 is 18. "Yeah, I'm 25" I said. He still wanted my number. Whatever.

It's sad that I can assume and more than likely be right that any man I meet here in Utah County is years younger than I. Everyone my age is married. Don't take this the wrong way. I love being single. Honest and true. I never want to get married. There's too many things I want to do in life, and they don't necessitate a companion. Plain and simple.

Hiking at Battlecreek Falls

A couple of days ago, Erin, Skyler and I went hiking at Battlecreek Falls. It felt so good to hike! I haven't been in a really long time, but I've been bitten by the bug again. I really want to start going a couple of times a week again.