This is the Madness in Which We Exist

California dreamin

2011-02-06T11:00:00.004-07:00

I moved to Monterey in the middle of January to live with my hubby, Nick. I said goodbye to all my totes awes friends, family and handed over my perfect classroom with my perfect students and perfect TA's to a new teacher, who I am glad to hear is doing a great job with them.

Erin drove out here with me, which I was very grateful for. We made a pit stop in Lovelock, NV where Nick and I eloped.

Pershing County Courthouse

Erin and Lily got to spend the whole week with us, which made it feel like a vacation for me and I would have these strange moments where I would think, "This is my home now. This is where I live. Ahhhhhh!" Nick had a 4 day weekend and went with us to Santa Cruz to see the mystery spot and walk the boardwalk. It is so warm out here (for the most part) and even though I occasionally miss the snow, I must admit, it's nice to go for walks along the coast line every day and not have to wear a jacket.

We spent a day in Carmel, Big Sur @ Pfeiffer Beach and did a lot of things around Monterey. It was so fun to see Lily put her feet in the ocean for the first time. Nick and I both wanted to steal her and keep her forever. She is so adorable and fun. Erin is adorable and fun too, I might add.

On their last day here, we drove up to San Francisco which reminded me of driving in New York City (scary) and I was happy Erin did the driving both of those times. We got our hotel room first, right by the wharf and Ghirardelli square so we could park the car, as everywhere else seems to be a tow-away zone. We walked around for a few hours and got Lily's portrait drawn by an artist on the street. Then Erin took me out to dinner for my birthday. Thanks Erin. :) The next morning I dropped them off at the airport. Erin had dropped her phone in water the day before and it wasn't working. I was a little nervous that her flight would be canceled and she would be stuck at SFO for... forever. Or at least awhile. But she made it home safe AND her phone started working again the next day. Two wins! I was sad to see her go though.

Things have been great here. It's nice to see my husband every day and not have to settle for talking on the phone. I am starting to turn into a great little housewife, cleaning the house and cooking dinner every night. *sigh* I tried going to the school district to apply for a substitute teaching position. They were excited that I wanted to do special education, but I had to talk to a certain lady, who it takes a few weeks to get an appointment with and then get a background check. By the time all of that was sorted out, it would be time for us to leave for Texas. So I am not working right now, but I am still getting a few paychecks from the school district in Utah. I think I need to volunteer my time somewhere. Any ideas? I was thinking of volunteering at the SPCA, taking adorable animals for walks.

Bucket List

2010-10-19T21:44:00.000-06:00

Bucket list:

1. Raise and unconditionally love a flying squirrel named Cthulu or Chickenbear, Jr.

2. Visit Glacier National Park

3. Be as funny, for at least 5 minutes, as David Sedaris

4. Read every book ever written by Philip K. Dick

5. Understand a philosophy book. Any one. Or philosophy in general. Anything. Please.

6. Go back to school for my doctorate (this one is a most likely "to do")

That is all for now.

Inca Toffee and Nietzsche

2010-09-11T19:45:00.002-06:00

I woke up this morning with a growing sense of unease. It has been building up all day and it feels... uneasy. I have come to the conclusion that I am going to die soon. I also have been having serious heart pain the last few days (not heartburn) which only confirms my theory of imminent death.

One thing that did make my day wonderful, however, was the discovery of this in my bedroom:

I bought bags of these when I was in Peru, because they are legitimately the tastiest treats to ever exist. I thought I had eaten them all and I found a bag of them today. I rejoiced.

On an entirely different note, I took Reeb to Barnes and Noble today to peruse the philosophy section (for myself) and the kids section (for Reeb). I bought "The Philosopher's Handbook" and haven't even made it through the introduction yet after a considerable time spent reading and rereading. This is not my road of thinking, but it really interests me. When I lived in New Jersey, I had a friend named Aryn who was a philosophy major at Princeton. She once took me to a party in a basement on campus somewhere. I remember sitting there in awe at her and her fellow philosophy major friends' conversation. I hope I can one day be on 1/10 of her level at understanding Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Locke, Kant and others.

Home Videos

2010-09-01T21:48:00.001-06:00

I went to Erin's house last Monday night to pick up some beverage and ended up staying for my second and final dinner of the night. We started watching our home movies we made in 2002-2003, which would make me 19-20 years old. We used to record everything we did. Case in point: when we got into our car accident in Spanish Fork Canyon, my side of the car was smashed into a cement barrier and she couldn't open her door, so we had to crawl out the back. I remember jumping out the backseat of the car and one of us saying "Wait, grab the camera!" And I'm glad we did. You can see the car in the background, smoking and car horn blaring while Erin calls 911 on her dance light phone. Priceless memories. We spent 45-minutes on Monday watching videos and I really, really want to watch the rest right this second. We thought we were so cool. In hindsight, we were not really cool at all, but quite funny. I was 20-30 pounds heavier with red and blonde hair and a tongue ring, so I cringe alot while watching it, but again, funny stuff.

I told Erin that night that I was going to start recording everything that happens again, because even though I am not nearly as cool as I was when I was 19 and my life revolved around cruising for guys on State Street, I will really enjoy the memories down the line. I don't think she believed me, but here it is:

Yay! Now I can start recording everything I do again. I love my new video camera. It's so handy and adorable. Just you wait Erin. This is gonna be great.

William Randolph Hearst, Sand Dollars and Boo's.

2010-08-18T13:03:00.007-06:00

I am currently sitting on a plane at LAX typing on my phone. I wonder if I throw a big enough fit, if I can stay in California? I don't want to go home! I don't want to go back to work yet! I don't wanna! *wah wah *. It didn't work. Oh, well. Home I go. I had the most wonderful time here. I got to see Summer, Rich and Lucy. I met my boo, Nick.

AND i did an enormous amount of wonderful things. This last weekend I was here, we got to go to Hearst Castle! I listened to a podcast about it last year some time and since then have dreamed numerous times about going and I have taken the online tour at least 4 times. I MUST decorate my future home as William Randolph Hearst did his: gaudy.

I also went hiking in Big Sur again. Then I went to Point Lobos, which I visited the first time I came out here in March. And Carmel, which is another quaint little town that reminds me a little of New Hope, with it's galleries and hip shops.

The last night I was there, Summer and I went to the beach to look for sand dollars. We didn't find any, but had a grand time giggling with our head lamps on and getting attacked by the occasional large wave that came crashing in. It was by far the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen.

And now... back to the daily grind. Good thing I love my job. And my friends in Utah too. I love you guys.

Monterey: Part One

2010-07-31T19:02:00.005-06:00

I will be intermixing my recent Peru trip and current California trip on here.

Right now: Monterey, California

I haven't seen Summer, Rich and Lucy in so long: since March to be exact. I was quite excited to get here. Rich is in training at the Defense Language Institute and Summer is working as an administrative assistant. Lucy runs around and cuddles with people. She slept with me the first night. She's the sweetest, cuddliest dog in the history of dogs.

I went for a run on Thursday morning, for the first time in 3 weeks. I thought it would be torture, but my body said "Welcome back, Tiffers. I've been waiting for you." I don't know the area well, so I just started running and hoped I would be able to find my way back. I made it nearly 3 miles and it felt wonderful.

Since both Summer and Rich work full time, I am on my own to explore and have fun during the day. Rich kindly helped me secure a bus pass and though it took me a day or two, I've figured out the transit system here. On Friday, I rode into downtown and had an hour before my transfer, so I walked around for a little while. Monterey is a quaint little town and I was especially delighted to find a used bookstore. I spent most of my time in there and bought an old book on Peru. I will soon be up to date on Peruvian history, at least up to the year 1965. I'm such a sucker for old books with neat covers though.

I also walked along fisherman's wharf for a bit, until it was time to catch my transfer to Big Sur.

I hiked a little around Big Sur, but wasn't really apparel prepared. I plan to go back a few days next week, when I'm better prepared, so I can get in some nice hikes. I walked two miles down to Pfeiffer Beach and sat on the sand for awhile. I don't necessarily like sand, as I have tactile issues with it and I don't like getting into the water, but the sand didn't seem too bad today, so I sat down and relaxed for an hour or so before I needed to get back to the bus stop.

The last thing I'll mention (this blog post doesn't flow very well. I apologize.) is riding motorcycles. Oh dear, it is sure fun. Saturday we took an hour+ ride into San Jose to go to a leather shop. I bought a rad pocket knife with a pearl and dark wood handle. I have been dreaming about this purchase for a year now, and it feels so wonderful to have it sitting in my back pocket right now. I rode on the back of Kevin's bike, a Victory, and it's really nice, but it doesn't have a back rest, so I am pretty sore. This morning, I went to breakfast with Nick, who rides a bullet bike (I don't know what kind) and he got to 115 mph on the freeway and he hit 100 mph going through the tunnel in downtown. It was terrifying and exhilarating and as much as I shouldn't want to... I want to do it again.

2nd to last day in Peru = Sad

2010-07-19T10:30:00.002-06:00

I am glad you guys are reading my blog. I am sorry I am not posting anymore. Here is what happened...

(squiggly lines, squiggly lines, suiggly lines swirling and focusing into a scene)

I posted once and it took me so long to get even one post done. And then I checked a few days later to write the second post and only becca had commented, so I gave up. It is too hard. I want to spend every second here having fun. So I figure what I will do is this: I am going to type up my journal when I get home for personal reasons and because I have to turn it in to my professor. So I am thinking everyone who is interested and does not speak to me on a regular basis can hear about my adventures in Peru, day by day, while I am actually in California. Sounds fantastic, right?

While I wait for my amigas to get done, I will write a little bit, because I am too exhausted to wander on my own for a bit. My legs hurt. We got into Cusco on Saturday and it is suprisingly large. We met our host family and they are wonderful and loving and talented. The program for the University started on Sunday and we met Jesus who runs the Amigos Spanish School. He is fantastic and sassy and likes to share his sexual encounter stories with me for some reason. We started lessons on Monday and I had the most wonderful class ever. I learned quite a bit from Jossie, but we spent pretty much the entire time laughing. She even took us out for Cuy (Guinea Pig). It was muy rico and very hard to cut, so I did not eat too much, but I have some wonderful pictures for later. They bring the cuy out full. Teeth, hands, feet and all.

Archaeological wise, I have been to see Machu Picchu, Tambomachay, Pukapukara, Qengo, Saqsayhuaman (pronounced Sexy Woman), Pisac, and Moray. They were all breathtaking. The most profound experience of the trip was stepping off the train in Machu Picchu town (Aguas Calientes). I nearly cried when I saw the mountains soaring above me and the fog setting in all around us. It was... astounding.

We went out a lot too. They have a fun discoteca in the Plaza de Arms and we have gone salsa dancing a few times. I really am sad to leave.

My time is up on the computer. Love you guys. See you in a few days.

2010-07-09T13:12:00.004-06:00

First off, here are pictures of our hotel room and restaurant/bar downstairs

I don´t have any pictures today, but I didn´t think I would be coming to an internet cafe. There are a lot of fun stories to tell, but they will probably only be told to some people in person, so my mom doesn´t have a heart attack :)

Seriously though...

We took the mirabus yesterday on a tour throughout Lima. It was amazing to see the entire city. We are staying in Mira Flores, which is a little out of the way, so we hadn´t ventured into the Plaza Mayor (I think that is what it is called) yet. We stopped at the Cathedral of San Francisco and got to tour the catacombs underneath. The paintings and woodwork are truly breathtaking. When we got back on the bus to head back, I met the first man I am going to bring home. His name is Rafael and he is Brazilian and gorgeous. My friends and I met he and his friends at a bar and went dancing.

Oops.. gotta go. I will post pictures from the tour and of Rafael whenever I get on here next.

Peru- Day One

2010-07-08T10:36:00.005-06:00

I made it! I can not believe that I am actually here! 3 plane rides down, 5 to go over the next couple of weeks. The flight wasn´t too bad. I was a little worried about the ride from Atlanta to Lima, but they had lots of food and "New Release" movies to watch, so I was set. When we landed, we had a ride arranged through Katie, one of the girls I was traveling with. They are, by far, the scariest drivers I have ever encountered. There aren´t so many rules that need to be followed. People honk a lot and that is their way of saying "Get out of my way, because I am getting into your lane wether you like it or not". There were a few times where we literally drove between two lanes, squeezing in between cars on either side.

The food here is amazing and for some reason, we´ve taken ALOT of pictures of our meals and drinks.

We are staying in the suite at the Bella Vista hotel in Mira Flores and it is the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in, and for only $40 a night. I will try to upload some pictures later. The only problem is, our balcony shares a glass wall with the gym that is downstairs. So, we are woken up every morning around 6 when the cycling class starts and they blast the music. They have a really nice outdoor cafe/bar downstairs as well.

The first day we got ready and started walking towards the big mall that is on the beach. We stopped constantly to shop in the little stores along the streets. They have tons of shoe stores around and I am still contemplating a really cute pair. We stopped for drink at Mezze, a really cute restaurant with even cuter waiters. There are some very good looking men down here and they are all very nice. I might have to bring one back with me. Anyhoo, we finally made it to the beach and mall around 6 at night, meaning it took us 6 hours to make a 10 minute walk to the beach. They have some great stores at the mall and it is set right against the beach. We plan to spend a whole day at the beach tomorrow or the next day, but we got some nice pictures of it.

There is so much more to tell and pictures to show, but we really want to get out of here and start our day. This computer is really slow at uploading pictures, so I got as many in as I could. I will upload more soon. Today we are going in to downtown Lima to see the Cathedral, catacombs, etc. Talk to all of you soon!

The Master of the Universe

2010-06-17T23:06:00.003-06:00

I presented my Master's thesis this week and I don't think I have been so nervous in my entire life. I am such a procrastinator, and every semester, every new project, I think, I am going to get started early this time and finish well in advance. Yeeeeah, right. I did everything last minute, which isn't to say I didn't work hard. I would guess I put in at least 50 hours worth of work, but it was 50 hours within a two week time span instead of four. And then I had two weeks where I had nothing to do but wait, because my committee needed to look over my materials. I planned to write out what I wanted to say word for word, podcast it and listen to every day. And I did. But I did it two days before my presentation. So, naturally my heart was pounding come Tuesday. I got to the U an hour and a half before my presentation and sat in the student lounge rehearsing my lines. (My presentation had to be at least an hour long). I felt confident with the material, but was terrified I would forget what I wanted to say and have to look at my notes. I took 15 kava pills within a 2 hour time span before the presentation and they always work, but not today. So, I ended up taking a quarter of a xanax 30 minutes before my presentation.

All went well. I didn't need to look at my notes and I felt a rush of emotions when after being ushered out so my committee could discuss, John opened the door and reached out his hand with a smile on his face and said "Congratulations!". It felt so wonderful. I woke up on Wednesday morning with the most wonderful feeling. Nothing. I had nothing to worry about that day. Nothing that had to get done. Freedom. And now, my room is finally clean-ish. I have too much and need to go through everything and just get rid of a lot of it. I've also spent a bit of time at school getting stuff ready for next school year.

I leave for Peru on July 6. I am beyond excited. Ecstatic maybe? Visiting Macchu Picchu has been on my top 3 list since I was 17 years old. I just hope I can soak everything up. I am not nervous or scared, only that I might forget to see something. After Peru, a trip to Vegas with the gals. And then Monterey, California to hang out with Summer and Rich until I absolutely have to be back.

I sound falsely upbeat, like maybe I am trying to hard to be happy. But I'm pretty sure I'm sincerely this happy right now. Either that, or I am such a good liar, I have even tricked myself.

Happy International Moment of Laughter Day

2010-04-14T11:10:00.003-06:00

I use Mystery Motivators with my kids as an independent group contingency reinforcement system. Essentially, they get the chance to earn 5 stars throughout the day by following class rules. If they earn all 5, they get a Mystery Motivator at the end of the day. At some point in the year, the kids got pretty bored of my 10 recycled activities (free time, shaving cream, play dough, bubbles, movie, etc.). I stumbled on a National Holiday website that, as the name would imply, lists the national holidays from day to day. I have started incorporating them into my Mystery Motivators. For example, March 10 was national "Learn what your name means day". Everyone who earned all their stars sat around my computer and we looked up the meaning of their names and read them aloud to the class. The kids loved it! I printed it out for them to take home as well.

Now I have the habit of checking http://www.holidays.net/dailys.htm#LastWeek on a weekly basis to see what holidays are coming up. Today is International Moment of Laughter Day. It is also

Anniversary - President Lincoln's Assassination
Dia De Las Alericas (Honduras)
Children With Alopecia Day
Pan-American Day

So, in honor of laughter, here are some of the things I find hilarious:

JohnJay and Rich. The premise of this segment is not funny, but they say some hilarious things. I listen to them every morning and listen to their podcasts at least once a day. They may be the funniest people on the planet.

Flight of the Conchords

Jim Gaffigan. Hot pockets...

Superhero tattoo

2009-10-04T15:11:00.002-06:00

Trey told me that getting one of these tattoos makes you a superhero. I'm Wolverine now, in case you can't tell. For all you bad guys out there, watch out. Trey and I are on the beat.

Teaching and animal conspiracies

2009-09-21T22:01:00.003-06:00

My dad came home a few days ago and I had just woken up from a nap. I had been taking naps 4 days a week now since school started. "Now you understand why I am always taking naps", he said, with what I'm pretty sure was an evil "ha ha" glint in his eye. And yes, now I fully understand. Who knew that being a teacher was so exhausting? Sure, I'm not running laps all day long, but I do, uh, stand a lot. Quite a lot actually. So there. And sometimes I play tag at recess. So double extra there. But mentally, emotionally: I'm drained. I love my job and I haven't cried once, but there is so much to do and it seems that when I try to get something done or organized, I get handed 10 more things to do or the classroom just gets messier. Needless to say, I am no longer allowing myself to take naps, cause I don't get enough done if I do. I'm done with my degree though. I just have to print it off the computer. Yep. Just print my teaching license off the computer.

I am also almost halfway through with my Masters Degree. I can't until everyone starts calling me Master Tucker. My brother's are going to be so bummed that they went for their Doctorate. Be honest: would you rather be called Doctor So-and-so or Master So-and-so? That's what I thought.

I feel a little lame though and want to apologize to people who actually talk to me in real life. I find that I am taking less initiative to call people and when they do call me, I am somewhat lifeless which anyone could easily translate to mean: she hates me. But it's not true. I'm just tired. Oh so tired.

Does anyone else believe the conspiracy that animals are trying to take over the world? There's always these crazy news stories about animals getting into CrAzY situations that involve humans getting harmed or would've gotten harmed had the animal not been stopped? Yeah, I hear them all the time too. They pretend to be furry, innocent and cute until they try to scratch your face off while you're asleep. But they'll just pretend they were trying to save your life by trying to wake you up, cause the house was on fire (they set the fire by the way)... My life is infested with animals. There is a mouse living in the walls of my house, but for some reason it loves coming into my room at night and scratching away at things to keep me awake. And it's building it's nest in the wall between my bedroom and bathroom. I have set up mouse traps to catch Morton (that's his name of course) and he somehow evades them. There are only two spots where the sinks in my bathroom meet that he can get in and he must be an acrobat, because he somehow misses the traps that are set right underneath the holes. There is also a feral cat that loves to sit outside my window at night and howl itself to what must be a near death. The noise literally wakes me up and sends my heart beating a mile a minute, it sounds that bad. Then there's the spiders. Those disgusting little arachnids that worm their way into the weirdest little places. My thought on spiders is this: they are welcome to live in my house as long as they stay out of my way. But the second I see them, they must die. So I found one this morning inside my previous day's iced drink cup, which had a lid on it. So I set it in the sink and sent water rushing down the straw to slowly fill up the cup. The spider ended up floating upside down at the top of the cup, smashed into the lid. I planned to dump it out after I finished doing my makeup. Five minutes later I look over and Melvin (that was his name of course) is wiggling around trying to find a way out. He was pretending to be a drowned spider! And it was like he would sense when I saw him. He would curl his little legs up and pretend to be dead again and then lo and behold, when I turned my back, he would try to wiggle out.

That was a long story, I know. But I think it's important that everyone be aware of what the animals of the world are conspiring to do. They must be stopped. Or at least we need to get on their good side.

Happy and Heartbroken

2009-05-26T22:56:00.005-06:00

Let's start with the good, which may also show up later as the bad.

I am finishing up my undergraduate degree this summer as well as starting into my graduate program. It's thrilling and scary to finally be done and get a job that actually pays me some money. Speaking of jobs, I got one! I will be working in a self-contained unit at an elementary school in the school district where I grew up. I was really nervous I wouldn't pass the Praxis, but I actually did pretty well, so I can rest easy about keeping the job I just got.

I also just changed the channel to an Alaska documentary, which makes me slightly happy. Oh, and Becca and the boys got to come visit for almost two weeks and it was really nice to have them staying at the house.

And that's about it on the happy front. It's exciting to feel like a real grownup.

On to the bad stuff.

I'm really nervous about my first year of teaching. I'm sure everyone feels like they just aren't going to cut it, and I'm no exception. Hopefully I will figure it all out with little effort. I'm also scared to be teaching my first year and going to grad school. I'm not sure I can cut it. At this point, I'm not sure why I applied for grad school. And when I got accepted, I'm not sure why I accepted the acceptance.

I'm sad to be leaving Bekah too. I'm hoping I can find time to work with her next school year. I have been working with her for 9 years now. She's one of my best friends and I am so used to seeing her a couple times a week.

So there is the update on my life. Hope you enjoy it.

I'm famous! Well, I'm pretty sure I will be anyway. Maybe not...

2009-05-04T16:13:00.003-06:00

I'm famous! My (newly ex'd) boyfriend's famous too! My friend Jen too! (she shot the video)

2009-03-29T11:40:00.005-06:00

After months of rest from my blog, I have decided to start updating. I was in North Carolina last weekend for my brother Gary's wedding to my now, and new, sister in law, Sarah. Woohoo! It was so good to visit family and simply hang out.

Here's the beautiful bride, Sarah

This is the groomsmens (?) cake. I was told it's a southern thing. Correct me if I'm wrong. As you may know, Gary is a dentist, and soon to be, orthodontist. Hence, the Mr. and Mrs. Teeth with braces.

The brothers and sisters. Becca, Gary, Tiffany and Scott outside the Raleigh Temple. Unfortunately Kristen couldn't be there.

Gary and Sarah Tucker

There was a ring ceremony after the temple ceremony. Becca and I got to be escorted down the aisle by my adorable nephew, who turned 1 a few days later.

In the process

2009-03-29T11:27:00.003-06:00

I am in the process of creating a new post, I think it will be ready with in the month

Me and the Boys

2009-02-08T11:27:00.003-07:00

I know I have not posted in a long time. Life is busy. But here is a picture to hold you all off until I have time for a better post.

The Break-In

2008-12-16T15:02:00.003-07:00

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.

2008-11-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

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

2008-11-08T17:14:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-24T23:02:00.000-06:00

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

2008-10-21T01:01:00.000-06:00

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

2008-09-18T00:02:00.002-06:00

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

2008-09-18T00:02:00.001-06:00

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

2008-09-14T22:54:00.000-06:00

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.

2008-08-24T23:24:00.000-06:00

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

2008-08-22T19:44:00.000-06:00

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

2008-08-05T22:46:00.000-06:00

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

2008-08-04T20:09:00.000-06:00

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

2008-07-27T23:35:00.000-06:00

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

2008-07-21T23:05:00.001-06:00

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

2008-07-21T13:42:00.000-06:00

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

2008-07-16T19:18:00.000-06:00

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

2008-07-15T17:00:00.000-06:00

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

2008-07-14T17:15:00.001-06:00

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

2008-07-13T17:02:00.000-06:00

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

2008-07-10T23:20:00.000-06:00

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

2008-07-03T23:31:00.001-06:00

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

2008-07-03T21:49:00.000-06:00

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.

Making bread

2008-06-29T20:35:00.000-06:00

I love to cook. For years, it was all about desserts. And recently it has been German food. Unfortunately, my German potato salad never turned out as good as Siegfrieds. But soon I am going to make my own sauerkraut, which I have a real obsession with. But my new found love is bread. So I made Todd call his mother, Ingrid last night and get me her famous bread recipe. When I got home from church today, my nephews Spencer, Benson and I had a go at it.

Benson helped me add the ingredients

Spencer helped me knead it

Then we had to wait for it to bake...

Spencer watched while I took it out

and gave it a smell to see if it was done

Then we ate it! (P.S. That's my sis Becca if you don't know)

Everyone thought it tasted really good. Here's the recipe if you'd like to give it a try:

2 TBSP yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup sugar

Let it sit until it gets foamy. Then add:

2 2/3 cup warm water
1 TBSP salt
3 TBSP wheat gluten
3 TBSP shortening
3 TBSP honey
5 cups of whole red wheat flour
2 cups of whole wheat flour

Stir, stir, stir

Spread, in increments, 1 cup of flour on a clean countertop and knead the dough until smooth. Put a little oil in the bowl and put the dough back in. Flip the bread over so it is all covered in a light layer of oil. Cover with a towel and let raise for up to one hour. Punch the dough down and divide it into two big loafs or 3 medium loafs. Butter pans and put the dough in. Let it rise again. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

So, here's what else is on my mind these days. Public, or as any free marketeer or libertarian would call it, government school. I hope politics interests anyone and everyone who reads my blogs. Cause I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on it. I am going to post my concerns/positions tomorrow maybe, but trying to figure out how to get the pictures on this post and make them look good enough, pretty much drained me and I have a paper to write.

Happy 1st birthday Xander Beck! I had a blast at your birthday party today.

Be gentle with me, this if my first time.

2008-06-27T22:21:00.000-06:00

Everyone has been begging me to start a blog (and by everyone, I mean Becca; and by "begging" I mean, mentioned it) so I have finally given in. I was hesitant for one reason: I'm not sure my life is that interesting that anyone, including my own family, would read it. But I shall attempt to entertain you few people who will read it and hopefully one day be rich and famous, all thanks to this witty blog of mine.

My camera is in a box somewhere, as I am attempting to move from a hotel to a home. But I will start posting pictures as soon as I get it back. I don't actually have anything much to say at this moment. My life consists of school at the U of U and working a few hours a week with Reeb. But I always have an interesting story to tell. Or at least I think so.

For this post, in honor of the summertime, let's go down memory lane. I have worked for 7+ years with a beautiful little gal, Reeb, who has autism. Today, I took her to the pool and Katherine asked if I wanted to borrow a swimsuit so I could swim. "I actually hate going into the water" I replied. At which point she reminded me of a funny story from a number of years back...

It must have been 4 or 5 years ago when I took Reeb and the boys to my Grandma's house to go swimming in her pool. Reeb must have been 9ish years old. She is a fantastic swimmer now, but back then she required inflatable arm float... thingies. She really didn't want to put them on and I really wanted to put off getting in the pool as long as possible. I just hate being wet. Everything about it. So I told her she could go in the water as long as she stayed in the shallow end. She didn't listen. She had her hands on the side of the pool and was, hand over hand, making her way to the deep end. I was still fully clothed at this point, in hopes of avoiding the water the whole day. I told her if she was going to go into the deep end, she needed to keep her hands on the side of the pool since she didn't have her floaties on. She didn't listen. She gave me this cute, but evil look, as if to say, "Yep, I'm gonna do it." And then she pushed off the wall as hard as she could. I didn't have a second to think. I knew she'd sink like a rock, and she did. I jumped right in, and pulled her from the bottom of the pool. She was scared, I was soaking wet in my clothes, but the boys loved it! They thought it was amazing to see a rescue like that. I never really thought of it as a rescue. More, a necessary thing to do and a terrible, terrible day. Of course, now I think it's funny and a fun story to tell. Needless to say, from that day on, she were her floaties until she learned to swim on her own.