Monday, January 10, 2011

Why I Love Teaching - #1

7th Grade Girl (walking into class):  I'm having a really bad day!
Me:  Already?  It's only the beginning of first period!
Girl:  I know, but I am.
Me:  Why?  What happened?
Girl:  I'm wearing too much perfume.
Me:  Did someone tell you that?
Girl:  No, but I can smell it.
Me:  Well, I can't smell it so it must not be THAT bad!
Girl:  And I've got on too much lip gloss.
Me:  I think it looks pretty.  Besides, you need to put lip gloss on all day long just to keep your lips from cracking in this cold, dry weather.
Girl (pulling lip gloss out of pocket to show me):  I wear a lot of it because it smells so good.  Cinnamon.
Me:  Oooo!  I'd wear a lot of that, too, just for the yummy smell!
Girl:  Plus, I have gas.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Provo Tabernacle Goes Up in Flames

It's a pretty sad day when a landmark like this is destroyed by fire.  It's so easy to think these treasures will be around forever, that they're often taken for granted. 

ksl.com - Provo firefighters still fighting tabernacle fire (Gallery Viewer)

Monday, December 13, 2010

Christmas Surprise!

My friend Jane from Macon sent me this.  Enjoy.  Many times. 

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Oh. My. Goodness.

A prize to the person who finds the most mistakes in this comment that I found written in response to an article in the Deseret News.  Is it the curse of being an English teacher or is it just me?  Please, please, PLEASE tell me this is just a punctuation/capitalization/usage satire or I think I'll quit my job FOREVER!  And then there's the content.  And the grammar.  And, the announcement to everyone and their dog that he's a Mormon, to boot!  

Help me, Rhonda. 

"It's LDS Church leaders that strongly urge "moderate" (that's a liberal term by the way), approach to illegal immigration reform, not all Church Member's and American Citizen's. I refuse too participate with that thinking. Utah must obey all the written law's of the land and "NEVER" ever adopt a phony illegal humane approach to this reality, reflecting on their culture, history and spirit of inclusion. Right now Utah don't respect the rule of law and support law enforcement's professional judgment and discretion. They try to turn "federal code's" into minor State civil violations stuffed into Bill's in Congress along with earmarks and pork. while they oppose policies that unnecessarily separate families and deport the parent's, when they have the right to take their "welfare kid's" along with them. Utah don't really acknowledge the non-economic role illegal immigrants play while real American workers and taxpayers pay for while they are here. That's my view, like it or not. And I'm a Mormon also. Plus a true conservative that does not hide the truth's."

Friday, October 22, 2010

Normal

Ever read the children's book called Too Much Noise? 

That's how I feel tonight. 

Strip away one bronchial infection, one two-week trip to Italy and Switzerland, the writing of 36 individual lesson plans for various substitute teachers, the finding of a substitute teacher for one primary class (for two Sundays--from the airport), one pacemaker for my mother, one relative moving in with us, one daughter's wedding reception in our back yard, one wedding, one wedding dinner, one bridal shower, one loved and lovely bunch of extended family members staying with us for the one wedding, several of other people's wedding receptions, one 3-hour BYU class every Tuesday night, one trip to the ER, one adverse reaction to an antibiotic leaving two shins to look like they had [really] bad razor burn (for over a week!), two afternoons and evenings of parent/teacher conferences, two or three soccer games for one grandson, one husband with anemia, one daughter and her family unexpectedly moving from PA back to Utah, one house-hunting trip for the movees, one daughter moving back home (if only for a month), one garage filled with college-student stuff, one attempt at trying to be helpful by taking a meal into another family (but taking it to the wrong family), the start of one school year, the missing of three days of school for illness (I never had a sick day before now), three days of school for a wedding, and six days of school for a trip....and the packing of all of the above into less than one 8-week period....Strip all that away and what do you have?  You have normal, but what used to feel like Too Much Noise!

Instead, on this first day of back-to-normal in less than 8 weeks, all I had to do (bronchial infection nearly gone) was get up at 5:30 a.m., unload the dishwasher, make the bed, eat a bowl of cold cereal, water the plants, wash my hair, and go teach my classes.  Piece. Of. Cake.  Ahhhhhh.  I LOVE normal.  Shoot me, please, if I ever complain again!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Advice

If you're eating almonds out of one hand and you have an extra-strength Excedrin in the other, try to remember which hand holds which so you don't pop the pill in your mouth and chew it like a nut. 

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Friends and Family Days



Dear Friends and Family,

We're going through closets and all the stuff in them as we prepare rooms upstairs for paint and new carpet. Here's the latest discovery: 3 perfectly good vaporizers. We don't need three.

1.  We've had one here for years.

2.  The Professor bought another one when he was at Notre Dame.

3.  Sometime BN (before Notre Dame), he got up in the night here, unable to breathe, but couldn't find ours so he went to the store and bought another one. In the middle of the night!  (I can't really blame him for not waking me. I mean, which is easier? Going to the store or waking me to ask where the vaporizer is?  Do not answer that to my face, please.)

So, like I said, we don't need three. Anybody want/need one? If not, they'll go to DI.  Because we're on good terms with DI this month.

Love,
Nicea

Next up:  Hammers, screwdrivers (one can never have too many Phillips head screwdrivers), gloves, flashlights and other multiple purchases*. Amazing what you can find when you clean. Here's the success story of the summer so far: I found my favorite umbrella.  The red one.  It was in the bottom of my white purse.... IN THE LINEN CLOSET in the upstairs hallway!!!  I should have known it would be there, right? Because most people store their handbags with the sheets and pillowcases.

Love,
Nicea

*On the subject of purchases.  I'm pretty good at buying the occasional birthday/wedding/baby gift.  It's getting them into the hands of their rightful recipients that brings me down.  So, if your name is Megan or Brian, Jeff,  Max,  Rebecca (formerly Gilbert),  Melanie Elison**, or Annie (formerly Pinegar***) you might want to come over and pick up your gift.  It's taking up space. 
N.
 
**Sorry Ab.  We'll make it up to her when you come in September. 
***Melanie - This plant's gonna die.  Get over here!